Chapter 2: The Eccentric Ghost Story Researcher Who Doesn

Under the dim streetlamp, Okura Sa'u bulged his eyes and gesticulated wildly as he described what he had seen.

"If that's the case, how did you even escape?" Lu Qing did not believe him outright but countered with a question.

The Ghostly Presence, the corpse, and even the mantis he mentioned—all were Ghost Stories of high danger to humans; he himself had 'died' twice, so clearly he wasn't some hidden master.

"I don't know why that thing targeted me?!" Okura Sa'u clutched his head in agony, crouching on the ground, his heart thrashing like a wild rabbit trapped in a cage.

At that moment, the light on the third floor of the building above faintly flickered to life; a bone-chilling cold spread upward from his soles.

Lu Qing shivered.

"What's going on?!"

The cold night wind wrapped around Lu Qing; his once clearly divided black-and-white eyes instantly transformed—the black pupil at the center of his irises twisted into a vortex, and faint threads of ominous black energy seeped out slowly.

"Hey, are you okay?"

After venting, Okura Sa'u's emotions calmed considerably; he stood up and noticed the strangeness emanating from Lu Qing.

That shout exploded like thunder in Lu Qing's ears; he snapped back to awareness and realized he had somehow walked to the stairwell entrance where Okura Sa'u had just burst out.

【Ghost Story 'Bug Grudge' detected. Difficulty rating: Medium. Task requirement fulfilled.】

"I'm fine..."

He shook his head, forcing himself to appear normal, then exchanged LINE contacts with Okura Sa'u, instructing him not to panic if he encountered the mantis again and to gather as much information as possible for him.

"Niino-kun, thank you so much for believing me."

Before leaving, Okura Sa'u bowed deeply to Niino Li, then sprinted off without looking back—he wouldn't pass through here again for a long time.

"I never expected a Medium-difficulty Ghost Story event right near my place..." Murmuring to himself as he scrolled through his phone, Niino Li recalled his own strange behavior moments ago.

According to the system, Ghost Story events are classified as Low, Medium, High, and the highest tier—Special; the first two he had resolved barely qualified as Low.

The next one won't be easy.

He stumbled back to his cheap rented apartment, sighed, and pulled out his keys to unlock the door.

The previous owner, a second-year student at a Tokyo private high school, had only enough income from part-time work at a convenience store.

Moreover, his family life had been fraught with hardship: his father vanished when he was young, leaving behind a sickly mother who raised him and his younger sister in their hometown.

Only after the previous owner studied hard and gained admission to the Tokyo private high school did he begin living alone, carrying the hopes of his entire family—so living in this place was already a stroke of luck.

The space wasn't large, but it was cheap enough to suit a single occupant.

The entrance led to a narrow kitchen, and further inside was a room serving as both living room and bedroom.

The bathroom was a triangular cubicle containing only a toilet, a sink, and an old, frequently clogged showerhead—no bathtub.

There was also a barely usable balcony for drying clothes, the main source of supplemental light.

Plugging his phone into the charger, Niino Li rushed to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and scrubbed away his fatigue.

Holding a dry towel in one hand to dry his hair, he opened his phone and navigated to a website called "Ghost Story Chronicles" to search for related content.

The site's most striking feature was its oppressive, man-eating black background and malicious crimson text—enough to deter countless teenagers who came seeking thrills.