The players chase the monster into reality.
Before he could ask clearly, his hand was pulled back into the Ghost Gate.
The gate closed and vanished.
“Hey.”
[Soul-guiding Player x1, Quest: Rescue [The reporter on the platform] completed. Rewards: Talismans x4, Attribute Points +6, HP +50.]
[Equipped Special Item: “Divine Statue”, Mystery +10, mortals unable to peek at the Divine Child. Other skills pending unlock.]
His HP was restored, the wounds on his body rapidly healed, the bleeding stopped, and Mu Li’s eyes returned to normal.
Yet looking at the words written in his palm, he was utterly perplexed.
The key to breaking the taboo was himself?
But he had no idea what was going on.
Pei Kanyan was already unfazed by Mu Li’s bizarre behavior; anyway, the owner of that hand seemed to have a pretty good temper.
Seeing the teenager scratching his head in confusion, Pei Kanyan stepped forward and asked, “What did it write?”
“Not sure.”
“Don’t hide it from me.”
“I really don’t know.” The teenager’s eyes widened in innocence.
Pei Kanyan narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the teenager’s expression, but could detect no flaws whatsoever.
This guy was a first-rate master at playing dumb.
Meanwhile, Feng Yi was left completely dumbfounded, still unable to recover from the shock.
The Ghost King actually dared to touch the hand inside the Ghost Gate.
That was too arrogant!
No one had ever seen what lay beyond the Ghost Gate, but according to historical records, the master of the soul-locking chain was the Soul-Guiding Envoy.
The Ghost King should have been done for; the envoy would surely have reaped his evil soul. Yet after waiting a moment, not only did the envoy not attack, but he even wrote in Mu Li’s palm, and the two of them had interacted quite harmoniously.
That shouldn’t be right.
Could it be?
“Mu Li, are you back?” Having thought of something, Feng Yi walked up to him with an expectant look.
“Huh?” Mu Li blinked.
“Take off your sunglasses.” Feng Yi was almost certain, but still needed confirmation.
Unsuspecting, Mu Li obediently removed them.
Seeing that Mu Li’s eyes had returned to their normal white, Feng Yi let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Then, annoyance flared up and he felt his teeth itch with anger: “I knew it! That Ghost King hid inside your body the moment he saw the Ghost Gate. Next time, I’ll definitely have the Soul-Guiding Envoy drag him away!”
“Ah, haha.” Mu Li scratched his head and hastily changed the subject, “By the way, aren’t you curious about why the Ghost Gate appeared?”
After all, when the Ghost Gate first descended, even Pei Kanyan had been stunned for quite a while.
“The Divine Child responded, so the Samsara will definitely open!” Mentioning this made Feng Yi’s eyes sparkle with excitement, and invisible little flowers practically floated around him.
Who would have thought!
The Divine Child’s very first response was summoned by his prayer.
“Oh.” Mu Li nodded vaguely, but a glance at the empty tracks sent a jolt of panic through him, “Where did the train go?”
He looked again.
“The jar is gone too!”
They hurriedly stepped out of the platform and discovered that the monster perched atop the station roof had vanished as well.
Feng Yi’s arm was aching terribly, so he wedged his phone against his shoulder. The moment he unlocked it, a barrage of ringing notifications flooded in, bombarding him from all directions.
Yet instead of panicking, a look of elation crossed his face, as emergency communications had been restored.
He checked the latest message from Sister Wei, and his expression suddenly darkened.
“The monster has gone to reality!”
Back on the other side, the station had been completely sealed off, with authorities announcing that a comprehensive cleaning of the platforms was underway.
Bing Wei waited anxiously at the ticket barrier, but the train showed no movement at all.
They had been in there for so long; why hadn’t they come out yet?
Suddenly, a recorder hurried past.
“What happened?” Bing Wei grabbed him by the sleeve.
“The divine statue is showing anomalies.” Scrolling through his tablet, the recorder looked ecstatic. “Captain Zhang is already at the entrance.”
An anomaly?
An incoming middle-aged man stepped forward. With a gentle demeanor reminiscent of a friendly neighborhood uncle, he immediately asked, “Any news?”
“None. It has been nearly a day. I suspect Feng Yi encountered a powerful ghost entity, but we cannot help him.” Bing Wei felt a wave of crushing worry at the thought.
“Take a look.” Captain Zhang nodded and handed her the tablet.
It was surveillance footage from the high-tier artifact chamber, where the divine statue, sealed beneath a glass cover, was flashing with light without any apparent trigger, though it dimmed again shortly after.
“Heavens, we tried countless methods before and none of them worked. What on earth caused this?” Bing Wei widened her eyes, hugging the tablet tightly.
No one touched the statue, and there were no external variables, yet an anomaly occurred?
“Not only that.” The recorder received continuous updates from all directions, his hands shaking with excitement.
“Ancient divine statues are emitting light at the exact same time, lasting for a full three seconds. We managed to suppress the news, but this is a phenomenon never once recorded in the company’s archives.”
“The prophecy explicitly stated that the rebirth of the Divine Child means the restart of Samsara. This is wonderful news!” A look of elation lit up Bing Wei’s face.
“The company thinks so too. Everyone has already begun preparations to open Samsara.” Clenching his fists, the recorder could not conceal his intense yearning and anticipation.
“What kind of existence is the Divine Child who descended a millennia ago to subdue demons?”
Goodness gracious! Would he actually get to witness the mythical Divine Child in his lifetime?
Captain Zhang, however, looked thoughtful.
Was it truly good news?
Perhaps it meant that a specter so powerful their abilities could never defeat it was about to emerge, prompting the Divine Child’s descent once more.
Suddenly, the alarm in his hand blared.
The sky above the station turned gloomy as thunderclouds blotted out the sun, and a streak of blue lightning flashed across the heavens.
A train emerged from the distance, a massive dark shadow looming over it like a monster birthed from another dimension.
“What is that?” Bing Wei covered her mouth in shock.
A person dressed as a cleaning girl leaped down from the train and immediately moved to cast an isolation barrier around the ghost train and the platform.
“Wait, Feng Yi hasn’t come out yet!” Wanting to stop her, Bing Wei knew that once the isolation barrier was activated, nothing could go in or out.
Without pausing her movements, the cleaning girl replied with a cold expression, “For his sake alone, should we let everyone else be threatened?”
Wanting to argue further, Bing Wei was stopped by Captain Zhang beside her: “You said it yourself, his lifespan hasn’t run out yet.”
Right, Feng Yi would be fine, which was why the company felt confident letting him take on this mission. Bing Wei forced herself to calm down.
Yet her thoughts drifted back to the student named Mu Li, whose time was running terribly short. Lowering her gaze, a fresh wave of panic gripped her heart.
Could his impending death be tied not only to the evil ghost possession, but also to this monster?
At that moment, Feng Yi’s signal suddenly reconnected, and Bing Wei contacted him instantly.
A second after the message went through, a light mist rose across the station, and the doors of the train parked on the platform swung open with a loud clank.
Three figures slowly emerged from the mist.
Everyone braced themselves. The barrier was not yet complete. What was coming out? Were they enemies?
They soon realized the figures were Feng Yi, a teenager clutching a music box, and an unfamiliar bespectacled young man.
“Hurry and leave, the ghost train is coming!” Before she could even feel relief, Bing Wei shouted at them in a panic.
Turning around, Mu Li saw the train enveloped by the monster looming dangerously close, threatening to crash directly into them.
Investing his attribute points entirely into speed, he grabbed the other two and bolted outward.
With a deafening crash, the original train was sent flying off the tracks, shattering into seven or eight pieces, sending a chilling wave through everyone present.
Before they could clear the platform, Mu Li bumped straight into an invisible wall. Reaching out to touch it, he found a transparent protective barrier blocking his path.
The barrier had closed.
The cleaning girl glanced at the three trapped inside, addressing only Feng Yi: “If the barrier opens, the monster will get out.”
Feng Yi nodded. “I understand.”
After a brief silence, he turned to Mu Li and said, “Your sunglasses.”
Mu Li blinked and simply slid his sunglasses into his pocket.
Seeing that Mu Li’s eyes were still white, Feng Yi’s expression softened: “You scared me to death. Your speed was so incredible, I thought the possession had taken over again.”
“Uh.” Mu Li scratched the back of his neck. “I think I can use his abilities now.”
Frustrated, Feng Yi kicked the barrier. “Damn it, he must already regard this body as his own to hand out abilities so recklessly.”
Through the barrier, Bing Wei asked anxiously, “What on earth happened in there?”
“We can discuss the details later. Right now, we have three enemies: the monster on the train, the jar possessed by an evil ghost, and him.” Feng Yi pushed Mu Li forward.
“Huh?” Mu Li tilted his head.
“The Ghost King possessing him.”
The Ghost King?
The recorder froze. For a ghost to become a king required devouring countless human souls, and it was a legendary existence of ultimate evil and malice.
How could such a weak-looking student harbor something so terrifying inside his body?
Bing Wei turned grim. It seemed Feng Yi had found her warning on the puppet, but she had assumed the entity possessing him was merely an ordinary evil ghost.
No wonder no one could understand why Pei Kanyan would approach an ordinary student. He wasn’t approaching Mu Li at all; he was after the Ghost King inside him!
“You guys shouldn’t waste time on me.” Mu Li pointed toward the train.
The monster was expanding at a visible rate. If it kept growing, it would eventually shatter the barrier.
The doors of the ghost train opened, and a jar rolled out, its red runes radiating an ominous aura.
Captain Zhang stepped up to the barrier: “Gutong, run an appraisal.”
Receiving the order, the recorder scribbled on his notepad: “The black monster is a hybrid of an evil ghost and a malignant specter.”
Flipping the page of his notepad, the recorder stared in utter astonishment at the newly written text:
“And the jar is possessed by an evil ghost, overflowing with monstrous resentment, on the verge of becoming a Ghost King.”
Another Ghost King!
Decades passed without a single Ghost King appearing, and now two emerged at once.
What kind of world was this?
The cleaning girl spoke up: “Just like before, Feng Yi deals with the ghost entity, and the rest of you handle the specter. Sound good?”
“There’s a slight problem.” Feng Yi hesitated. “I can’t craft a puppet of that jar.”
“Not to mention, his arm bone is fractured and his stamina is exhausted; he’s no longer fit for combat,” Mu Li added, glancing at the cleaning girl.
Without even looking at Mu Li, the cleaning girl asked Feng Yi, “Why can’t you craft it? Isn’t that limitation only triggered when you try to make identical puppets?”
That remark sparked a realization.
“Right! That was the painted world from eighteen years ago.” A sudden flash of understanding hit Feng Yi.
“I’ve encountered him in reality before. I’ve already made his puppet!”
Who could it be?