Sleeping on the lounge chair was surprisingly comfortable, and she didn't have any back or waist pain when getting up. The temperature in the space was just right, so Mu Anqi didn't catch a cold. The only downside was that the face mask on her face had already dried. She got up early in the morning to take a shower, did a simple wash-up, changed into her sportswear, went to the food store to spend 4 points on breakfast, and then returned to her room. Holding the token, she lay on the lounge chair, waiting for General Ji to send the message that the game could start.
Once she received the message? She checked the storage ring, confirmed that nothing had been missed, and naturally could enter the game.
[Drawing game project…]
[Ding! Special marker detected! Checking invitation…]
[Ding! Special invitation detected! Entering the Black Mirror Vortex…]
[Beep! Activating instance: Blood Night Abyss! (Explore the sins hidden in the darkness)]
[Entering… please wait…]
[Beep! Passive·Chosen Girl effect activated!]
[Congratulations to the player for receiving 1666+500 Guan Si.]
Mu Anqi looked at her Guan Si, which had reached the number 14,753, and suddenly felt the urge to give half of it to General Ji.
Each mission only required handing over a thousand Guan Si… actually, that seemed a bit little, didn't it? What kind of value was that? Mu Anqi wanted to hold a more important position in General Ji's heart.
Gathering her thoughts, Mu Anqi examined her surroundings. The background of this Black Mirror Vortex seemed modern, after all, everywhere she looked were modern high-rises. She was in a dark alley, and the streetlights, whether due to insufficient voltage or poor contact, were dim and flickering, making Mu Anqi feel dizzy.
At that moment, Mu Anqi realized she had forgotten something. She should have bought a flashlight or some other lighting tool! Silently, she took out her notebook and the endless neutral pen from the storage ring and quietly wrote the words "flashlight."
This was an extremely ordinary alley, and the road in it was a dead end. At the far end was a large trash bin, and the sour stench of garbage was very strong. This place… was very reminiscent of the dark alleys in novels where people are trapped, fights break out, murders occur, or robberies happen.
Mu Anqi looked around near the trash bin and only breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't find any corpses or bloodstains. She smoothed her emotions and relaxed: "Well, there's no way I'd be so unlucky as to encounter a ghost or monster right after being teleported~" Thinking this, she planned to hold her breath and open the trash bin to see what was inside.
"Boom—" An unexpected lightning bolt tore through the night sky, illuminating the entire city for a moment. In the next instant, raindrops, as small as beans, began to fall, gradually increasing in density, and within three to five seconds, the dry ground was completely soaked…
Mu Anqi was caught off guard and drenched like a wet chicken. She seriously questioned her life choices—did she now need to prepare an umbrella or raincoat? No, could this be a hint that she should buy that black umbrella for 260 points at half price? Wiping the rain from her face, Mu Anqi planned to leave the alley to find General Ji. This Black Mirror Vortex… who knows what it's about? "Sins hidden in the darkness"? That's far too broad. If she were to count all the evils hidden in the world's darkness, it would probably take until next year to finish.
Just then, a horn drew Mu Anqi's attention. A taxi had somehow stopped at the alley entrance, its window rolled down, and the driver glanced at her: "Are you going or not?"
"..." This was the Black Mirror Vortex.
In the Black Mirror Vortex, could an ordinary driver appear? Was this person a malicious victim or the perpetrator? Mu Anqi stared at the driver, carefully observing him. There didn't seem to be anything special about him; his face was completely ordinary. If she had to describe him, it would probably be "looking quite honest," right?
Mu Anqi was startled by her own thought. In an instant, she recalled countless news stories she had seen in her past life—every time a murderer was caught, neighbors or relatives would always say that the perpetrator had once been an honest person.
Still, Mu Anqi decided to get in the car. She believed she had enough ability to protect herself; even if she didn't meet up with General Ji after entering the Black Mirror Vortex, she wouldn't be helpless. Besides, General Ji's token was still with her. If anything happened, Mu Anqi trusted that General Ji would definitely rescue her in time.
"Let's go." Mu Anqi responded, and the driver opened the passenger door. She had originally planned to sit in the back seat, but after a moment's thought, she got into the front passenger seat instead.
As soon as she sat down, the car door shut. The rain outside grew heavier, lightning flashed, and thunder roared continuously. At that moment, Mu Anqi turned to look at the driver and realized that countless arms were clinging to him. Judging by their slenderness, they were most likely women's arms—and there was more than one. Some arms grabbed, some squeezed, holding the driver tightly, yet he remained completely unaffected. Even when a pair of hands clamped tightly around his neck, he showed no sign of struggling for breath.
The driver smiled and expertly started the car. Mu Anqi hadn't even mentioned a destination, yet he had already driven onto the road, the scenery on both sides whizzing past. She watched him through the rearview mirror; he drove in silence, wearing a standard smile. He then drove straight into a park, empty in the dead of night.
He locked the car and then turned to Mu Anqi. In a flash faster than she could react, he lunged at her, one hand holding a bundle of exposed wires and the other swinging a fist, clearly intending to overpower her and strangle her to death.
"Bon voyage." Mu Anqi silently whispered this as the driver's attack froze mid-motion. A small dagger suddenly appeared in her hand, and with a forward thrust, it pierced straight into the driver's chest. She didn't pause; she twisted the dagger violently within the flesh before pulling it out. Yet even after this, the driver wasn't dead?!
"Damn it, X!" The driver grew furious, his face twisted and terrifying, yet his hand uncontrollably formed a "V" sign. "Bitch!" Once the motion was complete, he regained control of his body and lunged at her again. Mu Anqi enlarged her candy cane with one hand, using its tip to press against his chest and create distance, while her right hand drew a handgun and fired three consecutive shots at his head!
The three ordinary bullets blew his brain apart at such close range, yet even so, he still wasn't dead. Mu Anqi immediately retracted the candy cane, drew bullets effective against ghosts, and fired two more shots straight into his chest. Only then did the frenzied man scream as his yin energy dissipated.
At that moment, Mu Anqi saw the countless arms clinging to the driver suddenly gain some power, frantically tearing at his flesh bit by bit. The driver was now vulnerable to these arms' attacks. The hands around his neck squeezed with all their might and finally snapped his neck, sending his head rolling to the ground. Mu Anqi pressed against the passenger door, watching the scene unfold. She was soaked from head to toe, unsure if it was rain or blood, but she didn't have the energy to care—the scene before her was too insane and bloody.
Those arms, those countless arms, tore the driver's flesh, ripped apart his limbs, and dismembered him inch by inch. Endless resentment coalesced and intertwined, then transformed into black mist and dispersed into the world.
Mu Anqi kept pressed against the car door, and in an instant, she suddenly fell, landing squarely on the ground. She realized she was back in the alley with the trash bin.
"..." Mu Anqi propped herself up with her candy cane. Her body was still soaked with a mix of blood and rain, but the taxi had disappeared, as if it had never existed. She looked at the trash bin, finally walked over, and opened it. Inside were several black garbage bags. After hesitating for a moment, she used her candy cane to pull one out. Upon opening it, she saw minced meat that had been chopped, mixed, and cooked.
Mu Anqi didn't think much about how or why it had been done. She quietly tied the garbage bag and threw it back into the bin. Then she took out a roughly made hand grenade and tossed it into the trash, watching everything be destroyed in the explosion. At least… it could be considered a sort of "cremation" to rest in peace.
Perhaps there were also bodies in that guy's taxi. He had been preparing to dispose of them, and upon seeing her there, he feared she would discover what he had done, which gave him the murderous intent? Mu Anqi didn't understand the driver's thought process, but the mind of a vicious killer is generally difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.
The rain in the sky gradually eased, and Mu Anqi sighed as she walked out of the alley, about to look for General Ji. That's when she saw a black umbrella moving through the rain. General Ji, dressed in a white casual outfit, stood out in the dark rainy night like a beam of light piercing into Mu Anqi's eyes.
"General!" Mu Anqi ran over.
"Mm." Ji Huaichu responded, looking at the rain and blood on Mu Anqi, without saying anything unnecessary. She simply raised her hand, grasped at the void, and summoned a red cloak, tossing it to Mu Anqi to put on. "Let's go, hunt the ghosts."
"Okay!" Mu Anqi was actually a little worried that her rain- and blood-soaked appearance might dirty Ji Huaichu, but since she had taken out the cloak for her… she wrapped it around herself. The black umbrella tilted to cover her as well, and the red cloak wrapped her tightly. Mu Anqi moved closer to Ji Huaichu, looking up and asking, "General, have you been here all along?"
"Mm." Ji Huaichu maintained her calm expression, looked at Mu Anqi, and praised her, "You did very well."
Mu Anqi smiled and generated a red envelope containing 7,000 Guan Si, handing it to Ji Huaichu. "Thank you for the umbrella and the cloak, General."
The little money tree's eyes were clear and bright, looking exactly like it was trying hard to pluck coins and ingots from itself with its branches to offer to its master. The red cloak draped over her, and her hands, as white and tender as freshly peeled water chestnuts, held the red envelope. The contrast of red and white deepened Ji Huaichu's gaze. She stared at the delicate neck revealed by the little money tree, feeling a slight itch at her teeth.
"You're welcome." Ji Huaichu lowered her eyes, and when she looked up again, a gentle smile appeared. She reached out to take the red envelope, her fingertips brushing against Mu Anqi's. "I should be the one thanking you."