55: Chapter 55 is all we can do is play hide-and-seek.
Qin Ming flicked his wrist.
The halo whistled out like a frisbee.
It followed no fancy trajectory.
The golden light drew a straight line through the air, precisely slicing through the water ghost's neck.
"Ah—!"
The scream lasted only 0.1 seconds.
That bloated, rotting, foul-mouthed water ghost was like a snowflake tossed into a furnace the moment it touched the halo.
It didn't even have time to emit black smoke.
It vaporized instantly.
Completely evaporated.
The halo traced a beautiful arc in the air, automatically flying back into Qin Ming's hand before he casually hung it behind his head.
[Ding! Killed a Junior Water Ghost. Gained 1 point.]
[Remaining Points: 131.]
"Even mosquito legs are meat," Qin Ming muttered.
The dining room was deathly silent.
Bea, who had been brandishing a knife and acting crazy just moments ago, was now as stiff as a wax statue.
The knife was still in her hand, but that hand was trembling uncontrollably.
What did she just see?
A ring of light?
Melting... a ghost?
Sitting in the corner, Esther's picture book slipped to the floor.
This "fake loli" with a psychological age of 33 and a history of mass murder now had pupils shrunk to the size of pinheads.
She had originally thought this was just a slightly eccentric family.
Even during the séance game earlier, she thought it was some kind of charlatan's trick.
But the energy that erupted in that instant—that pure pressure that made even the soul feel scorched—was definitely no magic trick.
"You..."
Bea swallowed hard, her voice as dry as the grinding of rusted gears.
"What was that... you were holding just now?"
"This?"
Qin Ming pointed behind his head, looking innocent.
"A portable, pollution-free waste disposal unit. Why, does Auntie Bea want to try it too? Though the hyaluronic acid in your body might not withstand high temperatures, your soul should burn quite cleanly."
Bea took a step back.
She tripped over a pizza box on the floor and almost fell.
Fear.
Primal fear was devouring her anger.
She looked at Qin Ming, then at Emma, who had been performing "dissection surgery" on a teddy bear.
"You... what on earth are you?"
Esther stood up as well.
She no longer feigned the image of a timid orphan.
Her delicate little face was clouded with gloom, and her voice was low and full of wariness—an instinctive reaction when facing a natural predator.
"This isn't normal."
Esther stared at Qin Ming, her hand quietly tightening around a steak knife.
"I originally wanted to play along with your acting for a bit longer."
Emma sighed and hopped down from her chair.
Wearing her pink nightgown, she stepped barefoot onto the greasy floor, a smile both innocent and cruel on her face.
"I thought a 'cultist nanny' and a 'murderous orphan' would bring me more surprises."
"What a pity."
"Your level is truly boring."
Emma stopped three meters in front of Bea and Esther.
"Since you don't want to play house anymore, let's change the game."
Qin Ming crossed his arms and leaned against the back of his chair, watching the scene with great interest.
Since his sister wanted to play, as her older brother, he naturally had to show his support.
"Larry."
Emma called out softly.
As if calling her own puppy.
"Come out and greet the guests."
Zzz—
In the corner of the dining room, the old television that wasn't even plugged in suddenly lit up.
It wasn't a normal picture.
Instead, the screen was full of restless black-and-white static.
Accompanied by a grating, sharp electrical sound, it felt as if countless fingernails were scratching against glass.
All the lights began to flicker.
The flickering was extremely rapid, creating a dizzying strobe effect throughout the space.
Bea and Esther instinctively looked toward the television.
A hand.
A pale, withered hand with twisted knuckles slammed against the inside of the TV screen.
Even through the screen, one could feel a bone-chilling cold.
Then, a face pressed against it.
The face was extremely distorted, its features seemingly randomly pieced together on pale skin, mouth wide open in a silent roar.
"What... what kind of technology is this? Holographic projection?"
Bea was still trying to use her meager scientific knowledge to explain the supernatural phenomenon before her.
But in the next second...
That pale hand actually penetrated the screen glass.
As if reaching out from beneath the surface of water.
It materialized.
Black fingernails gripped the frame of the television and pulled.
Then came the second hand.
And then that twisted head.
The evil spirit named "Larry" was crawling out bit by bit from that tiny 14-inch screen, defying all laws of physics.
His body was elongated and folded, joints emitting crisp cracking sounds like popping corn, echoing through the silent dining room.
As he crawled out, the surrounding air seemed to solidify.
The smell of rotting burnt wires mixed with the stench of a corpse instantly filled their nostrils.
"Ой боже! (Oi bozhe!)"
Esther finally snapped.
Russian blurted out of her mouth.
As a serial killer who had been on the run for years, she had seen blood, she had seen corpses, and she had even personally orchestrated countless tragedies.
But she had never seen anything like this.
This pure, malicious manifestation.
That pressure from a higher dimension caused her prideful composure to instantly collapse.
Her legs gave out, and she slumped directly onto the floor, the steak knife falling with a clatter.
"Holy Shit!"
Bea wasn't doing any better.
She was a lunatic who worshipped Satan, but that didn't mean she was prepared to actually face a creature from hell.
Screaming, she threw the folding knife in her hand at the monster crawling out.
The knife hit Larry's head.
With a metallic clang.
As if hitting a steel plate.
Larry didn't react at all.
He finally crawled out completely.
He was a disproportionately lanky creature, wearing a tattered suit and surrounded by crackling electricity.
He stood behind Emma, like a loyal yet extremely dangerous hound.
Emma didn't even glance back at him.
She just stared at the two "prey" in front of her, who were already scared out of their wits, the smile on her lips growing wider.
"You see, this is what you call a friend."
Emma pointed to Larry behind her.
"He never complains about the food I give him, nor is he picky about the rules of the game."
Larry tilted his head, his hollow eye sockets staring at Bea and Esther.
Suddenly, he opened his mouth.
Instead of a human voice, he played a segment of edited television audio.
Zzz... [Friend]... Zzz... [We must]... Zzz... [Have]... [Fun]...
The pieced-together voice was mechanical and cold, carrying an eerie sense of cheerfulness.
"No... no..."
Bea backed away step by step until her back hit the front door.
She frantically twisted the doorknob.