Ghost Town

As the corpse hit the ground, Ying Jian Yun's gentle smile slowly faded. He realized the situation seemed a little off.

Ye Yu raised her hand, and three flying daggers multiplied into six, rapidly shooting towards Ying Jian Yun. Each dagger carried a purplish-black streak, glinting with an eerie light under the sunlight.

Ying Jian Yun clearly felt their speed had doubled. He had no choice but to roll on the spot, using the trees for cover. However, just as he dodged the incoming daggers, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound from behind him.

He couldn't evade in time, and his cheek was immediately cut, blood splattering. Then, the skin around the wound quickly turned an ominous purplish-black.

Though the wound wasn't deep, under the effect of the potent poison, Ying Jian Yun's face rapidly turned pale and ashen. He clenched his five fingers, and a green glow instantly entangled countless threads that plunged straight into the grass and trees within a ten-meter radius around him. Those threads quickly transformed into finger-sized tubes, which contracted, instantly siphoning away the vitality of the vegetation, causing it to wither and yellow.

Relying on this power, Ying Jian Yun barely suppressed the toxins in his body, looking at Ye Yu in disbelief.

"You... You're not just Level Three! Who exactly are you?!"

Ye Yu didn't bother to say much to him. She raised her hand, and six more flying daggers appeared in mid-air. A total of eighteen flying daggers crisscrossed the sky, each glinting with a purplish-black, highly poisonous light under the sun, causing Ying Jian Yun a surge of alarm.

He dared not be careless, struggling to dodge amidst the flying daggers, while probing to approach Ye Yu. However, each time he thought he could strike Ye Yu, her figure would move like lightning, rapidly shifting to another position, precisely stepping on the edge of his ability's range.

Ying Jian Yun was no fool. Seeing Ye Yu's actions, he immediately understood that, just as he had long known about Ye Yu's parents' background, Ye Yu must have long ago probed and discovered his supernatural ability to absorb life force from somewhere!

"You actually concealed so much strength. You had already investigated Ji Zou... You already knew that he and I were both members of the Joyful Cult?"

Ying Jian Yun's gentle smile completely vanished, replaced by a cold, gloomy expression. "You did this on purpose. This whole charade today was deliberately set up by you?!"

Was Ye Yu truly a member of the Silent Council? Could this be a conspiracy specifically aimed at him by the Silent Council?!

Wu Xi seemed to understand a little upon seeing this. His mood instantly brightened. "Are they members of the Joyful Cult? So you intentionally approached him before, actually wanting to find a way to kill him?"

"Since when did you know? Why didn't you tell me about this? If you just wanted to kill him, why go through so much trouble? Such a small bug, I could stomp him to death with one foot."

"But... didn't you stop me from killing him before? Saying something about him being the investigation team leader's grandson, and that his death would be very troublesome?"

Ye Yu said, "Killing him would indeed be very troublesome, but... who told him to know secrets he shouldn't know?"

Therefore, directly killing Ying Jian Yun was relatively less troublesome.

The information revealed in their conversation left Ying Jian Yun breathless. He had thought he was using Ji Zou to bait a fish, inviting the enemy into a jar, but he never expected that he was the one being invited into the jar!

He had previously seen Ye Yu meticulously dressed, and thought she was charmed by his appearance, developing feelings for him. He never expected that this junior schoolmate was actually a better actress than him! Jin Yang University wasn't a drama academy, where did so many talented actors come from?!

Unfortunately, his weapon had been damaged during the previous encirclement and extermination of the Five-Colored Parrot. If that Level Six Oddity Relic were still here, he wouldn't be so passive. Fortunately, he still had a trump card.

Ying Jian Yun fiercely pulled at the small clay ghost figurine ornament on his keychain. The thumb-sized figurine was crushed in his grip, turning into a handful of powder. At the same time, a vortex with immense suction appeared out of thin air, instantly pulling Ying Jian Yun, Ye Yu, and Wu Xi into it.

*

Seeing the vortex appear in an instant, Ye Yu turned and fled, but couldn't escape the immense suction. When she awoke after a blackout, she found herself on a bus.

When she saw Ox-Head and Horse-Face in front, Ye Yu's heart trembled. What had Ying Jian Yun done to her? Ox-Head and Horse-Face had appeared, so could she still be saved?

But very quickly, she saw Tiger-Head, Fox-Head, Black Bear-Head, and Hawk-Head. Good news: the two earlier were not Ox-Head and Horse-Face. Bad news: everyone on this bus was not human, but rather individuals with animal heads and human bodies, like beastmen.

Ye Yu was vigilant, fearing these monsters would harm her. To her surprise, she felt her movements were restricted, and her legs seemed a little unusual. She looked down and saw a sky-blue fish tail coiled on the ground beneath her denim skirt.

This fish tail was very long, coiled on the ground like a snake's tail. Its scales were tightly arranged, and the caudal fin was like thin gauze, transparent and translucent, yet vaguely revealing sharp, rigid bone spines. Sunlight streamed through the bus window onto this fish tail, and the sky-blue fish scales shimmered with beautiful light.

This was a truly beautiful fish tail, like the merfolk of deep-sea legends. Normally, Ye Yu would have been happy to admire it, but the problem was... this fish tail was now growing on her body.

She tried to move her legs, and the fish tail immediately swayed flexibly. Then Ye Yu discovered fish scales on her arms and gills behind her ears. Her flowing black hair had also turned sky-blue.

She quickly pulled out her phone to check her face. In selfie mode, a face appeared on the phone that was both familiar and strange to Ye Yu. Her long, sky-blue hair cascaded down her snow-white cheek, and her eyes, the same color, flickered, a shimmering expanse of autumn water.

Her face was covered in tightly arranged fish scales. The thin, watery scales didn't look out of place; instead, they complemented her snow-white skin, shimmering with tiny glints under the sunlight, like performers on stage covered in dazzling glitter.

Her delicate human ears had transformed into fish fins with sharp bone spines, and her teeth were also much sharper. She tried licking her sharp teeth, clearly feeling that they would be excellent aids for eating meat.

This was a beautiful, demonic face, with an intensely non-human feel. Though it was still her features, it was twice as beautiful as Ye Yu's usual appearance.

Sitting next to Ye Yu was a Cat-person with a black cat head. His fluffy head leaned close, looking at Ye Yu with hungry eyes.

"You look quite pretty like this. You look... especially plump."

Ye Yu: ...

She raised her hand expressionlessly, unceremoniously pushing the stinky cat's face aside. Casually, she asked Da Luo if he could figure out what was happening.

Da Luo: 【My King, the item Ying Jian Yun just took out is a type of 'key' intentionally dropped by a high-level Oddity, which can also be called a bait tentacle of the Oddity. Ying Jian Yun activated it. So we were all sucked into the domain within this Oddity. Its main body is not around, so I can't get much information.】

【Currently, I see animal traits on you, specifically fish. The people around you also have corresponding animal traits. So I deduce that bodily transformation must be one of the rules.】

Da Luo examined each person. He indicated that in the bus, those without animal characteristics were derivatives of the Oddity, while those with animal characteristics were living people. Besides three ordinary people who were tense and uneasy, the other four were investigators from Jiuan City.

Ye Yu looked over as instructed by Da Luo. There weren't many people on the bus. The three ordinary people Da Luo mentioned included the two she had previously mistaken for 'Ox-Head and Horse-Face'. Wearing simple Ox-Head and Horse-Head masks, she now saw their eyes were filled with fear and unease. Their bodies were still human.

The remaining ordinary person sat alone, a Monkey-Head. With a rat-like snout and monkey ears, he was looking around, his eyes darting about, clearly a cunning individual.

The other four sat in pairs. These 'animals' were all from Jiuan City: three elite investigators and one ordinary investigator.

The Tiger-Head person frowned, sweeping her gaze over the Fox, Black Cat, and... a fish that had just appeared out of nowhere. A strong female voice emanated from her mouth.

"How did someone else get in?"

She wore a colorful Tiger-Head, a head twice or thrice the size of a human head. Her wide, blood-basin mouth seemed capable of biting off an ordinary person's head. Her human body below was also extremely robust; 'tiger's back and bear's waist' perfectly described her.

Compared to the other three ordinary people with delicate skin, her skin was dark, vaguely showing colorful tiger stripes, and covered in coarse tiger fur. Her hands hadn't turned into tiger claws, but her fingernails were sharp like those of felines. A steel-whip-like tiger tail extended from her coccyx.

Da Luo: 【Shi Shuo, Level Six Awakened One, Supernatural Ability: Gigantic Strength.】

Although Da Luo said he couldn't see the specific details of Shi Shuo's supernatural ability, just by the name, Ye Yu roughly understood. She heard that Jiuan City had a Level Eight powerhouse guarding it. However, such a guardian powerhouse would not easily make a move. If Jiuan City only sent a Level Six at most this time, then this Oddity should be a Level Seven Oddity.

Thinking this, Ye Yu let out a sigh of relief. If it was only Level Seven, she still had the strength to fight.

On the other side, the Bear-Head person spoke, his voice a powerful male rumble: "Four people weren't enough, and now three more have arrived. They must have come in through a key again. What are those people in the cleanup team even doing? Can't they even handle this small task?"

Da Luo: 【Shi Shuo, Level Six Awakened One, Supernatural Ability: Fierce Beast.】

The Rabbit-Head person spoke in a sweet, soft female voice: "Oh, don't complain. After all, so many keys have fallen out of the Black Market, how can they all be cleaned up? One or two mistakes are normal. Don't worry, there won't be any problems."

Da Luo: 【Bai Miao Miao, Level Six Awakened One, Supernatural Ability: Prophetic Dream.】

The Hawk-Head person: "I'm absolutely not worried. With Sister San Shui's foresight, this mission will definitely go smoothly."

Da Luo: 【Gao Bai, Level Five Dual Ability User, Supernatural Abilities:
Flight: Can grow two wings from his ribs and fly in the air at extreme speed. Disadvantage: Lacks offensive and defensive capabilities. Weakness lies at the connection between his wings and ribs.】
【Tree Monster: Can 'awaken' up to five trees, turning them into Tree Monsters to fight for him. These Tree Monsters have extremely high defensive, offensive, and regenerative capabilities. Disadvantage: Afraid of fire. Their roots need to be deeply embedded in the ground, preventing mobile attacks. Can only attack within a fixed range.】

Ye Yu gave the Hawk-Head person another look. She didn't expect to meet an acquaintance here. He used to be a Level Four Awakened One, but now he had advanced to Level Five.

Ye Yu was a bit dissatisfied with this, feeling that the Jiuan City investigation team's previous talk of punishment was just for show, and Gao Bai hadn't suffered at all, but instead had advanced.

She didn't know that, under pressure from the Jin Yang City investigation team, the Jiuan City investigation team had indeed issued a severe, team-wide criticism notice to Gao Bai. Furthermore, he was demoted from elite investigator to ordinary investigator for a period.

In just a few short days, Gao Bai's treatment within the investigation team plummeted from heaven to earth. Even Director Zong, who usually valued him greatly, felt he was reckless and told him to rein in his temper. Among the elite investigators, many who had long disliked his arrogant behavior took advantage of the situation, with not a few mocking him.

Originally, after his younger brother Gao Yang was imprisoned, Gao Bai's mood was already poor. Facing such treatment, he was almost internally injured with anger. He didn't want to stay in the team for long. He only wanted to go out on missions to escape for a bit. Just then, a Level Seven Oddity mission called Ghost Town appeared, and he immediately became interested.

He had originally planned to steadily advance to Level Five by consuming a Level Four Oddity Core every three months, which was the lowest mortality rate method currently researched by the investigation team. But recently, those mocking words truly made the proud and arrogant Gao Bai unbearable.

So he chose to spend more than half of his accumulated points to exchange for a Level Five core, directly risking advancement to Level Five. Then he applied to join this mission.

He was a Dual Ability User, and his abilities were both extremely practical and complementary, allowing him to kill monsters beyond his level. That's why he, a Level Five, appeared in this team. And what he had to do this time was to once again complete a mission beyond his level, achieving a brilliant功績. He would redeem himself and return to the ranks of elite investigators, letting those who mocked him know his strength, and know that Dual Ability Users were vastly different from ordinary mortals like them!

Gao Bai didn't feel this was too difficult; his heart had long been at ease. After all, before leaving, Bai Miao Miao had just had a Prophetic Dream, dreaming that all four of them would safely emerge from the Oddity's domain.

Thinking this, Gao Bai looked at Bai Miao Miao with what he considered an handsome smile. Bai Miao Miao, with her divination ability, was also a prominent figure among elite investigators, with significantly higher popularity than him. Although her family background was very poor, Bai Miao Miao's sweet and lovely appearance made up for this. If he could make Bai Miao Miao his girlfriend, it would not only give him face but also greatly assist his career.

It was just a pity that his hawk-head, when smiling at this moment, didn't look handsome, only 'clever'. Bai Miao Miao's red rabbit eyes flashed with a hint of speechlessness.

Her title was San Shui, but who was Sister San Shui? Whose sister was she?

She didn't respond to Gao Bai, but turned to look at Ye Yu and Wu Xi. She had previously observed Ye Yu's expression, which was initially surprised, then quickly calmed down, and she already had a guess in her heart.

Bai Miao Miao skillfully took out her identification card, waving it in front of Ye Yu and the others.

"We are from the Jiuan City investigation team. You can call me San Shui. Did you enter by mistake or intentionally?"

"Just call me Little Fish, and he's Little Wu." Ye Yu looked at the fox head in front. "We accidentally touched a key and were teleported in."

Bai Miao Miao said, "So it was an accidental entry? Which of you three accidentally touched the key?"

"It was me. I accidentally touched the key." The Fox-Head person spoke with a gentle yet helpless smile. "It was a small clay ghost figurine ornament someone gave me. I used it as a keychain decoration, but I didn't realize it was a key. I accidentally crushed it just now."

This person was Ying Jian Yun. Relying on the life energy he had absorbed earlier, he didn't have to worry about the poison acting up and killing him in the short term. The thick fox fur on his fox head covered the wound on his cheek. So, from his appearance, he only looked a bit more disheveled than others, with some grass stuck to him.

And his words were a lie. He knew it was the key to this Level Seven Oddity, which was why he intentionally crushed it. In fact, this key wasn't given to him by someone else; he intentionally bought it from the Black Market.

He originally wanted to bring a few people in to acquire this Level Seven core, to prepare for his next advancement. However, due to the Silent Council continuously disrupting the Joyful Cult's plans, he, as an undercover agent, always had to pay attention to the investigation team's movements to steal intelligence about the Silent Council that the investigation team obtained. So he could only temporarily put it aside. He never expected this key to save his life at this moment.

As an undercover agent, Ying Jian Yun clearly saw that Ye Yu, in front of these investigators, dared not attack him. He resumed his previous expression. Looking at Ye Yu, he smiled hypocritically and said, "Sorry, I've implicated you all."

Ye Yu spoke indifferently, "It's good that you know."

Ying Jian Yun wasn't angry. Instead, he chatted with Bai Miao Miao about the current situation, and gave himself a new identity: a Level Four Rogue Awakened One, named Zhang Yun.

Ye Yu watched Ying Jian Yun speak openly, not exposing his false identity. Both of their identities were problematic, and this absolutely could not be known by the Jiuan City investigation team.

Ye Yu had originally thought of revealing her Level One investigator identity, but she saw that her current appearance was only five or six parts similar to her past self, and even acquaintances might not recognize her. So she immediately changed her mind. She chose to adopt the alias 'Little Fish', completely preventing these Jiuan City investigators from noticing anything unusual. Ying Jian Yun evidently thought the same.

Besides Ye Yu's group of beastmen, there were also seven gaunt men and women sitting on the bus. Ye Yu and the others sat in the back rows, while these people all sat in the front rows. Some had carrying poles leaning against the side, and baskets covered with blue cloth on the ground. Some hugged baskets to their chests, while others had tightly tied plastic bags beside them. They looked like they had just returned from the market, their attire and demeanor exuding a rustic air.

These people seemed very curious about Ye Yu's group. While chatting amongst themselves, they would often secretly glance back a few times. However, overall, they didn't seem to harbor any ill will. Nor did they find Ye Yu's group's appearance particularly frightening. Seeing Ye Yu look over, an old woman even smiled at her.

Ye Yu was startled, and returned a smile. Wu Xi, sitting next to her, felt an inexplicable craving upon seeing this smile, and couldn't help but slowly reach out. Then... his two fingers precisely grasped Ye Yu's pink lips.

So soft... Wu Xi tried to pull, and the beautiful merfolk's pink lips stretched.

Wu Xi: So soft...

The smile on Ye Yu's face quickly vanished. She slapped Wu Xi's meddling hand away. At the same time, her fish tail, longer than an ordinary fish's, moved, as flexible as a snake. Its caudal fin flicked up and slapped Wu Xi's cat face with a resounding 'bang'.

Ye Yu was startled. She had forgotten about her tail just now, simply wanting to kick Wu Xi. She never expected... this tail to be more flexible than she imagined. It didn't seem useless. At least the slapping sound was very loud, pleasant to hear, and she enjoyed hearing it.

On the other side, Wu Xi raised his large, bony hand and clearly touched his fluffy cat face. If anyone else dared to slap his face like that, he would definitely bite them to death. But facing Ye Yu's attack...

His shiny fur turned black. The handsome Cat-person in a suit and leather shoes slowly lowered his head, his golden cat eyes staring at Ye Yu's fish tail, unable to resist licking his sharp teeth and nose.

Wu Xi: What a flexible tail. From his experience, this fish tail meat would definitely be both chewy and crispy!

Bang!

Ye Yu felt shivers down her spine from his gaze. Before she could think much, her tail instinctively rose and delivered another slap to Wu Xi.

Wu Xi, having learned his lesson this time, directly raised his hand to block. His large hand then pinched and rubbed the caudal fin. Like thin gauze, its texture was soft and smooth; the fish tail was cool and supple.

Ye Yu's body stiffened. Although the part being kneaded was clearly just her leg, the fish tail seemed much more sensitive than a human leg, and its body temperature was much lower. Wu Xi's warm palm made her feel a little 'hot'.

The merfolk's beautiful, snow-white face uncontrollably flushed. She flailed her fish tail in a panic, but couldn't escape the predator's grasp. She could only extend her cool, soft hand, and then...

"Meow!" The Black Cat-Head person jumped up as if his butt was on fire, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Wu Xi didn't care how these small fry looked at him. He only looked at the black cat tail behind him, then glared at Ye Yu in dissatisfaction.

"What are you doing?!"

The merfolk sneered, raised her hand, and blew away the cat fur in her hand. "Dare to touch my tail again, and I'll make sure your tail falls off!"

Wu Xi sat back down. He said resentfully, "I was just looking. So stingy."

Ye Yu retorted, "You're generous, always looking at my tail with drool, as if you're never full."

Wu Xi argued confidently, "You're a fish, I'm a cat. Isn't it natural for me to drool when I look at you? Who told you to grow up so delicious?"

Ye Yu: "...Do you hear yourself? Do you really think you're a cat?"

Wu Xi wanted to say something more, but seeing that Ye Yu seemed genuinely angry, he could only snort coldly, turn his head to look out the window, and ignore Ye Yu.

Everyone else didn't know the true meaning of Ye Yu's last words, thinking that Wu Xi was also human like them. They listened to their noisy bickering. Bai Miao Miao, Shi Shuo, and the others' eyelids twitched. They all looked as if they were choked by their public displays of affection.

What time was it? Yet they were still flirting, in public, even saying things like 'so ~ delicious ~ when ~ grown ~ up ~' Ugh! Needless to say, these two must be a couple in the throes of passionate love, a sour taste of love that disregarded the life and death of others!

Ying Jian Yun couldn't help but take another look. Previously, at the music festival stage, he had seen Ye Yu being neither warm nor cold towards that man, and thought the man was just talking nonsense. But now, it seemed these two really did have something going on.

Ying Jian Yun had no interest in Ye Yu's love life. He only instinctively pondered whether this point could be exploited by him.