INHA Chapter 66

The handler was immediately drenched in a cold sweat but then quietly sighed in relief. Fortunately, this game was still in its beta testing phase. Almost no one else would be playing the game besides the 300 players who owned this particular phone.

He quickly reported his analysis results to his superiors, who immediately took the matter very seriously. They began interrogating the creator of the mobile game, as well as several other producers involved.

These individuals were terrified, not understanding why their game had attracted such official attention, but they obediently confessed everything they knew.

The mobile game indeed had no issues, and it was indeed the result of the creator and other producers’ tireless research and development. However, when they completed the game, they found that they lacked the funds for a large-scale promotion. Given that this was a project they had placed high hopes on, they decided to conduct a beta test.

At that time, the creator heard from a friend that they had purchased a phone that was so cheap it was practically free. The creator immediately had a lightbulb moment and came up with a good idea.

They could buy these phones and use them as rewards to entice people to play the game.

As a result, all 300 phones were successfully distributed, and all the recipients played the game. Especially in the later stages, when players needed to buy revival tokens, these beta testers kept recharging money, which gave the creators a lot of hope.

Unable to identify the problem, the Anomaly Handling Bureau still believed that the issue was related to the phones.

Meanwhile, Xu Dongyou and the others had also received the latest updates from the bureau and were all deeply concerned.

After all, there were 300 phones involved. Although this incident didn’t seem as impactful as the one involving Tian Haomiao, it still couldn’t be underestimated. They had discovered the problem too late, and victims had already emerged.

All the players who played the game would enter the mobile game “Monster Town”. Once they used up their three chances, they would most likely be doomed.

The handler staying in the hospital immediately attempted to recharge the victim’s account to buy a revival token, but it showed that the transaction could not be completed.

In other words, the victims who had entered the phone only had three chances to revive.

They had to find a way to solve the true source of this incident.

Xu Dongyou and his team hastened their pace toward the destination, heading straight to the house opposite Xu Wan’s.

Among this family of three, Lu Chao was the first to exhibit strange behavior. Following him, Lu Chao’s parents also underwent the same changes, continuously shouting and screaming at empty spaces behind them, insisting they didn’t want to sell the phone anymore.

Perhaps the invisible entity they were talking to was the very evil ghost they were searching for.

Xu Dongyou and the team knocked on the door. Immediately, loud shouts and screams echoed from inside. It seemed that the people inside were on the verge of a mental breakdown. Downstairs, several special officers and police were gathered, urging the residents to evacuate temporarily. They stood below, whispering to each other, wondering what might have happened.

Yan Jingnan quickly stepped forward, pulled out a device, and pressed it against the electronic lock, which beeped a few times.

The door instantly unlocked.

Tian Ze immediately cast a look of approval toward the researcher, Old Zhang, only to be met with Wu Fang’s sarcastic smile.

Inside, the room was pitch-black, with no trace of light. Xu Dongyou quickly set up a live streaming camera without giving any introduction, so as not to alarm the three people inside or the evil ghost.

Then, Xu Dongyou immediately activated his heightened senses. The pitch-black room seemed to become faintly visible, with vague outlines, though still not entirely clear.

His physical form wasn’t well-suited for night vision, but he was highly sensitive to movement. Within moments, he noticed three blurred figures swiftly darting into another room in the darkness.

Xu Dongyou quickly informed the group, and everyone became alert. They decided to leave Wu Fang in place while the rest of them rushed inside.

Xu Dongyou stayed at the back since he wasn’t skilled in combat, serving instead as a night-vision guide for Tian Ze and Kuang Zhannu.

Meanwhile, Yan Jingnan also stayed behind to protect Wu Fang.

As the live stream started, a considerable number of viewers had already joined. They were immediately greeted by a pitch-black room with vague, shadowy outlines, leaving them momentarily confused.

【What exactly are we watching here?】

【I’m just as confused. What’s going on?】

【It’s so dark, I can’t see anything.】

At this moment, following Xu Dongyou’s guidance, Tian Ze and Kuang Zhannu rushed towards the second bedroom. As they charged in, they were met with a gust of wind—the sound of the homeowner swinging a club. Tian Ze remained still, knowing that Kuang Zhannu would swiftly knock down all three people with a few punches and subdue them without any interference from the evil ghost.

Xu Dongyou quickly found the light switch. When the room was suddenly illuminated, all three of them were stunned. The family of three looked like ghosts in the darkness—sinister and eerie, with sunken eyes, sparse hair, and skin that appeared desiccated.

Their eyes held an unmistakable terror, sending a chill down the spine of the three intruders.

It had only been half a year, yet this family of three had undergone such a transformation that they hardly looked human anymore.

What shocked Xu Dongyou even more was the sight of a monstrous creature behind the family—a spider with a human face. The face resembled a man in his thirties, grinning wickedly. The eight spider legs ended in pale human hands, three of which were clutching the heads of the family members.

Xu Dongyou immediately went on alert, quickly scanning the room, but he found no sign of any evil objects.

Tian Ze and Kuang Zhannu noticed that Xu Dongyou was staring at something behind the family, quickly realizing that there might indeed be an evil ghost there. They, too, prepared themselves, ready to strike at any moment.

The family huddled together, terrified, muttering frantically, “Don’t eat me, don’t eat me. I’ll sell the phone, okay?”

The chat was now flooded with messages.

【Holy crap. I dropped my phone out of fear, and the screen shattered! Thankfully, I had a screen protector, so it’s all good, hahaha!】

【Damn, this is way too scary! Where did they find these actors? They’re terrifying, especially since they’re so thin. It’s like they’re just skin and bones.】

【I can’t see any signs of special effects! My childhood is back—finally, you guys are using practical effects again. I’m crying tears of joy.】

【I was watching the live stream with my husband, and we both screamed out loud. This is terrifying!】

At this moment, Xu Dongyou cautiously took a step forward. The spider immediately swiveled his eyes to lock onto Xu Dongyou, the eerie grin on his face deepening, while the thick gray mist around him grew even denser.

Xu Dongyou quickly pulled his leg back, took a small breath, and said to Tian Ze and Kuang Zhannu, “This evil ghost is reacting to my movements.”

By logic, the evil ghost should only target those who have triggered the killing rule.

For example, the ghost on the stairs before only attacked Hou Mingjun after he took the chewing gum, as well as the incident with Xu Wan.

Wait a minute.

Where was Xu Wan?

Realizing this, Xu Dongyou quickly scanned the surroundings and then noticed that at some point, Xu Wan had appeared behind the spider. The gray mist and ghostly aura around her were entangling and gradually eroding the spider.

Seeing this, Xu Dongyou immediately channeled his spiritual and demon energy, swiftly pulling out an immobilizing talisman and throwing it toward the spider-faced man.

The talisman stuck to the spider, immobilizing him for two seconds before he began to move again. The huddled family of three, seemingly able to see the spider now, screamed in terror.

During those two seconds when the immobilizing talisman took effect, the evil ghost revealed its true form. Tian Ze and Kuang Zhannu quickly launched their attacks, performing a series of combat moves that seemed impossible in real life. The viewers were left wide-eyed, shouting in amazement.

Especially during those two seconds when the spider was visible, it was terrifying to the extreme. As mentioned earlier, this special effects team is simply incredible—the monster effects they create are so realistic that there isn’t a single noticeable flaw.

Xu Wan’s gray mist could injure the spider, but it was only causing damage, as the spider’s gray mist was also harming Xu Wan.

Fortunately, the others were also attacking the spider, with Kuang Zhannu leading the charge. Her combat power was so strong that she became the main force. The specially designed gloves she wore were particularly useful now—every punch she threw would cause part of the evil ghost’s gray mist to dissipate, although it would quickly gather again.

Meanwhile, the handlers from the Anomaly Handling Bureau were also watching the live stream and had deduced that the source of the evil ghost’s power was the mobile game.

They needed to quickly collect all the phones. All the handlers were dispatched. Within just half an hour, they had already gathered over a hundred phones.

As the evil ghost’s power continued to weaken, it confirmed that their hypothesis was correct.

On the other side, Xu Dongyou was using all his strength to combat the spider. Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly stepped back a few paces. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box, and carefully took out the small stone inside.

He had used this very stone before to suppress a cursed object. Gripping the stone tightly, he waited for the moment when the spider opened his mouth to roar, and then he swiftly threw the stone in.

The spider’s body froze. The gray mist around him began shrinking at a visible speed until his movements became incredibly stiff.

The terrified family of three had already screamed and fled the house. It wasn’t clear where they had gone, but since the neighborhood was surrounded by police, there was no worry that they would escape.

Now, Xu Dongyou and the others focused intently on the evil ghost. Kuang Zhannu, in particular, kept pounding it with punches, quickly wearing it down.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and the handlers had collected over two hundred phones. The evil ghost could now only draw power from the remaining few dozen phones.

Suddenly, an idea struck Xu Dongyou. He quickly turned to the live stream camera and said, “Block the entire city’s signal.”

This would prevent the players from continuing to play the game, cutting off access to both Wi-Fi and mobile data.

Xu Dongyou was confident that there were handlers watching the live stream and that they would relay the message to the authorities.

The chief received the message and promptly executed the order. In less than two minutes, the entire city’s signal was completely blocked.

Many people in the city had been watching the live stream. Just as they were enjoying the show and heard Xu Dongyou’s command, they couldn’t help but laugh. But then, in the next second, they were stunned.

Damn, is this streamer cursed? My signal just went out!

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