That white figure, though still at a distance, bore an indistinct distortion like a glitching screen—definitely not a normal human. Moreover, in this eerie campus teeming with ghosts, how could anyone else possibly appear!
Seeing the white figure emerge, Chen Mo felt his heart sink heavily. The male ghost earlier was already formidable enough that even the spirit within the red jade bracelet couldn't handle it, and now summoning a white-clad female ghost with even deeper resentment spelled serious trouble.
As Chen Mo's expression shifted slightly, Dai Minghan and Lin Tianheng immediately sensed something and turned to look behind them. But there was only a stretch of trees and thin mist under the dim moonlight—nothing there. The white figure that had just appeared suddenly vanished.
"What the hell! If you've got guts, stop playing tricks and come face me head-on!"
Lin Tianheng, fearless by nature, was about to provoke further when Dai Minghan and Chen Mo quickly jumped up and covered his mouth. Though they knew escape from the female ghost's pursuit was unlikely, every moment they could buy was precious.
"That thing... didn't follow?"
Cautiously, Dai Minghan scanned their surroundings. Everywhere, shadowy trees loomed like demons in the dark night, but the white figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't know... let's hurry," Chen Mo said, also looking around nervously, secretly hoping the ghost might have spared them and targeted the other two instead.
But just then, he saw Dai Minghan's pupils suddenly dilate, his face filled with extreme terror. At the same time, Lin Tianheng shouted, "Chen Mo! Behind you!"
Before the shout even registered, the moment he saw Dai Minghan's expression change, Chen Mo knew—the ghost must have appeared right behind him. Without a second thought, he lunged forward!
Simultaneously, Dai Minghan's right hand instantly ghostified, reaching for the white figure behind Chen Mo. But just as the ghostly hand was about to touch it, the white figure twisted, dodged the attack, and swiftly vanished, diving into a puddle of clear water on the ground!
The small puddle, barely a meter across, reflected the crescent moon in the sky, looking utterly ordinary. Yet within it lurked a terrifying female ghost, ready to strike at any moment.
In that instant, Chen Mo felt a brush with death. Staring at the shallow, seemingly bottomless puddle, he suddenly noticed the ghostly face reappearing in the water!
The female ghost hadn't truly disappeared; she was hiding in the water, waiting to ambush them again.
"Stay away from the puddle!"
Chen Mo shouted, then quickly retreated. But he soon realized the puddle was expanding visibly, spreading outward. Even as they turned to run, its edge kept creeping toward their feet, moving faster than they could sprint!
The female ghost's power was terrifying—she could conjure a moving body of water out of thin air. This unfathomable puddle was essentially the ghost's own異空間 (alien space). Once pulled in, there would be no hope of survival.
But they had no better way to counter it. Whether using ghost-controlling or parasitic items, even summoning spirits to fight, they were helpless against this異空間! Running was their only option.
No, this can't go on... it's a dead end!
Though he didn't know the fate of the other two, mere escape wouldn't complete the team mission. The entire campus was a projection of malice under its control; they had no hope of reaching the exit!
And running like this, they'd eventually be caught by the moving puddle and dragged into that異空間.
Unless they could eliminate the ghost at its source!
If Chen Jingyue still held any hope, it would be the letter Lin Tianheng saw when pulled into the sealed space. The letter mentioned an item Chen Mingyuan intended to give his daughter—something unexpected to Chen Jingyue, whose nature remained unknown.
Suddenly, an idea struck Chen Mo...
He was now certain this item was the key to the entire mission! If she received this birthday gift and opened it, perhaps Chen Jingyue would understand the feelings Chen Mingyuan had hidden, too clumsy to express, and her resentment would dissipate.
"Su Mu... can your ghost control things from a distance?"
Hearing Chen Mo's question, Su Mu paused, then suddenly understood. "You mean..."
"We need to get that item and give it to Chen Jingyue, let her benevolent side see it. This is our last chance, or the mission won't end."
"But we can't get back to the teaching building now."
Before he could finish, Su Mu grasped the idea. The key item they'd missed earlier was now unreachable in the teaching building. But through the ghost she controlled, perhaps it could sense the eerie aura, cross the ghost's spatial barrier, return to the building, and find the item!
"But first, we need to hold off this異空間 so it doesn't close in on you while you search."
With that, Chen Mo gritted his teeth, turned, and jumped into the puddle!
So cold!
The water was icy, the dark pool boundless. The moment he plunged in, the exit above sealed shut—this water was the female ghost's異空間!
Then he saw something floating in the depths, drifting toward him. Looking closer, it was a mass of black hair, from which emerged a female ghost's bluish, swollen face, eerily approaching.
Feeling the intense ghostly aura, Chen Mo's consciousness split again. His knuckles visibly grew slender and pale, his submerged face morphing into another's—hollow-cheeked, sunken-eyed, exuding a cold aura, a sharp scalpel appearing in his hand.
With this ghost possessing him, he might fend off the water ghost, but not for long.
As Chen Mo vanished into the puddle, the eerie water suddenly stopped moving. Dai Minghan turned in shock to see Su Mu's face pale as a specter, her empty eyes seeming to pierce through space to somewhere unseen.
A red-clad female ghost drifted eerily into an empty corridor.
-- PS, second chapter delivered.