Chapter 31: Ghost Doll
Under intense pain.
The pink doll emitted a shrill, grating scream.
It writhed rapidly, its tentacles flailing wildly, surging toward the light staircase!
Its strength was immense—every shop display along its path was crushed to splinters!
Suddenly,
One of its tentacles shot out abruptly, spanning dozens of meters, and lashed hard against Du Fang’s leg!
“That damn thing!”
Du Fang let out a shriek and was flung several meters away.
He slammed violently into a solid cabinet!
“Get him down first!”
Jiang Jian said coldly.
Song Ling’s face was panicked; she released “Mind Healing” while half-dragging Du Fang toward the stairs.
The pink doll drew nearer, its grotesque face seeming right before their eyes.
Jiang Jian stood motionless, expression icy, wooden sword in hand.
The pink doll loomed over Jiang Jian, grinning with a crimson mouth, accelerating its charge!
At the same time,
Three tentacles suddenly elongated!
They surged toward Jiang Jian from different directions.
If those three tentacles struck him directly, he’d be dead—or crippled.
BOOM!
The next second,
The three tentacles slammed hard against the light staircase!
The staircase let out a tortured screech and instantly cracked all over!
The pink doll’s grin vanished; it turned its gaze toward Jiang Jian nearby.
Beside the staircase was a fire escape.
Just now, Jiang Jian had used the fire escape to evade the tentacles’ grasp.
CRASH!
The pink doll was moving too fast to stop—it crashed violently into a steel cabinet!
For an instant, its grotesque face went slack with confusion!
“Now’s the chance…”
Inside the fire escape, Jiang Jian stared at the pink doll just inches away, eyes cold.
In hand, he held the wooden sword.
He slashed horizontally across the doll’s eye!
BOOM!
A sound like torn cloth rang out!
The sword qi spiraled, slicing open the doll’s eye—and it exploded!
“ROAR!!!”
The doll thrashed its tentacles wildly, screaming in agony!
Steel cabinets bent under the blows, shards flew, metal clashed!
Jiang Jian stepped back two paces and retreated again into the fire escape.
He flipped his palm, securing the wooden sword to his waist, pupils glowing with crimson flames!
“Pure Spirit Flame!”
BOOM!
Intense, ferocious crimson flames surged forward!
Instantly, the pink doll became a towering figure of fire!
In just a few seconds,
The crimson flames faded.
The pink doll was charred black, its massive body shriveling violently before crashing heavily to the ground.
BOOM!
The light staircase shuddered violently, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Team Alert: Octopus Toy Monster is dead.”
“Number of non-citizens killed: 12.”
“Personal kill count: 2.”
“Special Alert: Killing the Octopus Toy Monster grants bonus evaluation points.”
Jiang Jian took a breath.
He sensed his remaining Qi had dropped to seventy percent.
“Jiang Jian!”
Song Ling’s urgent voice came from below.
Jiang Jian turned his head, looking down the staircase.
At the first-floor entrance, dozens of ghost dolls hovered in the air!
They cackled eerily, flickering in and out, leaving wounds on Song Ling and Du Fang with each pass.
Du Fang limped, face pale, desperately wielding the Ten Thousand Forms Sword Art to hold them off.
Seeing this,
Jiang Jian fell silent for a moment.
He recalled the evaluation rules.
“Cooperate with teammates, use your Divine Gift, and locate and kill as many non-citizens as possible.”
Thinking of this,
Jiang Jian looked down at the fluttering ghost dolls on the first floor.
He saw them as moving evaluation points.
“The Octopus Toy Monster is dealt with. I’ll help you.”
Jiang Jian offered a mechanical smile. “Song Ling, accelerate my Qi recovery!”
Hearing Jiang Jian’s words,
Song Ling immediately turned back and activated her talent.
White light surged forth.
Jiang Jian’s Qi recovery sped up significantly.
Du Fang swung his phantom sword with all his strength, slaying another ghost doll!
At the same time,
He paid the price—a chunk of flesh torn from his left arm!
BOOM!
Jiang Jian stood in the center of the staircase, slashing horizontally with his wooden sword!
Invisible sword qi roared forward, sweeping through the fluttering flies!
Fine sword qi fragmented and pierced into the ghost dolls’ bodies, exploding within them!
Piercing screams erupted continuously!
More than a dozen ghost dolls froze midair, faces twisted in agony.
Their bodies riddled with holes, steaming white smoke poured out.
The next second,
These buzzing giant flies dropped like dumplings.
Plop. Plop.
They landed on the mall’s floor.
“Team Alert: Ghost Dolls are dead.”
“Number of non-citizens killed: 13.”
“Personal kill count: 3.”
“Team Alert: Ghost Dolls are dead.”
“Number of non-citizens killed: 14.”
“Personal kill count: 4.”
…
“Team Alert: Ghost Dolls are dead.”
“Number of non-citizens killed: 27.”
“Personal kill count: 17.”
Continuous alerts chimed on his identity device.
Seeing this scene.
The remaining ghost dolls froze for a moment, glancing at each other.
Fear spread across their faces as they scrambled wildly in all directions.
In less than a second.
They vanished into the corners, gone without a trace.
Du Fang plopped onto the ground, panting heavily: “Jiang Jian, thank goodness you’re here.”
Song Ling also exhaled in relief, continuously activating “Soul Healing.”
Restoring Qi to himself and Jiang Jian.
And helping Du Fang stop his wounds from bleeding, accelerating healing.
“You’re right—if not for Jiang Jian, we’d have been severely wounded by these ghost dolls.”
Song Ling said.
Hearing this,
Du Fang sat up straight, sighed, and said: “I performed poorly—I’m holding everyone back.”
“Du Fang, don’t undervalue yourself. Your talent is still in its initial stage.”
Jiang Jian remained noncommittal: “Once you begin proper cultivation, it won’t be like this anymore.”
During the brief rest,
Jiang Jian scanned the vast shopping mall, then added: “Shi Xuan and Xu Yu—where did they go?”
“But judging by the team’s kill count,”
“they’re probably fine for now.”
Du Fang nodded, voice tinged with bitterness: “That Moon-Seeking Blade—a Level 3 Divine Gift weapon, worth 3.6 million Alliance Coins, utterly dominant—how could he be in trouble?”
Jiang Jian shook his head: “I just had a thought.”
Song Ling asked: “What thought?”
Jiang Jian smiled: “The exam rules clearly state that you must activate your own Divine Gift talent.”
“Except for those with innate talents or those granted ‘weapons.’”
“For everyone else, Divine Gift weapons are external tools.”
“So…”
Jiang Jian tied the wooden sword to his waist: “The ghost dolls I killed with this wooden sword may not count toward the exam score.”
“Or rather,”
“their impact on the score is minimal.”
“By the same logic,”
“even if Shi Xuan slashes through them like cutting vegetables with the Moon-Seeking Blade,”
“when final scores are tallied,”
“it won’t add many points.”
As they spoke,
A massive black shadow suddenly dropped from the rotating light staircase!
Boom!
The heavy object hit the ground, kicking up dust!
The first-floor floor cracked with a massive fissure!
“That’s…”
“Xu Yu!”
Song Ling spotted it instantly, staring closely, and cried out in shock!
Jiang Jian’s expression shifted slightly as he turned his head.
The massive black mass was a huge bear.
Under the gaze of the group,
The bear crouched low and rapidly shrank.
Revealing a slender human form.
It was Xu Yu.
At the same time,
Continuous public alerts rang out.
“Team Alert: The Hanged Ghost is dead.”
“Number of Non-Citizens slain: 30.”
“Team Alert: The Photo Ghost is dead.”
“Number of Non-Citizens slain: 35.”
…
Song Ling hurried forward,
Activating Soul Healing to treat Xu Yu.
Jiang Jian sat before the light staircase, expressionless.
“Shi Xuan isn’t with Xu Yu.”
“Where did he go…”
Thoughts churned in his mind.
Jiang Jian glanced at his identity device.
“Remaining time: 105 minutes.”
“At this score, making the top 50 is pure fantasy.”
Thinking this, Jiang Jian’s gaze grew cold.
Bathed in white light, Xu Yu opened his eyes.
He struggled to open them, barely sitting up, face pale: “Thank you.”
Song Ling shook his head: “No need to thank me. Where did you go just now?”
Xu Yu’s voice was weak: “All the lights went out. In the dark, I was grabbed by the Elevator Ghost and sent straight to the sixth floor.”
“The sixth floor sells men’s clothing and shoes.”
“I killed over a dozen little ghosts.”
“Until just now, I encountered a Hanger Ghost.”
“It was too strong—I couldn’t beat it.”
“After forcibly crushing a few little ghosts,”
“it slammed into me and sent me crashing down from the sixth floor.”
Saying this,
Xu Yu looked relieved: “If not for my Divine Gift talent—Strength Like a Bear—I’d have died from the fall!”
Jiang Jian stepped forward: “With exam supervisors watching, you wouldn’t have died from the fall.”
“But a severe injury leading to elimination? Definitely possible.”
Soul Healing continued to flow.
Color slowly returned to Xu Yu’s face.
He sat up straight and sincerely said: “Thank you all.”
Song Ling said: “You’re too polite.”
Du Fang walked over and asked: “Was Shi Xuan with you?”
Xu Yu looked puzzled and replied: “Isn’t Shi Xuan right here?”
Hearing this, Du Fang froze.
Jiang Jian’s heart lurched as he slowly turned his head.
Toward the spot Xu Yu pointed.
There,
sat a broken claw machine.
Beside the machine stood a person.
Jiang Jian stared at the back of the “Shi Xuan,” a sharp warning rising in his mind!
Song Ling cried out: “Jiang Jian, that’s the fake person who just spoke to you!”
“It’s been here the whole time!”
Hearing this,
Xu Yu looked even more confused: “What’s going on? Isn’t Shi Xuan…”
Ssssh!
Blood and flesh sprayed!
Xu Yu’s words cut off mid-sentence!
He stared dumbly down at a bloody hole in his thigh.
A torrent of blood gushed out.
The next second.
Xu Yu rolled his eyes back and fainted.
“Xu Yu severely injured—individual assessment concluded!”
A cold voice came through the identity device.
At the same time.
The proctor, wearing a mask, landed and picked up Xu Yu, exiting the shopping mall immediately.
“Watch out! It’s still here!”
Song Ling screamed in terror.
The “Shi Xuan” who had just struck still stood quietly not far away.
In its hand, it clutched a bloody, mangled piece of human flesh.
“Delicious.”
The dummy smiled, tossed Xu Yu’s flesh into its mouth, and swallowed it in two or three bites.
(End of Chapter)
End of Chapter
