Chapter 194: The Redemption of sc*m
Li Tianan lounged in his chair, toying with a sleek little smartphone, occasionally glancing over at Zhao Mingyue, his thoughts evidently spiraling into deep contemplation.
“What if something goes wrong tonight? What the heck are we going to do about those guys at the Ghost Gate?” An important question indeed.
But wait, there was another puzzle swirling in his head.
“Why on earth did Bai Yu suddenly want to find An Que?”
The only thing Li Tianan could think of that tied Bai Yu to An Que was that darn Eternal Life Village. As the master of Li Bansian, he naturally knew some juicy insider info about the Eternal Life Village, but he hadn’t bothered sharing it with Bai Yu. Why? Because he was terrified she’d drag him there for a ‘little visit,’ and he’d rather swim in a pool of hungry alligators than step foot in that wretched place.
“Could it be she’s planning something against the Eternal Life Village?”
“An Que…”
Meanwhile, behind the counter, Zhao Mingyue was fiddling with a cute little rabbit plush toy, chatting mentally with Bai Yu.
Bai Yu finding a new body was definitely a bigger deal than the White Day Amusement Park fiasco.
“Sis, are you going to use your new body tonight for the mission?”
“Nah.”
“Come on, just try it out! Just say you’re the store manager’s apprentice once you get there.”
“No way, that body isn’t exactly designed for combat.”
“Alright, alright, I guess you’re right. But once we get there, we’re going to chow down. Let’s scare those guys’ ghosts out with an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
“Hmm.”
“By the way, Bai Yu, the store manager just said those guys are using ghosts to do some shady business. If they’re the Gatekeepers, aren’t they supposed to be kind of like the store manager?”
“Those guys are exploiting ghosts to help certain individuals with dirty deeds, like eliminating competitors, or scaring them off. They use ghosts to trap the women they fancy, and they make money off ghosts too.”
“Ghosts can really be used that way?” Zhao Mingyue frowned. She had thought about this, but had trouble believing it.
“Totally.” The rabbit plush toy’s red eyes glittered. “For those types, ghosts are just tools, like knives and guns. It’s all about how you use them—good or bad.”
“If that’s the case, those guys are way out of line.” Zhao Mingyue scooped up Bai Yu and planted a kiss on her plushy cheek. “I don’t see you as a tool; you’re my family.”
There was a slight pause in her tone before she leaned in closer and whispered, “An extremely important family member.”
·
·
The dingy old apartment building reeked of decay, with chunks of plaster hanging on by a prayer. Occasionally, wisps of black smoke slipped slyly through cracks in the walls.
Abandoned for years, yet you could still hear ruckus within these walls. The cops had shown up at least three times for complaints about the noise, only to find the so-called ‘racket’ was just the empty echoes of the building. The top floor, where the noise was supposedly loudest? Totally deserted.
“Did you get a good look at that ghost?” The black shoes crunched on shards of glass, producing a sound that would make dentists cringe. Inside the dim room lit by flickering red candles, six figures stood ominously.
An Tianhe crouched in front of a hazy silhouette, and noticing the man’s confused expression, he frowned and pulled out two dark red pins.
“Bro, isn’t this a bit much? That little ghost might just keel over from one jab,” Sun Hai, standing nearby, chimed in nervously.
“Relax, this little ghost isn’t all there during the day. Master’s just giving him a wake-up call.”
While Zhou Li spoke, An Tianhe swiftly nailed the dark red pins into the little ghost’s feet. The piercing scream that followed would make anyone flinch, and the sheer agony dripped from that ethereal voice.
“These spirit-pacifying pins are gold! They can make a mute ghost spill the beans.”
“Now tell me, what did that cleaner ghost from that night look like? Did she come alone or with a live human?”
“That’s Gluttony you’re talking about; spill everything you know!”
The quivering ghost raised its head, intent on saying something, but once it heard the name ‘Gluttony,’ its face shifted into sheer terror. Cowering and clutching its head, it wouldn’t say a word, and in a blink, it transformed into a puff of black smoke, disappearing entirely.
An Tianhe scowled, rising to his feet.
The other four exchanged glances; they had encountered a situation like this before. The last ghost had been cooperative until they mentioned that fateful night, causing it to literally scare itself to d*ath.
Despite having the spirit-pacifying pins, these ghosts typically weren’t long for the world. But the sheer anxiety linked to Gluttony was something they didn’t believe could be solely attributed to the pins.
These little ghosts were weak, far from their peak, their thoughts simple and sensitive. Directly questioning them about Gluttony yielded little, so subduing them with the pins resulted in this chaotic end.
These were not beginners in this game. They had even killed off rivals, turning them into vengeful spirits and then running the same routine again.
Yet this was the first time they faced a ghost that scared itself to d*ath.
They only knew that on that night, a truly terrifying female ghost dined upon all the vengeful spirits here, leaving behind only scraps—those little ghosts weren’t even enough to fill a tooth gap.
Clearing out the ghosts around the Ghost Gate was already a story worth telling.
How many vengeful ghosts lurked around the Ghost Gate, what was their caliber, any dressed in Red?
Then there was the stature of THIS ghost to consider; its mere mention of Gluttony sent shivers down its spine.
“Looks like we won’t get anything useful out of this lot,” An Tianhe muttered, collecting the pins from the floor.
“Forget it, let’s bounce.”
Their sole purpose on this outing was clear: uncover the connection between Gluttony and Li Tianan.
Nailing that down would give them leverage over Li Tianan.
The five of them exited the apartment building, glancing back at the crumbling structure with a tepid sense of foreboding.
An unshakeable anxiety clung to their minds.
None of them dared to speak, figuring that together they could face down a female ghost without a sweat.
But something just felt… off.
·
·
“Sis, we’re going to be okay, right?” Chen Bingtang hugged her sketchbook, curled up in the corner, staring blankly at the foot of the bed with half her face tucked into her knees.
“Auntie told me some bad people are coming for me.”
Chen Tianran leaned against the wall, casting a sympathetic glance at her pitiful little sister.
Last time, she had dragged Lu Liangting over not just to explore some romantic feelings, but to address her sister’s predicament too.
She wanted to cheer Bingtang up a bit; if it was possible, Auntie didn’t have to play the role of a killer. As long as Bingtang could return to a normal life, everything would be negotiable.
It was her first time feeling this powerless.
As a member of the sc*m Game, despite ranking 33rd, she had still managed to survive this long, competing alongside those monsters without a single loss.
Yet she felt like a complete failure right now.
A mere participant of the sc*m Game, she now had to rely on someone else to deal with her own sister’s problems.
But then again, she had become too entangled in her new life. Ever since she landed in this world, she hadn’t even bothered to seek a way to become stronger. By the time she realized it, time had slipped through her fingers like sand.
It was ironic; she never even anticipated a day would come when she’d return to her shattered home.
She wasn’t sure if this counted as some sympathy for a low-ranking player, but her identity had reverted to that of before she entered the sc*m Game.
She had simply gone from being Chen Bingtang’s older brother to her older sister.
Everything else remained unchanged, including Auntie herself.
She knew what was supposed to happen next—a group of five unrecognized individuals would show up tonight, identified as Li Tianan’s associates.
Once these sleazeballs arrived, their first order of business would be to drag her and her dad out, claiming outsiders weren’t allowed to witness their ‘ritual.’
In reality, they intended to m*rder Bingtang in her room, using her d*ath to coerce Auntie into showing herself.
They figured out a way to extract Bingtang’s soul and turn her into a vengeful spirit without causing external injuries. To the outside world, Bingtang would merely have become a vegetable, eventually leading to brain d*ath.
After Bingtang’s d*ath, she delved into investigating this gang, ultimately discovering Bingtang indeed transformed into a ten-year-old vengeful spirit. They viewed her not simply as a tool but intended to do even more horrific things.
Even now, she believed this collection of degenerates should be the ones in the sc*m Game.
How could such horrid “sc*m” even exist?
A female ghost—a mere ten-year-old ghost—how could they possibly carry out such atrocities?
Thanks to this gang, she ultimately found her way into the sc*m Game.
She spent ten years tracking down their families, using various means to abduct them, dousing them in gasoline, then setting them ablaze.
Sadly, she could only manage to eliminate four of the five.
“Bingtang.”
“What is it, sis?” Chen Bingtang looked up.
“Promise me one thing, okay?”
“Sure.”
·
·
“Tonight, let’s ride the big fox over!”
By eight in the evening, just half an hour to go before the appointed time.
Zhao Mingyue had packed her things and stood in the living room, her gaze turned towards the television where Bai Shuang’er was glued.
If Bai Yu didn’t want to use her new body, surely taking Shuang’er would work.
With such a stunning big fox on her back, entering the scene would be nothing short of amazing!
“Alright, little boss!” With a flick of her tail, Bai Shuang’er turned off the TV and leapt off the sofa.
“I might not know how to fight, but I sure am cute! I won’t embarrass you~”
·
·
Still some time left this afternoon and evening.
Vote, please! Whine, whine!
