Chapter 41

Chapter 41

At the Ability User Association meeting, due to Fu Nanyao's stabilized corruption levels once again, the leadership turned to Sang Huaiyu for assistance.

"Mr. Sang, this matter concerns all Ability Users. If we can determine the cause, that would be ideal." Understanding why corruption levels decreased would be pivotal in preventing Horror Item backlash—potentially determining the fate of everyone in the Association.

The difficulty was that they had failed to identify the cause multiple times. The only certainty now was that Captain Fu's previous incident was no accident.

—Corruption levels could truly be altered!

The leadership was excited.

Sang Huaiyu’s fingers hesitated briefly before he turned his gaze toward the Association’s leaders. He didn’t refuse outright.

He personally had no interest in this alleged reduction of human corruption levels. However, considering the role he played, he said coolly:

"I can try."

"But I may not find anything."

After all… this matter seemed unusual—perhaps connected to Shi Yu? Even he couldn’t detect anything if the other party remained hidden.

He mused silently.

President Chang of the Ability User Association nodded. "We understand, Mr. Sang."

"I’m mentally prepared."

No matter what happened, as long as there was hope.

Everyone turned their attention toward him. Fu Nanyao felt something stir within but chose not to mention that he had seen a fragment of black hoodie material at the end.

He wanted to investigate it himself.

After speaking, Sang Huaiyu took off his silk blindfold. Closing his eyes, his consciousness extended across City B, cautiously probing whether he could sense anything.

As the top-ranked Ability User, his perception surpassed that of all others. As his consciousness spread outward, to human eyes, he simply appeared to be gathering information from fused Horror Items, much like Shen Yan. But to Shi Yu’s acute senses, the first thing he perceived was an unspeakably terrifying presence watching every move in City B from an immense distance!

Even a single glance was enough to make one’s blood run cold!

In the tightly curtained room, Shi Yu froze. He wrapped himself tightly, not daring to move an inch.

Influenced by his mother and the oppressive gaze from outside, the Little Monster also became unusually still, pressing close to him like a small round ball, curling up together.

Though it thought... the scent of that gaze felt somewhat familiar?

The notion was fleeting, and the Little Monster gave it no further thought. Shi Yu could only pray that his Spirit Threads would hold against this gaze.

Having destroyed so many Horrors—even an SSS-Class Horror—it might at least hold it off for a second?

In that instant of silent prayer, Shi Yu’s mind went completely blank. Only after the gaze vanished did he realize his back was soaked with cold sweat, his face pale.

Had it gone?

He cautiously checked. Though the terror had faded, he hesitated before removing his protective cocoon.

Better wait a little longer.

Shi Yu exhaled in relief. After maintaining the concealment of his Spirit Threads for half a day, he carefully retracted them and collapsed onto the sofa.

At the Ability User Association, Sang Huaiyu had only meant to glance casually around. Unexpectedly, he actually sensed something unusual.

Orange Blossom Lane?

The brief energy fluctuation there seemed somewhat similar to what he had felt by the seaside earlier.

But that presence vanished quickly, as if trying to evade him.

It disappeared the very moment he turned his attention toward it, making Sang Huaiyu’s fingers pause briefly, his eyes narrowing instinctively.

"Mr. Sang?"

President Chang of the Ability User Association looked over.

Sang Huaiyu closed his eyes and didn’t speak right away. Only after retying his silk blindfold did he lower his gaze. "I just checked where Captain Fu appeared. No obvious anomalies were found."

He paused, seeing President Chang’s worried expression. Then, casually, he added, "Maybe we need more clues."

President Chang sighed and nodded.

"True. I got ahead of myself. This matter is extremely important—it's unreasonable to expect quick results. We’ll need to keep searching carefully."

Sang Huaiyu said nothing else.

When Fu Nanyao heard those words, he suddenly glanced at him. For some reason, he had felt profoundly unsettled for a split second when Sang Huaiyu spoke.

After all, Sang Huaiyu was on the side of the Ability User Association. Even without being an official member, he was seen as a trustworthy ally.

Still, Fu Nanyao couldn’t ignore an inexplicable sense of danger.

Like... behind that saintly mask, something else was hiding.

Sang Huaiyu noticed the gaze beside him. Their eyes met beneath the white silk blindfold, and he simply smiled faintly, as if the unease Fu Nanyao had sensed was just an illusion.

But Fu Nanyao wasn’t convinced.

...

Shi Yu narrowly avoided trouble—but realized he’d been careless.

Ugh! With no news about the evil god coming from the Ability User Association these past few days, he thought everything was safe. Who expected things to flare up like this?

Shi Yu figured the other person had probably been looking for something and happened to glance his way—not specifically targeting him—but he still stayed on high alert, not leaving home for several days.

The Little Monster, sensing the tension, wisely stopped bugging its mom, which relieved Shi Yu.

Great. No more dealing with a whiny kid—that would’ve driven him nuts.

Just as he started to relax, he returned to his room post-stream and saw a message from his boss.

"What's up?"

"Caught your stream today—you seemed kinda spacey."

Shi Yu: ???

He noticed that?

He ate and drank like normal during his stream. Shi Yu blinked, thinking these bosses were way too observant.

He gave a wry smile at this moment. "Not at all."

"Boss is overthinking it."

Denying it outright, Shi Yu glanced at his phone, expecting the boss to say more, but the other end went quiet.

So understanding—it was almost unbelievable. Shi Yu had never met a more understanding boss than the one on the other end.

The boss just casually mentioned it and just dropped it like that?

Sang Huaiyu noticed that Shi Yu was still quite wary of him, so he didn’t rush to say anything else. He simply sent him a cash gift after the other side fell silent.

"Hmm, if you're tired, take some time off."

Shi Yu: "...?"

What boss tells their streamer not to stream when they’re tired?

Looking at the boss’s profile picture, he recalled the phrase "you bring me luck" with skepticism. After a while, he only replied, "Thanks, boss."

Sang Huaiyu looked at the words on the screen and gave a quiet chuckle, saying nothing further. Instead, he turned his attention to the Ability User Association...

Hmm, that human captain from the Ability User Association was definitely hiding something.

Hopefully, he could uncover something and give him a... pleasant surprise.

Fu Nanyao was indeed investigating in secret. Over the past few days, he had concealed it from Shen Yan and everyone else, working alone.

He remembered a flash of black hoodie fabric. Based on the material information, Fu Nanyao discovered it was a casual wear brand local to City B, sold everywhere.

Though this brand was available in several large shopping malls, the hoodie he was searching for was a new seasonal release. Based on the launch date, he could roughly estimate the purchase timeframe.

So it wasn't a complete dead end.

He noted down the time range in his mind—1st to 28th—whoever it was probably bought the clothes within this period. The rest would require inquiries at the malls.

Glancing at the paper in his hand, a knock sounded at the door. He instinctively locked it away before raising his head.

"Come in."

Wang Shan entered. "Captain Fu."

"Dr. Shen just called in. He said traces of a Horror Item may have been found at the car crash scene downtown."

"We should check it out."

"On it."

Fu Nanyao nodded, grabbed his keys, and headed out.

Shen Yan worked at City Fifth Hospital. During his shift today, he encountered a car crash victim sent in for emergency treatment. Upon contact, the Horror Item on him was triggered, immediately tipping Shen Yan off to the anomaly.

—This patient had residual traces of a Horror Item!

Though faint, his sharp instincts picked up on it.

After sending the patient to the operating room, Shen Yan quickly sent a message to the Ability User Association before turning back to follow up.

The accident scene on Yingxin Road was still intact. When Fu Nanyao and his team arrived, the injured had already been taken away by ambulances, leaving only officers securing the scene.

After a brief exchange with the officers, he stepped forward and could tell something was off in the middle of the large bloodstain.

"Captain Fu, hold on."

Wang Shan came over with a device to take readings, and the numbers were off the charts.

"There’s definitely a Horror here."

"But it’s already fled the scene."

The Horror must’ve escaped after the crash.

Fu Nanyao straightened up. "Is there a dashcam?"

Wang Shan nodded, grabbed it, and tried to recover the footage.

A few minutes later, the team’s faces darkened as they watched.

What turned sinister was... a family photo inside the car?

The footage showed the car driving normally at first. The family of three—driver included—was chatting and laughing in the backseat. A photo sat right in front of the dashcam on the dashboard.

It looked like a fresh family photo.

Everything seemed fine, until something went horribly wrong.

The colorful, heartwarming photo suddenly shattered without warning. Shards sprayed the back seat. The teen in the back shrieked before being hushed.

At first, no one thought much of it. The driver assumed the frame had just aged and tossed it aside.

But then things took a nightmarish turn.

The cabin temperature shifted from normal to blasting heat. The dashcam showed the driver reaching to shut off the heater but froze, bewildered, as if he’d touched something strange.

His face went slack with terror.

The screen flickered twice, then screams filled the car. What came next sent chills down their spines.

Now they understood the screaming.

Because from under the driver’s seat crawled out—a perfect double of the man himself, wearing the clothes from the photo...

A deafening *crash* cut the footage. Then came the crash.

"Holy shit!" Wang Shan shut off the dashcam, rubbing his arms nervously. "That scared the hell out of me. If something like that popped up while I was driving, I wouldn’t have reacted either."

His colleague nodded, clearly still rattled by what they'd seen.

Fu Nanyao rewound and rewatched the footage—from when the photo malfunctioned to when the thing crawled out.

"Can your scanner pick up the Horror’s level?"

Wang Shan shook his head. "The residual aura is too faint. Can't get an accurate reading."

Fu Nanyao’s expression darkened. "My guess? At least an A-rank—maybe even S-rank."

“Or even higher.”

As is widely known, the more intelligent a ghost is, the higher its level. When Fu Nanyao first watched the video recording, he had already sensed something strange. He rewound and rewatched it, finally realizing that this ghost had been intentional from the very beginning.

It played with the family of three like a predator toying with its prey. At the moment the photo shattered, its expression changed. A small detail in the photo was that when it heard the scream from the boy in the backseat, its mouth twisted into an unnatural smile.

As time passed, that smile became increasingly noticeable.

—It had already developed the ability to toy with humans.

This sense of intelligence immediately reminded Fu Nanyao of a certain entity—"Men's High-Heeled Shoes."

But strangely enough, "Men's High-Heeled Shoes" hadn't appeared for quite some time.

His thoughts briefly wandered before returning to focus. At that moment, Wang Shan had just been startled, so Fu Nanyao spoke up:

“Search according to the appearance in the photo.”

“Pay attention near roadsides or trash cans.”

Photos bearing someone’s image usually aren’t picked up by others easily, making them more likely to appear on sidewalks or near garbage bins.

Although this ghost could crawl out from the photo, its usual form remained that of a photograph.

Now, they must find it first.

“Understood.”

Wang Shan nodded, promptly copying the photo from the dashcam footage and sending it back to the association for assistance.

Meanwhile, at another location, Shi Yu had just returned downstairs after throwing away the trash. As he walked past the garden, a photo blown by the wind happened to land right beside his feet, drifting over from near the trash bin.

Shi Yu: ...Hmm?

Whose photo would end up here? Could it have been accidentally thrown away?

He merely glanced at it casually, completely ignoring the photo lying on the ground, stepping forward without any intention of picking it up.

Photo:...

The lonely photo lay face-down near the edge of the garden grass. Who knew how much time passed before finally, a delivery rider passed by.

A food deliveryman entering the residential complex approached the building entrance, about to press the elevator button when he suddenly noticed a photo lying beside the stairs.

Who dropped this?

Initially, he thought nothing of it—he wasn't particularly curious about things on the ground. Yet for some unknown reason, while waiting for the elevator, an inexplicable itch grew stronger inside him, as if he'd regret not taking a look. Almost unconsciously, he walked toward it.

Zhang Ming picked up the photo, looked down, and saw a family of three printed on it.

It seemed vaguely familiar.

This picture had recently flooded the news, associated with a car accident scene. Zhang had seen this story while picking up his order earlier but now seemed not to recognize it. He casually stuffed the photo into his pocket. The elevator doors opened with a “Ding!” and after pressing the floor number, he stepped inside.

Today, Shi Yu had little appetite and didn’t feel like cooking, so he simply ordered a nearby serving of scallion oil noodles.

Lazily lounging on the sofa scrolling through his phone while waiting for the delivery, he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

Huh?

That was fast?

He checked the peephole first, and only after confirming it was a delivery guy did he put his phone away and open the door.

"Hello, unit 1903?"

"Mind signing for this?"

Zhang Ming handed over the takeout bag. Shi Yu was about to reach for it when he hesitated and looked up.

A slight twitch stirred in his gut—hidden under his baggy jacket but unmistakably uneasy.

The vibe the man gave off felt off too, like there was something weird about him.

Shi Yu took the bag without a word. As the delivery guy turned quickly to leave, Shi Yu’s gaze dropped to the photo slipping from the other’s pocket.

"Wait, you dropped your photo."

"A photo? Where?"

A raspy voice answered, like he was genuinely confused as he turned back.

Shi Yu pointed to the spot just a step away.

The delivery guy noticed the photo on the doormat, as if seeing it for the first time, and turned around.

"Oh, got it."

He picked up the colorful photo.

Shi Yu stared at it, realizing it actually showed the delivery guy himself.

But the posture, expression, and eyes in the photo were weirdly identical to how he looked right now—as though it were a live-action copy of him.

The man happily grabbed the photo and started to leave, totally unaware of how creepy it was.

As he stood up, the photo version mirrored the exact same motion.

"Can I see that photo?"

Shi Yu suddenly asked.

The hallway went dead quiet. "Zhang Ming" turned, locking eyes with him, but still handed over the photo.

"Pretty wild, right?" He curled his lips into a grin. "Freaked me out at first too."

As he spoke, his face and the one in the photo smiled in creepy sync—grins stretched in perfect, unnatural unison, unsettling but unnoticed.

He watched Shi Yu eagerly, hoping to show off the photo’s trick. But Shi Yu didn’t bite.

Instead, Shi Yu didn’t even blink.

When he finished speaking, Shi Yu just gave him a flat look.

"Eh, not that impressive."

To be honest, after so many encounters with horrors, Shi Yu's tolerance had increased significantly. Although the current situation really amps up the creep factor, it was still manageable for him now.

Creepy, but not too bad.

The smile died instantly when he realized the person before him wasn’t scared.

The photo in his grip suddenly tightened.

As the photo turned red, droplets of blood dripped from it, quickly staining the white tiles.

"Zhang Ming" stared hard at the person across from him, opened his mouth to speak, when something abruptly grabbed his neck and struck the back of it, sending him crashing to the ground unconscious.

As the deliveryman collapsed, Shi Yu finally spoke, eyes fixed on the photo on the ground: "Get out of him now?"

"Or do I have to force you out?"

Shi Yu had immediately realized the photo was the real threat.

—This photo was the problem.

His gaze fell to the floor.

The image in the photo writhed and contorted, shifting several times before finally fading back to blank, leaving only the unconscious deliveryman behind.

But it wasn't about to cooperate.

This human… was irresistible.

It made its hunger grow.

It wanted to imprint him onto the photo, then crawl out to eat him alive!

It scanned Shi Yu’s forehead, eyebrows, and eyes rapidly. The sinister energy around it intensified, and the previously blank photo began developing by itself.

A black coat appeared in the photo, but when it tried to imprint the person, it hit a snag—no matter what, it couldn’t complete the image.

After several attempts, the photo remained stuck on an empty coat.

It was utterly baffled—it had never failed to imprint before.

Its ability was to imprint humans and replace them. This ability had never missed its mark since its horror transformation, achieving SS-Class power.

Whether it was the family of three before or the deliveryman just now, a single look was all it took. But this prey before it couldn’t appear in its photo?

What the hell was happening?

For the first time, "Copy Photo" met its match. Unable to accept failure, the photo paper began cracking with fissures.

Shi Yu narrowed his eyes, picked up the photo, and looked at his abdomen.

"Did you attract this one too?"

Little Monster tilted its head in confusion and emitted a confused "wala" sound.

The moment the sound was made, "Copy Photo" finally understood what had been drawing it in.

—It was the pheromones of a superior being.

But now, it was too late. Failing to imprint Shi Yu had completely broken all its rules of engagement. Powerless now, escape was impossible even if Shi Yu did nothing further.

It could do nothing but watch helplessly as that terrifying human approached.

No, that's not right.

Even a high-level Horror would only be unable to imprint the thing inside his abdomen, not his entire body.

There's something wrong with him!

Shi Yu couldn't fathom what was going through that photograph's mind.

Seeing the Little Monster looked just as clueless, he couldn't help the twitch of his lips.

Whatever.

Might as well count it as a bonus meal—he hadn't hunted in a while anyway.

These past few days, he had been cooped up at home, scared stiff by the evil god, and hadn’t replenished his energy. He had planned to hold out a few more days before venturing out, but luck served up prey right at his doorstep.

Well then, no holding back.

After communicating with the Little Monster inside him and confirming it understood his intentions, Shi Yu used his Spirit Threads to control the photograph and skillfully drew it toward his abdomen.

But the moment he moved—

The photograph, upon contact with the Spirit Threads, suddenly froze.

The operating rule of "Copy Photograph" was replication. Even in its final moments, it never stopped copying. Yet, the instant Shi Yu's Spirit Threads touched it, the photograph appeared to shatter some invisible constraint, abruptly ceasing all function.

An eerie Horror Domain enveloped everything, only to disintegrate like fragile snowflakes the next instant.

Light reflected off the photograph, showing something completely incomprehensible.

What the—? What's this guy doing?!

Shi Yu froze, not even having time to order the Little Monster to absorb it before witnessing the SS-Class "Copy Photograph" suddenly break through to SSS-Class, before rapidly collapsing in on itself.

As it crumbled into nothingness, "Copy Photograph" finally saw it—the "Spirit Threads" controlling it were actually...