Chapter 11 The Hanged Ghost
The woman wanted to intercept the bullet with her own.
She was confident.
But to her utter shock, the revolver bullet fired by Zhao Kuo suddenly veered mid-air, shooting straight toward her face!
Horror flashed through her mind, but the bullet pierced her forehead regardless.
Her pupils slowly dilated as she collapsed heavily to the ground.
Zhao Kuo didn't emerge immediately. He waited in the darkness a while longer, ensuring no "mantis" would ambush him, before swiftly approaching the man's corpse.
Congratulations! Player obtained: Reinforced Solid Wood Shield, Ring of Strength, Good Healing Potion x1, Mind-Sharpening Gum
Four items. Clearly, one must have been swallowed by Yole.
Reinforced Solid Wood Shield
Offers moderate protection. Greatly reduces user's movement speed when equipped.
A decent defensive item, considering it could even block a Mosin-Nagant bullet.
Ring of Strength
Strength +2, Constitution +1, Spirit -3
Come on, be a reckless brute!
Zhao Kuo sighed at the description. The stats didn't suit him, but they'd work for Gu Shan—the +1 Constitution meant +100 HP. As for the Spirit penalty? Gu Shan's class was perfect for becoming a brute.
Good Healing Potion
Restores 200 HP. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
Mind-Sharpening Gum
Restores 5 Sanity per minute for 4 minutes. Exposes user's vision for 10 minutes.
Exposed Vision: Glows brightly to spirits and demonic entities.
*Holy crap! Restore sanity while painting a target on your back?* Zhao Kuo wondered if this niche item could even sell on the marketplace.
After storing the loot, he approached the woman's body.
Congratulations! Player obtained: Glock Pistol, Worn Night Vision Goggles, Happy Teacup, Rotten Flesh
Glock Pistol
Rare item. Deals significant damage to physical targets. Requires ammunition.
Another pistol. Zhao Kuo now had three guns. He considered giving this one to Gu Shan, given the latter's military background.
Worn Night Vision Goggles
Durability: 30/50
Provides clear vision in darkness. Durability decreases with use.
*So this is how she aimed so accurately in the dark,* Zhao Kuo realized.
Happy Teacup
Rare item. Drinking tea from this cup will make you happier~
"...Are rare items really allowed to be this useless?" Zhao Kuo muttered, though he supposed it could at least hold beverages.
The Rotten Flesh restored HP but drained Sanity over time.
After storing everything, Zhao Kuo headed toward the safe zone.
Shortly after entering, he heard the clink of a spoon against glass—the safe zone had refreshed.
Staring at the oppressive darkness behind him, Zhao Kuo sighed.
*How many are left? How many died to monsters... or other players?*
In this subway world, morality and laws were extinct. Zhao Kuo had long steeled himself for this. Survival demanded ruthlessness.
He wondered how Tang Yingying and Gu Shan were faring.
---
Unbeknownst to him, Tang Yingying and Gu Shan had already reunited and reached a safe zone—but their condition was dire.
"Damn Lu Tianming! He lured that thing to us after releasing it himself!" Tang Yingying seethed, rubbing the rope burn around her neck.
Gu Shan, covered in wounds but with stable HP, sighed. "Betrayal's normal here. I wish Zhao Kuo were with us."
Tang Yingying gave him a glance and said, "What's the matter? Are you being picky about me?"
"No. I just trust him more," Gu Shan replied bluntly.
She pouted but stayed silent. *He's right. With Zhao Kuo here, we wouldn't be this battered. Why do I trust that guy so much anyway?*
A sudden chime of wind bells echoed through the dark.
Tang Yingying paled. "It's catching up—"
Gu Shan clamped a hand over her mouth.
The "it" was a hanged ghost. Lu Tianming had unleashed it from a cursed box, then redirected its hatred toward them using an item. Tang Yingying had nearly died to its noose earlier.
Gu Shan gestured for silence. They were hiding on the 7th floor of an 18-story office building. Rows of empty cubicles loomed eerily around them.
*Ding—*
The elevator chimed.
*It's taking the elevator up?!* The absurdity chilled them further.
Gu Shan yanked Tang Yingying toward the stairs, but the elevator stopped at the 5th floor. The ghost was cutting them off below.
*It's too smart!* Gu Shan's mind raced. The hanged ghost's ability was brutally simple: if it saw you, its
Gu Shan didn't hesitate and immediately pulled Tang Yingying downstairs.
Neither of them had anything to counter spirits, leaving them at a severe disadvantage.
However, the elevator stopped at the fifth floor.
The hanged ghost had sensed their movements and chose to intercept them from below.
Gu Shan furrowed his brow. *This damn thing is too clever! If this keeps up, Tang Yingying and I are doomed!*
What to do? What to do?
Gu Shan pulled Tang Yingying upward while frantically thinking of a plan.
The hanged ghost's attack ability was terrifyingly overpowered. As long as it saw you, it could materialize a noose around your neck—a nearly unstoppable, almost metaphysical killing method.
In other words, as long as it didn't see them, they were temporarily safe.
But… the hanged ghost would actively search for them. That was the most insurmountable aspect of its behavior.
Was there any way to make it unable to see them? Any way at all?
Just then, Gu Shan's eyes lit up. He asked, "Xiao Tang, can your doll cover its eyes?"
"Huh? What?" Tang Yingying was stunned. "I… I don't think so. Isn't it a ghost?"
"But it doesn't have abilities like phasing through walls. It must have some physical characteristics. Let's try it. Otherwise, we're doomed."
Gu Shan analyzed calmly.
From their earlier chase, he deduced that although the hanged ghost was a spirit, it still adhered to physical rules.
Even if it failed, it was just a doll!
"Alright, alright!" Tang Yingying gritted her teeth and summoned her cute bunny doll.
The doll appeared, looking a bit confused, but under Tang Yingying's control, it quickly ran downstairs.
A cold sensation surged through Tang Yingying's heart as she shared the doll's senses. She couldn't help but shiver, but soon, the doll entered an invisible state.
At that moment, the hanged ghost was wandering on the sixth floor. It seemed to sense something and turned toward the doll's location.
But it didn't attack.
*This might work!*
Tang Yingying's heart leaped with hope. She maneuvered the invisible doll around the hanged ghost's back and then leaped onto its shoulders.
*Solid! It really does have a physical form!*
Without hesitation, the doll reached out and covered the hanged ghost's eyes.
*Night-night, close your eyes.*