"How could his face be in the blood?"
The Collector looked at the blood bubbling up from beneath the elevator. His legs quickly submerged in the blood, and he felt no pain, only that his body was gradually sinking.
Wherever the tainted blood had been, it turned everything red, and all the ghosts in the bloodied areas were consumed by the Blood Shadow.
Only now did the Collector understand the warning from Han Fei. At this critical moment, he exerted all his strength to jump towards the outside of the elevator, and immediately upon landing, he drew his Bone Saber and chopped at his own legs.
Clenching his teeth against the excruciating pain, the Collector crawled desperately towards a corner: "What kind of monsters are these! How did that guy provoke these things!"
Although the Blood Shadow’s target was not the Collector, he too had been severely wounded by it and quickly lost his ability to move—a very dangerous situation in an unfamiliar floor.
"That was quick!" Han Fei pushed his Professional Talent as the Midnight Butcher to its limit. He couldn’t focus on the Collector and charged forward, "The elevator card is with the Collector, the Chef’s card was given to Ji Zheng, and all I have is a damaged card now. If I can’t get rid of the Blood Shadow, I’ll have to risk entering the stairwell."
Han Fei’s mind raced, his thoughts crystal clear: "I’ve been in the Deep World for a long time. It should be just a few minutes until I log off. With my abilities, I can definitely hold out."
Holding his breath, Han Fei patiently felt his heartbeat. The connection between him and the Ghost Gate Monster was established through soul-summoning—a bloodline visible only to them, tying them together like a Life Rope.
"I now understand why in those horror films, randomly summoning ghosts gets you hunted down. As long as the Life Rope is not severed, if I fall into the hands of another ghost, the Ghost Gate Monster would be affected too. So, it wants to devour me, to become whole and flawless," he mused.
In such a dire situation, it was exceedingly difficult for Han Fei to maintain a clear mind. He really wanted to negotiate with the monster behind the Ghost Gate, but clearly, it had no such intention.
He turned to glance behind him. A tide of blood surged through the narrow hallway, dyeing the walls and floor a bloody red, a scene like the bloodied city Han Fei saw every time he exited the game, immensely terrifying.
"I’m out of summoning chances for now; even if I wanted to send it back, I’d have to wait until tomorrow." Now, Han Fei’s only option was to play for time. He banged on the doors on both sides, following the guidance of Big Evil, and sprinted towards the potentially dangerous zones.
Big Evil, hidden within Han Fei’s Ghost Pattern, was excitedly clamoring at this time. Following Han Fei, it had been living a particularly thrilling and happy life, perhaps the clingiest "person" to Han Fei in the Deep World aside from Xu Qin.
Guided by "Big Evil," Han Fei successfully entered the most dangerous area on the fifteenth floor. All the corridors were occupied by mold and garbage. Not a living person was in sight; all the rooms had turned into Grave Houses.
Accompanied by rustling noises, eerie figures hidden beneath the trash emerged. They were numerous, and their appearances had completely lost any human semblance; their bodies were severely deformed, and their skins were covered with mold and festering wounds. Their eyes brimmed with Death Intent.
Drawing his Slaughter Saber, Han Fei activated his Ghost Pattern, allowing the pet Xu Qin raised to adhere to him, and then began trying to cross the area.
Compared to Han Fei, the monster that escaped from the Ghost Gate was utterly domineering. Its purpose seemed to be turning everything into blood. Thus, even against numerous enemies, it chose not to dodge but to confront them head-on!
The 15th floor now resembled a moldy oil painting that was slowly being soaked into a tub of red paint, as the blood spread at an incredibly exaggerated rate.
"Player number 0000, please take note! You have successfully triggered the E-level mission on the Hidden Map—Grave Digger!"
"Mission requirements: destroy forty-four Grave Houses, with current progress at six!"
"Attention! Upon completing this mission, you will obtain clues to a Hidden Profession and a substantial reward!"
"Player number 0000, please take note! The destruction progress is now at nine!"
"Player number 0000, please take note! The resentment of the Mutant Ghosts has gathered into a curse! You have been despised by multiple Mutant Ghosts, each with a mutation rate of seventy percent!"
"Attention! The strength of the Mutant Ghosts is entirely classified by their degree of bodily mutation! For every ten percent increase in mutation, their strength substantially increases! The first Mutant Ghost in the building might also be a masterpiece of a Divine Spirit!"
Han Fei had no time to listen to the system’s prompts, as the more he ran forward, the faster his heartbeat raced. Big Evil perfectly obeyed his command, leading him directly into the forbidden area on the 15th level.
The mold scattered among the dust landed on Han Fei’s body, burrowing into his flesh like tiny insects.
What was even more terrifying was that several Grave Houses in the distance were connected by a reddish-brown mold, seemingly housing a "big guy"!
A deep roar emanated from inside the Grave House, and six eyes suddenly opened in the pitch darkness.
"Player number 0000, please take note! You have discovered a rare Mutant Ghost with a mutation rate of eighty percent! Please keep your distance immediately!"
It was already too late when the system issued its warning; Han Fei watched helplessly as the "meat mountain" inside the Grave House disintegrated, and a humanoid monster with six eyes emerged. This creature was extremely slender, with countless slender tentacles sprouting from its chest and back. Its face was pressed beside another face, its mouth askew, constantly oozing reddish-brown fluid.
As the creature moved, the connected Grave Houses began trembling, and the tentacles extending from the monster’s chest burrowed into other Mutant Ghosts’ bodies.
"Will Li Rou end up as well?"
Han Fei did not dare to initiate a conflict with this large Mutant Ghost and chose another Grave House nearby. He was prepared—if there was no way through, he would summon Big Evil to clear the path, even if it meant crashing through walls to escape.
A roar echoed behind him. The Blood Shadow and the large Mutant Ghost collided, staining the Grave House red, but it couldn’t alter the Mutant Ghost’s form.
These highly mutated monsters were once living humans, who had endured too much torment before death. Their hatred and obsessions had gathered and slowly merged with the death air and intent within the building, finally rebirthing them atop trash and wreckage, stripped of memory and sanity, turning them into the ugliest Mutant Ghosts.
The building’s residents usually avoided Mutant Ghosts, who were difficult to kill again.
The once-dominant Blood Shadow slowed down, engulfed in its irrational rage, it violently stirred up a blood tide trying to crush the Mutant Ghost. No matter how it surged, the spirit of the Mutant Ghost did not disperse, only growing more grotesque.
With the Mutant Ghost delaying them, Han Fei took the opportunity to flee once more, widening the gap between him and the Monster behind the Ghost Gate.
"Don’t look back! It’s still not safe!"
Running wildly, when Han Fei was about to leave the fifteenth floor, he finally saw the Game Exit Key light up.
Just as Han Fei felt a weight lifted off his chest, the Monster behind the Ghost Gate seemed to sense it, decisively abandoning the Mutant Ghost and charging towards him.
"I can’t keep this up with him any longer." Han Fei knew it would be hard to find such a good opportunity again, so he ducked into the stairwell entrance and pressed the Game Exit Key.
As everything turned blood-red around Han Fei, time seemed to freeze, but the Monster that had run out from behind the Ghost Gate was still sprinting!
"How can it still move?!"
In the moment of consciousness extraction, Han Fei saw a tide of blood surging through the hallway, rushing towards him, with a human face hidden amidst the Blood Sea.
Looking closely, Han Fei was so surprised that he forgot to breathe—the face in the Blood Shadow looked just like him but appeared slightly younger, as if it were him from two or three years ago!
"Why would my face from two or three years ago appear in the Blood Sea? Why would it turn into the Monster behind the Ghost Gate? Is that me?"
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his head, Han Fei screamed, and he forcibly opened his eyes, finding himself back in reality.
Removing his game helmet, Han Fei crawled out of the Game Box, clutching the back of his head, the shock lingering in his mind for a long time.
"The face in the Blood Sea was neither Kuangxiao nor me! He looked very young!"
Han Fei had the Soul-summoning ability, and his Talent was Soul-returning, both related to connecting with the Blood Sea of the Shallow World.
"Being able to use these two abilities might not be coincidental, perhaps I paid a great price without realizing it," Han Fei felt a chill spread over his scalp, he had been relying heavily on the Soul-summoning and Soul-returning talents like they were ’elevators’."
"I feel like I’m getting closer to the ultimate truth..."
Suddenly, the knocking sound interrupted Han Fei’s thoughts, enduring the severe pain at the back of his head, he slowly approached the door, "Who is outside?"
"We are the police stationed here; we heard your scream and request that you open the door immediately!" Plainclothes police officers appeared at Han Fei’s door, they had been keeping a watch on Butterfly and ensuring Han Fei’s safety.
"I’m fine." Hearing the familiar voice, Han Fei opened the door, allowing the police to check his room, "I just had a really horrifying nightmare."
"Glad you’re okay, sorry for the disturbance." The two plainclothes officers were about to leave, but Han Fei followed them.
"Could I go to the police station with you? I have important matters to discuss with Li Xue’s teacher." Han Fei wanted to consult all violent and unsolved cases from the past fifty years in Xinhu to aid his movements within the Skyscraper. Given the urgency and significance of his tasks, he wanted to set off immediately.
"At 3 a.m.? You want to go to the police station?" The plainclothes officer was genuinely surprised; it was the first time he had come across such a strange request.
"It’s a matter of life and death, extremely urgent."
"Well...okay, I’ll make the call." The stationed officer knew who Han Fei was; his nickname outside the circle was Xinhu White Impermanence.
After multiple notifications, around four in the morning, Han Fei and the officer were picked up by a police car.
It was said that Li Xue’s teacher had personally arranged to have Han Fei brought to the headquarters for a meeting.
At 5 a.m., the duty officer at Xinhu Bureau was still busy. With Xinhu recently full of unrest, all officers were operating at full capacity.
"Han Fei!" Li Xue stood on one side of the hall, waving to Han Fei.
Accompanied by Li Xue and her senior brother, Han Fei walked through the long hallway and arrived at the door of the Bureau archive.
"I’m sorry, I can’t let you in." The middle-aged officer in charge of archive management denied Han Fei’s entrance request. "I’m well aware of what Han Fei has done for this city and I know he’s a good man who despises evil, but the archive room can’t be opened to outsiders. The most I can do is let you two enter and browse the relevant cases."
"Uncle Liu, we came here today because our teacher told us to." Li Xue’s senior brother approached the archive room door, "You might not trust Xiao Xue, but surely you trust me, right?"
"How could I not trust you?" Li Xue said nothing, she took out her phone ready to call her teacher.
"Don’t bother, even if your teacher personally comes today..." The middle-aged administrator hadn’t finished speaking when a ringtone echoed down the hallway. He looked over, and two fully-equipped policemen in special uniforms were wheeling a wheelchair in their direction.
"Teacher!" Li Xue and her senior brother quickly ran over, but the old man’s gaze was fixed on Han Fei, as if trying to discern something from his face.
Seeing Li Xue’s teacher arrive, the archive room administrator quickly stood up, "Why did you come personally?"
"Xiao Liu, open the door," the old man’s voice was calm. "Han Fei is also my student; I’ll take responsibility for anything."
With things put that way, the administrator no longer hesitated; he opened the door to the Bureau’s archive room.
"Over the past several decades, from the old to the new city, all major criminal cases that have occurred are here; which one are you looking for?"
"All of them." Han Fei thanked the old man and then quickly entered the archive room, wasting no time.