Chapter 3 The Night's Hunt
The third day, past eleven fifty in the night.
A slightly portly man sat before an old television set, watching a drama series while stuffing potato chips into his mouth from a bag.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the glow of the television, which lent it a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
But the man paid it no mind. For the past year, he had spent his time just like this.
He disliked the outside world, disliked interacting with others. He preferred to stay at home alone, watching dramas that were already a bit dated.
Working was for a better life. If he was satisfied with his current life, and had no difficulties, why bother going to work?
That was his way of thinking, and so, nearing thirty, he was still a parasite living off his parents.
Suddenly, the television screen froze, turning into a blizzard of static, and then, the image on the screen shifted to a dry well!
A long-haired woman, dressed in a blood-stained white nightgown, slowly climbed out of the dry well. Her movements were sluggish, but with each flicker of the screen, she drew closer.
The man had a feeling that if this continued, the woman would crawl out of the television and reach him!
To be honest, he felt a little excited at the moment.
He had never had a woman crawl towards him in his life...
After a few more flickers, the woman was at the edge of the screen, and the man finally got a clear look at her face.
Beneath her jet-black hair was a pale countenance, her eyes filled with deathly stillness. Her mouth, which occasionally opened and closed, revealed only darkness. Her white nightgown was stained with gore!
The man finally realized the gravity of the situation, but his first reaction wasn't to flee. Instead, his legs trembled, and he released something.
That's right, he had wet himself.
Then, the woman placed her hand on the screen, passing directly through it, and crawled beside the man, reaching out to grab him.
The man wanted to escape, but found himself utterly unable to move. He could only watch as that dark hand slowly approached him!
Normally, in such situations, the victim would be as good as dead. But this time was different.
Just as the woman emerged from the television, a figure shot forward and grabbed her, lifting her as easily as if she were a shopping bag.
"After waiting for so long, you've finally come out."
The suddenly appearing figure was Wen Wen in Disaster Containment Facility mode. He had been waiting here for two hours to capture this ghost.
This was a powerful ghost that hid within the television. On her own, she had the ability to kill people. She had already avenged herself and was now engaged in indiscriminate slaughter.
She possessed an old television set. Anyone who watched the programs played on this old television, at any time or place, would be targeted by her.
If a targeted person happened to be watching television at midnight, she would crawl out of the television to kill.
After killing a few people, the old television she inhabited was sealed. It wasn't until Wen Wen found this television and broke the seal.
Originally, Wen Wen had planned to lure her out by watching the television himself. However, she seemed to know Wen Wen was not to be trifled with, so she didn't appear when Wen Wen watched.
So Wen Wen found a nearby otaku and hypnotized him into watching the actual old television set. Then, Wen Wen hid to wait for his prey.
Yes, the man was indeed an otaku. His mistake was being seen by Wen Wen at the wrong time.
Even slightly stronger ghosts followed certain patterns of behavior. Thus, even though Wen Wen's trap was rudimentary, the ghost eventually emerged.
The female ghost struggled in Wen Wen's grasp, which, combined with her sinister and terrifying appearance, was somewhat comical.
Wen Wen shook his arm rapidly a few times. The female ghost looked even more pathetic. Imagine Sadako playing bungee jumping; that was probably the feeling.
Soon, she was rendered with rolling eyes and foaming at the mouth. He dragged her into the Containment Facility. This ghost also possessed special abilities, which was why Wen Wen went to such lengths to capture her.
For the past three nights, Wen Wen had been hunting ghosts in Furong River City. The weaker ghosts had all been captured by Yan Xiu. Although this deprived Wen Wen of many prey, it also increased the quality of the remaining ghosts.
In these three days, Wen Wen had dealt with over a dozen slightly stronger ghosts, three of which possessed special abilities.
The first was Zhou Xun from the steamed bun shop, who possessed the ability of mental impact.
The second was a water ghost from an ancient well, who possessed the control over water sufficient to drown ordinary people.
The third was the white-clothed female ghost he had just captured, who possessed the ability to possess televisions.
As for the other ghosts, although they were not weak, Wen Wen disdained them, and handed them over to the Disaster Gauntlet to absorb.
Besides the abilities of these ghosts, Wen Wen had other gains in these three days. His left hand's black portion had already spread to half a finger.
Now, if Wen Wen were to perform techniques like the Vajra Finger with his left hand, the effect would surely be excellent.
One high-quality ghost's energy could be equivalent to multiple weak ghosts. If he continued hunting, perhaps one day Wen Wen's left hand would gain a new ring.
After dealing with the female ghost, Wen Wen looked at the man with the wet trousers. He glared with his small eyes, coupled with his bursting aura, and the man immediately fainted.
Later, if the Hunter Association asked, the man's deepest impression would likely be of a pair of golden eyes, preventing them from associating this alias with Wen Wen.
"After hunting ghosts for three days, I feel like I've become entirely gloomy. It's time to do something else. Xu Hai should have finished his work by now. I really hope he doesn't disappoint me!"
After some thought, Wen Wen tossed the old television into the Containment Facility as well, as it might be able to strengthen the female ghost he had just captured.
Then, he left the room.
Unbeknownst to him, after being questioned by the Hunter Association, this man resolutely ended his otaku lifestyle, started working hard, and gained a new life...
Well, mainly because even though his memory was wiped, he still became afraid whenever he looked at an electronic screen, thus he could no longer continue his sedentary lifestyle...
Wen Wen leaped through the buildings, heading home.
To conceal his identity, he did not drive when capturing ghosts with potential special abilities.
As he ran, he suddenly stopped on a rooftop and made a call to Lin Zheyuan.
"What, are you calling me to clean up your mess again?" Lin Zheyuan asked, extremely annoyed at being woken up in the middle of the night.
Wen Wen chuckled mischievously and said, "Not at all. I want to ask you for something. That memory-erasing machine, can you give me one?"
"Heh, one for you? Who knows what kind of trouble you'll cause," Lin Zheyuan flatly refused.
Wen Wen pouted, "Tsk, you trust me too little. Assistants are eligible to obtain such things, and you're holding out on me?"
"Besides, a bugged technology like memory erasure is too much of a waste if only used for brainwashing humans who witness supernatural events."
Lin Zheyuan paused and asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
Wen Wen cleared his throat and said, as if it were obvious:
"Well... of course, it's something that all men want to do. Don't tell me none of you have done it."