Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 18 Ironclad Royal Power
The moment the groom, Lin Sheng, opened his eyes, which were filled with nothing but endless resentment and darkness, the "rules" of the entire ancestral hall were forcibly rewritten.

It is no longer that complicated and distorted set of "wedding etiquette", but a purer, more domineering, and more desperate realm - "heartbreak".

The air instantly thickened like amber, then turned as cold as ancient ice. The resentment stemming from the groom's century of solitude and endless hatred was no longer merely a mental oppression, but had materialized. The eerie green lights and blood-red carpet surrounding the four seemed to have been splashed with an indelible layer of ink; all colors were rapidly fading, leaving only a chilling gray and black.

"Tick."

A drop of water fell from the rafters of the ancestral hall, but solidified in mid-air into a sharply defined black ice crystal, silently suspended there. Time seemed to be dragged into a slow quagmire by this extreme cold. The four people's movements, even their thoughts, became unusually sluggish. They felt as if their blood was freezing, and the warmth of their lives was being rapidly drained away by this realm of death.

"Ow—"

The aggregate of resentment, beginning to merge with the groom's, let out a roar that was both more agonizing and more ecstatic. Its form became increasingly stable, and on its writhing mountain of flesh, pieces of tattered, blood-red fabric, resembling a wedding gown, began to "grow." Its power was increasing exponentially, forming a perfect resonance with the groom's "dead heart."

“It’s over… My instruments… All readings are zero…” Lanze’s voice in the mind link was filled with unprecedented despair. He felt as if his brain was frozen, and he could not even complete the simplest logical analysis.

Mo Fei's situation was even worse. His burning fighting spirit, ignited by anger, was like a candle flickering in the wind in this desolate realm, teetering on the brink of collapse. He felt his strength being rapidly suppressed, and the arm gripping the battle axe felt as heavy as a mountain, making even lifting it incredibly difficult.

Bai Yu leaned against the cold pillar, his face no longer pale, but turning into a near-death ashen color. The resentment of the groom after his awakening resonated violently with the remaining power of the "wine of resentment" within him, as if countless cold needles were frantically piercing the depths of his soul.

"Heh... a realm constructed with 'despair'... though crude, its flavor... is rather pure." Hei Yan's voice carried a hint of solemnity for the first time. "Little Baiyu, it seems your work of art is about to come to an early end. What a pity... if I hadn't gone... never mind, let's not talk about that."

Desperate situation.

A truly hopeless and desperate situation.

Just when everyone thought there was no hope left, a voice as steady as a rock rang out clearly in the almost frozen mental link between the three.

"Everyone... stand behind me."

It's Anmu.

He remained at the very front of the group, his towering figure like a mountain that would never be crushed by wind and snow. In this "heart-dead" zone, capable of freezing everything, he was the only one who could still maintain his stance. His face lacked its usual composure and previous anger; instead, it exuded an absolute, unapproachable authority befitting a captain.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the grotesque, vengeful couple taking shape, and staring directly at the slowly rising, corpse-groom radiating endless resentment.

"In my team, the word 'desperate situation' doesn't exist yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden light, as fiery as molten lava, burst forth from An Mu's eyes, completely out of place in this gray and black world!
A will, completely opposite to the groom's "dead heart," full of order, majesty, and control, erupted from him like an awakened monarch!
"Nightmare Liberation - Ironclad Monarchy!"

"boom--!!!"

There was no physical explosion, but it stirred up a tremendous storm on the level of everyone's soul!

Centered on Anmu, a semi-transparent field with a diameter of about ten meters, composed of countless gray geometric lines, instantly unfolded!

Within this domain, all the rules have been rewritten once again!

The groom's "heartbreak" power, capable of freezing time, was forcefully repelled as it touched the edge of this gray realm, as if striking an invisible, solid barrier. The viscous air resumed its flow, and the biting cold was replaced by a solemn majesty. The sticky, blood-red carpet and cobblestone path beneath his feet were instantly covered by a cold, silver-gray metallic floor bearing the Nightmare Investigation Bureau's eagle emblem!

This is Anmu's "Iron Wall" domain. Here, he is the only rule!
"This is..." Mo Fei and Lan Ce stared in shock at the changes around them. They felt as if they had been transported from hell back to the cold yet reassuring training ground of the Investigation Bureau in an instant. The heavy burden that had been almost crushing them suddenly lifted.

"Don't stand still!" An Mu's voice rang out in the link, tinged with suppressed pain and urgency. "My 'Iron Wall' won't hold for long! Every breath is draining my life force! We must break through immediately!"

Only then did everyone notice that An Mu's face was even worse than Bai Yu's earlier, deathly pale. A trickle of blood was slowly flowing down his tightly pursed lips. Forcibly creating another domain of his own within this advanced Nightmare's domain was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

"Baiyu! Direction!" Anmu roared.

Under the protection of the "Iron Wall Royal Authority," Bai Yu finally got a moment to breathe. He suppressed the excruciating pain in his soul, raised his trembling hand, and pointed to the left wall of the ancestral hall.

"That direction... is towards the back mountain... where the resentment is weakest..."

"Lan Ce! Structural analysis!"

"Received!" Lan Ce immediately raised the instrument, and an infrared beam shot towards the wall. "The material is rammed earth mixed with glutinous rice paste. The weakest point is next to the third load-bearing column, about seventy centimeters thick!"

"Mo Fei!" An Mu's gaze turned to Mo Fei, who was already poised to strike.

"give it to me!"

A fierce fighting spirit reignited in Mo Fei's eyes. He knew this was the only chance An Mu had given their lives for! He poured all his strength, all his anger, and all his hope into the twin axes in his hands. Due to the excessive concentration of energy, the blades of the two axes even began to crackle with blinding sparks!

"Make way for me!!!" An Mu roared, maintaining the "Iron Wall Kingship" as a mobile fortress, resisting the onslaught of resentment from the outside world, and moving step by step toward the wall.

The groom, Lin Sheng, and the aggregate of resentment clearly sensed their intentions. They roared angrily and attacked An Mu's domain even more frantically. Violent ripples spread across the gray domain barrier, as if it might shatter at any moment.

"Now!" Lan Ce roared.

“Drink aa ...

Mo Fei's figure shot out like an arrow. The moment his domain reached the wall, he transformed into a destructive whirlwind and crashed into the point marked by Lan Ce!

"Break for me!!!"

"Boom——!!!"

A deafening roar finally drowned out all the roars and howls. The sturdy rammed earth wall, under Mo Fei's strike imbued with all his power, exploded like a biscuit struck by a giant hammer! A hole leading to the outside world appeared before them!

Outside the cave, there was that familiar, swirling, blood-red fog.

"Go!" An Mu roared, grabbed the weak Bai Yu beside him, and rushed out first.

Lan Ce and Mo Fei followed closely behind.

Just as they all rushed out of the ancestral hall, An Mu could no longer hold on and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The "Iron Wall Royal Authority" domain that protected them vanished instantly with a "pop," like a soap bubble that had been punctured.

Behind them, the roar of the groom, Lin Sheng, filled with endless resentment and unwillingness echoed from within the ancestral hall. The four dared not linger, rushing headlong into the thick, blood-red fog, leaving the hellish ancestral hall completely behind.

……

From the raging, noisy battlefield to the deathly silent village, this extreme change in atmosphere once again pushed the four people's nerves to their limit.

They successfully escaped the ancestral hall, but not the entirety of Luoshui Village. The surrounding red fog was thicker than at the village entrance, reducing visibility to less than five meters. The stench of decaying corpses seemed to have lessened, replaced by a damp smell mixed with earth and rotting plants.

The village was eerily quiet.

Those old houses with blue tiles and mud walls stand silently like tombstones in the red mist. At the door of each household, white lanterns emitting a faint green light still hang, and the bright red "囍" character is still pasted on the window.

"Cough...cough cough..." An Mu leaned against a wall, coughing violently, each cough bringing out specks of blood. Forcibly releasing the nightmare had put a severe strain on his body.

"Captain, how are you?" Mo Fei supported him, his face full of worry.

“I won’t die.” An Mu waved his hand, took out a highly concentrated nutrient solution from his tactical pocket, and injected it into his arm. “I just can’t use ‘Iron Wall’ for the time being. We must find clues as soon as possible and can’t get into another head-on conflict like before.”

"Baiyu, towards the back mountain." Anmu looked at Baiyu, who was also weak.

Bai Yu closed his eyes, carefully sensing the faint, almost imperceptible flow of "obsession" in the air. Although that glass of wine had nearly destroyed his spirit, it had also made his connection with this space exceptionally close. He could "smell" the purest sorrow and love belonging to A-Wan, like an invisible thread drifting from the end of the village.

“This way.” He raised his hand and pointed to a path deep in the village, overgrown with weeds and almost unrecognizable.

The four dared not delay and set off immediately. They tried to walk as quietly as possible, like ghosts walking on the edge of a knife, traversing the desolate village.

The further they went, the more bizarre the scene became. They saw that in front of one house, hanging on a clothesline were not clothes, but pieces of human skin, still dripping with liquid, peeled off. On another abandoned millstone, piles of human skeletons, thoroughly gnawed away, lay scattered about.

This place doesn't resemble a village at all; it's a slaughterhouse that has been cursed and twisted by resentment for centuries.

"Wait." An Mu, who was walking at the front, suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

They arrived at a courtyard that looked more imposing than the surrounding houses. The gate was ajar, and a plaque hung above the gate, but the inscription on it was long since blurred.

“This should be the home of some ‘big shot’ in the village, perhaps the village chief, or perhaps… the ‘elder’ who presided over the sacrifice back then,” An Mu said in a low voice. “Let’s go in and take a look, and finish this quickly.”

The four exchanged a glance, and Mo Fei gently pushed open the courtyard gate and slipped inside.

The courtyard was just as deathly quiet, but it was cleaner than the outside. Directly opposite the courtyard gate was a main room, with its doors and windows tightly shut.

They cautiously entered the main room. The furnishings were simple: an eight-immortal table and a few armchairs, all covered in a thick layer of dust. On the wall opposite the door hung a portrait of an old man with a sinister face and a goatee.

"Lan Ce".

Lan Ce immediately understood, scanned it with the instrument, and whispered, "No energy reaction, just an ordinary portrait."

Their gaze was quickly drawn to a dusty wooden box on the octagonal table. Anmu stepped forward, gently blew away the dust, and opened the box.

Inside lay a thread-bound booklet with a kraft paper cover.

It's a diary.

Anmu carefully opened it. The writing inside was done with a brush, the strokes were vigorous, but the content was chilling.

"In the spring of the year Gui Mao, a plague broke out, killing three out of ten villagers. The mountain god was angry and demanded that a woman born in the yin hour be sacrificed to appease him..."

"...A-Wan is beautiful and pure of heart, making her an excellent sacrifice. Her husband, Mr. Lin, is known for his virtue. If you explain the greater good to him, he will surely be willing to sacrifice himself."

"...After the ceremony, the plague will cease, the mountain god will bestow blessings, and our village will enjoy another hundred years of peace and prosperity. Although Lin Sheng may have grievances, for the sake of the greater good, they are not worth worrying about."

Up to this point in the diary, the handwriting was still fairly neat. But as you turn to the back, the handwriting suddenly becomes messy and frightening, as if the writer is enduring immense fear.

"...Lin Sheng committed suicide in the ancestral hall! His resentment soared to the heavens, the curse was complete! The village... can no longer be left!"

"...Weddings and funerals, day and night, without end. The villagers...the villagers are turning into paper figures one by one! Next...next will be me!"

"...The mountain god...the mountain god deceived us! It doesn't want sacrifices...it wants the despair of the entire village! It's 'watching' us! It's laughing!"

The last words were completely illegible, leaving only a shocking, long-dried dark red bloodstain.

“Just as I thought.” An Mu closed his diary, his eyes cold. “From the very beginning, the Mountain God was the mastermind. The plague, the sacrifices, the curses… everything was just a script it set up to ‘enjoy’ this tragedy.”

“It also mentions that there were other sacrifices before Awan.” Lan Ce pointed to one of the pages. “This shows that this kind of sacrifice is a ‘tradition’ of the village. That aggregate of resentment probably combines the resentment of all the girls who were sacrificed over the centuries.”

Just then, a faint, extremely weak sob suddenly came from behind them.

"Waaaaah... Mommy... Where are you...?"

It was the sound of a little girl crying, filled with fear and helplessness, and it sounded... very close.

The four people froze instantly!

Almost simultaneously, they remembered the seventh rule on the stone tablet—there are no children in the village; if you hear a child crying, immediately seek help from the paper effigy.

The crying seemed to be coming from the next room, whose door was ajar, a dark crack like an entrance to hell, exuding an ominous aura.

How to do?
Should we ignore this rule and leave this dangerous place immediately? Or... should we follow the rule and "seek help from the paper doll"?
Both choices seem to lead to death.

The four stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move. The mournful, seemingly endless cries of the child echoed in the deathly silent room like the most malevolent curse.

(End of this chapter)