Of course, at that moment, Derek's illusionary vision was only a trick created by his Phantom Vision technique. The scene of Sarah and her former lover was just a fabrication meant to mess with Jimmy's mind.
Just then, a gurgling noise came from behind Jimmy. He turned instinctively to see blood water surging out of the toilet bowl.
"What the hell is this?" Jimmy was genuinely scared now. Backed up against the bathroom door, his eyes stayed locked on the toilet.
Moments later, a pale, bony hand covered in blood emerged from the water, gripping the toilet's edge. Then, another hand appeared.
As both hands gripped the edge, a head with long black hair slowly rose out of the bloody water. A strange, grotesque creature was climbing out of the toilet bowl!
Sensing danger, Jimmy rushed forward and kicked the thing square in the head. The creature let out a screech, but its hands suddenly elongated and wrapped around Jimmy's neck from behind.
Jimmy gasped for air, unable to break free. He grabbed at the hands, but they were as solid as steel—impossible to move.
Finally, the creature's head fully emerged. It had the ghastly face of a woman—pale, bluish, and rotting. Its lips were torn, exposing jagged teeth. The woman leaned in closer until her face was directly in front of Jimmy's.
"You can die now!" Derek's ghostly clone sneered, her rotten mouth contorting into a chilling smile.
Struggling to breathe, Jimmy mustered the strength to punch the ghost in the face. To his horror, her head was as hard as iron. Not only did his attack fail, but he fractured the bones in his fingers, eliciting a cry of pain.
The ghost made a chilling "zzz" noise, her eyes brimming with malicious energy. Without warning, she opened her mutilated mouth wide and lunged at Jimmy's head.
Jimmy fell silent, collapsing to the bathroom floor. A faint smell of urine began to fill the room.
"Free Ghost Zone ended," Derek's ghostly clone reported. "The target was scared into wetting himself. You've gained 20 mana points as a reward, along with a Mark Card, Monitor Card, Lock Door Card, Soundproofing Card, and... a teddy bear."
"A teddy bear? What's it for?" Derek asked, puzzled as he examined the bear in his hand.
"It might look cute, but it's also great for scaring people!" the ghost clone replied.
"This thing? Scary? Yeah, right…" Derek rolled his eyes, unimpressed.
"Jimmy! Jimmy! Are you okay?"
When Jimmy came to, he found himself lying on the bathroom floor. His young, beautiful wife, Lily, was crouched over him. She held her nose with one hand while shaking him with the other, her voice laced with concern, though her expression betrayed faint disgust.
Jimmy pushed Lily aside and sat up, instinctively glancing at the toilet. There was no blood, no rotting ghost, and no pain in his injured hand. It was as if none of it had ever happened.
Was I hallucinating?
He rubbed his temples, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"Why were you lying on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night?" Lily complained, annoyed now that he seemed fine.
Already irritated, Jimmy snapped at her, slapping her hard across the face.
"What the hell was that for?!" Lily yelled, shocked and angry.
"What do you think? You were lying in bed, messing around with some other guy, weren't you?" Jimmy shouted back, his voice full of jealousy and anger. Even though he knew it was likely an illusion, he couldn't shake the image of her with another man.
"You're insane! There was no other guy!" Lily yelled, her voice trembling with indignation.
Jimmy grabbed her arm and threw her onto the bed, smacking her hard on her backside. "You little cheat! Admit it!"
Lily burst into tears, fighting him off with all her might.
Meanwhile, Derek, watching through his ghostly monitoring spell, yawned and shut off the vision feed. He'd had enough entertainment for one night. If Jimmy didn't pay his overdue wages tomorrow, Derek would escalate his tactics. This wasn't over until Jimmy begged for mercy.
The next day passed, and Jimmy still hadn't changed his ways. Derek was furious. Despite the terrifying toilet ghost encounter, Jimmy neither apologized nor offered to pay back the money he owed. Instead, he drove to an old Daoist temple and paid the priest 8,000 yuan for a protective talisman.
That night, Derek tried to scare Jimmy again, but his ghost clone was thwarted by the talisman's power. The clone dissipated upon contact with the charm, wasting the 10 mana points and resources Derek had invested in creating the ghost zone.
"The talisman he bought this time is reusable. It can withstand up to ten ghostly encounters and can be recharged later," the ghost clone explained.
"Are you kidding me?" Derek was livid. "My ghost clone can't even handle a simple charm?"
Jimmy's refusal to change and his willingness to spend thousands on talismans instead of paying his debts infuriated Derek. Still, he realized brute force alone wasn't enough to win this fight.
"Why is my ghost clone so weak?" Derek grumbled.
"It will grow stronger," the clone replied meekly.
"And what? Just let him off for now?" Derek was unwilling to back down. "With this power, I can't just sit by and let him off the hook."
"The talisman is only a low-level protective item, and your ghost clone is just a Level 1 phantom. Once you level up, those charms will be useless against you," the clone reassured him.
"Wait, I can level up?" Derek's eyes lit up with interest.
"Yes, by completing leaderboard tasks or hunting wandering spirits. Think of it like cultivating in a fantasy novel. The more you practice, the stronger you become."
"Great! Let's find a new task on the leaderboard. I'll make sure my ghost clone hits Level 2 and takes that smug Jimmy down for good!" Derek declared, ready to unleash the full force of his ghostly powers.