Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: Title
【Tier One requires 100 points, while peak Tier Nine demands 900.】
“Then help me upgrade. I’m curious what it’s like to have a bulletproof body.”
“Wait, no—better not.”
“Upgrading isn’t worth it. I’ll mostly stay home anyway. With 900 Fantasy Points, I could craft plenty of illusions.”
“Even a landlord’s household can’t afford waste.”
“Though this had its flaws, the livestream concept sparked ideas. Maybe I’ll host my own broadcast next time… Needs planning.”
“System, display the world and Zhongxia maps.” She snapped her fingers, deciding to work before sleep.
Restlessness kept her awake.
The system projected Zhongxia’s map. She gestured to zoom across cities.
“System, can you perform real-time monitoring on specified locations?”
【Yes, but it consumes Fantasy Points.】
“Why wasn’t this mentioned earlier?” Ye Linlang arched a brow.
【By the Celestial Path Lord’s decree. Before your Fantasy Point acquisition, His power sustains this system. This energy lasts only one month—afterwards, maintenance becomes your responsibility.】
“A month? If I actually spread his gospel, He’s signing His own death warrant,” she retorted.
“System, compile Zhongxia’s death records from the past 24 hours—filter for unresolved murders and accidental fatalities.”
“As Spiritual Energy Awakens, you think only the Ghost in Red exists?” Ye Linlang smirked at the dense data.
【Filter complete: 1,600 death records.】
“That’s excessive. Narrow parameters.”
She frowned. Manifesting these as illusions would require over 30,000 Fantasy Points.
“Remove entries with weak personalities unwilling to seek vengeance.” The list flickered, dwindling to 860.
“Eliminate perpetrators of evil.”
“Apply Zhongxia’s legal standards. Let the wicked return to dust—no place for them here.”
“Eliminate those lacking survival instinct pre-death.”
The count plunged to 180.
“A hundred eighty souls,” Ye Linlang whispered.
“System, Fantasy Point cost to sustain them for seven days?”
【12,600 Fantasy Points required for 180 entities.】
“Seventy per soul adds up, but manageable.”
“It’ll suffice.”
“Now to design their manifestation. Fresh souls require 24 hours to gain consciousness.”
“Secondly, each spirit lasts seven days. Post-seventh day, the six paths must guide them—or they’ll lose their souls. This knowledge will imprint upon their ghost transformation.”
Ye Linlang typed away, her eyes occasionally drifting to the 180 dossiers as she sighed.
"Still need me to categorize these? Some ghosts seek replacements, others are earthbound spirits, and some transform into malevolent spirits… System, can’t you handle classifications after I establish them once?"
【The regulations you codify become universal law.】
【This system exists solely to facilitate your governance of reality.】
"Fine, so it all boils down to me drafting the protocols." She gazed at the open document labeled "Parameters" and began inserting spectral taxonomy guidelines.
By twilight’s first light, Ye Linlang had not only systematized spiritual entities but also conceived multiple strategies for accumulating 100,000 Fantasy Points between sudden bursts of inspiration.
【Zhongxia map surveillance requires 300 Fantasy Points monthly.】
"Monthly’s excessive. I’ll secure six figures long before then – when specters truly overrun the streets." She arched her back in a feline stretch.
"Initiate auto-updates tonight. I’m retiring."
*
While Ye Linlang drifted into repose, the streaming crew who’d received her nocturnal "gifts" emerged from Hanzhou City’s police station under dawn’s pale glow. Following their supernatural ordeal, Jiang Yao, Big Black, and Xiao Bai had been released after signing confidentiality agreements and surrendering footage, while Bai Ye remained detained for supplementary interrogation.
The parasitic female ghost manifesting through him warranted special scrutiny.
"Contact us immediately upon any anomalous occurrence," Captain Zhang Wutong instructed, observing the heir’s exhaustion-shadowed eyes. Bai Ye had endured eight hours of questioning followed by comprehensive medical scans.
Their evidentiary video underwent technical analysis as incident reports climbed bureaucratic tiers. Though not deemed critical, the corroborated accounts of spiritual possession and spectral footage generated considerable institutional ripples. Official disinformation campaigns already proliferated online by daybreak, as Captain Zhang disclosed.
"The bell…"
"We’ll trace its provenance," the officer assured.
"Appreciated," Bai Ye murmured with genuine relief. Seven days seemed scarcely sufficient for personal investigation, let alone seven years. Should the vengeful spirit reappear unmet…
The scion resided in Hanzhou’s exclusive villa area with his multigenerational family, necessitating discreet return.
"Young Master?" The maid blinked at his unexpected arrival. "Shouldn’t you be matriculating?"
"Health leave," he deflected. "Parents still abed?"
"Master and Mistress retired late. The Patriarch strolls the gardens."
"Keep my return confidential. I’ll rest upstairs." Escaping familial interrogation about his truancy brought palpable relief.
Post-ablution, Bai Ye examined the crimson sigil glowing against his wrist’s inner flesh – neither tattoo nor injury, but an indelible spiritual pattern radiating sinister elegance.
"Spiritual pattern… female ghosts… So phantoms exist." Retrieving sketchpad from his nightstand, the classically trained artist hesitated before reconstructing his spectral tormentor’s visage with precision.
Ink blossomed across parchment – haunting eyes, flowing robes, and ornate hairpins materialized with seventy percent fidelity to his traumatic recollection.
The officers who had pulled an all-night shift at the police station were still compiling documents about the school ghost sightings. Every participant from the previous night’s operation underwent detailed debriefings and psychological support sessions.
"The investigation into the school ghost sightings will be handled by involved personnel. This case is codenamed ‘Bell.’"
"Assemble in the office at 1500 hours to follow up on leads."
"Meeting adjourned."
"Captain Zhang… you think that thing we saw was real?" Zhou Linyi, the rookie officer fresh to the precinct, scratched his head awkwardly.
"Get some rest. Now." Captain Zhang Wutong avoided the question entirely, snatching his coat as he strode out.
At 2:30 PM, sunlight warmed Ye Linlang’s face as she awoke with a prolonged yawn. After freshening up and grabbing a quick bite, she sank back into the sofa.
"System: compile Western ghost stories from recent centuries." She slipped into work mode, fingertips already twitching toward her laptop. These two days had been her busiest in years – she’d never studied this intensely even during her College Entrance Examination.
"If the East has hauntings, the West should join the party too."
"Let the entire Blue Star share the excitement – no favoritism allowed. Now let’s review last night’s draft…"
"Water ghost lakes… animated armor… vampire graveyard… demon stone statue cults… Haunted Castle? Promising."
"Display full dossier on Haunted Castle."
The castle’s official designation was Pisas Castle, most notorious for its 17th-century owner Duke of Pisas. Legends claimed the nobleman’s deathbed curse condemned the estate to devour its inhabitants. Through four centuries of ownership changes, every proprietor met tragic ends while residents suffered equally grim fates. The enduring tale of Duke Pisas’ lingering specter cemented its reputation as Europe’s premier haunted castle.
"The supernatural investigation show streams internationally with domestic rebroadcasts?"
"Strong viewer base… Europe’s most legendary haunted location… near-universal name recognition… Perfect."
"Locked in."
"For the United States…" Her keyboard clattered rhythmically. "Limited history to mine. Demons versus angels? Save angels for Vatican City. Demons it is."
"Feathered Serpent lore from indigenous peoples? Risky fallout potential. Table that until post-castle operation."
Her phone lit up with a "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" game icon as she muttered: "Japan’s classic – prime material. Incorporated."
Memories from her Earth-bound past life informed Ye Linlang’s plans. Blue Star’s parallels to that world extended to geography but diverged in histories and mythologies – similar yet distinct.
"India’s pantheon outnumbers Ganges sand grains. Their chaotic myths clash with established power systems anyway – rejected."
As Ye Linlang refined her blueprint, the dominoes she’d positioned earlier began their cascade.
