INHA Chapter 113

Of course, the director had never intended to keep everything hidden forever. He simply didn’t want to impose psychological pressure on the group at the very beginning. The researcher was continuously running tests and analyzing feedback from the instruments, while the other handlers started getting busy. A few of them also seemed to sense something, their expressions subtly changing, and they quickly approached the director to report it.

The director then informed them about the existence of a giant heart underground but also asked them not to tell anyone else. He explained that everyone was already under a lot of pressure.

By evening, the group decided to camp there, as this small world revolved around the mysterious tree. The detection instruments had already scanned the surroundings, finding nothing of particular interest.

Everyone had brought simple rations, and after a quick meal, they sat down to rest. A few handlers took on the task of patrolling and keeping an eye on the eerie tree.

About three hours later, the world seemed to be gradually enveloped by a dense gray fog, making it feel as though night had fallen. The visibility decreased, prompting the handlers on the next shift to light up the nearby floodlights, allowing for a faint view of the surroundings.

However, no one dared to approach the tree. No one knew what might happen if a living person got too close to it. As the gray fog thickened and cloaked the world, the tree became invisible to everyone.

Everyone but one person.

That person was Xu Dongyou.

When Xu Dongyou activated his heightened senses, he could see through the dense fog and spot the tree, along with the resentful spirits hanging from its branches. These spirits hadn’t yet matured and still hung quietly from the branches. At a glance, they looked like corpses hanging from the tree, creating an eerie and chilling sight.

Suddenly, Xu Dongyou noticed one of the spirits swaying, as if moving on its own without any wind, as though it could fall off at any moment. He immediately stood up and hurried to inform the director.

The director quickly gathered a team and instructed Xu Dongyou to lead the way, ensuring they didn’t get too close to the tree. They intercepted the spirit for further research, as they needed to determine if there were any differences in the spirit’s behavior inside this small world compared to the outside world.

After a few minutes, the swaying resentful spirit finally detached from the branch and fell to the ground. It stood there silently, with a faint, eerie smile on its pale, bluish face. Xu Dongyou felt a strange unease rise within him and said to the director, “Director, we need to be careful. This resentful spirit seems different from the others we’ve encountered.”

Although he didn’t feel any immediate danger, the unsettling feeling that had been lingering in his mind persisted, making it impossible for him to ignore. He could only use this moment to warn everyone to stay on alert.

The resentful spirit started to walk forward. Its pitch-black pupils filled its eye sockets, exuding a chilling aura, yet showing no signs of agility. Soon, it reached the spot where Xu Dongyou and the others stood, then halted its steps.

The handlers had encountered resentful spirits before, but this was the first time they had come across one that hadn’t yet entered the real world. No one knew what differences or abilities these spirits might possess compared to those from outside.

For example, the resentful spirits outside were generally invisible, while in this world, they could be seen with the naked eye at all times.

Most importantly, this spirit had stopped right in front of them.

Without needing any orders from the director, everyone immediately drew their preferred weapons and prepared for action. Xu Dongyou did the same, wielding a dagger that had been specially enhanced. He also gathered his demonic energy, ready to strike at any moment.

However, the resentful spirit didn’t react at all. It just stood there motionless.

The tension in the air seemed to rise.

“Director, should I try sealing it?” one of the handlers asked.

The director frowned and replied, “Not yet. Let’s see what it intends to do first. Everyone, step aside and make a path for it to pass through. Maybe we’re blocking its way.”

Although their initial goal was to prevent the spirit from leaving, they were now more curious about why it had stopped.

Following the director’s command, the group quickly cleared a path wide enough for five people to walk side by side.

But the spirit still didn’t move. It remained motionless, staring silently at everyone. This caused a vague urge in each person to avoid its gaze. The more they faced the spirit, the more they understood how terrifying it truly was.

At least with evil ghosts, there were clues to follow. But resentful spirits operated entirely by their own rules, and the triggers that set them off could be bizarre and unpredictable. Sometimes, they were things you could never even imagine—like the earlier game incident. Who would have thought that simply playing a game could trigger a resentful spirit, leading people to get trapped inside the game world itself?

And the longer the incident dragged on, the harder it became to return to the real world.

As a result, the gaze of this resentful spirit caused everyone to become defensive, unsure if its method of killing might be triggered by eye contact.

“Director?” One of the handlers, unable to withstand the pressure any longer, was eager to strike back.

At the same time, within Xu Dongyou’s heightened senses, he could see that the gray mist surrounding the spirit seemed to be growing thicker and spreading toward everyone. Xu Dongyou suddenly had a sinking feeling; this scene was eerily similar to something he had seen before.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the more someone stared at the spirit, the denser the mist around them became. Could it be that simply looking at the spirit would trigger its killing mechanism?

Xu Dongyou immediately shared his observation with everyone. After hearing this, the group felt less tense. As long as they knew the spirit’s method for killing, they could avoid triggering it.

The director quickly ordered everyone to stop staring at the spirit. He then had the handler with the strongest mental resistance continue watching the spirit while moving closer to the researcher, giving them a chance to study the spirit up close.

The handler followed the orders, keeping his gaze on the spirit for about five minutes. Finally, the spirit moved, approaching the handler. Everyone readied themselves for an attack, while others in the back began setting traps to contain the spirit.

The handler continuously backed away, like flying a kite, leading the spirit directly into the trap. Once the spirit was inside, he quickly attached a concealment talisman to himself.

The concealment talisman didn’t make the user truly invisible, but it significantly lowered their presence. This method worked on resentful spirits as well, though the duration of its effect varied depending on the spirit’s strength.

Having lost its target, the spirit stood motionless.

At this point, the researcher quickly approached and set up equipment to begin testing. About ten minutes later, the concealment talisman’s effect wore off.

The spirit, regaining its target, immediately approached the handler but was trapped, circling helplessly within the containment. It was estimated that the trap would only hold for another ten minutes before it was destroyed.

This allowed everyone to gauge the strength of the spirit—it was at an intermediate level.

With that, the team relaxed a little. Not only did they have many handlers present, but they had also upgraded their equipment, making them fully capable of subduing this spirit.

However, since no one knew what effect eliminating the spirit would have on the mysterious tree at the center of this small world, after some discussion, they decided to trap the spirit instead. They also considered the idea of releasing the spirit from this small world.

But the problem was that the spirit had already locked onto the handler as its killing target and would never leave the small world. Therefore, they decided to temporarily confine the spirit with a sealing stone, though it wasn’t a full seal.

Crisis averted.

The handler let out a sigh of relief.

The resentful spirit subdued by the sealing stone had lost all of its activity and abilities, rendering it no longer of much research value. However, this was the first time the researcher had encountered a spirit that wasn’t invisible, giving them a rare opportunity. They approached the director, requesting to extract a sample of the spirit’s tissue.

Everyone else: “…”

The research department is truly ruthless.

After some thought, the director agreed. The researcher excitedly thanked him, then rushed to the spirit, using tweezers and a small knife to extract a portion of its tissue. But strangely, once the tissue was removed from the spirit, it turned into a gray mist and quickly disappeared.

The researcher’s excited smile froze in place.

A miscalculation.

However, after thinking it over, it made sense. After all, these resentful spirits didn’t possess a physical form, so it wasn’t possible to truly extract any tissue. Unwilling to give up, the researcher swiftly took another sample and immediately sealed it in a container.

He shook the container, and the gray mist inside swirled but did not disappear.

Satisfied, the researcher nodded and carefully put the sealed instrument away, attaching a small sealing stone to it for extra precaution.

He was a very cautious researcher.

That night, everyone began to rest. Xu Dongyou stayed on watch, as he was the only one who could see the mysterious tree. By morning, they planned to let him get some rest.

Many felt a little guilty, but Xu Dongyou didn’t mind. Ever since his power had grown stronger, he barely needed sleep. He could stay energized for three days and nights straight.

Though this ability was somewhat unnaturally powerful, bordering on abnormal. As dawn approached and the gray mist began to dissipate, everyone urged Xu Dongyou to take a break, while the rest moved closer to the mysterious tree.

After a busy morning, everyone had learned about the heart buried beneath the tree. It left them feeling uneasy as if the tree was watching their every move.

On the first day, they stopped about 300 meters from the tree and began setting traps around the area using sealing stones. They moved another 200 meters closer and continued laying traps.

During this time, several resentful spirits matured prematurely and dropped to the ground. By then, it became clear to everyone what was happening.

The tree had sensed the threat and was accelerating the maturity of the spirits to fight back!

This also hinted at the possibility that the tree had some degree of awareness, or at least a reactive instinct. Either way, it was not a good sign.

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