Chapter 7: The Name of Fear
"I am Shadow Demon, representing destruction. Now, Serpent Woman represents hatred, and finally, the Fear King, Dark River, represents fear," Shadow Demon declared, emphasizing the title of Fear King.
Li Yuanfeng, having learned about fear from Shadow Demon, felt an overwhelming sense of dread enveloping his heart, as if something unknown in the darkness was watching him.
This was actually the effect of the mask. Lu Li's aura of fear, under his alias Fear King Dark River, began to spread. However, this fear aura was only around Lu Li and was far from Li Yuanfeng. Normally, even knowing the source name, the fear aura wouldn't affect him, but he was still wearing the mask.
Due to the connection between the mask and Lu Li, anyone near the mask who uttered the name of fear would trigger the aura, spreading it to them. Thus, Li Yuanfeng fell into the trap.
He remained terrified until he forced himself to forget the name, making the fear gradually dissipate. Only then did he realize he was curled up in a corner, trembling. He angrily glared at Shadow Demon. "You did that on purpose!"
"Hahaha, yes, I wanted you to know what you might face," Shadow Demon laughed darkly. "That was just his name. If you were near him and looked directly at him, you might be scared to death."
"Then why are we even trying? We might as well give up. Clearly, you're no match for him either," Li Yuanfeng, tempted to discard the mask, wrestled with his greed for the treasure, realizing that running away was the worst option. He forced himself to stay calm and tested Shadow Demon.
"Fear King is indeed the strongest among us. I can't defeat him now, but there is still a chance," Shadow Demon admitted. "You are the host of Greed. Do you know the saying: 'When profit reaches 300%, people will risk execution'? When your greed reaches a certain level, you can overcome fear."
"So you found me?" Li Yuanfeng asked.
"Exactly. There are other mask hosts as well, who will stand against fear. At that time, fear will no longer be terrifying," Shadow Demon said, his form dissolving into black smoke and retreating into the mask. His last words faded away: "For now, blend in with the other mask hosts. Don't reveal me."
Li Yuanfeng, breathing heavily, made up his mind. He wanted to rise above others and no longer remain ordinary. He knew success in this society was too hard to achieve on his own, and the mask was his shortcut. He decided to take the risk.
Lu Li suddenly sensed a faint trace of legendary essence entering his heart, related to the name Fear King Dark River. It seemed that his alias was already spreading, suggesting potential gains from promoting the name.
Lu Li took a deep breath, reining in the aura that had helped him slay the dragon. This passive effect had gradually come under his control, allowing him to suppress most of it. However, if someone got too close, they would still be intimidated by the aura.
"Let's go. It's time we took a walk," Lu Li said to Lilith. He noticed his phone on the table had powered off due to lack of battery. Detached from the real world for some time, he realized there was no electricity in his hideout and decided to find a place to charge it.
Lilith turned into black smoke and returned to her mask. Lu Li donned a black hooded coat, carried a small backpack, and let the mask on his face dissolve into shadows, revealing his pale complexion. His body was still transforming into a shadow creature, making sunlight increasingly harmful to him.
Fortunately, it was a cloudy day, and dusk was approaching. He didn't need to open his oil-paper umbrella, instead holding it in his hand as he put Lilith's mask into his backpack and stealthily left his hideout. Seeing the empty streets, he knew the recent serial killings had made people fearful of going out at night.
Lu Li found an internet cafe. The administrator glanced at him, feeling a strange unease, as if a venomous snake was watching him, but he set up a computer for Lu Li nonetheless.
Connecting his phone to a charger, Lu Li saw missed calls from his uncle. After sending a quick text message, he ignored further notifications and began looking up recent events in Leping City and from a year ago. Most online information was speculative, with news from a year ago being largely useless, and recent news focusing on the serial killings, which Lu Li was already well aware of.
However, he did find some side news, such as this article: "Increasing Social Pressure Leads to Overcrowded Mental Hospitals."
According to the report, mental hospitals around Leping City had been receiving more patients over the past year, with an increase in people exhibiting strange behaviors, attributed to social pressure.
"Perhaps there is indeed social pressure, but more likely, it's because some existence nearly descended here, causing some impact," Lu Li thought, shaking his head at the lack of useful results. He pondered for a moment before logging off and heading towards Wujiang Bridge.
Avoiding surveillance cameras, he used shadow magic to form a mask on his face, opened his oil-paper umbrella, and infused it with shadow magic. The river's mist began to rise, influenced by the dragon spine, creating a fog that enveloped the entire bridge.
The mist was absorbed by the dragon spine, which seemed to have infinite capacity. Under Lu Li's control, the mist was released again, now tainted with black shadow magic, forming a rolling black fog that gradually shrouded the entire bridge.
Even though it was around seven or eight o'clock, the phenomenon attracted many people. First, the bridge was covered in fog, then the fog turned black, continuously swirling as if forming something.
The black fog eventually condensed into a rough human figure, which then spoke:
"I am Fear King Dark River. Foolish mortals, feel the fear!"