The internet was flooded with messages about "the end of the world," He Xubai only glanced at them a few times before irritably tossing his phone aside, sitting back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Not long ago, his name was Wen Jingyan, but for some reason, he changed his body and identity.
This body was of higher quality, younger, and more handsome than the original one, and he was very satisfied, but he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
He had originally coveted Feng Qian's Koi Constitution and had even considered taking over Feng Qian's body for his own use.
But after thinking about it, I decided against it.
Luck is unpredictable. If he were to be killed in the process of taking over the body, all the things he had accumulated over a hundred years of survival would be wasted on someone else. That would truly be a loss.
Moreover, he really didn't like Feng Qian's looks, physique, or age.
He eventually gave up on the idea.
Of course, his "giving up" could also be due to Feng Qian's good luck.
His current identity is He Xubai.
As for why he doesn't use his original identity and name, but instead walks the world using the identity and name of this body?
This is because it's a limitation of Ghost Possession.
Similar to the "ghost possession" in traditional ghost stories, a ghost possesses a person, deceiving the living by posing as the "possessed person" and integrating into the human world. Once exposed, the ghost will become angry and start killing.
Once he uses his [Ghost Possession] ability to take over someone else's body, the [Ghost Possession] effect will immediately cease if the person notices and calls out his real name, and the ghost will show signs of violent resurgence.
Fortunately, everyone who knew his true form is dead, so his current possession effect is almost permanent unless he chooses to leave the body himself.
He abandoned "Wen Jingyan" partly to avoid the Investigation Bureau. Modern society's methods of location tracking are too advanced, and he didn't want to play Mao Mao with people all the time.
On the other hand...
He Xubai recalled his previous fantastical experiences.
After leaving Headquarters, he wanted to contact the mastermind behind it all and reconnect.
However, the other party has only been communicating with him one-way. Ever since he stirred up trouble in the Ghost Village and released countless Fierce Ghosts, that person has never given him any new orders, as if they have abandoned him as a pawn.
That won't do, he won't agree!
He sacrificed so much, even going so far as to incite chaos throughout the world. You think you can get rid of him with a super-strong black box? No way!
Initially, he used the black box as a medium and tried to locate the other party's position using several Supernatural Item, but unfortunately, it didn't work.
Just as he was feeling frustrated and exasperated, he suddenly began to drift off... truly drift off, his consciousness rising uncontrollably.
At that moment, he felt himself rising higher and higher, as if he were ascending to heaven. Before long, he flew out of the earth and saw the sun, moon, and stars.
Upon reaching this point, his consciousness did not stop its ascension; instead, it continued to fly out of the Milky Way, seemingly far exceeding the speed of light, traversing countless light-years with each breath.
When he finally stopped, he found himself standing in front of a towering tree.
The tree had an eerie metallic sheen and was so enormous that it exceeded the typical size of a tree; it looked more like a mountain range cast from solidified bronze.
He Xubai was unable to describe the awe he felt from the giant tree. His gaze lingered on the trunk for a moment before he felt dizzy and mesmerized, and bizarre spots of color began to flicker uncontrollably at the edges of his vision.
He quickly looked away and saw two creatures that looked like humans standing under the tree, seemingly discussing something.
He Xubai couldn't see their faces clearly, only their outlines.
"What do you want from me?" The taller figure suddenly turned to look in He Xubai's direction and asked.
"Who are you? And where is this place?" He Xubai asked back, completely bewildered by the situation.
The two did not answer He Xubai's question, but merely glanced at him a few times before starting to chat.
"Is this guy out of his mind? He tried to find you time and time again, but now that he's finally seen you, he's just staring blankly and asking who you are."
"Perhaps it's because the way I summoned him was rather unusual, or maybe he hasn't quite come to his senses yet."
Upon hearing this, He Xubai finally realized that one of these two strange guys must be the mastermind he was looking for!
It's no wonder he didn't recognize him; the other party always appeared in a different form, and He Xubai was also stunned by the "consciousness ascension" and the Bronze Giant Tree, so his mind was a little confused.
As his thoughts raced, he regained his composure, skipping the pointless introductions and inquiries about the other person's identity, and asked humbly, "You haven't contacted me in a long time, is there anything you want me to do?"
Upon hearing this, the two figures opposite suddenly burst into laughter, especially the slightly shorter one on the right, who laughed particularly loudly and didn't forget to make a sarcastic remark:
"Young man, you're truly a chosen one. The boss won't assign you any work, so you actually went to the boss yourself and asked him to give you tasks?! Are you related to SpongeBob SquarePants?"
He Xubai remained calm and composed. He was no delicate young man; he was a seasoned veteran with a thick skin, and verbal sarcasm meant nothing to him.
He didn't want to work voluntarily, but he wanted "wages".
The tall figure standing on the left seemed to see right through him, waved his hand, and said, "Go back and prepare yourself. Get ready; your time to shine is coming soon."
Before He Xubai could speak again, he found himself sinking, a feeling similar to falling off a cliff in a dream. In an instant, his consciousness returned to his body.
When he opened his eyes again, he was drenched in cold sweat. Although the meeting had yielded no results, he had witnessed the other party's unpredictable methods, which strengthened his resolve to curry favor with them.
However... perhaps because his consciousness had briefly left his body, it caused some interference. He felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if he was rejecting Wen Jingyan's body.
So he activated his [Ghost Possession] ability and took over He Xubai's body.
Even after the body was changed, he still felt uncomfortable, just not as badly as before, and could Neglect if he just endured it.
Then he just rested, waiting for his time to "shine".
Abnormal phenomena are occurring all over the world; the apocalypse has truly arrived. Thinking of this, He Xubai picked up his phone again, opened a short audio novel about apocalyptic rebirth, melodrama, fantasy, ethics, farming... and tried his best to ignore the discomfort in his body, closed his eyes, and slowly fell asleep.