Mimicry

Mimicry

Breakfast time.

Chen Li and her brother had prepared generous portions of fried egg noodles for everyone.

Granny Wang and her husband, along with the five-member team, had all gathered here.

Aside from Edward and Han Dong, who appeared normal, the other team members all seemed somewhat off...

After setting down the bowls of noodles, Granny Wang spoke.

"The Soul Transfer Ritual will be held at the end of the Snake hour, in Chen Li's room.

I need to make preparations and arrange the ritual site in advance... I'll notify you when the time comes.

While I'm setting up, no one is allowed inside except my old man.

Any recklessness might scare away the 'Substitute Child.' Understood?"

"Mm."

There were still more than two hours until the ritual began.

Edward proposed using this time to determine the accessible area.

Considering that this single-story house, inhabited by Possessed Chen Li, might later develop into an extremely dangerous area.

Moreover, the system had designated a movable area with a radius of five hundred meters.

It was necessary to survey the area in advance and draw a detailed map.

Herbert, the paperboy, said that besides selling newspapers, he had also learned mapmaking from his father. As long as the area was not too large, he could draw a fairly accurate map after walking through it once.

"Captain... I'm not feeling well," Han Dong said.

Edward looked at Han Dong's skinny, yellowish body with a smile. "Then stay in your room and rest. Leave the mapmaking to us."

"Thank you."

As the team's translator, Han Dong was irreplaceable.

No one objected to his wish to rest, at least not openly.

As Edward led the team away, Han Dong took a deep breath and prepared to carry out his plan.

Edward's principle of "non-interference" seemed flawless on the surface. It appeared to be the safest and most reliable way to stay alive.

But there was a problem with it.

Could "Edward" truly be trusted?

In an event with such a terrifying Mortality Rate, it would be utterly foolish to have no ideas of one's own, no backup plans or contingencies, and simply wait for danger to arrive.

In one respect, Han Dong was somewhat similar to the bald De Leon.

From the very beginning, he had never intended to trust anyone. At such a life-or-death juncture, Han Dong did not believe that a group of strangers would help one another.

"Uncle Liu, where are you going?" Han Dong happened to run into Granny Wang's husband, who was heading downstairs at the Staircase Entrance.

"I'm heading into town to buy some things for your aunt... A ritual needs some small items. It's complicated, and I couldn't explain it to you anyway."

"Alright."

After returning to his room, Han Dong took out the props he had prepared in advance from his Backpack.

The other team members had used the 500 yuan issued by the system to buy some survival "necessities."

Han Dong, however, had set aside some money to buy several sets of country clothes, one of which was identical to Uncle Liu's.

Faceless One's Head

One of its abilities—Mimicry.

The Han Dong from before his death replicated by the head looked so real that even Han Dong himself would have struggled to distinguish it from the real thing in a mirror. That was Enough To prove how authentic this "Mimicry" was.

After making some preparations, Han Dong mimicked Uncle Liu's appearance and arrived at the room being prepared for the ritual.

"Old Wang, why are you wandering around? If you've got nothing to do, come help set things up."

Alone with her husband, Granny Wang had completely lost the air of a proper "spirit medium."

She was currently sitting by the bed, playing on her phone... There were not many things to prepare, really. They only needed to place some offerings on the wooden table, while the Substitute Child paper effigy had simply been tossed into a corner.

"Is this arrangement alright?" Han Dong tried arranging the fruit offerings on the table.

"As long as it's neat, that's enough. There aren't so many rules... Same as before, give 'Chen Li' the drug first later. Her health isn't very good, so use two-thirds of the dosage.

I've already prepared the antidote. Once this is done, we split the money sixty-forty."

At that moment, Han Dong immediately understood how the rather famous Granny Wang had been "exorcising spirits and curing illnesses."

"Alright..."

Han Dong promptly returned to his room, changed into another outfit, and disguised himself as Da Qing.

Han Dong had learned beforehand that Da Qing had already ridden his motorcycle to the town two hours away to buy groceries.

After all, lunch still had to be prepared for at least seven people.

Once the disguise was complete, Han Dong tried to immerse himself in the role of "Da Qing"... However, this disguise operation differed from the previous one.

The Danger Level was self-evident.

Possessed Chen Li was highly likely to be the "evil spirit" in this event.

Creak.

He pushed open the half-closed Wooden Gate of the hall.

Chen Li, her face blank, was resting against the sofa.

During the daytime, she did not seem much different from a normal person. Only, on the table before her lay a sharp kitchen knife that had just been used to cut vegetables... its blade gleamed coldly.

"Sis, are you alright?"

"Close the door," Chen Li said softly.

Han Dong remained calm, turning to close the door... He took a deep breath and prepared himself for a fight.

"Didn't you go buy groceries?" A cold voice came from behind him.

When he turned around, Chen Li was already holding the kitchen knife... her body leaning forward as though she were about to rise.

Han Dong steadied himself and did his utmost to imitate Da Qing's way of speaking.

"There's no rush to buy groceries. I'm just a little worried about whether 'this matter' can go smoothly."

Han Dong's words were perfectly timed.

"This matter" seemed to refer to the Soul Transfer Ritual... but if there was some private matter between the siblings, he could use those words to draw it out as well.

Who would have thought—

Chen Li said nothing.

She slowly rose with the kitchen knife in hand... As her body leaned forward, her hair fell over her face, leaving only her red lips visible.

As she approached Han Dong... Buzz!

She brought the knife down.

The gleaming, razor-sharp kitchen knife chopped into the wall beside Han Dong's head... At that moment, Han Dong and Chen Li's faces were less than a fist apart, and he could clearly see the Blood Filaments filling her eyes.

"These foreign students who followed us here are a huge problem... But this is the revenge opportunity we've prepared for so long, and it's our only one.

Continue according to plan. Find a way to sabotage Granny Wang's van. I'll find a way to scare all these college students off."

Whew...

Hearing that answer, Han Dong let out a breath of relief.

The instant Chen Li swung her knife, Han Dong's body had also stiffened... Only because he had died once before had he managed to suppress that tension that came with death drawing near.

Han Dong thought, *As expected, having some understanding of the country's circumstances is useful.

In Kyushu Country, censorship of feudal superstition is especially strict... Behind domestic horror films, there is often a human cause.*

When the system notified him that The Hex was a Kyushu Country film, Han Dong had considered the possibility that the movie itself might not contain any "ghosts."

That was also why he had dared to approach Chen Li alone.

Still... that instant just now had startled him badly. His palms were drenched in sweat.

That made things clear.

The roles of the event's characters had now been completely identified.

Granny Wang was merely a fraudulent spirit medium who cheated people out of money. Because of something that had happened in the past, she had formed a grudge with the siblings.

Chen Li and Da Qing had simply lured Granny Wang and her husband here, intending to carry out their revenge plan in this remote wilderness.

Then the question was—

Where was the evil spirit?

Just Then, a separate system voice echoed in Han Dong's mind.

Side Event activated: Choice

Event requirements (optional):

1. Assist Granny Wang and her husband in escaping the Abandoned Manor.

2. Assist the siblings in killing Granny Wang and her husband in advance.

Event rewards:

① Increase the probability of obtaining a "Destiny Card (Novice Level)" during final reward settlement.

② Increase or decrease your relationship with the event characters.