The night grew deeper.
The car was driving along the road back to the Bird Migration Base.
The driver was silently driving, while Lin Mo gazed out the window at the scenery.
"Sometimes a man's intuition can be even sharper than a woman's," Lin Mo muttered to himself at this moment.
Earlier, he had only exchanged a glance with Chu Yu's father, but the latter had discerned from his eyes that he was lying.
Similarly, when Lin Mo suddenly asked that question before leaving, he could clearly see the change in the other's eyes after hearing it. Although nothing was said in the end, it was evident that the other party had been greatly shocked.
In reality, Lin Mo and the driver had been chased out by Chu Yu's mother.
Because from a normal person's perspective, Lin Mo had clearly come to cause trouble.
Not only did he lie and deceive, but it was also the kind of lie that rubbed salt in others' wounds. Who could tolerate that?
But Lin Mo couldn't explain the truth to them either.
He couldn't possibly tell them that he had met their daughter in the nightmare world, and that their originally beautiful and kind daughter had turned into a terrifying evil spirit.
That would probably drive them insane.
Before leaving, Lin Mo had left his phone number with them, though he felt that Chu Yu's parents were unlikely to call him.
Night had fallen.
Lin Mo planned to help Mao Mao Hen Dan Da escape from that hide-and-seek evil ghost tonight, though he wasn't sure if he would succeed.
Might as well give it a try.
Consider it practice.
After the events of today, Lin Mo clearly understood that becoming a member of the Security Bureau's expert team would bring far more benefits than drawbacks for him at present.
Since that was the case, he needed to actively improve his skills in this area.
For this upcoming entry into the nightmare world, he might not encounter the Pale Ghost Shadow again, so Lin Mo needed other means of self-protection.
Therefore, the top priority tonight was to persuade the spirit writing ghost Chu Yu.
To get her help.
Based on what he currently knew, Lin Mo was confident, though not absolutely certain, but his chances were over 50%.
Returning to the Bird Migration Base, Lin Mo went to find Mao Mao Hen Dan Da first.
She had started to accept reality and appeared much calmer than before.
She had even drawn several sketches.
They depicted the room she was in within the nightmare world.
Including that split-headed ghost.
"Are you an art student?" Lin Mo was somewhat surprised as he looked at the exquisite sketches.
"Yes, professionally trained at an academy," Mao Mao Hen Dan Da continued, "My original dream was to become an outstanding concept artist in China, but now it seems I may not live to see that day."
Mao Mao Hen Dan Da already had a clear understanding of the fate that awaited her.
She was able to accept reality relatively calmly, and her mindset was quite strong. In fact, among the same batch of residents brought here, many had already broken down.
After all, being told that from now on they would enter the nightmare world whenever they fell asleep and had to find ways to survive on their own, it would be difficult for anyone to accept.
Their peaceful and comfortable days had come to an abrupt end, never to return.
Lin Mo carefully noted down the contents of Mao Mao Hen Dan Da's drawings.
The sketch of the split-headed ghost was extremely detailed, just like her previous description. It was a ghost whose head had been smashed to pieces.
Blood, brain matter, and bone fragments formed the main structure of this drawing.
Lin Mo felt that this ghost probably didn't have much combat ability.
Besides the split-headed ghost, the most valuable part was a drawing of a window. Looking out the window, the silhouette outline of a building could be seen.
Although it was just an outline, Lin Mo thought it looked very similar to the building he was in.
If it was the same one, it would mean that Mao Mao Hen Dan Da's location was directly facing the building Lin Mo was in, which would greatly narrow down the search area.
At this moment, Mao Mao Hen Dan Da rubbed her eyes and couldn't help but yawn.
Yesterday she had dozed off for a while before being discovered and woken up, possibly sleeping for less than an hour.
Under these circumstances, Mao Mao Hen Dan Da was physically and mentally exhausted.
Lin Mo needed to act quickly.
"Hang in there for one more night. Whether I succeed or not, I'll wake up before 3 AM, and then we'll discuss our strategy."
Mao Mao Hen Dan Da nodded. At this point, she could only choose to trust Lin Mo.
Lin Mo's plan was very simple. This time he would try to deal with 'Chu Yu' first, and regardless of whether he succeeded or not, he would then confront that split-headed ghost playing hide-and-seek.
The primary goal was to eliminate it; failing that, to lure it away; and if that didn't work, to figure out the ghost's patterns and then inform Mao Mao Hen Dan Da.
This was just an initial plan, and there would certainly be variables during implementation, but for now, Lin Mo could only take it one step at a time.
After setting his alarm, Lin Mo lay down on the bed.
Beside him, Mao Mao Hen Dan Da was a bit nervous, her hands clasped tightly together, muttering something under her breath, seemingly praying for Lin Mo.
Just then, Lin Mo's phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and looked at it, seeing an unfamiliar number. Lin Mo thought of a possibility and immediately answered the call.
A deep male voice came from the other end of the line.
"Is... this Lin Mo?"
Lin Mo smiled: "Yes, it's me, Uncle Chu."
The caller was Chu Yu's father.
Clearly, Lin Mo's parting words had caused a huge shock to him, like a seed that would eventually bloom and bear fruit.
There was a moment of silence on the phone.
Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry.
He waited quietly for the other party.
After a good while, Chu Yu's father's voice came through: "What exactly did you mean by that last thing you said?"
"I meant it literally," Lin Mo answered very frankly, with a hint of suggestion.
"What do you mean literally? Explain it clearly to me. What exactly are you trying to do?" Chu Yu's father was in a state of intense agitation, and the faint sound of Chu Yu's mother's consoling could be heard in the background.
Lin Mo didn't want to provoke him further.
But he couldn't say much more either.
He had already said enough, and Chen Bing had told him that at this stage, everything about the nightmare world was absolutely confidential and must not be leaked to the public.
Violating the rules would bring consequences even for official expert team members, let alone a candidate like Lin Mo.
Another moment of silence followed.
Just as Lin Mo thought the other party might have hung up, a trembling voice spoke up. It was clear that Chu Yu's father was crying.
The following words were spoken through sobs.
"If you can hear me, Xiao Yu, Dad wants to say, don't worry about your mom and me, we're doing fine. The Green Knight you left behind is already over a foot tall now, and it even bloomed recently, very beautiful; Cotton Candy has grown up too, but it misses you so much it wouldn't eat anything at home, so we had to leave it with your uncle; oh, and Dad can play video games now... though not very well."
"I'm sorry, Xiao Yu, Dad didn't protect you well enough, it's Dad's fault..."
The words after that became unclear.
Hearing these words, Lin Mo was quite moved. Perhaps this father had held back for far too long, and in this moment he poured out all the pent-up thoughts in his heart.
After speaking, Chu Yu's father's emotions had clearly calmed down a bit.
"I must be bewitched to actually believe you, to really think Xiao Yu could hear this."
Lin Mo smiled: "Nothing is absolute in this world, Uncle Chu. It's late, you should get some rest."
With that, Lin Mo hung up the phone.
He hadn't expected such a big gain this time.
Lin Mo felt that with Uncle Chu's heartfelt words, his chances of persuading the spirit writing ghost Chu Yu had increased even more.
He had a good memory and had remembered almost every word the other party had said.
After lying down, Lin Mo said to Mao Mao Hen Dan Da beside him: "At 3 AM, if the alarm goes off and I'm not awake yet, try to wake me up. If anything else happens, go find Leader Liu and Dr. Song."
Mao Mao Hen Dan Da hurriedly nodded.
With all preparations made, Lin Mo closed his eyes.
After being marked by the nightmare world, Lin Mo discovered something.
That is, insomnia would no longer exist.
As long as he wanted to sleep, he could fall asleep at any time.
In less than a minute, Lin Mo had already entered the realm of dreams.
When he opened his eyes again, he had entered the nightmare world.
He was still in the residential area. Looking at the distant building, the fire had been extinguished, and the entire structure had been burned beyond recognition, with some parts even collapsed, a scene of devastation.
Under the gray mist, some smoke was still rising from the ruins, creating a suffocating silence.
Lin Mo had no intention of getting closer.
Who knew what ghostly things might still be alive in there, at least those terrifying charred corpses were certainly still active.
Last time, if Lin Mo hadn't had that knife in his hand, he might have already been killed by the charred corpses.
If he were to rank the various nightmares he had encountered so far, those charred corpses would probably be even more terrifying and dangerous than the serial killer Zhou Li.
Lin Mo knew his purpose for this trip. He first looked down at his own back.
The Pale Ghost Shadow was indeed gone.
Just like last time, as soon as Lin Mo woke up in the real world, he would disappear from the nightmare world, and the Pale Ghost Shadow, unable to possess him, would leave on its own.
To be honest, without the Pale Ghost Shadow, Lin Mo felt a bit uneasy.
Moreover, with the Pale Ghost Shadow present, it would be easier to persuade the spirit writing ghost 'Chu Yu' without fear of her suddenly turning hostile, providing an extra layer of insurance.
Just then, Lin Mo heard footsteps in the surrounding darkness.
Faintly, he could also hear some low muttering and growling.
Lin Mo knew these were nightmares wandering outside. According to Chen Bing, contamination sources would trigger nightmare events, and each person entering the nightmare world would bring a nightmare formed from their fears.
Reportedly, over a hundred people had been caught in the nightmare world this time, corresponding to an equal number of nightmares existing.
Lin Mo knew his current situation was very dangerous.
Previously, he had been able to move freely largely thanks to the Pale Ghost Shadow.
Now, without the Pale Ghost Shadow, Lin Mo could only rely on himself.
The footsteps around him were getting closer, and the darkness was gradually engulfing the surrounding space, like a reef being eroded by seawater. Lin Mo's safe space was constantly being compressed.
Calmly, Lin Mo took out the lighter he had seized from the charred corpse, then applied force with his finger, igniting a small flame.
The light instantly tore through the darkness.
In that moment, Lin Mo saw about a dozen terrifying monsters around him. Some had over a dozen eyes, baring sharp fangs; some were like mollusks, walking with human skulls on top; others wielded sharp knives, wearing pale bone masks.
They were already within arm's reach.
However, in the light of the flame, these nightmares were immediately startled and scattered back.
But they didn't leave, instead lurking several meters away, watching and waiting for a chance to strike.
Besides being able to start fires, the lighter had another use: dispelling darkness and to some extent intimidating nightmares.
But its deterrent power was clearly not as strong as the Pale Ghost Shadow's.
A normal person would have panicked in this situation, but Lin Mo calmly took out a pencil and the blood-stained diary. The diary, in particular, carried a very powerful resentment that also had the power to intimidate nightmares.
Lin Mo intended to summon the spirit writing ghost Chu Yu immediately.
If she insisted on writing herself to death, then the only option would be to flip the table. However, Lin Mo felt that the possibility of reaching an agreement with her was still quite high.
With no table available, he sat on the ground, placing the diary on the floor. He gripped the pencil, extending his arm with the pencil tip touching the paper.
Lin Mo's other hand still held the lighter.
The flame couldn't be extinguished, as the surrounding nightmares might still rush in.
Closing his eyes, he began the summoning.
"Spirit writer, spirit writer, are you there?"
This time, just as he asked the question, Lin Mo suddenly felt a small hand forcefully grip his own.
It was ice-cold, chilling to the bone.
This time the response came quickly, but the problem was, this hand seemed to be reaching out from behind him.
Lin Mo opened his eyes to look, and sure enough, it was so.
The spirit writer was actually behind him, one hand reaching out to grab his hand, while the other hand grasped Lin Mo's other hand holding the lighter.
Two legs were wrapped around his waist.
She had draped her entire body over Lin Mo's back.
A tremendous force transmitted through the wrist, causing Lin Mo to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
The lighter fell to the ground, its flame extinguished.
"Why aren't you following the usual script?"
Lin Mo hadn't expected the spirit writer to appear in this manner this time.
Was she afraid he might run away?
Now she was completely pressed against Lin Mo's back, her coldness rivaling that of the Pale Ghost Shadow.
Blood-stained black hair hung down, falling onto Lin Mo's head and face. He estimated that if he were to lift his head now, he would be face-to-face with her.
Lin Mo curiously looked up.
As expected, what met his eyes was a face covered in fresh blood, pressed against his own. Her eyeballs were pale, filled with a suffocating malice, staring intently at Lin Mo.
The aura around the spirit writer was very off now, the resentment and malice even more intense than before, and that bloody smell was even more pungent.
There was no time to delay.
Lin Mo stared into her eyes and immediately said, "Xiao Yu, your parents asked me to pass on a message to you."