Chapter 72
Chapter 072 I Hate You
The flow of this dungeon isn’t long; in fact, it could be said that we’re already nearing the end.
Their current task is just to have a conversation with that ghost three times and then escape. Easy, right?
But saying it is one thing; doing it is far from simple.
Brother Haonan’s command center came back online, providing them with considerable help. They could pinpoint their location, and even if the space was still chaotic, they could find a suitable escape route quickly after encountering danger.
However, that ghost hadn’t shown up again.
Of course, mainly because they didn’t dare to call out its name anymore. With such lethal hunting skills, all they had as a means of defense was a copper coin and sheer grit. No one could withstand that.
So, they could only explore slowly, looking for anything amiss, and then make plans accordingly.
It’s worth mentioning that during their exploration, Xia Xinyan noticed something—Ling Mo had become a bit different.
…How should she put it? He suddenly seemed very brave.
Not the pretend kind.
Can a person really change their personality in such a short time?
She had her doubts.
What worried her more was that Ling Mo might have been stimulated in some way, causing him to behave strangely—imagine, being scared of ghosts on one hand while also needing to act tough in front of his girlfriend. Those two feelings combined felt like fire and ice…
To be honest, she was now regretting why she had chosen to approach Ling Mo as a girlfriend per Tianji’s idea in the first place.
Even if she was a girl… she could also just be a close friend, right?
What on earth had she been thinking back then?
—This time, Ling Mo seemed to be more focused on the dungeon itself than she was.
They had to locate the ghost without alerting it, and successfully communicate before it began hunting—this felt like a sheep walking into a tiger’s den, sounding like a near-death wish.
Moreover, figuring out the ghost’s location was quite mystical—temperature, the flickering of flashlights, etc. If it was an unclear task like this, it would inevitably demand a lot more of their attention.
But at this moment, he felt little fear.
He just wanted to prove himself in front of Xia Xinyan.
If he had to say it, overcoming his fear of ghosts in less than an hour sounded a bit exaggerative; in truth, he was still scared deep down, but more important matters had forcefully pushed that down.
It could also be said that instinct was taking over.
Thus, he felt he had the upper hand.
However, the first to notice something was the fatty: “Hey, it suddenly got cold over here. I think it might be nearby.”
“I’ll check—the guest room on the first floor… you can try calling its name using the spirit communication device.” Brother Haonan responded.
The fatty then took out the spirit communication device, prepared his mind, and with a serious face, shouted loudly, “Barbara Johnson! Are you there?! Come out and chat!”
This time, the communication between realms went smoothly, and they quickly received a response—
“…You have the wrong person.”
A man’s voice.
The fatty: “…”
Damn, we’re done for.
“Holy crap! The activity intensity is at level 10! Everyone, be careful!” Brother Haonan’s voice crackled through the intercom, and shortly after, Ling Mo heard the panicked screams of the fatty and Wen.
They screamed for a full minute before settling down.
Finally, Brother Haonan cautiously inquired, “Are you… still alive? Were you drained?”
“Hiss…” Wen said with palpable fear in his tone, “Check if our paper dolls are burned!”
“Ah, right, they all burned. What’s going on? Don’t you have copper coins left?”
“Of course we do! We wouldn’t be this weird if we didn’t! Didn’t they say copper coins can block one attack?! Why are we still fading out?!” The fatty yelled.
He was currently the one getting wrecked the most. Is he really poking the bear?!
No one can withstand that!
“I don’t know; it’s not like I did it…” Brother Haonan fumbled through some documents before hesitantly providing an answer, “Uh… It says here that copper coins have a probability of blocking ghost attacks, and if you stay in the ghost’s territory for too long, their effectiveness will gradually weaken until they lose their effect entirely.”
“What the hell?!” The fatty was dumbfounded, “We don’t even know where the ghost is, and I’m already getting wrecked—no way, Old Ling, you guys need to go search. You have more lives.”
Ling Mo couldn’t help but chuckle a little: “Let’s give it a try; if we can’t find it, then so be it.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just staying right here. I’m shutting myself in.” After saying that, the fatty turned off his mic.
Brother Haonan spoke up again, “Hey, we’ve found something. There are activity traces in the second-floor kitchen. Can you check it out?”
Just then, Ling Mo opened the door in front of him, and coincidentally, it led to the second-floor kitchen.
A chilling air washed over him.
“Be careful.” Ling Mo immediately shielded Xia Xinyan behind him, warily scanning the inside while preparing two copper coins.
Xia Xinyan felt even more conflicted.
—Does this guy really not fear anything at all now?
Not even a moment’s hesitation?
…Should she pretend to give him some confidence?
“Is there any activity level?” Ling Mo didn’t notice Xia Xinyan’s expression, fully focused ahead, with a serious tone.
“Yes, it’s at level 4.” Brother Haonan quickly replied.
“Then that means there’s something here.” Ling Mo naturally took Xia Xinyan’s hand, speaking in a low voice, “Stay behind me and watch your back. I’ll protect you.”
Xia Xinyan hesitated a bit, loosening her hand he had taken.
He was gripping it tightly.
Has he gotten used to this behavior?
It shouldn’t be this quick, right?
This was way too different from her expectations.
…It must be the influence of this dungeon. Yes, it must be the adrenaline rush.
After she exits the game, everything should go back to normal.
Thinking this, she forced herself not to dwell on irrelevant thoughts. Once her mindset got chaotic, it would only have a negative impact on clearing the dungeon.
Ling Mo had already reached a corner of the kitchen where he could see the entire space, and it wasn’t far from the door, making it an excellent position.
After pondering for a moment, he took out the spirit communication device and tuned the frequency: “Zhang Qingfeng?”
This was to avoid a repeat of the misunderstanding like before; the male ghost was still present, and this was interference.
However, it seemed simple to eliminate this interference.
After waiting ten seconds, the spirit communication device remained silent, and there were no changes around.
Ling Mo checked the intercom again, “Is there still an activity level?”
“Yes, it’s always been 4.”
“That’s fine.” Ling Mo took a deep breath, his tone becoming suddenly serious, “Barbara Johnson, hello.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the static in the spirit communication device quieted down.
Then, a voice devoid of emotion came from the intercom—
“I hate you.”
