Containment

Chapter 16: Containment

During breakfast.

Han Dong also mentioned he wasn't feeling well and took his fried egg noodles back to his room... in reality, it was because Han Dong had something to do.

First, he began analyzing the death of 'Herbert'.

He took out paper and a pen, placing them beside the noodle bowl, and started recording and analyzing as he ate.

"Everyone experienced the Evil Spirit appearing last night.

Of the four of us who survived, some left their beds, but no one left their rooms... Herbert's room window was wide open! It's obvious he jumped out the window in panic, which is how the Evil Spirit targeted him.

Restriction!

My guess is probably correct.

At least last night, the Evil Spirit might have been restricted from entering rooms... or perhaps restricted to 'killing only one person,' thus deliberately choosing Herbert, who jumped out the window.

But I can't guarantee that such a 'restriction' will continue.

Perhaps as the time limit shortens, the Evil Spirit's restrictions will become smaller.

After all, at its current rate of causing harm, there might only be two of us left alive by the end of the event."

Han Dong recorded all the details he could think of and made reasonable guesses in his notebook, preparing to use future events to verify these hypotheses.

Secondly, the main reason for returning to his room was...

Just after the siblings had their success last night, Han Dong received a system prompt:

『Side Quest [Choice] - Completed

The probability of obtaining a [Destiny Card (Novice Grade)] upon the conclusion of this event will increase by 10%.

Additionally, your intimacy with the important character [Possessed Chen Li] has significantly increased, and your relationship with the important character [Da Qing] has slightly increased.』

Significantly increased!

This was the 'fruitful harvest' Han Dong received yesterday after actively contacting Chen Li and offering his assistance.

During breakfast.

Han Dong secretly slipped a note to Chen Li, asking her to pretend to be unwell and come upstairs for a private conversation.

"When facing life and death, a team of strangers formed temporarily is not trustworthy... The only people I can fully trust are the event characters."

About five minutes passed, and Chen Li also came upstairs with her bowl of noodles.

"Come in..."

As Han Dong closed the door, he deliberately covered the glass window with newspaper.

"Thank you."

For a moment, Possessed Chen Li, whose appearance was rather terrifying and had led the team members to mistakenly believe she was 'possessed by an Evil Spirit,' lost control of her emotions and burst into tears when she was alone with Han Dong.

Hatred that had been suppressed for years was finally released.

"It's alright now."

Han Dong stepped forward to comfort Chen Li... trying to further increase their 'intimacy' to the maximum level.

As for the murdered Granny Wang and her husband, Han Dong felt nothing.

In Han Dong's eyes, within the Destiny Space, which felt like a game scene, all the characters were like game NPCs... not real people. The various intimacy levels and plot settings further confirmed this.

Just as Han Dong finished comforting her, another system sound echoed:

『Intimacy increased, your relationship with the event character [Possessed Chen Li] has been upgraded to 'Close Friend' (Note: Intimacy can be further increased.)』

Chen Li, slowly stopping her sobs, looked at Han Dong in front of her. "Thank you... If you're still planning to film, I'll play along and act for you."

"No need... Miss Chen Li, filming is a minor matter.

I asked you to come to my room because there's something very important that requires your and your brother's help."

"What is it?"

Han Dong said with a serious expression, "It's something that concerns my life and safety. Only you can help me."

If their relationship hadn't reached 'Close Friend,' Han Dong wouldn't have dared to reveal his predicament like this.

After a thorough explanation.

Chen Li, who had originally come upstairs with her bowl of noodles, surprisingly produced a cleaver from somewhere... giving the impression that she could access the 'cleaver' at any moment.

Instantly, a killing intent permeated the air, and even the room temperature dropped by two degrees.

At this moment, Han Dong himself began to doubt – 'Is this Chen Li... human or ghost?'

"... I will definitely help you!"

Just as Chen Li said this.

Buzz!

A ringing in his ears echoed all around, followed by a low voice in his head, distinctly different from the system prompts in the Destiny Space.

"Detected a special life form closely related to the subject. If the target is subjectively willing, 'Perfect Containment' can be initiated."

"Special life form!? As expected, Miss Chen Li isn't an ordinary person!"

Han Dong was greatly surprised.

A golden opportunity lay before him. If he could seize it, he could deepen his understanding of the Portable Prison and gain a powerful helper.

This was crucial for Han Dong, whose physique was relatively weak.

"Chen Li's character in the movie was a country girl who fell into an abyss of revenge after her mother's death... To achieve revenge, she was even prepared to be imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Her life's goal has been achieved, and she has few attachments to the mortal world.

Now is the perfect opportunity to contain her."

Hesitation leads to defeat.

Portable Prison, activate!

The teleportation process was completed in an instant... but their states were vastly different.

Han Dong was in the prison corridor, while Chen Li appeared directly inside the only cell!

What happened next sent a jolt through Han Dong.

The spotted tentacles lurking in the cracks of the stone walls grew wildly upon sensing the intrusion of an external entity.

They coiled around Chen Li's hands and feet... and one tentacle, disregarding the skull, pierced through the back of her head.

"Analyzing containment-related information..."

Due to the tentacle's invasion through the back of her head, Chen Li was in a peculiar state, her eyeballs rolling back and forth.

Han Dong's expression soured when he witnessed this scene... He had actually wanted Chen Li to actively choose whether she was willing to accompany him to the new world, rather than being forcibly contained like this.

"According to the system's prompt, Chen Li herself should be willing... I hope this method of containment doesn't harm her."

After waiting for about five minutes.

The information analysis was complete - [Possessed Chen Li]

Containment Method: Perfect Containment (High Affinity, the contained object willingly accepted the containment ritual)

Category: Corrupted One (Nourished by 'resentful energy' solidified from extreme negative emotions while alive, coupled with prolonged residence in areas with heavy Yin energy, resulting in mild Corruption.)

Combat Rating: E+

Advancement Path: Cultivating Evil

Abilities:

①. "Corruption" - Permanently increases all basic attribute values.

②. "Cleaver" - Origin weapon.

"No wonder the system gave Chen Li the prefix 'Possessed One,' she truly fell into the evil path through hatred!"

When the analysis concluded, the tentacles binding Chen Li automatically released and retracted into the wall.

At the same time, an inconspicuous dark mark was left on Chen Li's neck... requiring a close and careful examination.

The mark was a 'faceless figure with eight curved tentacles arranged symmetrically around it.'