Chapter 17: Mission Complete

What kind of way is that to talk? How the hell could I not be alive?!

Zhou You immediately wanted to flip the man off.

But when he turned around, he suddenly saw a face filled with absolute panic.

It was as though every trace of fear had been smashed apart, ground into powder, then slowly kneaded into the skin itself.

The entire face twitched uncontrollably.

The eyes were bloodshot.

The eyeballs had nearly bulged completely out of their sockets, as though they might burst at any moment.

Zhou You recognized the man.

It was the security captain who had reprimanded him earlier.

Only now, all of that former arrogance was gone.

Instead, he resembled an extremely timid young girl, trembling from head to toe.

Judging by the terror on his face, it would not have been surprising if he wet himself the next second.

Seeing this, Zhou You lost interest in flipping him off.

Instead, he stood up with a beaming smile and walked toward the middle-aged man.

“Captain, that’s a strange thing to say. How could I possibly not be alive? Ah, judging from your condition, you don’t seem well. Did you come down with some sudden illness? With our relationship, there’s no need to be polite. Come, come, let me help support you...”

“Don’t come any closer!”

As Zhou You approached, the captain’s expression grew uglier and uglier.

Finally, when Zhou You was almost right in front of him, he let out a shrill scream and fled outside.

Instinctively, Zhou You tried to grab him.

But the system’s warning immediately followed.

“Please note. You are currently unable to interfere with this entity’s actions. If you forcibly intervene, this scenario will immediately fail.”

Thus Zhou You could only withdraw his hand helplessly.

Then he suddenly thought of something.

Currently?

I don’t remember that word being there before...

After the captain had completely fled, Zhou You conducted a brief search of the room.

Surprisingly, compared to the previous day, there were a few changes.

First, his uniform had reverted to the bloodstained one.

Second, two additional newspapers had appeared on the desk.

[City’s Richest Man... Condition Worsens... Feared...]

[Old District Renovation... Progressing Steadily]

[Traditional Culture... Promoting Temples]

[Today... Improvement of Sanitation Workers’ Treatment... Commendation]

Just like before, the text remained difficult to decipher.

This time, however, Zhou You read them with utmost seriousness.

Very quickly, he discovered two issues.

The first was the news regarding the city’s richest man falling gravely ill.

This was already the second time it had appeared.

With such deliberate emphasis, could this person be a key figure in the scenario?

Then there was the article about improved treatment.

That was clearly referring to the things Zhou You had done during the day.

In other words, his daytime actions directly influenced the story itself.

“Combined with that security captain who probably knows some of the inside story, the number of questions just keeps increasing.”

Out of habit, Zhou You tapped his fingers against the table.

“But I still don’t have anything that can connect all the pieces together. Right now I feel like I’m doing a jigsaw puzzle. I’ve got a pile of fragments in my hands, but I’m missing a few crucial pieces.”

At that moment, however, a heavy sound suddenly came from the clock behind him.

Eleven o’clock had arrived.

Instantly, the entire room began to change.

Dark red blood surged across the previously clean floor.

The overhead light flickered continuously.

The plant in the flowerpot beside the door transformed into twisted limbs.

The broken television switched itself on.

Within the static, grotesque and savage faces occasionally appeared.

Wait, this didn’t happen the previous night, did it?

Zhou You had barely formed the thought before the increasingly severe changes left him no time to consider it.

Before the security office completely transformed into a haunted house, he hurriedly grabbed his patrol flashlight and left.

Fortunately, the outside world remained mostly unchanged.

The only notable difference was that the streetlights had become dimmer.

Previously, the roads could still be distinguished by the streetlights alone.

Now, many areas required illumination from the flashlight to be seen clearly.

Proceeding cautiously, Zhou You followed the road and eventually arrived at the food stall.

The incandescent light still shone brightly.

Unlike the first time, however, the instant he saw that light, all tension vanished from his body.

He casually lifted the curtain and walked inside.

“Young man, you’re here to eat, aren’t you?”

The same familiar line.

This time, however, Zhou You did not hesitate in the slightest.

He sat down directly.

Then he revealed a brilliant smile.

“Boss, I’d like a bowl of soup.”

The owner clearly had not expected such a direct opening.

Still, he immediately went with the flow and reached for the lid covering the pot that contained the human head.

Yet his hand was suddenly stopped.

This was a serious violation of the rules.

The disturbed ghost immediately raised its head.

Its expression turned savage.

Half its face began rotting away at astonishing speed.

At the same time, Zhou You felt the arm touching it become numb.

Rotting blotches faintly emerged across his skin.

Yet in the very next second, every abnormal phenomenon stopped abruptly.

The reason was simple.

Zhou You had already taken out a white scarf from his chest pocket and gently placed it upon the grease-covered table.

“How did you get that?!”

The stall owner stared at Zhou You with his remaining eye.

The madness in his expression made it seem as though he wanted to devour someone alive.

But Zhou You merely smiled.

“Relax. The auntie gave it to me willingly. So, can we have a proper conversation now?”

“This was knitted for me by my wife ten years ago. Back then my brother and I had just been laid off, and it happened to be winter. It was freezing cold. She hated seeing the two of us shivering every day. Despite living frugally and saving every last bit she could, she still managed to knit one for each of us.”

The food stall owner, now restored to his original appearance, stooped over and gently stroked the scarf.

His face was filled with nostalgia.

“My brother lost his years ago. He was always careless. Otherwise he wouldn’t have reached such an age without ever finding a wife.”

The head inside the soup pot floated upward, apparently intending to protest.

But the owner immediately pushed it back down with a ladle.

“As for mine, I kept it carefully all these years. Even after I died, she still refused to throw it away. Sigh. And thanks to you as well. You specifically brought this thing to me, and you even helped my lonely wife. If a dead man like me can help you with anything, just say the word. I’ll do my best.”

Hearing the calm words, Zhou You did not hesitate.

He simply smiled and said,

“In that case, could you give me a normal bowl of soup?”

The owner paused briefly.

Then he revealed a baffled expression.

“You know this is a ghost stall, yet you’re making that request? You’re a strange one.”

Even so, he lifted the lid from the other pot.

Then he took a clean ladle from beneath the stall, filled a bowl, and placed it in front of Zhou You.

There was no rotten flesh or pus floating inside.

Yet there were also none of the enticing chunks of meat and vegetables from before.

It was merely an ordinary bowl of pork rib and lotus root soup, the sort of thing commonly made in households across certain regions.

Even so, Zhou You smiled his thanks.

Then he accepted the bowl and drank it.