Chapter 258

240. Chapter 240: The Corpse in the Pool

Li Yi and Qin Bing stared at the pale, dead head floating in the water, studying it intently. Their fear of ghosts wasn't as deep as that of people in this world; though they knew the thing was dangerous, if they could uncover some pattern, it might improve their survival rate during future delivery missions.

"Strange. It saw us—right in front of us—but didn't attack." Qin Bing paused, realizing he hadn't been targeted.

At that moment, Li Yi's gaze flickered. He immediately recalled the three phrases Zheng Yaoyao had told him—the last one being: "Understand the ghost's pattern."

Now it seemed ghosts didn't kill indiscriminately—they followed some rule.

Though terrifying, the ghosts in this world weren't like the yin gods and malevolent spirits of the Four Seas and Eight Provinces, free to kill at will. They were bound by certain restrictions. If they could discover why this ghost was restricted from killing, their chances of survival would greatly increase—and perhaps that restriction was the so-called "pattern."

"Ghosts only kill under specific conditions. We're not in those conditions now, so even if I see the ghost, it won't attack us." Li Yi spoke, then boldly picked up a pebble from the greenery beside the path.

He channeled his qi and blood Gangqi, and tossed it casually.

The pebble shot out like a bullet, instantly piercing the pale dead head.

But no blood flowed from the wound—instead, foul, yellowish water gushed out, like corpse fluid.

Yet the head still stared at Li Yi, making no further move.

"Still won't attack us?" Qin Bing said, smoking. "Looks like your analysis is right. These ghosts have inherent limitations. Now I get why places with supernatural incidents are sealed off immediately—if no one's around, the ghost stays quiet."

"But this is just preliminary. This conclusion might only apply to the few ghosts we've encountered, not others." As Li Yi spoke, he threw several more pebbles.

Under his powerful qi, the pale dead head was soon reduced to shattered fragments.

But something strange happened.

As the head sank into the water, it immediately restored itself to its original state—the wounds Li Yi had inflicted vanished entirely, and those pale eyes now held a deeper malice toward him.

"So it can't be killed. Even if you destroy its body, some force restores it instantly. Is this the terrifying nature of supernatural power? Such power shouldn't exist in this world." Qin Bing sighed.

Li Yi studied it for a while, then nodded in deep agreement.

The group no longer lingered, continuing to search elsewhere for anomalies.

Soon.

They had fully explored the gymnasium, understood everything there, confirmed several problematic areas, but still hadn't found the man named Wang Fei—even after checking the staff roster, which didn't list Wang Fei at all.

But Li Yi was certain: Wang Fei was almost certainly not alive—he was dead.

Because apart from them, there wasn't a single living person in the entire gymnasium. If there had been, an evolver's perception would have detected them immediately.

"So this letter is meant for a dead person? But so many people vanished here—finding Wang Fei will be hard. And dead bodies are likely surrounded by powerful ghosts. This doesn't feel like a delivery mission—it feels like a suicide mission." Li Yi frowned.

"I think the Ghost Post Office wouldn't give us a mission guaranteed to kill us. Of course, there's risk—but we have to judge it ourselves. Forget that for now. Let's meet up with Tao Yuan and Zhang Jing. See if they found anything." Qin Bing said.

Li Yi nodded and contacted them to arrange a rendezvous.

Soon.

The two separated teams reunited.

Tao Yuan and Zhang Jing were cautious—they hadn't approached any abnormal areas, only passed by and recorded them. After exchanging information, they quickly reached a rough conclusion.

"The swimming pool, dormitory building, water tanks, and restrooms—these four places are problematic. Either they reeked of corpse odor or showed signs of ghosts. Everywhere else is normal, nothing found. And as I suspect, the recipient Wang Fei is almost certainly dead—possibly even a ghost himself—and he's likely in one of these four places. No, three: the pool has only ghosts, no corpse."

Li Yi summarized, then glanced at the others: "I suggest we use elimination. Slow, steady exploration. We have numbers and time—we're not in a rush. I recommend starting with the restrooms, then the swimming pool, then the dormitory. Split into two teams while searching—so we don't all get wiped out together."

"That's reasonable. Solid approach." Tao Yuan nodded in agreement.

"Then let's do it," Qin Bing said, smoking.

Seeing no objections, Li Yi immediately moved.

The seven of them raced to a public restroom inside the gymnasium. The restroom wasn't large, but it reeked of rotting corpse odor—the smell had deterred Tao Yuan and Zhang Jing from entering earlier, fearing disaster.

But now, to find Wang Fei, they had no choice but to risk it.

"Follow me," Li Yi glanced at Guo You and another courier, then strode toward the restroom with Qin Bing.

They entered the men's restroom first.

"Open every door. Look for Wang Fei's corpse." Li Yi ordered.

Guo You and the other courier dared not resist. They obediently opened every door—but sadly, they found no corpse. Only fragments of skin floated in the toilet bowl, the source of the stench.

"No luck? Check the women's restroom." Li Yi observed his surroundings, disappointed, then immediately moved to the adjacent room.

This restroom posed the least danger—if anything went wrong, he could retreat instantly. If they didn't find Wang Fei here, he'd likely be in the swimming pool or dormitory—both larger, harder to search, and far more dangerous.

Moments later, Li Yi and the others left the restroom. He shook his head—no findings.

"Then let's go to the swimming pool," Tao Yuan said.

The group returned to the gymnasium's entrance.

Merely standing before the swimming pool's entrance, the stench of rotting corpses hit them like a wave—making them want to vomit.

"Tao Yuan and I will investigate. Li Yi, you wait outside." Tao Yuan took a deep breath, ignoring the stench, and entered the pool area with Zhang Jing and the other courier.

"Be careful. If you sense danger, retreat immediately—don't hesitate," Qin Bing warned.

Zhang Jing replied: "Don't worry. We'll run the second we sense danger—we've learned our lesson after that last disaster."

Li Yi stayed silent.

He wasn't worried they'd refuse to run—he was worried they wouldn't be able to run at all.

But he didn't know what lay inside the gymnasium. Someone had to investigate.

Soon.

Tao Yuan, Zhang Jing, and the other courier cautiously entered the gymnasium.

Just past the entrance, they felt the air thick with dampness—everything was wet, uncomfortable. The corridor lights flickered irregularly. And the floor was covered in countless wet footprints—dense, everywhere, even on the walls.

The water stains were fresh and old, as if people had just walked through moments ago.

Yet they heard no sound—and saw no one. No, not even "people." Those moving here couldn't be called human anymore—the place had been sealed off. No living person could be here.

"There's a ghost here," Tao Yuan whispered.

Zhang Jing agreed wholeheartedly. If there wasn't a ghost here, she'd never believe it.

But since they were here, retreat wasn't an option. If they failed the delivery, the ghosts would kill them. Here, though dangerous, there was still room to maneuver.

The three pressed forward cautiously.

After passing a corridor, they reached the swimming pool.

At that moment, their eyes widened in horror.

The once-clear pool was now packed with countless corpses—layered, tangled, submerged for who knew how long. Many had swollen and turned pale. Some still bore the expressions of their final moments—terrified, grotesque, deeply chilling.

"These are the people who vanished from the gymnasium?" Tao Yuan was stunned.

Filling such a large pool would require hundreds of bodies. So many dead at once—no wonder the place was sealed.

But would Wang Fei be among them?

If so, finding him would be nearly impossible. Hundreds of nameless corpses—completing the delivery would mean testing each one, one by one. That would be extremely dangerous and take too long—utterly impractical.

There must be a way to identify Wang Fei's identity. They just hadn't found it yet.

"Should we keep searching?" Zhang Jing asked.

Tao Yuan steadied himself: "If we just glance and leave, we gain nothing. Let's move back from the pool, circle the spectator stands, see if we find anything else."

But as they walked further, they suddenly froze.

For some reason, the corpses in the pool had all opened their eyes—and turned their gaze toward Tao Yuan, Zhang Jing, and the others.

The sight sent chills down their spines. Instinctively, they wanted to flee.

"Stay calm," Tao Yuan whispered, not moving.

The scene froze.

But after a moment, Tao Yuan realized: the corpses merely stared at them—made no other move.