Drip… drop…
Drip… drop…
The sound of water droplets hitting the floor was exceptionally clear in the silent warehouse.
"It's here! It's here!"
Everyone frantically retreated, crowding into a corner. MEI stood her ground, turning slightly to glance at the main entrance behind her.
A dark, indistinct silhouette stood at the doorway.
Besides being two meters tall and having an unclear outline, its only other characteristic was the water continuously dripping from its body.
Clearly, this ghost had a physical form.
The rain outside could drench it, so a tangible Bizarre item could probably harm it as well.
But… she hadn't brought any offensive Bizarre items with her today. Even if she had, she wouldn't dare use them.
Those Bizarre items were a death sentence upon use, never to be brought out unless absolutely necessary.
Can it be controlled?
No… if it could be controlled by brute force, then so many people wouldn't have died before.
"What are you doing? Get over here!" a girl whispered, reminding her, but MEI didn't move.
Her gaze remained fixed on the ghost at the door, waiting for its next move.
Soon, the puddle of water on the floor grew redder, forming a winding bloodline that spread forward.
"Don't push me! Let me in!" a timid middle-aged woman shrieked, her voice muffled by fat pressing on her vocal cords, like a fattened… farm animal squeezing into the depths of the crowd.
Similarly, many others pushed and shoved without regard for etiquette, all to get deeper into the crowd.
MEI's gaze followed the bloodline. It came straight for her, but just as it got close, it changed direction, bypassing MEI and spreading instead to the crowd in the corner of the warehouse.
"…It can last for about fifteen more minutes."
MEI glanced at the dimming pink pendant. When the color completely faded, it would mean the Rule bestowed by Elysia had completely disappeared.
The bloodline had bypassed her, likely due to interference from Elysia's Rule.
Elysia's Rule was the natural enemy of the Bizarre, but unfortunately, the duration of contamination was too short.
However, if the contamination time were extended, it was questionable whether Elysia could even maintain her own self.
MEI looked back. The bloodline had already crawled onto the middle-aged woman who had been desperately pushing into the crowd just moments ago.
Seeing this, the others stopped crowding and scattered, all breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness it didn't choose me…"
In contrast to the relieved crowd, the middle-aged woman's face was ashen. She collapsed to the ground, the fat on her thighs jiggling.
"It's over, it's over! Why me?! I was already hiding in the back! Aren't there still many people in front of me?! It's not fair, not fair! Aaaahhhhhh!!"
The middle-aged woman began to blame everyone and everything. Seeing MEI, she immediately got up and knelt before her.
"Save me! I pay my taxes! Help me! Kill it, kill that ghost! You have a pistol, you can do it, you definitely can!"
At this point, someone who couldn't stand it anymore pointed out the truth: "That ghost can't die even if its head is twisted off. What can a pistol do? You'd be better off obediently handing over the three things it wants. Maybe you'll still live."
MEI ignored them, her attention returning to the ghost's feet at the door.
The blood on the floor began to change, converging, stretching, and deforming…
Finally, it formed the name of an object: Left Calf.
"Ah!" The middle-aged woman's face turned deathly pale upon hearing this, drained of all color. She collapsed to the ground.
Someone in the crowd stepped forward to comfort her. "It's okay, it's okay, it's just a left calf… It's better than being dead."
"Yeah, yeah, it's not like we don't have bandages. They're pretty low quality, but they can still stop the bleeding. You won't die."
The people comforted each other, but in MEI's eyes, it was a different scene.
Because they didn't know how long it would be before they could leave, they treated others well when they were safe, hoping to be treated well in return when they were chosen.
But when it was the ghost's turn to choose, they disregarded all past camaraderie and pushed desperately to get inside.
But it was understandable. After all, so many people had already died… Anyone would feel despair and fear.
MEI stood there, silent.
The ghost's demands would inevitably become more and more outrageous. The European woman had only been asked for a strand of hair at first, but in the end, she still lost an eye.
This time, the middle-aged woman was asked for a left calf right from the start. The second and third demands would probably not be so simple…
"A minute has already passed. If you don't hand over the item in the last two minutes, you'll die! If you hesitate any longer, you won't have a chance!"
Someone said to the middle-aged woman, quickly taking a small knife from their backpack.
Yes, only a small knife. They had to use this small knife to cut off the middle-aged woman's left calf, bit by bit.
Setting aside the facts, this process was probably more terrifying than death itself.
"Wooo… I don't want to, I don't want to… Why me?! Why me?! Aaaahhhhhh!"
The middle-aged woman cried out in fear.
No one criticized her, and no one comforted her anymore.
"There's a minute and a half left. It takes time to cut off a calf. If you don't do it now, you won't make it. You decide!"
The middle-aged woman glanced at her phone screen, bit her lip, and said, "Do it!"
As her words fell, several young students held down the woman's limbs and head, pinning her to the ground.
Another older man took out the small knife, panting heavily.
Time was short; there was no time to breathe.
The man held the knife with both hands and viciously stabbed it into the flesh below her knee, wiggling the handle back and forth to cut through the bone.
"Mmph! Mmph!!!" The woman struggled desperately, the intense pain causing her whole body to tremble uncontrollably.
A minute later, the man's hands were covered in blood, and he held a plump calf.
It was a good thing the knife was of good quality and the woman's bones weren't hard from drinking milk tea every day. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't have made it in a minute.
"Quick, get a box!"
With that, someone handed over a box, and the man placed the calf inside.
The others let go of the half-dead middle-aged woman and placed the heavy box in her hands.
"Twenty seconds left! Even if you have to crawl, get to the ghost and give it the box!"
Although the woman was in pain, the will to live forced her to take the box and wriggle like a maggot.
But time was running out. The woman had to endure the intense pain, bite onto the box, and get on her one good knee, running like a one-legged canine.
Finally, at the last second, she placed the box at the doorway.
"..."
The box was not picked up by the ghost but slowly sank into the pool of blood.
After a while, the bloody words on the floor disappeared, indicating the completion of the trade.
The next second, the blood reappeared, demanding the second item—Right Kidney.
When the middle-aged woman saw these words, she was so scared she fainted on the spot.
"Aren't you going to bring her back?" MEI asked.
Everyone shook their heads repeatedly. "No, no! During the trade, only the person involved can approach the ghost. Someone from our group tried before."
"They died?"
"Not dead, but after the trade ended, they were immediately chosen as the next person for the trade."
"I see."
MEI stroked her chin and strode toward the door.
This action caused many to exclaim in surprise, "Are you crazy?!"
"I have my own plans."
MEI didn't tell them her plan. She silently walked to the middle-aged woman's side and dragged her back.
As she got close to the ghost at the door, MEI felt, whether it was her imagination or not, that the ghost had taken a step back.
Ghosts do not feel fear. All their actions are based on rules and instincts.
Some actions may look like fear, but they are actually just following the rules.
It's like a small iron block being repelled when it hits a larger one. Does the iron block feel fear? Obviously not. It's just a law of physics.
MEI nodded, her gaze focused on the already dim crystal pendant. Elysia's Rule had disappeared.
Whether she saved the middle-aged woman now or not, the next person chosen would be her.
This time, she had only been spared because of the residual "divinity" on the crystal pendant.
This ghost's selection criteria were different aspects of "perfection."
The European woman was very beautiful, especially her eyes.
The middle-aged woman was very fat; her internal organs were unhealthy but large.
It demanded beauty from the beautiful and robustness from the robust.
As the most recent person to enter this Bizarre space, there were many things on her that were coveted.
"Alright, while she's unconscious, take out her kidney and do some emergency measures. I'll deliver it."
MEI's casual statement made everyone exchange glances, and they couldn't help but show expressions of respect.
"Thank you. You are a very good person, to be able to do this for us…"
"Don't overthink it. I'm not doing this for you."
"No, we understand. You just don't want us to worry…"
"Think whatever you want."
MEI had no intention of continuing this topic. She turned around, only hearing the sound of a belly being cut open.
When she arrived in this Bizarre space, the things she carried with her also came along, which was why there were so many strange items.
After everything was ready, MEI placed the box containing the middle-aged woman's kidney at the door.
A person has two kidneys. Losing one would make them sub-healthy but not kill them. However, staying here forever was not much different from being dead.
MEI stared at the box on the floor.
As expected, the box sank into the blood again. The blood condensed, demanding the third item—Remaining Four Limbs.
"..."
Four limbs?
MEI looked back. Cutting off both arms and both legs wouldn't cause immediate death if the bleeding could be stopped and the wounds disinfected in time, but… what was the difference between being like that and being dead?
Returning, MEI informed everyone of the ghost's third demand.
Everyone gasped, their faces filled with horror.
"Damn it! If both her arms and legs are gone, isn't she just a human swine? What the hell does this ghost want?!"
"Stop talking nonsense. It took so long to cut off one leg. There's no way we can do both arms and both legs in time…"
The group was in a predicament. Even if the person was unconscious, cutting off both arms and both legs with the only small knife they had would probably wake her up, and there wasn't enough time anyway.
No one was willing to be the executioner, and no one was willing to bear this sin.
For a moment, the warehouse was silent.
MEI took out her pistol and sighed softly. "Cut the flesh below her shoulders. I can use the gun to shatter the bones. That will save a lot of time. The two legs are up to you. Time is tight, let's go."
Hearing this, the older man who had just rested stood up again and picked up the small knife.
But this time, his hand trembled as he held the knife, because what he had to do was not cut off one leg, but all four limbs.
For someone who had never killed a person or performed surgery, the psychological pressure was more than just four times as great.
Scrape, scrape…
The sound of the knife scraping against bone was harsh and shrill. Everyone present turned their heads, unwilling to look directly.
"Mmph, mmph!! It hurts! What are you doing?! Stop! Stop!"
The middle-aged woman woke up from the pain of fainting and cried out for help.
However, several people rushed out and held her down tightly. "This is to save you! The last thing the ghost wants is your four limbs. You have to endure it to live."
The woman could no longer think straight. The intense pain made her bite off several teeth, and her molars were ground to dust.
Two minutes later, MEI placed the box filled with the middle-aged woman's four limbs at the door.
The woman lay on the ground in despair, with only her body and head remaining. People next to her took out bandages and iodine to help stop the bleeding and disinfect the wounds.
After the box dissolved into the blood, the ghost did not leave.
The bloodline began to spread.
Everyone knew this was because MEI had interfered with the trade, causing her to become the next person for the trade after it ended.
Looking at the middle-aged woman who had been cut into a human swine on the ground, someone in the crowd couldn't help but mutter, "It's over, it's over. What will we do if she dies? She's the only one who came to save us."
"I don't know. At this point, we can only take it one step at a time."
People sighed. Such a beautiful, good girl. It would be such a pity if she became a human swine.
With this thought, everyone couldn't help but stick their heads out or take out their phones to zoom in, wanting to see what the ghost wanted from her in their trade.
The blood changed, twisted, and finally formed some crooked words—Your Umbrella.
"..." MEI was silent, glancing at the folded umbrella in her hand, wondering why this ghost wanted it.
This umbrella was not a Bizarre item. It was even bought from a street stall. She had bought it on a whim because she thought it looked nice. It was a genuine street-stall product with nothing special about it.
This had been confirmed by Elysia.
But why did this ghost want an ordinary umbrella?
Was her intellect less valuable than an umbrella?
My previous deduction was flawed. I misjudged the ghost's Rule?
Wait, who bought this umbrella? I don't remember who bought it. It wasn't me, nor Elysia, and it definitely wasn't Pardofelis…
In contrast to MEI's calmness were the incredulous expressions and discussions of the crowd.
"An umbrella? That's ridiculous! Her luck is too good!"
"Good deeds are rewarded. So you see, you should do more good deeds in the future."