Congratulations on passing the level
The surroundings were getting darker and darker, which reminded Ji Yunding of a dream she had on the eve of the high school entrance examination.
In the dream, she fell asleep in the evening self-study classroom, but no one woke her up. When Ji Yunding woke up in the dream, the classroom was empty.
There is no air conditioning in the classrooms in small places. The hot and humid summer air is mixed with the smell of earth and grass, and I sweat all over.
After leaving the classroom, there was a dark corridor outside. In the distance, a light bulb hanging from a string on the stairs flickered. Ji Yunding approached the stairs and walked down, but he could not reach the end.
Before this, Ji Yunding seldom had the concept of "loneliness", after all, she was born lonely. But after this dream, that is, after entering high school, she unconsciously began to try to communicate with others.
People are afraid of loneliness, and few can truly enjoy loneliness for a long time.
And now, on such a staircase, there was a crackling sound like leakage of electricity in my ears, and the sound of the light bulb flickered on and off. When Ji Yunding stopped, the person in front of him stopped. When Ji Yunding moved, the distance between the two people gradually narrowed.
Facing the head twisted 180 degrees, Ji Yunding wondered whether he should reach out and grab the scissors. Although the masked man could not be touched, the scissors could be touched.
...Where are the scissors on it?
Ji Yunding was stunned. She would never miss such an important thing, but she couldn't remember what happened.
Ji Yunding has not come into contact with many psychic monsters so far, and he roughly knows that they are more troublesome than other monsters - other monsters have conditional influence on the mental state of investigators, but they have this ability themselves.
These monsters usually have suffered severe psychological trauma or experienced extremely terrible events before their death. They are relatively sensitive humans with a much higher degree of neurosis and almost do not cooperate with humans, so there is very little relevant information.
Just like the little man that Ji Yunding met on the train in his dream, it didn't say anything about itself even when it was on the dissection table.
To give another example, there is no need to talk about the lunatic named Ji Ye. This guy looks relatively friendly, but everything he does is troublesome.
Ji Yunding turned sideways and, while paying attention to the masked man, glanced at the stairs leading down.
Investigators have to always consider the issue of escape, but when Ji Yunding took a look, he found that the stairs leading down were blurry and unclear like fog.
It was like entering a virtual space again, but this shouldn't be the case. From the beginning till now, Ji Yunding had not been cut by the scissors.
However, if we break the idea that "scissors are the key to transforming space", all inferences will become invalid.
"The mutual exclusion event has occurred, which can be considered a breakthrough."
Ji Yunding sighed softly and rubbed his temples.
If she had entered another dimension, it would prove that the scissors were not the key to the spatial transformation. On the contrary...
Ji Yunding looked at the wound on his hand that was slowly healing, the wound left by the scissors just now. The tingling and slight stinging sensation of the wound healing was extremely clear.
"I didn't experience any spatial transformation, and I took some defensive drugs before coming in. It can also eliminate the mental pollution that comes with the strange stories."
In the early days of the outbreak of ghost stories, although the rules were much simpler and clearer than they are now, the mortality rate was even higher than it is now - the reason is simple, ghost stories themselves are places where the rules are distorted, and there is more negative energy, which will affect humans over time.
This kind of pollution, which occurs even without violating the rules, is called natural spiritual pollution in textbooks.
The development of weird-related drugs is also an important branch of weird research. The research on weirdness has made a leap forward in psychotropic drugs. For the drugs currently used by investigators, there is generally no need to consider the natural mental pollution in ordinary weird stories.
Of course, overdose places a heavy physical and mental strain, so investigators require strict scheduling and that applications must be submitted even if additional tasks are desired.
But there are exceptions - people from aristocratic families don't care much about this. After all, they were already playing games with monsters in the era before defensive drugs were developed.
One group in particular even has its own internal shift schedule, and often sends self-reviews to the administrative department like snowflakes, and everyone just copies and pastes.
To be on the safe side, in addition to the more obvious pain sensation, find another argument from the senses that there is no spatial transformation.
Ji Yunding thought for a moment, took out some biscuits from his bag, tore open a pack and tasted it, feeling the slight sweetness.
Because mental state is very important in ghost stories, the food in the supply packs is very delicious and will be sold as ordinary goods to subsidize funds.
Perhaps because his freaked body had no sense of taste, Ji Liuxing's sense of taste had been damaged for eight or nine years - this was something Ji Yunding asked one time when he really didn't understand why he could eat coffee powder.
"In theory, in the space that belongs to the team leader, there shouldn't be anything that the team leader doesn't know about."
Ji Yunding put away the biscuits and nodded, confirming that this was still reality.
"Then there's another possibility that I broke the rules. What did I do wrong?"
Ji Yunding quickly went over the previous rules in his mind, and by the way, he dismantled the railing to use it as a long-handled weapon.
From the moment I broke the scissors until now, what exactly went wrong?
"Pay attention from the moment you open your eyes. The first thing I see when I open my eyes is..."
Scribble mask.
Ji Yunding suddenly realized that the light started to dim from the masked man's neck twisted backwards, and only after its mask was completely facing Ji Yunding did Ji Yunding step onto the 29th step.
Then, Ji Yunding remembered another detail - before Ji Liuxing "left", he lowered his head for a few seconds, and only raised his head after the person was replaced.
Reducing eye contact with the mask might prevent you from falling into this situation, but no one can understand everything at the beginning.
So the second question is, Ji Yunding had been staring at the masked man from the very beginning, so why did this happen only when he was going up the stairs?
Why did the masked man give up fighting Ji Yunding? Why didn't he exert influence on Ji Yunding from the beginning? What is the difference between then and now?
"From the outside to the inside, combined with the rules... I was very angry at the time."
Anger is the leverage on your side, is that what you mean?
Ji Yunding took out the investigator's cell phone and first recorded this information - emotions and thoughts may cause direct effects equivalent to physical actions in spiritual ghost stories.
Research on this point has always remained at the material level. Monsters like to feed on people who are afraid, but according to statistics, people with intense emotions are more likely to survive from ghost stories.
The analysis team will be busy now. But the premise is that Ji Yun will be able to submit this report, or someone will find her phone later.
"There are things everywhere that look like they could lead to instant death. At the beginning, I didn't come out of the small dark room in time, angered the zombies, and was pulled into the negative energy zone. Just now, my head was cut off by a pair of scissors..."
Ji Yunding thought about it and felt a little headache.
"From what I've seen before, this strange story is not without a requirement for 'time'. Not to mention the small dark room, in the place where positive energy is concentrated, if you delay for too long, you will probably turn into a zombie.
After the wall is opened, if no cooperation is reached within a short period of time, the creatures on both sides will die. By then, if the guy with the scissors comes and is not killed by others, it should not just disgust me. "
The advantages in the ghost story are cumulative. If you cannot gain an advantage in the early stages, as the ghost story progresses, your injuries and mental stress will accumulate, and the difficulty will become greater and greater.
Ji Yunding found that the blackened part of the mask in front of him seemed to have expanded a little. Moreover, the distance between it and Ji Yunding was shorter than before.
The good news is that Ji Yunding is not afraid at all, and the bad news is that she is very calm and not angry at all.
Previously, Ji Yunding had asked many seniors in the same group for advice on how to mobilize emotions, but what she was particularly good at was to quickly suppress her emotions, and it was difficult for her to generate certain emotions on her own.
If the emotional part of a person's heart is compared to a vessel, and the emotions are compared to water, then the rate at which water leaks from each person's vessel varies, but there is always some water stored inside.
Compared to other people, Ji Yunding always appears to be indifferent to emotions. The biggest reason is probably that the part of her heart that stores emotions is like a vessel without a bottom. It only has "emotions" when water flows through it, but it can't store anything.
At most, just a few water drops were left on the glass.
Therefore, if you want to have a place in Ji Yunding's heart, it is impossible to rely on giving her "emotions" that she cannot contain. At least you have to use water flow to leave marks on the glassware.
"Angry, how can I be angry?"
Ji Yunding sighed and ruffled his hair in distress.
"Even if I think back to the things that made me angry in the past, I don't feel angry. They are all things that have been resolved."
Although it sounds simple, unfortunately, it is really difficult for Ji Yunding. Things that cannot be done cannot be done, no matter how hard you try.
Gradually, the tangled mask almost touched Ji Yunding's nose. The surroundings were already pitch black, with only the step under Ji Yunding's feet left.
Ji Yunding still lowered his head in thought, and then sighed. To be more precise, it is better to say that he is rejecting it with all his heart rather than being unable to do it.
“Look within for the answers, all right.”
Ji Yunding took out a dagger and stabbed it into her ear without hesitation. After the whole world fell silent, she ignored the masked man who was close to her, squatted down, hugged her knees, and her thoughts drifted back to another hot and humid summer.
At that time, she didn't know what summer was. She just squatted alone in a dark corner, among the debris and garbage.
The old scars accumulated over the years are like parts of her hands and feet. Even if Ji Yunding has forgotten the feeling of experiencing this memory in the Rongku Cemetery, her body still remembers it.
Only this thing is an old scar that Ji Yunding will never accept or forget, and it is her "emotional container" itself.
Because when the concept is formed, no matter what kind of request and expectation, it will be in vain, and the whole world is only oneself, so one cannot get used to relying on others and cannot trust others. But even so, Ji Yunding still cannot grasp anything in this world.
The mark that is stamped on a person from birth will become a part of his body. Ji Yunding is not trying to escape, she just can't figure it out - just like a person would not question the fact that he has five fingers.
In the past, in that kind of environment, losing emotions was to protect oneself, like a conditioned reflex. If you don't face the wound under the gauze and pick open the rotten flesh, it will never heal.
But after just a dozen seconds, she instinctively began to talk to herself, trying to make sounds, just like she did in the empty storage room that year, trying to make some noise to let herself know that this world still existed.
But now, she couldn't hear anything.
In silence, Ji Yunding closed his eyes, feeling the instinctive fear, and at the same time, gradually developed an emotion of "anger" like a bystander.
Anger is easier to explain than any other emotion. The reasons for all anger can be summed up in just three words: "Why?"
When she opened her eyes again, it was still pitch black around her, but Ji Yunding saw a flash of light from an unknown source. She immediately reached out in that direction and grabbed the tip of the scissors.
Got you.
Obviously, this was an unfair struggle, but as long as Ji Yunding let go, the scissors would disappear immediately. Fortunately, Ji Yunding was really angry now.
"Give it to me, this one is mine."
Ji Yunding tightly grasped the tip of the scissors, moving his hands forward alternately, as if he was snatching a toy that he didn't have as a child.
"I want to get this pair of scissors today."
A stream of black air flowed out from Ji Yunding's fingertips and disappeared into the darkness along with the scissors. The next second, the other party loosened his hand as if in pain, and Ji Yunding took the opportunity to get the scissors.
From the outside, it was just an oversized pair of ordinary medical scissors. Ji Yunding looked at it carefully and saw tiny words on the part he was holding.
Left hand, "falling into a dream"; right hand, "deeply sleeping".
"Honestly, I've wanted to complain about this for a long time."
Ji Yunding continued to talk to himself, even though he couldn't hear, he still spoke out of habit.
"I've been working for two years and learned a thousand euphemisms for 'death' in ghost stories, but I've never seen the word 'death' in the rules of ghost stories. Is it a taboo for ghost stories?"
After complaining, Ji Yunding took a pair of scissors and cut his own neck.
The scenery in front of him did not change at all, but Ji Yunding felt as if he had fallen into a deep dream for an instant. He could not move his hands and feet, and even had to struggle to open his eyelids.
The masked man who was almost close to Ji Yunding moved, took the scissors, cut off his own head with the right end, and disappeared the next second.
The scissors fell to the ground. Ji Yunding struggled, using all his strength to walk over and grab the scissors.
Wake up.
When she opened her eyes again, Ji Yunding felt the stinging pain from the scorching heat on her skin. She found herself on the rooftop, holding onto the railing and about to flip down.
The research team's building is a hundred meters high. Looking down from the 28th floor, people are smaller than ants, like twisted punctuation marks on a microprint book. In addition to fear, the high altitude effect of the brain will also urge people to have the desire to jump.
Ji Yunding looked at the huge medical scissors in his hand, turned his head to look at Ji Liuxing, who was sitting on the ground with his back against the railing, and met his eyes.
"Team Leader, how long have you been watching?"
Ji Liuxing tilted his head, half of his face was still wrapped in bandages, but black veins were spreading on his neck, and only half of his face was barely intact.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Ji Yunding couldn't hear it. At this time, Ji Liuxing seemed to have just reacted, propped himself up and tried to get up, but soon showed signs of exhaustion, then smiled and waved to Ji Yunding, asking her to come closer.
Be careful, theoretically speaking, the weird stories are not over yet.
Seeing Ji Yunding cautiously moving towards him with the scissors raised as if intimidating, Ji Liuxing must have laughed out loud, and his eyes narrowed slightly when he laughed.
It was not until Ji Yunding walked into the area and put the scissors on his neck that Ji Liuxing raised his hand, took off his gloves and gently tapped Ji Yunding's forehead.
"Don't pierce your eardrums carelessly next time. The medical team's psychic energy allocation is fixed, and it will take a long time to heal."
"Can you still use psychic powers now?"
"I'm really sorry about this. If this weird story is fully completed, I should have a good fight with you here and then die as the fourth person in the chair."
Ji Liuxing pointed to a pile of hands not far away. Some were cut off from the wrist, some from the elbow, and some were even cut off at the arm level.
"But I can't even stand up now. This is just a semi-finished product, and it will always be a semi-finished product. Because my core desire is..."
“I don’t want to be weird.”
Hearing this, Ji Liuxing slightly widened his eyes, a little surprised, then smiled, and did not ask Ji Yunding how he knew. He just put the gloves back on, then covered his neck, slightly tilted his head, and deliberately faced Ji Yunding with the intact half of his face.
It must be really hot to wear long sleeves and gloves on a sunny day in summer. At least Ji Liuxing looks very bad now, as if he will faint at any time.
Ji Yunding squatted down, simply pulled off Ji Liuxing's gloves, rolled up his sleeves, revealing the weird part that was obviously wrapped in black air.
Just by touching it, he felt a subtle explosion beneath his skin. Ji Yunding paused, then reached out his hand to Ji Liuxing.
"Team leader, can you tell me how much pain you are in now?"
For a moment, Ji Liuxing looked bewildered, but then he calmed down immediately. He looked at Ji Yunding and blinked gently, his light golden eyelashes and hair gleaming slightly under the scorching sun.
Ji Liuxing stretched out his hand and gathered a large amount of negative energy. A cloud of energy that was almost mist-like gathered in his hand. He did not directly hand it over, but waited for Ji Yunding to take the initiative to reach out.
The pain caused by negative energy is objective, or in other words, "pain" is a property of negative energy, just like inertia is only linked to the mass of an object. Therefore, they can share the same pain.
Ji Yunding also stretched out his hand, palm downward, keeping a distance from Ji Liuxing's hand, quietly feeling the pain that was difficult to describe in words.
"Student Ji Yunding, it hurts, it really hurts..."
Ji Liuxing spoke softly, in a tone he had never used before, as if he sounded a little aggrieved.
It hurts all the time.
"I know."
At this moment, Ji Yunding is the person most qualified to say that she knows how much pain it really hurts.
After just a dozen seconds, Ji Liuxing withdrew his hand, lowered his head slightly, and waited for Ji Yunding to take action.
"Team Leader, don't you have anything else to tell me?"
"I was going to wait for you to read it yourself later, but since you asked... Actually, there is one."
Ji Liuxing picked up the bag beside him. He unzipped it without knowing when he had picked it up.
When Ji Yunding saw what Ji Liuxing brought out - a gorgeous treasure chest that only appeared in games - he was stunned.
One day, a conversation like this actually took place on a 28-story building - "If you climb to the top of a mountain and find it's bare, you will be a little disappointed. If it were a game, you would want some kind of reward for completing the game."
Inside the treasure chest were all sorts of toy-sized gems of different colors and fancy gold coins, but since it was Ji Liuxing who took it out, the things inside must be real.
"Regarding the remuneration we agreed upon from the beginning, the inheritance will is at the bottom. Remember to pay the inheritance tax and obey the law."
Ji Liuxing said jokingly, then looked at Ji Yunding and blinked gently, the light on his light eyelashes flickering.
"And one last thing, congratulations on clearing the level."
Ji Yunding took the treasure chest, looked at it for a long time, put it aside and let out a sigh of relief.
Never mind, I’ll just be hated for the rest of my life. This person must be saved, no matter if he wants to live or not.
According to the known information, Ji Yunding already had an idea. Ji Liuxing has not yet transformed into a weird, which means that his core desire is in an unstable state.
By analogy, as long as Ji Liuxing loses this core desire, he will not be able to transform into a monster, and because he is not actually dead, he will survive in the end.
In other words, as long as he could break his oath, it would be fine. As mentioned before, breaking the oath caused by the black oath meant the collapse of the worldview, the breaking of the backbone of the personality, and the extinction of self-will.
What a coincidence, Ji Yunding is probably the only person in the world who can really make Ji Liuxing break his oath.
Ji Yunding squatted in front of Ji Liuxing, looked at him, and spoke seriously.
"Team Leader, my vow is my core desire."
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