Chapter 198: Play Around with Him

Tina's whether to test or directly imprison Feng Xue didn't matter to him; he wasn't trying to boost her confidence, but rather to distract the soldiers circling outside.

Fortunately, through the little bell, he clearly understood he'd been dragged into this, so he wasn't overly tense.

He casually removed the disposable gloves, unfastened his lab coat, tied the belt around his waist, confirmed the lifespan lock, then inserted the jade tablet and Jade Seal.

"Little Xiao Lingdang, what's the data monitoring status?"

"Relax, Master. A few of those soldiers are my devotees—I blocked the data transmission signals when they got close and generated fake ones; they won't detect anything in the short term. But they've already reported anomalies near West Shinjuku. Even if we eliminate this, they'll easily re-lock onto us."

Little Xiao Lingdang directly transmitted the situation into Feng Xue's spirit soul via consciousness communication. After swiftly scanning the group of scumbags' actions along the way, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"In that case, some tactics are definitely needed!"

Feng Xue rapidly constructed a plan in his mind, but Little Xiao Lingdang hesitated:

"Master, this requires massive computational power and erasure capability, and the He Xing likely have network backups, so…"

"No problem. You can operate through the darknet. If discovered, make it look like a temporary move by a resistance group meant to misdirect attention. Meanwhile, I don't need your help here—except for basic computational resources, divert everything. Must be done before I deal with this group."

Upon receiving Feng Xue's order, Little Xiao Lingdang offered no counsel and immediately entered the network world to alter the Book of Years. Feng Xue, meanwhile, found a wall about two corners away from his apothecary, casually sketched an unattractive graffiti on it, then used the 【Aging Technique】, infused a speck of spiritual light onto it, and immediately, a stream of turbid vows converged toward the spot.

Having finished this, Feng Xue activated the Concealment Charm and slowly walked toward the assimilated troops now scattered by the ghost wall—

"Occasionally, I'd like to test my conventional combat skills…"

…

"Damn it, how big is this place?" Kariho stared at the drone overhead, his face ashen. Over a dozen squads, nearly a hundred men entered a narrow alley—and emerged as just a dozen. Turn around again, and half were gone.

Even though he could still communicate via team channel, he struggled to keep his composure.

"Boss… boss, are we stuck in a ghost wall?" His brother-in-law huddled beside him, maxing out the tactical visor's scan modes. Overlapping fields of view made him nauseous, yet he forced himself to stare at the kaleidoscopic visuals, searching for anomalies.

"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll kill you first!" Kariho snapped. Then, suddenly, a chill ran through him—he'd taken only one step, yet the warmth beside him vanished.

It wasn't an illusion. His brother-in-law's constant body heat, pressed against his side, had just disappeared.

"Kōken? Kōken! Kōken, Lake Biwa!" Kariho's hair stood on end. He desperately hoped his brother-in-law had simply fallen silent out of anger—but on his tactical visor, the thermal signature that had been beside him was gone.

Not just his brother-in-law—all the remaining soldiers trailing him had vanished too.

"B…brother-in-law! Where'd you go?" His brother-in-law's tense voice crackled through the earpiece. Kariho dared not reply. In Nihon legends, demons that mimic family and friends were never rare.

And those demons always had one rule: answer, and you're doomed.

"Damn it!" Kariho gritted his teeth and stayed silent. But through the earpiece, voices from other squad members erupted in chorus.

"If these aren't illusions or demon imitations, then everyone's experiencing the same thing…"

Kariho bit his tongue, trying to break the illusion with pain, as he'd read in childhood tales.

But the result was unmistakable—he gained nothing.

"Damn!" His limited vocabulary left him frustrated. Then, suddenly, a violent electric current surged through his limbs and bones.

The agony nearly made him lose control—but as his vision went black, everything returned to normal.

The alley before him was still the same alley. His soldiers still held formation. The shouts over the team channel matched the distant cries echoing in reality…

"Back?" The soldiers cried in relief. As Kariho staggered in daze, a cold AI prompt echoed in his ear:

"Detected physiological anomaly, neural signal disruption. Initiating neuron reboot protocol. Current metrics restored. This is an emergency function. Usage logged. You may file an appeal. If you have any objections, please…"

"Appeal? Why would I appeal! I'm grateful for this function!"

Kariho breathed a sigh of relief, gaining new respect for his armor's capabilities—and realizing one thing:

"The ghosts here can fool humans—but not alien equipment!"

The moment this thought surfaced, Kariho froze. Hearing his soldiers clamoring around him, he suddenly bellowed:

"Everyone, quiet! Confirm your identity via onboard AI and report your ID codes. Remember what just happened—watch out for imposters!"

Tales of "doppelgängers" and "extra people" were known to every Nihonese. One warning was enough—everyone tensed.

"Biometric authentication protocol activated. Verifying."

Electronic voices chimed one after another. ID codes were recognized. Suspicion vanished instantly. Kariho exhaled—then, from his flank, a rapid "pss-pss-pss" of gunfire erupted!

"Damn it! Who the hell fired?!"

Even though the shooter's biometric code had been verified, over half the electromagnetic rifles instantly targeted him.

The shooter realized his mistake, immediately raising his weapon overhead, trembling:

"Boss! I just saw a dark shadow dart past—around the corner ahead!"

"Send your device's footage!" Kariho no longer trusted any human—even if true, the man might already be possessed. The shooter responded with a voice command.

The air around them suddenly grew hot—

In the footage, there did seem to be a humanoid shadow?

(End of Chapter)