Chapter 40: Caught
It had to be said, the organizers really splurged this time. The entire haunted house covered a vast area, and the setup was incredibly realistic.
To fit the Halloween theme, the entire haunted house was modified into an ancient castle. The floors and walls were made of distressed wood painted with some red paint and bloody handprints, looking bloody.
Occasionally, someone would step on empty air, or have their calves grabbed by NPCs popping out of the floor. Screams and wails echoed through the huge haunted house one after another.
The three walked into a bedroom on the second floor.
Duan Ke clutched a corner of Qin Huai’s clothes tightly, his other hand cautiously groping for decorations on the wooden table.
When they entered, the staff told them there were Easter eggs like small cookies and dolls hidden in the haunted house. If found, they could be taken, and collecting a certain number could be exchanged for other gifts.
Duan Ke was very obsessed with this reward, and consequently, so was Qin Huai.
Lin Jiangli initially thought these two were childish to death, but after finding two, he got addicted. Now he was searching enthusiastically alongside Duan Ke.
The two led the way, while Qin Huai stood behind Duan Ke, occasionally looking down to steadily step on loose floorboards about to flip up.
The NPC underneath trying to grab Duan Ke’s leg: …
Duan Ke and Lin Jiangli found several small cookies and really wanted to find a ghost doll.
Finally spotting one, Duan Ke rubbed his hands together to pick it up, but heard two boys talking nearby.
“Hey hey hey, here! Is this that doll thing?”
“Pick it up and see, pick it up and see!”
“Holy sh*t, this thing laughs! It laughs?! Blegh…”
“Blegh…”
The two boys ran away covering their mouths, while the eyeless doll continued to cackle on the ground.
Duan Ke and Lin Jiangli turned green, silently retracting their hands.
Although realism is fun, this is too disgusting… feels like twenty years of nightmares.
Duan Ke and Lin Jiangli exchanged a glance, both looking terrible.
But two seconds later, both swished their heads around simultaneously. Four eyes looked at Qin Huai with eagerness, practically glowing green in the dark haunted house.
Qin Huai: …
He didn’t understand what was so scary. These dolls had no demonic energy; they weren’t Dream Demons, just scary props from the organizers.
He picked up the ghost lamb, examined it, squeezed it to ensure there were no jump-scare mechanisms, and naturally handed it to Duan Ke.
“Very impressive, found it so quickly.”
Qin Huai patted Duan Ke’s head. Duan Ke’s face heated up from the praise in that low, steady voice, and he silently used his hat to hide his face.
Lin Jiangli: …
Really want to tell Ji Qing that your boss is gay. Pity he’s not here.
As more Easter eggs were found, the crowd around them wasn’t just wailing anymore; occasional joyous laughter rang out, giving it a festive atmosphere.
Infected by the laughter, Duan Ke gradually became less afraid.
And his physical contact with Qin Huai never broke—always touching, sometimes hand, sometimes waist. The scorching temperature was reassuring.
Duan Ke couldn’t help feeling smug. Holding his hat, he wanted to turn back and brag to Qin Huai: Brother, I’m so brave, I’m not afraid of ghosts anymore.
Just then, a door in front was kicked open by an NPC with a bang. A ghost face blocked Duan Ke’s path perfectly, less than two centimeters from his nose tip.
Not being afraid was impossible.
A scream pierced the clouds. Duan Ke couldn’t think at all; he shook off Qin Huai’s hand and dashed downstairs.
The NPC behind him ran fast too. Duan Ke disregarded everything, flipping neatly over the railing, stepping on the wooden boards, and jumping lightly and directly from the second floor to the first, dumbfounding the NPC behind him.
Qin Huai’s hand was empty. He turned around to find Duan Ke already downstairs. He tsk-ed lightly and said to Lin Jiangli behind him, “Give me the detector.”
Sure enough, a red dot lit up, moving in Duan Ke’s direction.
“It was fine. Having played so many escape rooms, what’s scary about a mirror… but that mirror seemed weird…”
“Hey, what’s wrong with you… Why pinch me?! Cough cough…”
Mirror?
Qin Huai frowned. He had fought the Dream Demon’s clone before and hadn’t seen it use mirrors.
He threw the detector back, told Lin Jiangli to clear the area and call Ji Qing over, then expressionlessly vaulted over the railing amidst the screams of the crowd.
Duan Ke ran a long way thump-thump-thump until there was no road left. He ducked into a bedroom, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, gasping desperately.
It really almost gave him a heart attack; his heart beat so fast it hurt. It was too stimulating. Duan Ke realized belatedly that his legs were going soft, and he slid slowly down the door panel.
After a few minutes, there seemed to be no movement outside.
Assuming the NPC had left, Duan Ke let out a long breath and wanted to open the door, but a strange child’s laughter came from the empty bedroom.
Duan Ke: ………………….
Why is there an NPC in this bedroom too???
Qin Huai wasn’t here. If there was another ghost, he really didn’t know what to do; he might just faint.
Duan Ke turned around trembling, only to see a large full-length mirror hanging on the bedroom wall, reflecting him perfectly.
For some reason, Duan Ke suddenly really wanted to see his appearance in it clearly.
He clasped his hands tightly in front of his chest. Clearly afraid, yet as if bewitched, he walked involuntarily towards the mirror.
Duan Ke stood still. He could imagine how terrified his expression was right now, but his reflection in the mirror was completely expressionless.
Duan Ke: …
He raised his hand to adjust his hat. The reflection in the mirror indeed didn’t move.
Duan Ke realized with a start, punching his left palm with his right fist. I see! It’s a monster, not a ghost!
Then he wasn’t afraid at all.
Duan Ke let out a long breath and asked the mirror, “Hello, are you a Mirror Demon? Are you here to play too? Sorry to disturb…”
Before Duan Ke finished, he felt his shoulder bitten hard by something.
His eyes trembled, beautiful amber pupils reacting by turning into eerie vertical slits. Duan Ke reached back to grab the black shadow on his shoulder and pulled hard, feeling pain tearing through skin and flesh.
His strength was draining rapidly.
The demonic markings on his abdomen began to ache violently, like a flower taking root in his flesh. Duan Ke gasped sharply. His movement tore the wound further open, and a large amount of fresh blood sprayed out. The Dream Demon drank it greedily and excitedly.
Although this monster couldn’t speak right now, Duan Ke heard Its voice.
【…You and he are truly a match. His nourishment has made your power so delicious… Lucky I didn’t kill him before.】
Drinking the delicious blood of a god, It felt its body—patched together from countless monsters and humans—trembling with excitement.
Soon… soon it will succeed.
Five years ago, It almost replaced the god but was nearly killed by that damned Inquisitor. This time, I will definitely become Duan Ke completely.
And Duan Ke has become stronger than before, shockingly strong.
Must not rush. Wait until he thoroughly differentiates, then…
Not long after, the Dream Demon suddenly felt the blood under its mouth stop flowing.
It looked up hesitantly, meeting Duan Ke’s golden vertical pupils staring coldly at It.
“I really have a good temper.”
Duan Ke’s voice was naturally soft, but at this moment, it seemed even more chilling. “…But I don’t like being bullied either. It was you in the teaching building before, right?”
“I am very powerful now.” Duan Ke swayed the tail behind him. “You might not be able to beat me.”
The Dream Demon sneered and raised a hand to counterattack.
But Its movement failed because this clone was pinned firmly to the wall by Duan Ke’s tail, at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The room was completely within this monster’s barrier.
Duan Ke’s eyes sharpened. The black shadow he pinned quickly melted into the wall, pouncing from behind him with a sinister grin.
…It seems the opponent has teleportation skills.
Stealing power and teleporting—can one monster have so many abilities?
Duan Ke felt it was strange. But now wasn’t the time to think; he had to break this barrier.
“Attention, visitors in the Haunted House. We are experiencing temporary technical difficulties. Please evacuate the Haunted House as soon as possible to avoid danger. We apologize for the inconvenience…”
The walkie-talkie on Duan Ke’s lower back emitted a voice.
He froze, quickly lying by the bedroom window to look out, finding the crowd being gradually evacuated.
The visitors were confused but seemingly unharmed by the monster.
Is it the Bureau people?
Duan Ke’s heart skipped a beat. He really didn’t want to deal with anyone from the Bureau again. Luckily, with no one in the haunted house, he could fight back boldly.
He had realized the intensity of his magic in the teaching building.
Honestly, he was also curious about how tough his body would be after becoming the Progenitor Succubus.
Duan Ke licked his lips excitedly. He ran to the small window facing the interior to look out. The haunted house was cleared, and people around the barrier were gone.
I can fight freely!
Duan Ke’s beautiful vertical pupils trembled excitedly, like a good child trying to do something bad for the first time.
Although he was a surprisingly good-tempered monster, no monster could resist their destructive nature, especially when possessing powerful strength.
The Dream Demon was hiding in the barrier.
It had been severely injured by Qin Huai and had only recently recovered; It wasn’t at peak power.
Even though It had absorbed some magic just now, It didn’t want to risk fighting Duan Ke.
Opportunities can be created countless times anyway. It didn’t linger, sneering and preparing to leave directly, but paused suddenly just as It was about to fade.
Hundreds of clones distributed throughout the haunted house were shattering one by one. The speed was astonishing, showing how precise and quick the person was, striking decisively.
…It’s that damned Inquisitor. How did he find my clones?
The power just gained was diminishing rapidly. Its movements were sluggish for a few seconds.
With a boom, the bedroom collapsed.
The monster was punched through several walls by Duan Ke, crashing heavily into the room opposite on the second floor, motionless.
Duan Ke looked at the smoke he stirred up, clenching his fist and cheering: “Yay! I’m so strong!”
I didn’t expect to take out an A-level monster with one punch now!
Although it’s just a clone, it shows I’m strong now, not the little succubus chased for two blocks while eating a midnight snack!
Evolving into the Progenitor Succubus has its benefits!
Duan Ke flew across, humming a song. Destroying the building wasn’t a big deal; this haunted house was temporary and would be demolished after Halloween. He just needed to deal with this clone.
Duan Ke picked up the limp clone, preparing to shatter it with magic, but discovered another figure lying opposite the monster.
The figure moved slowly, startling Duan Ke. He threw the clone several meters away, his tail shooting up with a swish.
“Are you his accomplice!” Duan Ke pointed with his tail, his tone soft yet fierce.
The lying figure sneered low, propping himself up with one hand, slowly sitting up and wiping blood from his lip.
“Meeting again so soon.”
Ji Qing looked at Duan Ke and laughed angrily, standing with arms crossed. “Quite the greeting gift… you broke several of my ribs.”
Duan Ke’s tail stiffened. He suddenly remembered who this was—the strange-acting man he met once in Xu Jue’s room.
He stared at Ji Qing in a standoff. Ji Qing stared back, then suddenly couldn’t hold it, clutching the wall and vomiting a mouthful of dark blood.
“Are you okay!!” Duan Ke was scared out of his wits.
“I didn’t mean to ahhh, sorry… I thought there was no one outside!”
Duan Ke walked to Ji Qing, worry overflowing on his face. “By the way, why didn’t you evacuate with the command? Standing right outside that room! I would definitely hit you by accident! Wait, I’ll call an ambulance…”
Ji Qing waved his hand, weak. “No need… can’t die. Besides, I’m a professional monster catcher; if I don’t stay, who will?”
Duan Ke’s movement to dial 120 paused, his scalp tingling belatedly.
He suddenly realized something, looking at Ji Qing with fear as if seeing a ghost, backing away abruptly.
But it was too late.
His wrist had been handcuffed by Ji Qing at some point. He couldn’t run.
Duan Ke struggled angrily twice, only to find the handcuffs were custom-made, Bureau specialties that even S-class monsters couldn’t break.
“Publicly assaulting a police officer. Very bold, Little Demon King.”
Ji Qing lifted the other end of the handcuffs, smiling wickedly. “Come with me to the Bureau.”
[Author’s note: Ji Qing really has it rough. Beaten up by life (and Duan Ke). Poor guy. [Crying]]
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