Chapter 94: Treading Carefully, Struggling to Survive

"Ghost Infant, what do you think?"

Ghost Cave's expressionless, hollow stare passed right through Gao Tian, questioning Ghost Infant behind him.

Ghost Infant hadn't seemed to come on this trip voluntarily, looking extremely impatient. "How should I know? I already told you there are absolutely no living people in the Chat Group. You can believe me now, right?

"Let's go, come on. We still have to work overtime on the boss's task."

She slowly turned around as she spoke, preparing to revert into a wooden puppet and meld into the wall.

Gao Tian breathed a silent sigh of relief.

It seemed using the Ghost Card's ability to come back from the dead had successfully fooled these two ghosts.

He could lay low in the Chat Group for a little longer.

Right then, behind the turning Ghost Infant's puppet-like body, he saw a woman's face covered in rotting, festering flesh.

It was about the size of a poster, like a thin sheet of meat. As Ghost Infant slowly turned, it was completely exposed to Gao Tian. Two eye sockets weeping tears of blood stared at him, pitch-black and hollow.

"So this is Ghost Infant's true body—"

That was the last thought in Gao Tian's mind.

She had turned around on purpose.

The next moment, upon seeing this terrifying face brimming with cursed power, Gao Tian triggered Ghost Infant's Killing Rule. With a wet pop, the eyeballs in his sockets exploded. Brain matter splattered as he collapsed to the floor.

This was already his second death today.

The Ghost Card activated its effect once again. This time, he drew the Four of Diamonds.

He had four cards resting on his soul: the Ace of Hearts, the King of Spades, the Two of Clubs, and the Four of Diamonds.

The two consecutive deaths had also fed the Black Tie until it was full, and it began to stir restlessly.

Gao Tian slowly opened his eyes.

Regardless, being killed twice in a row didn't feel very good.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Gao Tian turned to Ghost Cave, a trace of anger already in his voice.

Ghost Cave showed none of Gao Tian's anger. Its hollow eye sockets still seemed to be observing him intently. "Ghost Infant, what do you think?"

It was the exact same question.

Ghost Infant let out a weird laugh. "I already told you, he's just a ghost.

"We've already joined forces and killed him twice. If a living person could resurrect twice in a row, that would be way too overpowered.

"Even when we were alive, we never saw an item like that."

She slowly turned around and walked toward the wall above the sink.

This time, Ghost Infant genuinely planned to leave. The resentful woman's face on her back did not open its eyes.

Gao Tian quietly watched the departing Ghost Infant.

This female ghost was relatively easy to fool because she hadn't come to the Jinhai Building voluntarily.

Ghost Cave, however, probably wouldn't be fooled so easily.

Sure enough.

Ghost Cave's deep voice sounded again. "Memory Ghost.

"I still have one question."

It looked up. "Ghosts don't resurrect like this.

"In your next life, you need to polish your acting skills a bit more."

A suffocating snicker echoed. "Even if you can fool Ghost Infant and the other ghosts in the Chat Group, fooling me won't be that simple.

"Exposing you is far too easy.

"You have a top-tier resurrection item on your hands, and you can probably revive more than twice.

"But no matter how many lives that resurrection item gives you, if we kill you fifty or a hundred times today, we will definitely exhaust it."

This Ghost Cave was like an African hyena. Once it bit down, it would never let go until its prey bled out its last drop of blood and died.

A complex emotion flashed through Gao Tian's mind. He naturally couldn't let Ghost Cave kill him a dozen or a hundred times, otherwise he really would become a ghost.

In just a few short seconds, Gao Tian assessed the current situation.

Should he go to war directly with these two Fierce Ghosts?

Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave were highly likely to have been top-tier ghost hunters when they were alive. In a one-on-one fight, he wouldn't necessarily be their match; not to mention that after death, they had gained the trait of immortality and had at least one Killing Rule attached to them.

Although Gao Tian's growth speed was astonishing, he had been exposed to the supernatural world for far too short a time. No matter how much he grew, he couldn't reach the top of the pyramid yet.

The Supernatural Items he possessed that could potentially harm ghosts were the Terror Blade, the Ghost Transformation Spear, and the Mirror Ghost.

The Mirror Ghost's reach was too short and its speed was too slow. Even if it managed to pull Ghost Infant in, Ghost Cave would still be outside the mirror.

Then he would have to face a Fierce Ghost both inside and outside the mirror. That was the worst-case scenario.

As for the Ghost Transformation Spear—

Shoot himself and turn into a ghost? If you can't beat them, join them?

Forget it. Gao Tian didn't want to become a deformed, rotting corpse crawling with bugs just yet.

As for the Terror Blade, it required a human sacrifice.

The Jinhai Building was full of people. As long as Gao Tian abandoned enough of his morals, his sacrifices for today would be inexhaustible.

In a split second, Gao Tian had already considered many possibilities and their outcomes.

Out of all these choices, none involved kneeling and begging for mercy.

Gao Tian finally spoke, playing dumb. "Weird.

"Haven't you already killed me fifty-seven times? What more do you want?

"Look at the bloodstains on the floor, and the heart in your hands. Aren't those the traces of my thirty-third and fifty-second deaths?

"Enough is enough, buddy. If you want to kill me ten thousand times today, am I supposed to just stay here and keep you company?"

As he spoke, Gao Tian had already activated the Memory Ghost's ability, attempting to alter the cognition of Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave.

He wasn't sure if this would work. As former ghost hunters, Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave might have some countermeasures against the mental pollution of ghosts.

Not to mention that they had become ghosts after death, were immortal, and had gained an extra Killing Rule.

He'd just have to try and see.

With the Black Tie's effect backing him up, his Fortune today shouldn't be bad.

Fooling two top-tier ghost hunters was a low-probability event, but who was to say it wouldn't happen?

Under Gao Tian's hypnosis, Ghost Cave's tone clearly held some hesitation. "Really?

"But I clearly remember only killing you twice just now.

"Ghost Infant killed you once, and I killed you once. Where did fifty-seven times come from?"

Ghost Infant's puppet-like body swayed slightly, refuting Ghost Cave. "No, it really was fifty-seven times. That's how I remember it.

"You killed him thirty-two times, and I killed him twenty-five times.

"I have to say, Mr. Memory Ghost's self-restraint is truly excellent. Having been slaughtered so many times, he actually stood his ground and endured it just to prove he isn't a Fierce Ghost."

It seemed the Memory Ghost's effect had successfully worked on Ghost Infant.

She was the first to be affected, engaging in a minor dispute with Ghost Cave.

After being refuted, Ghost Cave's voice also became somewhat hesitant. "You're right, there does seem to be something like that.

"I was probably enjoying the killing too much, and I actually forgot without realizing it that we'd already acted against you so many times."

The Memory Ghost's effect was like a virus. As long as the first person fell for it, under their companion's insistence, the few sober individuals would also change their minds to follow the crowd.

Trying to maintain independent thought was indeed difficult.

Even an entity as strong as Ghost Cave began to go along with Ghost Infant's words. "Regardless, even if it were the strongest ghost hunter in the world, the number of resurrections they possess couldn't possibly be as high as fifty-seven. Dying fifty-seven times yet remaining completely unscathed—this immortal and indestructible trait definitely means he is a ghost.

"I've run so many tests, I'm willing to believe that you are indeed a ghost.

"Well then, farewell. I will continue investigating whether there is a traitor in the Chat Group. If you have time, please keep an eye out for me as well."

The Black Tie's effect had activated.

The infinitely suspicious Ghost Cave, and these two experienced, battle-hardened ghost hunters, had actually believed Gao Tian's one-sided story without mounting any mental countermeasures.

As Ghost Cave expressed its apologies, its body rapidly shrank like a deflating balloon, drilling into the hole in the middle of the toilet bowl.

Although describing Ghost Cave drilling into a toilet sounded somewhat comical, to the eyewitness Gao Tian, it wasn't funny at all. Instead, it carried an absurd sense of terror.

Ghost Cave's Killing Rule was that as long as there was an existence that could be called a "hole," it could use it as a movement point to travel freely.

It was still uncertain whether human eye sockets and mouths counted as "holes" in the broad sense. Otherwise, if Ghost Cave wanted to, it could casually tear open a living person's lips and drill out from inside anyone's body.

That would be far too overpowered.

As for Ghost Infant's Killing Rule, she had a woman's face on her back, and anyone who made eye contact with it would immediately drop dead.

This was the information Gao Tian had summarized so far.

Of course, these two Fierce Ghosts didn't necessarily have only one Killing Rule. If they had been ghost hunters in life, they definitely still possessed other Supernatural Items.

More than half of Ghost Cave's body had already drilled into the toilet like a puddle of mud. Ghost Infant also squatted on the floor, preparing to turn back into a bloody cloth doll that spread nursery rhymes.

Watching the two of them leave, the heavy pressure in Gao Tian's chest didn't recede at all. Instead, he felt an even more oppressive sensation.

Was the matter really over, just like this?

Halfway down the toilet, leaving only two sharp, slender black arms dangling outside, Ghost Cave suddenly paused.

Its massive head popped back out of the toilet like a rapidly inflating balloon, facing directly toward Gao Tian. "Um, before I leave, can I bother you for a second and ask you one more question?"

"Just one question."

Gao Tian looked at the toilet lid and wall behind its skull and could only brace himself and say, "Go ahead."

Ghost Cave tilted its head, appearing extremely curious. "Why is your name Memory Ghost?

"Is it because you possess a Killing Rule capable of affecting other people's memories?"

Gao Tian's heart began to pound wildly.

He knew his name in the Chat Group wasn't entirely "clean" and had left behind some clues.

But he had no other choice at the time. He only possessed the abilities of the Shattered Face Ghost and the Memory Ghost. The Shattered Face Ghost had been sent by Ghost Cave, so if he wanted to disguise himself as a ghost, he could only call himself the Memory Ghost.

There was no room for lying on this question. Gao Tian admitted, "Pretty much.

"But the activation conditions are quite harsh. Sometimes, I'm actually quite envious of your abilities.

"If my ability were really that useful, would I still need to stand here and let you kill me so many times?

"I would have just taken action and dealt with the two of you directly."

He was trying hard to divert Ghost Cave's attention.

Ghost Cave remained completely unmoved. "Therefore, Mr. Memory Ghost.

"I'm quite curious about this sort of mental pollution ability. Could you demonstrate it for me?

"I just want to test if I can withstand it through sheer willpower.

"After all, in the past when I was alive as a human, I once fell into the hands of a cult that worshipped ghosts. To pry my mouth open and force me to reveal the personnel structure of the Galan Society, they tortured me for an entire month. They extracted my teeth alive one by one and broke all ten of my fingers. Even until death, I never uttered a single word.

"My willpower can be considered quite strong. I wonder if I can try to withstand your ability?"

Hanging on the wall, Ghost Infant grew somewhat impatient. "Enough is enough, Ghost Cave.

"For the boss's task, we still have to go to the Inner World this afternoon to confirm the location of the Multi-Headed Ghost.

"I've already helped you find the Memory Ghost according to your request. What more do you want?"

Gao Tian also said calmly, "There's no need for a demonstration.

"I don't really welcome you two uninvited guests. Let's just leave it at this."

Ghost Cave nodded. "I see."

It verbally claimed to be leaving, but its residual body stuck in the toilet showed no intention of leaving. "I mean, is there a possibility...

"...that as we speak, the Memory Ghost's ability has already activated?

"Has a part of my memory been altered?"