Thoughts Brought About by the Names of Phantom Objects

With her joints twisting and muscles tangling, Feng Xue's body swung out a bizarre punch in a contorted posture, resembling a monster from a nightmare unleashing its tentacles.

Although the little monster's eyes were not visible, it keenly sensed Feng Xue's changes. Its body made two unnatural turns in mid-air, and its strange mouth, with teeth as uneven as bone nails, seemed to have locked onto Feng Xue's throat.

However...

Snap!

Feng Xue's fist, which had been swinging from the side, suddenly transformed into a downward hammer blow, slamming hard into the disgusting-looking little thing.

The little thing, which looked like chunks of meat, entrails, and all sorts of strange bodily fluids mixed together in a blender, was not much different in texture or appearance from its appearance. But when Feng Xue chopped it down, it was slammed hard onto the ground and turned into a real puddle of minced meat.

"I've never seen anything like this before. It doesn't look like a common parasitic monster either. Those things definitely don't develop this slowly."

Qing Jin looked at the pile of rotten flesh, muttered something with a hint of disgust, then looked at Feng Xue with a slightly wary expression and said:

Is your hand alright?

"It's slightly corrosive, but short-term contact shouldn't cause any problems." Feng Xue casually tore a piece of cloth from the corner of her clothes, wiped away the sticky substance on the side of her palm, and made her guess based on the slightly yellowed sole.

The detective finally recovered from the mental pain. He looked warily at the lump of flesh, seemingly worried that it would erupt again, but after finding that it was indeed not showing any mental fluctuations, he finally nodded to Qing Jin.

Upon seeing this, Qing Jin immediately condensed a ball of cold flame and threw it onto the wreckage.

Like dumpling fillings with various colored juices such as spinach, pineapple, strawberry, and blueberry, the flesh and blood slowly turned black as it burned in the flames, but it did not emit any smell.

Until all traces had turned to ashes, the Snake Pupil, which had been tenderly stroking the little snake, finally turned their attention to it:

"Without Obsession Item, it seems this isn't the Main Body."

"As expected." The detective gently pressed his brow and nose, which he had pinched until they were bruised and purple, then looked at Feng Xue as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end he didn't speak. Instead, he turned his attention back to the well opening and said with a headache:

"This guy actually knows how to release a scapegoat; he seems quite clever. We must find a way to get rid of him before he 'falls asleep'."

Upon hearing the keyword "falling asleep," Feng Xue perked up slightly, and then heard Qing Jin sigh:

"It's not that easy. We haven't even figured out what kind of thing it is yet. Trying to catch it is just a pipe dream."

"That little thing that could ignore Qing Qing's poison before must be some kind of flesh and blood puppet, which might be related to 'Hoss'." Snake Pupil's voice was tinged with coldness. Although there was no reason, his body even shivered uncontrollably when he heard the name "Hoss".

"Hoss... The power of the Translation Konjac wasn't translated; it must be a name or a proper noun. Speaking of which, the Phantom Object of these three seem to be from the same series: Veebull, Regin, Quess... Could these be some kind of unique secret of this world?"

This intuitive deduction led Feng Xue to ponder the characteristics of the three people's Phantom Object, and all three fell silent simultaneously. After about thirty seconds of deathly silence, Qing Jin finally spoke:

"Anyway, I'll get the message to the branch first. Luckily, I only just woke up today, so I should be able to hold out for five days."

"I'm about the same, but using this Obsession Item is a bit too much of a burden. I can only last three more days at most." The detective glanced helplessly at his sapphire brooch, then shook his head and said:

"Anyway, I'll go to the police station first and see if I can get a record of the deceased's social circle and itinerary during this period. Maybe I can find some clues."

"Sigh, I haven't slept for five days... Oh well, my Obsession Item still has some effect in this regard. I'll just enter a state of semi-sleep for now. Call me the old way if you need anything." After saying that, Snake Pupil didn't even bother to discuss it further and turned to leave. However, Feng Xue could sense that the other party was slightly wary of her.

"Is it because the Heavenly Demon All Forms Fist has aroused some suspicion?" Feng Xue thought to herself, but didn't dwell on it. She simply reached out and grabbed the dejected Ghost Hand beside her, and sighed:

"As you can see, my Obsession Item is such a troublesome thing. Although it is very powerful, it has its own consciousness. Is there a safe place for me to rest? I only woke up today, so I should be able to hold on for quite a while."

Qing Jin and the detective exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating something, before Qing Jin spoke first:

"How about this, you come with me to the branch. Although it's just a liaison point, it has a special Obsession Item placed there that can suppress the activity of the Obsession Item and the dream beast."

Feng Xue thought to herself, "The plan works!" But outwardly, she hesitated slightly before nodding and saying, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Contrary to Feng Xue's expectations, the so-called branch was not a hidden room in a bar, karaoke bar, or other store, but a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, though the decoration was... well, let's just say it wasn't great.

The three bedrooms and a small Living Room were decorated like independent studio apartments, while the large Living Room had only a round table and a sofa, surrounded by bookshelves.

"The second bedroom on the left is still empty, you can use it as you like. The books on the bookshelf are all open to the public, as long as you don't damage them, it doesn't matter. I'm going to write my report now."

Qing Jin spoke, he turned and went into the master bedroom. Feng Xue casually glanced at the books on the bookshelf, but her attention was drawn to the vase in the center of the round table.

Name: Phantom Object: Grauen's Wine Vessel

Elements: [Alcohol], [Vessels], [Hallucination], [Intoxication], [Impulse]

Description: An artifact from a Great Existence, capable of emitting a fragrance of wine imperceptible to humans, causing any extraordinary being who comes into contact with it to become intoxicated.

Note: Although... there are quite a few people who, instead of sleeping, act out after getting drunk...

"Tsk tsk..." Feng Xue couldn't help but marvel at the characteristics of this Phantom Object, but then he realized from the naming format that all the Phantom Object in this world might really be like this.

Is it the influence of more than one 'Great Existence'? Is it Weird Tale? Or simply multiple identities of one being?

Feng Xue pondered this question, then took a small booklet titled "The Dreamkeeper's Rules" from the bookshelf and quietly began to read it...

Headache, only one chapter today.