Confronting Fear

"How did you get the information about the basement?"

Neither Jiang Pengyu nor Men Qian, who were present, had come to this conclusion. They didn't know how Yu Jing had confirmed the existence of the basement. Yu Xiaoxiao, leaning against the wall in the corner, also looked at Yu Jing with some confusion.

"Four details. Initially, I saw the white-clothed woman reflected in the TV screen in the second-floor room where you four were. The palms and soles of her feet, used to support her body, were covered in mud. Of course, it's not impossible that she got it from the muddy ground outside the inn.

Secondly, according to the old woman, the so-called Deep Mountain Inn was not originally located in this mountainous area of Dihua Ability Institute. In my opinion, the inn should coexist with the lurking ghost creatures here. My initial guess is that the inn is integrated with this evil spirit, and its main body should not be active outside the inn's area.

Furthermore, the mixed smell of decay and sandalwood emanating from the entire first floor decreased as the floors increased. Also, the plant bodies I released could not take root and spread within the walls of the first floor, which clearly indicates that someone was deliberately preventing me from investigating the structure of the first floor, especially the structure below the floor.

Finally, when I chose to stand between Yu Xiaoxiao and the white-clothed female ghost just now, she chose to leave instead of killing me. All three of us are qualified men. Based on this, we can infer that the location where the woman kills her designated targets is definitely not the guest rooms of the inn. She was a very principled person in her life, and the killing location should be in a hidden area of the inn.

In summary, assuming there are no mezzanines or hidden rooms in the inn, I believe that the lower part of the inn contains a basement used by this female ability disciple to abuse and kill men."

Yu Jing's analysis and explanation brought sudden clarity to everyone in the current team.

"It does make sense. Hu Zhi being killed for exceeding the age limit and Miss Yu being threatened with death is because they didn't meet the screening criteria of the female ability disciple. Yu Jing, do you know where the entrance is?" Jiang Pengyu asked.

Jiang Pengyu knew from his family's information, but he still let Men Qian, who was better at organizing his thoughts, answer.

"Similar to the methods used to interact with Spirit Ghost type ghost creatures, at the Rook Stage, we only need to adopt a certain method to alter our retinal structure, allowing our naked eyes to analyze this spiritual form substance expressed in energy, or to achieve it through some kind of filter... However, it's unlikely for us to achieve this with our current conditions."

Men Qian waved his hand, "Although I can perform retinal surgery, I don't have the materials."

"Modifying the retina or looking through some kind of filter? I might be able to do it, but it needs to be proven through experimentation..." Yu Jing's idea was simple: to use the plant body residing within him to modify the retina.

"Next, I will explain the last matter."

Yu Jing took out the bell hidden in his pocket and showed it to everyone.

Five bells of different sizes were tied to an iron rod with red thread. The item itself looked quite strange.

"This is an item I found under the bed in the old woman's room. I also saw this item in a dream. In the dream, when I shook it, it attracted a terrifying female ghost. I'm not entirely sure if it was the female ability disciple here."

The moment Men Qian saw the bell, he requested, "Can I take a look?"

As the bell was handed over to Men Qian, the latter immediately slid out a scalpel from under the skin of his elbow. Similar to how Yu Xiaoxiao hid her dagger near her ribs, Men Qian also hid a small scalpel in the flesh of his wrist.

"A bell, in everyday life, is a spherical object with a small metal ball inside. It makes a sound when the internal metal ball strikes the walls by shaking... May I take it apart to see what the core of this bell is?"

"As long as it doesn't make a sound, it should be fine," Yu Jing nodded and signaled everyone to be on high alert.

Men Qian cut off one of the bells bound by the red thread. Without touching the inside to make it ring, he pried the bell open and removed the spherical object inside. It wasn't the expected metal ball, but a dry, fleshy core full of grooves. The other three didn't know what it was.

"This is... a desiccated 'amygdala' from a brain, one of the high-level central nervous system structures in the brain that regulates human emotions, especially fear responses. Yu Jing, your guess was absolutely correct. Not only was the other party simply killing people, but this bell made from a human brain's amygdala has already become a 'cursed object'."

"Cursed object?"

"An item made by taking a part of the human body is called a cursed object. It can affect humans, but this production process involves the realm of witchcraft. If this bell rings, we will likely fall into fear and be unable to extricate ourselves... In this case, our situation is even worse than we imagined."

Yu Xiaoxiao, who had been listening to everyone, spoke at this moment:

"Cursing through hearing? In that case, if we destroy our eardrums, the bells naturally won't affect us. If we kill the thing here and return to Dihua, I believe Men Qian's skills can repair eardrums, let alone the specialists at Dihua's Medical School."

Yu Xiaoxiao seemed to disregard her own body, calmly stating the act of piercing her eardrums. However, this method was indeed simple and straightforward. When Yu Jing in his dream shook the bell, the feeling of falling into fear caused him to freeze in place, unable to move. One could imagine how dangerous it was.

Yu Jing rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "This method is indeed feasible. However, once we give up our hearing, coupled with our unreliable visual system when dealing with Spirit Ghost type ghost creatures, this battle will become incredibly difficult... I have a method, I wonder if you all dare to try it?"

"What method?" Jiang Pengyu already had a bad feeling.

... (One night passed.)

The next morning, in a corner room on the third floor of the Deep Mountain Inn.

The previously relatively tidy room was now completely unrecognizable. The double bed had been completely cut into pieces by sharp objects, the broken television had fallen to the ground, there were numerous fist-sized indentations on the walls, and vines had grown wildly throughout the room.

This chaotic room was the result of everyone's struggle against fear throughout the night.

"Hoo, hoo..."

Everyone, including Yu Xiaoxiao, was panting heavily.

At the same time, Men Qian re-secured the somewhat loose fixing device on Yu Xiaoxiao's right arm. The four of them had dark circles under their eyes, but their spirits were in a state of high tension.

"Did it succeed? Being plagued by fatigue and hunger, this feeling is truly unbearable. If we all survive this time, I, Jiang Pengyu, will treat you to a whole day of fun at a five-star hotel in Central District One," Jiang Pengyu said, lying on the ground like a starfish and panting.

Yu Jing leaned against the wall with one hand, his mind replaying the fearful experiences of the entire night.

The group had voluntarily shaken the bell to fall into fear, and ultimately returned to reality through their own will.

"Let's go, it's time to understand all of this. Let's focus on surviving first."