At the instant their minds clashed, the string in Qin Feng's mind known as [Item Affinity] was plucked to its absolute limit by an unprecedented force!
"Buzz—!"
The world instantly "dissolved" within Qin Feng's perception.
He was no longer a person holding a phone.
The physical structure of the dormitory building faded away, replaced by a digital dimension composed of flowing light and radio waves.
Countless streams of data surged through the walls, floor, and ceiling like glowing capillaries;
Wi-Fi signals filled the air like colorful, whispering pollen;
Every electronic device emitted a faint yet unique "heartbeat."
Under the practically BUG-level power of [Item Affinity], every communication line, network cable, signal, and magnetic field in the building was temporarily "attuned" to him, becoming extensions of his senses and weapons of his will!
He became a... network ghost drifting through a sea of bits!
An enormous flood of information poured into his brain, yet it was processed in perfect order.
Every router port, every data transfer through the switches, every phone's signal strength... all of it was crystal clear within his perception.
And at that very moment, he finally "saw" the true nature of Ghost Call.
It was not a ghost in the conventional sense. It had no physical form and no core of resentment.
It was a piece of code.
A piece of... "resentment code" that parasitized modern information networks, feeding on human "fear" as it endlessly replicated and spread itself!
Its attacks were cold, primitive, and efficient, like a digital viper that knew only how to bite.
But to Qin Feng, a modern man from a past life who had endured endless information bombardment, that attack pattern... was far too primitive.
"So that's it. You're just a virus." Qin Feng smiled, utterly relaxed.
A virus? What if I fought it head-on using the methods of rogue software?
He mobilized his spiritual power, using it as the processing power that drove his mind. Through the "terminal" in his hand—his phone—he sent his voice, in an inconceivable manner, directly into the core of the "resentment code" rushing toward him!
"Hello, this is the Underworld KPI Assessment Center. I am your dedicated performance inspector, employee number 9527, Qin Feng."
His voice traveled through the signal network and rang directly within the Weird Tale's logical core, calm, professional, and utterly emotionless.
"According to the system's evaluation, your recent performance has been poor. Your methods are monotonous, your propagation efficiency is slow, and you only know how to use outdated direct-hook phishing methods like 'Death Notice.' Your customer conversion rate is extremely low."
"Under Article 4, Clause 1 of the Underworld Performance Management Regulations, you will now undergo emergency retraining in business capabilities. Please listen carefully. There will be a quiz afterward, and failure will result in immediate erasure."
Ghost Call's violent mental assault seemed to crash into an invisible firewall built from a higher level of "logic," instantly scattering into pieces.
Countless colorful, flickering garbled characters suddenly burst from the pitch-black data stream, resembling a program's final struggle before crashing.
Its simple logical chain based on "fear-death" was being forcibly overwritten and contaminated by an unheard-of modern business logic full of temptation: "performance-commission-market-KPI"!
Within the Weird Tale's logical core, the most basic question even surfaced: KPI... what... is that?
Qin Feng gave it no chance to think. The sales pitch he had passively learned from countless spam calls in his previous life poured out in an unending torrent:
"First, your target customer profile is inaccurate!
"You only pick deadbeat college students with weak Yang energy and frail wills. Even if you harvest such low-quality customers, how much commission can you get from their 'fear value'?
"You should think long-term and focus on market penetration and premium customization!
"Choose successful people with abundant fortune, business tycoons, and high-ranking political officials!
"Only by cracking those tough nuts can your performance explode, and only then can you receive enough Yin Virtue bonuses at the end of the year to spend with both hands!"
The Weird Tale's black data stream began trembling violently. It tried to launch another attack, but its mental assault turned into meaningless bytes halfway through.
Buy... buy one, get one free?
Death... death... fifty percent off?
It could not understand.
It only knew how to create fear, then kill people.
What... is a bonus?
"Second, your product line is far too limited!
"You only know physical death? That's too low! There's no technical content at all!
"Look at Ouija Ghost from the neighboring team. It has already started differentiating its competition!"
Qin Feng's voice was filled with disappointed regret.
"You should expand your business and enrich your product matrix!
"For example, launch a 'Social Death' package for people who care about saving face;
"A 'Relationship Collapse' package for couples in passionate love;
"And a 'Guaranteed Exam Failure' package for college students like us!
"You need diversified development and refined operations. Only by meeting the personalized needs of different customers can you build your business moat. Understand?"
At that moment, the weakness analysis for [Ghost Call] on Qin Feng's system panel, which had originally been "???," finally refreshed!
[Weird Tale Compendium activated!] [Target locked: Ghost Call] [Danger Level: D-Class (Threat Level: Dangerous)] [Sin Points: 150 (Continuously increasing)] [Background Story: I will announce my arrival.] [Rule Analysis: From the moment you receive the call, the countdown to death officially begins.] [Weakness: Its logical structure is simple, based on one-way feedback from 'fear.' It can be overwritten, disrupted, or even formatted by more complex 'information flows' or 'logical loops' containing spiritual power. (Status: Severely disrupted; logic on the verge of collapse)]
The instant he saw the weakness analysis, the smile on Qin Feng's lips became increasingly cruel and savage.
"Lastly," his voice abruptly turned icy, filled with unquestionable authority like a final judgment, "on behalf of our 'Underworld KPI Assessment Center,' I am formally notifying you now."
"You are fired."
Those final four words were like an administrator command with the highest authority, plunging that chaotic code into a frozen halt like a system crash.
"Because we have found an entirely new replacement—one more efficient and with greater potential—"
The moment he finished speaking, Qin Feng slowly raised the M-7 "Spiritbreaker" pistol in his hand. The black muzzle glimmered with cold killing intent.
His gaze pierced through the dimensions of reality and data, accurately locking onto an inconspicuous broadband port in the corner, connected to countless network cables.
That was the central network node of the entire dormitory building! It was the most crucial... server for this "network virus" within the building!
His earlier "logical bombardment" had successfully locked all of the Weird Tale's consciousness and power onto that physical hardware, leaving it nowhere to escape!
"At the end of this training call," Qin Feng said, "I'll give you one of our company's golden rules—"
His cold gaze remained fixed on the network node, while a cruel curve formed on his lips.
"The customer is God."
He pulled the trigger.
"Bang—!"
The dull gunshot exploded through the cramped dorm room!
A bullet shimmering with silver runes precisely shattered the network port. Its powerful spirit-breaking force instantly vaporized and annihilated the data stream contained within.
Qin Feng lowered his gun, blew away nonexistent smoke, and softly completed his final sentence.
"And God has the right to dispose of your sins."
Before you continue