Chapter 225: Frog Hospital (XVII) Deceiving a Ghost

“Huang Xiaofei, you went out once on the first night. What is the average strength of the Ghosts in this instance for you?”

Turning a corner, Qi Si stared at the long, narrow, and dim corridor ahead, asking without looking back, “Can you beat them?”

Huang Xiaofei took the cigarette from her mouth with two fingers and said calmly, “If they are the Pregnant Ghosts in the night corridor, I can handle ten at once. The night before last, there were too many—hundreds—which is why I couldn’t cope.”

Qi Si stopped and turned his head to look at her: “When the time comes, I might need you to try and see if you can subdue Cheng Xiaoyu by force. If you succeed, things will be much simpler.”

“Your plan, and you want me to take the risk?” Huang Xiaofei sneered, casually flicking the cigarette ash onto the floor. “If it fails, I don’t know if the others will suffer, but the person who takes action will definitely die. I am only cooperating with you, not offering myself up to be exploited.”

“The Contract already stipulates it, I give you clues, and you follow my instructions, right?” Qi Si squinted and smiled at her, his right hand resting intermittently on the Pocket Watch of Fate on his left wrist. “Besides, since you possess the Book of the Dead, you should know that I won’t harm you.”

Huang Xiaofei watched Qi Si suspiciously. The latter’s eyes were sparkling brightly, showing no trace of malicious calculation.

She pondered for a moment, then smiled brightly: “In that case, tell me about your plan so I can be mentally prepared.”

She didn’t expect an answer, but the next second, Qi Si lowered his eyes and spoke in a candid tone: “From what I know about Cheng Xiaoyu, he is very playful, mischievous like any ordinary boy, and lacks vigilance. I plan to use this to trick him into signing a Contract.

“But as you know, my combat strength is low, and I’m quite fragile. If I accidentally provoke him, it would be easy for me to get myself killed. That’s why I need your help—to add at least one layer of security to the plan, ensuring a chance to retreat safely even if something goes wrong.”

The explanation was reasonable, but Huang Xiaofei didn’t believe it—if it were really that simple, why hadn’t he explained it clearly from the beginning?

Having raised Lu Zimo alone, she had encountered many ill-intentioned and ulteriorly motivated people over the past two decades, making her cautious about everything.

She looked up and saw Qi Si turn back and continue walking. She suppressed her urge to question him and laughed, pretending to be oblivious: “If you had told me this earlier, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble. If it’s just about covering for you, I have no problem with that.”

Qi Si, his back to her, chuckled lightly: “Then thank you, Sister Huang.”

Sun Dekuan, who hadn’t been able to interject for a while, quickly chimed in: “Exactly, this is a team instance. Everyone should cooperate harmoniously. It’s settled, we’re all on the same side starting now, okay?”

No one paid him any attention.

After turning another corner at a fork in the road, a level area embedded with iron doors unfolded before them.

The wide-open iron door directly ahead rolled with grayish-white mist, and indistinct figures moved back and forth within it. On the walls on either side, a tightly closed doorway was embedded, with signs above them reading “morgue” and “Kitchen,” respectively.

Huang Xiaofei stared straight at the door ahead, her breathing slightly rapid, but it calmed down within a few seconds.

Qi Si looked around, raised the Candy Jar in his hand toward the void, and smiled, saying, “Cheng Xiaoyu, if you don’t come over soon, Uncle won’t give you any candy.”

His tone was natural, like an elder teasing a child.

After a brief silence, the sound of “splash” echoed in their ears, as if something was surfacing from the bottom of the pool, dragging its wet body ashore.

A short figure walked out of the mist, its body swollen as if waterlogged, topped by a large, pale face. It tilted its head and looked at Qi Si: “Who are you? Why do you know my name?”

His voice was sinister and sticky, like a water snake crawling through mud, but his eyes were fixed intently on the Candy Jar in Qi Si’s hand, radiating palpable greed.

He had clearly forgotten about Qi Si and the candy, having lost his past memories with the world’s reset, retaining only his personality and instincts.

Qi Si calmly assessed the situation, then pretended to be annoyed and slapped his head: “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you.”

“My name is ‘Cheng An,’ and I’m a colleague of your father. He’s busy with work and doesn’t have time to spend with you. Since I happen to be on sick leave and have free time, he entrusted me to come and play some games with you.”

The young man’s smile was exceptionally sincere, his eyes conveying the perfect amount of care for a colleague’s child. If Cheng Xiaoyu didn’t visibly look like a non-living entity, no one seeing this scene would doubt their relationship.

Even now, if someone wondered what was going on between this person and this Ghost, their first reaction wouldn’t be to suspect Qi Si.

Hmm, it must be Cheng Xiaoyu’s problem.

“I’ve never heard Dad mention you.” Cheng Xiaoyu’s gaze moved from the Candy Jar to Qi Si’s face. “Your surname is also Cheng, and Dad and I are also surnamed Cheng…”

“Oh, that’s quite a coincidence.” Qi Si subtly changed the subject. “Your dad used to joke that we were from the same family.

“Did he really never mention me to you? It seems he doesn’t bring work matters home at all…”

This was Huang Xiaofei’s first time seeing Qi Si deceive a Ghost. Watching him effortlessly fabricate a plausible identity, she felt both respect and apprehension, wondering how much truth there was in what he had told her.

Sun Dekuan was used to this sort of thing. Although he didn’t know why Qi Si suddenly changed his identity, he dutifully played the straight man: “Little friend, my surname is Sun. Did your dad mention me to you? No? I must say, Old Cheng really keeps his work and private life separate…”

Cheng Xiaoyu finally dismissed all suspicion and looked at the Candy Jar in Qi Si’s hand again: “Hehe, I want to eat candy now. Uncle, can you give me this candy?”

The plot returned to its intended course. Qi Si smiled, his eyes curving: “No, you can’t. This candy was bought by Uncle himself. Although I originally bought it for you, Uncle regrets it now.”

As soon as he said this, both Sun Dekuan and Cheng Xiaoyu were stunned.

Sun Dekuan knew what Qi Si intended to do with the candy, but he couldn’t understand why he was causing this scene.

He kept winking and signaling to Qi Si, barely stopping himself from shouting, “Boss, stop messing around!”

Cheng Xiaoyu, having been a Ghost for many years, had never imagined anyone would defy him. A layer of cyan gradually spread across his face, and his eyes were filled with venomous resentment.

He said coldly, “If you don’t give me the candy, I’ll lock you in the morgue and make my dad angry at you!”

Qi Si smiled at him: “Sure, but I will definitely report everything truthfully to your father. And you can’t stop me from talking, so what are you going to do about that?”

Cheng Xiaoyu stared fixedly at Qi Si for a long time, and ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

Black Umbilical Cords rose up like the tentacles of a deep-sea creature. The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped by several degrees, and countless pairs of watchful eyes seemed to emerge from the shadows, focusing on them with malice.

Huang Xiaofei instantly understood the meaning of the words Qi Si had spoken to her earlier.

Afraid of something going wrong, needing someone to provide force security… Wasn’t he the biggest mistake?

Everything was going smoothly, but he deliberately ruined the negotiation. He must be intentionally looking for trouble and trying to start a fight, right?

Within a few seconds, the Umbilical Cord had wrapped around Qi Si’s neck, tightening without warning, like a venomous snake strangling its prey.

Sun Dekuan, finding courage from somewhere, pulled a Cleaver from his trousers and began hacking at the Umbilical Cord.

However, the Umbilical Cord was extremely tough. No matter what angle he hacked from, it merely wrapped softly around the blade, remaining completely unharmed.

Qi Si did not struggle at all, as if he knew nothing bad would happen.

He was breathing rapidly, but his deep eyes calmly looked at Huang Xiaofei, signaling her to act.

‘Sure enough, he intentionally caused trouble, trying to drag me into this…’

Huang Xiaofei knew exactly what was happening, but under the constraints of the Contract, she ultimately couldn’t watch Qi Si be killed by the Ghosts.

A Paper Cutout Figure appeared out of thin air between her fingers, quickly bursting into a flame that shot toward Cheng Xiaoyu.

The ball of fire carried scorching heat, causing ripples in the surrounding air. The dangerous aura was enough to be perceived by any living creature.

Cheng Xiaoyu trembled violently, stepping backward repeatedly, then suddenly pursed his lips and burst into tears.

The Umbilical Cord strangling Qi Si quickly loosened and vanished.

The boy, who was the culprit, sat on the ground wailing like an ordinary child, looking terribly bullied.

Huang Xiaofei hadn’t intended to kill Cheng Xiaoyu, as killing a Ghost was easy, but obtaining an Entry/Exit Permit was difficult.

She retracted the fiercely burning Paper Effigy, allowing the flames to dissipate into embers between her fingers, and glanced sideways at Qi Si next to her.

The young man raised his hand to rub the purplish bruise on his neck. A faint smile appeared on his face, which was slightly flushed from temporary oxygen deprivation: “Cheng Xiaoyu, giving you candy is not out of the question, but how about you play a game with Uncle first?”

“Okay!” Cheng Xiaoyu stopped crying and looked straight into Qi Si’s eyes. “You promised, as long as I play the game with you, you’ll give me candy.”

Qi Si maintained a smile on his lips, but his eyes were icy cold: “This game might be very difficult, but you must play seriously and try your best until the very end, okay?”

Cheng Xiaoyu nodded impatiently: “Yes, yes! Hurry up and tell me what the game is.”

Crimson rolled in the void. On the bright red page, condensed from blood mist, golden characters woven from vine phantoms shimmered faintly.

【Use the skill “Soul Contract” on Cheng Xiaoyu, demanding that he seriously and diligently participate in the upcoming game.】

Since the Contract terms were vague and Qi Si hadn’t defined the content of the game, the skill entered the long-awaited dice roll phase.

Two golden ten-sided dice spun rapidly in the dark, submerged Hall of Thought, turning into two faint yellow, hazy afterimages.

Ten seconds later, the dice stopped, revealing “8” and “3.”

83 points, greater than 74.

【Contract signed. This Contract is guaranteed by the rules of the world, and no entity may disobey it.】

Good luck. There was no need to use the Pocket Watch of Fate’s Rewind Function, nor to have Huang Xiaofei kill Cheng Xiaoyu and try again after the refresh tomorrow.

Qi Si’s smile became bright and sincere.

He looked into Cheng Xiaoyu’s eyes and said deliberately, “The game I want to play with you is ‘Role-Playing the Director.’ The first task—create four valid ‘Entry/Exit Permits.'”

…Green Frog Hospital, in the woods.

Beneath the pale sky, listless sunlight penetrated the dense foliage, casting a multicolored dawn light in the air where water droplets floated.

Lin Chen and the Female Teacher guarded the pond all night, daring not to go anywhere, silently watching the boiling pond water subside, with frog remnants floating on the bloody surface.

The Female Ghosts and the frogs inflicted mutual destruction, allowing the two humans who used them to kill each other to survive. As the dawn light, symbolizing the crisis’s resolution, fell, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Croak!”

In the deathly silent world, a loud croak suddenly sounded. Following immediately, noisy frog croaks rang out one after another, chasing and echoing each other, forming a continuous chorus.

“Croak, croak, croak, croak…”

The frog croaks were endless, noisy and bizarre.

Lin Chen stared into the pond. Where were the bloody water and residual limbs now?

In the crystal-clear pond water, hundreds of green frogs, mixed with a few sporadic blue frogs, swam back and forth. Some jumped onto the stone platform in the center of the pond, and others hopped over the railing at the edge.

This… was a refresh?

Lin Chen blinked twice, feeling completely bewildered.

The Female Teacher also gazed at the pond.

After a long time, she let out a soft breath and whispered, “It seems if we want to find the passage connecting the two hospitals at the bottom of the pond, we must wait until the frogs are killed by the Female Ghosts at night, and act before the environment resets in the morning.”

…Hospital top floor, Director’s Office.

On the desk, a Black Fountain Pen automatically wrote lines of text on a white piece of paper:

【Esteemed (data deleted) Excellency:】

【Thank you for informing me of that matter. Without your help and guidance, I fear I would never have discovered “his” sinister intentions.】

【This was truly an unforgivable oversight that nearly caused our years of preparation to fail completely. However, please trust in my abilities; I will certainly handle everything properly before the final deadline.】

【Following your teachings, I have been observing them calmly and restrainedly these past two days, trying not to initiate direct conflict, hoping they can help us complete the final step within five days, as you predicted, and then leave.】

【However, they still brought me some surprises. Last night at the Green Frog Hospital, they actually came up with the brilliant idea of using Female Ghosts to deal with those damned frogs! I had never thought of utilizing the power of those consumables before. What a waste.】

【Unfortunately, the Curse still lingers over the hospital, and nightmares haunt me like shadows. After only half a night of peace, those annoying things returned.】

【It is right for them to hate me. I once heartlessly prevented them from coming into this world; they didn’t even get a chance to open their eyes and see this place. But is it my fault? It was unavoidable, and I feel sorry, and I have been trying to find a way to make amends. As long as the plan succeeds, they will gain new life. How foolish it is for them to relentlessly harass me now!】

【Excellency, forgive me, I have said too much. I was merely too excited and did not intend to offend you with these trivial emotions. Please trust your most devoted follower, whose will is always your will!】

【(data deleted)】