Chapter Eight: Skill Upgrade, Strength Surges

Hearing his colleague’s words, Sun Shihe couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart. Could that bizarre creature have already reached level F? But no sooner had this thought occurred to him than he shook his head—going from level F to E in a single day was clearly impossible. Still, what did it want with limbs, hearts, and souls?

As he pondered this, a loud shout rang out in the distance.

“There’s a survivor here!”

Upon hearing this, both Sun Shihe and the other spirit-controller were visibly shocked. By rights, there shouldn’t have been any living people left in this hospital. After what happened last night, and given how these strange beings are highly sensitive to human presence, people either fled or were killed—there was no way anyone could have still been alive.

When Sun Shihe drew closer and saw who it was, his heart skipped a beat. It was actually the girl who had been playing the spirit-calling game last night!

“Hurry, get her to the hospital!”

“But... this is a hospital.”

“I meant another hospital, for crying out loud!”

After they brought Ruan Qing to a different hospital, Sun Shihe started to grow suspicious. The first time, perhaps that creature—possibly one with a forbidden domain—spared this girl by coincidence. But now, for her to have survived again when so many other terrifying entities were present, it simply defied logic.

Both his intellect and intuition were telling him one thing: there was definitely something off about this girl. Yet, he had just examined her again, and the other spirit-controllers must have as well. This meant that Ruan Qing’s body showed no irregularities and should have no connection to any uncanny entities.

With this in mind, he immediately used his authority to look up the girl's background. What he found shocked him. Ruan Qing’s father was actually Ruan Changhong, the chief researcher at the Bureau of Anomalous Entity Investigation—the renowned Dr. Ruan.

All his questions were answered in that instant. As the daughter of the famous Dr. Ruan, it was only natural for her to be equipped with some exceptional device. As for what kind of device... that would be top-secret within the Bureau, well beyond his clearance.

He also noticed something else.

Ruan Qing’s soul was noticeably weaker than that of an ordinary person, but previously Sun Shihe had dismissed this, since some people are simply born with feebler souls. Now, however, it was clear that this was not the case—the equipment on Ruan Qing must require soul power to activate.

Having deduced this, he decided to leave the matter be for now. The urgent concern was still to track down that entity which might possess a forbidden domain, and to apprehend the uncanny creatures from the hospital the night before.

...

After a night of wild revelry, Xiao Zi’s terror value had soared to a peak of 5300. What’s more, during the chaos, he managed to collect all the materials needed to upgrade his skills. After spending 4000 terror points to enhance every skill, he was left with only 1300 terror points.

By then, his personal stats had changed.

[Host Personal Information:
Host: Xiao Zi
Strength: E
Skills: Soul Parasite LV2, Soul Wind Blade LV2, Shadow Ghost Steps LV2, Wailing of the Damned LV2
Terror Value: 1300
Forbidden Domain: None
Influence in Current Plane: 860]

From his interactions with those uncanny beings last night, Xiao Zi realized something—not all of them possessed skills, and most only had one. In contrast, he had several skills, all of which could be upgraded. Ordinary uncanny entities simply couldn’t compare; if he fought one of his own level, he could win with overwhelming force.

However, upon raising all his skills to LV2, the requirements for further upgrades were revealed.

[Soul Parasite LV2 Upgrade Conditions: Heart of a sinner x1, 3000 terror points]
[Soul Wind Blade LV2 Upgrade Conditions: Soul of a strong-willed person x1, 3000 terror points]
[Shadow Ghost Steps LV2 Upgrade Conditions: Tears of a dream-chaser x1, 3000 terror points]
[Wailing of the Damned LV2 Upgrade Conditions: Despairing cry of a brave soul x1, 3000 terror points]

Seeing these requirements, Xiao Zi felt utterly drained. What kind of demands were these? Still, after leveling his skills to LV2, he profoundly understood the importance of skill upgrades. Even just at level one, he had felt a tremendous surge in strength. Now, his Soul Wind Blade could easily pierce a one-meter-thick steel plate.

[Mission 1: Absorb enough fear to reach level D, reward: unlock five random skills]
[Mission 2: Raise influence in current plane to 10,000, reward: random forbidden domain]

Seeing these two missions, Xiao Zi shook his head. Missions like these were certainly attractive, but for him right now, they were a bit premature. After all, throughout the city, spirit-controllers were patrolling everywhere, hunting for uncanny beings. It wasn’t that Xiao Zi feared them, but behind these spirit-controllers seemed to stand the powerful Bureau of Anomalous Entity Investigation. If he were to kill one, and even more formidable agents came after him, what then?

Clearly, he urgently needed to relocate—ideally, somewhere far less populated. That way, he could operate at night without drawing anyone’s attention.

But how to get there? Not knowing the way was one thing; the distance was another. Most importantly, he worried that spirit-controllers might be stationed at the city’s edge.

As he was pondering, a convoy of vehicles approached. These were all freight trucks, each hauling massive iron cages containing enormous beasts of every kind. Once kings of the forest, now these mighty creatures were reduced to lambs awaiting slaughter, lying listlessly in their cages without resistance.

The convoy rolled through the city, a banner stretched across its lead truck:
“Circus Tour: Suifeng City → Tianjing City → Qianyou Town...”

This, presumably, was their performance route. Since they were leaving Tianjing City, the next stop must be Qianyou Town. The name alone suggested a small town—perfect for Xiao Zi’s next destination.

Without further hesitation, Xiao Zi transformed into a ghostly wraith and quietly slipped into the convoy.

In the lead truck, the driver shivered.

“Boss, did you turn on the AC? Why does it feel so cold in here?”

“What AC? The weather’s been cooling down lately. Of course you’re cold—maybe you should wear more!”

After being rebuffed by his boss, the driver could only smile wryly and speak again.

“Do you really think this is okay—transporting cargo this way? What if the cops decide to check us?”

“What kind of cop would be bored enough to search our trucks? And if they’re brave enough, let them search under a lion or tiger’s tail. You think that’s likely?”

“Boss, you’re a genius!”

With their conversation over, the driver stepped on the gas and the convoy sped off into the distance.