Chapter 6 "The Junior Policeman" - The Fox's Grudge
That's right. Although he didn't intend to encounter ghosts in the large group, all the ghost stories that he clicked with in the future could come to the Ghost Story Club he created!
Once he's collected enough scary story material and escaped the game alive, he'll be set for life. He could open a Chinese-style murder mystery game shop that would crush the competition and recoup his investment in a year, and go public in three years.
As expected, dreams can contain anything. Jian Dieda's brain, which had been shut down for three years, was now secreting a large amount of dopamine.
The system loaded a virtual space from his game inventory, and the number of cards on the shelves increased. It felt almost like being able to buy and decorate a house in the underworld.
He recalled his reality: he had no relatives or friends, no close partner, and for twenty-four years he had always been expressionless and taciturn. Because he suffered from autistic-type mental illness that affected his social life, he also lost the life of a normal person. If it weren't for the inheritance left to him by his parents, he would have no worries about food and drink and wouldn't have had to be busy with socializing. Such a world-weary person would have deliberately stayed up more nights and just died suddenly.
Jane Dieda felt the joy of a collector. He glanced at the two ghost emojis he had obtained first. They were both Chinese ghosts in the style of shadow puppetry. One was a rotting old woman with a cat face and blood flowing from her seven orifices. The other was a Qing Dynasty white-faced zombie, the most common type in the Lam Ching-ying series, jumping around.
Jian Dieda nodded.
The image is clear; it's in 4K quality.
[Yay! Congratulations!]
[You now have two pieces of material that could make a child wet their pants!]
Story Card 1:
[The cause of death of the cat-faced old lady]
[Legend has it that in Harbin during the 1990s, a story circulated about an old woman who hanged herself after arguing with her son and daughter-in-law. As she was being placed in her coffin, a cat touched her, causing her to rise from the dead. The old woman then went around biting people, and those she bit became corpses. From that day on, all schools and factories ceased operations, and the "Cat-Faced Old Woman" was born.]
[Suitable for people who are easily frightened: ① those who are afraid of cats ② those who are afraid of elderly women ③ unfilial children who feel guilty about supporting their elderly parents.]
Story Card 2:
The discovery process of the Chengdu zombie
[Legend has it that the Chengdu zombie incident in 1995 was one of the top ten paranormal events in China. An archaeological team near the Wuhou Temple unearthed an unnamed ancient tomb. Due to problems with site supervision, zombies came to life and roamed the streets, harming people. This incident is said to have sown the seeds of the legend.]
[Suitable for people who are afraid of: ① Qing Dynasty clothing ② Fans of tomb raiding novels ③ Real-life tomb raiders]
Jian Dieda accepted the emoji without hesitation.
Since the Overnight System brought him in, Jian Dieda has learned to accept others. Although the two ghost stories he met are not human, he likes them very much and wants to develop a space where humans and ghosts have a love story.
Jian Dieda mentally experimented with the system, exclaiming, "Look, System! I've become stronger! Say it with me!"
The aloof, bald-headed system paused, unusually moved by its host's emotions, and blurted out, "That's right, Master, you've become stronger—"
Before he could finish speaking, the system fell into a deathly silence. Damn it, this kind of advantage just wouldn't end.
The infamous villain, Jane Dieda, said, "Yes, that's a good call. You should keep this good habit going."
Oh my god, what are you trying to do by being cute?
------
Returning to the mission, Jane's enthusiastic welcome won over the two old ghosts.
They talked in their private space.
[Old woman with cat face]: "Child, the zombie and I have come up with a way for you to deal with 'karma'..."
[Chengdu Zombie]: "That's right! We showed you the layout of your instance. The fastest way for you to get any open flames is through the lanterns in the courtyard and the main room..."
Fire? Jian Dieda pondered for several seconds and decided to follow this method. In addition, he had a ghost story prop called a blank storybook, which he planned to use to collect clues about the fox spirit.
Thinking of this, Jian Dieda muttered to himself in the safe house, "If only I had my cell phone with me at this moment..." He knew he had to check on the fox spirit first.
If we had this, wouldn't we be able to send a video to the fox spirit to test it out?
“I might run into the fox spirit on my way out of the room, which would arouse his suspicion, so I still need to find a place to hide temporarily,” he muttered, scratching his head more frequently, his face expressionless. “I remember there are paper figures, a table… oh, a coffin in the main room. If I sneak out and run into him, I can hide inside that thing to avoid trouble.”
He explained his plan to his two teammates, then mentally calculated the distance between the house and the coffin before turning and walking to the door.
Just as Jian Dieda was about to cautiously peek out the window, a grayish-white finger appeared right next to the window, startling him so much that he bumped his head.
Jian Dieda's face contorted in pain, but fortunately his physical measurements met the criminal investigation team's standards, so he didn't fall flat on his face in the dark, dilapidated room.
On the contrary, after he found that he could withstand the shock to his heart, he took a closer look and found that Jane Dieda's emotional fluctuations were more pronounced than when he was sick.
Exciting, so exciting! Outside, when did it become so crowded with 'karma' that had sneaked into the fox spirit's courtyard?
He thought he would be safe as long as he didn't leave the yard, but little did he expect that his words would come true at this point in the story...
Correspondingly, on the other hand, the high-level supernatural tales from various dimensions started watching the show, collectively backing down.
"Where did this little bastard come from? He scared the hell out of me!!!"
"I was hoping to see the police officer die, but instead a ghost scared me instead!!"
"Aaaaaah, my lifespan is in dire straits!!"
Even his number one fan, the cat-faced old lady, and number two fan, the zombie brother, were not left out, and they cried bitterly.
"Kid! We're logging off now!!!"
These visceral screams nearly ripped his eardrums off when they reached Jian Dieda's ears. After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly realized something: so you ghost story enthusiasts really are afraid of watching horror movies! I've really learned something new today.
But he couldn't laugh either. As a victim, he could only hope for the best.
"Thump."
The demons were banging their heads against the door. Facing the evil spirits, he immediately crouched down and moved to a blind spot in a prone position. His shadow, reflected through the crack, was incredibly tall.
Even worse, Jane Dieda discovered that the person outside the door was an old acquaintance... or rather, an enhanced version.
Compared to half an hour ago, the moon has been so frightened that it can no longer be seen at all. On this night of a ghost marriage, which is inexplicably suited to the sound of the erhu, even the stars seem to hide from people.
Jane remained motionless, and the long, thin, flagpole-like ghostly shadows began to gather around.
He pinched his nose: "Meow..."
"Thump thump thump thump..."
As if it could hear, 'Ye' started banging on the door even louder.
Jane had no idea that their resentment ran so deep.
Even though they were only a few hours old, they seemed to have complete consciousness. Their heads and bodies combined were already beyond the limits of human capability!
With the fox spirit absent, can this slender, ghostly figure, several times larger than him, really be dealt with by fire?
Jane Dieda remained silent; the pathological absence of emotion gave him an extraordinary strength, and that weak fear only lasted for a dozen seconds.
Jane Diedda reached her hand toward the window.
The ghost stories stared at the screen, each trying to shake his possessed mind awake.
"Wow, opening the window? This young police officer is surprisingly skilled!"
"I'm speechless! He's just running around aimlessly! You call that good skills? That's just amazing lung capacity!"
The mixed reviews continued, and the next second, the eerie low-level scene changed again.
"Hey, wait, is he getting a lantern? Right, 'Karma' is afraid of fire!"
This claim was verified, and soon Jian Dieda obtained real fire. After he took out the clapperboard to pause the scene of him being chased by ghosts, he used a standard shot put gesture to throw all the white lanterns from the main house toward 'Ye'.
The rules rendered 'Karma' immobile, and a huge tongue of fire ignited, instantly killing three of them. Their charred bodies then became the source of resentment that Jane Dieda collected in his storybook.
Holy crap!
The sight of the cow in the story of Jane Dieda astonished the ghost story enthusiasts.
On the other hand, many new tips are also starting to appear.
[The new ghost story 'Little Policeman' has accepted 13 welcome-to-the-grave emojis from ghost stories, but received 0 friend requests from ghost stories in the underworld.]
But then they wondered, wouldn't such a commotion attract the fox spirit? Wouldn't that be cutting off their own escape route...?
A strange tale from a higher plane goes like this: [“Your minds are too old-fashioned. I think this little policeman definitely has some tricks up his sleeve. Look! He burned several ‘karmas’ with a lantern, and even left one ‘karma’ outside the yard…”]
These ghost stories have gradually become familiar with his methods.
Not wanting his thoughts to be guessed, this time Jane Dieda only contacted the cat-faced old lady and the zombie brother.
"My reason for doing this is very simple: I want to use this incident to lure Chunlan here as well, so that the three witnesses can meet and I can see their attitudes toward each other."
Furthermore, Chunlan is a sorceress; if the two young men have not returned from their patrol, she is definitely on her way.
The system interrupted him, saying, "[The 'storybook' is full. Would you like me to now help you sort out the secrets of the 'karma' in Hawthorn Alley?]"
“Yes.” Jane Dieda couldn’t wait.
After studying the rules, Jian Dieda was most concerned about the identity of the fox demon's informant and his testimony. On the second night, there was no defection.
This proves that there are still some characters in the case who haven't appeared yet.
The game begins with three scenes, each featuring a new character.
The new scene will most likely be unlocked after successfully deciphering the "fox spirit's" origins, so that's all he can do; escaping from here is the next priority.
Police, please open your eyes!
[Congratulations on successfully collecting all the "businesses" in the alley! We are now revealing three previously unlocked mystery side quest cards. The first card is now unlocked.]
[Number One: The Fox Spirit Young Master's Alleyway Background (Unlocked)]
[Second entry: Dong Dongdong's Police Dream (To be unlocked)]
[Number 3: Cao Chunlan's Memories of Being an Educated Youth (To be unlocked)]
Jane looked at the first card. In the thick black fog in his mind, three plot-kill cards were placed side by side. Only this one depicted a snow-white fox with a pink tail. However, the red rope wrapped around it made the whole story seem strange and eerie.
When he opened it and saw the testimony inside, a new 'fox spirit' storyline appeared.
In 19X3, Zhang San prayed to the spirit Zhong Daxian at the 'Buddha Tower,' wishing that his wife would become pregnant at fifty. The old fox spirit granted his wish.
In 19X4, Li Si prayed to the spirit Zhong Daxian at the "Buddha Tower," hoping that his elderly mother would not die from a serious illness. The old fox spirit granted his wish.
In 19X8, Liu Qi made a wish to Zhong Daxian and Zhong Niangniang at the "Buddha Pavilion," hoping to take his father's place at the glove factory. The old fox spirit granted his wish.
...
In 19X9, the old fox spirit Zhong Daxian and Zhong Niangniang passed away, and the 10-year-old fox spirit prince moved into the 'Buddha Pavilion'.
In July of a certain year, veteran policeman Dong Zhijie made a wish to the Fox Fairy: his wife, Bai Fengxia, had been childless for many years, and he was willing to exchange incense offerings for an heir. The Fox Fairy agreed, but the young fox's magic was weak. Although he could impregnate Dong Zhijie's wife, he could not turn the 'infant' into an 'adult.' The child mysteriously died after four months of pregnancy. Finally, while on patrol at night, Dong Zhijie, drunk, accidentally burned down the Buddhist temple, and the 'fox's resentment' was born.
A note from the author:
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Hey guys~ I got home a bit late from my night shift, so I checked for typos a few more times. Muah!
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