Squeak—
Pale hands scratched the hood of the car, leaving dried blood and claw marks behind. The terrifying ghost slowly climbed up from underneath the car, its translucent body fractured in many places, with a face so horrifying it could stop a child's cries.
The evil spirit had no head, and blood oozed from its neck cavity. The children didn't cry because they were directly scared unconscious.
In an instant, Wayne's face became even paler than the ghost's. "Oh no, oh no, this car was in an accident, and now the victim has come to claim lives."
"Ghost... ghosts..."
Wayne saw Apparition, and naturally, William in the passenger seat saw her too. He pointed frantically ahead, trying to drive away the ghost with his warm light.
To no avail.
Veronica reached out and placed her hand on William's shoulder, interrupting his spellcasting. "It's not a victim; it's a trap set by the Deathwalker. Using magic will alert the Deathwalker and hinder our capture operation."
Veronica didn't want William to tip off the Deathwalker; she had had enough of curses and was determined to catch the Deathwalker on this trip. As for the terrifying ghosts, they had no attacking power and were only meant to scare people. Once the car drove out of their spell range, they would disappear.
So, be a little braver, and everything would be fine.
William looked frustrated. He knew Veronica was right, but...
"Easy for you to say. You should open your eyes!"
Veronica didn't respond. She turned her head to look out the window, and with a click, another ghostly hand landed on the car window, startling her pale face and making her shiver for a moment.
When she came to her senses, Veronica squinted and stole a glance again.
Afraid, but still curious.
"They can't touch us. Pretend they don't exist. Just slow down the car a bit, and since the ghosts are transparent, they won't obstruct driving."
Monica said with her eyes closed.
"You open your eyes too!"
William shouted loudly, seeing the beautiful girl and the cat huddled together in the back seat, wishing he could join them immediately.
Unfortunately, he couldn't. He was in the front seat and could only cling to Wayne.
Turning his head, he saw Wayne slowing down the car with his eyes closed as he drove.
"Damn it, you're driving!"
William wasn't scared to death by the ghosts, but Wayne scared him to death. He hurriedly pulled up the side window and roared at Wayne to drive safely ahead.
William had spent two whole years getting his driver's license and, as a highly self-aware road killer, strictly refrained from touching the steering wheel. At the same time, he understood a simple truth: whether a car had an accident or hit someone depended entirely on whether the driver followed traffic rules.
For example, if a pedestrian followed traffic rules, sitting on a sofa at home watching TV, with a small garden separating them from the road, William was confident he could hit them.
Because of his self-awareness, William was more afraid of accidents than ghosts. Seeing Wayne driving with his eyes closed, he was scared out of his wits. "Veronica, maybe we should just kill them. I'm scared."
"It's ironic that you're a follower of the Sun Goddess and yet you're afraid of ghosts."
"What's wrong with that? Does being a follower of the Sun Goddess mean you can't be afraid of ghosts?"
William was almost in tears. "Besides, I'm not afraid of ghosts; I'm afraid of Wayne driving with his eyes closed."
...
In the back seat, Veronica and Monica finally realized the seriousness of the problem and began to berate loudly.
In the distance, the blue sedan, crawling with translucent ghosts, shook violently.
...
A moment later, the blue sedan resumed normal driving. As Veronica had said, once they drove out of a certain range, the ghosts would leave on their own.
Wayne, in the driver's seat, asked to change drivers but was denied. With everyone in the car afraid of ghosts, no one wanted to open the door and get out.
William quickly dispelled his fear and, seeing Wayne still shaken, couldn't help but warn him, "Wayne, I never thought you'd be afraid of ghosts. Believe me, you'll encounter similar situations many times in the future. Get used to it as soon as possible and don't embarrass us magicians."
The magician's reputation has already been tarnished by you guys!
Wayne snorted and defended himself, "I'm a conservative. Ghosts and the like are too avant-garde for me; I can't accept them."
"Forget it, you're clearly just afraid of ghosts."
William chuckled with malicious intent. "Here's the deal. I'll tell you a few love stories about ghosts to help you overcome your fear."
"Seriously? No thanks."
Wayne glanced at William, knowing he was trying to scare him, and said with a cold face, "Speaking of horror stories, I have one that scared me from childhood to adulthood. I've been counting on this story to scare myself for the first half of my life."
"Tell us."
William swallowed hard.
In the back seat, Veronica listened intently, afraid but eager to hear.
"It was a moonless, dead silent night. A child said to his mother, 'Mom, there's a child under the bed...'"
Wayne narrated with ups and downs. "The mother looked under the bed and indeed saw a child, exactly like the one on the bed. The child said... 'Mom, there's a child on the bed too!'"
"And then?"
William's face changed, and he trembled as he pressed closer to the car window. Veronica, sitting in the back seat with Monica in her arms, held her breath and hugged the black cat tightly.
The cat felt like it couldn't breathe.
"And then..."
Wayne slowed down the car, giving William a meaningful look before saying in a deep voice, "The mother spanked the twins."
...
Wayne's horror story twist wasn't particularly novel, but in this era, it was innovative enough to ruin the atmosphere and make the subsequent stories William told seem mundane and unremarkable.
Not scary at all.
————
The blue sedan crossed a stone bridge and traveled on a slightly bumpy road, with the patter of raindrops on the car window.
Wayne turned on the wipers and saw the vague outline of the town in the mist.
Under the gloomy sky, scattered lights were blurred in the mist, and the rain did not wash away the mist, but washed away the noise, leaving only occasional barking, making the whole town unusually quiet.
Wayne drove into the largest street in town, with most of the shops on both sides closed, only the bar and the inn operating normally.
At the end of the street was a fenced church, with a cross on the roof bathed in the rain, representing the orthodox faith of Caforo Town and the entire Chosen Continent.
Creator!
The faith in the Creator had a long history and was much more resilient than the strange goddesses. Wayne was curious why these beliefs could coexist instead of erupting into a war of faith.
As the orthodox faith that determined the name of the Chosen Continent, the church worshipped the Heavenly Father, who created all things, and held the highest power of the world in the name of God. Followers of other gods would be labeled as heretics, and beauties like Veronica would become witches, completing the trilogy of prisons, basements, and barbecues.
This was how Wayne envisioned the Chosen Continent; the current chaotic situation with various beliefs didn't make sense logically.
The Chosen Continent had magic, and the gods were real, indicating the existence of the Heavenly Father.
If there was a Creator, naturally, he would be supreme. What level were these little gods, to sit at the same table and eat with me, snatching faith from my bowl?
But if the Creator didn't exist and was just a fabricated virtual idol, why could he defeat other gods and become the orthodox faith? Why could he sit on the heads of the royal families of various countries and urinate and defecate?
Contradictions abounded, and Wayne didn't quite understand why the goddesses would give sleep to the Creator.
Then again, maybe not. If the Creator could be appeased by sleep and let things slide, the gods who lacked sleep would have died out long ago.
Unless the Creator was a loving god who saw men and women as equals.
Boom!
A thunderous roar sounded, and the downpour began, interrupting Wayne's unscrupulous reasoning. He opened the car door and unfolded the umbrella.
"Hmph!"
Veronica in the back seat snorted, and Wayne, acting as the driver, opened the rear door to hold the umbrella for Veronica.
Veronica, in her role as a rich girl, hugged the black cat and walked towards the inn. She remained silent throughout the journey, leaving all the talking to Wayne and the others.
At the inn's front desk, Wayne put away the umbrella and quickly surveyed the layout of the first floor. He saw two girls sitting on the benches on the right.
Their makeup was heavy, their collars low, and their necklaces white.
With a slight disdainful glance from Veronica, Wayne made eye contact with one of the girls and silently reached an understanding with her, then did the same with the other.
They all wanted it!
Wayne booked three rooms, and when the innkeeper, who was familiar with everyone, asked about their situation, he briefly explained the difficulties they had encountered.
Passing through, dark night, raining, need to rest...
He spoke politely, but the weariness in his words made the innkeeper hesitate to continue chatting, and he led the group upstairs and sent them dinner.
After the innkeeper left, the two girls knocked on Wayne's door. Upon entering, they saw the eager William and Veronica sitting on the bed with the black cat in her arms.
"Sir, this kind of situation requires an extra fee."
"Don't worry, the price will satisfy you." Wayne nodded, indicating that everything was negotiable.
The scene then switched to the two girls leaning against each other, completely limp as if their souls had left their bodies, drooling from the corners of their mouths, and their eyes dim and unfocused.
It was obvious they had taken mushrooms.
Veronica continued her blunt method of gathering information, impatient and straightforward, wasting no time. She asked directly about the whereabouts of Blood Mac.
Caforo Town wasn't big, and because of industrialization, a large number of young laborers had poured into the cities early on, causing the population of the town to decline year after year. It wasn't difficult to find out about Blood Mac's whereabouts.
Veronica knew the Deathwalker's full name, Mike Nelson, and also knew that he was preparing to get married recently. In a town where the population was declining, this was undoubtedly a big event. She was confident she could ask about his family's address.
In theory, that's how it should have been. But Blood Mac had integrity, and he didn't invite the girls in town to a bachelor party. Veronica's plan was frustrated once again, and she didn't get anything out of it.
The scene then switched to the innkeeper, who was silly and clueless. He was well-informed and knew where Mike Nelson's family lived.
"Drive west, through the oak forest road, and you'll find the Nelson family estate."
"Estate?!"
Veronica frowned. "What kind of estate? Is his family very wealthy?"
"They used to be very wealthy. Caforo Town was named after the Nelson family ancestor. At that time, the entire town's land belonged to the Nelson family, until one night..."
"Everyone went crazy!"