I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 982 517: The Strange Life of the Lantern Ghoul_2

In the study, books were just stored there on the shelves.

In his eyes, these books emanated a chilling aura. Even without picking them up, he could feel the flame inside his lantern body wilting because of that aura.

'This is bad. Forget about reading them; just holding them will harm me.' There was a worried look on the lantern ghost's face.

It wasn't that he hadn't encountered books before, but it was the first time encountering books of such intensity.

Outside the study, footsteps began approaching after being heard.

The lantern ghost could only grit his teeth and picked up the nearest book. As soon as he held it, a terrifying cold sensation erupted, spreading from his hand to his entire body. He felt as though his flame was about to be extinguished.

Then, a person pushed the door open and entered.

The grandmaster looked at the lantern ghost tremblingly flipping through a book titled "Postpartum Care for Sows," with a somewhat peculiar expression, not expecting the ghost to have such a strange interest.

"Not bad, study hard and improve every day." The grandmaster also noticed something unusual about the lantern ghost.

It seemed he had been harmed by the book, which he found interesting.

In his view, these books appeared to be just ordinary paper products, yet the lantern ghost seemed extremely uncomfortable.

Even after a minute had passed, the lantern ghost, despite feeling uncomfortable, managed to persist.

Originally, the grandmaster intended to see how long the lantern ghost could hold out, but then suddenly realized that he had been waiting for too long and couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Clearly, trying to pit the lantern ghost to death with this approach was unrealistic. To grasp his weakness, he couldn't catch it this way.

In the end, he could only close the door and leave.

...

"Interesting, human books can actually have such an effect on ghosts."

Gu Shanhai also noticed the anomaly in the lantern ghost. Although it was a bit comical to see him holding a book on "Postpartum Care for Sows," the book itself was not funny at all.

"Protection of knowledge?"

"It seems the human world is very rigorous in preventing knowledge from leaking to the ghost world."

It's not the books that harm the lantern ghost, but the knowledge carried within them.

The reason for this is simple: to prevent ghosts from acquiring human knowledge.

The lantern ghost was merely holding the book without actually reading it. If he were to read, originally able to endure for ten minutes without dying, he would only last thirty seconds to a minute.

Because of this, ghosts simply cannot acquire human knowledge through books.

If humans were to impart knowledge to ghosts, it wouldn't be seen as language to the ghosts but as a deadly charm, causing instant death if heard.

As for why this world is so stingy as to not spread knowledge?

Who would be foolish enough to give their trump card to an enemy, especially when that enemy is attacking you?

Of course, it's best to keep it secret.

"Besides books, perhaps some other things could also harm ghosts." Gu Shanhai also understood now why TVs cause ghosts to become entranced and perish. Due to the world's secrecy measures, electromagnetic radiation possessed a specialization against ghosts.

It's not just TVs; computers, phones, and other modern information-acquiring devices also have this capability. On the other hand, talismans and Holy Water in this world are just fakes, lacking this functionality.

Gu Shanhai believed this was technological exorcism.

"Just what is the principle behind this?"

Gu Shanhai was puzzled. Everything has a root cause. If there is none, then he would prudently avoid confrontation, as it indicates a terrifying conspiracy behind it.

"Such confidentiality measures might be related to the world itself and require further research."

The reason it went unnoticed before was simply that no ghost approached books or computers. They knew these taboos and wouldn't dare approach despite known dangers unless there were benefits. However, for new and intermediate ghost survivors, even reaching places like the garden apartment or family reunite isn't achievable.

One is a rookie survivor and the other an intermediate one; neither possesses that capability.

The lantern ghost struggled to even hold a book, let alone read it.

"The grandmaster truly is..." Gu Shanhai suddenly realized that every ten minutes or so, the grandmaster would visit the study, constantly bothering the lantern ghost. There was a moment when the lantern ghost almost exposed himself.

However, the lantern ghost, being an experienced ghost survivor, quickly covered it up.

Before long, an hour passed, and the grandmaster stopped watching the lantern ghost, returning to the living room instead.

This was just an appetizer; the real move will take place during the upcoming free activity time.

"At first glance, this lantern ghost doesn't seem as smart as Yin Fenggui, but his steady and strategic approach makes him difficult to deal with." The grandmaster sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and said.

By now, the lantern ghost had started exploring the entire villa. This was something he should have done. As a survivor, not actively investigating his own survival environment would mean passive responses to whatever happens, even if ghosts mostly lack initiative.

Yet, it's still better than doing nothing.

"Got a plan to kill him?" Gu Shanhai casually asked.

"No problem, we'll have it done before lunch." The grandmaster said without hesitation.

Despite free activities being the most relaxing, they are actually heavily bound by numerous rules, like certain areas being off-limits or having their own unique rules.

All he needed to do was go with the flow without trying too hard.

Due to the existence of live broadcasts, many actions can only be carried out once; any subsequent attempts would find ghost survivors on guard.

Therefore, the grandmaster didn't make it difficult for the lantern ghost during the cooking segment, opting to act during the free activity period instead.

Gu Shanhai didn't ask how he planned to act. As long as he was confident, there was no need to ask for details.

"As long as you're sure, but what do you think about ghosts getting harmed by books?"

Actually, Shura would be better, with his talents perhaps he could detect clues. The grandmaster isn't as proficient in that aspect.

"No idea, I had Yingying try it, but she felt nothing; it seems it only affects ghosts." The grandmaster discovered this point and had Cui Yingying try it, hoping it was something beneficial, but nothing happened. It's been assessed, and in the "First Era," it doesn't even count as a tool, merely junk, and can't be taken out of the world.

Moreover, it contains no mystical skills, just ordinary knowledge.

This puzzled the grandmaster as well, so he didn't delve too deeply into it, seeing no value in it. It's more useful than the diary left by the villa's previous owner, at least providing them clues as a quest item.

"Still, it gave me plenty of inspiration. Had I known before that books have this effect, there'd be no need to hang it on free activity time." The grandmaster regretfully said, stating that he indeed wasn't aware of this function. Otherwise, he wouldn't have struggled with the lantern ghost; instead, he'd have eliminated him outright.

"Ah... don't come up with more wicked tricks." Gu Shanhai quipped.

"How can it be called wicked? As the saying goes, those not of our kin are sure to have a different mind. I call this strategy!" The grandmaster first denied Gu Shanhai's word choice, clarified his legitimacy, and then justified himself, thus standing on the ground of racial righteousness.