Chapter 41: The Coat?
In a room of about forty square meters, the lights flickered, continuously spraying sparks from an electrical short circuit. Countless dark red substances wriggled across the ceiling, walls, and floor.
In the center of the room, a tattered outfit floated, bound by chains, covered in scarlet spots resembling some kind of mold, yet having a texture similar to liver, which was extremely unpleasant.
“……”
Watching the scene before her, Luxianbei maintained a blank expression for a few seconds, then suddenly turned around 180 degrees and walked away towards the other end of the corridor without looking back.
Unbelievable, this is too outrageous!
Looking like this, you shouldn’t be sending those cute “barrage” messages in my head, creating unrealistic illusions!
It felt like an online loli who, upon meeting offline, turns into a terrifying uncle who is two meters tall and weighs 200 pounds, which could scare someone to d*ath!
The severe discrepancy between reality and description made Luxianbei feel deceived.
【Don’t go, don’t leave me, please! (ಥ_ಥ)】
Strange thoughts flashed through Luxianbei’s mind.
“Shut up, I’m not listening, you won’t trick me!”
Luxianbei covered her ears and pressed forward, shaking her head like a rattle.
She had seen this kind of trickery many times: pots that sealed demons, crystal bottles containing fairies, which would unleash terrifying entities once opened.
And those dancing shoes that would make you dance until d*ath, as well as necklaces that would transform one into a monster, were simply endless.
So, this kind of trick might fool naive and ignorant girls, but tricking someone like me, a tough guy? Not happening!
Luxianbei walked faster and faster, finally breaking into a full run, unknowingly employing the evasive techniques from the “Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration.”
She didn’t even need to recall any memories; it felt as if she had been born knowing how to run away.
Just as she was about to leave the corridor of the basement, the restrained coat in the small storage room began to struggle violently.
“Clang, clang, clang!”
The chain binding it straightened repeatedly, making a series of light sounds.
Its most beloved witch lady was about to leave it behind, but until now, it still didn’t know what was happening.
All it knew was that it had followed the witch lady to a really shabby house, got sucked into a strange vortex, and woke up bound in this dark basement, with numerous “little bugs” growing on it.
It had considered escaping to find the witch lady.
After all, ordinary steel chains had never restrained it before; it was incredibly powerful!
But…
For some reason, it seemed to have weakened, unable to break free even from these ordinary iron chains.
Perhaps it was because of those “little bugs”?
Its simple-minded thought could only come to this obvious conclusion.
Those “little bugs” were constantly growing inside its body, crawling around, gnawing at it, causing itchiness and pain, making it very uncomfortable and tortured…
The footsteps faded away, and Luxianbei’s figure was ultimately swallowed by the darkness, disappearing from the exit of the corridor in the basement.
“Clang——!”
Accompanied by a piercing sound of metal grinding, the chains piercing through the coat’s body suddenly stretched straight, embedding into its flesh.
Thick, dark red liquid dripped from the torn fabric.
Ah, the witch lady really left!
∑(っ°Д°;)っ
It raised its sleeves high towards the direction of the basement exit, trembling, and after a long while, it slowly lowered them along with its hood.
Then…
With a “whoosh!” it fell onto the operation table, crumpled into a ball, as if it had truly become a lifeless, broken garment.
At that moment, light footsteps echoed from the other end of the corridor.
Luxianbei turned back, jogging back to the entrance of the small storage room in the basement.
————
Luxianbei had no intention of looking back at first, even though the murmurs that seemed to rise from her mind and floated around her ear kept calling her to return; she still had no such plan.
The crimson, tattered outfit resembled a shroud, exuding a twisted, bizarre, and extremely ominous aura. Both to the n*ked eye and in feeling, it was on a completely different level from the urban legend she had encountered before.
That urban legend was at most a minion with a combat power of a thousand, while this outfit was at least a rare elite with a combat power of twenty thousand.
Though she had just defeated an urban legend, which had given her some confidence, she hadn’t become so overconfident as to think she could fight higher-level monsters.
Survival was her top priority!
However…
The moment she burst out of the exit of the basement, it felt like an illusion; she heard a soft murmur near her ear.
【Luxianbei, go back, save it!】
“d*mn it, just because you say save it, I have to go save it? You guys are so bad at tricking this ignorant girl,” Luxianbei shouted, “Want me to go back? Unless… you first give me a resurrection armor!”
Immediately, intense emotions surged through her like a tidal wave, filling her mind.
Sadness, grief, bitterness, despair… it felt as if they were about to swallow her whole.
Yet within such complex negative emotions, Luxianbei sensed a hint of tenderness.
Warmth, like a little cat suddenly jumping into her arms at a street corner when she was feeling hopeless, instantly softening her heart.
In an instant, it felt as if her heart had been firmly squeezed by an invisible hand, causing it to skip a beat, her footsteps faltered, as if stuck in a quagmire, her body rigidly standing in place.
After a long while.
She turned around to look back at the dark entrance of the basement, her willow brows furrowed.
Am I… misunderstanding it?
Perhaps it is also the kind of “I’m ugly, but I’m very gentle”?
Judging people by appearance is not a good habit!
——————
Crossing the dark and deep corridor, she returned to the entrance of the small storage room.
Luxianbei looked at the outfit on the operation table, which resembled a pile of mud, rubbed her temples, and sighed silently.
“I’m really scared of you! I could pull you out from here, after all, I am gentle and soft-hearted. But before that, we need to set some rules!”
“……”
After two seconds of silence, seeing the outfit have no reaction, Luxianbei called out once more, “Hey! You’re not dead, are you?”
As soon as she spoke, the coat lifted its hood, confirming that she wasn’t hallucinating, and with a “whoosh!” it stood up and joyfully flew around in the air before heading straight toward Luxianbei.
“Clang——!”
The chains tightened again, making a light sound.
The coat was dragged by the chains, hovering about two meters away from Luxianbei, its tattered sleeves waving in the air, as if wanting to give her a big hug.
Seeing the aggressively approaching coat, Luxianbei’s heart tightened, and she stepped back two paces, waving her hands repeatedly, “No, no! Calm down! Didn’t I say? We need to set some rules first!”
Hearing this, the coat gently settled on the operation table, coiling into a ball, its hem swaying lightly like shaking little feet.
Clever.JPG
Luxianbei facepalmed, “……”
You’re such a terrifying urban legend, how can you still be like a child?
It felt as if a little loli had been sent into the body of a muscular uncle in another world.
After grumbling a little, Luxianbei raised a finger, “First, you cannot harm me!”
“Secondly, you must do whatever I say!”
“Lastly, I have a contract here; for safety’s sake, please sign it.”
These days, trickery is everywhere; even contracts can involve hidden agreements!
Signing a contract is merely the basic safeguard, Luxianbei thought.
The coat, “……Why does the witch lady want to do the same thing again?”
So strange!
(´･_･`)
No reaction? It can’t be that I’ve exposed the scam, and it’s too afraid to speak? Seeing no response from the coat, Luxianbei frowned and said in a deep voice, “If you don’t agree, I’m leaving!”
The coat, “……Alright, I really can’t help it!”
(´一Ι_一｀)
Immediately afterward, the coat stood up, raised its hood, and nodded toward Luxianbei.
“Exhale——!”
Luxianbei took a deep breath, slightly recalled the incantation for the ally contract from her dream memories, and courageously walked forward.
————
“……Heaven and Earth witness this heart; during collaboration, we share fortune and face difficulties together, mutually assisting each other, sharing our hearts, and those who violate this shall face endless retribution, and shall never find peace!”
The incantation for the ally contract ended.
In the next moment, accompanied by a soft “puff,” flames burst into being on both Luxianbei and the coat’s sleeves, swaying defiantly, taking a long time to merge and complete the contract.
【Flame A: “Didn’t they already have a dependent contract? Why do they need to sign an ally contract?”
Flame B: “Not sure; maybe there’s something wrong with their brains?”
Flame A: “Let’s go; Mom said not to play with crazy people.”】
As if silently completing the above dialogue, the two flames suddenly flared up, colliding together with a “whoosh!” sound, exploding into a series of crimson sparks in mid-air before vanishing without a trace.
With the incantation of the ally contract “completed,” Luxianbei glanced sideways at the coat, which was happily wriggling by itself, as if it were a sea cabbage that had come to life, lost in thought.
This should work, right?
Though her dream memories only had the method of casting the ally contract incantation, there were no specifics about what successful casting looked like.
However, according to the process outlined in the ally contract, if one of the parties acted with malicious intent or attempted to sabotage the spell during its casting, it would backfire.
Now, it seemed not to have suffered from backlash; even if the casting failed, it could be concluded that it had no malicious intent.
Luxianbei thought, expressionless, and said to the coat, “Alright, wait here; I’ll find something to help you get those iron chains off.”
After saying this, she stood up, looked around for a moment, and quickly found a tool hammer in the corner piled with junk.
Stepping forward, she took the hammer in hand, gave a slight nod, then turned back, raising the hammer with both hands and aiming it at the welding interface of the iron chains on the operation table, smashing down with force.
“Clang, clang, clang…”
After transforming into a strange entity, her strength had exceeded her imagination; almost with every swing, a welding interface broke with a sound, sparks flying.
As she neared the last welding interface, she paused slightly, casting a meaningful glance at the coat, took a deep breath, and then swung down hard for the final strike.
“Clang——!”
Accompanied by the dull sound of the welding interface breaking, the coat “whooshed!” into the air, eagerly rushing toward Luxianbei.
In an instant, the light before her darkened, a strong stench of bl**d hitting her face!
Oh no, it’s a trap!
Seeing the coat suddenly lunging toward her, Luxianbei’s face changed dramatically, stumbling back two steps, and before she could react further, the coat wrapped around her body, lifting her completely off the ground and suspending her in mid-air.
Then… the coat began to squirm and change rapidly.
It felt like a blend of cotton and fur, with a hint of sliminess, leaving a cool, ticklish sensation on her skin.
Luxianbei, who initially intended to curse the coat for being “unfair, using deceitful ambush,” opened her mouth but only managed to let out a soft m*an.
“Mm… mm~!”
This incredibly familiar feeling caused fragments of memory buried deep in Luxianbei’s mind to rise in large numbers.
Soon, an overwhelming amount of information sent her consciousness spinning.
It felt like being drunk—confused yet exceedingly clear.
Immediately after, she sensed a burning pain in her eyes, as if a flame had ignited deep within her pupils, where golden irises glowed with a lava-like brilliance.
Thus, the coat’s dependent imprint awakened, a flame-like totem appearing on its back, then suddenly shaking, bursting forth with brilliant light before gradually sinking into quiet…
————
In an old yet tidy little inn, the light was warm, and the firewood in the stove crackled.
A graceful woman, wrapped in a blanket embroidered with reindeer, sat cross-legged by the stove, holding a small kn*fe in her right hand, constantly carving into a piece of oak in her left.
It was evident that it was a strikingly handsome reindeer.
Next to her, steam wafted from a mug of hot cocoa, and through the mist, one could see several gift boxes piled in the corner of the room, marked with numbers like “7,” “12,” “18,” scattered in disorder.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, the woman put down the kn*fe and oak, reached into her pajamas’ pocket, and pulled out a partially developed instant photo.
She placed the photo on the wooden floor in front of her, took a sip of cocoa, and waited quietly.
After a long while.
When she saw a girl in a blue long dress appear in the photo, her brow arched, her eyes brightening slightly, and she remarked, “What a unique little dependent; I’m a bit envious!”
“Unlike my own… tsk, better not mention it!”
As the woman spoke to herself, the image on the photo constantly shifted, as if playing a short video.
The crimson tattered long dress, without delivery, wriggled and morphed, soon the blue long dress spread down to the ground.
The hem swayed gently like rippling water, revealing slim white legs.
The back of the long dress featured a lace hollow design, half-hidden, showing off a smooth back.
Countless scarlet colors intertwined on the dress, forming a complex and luxurious pattern.
However, soon those patterns that should have shimmered like molten lava quickly dimmed, replaced by dark red flesh.
Before long, the dress appeared as if holes were corroding it from the dark red flesh, beginning to show a series of tiny rips.
Accompanied by rustling sounds, murky eyeballs began to grow from the holes, their lifeless pupils quivering rapidly.
Those six rusty chains didn’t completely vanish either; instead, they adorned the back of the long dress like some sort of embellishment, fluttering like an alien wing.
Finally, the dust settled, and the image on the photo froze at the moment the girl gently touched the ground with her toes.
“……”
But, there shouldn’t be any danger, right?
She should be able to handle it on her own, the woman thought anxiously.
————
Luxianbei floated in mid-air, immersed in the pleasurable feeling of the coat transforming, akin to a spa massage, and the remembered impressions regarding the coat.
After a while, she was abruptly awakened by the sense of shame from wearing the little dress.
Is it that amazing coat from my dream memory?!
d*mn it, why did you turn into a dress? Don’t ruin my tough guy image, you j*rk!
Luxianbei thought, puzzled and indignant, and then she realized that something seemed off.
But this is wrong!
In the dream memory, the coat’s original body was clearly a red and white contrasting windbreaker. Why has it turned into a tattered crimson garment?
Moreover…
She looked at the blue long dress she was wearing, furrowing her brows.
This long dress is also quite different from the one in my dream memory.
If the previous long dress was the witch’s, then this one looks more like a zombie bride’s wedding gown.
Luxianbei, “……”
What’s going on? What is happening?
Has it changed from 【coat】 to 【coat (corrupted)】?
But what are those dark red fleshy things attached to it? Luxianbei thought.
Before she could figure it out, the next moment, an anomaly occurred.
The pale little eyes on the dress suddenly began to tremble violently, quickly spinning around twice before dozens of greedy, malicious eyeballs all looked up simultaneously at Luxianbei, completing a “wonderful” eye contact with her.
Immediately afterward, the coat seemed to go out of control, convulsing violently.
Then…
“Puff——!”
A series of several soft sounds echoed almost simultaneously, converging into a line.
Dozens of spikes made of flesh pierced through the fabric from the inside, stabbing into Luxianbei’s body.
Her flesh tore, and her bones felt like they were being scraped by dozens of steel knives, creating a tooth-grating noise that echoed in her ears, as if driving her mad, reverberating through her mind.
Severe pain shot through her limbs and bones; her eyes widened, pupils constricted to dots, trembling, her pale lips parted, but not a sound escaped her throat.
At that moment, Luxianbei thought of a particularly cruel torture device—the iron maiden.
