The Mirror Ghost, the Devil

Qi Yuan flipped through the last few pages which were all looped in comparison - entanglement - comparison.

He seemed to have finally chosen a place to move to.

Qi Yuan guessed.

Although there were still many pages left in his hands, the second half of the book was blank.

Just to kill some time, he didn't read it carefully. Although he felt something was off about the latter part of the diary, Qi Yuan didn't take it to heart either.

As he turned the pages, there was only one line on the last page.

[Do you enjoy reading my diary that much?]

Qi Yuan's scalp tingled and a chill crept up from the bottom of his heart. He almost flung the book away.

If this was an infinite stream instance dungeon, Qi Yuan would think it through and analyze rationally.

Unfortunately it was not. One of the basic rules of life for ordinary people is to not know things you are not supposed to know. Qi Yuan put the notebook back on the table, planning to report the matter to the security team after heading out.

This action seemed to have flipped Zhuang Heng's switch as he immediately stood up and asked, "Is it time to head out?"

Zhuang Heng decided to retrieve and carefully read through the notebook to satisfy his curiosity about why Qi Yuan cared so much about the orphanage, after they got out.

Having already rested up, Zhuang Heng was restless and itching to go.

"Alright, let's head out."

As a tier 5 noob, Qi Yuan cooperated obediently with the security team member's commands.

The three of them walked out of the room, only to find the corridor looked completely different than before.

Qi Yuan looked around and quickly located the room number.

The spatial distortion had sent them to the first floor corridor.

Zhuang Heng felt along the wall in a certain spot and said, "This is a secret sign my teammate left. I want to go find them."

After speaking, he immediately strode forward.

Qi Yuan quickly caught up to his pace. With it being two against one, Chirp Chirp Bunny had no choice but to follow along too.

Zhuang Heng moved faster and faster, gradually leaving Qi Yuan and Chirp Chirp Bunny behind.

The corridors were a mix of brand new and ancient spiderweb covered sections, like a patched up building.

Although they could no longer see Zhuang Heng, they could figure out which way to go by following the increasing signs of battle.

Embedded in the walls were shards of glass and water stains, as well as slash marks and bullet holes, and even bullet indentations.

Qi Yuan also noticed sporadic droplets of blood on the floor. Despite there only being a few drops here and there, there were some every short distance which meant the injured did not have time to treat their wounds.

They got lucky this time by not running into any spatial distortions while giving chase.

This made Qi Yuan speculate about the pattern behind it. He guessed the spatial distortions probably happened every half hour.

Assuming they had just happened when they left the room, that meant they had at least twenty more minutes.

The battle traces along the way made Zhuang Heng quicken his pace as he raced out of the corridor and into the orphanage lobby.

The spacious lobby also served as an indoor activity space for the children. One look and you could see the entire lobby.

Two people dressed in security team uniforms were protecting their injured and unconscious teammate leaning against the wall.

One held a knife and the other a gun, seeming to be on guard against something.

Other than the three security team members, there were no traces of monsters or humans in the scene.

Zhuang Heng pushed up his glasses and scanned the surroundings, still finding nothing.

But he believed his teammates wouldn't attack groundlessly.

Since his teammates managed to let the injured one rest against the wall, it meant the wall area was safe.

Zhuang Heng judged that he could approach his teammates while sticking close to the wall.

He had just taken his first step when his teammates loudly warned, "Don't come over! Get out!"

But it was too late. A figure emerged from the floor and swung its hands, morphed into blades, slashing at Zhuang Heng.

Clang!

The mirror-like blade struck the metal shield, leaving a white scratch mark.

Seeing the sneak attack fail, the figure immediately retreated back into the floor.

Zhuang Heng retracted his metal shield, only now noticing the floor was covered by a shallow layer of water.

Across the corridor, a water pipe lay quietly on the smooth floor with water trickling out.

"It's a D-level monster, Mirror Ghost."

"Throw away any reflective items on you first."

The two team members each spoke a sentence, pointing out the key points. Zhuang Heng trusted the judgement of his seniors and retreated back.

"Hehe."

The ghost's laughter was right next to his ear. Zhuang Heng reflexively manipulated the metals on him and put up a metal shield to protect himself. But unexpectedly, the Mirror Ghost did not attack.

Where was it?

Zhuang Heng quickly scanned his own body to check for anything that could reflect light.

"Hehehe."

This time the voice was even closer.

The Mirror Ghost emerged from his erect metal shield heading straight for his head.

!!!

The metal extensions on his glasses blocked the Mirror Ghost's blade. Zhuang Heng immediately dismissed the metal shield.

Having lost its foothold, the Mirror Ghost fell to the floor.

Bang bang bang!

The gun-holding security team member reacted extremely quickly. Seizing the opportunity, he fired several shots in succession.

Seeing the Mirror Ghost about to meet its end by the enhanced bullets, a pair of ghostly hands reached out and pulled the Mirror Ghost away.

The bullets hit the floor, shattering the ceramic tiles. The bullets themselves were deflected by the sturdy concrete.

"A Vengeful Ghost has appeared."

The blade wielding security team member immediately went forward, slashing as he pursued. His teammate turned his gun to aim at the Vengeful Ghost instead.

After pulling the Mirror Ghost out of harm's way, the Vengeful Ghost released it.

Aware that it would become the new target, the Vengeful Ghost fled swiftly, not allowing the blade wielding security member to catch it.

The Mirror Ghost slipped back into the water's surface, disappearing from their vision. A moment later, it reemerged by the gun-holding security member's feet.

Having been prepared, the security member used a dagger to fend off the sneak attack while still reminding his teammate, "Don't mind me, kill the Vengeful Ghost first."

This was an order directed at Zhuang Heng, as he had already coordinated with the blade wielding teammate through signals.

Unfortunately, monsters always had superior physiques compared to humans. The blade wielding security member failed to catch the Vengeful Ghost in time and the opportunity was lost.

Sensing its escape, the Vengeful Ghost activated its skill - Ghost Veil, vanishing from sight.

Seeing the Vengeful Ghost get away, the Mirror Ghost also submerged into the water.

Everything was back at square one.

Seeing Zhuang Heng stop, Qi Yuan had wanted to catch up but was halted by the "Don't come over!"

Watching Zhuang Heng get sneak attacked successively from afar, Qi Yuan silently found some cover and checked himself for any reflective items.

It was too dangerous. Rather than going over there to feed kills, he should observe the situation first. If an opportunity arose during a crucial moment, landing a hit would also be repaying the security bros for protecting him all this time.

Chirp Chirp Bunny looked at her livestreaming phone, hesitating a bit before deciding not to discard it. Since the screen was constantly lit for the stream, it wasn't considered reflective. She also had a phone case on, so it should be fine.

The blade wielding security member went forth to protect Zhuang Heng and group up with the gun holding one.

The three of them formed a fan shape with the injured teammate protected in the middle.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Li, watch out for my metals."

Zhuang Heng knew the metals on him could reflect and reminded his teammates.

The one called Brother Zhang waved the blade in his hand and spoke arrogantly, "Give your metals to me and I'll enhance them with anti-reflective abilities."

"Be careful, don't get sneak attacked while enhancing again."

Brother Li reminded his teammate.

"I know, that's what you guys are here for right?"

Brother Zhang waved his hand dismissively. Zhuang Heng's arrival had eased their pressure, putting Brother Zhang's nerves more at ease than before.