After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Chapter 7

Inside a ghost domain.

In the darkness where one couldn't even see their hands in front of them and the air was cold enough to freeze one's breath, the whispers of ghosts and spirits echoed.

Suddenly, like a drop of blood falling into a pool of black ink, a touch of scarlet suddenly spread through the darkness, swallowing up all the black.

Amidst the bloody red colour, a man's tall figure slowly appeared.

A strong and oppressive force closely followed, forcibly occupying every inch of the space.

"…….King."

A shadowy figure slowly materialised. It bowed down submissively, and its low voice echoed in the darkness, "The matter you asked to be investigated has returned some results. I was able to pry the location from its mouth before that B-Level ghost disappeared."

The man listened calmly. His scarlet eyes were slightly lowered, and he didn't show as much excitement as the one making the report.

"M City." The shadowy figure said, "Although I don't know the reason yet, it seems that this place will become the key target of future attacks…"

Before it could finish speaking, it was interrupted: "Have you found him?"

His voice was cold, quiet and indifferent. It carried no undulations.

"That…….." The shadowy figure froze for a moment. Its body seemed to be trembling uneasily, "No ghosts have reported any relevant information……."

"Double the bounty."

The man indifferently withdrew his gaze. After throwing out those three words, he turned and walked towards the sea of blood behind him.

"…..Y-Yes!"

The shadowy figure was taken aback for a moment. It then hurriedly asked, "By the way, who do you plan to send to check on the situation in M City? Do you need me to pass the order on for you……?"

But before it could finish speaking, the man's tall figure had disappeared.

Please read this from kk translates

Coming without warning and leaving without a word.

Shadowy figure: "………."

It didn't dare be angry or speak up about this.

…….It could only accept its fate.

.

The time and space inside the domain didn't work the same way as how it did for the outside world. Very soon, the path in front of them came to an end.

Ye Jie withdrew from his memories.

He raised his hand and his pale fingertips swiped down. A gap opened before him and cold air carrying the smell of disinfectants instantly poured in.

The blood-red space disappeared without a trace behind him, leaving only a pale and solid wall. It was as if it was never there in the first place.

Ye Jia took in the surrounding environment.

The corridor in front of him was empty and the nurse on duty at the front desk wasn't around. The lights were dim and appeared to be very weak in contrast to the dark night outside. Amidst the coldness, there didn't seem to be any signs of life.

The smell of disinfectants was mixed with a rotting smell that was hard to ignore.

………Something wasn't right.

Even as a hospital where people often died, the yin energy here was too strong.

Such strong yin energy was enough to nourish a fierce ghost into one that could bring harm to civilians.

Ye Jia knitted his brows. A shallow wrinkle formed between his brows and a strange colour flashed across his light-coloured eyes.

At this moment, the small black hand crawled out from under his collar. It twisted its thin fingers and mumbled suspiciously in Ye Jia's ear, "It's so strange here……."

Ye Jia randomly pushed open a door of a ward closest to him.

Unexpectedly, the room was crowded.

It was filled with people.

Male, female, young and old; those that sat, those that stood and those that were lying down. Every one of them wore a patient gown.

The moment the door opened; everyone's eyes looked over.

"Hey!" An old man with a split open head shouted angrily, "Do you know how to knock?!"

Ye Jia, "………"

"…….Excuse me." He closed the door.

After returning to the corridor, the small black hand exclaimed in shock, "My mother's second uncle's father-in-law! Why are they all ghosts?!"

Ye Jia glanced at it speechlessly.

As a ghost, aren't you embarrassed saying something like that?

At this moment, there was a sound of dragging footsteps coming from the end of the corridor ahead of him.

Under the faintly flickering lights, a woman in surgical gown limping forward. Blood dripped down the hem of her clothes, leaving a trail on the ground. The blood stains on her were a shocking sight.

She held a small black figure that didn't appear human in her hands. It changed shape along with the flow of air as they walked.

Behind her, she was followed by a long line of shadowy figures. Dying of old age, dying due to sickness, dying because of an accident…..The crowd looked very lively.

"Oh!" The small black hand looked at Ye Jia eagerly, "Can I join?"

"What? You're idle?" Ye Jia said expressionlessly, "Oh, I heard that there is also a milk tea store two blocks away from this hospital and their matcha latte is good——"

Small black hand: "………"

Beast!

It held itself back, "No, no. I'm super busy."

Ye Jia stared at the ghosts in front of him and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

He suddenly raised his hand and pulled the small black hand from his shoulder. He knitted his brows and asked, "By the way, you said that it feels strange. How is it strange?"

The small black hand shook a few times and answered, "It's the yin energy here. Although it is strong, it is all very fresh so it should have gathered here not long ago. But for so much yin energy to gather in such a short time, don't you find it strange?"

Although it wasn't strong, it was still a ghost. It was much more sensitive to yin energy compared to humans.

Hearing this, Ye Jia was slightly startled for a moment. As if he had suddenly thought of something, he lowered his head and looked at the little girl beside him.

The girl was obediently holding his hand and had her head slightly lowered. Her pale little face looked a little translucent under the corridor lights. The strip of cloth was still covering her eyes and she was completely oblivious of everything around her.

The wrinkle between Ye Jia's brows deepened. He walked towards the place where the yin energy was at its strongest.

The closer he walked, the dimmer the lights overhead became. It was as if it was covered by a black veil.

And more and more ghosts also gathered. Most of them were harmless spirits. Even if they possessed residual resentments, it was not enough for them to affect the real world.

Some had even lost their minds over time and had become mist-like entities. All they had left was a faint outline, but they still instinctively moved in that direction at a slow pace.

The further they went, the more ghosts there were. One floor after another, the air became as thick as porridge.

Ye Jia continued on.

His body seemed to be enveloped in an invisible barrier. Without using power and simply because of his existence, the ghosts around him instinctively moved away from him.

In the dark corridor, the young man's figure was tall and straight. Like a sharp blade, he cut through the dense crowd of ghosts in front of him.

In the corridor filled with spirits, a clear passage formed, like Moses parting the sea and it very quickly closed behind him. It was as if those ghosts were subconsciously afraid of the person in front of them.

Soon, Ye Jia reached the place where the yin energy was at its strongest.

It was a ward whose door was almost concealed away.

The surrounding air was foggy and thick and the corridor lights in the distance flickered. A chill invaded the skin as soon as he reached the door. It was as if he was entering a different dimension.

Ye Jia reached out and opened the door.

Please read this from kk translates

The air inside the ward was dark and murky, and an unpleasant rancid smell lingered in the air.

Under the faint light, one could see a little girl lying quietly on the bed in the centre of the ward.

—- I turned out to be Sun Jiale.

Ye Jia slowly approached her and stopped by the bed. He looked down at Sun Jiale who was lying on the hospital bed.

Her expression was calm and serene, as if she had only fallen asleep.

Ye Jia's brow furrowed even further.

His gaze stopped at the bulge on the corner of the bed. He reached out and lifted the blanket with a whoosh.

The little girl was still asleep and motionless. The gown on her body was crumpled because was sleeping for so long and at the end of her loose pants, one could see some dark bruising around her thin ankle.

Ye Jia bent down and rolled up her pants slightly.

There was a hideous and dark handprint on the little girl's left leg. As if it was still slowly tightening around her, the black mark on her skin was slightly sunken down. The stark contrast between the black mark and her pale skin made it a particularly shocking sight.

…..Sure enough.

His conjectures had just been verified.

Ye Jia smiled. He covered Sun Jiale's body with the blanket again and helped tuck her in.

The small black hand peeked over his shoulder, "What is it? What did you find?"

"…….It's a Sucker."

Ye Jia pinched the bridge of his nose.

Strictly speaking, a Sucker wasn't a fierce ghost.

It didn't exist in the real world and was instead more like a special product in the game. This monster would typically lurk in dark places where evil energy gathered and, like leeches hiding in marshes, it waited for an opportunity to attack the weak. Players who have been marked by them would slowly be drained little by little and, at the same time, the players carrying a Sucker's mark would become an entity that attracted other evil spirits. Once they are exhausted and overwhelmed with fear and pain, they will be consumed completely by the Sucker.

In short, it was a disgusting thing that liked to bully the weak and was especially good at hiding.

Although the strength of one Sucker wasn't high, it was sometimes more difficult to deal with than high-level fierce ghosts.

Even now, Ye Jia didn't want to recall his experience back when he was involved with these monsters when he was still a novice.

Just the thought of it was unbearable.

However, Ye Jia also didn't know why Sun Jiale's soul would leave her body after being marked. After all, this was also his first time seeing an ordinary person becoming entangled with a Sucker.

"So, it was a Sucker?" The small black hand sucked in a breath.

Ye Jia glanced at it a little surprised, "What? You know them?"

"Not at all." The small black hand played with its fingers, "I just heard about it. After all, they are almost extinct now. It's not easy seeing them these days."

This time, Ye Jia was truly surprised.

Although monsters like Suckers are not strong, its ability to protect themselves were top-notch and they also liked to be in groups. In the game, they were an existence as annoying as cockroaches that couldn't be completely eliminated. How could they be almost extinct now?

"What happened?" He asked.

"King destroyed their lair." The small black hand answered.

In the game, there were often conflicts and rivalry between the different monsters and ghosts and internal killing was not unheard of. It was similar to raising a Gu where only the strongest can survive. (KKnotes: Raising a Gu is where several venomous creatures are put inside a closed container and made to kill each other until only one is left.)

Because this fact was too normal, Ye Jia didn't ask about it any further.

—– Although the reason for the act may not be pleasant, in general, this King had done a good thing.

It was pretty satisfying.

Ye Jia let out a sigh of relief and casually stretched his neck.

Under his long eyelashes, his light-coloured eyes narrowed slightly. A slightly cold and non-human look appeared in his eyes.

——-Since the problem has now reached his end, he should take care of it.

After all, he was still considered a public official.

What was that line again?

To serve the people wholeheartedly.

Of course…..He really didn't mind getting rid of those Suckers more thoroughly.

Ye Jia untied the strip over Sun Jiale's eyes and knelt down.

The little girl's eyelashes trembled slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.

Ye Jia didn't waste any time and asked straightforwardly, "Do you remember where you fainted?"

"Yes…….At school."

"Where in the school? Can you recall it?"

Sun Jiale blinked a few times and seemed to be trying to remember, "I-I seemed to be going to the bathroom? But as soon as I walked in, I felt strange, and then I was dizzy……and then everything was black….."

Bathroom.

Unsurprisingly, it was a place Suckers liked to hide in.

Immediately afterwards, Ye Jia asked Sun Jiale for the address of her school —- Coincidently, her school was very close to the previous hospital. It was perhaps because of this that the teacher sent her there after she was found unconscious.

"I didn't expect that we would need to go back to the starting point….." The small black hand whispered.

Ye Jia glanced at it lightly.

The small black hand shrank back under his collar.

Sun Jiale looked around at the unfamiliar environment timidly and keenly saw herself lying on the hospital bed not far away.

Her body stiffened slightly. She couldn't help but tremble.

She mustered up courage and asked cautiously, "Big brother, am I……dead?"

The next second, Sun Jiale felt something heavy press onto the top of her head. Following that, the young man's calm and peaceful voice sounded from above. For some reason it sounded very convincing and reassuring: "Don't worry. You won't."

.

After settling in Sun Jiale, Ye Jia used the same method as before to leave the hospital.

The journey of several hours was shortened to two minutes, and they reached their destination almost instantly.

As soon as Ye Jia stepped out, he was caught off guard by the blinding light before him.

At the front of the school which should have been empty, there were a numeral of familiar looking black cars. Several headlights were on, illuminating the front entrance of the school and there were several people in protective clothing holding detector instruments, carefully pacing around and collecting information.

There were a few familiar letters printed on the car: PIAMB——–

Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau.

Ye Jia: "…….."

It can't be this coincidental?

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind, "…….Ye Jia?"

Ye Jia: "………."

Damn.

It really happened to be that coincidental.

He took a deep breath and slowly turned his head.

He saw Liu Zhaocheng looking at him with a frown. His bald head reflected the dazzling light without much difficulty, "Shouldn't you be at the hospital? Why are you here?"

He scanned Ye Jia up and down and his brows furrowed even further, "And you're still wearing the patient gown?"

"………" Ye Jia was silent for a while. He bit the bullet and replied:

"I'm…..sleepwalking."