CH 90

As he read what was recorded in the diary, Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

What he had been able to make out was not a detailed account by any means, but with the scraps of information he gleaned from each entry, Bai Zhi was able to hazard a guess at the events that had transpired at the orphanage—the truth had something to do with the "Bai Zhi" of this world, and possibly even certain secrets that the orphanage was hiding.

The diary entries continued.

Compared to the entries in the middle part of the diary, those that followed got increasingly less legible, and Bai Zhi found himself working harder and harder to decipher their contents.

[ 3rd November, Sunny ]

[ Finally, some good weather. Kids looking more energetic, too. Coincidentally, I haven't noticed a single strange thing on this fine, sunny day... Was it all in my imagination? ]

——

[ 4th November, Sunny ]

[ It's all gone to hell! Weird things have started happening again. All night, I kept feeling like there was a big hand under the bed, scrabbling about... It's just a story told to scare kids, right? ]

——

[ 6th November, Sunny ]

[ ...something's wrong. Woke up to find half a shoe missing (as if bitten off!). Who could have done such a thing? ]

——

[ 8th November, Sunny ]

[ That handsome man is back, but he got into another, even more heated argument with the Director. No idea what it was about, but the Director looked black as thunder all evening. ]

——

[ 11th November, Sunny ]

[ Another weird thing happened! I must be going crazy... So done with this place. I'm going to leave as soon as I can... ]

——

[ 13th November, Sunny ]

[ ...terrible secret behind this orphanage. Have to make preparations before I leave. Absolutely *have to get out of here... but I can't be seen. ]

——

[ 15th November, Sunny ]

[ No!! Nobody can leave this place! NOBODY!! ]

The writer seemed to be in a frenzied state of mind. Some of the letters had been scratched in so forcefully that the pen had broken through the page.

Bai Zhi frowned and peeled back a few more pages. The next pages were all empty—this seemed like the last entry.

Out of habit, Bai Zhi flipped to the last few pages of the diary, and there, he found more writing. However, the words were all strangely twisted, and they seemed to writhe violently, as if trying to claw their way off the very edges of the page.

[ Yesss... NObody can leave this place... Not a single pers0n... Even the two neWcomerS... They will be... aSsimilated... They will beCome... one of us! ]

A rare look of alarm flitted across Bai Zhi's face as the twisted text bored into his retinas.

Without a moment's hesitation, Bai Zhi maxed out his stats—not only did he buy a PODS from the Shop, but he also activated Shadow Enhancement. Radiance glinted in one hand as he ran for the door, while with the other, he grabbed on to the bewildered Temperance Gentleheart and towed her along.

Thanks to the boost from his Perfect-rank skill, Bai Zhi's Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution were all at 30, which enabled him to move several times faster than normal.

As quick as he was, however, the room was quicker still, and even as Temperance yelped, "What's going on?" the blood-drenched room began undergoing a horrific, otherworldly transformation.

The color gradually faded from the bloody furniture as their true form was revealed—giant, pulsating blood vessels covered in warts took their place, which quickly erupted into boils filled to bursting with pus. Meanwhile, little holes began to open up in the ceiling, revealing themselves to be eyes, and the ceiling soon turned into a nauseating sea of blinking orbs. As they filled up every inch of free space, one eye, much larger than all the rest, located in the exact center of the ceiling, slowly began to open...

The ground beneath their feet took on a squishy, flesh-like quality even as the space seemed to expand. The door, which should have been a few steps away, was now somehow over a dozen meters in the distance.

"What the hell is this room... Hey, keep me closer to you!"

Temperance Gentleheart yelled as she narrowly avoided a tentacle, all covered in what looked like sharp teeth, that had shot out from a nearby wall.

Bai Zhi rolled his eyes as he quipped, "You better learn to hold on tight yourself if you're gonna ride my coattails! Can't you make yourself the least bit useful?"

Without even looking, he fired six shots backward.

All of the shots raced off god-knows-where, except for the first, which was magically guaranteed to hit. That one pierced the giant eye in the center of the ceiling, which sent a gush of bloody mist spraying outward.

However, despite not causing any major damage, the five other bullets did elicit the expected response. The giant, nameless monster trembled violently as if emitting a low roar of rage, and more tentacles suddenly lashed out from the walls and floor, racing with deadly intent after Bai Zhi, forcing him to duck and weave as he sprinted for the exit.

Damn it, there are no shadows in here; the light is too diffuse. The empty rooms earlier must have been mere extensions, while this is the true core of the supernatural entity. It lured us in here... learning from its past failures, what a consummate hunter.

Slapping the cylinder of his revolver with a firm "thwack", Bai Zhi knocked out the empty bullet casings, then jammed a single bullet inside. With one fluid motion, he clicked it back into place and fired another bullet at the giant eye.

The first shot out of every six fired from Radiance was guaranteed to hit.

"I, I understand..."

Temperance Gentleheart looked pale as she nervously watched the host of lashing tentacles behind them, not least from fear of the sharp teeth that covered their surface.

"...Young Girl's Sparkle!"

[ Skill Name: Young Girl's Sparkle ]

[ Type: Special ]

[ Rank: Rare ]

[ Effect: Young girls are the most perfect creatures in the world, a gift from the gods to be pampered and cherished. When Young Girl's Brilliance is activated, anything the user does not consent to shall not be allowed within one meter of them. Lasts up to one minute. ]

[ SE Consumption: 100 Spiritual Energy ]

[ Requirements: Female, aged between 13 and 18. Charisma of 13 or above. ]

[ Note: Must shout when activating the skill. When user is over 18, Skill automatically transforms into "Young Girl's Curtain-Call. ]

As soon as Temperance Gentleheart said the words, Bai Zhi felt the pressure exerted by the monster recede immensely. With stats that gave him twice the physical ability of a top athlete, Bai Zhi seized the brief opportunity and smashed through the tightly-closed door in a flash.

From behind them came a voice, dripping with venom.

[ You... shall not escape... ]

The broken door had somehow been restored, and with a dull "bang", slammed itself shut. Peace and quiet seemed to settle in around them.

"...What, what the hell was that?!"

Temperance Gentleheart stared with wide eyes at the closed door, trying to steady her rapid breathing with one hand on her chest.

"Well, now it's a pain in the ass."

Bai Zhi shot Temperance Gentleheart a glance with one raised eyebrow. With a twirl of the revolver, Radiance, he once again kicked the door to the room wide open.

Behind it, everything seemed restored to the way they had found it—that is, drenched in blood. The monstrosity that had threatened their lives earlier seemed like nothing more than a hallucination.

Temperance Gentleheart suddenly grabbed at Bai Zhi's arm. Clearly alarmed, she asked, "You, you're not thinking of going back in, are you?"

"Nah, just giving it something to snack on."

As he spoke, Bai Zhi looked Temperance in the eye and slowly pulled a large bag of dog feces out of his Inventory—the last of the ingredients he had cooked with at the small town at the entrance to the Underworld. As she looked on in stunned disbelief, he lobbed the bag into the room with a pendulous swing, and even addressed the room with a greeting.

"Good day sir, your delivery food has arrived! Please join Lao Ba at the table!"

Temperance Gentleheart was flabbergasted.