Completely unaware of what was happening, the two of them moved uncontrollably, and somehow, they even ended up holding hands and performing a ballet.
But Mu Anqi had no interest in watching this. She hurried into the living room. Candy Cane smashed a delivery box with a single blow, and a black package bag rolled out, blood spilling all over the floor.
"Are you packing fresh meat?" Candy Cane lifted the bag. It was clearly stuffed in hastily, the seal not even properly closed. As soon as it was lifted, a human arm rolled out.
All these deliveries had tracking numbers attached, suggesting that someone among them worked at a delivery point. Strangely, each package had the same sender and recipient numbers, just different between packages.
The two, upon seeing the arms, suddenly transformed. Their malice surged, turning them into two two-meter-tall black monsters. The two monsters were almost fused together, roaring as they lunged toward Mu Anqi.
"I am not guilty."
"I didn't do it on purpose."
"He doesn't know what's good for him."
"We haven't had any relationship for a long time."
The sharp voices kept drilling into Mu Anqi's mind. She raised her hand and fired two shots; the bullets pierced the monsters' bodies, leaving holes, but the black malice coiled around and immediately blocked the openings.
"May everything…" Before she could finish the blessing, a red-tasseled spear suddenly pierced through the two ghosts from behind, pinning them to the floor. The monsters emitted ear-piercing wails. Ji Huaichu merely lifted her wrist, drew a large cleaver from the void, and swung it down forcefully.
A cold gleam flashed, and the two intertwined monsters were cleaved in half. They seemed separated, but at the moment of separation, they lunged at each other, trying to merge again.
No, it wasn't merging—they were biting each other?!
Each delivery box trembled. The fallen arms started moving, laboriously tearing open the boxes, piecing together fragments of its body, gradually forming a patchwork human. Of course, this "human" was emaciated, as if drained of blood, with no internal organs found. Its right calf and thigh were also missing from the delivery boxes.
Perhaps it had already been sent to a distant place as an unknown delivery.
The assembled figure seemed to be a man. He swayed like a zombie, standing on one leg. At that moment, the two monsters that had been biting each other let out a piercing scream and lunged at this man.
Another chaotic battle erupted.
Mu Anqi quickly spoke three blessing words, dividing them evenly among them. As her words fell, General Ji unleashed countless ghostly shadows again, tearing the three monsters apart. The monsters fought among themselves; one even grabbed a ghost shadow with its bare hands, trying to rip it apart. But faster than its movements was Ji Huaichu's blade. With a flash of cold light, Mu Anqi only saw the General elegantly retract her blade, and the monster was split in two once more, leaving the ghost shadows to be completely devoured.
Mu Anqi thought to herself that she could probably now imagine what it was like when General Ji led her men to clear the Black Mirror Vortexes.
That efficiency—it must be extraordinarily high.
The tearing, screams, and wails gradually ceased. Mu Anqi watched as the black shadows returned one by one to General Ji. The three bodies vanished, leaving only the remaining bloodstains.
Mu Anqi sighed, tightened her grip on the gun, and headed toward 202.
She didn't continue searching the room to understand the full cause and process, and thus, she didn't notice the marriage certificate placed on the bedside table in the master bedroom.
The groom's name on the marriage certificate did not contain the character "Tao."
...
"How did the General used to clear the Black Mirror Vortices?" Mu Anqi suddenly asked, standing at the door of 202. "Would the General try to understand everything?"
"If we can't overpower them, yes," Ji Huaichu said softly. "If you can't force your way through with strength, you have to look for weaknesses and opportunities."
"If you just open the door and attack directly, would it be difficult?" Mu Anqi asked curiously.
Ji Huaichu didn't answer. She took a step forward and knocked on the door of 202.
The moment the door opened, a red-tasseled spear shot forward, piercing the man who opened it and pinning him to the ground. Ji Huaichu stomped on the body, the malice taking form and surging upward. In an instant, the entire room seemed to come alive. Blackness spread like a spiderweb, and a powerful suction emerged from within. Mu Anqi staggered into the room as the door slammed shut with a "bang!"
A strange red gleam appeared in Ji Huaichu's eyes. Over a hundred black shadows dispersed from her, like an army charging, colliding violently with the blackness in the room. Yin energy swirled around her, her long hair fluttering. With a single wave of her hand, she drew a Fangtian Huaji[1]. Holding this domineering weapon with one hand, the tip of the long halberd sliced sharply across the floor, sparking as it cut upward, scattering the malice. The sharp tip struck repeatedly, instantly breaking apart the scattered malice. The black shadows leapt onto the dispersed malice, devouring it one by one.
"Die." A low whisper escaped as Ji Huaichu stomped her right foot. Countless black shadows returned to her, and layers of dense yin energy, nearly solid, exploded outward. This violent energy smashed all objects in the room into pieces. Whether it was the malice that hadn't been fully consumed or the house itself, everything was reduced to dust in that instant. The black on the walls vanished without a trace. For a brief moment, as if glitching in a game, Mu Anqi saw a pitch-black night scene outside. But the next moment, the walls of the house returned. Only the walls returned, and nothing else remained.
It seemed to have taken quite some time, but from the moment Mu Anqi was staggered into the room to everything ending… she didn't even know if it had been a full minute.
At the moment of the final surge of yin energy, Mu Anqi saw a protective barrier, also formed of yin energy, enveloping her. This allowed her to safely and clearly witness just how terrifying General Ji Huaichu's power was.
She looked at the Fangtian Huaji in General Ji's hand. While shocked by the strength displayed against the ghosts, she couldn't help but wonder: red-tasseled spear, long blade, dagger, Fangtian Huaji… just how many types of weapons did General Ji know?
"General…"
"Hm?" Ji Huaichu casually dispersed the Fangtian Huaji and looked toward Little Money Tree.
"Do you… do you also know staff techniques?" Mu Anqi asked softly. "Could you teach me dagger skills and staff techniques?"
"…Yes." Ji Huaichu looked at Mu Anqi. She had expected that Little Money Tree might react with some emotion or expression to the display of overwhelming power, but… nothing. "You have the token. If you want to come to the Shattered Mirror Continent, you can contact me anytime."
"Won't it bother you?" Mu Anqi asked, looking obedient.
"No." Ji Huaichu stared at this seemingly innocent Little Money Tree, pursed her lips in a smile, and the fierce aura in her eyes dissipated. "Just provide the proper compensation."
"Alright." Mu Anqi looked away. The sheer impact of General Ji's face was overwhelming, and what was more dangerous was that whether it was that "false gentleness" or the "fierce" expression… Mu Anqi felt her heart stir. She didn't quite understand how someone could be so beautiful. It reminded her of the distant trial dungeon; if the goddess there looked like General Ji, then the words people used to comment on her… Mu Anqi could probably grit her teeth and endure them. Thinking this, she couldn't help but ask, "Did the General wear a mask in battle when alive?"
"Yes." The smile on Ji Huaichu's face grew even gentler. She raised her hand to cover her face, and a blue-faced iron mask with fangs appeared. After Mu Anqi looked at it, Ji Huaichu lightly tapped the mask with her fingertips, and it vanished. "Scary?"
"Scary," Mu Anqi admitted, then added, "But when I think of the General under the mask being so stunning, even the fearsome mask seems softened."
"Good girl." Ji Huaichu praised lightly and stepped out. "Time to go to the third floor."
Something felt off. Mu Anqi took a deep breath to calm herself. Only then did she realize what she had just blurted out. Of course… those were her true feelings, but…
Completely inappropriate. It sounded as if she had been shamelessly teasing General Ji.
Mu Anqi reflected silently, rubbing her face, yet she sensed a hint of "favoritism" in General Ji's attitude. Calm down. Stop overthinking. Don't imagine things.
Mu Anqi realized she had gotten carried away—daring to think about such things even after entering a survival game. As someone who appreciated beauty, admiration was fine, but being emotionally stirred was another matter. General Ji wasn't just a female general; she was a ghost general! —Although, in some circumstances, that identity added a certain thrill. [T/N: Girl is too much down bad XD]
Ascending the stairs, Mu Anqi reached the door of 301. She gathered herself, clearing away all distracting thoughts. Before she could knock, the door of 301 opened. A man in a tank top and shorts stood there, holding the severed head of a long-haired woman in his left hand and a knife in his right, seemingly about to step outside.
"May everything go as you wish!" Mu Anqi reacted instantly, blurting out the blessing while drawing a dagger from her storage ring. The tip of the dagger plunged deep into the man's chest. She didn't pull it out, instead quickly letting go and drawing her handgun. The man held objects in both hands, making a lifting motion.
"Bang!"
After one shot, Mu Anqi fired several more, emptying all the bullets in her hand. She retrieved more ghost bullets from her space and loaded them, but the bullet holes on the man's body seemed to be healing.
Just as Mu Anqi prepared to keep shooting, Ji Huaichu brushed past her from behind, grabbing the man's head with one hand. As the yin energy in her palm spread, the man's entire body suddenly expanded and exploded into a cloud of black mist. As for the woman's head he held, it was pierced by Ji Huaichu's red-tasseled spear, shattering and dissipating.
This time in the dungeon… room after room.
Murder after murder unfolded before Mu Anqi's eyes. In this blood-woven abyss, blood, severed limbs, killers either smiling innocently or appearing gentle and harmless, and manifestations of malice—all that remained for the victims was hatred…