Chapter 290: Who’s Next?

The systems had witnessed countless instances of the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, sweeping through the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, creating waves that seemed trivial in comparison. It had even seen a Night Parade covering the entire equator during a time when the world was on the brink of destruction, with demons running amok.

Back then, a deafening roar tore through the air from afar. Massive rocks crumbled from the coastal cliffs, plunging into the turbulent sea, while terrifying figures emerged from the ocean and mountains, challenging the entity orchestrating the Night Parade.

Tons of seawater, rocks, and soil seemed to defy gravity, soaring into the sky. The leaden clouds, mixed with fiery light, hung low, as if the heavens were about to collapse. Through the vast rifts above, one could glimpse enormous figures swimming beneath the dim stars.

Amidst the thunderous clashes of ghostly battles, countless corpses rained down from the sky, the scent of ashes and dust carried by howling winds to the world’s end…

And the woman in whom it had once placed great hope, merely sat atop a mountain, watching the devastation unfold, complaining to herself, “Damn it, why did ‘Love and Magic Girls’ shut down? I haven’t even gotten the limited edition Z-country heroine maid from this event!”

…

“Systems, systems?”

It wasn’t until Gu Qianqian’s voice broke through that the systems snapped back from those apocalyptic visions.

“Huh? Oh! Gu Qianqian, let me tell you, we have to settle this today. If they don’t cooperate, we’ll use some force. There’s nothing a good punch can’t solve…”

“Systems… what nonsense are you talking about? They’ve already agreed to take me next time!” Gu Qianqian interjected.

“What? How did you get them to agree?” the systems asked, surprised.

“Well…” Gu Qianqian picked up an emblem made from haunting remains, muttering, “I just asked to join them, and applied to join that, uh… the Witch Warriors, and they agreed!”

“I’m now the 107th gold medal fighter of the Witch Warriors! Captain Hairball even praised my foresight, saying I have a bright future!”

“…”

Something didn’t seem right. There were only a little over a hundred hauntings, and being ranked 107th wasn’t exactly something to boast about.

The systems grumbled internally, glancing at the small hauntings strutting away in the distance, and said irritably, “So, you’re their underling now?”

“No way!” Gu Qianqian retorted unhappily, “Captain Hairball said that in the Witch Warriors, every haunting is equal, all loyal to Lady Witch! We’re comrades with a common revolutionary ideal!”

The systems, “…”

Never mind, as the saying goes, the subordinate of my subordinate is not my subordinate. This doesn’t count as working for the calamity.

As long as it can get the calamity to confront another world-ending factor, that’s all that matters!

The next step was to encourage them to expand the scale of the Night Parade. With Gu Qianqian as a powerful ally, covering a small part of the city should be no problem, the systems thought.

At nine o’clock sharp.

Lu Yibei and the members of Qi Dong’s team, six in total, boarded an armored vehicle disguised as a transport truck, heading towards the Golden Sands Hotel with excitement.

Qi Dong had already contacted colleagues at the Golden Sands Hotel. Upon arrival, the driver drove the vehicle straight into the hotel’s warehouse entrance. As soon as they got off, they saw a man with a cloth bag at his feet, waiting for them.

Seeing Qi Dong, the man smiled and hurried over, shaking Qi Dong’s hand firmly, “Brother, it’s great to see you again. Thanks to you guys, the hauntings in the hotel were cleared out. Otherwise, I might have lost my job.”

“Just doing our job,” Qi Dong replied in his deep voice.

The man, about forty, was tall and somewhat handsome, dressed in a black professional suit with a badge reading “Logistics Manager – Lu Lei” on his chest.

Lu Yibei squinted slightly, scrutinizing the man who came to meet them, while silently musing.

So, the hauntings at the Golden Sands Hotel had already been dealt with by the special task force. No wonder there hadn’t been any talk about hauntings here for a while.

A couple of years ago, when Lu Yibei was in his senior year of high school, there was a haunting incident at the Golden Sands Hotel. A tourist girl mysteriously left her room in the middle of the night and disappeared.

Though occasional disappearances had become common since the nights grew longer, the circumstances of her disappearance were particularly strange.

When she left her room, she seemed abnormal, as if something was holding her up, her hands awkwardly raised in front of her.

When she left the hotel lodging area and took the elevator to the underground parking lot, as the elevator doors opened, she appeared to be pushed, flying out of the elevator, crying and struggling as something dragged her into the surveillance blind spot.

Since then, rumors of hauntings at the Golden Sands Hotel spread, and Lu Yibei heard about it several times from classmates during his senior year.

So, The Midnight Watchers Society does have some use?

As Lu Yibei pondered, Lu Lei opened the cloth bag he brought, taking out several uniforms and handing them to Qi Dong.

“Brother, although we’re grateful for your help in clearing the hauntings, there are more guests now, and it’s crowded. If you go in like this, someone might see you.”

“I’m worried about scaring the guests, so could you please disguise yourselves a bit?”

“By the way, the suite you’re interested in is on the top floor, 2305. A group of young people booked it for a party. I’ll arrange for your people to replace the servers currently attending to them.”

Hearing this, Qi Dong pondered for a moment and nodded, “No problem!”

The original plan for The Midnight Watchers Society’s operations was to avoid being seen by ordinary people, so he didn’t mind Lu Lei’s request.

Taking the uniforms from Lu Lei, Qi Dong distributed them to the members of The Midnight Watchers Society, waving his hand, “Come on, brothers, let’s change in the car!”

As he spoke, he squeezed Lu Yibei’s shoulder, grinning, “Come on, Operator Lu, let’s change together?”

“…”

Change together? What kind of invitation is that?

Lu Yibei grumbled internally, responding perfunctorily, “Oh, okay, yeah…”

Quickly, as Qi Dong turned around, Lu Yibei’s eyes darted around, and he dashed into the gap between two nearby freezers.

Though he had no qualms with the burly brothers of the special task force, he had issues with their muscles!

Those bulging, shiny muscles looked like they were smeared with lard, making him uneasy.

Two minutes later.

When Lu Yibei had swiftly changed into a serviceable waiter uniform and emerged from his hiding spot, he glanced at the special task force members and twitched his brow.

Those men, averaging over six feet tall and weighing nearly 200 pounds, with not an ounce of fat, looked “tragic” in their hotel uniforms.

Their chest muscles, capable of crushing a skull, were usually hidden under bulletproof vests, but now in uniforms, the white shirts were stretched taut, and the fitted vests couldn’t be buttoned. The pants were turned into tight capris.

From a distance, Lu Yibei felt he could hear the buttons and pant legs groaning in agony.

This disguise was pointless. What hotel has servers like them, with arms like tires?

Only then did Lu Yibei realize he had overlooked an important detail on the way here.

“…”

After a moment of silence, he took out a spicy strip, chewing on it to calm his nerves, then approached Qi Dong, patting his shoulder and wiping the oil from his hand.

“Brother Qi, be honest, how did you usually execute operations like this?”

Qi Dong paused, “Simple, infiltrate, gather intel, and ideally, get into the scene to catch them red-handed. If things go south, the brothers break in!”

Lu Yibei chewed half a spicy strip, pondering, “I suppose, in the past, it wasn’t you guys doing the infiltration?”

“Haha, Operator Lu, you’re sharp, figured it out at a glance?”

Lu Yibei, “…” How could I not?

With you guys, even dressed up, you’d be “mighty maidens,” a whole bunch!

Scarier than hauntings, how could you infiltrate?

“Ahaha, speaking of which, it was always Ah-Hua who handled the infiltration. Don’t underestimate her plain looks; she’s quite skilled at disguises.”

I’ve seen it, otherwise, Jiang Li wouldn’t have turned out like that… Lu Yibei mused.

“To be honest, you guys going in like this won’t work; you’ll be exposed!” Lu Yibei said, glancing at the burly men around him, “You’re too intimidating for most people.”

Qi Dong frowned, “Then…”

“I’ll go alone this time,” Lu Yibei sighed, “The suite’s on the top floor. You can hide on the rooftop, stay in touch, and come out when needed.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Qi Dong nodded, agreeing with Lu Yibei’s plan.

In fact, when they first collaborated with Ah-Hua, they had a similar setup.

After a pause, Lu Yibei seemed to remember something and asked, “By the way, do you have experience rescuing hostages? You didn’t bring a negotiator, did you?”

Though he was confident in facing the haunting that killed He Liang, he wanted to be prepared for any eventuality.

What if he couldn’t handle it and got captured?

Hearing this, Qi Dong laughed heartily, “Haha, you’re talking about that?”

Laughing? Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up, so they have experience rescuing hostages and a negotiator, right?

“We special task force members never negotiate with hauntings! So…”

So? Lu Yibei’s gaze drifted to the armored vehicle they arrived in, and through the door, he glimpsed the metallic glint of firearms, suddenly understanding.

So…

They never negotiate with hauntings. If things go wrong, they charge in with guns blazing, so there’s no need for a negotiator, is that it? Lu Yibei thought.

Golden Sands Hotel, Suite 2305.

Lu Yibei pushed the room service cart to the door, adjusted his bow tie, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell.

“Hello, your order of three beers and two bottles of Hennessy has arrived!”

Soon, the door handle turned gently, and a girl appeared behind the door. Through the crack, the pulsating music from inside could be faintly heard.

The girl wasn’t a member of Yang Yi’s small group, and Lu Yibei hadn’t seen her before, so he didn’t say much and stepped aside to let him push the cart inside.

Lu Yibei pushed the cart in and glanced around the suite.

The spacious two-story suite was filled with people-dancing, drinking, playing cards, gaming, reveling without a care for Miss Du’s money.

Tsk, that’s my familiars’ money! You shameless freeloaders!

Lu Yibei cursed inwardly, then searched for Du Sixian and Yang Yi, only to pause in confusion. There was no sign of them in the room.

What’s going on? Could it be that after all the effort, I got the wrong place?

Or maybe the haunting detected our operation and kidnapped Du Sixian?

No way! That little thing, aside from being vicious, looks too naive to pull off something like that.

As Lu Yibei pondered, the girl who let him in and two unfamiliar guys had gathered around him, pointing and whispering with serious expressions.

Lu Yibei’s heart tightened.

Could he have been exposed?

Instinctively, Lu Yibei wanted to reach for his phone to contact the special task force, but one of the guys grabbed his hand.

The guy looked at Lu Yibei as if he were a savior delivering toilet paper to someone stranded, grinning widely, “Hey man, you’re just in time. We’re one short for poker. Join us!”

Lu Yibei frowned, instinctively refusing, “Sorry, I’m still on duty.”

That’s the truth. If I slack off now, it could be disastrous… Lu Yibei thought.

“Come on, don’t be a buzzkill. I know this hotel well. A server like you usually only attends to one suite. Playing cards with us is part of the service!” the girl said.

Lu Yibei, “…” That was indeed the case. Lu Lei had mentioned he could stay in the suite.

“One word, are you in or not?” another guy said impatiently. “Honestly, if it weren’t for Yang Yi insisting on going upstairs to play the haunting game, I wouldn’t even consider playing with outsiders!”

Upstairs?

Haunting game?

So, Du Sixian and the others haven’t left; they’re upstairs and about to start the haunting game?

Lu Yibei thought, glancing at the group gathered around the coffee table, playing poker, and the pile of red bills on the table, narrowing his eyes slightly.

What kind of family is this? So young and already gambling big?

After spending so much time with Jiang Li and hearing her nagging, Lu Yibei had developed a subconscious aversion to gambling.

“But I don’t have money, and you guys are betting too high…”

That was also true. Recently, concocting potions to fix flaws had drained his savings, and he was almost out of money for food.

“Is that all? Come on, just play! If you lose, it’s on me. If you win, we’ll split it!” one of the guys said, patting his chest.

Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up slightly.

Is there really such a good deal?

After a moment of thought, he pretended to hesitate and sat down at the coffee table, his gaze drifting to the upstairs room as he silently activated his psychic sense.

There was a 0.3 Ms. Rabbit psychic energy fluctuation, which was Du Sixian, so there shouldn’t be any immediate danger.

Now I can…

Lu Yibei thought, retracting his gaze to the three cards dealt in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Using psychic ability to win money from these youngsters might be a bit unscrupulous, but…

You brought this on yourselves!

Today, I’ll show you how ruthless society can be!

Lu Yibei thought, saying calmly, “I’ll raise by a hundred!”

With a tenfold increase in the bet, the group at the table looked at his calm, expressionless face, their expressions turning wary.

“……”

Could they have encountered a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Or is someone backing him, so he’s just messing around?

Forget it, forget it, better to watch and wait. They thought.

“Not following!”

“I’m out too!”

……

Seeing everyone fold, a hint of amusement flashed in Lu Yibei’s eyes, “Is that all? Well, thanks for the money!” With that, he unceremoniously pulled the money towards himself.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the suite’s master bedroom.

The lights were dimmed to the lowest setting, and a doll prepared according to the haunting game’s multiplayer version was placed on the white bed. Red stitching formed a sinister scar across its chest, and a marker lay beside it.

Including Du Sixian and Yang Yi, everyone took turns writing their names on the doll with the marker. Then, Yang Yi picked up the doll and headed alone to the bathroom, where the tub was already filled with water.

The group watched Yang Yi enter the dark bathroom and close the door, not daring to breathe as the master bedroom fell into silence.

Time passed slowly, and just as they began to worry if something had gone wrong, Yang Yi’s voice came from the bathroom.

“Doll, doll, the new body is here. Please use it.”

Then.

He added, “Alright, let’s play! We’ll be the ghosts first.”

Moments later, Yang Yi emerged from the bathroom, his eyes vacant as he scanned the room, speaking in a cold tone, “Next, whose turn is it?”