"This creature has already exceeded our understanding. It's at least a Tier 2 Soul-Devouring Specter," Xiao Chun said, frowning.
Still, even at Tier 2, they could put up a fight.
That was because Xiao Chun had beaten this very Soul-Devouring Specter to the brink of death three days ago. It had managed to escape, and he hadn't pursued it only because he was worried about his younger brother's safety.
Yet in a mere three days, it had reached Tier 2. How was that even possible?
Could it be that over the past three days, it had devoured the souls of ten people?
No, it was also possible it had absorbed the souls of some animals.
The deputy captain hurriedly reported the situation and received a reply: half the chickens at a chicken farm outside the city had turned into vegetable chickens.
Losing one's soul was practically equivalent to brain death.
Their bodies were alive, but they would never wake up again.
"The mark on it shows it went toward Central Park. Let's hurry over!" Xiao Chun said.
"Fortunately, it's nighttime now. There shouldn't be any fools hanging around a place like the park," the deputy captain remarked.
Xiao Chun shook his head. "What if there are still people in the park? We still need to get over there quickly."
Just as they stepped out of the alley, they caught sight of a chubby student in a school uniform.
One of the team members muttered, "That fat kid looks a bit suspicious, doesn't he?"
"He's just a student, what's suspicious about him? Let's hurry to the park."
Meanwhile, inside the park, pitch darkness surrounded the area, but Lu Yun used his phone's flashlight to illuminate his path as he walked forward step by step.
At that moment, a sewer manhole cover clinked.
Lu Yun jumped in fright.
Immediately following the sound, a Jerry crawled out from beneath the manhole cover.
"Oh, it's just a Jerry. I'm really... scaring myself over nothing~"
The next second, the manhole cover directly in front of him was blown open by sheer force, and a pitch-black tentacle monster emerged from within.
"What the hell, a Soul-Devouring Specter! My life is over!"
In his memories, the original owner had been killed by this exact thing three days ago.
Overwhelmed by terror, he took off running at full speed.
As if he'd let his legs turn to jelly out of fear at a time like this!
Yet the Soul-Devouring Specter pursued him, matching his speed stride for stride.
With no other choice, Lu Yun bolted toward the park's wooded area.
As Lu Yun ran, however, a sort of black fog gradually rose around him, and the Soul-Devouring Specter behind him slowed its pace.
Something ahead of him seemed to be beckoning to him, and a voice that sounded almost bewitching echoed in his mind: "You provide me with hope, and I shall forge an equal contract with you to help you through this crisis."
"There's such a good deal?"
Hope was such an ethereal, illusory thing—what did it matter if he gave away a little bit of it?
Yet that voice continued: "Not your own hope, but the hope of others. Whether human or specter, either will do."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's sign it!" Lu Yun said in a panic, watching the Soul-Devouring Specter draw closer and closer behind him.
An Archive flew out from the depths of the black fog.
"What the hell, a Dead by Daylight Archive challenge?"
Lu Yun seemed to know how to form the contract; he bit his thumb and prepared to press it directly onto the Archive.
Instead, the pages turned automatically, and his hand pressed straight against the paper inside.
A mark appeared on his hand.
"This is? The Dead by Daylight loading icon! The one making a contract with me—could it be The Entity?"
"The Entity? They do call me that. The contract is complete. I'll take care of this for you right away," The Entity finished speaking.
The Soul-Devouring Specter had already reached his back!
The Soul-Devouring Specter's sickening tentacles reached out toward his face.
Yet the very next moment, a "graceful" figure materialized behind the Soul-Devouring Specter.
What kind of figure was that?
Her body was blue, and her hair was long and unkempt.
Yet every single strand of her hair pointed straight up toward the sky, overflowing with monstrous resentment!
Her eyes had no whites.
Her left arm had been hacked into three sections, and her right arm into two; she relied on some unknown power to control her severed limbs.
A huge gash crossed her waist, exposing her internal organs and severed spine!
Her right thigh had also been hacked apart, likewise controlled through that unknown force.
Her private areas were wrapped entirely in bandages, and shards of glass were embedded everywhere in her flesh.
It was as if someone had hacked her to pieces like this while she was still alive!
Her expression was one of agony; she seemed to feel the pain those wounds inflicted upon her!
"Yamaoka Rin!" Lu Yun exclaimed.
This was the game he used to play before transmigrating, called Dead by Daylight. This was a killer from the game, known as The Spirit, whose real name was Yamaoka Rin, though players called her Sister Lin.
Her ability was to step into the Spirit Realm, then appear silently beside survivors to deliver a fatal blow!
Right now, this Sister Lin had suddenly appeared behind the Soul-Devouring Specter. The blade on the back of her right hand instantly materialized, and she drove it fiercely into the Soul-Devouring Specter's body!
The blade pierced clean through the Soul-Devouring Specter's chest, stopping a mere centimeter away from Lu Yun's face!
Ambushed out of nowhere, the already heavily wounded Soul-Devouring Specter was utterly powerless to resist.
Sister Lin reached out and shoved the Soul-Devouring Specter, sending it crashing toward Lu Yun.
Lu Yun stepped aside.
The Soul-Devouring Specter collapsed right where Lu Yun had been standing.
Yamaoka Rin slashed the fallen Soul-Devouring Specter a few more times until it was completely dead, then let out a furious roar at the corpse.
Something seemed to coalesce within the black fog.
A dark shadow took humanoid shape and said to him, "In the future, whenever you capture a specter, you can draw a magic circle and sacrifice it to The Entity, and The Entity will reward you with power."
Lu Yun finally saw what this dark shadow looked like. He had no flesh at all; his entire body was just skin and bones, and his ribs were clearly visible.
A filthy purple robe covered his lower body, and a magical dagger floated in his hand.
"A Lich!" Lu Yun exclaimed.
The Lich drew a magic circle right before Lu Yun's eyes.
Miraculously, Lu Yun memorized it after just a single look.
The Lich pointed a finger at the remains of the Soul-Devouring Specter, and its corpse flew onto the magic circle by itself.
The magic circle instantly emitted a glow, and the Soul-Devouring Specter was sacrificed!
The mark in his palm began to grow hot, and The Entity's magic formed a game-like interface before him.
The Entity's shop offered only Killers for him to choose from, with no option for Survivors.
His rating on this magical interface was: Ash IV, the lowest tier, indicating his strength was currently meager—just a fraction stronger than an ordinary person's.
Of course, the world's ratings currently went up to seven, but he didn't know how the conversion worked yet, so that was something he would have to figure out later.
A wisp of black fog formed a line of text on his magical interface: Bloodpoints will be distributed on the 13th of every month based on your rating. At the same time, please pay attention to Archive challenges.
Lu Yun pulled out his phone to check the date; today was already the 11th of the month.
That meant the first round of Bloodpoints would be issued the day after tomorrow.
Checking his Bloodpoints, he saw twenty-five thousand. Lu Yun remembered that entering the game normally granted fifteen thousand Bloodpoints, so the extra ten thousand were...
Lu Yun looked up the origin of the extra Bloodpoints. His recent sacrifice had earned him ten thousand.
He had a rough idea of how it worked now.
The Lich beside him dissolved into black fog and vanished. Sister Lin glanced at him, her arms twisting unnaturally as she seemed to slip back into the Spirit Realm.