"You think we are deeply sinful, but did we ever have a choice?"
"If you had to choose between your family and a stranger's death, would you really choose your family?"
Linda fell silent.
She looked down on Matthew, seeing him as a man burdened with iniquity.
Yet, if she were to walk a mile in Matthew's shoes, she might make the same choices.
People are inherently selfish.
"Given you've made it this far, you're clearly not ordinary folks. If you're willing to help me, I can tell you how to lift the curse."
Charles, hands in pockets, smirked, "You're not expecting us to save your son, are you?"
Matthew shook his head, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "With your skills?"
"To save my son... People like you, if you get anywhere near the Blood Moon Tower, will be discovered and dealt with in no time."
He paused, casting a sidelong glance at Linda.
"Of course, if you didn't bring this foolish woman along, your chances of survival might be a bit higher."
Linda retorted, "You're the fool! Your whole family is foolish!"
Matthew couldn't be bothered to argue.
Charles, locking eyes with Matthew, hesitated for a moment. "What do you want us to do for you?"
Matthew's face grew pale from blood loss; his dizziness intensified. Shaking his head to keep awake, he gasped for air:
"Regarding the curse... it all comes from a box."
"Seal that box, and the curse will be lifted!"
"The box is... in... the center of that mist."
"The demons in the mist won't attack things that seem lifeless. If you can keep your emotions in check, you might make it there."
"They have no eyes, no nose, no ears... They sense their targets through the brainwaves of emotional fluctuations."
"Remember... whatever you see in that mist, don't be surprised, don't be afraid."
"Any significant emotional fluctuation, and the nearby demons will... smell the scent of your flesh."
Matthew's body quivered as he mustered the strength to utter his last words before falling into unconsciousness.
Linda rushed to his side, hurriedly taking out some bandages to staunch his bleeding.
Charles shook his head, "Don't bother. His body is already weakened to the extreme due to prolonged hunger. The adrenaline during our escape has further drained him. With this much blood loss now, unless there's a full-fledged hospital nearby to give him an immediate transfusion, nobody can save him."
"Pack up the bandages; they're useless now."
"Do you think we can trust what he said?"Linda ask.
Matthew on the ground was slowly losing his vital signs, his body temperature dropping, his face growing increasingly pale.The blood from his broken arm had already coagulated.
Linda stood by, a complex mix of emotions churning within her.
Matthew was undoubtedly a villain, but his plight was equally sympathetic. Forced by circumstance, all he had done was for the sake of his son and wife.
Charles' attention was still on the pile of nerve endings in the tank.
"From a psychological standpoint, I believe he was telling the truth. So I'm willing to give it a try."
"I'm leaving now."
Linda didn't follow Charles. She knew she couldn't maintain the emotional stability that Charles could. Although she also craved the additional reward, but she knew when she could push her luck and when she couldn't.
Following Charles now would not only be a liability to him but also suicidal for her.
Thus, Linda used her ticket to the Endless Abyss, exiting the lab.
"We'll meet again. I hope we can find each other in the Endless Abyss," Linda sincerely said to Charles.
"Yes, I hope we meet again," Charles waved goodbye.
After navigating through a secret tunnel for some time, Charles finally saw a glimmer of starlight ahead.
This secret tunnel operated deep underground and was also served by a shaft elevator. Unlike the one guarded by Leopold, this one required Blood Moon Tower members' authorization—ensuring no external ghosts could enter.
After all, they were not mindless diggers scraping through hundreds of meters of soil; they had a clear sense of self.
They were killers. They were hunters.
Not excavators.
Charles stepped into the elevator, took out Bal's severed head, and held it up to the facial recognition system. The elevator sprang to life.
"Such advanced facial recognition; even his own mother wouldn't recognize him in this state," Charles muttered, storing Bal's decaying head back into his inventory.
The elevator reached the top.
The doors opened to an overpowering surge of ghost energy!
The starlight here seemed especially dim and ominous.
Outside the elevator door stood a red-clothed female ghost covered in blood, her back to Charles, her head bowed. In her hands, she gnawed ceaselessly at something.
The ground was littered with bloodied and mangled bones, no doubt the missing arm of Matthew.
Seeing all this, Charles was unfazed.
If Matthew chose to risk confrontation with evil spirit rather than use this secret passage, then there must be something extraordinarily terrifying lurking here.
Feeling the icy chill emanating from the ghost, Charles stepped out of the elevator and stood amicably close behind her.
It wasn't that he intended to engage in any uncanny actions with the female ghost; rather, she was blocking the only way out.
As a young man, should Charles wish to move on, an uncomfortably close encounter with the ghost was inevitable.
Feeling something press against her buttocks, the ghost turned her head in confusion.Her ghastly, snarling visage instantly confronted Charles.
For a few awkward seconds, man and ghost locked eyes. Charles managed a polite yet uneasy smile and then slowly moved on.
...
Red-Clothed Female Ghost: Extremely Dangerous!
Note: A ghost cursed by malevolence; fear is her favorite sustenance!
Weakness:With all their external senses somehow inhibited, they can only find nourishment through the emotional vibrations of living beings. However, upon encountering someone as emotionally detached as you, they would simply regard you as inert, like a stone.
PS: With such a beautiful female ghost, are you sure you don't want to do anything?
....