New Trait: Ghost-Face Spatial Shift

In the underground prison of the Gods’ Psychiatric Hospital.

Zhou Meng watched the Ghost-Faced King in its cell with interest.

After stealing the Ghost-God Guidance drug and some necrotic cells from Zhao Kongcheng's body and stabilizing his condition, he had returned control of the body to Lin Qiye.

But the price of letting him possess Lin Qiye went beyond simply losing control of his body. After all, Zhou Meng's status was that of a true god.

As a result, Lin Qiye was hardly any better off than the gravely wounded Zhao Kongcheng. He merely recovered a little faster, and with the help of his powerful will, he managed to hold on without passing out until the other members of 136th Squad arrived.

After Zhou Meng's consciousness returned to the psychiatric hospital, he went straight from the Dean's Office to the underground prison. As soon as he entered, he saw the enormous Ghost-Faced King in Cell No. 1 at the far end, struggling to smash through the bars, only to be thrown back again and again. It was a ridiculous sight.

"Even locked up, you still can't settle down, huh?" Zhou Meng walked up to the Ghost-Faced King.

Sure enough, he could steal these monsters' traits too.

The Ghost-Faced King currently had the following traits.

[Cunning and Sly] [Tenacious Life] [Ghostface Spatial Aspect]

Cunning and Sly and Tenacious Life needed no explanation. This beast really was hard to kill. Chen Muye had badly wounded it, but it had still managed to escape.

Even cutting off its head wasn't enough. To kill it completely, one had to attack the white ghost-face that was its true body.

But neither of those traits was particularly useful.

Only its Forbidden Ruins, [Ghostface Spatial Aspect], was a blue trait.

"Zhou Meng, I was wondering why I couldn't find you anywhere. Turns out you found this dungeon before I did." Lin Qiye's voice suddenly sounded behind Zhou Meng.

He had probably already learned from Nyx that Jinian had left him a letter, so he had come to the Dean's Office to look for it and happened to discover this prison holding monsters.

The moment Lin Qiye saw the Ghost-Faced King in the cell, his gaze turned cold.

Although he had seen the information saying that if he raised the Ghost-Faced King's fear of him above 60, he could turn it into a hospital orderly that could also protect him, Lin Qiye had no fondness for this monster whatsoever.

It had killed many people, but Lin Qiye hadn't known them well, so he didn't care much.

But it had nearly killed Zhao Kongcheng, and that sent Lin Qiye's opinion of it plummeting to rock bottom.

He immediately reached out, intending to exercise his authority as director and strangle the Ghost-Faced King inside its cell.

"Wait, Qiye. Don't be so quick to act. From now on, this definitely won't be the only monster to threaten your life and your companions' lives. If you approach them all with that attitude, your hospital won't have any orderlies to help out in the future." Zhou Meng, leaning against the wall, suddenly spoke up.

Lin Qiye's outstretched hand abruptly stopped.

Zhou Meng seemed to have a point. Besides, the beast hadn't killed Zhao Kongcheng today, which had saved its own life.

It paid to listen to advice, especially when the warning came from a god.

"All right, I'll listen to you and spare the beast's life. This prison is so empty anyway. One more or one less won't make much difference." Lin Qiye withdrew his outstretched hand.

"Good! I was right about you, kid. You're willing to risk your life for a friend, but you're not completely ruled by your emotions. Staying in this psychiatric hospital of yours is pretty comfortable. In that case, I'll lend you another new trait to play with."

Zhou Meng casually reached toward the Ghost-Faced King, grabbed its blue [Ghostface Spatial Aspect] trait, and tossed it straight into Lin Qiye's body.

He took back Lin Qiye's original [Dark Night Flash] trait.

Lin Qiye looked a little disappointed, because he had experienced the power of those two traits firsthand.

Dark Night Flash had let him appear and disappear like a phantom in the dark, while the tremendous power of Star-Splitting Art had allowed him to cut off the Ghost-Faced King's head with a single precise strike, even though he had only just entered the Cup Realm.

Those two traits consumed a little too much mental power, though.

Otherwise, if he had used Star-Splitting Art one more time, the Ghost-Faced King would have been reduced to ashes long ago, and neither he nor Zhao Kongcheng would have ended up in danger.

Even now, recalling the scene three nights ago left Lin Qiye a little shaken.

If Zhou Meng hadn't thrown him a lifeline in his mind back then, he and Zhao Kongcheng might both have been sent to report to the King of Hell by now.

"Qiye, don't overthink it, kid. It's not that I don't want to keep lending you those two traits. Strictly speaking, the more traits you have, the more interest I collect—oh, no, I mean, the faster I recover."

"But at your current realm, you can only accommodate one purple trait or two blue traits. So even if I wanted to give you more, I couldn't. Only when you raise your realm quickly can I lend you more traits," Zhou Meng explained.

Zhou Meng wasn't lying to Lin Qiye. Just as he himself could currently steal only purple traits, Lin Qiye, at the Cup Realm, could accommodate only one purple trait or two blue traits beyond his own abilities.

Although Dark Night Flash was flexible, its function overlapped somewhat with Starry Night Dancer at night. Zhou Meng didn't think it was very suitable, so he simply swapped it for the Ghost-Faced King's Ghost-Face Spatial Shift. Perhaps it could catch opponents off guard.

"Brother Meng, come on. I can't thank you enough, so how could I be overthinking it? I just thought those two traits were useful, that's all. But Ghost-Face Spatial Shift's ability to alter space looks pretty good too!"

After Zhao Kongcheng was gravely injured, Lin Qiye thought a great deal, but in the end he decided to leave the little family that had sheltered him for so many years and join the Nightwatchers.

Even though Zhao Kongcheng hadn't died, if he hadn't held the Ghost-Faced King back, Lin Qiye as he was now could never have protected his aunt, his younger brother, and Little Black Scabby without Zhou Meng's help.

Thus, he had two reasons for joining the Nightwatchers: first, to repay the favor he owed Zhao Kongcheng, and second, to find a way to become stronger. Only by becoming stronger could he truly protect his family!

After he joined the Nightwatchers, Captain Chen Muye told Lin Qiye that for now he could only be considered an unofficial member. He would become a full-fledged Nightwatcher only after passing the centralized training program, and before that began, 136th Squad would give him special training!

All right, then. With Ghost-Face Spatial Shift, I'll definitely be able to give the captain and the others a surprise!

Zhou Meng and Lin Qiye then left the psychiatric hospital's prison. Lin Qiye's consciousness departed directly, while Zhou Meng returned to his room and examined his current condition.

[Ward No. 0]

[Patient: Zhou Meng]

[Divinity: God of Theft]

[Traits: Petty Theft, Parasitic Doppelgänger, Ghost-Face Spatial Shift]

[Current mental illness index: 99.82%]

Besides lending Lin Qiye traits, Zhou Meng had discovered that taking over and fighting in his place could also lower his mental illness index, and faster than merely lending traits.

Unfortunately, that required Lin Qiye's consent.

Even so, Zhou Meng could already see a glimmer of hope for being discharged!

After all, he was already a god. Lending out a few little traits and doing Lin Qiye a few small favors was no trouble, and it could also reduce his mental illness. Why not?

Unlike the other local patients, who were burdened by bitterness and hatred, he found that being a god was actually quite enjoyable!