Chapter 383: Ghost Invasion, a Great Upheaval in the Survivors’ World

Su Huayun looked at his 100% exploration progress from the final tally and returned to reality.

He didn’t spend it, choosing to save it instead.

He didn’t have enough exploration progress to upgrade his B-rank Pollution Resistance to A-rank.

As for using it to draw a new talent, he didn’t need one.

He hadn’t even fully mastered his Deceiver talent yet. Getting another talent, especially if it was one he didn’t want, would just be a waste.

It would be better to save it and use it to improve his Pollution Resistance.

Even though this was a talent everyone had and could upgrade...

...Su Huayun understood that it wasn’t some useless talent. On the contrary, it was the core of every survivor’s abilities.

Only with this talent could one control ghosts and gain sufficient Extraordinary power.

Furthermore, the higher the talent’s level, the longer one could last during a survival mission.

Otherwise, facing the encroaching pollution, one could forget about increasing their exploration progress; they wouldn’t even be able to complete the mandatory survival missions.

"These Violators, making moves one after another, are so damn annoying." Su Huayun sat down right after he returned, rubbing his temples. He felt a deep-seated discomfort throughout his body.

The excessive Death Rewinds from his first survival run had already damaged his body and Spirit. Although the second run hadn’t been as brutal as the first, it still added injury to injury.

’If I don’t solve this memory and mental capacity issue soon, even with Death Rewind, something is bound to go wrong sooner or later.’

His strength had indeed grown, but his Physique and Spirit attributes had stagnated after reaching 5 points and were no longer increasing.

Evidently, the boons granted by the Ghost Control Technique had reached their upper limit.

It was precisely this increase in his attributes that had alleviated his problems; otherwise, he would have broken down and died long ago.

In fact, he had already thought of a solution: the stronger he became, the higher his own limits would be.

When it came to getting stronger, besides developing his talent and the Truth Ghost, he had another idea.

That was to control a second ghost.

The Ghost Control Technique mentioned a theory: when a ghost’s revival and backlash reached a certain point, one could control a second ghost to create a balance.

However, since Su Huayun already had the Truth Ghost, he didn’t want to just randomly find any ghost to control. It had to be carefully selected to be compatible with his Deceiver talent and the Truth Ghost.

It didn’t necessarily have to be powerful; what mattered was that they were synergistic.

But that was easier said than done. Ghosts could only be found in the Netherworld Survival Areas. And unlike other survivors, when he entered, he had to worry not only about ghosts but also about Violators and a host of other enemies.

Just like in this last survival run, very few survivors made it back alive.

Many countries had been wiped out, their populations erased as a penalty from the doomsday game.

Now, only three nations were left, struggling to hold on.

Of course, thanks to Su Huayun’s Death Rewind, not only was his country unharmed, but with his 100% exploration progress, it had even started to recover.

Therefore, there was naturally no delay in providing him with protection.

In terms of treatment and perks, not even the head of state had it better than him.

There were no melodramatic instances of doubt or provocation, nor did they use "training" or some other excuse to withhold protection.

After all, plenty of people wanted Su Huayun dead. With resources so scarce, the existence of antisocial individuals was inevitable, not to mention enemy nations that didn’t want to see his country grow strong.

’This time, I should be able to upgrade my Deceiver talent. I wonder what will change when it reaches SS-rank.’

The progress bar was already more than halfway full last time. As long as he maintained the same rate of progress, upgrading wouldn’t be a major issue.

Just as he was thinking, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Hua Yun, time to eat." The voice was that of an ordinary middle-aged woman.

Yet, this stunned Su Huayun. It was clearly the voice of his long-dead mother.

He shot up, trying to look toward the source of the sound, only to find he couldn’t locate it at all. It was as if the voice had appeared directly in his mind.

On a nearby table, however, sat a bowl of warm, white mush.

This so-called "white mush" was a food used to sustain vital signs in times of resource depletion. Not only was it disgusting, but its nutritional value was barely enough to keep people alive.

This was why everyone was emaciated.

Su Huayun was no exception, of course. But now, his treatment was better; he could eat the upgraded "yellow mush," which tasted better and was more nutritious.

There was no way white mush should have appeared here. The higher-ups in his country would never give him something like this to eat.

After all, the fate of the entire nation rested on him.

"Something’s wrong. Very wrong." Su Huayun walked to the table, his face filled with disbelief.

’This bowl... it was broken long before my mom died of her illness.’

He reached out, picked up the bowl to inspect it, and could clearly feel the warmth of the white mush. The sensation felt incredibly real.

"Secretary, did you put this on my..." He picked up his phone and directly dialed his personal secretary’s number.

From the phone, however, came a strange static, as if the call hadn’t connected.

Before he could finish his sentence, a familiar voice came through the phone.

"Hua Yun, why aren’t you eating properly..."

It was his deceased mother’s voice, and it sounded terrifyingly real.

At that moment, Su Huayun gave up any illusions. The voice he’d heard earlier wasn’t a delusion; it was real.

"A ghost... has come from the Netherworld into the real world..."

Even a fool would have realized what was happening.

The static on the phone began to intensify, distorting his mother’s voice along with it.

"Break!!!"

He mobilized the power of lies and truth. The scene before him began to shatter. He was still sitting on the sofa, the dazed look in his eyes gradually fading.

On the coffee table in front of him stood a terrifying ghost, staring straight at him.

The ghost looked like a giant toad. A human face covered most of its back, and a long, thin tongue extended out, swaying mindlessly in the air like seaweed.

Su Huayun was startled and fell backward abruptly.

This movement immediately triggered the Toad Ghost’s predatory instinct. The long tongue on its back shot out towards Su Huayun in an instant.

The mouth of the human face on the toad’s back stretched open, forming a massive void, and swallowed Su Huayun in a single gulp.

In an instant, he was dead. The entire process was so fast he had no time to react.

But the next moment, he was back, having returned to the moment before his death.

[Death Rewind activated. 100% exploration progress consumed.]

A notification from the doomsday game panel flashed before his eyes. If he hadn’t happened to have that exploration progress on him, he would have truly died this time.

His heart was still pounding with lingering fear.

After the rewind completed, he found himself not inside the room, but outside.

’In the real world, the Death Rewind ability can’t rewind the whole world, only me.’ Su Huayun saw the Toad Ghost inside the room. The human face on its back seemed to be chewing on something, though it looked like it was just eating air.

"Mr. Su, why did you suddenly..." a guard asked, confused, but Su Huayun cut him off before he could finish.

"Notify the higher-ups. A ghost has come from the Netherworld into the real world," he said in a cold voice.

Only then did the guards turn to look inside. The enormous Toad Ghost hopped off the coffee table, let out two croaks, and then noticed their gazes.

The moment their eyes met, Su Huayun knew they were screwed.

In an instant, a large number of pustules erupted on the guards’ bodies. It took less than two seconds for the pustules to cover them completely.

Then, their flesh and blood melted away, leaving behind only corpses swollen with pus.

Making eye contact was one of the Toad Ghost’s killing rules.

Its effect was to lure people into an illusion. If they could break through the illusion, they would be able to resist the pollution and escape the killing rule, just like Su Huayun.

Theoretically, every survivor could use their Pollution Resistance talent to survive, but theory was just theory.

Even Su Huayun, someone who controlled a ghost, had fallen for it, to say nothing of these guards who had never even entered the Netherworld for a survival run.

That was why they fell victim after just a single glance.

With that, Su Huayun didn’t hesitate. He turned and fled.

The Toad Ghost squeezed out of the window. It didn’t choose to chase Su Huayun, but instead landed next to the guards’ corpses. The tongue from the human face extended, pierced their skin, and began to suck out the pus.

It looked as if it were drinking a beverage. After a corpse was shriveled to skin and bones, the tongue curled up and pulled it directly into its mouth to chew.

The CRUNCHING sound carried far.

Su Huayun felt a sense of relief. Since the Toad Ghost had food, the situation was temporarily stable.

But as a ghost, it certainly didn’t have a concept of being "full."

So, once it finished eating the guards, it would continue to kill and hunt using its killing rule.

"Containment... control... This is a disaster, but it’s also an opportunity." A sharp glint flashed in Su Huayun’s eyes. He had previously been spreading the Ghost Control Technique to upgrade his Deceiver talent.

But now, a real ghost had descended upon the real world. If he seized this opportunity, he wouldn’t just reach SS-rank—even SSS-rank might be possible.

’The ghosts most likely followed the survivors back into the real world. That means there’s more than one.’

’I died in a single encounter. The other survivors don’t have special talents or their own ghosts, so their chances of survival are even lower.’

’This is an advantage for me.’

’Plus, with my strength and status, as long as I handle this right...’

Things had come to this point; he had no choice but to do it.

There were Violators in the Netherworld survival runs, and now ghosts had appeared in the real world. It was a crisis on all fronts.

If he didn’t strengthen himself as quickly as possible, he would just be waiting for death.

After all, he no longer had 100% exploration progress to support another Death Rewind in the real world.

Otherwise, he would have prepared to pick one of these ghosts to control.

By then, controlling two ghosts, he would have a better chance against the Violators, and might even be able to kill them.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use infinite Death Rewinds for trial and error. His only path to becoming stronger was to upgrade his Deceiver talent.