Space-Time Loop

Back in his room, Gao Tian opened the Jialan Society chat group and read through the ghosts' conversations one by one.

Xu Yuan's efficiency was high. He had followed the clues and dug up Zhao Qiang's entire family business. His parents were involved in organized crime year-round and lived in a suburban manor, constantly on edge. Dozens of guards watched over them, and every inch of the estate was covered in a dense network of cameras.

However, for ghosts, this was as good as useless. Their basement, meant for defending against external enemies, had somehow become a dungeon for torturing the Zhao family. Xu Yuan posted a picture in the chat group. The scene was gruesome, with blood and gore everywhere, making it unbearable to look at.

Several bloody, mangled figures hung from shackles beneath the ceiling like cured meat, subjected to brutal torture. It was already difficult to recognize them as human.

Falling into the hands of the Jialan Society was truly worse than death.

But what was "strange" was that these Zhao family members were incredibly tight-lipped, refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the pot. Their resistance was exaggeratedly stubborn.

The Ghost Infant and the others had been searching all over Shanghai City but still hadn't found any sign of "Zhao Qiang." It was as if he had vanished from the human world, with even ghosts unable to locate him.

Gao Tian knew in his heart that they would never find Zhao Qiang. The real Zhao Qiang was already dead. The person who had worn Zhao Qiang's face that day was actually him, Gao Tian.

If they started from the wrong premise, Xu Yuan could search for a lifetime and still not find the pot.

Additionally, a resident with the ID [Infinite Floors] had once again posted a Black Packet. According to him, it was a reconnaissance-type item that could be used to investigate the effects of other Supernatural Items. It was priced at 1.5 years of lifespan, and he wanted to try it out.

Gao Tian remembered Infinite Floors. He was a very Rebellious ghost who had repeatedly questioned Xu Yuan's ability as the President of the Jialan Society, threatening to replace him.

About 3 hours after the Black Packet was posted, no other ghosts had chosen to accept it.

Should he take this Black Packet?

If he accepted it, Gao Tian would have spent 2.5 years of his lifespan by now.

In reality, once one came into contact with the Supernatural World, a few years of lifespan became insignificant. He could die at any moment in the next mission, or even in his next breath. It was foolish to quibble over whether he would live to 80 or 82.5 years old.

Furthermore, there was a more important reason. The residual photo of the Little Girl left inside the Shattered Face Ghost could also be explored using the abilities of this Black Packet.

Perhaps he could obtain more information about the Little Girl's life before death from it.

Gao Tian no longer hesitated and chose to click on the Black Packet.

[Do you confirm payment of 1.5 years of lifespan?]

[Confirm]

[Item Acquired: Human Skin Gloves]

Effect: When wearing the Human Skin Gloves, upon touching any Supernatural-related item, the User's mind will do its best to reveal its hidden effects and origin.

Please note that the current Database is Incomplete and does not guarantee the full display of all Supernatural Item effects.

More functions may be developed in the Future, such as displaying a Vengeful Ghost's Killing Rule by touching the ghost itself. (Not Yet Implemented)

After clicking the black packet, about two minutes later, Gao Tian's mobile phone received another call from an unknown number. A deep, hoarse voice sounded from the other end of the phone:

"Hello.

"Your delivery has arrived. I can't enter the apartment, so I've left it at the door. Come down and get it yourself."

At four in the morning, the streets of Shanghai City were enveloped in boundless gray fog. There were almost no pedestrians on the main streets. Occasionally, the headlights of a car, gleaming with yellow light, pierced the dimness, passing by hurriedly without stopping.

An ominous atmosphere permeated everywhere. In recent days, with the increasing appearance of supernatural events, even though various websites and news outlets had deleted much of the discussion, ordinary people had begun to feel the piercing cold of a harsh winter. They stayed at home as much as possible, not venturing out.

Gao Tian, Su Jiu, Ling Feifei, and Zhou Yan had already departed early, waiting at the nearest bus stop near the Living Person Apartment.

In the room where they were, gray ticket stubs had already appeared out of thin air. According to Jiang Yang's explanation, holding this ticket stub, at 4:44 AM, the four of them could wait at any bus stop, and bus number 444, leading to the Supernatural Place, would arrive. They just needed to board it.

"Husband, I'm so scared. If we encounter danger when we get on, will you protect me?"

Ling Feifei clung tightly to Zhou Yan, not forgetting to act cute even at this moment.

Zhou Yan held his girlfriend with one hand and said heroically:

"After we get on, you can just sit next to me. No matter what danger we encounter, I will protect you."

Su Jiu shivered, glanced at Gao Tian, and shifted her steps, wanting to move a little closer to him.

In her opinion, the only person here who was even slightly reliable was Gao Tian.

Gao Tian was thinking about a fragment of the future he had seen in the pot.

Only he and Su Jiu got off last; that couple had simply disappeared.

For a couple who loved courting death so much, surviving until the third mission was already a miracle. From the dialogue between Xia Ta and them, perhaps the other residents being wiped out in previous missions were due to their confusing behavior causing the team to collapse.

Ling Feifei's demeanor when speaking in the first-floor meeting didn't seem like she was joking.

The thought process of a foolish person was incomprehensible.

However, according to the Pot Prophecy, the two of them never got off the bus in the end. It was highly probable that they finally succeeded in courting death during the third mission.

He would take things one step at a time. Anyway, if they encountered any danger, Gao Tian would be too busy watching the fun to be interested in saving them.

Creak, creak.

In the darkness in the distance, two halos like the eyes of a giant beast appeared, and as the distance closed, they grew larger, as if to devour heaven and earth, dazzling people so much they couldn't open their eyes.

A rust-eaten bus stopped. As the doors opened, a thick, sour stench assaulted the senses. Entering felt like stepping into a decaying coffin.

Judging by its appearance, the bus had been running for at least several decades. On normal routes, a bus of this model would have long been retired and upgraded. It was a mystery where this antique had been dug up from.

While everyone hesitated, Gao Tian was the first to step inside.

Every seat inside the carriage was also blood-stained. Upon closer inspection, tiny white specks could be seen wriggling on them. At any other time, a normal person wouldn't sit on them even if beaten to death.

The entire bus was empty. Besides the four new passengers, a tall male corpse sat in a middle seat. His body had severely rotted, leaving only a humanoid outline. Countless insects had made their homes in the holes of his body, moving in and out.

The male corpse's back was fused to the seat, suggesting he had died on this bus a long time ago. The only strange thing was that even in death, he maintained an upright, seated posture, his hand tightly gripping a rusty, chipped long saber.

It was exactly as described in the Pot Prophecy.

Afterward, Ling Feifei and the others, looking hesitant, also boarded. The moment she saw the male corpse, Ling Feifei let out a scream and fell into Zhou Yan's arms. Su Jiu behind her covered his mouth, struggling to suppress the urge to shout.

Gao Tian noticed that on a screen at the front of the bus, the number of passengers inside was displayed in red.

When he boarded, the passenger count jumped from 1 to 2. After Zhou Yan and the others got on, the number increased again to 5.

This indicated that the deceased male corpse was also a passenger on the bus, recognized by it.

Once everyone was on board, the front and rear doors let out a pained creak and closed simultaneously. The bus, after a slight pause, swayed and prepared to depart again, entering the endless Gray Sea ahead.

It was time to pick seats.

The four residents should sit as far apart as possible to avoid triggering a Killing Rule together and getting wiped out.

Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei, a couple, paid no attention to this rule. They chose a seat furthest from the male corpse, in the very back row of the bus.

It was Gao Tian's turn. He scanned the situation inside the carriage.

Following normal logic, this male corpse was likely a dormant ghost. Sitting as far away from it as possible would prevent triggering any random Killing Rules. This line of thinking was sound.

However, the "Gao Tian" in the pot had, uncharacteristically, sat behind the male corpse, performed some strange actions on it, and finally took the rusty saber from its hand.

This rusty saber must be a very important Supernatural Item!

Only then would the "Gao Tian" in the pot, risking being killed by a vengeful ghost, dare to snatch the saber from the male corpse.

Gao Tian made up his mind. He chose a seat behind the male corpse's seat.

His strange choice of seat made the couple behind him chuckle again:

"Is this guy an idiot? Actively sitting closest to the ghost."

"And this seat is also close to the exit door. When other ghost passengers want to get off, they'll all have to pass through his aisle."

"Sigh, he doesn't even understand basic common sense. He'll probably not survive until the end of this mission."

"Husband, the seat you chose is the best."

"Of course, who do you think my husband is?"

Gao Tian heard these words but didn't take them to heart.

What was a few sarcastic remarks? These two foolish people had no idea they could see the future.

Su Jiu hesitated for a long time. She had originally wanted to sit near Gao Tian. But she hadn't expected Gao Tian to choose such a strange position. Su Jiu also didn't dare to approach the ferocious-looking tall male corpse. After lingering for a long time, she chose a seat in the front row diagonally opposite Gao Tian.

The car slowly started, driving into the unknown future ahead.

Gao Tian, having chosen his seat, still couldn't figure out one thing.

The reason the "Gao Tian" of this timeline was sitting behind the male corpse was because he had seen what the "Gao Tian" of the previous timeline had done in the pot.

But how did the "Gao Tian" of the previous timeline know that the saber in the male corpse's hand could be taken?

Did the timeline before that teach him?

This was equivalent to falling into a time paradox. It couldn't be that each timeline's Gao Tian taught the next timeline's Gao Tian like a relay.

This would just go on endlessly in a loop.

How did the first Gao Tian, who discovered the saber could be taken, discover it?

He couldn't figure this out for the time being. However, the saber in the hands of this rotten male corpse was, with high probability, an ultimate item. No matter which timeline it was, Gao Tian would definitely obtain it, even at the risk of his life.