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墨書 Inktalez
"Where... is this?" I got up from the ground, rubbing my arm that was still stinging from being grabbed by that large hand. With the light from the fallen flashlight, I saw Li Zhisheng, Death Apostle, and Yao Long also sprawled on the ground.
"Hey, wake up..." I shook Li Zhisheng beside me.
"Stop shaking me, I'm not dead yet," he said as he sat up. At that moment, Death Apostle also regained consciousness, picking up a hat from the ground and putting it on his head. "Did we get trapped in an elevator?"
"I don't think so. Look..." I took the flashlight and shone it around, revealing that we were still in a parking lot, lying right at the elevator door. However, the buttons next to the elevator were glowing ominously red.
Death Apostle woke Yao Long and said to me, "Could it be that we've really entered Onizuka's inner sanctum?!"
Upon hearing this, Yao Long quickly rolled over and stood up alertly, pulling out a deep blue folding longbow from his backpack. To my surprise, there was a white dragon design on it that matched the one on my Jiang Ling.
He swiftly unfolded the bow and strung it with a bowstring. "This isn't good; everyone be ready!"
Before I could react to his warning, several footless ghosts with pale eyes came screeching toward us from a distance.
In a split second, Yao Long drew an arrow from his bag and nocked it onto the bowstring. He pulled back hard, and with a loud "thunk," the blue light enveloping the arrow sliced through the darkness, striking one of the ghosts directly.
The ghost let out a shriek before instantly turning to ash.
At that moment, I hurriedly got up and was about to draw my Jiang Ling when Death Apostle stopped me with a firm grip. "Don't rush; your Void Spirit is unstable right now. Just stay back..."
Death Apostle stood his ground, his expression darkening as he fixed his gaze on the remaining ghosts. Yao Long drew another arrow, but just as he was about to take aim, Death Apostle suddenly unleashed several long threads from his body.
Seeing this, I exclaimed, "Soul Threads!"
"That's right!" Death Apostle focused intently as he controlled the Soul Threads to ensnare the remaining ghosts. In no time at all, those ghosts turned into a liquid-like state and were completely drained by the Soul Threads.
Yao Long felt a bit frustrated as he watched the Death Apostle eliminate the ghosts. He complained, "I finally get a chance to fight, and you won't let me?"
Meanwhile, the Death Apostle had already absorbed the Soul Threads into his body. He raised his hand and clenched his fist, saying, "Strange, how could this happen..."
I ignored his confusion and grabbed him. "How can you use Soul Threads too?! Are you connected to that Demon Sorcerer from Gui Tian Village?"
The Death Apostle calmly brushed my hand away and explained, "Soul Threads can actually be used by many people. It's just a way to convert Void Spirit into threads that absorb power; there's nothing surprising about it. As for your old Taoist, he merely enhanced himself with Vengeful Spirit to use this ability. I believe soon enough, you will be able to as well..."
At this point, Yao Long put away his arrows and approached the Death Apostle. "What's wrong? Did you discover something strange?"
"There is something odd. I clearly absorbed several souls just now, but I feel no increase in power..."
"Maybe those souls were too weak," Yao Long replied absentmindedly.
"Impossible! Even the weakest souls have some power, and I can't feel anything at all. This place is too strange..."
Listening to their conversation, I was deep in thought when suddenly Li Zhisheng snatched the flashlight from my hand and shone it toward the spot where the poem had appeared earlier. "Look! The poem is gone!"
The other three hurried over to Li Zhisheng's side. I looked at the spot illuminated by his flashlight, and sure enough, it was completely empty where the poem had been written.
"So we might have come to a place that looks exactly like that parking lot but is entirely different, and this place definitely isn't inside Onizuka..."
Hearing Li Zhisheng say this triggered something in my memory, but I couldn't grasp it at that moment.
Just then, a series of eerie cries erupted from where the ghosts had emerged earlier, and several more ghosts that looked identical to those that had just been eliminated crawled out again.
"Perfect timing! I was just looking to stretch my muscles!" Yao Long exclaimed as he drew five arrows and nocked them on his bowstring. "Die, you little bastards!" With that, five arrows shot forth, glowing blue as they flew toward the ghosts.
In an instant, several ghosts were pierced by arrows one by one, turning to ashes that scattered in the air.
Death Apostle and Li Zhisheng completely ignored Yao Long, who was nearby holding a bow and searching for "prey." They gazed at the red button flashing on the wall and spoke in unison, "Why don't we go upstairs and take a look?"
As soon as the words left their mouths, they exchanged glances, and Death Apostle chuckled as he patted Li Zhisheng on the shoulder. "Great minds think alike."
Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder, “Wasn't Death Apostle always indifferent towards Li Zhisheng? Why has his attitude changed so drastically lately? Has he discovered that there’s something to gain from Li Zhisheng?”
Lost in thought, the elevator suddenly chimed and opened before me. I saw Death Apostle's hand resting on the elevator button.
As the doors opened, a blinding white light shot out from inside, making it hard for me to open my eyes.
After a moment, I rubbed my eyes, which stung from the brightness, and focused. It turned out to be just an ordinary elevator; the interior material looked like it matched the elevator doors. The source of the white light was a bulb at the top of the elevator. The reflection from the metal combined with our prolonged stay in darkness made it seem so dazzling.
"Should we go in?" Li Zhisheng asked tentatively, looking at me and Death Apostle.
I glanced around. "It doesn't seem likely there are any clues here, and given this situation, we can't go back... Whether it's a dragon's lair or a tiger's den, we should just dive in."
With that thought, I cautiously stepped into the elevator. As soon as I entered, the light felt even more blinding. The shiny metal walls reflected countless images of myself, making me feel uneasy.
Seeing that I had entered without any issues, Li Zhisheng and Death Apostle followed suit and called for Yao Long to join us.
Just as the four of us stepped into the elevator, the doors suddenly closed, and even the gap between them vanished. Aside from a single incandescent bulb above us, all we could see were our reflections.
The infinitely overlapping reflections made me feel as if I were trapped in an endlessly extending space.
"Have we fallen into a trap?!" Yao Long said warily as he scanned the surroundings, seemingly trying to find something that could clarify our current situation.
"Don't rush..." The Death Apostle's words were barely out when the elevator began to shake violently. The four of them quickly braced themselves against the walls to maintain their balance.
I remained calm, saying, "It seems we've entered a rather extraordinary place."
Upon hearing this, the Death Apostle asked anxiously, "How do you know this place?"
I furrowed my brow tightly. "I recalled something when we were outside the elevator, but I was interrupted by those ghosts. Now that I see this scene, I think I know where we are."
"Could it be the place you entered while playing that Supernatural Game before?" Li Zhisheng chimed in.
I nodded in affirmation, while the Death Apostle and Yao Long looked confused. "At a time like this, there's no need for suspense..." the Death Apostle said, sounding a bit impatient.
"What? Is there something you don't know?" I replied, putting away my smile and adopting a serious expression. "If I'm not mistaken, we are currently in the Cursed Realm. I've been here once before."
At that moment, Yao Long thoughtfully added, "Cursed Realm... I've heard that name before. A long time ago, a girl mentioned it. Is it true that this place was created by someone who died with powerful resentment?"
"Exactly. And the reason the souls that the Death Apostle absorbed earlier didn't feel any power is because most of the Vengeful Spirits here are generated from the creator's hatred. In other words, what you just absorbed was merely an emotion of resentment from the creator, not actual ghosts!" I looked at the Death Apostle as I spoke.
"So we're not in an Onizuka right now, but rather in a Cursed Realm?" Yao Long asked.
Li Zhisheng shook his head. "No, I actually think it's quite possible that this Cursed Realm is generated on top of an Onizuka, and this Cursed Realm serves as the 'guardian' of the Onizuka. Death Apostle, think about whether there's anything in Nine Stars that could be connected to the Cursed Realm; you're more familiar with that aspect."
The Death Apostle had been deep in thought when he suddenly snapped back to reality at Li Zhisheng's call. "I was just pondering that question too, but I can't connect it to Nine Stars no matter how hard I try. So I'm leaning more towards Yao Long's theory; this place should not be an Onizuka at all but is indeed what you refer to as the Cursed Realm."
As they were discussing, the violent shaking stopped abruptly. The elevator doors, which had been completely closed before, now revealed a small gap and emitted a soft "ding" as they slowly opened.
The four of them stood frozen at the sight before them; outside the door lay an incredibly warm scene.
The living room was somewhat old-fashioned, with a warm fireplace at the front. The fire crackled as the wood burned, and beside it, a dining table was adorned with several golden candlesticks, their white candles flickering gently. Surrounding the candles were numerous delicious dishes.
"Is this really the Cursed Realm? Isn't the Cursed Realm made of resentment?" Yao Long asked, puzzled.
"I haven't seen anything like this either. How about we go outside and see if we can find any clues..."
Just as I was about to step out, Death Apostle suddenly stopped me. He took off his hat and tossed it aside. As the hat landed outside the elevator doors, a massive foot came crashing down from the ceiling, shattering the scene outside.
Then, a terrifying Monster Face leaned toward the elevator door. Its face resembled rotten mud, adorned with various bones, and its eye sockets were empty of eyeballs. Countless blood-dripping tentacles extended from within.
Yao Long, being the closest, shouted in alarm and quickly stepped back.
The monster heard Yao Long's voice and opened its gaping maw to lunge at him...
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