2 Chapter 2
◎Mysterious【Life-buying Money】disappeared?!◎
Hearing the warning, the investigators subconsciously turned around and looked at the short-haired woman standing alone in front of the explosion-proof vehicle.
The woman's face was pale and she was so weak that she seemed to have to lean on something to stand firmly.
She had an old-fashioned keypad phone hanging on her chest. The screen had a faint fleshy sheen and would vibrate every once in a while, with a line of incoming call notifications lighting up.
Caller: [Hu Tu].
It was her name.
Captain Hu stood up, leaning against the car window. His voice was light, but firm enough to reach everyone through the intercom:
"The capture plan for the bizarre [D28017-Life-Buying Money] has been changed. Old Li, you guys lead the team and continue searching the mountain for the sub-body banknotes. The [Life-Buying Money] escaped, and the person who brought it to Jiang City must still be in the mountains. We must find him alive, or his body dead.
Bai Xuan, follow me and let Bai Xian track down the source of the strange aura."
The girl, who looked like an elementary school student, nodded repeatedly. Bai Xuan picked up the hedgehog and trotted along. As soon as she got into the car, it shot away like an arrow, disappearing into the night.
The new investigator was forced out of the overcrowded ambulance with his leg bandaged.
Watching the captain leave, he couldn't help but lean over to Old Li and ask, "Deputy Captain, the [Life Buying Money] sub-body lures people into a trade to "buy their lives," devouring their flesh and blood, causing them to age, and ultimately luring the main body to kill them. Its sub-body has no true thoughts, only instincts formed by patterns. If you can resist its temptation, you'll be fine. Shouldn't anyone get into trouble?"
Old Li was typing with one hand, preparing the notice for the second evacuation. Upon hearing this, he slapped him on the back of the head, "I've told you so many times, except for the weirds that have frozen and turned into monsters and those that haven't revived yet, all other weirds that follow the file will only end in failure!
"Just because the [Life-Buying Money] sub-body didn't eat you tonight, you're so proud of yourself? It's classified as D-class simply because the main body isn't very aggressive, so even if it triggers the rules, there's a time buffer. But what kind of weirdness is truly non-dangerous? You're all injured, how long can ordinary citizens hold out?"
The new investigator shrank back. "But, but the captain has already activated the trick [Ghost Call]. Even if [Life Money] escapes the blockade and makes it to the university town, we've evacuated a large enough area, so it'll definitely be drawn back, right?"
"It was able to escape, so maybe it has already absorbed other strange things or mutated into a new killing pattern. Can you guarantee there won't be any accidents? No? That's fine."
Old Li rolled his eyes and shooed the man away like a chicken. "Get lost! Don't drag us down with you if you're looking for death. Get back to work! The General Administration hasn't sent anyone here, and there aren't many investigators qualified to participate in the special operations team stationed in Jiang City. After we capture the sub-body here, we'll have to rush over after the captain locates the [Life Purchase Money]."
Old Li edited the message to be sent to all places to increase alert. He watched the captain walk away into the dark night and sighed inaudibly:
"The outbreak of a strange aura is not a good sign. I hope it's not too late."
Captain Hu and his men rushed to the university town at lightning speed.
At the end of the street in Jiang City University Town, the black shadow of the octopus swelled and twisted, and ink marks crawled out of the shadows and approached from all directions. Ye Ping'an was almost completely trapped in the wriggling tentacles.
But that's all.
The warm yellow light from the store casts its shadows on the steps, and the cold shadows in front of the door can hardly move forward an inch.
Ye Ping'an's enthusiastic greeting received no response, so he casually pushed aside the tentacles that blocked his view and waved them in front of the octopus's head, trying to confirm whether the guest had fallen asleep in the street.
As soon as I touched the tentacles, my hands felt cold and sticky.
The smell of damp copper rust mixed with a faint stench of decay wafted over, as if it had just been dug out of a grave.
With just a wave of his hand, the black and red ink that had crawled out of the shadows melted away like ice and snow, as if it had been completely wiped out.
The tentacles of the coins that curled towards Ye Ping'an were pulled away, and they quickly drooped down one by one. They were like real coins, clattering against each other, and the ink of "Tian Di Tong Bao" on the coins seemed to fade a little.
Ye Ping'an turned his hands behind his back inconspicuously and wiped them on his apron.
I don't know if it was for cosplay accuracy or just poor hygiene, but the guest cosplaying as an octopus monster is fine, but the headgear looks like a rag that hasn't been washed in weeks. It's sticky and smelly, and it keeps flying into people's faces!
Alas, it really affects the atmosphere of the store.
After all, he was the first guest, so she might consider charging a lower cleaning fee.
Ye Ping'an's mind was calculating rapidly. For the sake of money, he used one hand to sign again to explain, "Come in and sit down. Give me the money, and I'll refund you after the meal if you don't pay."
The guest who was COSing as the octopus monster slowly lowered his head stiffly, and his joints made a creepy clicking sound.
It revealed a single, turbid, and dead eye, staring straight at Ye Ping'an, as if it had encountered a bizarre event it had never seen before.
Ye Ping'an held a corner of the gold copper coin, without avoiding or giving way, he looked up and stared back.
Are you going to pay or not? Are you thinking of leaving? No!
Ye Ping'an opened his eyes wide, looked back with sincerity for the money, and pulled the gold and copper coins into his hand without leaving any trace.
Huh? It feels familiar, strange, like... like thin paper?
Swish!
Ye Ping'an slowly lowered his head in a daze.
Although the light on the street was poor, it was still bright enough to see the remains of the "gold copper coin" torn in two in the palm of my hand.
The torn edges of the paper were slightly wrinkled, revealing the white background, and when squeezed, it made a rustling sound like paper rubbing against each other.
No wonder it feels familiar, how could it not be?
This is clearly the golden tin foil used to fold gold ingots. With a hole punched in it, it can be used directly as a paper copper coin!
"Eating with ghost money? Be a human being! You were the one who took out the trash in the middle of the night, right?"
Ye Pingan was furious. He grabbed the nearest tentacle and warned fiercely, "You're not done yet! Do you think I'm afraid of you just because you're cosplaying as an octopus monster? Pay for the food, and don't block the door if you don't want to eat!"
The octopus's head was covered in tentacles, like a bunch of exploded sea urchins, each one sticking up. The tentacles, waving in the air, swooped down at once, a terrifying and sinister sight, as if they were determined to take her life.
Ye Ping'an grabbed all the tentacles that were rushing towards him, wrapped them around his wrist a few times with his backhand, and dragged them directly into the store like a sack.
"Still want to hit someone? Come in with me! I'll pay for the cleaning, medical expenses, and mental damages for disturbing others so late at night!"
The tentacles of the money chain were forcibly pulled down from the air and stretched straight. The taut chain was almost full of resistance, and it seemed as if an octopus head was growing in front of the store.
On the way to the university town, a hedgehog's screaming suddenly rang out. The hedgehog curled up into a ball and hid in Bai Xuan's sleeve, screaming non-stop, even more panicked than when the strange aura had just erupted.
This means... the strange aura is rapidly increasing! The state of [Life-Buying Money] is even more terrifying than the last outbreak!?
Bai Xuan tried hard to suppress her panic and quickly pointed out the direction that was becoming clearer to the captain.
The next second, she was pressed against the backrest by the inertia of acceleration and could not move.
The [Life Money] that was standing stiffly in front of the Xile Hotel also moved.
The octopus's head was as wide as four or five people, and Ye Ping'an didn't even have to exert much effort before it was pulled away and staggered.
[Money to buy life] The string of money shakes like sieve chaff, making a rattling sound.
The ink that crawled out from the edge of the copper coin expanded and surged, no longer trying to stick to the human being who was close to it. Instead, it rushed in a panic in the direction away from Ye Ping'an, struggling frantically to escape.
It seemed to realize instinctively that what was before its eyes was not prey at all, but an extremely terrifying existence!
However, it was completely unable to resist.
[Money to Buy Life] The whole body was pulled crooked, like a pulled-out tree, half of it was dragged on the ground, dragged across the ground, and dragged up the stairs.
The layers of tentacles were torn apart, revealing a patchwork torso. A white chest rested on a dark belly, and strong arms connected to thin shoulders...
Deep within the murky, single eye, a head, still unrecognizable as a human form, was composed entirely of a single, large copper coin. Around the round, square hole, the four characters "Tian Di Tong Bao" were printed layer upon layer, as if written by many hands.
The cold and gloomy atmosphere in the darkness erupted completely, and overlapping illusory human faces emerged from each copper coin. Different numbers were imprinted on their faces, and they cried out in pain.
"Give me money... money... I want to buy... help me..."
The illusory face seemed to come alive, struggling and crawling in all directions with the copper coins.
Ye Ping'an was not moved at all. He dragged his tentacles and walked back easily as if nothing had happened.
The tentacles of the money string drooped, leaving a long trench-like black and red ink trail behind it, dragging from the bottom of the steps into the store.
Snap!
As soon as he entered the store, the copper coin on the head of [Life Money] cracked in the middle, and his stiff limbs shook wildly in different directions as if out of control for a moment, and all the struggles stopped, like a funny abstract painting.
Almost at the same time, the hedgehog's screams, which had been going on all the way to the food court, suddenly stopped.
Bai Xuan was shocked.
On the way, the hedgehog Snow Velvet felt the aura growing rapidly. Could it be that the strange aura was too strong and it was frightened and fainted?!
She quickly dug the hedgehog out of her sleeve.
The little white hedgehog lay on its back with its belly exposed, then fell into the palm of your hand and panted heavily, as if it was finally able to rest after being exhausted.
The White Fairy Hedgehog is best at seeking benefits and avoiding harm, and is particularly sensitive to strange auras.
Bai Xuan was stunned for a moment before she realized what its behavior meant, but she still suspected that she was dreaming.
"Don't panic. Has the direction changed? Or has the aura become stronger?" Captain Hu asked calmly.
Bai Xuan said in a daze, "I have lost my direction. The aura from before is completely gone... The strange [Life-buying Money] disappeared?!"
“?!”
Creak——
The car braked suddenly and Captain Hu turned to look at Bai Xuan. There was the same look of astonishment in their eyes.
Click, click.
The cracks on the copper coin became bigger and bigger.
When Ye Ping'an heard the sound of shattering, his eyelids jumped. He picked up the guest who was lying limp on the ground and pressed him directly onto the seat by the door.
"Hey, I didn't use any force! Don't try to scam me."
The octopus's head looked like a deflated inflatable doll, lying flat on its back, its tentacles drooping and covering the entire tabletop.
Fortunately, it didn't fall apart.
Ye Ping'an looked him up and down. "You have the money to customize props, but you have to use ghost money to annoy people when eating. Don't you think you are immoral? The COS props are of good quality and even have built-in speakers. The screams are so realistic, the dubbing must have cost a lot of money. Which anime is this? Even if you don't have money, there should be people who want second-hand props, right?"
The COS guest didn't move.
Ye Pingan sneered, "Pretending to be dead now? It's too late! Just keep quiet. Since you're the first customer, and I haven't had breakfast yet, let's sit down and slowly settle the bill after we finish."
She's so easy to talk to, so it's not too much to charge for two meals, right?
Ye Ping'an closed the glass door and walked into the kitchen in slippers.
[Life Money] slumped on the table, his dark shadow invisible under the light, the last bit of ink behind him and the traces left outside the store door quickly faded.
As the ink dissipated, its body began to collapse.
The pieced-together human figure disappeared first. In an instant, all the copper coin tentacles shattered onto the ground, like the ashes of burnt paper money, with wisps of black mist floating around, and soon completely disappeared into the air.
The "Tian Di Tong Bao" copper coin deep in the skull, which had broken into several pieces, did not last for more than a few seconds before gradually melting and dripping down the table.
Finally, it solidified into a pool of rancid liquid, sticking to the shiny floor tiles, like the black, dirty, and smelly water left in a garbage dump for years.
A few minutes later, Ye Ping'an came out with two bowls of noodles.
Only a few noodles could be seen in one bowl, while another bowl was so full that the tip of the bowl was popping out.
"Come on, come on, eat—where are my guests?!"
The shop was empty, with only the morning sun shining through.
【Author’s words】
Money to buy life: I am torn.
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Thanks to the cute little girl "想在天空飞" for 10 bottles of nutrient solution, and thanks to the cute little girl "胡松f" for 3 bottles of nutrient solution. I hugged and kissed them one by one~
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