After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Chapter 57

There was no ground under his feet.

Gravity pulled Ye Jia down. Icy wind carrying a heavy smell of blood rushed past him, blowing his clothes up such that it resembled a bird's desperately flapping wings.

It was completely silent. There was no one around.

So that voice just now…..was it just his imagination?

Ye Jia knitted his brows and looked up towards the place where he had just fallen from —- That pitch-black door slowly closed. As it moved further and further away from him, it gradually became just a fuzzy outline before finally disappearing into the distance.

The feeling behind this door…..was different.

Ye Jia stabilised himself while suspended in mid-air and looked around.

The sky was of an icy red colour. That eerie colour gave this place an ominous air. It wasn't solid ground below him but a turbulent scarlet coloured sea with waves surging one after another that blurred with the sky in the distance, forming this eerily red coloured world.

Above the sea in the distance was a city made out of bones. It floated above the waves like an island. Those white coloured bones contrasted greatly against the red background, looking especially haunting.

And the smell……

Ye Jia furrowed his brows. A deep wrinkle formed between them.

Behind the other doors, although the general settings were different, it was obvious that it was the work of that fierce ghost as there was cold ghost energy filling the entire space.

But it was completely different here.

This place had been completely taken over.

For a moment, Ye Jia couldn't tell whether this place belonged to that female ghost or….. to Ji Xuan.

At this moment, he had a very bad feeling.

Suddenly, a voice sudden sounded from the palm of his hand, "Ah, I slept really well."

Ye Jia was taken aback. As soon as he loosened his grip, a light green coloured stone fell from his hand.

"Ahhhhhhhhh———-"

That voice let out a scream as it fell towards the sea of blood.

Ye Jia hurriedly flew down and caught the Omniscient Eye just before it was about to fall into the sea.

"Hey! You scared me to death!" The green stone reprimanded fiercely, "Can't you hold onto me more tightly?!"

Ye Jia: "My apologies…."

He examined the triangular shaped stone in his hand and then raised it up into the air with a look of surprise, "You can speak?"

Omniscient Eye, "Of course I can't…."

Ye Jia: "…….."

"Hnnngg! It feel's great….." The green stone let out a lazy sound that sounded like it was stretching and then replied, "I indeed can't speak, but haven't you noticed that this world has distorted?"

Ye Jia was taken aback. His eyes darkened, "Distorted?"

"The direct confrontation between two lord-level ghost domains, such huge amounts of energy could cause a distortion in time, space and matter, like right now." The green stone's voice carried some excitement, "Hey, it looks like the one from your family has the upper hand. His ghost domain is currently taking over the other party's control little by little. It won't be long until he swallows up the other party from inside out."

Ye Jia: "…."

Wait a minute, what do you mean by the one from my family?

But before he could say anything to refute it, he heard the green stone continue, "It will probably take about another three hundred or so years."

Ye Jia: "?"

He blinked a few times and asked, "Three hundred or so years?"

You call that 'not long'?

The Omniscient Eye seemed to have read his mind, "Don't you know what time and space distortion is? Time and space distortion!"

Ye Jia lowered his eyes to conceal the thoughtful look in his eyes and slowly said, "The flow of time is different."

"That's correct….." The green stone said, "In fact, if you came a little later, this would've probably already ended."

Ye Jia was taken aback.

So…Was that the reason why that ghost suddenly awakened and forced him into this door?

Because in the real world, in just a little more than ten minutes, she would be swallowed up by Ji Xuan from within?

"What is the situation?"

The green stone, "I'm not sure. The more intense the confrontation, the more serious the distortion in time and space."

Ye Jia raised a brow, "So why do you know so much about this?"

The green stone spoke with some pride, "An Omniscient Eye would naturally know everything, understand?"

Ye Jia remained expressionless, "Skip over that nonsense and just talk about the restrictions."

It wasn't his first time dealing with these things. The more exaggerated their so-called omnipotent powers are, the greater the restrictions. It was just like a powerful weapon with poor durability.

The green stone sitting in his hand remained silent.

Ye Jia, "Hey!"

That Omniscient Eye sat quietly in his palm, like an ordinary stone without life.

Ye Jia: "….."

I see. Looks like its restriction is probably time.

He raised the Omniscient Eye in front of him and looked through it. The scene through the small hole was completely different from the worlds behind the other doors. The sky, the sea of blood, the city of bones; all of that turned into a dark black and deep red colour which seemed to be competing with each other —– In a certain sense, it represented this world's true nature where two powerful forces were going against each other.

Ye Jia stored away the Omniscient eye and flew towards the city of bones.

He felt a little uncertain inside.

What was happening behind this door was something he had not anticipated at all. He wasn't sure if his original plan would still work.

More importantly…..

Ye Jia wasn't certain. How long has Ji Xuan been here?

He stepped onto the ground that was made of bones and looked around.

The world created by the female ghost was still visible between the gaps in the bones. The asphalt road was made fragmented by large bones and the buildings made with reinforced concrete were confined inside cages made of bones, looking particularly strange.

At this moment, footsteps could suddenly be heard.

Ye Jia quickly hid behind a building nearby.

He saw four or five strange looking creatures appear at the end of the road….For some reason, they looked a little familiar.

Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully assessed their appearances.

He was a little surprised.

—- Those monsters approaching him were actually a tall and thin streetlamp, two bicycles and a dented snack bar sign. On the tattered surface of that snack bar sign, the words 'Sichuan Street Food' could be made out. It was both a strange and an amusing sight.

They still maintained the appearance of what they originally used to be and just had thin, bony limbs stretching out from those structures, allowing them to move around on their own.

"I don't want to patrol…." The snack bar sign complained.

The tall and thin streetlamp hit the snack bar sign's metal frame, "If boss hears you, you're dead."

One of the bicycles whispered, "Are you sure there are strange fluctuations here?"

The snack bar sign raised its thin arm and rubbed the place where it was hit just now, "That was what boss said."

—–Distortion.

Ye Jia thought of the word the Omniscient Eye used just now.

Very clearly, these originally lifeless objects had similarly become influenced by the large amounts of energy such that they now had the ability to walk and talk.

A little worried, Ye Jia reached into his pocket to touch the green stone. Only after confirming that there were no strange growths coming out from its smooth surface was he able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Omniscient Eye growing arms and legs; how strange of a sight would that be.

He took out the stone again and used it to scan the world.

It was still the same as earlier with black and red competing with each other. Ye Jia however couldn't tell where Ji Xuan's current location was.

This city of bones was too big. Ye Jia didn't plan on searching aimlessly.

He stepped out of his hiding place and revealed himself generously to those five monsters. With a smile on his face, he waved cheerily, "Hi, can you take me to see your boss?"

The five monsters all cried out in surprise and looked like they had seen a ghost, "Is it him?"

"It's him!"

"Hurry up and capture him!"

Ye Jia: "…….."

He looked at the monsters charging his way and proceeded to pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "How troublesome…"

A few seconds later.

A streetlamp, two bicycles and a snack bar sign rolled across the ground, clutching their bony limbs in pain while screaming.

Ye Jia stepped forward and proceeded to kick one of them, "Oh yes, where were you going to take me again?"

"O-of course it's to our boss!" The streetlamp stammered fearfully.

"Is that so…." Ye Jia thought for a while, "That's good then….."

The monsters: "……"

They then saw the young man stretch out both his hands, his loose sleeves slipping down, revealing a pair of pale wrists. The young man raised the corners of his lips to form a harmless smile, "You can capture me then."

The monsters: "?"

Ye Jia didn't expect that the boss they were referring to was actually a bus.

It stood upright with bony limbs stretching out from its long, metal body, looking extraordinarily huge.

Ye Jia had to crane his neck up to see it clearly.

With a low creak, the bus turned to look at Ye Jia before slowly retracting its gaze and muttering contemptuously, "Again…."

Ye Jia: "?"

Although he didn't know what the other party was talking about, he wisely decided not to ask.

The bus slowly bent down, "Put him on."

Please read this from kk translates

The monsters all exchanged a fearful look with each other. Their bony limbs still seemed to hurt. They reached out but, in the end, still didn't dare touch Ye Jia.

Ye Jia lightly glanced at them and proceeded to hop onto the bus himself.

The bus was completely unaware of these turbulences on their end. It just slowly started itself up and began to move.

With his hands bound by bone shackles, Ye Jia sat with his legs crossed like an ancient god on the top of the bus. He turned to take in the passing scenery around him.

He had to raise his voice to be heard over the whistling wind, "Where are we going now?"

"Going to see King….."

—– It should be Ji Xuan this time.

Ye Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

"To be more precise, only you will see King." The bus said with a huff, "We don't dare set foot near the castle."

Ye Jia felt the steel body below him tremble. It seemed to be afraid of something.

He fell silent: "……"

It had to be said that Ji Xuan is indeed an expert in spreading fear.

Even in the real world, there were very few ghosts who weren't afraid of him.

This corporate kind of environment is very unhealthy.

After travelling along for a long time, the bus slowly came to a stop.

This place seemed to be the centre of the island. The bony changes here were more significant compared to the other places. There were almost no traces of modern society left.

The huge castle made of bones sat in the centre of the scarlet land, looking cold and lonely.

Ye Jia jumped off the boss and indicated in that direction with his chin, "It's that place there?"

Ye Jia turned to leave. At this moment, the bus behind him suddenly turned around and stared at Ye Jia with its ugly and deformed eyes, "You are a little different from the others."

"Yes….."

Ye Jia asked calmly, "Others?"

"Of course…." The bus started itself up again, "You're the second one today."

Ye Jia: "……."

The fuck?

The bus let out a low chuckle. There was clear malice in its voice, "I hope you can survive a little longer than the others."

Ye Jia, "……."

At this moment, he suddenly heard a terrible scream coming from the castle made of bones ahead.

That voice was very familiar. It seemed to be….

His own voice.

Ye Jia: "……."

Fuck.

He arrived at the door to the castle and carefully pushed open a small gap.

A squelching sound was mixed together with those hoarse and painful screams. The spacious hall amplified those sounds, making it appear even more terrifying.

In the hall…..

A tall man stared fixatedly at the young man before him with lowered eyes. From his cold and pale fingers, thick droplets of blood fell.

He raised his hand and slowly reached towards the young man in front of him.

The young man with light coloured hair and amber eyes looked back at him with deep fear. His face that was covered in cold sweat was pale and distorted. While trembling, he got up and tried to run towards the door but was soon dragged back by some invisible force.

His entire body hovered in the air with his arms and legs spread out. As if they were tightly bound by something, he couldn't break free no matter how hard he struggled.

The pupils in those amber coloured eyes constructed and trembled. It reflected the tall man's approaching figure.

That man's eyes were scarlet red and his features were handsome, but the cold air around him made him seem more like Shura from hell.

He raised his hand and gently stroked the young man's cheek with his cold fingers.

He raised the corners of his lips and spoke in a low voice, "How beautiful…"

Those pale and slender fingers pinched the young man's chin with great force and forced him to look his way.

He lightly caressed his face as if he was touching his lover's cheek.

Following that, his eyes that carried unknown emotions lowered and the smile on his lips deepened, "But….how clumsy."

The next second, the young man let out another terrible scream. The tall man had deeply embedded his nails into the young man's face, causing a warm flow of blood to trickle down from the wounds, becoming one with the bloody river under the bone castle.

"You don't deserve having the same face as him." The man said softly, much like a whisper.

He raised the other party's face and slowly and carefully proceeded to peel the young man's face off.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

A terrible cry echoed through the hall.

The man smiled and added lightly, "You also don't deserve having the same voice as him."

He raised his hand and slowly pinched the young man's jaw to force him to open his mouth and then proceeded to pull out the other party's tongue.

A bloody tongue fell with a splat onto the ground.

At this moment, the young man who was in a terrible, bloody state could only let out weak groans.

Ye Jia: "……"

Looks like he came at the wrong time.

More importantly….He may need to change his plans.

Ye Jia slowly took a step back. The bones under him let out a low creak.

"…."

Damn…..

The man in the hall raised his eyes and looked towards the door.

He let go of the young man who was on the verge of death, letting him collapse weakly onto the ground beside him.

Ji Xuan didn't spare him a single glance.

He raised his hand and a pure white handkerchief appeared. After he was done wiping off the blood from his hands, he asked in a calm voice that carried some danger, "Why aren't you coming in?"

The next second, the door made of bones in front of Ye Jia slowly opened.

And the second after that, Ye Jia found himself receiving the same treatment as the person just now.

—- An invisible force had wrapped around his four limbs in an instant and dragged him in.

There were three types of ghost domains; a fully manifested domain, a semi-manifested domain, and a control domain.

The female ghost's ghost domain was a semi-manifested one so despite it being easy to activate and to drag others in, there were also many restrictions that would apply to everyone, including the owner of the domain. At most, it would only make her a little stronger. It was equivalent to a home field advantage.

The conditions for a control domain can be extremely harsh. The range it covers is smaller and it is also more difficult to drag the enemy in.

Please read this from kk translates

However, as long as they have entered it, the master of the domain could have almost 100% control of the other party — As long as they are in this space, they are gods that have control over everything.

All experienced players should know this. They all know that no matter what, they must never enter a fierce ghost's control domain, or they would essentially become their prey.

Ye Jia was equally clear about this.

He didn't trust Ji Xuan so the only time he entered Ji Xuan's materialised domain was when he went to the warehouse where Puppet Master was held at.

At that place, although Ji Xuan had more control, Ye Jia was also confident that he could put up a fight against the other party. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about losing his life.

But before he pushed the door open, Ye Jia had never expected that the space behind the door had become taken over by Ji Xuan.

Compared to a semi-materialised ghost domain, it was more of a control domain.

He was now in a very awkward situation.

Ye Jia struggled and found that he couldn't break free at all. He could only watch himself get closer and closer to Ji Xuan.

Finally, the distance between the two was only several feet.

Ye Jia greeted awkwardly, "Hi….."

Ji Xuan was slightly startled.

He stood in place, not moving for a long time. His scarlet eyes stared fixatedly at the young man in front of him. As if his gaze carried real heat, it burned Ye Jia's skin as it scanned across every inch of his face.

Ye Jia couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end.

That instinctive feeling of danger filled his bones, screaming for him to escape.

He gritted his teeth and a scythe materialised in his hand. He proceeded to cut off the invisible bindings and turned to run towards the door.

But the next second, he found himself dragged back again.

Ye Jia, "……."

This scene was too familiar.

The man's cold fingers stroked Ye Jia's cheek. He could almost smell the blood coming from the other party.

Ye Jia: "….."

This scene was not just familiar.

But what he didn't expect was that after staring at him for a long time, Ji Xuan suddenly let out a light chuckle.

Those deep features on his face softened with that laugh, instantly casting away the cruel and bloody air around him. He stared at the young man in front of him, as if he was looking at his entire world. The smile lingering on his lips was exceptionally tender and affectionate.

Ji Xuan lowered his head and pressed his cold forehead against Ye Jia's forehead and whispered, "Gege, you have come to find me."

His voice was muted, and the final word was dragged out, making it seem like he was acting coquettish.

Ye Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he could tell the difference between a real and a fake.

He nodded, "Yes….."

Now it was time to talk about business. Ye Jia's expression turned serious, and he began to speak, "You have probably already realised that we are currently in that female ghost's ghost domain. She has the ability to make you see the thing you fear the mos—"

His words were suddenly stuck in his throat.

Ye Jia's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Ji Xuan who was kissing the tip of his fingers and asked slowly, "W-what are you doing?"

"Don't mind me…." Ji Xuan's lips carried a faint smile, "Please continue…."

He stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked his lower lip. His scarlet eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

Ye Jia: "?"

He only discovered now that the other party's pupils had at some unknown point in time become a slit resembling those belonging to cold-blooded animals. It looked very strange against the scarlet iris, making him look almost nonhuman.

Ye Jia frowned, "You…..How long have you been here?"

Ji Xuan thought for a moment before answering indifferently, "I don't remember anymore. Probably a very long time."

It was bad.

Ye Jia had a bad feeling.

He slowly requested, "Let go of me first…."

Ji Xuan's actions stopped. He stared fixatedly at Ye Jia and whispered gently, "Why? Something is making you uncomfortable?"

The next second, the young man who had fallen unconscious on the ground earlier was suddenly startled awake. He let out a muffled gasp and then continued to struggle.

Ji Xuan's smiles showed no flaws, "Is he making you feel disgusted?"

He lowered his head and once again kissed the tips of Ye Jia's fingers before continuing, "Don't worry, I'll get rid of him right away."

"Wai….."

Before Ye Jia could finish speaking, he saw an invisible force crush the bloodied young man on the ground. With the crunching of bones and the squelching of flesh, the other party who wasn't even able to let out a sound was instantly turned into a pile of crushed flesh. Blood flowed out from between the bones and flesh, joining the river of blood below.

Ye Jia took in a deep breath and decided to adopt a gentler approach, "Um, you should put me down first. Let's talk it out……"

Ji Xuan's lips contained a smile. He gently twisted the thin strands of hair next to Ye Jia's face and his cold finger lingered on his lips briefly.

His voice was still soft, but the contents of his words made Ye Jia's hairs stand on end, "But why should I do that?"

Ji Xuan leaned closer, the scarlet in his eyes darkening. His red tongue slowly licked the tip of the finger that touched Ye Jia's lips just now and continued, "Why should I let you escape?"