novelraw Chapter 153: Crisis
Chapter 153: Crisis
Xu Zisheng seemed to sense something, but there was no time for further thought now.
On the fourth night at the orphanage, the chill grew even heavier. With every slight breath, he could feel the paralyzing cold air sweeping through his body, numbing his limbs.
Their stealth operation this time absolutely could not afford any mistakes.
The aura of that mutated ghost creature that had brushed past him was already pressing directly toward A-level intensity.
What did it mean to encounter an A-level ghost creature just dozens of meters out?
And with pseudo-A-level beings everywhere? This indicated the instance's true difficulty was definitely A-level, or even higher—likely reaching Death God Level, meaning S-level.
Another S-level instance?!
The previous instance had been forcibly judged as S-level, and of course entities like the Writer, the Scavenger, and that Eyeless Eyes that appeared later deserved that rating.
But this situation was different from last time. Previously, it had been due to individually powerful entities like the Writer—rare beings where just a few appearances could infinitely elevate the instance's danger level.
This time, it was a mass gathering. Even pulling out just one was extremely troublesome. Though they weren't the absolute top-tier beings, having them all appear in one place as if corralled together was terrifying enough.Who knew what level that monster appearing at 2 AM would be?
Anyway, it was definitely beyond his current ability to handle.
The Writer had helped him resurrect Gui Yi, and he had come searching for Gui Yi, getting dragged into this horror instance, and then the Writer just happened to appear as well.
Everything felt like a carefully written story—no coincidence, no tale.
He couldn't help suspecting whether all of this was within the Writer's expectations.
If that were the case, then the other party's ultimate purpose in coming here became rather intriguing.
However, even if Mr. Yan had other plans, that would be a game played between high hierarchical status beings, and he could do nothing about it.
Enough, enough, stop!
Focus.
Xu Zisheng didn't dare delve too deeply into thoughts about high-level entities, except for the Writer, whose true name he knew and who had always shown him considerable care.
When it came to the Writer, he didn't feel too terrified.
Perhaps this was partly permitted, or maybe the Writer concealed everything too well, truly completely different from other ghost creatures in his understanding.
Otherwise, exceeding boundaries to investigate those high hierarchical status entities would easily lead to mental contamination. Not associating, not recalling—that was the best avoidance method.
The orphanage's main gate was very far from the student dormitory building, spanning more than half the orphanage grounds.
It took considerable effort for Xu Zisheng and the others to finally catch their first glimpse of the tightly locked iron gate, surrounded by fences full of sharp spikes.
Looking outside, there was boundless thick fog, with nothing visible, floating and sinking, silent and still, like the chaotic, disordered shore beyond.
Was that gate the gate of life, or the gate of death?
Like a swimming snake, a black shadow crept along the ground.
In the lightless air, silver thread worms barely detectable by the naked eye drifted and floated toward the gate.
In the utterly quiet environment, there seemed to be no other presence.
The black shadow acted like a guard. The iron gate bore a heavy, massive lock.
Those semi-transparent silver thread worms wriggled their bodies, then burrowed into it.
"Buzz—"
Not far away, a hunched figure watched all this quietly, its turbid pupils reflecting the long-unopened gate.
The metal ring tightly binding its body seemed to rise and fall with its breathing.
Every night was so painful.
Cycle after cycle.
Perhaps everything was truly about to end.
During this final period, this cage drifting in the barren, dead Silent Void Realm had actually opened its sealed shackles twice.
Once to welcome an unknown presence stealthily arriving from "outside."
And the other time—could someone finally take that monster away from here?
Step out of this area, to the "outside."
Or return to a more real place.
Instead of being bound in freedom, drifting year-round in this endless land of deathly silence.
The lock slowly fell to the ground.
There was no wind at night.
Yet the iron gate slowly moved, revealing a crack from the middle.
Extremely fine fluctuations rippled through the air.
"Wrong..."
Just hearing that almost imperceptible sound for a moment, the ghost creature hidden in the shadows made its decision.
Its blood-colored eyeball rotated slightly.
When alive, he had walked through that iron gate countless times, his hands going from strong to wrinkled, touching that heavy lock again and again.
Although he hadn't noticed anything wrong earlier, the moment he heard the sound, the Cleaner realized something was amiss.
This wasn't the orphanage's main gate.
It seemed tonight's outcome was already determined.
The game had failed far too quickly.
Those lonely souls who came from who-knows-where apparently couldn't escape the black crows' watching eyes.
Just like that, they stepped into the trap.
"Tap—"
An extremely light footstep.
Xu Zisheng's human skin cloak reflected cold light. Beside him, two specter-like shadows flanked him left and right, unclear and indistinct, as if guarding him.
They all stepped through the gate.
But surprisingly, no prompt sound rang out.
Danger alarms screamed wildly in his mind!
His intuition screamed trap!
"Whoosh—"
The originally iron gate surged like quicksilver, continuously melting, then seeped into the ground, immediately shooting skyward to form black barriers.
It seemed about to form a completely enclosed space. Once trapped inside, every move of those within would be detected, with nowhere to hide.
It was a domain!
Cheng He and Yang Qianqian's faces changed dramatically.
Even if they were using some powerful ghost tool, the one attacking from behind definitely had A-level ability! Possibly half-stepping into S-level.
In an instant, the outside mist also surged as if alive, like a large net.
The fence's sharp spikes continuously extended upward, rapidly swelling and enlarging, then stabbed toward Xu Zisheng and the others like sharp swords.
"Boom—"
Dust flew as the three were forced to separate.
All illusions vanished, revealing the true scene.
This open area was completely sealed off.
Looking up, the real orphanage gate was at least twenty-some meters away from their location.
More was already invisible.
Because the domain was about to completely close—
They absolutely could not be trapped inside!
Even with ghost tools concealing their forms and auras, if they unexpectedly stepped inside, as long as the other party concentrated and carefully sensed, they had no way to hide!
Strike!
They unleashed their currently strongest abilities.
While the domain wasn't fully formed yet, a combined strike might still create an escape opportunity!
"Buzz—"
One white specter manifested—Yang Qianqian. Her slightly childish small hand reached out from within.
Veins bulged beneath her pale skin, her entire arm rapidly transforming, seeming to lose luster, becoming hard and stiff.
An enormous hammer appeared in her hands, smashing heavily toward the not-yet-sealed gap.
Several rings flew out, transforming into circular wheels appearing behind Cheng He, glowing brightly.
Wriggling lines spread from the wheels like twisting tentacles, continuously gathering together, concealing a terrifying pressure.
Xu Zisheng was the most straightforward. He leaped high, a blood-stained rusty axe appearing in his hand, reflecting the cold light in his deep eyes.
The axe carried an intensely rich bloody, Yin-cold aura, with faint wails barely audible.
Swing the axe—
"Buzz—"
Three attacks fell simultaneously.