Chapter 1 A New Development

Hao Ren excitedly studied the new changes in his body, firmly believing that the body enhancement promised by Raven 12345 was gradually manifesting. There was no doubt about it—a normal person couldn't possibly see tree branches two or three kilometers away with the naked eye at night, not even in broad daylight, but Hao Ren found it remarkably easy.

This unexpected delight even made him temporarily forget about the castle and instead focus on playing with his eyes. He found that this suddenly acquired super night vision and amazing visual range didn't bring the slightest discomfort. He could only see thousands of meters at night when concentrating, and under normal circumstances, his vision remained unchanged. It was as if his eyes had a highly intelligent night vision zoom lens built in, with the ability to switch between modes at will, as if… as if he had been born with this ability.

"That Raven didn't screw me over this time," Hao Ren happily massaged his temples. "She said back then that the body enhancement project would gradually unlock as my adaptability increased, with absolutely no side effects. Looking at it now… at least this vision control is pretty smooth."

"Hmph, so what if you can see a little farther at night? Look at how happy you are," Vivian snorted dismissively. "You've only improved your eyesight. There haven't been any changes to your other physical qualities, right?"

"You can't say that. I started out as an ordinary person, so any special ability counts as a complete transformation," Hao Ren said earnestly. "Think about yourself. You usually never have more than two hundred yuan in your pocket, right? If you suddenly had a thousand yuan in your pocket and wouldn't lose it, how would you feel?"

Vivian was stunned, and then her entire face lit up with a visible radiance.

Hao Ren spread his hands. "You see, same principle."

Lily finally cleared the grass and dirt from her fur at this time, and looked at the castle not far away. "When are we going in? Landlord, why hasn't that connection sense you talked about appeared yet?"

"It should have appeared by now," Hao Ren finally remembered the real purpose of their trip. He scratched the back of his head in confusion, then took out the data terminal. "Hey, do you have any new information?"

"Negative. This unit has not received updated mission intelligence. Target has not appeared. It is recommended that the host remain at the current location."

These words appeared in the air above the data terminal, which then went back into standby mode. Hao Ren tapped the casing a few times, and the thing displayed a line: "This unit is contemplating life. Please do not disturb unless there is an important event," before becoming unresponsive again.

"Another one that screws up at a crucial moment," Hao Ren looked at the data terminal with a wry smile. It hadn't been very useful since he got it. Then he turned his gaze to the small camp not far away. "Speaking of which, I don't see them going into the castle to investigate. Aren't these people here to catch ghosts? Why are they just waiting outside the castle like this?"

"They're probably a bit worried about the situation inside the castle, and it's a ruin that's already collapsed like this. Who would dare to go in casually?" Vivian said, looking up at the moon. "The moonlight is being blocked by the clouds. If there really are undead, this should be the time."

As soon as she said this, Hao Ren immediately became nervous. However, those "ghost-catching professionals" nearby seemed to be still completely ignorant. Those ghost enthusiasts (ghost fans, right?) holding strange detectors and wearing bizarre robes were gathering in groups of twos and threes around the lights of tents or large vehicles. Some were laughing loudly, others were whispering mysteriously, and still others had simply spread out picnic cloths and invited two or three acquaintances to eat and drink together. It was late at night, but no one seemed tired. It was as if they were a group of nocturnal animals, but the atmosphere was more like a costume party than an exorcism operation. The European giant who had carpooled with Nangong was already familiar with a few drunks.

The motel owner Angus, who had driven Nangong and the others over, seemed unwilling to join the "professionals'" late-night party. The large, fat uncle spoke a few words to Nangong, then staggered back to his car and drove away from the small campsite. It seemed that Nangong and the others had only asked Angus to bring them here and didn't plan on going back tonight.

Among the crowd of wildly dancing paranormal enthusiasts, Nangong and the Indian monk were the two most conspicuous people: they didn't go to the liveliest tent to chat with the others, nor did they take any strange spirit detectors and madly photograph the castle. Several "ghost hunters" dressed as medieval alchemists who were drinking nearby loudly invited the two of them to come over for a drink, but Nangong and the Indian monk ignored them. They simply found a quiet place, sat on the ground, and began checking their tools.

Nangong opened his black suitcase and took out a strangely shaped small crossbow. It was more of an art piece than a weapon. Its size made one doubt how much damage it could actually do. Nangong carefully placed the crossbow close to his body, then took out a black cloth strip tied with many small silver arrows from the suitcase and wrapped it around his waist. Finally, he took out a monocle that looked like a stage prop from the compartment of the case and put it on his face. This was how he prepared himself.

The Indian monk next to him took out a small pot filled with spices from his colorful robes and constantly sprinkled some spices on himself and the ground around him, with a solemn expression, chanting words. He was completely unlike the restless and ridiculously equipped paranormal enthusiasts around him. Even just from the calmness of his facial expression and temperament, this skinny Indian monk seemed more like a genuine demon hunter than Nangong. Hao Ren's gaze almost completely fell on the monk, and he sensed a subtle aura of a master from the latter.

But this aura of a master was clearly not something that everyone could sense. Next to the Indian monk was the group of European giants who were having a picnic. When they saw that the skinny old man was carrying spices, they immediately sent a representative to buy a box of spices from the old man… to sprinkle on the barbecue…

Immediately, Hao Ren gave up any hope for this group of ghost-catching professionals.

They're all here to die, aren't they?!

"Look at those two," Hao Ren pointed in the direction of Nangong and the Indian monk. His suddenly mutated eyes were now proving useful, and their every move was clear to him. "They really seem to know what they're doing. They feel like they're on a completely different level than everyone else around here."

"Yeah, they seem to know what they're doing," Vivian frowned. "I originally thought Nangong was just a pure con artist, but I didn't expect him to actually be knowledgeable. Those small silver arrows aren't just made of silver, but they also have special exorcising ingredients inside. Look at the moonlight shining on the arrowheads, the refracted light has a light blue tint. And the spices that Indian monk is sprinkling on himself make me very uncomfortable… very uncomfortable even from this distance."

Hao Ren was immediately shocked: Vivian, a high-ranking vampire who could almost be described as a living fossil, was actually wary of the spices that the Indian monk was sprinkling on himself?

Could it be that this suddenly appearing Indian monk was indeed a hidden master?!

"I don't like curry," Vivian frowned. "Eating curry in India gave me a stomachache for a long time."

Hao Ren: "…"

Just then, Hao Ren noticed that the moonlight around him suddenly dimmed. He looked up and saw that the thick clouds had finally completely blocked the moon.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the moment the moonlight was blocked, Hao Ren vaguely heard a low, wailing sound from the surrounding wind.

"There's movement at the castle!" Lily's tail suddenly puffed up, and her golden eyes were unusually bright. "There's light!"

Hao Ren didn't need Lily to remind him to see the anomaly in the direction of the castle. Almost at the same time as the moonlight was blocked, several faint lights appeared in the completely collapsed ruins. The light lasted for a few seconds before gradually disappearing, but after a moment, it appeared in other parts of the castle. At the same time, bursts of whistling wind also came from the ruins of the castle—but there was no wind nearby at all!

Hao Ren swallowed. "Holy crap… there really are ghosts!"