Chapter 22
Night.
The hospital was completely silent. Sitting in the empty corridor that was illuminated by lights were two members of the combat department. They were both slumped in their seats fast asleep.
The lights in the ward were off.
Through the glass, one could see something slightly raised under the sheets on the hospital bed.
Terrible gnawing sounds could be heard coming from within the darkness. The soft rustling sounds seemed to sound even more eerie in the dark night.
Zhao Dong was lying in bed, suffering from severe fever.
His consciousness was hazy, but he was still awake.
He could tell that something sinister was growing inside his body, greedily gnawing through his blood, flesh and internal organs. The unbearable itch and pain were like tens of thousands of bugs crawling around inside his bones. It was so terrible, he even wished for death instead.
The light in the corridor entered the dark ward through the window, becoming the only light source for the room.
Under the dim light, a dark shadow silently appeared.
Was it an illusion?
Or was the fever messing with his mind?
The weak Zhao Dong opened his eyes with difficulty and tried to see the figure approaching his bed.
The blanket on his body was lifted.
The living creatures in his body suddenly became agitated. They slammed around violently inside his body—–
Zhao Dong’s body trembled. He reflexively tried to avoid the pain and discomfort.
At this moment, his vision suddenly turned dark.
A cold hand silently covered his burning eyelids.
“Shhh.”
The temperature of the other person’s hand was very cold. Like ice suddenly coming into contact with boiling water, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the touch.
There was a pleasant feeling.
For some reason, Zhao Dong’s heart settled down.
After confirming that Zhao Dong was no longer struggling, Ye Jia lowered his head and examined the other person’s current state.
The terrible swelling and bruising had spread from the calf to the chest. On the body that was barely recognisable, countless larvae wriggled around under the skin. Just the sight of it was extremely ugly and nauseating.
Ye Jia took out the egg from his pocket and carefully made a cut.
Translucent sticky fluid dripped onto the other person’s knee.
One drop, two drops, three drops.
Like sharks smelling blood, the squirming larvae scrambled towards the place where the liquid had fallen.
Translucent baby ghost-face spiders crawled out of the skin one after another like water being squeezed out of a sponge.
As soon as one appeared, Ye Jia would pinch it to death.
Very soon, all the larvae had crawled out and finally, Zhao Dong’s skin was no longer writhing around, and the colour was no longer that terrible bruised look. The swelling however may take days or even weeks before it completely recovers.
It would take a long time for someone who had been parasitised by ghost-face spider eggs to fully recover.
—-Not only physically, but also psychologically.
In the darkness, Zhao Dong’s breathing gradually become steady. Ye Jia glanced out the window.
The night was still deep.
The entire city was deep asleep. There were only several small lights moving in the distance.
Ye Jia sighed.
Forget it.
Do good deeds until the end.
—-There were still many people hanging inside the ghost-face spider’s cave.
.
When everything was sorted, the sky had already started to brighten up. Morning light spread out from the edge of the world, dispersing the darkness little by little and gradually lighting up the sky in the process.
Ye Jia finally returned home.
He changed his clothes that were stained with blood and insect flesh and then threw himself onto his bed with a low grunt.
Fuck, too tired.
Dealing with the ghost-face spiders wasn’t particularly tiring. After all, in terms of intensity and dangerousness, the instances in the game was worse.
It was the confrontation with Ji Xuan that was the most exhausting part of the whole night.
Ye Jia stared at the ceiling and carefully went through the conversation he had with Ji Xuan earlier.
Although it was very suspenseful, it seems that…the other party didn’t seem to be aware of his identity yet?
He was a little unsure.
Those days in the game was something from his previous life and Ji Xuan himself was already an unstable character at that time. After becoming the Ghost King, Ye Jia couldn’t tell what he was thinking or what he planned to do next.
And now, he had become the other person’s ‘undercover spy’ in the Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau….
Damn.
Ye Jia turned over and buried his head in the pillow.
Shutting down.
“How about running away?” The small black hand shuffled over to his pillow.
Since it realised that its fate hung from the same thread as Ye Jia’s, it had become very enthusiastic about Ye Jia’s safety and wellbeing, “Do you need me to write a resignation letter for you?”
“Resign my ass.” Ye Jia coldly glared at it.
“Are you stupid?” He asked unceremoniously, “Did you really think that the Ghost King will unsuspectingly entrust an important task to a ghost he only recently suspected betrayed him?”
The small black hand who was called stupid, “Ying.” (KKnotes: Crying sound)
Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly, “Him doing this only means that he has a backup plan. That’s why he’s not afraid of me going against him.”
Please read this from kk translates
He said, “This is a test.”
“Then….” The small black hand asked cautiously, “Then what do you plan to do?”
Ye Jia, “Nothing.”
For now, he couldn’t predict the other person’s next set of actions, so it was best not to act rashly.
The worst thing that could happen was……
Running into him again while not doing anything.
Ye Jia gently rubbed the tips of his fingers. His light-coloured eyes lowered slightly, and cold light flashed across his eyes.
—-Since he could kill him once, he could naturally kill him a second time.
“So,” The small black hand couldn’t hold back its curiosity and asked boldly, “what exactly happened back then?”
Ye Jia glanced at it, “Very curious?”
The small black hand let out a loud sound of affirmation!
Too curious! Curious to death!
Ye Jia narrowed his eyes. A faint smile flickered across his lips, “I see…….”
“!!!” The small black hand trembled and instinctively took a step back. It felt that something didn’t seem right——
That smile was too familiar…..
Every time the other party wanted to do something bad; he would show this kind of expression!
“After going around all day, I am really tired, but I still have a lot of work to finish. Recalling the past will take too much time too…” Ye Jia said with a smile, “Let’s do this. If you help me with about one month’s work of documents, I will tell you.”
Small black hand: “……….”
I knew it!!!
It gritted its teeth: “Half a month!”
Ye Jia’s expression didn’t change, “Two months.”
The small black hand: “……..”
Fuck, a cheating merchant.
The small black hand was forced to give in, “…..Fine, one month it is then.”
Ye Jia casually continued, “Two and a half months.”
The small black hand: “!”
It was angry and distraught, “You’re a tyrant! You’re exploiting me! A capitalist with no humanity!”
—-It seems that the time spent playing on the phone had allowed the small black hand to learn a lot of new vocabulary.
Ye Jia sneered, “I right now receive only one salary but have two jobs and two bosses to work for. In addition to all that, I have to work overtime without getting paid by both sides. Have I said anything despite all that?”
The small black hand, “…….Deal.”
It was forced to sign a humiliating agreement and it then began to work on the unfinished documents that Ye Jia had brought home.
The tip of the pen scratched against the surface of the paper.
Ye Jia bent his legs slightly as he leaned against the back of his bed. He turned his head and looked out the window.
The sin was rising.
The morning sun broke through the clouds. The sky went from purple to dark blue, then pale blue and gradually, the world became brighter.
Bright sunlight spilled in through the half-open window, coating the young mans pale face with a faint golden glow.
Please read this from kk translates
In the morning light, Ye Jia squinted his eyes. His light-coloured irises looked almost transparent and his long eyelashes looked almost fluffy in the sun, obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
—-Experience told him that it was better not to think of the past.
It was unknown how many players had been overwhelmed by the heavy memories they carried, breaking down while caught between their bloody past and present. If you wanted to survive in the game, you must learn to put everything aside and learn to forget.
Since clearing it, it had been a long time since Ye Jia recalled his time in the game.
Trivial chores filled his days, making him almost forget about that place he had to crawl out from with much difficulty.
But all of this was like a thin layer of scar tissue. It was so fragile, only a slight tug would break it apart, exposing the bloody wound underneath.
—-He only realised now that he hadn’t forgotten anything.
Those memories had just continued to patiently lurk underneath that surface, waiting quietly for the right time. As soon as it was time, all of it would burst out like a dam, completely unstoppable.
Ye Jia closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the emotions in his eyes disappeared in an instant. It was as if it had evaporated under the sun, leaving no trace behind.
He took out his phone and glanced at it.
06:40.
Ye Jia yawned and casually turned off the alarm that had not yet had the chance to ring.
Forget it. Skipping work today.
He thought for a while and then proceeded to throw his phone aside without any psychological burden. He once again laid back down in bed.
.
Severed limbs, blood, pale faces with twisted expressions, mutilated corpses…the smell of death permeated everywhere.
Scene fragments circled around like a dark whirlpool.
In the centre of the whirlpool stood a young boy.
His chin was sharp and his face was pale. Within his pair of dark eyes was a faint tinge of redness. It resembled scarlet blood spreading out in the light.
He quietly looked over. A bit of something similar to icy obsession rolled in the depths of his eyes. It was like he was on the verge of madness.
There was a large hole on the boy’s chest, as if he was pierced by a large weapon, but what came out of his chest wasn’t blood, but dark ghost energy.
Ye Jia watched as the young boy approached him step by step.
“Big brother.”
The child’s voice carried innocence and naivety. He called out crisply, “Don’t you remember me?”
But the next second, his voice suddenly became low and hoarse. It possessed magnetism unique to an adult man: “……Why are you running?”
The tall man bent down. A dark shadow stretched over.
The other person’s eyes were dark red; it looked almost like there was blood flowing around inside. He approached Ye Jia with a smile that also didn’t seem like a smile. His cold lips were pressed close to Ye Jia’s ear and Ye Jia felt like he was wrapped in a cold aura of death, “You don’t like me anymore? —— Big brother.”
Ye Jia’s eyes suddenly opened. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling with each breath.
It was twilight. The room was shrouded in a faint warm light.
After a long time, he managed to calm his breathing. Ye Jia slowly sat up.
Ye Jia rubbed his temples and lowly cursed at his splitting headache.
Dammit.
Damn that Ji Xuan.
Not even letting him off in his dreams.
Ye Jia reached for the phone he had tossed onto the bedside table.
Unexpectedly, there were no angry reminder texts or phone calls from the chief. On the contrary, Liu Zhaocheng sent him series of message telling him to take care of his body and along the way, he also mentioned Zhao Dong’s condition improving. Although they hadn’t figured out the reason for it, they were very relieved.
Ye Jia scrolled up.
It turns out the small black hand had helped him ask for leave—The tone was soft but not humble, pitiful but not miserable. It was simply a perfect example of a sick leave request.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Oh, not bad.
First rate social skills.
While Ye Jia was still pondering over how he should continue making use of the small black hand and let it willingly do his work for him, the phone in his hand suddenly vibrated a few times.
On the notification bar, a familiar cat profile appeared.
【Kitty Likes to Eat Fish: Brother, time to report to work. 】
Ye Jia: “………”
Dammit, why has this ghost adapted to modern civilisation better than himself?
This isn’t fair!
Chapter 22
Night.
The hospital was completely silent. Sitting in the empty corridor that was illuminated by lights were two members of the combat department. They were both slumped in their seats fast asleep.
The lights in the ward were off.
Through the glass, one could see something slightly raised under the sheets on the hospital bed.
Terrible gnawing sounds could be heard coming from within the darkness. The soft rustling sounds seemed to sound even more eerie in the dark night.
Zhao Dong was lying in bed, suffering from severe fever.
His consciousness was hazy, but he was still awake.
He could tell that something sinister was growing inside his body, greedily gnawing through his blood, flesh and internal organs. The unbearable itch and pain were like tens of thousands of bugs crawling around inside his bones. It was so terrible, he even wished for death instead.
The light in the corridor entered the dark ward through the window, becoming the only light source for the room.
Under the dim light, a dark shadow silently appeared.
Was it an illusion?
Or was the fever messing with his mind?
The weak Zhao Dong opened his eyes with difficulty and tried to see the figure approaching his bed.
The blanket on his body was lifted.
The living creatures in his body suddenly became agitated. They slammed around violently inside his body—–
Zhao Dong’s body trembled. He reflexively tried to avoid the pain and discomfort.
At this moment, his vision suddenly turned dark.
A cold hand silently covered his burning eyelids.
“Shhh.”
The temperature of the other person’s hand was very cold. Like ice suddenly coming into contact with boiling water, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the touch.
There was a pleasant feeling.
For some reason, Zhao Dong’s heart settled down.
After confirming that Zhao Dong was no longer struggling, Ye Jia lowered his head and examined the other person’s current state.
The terrible swelling and bruising had spread from the calf to the chest. On the body that was barely recognisable, countless larvae wriggled around under the skin. Just the sight of it was extremely ugly and nauseating.
Ye Jia took out the egg from his pocket and carefully made a cut.
Translucent sticky fluid dripped onto the other person’s knee.
One drop, two drops, three drops.
Like sharks smelling blood, the squirming larvae scrambled towards the place where the liquid had fallen.
Translucent baby ghost-face spiders crawled out of the skin one after another like water being squeezed out of a sponge.
As soon as one appeared, Ye Jia would pinch it to death.
Very soon, all the larvae had crawled out and finally, Zhao Dong’s skin was no longer writhing around, and the colour was no longer that terrible bruised look. The swelling however may take days or even weeks before it completely recovers.
It would take a long time for someone who had been parasitised by ghost-face spider eggs to fully recover.
—-Not only physically, but also psychologically.
In the darkness, Zhao Dong’s breathing gradually become steady. Ye Jia glanced out the window.
The night was still deep.
The entire city was deep asleep. There were only several small lights moving in the distance.
Ye Jia sighed.
Forget it.
Do good deeds until the end.
—-There were still many people hanging inside the ghost-face spider’s cave.
.
When everything was sorted, the sky had already started to brighten up. Morning light spread out from the edge of the world, dispersing the darkness little by little and gradually lighting up the sky in the process.
Ye Jia finally returned home.
He changed his clothes that were stained with blood and insect flesh and then threw himself onto his bed with a low grunt.
Fuck, too tired.
Dealing with the ghost-face spiders wasn’t particularly tiring. After all, in terms of intensity and dangerousness, the instances in the game was worse.
It was the confrontation with Ji Xuan that was the most exhausting part of the whole night.
Ye Jia stared at the ceiling and carefully went through the conversation he had with Ji Xuan earlier.
Although it was very suspenseful, it seems that…the other party didn’t seem to be aware of his identity yet?
He was a little unsure.
Those days in the game was something from his previous life and Ji Xuan himself was already an unstable character at that time. After becoming the Ghost King, Ye Jia couldn’t tell what he was thinking or what he planned to do next.
And now, he had become the other person’s ‘undercover spy’ in the Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau….
Damn.
Ye Jia turned over and buried his head in the pillow.
Shutting down.
“How about running away?” The small black hand shuffled over to his pillow.
Since it realised that its fate hung from the same thread as Ye Jia’s, it had become very enthusiastic about Ye Jia’s safety and wellbeing, “Do you need me to write a resignation letter for you?”
“Resign my ass.” Ye Jia coldly glared at it.
“Are you stupid?” He asked unceremoniously, “Did you really think that the Ghost King will unsuspectingly entrust an important task to a ghost he only recently suspected betrayed him?”
The small black hand who was called stupid, “Ying.” (KKnotes: Crying sound)
Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly, “Him doing this only means that he has a backup plan. That’s why he’s not afraid of me going against him.”
Please read this from kk translates
He said, “This is a test.”
“Then….” The small black hand asked cautiously, “Then what do you plan to do?”
Ye Jia, “Nothing.”
For now, he couldn’t predict the other person’s next set of actions, so it was best not to act rashly.
The worst thing that could happen was……
Running into him again while not doing anything.
Ye Jia gently rubbed the tips of his fingers. His light-coloured eyes lowered slightly, and cold light flashed across his eyes.
—-Since he could kill him once, he could naturally kill him a second time.
“So,” The small black hand couldn’t hold back its curiosity and asked boldly, “what exactly happened back then?”
Ye Jia glanced at it, “Very curious?”
The small black hand let out a loud sound of affirmation!
Too curious! Curious to death!
Ye Jia narrowed his eyes. A faint smile flickered across his lips, “I see…….”
“!!!” The small black hand trembled and instinctively took a step back. It felt that something didn’t seem right——
That smile was too familiar…..
Every time the other party wanted to do something bad; he would show this kind of expression!
“After going around all day, I am really tired, but I still have a lot of work to finish. Recalling the past will take too much time too…” Ye Jia said with a smile, “Let’s do this. If you help me with about one month’s work of documents, I will tell you.”
Small black hand: “……….”
I knew it!!!
It gritted its teeth: “Half a month!”
Ye Jia’s expression didn’t change, “Two months.”
The small black hand: “……..”
Fuck, a cheating merchant.
The small black hand was forced to give in, “…..Fine, one month it is then.”
Ye Jia casually continued, “Two and a half months.”
The small black hand: “!”
It was angry and distraught, “You’re a tyrant! You’re exploiting me! A capitalist with no humanity!”
—-It seems that the time spent playing on the phone had allowed the small black hand to learn a lot of new vocabulary.
Ye Jia sneered, “I right now receive only one salary but have two jobs and two bosses to work for. In addition to all that, I have to work overtime without getting paid by both sides. Have I said anything despite all that?”
The small black hand, “…….Deal.”
It was forced to sign a humiliating agreement and it then began to work on the unfinished documents that Ye Jia had brought home.
The tip of the pen scratched against the surface of the paper.
Ye Jia bent his legs slightly as he leaned against the back of his bed. He turned his head and looked out the window.
The sin was rising.
The morning sun broke through the clouds. The sky went from purple to dark blue, then pale blue and gradually, the world became brighter.
Bright sunlight spilled in through the half-open window, coating the young mans pale face with a faint golden glow.
Please read this from kk translates
In the morning light, Ye Jia squinted his eyes. His light-coloured irises looked almost transparent and his long eyelashes looked almost fluffy in the sun, obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
—-Experience told him that it was better not to think of the past.
It was unknown how many players had been overwhelmed by the heavy memories they carried, breaking down while caught between their bloody past and present. If you wanted to survive in the game, you must learn to put everything aside and learn to forget.
Since clearing it, it had been a long time since Ye Jia recalled his time in the game.
Trivial chores filled his days, making him almost forget about that place he had to crawl out from with much difficulty.
But all of this was like a thin layer of scar tissue. It was so fragile, only a slight tug would break it apart, exposing the bloody wound underneath.
—-He only realised now that he hadn’t forgotten anything.
Those memories had just continued to patiently lurk underneath that surface, waiting quietly for the right time. As soon as it was time, all of it would burst out like a dam, completely unstoppable.
Ye Jia closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the emotions in his eyes disappeared in an instant. It was as if it had evaporated under the sun, leaving no trace behind.
He took out his phone and glanced at it.
06:40.
Ye Jia yawned and casually turned off the alarm that had not yet had the chance to ring.
Forget it. Skipping work today.
He thought for a while and then proceeded to throw his phone aside without any psychological burden. He once again laid back down in bed.
.
Severed limbs, blood, pale faces with twisted expressions, mutilated corpses…the smell of death permeated everywhere.
Scene fragments circled around like a dark whirlpool.
In the centre of the whirlpool stood a young boy.
His chin was sharp and his face was pale. Within his pair of dark eyes was a faint tinge of redness. It resembled scarlet blood spreading out in the light.
He quietly looked over. A bit of something similar to icy obsession rolled in the depths of his eyes. It was like he was on the verge of madness.
There was a large hole on the boy’s chest, as if he was pierced by a large weapon, but what came out of his chest wasn’t blood, but dark ghost energy.
Ye Jia watched as the young boy approached him step by step.
“Big brother.”
The child’s voice carried innocence and naivety. He called out crisply, “Don’t you remember me?”
But the next second, his voice suddenly became low and hoarse. It possessed magnetism unique to an adult man: “……Why are you running?”
The tall man bent down. A dark shadow stretched over.
The other person’s eyes were dark red; it looked almost like there was blood flowing around inside. He approached Ye Jia with a smile that also didn’t seem like a smile. His cold lips were pressed close to Ye Jia’s ear and Ye Jia felt like he was wrapped in a cold aura of death, “You don’t like me anymore? —— Big brother.”
Ye Jia’s eyes suddenly opened. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling with each breath.
It was twilight. The room was shrouded in a faint warm light.
After a long time, he managed to calm his breathing. Ye Jia slowly sat up.
Ye Jia rubbed his temples and lowly cursed at his splitting headache.
Dammit.
Damn that Ji Xuan.
Not even letting him off in his dreams.
Ye Jia reached for the phone he had tossed onto the bedside table.
Unexpectedly, there were no angry reminder texts or phone calls from the chief. On the contrary, Liu Zhaocheng sent him series of message telling him to take care of his body and along the way, he also mentioned Zhao Dong’s condition improving. Although they hadn’t figured out the reason for it, they were very relieved.
Ye Jia scrolled up.
It turns out the small black hand had helped him ask for leave—The tone was soft but not humble, pitiful but not miserable. It was simply a perfect example of a sick leave request.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Oh, not bad.
First rate social skills.
While Ye Jia was still pondering over how he should continue making use of the small black hand and let it willingly do his work for him, the phone in his hand suddenly vibrated a few times.
On the notification bar, a familiar cat profile appeared.
【Kitty Likes to Eat Fish: Brother, time to report to work. 】
Ye Jia: “………”
Dammit, why has this ghost adapted to modern civilisation better than himself?
This isn’t fair!
