Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 13: Ghost Realm
Ghost Cave is about to unleash its Ghost Realm.
The thought surfaced in Gao Tian’s mind.
A Ghost Realm—a privilege reserved only for the most powerful and terrifying ghosts.
Back at Xu Yuan’s old home, Gao Tian had personally experienced the Ghost Realm of the Jialan Society’s president, albeit only a simplified version.
Xu Yuan’s Ghost Realm was an alternate dimension that burned eternally, like a vision of Hell. Any living person who left the sanctuary of the white house and stepped into that space would be instantly incinerated to a skeleton, without even a chance to beg for mercy.
"Little mouse, did you think you could rest easy just by hiding in a mirror?"
Outside the mirror, Ghost Cave calmly described the abilities of its Ghost Realm.
"My domain is called ’The Hole.’"
"The effect of ’The Hole’ is simple. Once unleashed, a space of several thousand square meters with me at the center will be pulled into my ’Hole.’"
"Outside ’The Hole,’ no human or ghost can enter, not even with spatial items. Likewise, inside ’The Hole,’ no human or ghost can leave.
"That applies even if you’re in the Mirror World."
Gao Tian turned and looked into the deep darkness of the Mirror World.
In the distance, a thin black ring had appeared, trapping a section of the world, including the long white path, and cutting it off from the rest.
Ghost Cave’s ability was conceptual. The area enveloped by "The Hole"—be it in reality, an Otherworld, or a parallel world—was completely sealed off, with no way in or out.
Even using instantaneous teleportation items like the Mirror Ghost or a black card wouldn’t allow one to cross the black ring’s boundary.
Ghost Cave’s hollow face pressed against the mirror as it continued to describe its ability.
"The entire mansion has been enveloped by my Hole. Not even a rat or a fly on this floor can escape.
"At the same time, my black ring will begin to shrink over time, getting smaller at regular intervals. Anything left outside the ring will be forcibly dragged inside.
"In about ten minutes, the entire circle will shrink from several thousand square meters to the size of a marble.
"Go on, guess. This building contains tens of thousands of people. What do you think will happen when all of them—and that includes you, of course—are compressed into a tiny marble with a single BANG?
"Being turned into a meatball made of tens of thousands of people must be quite a thrill, right?"
Ghost Cave had issued its ultimatum.
"Even if you hide on the other side of the mirror, once the black ring shrinks to a certain point, you’ll be forcibly dragged out.
"Within my Ghost Realm, no one can escape the black ring. My concept is superior to yours."
In truth, there was no need to wait for the ring to shrink to the size of a marble. The entire mansion was already starting to buckle and collapse.
The highest floors, which formed the outermost layer of the ring, were being crushed by a strange force as the circle contracted.
The building was a frame. When the top floors collapsed, it wouldn’t just be the people on those floors who died. The building’s support pillars would fail, and everyone inside would be buried alive long before they could be compressed into a meatball.
Outside the mirror on the eleventh floor, the ceiling had already started to crack, and countless fragments began to rain down evenly.
"Ghost Cave, don’t take it too far.
"Killing so many people in the city center will attract the attention of the Spirit Disaster Bureau!
"Those Ghost Hunters are a real pain to deal with. It’ll be trouble if they notice us!"
Ghost Infant, still maintaining her reason, rebuked Ghost Cave.
"That’s enough for today. The boss can decide for himself whether this Memory Ghost is human or not."
Ghost Cave turned a deaf ear, its gaze fixed on Gao Tian inside the mirror.
"Are you still going to run your mouth?
"Telling me to stop killing people for my own good. Who gave you the confidence to speak to me like that?"
Gao Tian could feel that the cracking floors and collapsing support beams on the highest levels were already causing numerous casualties.
The black tie was unusually excited.
How many had died? 23... 27... 31... 34...
The death toll continued to rise. The black cloud above Gao Tian’s head, a symbol of his ghost luck, was now as tall as two stories. Thick, vein-like objects, like writhing dragons, were faintly visible within the black mist.
Considering his darkest, most selfish desires, Gao Tian knew that as long as the people around him kept dying, his luck would sooner or later become powerful enough to defeat these two terrifying ghosts and solve the problem of the chat group once and for all.
But he couldn’t bear to see all the people in this building die for his sake, becoming sacrifices for his black tie.
That was why he had warned Ghost Cave one last time to stop killing people. It really was for its own good.
Of course, Gao Tian knew in his heart that Ghost Cave wouldn’t listen to him.
’Still, I had to go through the motions.’
When the black tie absorbed the 57th soul, Gao Tian felt an unprecedented sensation wash over him. Every cell in his body trembled. Even if Xu Yuan and a multi-headed ghost were standing before him now, he was absolutely confident he could take them on.
The gods in the heavens and the devils in Hell were all on his side. The luck of the entire world had converged upon him. This feeling, this confidence, was beyond words.
’There’s no reason to hide anymore. The time for the final battle has come.’
Without further hesitation, Gao Tian strode out of the mirror and into the collapsing Jin Hai Mansion.
Seeing the Memory Ghost recklessly step out of the mirror, Ghost Cave was clearly stunned for a moment. Then, it seemed to understand.
"What, you realized you can’t escape your doom today, so you decided to come out on your own?
"Would’ve been better if you’d just done this from the start..."
Halfway through its sentence, Ghost Cave suddenly attacked without warning. A black arm shot out, grabbing for Gao Tian’s heart.
Gao Tian simply stood his ground, his eyes full of pity as he calmly watched Ghost Cave lunge at him.
Just as his chest was about to be torn open, the floor beneath him suddenly gave way. The entire eleventh floor, warped by the building’s strain, cracked apart. Ghost Cave, Gao Tian, and Ghost Infant all plunged down toward the tenth floor.
Gao Tian simply stood on a large slab of concrete, not even bothering to lift his head. Ghost Cave instantly lost its balance. Its black hand brushed past him, not even tearing his clothes.
"What, haven’t you eaten?
"Can’t even aim straight anymore?"
Gao Tian taunted, looking down at Ghost Cave, which had landed on the tenth floor and was now pinned beneath a fallen pillar. He himself remained as steady as if he were on solid ground.
Ghost Cave casually pushed away the pillar on top of it. Just as it was about to attack again, the floor beneath them cracked open once more, and everyone on the tenth floor began to fall toward the ninth.
"This is..."
Ghost Cave was also starting to realize something was wrong. Every time the thought of attacking crossed its mind, the floor they were on would coincidentally crack open, causing it to lose its balance and throwing off its aim.
’But it isn’t a big deal. This Memory Ghost has been forced out of the mirror by my Ghost Realm. Its death is only a matter of time.’
The frame of Jin Hai Mansion was collapsing floor by floor. The three of them fell from the eighth floor to the seventh, then immediately plunged toward the sixth without pause.
"Let’s end this quickly! Kill this Memory Ghost and let’s get out of here!"
Amid the chaos, Ghost Infant began to make her move. She extended a puppet-like arm, pointing a finger at the falling Gao Tian, seemingly activating some sort of killing rule.
No matter how many floors they fell, Gao Tian stood steadily on a large, intact slab of concrete, his hands in his pockets, not a hair out of place. It was a stark contrast to the disheveled Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave, who were tumbling chaotically and being battered by various heavy objects.
Gao Tian saw Ghost Infant’s finger pointing at him, but he remained motionless, not even bothering to dodge.
"Are you that eager to die?"
’Once the finger is pointed, the killing rule will take effect. This time, Gao Tian will surely be caught,’ Ghost Infant thought.
At that very instant, a large, overweight man suddenly fell from above, pinned by a massive computer desk, and landed right between Ghost Infant and Gao Tian.
"What the hell?"
The finger that was originally aimed at Gao Tian suddenly had its target forcibly shifted to the fat man. At the same time, under the influence of Ghost Infant’s killing rule, the man’s stomach began to swell at an incredible rate. His shirt ripped, and beneath his skin, the purple-blue hand of an infant could be seen squirming, ready to break out of its host.
A shrill baby’s cry echoed through the air.
Ghost Infant’s killing rule was that whoever it pointed at would become pregnant with a Ghost Infant within seconds.
It was just that the victim had become the unlucky, falling fat man.
"Kill me!"
The fat man, cursed by Ghost Infant, was in extreme agony, letting out a heart-wrenching roar. He could feel something crawling out from inside him. The pain was so great that he would rather die than become a vessel for the Ghost Infant.
Gao Tian immediately activated the Terror Blade in his hand and sacrificed him.
This time, he had no choice but to make the sacrifice. It was partly to end the man’s suffering, and partly to interrupt the Ghost Infant’s incubation process.
If he didn’t kill the man, a new ghost would be born into the world.
After the sacrifice, Gao Tian turned again and unleashed an incredibly powerful slash at Ghost Cave.
’If I want to stop Jin Hai Mansion from collapsing, the top priority is to end Ghost Cave’s Ghost Realm. The only way is to eliminate Ghost Cave itself.’
The blade energy swept past. Without a word, Ghost Cave’s entire body was cleanly sliced into two halves.
’Huh, how did my body get split in two?’
Ghost Cave had underestimated the ferocity of the Terror Blade. Even after being dismembered, it still didn’t know what had happened.
But even so, the effect of the Ghost Realm, "The Hole," had not ended.
The entire Jin Hai Mansion was still collapsing, and the speed of its collapse was increasing.
Ghosts don’t die. Even when cut to pieces, its Ghost Realm was still being maintained.
’Is there any way to forcibly terminate Ghost Cave’s Ghost Realm?’
Gao Tian pondered.
In the corner of his eye, he saw that the two separated halves of Ghost Cave’s body were slowly being drawn toward each other, preparing to merge and reform.
Ghost Cave’s recovery speed also exceeded Gao Tian’s expectations.
’The undying, indestructible nature of ghosts is truly terrifying.’
Just as he was contemplating his next move and how to completely end the menace that was Ghost Cave, a faint voice came from behind him.
"Hee hee, gotcha.
"Let’s see where you can run this time."
He turned his head to see Ghost Infant’s doll-like face, right up close.
