Chapter 468: 465 Chapter Deception
âAh, huff!â
In the dark, the desperate breathing of someone running for their life could be heard. Although the breaths were already weary, the person dared not stop running.
Holding a Ghost Candle in her hand, Huang Ziya revealed deep fear in her eyes as she fled alone.
She dared not stop.
Because she could feel countless Ghost Ropes descending from above, drifting towards her.
She needed to buy time.
âŠ
To give Yang Jian and the others a final chance, only then might they all possibly survive.
But the courage she had mustered at that moment could not sustain her forever.
When darkness began to erode her vision, when she had already lost her way and was all aloneâŠ
With no help and overcome by fear, Huang Ziya cried while she ran, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
Her spirit was on the verge of collapse.
However, Huang Ziya clenched tightly to a strange doll in her hand.
It was her only hope now.
Yang Jian had said that in a critical moment, she just needed to drop a drop of blood on the doll, and it could save her life, ensuring she wouldnât be killed by the Ghost Rope.
Huang Ziya felt she had been foolish. Yang Jianâs words might have been a deception because someone needed to sacrifice themselves to create an opportunity.
She was filled with immense regret. Had she known, she wouldnât have volunteered to rush out.
But now, it was too late for regrets.
All Huang Ziya could do was to believe in Yang Jianâs words, to trust that the doll in her hand would really work, and to have faith that their plan would succeed.
In the darkness, her breathing became heavier and her pace slowed down.
She no longer had the physical strength to continue.
Soon, she would collapse on the ground, exhausted, and that would be her chance to use the doll.
At this very moment.
The opportunity had arrived for Yang Jian.
He had successfully removed the face of the ghost.
Looking at the blood-stained old newspaper with its blackened, serene yet eerie dead face, a chilling unease surged in his heart.
Was this memory manipulation really effective?
If it wasnât, what then? He had used all his methods and had exhausted everything usable.
It could be said that he had reached this point with nothing left, even facing the danger of the ghostâs resurrection. If he failed now, there was nothing left to do but wait desperately for death.
At that moment, the ghost had lost the ability to move.
Thanks to the cooperation of Yang Jian, Zhang Lei, Wang Jiang, and others, they had managed to suppress the ghost to just eight.
The ghost had chosen to use Ghost Rope with its remaining energy. Even though its indiscriminate attacks nearly killed them all moments ago, it ended up losing its mobility. This is because controlling Ghost Ropes does not require it to move; the ropes would independently seek to kill others.
And because Yang Jian and his group had not achieved an absolute suppression, the ghost was not able to trigger a restart function.
Having lost its ability to move and unable to restart for a second wave of attacks, the ghost could only stand there as rigidly as a corpse.
Like it had crashed.
So, this was the perfect opportunity to act.
But this chance had been created by Yang Jian, who risked his life several times and exhausted all his resources. There would not be a second chance like this, nor could it be replicated. Even under the same conditions, he couldnât guarantee that they would reach this stage again.
Without wasting a single second.
He quickly picked up the blood-stained old newspaper, ready to start altering the ghostâs memory to make it misjudge the number of its own kind.
The number of ghosts it believed it had should be nine, so what number should he change it to make the ghost misjudge?
Should he directly make it believe that there is only one ghost?
Yang Jianâs gaze shifted as he prepared to make the change, but then froze.
Even if the number of ghosts was changed, how were they to leave this place? At best, it would only ensure that no one would be attacked by the ghosts for a while, but they would still be trapped in the Ghost Domain.
The Ghost Domain seemed unsolvable.
âThe chance to alter memories comes only once. Once I give the face back, there may be unforeseen changes. If it doesnât work as expected, then this opportunity will be wasted,â Yang Jian did not dare to be careless and furrowed his brows deeply.
âYang Jian, the ghost seems unable to move now, but the surrounding Ghost Domain is still here, and thereâs no way to see the exit. What do we do next?â Wang Jiang looked at the vast darkness around him, still very anxious.
The ghost was restrained, but what next?
Zhang Lei said, âStop bickering. Yang Jian is thinking of a solution. Weâve come this far, which proves Yang Jianâs method is correct. I can feel weâre at the last step, and we absolutely cannot make a mistake now.â
âWe need to hurry. It looks like Qian Yi is about to kick the bucket,â another unfamiliar Ghost Controller remarked, tasked with observing the surroundings.
He saw Qian Yi, suspended in mid-air, had already passed out due to excessive blood loss. Although still breathing, death seemed imminent.
âAlso, Iâm not sure how much longer Huang Ziya can last. All the Ghost Ropes are going after her. If she dies, weâll immediately face the danger of being hanged.â
âIf you canât help, then shut up,â Yang Jian turned around and shouted angrily: âYou didnât dare to risk your life earlier, and now youâve learned to spout cold words.â
The man immediately kept his mouth shut, not daring to retort.
Yang Jian couldnât make a decision lightly. While altering memories was easy for him, he couldnât bear its consequences.
âGive me one more prompt. If I donât make it, youâll stay here with me.â
â`
He gritted his teeth and took out the human-skin parchment.
The outdated information plan was incomplete and could not be implemented. Now, having come this far, he needed a new guide.
After all, the previous plan had not counted on Yang Jian being able to restrain the Foot Ghost.
It could be said that arriving at this point had even exceeded the expectations of the original plan.
At this moment, the human-skin parchment was not silent; perhaps it too sensed the urgency of the situation. If the moment was missed, Yang Jian would die, and it would be left here, eventually falling into the hands of this ghost.
Soon, the characters on the human-skin parchment quickly became visible.
âMy name is Yang Jian. By the time you read these words, I will already be deadâŠ. Back then, at the training base, after several deadly encounters, I somehow managed to restrain that ghost, but this restraint wonât last long. I must find a way to use this opportunity to leave this place. According to my earlier plan, it was to rally two groups of people while meeting the conditions of not being alone, and then use the Ghost Candle to lure the ghost awayâŠ. but by the time I saw that plan it was already too late.â
âThat plan was doomed not to be realized, but I still held a chance, a chance to make the ghost misjudge its own number and thus exploit a certain trait of the ghost to escape from this Ghost Domain.â
âI tried making the Ghost General believe its number was 1, but the result wasâŠ. we were annihilated at the training base.â
The eerie characters appearing on the parchment spelled a terrible potential outcome, manipulating the ghostâs memory to believe its number was 1, which led to a conclusion of annihilation.
Upon seeing this, Yang Jianâs pupils shrank.
The number of ghosts cannot be misconstrued as 1, then the smallest number wonât work either; other numbers certainly donât stand a chance, 2, 3, 4⊠these seem to make no difference.
âCould it be zero?â Yang Jian wondered.
What will be the consequence if the ghost is made to misjudge its own number as zero?
Would it negate its own existence?
âI have tried making the ghost misjudge its own number as zero, and yet, I still died,â followed on the parchment, sinking Yang Jianâs heart with the words that emerged next.
Is zero also not viable?
This is a dead end then.
But at this moment, the parchment didnât stint on continuing to reveal characters: I tried several schemes to manipulate memories, even considered implanting some memories to control the ghost, but all plans failed because the ability to alter memories lasted a very short time. Once I release the ghostâs restraint, the altered memories will be forcefully erased. After all, this ghost can suppress any other ghostâs abilities, including the old newspaper in my hands.
Seeing this, Yang Jianâs face grew even more solemn.
The memory alteration must be done while the ghost is under restraint, and the effect can only last during the time it is suppressed.
Once the suppression is released, the ghostâs abilities will forcefully eliminate the altered memories.
âAm I really going to die here?â Yang Jian felt his chances of survival dwindling.
Even the human-skin parchment seemed out of ideas at this point.
But if it couldnât come up with a way to survive, why then would the parchment go on about all this?
Suddenly, Yang Jian realized something, staring intently at the parchment in his hands.
It might have a plan, but it seemed reluctant to reveal it.
Perhaps this plan could have some adverse effects on the parchment itself, or maybe it would allow Yang Jian to benefit from it, reducing his reliance on the parchment over time.
âNot willing to reveal the plan? If thatâs the case, then weâll die here together, just like back at school. After all, it was you who saved my life then; we might as well go back to the beginning and pretend we never left No. 7 Middle School,â Yang Jian said, staring it down.
He was gambling.
Gambling that the human-skin parchment, under the same circumstances, didnât want to stay in this Ghost Domain; the last time, in the Door Knocking Ghostâs realm, the parchment was unwilling to be lost. If it were lost now, here in the Ghost Coffinâs domain, it would never see the light of day again.
The characters on the parchment began to disappear swiftly.
When the last traces vanished, they formed a crooked sentence: Make the ghost misjudge its own number as 3; that is the only chance to survive.
âThree?â Yang Jianâs gaze flickered.
Why this number?
However, before he could ponder further, the assembled characters disappeared, only to be followed by another sentence: Once the ghost has misjudged the correct number, it will lift the restraint on us and begin to restart, and I will take that moment to immediately dismember the ghost, extracting the Coffin Nail that contains three ghosts.
âI understand now,â exclaimed Yang Jian, eyes widening as he instantly grasped the meaning of the parchmentâs sentence.
First, make the ghost think its number is 3, then extract the three ghosts.
So, when the ghost restarts, it will think its own number is 0.
This misconception isnât formed by manipulating memory, but through the ghostâs own mistake in understanding, as it deceives itself. After all, the ghost shouldnât be unable to trust itself.
If all goes well, after the restart, the ghost will continue to think its number is 0.
If thatâs the case, will the ghost still begin to kill?
âAn outlandish and eerie strategy, taking advantage of even the ghostâs ability to restart; this human-skin parchment is truly sinister and terrifying,â Yang Jian mused, feeling a mix of elation and increased wariness toward it.
But there was no time to concern himself with the parchmentâs eeriness, as he immediately sprang into action.
Yang Jian still had one hand that could move. Despite the limitation, he began to immediately manipulate the ghostâs memory, making it misjudge its own number as 3.
To ensure the memory manipulation was successful, he repeated some crucial contents several times over.
Finally, confident there were no errors, he took the bloodstained old newspaper, along with that peaceful yet ghastly dead face, and covered the ghostâs head with it, restoring the face to its place.
Up until now,
All actions had ceased, and what remained was just to wait.
Seizing the moment, Yang Jian had to plunge the Ghost Hand deeply into the ghostâs body and extract the three ghost-infused Coffin Nails.
Zhang Lei and Wang Jiang, watching Yang Jianâs odd actions from the side, didnât understand but dared not ask. They knew Yang Jian was devising the next step, so they refrained from disturbing him.
The human-skin parchment, the bloodstained old newspaper, was reluctant to show itself under normal circumstances.
But now, its exposure was inconsequential. After all, they only saw Yang Jian had these items, without knowing their capabilities.
â`
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