The Repelling Thread and an Unexpected Invitation

Fu Ziqing’s hand suddenly slipped from the dark red thread. Her expression remained blank for a few seconds.

Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

Previously, Fu Ziqing had only relied on intuition, believing the large eyeball and the book from last night were the same object. Now, she had concrete proof.

“Is this massive eyeball the true form of that small book?”

Though she murmured the question to herself, her heart was almost certain of the truth.

That book—or rather, this immense eyeball—must possess the ability to devour or seal Vicious Ghosts. Every thread she had touched, every scene she had witnessed, likely represented the life memories of the Vicious Ghosts it had consumed or imprisoned.

She herself had been briefly ensnared by it, which explained the presence of her own thread within this space.

Yet, why was her thread dark red?

Pondering this mystery, Fu Ziqing meticulously examined her own thread.

Beyond its color, she could discern no other distinguishing features.

If the threads were all similar in thickness and the only distinction was color, it still didn’t quite make sense. Fu Ziqing had, after all, noticed other colored threads.

Earlier, amidst the dense multitude of black threads, her attention had been primarily fixed on their destination, causing her to overlook other details.

Hidden among the countless black threads were actually some lighter grey-black strands, and even a few white ones.

“What do the colors signify?”

“Strength?”

“Resentment?”

“Obsession?”

Fu Ziqing posed question after question, yet tragically, no one could offer an answer.

“Perhaps all of them,” she concluded to herself.

Subsequently, Fu Ziqing’s gaze returned to the dark red thread.

If this thread held her memories from before death, then perhaps it could reveal the cause of her demise.

However, as she prepared to grasp the thread once more, Fu Ziqing’s hand paused momentarily.

It wasn’t a sentimental reluctance born from nearing the truth, a fear of confronting it. Rather, she felt a peculiar sensation.

She hadn’t deliberately released her grip earlier, yet the dark red thread had slipped from her hand.

Was this thread rejecting her?

What could possibly explain this?!

Fu Ziqing’s eyes sharpened.

Her own memories, and they wouldn’t let her see them?

Unacceptable! She would absolutely see them!

With a decisive motion, Fu Ziqing seized the dark red thread.

She closed her eyes.

Moments later, Fu Ziqing’s brows furrowed, her expression twisting into something strange.

A few more moments passed, and the thread in Fu Ziqing’s hand began to tremble, quickly slipping free once again.

She opened her eyes, a question in her voice:

“How can this be?”

The thread was indeed repelling her, but that wasn’t the real issue; she could simply force it if necessary.

The truly unsettling part was that what she saw through this thread was herself, yet it was only herself.

Unlike her previous experiences with the black threads, which revealed an entire lifetime, the dark red thread showed her little more than a static image.

In the image, a small girl huddled in a dark corner, occasionally lifting her head, her gaze vacant and lost, only to bury her face again shortly after.

“Is this really me?”

Fu Ziqing frowned deeply, muttering to herself.

The little girl in the image looked exactly like her as a child. Since she had no twin sisters, it could only be herself.

However, no matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn’t remember ever being so reclusive.

“No, this won’t do! I must figure out what’s going on!”

Fu Ziqing forcibly seized the dark red thread once more.

This time, however, she felt more than just repulsion and resistance from the thread in her hand. A chilling, malevolent hatred emanated from it.

This hatred felt tangible, like countless sharp, poisoned needles.

Caught off guard, Fu Ziqing’s body stiffened, and then a searing pain pierced from her palm through her entire being.

“Ugh…”

She hadn’t felt pain in twenty years, and this sudden, agonizing sensation forced an unbearable cry from her lips. The relentless surge of hatred then violently assaulted her consciousness; she struggled to maintain her awareness but ultimately succumbed to unconsciousness.

Fu Ziqing toppled backward, drifting into a vast, pale void.

Her period of unconsciousness was relatively brief, and she had already regained lucidity, yet she felt profoundly weak.

Her translucent form had visibly faded.

In the moments before she fainted, Fu Ziqing sensed the hatred receding from her. Simultaneously, she felt that same hatred had taken something from her.

She couldn’t comprehend it. The dark red thread clearly represented her own memories, so why would such immense hatred reside within them?

She certainly harbored hatred, but it was directed at the ‘thing’ that had caused her death.

As she still couldn’t ascertain whether her killer was human or ghost, she provisionally referred to it as ‘the thing.’

She hated, but not to the extent of turning that hatred upon herself.

Could it be that even though she had escaped the giant eyeball, a portion of her resentment had been left behind within it?

Was it a pure surge of resentment and hatred, so potent that even she couldn’t recognize it, acting like those lesser female ghosts that only knew indiscriminate attacks?

As these thoughts swirled, the already weakened Fu Ziqing felt an increasing weariness wash over her.

Without realizing when, she closed her eyes.

Her translucent form drifted aimlessly within the vast, white expanse.

On the side of the giant eyeball, its black tail stretched ever longer into the sky.

Zhao Yunzhong arrived at Jinxin Garden Estate once more.

Standing again beneath the building he had entered just hours prior, Zhao Yunzhong’s expression was a mixture of uncertainty and contemplation.

That Chen Jinquan fellow had sent a farewell message to the police before returning to court death. Normally, officers would rush to intervene, but the circumstances were now extraordinary. Everyone in the department was strictly forbidden from acting on their own initiative.

Even Director Zhao, when it came to such anomalous incidents, had to follow the instructions of Zhao Yunzhong, a mere team leader.

Without his command, no one would come to save Chen Jinquan.

However, in these anomalous events, the power of ordinary people was negligible, and police officers were no exception. Zhao Yunzhong couldn’t possibly send regular officers to their deaths for the sake of Chen Jinquan.

Currently, Zhao Yunzhong was the only Anomaly Investigator in the department. Such a singular asset, however, should always prioritize their own safety.

While Anomaly Investigators were indeed meant to resolve anomalous incidents and aid ordinary citizens, the Department of Anomalies, and even higher authorities, permitted them to prioritize their own survival when an event became uncontrollable.

Earlier that morning, Zhao Yunzhong had already determined that the situation in this estate was complex and beyond his control. He had also submitted a request for assistance to the Department of Anomalies.

He could have waited with complete peace of mind.

Nevertheless, Zhao Yunzhong was here.

His presence, however, wasn’t due to some naive sense of heroism. He was no novice, nor was he a hot-blooded teenager; he understood when it was imperative to make choices that served the greater good.

He hadn’t come for Chen Jinquan, yet in a way, he had.

He had received an invitation from Miss Doll.

The clock rewound to half an hour prior.

“Please, Sir, come to our home.”

The phrase had suddenly echoed in his mind as he sat alone in his office.

After a moment of slight astonishment, Zhao Yunzhong knew he had been targeted by Miss Doll.

Miss Doll had likely left a ‘mark’ within his body when she suppressed the ghostly energy inside him that morning. Through this ‘mark,’ she had found him and extended an invitation.

Such ‘marking’ techniques, while not commonplace, were certainly not rare either; they typically involved implanting unique ghostly energy within a target.

He possessed a Soul-devouring worm, which happened to be the bane of such ‘marks.’

Thus, he could easily use his Soul-devouring worm to remove the ‘mark’ from his body and simply ignore the invitation.

Yet, while he could disregard Miss Doll’s ‘mark,’ he found he could not ignore her invitation.

From their brief encounter that morning, Zhao Yunzhong judged Miss Doll to be a relatively gentle entity. Even so, approaching her rashly was ill-advised, for anomalous objects were inherently unpredictable. A seemingly harmless anomaly could reveal its malicious nature in an instant.

But for the entity to extend an invitation actively—that was entirely unexpected.

As far as Zhao Yunzhong knew, this was unprecedented even within the Department of Anomalies, wasn’t it?!

Zhao Yunzhong perceived Miss Doll’s voice as gentle and benevolent, seemingly inviting him with genuine sincerity.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yunzhong still stepped out of the police station.

His drive had been quick, but at this very moment, Zhao Yunzhong had been standing before Miss Doll’s building for several minutes.

Hesitation certainly lingered. After all, it was his first time accepting an invitation from an unfamiliar ‘woman’ to ‘visit’ her home. What made it worse was that she was an ‘attached woman,’ and he even knew her ‘husband’ had just returned home.

Of course, the absolute worst part was that the ‘woman’ wasn’t human at all!

“Forget it! I’m already here…”

“Might as well go in and sit for a while.”

Zhao Yunzhong finally took a step forward.

As he entered the building, the temperature immediately dropped significantly.

Zhao Yunzhong’s steps faltered, and he looked towards the elevator.

Before the elevator doors, the exquisitely beautiful Miss Doll awaited him.

Upon seeing Zhao Yunzhong, Miss Doll clasped her hands over her abdomen, bowed slightly, then straightened. Keeping one hand at her abdomen, she pressed the elevator button with the other.

After a short wait, the elevator doors opened, and several people emerged. They seemed not to notice Miss Doll at all, merely casting curious glances at Zhao Yunzhong, who stood by the building entrance, before dispersing in various directions.

Miss Doll partially blocked the elevator door, extended one hand into the car, lowered her head slightly, and softly said:

“Please, Sir.”

This… this is far too polite…

Zhao Yunzhong was momentarily startled, then walked over.

As he passed by Miss Doll, Zhao Yunzhong suddenly remarked:

“Madam Chen is far too kind.”

Miss Doll seemed to pause, then replied after a few seconds:

“Please, Sir.”

Zhao Yunzhong smiled faintly and stepped into the elevator.