57: Chapter 57 is a key focus.

The pickup truck drove along the gray road.

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Lin Wei sat in the passenger seat, looking at him, wanting to say something but hesitating.

The car drove for a long time, and neither of them spoke.

Finally, Lin Wei was the first to speak.

"What happened inside?"

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

"I saw the truth."

"What truth?"

"This world is an experimental ground," Chen Mo said. "We are test subjects."

Lin Wei was stunned.

"What?"

Chen Mo briefly recounted what happened inside the Source of the Sequence.

The will of the ghost realm, the Observer, the perfect individual, and that choice.

After listening, Lin Wei didn't speak for a long time.

Outside the car window, the sky was gradually darkening.

Ghost Night was coming again.

"Then you... refused?" Lin Wei asked.

Chen Mo nodded.

"Why?"

Chen Mo did not answer.

He just looked ahead.

Why?

Because he didn't want to become that kind of thing.

An Observer without emotions, without choices, only rules and data.

That is not living.

That is another kind of death.

The pickup truck continued forward.

After driving for another hour, a familiar intersection appeared ahead.

Trading Post No. 1.

Chen Mo parked the car in the parking lot and walked into the supermarket with Lin Wei.

Old Zhou was still behind the checkout counter; seeing him enter, his eyes lit up.

"You're back?"

Chen Mo nodded.

Old Zhou looked him over carefully.

"You've changed."

Chen Mo didn't speak.

But in Old Zhou's eyes, there was something indescribable—it seemed like surprise, and also like worry.

"The Source of the Sequence... you went inside?"

Chen Mo nodded.

Old Zhou was silent for a few seconds.

Then he lowered his voice.

"That thing... looked for you?"

Chen Mo knew he was talking about the will of the ghost realm.

"It did."

Old Zhou's expression changed slightly.

"Did you agree?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

Old Zhou's expression was complex—it seemed like he was relieved, yet also more worried.

"It will target you," he said. "From now on, all the rules will target you."

Chen Mo didn't speak.

He knew.

"What do you plan to do?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"Live."

Old Zhou looked at him for a long time.

Then he smiled.

The smile was bitter.

"Fine. Live."

He took a bag from under the counter and handed it to Chen Mo.

"Take this. Use it on the road."

Chen Mo opened it and took a look.

Inside were all kinds of supplies—fuel, food, medicine, and ammunition.

"Thanks."

Old Zhou waved his hand.

"Go. Be careful."

Chen Mo turned and walked toward the door.

Lin Wei followed behind.

The two walked out of the supermarket and got into the pickup truck.

He started the engine and stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck drove out of the Trading Post and rushed into the night.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of the Trading Post grew more and more distant.

Chen Mo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

From today on, everything is different.

The will of the ghost realm will keep an eye on him.

All the rules will target him.

Those Ghost Shadows that wouldn't have attacked him before might now actively seek him out.

Those areas that were originally safe might become dangerous.

But he was not afraid.

Because he is Chen Mo.

The person who has survived from the first day of Ghost Night until now.

The pickup truck drove in the darkness.

Suddenly, something appeared ahead.

A humanoid thing stood in the middle of the road.

Chen Mo slowed down, and the headlights shone over.

It was a woman.

Wearing white clothes, with long hair draped over her shoulders, her face was pale.

She looked at the pickup truck, a weird smile hanging on the corners of her mouth.

In Chen Mo's Time Perception, the golden lines on this woman were as thick as a ball of fire.

【Target: A-Rank Ghost Shadow "Emissary of the Will"】

【Status: Watching】

【Ability: Rule Distortion】

【Threat Assessment: Fatal】

Chen Mo gripped his cleaver tightly.

Emissary of the Will.

Sent by the will of the ghost realm.

It came so quickly.

The woman spoke.

"Chen Mo."

Her voice was very light, but every word was clearly transmitted into Chen Mo's ears.

"The Will asked me to tell you—"

"The price of refusal."

She raised her hand.

The surrounding darkness instantly solidified.

The pickup truck stopped in its tracks, the engine died, and the headlights went out.

Everything fell into deathly silence.

Chen Mo pushed open the car door and got out.

Lin Wei wanted to follow, but he stopped her.

"Wait in the car."

He closed the car door and walked toward the woman.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Three meters.

The woman looked at him, her smile growing wider and wider.

"Are you not afraid?"

Chen Mo did not speak.

He just raised the cleaver.

He slashed down with one strike.

The woman did not dodge.

The blade slashed into her body, as if slashing into thin air.

Her body began to distort, turning into a mass of black mist.

That mass of mist swirled around Chen Mo, faster and faster, faster and faster.

Finally—

It disappeared.

Everything around returned to normal.

The headlights turned on, and the engine started.

Chen Mo stood where he was, looking at the direction where the mist had disappeared.

【Repelled Emissary of the Will】

【Obtained: Mark of the Will】

【Mark of the Will: Marked by the will of the ghost realm, hostility of all Ghost Shadows is increased】

Chen Mo looked at that line of text.

Marked.

From now on, all Ghost Shadows will actively attack him.

He turned around and walked back to the pickup truck.

He sat in the driver's seat and started the engine.

Lin Wei looked at him.

"Are you okay?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

"I'm fine."

He stepped on the gas.

The pickup truck continued forward.

In the rearview mirror, that intersection grew more and more distant.

But Chen Mo knew that this was just the beginning.

More was yet to come.