"Actually, you guys really don't have to sleep in my room." Chen Yu looked at Jack and Solano, somewhat amused yet exasperated.
When they had checked in earlier, Solano had directly booked three separate rooms for them to sleep separate; Chen Yu naturally had no objection to that, as it also gave him a good chance to take a relaxing bath.
But unexpectedly, before he could even head to the bathroom, Jack and Solano had come over together.
"Chen, you don't know, but now when I close my eyes, I feel like that wicked spirit is staring right at me," Jack said tiredly, waving his hand. He had just felt a gaze on him after shutting his door.
Solano also looked a bit pale, and seeing their condition, Chen Yu couldn't really say much. To ordinary people like them, wicked spirits were indeed frightening.
Not everyone could face such unknown entities calmly, and according to the research from the Federal Science Academy, all negative plane beings naturally instill fear in humans who see, know, or even hear them.
Later, Mr. Zhou, the dean of the Academy, felt that this was too hard to understand and simply described these special abilities with the easily understandable term "Aura of Fear."
The stronger the entity, the more intense the fear it induces. However, there are some special cases where the entity might not be very strong, but its Aura of Fear is particularly intense.
It was normal for ordinary people like Jack and Solano to feel scared.
Fortunately, the Presidential Suite was spacious enough for them to sleep separately after some arrangements, avoiding the issue of who had to sleep on the floor.
And finally, Chen Yu could have some peace and enjoy his bath.
"All these needle marks..." Chen Yu rubbed his arms, which were densely dotted with needle marks and some were even turning blue and purple. It seemed this guy had not only dabbled in marijuana but had also gotten into some other substances.
No wonder Chen Yu always felt he lacked energy. On the airplane, he was constantly yawning and his eyes and nose were runny. If it wasn't for his strong willpower, he might have embarrassed himself then and there.
Chen Yu yawned, his tears and runny nose coming out simultaneously; his body felt itchy and uncomfortable, and a neck itch was a constant annoyance. While he'd managed the mental torment, dealing with the physical aspects would take time.
"Wicked spirits..." Chen Yu lay in the bathtub, squinting at the night view outside the window.
Wicked spirits weren't typically what he dealt with. Most of them were quite stable, rarely appearing unless their boundaries were crossed or they came into contact with objects carrying their essence... In simple terms, wicked spirits are like hermits; they rarely venture out, which is why encountering them was also rare.
Moreover, since the capabilities and temperaments of wicked spirits were varied and unpredictable, the Federation generally just monitored them.
Unless they had previously harmed someone or posed a significant threat, the Federation rarely took proactive measures against these beings.
Within the Federation, there was a specific department handling affairs related to wicked spirits; Chen Yu, being part of the military, really had little to do with that department.
"Radiance, pull up the cursed spirits manual, search for communication killings predictions," Chen Yu decided to see if Radiance's stored manual had information on such wicked spirits to prepare in advance.
[Data retrieved]
Immediately afterward, an image appeared in Chen Yu's mind. It was a video from the Science Academy researching cursed demonic spirits, and this spirit met Chen Yu's requirements. The only pity was that the spirit did not announce killings over the phone but instead used a virtual game network to predict the killings.
It directly controlled the deceased's game character, allowing the deceased to watch from a first-person perspective how they were killed, then gave a time.
This demonic spirit had slaughtered over ten thousand people, but many victims thought it was just a hacker messing with the game, so they didn't report it. It wasn't until someone who was particularly frightened reported the incident that it drew federal attention.
In the end, the demonic spirit was sent to the Science Academy for research, and after the research, it became fuel for an energy furnace.
"There's nothing common... this type of demonic spirit might be a new addition to the federation," Chen Yu sighed. The data did contain methods on how to counter this demonic spirit.
First, use a subspace anchor to lock the space where the demonic spirit resides, preventing it from escaping. Then, send out elite demon-hunting warriors wearing Radiance-class anti-demonic spirit armor to capture and violently attack the spirit, while also injecting demonic spirit suppressants to curb its powers.
Finally, capture the demonic spirit with the Super-Frequency Super-Wave Stabilizer and that would be it.
Well, Chen Yu didn't have any of these devices.
If he had anti-demonic spirit armor, why would Chen Yu bother taking a plane? He could just fly to Tokyo himself, blast it, and be back in New York in five minutes.
"Radiance, how many Energy Points does the anti-demonic spirit armor cost?" Chen Yu couldn't help asking; Radiance immediately pulled up the list, and looking at the long string of numbers, Chen Yu quietly closed his eyes and enjoyed the quiet bath time.
Can't afford it, not one bit.
...
The next morning, Chen Yu got out of bed. It had been almost two days since he returned, but this was the first time he had woken up in a bed, although it wasn't as comfortable as the sleeping pods in the federation, it was still not bad.
"...Did you two not sleep last night?" Chen Yu was surprised when he stepped out of his room and saw Jack and Solano dozing off on the couch in the living room.
Their dark circles were evident, and a large jar of coffee was placed on the table, filling the living room with a strong coffee scent.
"Ah... it's Chen... finally you're awake," Jack said wearily, managing to muster a bit of energy.
He couldn't sleep all night. Even though Chen Yu had assured him that nothing would happen and he had slept in Chen Yu's suite, every time Jack closed his eyes, he felt as if he was back at the eerie entrance of that house.
The dim sky, the silent environment, and then he would stand at the entrance to the courtyard, unable to move, staring as the door inside opened and a pair of resentful eyes glared fixedly at him from behind the gap.
And then he would wake up, unable to sleep at all.
Unable to sleep, he came out to drink coffee and watch TV, only to find Solano was already drinking coffee. Thus, the two just sat in the living room, watching TV and drinking coffee together, reminding each other not to sleep. It was sort of a way to avoid the torment of the haunted house.