Bang, Bang, Bang~~

After returning to his rented apartment, Lu Siye took out the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" from the System space and placed it on the table, intending to upgrade it to the fourth level.

He placed his hand on the cultivation technique and silently chanted "Upgrade."

"Ding~ This upgrade requires 2000 Fear Points. Host's Fear Points are insufficient. Upgrade failed!" The System's merciless voice sounded in his ear.

"Damn it, the third level only required 400 points, and the fourth level needs 2000 points. System, are you a profiteer!" Lu Siye couldn't help but complain.

He was still over 500 Fear Points short, so it seemed he needed to squeeze some more out of somewhere.

Putting the cultivation technique away, Lu Siye took out his phone and clicked on the website link Chen Feiguang had sent. The phone screen flashed, displaying a website that looked quite legitimate.

Although it looked legitimate, it was actually a ghost website behind the scenes. Lu Siye browsed it and found that the entire website only offered welfare coupons of different durations.

After some consideration, Lu Siye decided to first buy a welfare coupon marked for ten years to test the waters.

Of course, before buying, he reported it to the Town Demon Suppression Division to avoid his account being frozen after the funds arrived.

After closing his phone, Lu Siye arranged the 27 cultivation postures for the first three levels on the ground and began to further enhance his control over the Yang energy within his body.

"Ah~ Finally, I can get off work!" At the furniture store, Zhuang Xiaoman glanced at the time on her phone, stretched, and said happily.

"Ahhh! My body is so sore. Sister Xiaoman, you got commission today, got the contact information of a handsome guy, and you can leave work early. I'm so envious I'm about to undergo plasmolysis." A colleague with a baby face grabbed Zhuang Xiaoman's arm and pouted.

Speaking of handsome guys, Zhuang Xiaoman thought of that rugged and handsome face, and her cheeks immediately flushed slightly.

"Oh! I was just lucky. When you make a sale, you can also boldly apply to the supervisor to leave work early!"

Zhuang Xiaoman patted her head and withdrew her hand.

"Wuwuwu~ I've only been interning for less than a month, how can I make a sale so easily!" The baby-faced colleague said dejectedly.

"You have to believe in yourself, keep going!" After tidying up her personal belongings, Zhuang Xiaoman gave her colleague a fist of encouragement.

"I'm leaving now, bye-bye!"

"Mhm, bye-bye, Sister Xiaoman!" The baby-faced colleague waved.

After leaving the furniture store, Zhuang Xiaoman walked to her electric scooter.

She took out her phone and looked at Lu Siye, who hadn't sent her any messages all day. She couldn't help but edit a message and send it.

'I'm off work! (Smiling face)'

She waited for a while, and seeing that Lu Siye hadn't replied, she sat on her electric scooter somewhat dejectedly.

Just as she was about to leave, her phone notification chimed. It was that handsome guy replying!

'Okay! Be careful, remember to walk in crowded places.'

He's worried about my safety!

Looking at the message, Zhuang Xiaoman's heart beat a little faster, and a faint blush appeared on her face. She felt that the fatigue from the whole day's work had almost completely disappeared.

'Okay! (Cat nodding.jpg)'

After sending the message, Zhuang Xiaoman, with a smile on her lips, rode her electric scooter towards her rented apartment.

It was past nine o'clock in the evening, and there were still quite a few vehicles and pedestrians on the road.

The bright streetlights and the sound of cars whizzing by gave her a sense of security. Zhuang Xiaoman hummed an unknown song and turned at an intersection.

As she rode, she felt something was a bit off.

The pedestrians and vehicles around her had disappeared at some point. The shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the originally bright streetlights had become dim and flickered intermittently.

A cold wind blew, and Zhuang Xiaoman couldn't help but shiver. She smoothed the goosebumps on her arms, applied the brakes, and stopped under a streetlight, looking around fearfully.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered what Lu Siye had told her during the day.

"It's been a bit unsettling at night recently, try to get off work earlier and walk in crowded places when you go back."

Thinking of this, a chill ran down her spine.

"Don't scare yourself, Zhuang Xiaoman. There's no such thing as ghosts in this world; we have to believe in science!" Zhuang Xiaoman raised her hand and patted her cheeks, comforting herself.

Suddenly!

With a loud bang, a streetlight in front of her suddenly emitted a large burst of sparks, and the streetlight instantly went out, plunging that section of the road into darkness.

Wuuu~~

At the same time, a strong gust of wind blew from the alley by the roadside, emitting a chilling sound.

"Ah! I'm not taking this road anymore!" Zhuang Xiaoman was startled, trembling uncontrollably, her voice laced with tears.

She quickly turned her scooter around and sped back in the direction she came from.

"Amitabha, Buddha bless me! Infinite blessings from the Heavenly Venerable, Taoist Ancestor bless me! Jesus bless me..." Watching the shops recede beside her, Zhuang Xiaoman couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Suddenly, she saw two little boys run out from the alley by the roadside ahead, holding something round, like a ball, in their hands.

Zhuang Xiaoman instinctively felt something was wrong. Why would children be playing at the mouth of a dark alley in the middle of the night?

The children at the alley entrance seemed to have noticed Zhuang Xiaoman, the only pedestrian on the road. They quickly stopped, looked at her timidly, and then ran back into the alley.

Zhuang Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing strangers and running away, it seemed those two children should be fine.

Her electric scooter continued forward, and as she passed the alley entrance, she couldn't help but glance inside.

The entire alley was pitch black, without a single speck of light. Gusts of eerie wind blew out from within from time to time, like a passage leading to an abyss, giving off an inexplicable sense of dread.

Would the two children encounter any danger in an alley like this?

Zhuang Xiaoman swallowed, unable to stop her worry for the two children.

After hesitating for a moment, she got off her scooter, took out her phone from her pocket, turned on the flashlight mode, and walked towards the alley.

"Ah!"

Just as she was about to step into the alley, a searing heat spread across the back of her hand, causing her to cry out in pain.

Her somewhat muddled mind cleared up under the stinging pain. A gust of eerie wind blew, and Zhuang Xiaoman's hair stood on end.

Why did I have the thought of going in to find those two children?

Clutching her phone, she quickly retreated, her heart filled with lingering fear.

Flustered, she shoved her phone back into her pocket, jogged back to her scooter, and hastily twisted the throttle, speeding away from that eerie place.

After another minute or two, Zhuang Xiaoman glanced back. The creepy alley had disappeared from her sight, and her unease finally lessened.

Bang, bang, bang~~

Suddenly, a sound like a basketball hitting the ground came from ahead. Zhuang Xiaoman was startled and quickly turned her head to look forward.

In the middle of the road ahead, two small children were chasing each other under the dim streetlights. They were bouncing a ball on the ground, making a bang sound as it bounced into the hands of another child.

The two children seemed to have noticed Zhuang Xiaoman. They stopped, turned around with the ball in their arms.

Creeeak~

A piercing screech of brakes echoed on the empty road. Zhuang Xiaoman's eyes widened in terror. Her mind went blank, and her trembling limbs felt rooted to the spot, unable to move even half a step. Boundless fear washed over her like a tide, threatening to drown her.

They were two children, who looked no older than five or six, holding a decapitated human head. Their pure black eyes fixed on Zhuang Xiaoman, and they grinned, revealing teeth like saw blades.

"Little sister, stay and play ball with us!" A childish voice echoed in her ears.