Chapter 18 Possession

On their way to the practice area this morning, they had already asked about the "rules",

Director Qin, who was in charge of the project, had personally stated that this practice would only trigger the corresponding "event" once.

Moreover, when they killed the zombies, they also clearly received a notification from the research facility that the practice was over; everything should have ended there, followed by a time for celebration.

But now, the situation that was unfolding was completely off the normal track,

When they heard Anna make a clicking sound with her tongue, they immediately thought of the object Anna had found earlier, that gold box imprinted with a hexagram and a goat's head.

Looking at Anna's condition, everyone immediately associated it with the concept of "possession" from their textbooks.

It meant that a second event had been triggered,

Without any buffer, rest, or preparation,

An unexpected event, without any prior notice,

Wu Wen, the team leader and core, was seriously injured and might even be in danger of losing her life.

[Accident]

This was Luo Di's first thought,

But after careful consideration, they realized that behind the practice there was a huge research team,

The ability of the research institute to create various objects associated with anomalous events, as well as the ancient mansion that was quickly constructed based on the choice of objects, all proved that the institute was capable and strong.

Such a strong research team, added to the connection between the team leader and the research institute, should pay close attention to this practice; they could not afford to make such a rookie mistake.

Since there was no problem with the research facility as a whole,

Luo Di quickly thought of a major possibility, which was that someone within the research facility was compromised, someone who might have started harboring an "evil corner" in their heart, even planning all of this from the beginning, and the four happened to stumble upon it.

But now there was no time to think too much; the key was how to deal with the matter at hand.

Whether to control Anna first or to deal with the seriously injured Wu Wen?

Before Luo Di could come up with a solution, an answer presented itself.

The team leader with a tactical axe buried in her shoulder took advantage of this brief interval to jab an adrenaline syringe from the first aid kit into her thigh, enduring the severe pain and propping her body up, retreating to the entrance.

"Phew~ Something has gone wrong with the practice, I need to hurry down the mountain... The research facility must have noticed by now, the response teams should be on their way up the mountain.

I'll go meet up with them first, aiming to get to the hospital sooner.

You two, please hold Anna back, and if possible, try not to kill her. Just wait until the people from the research facility arrive, and things will be resolved."

The team leader did not pull out the tactical axe, but instead pressed down hard with her other hand on the wound on her shoulder, the effect of the adrenaline beginning to take hold, and the pain was being mitigated.

As she prepared to leave this place and head down the mountain for help,

Anna, who was standing by the wall inside the house, let out a sinister and uncharacteristic voice through her mouth:

"What a pity, if it weren't for Little Gao's babbling, I could have split your pretty face in two with just one swing of the axe.

That way, no one on the streets would ever say you're prettier than before.

After I kill them both, I'll come down the mountain right away to find you. Run now, my Wenwen! I will definitely tear you apart, letting everyone see your true insides."

The team leader's expression did not change; she kept pressing on the wound and turned to leave.

With this, only three people remained in the house,

Anna, possessed and without a weapon, was empty-handed, now was the best opportunity to subdue her.

If they could just get her under control and wait for the research facility's personnel to arrive, this accident might come to an end.

Luo Di and Gao Yuxuan exchanged a glance, positioning themselves to flank her from both sides.

Their concentration was also back to the level they had when they were dealing with the zombies, ready to dodge or defend at any moment, as Anna's physique and strength exceeded theirs.

But when they approached Anna, something unexpected happened,

Anna's head suddenly dropped and then lifted again; the previous sinister expression became one of fear and panic, her voice trembling as it emerged:

"I... When the zombies died, I heard the clicking sound, in the woods I saw a demon without a head, just hanging by the tongue.

I only glanced at it, and the thing appeared in front of me, its tongue burrowing into my body."

"How did I get back to the room? Where did Wenwen go?"

Startled and panicked, Anna's emotions begin to crumble as she notices the bloodstains on the ground, seemingly deducing something.

The intense emotional swings make the 'thing' inside her, which was temporarily suppressed, began to surface beneath her skin, feeling as if it could take over at any moment.

Thwack!

Just then,

a palm grasps Anna's arm,

rough, warm, and forcefully powerful.

This touch from the opposite sex temporarily pulls her away from her extreme emotions, as she feels her whole body being dragged toward the master bedroom's big bed.

Looking down, Luo Di issues an almost commanding order, "While you're still conscious, hurry and lie on the bed! Gao Yuxuan, bring the bandages!"

He seems to have taken over the role of the leader, temporarily commanding the squad, urging everyone to start moving.

Anna quickly understands her current predicament and knows that to survive, she must do as instructed.

She immediately lays on the bed, spreading her limbs to make contact with each corner of the sturdy bed, which conveniently has column-like structures at each corner.

Luo Di and Gao Yuxuan work together to tie Anna's limbs with as many bandages as possible.

Gao Yuxuan has another preparation in mind; he takes out the silver needles used previously on zombies and inserts them into several key acupoints of Anna's body.

Outer thigh - "Fengshi"

Inner thigh - "Yinbao"

Inside of the arm - "Chize"

Additionally, Gao Yuxuan intends to insert a needle into the "Baihui" on top of the head to refresh the brain and calm the mind, which might help Anna stay conscious longer.

As he pinches the silver needle, focusing on the surface of Anna's scalp under her golden hair,

Clicking sounds,

something seems to be wriggling under the skin.

When Gao Yuxuan prepares to insert the needle, the wriggling thing suddenly shapes into half a face protruding outwards, as if it's about to stretch out a bizarre tongue between the facial features and lick his finger poised to insert the needle.

If licked, even Gao Yuxuan himself could be in danger.

Forced to abandon the attempt, he instinctively backs away, retreating under the edge of the bed.

However, the acupoints on the limbs have been sealed, and with the restraints of the bandages, it should be enough to delay until personnel from the research facility arrive.

The Anna tied to the bed has now taken on a different visage,

No longer showing the youthful vivacity of a high schooler,

Her entire being looks over a decade older,

Veins like marble patterns and age lines that shouldn't exist on a high schooler's face were prominent under her skin.

Her mouth was open far wider than usual, or rather, the skin of her lips were reduced in size, exposing more teeth and gums, revealing the entire oral cavity.

The exceedingly nimble tongue in her mouth kept slapping the oral cavity's walls, producing wave after wave of unsettling noise.

Only Anna's eyes still looked normal, as if the possession wasn't complete.

The slapping tongue inside her mouth suddenly stops, and a demonic voice emanates from within:

"Ha ha ha! You touched me just now, didn't you~ Can you hear it? My voice…"

As soon as the voice drops,

Click~

Luo Di and Gao Yuxuan simultaneously hear the tongue click,

Unable to determine the source of the sound, it doesn't come from the exterior world but resides within their own brains.

As they hear the click of the tongue, the entire mansion's master bedroom also starts to transform, the walls peeling away like skin, revealing the interior scorched earth-like rock layer,

Ash drifts through the air, making each breath burningly hot.