The ghostly figure stared in disbelief as the blinding light surrounded Ah Xu.
That glow — that power — it was all too familiar.
A tremor of fear crept through the spirit's form, twisting its once-sinister grin into panic.
No… not again.
Memories from long ago surged through its mind — memories of the Hunters, humans who once wielded sacred relics capable of turning spirits into nothing more than ash.
The book before it was one of those ancient relics, forged from divine energy to consume spiritual beings and turn their essence into human strength.
The ghost's voice cracked with dread.
"That book… it still exists…"
The realization struck like lightning.
The ritual to awaken the book required a ghostly spirit like itself strong enough
to bind and absorb supernatural entities.
And now, the boy was becoming that vessel.
The ghost's form flickered violently, its edges distorting with panic.
"No… I have to leave. I can't let it happen again!"
Images flashed through its mind — centuries ago, when other ghosts were consumed by these relics, their power stripped away, their existence erased.
The same fate awaited it if the boy woke with that light still burning inside him.
With a shriek that shook the walls, the ghost turned and fled into the shadows of the basement, its once-proud arrogance replaced by raw terror.
Inside the darkness of Ah Xu's mind, a voice echoed—calm, mechanical, and inhuman.
[System initializing…]
To activate this power, a strong spiritual entity must be offered as the catalyst.
Ah Xu floated in a haze of pain and confusion. Before he could process the words, the voice returned, colder this time.
[Entity detected nearby. Energy level sufficient to commence activation.]
Warning: Host's body is critically low on blood.
Would you like to enable Auto-Devour Mode to stabilize the vessel?
Barely conscious, his thoughts blurred between fear and desperation.
If this can save Xiao Ling… if it can keep me alive…
"Yes," he whispered.
[Auto-Devour Mode—activated.]
Ah Xu's body twitched, then stilled. His eyes opened—empty, glowing faintly with the same golden light that had consumed the book.
No longer fully aware of himself, he moved by instinct alone, guided by the system's will.
All that remained in his mind was a single, overwhelming urge—
to devour the ghostly figure,
to survive,
and to protect Xiao Ling at any cost.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Xiao Ling's anxiety grew heavier with every passing minute.
Ah Xu still hadn't replied, and the silence in the mansion felt suffocating.
The clock on her phone showed 11:59 PM.
Their dare required the livestream to start at midnight, and with or without Ah Xu, she had no choice but to begin.
Taking a shaky breath, she opened the streaming app on her phone — a popular platform where thrill-seekers often shared their haunted explorations.
The red "LIVE" icon flashed on-screen.
Thousands of curious viewers began tuning in.
"Hey everyone…" Xiao Ling's voice trembled as she spoke to the camera.
"We're at the old Feng Mansion on the east side of Pujiang.
My friend, Ah Xu, went to check the basement… but he hasn't come back yet."
She tried to sound brave, but her hands were trembling.
As the clock struck midnight, a cold gust of wind swept through the hall. The temperature plummeted instantly.
Still livestreaming, Xiao Ling slowly made her way down the corridor toward the basement — the last place she'd seen Ah Xu disappear into.
Her flashlight flickered. The air grew thick with dread.
Then, without warning—
a terrifying scream erupted from the darkness below.
A ghostly figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs, its face twisted in agony.
Xiao Ling screamed, dropping the phone. The screen spun wildly before landing on the cold floor, still broadcasting.
The viewers — and among them, Jia Le and the boys — watched in stunned silence as the phone camera caught the brief, horrific image of the apparition before going sideways.
"Wait—what the hell was that?" Jia Le gasped, sitting upright.
The chat exploded with comments:
"Was that real?!"
"Is this part of the act?"
"Where's the girl?!"
Jia Le's heart pounded.
He leaned closer to the screen, watching the shaky footage replay.
The sight of Xiao Ling screaming and collapsing wasn't staged — he knew it.
"No way… this isn't a prank," he muttered, fear creeping into his voice.
He jumped out of bed, heart racing, a sudden guilt stabbing through him.
The dare that started as a joke had turned into something far worse.
Meanwhile, deep within the mansion, the ghostly figure desperately tried to flee.
But the old seal that once trapped it still lingered faintly in the air, preventing it from escaping the building's boundaries.
All it could do was retreat — farther, deeper into the shadows — away from the boy whose body now pulsed with a terrifying new energy.
Ah Xu staggered out from the basement, his eyes lifeless yet glowing faintly gold.
His movements were stiff, unnatural — like a corpse being controlled by invisible strings.
Driven only by instinct, he searched the mansion for the fleeing spirit.
The only thought echoing through his mind was:
Devour it. Devour it to survive.
As he passed through the foyer, he walked right past Xiao Ling, who still lay unconscious on the floor.
He didn't even glance at her. The system had stripped away his awareness; all that remained was a primal hunger for the ghost's energy.
The phone she had dropped was still streaming.
From the camera's low angle, viewers saw a shadowed, corpse-like figure drift past the lens — its face half-hidden, its eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
The chat erupted instantly:
"WHAT was that?!"
"Is that a real person?"
"Why isn't the camera moving?"
"Where's the girl who was streaming?"
Some thought it was a staged horror act, but others began to panic.
The image looked too real, the atmosphere too cold.
In another part of the city, Jia Le stared at his screen, frozen.
His stomach dropped as he recognized the figure walking past the camera.
"Ah Xu…?" he whispered.
A surge of guilt and fear hit him. He grabbed his phone, his hands trembling, and bolted from his room.
"Taxi! I need a taxi — East Pujiang, Feng Mansion!"
As the livestream continued to broadcast to thousands of horrified viewers, Jia Le's cab sped through the empty city streets — racing toward the haunted mansion, toward the friends he might have doomed.