Toy Section, Skinning Hell

(Second update, please vote! If you have votes or haven't subscribed, please vote!) Inside the theater, in the Ghost King Star Domain seating area.

The leader of the Ghost King Star team was a man around 40 years old with iron-blue skin, a flame emblem on his forehead, sharp teeth, and an aura of ghostly menace that made people afraid to approach him. He glanced at the White-Brow Daoist Venerable from the Infinite Starfield in the front row with a hint of disdain, then turned to another Ghost King Star Domain reincarnator beside him and asked, "How's the search going with the Four Ghosts? Have they found any clues about the person who made the phone call?"

The reincarnator being questioned quickly replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Ghost King, the Four Ghosts just sent word that they have dispatched hundreds of spirits to search the area around the theater, but they found nothing. It's strange, though. Where could the person who made the phone call be?"

"Hmph, stop searching, just summon the Four Ghosts back!"

"But if we can't find that guy, won't Miss Ghost Princess- hime be under his control forever...?"

"I have a lot of confidence in the Ghost Princess; she can handle this kind of situation. It's the Four Ghosts have been searching outside the theater, but I'm afraid they won't be able to find her no matter how hard they look," the man known as the Ghost King sighed.

"What do you mean?" The reincarnator looked puzzled.

"If you can't find it outside, you should change locations sooner rather than later, because there's one place you haven't searched yet..." A sharp glint suddenly flashed in the Ghost King's eyes.

"Where?"

"This is it!"

Here? How is that possible? There are no telephones in the theater. The appearance of the destroyed telephone outside has been memorized by all the reincarnators. There are no similar devices in the theater.

Furthermore, looking around, there wasn't a single reincarnator carrying what appeared to be a telephone. So, how could the person making the call be here?

"Do you know who that girl with the Ghost Princess is?" The Ghost King abruptly changed the subject, asking a question that left his subordinates somewhat at a loss for words.

"Well, I don't know, her combat strength is only A3, so..."

"Just because the opponent's combat strength is low, you're arbitrarily ignoring them? That's utterly foolish. Have you forgotten where you are?" The Ghost King's voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill down the spine of the reincarnator.

After the Ghost King's reminder, the reincarnator remembered. That's right, this is Pluto Island, the legendary Pluto Star Domain, a place even S-rank experts can't easily enter. How could a mere A3-level reincarnator possibly be here?

Putting aside everything else, the priceless 'Pluto Star Map' —the very ticket to enter this place—is something that forces below level 6 star domains cannot obtain.

Now it seems that the little girl's identity is indeed questionable. The reincarnator from the Ghost King Star Domain who understood the Ghost King's meaning quickly lowered his head and contacted the Four Ghosts he had sent out.

Meanwhile, Ghost Princess and Bao Ling had already arrived at the toy section.

Compared to other areas of the supermarket, this place was much cleaner. It wasn't even damaged in the slightest. Other areas were more or less messy from the zombies and the people escaping during the crisis, but in the toy section, everything was just as it was before the crisis. Strolling in front of the various shelves felt like being in a peaceful world, without any sense of pressure.

Seeing this scene on the big screen, Li Wei smiled slightly. He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, secretly pressed the dial button on the phone hidden in his pocket.

'Ring ring!'

The phone rang quickly from the screen, Ghost Princess answered the call almost instantly.

"Hey, we've arrived at the toy section you mentioned!"

"I saw it!" This was the first time Li Wei had revealed a bit of his information. There was no need to keep it a secret, since Ghost Princess should have guessed it long ago.

Meanwhile, the increasing number of reincarnated individuals walking around inside the theater indicated to Li Wei that some people had realized the person making the phone call was inside the theater.

Since that's the case, there's no need for me to hide it anymore. After all, even if they know I'm in the theater, with so many people around, finding me won't be easy.

Ghost Princess clearly noticed the 'loophole' in Li Wei's words, but assumed it was due to his carelessness. Feeling that she had won back some ground, her mood improved considerably, and she smiled, saying, "Tell me now what your purpose is in bringing us here!"

"I want each of you to grab at least two Toy Bear, yes, the kind that are half a meter tall and brown, that's right, just two meters in front of you!" Li Wei directed Ghost Princess to a shelf full of Toy Bear.

"You... you want me to hold this thing?" Ghost Princess's face showed a hint of anger. As Ghost King Star Reincarnator who was feared by all, how could she do such a ridiculous thing?

That's absolutely ridiculous!

However, Li Wei's tone on the other end of the phone was surprisingly firm. "Not only do I want you to hold it, but I also want the two people next to you to hold it too. Just know that this thing can save lives in a critical moment!"

Can this thing save lives?

Ghost Princess clearly didn't believe it. She patiently picked up a Toy Bear, which was very soft to the touch. The Toy Bear was very cute, and it made people want to take it home as soon as they saw it, especially girls, it was too irresistible.

Even though Ghost Princess was a woman, she secretly quite liked the plush toy despite her outwardly dismissive expression.

As for Li Wei's claim that this thing could save lives, Ghost Princess didn't believe it at all. Did she think that Toy Bear would fight alongside her when encountering a monster?

Bao Ling, upon hearing Li Wei's instructions from Ghost Princess, immediately grabbed several toys and hugged them to her arms without a word. Sherry, who had been following behind her, also happily ran over and grabbed a Toy Bear.

With Bao Ling and Sherry setting an example, Ghost Princess blushed and grabbed one as well.

"Hey, you jerk, what's next?" Ghost Princess hated the guy on the phone, but holding a Toy Bear gave her a feeling she'd never experienced before.

However, subconsciously, she was very resistant to this matter, so naturally she held a grudge against Li Wei.

You jerk!

Upon hearing the title "Ghost Princess," the Ghost King, sitting in the theater, was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slightly. As for what he was thinking, probably no one but him could know.

Li Wei was completely oblivious to the change in how Ghost Princess addressed him; his mind was preoccupied with how to gain the greatest benefit from this mission.

By now, Li Wei has almost completely figured out the details of this biohazard mission. It can be said that with him around, there is absolutely no problem in ensuring that Bao Ling and Ghost Princess survive.

But Li Wei wanted more. Many mission worlds had extra missions that offered substantial rewards upon completion. With six hours left before the mission ended, wouldn't it be a shame not to try and find some extra missions?

The most likely place for an extra mission lies with the real Sherry.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei said, "From now on, you guys stay in the toy section and don't leave. Follow your Sherry and protect her well. It's best to chat with her as much as possible; you might be able to get some useful information out of her..."

Ghost Princess was also a powerful woman who had experienced many missions, and she understood the key point with just one sentence from Li Wei.

"An extra mission? This guy is right. If there are any side missions around here, it's probably only possible by working on Sherry!"

Having realized this, Ghost Princess hung up the phone, and then, together with Bao Ling, began to coax information out of Little Shelly.

Having just settled things on this side, Li Wei immediately turned his attention to Zhuo Qingxuan on the other side.

At this moment, she encountered a large number of zombies on the basement floor of the supermarket. Fortunately, these zombies were between A3 and S1 in terms of combat strength, so dealing with them was not too difficult.

However, danger often strikes unexpectedly.

According to Li Wei's speculation, three fake Sherry have already revealed their true forms. If the Sherry following Ghost Princess is real, then the Sherry following Zhuo Qingxuan must be an imposter.

In other words, Zhuo Qingxuan not only might encounter an S5-level monster, but there's also a ticking time bomb around her that could explode at any moment. However, in Li Wei's view, the most serious thing isn't these issues.

More than six hours had passed since the mission began, and the virus in Zhuo Qingxuan's body had begun to take effect without True Shelly's suppression. From the very beginning, Zhuo Qingxuan's face was pale and covered in cold sweat, and her once steady body was trembling, as if she was enduring great Pain.

Clearly, the virus in her body was starting to take effect. And just then, a tall figure emerged from the horde of zombies opposite.

"Agonized Sherry, Zombie type, S5 level, 100,000 HP, Special Skill: Skinning Hell..."

This zombie was clearly much more terrifying, at least in appearance. Not a single patch of its skin was intact; much of its flesh was peeling away, revealing raw, bloody muscle, and many places were pierced with steel needles. Just looking at it was enough to feel the 'pain'.

This pain wasn't just felt by the animal; even those who witnessed it seemed to feel a stinging sensation on their skin.

Upon seeing the zombie's appearance, Li Wei subconsciously rubbed his skin, only to find the stinging pain intensifying.

"Damn it, what's going on? Why does my skin hurt so much!" Ming Dong suddenly exclaimed from the side.

"What?"

Li Wei was taken aback, but glanced at Greedy Wolf and Typhoon. Both of them looked at Li Wei with the same expression, their faces changing drastically. Soon, the noise of the reincarnators' drums rose from the surrounding area, and many people touched their skin, revealing expressions of Pain.

"So that's how it is. This is the 'Skinning Hell' special effect?" Li Wei suddenly realized. Looking at Zhuo Qingxuan on the screen, large beads of sweat were already dripping from her forehead. Although she didn't scream, judging from her clenched teeth, she was clearly enduring much more Pain than the reincarnators in the theater.