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“What’s my turn for?” Qin Xunfeng stared blankly at his two companions.
Liang Tianxiu pointed at him and said, “Y-you, you, behind you…”
“What’s behind me?”
Just as Qin Xunfeng was about to turn around, Mo Qi’s calm voice said, “Don’t turn around. It’s just a spirit behind you. It’s not a big deal.”
Qin Xunfeng: “……”
“Not a big deal?” Qin Xunfeng thought, glancing at Liang Tianxiu, whose face was as pale as a ghost. If it weren’t for the loud banging outside, Liang Tianxiu would probably have fled already.
Mo Qi seriously examined whatever was behind Qin Xunfeng. Qin Xunfeng felt a chilling sensation on his back. From Liang Tianxiu’s expression, it must be something extremely gory and terrifying, but Mo Qi’s expression remained indifferent and curious, leaving Qin Xunfeng wondering how this person’s heart could be so composed.
Mo Qi said, “It doesn’t seem to have any intention of attacking you or us at the moment. Let’s analyze the current situation.”
His calm demeanor affected Liang Tianxiu and Qin Xunfeng, and both moved closer to Mo Qi to hear his analysis. As Qin Xunfeng took a few steps, Liang Tianxiu suddenly screamed, “Y-you stay away from me, don’t come near!”
Seeing Liang Tianxiu so frightened, Mo Qi had no choice but to tell Qin Xunfeng, “You stay where you are for now.”
“Okay…” Qin Xunfeng said, looking dejected.
Mo Qi continued, “Check if the person who called you is really your friend. If so, call them back.”
Qin Xunfeng picked up the phone that had been kicked away and saw a message: “I didn’t mean to! I have to make a call every 30 minutes, or I’ll be assimilated by the spirit behind me! Since you’re not in this task, I knew no one would answer if I called, so I made the call!”
Qin Xunfeng read the message to Mo Qi, chuckling, “So that’s what happened. I really thought he was trying to harm me. I’m a bit sad now.”
Mo Qi said, “Still doubtful.”
“Why are you doubtful?” Qin Xunfeng asked, puzzled.
Mo Qi replied, “Then call them back and see.”
Qin Xunfeng called his friend. After a few rings, the call ended, and his friend didn’t send any further explanations.
Mo Qi said, “If the spirit behind is using phone calls to transfer its possession target, what’s the point of making a call every 30 minutes if no one answers? What kind of boss status does this spirit have?”
Spirit Behind: “……”
Qin Xunfeng, who had been quite nervous, was nearly laughing at Mo Qi’s explanation. He said, “So, the task he went through required making a call every 30 minutes. If someone answered, the spirit would transfer from the caller to the person who answered. If no one answered…”
“Then no one would disturb us.” A pair of slender, icy arms wrapped around Qin Xunfeng’s neck, and he felt a sticky liquid dripping onto his hair with a ‘drip-drip’ sound.
“Who’s talking to me?” Qin Xunfeng’s voice carried a hint of tears.
“Who else could it be,” Liang Tianxiu said with a look of disgust, averting his gaze, “It’s the one behind you.”
“It seems that if the possession target doesn’t change within the next 30 minutes, you’ll be in serious trouble,” Mo Qi said. “Luckily, there are still 30 minutes left.”
Qin Xunfeng said, both saddened and frightened, “It sounds like I only have 30 minutes left to live. And my friend, why did he call me when I was completely unaware of what was happening?”
“Because he is about to die. He doesn’t know what he has experienced in this task, but calling you means he must be in a situation where no one else is answering his calls. At least you have 30 minutes left to live; being alive is hope. This time can be used to find a solution,” Mo Qi said. “If it were me and my teammates, I would do the same.”
Liang Tianxiu said, “You really like to think the best of people. His friend might just be looking for a scapegoat in desperation.”
“That might be the case, but it doesn’t matter. At least you can buy 30 minutes, which is better than waiting to die,” Mo Qi said. “If we don’t find a solution within 30 minutes, call me, and I will answer.”
Qin Xunfeng was surprised by Mo Qi’s words and felt a mix of emotions. If he were in Mo Qi’s position, he wouldn’t act the same way.
“Can we call each other?” Qin Xunfeng asked.
“No, you can’t play tricks on me,” the spirit behind said suddenly. “I’m not a ball; you can’t just kick me around.”
Hearing the spirit behind respond to his question, Qin Xunfeng was at a loss for words.
“No matter how we talk, the spirit behind won’t react to us; it will only respond to you,” Mo Qi said. “It seems that in its world, there is only the possessed person.”
Qin Xunfeng’s face was filled with sorrow.
Liang Tianxiu tried to avoid looking at Qin Xunfeng and addressed the theater door, “After you answered the call, the thing outside stopped knocking. Was it scared off by the spirit behind?”
“The thing outside is clearly from another movie. My situation is also from a movie. Could it be that only one movie’s boss can appear at a time?” Qin Xunfeng speculated.
“Not necessarily,” Mo Qi said. “It could be like in a game, with separate territories and a common area. The knocking outside was an attempt to invade the theater’s territory, but the spirit behind got there first, so the outside entity stopped trying to compete for the territory. But if that’s the case, dealing with one boss at a time seems too simple. I think there might be a common area where battles can occur.”
“So, if I stay here, the presence of the spirit behind actually makes the students in the theater safer?” Qin Xunfeng asked. “If that’s the case… at least we can ensure the safety of these ordinary people.”
At that moment, he was still focused on protecting ordinary people, and Liang Tianxiu was somewhat moved.
“Given this, if we can keep the spirit behind in the theater, it might indeed be a relatively safe place,” Mo Qi said.
“But we still need to go out and find a real solution to the task,” Qin Xunfeng said, looking troubled.
“Um…” Liang Tianxiu raised his hand. “Can you pass the spirit behind to me?”
Mo Qi and Qin Xunfeng looked at him simultaneously.
Liang Tianxiu said, “After leaving the Mirror Maze, I won’t be of much help anyway. And even if I die, as long as you solve the task by September 13, I can come back to life. So, instead of dragging you down, I’d rather stay here, keep the spirit behind confined, and protect the people in the theater.”
Qin Xunfeng was moved by Liang Tianxiu’s words. He said, “The reasoning is sound, but you can only hold it for 30 minutes. After that, if you die, it could go on to harm someone else.”
Liang Tianxiu replied, “Here’s the plan: you take the spirit behind with you. When the 30 minutes are up, call me. If I sense danger in the theater, I’ll call you immediately. You don’t need to answer; just hang up and call me back. This way, we can buy almost an hour of time.”
“What about afterward?” Mo Qi asked. “What if we can’t return in an hour?”
“Hmm…” Liang Tianxiu glanced at Xia Yao, who was in a dazed state. “How about I call him and coax him into answering?”
Xia Yao, now in a state of obedience to any command, looked at everyone and clapped his hands, saying, “Okay, call.”
Seeing this, Mo Qi decisively said, “Qin Xunfeng should call Xia Yao first. After 30 minutes, Liang Tianxiu should coax Xia Yao to call him back and then transfer the spirit behind to himself. This way, we’ll have about an hour and a half. After another 30 minutes, Liang Tianxiu can call me, and I’ll find a way to resolve the situation. Before that, Liang Tianxiu can also try calling someone else.”
“Who?”
“Ke Manman,” Mo Qi said. “Whether as a colleague or a character in the movie, you should have her number, right?”
Liang Tianxiu realized, “That’s right! I still have her number. If she answers… the spirit behind will transfer to her, and since she’s a minor boss created by the Mirror Maze, it’s uncertain what might happen when the spirit is with her.”
“Using a boss to deal with a boss? That’s a good idea!” Qin Xunfeng said, giving a thumbs-up.
“You heartless scoundrel, what are you planning to do to me?” The spirit behind tightened its grip on Qin Xunfeng’s neck.
“Ah, it’s killing me! I won’t do anything to you,” Qin Xunfeng quickly said. “It’s you who’s doing something to me!”
The spirit behind replied, “You keep passing me around with each call. I’ll be sent back and forth, and eventually, I’ll be so overwhelmed that I’ll jump out of your window. As long as you don’t call, we can stay together forever.”
“Oh no, this is a movie about revenge on a scumbag,” Qin Xunfeng said, trying to calm the spirit behind. “Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of bad man.”
Mo Qi said, “Let’s leave the theater for now. We might find a way to resolve the spirit’s resentment.”
“Yes, I will help you. Just loosen your grip; you’re about to strangle me,” Qin Xunfeng said, struggling.
Even though his physical strength was much greater than an average person’s, he couldn’t break free from the spirit’s hold, indicating that this wasn’t something that could be overcome with physical strength alone.
“Let’s head out first,” Mo Qi said, holding the card with the ash urn, ready for a fight.
With their plan set, Qin Xunfeng and Mo Qi left the theater with the spirit behind them.
As soon as the theater door opened, they found themselves in the bustling center of a street, completely different from the cinema they had just been in.
It seemed that due to the destruction of the Mirror Maze and the merging of several SR-level tasks, the world had become chaotic.
To easily access the cards, Mo Qi activated the smart mode, switching the game to a light screen. He glanced at his card pack, noting that the card “Incomplete Zhou Mo Cunt” had a usage count of 1/1.
This card can only be used once per task. Originally, there were seven separate tasks, so the card could have been used seven times. The Mirror Maze only consumed one use, but with the game merging the tasks, the remaining tasks have consolidated into one, and the “Zhou Mo Cunt” card can now only be used once.
Though the usage of the most powerful card is restricted, the same principle applies to scene cards. Initially, with too many tasks and the lack of importance of any single SR-level task, scene cards were left unused. Now that the world has merged, scene cards could be very useful, but unfortunately, only one scene card can be used per task. Thus, Mo Qi’s two scene cards, “Wishing Campus” and “Yin-Yang Ancient Town,” can also only be used once.
In this unified world, there might still be other fragments.
Thinking about this, Mo Qi couldn’t help but glance at the spirit behind him, wondering if it might be a fragment as well.
However, the spirit behind was completely indifferent to Mo Qi’s gaze, still firmly clinging to Qin Xunfeng’s neck.
It seems that the spirit behind doesn’t contain any fragments, Mo Qi thought with certainty.
Originally, Mo Qi expected to encounter numerous monsters outside and possibly use Xiao Cao, but it now appeared unnecessary.
Xiao Cao was, after all, a double-edged sword; it was better not to use it if possible. Mo Qi stored the ash urn in his card pack. With the smart mode activated, retrieving and using cards didn’t require the phone, making it very convenient without the need to hold the cards constantly.
Just as he finished putting away the card, a passerby brushed past Mo Qi and said, “Have you heard of the Purple Moon Clinic?”
“What did you say?” Mo Qi grabbed the person.
“Are you crazy? What did anyone say?” The passerby shrugged off Mo Qi’s hand and walked away with indifference.
Before Mo Qi could pursue further, the traffic light turned green. They were standing at a crosswalk, and as a crowd passed by, each person brushed past Mo Qi and said, “Have you heard of the Purple Moon Clinic?”
“Did you hear anything when they brushed past you?” Mo Qi asked Qin Xunfeng.
“Huh? I didn’t hear anything,” Qin Xunfeng said, turning around with blood trickling from the corners of his eyes.
Qin Xunfeng had been possessed for more than ten minutes, so it was normal for his body to start showing issues. Mo Qi asked, “Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
“No,” Qin Xunfeng wiped his eyes, smearing the blood across his face. “I just feel a bit heavy on my back, and… man, everyone’s scum, including myself. We all deserve to die.”
Mo Qi remained silent for a moment, trying to piece together the logic of the spirit behind’s movie narrative.
He began to understand why Qin Xunfeng’s teammate would have made the call. Under the influence of the spirit behind’s resentment, people gradually lose their sanity and will do anything to survive.
This was a film, and Mo Qi attempted to decipher the narrative logic of the spirit behind’s story.
From the spirit’s words, it was clear that in its past life, it had been forced by a wicked man to do many unwilling things, including engaging in unethical transactions. Eventually, unable to endure it any longer, it ended its own life.
Given this background, the spirit behind, now returned as a boss, likely sought revenge not just on the wicked man but on everyone who had wronged it. It would first possess someone, torment them with its anger and fear, then use the phone—something it hated most in life—to transfer its presence and continue torturing the next person. Only after making those who harmed it suffer profoundly would it finally deal with the true culprit.
Following this line of thought, if there are no exorcists or similar characters in the movie, the most likely approach would be to find the scumbag from back then and track down the people who harmed the spirits behind them, so they can be thoroughly avenged.
Mo Qi thought to himself.
“Can you still move normally?” Mo Qi asked.
“Yes,” Qin Xunfeng replied, “but I’m at a loss about how to complete the task.”
“Information about the third movie has come up,” Mo Qi said, “It’s a place called Zi Yue Liang Clinic; I was told by someone who passed by just now.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Qin Xunfeng said.
Mo Qi: “It should be a territorial issue. You’re currently within the territory of the spirit behind you, so you won’t be able to access anything related to the Zi Yue Liang Clinic.”
The new task likely involves elements related to the clinic, doctors, hypnosis, the moon, colors, and so on.
As Mo Qi was deep in thought, someone walked over from the opposite side of the street—it was Rong Feng.