Chapter 247 Taking a Step Forward

Chapter 247: A Step Forward

In the eerily tense and unsettling reception room, humans and Eerie Entities had been exchanging words with a deceptive calm all along.

Fundamentally, the biggest problem in this game was the out-of-control anomaly hidden deep within the mirror world. The other ghosts and the players who had come here because of the game were all refugees.

However, the ghosts present were malevolent beings that treated humans as vessels for possession. Once the passage truly opened, these ghosts were unlikely to spare the humans left in the reception room.

"The passage is about to open."

Almost the moment the ghost's voice sounded, a materialized blood-red vortex appeared in the mirror behind Yue Zhengqing. It was no longer an image from the mirror world but a real blood-colored vortex manifesting on the mirror's surface. The blood energy, as if having gained substance, transformed into tentacles that entangled Yue Zhengqing, who was already immobilized by the blood threads.

Yue Zhengqing, now plunged into despair, could only utter foul and disgusting curses. Even his struggles grew feeble, and he was dragged toward the mirror like a sacrificial offering, wrapped in the blood energy.

As Yue Zhengqing’s body moved closer to the wall, the blood-red vortex in the mirror expanded, eventually covering the entire wall of the reception room, as if even the mirror originally hanging there had been swallowed.

The passage was open.

The moment the passage opened, Su Bai and Feng Ling were already on their feet and charging toward the blood-red vortex on the wall.

"Miss Sang, I’ll leave the remaining one to you." Su Bai had initially thought that Feng Ling, as the leader of the organization, would choose to stay in the outside world. He was surprised to see her charging toward the vortex alongside him but quickly instructed Sang Sang, who remained behind.

"The remaining one?!"

Everything happened too fast. Before Sang Sang could even grasp the meaning of Su Bai’s words, she saw Su Bai and Feng Ling, along with Yue Zhengqing, plunge into the blood-red vortex without hesitation. Sang Sang could hardly believe that Su Bai, who had been so frail earlier that he needed to lean against the wall to walk, could suddenly burst forth with such speed and agility.

What surprised Sang Sang even more was that, just as Su Bai entered the vortex, he suddenly turned and used his left hand to seize the bloodthread ghost by the neck. Against the backdrop of the blood-red vortex, blue flames ignited around the ghost’s throat.

At the same time, Su Bai’s other hand, together with Feng Ling, conjured flames. Blue and orange flames intertwined, directly blocking the things trying to rush out of the passage into the outside world.

The bloodthread ghost, which had remained calm as if fully in control of the situation, clearly hadn’t expected Su Bai, who had already entered the vortex, to turn back abruptly. Before it could react, its neck was gripped by those strange blue flames.

The bloodthread ghost had initially dismissed the humans’ power. Even if Su Bai and the others possessed strength greater than ordinary humans, even if their power could harm its vessel, the vessel was just a vessel. Even if completely destroyed, it would only mean the destruction of the human body named "Xiao Xiaodie." The ghosts that had escaped the mirror world through possession could abandon their vessels at any time and gain temporary freedom.

But when the bloodthread ghost, writhing in the pain of the blue flames, tried to leave Xiao Xiaodie’s body, a peculiar force from Su Bai’s left hand trapped it within the vessel, making escape impossible.

It was only at this moment that the bloodthread ghost realized the gravity of the situation. But everything happened too quickly. It couldn’t think of a solution, didn’t even have time to beg for mercy, before Su Bai, with unimaginable strength, dragged it back into the mirror world!

Sang Sang watched as the bloodthread ghost was dragged into the blood-red vortex, finally understanding what Su Bai had meant by "the remaining one." In Sang Sang’s mind, Su Bai must have been worried about the remaining players being left alone with the two ghosts. With time so short, he could only deal with the bloodthread ghost closest to him and leave the remaining ghost for the players in the reception room to handle.

And among these players, Sang Sang was likely the most combat-capable.

Everything happened in just over ten seconds. Feng Ling and Su Bai’s figures were almost completely swallowed by the blood-red vortex.

Zhang Yibu, standing in place, watched Su Bai’s disappearing figure and felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. This panic was strange—it wasn’t entirely because he feared being left unprotected after Su Bai’s departure. In fact, he wished he could follow Su Bai into that terrifying blood-red vortex.

The panic felt more like the disorientation of losing guidance, like a ship sailing on a course suddenly losing its lighthouse, left directionless in an instant.

If he rushed forward now, would he still make it?

Su Bai had said the passage might only last for over ten seconds. There was no way he could catch up, right?

But what if he could?

Sometimes, it takes only a second to go from thought to action. Before Zhang Yibu’s mind could fully process it, his right foot had already taken a step forward.

Then, something bizarre happened!

The moment Zhang Yibu stepped forward, a surge of heat flooded his chest. All sounds around him vanished—Yue Zhengqing’s increasingly distant curses, the howling wind from the blood-red vortex—everything fell silent. Su Bai and Feng Ling’s final figures froze mid-vortex, motionless. Even the swirling blood-red vortex on the wall solidified.

It was as if... time had stopped flowing.

Zhang Yibu instinctively took another step, and the stagnant time resumed. The curses, the wind, and the vortex began to move again. Su Bai and Feng Ling’s figures were completely swallowed by the blood-red vortex.

But when Zhang Yibu stopped moving, time around him froze once more!

"Every step forward is a step forward."

Zhang Yibu’s mind recalled the talent given to him by the Nightmare World. When he had spoken with Qin Yuxuan earlier, he had felt a strange thought—if taking a step forward means moving forward, then staying put naturally changes nothing.

It sounded like a tautology, but what if the "forward" in the talent referred to time? Wouldn’t that change everything?

Like now, when a strange power surged within Zhang Yibu, time would freeze when his body remained still and resume when he moved again.

Was this an ability derived from the talent variation Su Bai had mentioned?

When his body was motionless, he could freeze time around him? When he moved, time would flow again?

For a moment, Zhang Yibu felt ecstatic. After all, in the minds of all teenagers, time-related "superpowers" were exceptionally powerful. Even as he pondered his ability, time around him remained frozen.

But soon, Zhang Yibu’s excitement cooled.

"Wasn’t this still a useless ability?!" When everything around him stopped, he had to stop too. Aside from his thoughts and eyes, he couldn’t move anything. What could he possibly do? Did this ability exist just to give him more time to reflect on how useless he was?

Zhang Yibu felt like crying inside.

Despite his frustration, when Zhang Yibu looked at the frozen blood-red vortex on the wall ahead, the urge to follow Su Bai vanished. Rather than dragging Su Bai down, it was better to stay in the reception room as an obedient younger brother and figure out what he could do with this ability.

Besides, Su Bai had said that once a talent variation occurred, it would continue to evolve and grow stronger over time. He still had a long way to go.

"Every step forward is a step forward."

Zhang Yibu knew that Su Bai had never been a lighthouse from the start. If he wanted to survive in this Nightmare World, he could only rely on himself.

Looking at the frozen world around him, Zhang Yibu suddenly realized one benefit of this ability: he truly had enough time to think about many things.

×

Meanwhile, on Su Bai and Feng Ling’s side, the moment they recklessly charged into the vortex, they landed on a dusty sofa.

Though everything before them was tinged with blood-red, the air filled with nearly suffocating decay and malevolence, and the surroundings were dilapidated and covered in dust, they were indeed in an identical reception room.

The mirror world was a reflection of the outside world. They had entered the vortex from the reception room, so they naturally arrived at the reception room of the mirror world.

"Something’s strange." Feng Ling covered her nose and mouth while waving a hand through the air, her expression grave. "I can’t use my flames here."

"Hahahahaha—!"

Before Su Bai could respond, the bloodthread ghost he had dragged back into the mirror world burst into laughter.

"Arrogant humans, you’ll die here too!"