Chapter 63 - 60: Red-robed Ghost

Chapter 63: Chapter 60: Red-robed Ghost

Hair Ghost took Researchers Jiang and Wang on a rough patrol around the Nightmare Area. After familiarizing themselves with the terrain, the three began to formulate their tactics.

"Along the way, we’ve only discovered two sources of danger so far. One is the Ghost Insects inside the vat in the courtyard. The other is the wall covered in ’Double Happiness’ characters; if you stare at it for too long, your mind will start to have problems," Jiang Peng said.

That wall covered in ’Double Happiness’ characters was actually very dangerous. If an Ordinary Dream Descender looked at it for just a few seconds, their Spirit would suffer some confusion. Many inexperienced Dream Descenders wouldn’t realize the danger at first glance, and by the time they did, it would be too late.

However, the three of them were in the Control Stage and had already ignited their Glow of Will, giving them stronger resistance. At present, these two dangers were just minor issues in Jiang Peng’s eyes.

But his thick eyebrows remained furrowed. "I still have a bad feeling about this. The true danger of this Nightmare might be entirely concentrated on that ghost!"

Where the ghost was located was easy to guess. There was a 99.8% chance it was inside the coffin on the altar.

But could they just go and open it? No.

Under normal circumstances, the ghost would likely wait until they triggered something before it manifested. But if they courted death and opened it themselves, the ghost would ignore its hunting logic and slaughter them indiscriminately. Faced with a ghost no longer bound by any restrictions, even experts in the Control Stage wouldn’t last long.

Jiang Peng frowned because he felt that the current Nightmare World wasn’t very dangerous. Therefore, according to the law of conservation of danger, when that ghost emerged, the threat level would likely be beyond imagination.

But having prepared to this extent, there was no reason to back down. At the very least, their chances of success were still much higher than usual.

"The logic of the Nightmare World is often closely related to reality," Jiang Peng said. "Buses require coins, hospitals have doctors and patients, and sewers aren’t likely to be located in the sky... Ahem, I’m getting off-track.

"If we can conquer a Nightmare World like this, we might obtain Curse Objects and items like a wedding dress, a grand sedan chair, or paper dowries."

This was exactly what he wanted to research. At this thought, Jiang Peng couldn’t help but feel excited.

He was indeed professionally trained with a wealth of knowledge, and he seemed to be a teacher in reality. His explanations were so clear and methodical that even a complete novice like Shi An could easily understand him. At this moment, he could even imagine what might appear in the ’choose one of three’ spoils after conquering this Netherworld Marriage Nightmare.

If an option to convert an employee appeared, what kind of ghostly employee would it be? He already had a rough guess.

Shortly after, their tactics were finalized.

The three didn’t stick together; instead, they split up and each headed to a different graveyard. There were seven graveyards in total within this Nightmare World.

"Digging up the corpse’s bones from the graveyard and returning them to the coffin on the altar—this is highly likely the way to conquer this Nightmare!" they concluded over the comms.

"However, the moment we start digging up the graves, danger will inevitably descend upon us at the same time!"

The three men took their positions, each holding a communication walkie-talkie in their hands.

Shi An was truly a bit envious of this item; he wondered if the Wizard Workshop could produce something similar. However, he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Manager Shi was also shouldering a heavy responsibility right now. The lives of three Control Stage experts were currently resting on his shoulders.

At this moment, aside from the ’Shadow Witch’s Flying Eye’, Shi An had two idle Ordinary Flying Eyes at his disposal. It would be very difficult to control all three simultaneously using the joystick device.

But through the Wizard Workshop, Shi An could control them with his mind. Although he couldn’t split his attention three ways, he didn’t plan on micromanaging all three Witchcraft Flying Eyes at once. He simply controlled the two Ordinary Witchcraft Flying Eyes to shoot out of the shop with a WHOOSH, flying until they hovered high above the altar of the Netherworld Marriage Nightmare and one of the grave mounds.

They remained stationary, suspended in the air. He only needed to periodically switch his vision to check the situation while actively controlling the Shadow Flying Eye to monitor all directions.

Soon after, a voice commanded over the walkie-talkies. "Three, two, one, dig!"

The three of them began digging into the grave mounds at the same time.

As they were Control Stage Dream Descenders, Researchers Jiang and Wang both had Ordinary Curse Objects that could be used as sharp tools, making their digging speed quite fast.

The same went for Hair Ghost. Holding a shovel brought from the Safe Zone, he activated an Extreme Path Incomplete Curse Object. In an instant, he swung the shovel so fast it became a blur, digging through the grave mound in just a few seconds.

Inside, there was nothing!

This was to be expected. Choosing three out of seven meant the probability was less than half. Moreover, this was just a pseudo-probability. It would be completely normal if they found nothing until they dug up the very last spot. When conquering a Nightmare, one always had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Meanwhile, at the altar, the moment Hair Ghost and the other two disturbed the grave mounds, the coffin violently began to shake.

A few seconds later, there was a loud BOOM!

The coffin lid was sent flying as a red dress shot out from within.

This red dress was incredibly bizarre. Rather than a ghost wearing a wedding dress, it was more accurate to say it was just a floating, bright Red Wedding Dress. The veil and the dress were completely empty inside, yet the hollow sleeves bulged as if real arms were hidden within.

The Red Veil fluttered and twirled. The wedding dress turned an even deeper, more vibrant crimson, and beads of blood dripped from its hem.

After blasting open the coffin, it hovered in midair. It seemed to be looking for something. After gazing out for the span of two and a half breaths, the Red-clothed Ghost suddenly shot toward a specific location with a SWISH.

"Number Three! Grave Number Three! It’s moving extremely fast!"

Its speed was different from the Blood Hand Seal’s. When the Blood Hand Seal used its Blood Mist Incarnation to speed along like a rainbow light, its straight-line speed was indeed very fast, but it was strictly limited to straight lines.

This Red-robed Ghost, however, moved like a phantom!

Even though Shi An was looking down from high above, it was still difficult to catch sight of the Red-robed Ghost’s true form. He could only see blood-red afterimages appearing in midair, vanishing, and then reappearing, as if it were constantly blinking in and out of existence.

Its target was precisely Researcher Wang, who was located at spot Number Three.

This was also part of their tactics. Researcher Wang possessed the Ability to conceal himself. As he ran toward another grave mound, he counted silently and waited. He didn’t stop in his tracks until he heard Hair Ghost’s voice over the walkie-talkie, at which point he activated his Lifebound Curse Object and scattered ghost-repelling dust all around his immediate area.

Sure enough, the Red-robed Ghost seemed to lose its perception of Researcher Wang. After hesitating for a moment, it turned in another direction.

That direction pointed exactly to where Jiang Peng was located.

"Researcher Jiang, the ghost is heading toward you! Run!"

No one thought of fighting it head-on. They couldn’t beat it, and there was no need to fight it anyway.

Jiang Peng immediately activated an Extreme Path Curse Object that could increase his running speed, and he swiftly bolted into the distance. He sprinted like the wind, resembling a hundred-meter track star.

However, compared to the Red-clothed Ghost, this speed was still far too slow. Not to mention, Jiang Peng was merely running on the ground, while the Red-robed Ghost was flying in midair!

Over the walkie-talkie, Hair Ghost constantly updated him on the distance between them, causing Jiang Peng’s expression to grow increasingly solemn.

"Fast! It’s too fast! Just what Level of ghost is this?!" Jiang Peng thought frantically. "Normal small-scale Nightmares or Shallow Nightmares would never have a ghost this powerful!

"If this ghost’s combat strength and lethality are as terrifying as its speed..."

In a direct confrontation, he definitely wouldn’t last more than a few seconds.

Of course, Jiang Peng was never a combat-oriented Dream Descender to begin with. Since he dared to conquer Nightmares, he naturally had his own trump cards and life-saving methods. He still had a highly precious, single-use Substitute item in his hand!

However...

"Should I use it here?" he wondered. "No, using it like this would be too much of a waste. We haven’t even reached the critical moment of conquering this Nightmare yet.

"But if I don’t use it, it won’t be long before the ghost catches up to me."

Jiang Peng frowned.

But suddenly, he remembered something. During their tactical discussion, Hair Ghost had said:

"If you are pursued by the ghost and can’t shake it off, flee toward the backyard of Courtyard Number Four! Once you escape there, the crisis will resolve itself!"