Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Black Tie
Having been suddenly dragged into the Ghost Realm and then returned to the bus, the first thing Gao Tian did was search for the inverted cross.
Before, he had just been trying his luck, but now that he knew the effect of the inverted cross, he knew he absolutely had to get his hands on this Supernatural Artifact.
The combined effect of the Ghost Card and the inverted cross was a powerful one: one played a card for resurrection, while the other took a card back. If he could obtain this artifact, Gao Tian’s survivability would take a qualitative leap.
It wouldn’t make him immortal and indestructible like a ghost, but his ability to survive would increase dozens of times over. A common supernatural incident would have no chance of killing him.
Those terrifying, blood-red eyes had completely faded. Several of the bus’s interior lights were broken, and some flickered intermittently, casting the entire compartment in dim, murky light.
Su Jiu, sitting in the front, was huddled up like an ostrich, still not daring to look up. Shen Nian had opened his eyes a moment before him. Seeing Gao Tian’s gaze turn his way, Shen Nian raised a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture and then pointed toward the rear door, as if something was there.
Gao Tian glanced over out of the corner of his eye and saw a massive, black silhouette dripping with blood. It stood at the bottom of the rear steps, its back to him, having already gotten off the bus.
It looked a bit like Ling Feifei, and a bit like the old woman.
The two bodies had merged, creating a tall, deformed, and grotesque figure.
The bone flute still hung around its neck.
’This can’t be wrong. Part of this silhouette is definitely Ling Feifei.’
The black inverted cross had pierced straight through its brain. Right now, the back of the Ling Feifei-old-woman hybrid was as stiff as a zombie’s. Blood still streamed from its body as it staggered dazedly toward the steps to get off. Her previous arrogance was long gone.
Gao Tian had figured out the general rules of the inverted cross.
If a human tried to pull it out, they would become its new puppet—a mindless, walking corpse.
When someone tried to pull it out, the inverted cross would unleash a Ghost Realm, dragging all humans within a certain radius inside. Within the Ghost Realm were giant, blood-red eyeballs that constantly repeated the incomprehensible sound "fifty-seven."
The Ghost Realm’s effects were unknown; it had no active killing pattern. After Gao Tian entered it, the Ghost Card on his soul was drawn away.
This negated the possibility of sacrificing one person to pull out the cross while another reaped the rewards and seized the artifact opportunistically.
Bystanders were all locked inside the Ghost Realm, eliminating any chance of someone swooping in to pick up the spoils.
’How can I get my hands on this bizarre Supernatural Artifact?’
Gao Tian was unwilling to just let it walk away.
The corpse with the inverted cross sticking out of it had already left the bus stop and was heading down the road into the distance.
The bus remained stationary. This stop was called "Old Town District." A small path paved with bluestone slabs led into the distance, where houses of various sizes formed a dense cluster. The occasional silhouette could be seen moving about within. It had a semblance of life. Compared to the previous few stops, this one looked relatively normal.
The only strange thing was that the railings at the bus stop and the ground were plastered with yellow seals, all bearing the bold, black-printed words: "LIVING HUMANS PROHIBITED. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK."
LIVING HUMANS PROHIBITED.
NO ENTRY FOR THE LIVING.
NORMAL PERSONNEL PLEASE AVOID.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH RELEVANT REGULATIONS, THIS AREA IS NOT OPEN TO NORMAL HUMANS.
...
Similar signs were everywhere at this stop called Old Town District.
The traffic signs by the road depicted a black silhouette of a person with two long red bars crossed over it. It signified that living creatures were strictly forbidden from entering.
Every supernatural location had different killing rules. It seemed this station, the Old Town District, was extremely unwelcoming to the living. If a normal person got off at this stop, they would probably be killed instantly.
But watching the inverted cross recede into the distance, he knew if he didn’t chase it now, it would enter the town. A hundred arguments battled in Gao Tian’s mind.
The ability to remove a Ghost Card was too tempting. With his judgment clouded by greed, the scales in his heart began to tip, and his inner gambler gradually took over. He actually took a step toward the still-open rear door, feeling a genuine impulse to get off and chase it.
’Should I take the gamble?’
’Fortune favors the bold!’
’Besides, I still have a Ghost Card. Even if I die immediately after entering the Old Town District, I can be resurrected.’
’If I get the inverted cross, it’ll make up for however many times I’ve died before.’
Just as Gao Tian was getting light-headed, Shen Nian barked coldly:
"Wake up, young man! What do you think you’re doing?
"Did you see that Supernatural Artifact can unleash a Ghost Realm and get greedy?
"This stop is dangerous. Once you get off, you might never get back on. Get a grip! If something isn’t meant for you, don’t take it!
"When dealing with the supernatural, the most important thing is not to be too greedy. You can’t have every good thing for yourself. You have to know when to let go. Figure that out, or you’ll die young.
"Haven’t you noticed? That ghoul is walking so slowly, almost as if it’s luring you.
"The bus is the safest place to be. Once you’re off, you’ll be a fish on the ghouls’ chopping block, and they can play with you however they want. Don’t think that just because you have some Supernatural Artifact, you’re guaranteed to make it back. Never underestimate the danger of a supernatural location."
His thunderous shout jolted Gao Tian back to his senses.
Though emotionally reluctant, his rational mind knew that Shen Nian was right.
He had no intelligence on the Old Town District’s rules of death, and his understanding of the inverted cross’s Ghost Realm was partial at best.
If he really acted on impulse and got off here, what awaited him was likely a gruesome death with no hope of a proper burial.
His clarity restored, he completely gave up the urge to chase the inverted cross.
However, he committed the mysterious inverted cross’s appearance and its rules to memory.
’I’ll definitely be back in the Inner World for future missions. The day will come when I’m stronger, and that inverted cross will be mine for the taking.’
But that day was not today. The current Gao Tian simply wasn’t strong enough to set foot in a forbidden zone like the "Old Town District."
Not even the Ghost Card could save him.
In the distance, just before entering the town, the hybrid of Ling Feifei and the old woman, with the cross still embedded in its head, slowly turned around. Its stitched-together face, with its grotesquely proportioned features, looked back at the Bus 444 stopped at the station.
Just as Shen Nian had said, it really had been walking slowly on purpose, waiting for someone from the bus to follow.
After confirming that no living passengers had gotten off, the deformed hybrid body of Ling Feifei (and the old woman) stood silently at the town’s entrance, completely still.
It waited until the bus doors slowly closed, shutting out the scenery of the Old Town District.
Gao Tian turned his head and said sincerely to Shen Nian, who had snapped him out of it:
"Thank you."
After all, he was new to the Supernatural World, lacking in experience and mental fortitude. If Shen Nian hadn’t given him that sharp wake-up call when his greed was at its peak, Gao Tian might have really given in to his gambler’s impulse and chased after it.
Now, inside the bus, aside from the three living people and one tall male corpse, there was also Zhou Yan’s head and his splattered remains all over the floor.
"Hm? Strange."
Amidst the bits of flesh and blood, Gao Tian’s eyes immediately landed on something odd.
When the Terror Blade was used to sacrifice Zhou Yan, it had chopped him into mincemeat. The clothes he wore, his gold watch, and his phone had all been pulverized along with their owner.
But in this mess, a black tie with red accents lay completely intact, looking particularly conspicuous amidst the wreckage.
Zhou Yan was gone, but his tie remained. Gao Tian wasn’t an idiot; he knew this tie had to be special.
He thought to himself:
’This tie must be a Supernatural Artifact. That’s why it wasn’t destroyed by the Terror Blade’s sacrifice.’
In his previous discussion with Xia Ta, she had also suspected that the couple’s Supernatural Artifact might have other abilities, such as allowing them to benefit from the misfortune of those around them.
Otherwise, it didn’t make logical sense why Zhou Yan was so hell-bent on killing him, as if they had a deep-seated hatred. The two of them had no grudge before this mission.
Gao Tian wore the Human Skin Gloves, an artifact that revealed the effects of any Supernatural Artifact he touched.
Without hesitation, he picked up the tie, which was covered in countless specks of flesh, and held it, turning it over in his hands.
"Just as I expected.
"The effect of this artifact is just too sinister."
The black tie’s effects, Zhou Yan’s secret, appeared in Gao Tian’s mind as clearly as a PowerPoint presentation.
The activation cost for this artifact was the death of someone near the owner. The more people who died, the stronger the owner’s luck became, and the longer the effect lasted.
When one person died, the effect wasn’t very noticeable. The owner would gain a few minutes of a minor boost in luck.
When two people died in succession, the black tie would enter its [Activated] state.
The owner’s luck would increase dramatically, making them incredibly fortunate and able to escape near-death situations. This effect lasted for about fifteen minutes.
When three people died, this demonic luck would grow even stronger, and the duration would extend to thirty minutes.
When four people died, the demonic luck would become unstoppable. The owner would be like the protagonist of a web novel, overcoming all obstacles and turning misfortune into good fortune. The duration would extend to one hour.
...
This explained why the couple was so vicious and insistent on killing others. None of their teammates from their previous two missions had met a good end.
To be honest, this item posed a significant moral test for Gao Tian.
The black tie’s potential in his hands was far greater than it had been for Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan had to plot and scheme to kill his teammates to activate the black tie. But for Gao Tian, if he wanted people around him to die, he could just sacrifice them with the Terror Blade.
As long as Gao Tian was ruthless enough to abandon his moral constraints, he could activate the black tie directly, with no upper limit.
For now, Gao Tian pocketed the black tie.
At the moment, he didn’t need to sacrifice a teammate to gain the black tie’s effect.
Of course, an artifact like the black tie was something you didn’t have to use, but you absolutely had to have.
You don’t have to harm others, but you absolutely must have the means to do so.
In this cruel and desperate world, who knew what the future held? If he ever ran into another scumbag like Zhou Yan, it would be the perfect tool for self-defense and counter-attack.
(Combo: A term from collectible card games. It refers to two cards that have good synergy, achieving an effect greater than the sum of their parts.)
(In this book, it refers to Supernatural Artifacts that have a similar synergistic effect.)
(For example, the Ghost Card plays a card to resurrect the dead. The inverted cross draws a card. Together, they can achieve a combo of repeated, cost-free resurrections.)
(Another example: using the Terror Blade to sacrifice someone, which then triggers the black tie’s effect and activates the demonic luck.)
