"Mr. Echizen, what do you think of this room? Are you satisfied?"
The landlord carefully studied Wu Heng's expression.
"Mm, it'll do. I'll take this one." Wu Heng wasn't particularly picky, though he wasn't fond of things like tatami mats.
After the landlord left, Wu Heng took off his trench coat, hung it on the coat rack, and sat down on the tatami.
It was late. He'd just arrived and already run into two strange entities back to back. He needed a good rest, so he might as well watch some TV and unwind.
He turned on the TV and switched to the news channel. A female anchor in formal attire was reporting on the damage caused by a series of minor earthquakes. That was how things were around here—earthquakes happened all the time.
Wu Heng watched for a while, then turned off the TV and went to sleep without even turning off the lights.
He'd been asleep for about three hours when he heard a noise.
The TV suddenly turned on by itself. The female anchor in formal attire was still reporting the news.
"Good evening, viewers. Here's the latest report from our station. At 1 a.m. on the eighth, a mysterious disappearance occurred on Kurosawa Street. A young man vanished from Room 203 of the Moriya Inn. The Kuro-matsu Police Headquarters is currently investigating."
"This footage was found at the scene of the disappearance. Please take a look. A reward will be offered for any relevant information."
After the anchor finished speaking, the TV picture shifted to show Wu Heng's bedroom.
It was 1 a.m. on the eighth right now!
The footage even showed the trench coat he'd hung on the coat rack. It was definitely filming him!
Wu Heng shot to his feet. Judging by the angle of the footage, the camera was positioned by the cabinet.
He turned to look. The cabinet drawer was half open, but it was pitch-black inside. He couldn't see a thing.
Better to hit first and ask questions later!
Wu Heng channeled Spirit-Touch Power into his right arm and charged forward, smashing his fist into the cabinet. Splinters flew everywhere, but there was nothing inside.
The footage on the TV vanished. The female anchor appeared onscreen, the corners of her mouth slowly curling upward as her gaze grew more and more venomous. She kept repeating the last line.
"A reward will be offered. A reward will be offered. A reward will..."
Wu Heng's anger surged. Was this thing ever going to stop? He strode over and kicked the TV screen in. With a bang, the TV flashed white, then sparks flew everywhere.
Where are you?
Wu Heng looked around.
A giggling sound came from all around him, as if it were echoing from every corner of the room.
He turned, grabbed his trench coat, and put it on as he headed for the door. He shouldn't linger in a place like this. He couldn't stay on this strange entity's home ground.
A twisted, deathly pale hand reached out through a crack in the wall beside the door and twisted the wooden doorknob, locking it to stop Wu Heng from leaving.
Found you!
Wu Heng's eyes lit up when he saw where the ghostly hand had appeared. He strode over, and with a thought, the Eagle Claw Gauntlets—similar to the Frandi Claws he'd bought at the Lighthouse—appeared on his right hand.
He slipped the gauntlet on in an instant and raked his claws across the wall, tearing away a swath of wooden paneling and plaster.
A white shadow swiftly slithered deeper along the wall and vanished.
Hiding?
"Then let's get this game of hide-and-seek started!"
Wu Heng simply put away the Eagle Claw Gauntlets and brought out a Morning Star Mace. The 98-centimeter mace had an ornate handle and a radial, blade-shaped head.
It was a cold weapon he'd bought from Green Scale at the Lighthouse. It was powerful when wielded by hand.
Even an ordinary person could dent armor with a full-strength swing.
More importantly, there was a rotary switch on the handle. The mace head was connected to it by a three-meter chain, so turning the switch transformed it into a flail.
He began hammering the wooden walls, one blow after another. Each strike blasted away a square meter of paneling, while the white shadow retreated and hid, bit by bit.
"Where are you? I'm coming to find you!"
He smashed his way through the entire room. By the time only one wardrobe remained, the white shadow had slipped inside.
"Heh heh heh, found you!"
Wu Heng sneered.
For this blow, he lifted the muscle-protection limit by 20%!
The mace came down, and the wardrobe shattered into countless pieces like foam.
A white figure tumbled to the floor, then spread out like a blanket and lunged at Wu Heng, trying to wrap around him.
A bulge rose from the blanket's surface. It was a grotesque, twisted face, as large as a tablecloth and flat as paper, as if someone's head had been flattened by a steamroller. Its fist-sized eyeballs glinted with a sinister chill.
Wu Heng put away the mace. Facing a strange entity like a blanket, he switched from fists to open palms and unleashed a burst of force.
His palm, wrapped in Spirit-Touch Power, was like a sharp axe, ready to cleave through anything in its way.
With a rip, the white shadow split in two as easily as paper being cut. Both halves lunged at Wu Heng from opposite directions.
Wu Heng grabbed one end of the white shadow and swung it at the other, tangling them together and twisting them into a thick rope before coiling them into a bundle.
Then he dragged them to the floor, dropped his right knee to the ground, and braced himself with his left hand.
His right fist rained down like a storm, pounding the ground ten times in quick succession and reducing the entity to a pile of ash.
The wooden floor had a bowl-sized crater in it, and the whole bedroom looked as if it had been hit by a rocket launcher.
Wu Heng got to his feet, straightened his rumpled trench coat, and headed for the door.
He'd been having a perfectly good rest, and now it was ruined.
Was this place about to be destroyed? So many ghostly things were roaming around and hurting people.
As he passed down the hallway, he noticed the door to Room 202 was ajar. There was clearly no one inside. Wu Heng went downstairs to the landlord's room and knocked, but no one answered.
He kicked the door open. He was furious and suspected the landlord had deliberately given him Room 203.
The door swung open. The room was dark, and there was no response. Wu Heng flipped on the light.
The landlord had been mixed together with the quilt into a twisted braid!
Wu Heng sighed. It seemed he'd accused the landlord unfairly.
What a lovely quilt, all clean and white. It definitely couldn't be washed and used again now. What a waste.
He couldn't stay at the Moriya Inn. He'd have to find another place.
Wu Heng stepped outside and onto the street. At this hour, nearly everything was closed except for a few shops with little pink lights hanging outside.
The entire street was eerily quiet and deserted.
He'd only taken a couple of steps when his sharp ears caught a faint sobbing sound coming from a nearby trash can.
Seriously?!
Wu Heng was at a loss. Was something else coming for him?
He cautiously lightened his steps, intending to leave first. He really didn't want to get dragged into this again.
But then he heard the trash can being opened.
"Sir, please wait! Help me. Can you help me? There's a man trying to kill me!"
"Could you take me to the police headquarters? Please!" a gentle, delicate voice pleaded, tinged with panic.
Here we go again!
Wu Heng reluctantly covered his right arm with Spirit-Touch Power, his body ready to spring into action at any moment. He glanced to the side.
A pretty girl with fair skin was struggling to crawl out of the trash can. Tears and fear filled her eyes.
She didn't have a beauty mark under her eye, so she probably wasn't Tomie.
The girl struggled to climb out because she only had one leg. The other had been amputated below the knee, and she was using a crutch.
Seeing that she was indeed a real person, Wu Heng let out a breath of relief, but he still intended to leave. Who knew what dangerous supernatural entity she might have encountered?
"That man's a pervert. He's looking for me everywhere!"
Before you continue