Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Face on the Wall
Staring at the wardrobe that could easily hide an adult, Luxianbei’s expression grew serious.
Should I open it?
What if some weird thing jumps out and screams “SURPRISEMOTHERFUCKER”?
His fingertips brushed against the copper ring, its cold touch sending chills through him. As Luxianbei grasped the ring and gently pulled back, the deep red wooden door creaked open, revealing an empty space inside, except for a rusted pair of scissors stained with bl**d quietly lying there.
In that instant the wardrobe opened, the musty smell in the room weakened, and the scent of bl**d began to intensify. There was no wind, yet a slight chill ran down his neck, and a coldness crept from behind him, as if someone were leaning over his shoulder, breathing against his neck.
A pale figure pressed against Luxianbei’s back, disheveled black hair cascading over his shoulder. A void-like hand stretched out, passed through his body, took hold of his hand, and slowly moved it toward the scissors in the wardrobe.
Luxianbei abruptly felt an odd sensation, as if his hand was being drawn by some power, compelling him to move closer to the copper ring on the wardrobe.
He attempted to resist that force, but a sudden pain flared up in his abdomen, and the power pulling his hand forward intensified. In a daze, he developed a strange illusion that someone was gripping his wrist.
The familiar pain made Luxianbei’s heart skip, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
Is Zhu Linglong causing trouble?
d*mn, does she really have some ulterior motive?
As Luxianbei thought this, the pain in his abdomen suddenly intensified, causing him to weaken, unable to resist the force on his wrist any longer. His body staggered forward, his hand being pulled down, pressing against the belly-opening scissors.
In an instant, an unprecedented pain shot through his abdomen. Amidst the tearing agony as if his insides were being ripped apart, he distinctly felt a bone-chilling coldness scrape across the skin of his abdomen.
His legs buckled, and he sank to the ground, mouth opening wide, but the excruciating pain stifled any sound. His vision started to blur, and a buzzing filled his ears, through which he faintly heard two men conversing.
…
“Rabbit, haven’t you activated the Witch’s Egg yet? The Siye Society has been tightening its investigations on you! If you can’t succeed soon, I fear I won’t be able to help you anymore!” said a raspy voice, mixed with cicada-like croaks.
“Even though I like Huacheng, if the Siye Society fixes on me, I can no longer stay here!”
“Just one more, the last one…” another voice responded, devoid of any emotional qualities. “I’ve been searching for a target these past couple of days, but you know, it’s not easy to find someone with spirit energy potential.”
“d*mn, this is all that kid Luxianbei’s fault. Couldn’t he just obediently become a sacrifice?”
Luxianbei thought, “……” This is nonsensical! Why should I obediently become a sacrifice?! If you want to d*e, do it yourself!
As he muttered angrily to himself, the scene before him began to clear.
In a sealed warehouse.
A massive iron hook pierced through a jaw, suspending a darkened body like a slaughtered livestock. Rotting bl**d dripped down onto a stone pedestal below, soaking a pebble-sized object.
The object looked like a fossil egg, yet it appeared to be “breathing” as it slowly writhed. Its surface displayed rock patterns in a dark gray hue, forming a twisted array of female faces.
With each drop of corrupt bl**d that fell upon it, a flicker of scarlet light shone through the cracked gaps, activating the faces, which then emitted whispers barely audible to human ears—some in pain, others in anxiety, panic, or depression.
Those whispers roared, inciting, sometimes commanding firmly, sometimes enticing subtly, immersing one in an unexplainable state of euphoric excitement that was difficult to extricate from.
Luxianbei heard and saw this, his gaze lingering, unable to look away.
Desire and greed crazily sprouted in his heart, as though the entire world was reduced to just him and that strange stone egg.
It should have been mine! Such thoughts gradually arose within him.
“I will find a way! I have located the target and will act tonight!”
“Oh? Really? Then I’ll wish you success in advance.”
The conversation resonated in his ears, abruptly pulling Luxianbei out of the world that consisted only of him and the strange stone egg.
Following the direction of the voice.
Mr. Rabbit, dressed in a black cloak, cast a sidelong glance at the wall, his crimson eyes seemingly unfocused as they stared into the shadows of the corner, his furry rabbit mouth twitching slightly.
Opposite Mr. Rabbit sat a man with an exposed upper body squatting on a dilapidated container, his mouth sewn shut with wire, with a chest covered in grotesque scars surrounding a black sun-like tattoo.
Upon seeing the tattoo on the man’s chest, Luxianbei felt his brain shake as something fragmented and ethereal surged within him.
He faintly sensed that it was something very important to him.
I feel like I’ve seen that tattoo pattern somewhere!
But where?
Luxianbei strained to search through his memory for the pattern, and just then, he suddenly noticed that Mr. Rabbit and the mysterious man had stopped talking.
He froze, looking up at the two men, and in the next moment, their gazes intersected.
Mr. Rabbit and the mysterious man seemed to be watching him, then exchanged glances in silence before getting up and walking toward him.
Discovered! Luxianbei’s heart jolted, his pupils contracting violently. Though the two merely looked at him, he had a feeling he was being targeted!
In his panic, he wanted to step back but found his body felt as if it were fixed in place, unable to move an inch.
Mr. Rabbit and the mysterious man continued to approach, bringing with them an unsettling aura.
That aura thickened, as if coalescing into whispers around his ears.
“They must d*e, they must d*e…”
…
A few minutes earlier.
Outside the suite, in a dimly lit corridor, a girl in a striped checkered shirt held a metal bat tightly, proceeding cautiously while her large eyes anxiously scanned her surroundings.
“System? Are you there?”
“Host, I’m here.”
“Oh!” The girl replied, feeling a sense of relief upon hearing the system’s voice in her mind as she continued forward.
Even though having the system’s voice in her head was a strange thing.
When the system spoke to her, the girl felt as if there were an invisible person beside her; when it didn’t, however, walking through this eerie corridor made her feel surrounded by unseen individuals.
“System? Are you still there?”
“Host, I’m here.”
“Oh!”
“System? You…”
“Don’t ask™ again! It’s the eighth time! Don’t ask, just know that I’m here! As long as you don’t d*e, I’ll always be here!”
“Why are you so fierce?” The girl pouted, “Besides, I’m not even trying to ask if you’re there.”
“Then what do you want?! Say it all at once!” the system growled.
“I completed a task regarding Evil Spirits for the first time, and I’m a little scared. Why don’t you tell me a comedy by Guo Degang?”
“Sorry, host, I’m not a smart speaker and don’t have that function,” the system said seriously, seemingly suppressing its anger.
“System?”
System, “……”
Seeing the system was slow to respond, the girl hurriedly pressed, “System? Are you still there? Don’t be silent! I’m a bit scared alone!” Her voice trembled slightly.
“I’m here!” the system replied, “Don’t be afraid! It seems there’s someone up ahead, around the corner to the right!”
The girl froze for a moment, her expression shifting.
W(ﾟДﾟ)W
“I… I don’t want to go! I’m a bit scared!”
“Hey—!” the system sighed helplessly, speaking earnestly, “Gu Qiqi, you’re the protagonist of this world! Do you know what a protagonist is?”
“I know! It’s someone who first loses their parents, then relatives, often faces accidents, lacks money, seeks revenge for small grievances, and might even k*ll an entire family for stepping on their foot. After winning by luck, they shamelessly deny the efforts of others!”
“In short, the protagonist is a character with a bad personality, an unfortunate fool. I don’t want to become that kind of person!”
System, “……”
“Um…” Gu Qiqi pouted, “System?”
“Hmm?”
“I say, why don’t we go back first?” After getting a response, Gu Qiqi said weakly, “I’ve already earned a lot of points downstairs; actually, I don’t really need the points for the final task!”
“Quit™ whining! Hurry up and keep moving!”
“Don’t be angry!” Gu Qiqi murmured, feeling wronged, “Last question: If I can’t complete this task 100%, you won’t erase me, right? That’s what the book says happens if the task isn’t completed.”
“Ha!” the system let out a cold chuckle, “How could I erase you? I would just punish you! I’d simply deduct all the points on your campus card!”
“A girl as outstanding as you, Gu Qiqi, shouldn’t care about that little money, right? Oh dear, what should I do? That way I can’t effectively encourage you to complete your task!”
“Hey!? No way! Absolutely not!” Gu Qiqi exclaimed, then hurriedly covered her mouth, saying weakly, “I’ll complete the task well!”
“Now that’s a good girl! If you finish this task, you’ll definitely win the grand prize!”
“Hmm?” Gu Qiqi narrowed her eyes, her expression resembling a little fox, she spoke solemnly, “System, didn’t you say the chance of winning in a lottery is random? Why do I feel like you’re hiding something from me?”
“No, no! Ha, ha!” the system raised its voice slightly, “Our lottery system is absolutely fair, open, and transparent, with no so-called behind-the-scenes manipulation!”
“Really? Then what’s the winning rate?”
“This… uh…” the system was momentarily at a loss; when did she get so clever? What to do? Need to think of a way to muddle through! Just make up some random number?
“Roughly… 10%! Yes! Definitely 10%!”
Gu Qiqi’s eyes brightened, swinging the metal bat a couple of times, confidently stating, “Wow, that’s so high! Awesome! Suddenly I feel so motivated!”
System, “……” Just this? Seeing you still so easy to fool, no, reasonable, gives me peace of mind!
With renewed determination, Gu Qiqi grasped the metal bat and quickly rounded the corner. Upon seeing the empty hallway in front of the suite, she displayed an expression of disdain.
“What’s this?! There’s no one here at all! It made me worry for nothing!” she continued walking forward but quickly stopped again.
She saw a face!
On the wall of the corridor, a face appeared, glaring with a fierce expression, radiating an air of brutality.
The face was sunken, seemingly stretched by some force, presenting an extremely twisted shape, as if a person were sealed within the wall, faintly hearing their agonizing cries.
Gu Qiqi, looking at the face on the wall, said, her voice slightly tearful, “System, I’m a bit scared.”
System, “I… I’m a bit scared too…”
(EMMM, this is the first time I’ve hit recommendations in a while; I want this new book to do well, so let’s set up a simple update rule! Just… if we hit 50 monthly votes or 5000 rewards, we’ll add a chapter! Also, here’s the group number for my old book: 256782902; students interested can join!)
