By the light of their phones, Xu Mu and Chen Xuan looked at Miao He—she too now appeared as a fanged, ghostly figure.
"What's wrong?" Xu Mu asked, puzzled.
"This is a Ten-Thousand Ghosts Burial, a funeral formation of the Commander level. In the Jiuli Clan, the rank below Clan Chief is Commander," Miao He explained. "This array blinds your eyes so everyone you see looks the same."
"That's nothing—we can tell each other by our voices," Chen Xuan said without thinking.
"Anything you can think of, the expert who designed this already accounted for. In a moment, all of our voices will sound identical," Miao He continued. "Then ten-thousand 'ghosts' will appear around us—things that look exactly like us. Their goal is to kill us."
Hearing that, Xu Mu and Chen Xuan both froze.
Same voice, same face.
In this darkness, there would be no way to tell friend from foe. Add in a batch of killers sowing chaos, and everyone would turn on everyone else.
No one could trust anyone.
Xu Mu, however, wasn't afraid. The illusion only fooled the eyes—his perception didn't rely on sight.
For instance, with the light on he saw the two before him as ghosts; but when he closed his eyes and sensed them, they were still their real selves.
"We need code names—fast—so we can recognize each other. Otherwise it'll be too late," Miao He urged.
"Okay. My code name is: I eat KFC," Chen Xuan blurted.
"Works for me. Mine is: Manager Xu of Building Materials," Xu Mu said, then looked at Miao He. "Yours is: No-Cilantro."
"How do you know I don't eat cilantro?" Miao He stared at him in surprise.
"No time for chatter. Once the code names match, we'll ask a few easy personal questions—like when we first met," Xu Mu said. He mainly needed a method for the two of them; he himself didn't need it since his perception was clear.
Now he started to worry about Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo. He didn't know where they were—if they were still in the previous formation, he'd actually feel more at ease.
"Brother Mu, what do we do next?" Chen Xuan's voice came over.
"Whoa! Old Chen, your voice just changed—super hoarse, like metal scraping," Xu Mu said suddenly.
"Brother Mu, yours too," Chen Xuan chuckled. "These ruins are kinda fun."
"It won't be fun if you die," Miao He said coldly. "Top priority now is getting other people's bracelets. We have to gather nine—"
"Careful!"
Xu Mu suddenly grabbed Miao He's arm and flung her aside.
Bang!
A heavy thud shook the area—Xu Mu sensed a ghostly figure had appeared right where they were.
"Split up for now. Once I get the bracelets, I'll come find you," Xu Mu said, leaping outside and onto a nearby building.
Sensing the surroundings, he found utter chaos already—forget other factions, even the Cleaners were tearing into each other.
Zzzt—
Silver lightning flashed straight ahead of him. A black-robed person stunned another with electricity.
But a lurking "ghost" nearby stayed hidden in the dark, motionless.
"Immortal Research Institute?" Xu Mu sprinted that way.
When he arrived, the Institute member was already acting insane.
"Die! Die! All of you die!"
He kept blasting electricity in every direction. Judging from the claw marks on his face, a ghost had already raked him. He trusted no one now.
Xu Mu crouched by the stunned one first and removed his bracelet.
Suddenly, another ghost lunged from the side.
Xu Mu flicked out an Illusionary Sword.
Boom!
The ghost shattered on the spot.
"Die!"
The lightning user spotted Xu Mu as he attacked and roared, charging at him.
Zzzt!
Silver arcs detonated in the air.
Xu Mu sprang back, dodging the strike. He opened his storage and drew out his black longsword.
The Spring Night Grass dagger was for foes stronger than him—this guy didn't qualify.
Just as Xu Mu readied himself, his perception picked up another approach—Liang Yi from before.
Clearly, she'd noticed the lightning and guessed they were her people.
The lightning man glanced around; seeing Liang Yi rushing over, he barreled straight at her.
"It's me!" Liang Yi dodged and shouted coldly.
"Who the hell are you!" He couldn't distinguish voices and kept attacking.
Swish!
Liang Yi flashed behind him and slammed a fist into his back, knocking him flying.
"I'm the Captain of Team Three, Liang Yi!" she said, anger in her voice.
"C-Captain…" The black-robed man finally processed it—only to have a ghost spear through his heart a heartbeat later.
Xu Mu shook his head slightly. As expected of an ancient ruin—far crueler than the last one.
He jogged over and removed that man's bracelet as well.
In mere moments, he now had three. Adding Miao He's and Chen Xuan's, they still needed four more to leave the formation.
"Now do you believe me?" Liang Yi started toward Xu Mu.
"Quit pretending to be my Captain! Someone already tried that earlier—even called my name. Fake! All fakes!" Xu Mu stood up and shouted at her.
"You still don't believe me?" Liang Yi frowned. With all voices identical, she had no idea it was Xu Mu speaking.
"This formation only affects the eyes, not people's shapes. Since you're my Captain, let me touch your earring to confirm," Xu Mu said evenly.
He planned to give her a small lesson.
Hearing that, Liang Yi nodded to herself—this one was likely an ally. She knew her earring was a red sword tassel.
"Fine. Come here," she said.
Xu Mu slowly approached. When they were face-to-face, they could roughly see each other's silhouettes—both still in ghostly guise. Liang Yi couldn't tell who he really was.
"Go ahead," she said.
Xu Mu lifted both hands—and suddenly cupped her chest with both hands like dribbling a ball.
"As expected of my Captain—quite the weight," he quipped.
Murderous intent flooded Liang Yi's pretty face. "You're courting death!"
Boom!
Her qi erupted all at once, terrifying force whipping her hair into a frenzy.
Xu Mu instantly retreated—and gave a hard twist as he left.
Whoosh!
Liang Yi streaked after him at blistering speed.
Sensing a ghost several dozen meters to the left, Xu Mu veered that way, drawing her along.
When the distance was about right, he vaulted onto another building, slowed his breathing, and went perfectly still.
Chasing him, Liang Yi spotted the ghost in that direction—helped by the glow specks radiating from her body—and lunged.
Crack!
With one hand she ripped the ghost's head clean off.
Still not satisfied, she stomped down hard on the ghost's "second brother."
Crack!
With a sharp crunch, the ghost dissolved into drifting black motes.
Only after steadying her breath did the rage in her chest begin to subside.
Quiet as a shadow, Xu Mu slipped up behind her again. "My Captain!"
His hands shot out—and grabbed both peaches.