After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Chapter 13

Compared to some inorganic dead object, the city was more like a living body built out of reinforced concrete. It breathed, moved, never got tired and continued to work endlessly without rest.

And under that seemingly busy yet calm external appearance, the undercurrents were turbulent.

Suddenly, in a dark corner where even the sun couldn't reach, whispers could be heard.

Those whispers spread through the darkness like a wave, quickly reaching every dark corner of the city.

—–An extremely powerful creature of darkness had descended.

Its existence couldn't be ignored, just like the sudden change in the gravitational field, forcing the entire city to be affected and reshaped by it.

At the same time, the highest reward on the hatred leaderboard had doubled again.

Something in the shadows began to move.

.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The knocks on the door were rapid and heavy. It suddenly broke the silence.

The lights in the room were completely extinguished and there was no light at all, allowing the room to blend into one with the dark night outside.

Please read this from kk translates

No one answered the door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The knocking on the door became even more hurried.

The dust on the door was shaken off with the knocks, falling lightly onto the dirty and wet ground below.

Behind the shaking door, Wang Shize and his wife held each other tightly, trembling in the corner of the room.

Dim light from the corridor outside spilled in through the gaps under the door, illuminating their pale, tear-covered faces.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

They trembled again and firmly covered their mouths. Their eyes revealed fear and panic as they stared at the gap under the door.

Two fuzzy shadows moved.

There seemed to be someone standing outside, waiting for them to open the door.

"Drip." "Drip."

Across the door, the intermittent sound of water dripping could be faintly heard.

The two huddled together and closed their eyes and covered their ears. It was as if they would be able to prevent anyone from entering their home if they did this.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The shadows were gone. The sound of dragging footsteps gradually grew fainter and fainter before it finally disappeared at the end of the corridor.

But the two in the room didn't relax. Instead, they broke down and wept bitterly, "Please…let us go………"

The next day, in the evening.

After getting off work, Wang Shize alone made his way back home.

The setting sun in the distance sank little by little, stretching his shadow down the small alley.

The winding alleys were empty and there were small advertisements randomly pasted onto the mottled walls on both sides. The writing on them had faded to the point where it was almost unrecognisable.

There were also messy graffiti and handwriting left scattered on the walls.

As night slowly descended and the half bright grey sky was gradually swallowed by the darkness, his vision also became blurry.

Wang Shize's complexion was very poor. With heavy bags under his eyes, he seemed to have not slept for many days.

He stumbled as he walked. As long as there were any sounds, it would make him flinch nervously and he would then look over to check for anything out of the norms.

"Achoo!"

Suddenly, Wang Shize sneezed. He rubbed his itchy nose. For some reason, it seemed that the further he went, the lower the temperature became.

As if suddenly being immersed in ice water, the biting cold penetrated through his skin, making him shiver.

Wang Shize looked ahead.

The alley ahead looked long and narrow and it extended into darkness.

The further he went, the darker it became.

His heart suddenly leapt.

How long…..had he been walking now?

Generally speaking, as long as he walked down this alley and take a turn, he would reach his place.

But today…….he felt as if he had been walking for more than half an hour and even after walking for so long, he still couldn't see the end of the alley.

Wang Shize couldn't help but tremble. A chill ran down his spine.

In the deadly silent and dark alley, the only thing he could hear was the sound of his own footsteps becoming more and more rushed and hasty.

"Drip, drip……"

At the end of the alley, there was a faint sound of water dropping.

Wang Shize suddenly stopped in place. He seemed to have realised something and his expression immediately changed. It twisted with horror as he looked down at the alley ahead, as if what awaited him was the gate to hell.

He fearfully threw his briefcase away and turned and ran.

Wind howled past his ears and combined with that were his own wheezing gasps. He could tell that his physical strength was diminishing rapidly.

It was unknown how long he had ran for.

Without warning, Wang Shize suddenly stopped.

His face was distorted with fear and panic and his originally pale face had a faint red flush as a result of the intense running earlier.

It was because…..as he ran just now, he had noticed something.

The dark red messy graffiti on the wall seemed…..to be becoming brighter with every step he took. By now, it had become so vividly red, it was hard to overlook it.

Wang Shize turned his head back with difficulty and his gaze moved across the wall little by little…..

The alley was now completely submerged into darkness and the darkness was similarly silently engulfing him. All he could hear was his rapid heartbeat and his chaotic breathing.

He saw—–

A smiling face.

It didn't have a sclera. Instead, the eyes were pure black and the blood-red mouth below it split open into a large and strange arc. It silently stared at him unblinkingly.

"Ahhhhhh——–!!"

A shrill scream pierced through the night sky.

*

Walking slowly along a bustling street, Ye Jia carried various shopping bags in one hand and a cup of pearl milk tea in the other.

Suddenly, he paused and turned his head to look thoughtfully into the distance.

The surrounding areas were still peaceful. No one else seemed to have noticed anything strange.

Ye Jia frowned.

Today was the fourth day of his paid leave and he had gone out to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities.

Because it was close, the small black hand wasn't forced to come out with him —- This ghost had recently become addicted to the phone and couldn't get out of it. Everyday, it holed itself up in the room, playing on the phone.

If it was here, with its sensitivity to yin energy, it should be able to figure out the source of that strangeness just now.

Ye Jia hesitated for a moment. In the end, he turned his feet and turned to walk in that direction.

After all, this place was too close to his home. Leaving it alone would easily lead to more problems in the future.

And Ye Jia really didn't want to move houses again.

He followed the strange fluctuations towards a small alley.

The further he went, the fewer people there were.

Under the cover of night, there was a faint smell of rust in the air. The smell grew stronger as the distance shortened.

Ye Jia's eyes changed slightly. His pace couldn't help but speed up.

A bloody figure suddenly appeared from the alley before him. He stumbled forward as he screamed, "Ahhhhh——G-ghost——-Ahhhh—–"

Wang Shize stumbled out frantically with a face filled with horror and firmly grabbed the first person he saw, "Help me! Help me!!"

Please read this from kk translates

Ye Jia was caught off guard.

The milk tea in his hand fell and spilled all across the ground.

Ye Jia: "!"

My milk tea!

He didn't have the chance to mourn for it. In the corner of his eyes, a pale figure in the depths of the alley slowly disappeared.

Ye Jia was surprised. He narrowed his eyes.

This scent……

At this moment, a high-pitched scream sounded from behind him, "Ahhhh!!! Someone help!! A killer!!!"

Ye Jia: "….."

Fuck, what horrible timing.

Forty minutes later.

At the police station.

"Name?" The policeman had his head lowered as he wrote something.

Ye Jia sat in the chair expressionlessly and answered lifelessly, "……Ye Jia."

After asking the basic information, the policeman raised his head, "Let's talk about it. What happened?"

Ye Jia concealed the fact that he had sensed an abnormal fluctuation in yin energy and explained everything else in detail.

While listening, the policeman quietly observed the suspect sitting across from him.

The young man looked to be rather young. His complexion was fair, his amber eyes were clear and bright, and he also spoke very clearly.

Coupled with the two large shopping bags by his feet, although the policeman may still be somewhat doubtful, a larger part of him believed his words.

At this moment, the phone beside him rang.

The policeman answered the phone and exchanged a few words before his brows smoothened out.

He hung up and pushed the form over before Ye Jia, "Fill it in. You can leave once you're done."

While filling it in, Ye Jia glanced inquisitively at the policeman opposite him, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Haa, it's nothing. It's just news from the hospital end." The policeman shook his head, "Had a check and he seemed to be fine. I guess he was a little frightened. The wound on his head was also his own doing."

He took the form from Ye Jia, placed it aside and advised, "Don't leave the city during this time. We will find you again if we have any questions."

"Okay." Ye Jia nodded, "Thank you Mr. Policeman."

He bent over to pick up the two shopping bags next to him and turned to walk out of the police station.

The lights outside were already on and bright traffic and the bustling crowd intermingled. This lively scene however wasn't enough to dispel the furrow between Ye Jia's brows.

In the alley just now, he had clearly felt the existence of a fierce ghost.

And the man who had grabbed onto him. Although the policeman had said that he seemed to be fine, he was covered in a heavy air of death. It was clear that his life energy was exhausted, and he was on the verge of dying.

Ye Jia felt that he was by no means a saint and he wasn't prepared to intervene with every haunted case like this.

There are hundreds and thousands of dead souls. After so many years of playing in the game, Ye Jia had already become familiar with that. Even his own hands weren't so clean so why bother putting on a noble appearance and playing the role of a saviour?

However….

For some reason, the scent of that ghost gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

It was a pity that he had only encountered it briefly. It wasn't enough time for him to figure out where that familiarity came from.

Perhaps he should check it out?

Ye Jia thought for a while.

…….No, forget it.

He had seen thousands of fierce ghosts in the game. It wouldn't be strange to feel a sense of familiarity.

What's more, he was still ranked first on that strange hatred leaderboard. There was no need for him to sacrifice his hard-earned break for just that faint feeling of familiarity only to be captured.

Ye Jia looked down at his half dry sleeves and sighed.

Alas, it was a pity his milk tea spilled.

The next day.

Ye Jia slept comfortably until he woke up naturally. After washing himself up, he went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea for himself.

Before he could turn around and walk back out, he heard faint voices outside his door.

"Are you sure this is the floor?"

"Yes, I am certain."

"T-this place?"

"Yes, yes."

The two voices sounded very familiar. Ye Jia suddenly froze by the door.

Footsteps approached.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Polite knocking sounded.

"Hello, we are from the Special Affairs Investigation Department. Can I borrow you for a few minutes?"

Ye Jia's vision went dark. He could see his vacation flap its wings and fly far away: "……."

No……