Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Nine: First Encounter
The sky gradually darkened, becoming increasingly obscure.
It was as if some existence beyond understanding was altering the changes in light and darkness from an invisible place.
Dark clouds piled up in the sky, and the air’s humidity rose to an astonishing level, as if the entire mountain city had sunk to the bottom of the sea, with the nighttime glow of city lights shrouded in a thin layer of water color.
An ominous and deathly aura gradually rose within the city, stirring the broad river surface that roared with fury, its waters thick and murky.
Strangely, amidst such extreme weather, there were loud and harsh bird cries echoing.
Turning her gaze toward the source of the sound, she noticed countless black dots swirling in the sky, like the swarms of insects under the streetlamps by the riverside in summer—no, far crazier and more bizarre than that.
Those black dots seemed to be influenced by some force, screeching wildly under the gloomy sky, darting madly between buildings, showing no intention to stop even if they collided with the walls and sustained injuries.
How strange… The twin-tailed girl at the window tilted her head.
The entire city seemed to be undergoing some terrifying change in silence.
“Peipei… Peipei…”
“I’m talking to you, Peipei!”
A middle-aged man gently called as he gradually approached. Ji Yunpei withdrew her gaze from outside the window and turned around, saying, “Hmm? I’m listening…”
The middle-aged man was of medium build, with a square face, dressed in a deep brown long coat, and holding a rustic medicinal box engraved with red spell inscriptions.
“Dad, it’s so late already. Do you really have to go out?” Noticing the medicinal box in the man’s hand, Ji Yunpei realized her father was going out and pouted her lips.
“It’s work. A call from the company, and Dad has to go.” The middle-aged man ruffled Ji Yunpei’s hair and smiled, “Isn’t it always like this?”
“I understand, I understand, but…” Ji Yunpei said, turning her head to glance outside the window before hurriedly running away, her little feet in fluffy slippers making a chaotic noise on the old wooden floor.
Soon, she returned with an umbrella, catching up to her father, who was already at the door, and handed him the umbrella.
“At least take an umbrella if you’re going out, right? Look at the sky outside, it’s going to rain heavily.”
As soon as she finished speaking, like it was in sync with Ji Yunpei’s words, a rumbling thunder rolled across the sky.
This thunder seemed to remind the middle-aged man of something, and his expression gradually became serious. After taking the umbrella from Ji Yunpei, he said earnestly, “Peipei, Dad might not be back tonight; things are a bit tricky…”
“Tricky?” Ji Yunpei tilted her head.
As if considering something, the middle-aged man fell silent for a moment before silently sighing, “You know what’s been happening in Huacheng lately, right?”
“Of course!” Ji Yunpei raised her chin proudly, “I’ve been keeping an eye on the intel to be ready to take over from you. I might even know more than you!”
“Let me think… what happened in Huacheng recently, it should be about that newly birthed witch-type urban legend that, overnight, killed four Siye Association operatives and, in just a month, slaughtered more than ten high-level urban legends, right?”
“Oh, and I heard that the one from Peach Source is also involved. How terrifying!”
Somewhat surprised, the middle-aged man parted his lips, and after Ji Yunpei finished speaking, he furrowed his brow, asking somewhat displeasedly, “You found that out from that so-called urban legends chat group again? Didn’t I tell you? Those guys have serious issues; steer clear of them…”
“I know, I know. But…” Ji Yunpei lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her pajamas, mumbling, “I just thought I’d learn more to take over from you sooner.”
“…” In silence, the middle-aged man affectionately patted her head. “We need to be cautious about this. The situation has been a bit chaotic lately; it’s not a good time for you to take over.”
After a pause, he continued, “When I leave, remember to close the doors and windows and put up the talismans… remember, every door and every window has to be sealed. Before dawn tomorrow, no matter what happens, do not open the doors or windows.”
“Is it about that witch-type urban legend in Huacheng?” Ji Yunpei asked curiously.
“Hmm.” The middle-aged man nodded, “She escaped to the mountain city. Along with her came people from the Siye Association, over a dozen high-level urban legends, and that one from Peach Source.”
“They found the chairman and gave him a day to hand over that witch-type urban legend.”
Ji Yunpei picked up on the clues in her father’s words, her expression growing serious.
Tonight, the mountain city would be very dangerous!
She didn’t know much about the Solar Eclipse Society or the Rising Sun Biotechnology Company, only that her father worked for them, and she would soon take over his position, continuing to work for them. But she knew that both the Siye Association and the one from Peach Source were considered hostile forces to the company, while those urban legends had long been targets of persecution by the company.
What kind of being could cause these people and urban legends to join forces against her?
She really wanted to meet her!
Suddenly, Ji Yunpei felt a moment of curiosity, even a slight admiration for the witch-type urban legend she had never met.
It was reminiscent of school, when she heard of some exceptional student who drew attention from the moral education office and local troublemakers, constantly mentioned by gaming boys and popular kids, frequently appearing among the top ranks in exam results, igniting a desire to catch a glimpse of them.
But soon after, she shook her head, dismissing such thoughts.
Although her father was just a logistics personnel responsible for treatment, it didn’t mean there was no danger at all.
How could she feel curious about someone who might pose a threat to her father?
———
After sending her father off, only Ji Yunpei was left alone.
Soon she began to feel restless.
Her home was in an old residential area near the river. As the night grew long, compounded by several gruesome recent incidents that had occurred nearby, many residents had moved away, and in her building, apart from the father-daughter pair, there were fewer than ten households left.
By night, the entire building was eerily quiet, with only the ominous sounds of wind and rain outside, the air filled with a strange and unsettling atmosphere.
Scary!
Following her father’s instructions, after sealing the doors and windows with talismans, Ji Yunpei quickly dove into her cozy little room, turned on all the lights, snuggled in her comfy chair, and logged onto a website filled with ads and garbled text, deftly finding the login entry for the urban legend reward/community site.
In times like this, only the cheerful and interesting online friends could provide her with some solace.
Just as she entered the predominantly yellow and black site, the homepage live stream of “Huacheng Witch” flashed before her eyes.
“They can live stream this? What are those people from the urban legends chat group? How can they be so powerful?” Ji Yunpei mumbled, moving her mouse to click on the live stream interface.
After a brief glance at the streaming content, her eyes widened.
Although the live feed was quite blurry and shaky, vaguely showing a figure appearing and disappearing in the distance, she still recognized the alleyways depicted in the stream— they were near her home.
In a straight line, less than three kilometers away!
This meant that the woman being hunted in Huacheng, the witch, was wandering nearby.
A chill crept up Ji Yunpei’s back, her heart racing as she swallowed hard.
“Gulp—!”
Facing such a situation was like seeing a psychopathic killer’s wanted info on TV, with the last sighting of that person being right outside her own community.
However, not being able to see didn’t mean she wouldn’t think about it.
After turning off the live stream, Ji Yunpei’s mind racing with thoughts of the witch wandering nearby, her fear heightened, feeling that after she had closed the video and could no longer see the witch’s movements, the witch would come straight to her house.
Warily, she reopened the live stream interface.
Just a glance, and she froze, like a wooden chicken.
The Huacheng Witch was indeed approaching her home.
From the blurred outline of the scenery, she judged it to be about a kilometer away!
Perhaps it was due to the shock, her brain short-circuited, and at that moment she remembered to pull out her phone and call her father.
With trembling little hands, she picked up her phone from the table, unlocked it, and from the few contacts in her phonebook, she found the familiar number to dial. Soon, the voice came from the other end.
“Hello, Peipei? Is there something up with your sudden call?”
“Dad… Dad!” Ji Yunpei whispered, controlling her voice as she said weakly, “That Huacheng Witch seems to be near our home…”
“Haha, you silly girl!” The man on the other end laughed in response to Ji Yunpei’s words, “You’ve only been home alone for a little while; why are you getting scared again?”
“The company said the Huacheng Witch has been sighted near the Three Gorges Psychiatric Hospital, and they even caught it on camera. I just watched; how could she be around our house?”
Her father didn’t take Ji Yunpei’s words seriously.
He knew his daughter well; she was timid and weak, only showing a bit of strength in front of her old dad. The moment he wasn’t by her side, she would immediately wilt, and even a stray cat on the street could probably pin her down.
In the past, when he went out for work at night, he would receive Ji Yunpei’s call seven or eight times out of ten.
The gist of the calls was always the same—there was “something unclean” at home, and he needed to return immediately!
Even though she was a spiritual ability user, she was still so fearful of urban legends. If it were any other time, Ji’s father would have rushed home to see how cute his daughter was when she was scared and stubborn, but tonight the work was just too urgent; he couldn’t leave.
“But…” Ji Yunpei glanced at her computer screen, hesitating.
Should she admit to Dad that she was watching the live stream of the Huacheng Witch on the urban legend reward site?
If her dad found out that after he left, she hadn’t listened to his advice and logged into the urban legends chat group website, he would definitely be angry, Ji Yunpei thought.
Just then, she noticed a change in the live stream image on the urban legend reward site.
The Huacheng Witch was moving away, farther and farther.
“…”
Was she just passing by here?
That’s also possible!
How could such a vicious urban legend notice someone like her, an unremarkable spiritual ability user? Ji Yunpei thought, patting her chest while letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Phew—! Everything’s fine now, Dad, since the Huacheng Witch is heading in the direction of the Three Gorges Psychiatric Hospital, I must have overthought it.”
“You little brat, as long as you know! Listen to me, stop getting paranoid; go to bed early… There’s milk in the fridge; make sure to heat a bag before you sleep. Oh, and there are those grape cookies you love in the oven, and…”
“Also, remember to seal the doors and windows; definitely don’t open them. Those talismans cost me quite a bit to have the chairman arranged. Ordinary urban legends and spiritual ability users can’t break through them…”
“Okay, okay, I know, enough with your nagging!” Ji Yunpei said, quickly hanging up the phone. Leaning back on her chair, she squinted and stretched.
The next moment, when she reopened her eyes, she was abruptly plunged into darkness.
What happened? Why did the lights go out? What did I just… Ji Yunpei racked her brain trying to recall what had just happened but found her mind was a blank.
A wave of dizziness hit her, her temples throbbed slightly, feeling an inexplicable fatigue as if she had overworked her brain.
“Bang——!”
Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the direction of the window. Still lost in thought, Ji Yunpei jolted at the sound, turned her head toward the window, and caught sight of a piece of scarlet through the curtain’s gap.
For some reason, a glossy-feathered bird had slammed hard into the window.
As if its body erupted, bl**d splattered everywhere, mingling with the soaked feathers, its wide eyes refusing to shut even in d*ath, staring fixedly into the room.
“Bang—— Bang—— Bang——!” It was as if hands were violently pounding on the glass, creating a series of dull thumping sounds.
Before Ji Yunpei could gather her wits, she saw a second, third, fourth… each dark bird continued to crash against the room’s windows, staining the transparent glass with crimson, their bodies tracing twisted and eerie arcs.
Like a rising tide, the stench of bl**d seeped through the window cracks, quickly engulfing the small bedroom.
Accompanying the smell of bl**d was a bone-chilling cold.
In the weak glow of her computer screen, she could see the bl**d smeared on the window, unexpectedly coalescing into a scarlet ice flower, soon covered by a layer of white frost.
With every breath, wisps of white mist enveloped her nose and mouth.
Something terrifying was approaching.
Could it be… the Huacheng Witch?
Had she come back?
As this terrifying thought flashed through her mind, Ji Yunpei trembled violently, frantically grabbing her phone from beside her, opened the call log, and was about to call her father again when she suddenly stared at the screen, her eyes wide, pupils dilating.
“……”
The most recent call record was from a day ago?
How could this be? I clearly just…
If I didn’t call Dad… then who was the person I spoke with on the phone just now?
Ji Yunpei anxiously thought, a sense of foreboding rising quietly in her heart.
She already had the answer in her mind but didn’t dare to touch it.
It felt like if she touched it, her guesses would transform into reality.
No, no matter if I called or not, right now… I have to seek help.
I must!
Ji Yunpei thought, grabbing her phone in one hand and the blanket from the sofa in the other, crouching down, slipping under the computer desk, wrapping herself in the blanket to block the light, then reopening her contact list.
Just then, a chilling voice pierced her ears.
“So cold…”
The voice seemed distant, ethereal, yet so close, right above her head.
Ji Yunpei stiffened, and then, as if witnessing an illusion, she saw several strands of pale hair dangling from the edge of the desk, swayed by the chilling wind, brushing against her forehead like hundreds of tiny hands.
White hair? The Huacheng Witch! The capricious one, killing without blinking and devouring without spitting out bones, the Huacheng Witch?!
“Don’t, don’t k*ll… I, I, I…”
Ji Yunpei stuttered, failing to utter a complete sentence for a long moment. Suddenly, her already weakened body seemed to surge with newfound strength, propelling her from beneath the desk and charging toward the bedroom door.
As she reached the door of the bedroom, she looked back towards the desk, immediately feeling a chill down her spine.
A woman dressed in a black dress, assuming a grotesque position leaning over her desk, her head seemingly severed from its skeleton, hanging only by skin and flesh from the edge of the desk, long pale hair moving like countless tendrils, and the stench of decaying bl**d dripping from the strands.
It was the Huacheng Witch.
The Huacheng Witch had breached her home!
“Ah——!”
The scream shattered the silence; in that moment, all Ji Yunpei could think was to run, to escape at any cost!
She dashed out of the bedroom, through the living room, and reached the front door, barefoot. She reached for the door and yanked it open.
At that instant, a torrent of bl**d surged in, countless severed limbs rising and falling within.
Ji Yunpei stood there dumbfounded, until the horrific vision that suddenly invaded her sight faded, revealing a woman clad in tattered black, with long white hair exuding a chilling aura, standing before her, wielding two rusty knives with jagged edges.
Face to face.
She could make out the woman’s bloodied and disfigured face.
It was as if she had been bitten by some beast, and plant-like tendrils squirmed through the bloodied flesh.
Ji Yunpei glanced back at her bedroom and then at the woman in front of her, her eyes rolling back as she fainted.
———
“!!!”
In a semi-conscious state, the system’s thick tail tightly coiled around Gu Qiqi’s arm. It wasn’t until it heard Gu Qiqi’s shout that it jolted awake.
“System! What’s wrong? You’re hurting me!” Gu Qiqi cried out.
“I…” the system’s voice trembled, “I’m fine; I just had a nightmare.”
“Eh?” Gu Qiqi widened her eyes in surprise, “The system can have nightmares… Wait, can the system even dream? How strange!”
“Quit being amazed! An AI girl can dream of electronic tentacle monsters too!” the system teased, then shifted the topic, “Speaking of which, have those old folks found a way out?”
“Not yet!” Gu Qiqi glanced toward where Bai Kai and the others had just left, “Just now, the fastest Bai senior came back once and said the situation isn’t optimistic; all the recorded places in Yumen Pass where you could scale the walls have vanished.”
“He also said… oh right, he mentioned that Huaiyuan Jun beat that big guy up, almost to d*ath, and pressed him hard; the answer he got was still that there’s no way to leave unless the two original Miracle Saints return.”
“The two original Miracle Saints?” The system was bewildered, “Is there another first-generation Miracle Saint besides the one who passed away?”
Gu Qiqi pouted, “I don’t know about that.”
The system, “…”
Things were getting stranger and stranger.
The calamity and the void gathering, the sudden closure of Yumen Pass, the inexplicable appearance of those locals from Yumen Pass…
And that dream.
It had not dreamed in a long time, not even dared to sleep deeply during rest, always staying in a state of readiness to wake at the slightest disturbance.
But today… it suddenly dreamed of the time when it almost got scared to d*ath by the illusions created by the calamity’s seductive powers during their first encounter.
If only it had obediently listened, never opening doors or windows, there wouldn’t have been so many complications afterward.
———
“No.” Luxianbei examined the Proxy Player Sister up and down, expressionless, “That girl has no grievance with you; why scare her for no reason?”
Torturing strangers didn’t seem like it would bring any happiness either, Luxianbei thought to himself.
“I was just left with no choice.” The Proxy Player Sister shrugged, “It’s been too long; I can’t remember the specifics clearly. I just remember being severely injured and unable to escape, noticing that the sealing spell on her door was of high grade, and with just a weakling at home, I thought I would temporarily hide inside her home.”
“You have no idea; the sealing spells set up in her home are outrageous! How do I put it? It’s simply as if an ordinary household turned their home into a panic shelter. I couldn’t enter at all, so I had to find a way to make her open the door for me!”
While telling Luxianbei, the Proxy Player Sister purposely omitted some details.
Like, the city where it occurred, the urban legend that injured her was Jumeng, and the true purpose of coaxing the twin-tailed girl into opening the door.
To be honest, the “I can’t remember because it’s been too long” trick was really effective!
Luxianbei eyed the Proxy Player Sister sideways, pondering for two seconds before saying, “Is that all? I suspect that at the beginning, you probably didn’t just want to hide there, did you?”
The Proxy Player Sister, having her thoughts seen through by Luxianbei, frowned, hesitating briefly before letting out a silent sigh, “Alright, fine. At that time, I did want to kidnap her so her family would help me escape.”
“But then I realized the reason her family set up so many high-level sealing spells was simply that she was particularly timid, and her father was a doting maniac who spared no expense to buy that set of sealing talismans just to ensure his daughter wouldn’t be scared while home alone.”
“So, after I stayed in her house for a few days and my injuries got a bit better, I left…”
“Just left?” Luxianbei questioned, “Was it really that simple? Did you not fleece those high-level sealing spells from her?”
“I did.”
“No wonder it’s you!” Luxianbei nodded, “What happened afterward?”
“Later…” The Proxy Player Sister recalled, “When I encountered her again, it was three months later. A cataclysm-grade urban legend had birthed offspring in her city, turning much of the city into ruins. Her father also died unexpectedly, and she escaped, just happening to run into me as I was fleeing…”
“Why were you running away again?” Luxianbei rubbed his forehead.
“Do you even understand?” The Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes, “You think my escape is the same as yours? Every time I escape, I can always turn the tables on those who pursue me. Can you?”
Luxianbei, “…”
