At the ritual site, the dense fog was clearing slightly. Wei Yueyan, standing before Li Ang's illusion, had her hands crossed in front of her, eyes closed and motionless, as if her spirit had wandered far away. Next to her, Wei Linglan took out a Special Affairs Bureau-issued, consecrated, standard-issue silenced handgun from her backpack inventory, vigilantly watching the ghosts ahead.
An unexpected incident had occurred during the ritual; Hong Sha had been lured away by a shadowy figure of unknown identity—most likely the third player in this cooperative mission, who had not shown themself so far. Wei Linglan was unclear why this player had been concealing their movements and why they chose to reveal themself now, but logically, this should be the best moment for her and Wei Yueyan to make their move. With Hong Sha gone, they could seize the opportunity to strike down the ghosts before them, retrieve the Dragon Heat Mechanical Sword, and wipe out the remaining enemies. The only risk... was the coffin in White Death's group that hadn't stirred at all.
Had her teammate sensed something abnormal...? Wei Linglan glanced discreetly at Wei Yueyan, who was meditating with her eyes closed.
While the tense situation remained at a deadlock, footsteps echoed from within the thick fog. Wei Linglan first saw Hong Sha emerging through the mist, her limbs limp and drooping naturally, her form ghastly and horrifying. Following that, she saw the long spear hooking the nape of Hong Sha's collar, and the man wearing the Cheetah Mask holding the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear.
Hong Sha and White Death's ghosts were aghast, trembling and speechless.
"HISS—"
Wei Linglan inhaled sharply, astounded that the seemingly invincible Hong Sha had been so easily disabled and defeated.
Who exactly is this Cheetah Masked man?!
Li Ang approached slowly, simultaneously projecting subtitles onto the inside of Wei Yueyan's faceplate, instructing her to provide cover and pretend to recognize him. His current identity was that of the third player in this cooperative mission; it was crucial to dissociate himself entirely from Li Risheng or Li Ang. The best strategy was to adopt a new guise, with characteristics distinctly different from player Li Risheng.
Wei Yueyan, who had kept her eyes closed in meditation, immediately opened them. Understanding the cue, she gave Li Ang a look that said, "I've got this, you can count on me."
Then she turned to Li Ang and sneered coldly, "I wondered who it could be. I never expected it to be you, from the Shadow Disciple Den, the thirteenth Demon Lord, Yu Zhenghai!"
Shadow Disciple Den?! Wei Linglan was overwhelmingly surprised. Another mysterious organization she had never heard of! And from Wei Yueyan's attitude, it appeared they knew each other from before?
Miss Chai's sudden bout of second-rate dramatics is flaring up again, Li Ang internally rolled his eyes, yet his voice came out hoarse and deep, "So what if it's me?"
"You still have the nerve to speak?!" Wei Yueyan berated angrily. "Yu Zhenghai, you heartless, shameless, treacherous, and utterly unscrupulous scoundrel!"
??? Not only was Li Ang a bit bewildered, but Wei Linglan was also startled. So they weren't just old acquaintances; they had some kind of unspeakable past!
"I..."
Just as Li Ang was composing himself to speak, Wei Yueyan interrupted him mercilessly, "Enough! Don't talk to me again about your eternal vows and undying love, about weathering all hardships together, about unchanging loyalty until death do us part.
"Yu Zhenghai, do you think I'm still the naive, innocent, and adorable young girl I was back then?
"The moment you tried to lay your hands on my sister, you lost me forever! You lost everything wonderful we had promised each other!
"We... can't go back..."
"..." Li Ang felt somewhat stifled as he saw the profound pain and resentment etched on Wei Yueyan's face. After a moment of silence, amidst Wei Linglan's intense gaze, her inner gossip-monger burning with curiosity, he said quietly, "Wei Yueyan, just how long are you planning to continue this madness?
"Don't you know you have a split personality?
"Your sister is you, and you are your sister!"
Wei Yueyan was equally agitated.
"HAH! You're the one who's crazy!
"Always carrying that spear around, accosting people to ask if they have potent cough syrup or Athlete's Foot Ointment.
"And you even like to ingest Athlete's Foot Ointment and rub potent cough syrup on your feet!
"My sister made a wise choice not getting involved with you!"
The two faced each other from a distance, their profound auras escalating steadily, causing Wei Linglan to subconsciously hold her breath. As for Hong Sha, suspended in mid-air by the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear, her feelings were rather complicated. On one hand, she hoped these two would start fighting; on the other, she feared becoming collateral damage, afraid she might be killed by a stray spear before the fight even began.
Wei Yueyan's brows knitted in anger. After staring at Li Ang for quite a while, she snorted coldly and looked away, turning her attention to White Death's silent coffin.
Seeing the tangled situation between the two, Wei Linglan's imagination immediately pieced together the whole story. This thirteenth Demon Lord of the Shadow Disciple Den, Yu Zhenghai, must have had a past relationship with Wei Yueyan. After their relationship soured, they hadn't seen each other until, by a twist of fate, they were assigned to the same routine mission. Yu Zhenghai possibly felt guilty towards Wei Yueyan and had been concealing his presence the whole time, not making an appearance, shielding everyone from harm within the fog. When Hong Sha showed up and Wei Yueyan was in danger, Yu Zhenghai could no longer stand aside. He intervened to seriously injure Hong Sha, playing the hero saving the damsel, and making a splendid entrance.
After mentally crafting the entire saga, Wei Linglan quietly let out a sigh of relief. Since Yu Zhenghai had crippled Hong Sha so spectacularly upon arrival, he was clearly far stronger than Wei Yueyan.
Excellent! With two such powerful figures here, hasn't the safety of this mission soared exponentially? The only problem is... their mental states don't seem quite normal...
As Wei Linglan's thoughts raced, she saw Li Ang plant his spear on the ground. With a kick, he sent a large rock hurtling towards White Death's coffin like a soccer ball. The rock, imbued with Ripple Energy, wounded any ghost it grazed and killed any it struck directly. Sweeping up a gale of dust and mist, it smashed directly into the wooden coffin.
CRASH—
The great stone shattered. The coffin's wooden planks caved in and splintered, revealing the rotted, fungus-ridden wood beneath the black lacquer.
The coffin was sent flying.
Then, with a BANG, a pale, fleshy hand, clenched into a fist, easily burst through the coffin lid from the inside.
Before the flying coffin could land, the lid was violently torn apart, and a figure in a Bamboo Hat, straw raincoat, and white robe leaped out.
It was a young man whose face was obscured. His form was bloated and corpulent, his swollen, pale skin covered in a dense layer of green patches, his bulging belly looking as if it could burst open at any moment.
No wonder Hong Sha would rather become sworn siblings with Li Ang than partner with White Death—the latter, having drowned, had a nauseating appearance and was hardly a suitable partner.
Freeing himself from the coffin, White Death, while still suspended in mid-air, violently slapped his bloated belly with one arm. Like a high-pressure water gun, a stream of stinking, green water spewed out towards Li Ang and the others, while he used the force to propel himself backward in retreat.