Bug

The sack-like chin shrouded the dark sun, and a sizzling sound like that of a teppanyaki grill, along with black smoke and a burnt smell, spread throughout the room, even diluting the stench of the corpses that had lingered there.

Feng Xue sat in the room, "enjoying" this bizarre scene, and couldn't help but feel grateful for the internal circulation function that came with the Kamen Rider System.

"This change can no longer be explained by normal possession, but there is no doubt that the student is still 'alive,' at least from the perspective of the [Ghost Catcher Master] Trait; he is merely possessed by a ghost, not that he has become a ghost."

Feng Xue pondered this inwardly, but felt a sense of unease.

In terms of intensity and danger, this thing, which appears to be a hungry ghost (I know some people will ask how I know this; in mythology, the image of a hungry ghost is one with a swollen abdomen but a emaciated body, and is never full), is actually less complete than Fire Ghost. Not to mention the level of completion, the sense of oppression it actually possesses is far less than that of Fire Ghost.

Feng Xue could only temporarily attribute this suppression to the fact that the previous battle had left supplies for the hungry ghosts, while the Fire Ghost had been weakened by fighting the other five ghosts and hadn't had time to digest what they had devoured.

However, these are all just things that Feng Xue forced together; if you really want to say something, the reverse is also true.

But as he continued to observe, his vision suddenly went black, and this time he knew what was happening—

As the evil spirit licked up all the odds and ends in the room, it also ate the Gu Poison Body he had left behind.

"Interesting. It can even eat Gu Poison Body. I wonder if it can really see them, or if it just accidentally swallowed the host along with the body."

Feng Xue muttered to herself, but didn't rush to open the door. Instead, she set up some self-defense tools in the room, then lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

Upon waking up, Feng Xue first pulled out a small thermometer-like device. This was one of the byproducts of his previous large-scale construction work. It didn't have any special functions; it could simply display the user's current mental state, just like a thermometer displays body temperature.

The reason it's considered useless is that it only provides a scale, but it can't distinguish whether you're just in a bad mood or Mental Pollution. Feng Xue only uses the difference in mental state before and after sleep to roughly judge whether you've been affected.

"The value increased slightly, which should be due to the rest effect of sleep. However, it's quite unexpected that that kid didn't come knocking on our door."

Feng Xue checked the items in the room and, after confirming there were no signs of intrusion, checked her armored state, got up, and opened her Room Door.

The Living Room was now completely transformed from yesterday's hellish drawing; there wasn't a single stain even in the cracks of the floor, as if it had been thoroughly licked clean.

On the round table in the center of the Living Room, the plate that held yesterday's hot pot dishes had long since been eaten by the Student Kid. However, the incense burner and the memorial tablet were still there, though the three Incense Stick had completely burned out.

"Nothing there? This Student Kid ghost isn't interested in government jobs?" Feng Xue was very curious about this situation. She immediately stepped forward, picked up the ancestral tablet, and examined it carefully. She found that it wasn't a temporary removal, but that there was really no trace of it "occupying" the tablet.

Or rather, the last remaining traces of habitation inside were left by that Fire Ghost.

"Your Wonderful Brush Beneficial Calculation Star Lord!"

"Don't call me that shameful name!" Hearing Feng Xue's call, the spirit of the Ouija board immediately floated out of the pen with a hint of resentment. Feng Xue ignored her protest and said directly:

Why would someone be so indifferent to those with government-affiliated jobs?

How would I know?

"?" Feng Xue raised an eyebrow, sensing that things weren't so simple. After all, the spirit of the Ouija board was clearly endowed with common knowledge of ghosts and monsters in this world, yet it didn't know about this matter. Could it be because that starving ghost wasn't a ghost of this world either?

Thinking of this, Feng Xue suddenly remembered that the Ouija board seemed to have other things it didn't know, such as --

Does the Yang Ghost formed from the loss of the yang spirit devour the soul?

"Is it because the Ouija board belongs to the category of Yin Ghost that people only know the common knowledge about Yin Ghost and don't know anything about Yang Ghost?"

Feng Xue pondered this in his heart, but he had no Yang Ghost -type artifacts at hand. The only thing that was somewhat related to it, the Quantum Mechanics Ghost Hand, was a Phantom Object that was unaffected by it.

After thinking for a moment, he simply walked directly to the Student Kid's door and Room Door.

After three polite knocks, Feng Xue took a small step back, and soon the door was pushed open.

The Student Kid no longer had a beer belly like before; on the contrary, he now looked like he had specially trained his physique.

Although he appeared to be in excellent condition, his deep-seated wariness was palpable even to those without Mirror of Clarity.

Before Feng Xue could speak, the Student Kid said directly:

"We're not on the same level. Even if you kill me, you won't gain anything. You're much stronger than me, and you don't need to worry about me attacking you. The Newcomer Quest is just to survive. Don't force me to fight to the death."

"Oh?" Feng Xue was secretly surprised, but deliberately put on an innocent act. The Student Kid didn't respond at all, which left her somewhat helpless. She could only say:

"Would you mind exchanging information? I'm quite interested in your so-called system. Judging from your appearance, you don't seem like a newcomer, do you?"

Hearing Feng Xue's words, the Student Kid wanted to refuse, but considering the overwhelming Combat Power the man in front of him had displayed yesterday, and knowing he had no confidence in his own abilities, he could only sigh and say:

"All right."

As he spoke, he simply stepped aside, making it seem as if he wanted to go inside for a detailed discussion.

Feng Xue didn't object to this at all. She followed the Student Kid into the house, and immediately noticed something was wrong—

Compared to his own house, almost everything edible in the Student Kid's room had disappeared. Not to mention ingredients, even things that were even remotely related, like leather sofas and chairs, were all gone.

Feng Xue found a wooden stool and sat down. Seeing this, the Student Kid knew she was waiting for him to speak, so he said directly:

"Your path is that of 'ghosts,' while my path is that of 'insects.'"

"Insect? The kind of insect called a Gu worm?" It's no wonder Feng Xue thought that way. After all, the bizarre scene of the young man's stomach full of intestines biting each other yesterday was quite shocking, even to Feng Xue.

Upon hearing Student Kid shook his head and said:

"Although I do use the method of raising Gu, this method applies to both insects and ghosts. For example, that Fire Ghost can become a stronger ghost after consuming other ghosts. The difference between the two is more like..."

At this point, the Student Kid seemed to find it a bit difficult to explain, and after thinking for a moment, finally said:

"To put it simply, what do you think is possessing me?"

Feng Xue looked at his now flat stomach, and although she knew something was wrong, she still said:

"Hungry ghost?"

Upon hearing Feng Xue's words, he shook his head as if he had known, then uttered the correct answer—

"No, what I have is 'Greedy Bug'."