Chapter 343: Surely You’re Not Mishearing the Words ’Human’ and ’Ghost’?

Qi Suian found a safe place and went back to his business, using his reconnaissance network to monitor Pan Fan.

Pan Fan had definitely considered sticking around Qi Suian to leech off him.

But Qi Suian had no intention of indulging him. ’If you’re going to be cannon fodder, then be good cannon fodder. Don’t go trying to ride my coattails.’

In the end, he naturally slunk away.

At first, Pan Fan had definitely planned to just coast. As long as he didn’t touch the few taboos Qi Suian had mentioned, he figured he would be fine.

But soon, he discovered something was wrong.

He was being affected by some unknown form of pollution. If he didn’t do something, he would die from it, even without touching any of the taboos.

He tried to find Qi Suian, but suddenly couldn’t.

Pan Fan’s expression darkened, and in the end, he had no choice but to start investigating systematically.

’Humans from the Mortal Realm seem to possess a certain special quality that allows them to observe some of the Netherworld’s peculiarities.’

’This special quality originates from the pollution eroding their bodies, creating a unique reaction.’

’Basically, the more severe the pollution, the more they can see.’

’However, this observational ability doesn’t come from the physical body. Simply gouging out their eyes or trying to link visions won’t grant this method of perception.’

’The most likely possibility is a uniqueness of the soul or Spirit.’

’So, does that mean the Netherworld and the Mortal Realm are closely linked in some way?’

Qi Suian wasn’t certain about that last point. It was also possible the Doomsday Game had created Pan Fan’s D-rank Pollution Resistance talent by seizing upon this unique quality and modifying it.

If Pan Fan wasn’t an exception, then the talents of this fifth batch of survivors would likely all be Pollution Resistance.

S-rank and above might be exceptions, but there couldn’t be that many high-quality survivors.

Besides, in the Netherworld, physical strength would probably be greatly weakened, and the effectiveness of talents would be reduced as well.

’The Doomsday Game doesn’t dare enter the Netherworld directly. Instead, it’s using this instance-like model, probably trying to break through the whole by attacking a single point.’

Qi Suian quickly figured out why. The simplest reason was that this world’s Extraordinary system was based on the ghosts and monsters of the Netherworld.

To obtain it, however, one would need the help of a survivor’s Pollution Resistance talent.

’Right now, I only have a single case study. I need other survivors to confirm my hypothesis.’

Qi Suian was now more certain than ever that the only way to leave the mansion was to use the survivors’ unique quality to break the deadlock.

’The pollution isn’t yet enough to fully activate his special quality. I’ll have to give him a push.’

’Extreme emotional fluctuations can accelerate the pollution,’ Qi Suian quickly discovered.

It wasn’t just fear; greed, joy, sorrow—any of them would work, positive or negative.

’Well, no need for me to step in. It looks like he’s found something that’s got his emotions all stirred up.’ Qi Suian had been about to order his AI to make a move, but Pan Fan’s emotional state had already started to rollercoaster.

The AI quickly relayed what Pan Fan was seeing.

It was a Divorce Letter.

Written by the man to the woman.

’Observation can actually affect reality?’ Over the past three days, Qi Suian had searched the entire mansion with painstaking care.

His AI had recorded everything, and he had never once seen this Divorce Letter.

Yet Pan Fan had gotten his hands on it. This meant that through the act of observation, he had caused the entire space to change on a fundamental level.

After Pan Fan finished carefully reading the letter, the pollution on his body surged once again.

’The closer you get to the truth, the closer you get to death.’

Qi Suian abruptly came to this conclusion.

The moment Pan Fan placed the Divorce Letter into his inventory, Qi Suian heard the sound of a zither coming from the attic.

’Interesting.’ Qi Suian’s gaze fell upon the attic.

The attic hadn’t been there before. Its sudden appearance wasn’t jarring; it was as if it had been there all along.

’Observation isn’t a one-way street. It’s a two-way process.’

’Because my resistance is high enough to be near-total immunity, I can’t observe it.’

’It’s not just that I can’t see them; they can’t see me, either.’

’But with a survivor like Pan Fan acting as a medium for observation, once he observes the truth, the observational effect is that the truth itself surfaces.’

"How absurd," Qi Suian said, but he actually looked quite excited.

This meant he could finally leave.

After the attic and the zither music appeared, the mansion’s original gloom and mist began to dissipate, and the scenery grew much more vivid.

In a way, this actually meant the mansion was becoming more and more dangerous.

More unknown rules had also appeared. One careless mistake and Pan Fan could die.

However, Qi Suian wasn’t about to play babysitter and protect him.

He needed Pan Fan to keep courting death and exploring the truth. Only then could more "truth observations" be generated to supplement Qi Suian’s own understanding.

"AI, what’s the status of the satellite map?"

[Interference points are decreasing. It seems to be entering reality.]

[However, you must note that this is the reality of the Netherworld, not the reality of the Mortal Realm. Therefore, you may still be unable to see the survivors.]

"That doesn’t matter. Let’s just focus on getting out of this place first."

’Otherwise, being completely in the dark would be a huge problem.’

Qi Suian wasn’t afraid of things being difficult or incomprehensible; he was afraid of being unable to perceive anything at all.

That was the real problem.

With no way to even begin researching or learning, he would be truly helpless.

"I’ll go check out the attic first," Qi Suian said.

Pan Fan had also noticed the attic and the zither music, but he didn’t realize they had just appeared.

He hadn’t been here long, and since they appeared so silently, it wasn’t easy for him to notice. He just assumed they had been there all along.

[It is recommended that you use the main entrance. Do not attempt forced entry.]

The AI advised Qi Suian.

Otherwise, it had reason to suspect Qi Suian might just fly over, punch a hole through the wall, and walk right in.

Who knew what sort of strange reaction that might provoke.

Qi Suian didn’t object, but he didn’t give up on the idea of forced entry, either.

If he really couldn’t find any clues, he’d just trick Pan Fan into scouting it out first.

If Pan Fan actually found something, then Qi Suian wouldn’t need to take action.

Otherwise, he’d just rip the door and windows right off.

Yes, he could literally rip them off.

His attacks were ineffective, but if Qi Suian didn’t perform a *destructive* attack and instead simply *dismantled* things, he was able to take them apart.

But they would restore themselves. It was as if the area "refreshed" whenever Qi Suian left and came back, putting everything back in its place.

It was quite interesting, just like a game.

Qi Suian couldn’t understand the logic behind this strange rule, either.

He entered the main hall and walked up to the attic. The decor was indeed beautiful; they must have been loaded.

Pushing the door open, Qi Suian saw the female ghost playing the zither. He was quite familiar with her.

After all, this was the same ghost who had not only snapped his neck and shattered his cervical spine but had even tried to drag him into a well.

When the female ghost saw Qi Suian push open the door and walk right in, she jumped, her face a mask of terror.

"Y-You... Who are you? How can you be so rude!"

"Xiaocui! Xiaocui!" the woman screamed.

Seeing this, Qi Suian’s interest was piqued. "Well, what do you know. You’re actually self-aware."

’Before, when this ghost attacked me, her expression was like her entire family had died... Well, okay, her entire family probably *did* die.’

’But now she’s completely different—so animated and lifelike.’

Qi Suian reached out to grab her, causing the ghost to panic even more. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run.

She started scrambling around a decorative pillar to get away from him.

But Qi Suian was no Jing Ke; he just instinctively kicked the obstacle out of his way.

The pillar actually shattered from his kick. This was the first time he had successfully destroyed something in the mansion.

Then he slammed the ghost down, pinning her with a standard arm-lock—the kind typically used to apprehend fugitives.

With her meager strength, she was completely unable to resist.

"Help! Somebody, save me~" the ghost cried out. Qi Suian was being too rough, showing no regard for her delicate skin.

Qi Suian tied her hands and said coldly, "You can scream your lungs out. No one is coming to..."

BANG!

Before Qi Suian could finish his sentence, the attic door was kicked open.

"...save you." Qi Suian turned to see Pan Fan. "Wait a minute. You were hesitant when you heard the zither, but you come running the second a ghost screams for help?"

Pan Fan looked awkward. He hadn’t expected to find Qi Suian in the middle of... this.

"S-Senior, why are you... pinning down a woman?" Pan Fan stammered.

Qi Suian was utterly speechless. "She’s a ghost. A ghost!"

"Are you telling me you can’t tell the difference between ’human’ and ’ghost’?"

"I’m not a ghost, I’m a person!" the ghost retorted, feeling her heart sink with despair. She had thought someone was coming to save her, but it was just his accomplice.

Qi Suian glanced at the ghost. His eyes worked just fine, and the reconnaissance and perception modules of his Tai Sui God were fully functional.

He could still tell the difference between a human and a ghost.

"I know, I know. It’s like how crazy people always say they’re not crazy."

"Anyone who admits they’re crazy is probably faking it ninety percent of the time." Qi Suian nodded in understanding. ’She probably hasn’t even realized she’s a ghost yet.’

But understanding was one thing; Qi Suian still had no intention of letting her go.

Why would he waste time empathizing with a ghost? He couldn’t even empathize with survivors, let alone a ghost.

"Senior, I don’t think she’s dangerous. She might be the key to solving this situation."

"Why don’t you let her go first, Senior, so we can question her?" Pan Fan offered.

His reasoning was sound, but Qi Suian just shook his head. "For interrogation, I have my own process."

"It doesn’t have to come to an interrogation..." Pan Fan really wanted to call Qi Suian out for mishearing him. He had said "question," not "interrogate." "She’s just a poor, unfortunate soul."

"I found a Divorce Letter. Inside it..."

It would have been better if Pan Fan had kept his mouth shut. The moment he mentioned the "Divorce Letter," the ghost suddenly stopped struggling.

That was the good news. The bad news was that the ghost instantly mutated.

Apparently, the Divorce Letter was the keyword that triggered the ghost’s second phase.

With a sharp SNAP, she broke free from Qi Suian’s bindings.