On this rainy night, the Central District of Liuguang City was breathtakingly beautiful.
From the peak of Weicheng Mountain, the cluster of skyscrapers was clearly visible. Atop one landmark high-rise, a massive holographic projection displayed several members of the idol group Lightspeed Girls dancing in the drizzle, flashing sweet smiles in every direction.
Even in this gloomy, damp, and cold weather, those girlish smiles—veiled by a thin mist of rain—managed to bring a touch of warmth.
That was the Santou Television headquarters, broadcasting across multiple channels twenty-four hours a day.
The occasional silhouette of a private helicopter soared through the night sky, ferrying esteemed guests straight to the building's roof.
Down on the ground, the wide, intersecting streets, overpasses, and railway platforms were crowded with eye-catching text and neon signs. From this distance, they blurred into a hazy impression, flickering in and out of sight through the rain and mist.
On the Liuguang River that cut through the city, luxury cruise ships sailed slowly by, ablaze with vibrant lights and revelry.
The Central District, the most prosperous area in the city, resembled a brilliantly colorful masterpiece.
Elizabeth took in this entire view from the terrace of her mountain villa.
Her attention, however, wasn't entirely on Liuguang City's rainy night. Instead, she was looking at a videophone, listening to a report from Captain Lin Chen of the Mystery Bureau Mobile Task Force's "Lightning" squad on the small screen.
Elizabeth felt immensely refreshed and radiant as she listened, her heart beating strongly. "Good!"
The master was indeed well-informed, possessing divine foresight and marvelous calculation!
An Embryonic Species! This incident could have caused far greater casualties.
Yet, because she had long been certain this event wasn't simple, she didn't feel much surprise. Instead, she was filled with a proud sense of vindication.
"Captain Lin, was the gang that fought the Sludge Gang today involved in raising the Mutant?"
Elizabeth suppressed her excitement, forcing her voice to remain calm. This was official business, after all.
"Our investigation confirmed that the Sludge Gang intended to commit a highway robbery. The gang members they fought were completely unaware beforehand," Captain Lin said.
"Hmm." Elizabeth nodded as she listened. She wouldn't have trusted anyone else, but she felt entirely at ease with Captain Lin handling the case.
This wasn't just because Captain Lin had led the Lightning squad to numerous remarkable achievements; it was also because she had interacted extensively with people inside the municipal government over the past year, and she knew Captain Lin Chen was a man of conscience.
"Then..." She thought for a moment before asking, "How do you plan to deal with those gang members? Are there people from the Bone Blood Gang among them?"
"We will follow standard procedures," Captain Lin said solemnly. "Miss Sterling, we don't want to give them special treatment just because of your involvement. Of course, if you insist on making demands, I have no authority to stop you."
"No, no, no, you misunderstand, Captain Lin. I have no such intention..."
Elizabeth quickly clarified. Her greatest wish was for Liuguang City to have true law and order.
She understood well enough. As a shut-in, she neither knew the details of the case nor understood the Mystery Bureau's methods. Furthermore, anything involving the Bone Blood Gang had to be handled with extreme caution. Giving too many orders would only make things difficult for them.
Captain Lin and his people were capable and moral; she ought to trust them.
"In that case, Captain Lin, just handle the case well," Elizabeth said earnestly. "I'm counting on you."
"Rest assured, we will."
After the call ended, the videophone screen reverted to the Seth logo, a streak of light shaped like the letter S.
A few seconds later, another video feed appeared, displaying the old nanny's heavily wrinkled face.
"Miss Elizabeth, are you satisfied now?"
"Satisfied, as I should be!"
Elizabeth offered a faint smile. The case was cracked, preventing worse consequences. She had finally contributed in some small way and completed the task assigned by the master. She ought to be satisfied.
Moreover, this incident perfectly validated the principle the master had enlightened her with:
By changing her form and lying low, she could accomplish so much more. This was her path to becoming a trump-card Hero.
Elizabeth looked down at the rainy night scenery below the mountain. She felt as if the gloom of the past year had been swept away, leaving her in high spirits.
She could now earnestly look forward to the master's next summons.
In tales of Heroes, once the hero completed the task given by their mentor, they would receive a legendary treasure...
What kind of reward would she receive this time?
"Then can you start preparing for the return party?" the old nanny asked, interrupting her reverie.
"Fine, fine." Elizabeth's shoulders slumped. Exhaling a long breath, she turned and walked back toward her bedroom dejectedly. "The life of the wealthy is truly troublesome."
...
"Goodbye, Miss Sakai. Please come again."
"Goodbye, He-san. Do your best tonight too."
The night rain drifted down onto Shuhui Street. The neon sign at the entrance of the Fishpond Izakaya flickered unsteadily.
Gu He forced his drowsy eyes open as he saw off tonight's final guest, Miss Sakai Huaqing.
It was eleven o'clock again, and the izakaya closed right on time.
"Clean everything up. I'm heading over to Licai," Fan Debao called out from the bar.
"Go on, then. Keep the music playing and keep dancing."
Gu He grumbled in dissatisfaction. Once Fan Debao left for Licai, instead of cleaning the bar, he collapsed onto the sofa to rest.
Anyone haunted by an evil ghost for several nights without a single wink of decent sleep would end up looking like this.
This was his fifth night in this world. Ever since the evil ghost first appeared on the second night, it had shown up every single evening right after the Fishpond closed and Old Fan left for Licai. Then, whatever Gu He did, the ghost mimicked him.
No matter how loudly he called for help, no one at Licai ever answered, and he didn't dare leave the Fishpond on his own...
He could see it everywhere except in the restroom, which forced him to hide in there just to sleep. But even then, the ghost would relentlessly pound on the door from the outside.
Gu He had mentioned this to Old Fan, asking if the place was a bit unclean, or if there was some bizarre phenomenon he didn't understand.
Fan Debao had just chewed him out: "There are no ghosts here. Keep acting so paranoid, and you'll become the Fishpond's first ghost."
Gu He didn't know who else to talk to. He didn't dare say anything to Miss Ayane right now, and when he'd briefly asked Miss Sakai for help, she had only laughed at him. As a result, he had just toughed it out over the past few days.
"I know you're there," Gu He called out lazily. "Come out."
Sure enough, a chilling wind seemed to sweep past, rustling the fabric curtains inside the room.
He turned his head and saw a ghostly figure that looked exactly like him sitting right next to the sofa.
"That's it?" Gu He was already immune. It was just a cheap jump scare; he felt nothing anymore.
"That's it?" The ghostly shadow also wore a lazy expression, looking truly punchable.
The ghost never crossed the line; it merely mimicked his every move. But the weirdest part was that regardless of whether he felt afraid or not, staring at it for too long caused a physical headache, much like the mental exhaustion of staying up all night staring at a phone.
On the first night, Gu He had jumped around in terror. By the second night, he had just maintained a safe distance.
And now? It didn't matter if it was a ghost or a secondary personality.
Maybe he wasn't a transmigrator at all. Maybe Ah Ming had gone insane, and Gu He was actually the secondary personality, while the primary one was Ah Ming, and that "Contact 1" was actually Ah Ming... Whatever the case, he wasn't playing along anymore. He was just going to lie flat.
He'd just do whatever he wanted. He even felt a bit like playing with the ghost.
"Guess what?" Gu He leisurely drank his goji berry water and crossed his legs. "I have a lot of what you want right now, but I'm just not going to give it to you. If I don't give it to you, you can't take it."
"Guess what..." The ghostly shadow immediately mimicked him, perfectly mirroring him without missing a beat.
Gu He watched it for a while. The more he looked, the more it reminded him of Tom Cat.
Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he started making all sorts of strange noises at the ghost.
Mirroring his movements and pitch, the ghostly shadow also began moving and crying out bizarrely...
Once the ghost seemed a bit overwhelmed, Gu He suddenly began reciting rapidly:
"The Cowherd loves Lady Liu, and Lady Liu longs for the Cowherd. The Cowherd endlessly loves Lady Liu, and Lady Liu endlessly loves the Cowherd. The Cowherd yearns for Lady Liu year by year, and Lady Liu yearns for the Cowherd year by year. The Cowherd loves the Lady and the Lady loves the Cowherd, longing for the Lady, loving the Lady, longing for the Cowherd, loving the Cowherd..."
To improve himself, this former psychologist had undergone professional diction training. Tongue twisters were no problem for him at all.
Meanwhile, the ghostly shadow tried to recite along: "The Cowherd loves Lady Liu, and Lady Liu longs for the Cowherd... The Cow-Liu endlessly loves the Durian Lady, and the Durian endlessly, endlessly loves, loves... the Cowherd..."
Before it could even get through a few lines, it started stuttering and glitching, ultimately unable to keep up.
Gu He immediately pointed a finger at the ghost. "Gotcha! You aren't me at all. I haven't gone crazy. What kind of ghost are you?!"
"Ah! So I... I really still can't do it, huh? My ability to read lines... The mask isn't finished yet, don't break..."
The ghostly shadow abruptly let out a flustered cry. Due to its instability, the voice sounded incredibly bizarre, hovering somewhere between male and female.
It seemed he had pushed the joke too far. Gu He watched in stunned silence as the ghostly shadow flickered wildly. The layer of light and shadow covering its body shattered, and the face that had looked identical to his just a moment ago began to warp, its bones and muscles twisting grotesquely.
Like a collapsing tower of toy blocks, its eyes, nose, mouth, and other features scrambled out of place.
However, this extremely bizarre sight passed quickly. The flesh and facial features instantly recombined, forming a completely new human shape.
It was a panicked woman, and...
"Miss Sakai?!" Gu He cried out in shock.