In that instant, Ji He froze on the spot, not daring to move at all. She clenched her hands tightly, her heart pounding like a drum.
It turns out that both the human-headed imp and the elongated, slender ghost that gave off a strong sense of oppression were just bait, waiting for the players to take the bait!
A sinister laugh, almost piercing Ji He's eardrums, rang out. She dared not hesitate any longer; if she didn't use those tools—
I'm afraid she'll never have the chance to go out in her lifetime!
The next moment, Ji He's eyes turned sharp, and she directly pulled out a blank photograph—this photograph came from an item she had redeemed, which could imprint any person or thing on it and lock it inside the photograph.
However, there are also drawbacks. A photo can only be used once. If the photo is damaged, the contents inside will come out. At the same time, the contents that can be put inside cannot exceed the limits of the photo itself.
It can't be used on bosses most of the time, but it's a good method for dealing with a lot of annoying imps.
But just as Ji He was holding the blank photo and slapping it directly onto the hand that "Xia Changhong" was pressing on her shoulder—that cold, lifeless hand suddenly disappeared!
Not only that, Ji He pressed the blank photo directly onto her shoulder because she used too much force. Then a strong suction force came towards Ji He, and she quickly crumpled the photo into a ball.
After doing all this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, but only then did Ji He suddenly realize something was wrong—
The streetlights overhead were still intact, and the wall from which the little human-headed ghost had emerged was also undamaged. Only the tip of the dagger he had stabbed himself was there, and the gaunt ghost that had devoured everything had vanished without a trace.
Ji He's face suddenly turned ugly. She subconsciously looked at Xia Changhong beside her. He was sitting on the ground, looking disheveled. He had obviously encountered the same thing and showed no signs of turning into a ghost.
'Hallucinations, they're all fucking hallucinations!'
'If I hadn't reacted quickly, I probably would have already met my end. But who would dare gamble that being killed by an illusion wouldn't actually mean death?!'
'What on earth is going on? Was the most dangerous part of this dungeon hidden here?!'
The seemingly real-world setting, complete with police maintaining order, completely lulled players into a false sense of security, making them genuinely believe that this place was just like the real world.
But in reality, it's all an illusion. With those NPCs and these seemingly normal scenes, which player knows whether the NPC in front of them is a human or a ghost, or whether this scene might be haunted? Danger is everywhere!
Thinking of this, Ji He felt a little gloomy. She had been too careless and had actually treated this place as a crime-solving mystery.
Despite this, Ji He felt a little relieved. At least the dungeon wasn't a dead end. If there really were ghosts lurking after the illusion, she and Xia Changhong would be powerless to resist within the illusion.
But her thoughts had barely settled on this point when she realized, "It really was you guys."
A voice suddenly came, and Ji He turned her head slowly, immediately seeing Jiang Shihe standing under the street lamp.
The man remained standing still, not moving an inch, his deep black eyes coldly watching them. For a moment, Ji He even thought he wanted to kill them.
The thought sent a chill down Ji He's spine, but before she could ponder it further, Jiang Shihe had already walked over.
"What are you following me for?"
“We want to find clues about our friend. His disappearance is closely related to Ruan Qingan. It just so happens that you are investigating this matter. We want to work together.”
Ji He offered a pre-prepared explanation: "We have a car ready, and we can help if needed. Is that alright?"
Jiang Shihe's usually gentlemanly and gentle expression turned into a mocking smile: "If I refuse, you can still catch up, can't you?"
Jiang Shihe was clearly just an NPC in a dungeon, but his aura was more powerful than that of the players. Even the Slender Man from before didn't give off the same sense of oppression.
The man toyed with a silver lighter between his long, slender fingers, which shimmered faintly under the warm yellow light, making his large, well-defined hands look exceptionally handsome, and even the distinctive features of his mixed-race features were incredibly striking.
Jiang Shihe casually said, "You can follow me, but don't try anything clever. I hate it when you follow me like hyenas. It's really... disgusting."
After saying that, the man turned around and walked step by step down the street into the distance, the lamplight stretching his tall shadow very long.
Ji He and Xia Changhong stood still. Xia Changhong, who was always taciturn, did not react much, but Ji He's face grew increasingly grim.
He's just a dungeon NPC, ultimately just a piece of data. What is Jiang Shihe so proud of?!
At this moment, Xia Changhong asked, "Should we follow them?"
"Of course we should follow them. Jiang Shihe just said that he is going to pick up Ruan Qingan tomorrow, which means that the target being protected and the suspect will be together."
Having made her decision, Ji He and Xia Changhong followed him openly and casually, hanging at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Jiang Shihe.
Xia Changhong kept his head down, as if he was on guard against something. But he was always taciturn, so Ji He didn't suspect anything or ask any more questions.
There was one thing Xia Changhong didn't say: he seemed to see a faint trace of blood between Jiang Shihe's fingers as he played with the silver lighter, but he couldn't be sure if it was true, and he dared not say it.
...
Until the early morning of the following day.
As the morning sun rose, Jiang Shihe walked from the street not far away. A delicate girl was holding a steaming cup of soy milk and a fried dough stick and a steamed bun in the other hand, standing obediently waiting for him.
When Jiang Shihe approached Ruan Qing'an, he bent down slightly and said to her, "Miss Ruan, why are you standing outside?"
“Captain Long said Mr. Jiang would pick me up this morning. You’ve been working on the case for so long, and you still have to come to the police station this morning. I was worried that Mr. Jiang hadn’t had breakfast, so I specially prepared some for you.”
As she spoke, Ruan Qing'an held up a pile of things in her hands, tilted her head slightly, and her beautiful lead-gray eyes seemed to be curved into crescent moons, with twinkling stars in them.
Jiang Shihe was stunned for a moment when he saw her smile, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
The next moment, his expression softened considerably: "Thank you, Miss Ruan."
"Mr. Jiang, you're too kind."
It was clearly just a polite form of address, but the emotions hidden beneath the politeness were like an undercurrent surging beneath the surface of ice, or a colossal creature hidden beneath the tip of an iceberg—excessively subtle, yet exceptionally tender.
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