Chapter 10: A Living Hell

Everyone understood immediately that this was definitely no ordinary murder case.

It was a killing by an evil spirit.

Although the police in this blessed world had no experience in dealing with such events, they did not treat it as a routine case. They sealed off all crime scenes, strictly suppressed information regarding the cases, disseminated false reports to the public, and forcibly removed and quarantined all nearby residents.

The area around the Ping'an Hotel quickly became a wasteland.

And the bizarre deaths finally ceased.

The story should have ended there.

But not long after, an online influencer, having learned of the situation from an unknown source, snuck past the police cordon in the middle of the night. He entered the restricted zone, hoping to expose the official conspiracy and capture exclusive footage to boost his traffic.

The influencer vanished from that day on.

Yet, the video he recorded was unexpectedly leaked.

In the video, a woman in tattered clothes with a deranged expression, her arms hanging limp, was seen slowly walking toward the camera...

The video circulated online for less than an hour, but it was seen by tens of thousands of people.

That very night, hundreds of people died with their eyes gouged out. After their deaths, others living nearby began to hear the faint sound of clapping...

Thus, a chain reaction of death began.

Social order completely collapsed, and the outside world grew increasingly dangerous. The quarantined residents eventually realized that the vicinity of the Ping'an Hotel, the source of the disaster, was actually safer than the world outside.

...

Wen Chao finished speaking and took a sip of hot water, waiting for the others to react.

He Qiong frowned and asked, "Listening to you, it seems that those who know of this evil spirit's existence are in even greater danger. Why would you tell us this?"

Wen Chao shook his head. "Do you think we can really escape it? Didn't you hear the clapping last night?"

Wu Xian secretly scanned the group and noticed that everyone's expression changed simultaneously.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who had heard the faint sound of clapping last night.

This meant they were all under the threat of that evil spirit; if anyone were to clap unknowingly, they would draw that thing toward them.

Taking advantage of the silence, Wu Xian raised his hand. "Professor, I have a question."

Wen Chao smiled. "Go ahead, student."

"The last words of the first victim must represent the behavioral logic of this evil spirit. If it were just that, it wouldn't lead to the collapse of the world."

Wen Chao nodded.

"Correct. The behavior of this evil spirit is very simple. Within the range of her influence, if you clap at midnight, she will appear. If you see her face, your eyes will be gouged out."

On the third day of the chaos, governments around the world jointly issued instructions on how to avoid her.

But it was already too late.

Among those she killed, some turned into new evil spirits. These new spirits created even more, and in just over two months, there were very few living people left in this world.

Wen Chao's intelligence left everyone feeling stifled.

Previously, they had been skeptical of Qi Zhiyong's words, but now they felt that Qi Zhiyong had been holding back.

What kind of "blessed land" was this?

It was clearly a living hell with no hope, where the living could only wait for death!

Wu Xian had anticipated this long ago.

What concerned him more was Fang Zhi.

This information had clearly been gathered by him and Wen Chao together, yet throughout the entire presentation, Fang Zhi wore a look of disdain. If it weren't for the speaker being his teacher, he likely would have already started mocking him.

What was wrong with this guy?

Even at this point, he still believed that ghosts and evil spirits were just parlor tricks?

The information provided by Wen Chao and Fang Zhi was useful, helping the group avoid potential risks. Qi Zhiyong gave each of them a crowbar; the tips of these crowbars were stained with dark red blood, clearly weapons that had taken lives.

"I... I found some medicine and gauze. If anyone is injured, I can help you bandage it."

Yue Mei already had a bandage wrapped around her arm. It seemed she had paid a significant price to obtain these supplies.

She looked pale and trembled slightly. Wen Chao's story had frightened her, and during her exploration earlier that day, she had indeed witnessed some inexplicable, eerie scenes.

Her heart was filled with anxiety and unease. She lacked the ability to protect herself and, unlike the Su sisters, had no one to shelter her, so she could only try to increase her value to the team.

Qi Zhiyong gave her a rusted pipe wrench. There were bits of rotting flesh stuck in the gaps, emitting a nauseating odor, yet she clutched it to her chest as if it were a life-saving straw.

She looked rather pitiful.

Next, He Qiong and his two companions stated their findings.

Compared to the others, the intelligence they provided was virtually non-existent. It seemed as if they had just been wandering around. Wu Xian guessed their minds were entirely focused on searching for divine statues to increase their own strength.

But since everyone else had contributed and only the three of them hadn't, He Qiong felt embarrassed.

So, he issued a solemn warning.

"You all shouldn't just be careful of the evil spirits. I was almost crushed to death by a refrigerator that fell from the sky. I suspect someone among us is trying to harm me!"

Hearing this, some were wary, while others felt he was just trying to save face.

Wu Xian quietly turned his head away, his cheeks feeling slightly warm.

Even though the information they provided was so sparse, Qi Zhiyong still gave the three of them almost the best weapons: a blood-stained slingshot, a butcher's knife, and an exquisite short dagger.

Wu Xian was shocked.

Qi Zhiyong hadn't spent much more time searching for supplies than he had. Where did he find these items that looked like murder weapons? Unless these things had been piled together all along!

Wu Xian had also contributed greatly to the team. What weapon would Qi Zhiyong give him?

Wu Xian hugged his shoulders, pretending to be cold. "I... I went to investigate the room where the dead person was this morning. I've felt cold ever since I came back, so..."

Qi Zhiyong took over.

"He did indeed take a great risk today."

He recounted the intelligence Wu Xian had gathered in Room 405 in detail, emphasizing that Wu Xian had volunteered to investigate rather than being forced, so as not to discourage the others.

Hearing this, everyone wore a serious expression.

While the information from Wen Chao and Fang Zhi was important, those things were still far from them, whereas the evil spirit in the guest room was a daily threat to everyone's lives!

Strictly speaking, Wu Xian's intelligence was the most useful for the night, and everyone waited to see what kind of weapon Qi Zhiyong would give him.

Qi Zhiyong reached into his woven bag and fumbled around for a while, but found nothing. His expression became awkward.

"I'm truly sorry, the weapons have all been handed out. Actually, these weapons don't serve much purpose anyway. Just bear with it for now, and I'll prioritize you next time we get good weapons."

"It's fine, I don't mind."

Wu Xian waved his hand generously.

He claimed not to mind, but in reality, he had already thought of ways to get back at Qi Zhiyong. If Qi Zhiyong treated him too well, he wouldn't feel right about taking action against him!

Qi Zhiyong's attitude was blatant, and everyone saw it clearly.

"Just handed out"?
He simply didn't want to give anything to Wu Xian!

However, they didn't point it out. Surviving in the blessed land was the top priority, and none of them wanted to offend Qi Zhiyong.

But He Qiong wasn't afraid of him. He snorted and mocked, "Ha, you really are a great team leader."

Then, He Qiong handed the blood-stained butcher's knife he had been given to Wu Xian.

"I can't stand this kind of thing. I don't need this knife, so you take it."

With that, he put his arms around the Su sisters and headed upstairs, his manner as nonchalant as could be.

Wu Xian picked up the butcher's knife, feeling a pang of guilt for having almost crushed He Qiong earlier.

This He Qiong, he really was a good guy!