At 12:00 AM, Li Mo gasped, his expression a mixture of joy and terror.
He had just cooked a delicious dinner for Kiana and she had eaten it all. From the inside out, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
But compared to this, coming home at this time was the biggest test for Li Mo.
"MEI should be asleep by now..."
The family didn't have a habit of staying up late. Logically, it was already the next day, and everyone should be in bed. But Li Mo's left eyelid kept twitching, as if foretelling something bad was about to happen.
"I'll listen in..."
Li Mo stealthily pressed his ear to the door and listened patiently for several minutes. Apart from the sound of air flowing in his ears, there was no sound from inside.
It had been a few minutes. If someone was still awake, there would surely be footsteps, or the sound of a TV or computer running. Since he heard nothing, they should all be asleep.
At this thought, Li Mo heaved a sigh of relief and gently opened the door.
But the moment the door opened, Li Mo was dumbfounded.
"You're back early. I thought you weren't coming back."
MEI's tone was flat, her tranquil face showing no emotion, like a calm sea.
"I..."
"Come in first."
Before Li Mo could explain, MEI turned on the living room light without any room for argument. Instantly, the bright orange light illuminated the entire house.
There was no one else in the living room. The bedroom doors, except for Li Mo's and MEI's, were all closed.
A question suddenly appeared in Li Mo's mind.
How long had she been waiting for me in the dark?
Li Mo didn't dare to ask. He just followed behind MEI until he sat on the sofa, like a minor who had returned late being looked at with a discerning gaze by his parents.
"Next time you come back late, remember to let me know in advance," MEI said.
"There's no need to be so careful in our own world. I just went out for a meal with a friend tonight. If I encounter anything unusual, I'll contact you immediately."
Faced with Li Mo's explanation, MEI was silent for a while. Her lips moved, and she wanted to say something several times, but it was stuck in her throat and swallowed back.
He shouldn't know this.
"I will be worried, but I think this worry is probably unnecessary," MEI leaned on the sofa, her eyelids heavy. She slowly closed them and said calmly:
"I'm sorry, Li Mo, your vacation is over early."
"There are less than seven hours to rest now. I've already arranged everything. In six and a half hours, you and Hua will go to the next world to deal with the spreading Bizarre."
"I've already prepared all the Bizarre items from last time, but you're not allowed to take the human-head ghost."
"Why?" Li Mo was puzzled. It wasn't that he had any objection to Mei's arrangement.
MEI's knowledge and understanding of Bizarre were even deeper than his, because she had always been dealing with Bizarre information. Li Mo was more about knowing how to deal with Bizarre.
But there were many things that Li Mo also needed a reason for. He believed that MEI would give a reasonable reason to convince him.
After devouring "Portrait," "Stove," and "Rotten Blood," plus its own abilities, the human-head ghost already had four Bizarre abilities and their corresponding rules.
And the human-head ghost belonged to the lowest level of Bizarre. As long as he controlled its strength and avoided the certain-death rule, Li Mo felt that he could completely control it.
The old reflection in the Mirror Lake was escaped by usurping the Bizarre ability of the stove. If he had the human-head ghost, he wouldn't have to pay the price of bearing the original rule to escape.
When encountering some ghosts that could not be solved but could not be avoided, the human-head ghost could also act as a thug, to fight with the other party, causing both sides to crash at the same time.
If used properly, the human-head ghost was even better than Bizarre items in some extent.
"I know what you're thinking. You may think that a human-head ghost with four Bizarre abilities is a much greater threat to ghosts than to people. A single human-head ghost is controllable and can be used to block unknown ghosts. There's nothing more cost-effective than this."
"But Li Mo, the human-head ghost has obtained not only abilities, but also the four rules possessed by other ghosts."
"Why didn't you dare to approach the flesh-and-blood ghost back then? Even with the Mirror Lake blocking you, you didn't look at it directly but peeked through your phone's camera function."
"Because the superposition of rules means that the probability of triggering a rule increases exponentially."
"What is the rule of the human-head ghost? It is to unconditionally track and kill any living person who gets close in various ways within its cognition during its revival time."
"And among the new rules it has seized, there is the killing rule of the portrait. Do you really think it needs to satisfy the four rules of body touching the wall, consciousness asleep, at night, and within sight?"
"No, the dead soldier who was replaced by the portrait is the best example. It only needs to touch you. And the long-term method of controlling it, without exception, requires contact, it just won't be injured."
"Even if you use some special methods to hide yourself, like hiding in a safe area like the auditorium of St. Freya High School, don't forget, the human-head ghost also has the Bizarre ability of the stove. It can always see and lock onto you. Unlike before, when you hid in the auditorium, it lost its attack target."
"Perhaps you can find and hide in a territory that can resist Bizarre, like the ghost stomach in the room, but the human-head ghost can continuously secrete rotten blood to suppress the ability and rules of the safe area."
"All the certain-death rules are summarized in its own cognition."
"This means that after 7 PM, a ghost that you cannot handle and cannot escape will always be hunting down all living people, including you."
"I really can't think of any means you have to avoid the attack of a human-head ghost with four rules and abilities. Its killing method is no longer just eating people."
MEI's expression was serious as she spoke to Li Mo word by word, not missing any details.
The superposition of rules had such consequences. Different rules would complement each other's shortcomings, thus reaching many unavoidable death rules such as death upon touch, death upon sight, death upon hearing, etc.
Li Mo had considered it before, but he hadn't thought of the level of sublimation through the complementation of rules.
He was just mechanically and rationally following his own thinking, avoiding all single rules one by one.
He had never encountered a ghost like the human-head ghost that devoured the rules and abilities of other ghosts before.
"I understand. But why let Hua go with me?"
"If we both leave, who will deal with the new spreading Bizarre that you observe?"
Li Mo asked about the possible situations.
The time to deal with Bizarre was very unstable. It might end in two or three days. Or it might be like Hua's case, where it took half a year.
If both of them were trapped in a time-consuming supernatural event, and another new Bizarre spread... who would deal with it then?
MEI?
But she didn't have much combat experience, and she didn't even have life-saving means and Bizarre items to assist her. Li Mo couldn't imagine what kind of foresight would be needed to perfectly bypass all unknown rules.
The unknown was the greatest danger.
"You don't have to worry about this. If this really happens, I will try my best to delay the spread of the Bizarre and drag it out until you come back. I will let Elysia maintain the posture of the Herrscher of Origin for a long time to suppress the spread of the contamination."
"But the suppression time won't be too long. She won't be able to hold on. If it really doesn't work, Mei will try to deal with the Bizarre. She can't die, so you don't have to worry too much."
"If there's no more strength, I can handle it myself."
"Then, I will try my best to bring all of you back."
MEI seemed to be talking about a very ordinary thing, her expression calm.
Her face was stern, and her eyes were sharp.
However, this confidence made Li Mo feel very at ease. With her here, Li Mo could deal with Bizarre without any worries, without having to worry about his home being stolen.
Because there was a more meticulous master in his home.
"Okay, then I'll go to sleep first. Although I don't need to sleep as long as a normal person in my current state, rest is still necessary."
His mind would still feel tired, and his thinking would still slow down due to fatigue.
The same went for his insight, reaction, and perception.
"Mhm, go get some rest. I'll come wake you up when it's time."
MEI sat on the sofa and rarely took out a strange newspaper that was as wrinkled as human skin. There were no pictures, only dense, crooked words.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Li Mo asked.
"I'll rest after you guys leave."
"Stay up less. It's not good for an ordinary person's body."
Li Mo's warm reminder seemed a bit redundant, but MEI still gave a gentle response, "Mhm, I'll pay attention in the future."
Li Mo returned to his room. On the table were the Bizarre items he needed.
A Bizarre notebook that could predict the future;
A strengthened Bizarre pistol that could suppress the actions of ghosts;
A Bizarre coin with a restored rule;
And a thermometer to detect Bizarre aura.
With Hua, who possessed Fenghuang Down, he could almost deal with most situations. Whether it was saving his life or confronting them head-on, he would not be caught in a sorry state or be powerless to fight back.
However, confronting them head-on was the stupidest approach. If he couldn't find more useful information and clues, Li Mo would never risk his life to fight a ghost.
The unknown was too great. No one could guarantee that the Bizarre pistol could definitely suppress a ghost.
"Hmm? It's still warm."
Li Mo picked up the end of the notebook and could clearly feel the residual temperature on it, which meant that someone had used the notebook just now.
And after Li Mo's return, all the Bizarre items, including the notebook, had been kept by MEI.
Did MEI use the notebook?
Li Mo wasn't too worried. He had told MEI about the rules of each page that he had guessed. With the premise of knowing the rules, Mei's heart should have a scale to weigh the pros and cons.
There were still six hours left. The vacation was over, and it was time to work.
Li Mo lay on the bed, closed the door and window, and drew the curtains to block the moonlight.
When all was silent and all thoughts returned to the sea of the soul to rest, the essence of all things was revealed.
In the nightmare—
Moist, crimson white roses spread, like a giant mouth, swallowing his terrified face.
Countless thick, dark green vines emerged from the mud under his feet, wrapping around his feet and his waist. They strangled his neck like a malevolent ghost, making it impossible for him to breathe. His windpipe suddenly burst, shattering into pieces, which he spat out from his mouth and fell onto the intertwined vines on the ground.
I don't want to die...
Instinct drove him to struggle desperately. His hands were pierced by wet, thorny vines. The blood flowing from the wounds—covered the crimson white roses with a thick layer of blood.
In a daze, his gaze fell, and he saw that the thing covering his face was not a pure and sacred white rose...
Blood dripped and gathered in the pool at his feet, reflecting pale human faces, with ferocious expressions, accusing him of countless murders.
At some point, his hands raised a scythe, cut open his stomach, and offered the contaminated intestines inside to the thirsty ones.
Finally, the scythe fell on his neck, and his head was separated from his body.
His vision was pitch black, and he heard the whispers of evil ghosts in his ears.
Insects crawled out of the mud, swarmed into his broken neck, and sucked his constantly cooling blood.
He should have died.
But his body stood up.
He opened his eyes and found that his skull was full of insects. His pupils were dilated into cloudy glass crystals, empty and lifeless.
That swaying body was a walking corpse, walking aimlessly on a dissipating road. With every step forward, a new corpse spot appeared on his skin.
But how could a person see their own skull?
He looked back, but couldn't see anything.
There was only a vast nothingness, filled with a thin and single cognition.
However, when a faint ray of bloodlight flickered.
He saw himself.
The ripples of his soul were like a tide, infecting the dry gravel.
The restless insects in his head rushed towards her frantically. At this moment, he finally saw clearly that the so-called white rose was a pile of pale bones.
"Seele...!?"
His soul trembled, his heart throbbed, like a sharp sword piercing through his heart. Li Mo suddenly sat up straight, waking up from the nightmare.
He inexplicably uttered a simple word, which seemed to be the name of a deceased person.
"My head hurts a little. I had a nightmare."
Li Mo didn't take the nightmare too seriously, because unlike the previous dreams, whether it was Bizarre Kiana, Bizarre Mei, or Bizarre Hua, the dreams he had would become a part of his memory, integrating into his cognitive level and becoming a story he had personally experienced. Dreaming seemed to be just a form of memory.
However, for this nightmare, Li Mo knew very well that it was just a dream, just a nightmare.
"I have Mo's attribute of having a deep memory. As long as it's a personal experience that I can remember, every detail is remembered clearly."
"Is it because of this that I can clearly distinguish the difference between dream and reality? Or is it for some other reason?"
Li Mo held his forehead and thought about what he had seen of himself in the nightmare.
It was suspected to be a complete ghost...
It didn't have any characteristics of a living person. On the contrary, it had all the original characteristics of a Bizarre.
But the absurd fantasy that seemed to come from nowhere at the end was a false illusion.
The him in the dream woke up in the dream and saw the real him.