HIK 81-85 (Patreon)

Chapter 81: Jing Yuan: Is it my turn so soon?

[Oh my god, what bad luck does Hanya have?]

[Hanya: I am a civil servant, and you want me to fight the Lord of Fyxestroll Garden?]

[Civil servants naturally have their own way of doing things. Hanya is not a fool. She can't fight head-on.]

While Stelle, Huo Huo, and others went to fight Furynox, in the real world, Jia Hun's screen main perspective also switched from Stelle to Hanya.

Seeing this unlucky girl run into the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden" Ilu who had a fully loaded kit and buffed up stats as soon as she went out, the livestream was instantly filled with a large number of chat. They felt sorry for this young female social worker who took the most meager salary to fight the strongest enemy.

Anyone can see the huge gap between the two sides. No matter how strong Hanya is, she is just a civil servant, responsible for the "Interrogation" among the four Judges of Detention, Imprisonment, Punishment. Interrogation can only play a supporting role at most.

If you ask her to challenge the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden" who may even be on par to the great Heliobus "Ignamar" back then, she is simply going there to die.

Hanya naturally knows this, but as a judge, she has a bottom line that cannot be crossed. She can't pretend not to see the silver-haired girl in front of her.

So, there is only one thing she can do now—delay as much time as possible and wait for the Divine Foresight to respond.

"Huh..."

After taking a deep breath, Hanya calmed down her disordered mood. Staring at the silver-haired girl's eyes with a faint blue glow, and took the initiative to ask: "Miss Ilu, you said your target is General Jing Yuan?"

"Well, there are some things that need to be resolved face-to-face between me and General Jing Yuan. This is their long-cherished wish... What, are you going to take me to see him?"

Although it can be seen that Hanya wants to delay time, Ilu did not expose her plan, because she also needs to convey the news that she is not possessed by Heliobus to the other party.

It is difficult for a player to understand the situation, but it is easier for an observer to see clearly. She had given many hints in the previous battles, but it was a pity that Stelle and Huo Huo did not seem to see her intention.

Huo Huo's judgment was disturbed by Tail. She had no opinion of her own, and even if she saw it, she would not dare to say it.

Stelle was too worried about her safety. She was too concerned and confused. Once she got impatient, she could not calm down and think.

But Hanya was different. She was a smart person and had a lot of experience. As long as she could give her some hints, she should be able to see that she was not possessed by Heliobus.

"Their long-cherished wish?"

Hearing this, Hanya raised her eyebrows slightly. As an experienced civil servant, she immediately noticed something was wrong—she heard a grammatical error in this sentence that should not exist.

Why say "they"... Logically speaking, if the body was occupied by Heliobus, shouldn't it be "we"?

As one of the ten judges of the Xianzhou Luofu, Hanya is responsible for reading the cause and effect of the criminals' sins and then writing the karma with the "Oracle Brush," which makes her extremely sensitive to logical errors.

"Yes, they all want to fight General Jing Yuan. This is the common wish of Heliobus."

Seeing that Hanya understood her meaning instantly, Ilu couldn't help but smile with relief. She stuck the faded ginko sword in her hand into the ground, stared into Hanya's eyes, and continued to say confidently.

"I will not ignore the requests of the weak, so I plan to help them."

"Wait, you mean... you are taking the initiative to help them?"

Hearing Ilu's explanation, Hanya couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, her eyes gradually widened. She cast an unbelievable look at the silver-haired girl in front of her.

Could it be that—

At this moment, she saw that the Starfire Crown on Ilu's head crying.


It was Heliobus who had turned into a crown.

"Wow! So touching, this is our Lady White Lily, she has us in her heart, I, Chenxiang, will follow her forever no matter what!"

Hanya: "..."

Now she is sure that this girl named Ilu is not controlled by the Heliobus. She seems to have some means to suppress Heliobus and can accommodate dozens of Heliobus hidden in her body at the same time.

And as a price, the other party needs to satisfy the wishes of these Heliobus—to fight with Jing Yuan.

"Is that so? I understand what you mean."

After taking a deep breath, Hanya signaled the Wraith Warden behind her to make way, and then spoke to Ilu. 

"General Jing Yuan is dealing with the affairs of the Seat of the Divine Foresight and cannot get away in a short time. I will report this to him. Please follow me before that."

Although the silver-haired girl in front of her was not possessed by Heliobus, she had dozens of Heliobi in her body after all. Before General Jing Yuan arrived, she still needed to be monitored more.

"Okay."

Ilu naturally would not refuse Hanya's proposal. Amid the cheers of Heliobus, she followed the white-haired judge to a remote pavilion and sat on a stone stool.

"Would you like some tea?"

Hanya brewed a pot of tea and brought it to Ilu.

This was the refreshing mint tea she bought to overcome the fatigue of overtime work, and she usually drank it while working.

The official business of the Ten-Lords Commission was piled up like a mountain. Even while monitoring Ilu, she had to take time to handle official business.

Everyone who saw it had a share. Hanya naturally understood the hospitality of the Xianzhou, so she also prepared some for Ilu.

"Is it Sleepy Black Tea?"

"No, it's mint tea for refreshing, with a cool taste. You will feel energetic after drinking it."

"That's fine, pour a small cup and let me try it."

Originally, this was just a very common way for the Xianzhou people to entertain guests. Little did they know that this practice directly made Ilu's status in the minds of Heliobus even higher, and even transcended to become an existence that is almost like faith.

The same thing has different views in the eyes of different people, and the same is true for Heliobi.

In their eyes, even the usually ferocious judges of the Ten-Lords Commission were frightened by Lord White Lily and dared not use force. They served tea and water politely.

How could they have received such treatment before!

There is no way. After all, they have never been treated as human beings by the Xianzhou people for thousands of years, especially the people of the Ten-Lords Commission. Seeing that Hanya actually took the initiative to serve tea and water for their "Lord of Heliobus," they couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

"Did I see it wrong? The judge of the Ten-Lords Commission is actually serving us tea and water?"

"My god, Lady White Lily is so proud that even the judge is polite to her!"

"If Lady White Lily hadn't backed us up, I wouldn't have imagined that the judge of the Ten-Lords Commission would be so respectful to us one day!"

"I will always be loyal to Lady White Lily!"

Seeing this scene, they were more convinced that following Ilu was the right choice.


... 

In the real world, after experiencing the entire encounter from the first-person perspective of Hanya, Jiahun had widened her eyes in shock and exclaimed in disbelief. 

"What! Ilu was not possessed by a Heliobus, she was just acting with us?!"

This was not Jia Hun's pretense. She really didn't expect such reversal.

As she finished speaking, the chat quickly ramped up——

[You just realized it? I noticed it when I defeated the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden."]

[Yeah, just think about it and you know it's impossible for her to be possessed. After all, even Phantylia can't do anything to her, let alone these ordinary Heliobi.]

[I guess Ilu wants to use the power of the Heliobus to compete with Jing Yuan in an upright manner, and then use it to redeem them.]

"So that's it, I understand..."

Looking at the explanation given in the chat, Jia Hun held her chin with one hand and thought for a while, and couldn't help but ask the chat. "Who should we fight next?"

[It must be Furynox.]

[There is another small boss battle next, so I won't spoil it.]

"No, no, no, I think you didn't understand what I meant..."

Jia Hun took a deep breath, and her words made everyone in the live broadcast room fall silent.

"What I want to ask is, who should we help later? Should we help Ilu fight Jing Yuan, or help Jing Yuan fight Ilu?"

[That's a good question, I want to know too.]

[Of course, help Jing Yuan fight Ilu, do I need to think about it?]

[Ah? Why are you so sure?]

[Let's put it this way, Jing Yuan doesn't have a boss model, so you can't fight him even if you want to.]

"So, in the end, I still have to fight Ilu..."

Knowing the identity of the final boss, Jia Hun couldn't help but sigh. "If possible, I hope there is no plot to assist in the battle. It's really too hard to use Jing Yuan to fight the 'Lord of Fyxestroll Garden'. I don't want to experience it a second time."



As Hanya's story ended, the main perspective of the game switched back to Stelle and Huo Huo. She controlled the Trailblazer to the bottom of Swallowsong Pavilion and encountered a large group of Ingeniums possessed by .


.... 

"Is that... the controlled Wardens?"

Looking at the Wardens possessed by the blue ghost fire rushing toward them like puppets, Huo Huo's heart immediately skipped a beat.

This kind of action that is both human and not human always arouses fear in people. People usually call this situation the "uncanny valley effect."

It's okay if you let her catch Heliobi, but she is really afraid of catching these guys who are neither human nor ghost. It seems much safer to let Tail knock them down and then use the talisman to exorcise the evil spirits.

Thinking of this, Huo Huo chose to ask for help from Uncle Tail without hesitation. 

"Help me, Uncle Tail!"

"Hey! Where did your courage go just now?!"

"I-I..."

"Since you let me do it, don't expect me to show mercy."

Uncle Tail was eager to fight, and Stelle on the side had already rushed over with a flame lance.

"Lie down!"

Under the flank cover of Tail, Stelle swept all the Wraith Wardens blocking the road to the ground.

"Paper dolls, obey my command! With the exorcism talisman, all troubles will be eliminated!"

Huo Huo on the side saw the opportunity and threw out the talisman to expel all the fragments of Furynox that were attached to the Wardens. They were burned by the exorcism talisman and screamed miserably, scrambling to escape from the Wraith Wardens.


"Furynox, I call you, do you dare to answer?"

"?"

Taking advantage of the moment when these Furynox fragments were stunned, Stelle picked up the green gourd in her hand and sucked in all the Furynox fragments scattered from these Wardens.

"Huh!"

She didn't expect that Stelle brought a Ten-Lords Commission equipment in her hand. The fragments of Furynox were sucked into the gourd without paying attention. In an instant, they were sealed inside, and they roared unwillingly.

Furynox fragment +1
Furynox fragment +2
Furynox fragment +4

Very good, 7 Furynox fragments have been collected, and 93 more are needed to summon a complete Furynox—of course, this is just a joke.


Furynox did not separate into so many fragments; it's estimated that she only needs to catch it twice more to put the whole Furynox into the gourd.

"In this way, part of Furynox will be put into the gourd, and it will definitely come to us on its own initiative."

Seeing that everything went well, Huo Huo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yes, you're right. They're already here."

Looking at the other puppets rushing over in a hurry not far away, Stelle rushed over again with the flame gun, and Huo Huo hurriedly followed her footsteps.

The two of them repeated the previous steps again and put all the Furynox fragments on these Hades into the gourd.

"Let go, let go, let us leave—"

Realizing that they were fooled, the fragments of Furynox cried and asked Stelle to let them go.

"Leave? Wishful thinking. Just stay in there."

Stelle naturally ignored their request. She took the gourd full of Furynox fragments and rushed to Verdantia Terrace with Huo Huo, and met Xueyi who had been waiting there for a long time.

"Huh? Guinaifen is here?"

What surprised her was that Guinaifen who had disappeared before appeared beside Xueyi at this time and seemed to be chatting with the Judge.


There were many Wraith Wardens lying near them, seemingly have been knocked down by Xueyi.

"It's Master Xueyi, and... Miss Guinaifen! Great, she's fine..."

Seeing that Guinaifen was safe, Huo Huo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and accompanied Stelle as the two walked toward Verdantia Terrace.

"Stelle! Huo Huo!"

Guinaifen standing aside also saw them. Looking at the green gourd on the waist of the gray-haired girl, her eyes lit up immediately, and she greeted them enthusiastically. 

"Thank the heavens, you're safe—it's really great!"

"I have knocked down all the Wraith Wardens who were manipulated by Furynox... Tsk, it's really troublesome to save strength and knock them down."

Glancing at the Wraith Wardens lying on the ground, Xueyi clicked her tongue expressionlessly.

It could be seen that she was not suited for this kind of work that required mercy.

After saying that, Xueyi looked up at Stelle and Huo Huo and asked.


"By the way, how is your task going?"

"It went smoothly. The fragments of Furynox have been almost sealed," Huo Huo nodded lightly and replied.

"Okay, then next, it's time to seal the fragments of Furynox sucked into the Lunaumbra Gourd into the 'Evil Binding Matrix.'"

Seeing that everyone had handled Furynox so smoothly, Xueyi's mood also improved a lot. She looked at the completed "Evil Binding Matrix" not far away and continued:

"Furynox's power has been stripped of most of it. Even if it still has fragments left, it can't affect the people and things in Fyxestroll."

"This gourd..."

Just as Stelle handed the Lunaumbra Gourd in her hand to Huo Huo and was about to let the Judge seal Furynox into the "Evil Binding Matrix," she suddenly heard Guinaifen exclaiming something.

Stelle cast her eyes toward the woman with long orange-red hair in front of her, only to see that the latter's gaze stayed on the Lunaumbra Gourd in Huo Huo's hand, with amazement and curiosity written on her face.

"What's wrong?"

She asked with some confusion.

"This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful gourd. Is it the legendary exorcism tool?"

After hearing Stelle's words, Guinaifen became even more excited. She quickly stepped forward to Huo Huo. Huo Huo was also startled by her.

"Miss Guinaifen, please be careful. Getting too close to the magic circle may make people dizzy."

"It's okay, it's okay. After all, this is the first time I've seen the exorcism tools of the Ten-Lords Commission at such a close distance."

Looking at the Lunaumbra Gourd in Huo Huo's hand, Guinaifen's eyes became more and more blurred, as if she were intoxicated in an illusion, and her tone became increasingly strange.

"Huo Huo! Don’t let her get close!"

Tail saw this scene and immediately realized that something was wrong. It signaled for Huo Huo to stay away at once.


However, Guinaifen's action was faster.


Before Huo Huo could react, she snatched the gourd from the girl's hand and threw it to the ground.

"Crack!"

Just like a piggy bank, the gourd broke into countless pieces in an instant, and the Heliobi who had been sealed inside cried out in joy and escaped from the Lunaumbra Gourd.

Guinaifen who had performed this strange behavior fainted on the ground with her eyes rolled back. It was obvious that someone had deliberately instructed her to do so.

"Cirrus, you won this time..."

"We are willing to give you our power. With our power, defeat the general of the Luofu."

"Hehe, hahahaha~"

Furynox's voice gradually faded. Cirrus hiding in the Trailblazer's body, laughed in a low voice. While Huo Huo and Xueyi were still unable to react, she suddenly emerged from the gray-haired girl's body and flew into the sky.

"Stelle, I said I would leave your body... This time, I will fulfill my promise. Come on, Furynox, let’s merge into one and reproduce the glory of 'Ignamar'!"

As Cirrus's voice fell, she floated in the air and released an incredible suction force, sucking all the scattered Heliobus into her body, including the unlucky Heliobus who had been hiding in the grove not far away, screaming like ghosts and wolves.

"No, this guy wants to swallow up the power of the other Heliobi and become the second Lord of Fyxestroll Garden!"

Huo Huo immediately realized the seriousness of the situation, but she had no ability to stop it now. She could only watch as Cirrus absorbed all the Heliobi of the half of Fyxestroll Garden into her body with the help of Furynox's power.

"Haha, it's too late to realize it now... I am stronger than ever before!"

The sky was filled with endless blue ghost fire. Cirrus was stronger than ever. She glanced at the people below with contempt and used the power of Heliobus to erode the unconscious Wraith Wardens lying on the ground, controlling them to stand up again.

"Chess pieces—how about another game?"



...


"Huo Huo: No, this guy wants to swallow up the power of other Heliobus and become the second Lord of Fyxestroll Garden!"

"Cirrus: Haha, it's too late to realize it now... I am stronger than ever before!"

"Cirrus: Chess pieces, how about another game?"

"Sure enough, Cirrus is not an ally. He is using us to seize the power of Furynox!"

As the screen shattered, Jiahun once again entered the battle interface.


Looking at the Wraith Wardens controlled by Cirrus, even the slowest people knew they were being used by her.

[Tip: Cirrus cannot be attacked. After any other enemy unit is destroyed, Cirrus will lose some of his HP.]

[Cirrus will make all enemies act immediately when he uses the skill "Quick Move."]

After turning off the system prompt, Jiahun began to fight with the Wardens controlled by Cirrus. Looking at these Wraith Wardens who were used and discarded by Cirrus, she felt anger rise in her heart.

"This guy... doesn't take the lives of the Wraith Wardens seriously at all. I really want to beat her up!"

After hearing Jia Hun's words, the barrage of comments agreed. They also wanted to beat up Cirrus, the little ghost.

[This is the difference. Ilu's minions are all made by her own hands, and she has never truly hurt anyone. Although both sides are trying to defeat Jing Yuan, she doesn’t use such despicable tricks.]

[Cirrus, even if "Ignamar" has long been lost, you are not worthy of being the 'Lord of Fyxestroll Garden'!]

[I understand why the other Heliobi and the others are willing to follow Ilu. They are neither arrogant nor impatient, unlike Cirrus who is so arrogant after gaining a little power.]





...




With the end of the first stage of the battle, these Wardens who were controlled by Cirrus to stand up were knocked to the ground again by everyone, but as a price, Xueyi also suffered a lot of injuries, and the situation began to become increasingly unfavorable to them.

"Why is it so strong..."

While fighting with the puppet controlled by Cirrus, Stelle also became more and more aware of something wrong. She finally realized that Ilu was either intentionally or unintentionally holding back in the previous battle.

Cirrus only fused one large Heliobus and a few smaller Heliobi to have such powerful strength. She couldn't imagine how powerful Ilu would be after fusing dozens of Heliobi.

However, the experience of the two battles was the same, which meant something self-evident.

"This monster has fused too many Heliobi. If we want to weaken it bit by bit, we may die of exhaustion and have no chance of winning..."

After several rounds of hard battles, Xueyi quickly judged that the current situation was extremely unfavorable to them, and her tone became heavier.


Just as she was talking, Tail suddenly interrupted her. "No, there may be a chance of winning."

"What?"

"According to its own words, when Cirrus and Furynox gather, a fragile balance will be formed. Not everyone can balance various forces like that silver-haired girl. Compared with that natural monster, Cirrus is just a half-baked one."

After saying that, Tail turned his head and looked at the green-haired little fox girl beside him: "You should know what to do, Huo Huo."

"But, but..."

"What are you afraid of? If I'm gone, can't you live the life you want?"

"..."

Listening to Tail's words, Huo Huo lowered her head hesitantly.

She naturally knew that doing so could break the balance of Cirrus, but she couldn't bear to leave Tail... If something happened to it, she might never see Tail again.

"Hmm~"

Just then, Cirrus, floating in the sky, yawned, as if she was tired of the current situation.

"I'm tired, these little chess pieces are too boring. Why don't you join in, how about it?"

"Give up resistance and be used by me!"

As Cirrus's voice fell, Stelle and Xueyi suddenly found that their bodies lost control, and they flew towards the huge eye in the sky under the shroud of green ghost fire.

"If you can't win, then cheat... Tsk!"

Xueyi was the first to react.


She tried her best to get rid of some of the restrain. She threw out the iron chain to lock the gray-haired girl flying in front of her, and then threw out the hook with the other hand, deeply embedding it in the ground, making a last stand.

Heliobus' power was taking away their control of their bodies. Only Huo Huo, who had been possessed by Tail could be immune to this. She looked at the scene in the sky and felt a little desperate.

Has it... reached the point of making multiple-choice?

"You useless thing! Stand up!"

"Woo woo!"

"Why are you crying? Don't you still have me?"

Seeing that Stelle and Xueyi were about to be refined into puppets by Cirrus, Tail was anxious like an ant on a hot pan. Under its anxious urging, Huo Huo pressed the talisman seal on Tail with trembling hands, ready to open it.

"Da!"

Just then, Huo Huo suddenly heard the crisp footsteps behind her, and the sound of Tail stopped abruptly.


She turned her head and looked behind her in confusion.


After seeing the identity of the person coming, she immediately widened her eyes and looked in disbelief.

"Hanya, and... Ilu?!"

Under the cover of the blue ghost fire, the silver-haired girl wearing the Starfire Crown dragged the faded silverwood sword and walked straight towards her. The woman with white hair, gray eyes, pale skin, and heavy dark circles walking in front of her was the judge of the Ten-Lords Commission, Hanya, whom she knew.

Could it be that Hanya was also controlled by a Heliobus?

Seeing this scene, Huo Huo felt a deep despair in her heart.


Seeing the silver-haired girl dragging the sword in front of her, just when she thought everything was over, Ilu just glanced at her and passed by her quietly.

Huh?

She... she didn't cut me?

"Are you okay, Huo Huo?"

Walking to Huo Huo who was stunned in place, Hanya stretched out her hand to help her up and waved her hand in front of her eyes.


The green-haired little fox girl with a brain freeze finally came back to her senses.

"Han, Hanya! Great, you're not controlled by a Heliobus!"

"Why do you think I would be controlled by Heliobus?"

"Because, because she... eh?!"

Seeing Ilu wave her hand to summon a large piece of faded ginkgo branches and dragging Stelle and Xueyi who were about to be sucked into Cirrus back to the ground, Huo Huo's brain instantly overloaded.

That "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden"... she, she is actually helping us?!

Why is this happening? Shouldn't she and we be enemies?

"Are you talking about Ilu?"

Following Huo Huo's line of sight and looking at the silver-haired girl not far away, Hanya hesitated for a moment but chose to tell the truth.


"Well... let's put it this way, she was not actually possessed by Heliobus."

"Huh?!!"



----



At the same time, in the real world.

Cirrus: "Haha! Just like this, become my puppet!"

After finishing the first stage of the battle with Cirrus, Jiahun also entered the cutscene where Cirrus's storm sucked in everyone present.


Seeing that Stelle and Xueyi were about to be sucked into Cirrus's ghost fire, Huo Huo finally couldn't help but want to remove the seal on Tail.

Hanya: "The netherworld judges and orders you to help — the Ten-Lords' decree is hereby written!"

At this critical moment, an unexpected white-haired judge arrived at the scene in time. Hanya wrote a book and forcibly dispelled the Heliobus power that Cirrus applied to the two, easing the crisis for a moment.

Cirrus: "Oh? Another one seeking death?"

Hanya: "Seeking death? Not necessarily."

Cirrus: "You're just a judge, how shameless! I’ll make you into a puppet too!"

Just as Cirrus was about to increase the suction force and pull Hanya into her body, he suddenly found that a ball of blue ghost fire had ignited on the other party’s body.


This seemed to be the protection of some kind of Heliobus power. Even though his suction force had uprooted the trees around the other party, the latter still stood there firmly.


Cirrus: "How is it possible? How can you have the power of a Heliobus?!"

Hanya: "Cirrus, it's time to tell you the truth. With the current strength of our Ten-Lords Commission, we can’t seal you at all... So, we found a powerful opponent for you."

Cirrus: "?"

Huff!

As Hanya’s voice fell, a ball of ghostly blue will-o'-the-wisp ignited behind her.


A silver-haired girl wearing a Ghost Fire Crown walked out of it, dragging a faded silverwood sword. With a wave of her hand, she summoned a large piece of faded ginkgo tree branches to drag Stelle and Xueyi, who Cirrus had sucked into the sky, back to the ground.

Stelle: "Ilu?!"

Ilu: "No, I’m White Lily, you got the wrong person."

Stelle: "Don’t try to fool me, you’re Ilu!"

Ilu: "... (shifting her gaze) Cirrus, the contest between you and me is not over yet. Let's decide the winner before fighting the General!"

Seeing this scene with full effects, the chat in Jiahun's livestream room exploded instantly —

[Bad news: The fully equipped and fully buffed Lord of Fyxestroll Garden is here, good news: This time she's on our side]

[I almost laughed to death, I suddenly feel safe when Ilu comes]

[Cirrus: I'm sweating profusely, fam]


[Ilu: Yes, we share the same pain (referring to being seen through by Stelle)]

"Could it be that Ilu is giving us buffs this time to beat Cirrus?"

"Oh... it's true."

As soon as she entered the battle, Jiahun found that all the characters in her team had a bunch of buffs for no reason, as well as support skills from Ilu.

When she pressed the support skill, she saw a silver-haired girl waving a faded silverwood sword and falling from the sky. The sword burned with blood-red Heliobus flames, and directly passed over the five monsters on the field and chopped the unselectable Cirrus’s body.

[-34%]

"Fuck, what kind of damage is this!"

As long as you defeat a wave of monsters, you can charge up Ilu’s support skill. Not long after, Jiahun killed this arrogant big Heliobus and directly forced it back to its original form.

Cirrus: "Ugh! You... you bastard!"

...

Bang--!!!

With Ilu joining in, the result of this battle was naturally beyond question.


In order to avoid being swallowed by the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden," Cirrus chose to explode his body actively, blowing up the fragments of Furynox all over the sky, and then quietly took over the body of a Spiritfarer while everyone was not paying attention.

For this situation, even Ilu had no way to get it out of the body of this ghost boy, so they could only let the Ten-Lords Commission restrain it.

"Asshole! Asshole, asshole, asshole! One day, I will collect this debt from you and those judges!"

Staring at the silver-haired girl in front of her and the people beside her, Cirrus’s tone was full of resentment.

"Cirrus, don’t you want to fight with the general of the Xianzhou?"

"That's right!"

"Then why don’t you possess me?"

Cirrus: "..."

Although this condition was very tempting, it was impossible for him to agree.

He was not as easy to deceive as the other Heliobus. He knew clearly what the silver-haired girl in front of her was planning. He knew very well that the one talking to her now was not a certain Heliobus, but the silver-haired girl herself. This person wasn't affected by Heliobus’s possession, and those Heliobus were all deceived by her.

If he really believed Ilu’s words and ran into his body, then she would lose his freedom forever.

"Ilu, I will always remember you, and I will never forget what happened today... Hehe, before the establishment of the Xianzhou Alliance, I lived for countless years. After the alliance disappears, I will still exist for countless Amber Eras. Then I will go to your grave and steal your tribute every day, hahahahaha!"

Cirrus swept his eyes across the faces of the people present, laughing arrogantly. He appears to have already begun imagining his future of escape and domination.

"Oh? The matter here has been resolved. It seems that I am a step late?"

Just then, he suddenly heard the voice of a strange man behind him.


Cirrus looked in the direction of the voice and saw a white-haired man wearing armor and with messy hair walking toward him with a smile.

There was no regret for Cirrus’s defeat.


The next person to arrive at the battlefield was—

"General Jing Yuan?!"

"Huh? Jing Yuan... General?"

Hearing the white-haired man being addressed by everyone, Cirrus showed a look of disgust and laughed without hesitation: "That's it? He looks like he hasn’t even woken up. He looks so weak! Look, I could easily beat him up!"

Ilu: "?"

You haven’t even passed me, and you still want to beat Jing Yuan. Are you dreaming?

However, since Jing Yuan is already here, it means...

"Hehe, I already know the wishes of the Heliobi. I’ve heard the stories of General Tengxiao fighting against the monsters. I didn’t expect the real owner from back then to come seeking revenge. Such a rare thing—I had to make time to come and see."

His gaze swept across the faces of those present and finally stopped on Ilu. Jing Yuan smiled and asked.


" Tell me, Ilu, how do they want to decide the victory or defeat?"



 - - - - 



Chapter 82 Sushang: I don't believe it, let me try

"Hey! Jing Yuan, who are you talking to?!"

Seeing that Jing Yuan just glanced at it casually and then invited Ilu to a duel, Cirrus suddenly became anxious.

What are you looking for her for? You should be looking for me!

At this time, Cirrus was like a wild cat with its fur standing up. He rolled up his sleeves and wanted to rush up to arm wrestle with Jing Yuan.

It's a pity that he couldn't get rid of the shackles of the restriction circle with his current strength. He could only stay where he was and cast a resentful look at Ilu.

"It's useless for you to duel with this woman. Even a fool knows that she will deliberately let you win. You might as well fight me in Fyxestroll. If I win, I will be free to come and go—"

Before Cirrus finished speaking, Jing Yuan suddenly interrupted him. "Did you misunderstand something?"

"Misunderstanding... Wait, Jing Yuan, what do you mean?"

Hearing this, Cirrus frowned.

"Hehe, it's nothing. I just think you think too much of yourself."

Jing Yuan crossed his arms and chuckled, saying: "I only said 'I came by invitation,' but the person who invited me was not you. Why should I fight with you?"

"General of the Xianzhou, don't you dare to accept the challenge?!"

Cirrus gritted his teeth and tried to use provocation to force the seemingly weak general in front of him to fight him.

"Why not? I did come here for the battle that year, but... you are not worthy.”

Jing Yuan was known as the "General of Divine Strategy," so he would naturally not be angered by such a low-level talk. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he continued to calmly attack the defeated Heliobus’ heart.


"Tengxiao is the previous Arbiter-General of Luofu, commanding the Cloud Knights; and Ignamar is the head of Heliobus, commanding the devils. The two are like the sky covering the earth, fighting against each other, and the battle between the two sides is really reasonable and in accordance with the rules."


"And now, I am the general of the Xianzhou, and Ilu has inherited most of Ignamar's will and is the veritable 'Lord of Fyxestroll,' while you are just a prisoner..."

"If you want to fight with me, you must follow my rules. Either defeat Ilu and become the head of Heliobi, or defeat my army and kill your way to the central army tent—then I will give you this opportunity."

Cirrus: "..."

Not qualified.

Just three words, and Cirrus fell into silence for eighteen seconds.

If he had all the power of Furynox, things would never have come to this point today.

But who could have thought there was a traitor amongst Heliobi? They actually believed the silver-haired girl’s lies, took the initiative to get into a mobile humanoid "Creation Furnace," and became accomplices, causing all of Heliobus in Fyxestroll to fall into her hands.

Alas.

It seemed he could only watch from the side.

"How is it, Ilu, the question I asked you to ask the Heliobus before—have they thought of the answer?"

Seeing that Cirrus honestly shut up and stopped yelling about the duel, Jing Yuan turned and looked at the silver-haired girl who seemed to be communicating with the Starfire Crown, with a faint smile on his lips.

"Well, they want to fight with you in person and decide the outcome with one move, leaving no regrets."

"As expected... Then, when you're ready, let's meet at Verdantia Terrace."

... 

Two system hours later, the two arrived at Verdantia Terrace as scheduled.

This is the waterfront platform at the entrance of Fyxestroll. The fox craftsmen of the past cleverly incorporated the winding river in the garden into the landscape. The bamboos are lush and full of mountain and forest charm. It can be said to be a good place to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Nowadays, there are few tourists in Fyxestroll, and little laughter. This place has been abandoned.


Now it has become the duel scene between "General of the Xianzhou" and "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden." Huo Huo and Tail jointly serve as official commentators to explain this battle to the guests present.

In the rockery not far away, Stelle, Guinaifen and others had prepared their seats early. Even Sushang, who had just woken up, came here. Popcorn and drinks were all available. It was obvious that they were ready to watch this unprecedented battle that had lasted for a thousand years.

"Ilu, come on!"

"Let's talk about the things that deceived me when we get back. You must play well in this duel today~"

Stelle took out the cheering stick she had specially prepared, which shone with a deep blue light in the dark night, looking particularly conspicuous.

"General Jing Yuan, come on!"

"The Xianzhou soars, and the Cloud Knights always win!"

The Wraith Wardens sitting opposite her were cheering for Jing Yuan, and some retired veterans who had been Cloud Knights shouted the slogans of the Cloud Knights to help.

Although there were still many escaped Heliobi on the Xianzhou, they did not want to miss this unprecedented battle. After getting permission from their superiors, they came here to cheer for their general.

"…"

On the other side, Cirrus was wearing shackles and talismans, and sat next to the Supression Tower under the surveillance of Xueyi and Hanya.

What, you ask why she didn’t shout "Come on!"?

Hehe, both of the people on the stage were her enemies, and he would be crazy to shout "Come on!"

Cirrus now wished that Ilu and Jing Yuan would die together. It would be best if neither of them survived.

"Cirrus, from your eyes, I can see that you seem to be thinking about something very rude."

Hanya glanced at her and warned in a cold tone. "You’d better be honest and not try anything."

"Hehe, what's it to you?"

Ignoring the white-haired judge who made her angry, Cirrus cast his eyes at the two people standing on Verdantia Terrace, his eyes full of malice.

The duel is about to begin, and he will not miss even a moment until the battle is over.

No matter who wins the duel between the two, he will celebrate with loud drums and gongs. Listening to these people cry will make her happy for a whole year.

Hehe, hit harder, don’t hold back—it's best to sink the Xianzhou!

"The duel officially begins!"

As soon as Huo Huo’s voice fell, Jing Yuan, who was standing on the right side of Verdantia Terrace, raised his hand and summoned the formation blade "Devestator Glaive," then raised it high to the sky and launched a tentative attack.

"Kacha--!!!"

Accompanied by a deafening cracking sound, countless golden cracks appeared in the sky as if it were collapsing. It was the thunder transformed from the Path of the Hunt.

They tore the clouds apart, illuminated the night sky, and finally turned into a majestic being, holding the thunder formation blade and slashing toward Verdantia Terrace with great force.

Jing Yuan started with the Lightning Lord to show respect.


If the person standing here at this moment were "Ignamar," he might have been struck to death by the thunder, but the one standing here now was the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden" Ilu, who was in peak condition. So she naturally had a way to deal with it.

She threw the faded gingko sword burning with blood flames in her hand aside and urged the Abundance essence in her body with all her strength. In an instant, the entire Verdantia Terrace was covered with faded ginkgo branches.

Although these Abundance creatures themselves did not have any true "Abundance" power and were just empty shells, they gained life under the infusion of Heliobus's power.


They sprang up from the ground like bamboo shoots after rain, burning with blue ghost fire, and attacked the Lightning Lord who fell from the sky, tying him up firmly in place, unable to move.

Cirrus: "???"

When he saw the Lightning Lord appear in the sky, he was dumbfounded, and then realized that she had seriously underestimated the strength of this Xianzhou General. If he had gone up there, he would probably have been dead after taking that move.

As for Ilu...

Ha! It was just a fluke. He won’t admit that Ilu is actually very powerful!

----

Meanwhile, in the real world.

With the end of the 1.5 chapter mission, Jiahun, who successfully defeated Cirrus, accepted Guinaifen’s invitation and formed the Ghost-Hunting Squad with Sushang and Huo Huo, and started the 1.5 event plot mission.

In short, this is an event to help Little Gui increase her fans. The main task is to find the Heliobus scattered around the Xianzhou according to the "Ghost Records" given by the supernatural forum, and then bring them back to the Ten-Lords Commission for sealing.

After all, for a supernatural anchor, the fastest way to increase fans is to send out the real-life recording of "suppressing Heliobus." This explosive news will undoubtedly attract a large number of fans to Guinaifen—of course, this matter had been agreed to by Hanya, otherwise Little Gui might become Imprisoned Gui.



"It's so funny, this event is really fun, and a supernatural forum has been created."

As soon as Jia Huan opened the Luofu Miscellany, she saw a shocking title commonly seen in UC. 

"The timid should be careful! I saw a ghost in Aurum Alley!"

The first investigation commission was about Bailu. Someone said that they saw two identical Bailu in Aurum Alley, which was obviously Heliobus's doing.

In order to get clues about the fugitive Heliobus from Fu Xuan, Jia Huan immediately controlled the Trailblazer to Fyxestroll and found Cirrus' trace under the guidance of Xueyi and the other judges.

This unlucky guy had taken over the body of a Spiritfarer after being beaten by Ilu. He was discussing something fiercely with Ilu standing beside him and seemed to be quite excited.

"Cirrus: ...I will go to your grave and steal your offerings every day, ahahahahaha!"

As soon as Fu Xuan finished speaking, Jia Huan saw a white-haired man walking toward them from not far away. It was Jing Yuan. He ignored Cirrus, who was shouting for a duel, and directly asked Ilu about the duel.

"Ugh! Is the duel between Ilu and Jing Yuan starting?"

Realizing that there would be a duel between two super popular characters to watch, Jia Huan's eyes lit up.


While Ilu and Jing Yuan were preparing, she quickly skipped the conversation with Cirrus by clicking the mouse from it...

Well, Cirrus didn't say anything. He seemed to be angry at the general's words.

It seems that we have to wait until the duel is over before we can get useful information from Cirrus.

Soon, after adjusting the time to two system hours, Jia Huan finally waited for this great battle between Ilu and Jing Yuan.

She couldn't wait to control the Trailblazer to the spectator seat near Verdantia Terrace, picked up the cheering stick, and started to cheer for Ilu.


"I almost missed my lunch after knowing about this battle. I'm looking forward to who will win the duel today."

It's a great pleasure to see the duel between two top masters in the plot, and both of them are the top popular characters of Star Rail. She doesn't know if she will have the chance to see this kind of exciting match in the future.

[Come on! Ilu, just think of it as defeating the general of the Xianzhou for the sake of the Heliobi Clan!]

[The person above may be possessed by Heliobus, I suggest you investigate it]

[Ilu: Can you hold back, Jing Yuan: OK, sister]

[Then you start with the Aeon, right (funny jpg)]

[Pay attention to Cirrus' disdainful expression, remember his current appearance, it will be tested later]

…

"Huo Huo: The duel officially begins!"

As Huo Huo announced the start of the game, Jia Huan's screen also made a shattering sound, and she entered a very special boss battle.

[Hint: You have entered a special battle (the characters and enemies in this battle will receive additional benefits/extra forms, which will not affect the normal mode)]

There is only one plot character that can be controlled on the field, and that is Jing Yuan—well, there is nothing to say about this, after all, it is a one-on-one duel between General Luofu and Ilu, and it is normal that no outsiders participate.

The opponent is naturally the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden · Complete" version of Ilu, and the level has also been upgraded from level 80 to level 90, which is already a level that only high-level bosses in the Simulated Universe are qualified to have.

If it was a normal duel, Jing Yuan would naturally not be able to beat her, so in this trial, in addition to the substantial improvement of various basic attributes, this Cloud Knight General also ushered in a small enhancement—after releasing the Ultimate, the "Divine" action is 100% advanced.



"So awesome! I'm invincible!"

Watching Jing Yuan’s skill clear the faded black lotus on the field, he was instantly full of energy, and then released the Ultimate to summon the Lightning-Lord to give "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden · Complete" two painful blows, directly knocking down 30% of Ilu’s health bar, Jia Huan realized that things were not simple.

In the special battle, Jing Yuan has 50% effect resistance, which means that the control from "Bird in a Cage" is not 100% accurate for him. If there is a miss, then Jing Yuan can use his Skill to refresh the Ultimate at lightning speed to summon the Lightning-Lord again.

Fighting, cool!

Soon, Jia Huan controlled Jing Yuan to beat the first and second stages of "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden · Complete" and entered the third stage that she had never seen before. He was hit by a full-screen Ultimate move that came with the transformation and entered a bound state.

Just then, the battle was suddenly declared over, and Huo Huo's voice of explanation rang in Jia Huan's ears. 

"Huo Huo: General... the General has the upper hand?"

"Tail: Bullshit! It’s obviously that little girl who has the advantage. This duel will soon be decided!"

Both sides held their own opinions. As the screen went black, Jia Huan entered a wonderful and exciting cutscene.

"Boom boom boom—!!!"

Thunder crashed from the sky, dark clouds were surging, and a mighty presence wielded the Thunderblade and tried to strike down, but countless silver branches burning with dark blue flames were entangled with it like chains. The two forces were competing with each other, and it was difficult to distinguish one from the other.

The golden lightning connected the sky and earth, piercing the darkness. It was spectacular and terrifying, stirring the wind and clouds. The dead clouds seemed to be furious, sweeping in all directions and opening a huge vortex.

The originally dim Fyxestroll was as bright as day under the illumination of this light. Even the Heliobi who had luckily hidden shrank in the bamboo forest and trembled after seeing this horrible scene.



Is this... the power of the Xianzhou General?

No wonder the great Heliobus “Ignamar” would lose.


This—they can’t win at all!

In the distance,  Stelle had been paying attention to this battle. She clenched her fists and silently cheered for Ilu.

She didn’t think Ilu would lose, but if she wanted to win against Jing Yuan, it might not be that easy.

"Boom boom!"

The thunder roared again, and the sky suddenly shook like a god beating a drum. The Lightning-Lord broke through the shackles of the blue chains, and the seal broke piece by piece. The Thunderblade in his hand chopped down again.

Just when it was only about ten meters away from Verdantia Terrace, Ilu raised her hand again, and countless faded ginkgo branches spread out from her palm.

They grew upward like a tree stretching and pressing its branches, turning into a spiral spear burning with dark blue flames. She sent all the power of the Heliobi into it and threw it at the golden lightning that fell from the sky.


At the moment of the collision between the two sides, a violent explosion suddenly sounded, and the frenzied airflow spread in all directions.


The golden giant in the sky began to disintegrate, and the flame on the spiral spear became increasingly dim.


The outcome of this duel became unclear, and even Huo Huo and Tail at the commentary desk did not dare to draw a conclusion.

"Knock knock knock—!"

Finally, after a series of boiling explosions, everything returned to silence.


The golden giant in the sky completed its mission and disappeared from then on. The silver spiral spear was also worn away by half, burning out the dark blue flame and falling from mid-air.

"It's over..."

Looking at the two people on the stage still standing there intact, Huo Huo finally had an answer in her heart. She and Tail looked at each other and announced the result of the duel together:

"I declare that the result of the duel is a draw."

"Draw?!"

After hearing the duel result announced by Huo Huo and Tail, Cirrud sitting next to the Suppression Tower turned pale on the spot.

It wanted to accuse both sides of letting the opponent win and that there was no point in fighting seriously, but it had also seen the whole battle just now.

Facing the golden giant who seemed to be able to chop the world, the silver-haired girl did send all the Heliobi sealed in her body into the silver wooden spear, which meant that she had used all her strength, and there was nothing more to be said.

"As expected of General Jing Yuan. They fought with all their might to resist the attack just now."

"Well, the Heliobi is indeed quite capable. I took it seriously. This battle was a rare and enjoyable one."

"The Heliobus clan said that you are a powerful opponent worthy of respect. Even if the opponent was not Teng Xiao, they were satisfied with this battle."

After the first round of duels, Ilu and Jing Yuan, who were standing on the stage, praised each other generously. This set of combined punches made the Heliobus clan who had nearly been wiped out after being struck down by the Lightning Lord very happy.

They did fight with all their might in this battle. Although they failed to defeat the opponent in front of them, the result of a draw was enough to satisfy them—after all, the Great Heliobus "Ignamar" was defeated miserably that year, and today, under the leadership of the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden," they achieved a rare draw.

"Hey! Just one duel—isn't it enough!"

At this moment, Cirrus suddenly interrupted and said, "The meaning of duels is to decide the winner. If there is no winner in one battle, with Da Heliobus's 'Ignamar' character, he must fight twice, three times, or even countless times."

"Second round of duels..."

Hearing this, Jing Yuan held his chin with one hand, as if thinking about something.

"Shut up, Cirrus!"

Before Ilu could speak, the Starfire Crown on her head immediately choked Cirrus.


"This is a duel between us and General Jing Yuan. What does it have to do with you? You are just a  defeated Heliobus. What qualifications do you have to bark here?"

"Hehe, you're already protecting your master. You really are hopeless."

Cirrus sneered. "If you had lent me your strength earlier, how could it be a draw today? I must win this duel!"

As soon as Cirrus finished speaking, she was scolded by many Heliobi. They had no goodwill toward this guy who had been stirring up conflict and soon berated him so harshly he dared not say another word.

"You are not qualified to be compared with Lady White Lily. She is our only sun. What kind of person are you!"

"Cirrus! A lost dog that no one wants!"

"You're useless even if we gave you a chance. What? Are you jealous of us for tying with General Jing Yuan?"

Their long-cherished wish had been fulfilled, and all of this was thanks to Ilu.


At this moment, she was worthy of the title of "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden." Even if she were to completely absorb them afterward, they would be willing to accept it.

However, Ilu had no intention of absorbing these Heliobi—what good would it do her to absorb them?

It seemed not.

Instead of absorbing these Heliobus, it would be better to take them as little brothers and bring them back to the Astral Express.

It just so happened that she had the habit of making wood carvings with faded branches, and she was not afraid that these Heliobus would have nowhere to stay. She would prepare a wooden figurine for each of them—well, a figurine that could move. If someone accidentally saw it in the middle of the night, it would be quite the thrill to think about.

"Cirrus, do you want a second round of duels?"

Just then, Jing Yuan suddenly looked at Cirrus and asked.

"That's right!"

Cirrus nodded heavily: "It's a duel between me and you. If you have the ability, don’t use the golden giant. She’s not allowed to use the power of Heliobus, and I won’t use the power of Furynox. Let’s have another duel!"

This duel had nothing to do with him, but it made the other Heliobus get rid of the title of "general prisoner of war," which it didn’t want to see.

Seeing others tie with the general was more uncomfortable than losing itself.

"I’ve said before that if you want to duel with me, you must follow my rules: defeat my army, and kill your way to the front of the central army camp before I give you this opportunity."

After saying that, Jing Yuan glanced around. His eyes rested on Stelle, Huo Huo, and others, including Guinaifen and Sushang.

"In other words, if you want to get this qualification, you must first defeat these four friends of mine and do the same thing as the 'Lord of Fyxestroll Garden.'"

"Heh, it turns out to be these four little pawns. I’ll beat them up!"

Hearing that his opponents were actually the four people in front of him, and not really the entire Cloud Knights of the Xianzhou, Cirrus smiled. Even if he had lost the power of Furynox, he didn’t think he would lose to these unknown pawns.

"If you lose, you need to ask them a question."
Jing Yuan looked at Stelle meaningfully.

"No problem!"

After getting Jing Yuan’s consent, Cirrus was very excited. The gray-haired girl beside him also remembered the supernatural commission she had accepted not long ago and happily agreed to this battle.

Stelle would never miss the opportunity to pry words out of this guy’s mouth—as for Ilu, she seemed to have her own things to do, so she wouldn’t be bothered.

... 

"Come on! Little pawn! Fight me!"

Bang!

After just one minute, this short battle was over.

As expected, Cirrus was defeated.

Compared to the previous peak showdown, the battle between it and the Ghost Hunting Squad was like child's play. Cirrus, who had lost the power of Furynox, was no match for Stelle at all. The red temperature was visible to the naked eye.

"You lost, Cirrus."

"Don't be complacent! I'm just adjusting my state. What happened just now doesn't count. Let's fight again!"

"Wait a minute. Before the next battle begins, you need to answer a question from them."

"Okay... annoying little devil, go ahead and ask!"

Accepting defeat, in order to qualify for the second duel, Cirrus honestly answered Stelle's question.

"There are many Heliobus imprisoned in the Furnace. Each of them may have done these things. Some of them are out of revenge, some out of curiosity, and some out of desire..."

"I don't know which Heliobus kidnapped your dragon girl, but there are suspects, such as Luxie."

"It sounds like a random name," Stelle complained in a low voice.

"Heh, believe it or not, I don't love lies as much as humans do."

As if she remembered something unpleasant, Cirrus glared at the silver-haired girl who was comforting the Heliobus in the distance, and then continued.

"Luxie is very playful. They doesn’t care about how to control mortals. They just wants to play freely everywhere. If you want to say who is most likely to have done the thing of abducting your dragon girl among the fragments of Ignamar, I’m afraid it’s only them."

"Since we were sealed for a thousand years, we haven’t tasted the joys and sorrows of humans for a long time. I believe Luxie must be eager to wander around and find a playmate."

"I see, he sounds like a playful guy..."

After listening to Cirrus’s description, everyone also had a certain understanding of this Heliobus named Luxie.

"If attached to a combative warrior, the character will gradually become brave and aggressive, and if it encounters a playful child, it will become a wandering spirit with a childlike heart. A Heliobus' character is affected by the host."

"With this clue, things will surely be much easier to handle."

After getting enough information, the Ghost Hunting Squad immediately decided to go to Aurum Alley to investigate the situation.


Just as Stelle was about to leave Verdantia Terrace, they saw Ilu waiting for them at the bottom of the steps.

"I heard from General Jing Yuan that you're going to Aurum Alley?"

The silver-haired girl picked up her phone and shook it in front of Stelle, smiling as she spoke.

"The thing is, I just registered an account on Luofu Zazu and plan to run a horror house in Aurum Alley. How about you do a supernatural livestream and I do a horror house. Let’s compete to see whose number of fans can reach 1 million first?"

Since she had decided to recapture these Heliobi instead of absorbing them, as their master, she must meet their basic needs—absorbing human emotions.

So before leaving the Xianzhou, she planned to open a temporary horror house in Aurum Alley and hide these Heliobi in faded wood carvings, bringing a memorable horror experience to Xianzhou customers who visited the house, and edit it into a video to post on Luofu Zazu to gain attention.

"Since it is an invitation initiated by the 'Lord of Fyxestroll,' we will naturally not refuse it."

Looking at the silver-haired girl’s eyes with a sly smile, Stelle agreed without hesitation: "Ilu... No, White Lily! I will defeat you with my own hands!"

After being teased by Ilu for being a fool for so long, she was now full of anger. She had to beat Ilu once and let her taste defeat.


Let's see if she'll be so smug in the future!


...

Oh, this damn desire to win.

It is actually very difficult to make a horror house from scratch. After all, you need to prepare various props, hire many actors, and arrange scenes that people can immerse themselves in to create a horror atmosphere.

But the horror house opened in a corner of Aurum Alley in a busy downtown area was less than 80 square meters.

According to theory, it is impossible to operate a horror house in such a narrow space.

But for Ilu, she had no such worries at all—

Items? She could easily make them with the help of the Abundance’s blessing.

She had plenty of actors, so there was no shortage.

As for the scene, it was even simpler. Let the Heliobi create an illusory maze, ensure that the area of the venue is large enough, and the immersion is complete—so that customers could play in it from day to night and not be able to get out!

"Let me think about it, what style of horror house would be better..."

After parting with the Ghost Hunting Squad, Ilu came to the store she rented in Aurum Alley and began to think about the next operation strategy.

Well, a horror style that's too realistic might not work. If it scares people to death, it might attract the Wraith Wardens of the Ten-Lords Commission. If the store is closed because of that, it won’t be worth the loss.

"It seems that I have to use some cute puppets instead..."

After thinking about it, Ilu decided to give it a try. She immediately made several coffins with faded ginkgo branches and set this place as the trigger point of the illusion.


As long as you lie in it, you can enter the small realm formed by the power of the Heliobus.

Because she was too lazy to design a new map, Ilu simply used the layout of the illusion created by Furynox before and threw the Heliobus into the illusion. After entering the puppet prepared in advance, she personally went in to experience it.

As soon as she entered, she could see a long corridor that connected in all directions like a maze. There were several white paper lanterns hanging above the eaves, casting a pale light all over the ground, full of horror atmosphere.

Standing here would feel chilly, and the terrain with many connections was very suitable to be used as a scene for escape games.

Outside the yard was a lush bamboo forest, which was the boundary of the map. Once a customer accidentally broke in, a Heliobus with white ghostfire would float out and kindly tell them that the area ahead could no longer be explored.

"Just put two puppets here... Hey, there’s also an iron cabinet here?"

After thinking for a while, Ilu decided to put a puppet without a Heliobus into the iron cabinet.

Well, it looked much better this way.

She believed that customers would definitely like the little surprise she had prepared here.

"Well, the preparations are ready, and we can almost start business."

After completing all this, Ilu left the illusion contentedly and took down the "Temporarily Closed" sign at the door.

She wondered who the first customers would be.

…

"Hmm! I haven’t been back to Aurum Alley for several days. It feels so familiar to be back in the old place!"

Returning to the brightly lit and bustling Aurum Alley, Guinaifen couldn’t help but sigh.

She was almost mentally exhausted after staying in Fyxestroll for the past few days. First, she was scared by a Heliobus, then she was possessed by a Heliobus and smashed an expensive gourd. She didn’t get any proper rest.

Fortunately, she gained a lot from this trip. Not only did she make several good friends, but she also reached a cooperation with the Ten-Lords Commission and became an official streamer. Hehe, it was worth it.

"Look, that’s Ilu’s store over there. Do you want to go in and take a look?"

Looking at the cute puppet house not far away, Sushang’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she suddenly wanted to go in and try.

"Uh... do you really want to go there?"

"Yeah, look at the logo of Ilu’s store, how cute it is! It’s a puppet bear. It must not be that scary inside."

Sushang put her hands on her hips and said with a smile, "Just think of it as taking care of a friend’s business. Anyway, we have to go there~"

"I think you’ll regret it..."

Thinking back to the video Guinaifen showed her before, Stelle couldn’t help but sweat for Sushang.

This girl was once scared by a little roadside Heliobus and fainted for an entire day. She happened to avoid the most terrifying illusion in all of Fyxestroll. Why didn’t she learn her lesson and now wanted to challenge the horror house of the 'Lord of Fyxestroll Garden'? Didn’t she know what was inside?

She had to know that most of Fyxestroll’s Heliobus were in there, not to mention Ilu as a guide. Stelle didn’t even want to imagine how scary it would be.

"Hehe, how could I be afraid? After everything I’ve been through recently, I’m not the same person I used to be."

Hearing Stelle’s doubts, Sushang patted her chest and said seriously: "An ancient book says... uh, what’s that saying, people don’t fall in the same place twice. If they do, they must get up on the spot."

"Today I will face my inner demons and defeat them!"

---


Chapter 83: You Old Man, I'm Really Convinced

"Challenging the haunted house sounds like a very interesting thing?"

Hearing her good friend Sushang say this, Guinaifen was also somewhat tempted. After all, her identity is a ghost-hunting streamer, and she would naturally not miss anything related to the supernatural. Maybe she could record it as video material.

If she were alone, Guinaifen might not dare to challenge it easily, but now she had Stelle and Huo Huo by her side. The four of them formed a "ghost-catching team." Are they afraid of a mere haunted house?

"Interesting?"

Looking at the excited expressions of Guinaifen and Sushang, Stelle and Huo Huo looked at each other and recalled the experience in the Illusory Maze not long ago. They couldn't help but feel a chill.

That may not be the case.

"I... I think it's better for us not to disturb Ilu."
Huo Huo suggested weakly.

Others may not know, but she was the direct victim of the illusion created by Furynox. She wandered around in it for a long time but could not find the exit. In the end, Miss Ilu couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to send them out.

It was not easy to escape from that ghostly place. She didn't want to go back to jail!

"You can go. At least no one should die..."

With a fearful look, she glanced at the haunted house with the bear puppet logo not far away. Stelle held her chin with one hand and thought about whether to contact Ilu and ask her to lower the difficulty a little later.

But after thinking about it, she finally gave up the idea.

People who have been caught in the rain may not necessarily hold an umbrella for others. They may also want others to be caught in the same rain. Only in this way can they empathize with each other—haha, a life without being caught in the rain is imperfect.

Don't ask. The answer is that good things should be left for everyone to share and can't be hidden—difficulty and so on, all go to the highest for me!

You know, she and Huo Huo experienced Furynox's illusion in its entirety and were so scared that they stepped on traps everywhere and were possessed by Cirrus.

No matter what, today Sushang and Guinaifen must experience the original illusion.

"Ah, we seem to have come too early, and the haunted house is not open yet."

After taking a closer look, Sushang found that there was a small wooden sign hanging in front of Ilu's haunted house, which meant that the store was still closed.

"I'll send her a message to see if we can make an appointment."

After saying that, Stelle picked up her phone, edited a message, and sent it.

[Stelle: Ilu, are you there?]

[Ilu: ?]

[Ilu: Yes, what's up?]

[Stelle: Excuse me, when will your haunted house open for business? Sushang and Guinaifen want to go in for a look.]

[Ilu: Oh, I'm renovating the venue. It will take about half a system hour. You can go somewhere else first.]

"Okay."

After learning from Stelle that the haunted house would open in half a system hour, Sushang sighed and said helplessly.

"Since Ilu's haunted house is temporarily closed, let's go find Heliobus named Luxie first, so that guy won't cause any trouble..."

As she said that, she turned her head and looked at Guinaifen on the side. "Although we have contributed to the revival of Aurum Alley, we still don't know the way here, so we can only rely on Little Gui, the local snake, to lead the way and ask questions."

"Hehe, you are so talkative..."

Guinaifen teased Sushang with a smile, then stretched out her hand to point out a direction for everyone and spoke with a little curiosity in her tone.

"However, I did find something. Look at the two people over there. They are wearing Alchemy Commission uniforms. Do you think these two people are here to find the Dragon Lady?"

Looking in the direction of Guinaifen's finger, Stelle saw two people wearing Alchemy Commission uniforms. They were sitting around a table and seemed to be discussing something urgent.

"Well, the Dragon Lady disappeared into thin air, and they must be at a loss." Huo Huo nodded gently and said, "However, when we inquire about the news, it's best not to reveal our identities, and don't mention the matter of Heliobus possession. Otherwise, it may cause panic."

"Yes, yes! Judge, don't worry. How to communicate effectively with the masses is a compulsory course for our Cloud Knights."

After saying that, Sushang walked toward the two medical officers of the Alchemy Commission enthusiastically and took the initiative to greet them:

"Hello, you two. Judging from your clothes, you must be medical officers of the Alchemy Commission. I am Sushang, a soldier of the Cloud Knights. May I ask if you are looking for the suddenly missing Dragon Lady?"

"Ah?"

"Strange, how long has it been? Even the Cloud Knights have been alarmed?"

"Hey! Wait, I've heard Lady Dragon mention this person before. She's from the Astral Express."

The two healers were stunned by her sudden interruption, and after seeing Stelle approaching from not far away, one of them recognized her identity at a glance.

After learning that they were here to help investigate Lady Dragon's disappearance, the two healers told them everything they knew.

"It's a great thing that you're willing to help, but we haven't figured out the situation yet..."

"We had captured Lady Dragon not long ago, but she disappeared with a bang."

"Besides, we saw two of her."

Listening to the descriptions of the two healers, the Ghost Hunting Squad became more and more certain that this was Heliobus's doing. After making some excuses to mislead the two people in front of them, they began to look for Bai Lu following the clues the two had provided.

Soon, in a dim alley, Huo Huo saw their target—Bai Lu—and... another Bai Lu?!

"Ghost!!!!!!!!!"

Seeing this strange scene, Sushang, who was suffering from ghost phobia, screamed like a groundhog, startling the two Bai Lus who were playing games not far away.

"Ah! The adults are here, let's go!"

"But... they’re calling us to play over there."

"Don't believe them, these adults are lying to us... That's right! Why don't we play a game called 'Don't Get Caught'!"

"Great! Let's run!"

After spotting them, one of the Bai Lus immediately grabbed the hand of the other, and the two quickly fled, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Quick! Let’s chase them!"

Stelle immediately gave chase, and Huo Huo followed closely behind. The two began to track Bai Lu's trail, moving forward little by little.

Although they could hear the laughter of the two Bai Lus, they couldn’t see where they were.

It was a bit creepy.

Recalling her previous experience in Fyxestroll, Huo Huo felt her legs begin to tremble.

Although she knew in her heart that it was a Heliobus causing trouble, she still couldn’t help feeling afraid. It had become a conditioned reflex.

"Wait, look—Is that Bai Lu?!"

Just then, Huo Huo suddenly heard Guinaifen exclaim and looked in the direction she was pointing, only to see two familiar figures standing in front of a building with a little bear logo in the distance. It was the Dragon Lady who had disappeared earlier.

"Ah! They went in!"

"What?!"

Seeing that Heliobus had so recklessly taken Bai Lu into the most realistic haunted house in all of the Xianzhou, Stelle's heart skipped a beat.

If the Dragon Lord of the Vidyadhara was frightened, it would be a serious matter.

"Oh no, we have to go in and rescue Bai Lu quickly!"

Huo Huo also realized the seriousness of the situation.

...

At the same time, in the real world—

After interrogating Cirrus about Luxie, Jia Huan led the Ghost Hunting Squad to leave Fyxestroll and rushed to Aur Alley without stopping.

"Huh? Is this the haunted house opened by Ilu?"

Seeing a store with a bear logo suddenly appear on the street, Jia Huan’s eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly had Stelle walk over.


However, the door was closed, and she had no way to enter. She could only see a faded wooden sign hanging on the door with a line of small words:

"Under preparation, temporarily closed—"

"Okay, we can’t go in for the time being. Let’s go handle Bai Lu’s supernatural commission."

Seeing that Ilu's haunted house was not open yet, Jia Huan’s expectations were dashed. She couldn’t help but sigh, then directed Stelle to return to the Ghost Hunting Squad’s gathering point and start the plot dialogue.

Before they could chat much, Sushang noticed the store with the bear logo not far away, immediately recognized it as Ilu's haunted house, and proactively suggested to the team.

"Guinaifen: Challenging the haunted house sounds like a fun thing, eh?"

To make matters worse, Guinaifen, the captain of the Ghost Hunting Squad, had the same idea. Only Huo Huo who had witnessed the horrors of Huaiyan's illusion not long ago, opposed it. At this point, the Trailblazer’s opinion was crucial.

Seeing that Sushang and Guinaifen wanted to challenge the illusion set up by the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden" Ilu herself, the audience in Jia Huan’s livestream already guessed what was going to happen next.

[Sushang, stop messing around. You don’t have any professional medics with you. I’m afraid you’ll get scared sick if you go in.]

[What would you do if the weakest guy in the party said they wanted to solo a boss.jpg]

[It's over. Someone's going to die.]

[As we all know, Heliobus needs to absorb human emotions to regain their strength, and the fight with Jing Yuan just now has exhausted them...]

[Damn, are these Heliobi targeting Sushang specifically now?]

Fortunately, since Ilu's haunted house wasn’t open yet, Sushang couldn’t challenge her inner demons just yet. She had to continue searching for Bai Lu with Stelle and Huo Huo. After getting clues from two doctors of the Alchemy Commission by the roadside, Jia Huan soon found Bai Lu’s location. Looking at the two Dragon Girls chatting happily in the distance, she widened her eyes in surprise:

"Ah, there really are two Bai Lus?"

"Sushang: Ghost!!!!!"

Just then, Sushang’s groundhog-like scream burst through Jia Huan’s headphones, giving her a shock.

Fortunately, the sound had been turned down beforehand. Though sudden, it wasn’t piercing. Jia Huan quickly recovered and controlled the Trailblazer to chase after Bai Lu’s trail.

Finally, they arrived at a haunted house with a little bear logo, where the last remaining Heliobus—disguised as Ilu—had disappeared.

Seeing this, the viewers in Jia Huan’s livestream commented.

[LOL, where is this poor child even running off to]

[Bai Lu: No, sis, where did you take me?! Is this still Aurum Alley??]

[Ilu: Huh? I was just sitting here, why did a show suddenly start?]

Jia Huan: "..."

No, why are you even running here for no reason?

Why must you hide in Ilu’s little dark room? Now no one can save you.

[With Bai Lu, a professional healer, around, if Sushang faints from fear, she can at least be treated in time.]

[So that means Sushang can be scared, faint, get healed, then faint again—letting Heliobus keep draining her emotions?]

[???]

[Right?]

[Dude. Please be a human being. Even Satan would tattoo your name on his back.]



....


"Do we really have to go in?"

"Of course we have to go in! They’ve already fallen into the trap—if we don’t spring it now, when will we?"

"If we go in, wouldn’t that be falling into the trap...?"

Standing outside the adorably themed haunted house and looking at the teddy bear logo on the weathered sign, Huo Huo's face grew paler and paler.

Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet walking into them anyway—this was what she was doing now.


As for Sushang, she was like a newborn calf not yet afraid of tigers, completely unaware of what kind of place she was about to enter.

The number of Heliobi on the entire Xianzhou combined might not even match the number inside this haunted house. If possible, she just wanted to stay far, far away from it—best to never be involved again.

But now that the Heliobus called Luxie had run in with the Dragon Lady, she had no choice. Even if she didn’t want to, she had to bite the bullet and go in.

"Everyone wait a moment, I’m adjusting the equipment. I feel like this will be pretty intense later, so I’ll record a video in advance..."

After saying that, Guinaifen pulled out her phone and selfie stick and started recording the Ghost Hunting Squad’s first haunted house vlog.

"Fam, long time no see, I’m your Little Guizi!"

"I’m sure you all saw the Fyxestroll adventure video from a few days ago. Today we’re heading into a newly opened haunted house. We followed a ‘short blue demon’ here..."

After introducing herself as usual, Sushang gave the camera to Stelle, Sushang, and Huo Huo behind her.
"Everyone should know Shang Shang. She was the guest of our last Fyxestroll Adventure. This is Huo Huo. She is very cute. Don’t underestimate her. She is an expert in dealing with supernatural events... As for this one, she is even more important. You can call her Little Star."

Stelle: "..."

What the hell is Little Star? When did I get such a nickname?

"Let's go, fam, let's go in and see what's going on inside."

After pushing open the wooden door of the horror house, Guinaifen saw the silver-haired girl sitting at the bar and playing with her phone. She held up a selfie stick and approached, asking mysteriously.


"This beautiful girl should be the owner of the store. Fam, let Little Gui find out some information for you first~"

"Oh? You're here?"

Hearing the sound of the store door being pushed open, Ilu put away her phone, looked up at the four members of the Ghost-Hunting Squad coming toward her, and noticed the selfie stick in Guinaifen's hand. She raised her eyebrows slightly: "Are you recording a live stream? The signal in the house may not be very good..."

The play scene of the horror house is in the Illusory Realm, which is affected by the power of Heliobus. It is difficult for electronic equipment to send out signals.

"Don't worry, it's not a live stream. We are recording materials. When the time comes, we will edit out the clips that shouldn’t be released."

Reaching out and clicking pause on the phone, Guinaifen explained to her with a smile
.
"Ilu, Bailu just entered your store. Did you see them?"

Stelle glanced around but did not see Bailu. The two people seemed to have disappeared.

"Oh, you mean Bailu? She said she wanted to go in and play, so I let her in."

Hearing Stelle's question, Ilu glanced at the faded silver coffin not far away and continued, "If you want to go in and find her, just lie in it and close your eyes."

Coffin, coffin?

Following the silver-haired girl’s line of sight and seeing the wooden box not far away, Sushang's eyelids twitched. Even if she was slow to react, she noticed something was wrong.

Why lie in it? Could it be that the game scene is underground and you have to crawl down from a mechanism under the coffin?

Or is it an immersive horror experience of the virtual reality type?

This horror house seems to be a little different from what she expected...

"What are the rules of the game?"

Sushang asked curiously. "Also, how many scenes are there?"

"There is only one scene, and the rules are very simple. Just find the exit within the specified time."

Ilu told everyone the rules of the game: "Of course, you can't be caught by the employees of the horror house, otherwise you will lose a life. If you are caught twice, it will be considered a failure and you will lose the qualification to play the game."

"Okay, then let's buy four tickets."

Guinaifen generously took out a large amount of credit points and bought a ticket for everyone in the Ghost-Hunting Squad, and then took the lead in lying in the coffin.

As soon as she entered, she felt a piercing cold, as if a pair of cold hands were stroking her neck.

Huh?

What is this, a prop?

Before Guinaifen could react, she felt something suddenly pull her, her head grew dizzy, and her whole body seemed to fall into some bottomless hole.


When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in a gloomy house that was somewhat similar to Fyxestroll, but fundamentally different.

The long corridor connected all directions like a maze, with a few white paper lanterns hanging above, casting a pale light on the ground. Outside the yard was a lush bamboo forest, where something extremely terrifying seemed to be hidden. Faintly, a few clusters of white ghost fires could be seen wandering in the bamboo forest.

"Where is this... Fyxestroll?"

The gloomy wind blowing from nowhere made Guinaifen’s legs tremble. She quickly glanced around but did not see the rest of the Ghost-Hunting Squad. It seemed that she was the only one who came here.
In order to give herself courage, Guinaifen immediately picked up the selfie stick, coughed twice, and continued to record the material.

"Family, let me show you the setting of this horror house. It’s too real. Although it looks like Fyxestroll, I promise it’s definitely not Fyxestroll!"

She walked along the corridor in a certain direction while looking around, trying to find the figures of the other members of the Ghost-Hunting Squad.

The weeds around the path were high and low, uneven, swaying in the wind, but without making any sound—so quiet that it was scary.

If there is something hidden in it, it may be difficult to find.

"Oh, there is also a puppet here. Could it be that it has something for us to pass the level?"

After walking a few steps, Guinaifen saw a cute little bear puppet sitting in the yard in front of her, with two buttons embroidered on its eyes. She walked over curiously and picked it up to play with it.


Unconsciously, the temperature around her became lower, and she couldn’t find any useful information from the little bear puppet in front of her.

"Squeak—"

Pushing open the dilapidated wooden door, there was a creaking sound. Guinaifen walked slowly forward, and the cold wind blew behind her. Her snow-white skin exposed outside felt a chill, as if something floated on her back, which gave her goosebumps.

She now had the illusion that she was still in Fyxestroll and that the previous experience was just a dream.
 
"Hey, fam, I feel like there's something wrong here... It seems, it seems a little bit off?"

While walking, Guinaifen suddenly heard some noise coming from behind her. She quickly shut her mouth and turned back to look at the dark house behind her. With just one glance, a chill ran up her spine to her brain.

That little bear puppet... had unexpectedly turned its head to look in her direction without her knowing when.

What’s more terrifying was that it was still smiling at her.

Seeing this scene, Guinaifen had the urge to run away.


You know, she had just fiddled with the little bear wooden sculpture for nearly half a minute.


Who would have thought that this thing was actually alive and could move? This was really a bit beyond the scope.

No, what on earth did Ilu put into this horror house? Could she have thrown all of the Heliobi in here?!

"Big sister, let’s play One, Two, Three, Statue, shall we?"

Just then, the little bear puppet suddenly spoke to her in a sinister voice, with a bit of crying in its tone, but also as if it were laughing.

"Ghost!!!"

A high-pitched female voice came from the dark corridor. Guinaifen held up the selfie stick and fled to the other side of the corridor at the fastest speed without hesitation.


However, when she pushed open the red-painted wooden door and entered another house ahead, she was stunned.

What came into view was a familiar little bear puppet. Perhaps it had noticed her arrival. The expression on its face seemed to be smiling, and its head was strangely twisted 180 degrees, its neck tilted as it stared at her.

"Big sister, I know you can’t bear to leave me... Hehe, I’ll come play games with you now!"

"Ghost!!!!!"

Looking at the wooden bear idol in front of her crawling toward her like a baby, Guinaifen felt as if her brain had collapsed.


After such a terrifying visual impact, she couldn’t help but let out a piercing scream. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell straight backward—into a cold embrace.

Before she completely lost consciousness, Guinaifen seemed to hear a familiar girl’s voice, who seemed to be complaining about something.

"Ayan, you’ve gone too far. Before you chase her, you should at least give her some time to react, right?"

"Sorry, Lady White Lily, her emotions just now were so delicious that I couldn’t help it..."

...

"Ahhhh!"

"Ghost!!!"

"Help!!!"

Hearing the screams coming from the Illusory Realm, Ilu immediately realized that something was wrong inside. She stood up from the counter at once, dropped the sign hanging on the door, and rushed into the Illusory Realm.

It was the first day of the horror house’s business. She was worried that these Heliobi didn’t know the seriousness of the matter and might scare Guinaifen and the others into something going wrong. She had to investigate it herself.

The fact was just as Ilu expected.


With the warm welcome of the Heliobi, the Ghost-Hunting Squad enjoyed VIP treatment. On average, 7 or 8 Heliobi served one customer, showing the fullest hospitality as if they were at home. It was only a few minutes later that Sushang and the others were scared and ran around everywhere.

The problem was that there were scare points set up by Ilu everywhere. Whether it was the road signs, the bear puppets on the table, or the surprises hidden in the cabinets, all of them were carefully designed by her.


Stelle and Huo Huo had rich experience dealing with them so they were fine, but Sushang and Guinaifen were nearly scared out of their wits.

"Oh my god, is it really this scary?!"

Looking at the bear puppet not far away crawling toward Guinaifen on its hands and feet, even Ilu, who was well-prepared, was frightened by this strange scene—not to mention Guinaifen, who was the direct victim.

Seeing Guinaifen roll her eyes and collapse to the ground after being scared by the bear puppet, Ilu rushed over to support her and severely reprimanded Suiyue, who was possessing the bear puppet:

"Don’t scare people like this next time, do you hear me? If a customer faints from your shock, what about the other Heliobi? You can’t let them starve, right?"

"I was wrong, Lady Bailin. I was too selfish and didn’t consider the feelings of the other brothers and sisters."

"Alright, go back to work."

Motioning for Ayan to crawl back to the table and continue playing the role of a harmless doll, Ilu picked up the fainted Guinaifen.


Looking at her slightly trembling eyelashes and pale lips, it seemed like she might wake up at any time. Ilu hesitated whether to take Guinaifen back to the store.

But after thinking about it, Ilu gave up on that plan.

Didn’t Guinaifen say before that she wanted to shoot some material in the horror house? She just lost one life. It didn’t seem right to send her out like this. Let her play in the horror house for a while longer.

Of course, it wasn’t a good idea to just leave Guinaifen on the road. Not only could she easily catch a cold, but she might also faint again from shock upon waking.


She needed to be placed somewhere safe.

"Ah! By the way, I almost forgot that there’s a safe place here!"

Noticing the iron cabinet on the side, Ilu’s eyes lit up. She carried Guinaifen to the cabinet, opened the door, and gently placed the orange-haired woman inside.

Very good. Now there was no need to worry that she would faint again when she woke up.

After closing the cabinet door, Ilu clapped her hands in satisfaction and turned around to look for the next victim.

"Hmm..."

After an unknown amount of time, Guinaifen, who was hiding in the cabinet, woke up slowly. She stretched out her hand to rub her eyes and soon recalled her experience before fainting.

Ah! I remember—I was challenging Ilu’s horror house.

Then she encountered a little bear doll on the way and fainted from fright. The one who caught her should have been Miss Ilu.

In other words, I’ve already lost one life...

Realizing she only had one chance left, Guinaifen took a deep breath and cheered herself up in her heart.

Don’t look down on Little Gui's perseverance. It’s just a horror house. I’ll clear it in minutes!

Next, she would make it through the horror house without dying again!

"By the way, the scene just now should have been captured by my phone..."

Suddenly remembering that she seemed to have used her phone to record the ghostly scene of the little bear doll crawling toward her, Guinaifen hurriedly searched for her phone in the cabinet.

Soon, she felt she had touched something cold.

However, the texture wasn’t metal—it felt more like... wood?

Huh?

Guinaifen was stunned for a moment, then realized something. She looked down at what she had just touched. Because the light in the cabinet was too dim, she couldn’t see its shape clearly, so she took out the lighter from her pocket and lit it.

"Puff!"

As the flame of the lighter flickered to life, the cold and darkness around her were dispelled, and Guinaifen finally saw the thing clearly.

It was a faded puppet with a grayish-white body, two buttons for eyes, and a slight smile on its mouth. It stared at her with a grin, and the right hand she had touched was raised high, as if waving and greeting her.

Guinaifen: "..."

Ilu... I’m really convinced.

"Bang!"

The flame went out.


There was a muffled thud of something hitting the cabinet, and then no further movement. The air returned to a deathly silence.

Being able to fall asleep in such a dangerous horror house can only be attributed to the sleep quality of today’s youth—truly enviable.

Compared to Guinaifen’s situation, Sushang’s was even worse.

Just after walking out of a nearby safe point, she saw a puppet head rolling on the ground. The latter seemed to have noticed Sushang and began rolling toward her.

"Hey, am I seeing things?"

Such a bizarre scene made Sushang doubt her eyes. She rubbed them with her hands and looked again at the puppet head rolling toward her with a smile.


A chill instantly surged from her back to the top of her head, and her expression froze on the spot.

The next second, a shrill and terrified scream resounded throughout the garden.

"Don’t come over here!!!"



---



Chapter 84 She Is Really a Little Sleepyhead


"——Ahhhhh!!!!"

Hearing the screams from afar, Huo Huo was looking for the exit in the illusory maze according to the instructions of Tail when she raised her head with a puzzled look and asked the green fox fire floating beside her.

"Tail, did you hear that? What's that sound?"

"I don't know. It sounds like the little girl of the Cloud Knights. She screamed so loudly and looked healthy. She should be fine."

Hearing this, Tail answered casually.

"Is it really okay?"

Huo Huo was a little worried.

It really sounded like Sushang's voice. Should we go over and take a look...

"This is the store opened by the little girl with silver hair. What's wrong? Are you worried that those Heliobi will hurt humans?"

"That's not the case. Forget it. Let's keep going. We have to find Lady Dragon Girl as soon as possible."

After thinking about it, Huo Huo gave up this plan. She was quite far from Sushang's location, and the maze was changing all the time, so it was not easy to get through.

What she could do now was to leave as many talismans on the ground as possible to tell people passing by where Heliobus was hiding, so as to effectively prevent them from being ambushed and frightened by Heliobus.

As for Sushang... In this case, she could only leave it to fate, so she wished her good luck.

"Be careful of the puppet bear, and also, be sure to pay attention to the white paper lanterns above your head. They may be disguised by Heliobus... Oops, there seem to be too many words, and I can't write them all."

She picked up the talisman paper man and wrote a few strokes on it. Huo Huo realized that the handwriting that could be accommodated on the paper man was limited, and she couldn't write all the information on it. In this dim light, it was hard to see clearly if it was written too small.

There was no other way. At this time, she could only make some choices...

[Danger ahead]

[Hidden road ahead]

Well, this should be enough.

Holding two yellowed talisman papers with vermilion writing in her hands, Huo Huo contentedly placed one of them on the hidden road leading to the abandoned house in front where Heliobus lived.

Then, under the guidance of her tail, she came to the fake red wall on the other side, placed another note there, and then stepped into it to continue looking for Bailu's trace.

"Hu——"

About three minutes after she left, a sudden gust of cold wind blew, and the positions of the two notes changed slightly.

Soon, everything returned to silence, as if nothing had happened here.





... 

At the same time, in the real world.

"Wow! Family, there’s a new activity gameplay. This version feels like it has too much content!"

After following Guinaifen into the horror house run by Ilu, Jia Hun also unlocked a new activity gameplay—Fyxestroll Fragment.

In simple terms, this is an online game similar to an escape room. Players can play the role of four characters in the Ghost Hunting Squad to cooperate to challenge Ilu's horror house, use cabinets to avoid Heliobus on the road, and find the right way to leave within 3 minutes.

Each character has two lives. If Heliobus catches up, they will lose a life and be teleported to the nearest safe area. If caught twice in a row, they will be eliminated and must quit the game or continue to watch in the form of ghost fire.

In order to enhance immersion, there is no chat function in Fyxestroll Fantasy, but players can use the talisman paper figurines they carry to leave key information on the ground to help others pass the level smoothly.

In addition, the four Ghost Hunting Squad characters also have different skills.

[Huo Huo – Active Skill (15-second CD): Ask Uncle Tail for help, scout a 15-meter radius, and highlight Heliobus in red for 5 seconds.
Passive Skill: Your presence is relatively low, making it harder for Heliobus to detect you while moving, but your legs tremble when near Heliobus, reducing your movement speed.]

[Trailblazer – Active Skill (15-second CD): Rules are meant to be broken. Swing a baseball bat to hit nearby Heliobus, stunning it for 3 seconds.
Passive Skill: You’re very brave and will not be frightened after triggering Heliobus.]

[Guinaifen – Active Skill (15-second CD): Give everyone a hard time. Place firecrackers on the ground to make noise and attract nearby Heliobus without current targets. Lasts for 5 seconds.
Passive Skill: All eyes are on you. You have an increased probability of attracting Heliobus (slightly lower than firecrackers).]

[Sushang – Active Skill (15-second CD): How can Cloud Knight Swordsmanship be used to escape? Greatly increases movement speed for 3 seconds, but stops for 1 second afterward.
Passive Skill: After triggering Heliobus, you have a 50% chance to increase movement speed and a 50% chance to stop and rest in place.]

"It looks like this mode is very interesting. After completing the task, I’ll select a few lucky viewers in the live stream, and let’s try it."

After taking a look at the activity gameplay of Fyxestroll Fragment, Jia Hun immediately became interested.

However, she needed to investigate the “Twin Bond” commission regarding Bailu’s disappearance.


For the time being, she couldn’t play this mode online with friends. She could only play the story tutorial level of Fyxestroll Fragment alone, controlling the Trailblazer to find Bailu’s trace in this fantasy maze.

As soon as she entered the game map of Fyxestroll Fragment, Jia Hun was startled by the eerie and strange background music.

"Damn! It’s this familiar map again. It brings back some bad memories."

Looking at the familiar abandoned house, rusty iron cabinet, and white paper lantern hanging overhead, she couldn’t help but recall her previous experience of being tortured to death by false information, and her pretty face immediately darkened.

[Tips:]

[There are three types of Heliobus in this Fyxestroll Maze. Please keep your distance and do not disturb them, or you’ll be endlessly chased. Of course, you can also choose to hide in cabinets to escape.]

[1. Puppet Bear: A group of puppets made by Ilu herself. If you approach within three meters, they’ll be alerted and crawl toward you at an alarming speed. If caught, you lose one life point.]

[2. Paper Lantern: Heliobus disguised in white paper lanterns will slowly chase you when passed. If caught, you’ll enter a “possessed” state, possibly moving in the wrong direction and unable to leave messages or enter cabinets. This state is removed upon revival.]

[3. Talisman Paper Man: These aren’t messages from other players but monsters disguised as Heliobus. They leave completely false information. Don’t believe them!]

"I understand. Avoid the puppet bears and paper lanterns on the road, and don’t trust any of the talisman paper figures you meet, right?"

After simply reading the game prompts, Jia Hun said she understood, and her brain claimed it had learned it. She immediately controlled the Trailblazer to search for Bailu along the corridor.

Because it was a story mission, with guidance from the system, she could clearly see the mission target’s location.

Next, she only needed to walk forward along the corridor. If she encountered Heliobus, she would hide in the nearest cabinet.


How simple! She would master it just by hearing it—no difficulty at all!

"Sushang: Don’t come over here!!!"

Just then, Jia Hun suddenly heard a scream not far away and saw a familiar figure running from the corridor ahead. It was her good teammate—Sushang.

"Stelle: Sushang?"

"Sushang: Run! It’s chasing us!"

"Hey, why is she running... Oh my god! What the hell is that?!"

Just wondering why Sushang was running so fast, Jia Hun saw the puppet head rolling toward them from the corner of her eye. She widened her eyes in horror and controlled the Trailblazer to run back the way they came without hesitation.

Not far behind the Trailblazer, there was a rusty iron cabinet.

There is only one safe spot within a hundred meters.

And only one person can hide in each cabinet—that is, only one of her and Sushang can survive.

Survival or destruction, Jiahun had already made a choice.

"Sushang: Help! Stelle!"

"Sushang: Wuwu, I can't run anymore!"

"Sorry! Sushang, I really can't give you this cabinet!"

While the brown-haired girl ran out of breath and had to stop to rest, Jiahun resolutely controlled the Trailblazer to rush to the side of the iron cabinet, opened the door, and hid in it.

Then, she locked it from the inside, and Sushang could not open the door no matter how hard she knocked.


After a few seconds, she heard a shrill scream full of fear, and then there was a dead silence outside, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing her confusing operation, the barrage in the live broadcast room was immediately filled with question marks:

[??]

[Why didn’t Jiahun save her teammate?]

[No, you should’ve helped her—hit it with the bat!]

[Oh no, Sushang, the professional ghost runner, lost a life right at the start. How will she fight later?]

"Ah! Damn, I forgot about the skill!"

After being reminded by the barrage, Jiahun realized that the Trailblazer had a skill that could knock out Heliobus. Because she panicked, she had actually forgotten about it.

Thinking of this, she quickly pushed open the cabinet door, but Sushang and the rolling puppet head had already disappeared. No one knew where they had gone.

"Wuwuwu! Sorry, Shang, I hurt you. If I see a cabinet next time, I’ll let you go in first!"

[Sushang: Thank you~]

[The fans who play online with Jiahun later will probably feel very disappointed seeing this scene.]

[The host convinced the fans to quit with her skills (funny.jpg)]

[Good thing this game isn’t online. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how desperate the player controlling Sushang must feel.]


....

"Help! There’s a ghost!!!"

"Sushang?"

Seeing the figure running toward her from not far away, Stelle recognized her at a glance. Spotting the puppet head chasing after Sushang, she immediately understood where the scream had come from.

"This way!"

She immediately waved to Sushang, who looked like she’d just seen a savior. She completely abandoned her usual demeanor… not that she had much of one to begin with.


But it was the first time Stelle had seen Sushang cry—she seemed truly terrified by Heliobus in this horror house.

"Quack! It’s you!"

The puppet head chasing Sushang also noticed the gray-haired girl not far away. It recognized her identity at a glance—Gray Peony, its master's former best friend, and the wretched woman who later betrayed the master.

Damn it! I really want to possess her and make this woman cry and apologize to Lord White Lily.


But unfortunately, Lord White Lily said not to harm anyone who enters this fantasy.

Forget it. Let’s go find someone else to play with.

The puppet head spun on the ground for a while, then rolled back the way it came, letting the two in front of it go.

"Wuwuwu! Stelle, luckily you’re here, otherwise I don’t know what I’d do!"

Sushang hugged Stelle’s arm like she was clutching a lifeline. Her face was pale, lips bloodless, chest heaving violently, and her eyes were filled with tears. The confidence and composure she had shown when first entering the horror house had long vanished, replaced by fear.

Was it scary?

Yes, it was scary.

"It’s okay. That thing’s gone back. It’s safe here."

Stelle simply comforted her with a few words, and once Sushang had calmed down and stopped trembling, she asked.

"By the way, Sushang, have you seen Huo Huo and Guinaifen?"

"I don’t know, I didn’t see them..."

Sushang shook her head. She had just entered the game scene and had been spotted by Heliobus. Although she knew it wasn’t a demon in the traditional sense, she still couldn’t overcome her inner fear and instinctively turned and ran away.

"We have to hurry up and regroup, then find Bailu and Luxie."

"How... how do we regroup? This place is like a maze. I was completely lost until I met you."

"Pay attention to the talisman paper figurines on the ground. Those are the clues Huo Huo left for us."

"Talisman paper dolls?"

Following Stelle’s gaze, Sushang soon saw a yellowed paper figurine placed on the edge of a red wall not far away. She had seen similar paper dolls by the roadside before but hadn’t paid them much attention.

"So it was left by Huo Huo?"

Knowing the paper figurine was actually left by Huo Huo, Sushang overcame her fear and walked over to pick it up. On it was a line of small writing:

[There is a hidden road ahead]

"Hidden road?"

Seeing the handwriting, Sushang looked up and glanced around, blinking in confusion.

"Where is it? Why can’t I see it?"

"Guess why it’s called a hidden road?"

Hearing this, Stelle showed a meaningful smile. She stretched her hand to the other side of the red wall, then stepped through it as Sushang watched in shock, disappearing into the wall.

You can actually walk through here?!

Sushang swallowed hard, then followed Stelle’s footsteps through the wall and entered a hidden passage she never could have entered before.







The person who designed this maze is so insidious. Unless you have no choice but to bang your head against the wall, who would discover that you can walk through here?

"Wait, no—why are there so many puppet bears here?"

As soon as she stepped into this hidden path, Stelle felt that the air around her was a little colder. She looked up at the white paper lantern hanging above her head and felt more and more that something was wrong.

"Hiss... Why does it feel so eerie here?"

Sushang following her also noticed something was wrong. The atmosphere became increasingly strange. She felt as if pairs of eyes were peering at her from the surrounding darkness.

Wait, what’s that over there?

Sushang looked at the slightly opened gap in the courtyard gate in the distance. There, an eye made of buttons was staring straight at them.

"Creak—"

The shabby wooden doors slowly opened to both sides without any wind, and the owner of the button eye appeared in front of them.

It was a puppet bear with its mouth sewn shut. The corners of its lips were raised high, giving it a grotesque smile.

Behind it, standing or sitting, were more than a dozen puppet bears of different sizes, all with their heads twisted 90 degrees, all casting eerie smiles at them.

"What the hell!"

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Stelle was still frightened by the bizarre and terrifying scene. She took two steps back, her face pale, and her whole body felt unwell.

She now suspected that Ilu was really controlled by the Heliobi. Otherwise, how could such a gentle and kind person come up with something so nightmarish?

"Wuwu..."

And Sushang behind her, she felt her legs go weak. She couldn’t move at all and couldn’t even scream.

As if realizing something, Sushang looked up and saw a faint ghost fire emerging from the white lantern above her head, and Heliobus, hidden inside, floated out and slowly flew toward them.

"Ghost!!!!"

Seeing this scene, the last string in Sushang's mind snapped. She let out a shrill cry and ran toward the red wall they had come from without hesitation.

Under the gaze of the gray-haired girl, she slammed into the wall headfirst. Her eyes turned into mosquito coils. After swaying twice, she collapsed to the ground and fainted.

What happened?!

They had clearly come in through the hidden door here—why did Sushang hit the wall?

Stelle rushed over and helped Sushang up, checking her condition. She was relieved only after confirming that the brown-haired girl in her arms was just asleep and otherwise fine. She turned her head and looked at the red wall beside her.

"Hey, this is..."

Only then did Stelle notice a talisman paper doll beside the wall. When they had entered, they had stepped over it and hadn't noticed the note hidden by the wall.

She picked up the note and looked at it. There was a line of small writing on it:

[The door cannot be opened from this side]

Stelle: "..."

Which little genius came up with this mechanism? Aren’t you afraid someone will come asking about your family?

... 

Meanwhile, in the real world.

After losing her companions, Jiahun controlled the Trailblazer to search for the Dragon Girl’s trail alone. Soon, she arrived at a red wall, where two paper talismans were posted.

[Danger ahead]

[Hidden road ahead]

"Which one should I choose?"

Looking at the familiar prompt, Jiahun’s indecision kicked in again. Facing the two red walls in front and behind, and the various riddlers in the chat, she felt like her brain was going to explode.

After hesitating for a long time, Jiahun finally chose the red wall marked [Hidden road ahead].

She decided to trust Huo Huo one last time. Then—

"Ahhhhh!!! Why can't the door be opened!!!"

After being chased out of the yard by several puppet bears, Jiahun returned to the location of the red wall.

Just as she was about to go back through it, she found herself stuck in front of the wall—she couldn’t get through at all.

Only then, with the chat's reminder, did she notice that there was a third paper talisman figurine next to the wall.

[The door cannot be opened from this side]

"Oh my god! You **** designer, are you sick?!"

After being chased by the creepy-sounding puppet bears and sent back to a nearby safe area, Jiahun completely broke down. She ignored the ladylike persona she had built up before, pointed at the screen, and began spewing sweet profanities.

"Bailu: Luxie... Let’s, let’s go back. It’s so scary here!"

"Luxie: Ah, it’s so fun here. It makes me feel like I’m back home. Why don’t you stay with me here for a while?"

"Bailu: But..."

Just then, Jiahun suddenly heard Bailu talking to someone outside the cabinet. She immediately quieted down and listened carefully.

The task interface on the left also popped up at this time, indicating that she could now leave the cabinet and meet Bailu.

...

"Wow!!!"

Seeing Bailu and Heliobus—disguised as her—passing by the cabinet, Stelle immediately opened the cabinet door and jumped out in front of them.

Bailu was so startled her fur stood on end. She stepped back in fear until she recognized who it was and finally relaxed.

"It turned out to be Sister Stelle. You scared me. I thought I’d run into one of those weird things."

"Yes, it’s me."

Stelle’s gaze swept across Bailu’s face and finally landed on Luxie. She put her hands on her hips and spoke in a tone like an adult scolding a child.

"Luxie, why did you bring Bailu to this place?"

"As you can see, I’m playing a game with Bailu, challenging this horror house."

Looking at the approaching Stelle, Luxie stared back warily.

"What, are you here to take Bailu away?"

"Yes, she can’t stay with you."

After saying that, Stelle turned to look at Bailu and asked.

"Let’s not talk about anything else. Bailu, are you really willing to stay in such a gloomy and scary place?"

"I..."

Hearing this, Bailu fell silent. She really didn’t like staying in the horror house.

But she had few friends since she was a child. Now that a friend had finally invited her to play a game, how could she refuse?


"Tsk, adults are really bad. They even want to ruin the rare playtime of children."

Seeing that Bailu was swayed by the words of the gray-haired girl in front of him, Luxie couldn’t help but glare at Stelle. They grabbed Bailu’s sleeve and prepared to take her away by force.

However, at this moment, Huo Huo’s voice suddenly came from behind them, instantly putting them on alert.

"Ah! Stelle, Bailu, I finally found you!"

Following the traces left on the ground, Huo Huo, under the guidance of Uncle Tail, ran over holding a flag and happened to block their retreat.


Seeing this, Luxie immediately realized something was wrong.

Oh no, just a few words, and its escape route was blocked by the judge of the Ten-Lords Commission. This must be a trap set by that gray-haired woman!

Adults! Despicable!

Glancing at the puppets scattered on the ground not far away and seeing that there were ready-made puppets to use, Luxie didn’t hesitate to separate a part of itself and possess one of them. While controlling the puppets to stand up from the ground, they spoke in a harsh tone.

"You bad guys, since you insist on spoiling the fun, don’t blame Luxie for using violence to talk to you!"

Stelle: "..."

Huo Huo: "..."

"Hmm?"

Seeing the two casting strange glances at him at the same time, Luxie frowned and asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Just then, it felt itself being lifted by a pair of cold hands.


Luxie quickly looked back and found that a silver-haired girl had appeared behind him without anyone noticing—it was the owner of this horror house, Ilu.

"Don’t destroy the props in the horror house. I should have told you before you came in, right?"

Luxie: "..."

It tried to escape from the puppets made of faded ginkgo branches, but a strange suction force from nowhere pulled at it, making it unable to escape from the puppet’s body. Its movement was greatly restricted and it could only move within a range of two or three meters.

Damn it! I don’t believe you can keep me!

Realizing that they seemed to have stepped into some kind of trap, Luxie immediately felt something was off. It quickly decided to possess the silver-haired girl next to it and use her to threaten Stelle and the judge.

Good news: it succeeded.

Bad news: there was a black hole inside.

"Despicable!!!"

Luxie couldn’t help but let out a cry of grief when it realized that it had just jumped from a small trap into a bigger one.

But it was too late for regrets. It completely lost its freedom and was trapped in a birdcage formed by the Power of Abundance.

…

"It's so funny. This is the result of running around. You can’t get out now. Haha."

In the real world, Jiahun also saw Luxie’s magical move—first binding itself to one of Ilu’s hand-made creations, then choosing to possess Ilu herself. No one could save them now.

"Bailu: Hmm, this is... Did I do a lot of strange things?"

With Luxie's disappearance, the power of Heliobus attached to Bailu quickly dissipated. Bailu's half-open, dazed eyes gradually regained clarity.


Although her memory was somewhat jumbled, she still remembered doing some odd things.

"Stelle: It’s okay, Bailu. Just think of it as a dream where you played freely."

"Ilu: Stelle, Huo Huo, now that Bailu has woken up, do you still want to continue playing in the horror house? Do you need me to take you out?"

"Huo Huo: Well, it’s getting late, it’s time to go home... Ah! By the way, where are Guinaifen and Sushang? Where did they go?"

"Stelle: I only saw Sushang. She hit a wall and fainted earlier and was sent to a cabinet by Heliobus. As for Guinaifen, I haven’t seen her."

"Ilu: I saw Guinaifen not long ago. She should be recording materials right now."

"Stelle: Let’s go, let’s bring them upstairs."

...

"Hmm..."

After an unknown amount of time, Guinaifen who was hiding in a cabinet slowly woke up. She reached up and rubbed the back of her head, aching from the blow. Her mind was full of nonsense, and it took a while for her to recall what happened before she fainted.

She remembered that she was challenging Ilu’s horror house.

Then she ran into a little bear puppet on the way and fainted from fear.

That means she'd already lost one life...

Wait, why does this sentence sound so familiar?


Had she said something like that before?

No matter what, she needd to find Bailu first and get out of here!

Guinaifen took a deep breath and cheered herself on inwardly.

Don’t underestimate the perseverance of little Gui! It’s just a horror house. As long as I understand the rules, I’ll clear it in minutes!

Next time, I won’t die even once. Uh... No, wait, I think I’ve said this before.

Weird, why do I have such a strong sense of déjà vu?

"I keep feeling like I forgot something. Is it just my imagination... Oh, right! My phone!"

Suddenly remembering that she had taken a picture of the little bear puppet crawling toward her on all fours before fainting, Guinaifen hurriedly searched for her phone.

Soon, she felt something cold—but it wasn’t metal, it was wood.

Hmm? What is this?

Sensing something was wrong, Guinaifen frowned slightly and instinctively took out her lighter...


Wait, why is there a lighter in my hand? When did I take it out?

Am I under some kind of illusion?

After thinking it over, Guinaifen still couldn’t remember when she took out the lighter, so she simply gave up on thinking.

"Puff!"

Soon, as the lighter’s flame ignited, the surrounding cold and darkness were dispelled, and Guinaifen saw the object clearly again.

It was a faded gray-white puppet with two button eyes, the corners of its mouth slightly raised. It smiled at her and lifted its right hand high, as if waving in greeting.

Guinaifen: "..."

She remembered, she remembered everything, and those suppressed memories came flooding back!

Hahaha! You’re camping my respawn point, aren’t you?! I’m truly impressed!

"Bang!"

Accompanied by the dull sound of something heavy hitting the iron cabinet, the flames were extinguished again, and everything returned to silence.

"Is it here?"

"Yeah, it’s nearby."

"Strange, why is there only one phone? Where did Guinaifen go?"

Not long after, the Ghost Hunting Squad arrived with Sushang, who had a big bump on her head and was still asleep. Seeing the lone phone on the ground and the still-closed iron cabinet not far away, Ilu who was walking in front was stunned.

Strange, why is Guinaifen sleeping so soundly?


Could she still be inside, hiding to sleep?

It’s been so long and she hasn’t woken up yet. She really is a little sleepyhead.


---

Chapter 85 Fu Xuan: Is this still the Divination Commission?

"Is she sleeping?"

"It seems so... Wait, why is there a bump on her head?"

"Never mind, let's move her out first."

Looking at Guinaifen sleeping soundly in the closet, Ilu reached out and took her out, and as for the mobile phone holder on the ground, she gave it to Bailu for safekeeping.

Well... Little Gui is heavier than expected. She heard that humans are heavier when they are unconscious than when they are awake. It seems that this is true.

However, the muscles are quite strong. It seems that this joint performance artist has also exercised a lot, probably to prepare for acrobatics.

After weighing it gently in his hand twice, Ilu put Guinaifen on the faded silverwood stretcher originally prepared for Sushang. The two beautiful girls squeezed together, and the picture looked warm and happy... Well, probably.

"Move aside, let me check her out!"


Seeing this, Bailu rolled up her sleeves and took the initiative to come over to give the unconscious Guinaifen a physical examination.


As a professional Alchemy Commission doctor, she diagnosed the reason why Guinaifen fainted soon after she started to check—just like Sushang, she suffered a head impact. "The diagnosis results are out. Miss Guinaifen has suffered multiple head injuries, and excessive sweating and muscle spasms caused by excessive shock. It is not ruled out that she may have a concussion. You have to check her out after you go out!"


Although the conclusion sounds a bit outrageous, it is indeed true. Just from the big bump on her head, you can see that she was hit hard.

"Head injury?"


Hearing her analysis, Ilu held her chin with one hand as if thinking, looking at Guinaifen with doubts and confusion in her eyes.


It was understandable that Sushang had a bump on her head—after all, she hit her head against the wall. Anyone would have a big bump on their head, but she couldn't figure out that Guinaifen had been sleeping in the closet. How did she get hurt?

Could it be that she hit her head on the closet door after waking up?

Well... forget it, since she can't think of it, she'll just forget about it.

After confirming that nothing was missing, Ilu led everyone out of the illusion and returned to the haunted house.

Time passed quickly. Although they didn't feel that much time had passed in the illusion, when they came out, it was already very dark outside. After chatting for a while, Bailu and Huohuo took the two unconscious people to the nearest clinic, while Ilu followed Stelle back to the Petrichor Inn.

"It's getting late. Let's go to bed early. See you tomorrow."

While Stelle was not paying attention, Ilu prepared to sneak back to her room.

However, just as she was about to close the door and turn off the lights, Stelle suddenly reached out and grabbed the door handle, showing her a "kind" smile. "Ilu, did you forget something?"

"Forget, what did you forget?"
Ilu asked back with a guilty conscience.

"Do you need me to remind you?"

Pulling the door open a wider gap, Stelle stared at the silver-haired girl, her eyes as bright as sparks, and said with a smile. "For example... White Lily?"

"I'm not White Lily, I'm Ilu."

Ilu replied without changing her expression.

"..."

Hearing this, Stelle remained silent, like an ancient Buddha in meditation, just staring at her with her hands folded across her chest.


No matter how much Ilu blinked, the gray-haired girl in front of her did not respond.

Unhappy!

She is visibly unhappy now!

"Uh..."

Ilu could feel that the atmosphere seemed to be getting weird. If she couldn't give a reasonable explanation tonight, she didn't dare to think about what would happen next.

If Stelle shouted "Damn Ilu, you dare to tease me, I'm going to explode with you," and then rushed into her room regardless of everything, then she might not be able to sleep well tonight.

Thinking of this, Ilu sighed helplessly, pushed the door open and motioned for Stelle to come in.

"This is a long story, let's talk in the room..."

"Okay."

Ten minutes later—

The lights went out, and the two lay on the bed, facing each other and talking about what happened during the day.

"So, in order to share the pressure for me, you responded to those Heliobus's wishes and became the 'Lord of Fyxestroll Garden'?"

Stelle frowned when she learned that Ilu was targeted by the Heliobus when she had just entered Fyxestroll. When she heard that the Heliobus captured by Ilu were willing to support her as the "Lord of Fyxestroll Garden," the expression on her face became more colorful.

"That's right."

"Then why didn't you hint to me earlier?"

"I hinted a long time ago. I thought you could understand."

"...Are you saying I'm a fool?"

Hearing Ilu's answer, Stelle asked back with a face full of resentment.

"No, no, no, in my eyes, you have always been a fool."

The silver-haired girl shook her finger and said to her with a smile: "Because of this, the performance between us was perfectly coordinated and successfully deceived all those Heliobus."

"Bad Ilu, take it!"

Realizing that Ilu was making fun of her, Stelle was embarrassed and annoyed and waved the pillow and smashed it at the silver-haired girl in front of her.

"Gray Peony! It's time for me, White Lily, to settle accounts with you, the traitor!"

After being hit for a while, Ilu was not to be outdone and raised the pillow to hit her.

"Bang!"

"Pah!"

The two of them fought this pillow battle for a full half an hour. With the advantage of body size, Stelle had the upper hand, but Ilu who had a rich supply of Abundance essence was obviously stronger in endurance. She quickly turned the situation around and suppressed Stelle firmly.

Finally, both sides were exhausted and agreed to a ceasefire agreement. Driven by sleepiness, they lay on the bed and fell asleep, and slept until dawn.

"Dong Dong!"

Hearing someone knocking on the door, Stelle opened her eyes and looked at the silver-haired girl who was sleeping soundly beside her. She rubbed her eyes with her hand and came to the door in her pajamas to open it for her.

"Who is it... uh, March?"

"Stelle, why is it you... no, what are you doing in Ilu's room?!"

Seeing that it was Stelle who opened the door, March 7th was a little surprised and almost thought she had come to the wrong room.

But after confirming that this was indeed Ilu's room, she instantly felt a sense of loss, as if she had missed 5 million credit points.

"We... ah! We are discussing the matter of Fyxestroll."

"Fyxestroll?"

"Hmm..."

March 7th had been staying on the Express for the past two days. She occasionally went out to Aurum Alley to taste snacks. She didn't know about Fyxestroll. Stelle had to briefly explain to her that Guinaifen invited them to investigate supernatural events.

"Damn it! Why didn't you take me with you for such a good thing!"

Knowing that the two of them ran to an abandoned garden to explore without her knowledge, March 7th puffed up her mouth angrily, as if to say "I'm going to be angry, come and comfort me quickly."

"Sorry, it's very dangerous inside. Ilu and I were both possessed by Heliobus. We finally solved the problem there yesterday."

"Okay, remember to call me next time if there's something fun."

"Fun things... well, there are actually some. Ilu opened a haunted house in Aurum Alley. If you have time, you can go and take a look."

After hearing what March 7th said, Stelle thought for a while and decided to tell her the location of the haunted house run by Ilu.

This time she really didn't lie. It was really fun there. It was the kind of thing that you would never forget after playing it once. It was guaranteed to be a deep memory.

"Really?"

"Yes, it was really fun. Sushang fainted from excitement yesterday."

Stelle nodded and said seriously. "The little bear doll is very cute. There are also talisman paper dolls on the ground to tell you how to go. It's very easy to pass the level~"

March 7th: "..."

After you said that, I suddenly didn't want to go.

"Well, March, you're here..."

Just then, Ilu woke up, yawned sleepily, got dressed, put on her slippers, and came to the door. She greeted March 7th and learned that the reason for her visit was to inform them about the next destination of the Express.

Before going to the abnormal Star System, they may have to go back to the Herta Space Station first.

As for the reason, it's very simple, because the Simulated Universe "Swarm Disaster" has been completed, and Herta is eager for them to experience it.

It happened that there were still 5 days before the departure time of the Express, and it was no problem to take 3 days to go back to the space station.

"Ding—"

After seeing off March 7th, Stelle's phone rang again. She picked up the phone and looked down. It was a message sent by Guinaifen in the group chat of the Ghost Hunting Squad.

【Guinaifen: @Stelle @Huohuo, hi! Hello everyone, Little Guizi is back with full HP!】

【Sushang: (Me too.jpg)】

【Stelle: Are you awake? Does your head still hurt?】

【Guinaifen: It hurts a little. I don't remember much about yesterday, but it's nothing serious. I uploaded the video I took before I fainted to the site and got a lot of likes!】

【Stelle: Really? Congratulations~】

Opening Luofu Za-Zu and taking a look at Guinaifen's subscription account, Stelle found that it already had more than 17,000 subscribers. The video was released in the early morning yesterday and had hundreds of thousands of views in less than 10 system hours, which can be said to be a great success.

Many of the comments below were asking about the location of the horror house, and some people asked if it was an item or special effect. In short, the discussion was very lively, and Ilu's horror house also became popular.


After all, she had appeared on camera before. Who wouldn't want to come and have a look at the horror house opened by a gentle and lovely silver-haired beauty?

Haha, although Stelle knew that this was a trap set by Ilu, she would not remind these people. On the contrary, she would add fuel to the fire.

As for those who asked who Illu was, Stelle pretended not to see them and ignored them all.

【Galaxy Baseball Man: The bear doll in the horror house is very cute. If you get its favor, it will follow you home. Don't be afraid if you get lost easily. There are talismans on the ground to tell you how to go. It's very easy to pass the level. Highly recommended. Five stars~】

As soon as the comment was posted, she received a lot of replies.

【I heard from the elderly that people who often go to the horror house to relieve stress can usually delay the arrival of Mara】

【Really? If there’s such a good thing, then I have to try it】

【Wow! There’s also a bear that follows you home? I must go and take a look】

【It sounds very suitable for people like me who are timid and easily lost】

【Am I the only one who was attracted by the store owner's appearance?】

【I know this lady boss! She used to sell barbecue in Aurum Alley. Her barbecue is delicious. I believe her horror house will definitely not be bad】

【Oh, as an old customer, I must support her!】

Looking at the consistent replies in the comment area, Stelle couldn't hold back her smile.


As someone who had personally experienced the improved version of the Fyxestroll Illusion, she knew how deep the pit was, and even experienced supernatural enthusiasts might not be able to withstand it.

If nothing unexpected happens, Ilu might be busy today — after all, monitoring the life and safety of every customer is also part of the store's job responsibilities.

【Guinaifen: If you are ready, let’s gather at the old place in Fyxestroll】

"Goodbye, Ilu, I'm going to catch Heliobus with Guinaifen and the others."

Seeing the message from Guinaifen, Stelle was ready to leave. She said hello to the silver-haired girl who was browsing her phone and prepared to leave the inn.

"Then goodbye for now... ah, wait a minute, I almost forgot something!"


Seeing Stelle about to leave, Ilu remembered something and hurriedly called her, handing a silver wooden tablet with a faint blue fire to Stelle: "Take this, and crush it when you encounter a Heliobus you can't deal with."

"What is this?" Stelle took the silver wooden tablet in her hand and played with it curiously.


Although it looked a bit ordinary, she knew that the things Ilu gave her were definitely not junk that could be found everywhere, but were all top-notch treasures.

"This is a one-time illusion ticket. I put a Heliobus inside. After you crush the wooden sign and remove the seal, it will take you to a large illusion created by dozens of Heliobi. Once other Heliobus enter, it will be difficult to escape."

"Wow, it sounds amazing. Thank you so much!"

After saying goodbye to Ilu, Stelle went to Fyxestroll to meet the Ghost Hunting Squad. Seeing the bandages wrapped around Guinaifen and Sushang's heads, she felt a little amused.

"Are you two okay? Do you want to rest for a while?"

"It's okay. I just accidentally hit my head yesterday. Miss Bailu said that we are fine and can move normally."

"That's good."

Seeing that Guinaifen was full of energy and didn't look like a wounded person, Stelle was relieved.

From this point of view, not only is the business of the horror house booming today, but the business of the clinic will not be too bad either. The doctors should be very busy these days.

Well... it seems that Bailu has to bring a professional medical team to the horror house to help.

"Good morning, Stelle. Shall we start today's operation?" Huo Huo waved and greeted her.

"The special handling action team for the Heliobi escape incident under the Ten-Lords Commission, referred to as the Ghost Hunting Squad, has to cheer up and start working again! Yeah!" Guinaifen said excitedly with her hands on her hips.

Huo Huo: "?"

Didn't Miss Guinaifen faint yesterday? Why does she look so energetic today?

"Because her video yesterday was popular and had a very high number of clicks."

As if she saw Huo Huo's doubts, Sushang leaned close to her ear and whispered: "In addition, her subscription volume has also increased by more than 10,000... Well, how to describe it, it looks very impressive!"

Huo Huo: "..."

Although she doesn't understand what it means, it does sound like something worth celebrating. It can be seen that Miss Guinaifen likes this job very much.

"By the way, let me show you this post."

Just then, Guinaifen seemed to remember something. She quickly picked up her phone and sent the link to the group chat. When Stelle clicked on the link, a post popped up in the Luofu ZaZu. The poster's ID was "Playing with Cards":

【Title: I was late for work as usual today, and found that everyone was talking nonsense】

【#GhostSightingRecord#, the coordinates are inconvenient to disclose due to the department. It's really strange. I found that everyone was not right when I went to work today. They looked haggard and their eyes were blank...

No one spoke. The whole Divination Commission was full of ghosts. I was so scared that I didn't even have the interest to play cards.

What’s even weirder is that I wanted to slip away when no one was paying attention, but I bumped into the Head Diviner. She didn’t even ask about my attendance, so I was late as usual. I think something supernatural must have happened here!】

"This message..."

After reading the post, Huo Huo frowned slightly and whispered: "According to the poster’s description, the situation inside is very consistent with the appearance of Heliobus parasitism. If a confidential department like the Divination Commission is also occupied by Heliobus, it will be troublesome."

"Let’s go and take a look."

After accepting the investigation commission, the Ghost Hunting Squad began to get ready to go. After beating Cirrus as usual and getting the information, they came to the vicinity of the Divination Commission and found the poster named "Playing with Cards" — Qingque.

On the other side, in the horror house located in Aurum Alley, Ilu had just taken down the sign outside the store and saw a long line at the door.


Thirty or forty people were whispering and discussing something. When they saw Ilu coming out of the house, everyone stood at attention and greeted her.

"You..."

Knowing that these people were attracted by the supernatural video released by Guinaifen, Ilu was a little amused and didn’t know what to say for a while.

Since everyone is willing to dedicate their emotional value to Heliobus, she naturally has no reason to refuse. Everyone who comes is a guest. Ilu enthusiastically sent every customer into the Fyxestroll Illusion and then sent the fainted customers out without stopping. It can be said that she was quite busy.

However, she could also feel that the Heliobus were slowly recovering their strength. She believed it wouldn’t take long.


At this rate, it might only take two days to restore them to the state before the battle with Jing Yuan.


At that time, letting these Heliobus serve as bodyguards for the Astral Express would also be a great help.

Listening to the continuous screams in the illusion, a relieved smile appeared on the face of the silver-haired girl.

Well, it sounds like everyone is having a lot of fun, so it is worth it for her to be a little tired.

If she has time while waiting, she will try to put more bear puppets inside to enrich the customers' experience and make them feel at home.

---

At the same time, in the real world.

After completing the task commission of "Twin Bonds," Jiahun immediately took on the task called "Percipient" and came to the door of the Divination Commission to find Qingque, who had been waiting for a long time.



"Qingque: Oh, you're here! How come even a judge from the Ten-Lords Commission is here?"

"Stelle: What's the situation inside?"

"Qingque: Let me tell you, the situation inside the Divination Commission isn’t right now. Everyone is mumbling something. I wonder if they’re preparing to overthrow their superiors..."

"Overthrowing your superiors? That’s a beautiful thought. Subordinates cannot kiss their superiors."

While complaining about the quest dialogue, Jia Hun clicked on the option and told Qingque about the purpose of the Ghost Hunting Squad and Heliobus's affairs.

Ah?

Upon learning that the Divination Commission was likely to have been occupied by Heliobus, Qingque tilted her head with confusion.


It was obvious she was baffled by this matter. Clearly, she didn’t know why Heliobus suddenly appeared or why they targeted the Divination Commission.

However, although she didn’t know the details, Qingque still knew that the Divination Commission was in crisis. She immediately volunteered to bring the Ghost Hunting Squad inside.


... 

"What are they doing?"

As soon as she entered the Divination Commission, Sushang saw a group of people gathered in front of the Matrix of Prescience in the distance, seemingly discussing something.

"Everyone... are you okay?"

Qingque walked up and tried to greet her colleagues, but they just glanced at her and then turned their attention back to the Matrix of Prescience, with no intention of responding.

Qingque: "..."

Well, just like before, she was still ignored.

In addition to these colleagues who seemed to be possessed, she also had other concerns—like the red glow of the Matrix of Prescience in the sky, which gave people an ominous premonition.

"Matrix of Prescience... how did it become like this..."

"I don't know, but Master Diviner Fu is standing in the center of the Matrix of Prescience. What is she doing?"

Looking at Fu Xuan standing in the center of the Matrix of Prescience, not knowing what she was doing, Huo Huo asked curiously.

"Looking at her mumbling, she should be calculating the route or the future, just like in the past."

Qingque's expression became serious. "But the Matrix of Prescience isn't moving at all. Something's wrong. Very wrong."

"However, let’s shake the Harmonic Chine and try..."

Hearing Huo Huo's suggestion, Stelle picked up the bell and shook it.


Soon, Fu Xuan noticed their arrival, frowning like a kitten about to explode, with displeasure written all over her face.

"Silence! No noise in the Divination Commission!"

"You're awake, Master Fu Xuan!"

Qingque was very happy to see Fu Xuan wake up from that weird state, even if she was scolded.

However, Stelle knew very well that they had merely entered the same illusion as the Master Diviner, allowing Fu Xuan—who was possessed by Heliobus—to perceive them. This was not truly awakening.

"...Not necessarily. I think it's more accurate to call her Keralum at this time," Huo Huo whispered.

"It doesn't matter what you call me. Whether it's Fu Xuan or Keralum, we are the only masters of this Divination Commission."

Fu Xuan's attitude was very tough. "The divination work is at a critical juncture, and no one can disturb it. Even judges of the Ten-Lords Commission and guests from the Astral Express are not allowed to act recklessly here..."

Halfway through, she noticed the little one sandwiched between Stelle and Guinaifen, and her expression became even more displeased.

"Qingque! It's you again. Did you bring these outsiders into the commission? Have you ignored all the rules I set on weekdays?"

"Ah..."

Just as Qingque was about to explain, she heard the stern rebuke from the Diviner. 

"Qingque, you are fired!"

Everyone: "!!!"

Ah, fired just like that?!

Hearing Fu Xuan’s words, the Ghost Hunting Squad felt that something was wrong. The master of divination before them didn’t seem very approachable. She fired a diligent employee without a word. She wasn’t like this in the past.

Although Master Diviner Fu was not easy to approach, her patience had become even thinner after being possessed by Heliobus.

If they couldn’t find a proper approach, they would probably be kicked out soon.

"I...? This, this..."

Just as they were thinking of what to do, Qingque, who had been silent, suddenly raised her head, her face flushed, as if she had just won eight rounds of cards in a row. Her excitement could not be hidden in her tone: "This is also great!"

Stelle: "?"

No, sister, you...

"Hehe, I also feel that I’m idle all day, which is not decent. I'm playing cards while getting paid by the Divination Commission. It’s really a bit..." Qingque scratched her hair and said awkwardly.

"Beasts eating free food?"

"That’s not how you use that word!"

Even Sushang knew that was a bad term.

"None of that matters. What matters is, what can we do to get the Grand Master out of her state of obsession?" Qingque asked in a low voice, glancing at Fu Xuan, who was still glaring at her.

"I don't know. She doesn’t seem to want to attack us, nor does she intend to trap us in the maze..."

Even Huo Huowas confused by the current situation. She didn’t know what to do for the moment.

If they couldn’t solve the problem here, they might have to ask Ilu to persuade Heliobus to leave the Grand Master’s body.

"Being possessed? No, I am very clear-headed. I'm in a better state than ever."

When Fu Xuan heard Qingque suspect that she was possessed after leaving, she laughed. It seemed she wanted to prove that she was very clear-headed now. She crossed her arms and looked at the group with pride as she said:

"From now on, I will devote myself to deducing the destined future of the Xianzhou Alliance and reveal those futures to the world, so people can live with clarity... As for ideas like man conquering nature or free will, those are illusions created by the human mind. From the beginning, there has only ever been one path."

"What a twisted theory. I don’t believe it."

Stelle sneered at Fu Xuan—or rather, Keralum's—statement. She didn’t believe in this theory of destiny. Even if the final outcome was destined, there were many different roads to take along the way.

The meaning of the journey was not in the destination, but in the process. Otherwise, what would be the point of life?


You can’t just skip life and go straight to the grave, right?

"Don’t believe it? Oh, then let me show you."


After hearing Stelle’s words, Fu Xuan looked at the gray-haired girl in front of her as if she were a pitiful creature. "Stelle, a chess piece at the disposal of the Stellaron Hunters, boarding the Express, choosing where to go, whom to meet... The choices you thought were yours were just tributaries flowing into the path of destiny."

"For example, the trip where you helped Xianzhou defeat Phantylia—I believe you’ve experienced it yourself—all the outcomes had already been written into the script by the puppeteer behind the scenes."

"And your current choices are just: 'swing a baseball bat and charge at me,' 'refute me loudly but futilely,' or 'fall silent without saying a word.' At most, these three."

"Stelle, tell her you have other choices!"

Qingque patted Stelle’s shoulder, signaling her to speak up against Fu Xuan’s words. But Stelle said nothing.


The two looked at each other as the atmosphere fell into strange silence.

Stelle: "..."

It’s not that I don’t want to say anything... it’s that she already said all my options.

Qingque: "..."

Her eyes revealed disappointment.

"As I said, these insignificant choices cannot change a predetermined fate."

Fu Xuan confidently invited everyone into the illusion behind her. "If you don’t believe me, follow me. I will now show you what is destined."

"Come on! We’re willing to go with you!"

Stelle showed a resolute expression, followed Fu Xuan’s footsteps, and stepped into the illusion—arriving in a gloomy house that resembled Fyxestroll and felt very familiar to the four members of the Ghost Hunting Squad.

The long corridor extended in all directions like a maze, with a few white paper lanterns above casting pale light on the ground.

Outside the yard was a lush bamboo forest, where something terrifying seemed to be hidden. Faintly, one could see clusters of white ghost flames drifting through the trees.

Is this... an illusion? Could it be that the wooden token Ilu gave me has broken?

Glancing at the wooden token at her waist, now cracked, Stelle immediately understood what had happened and turned to question Fu Xuan, who stood not far away in shock.

"Keralum, is this what you call destiny? Did you predict that you'd be standing here today?"

Fu Xuan: "..."

Wait, what’s going on? What is this place? Why am I here?

No! This is completely different from the result of the divination!

"Wow! Why is it so spooky here? Have we been tricked?!"

Qingque shuddered as the cold wind blew. She had a very bad premonition, and upon seeing the shock on the Master Diviner’s face, that bad feeling only intensified.

"Impossible. The divination result said everything would go smoothly... Wait, did you do something?"

Percipient, hidden within Fu Xuan’s body, quickly noticed the silver wood token at Stelle’s waist. It felt a faint scent of the same kind from the token. There was no doubt—the little gray-haired girl brought it here.

Damn! They were actually tricked!