I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

"Click...click..."

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound, the green train that never reached the human world slowly came to a stop in a mountain valley without any stations.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the chirping of unknown insects from the deep mountains, sometimes near, sometimes far, carrying a desolate air.

The car door opened.

Gu Qing stepped off the train alone. The moment his feet touched the damp earth, the massive structure behind him began to crumble.

There was no explosion, no roar. The massive steel behemoths, weighing tens of tons, vanished silently, like snow in the sunlight or sand sculptures scattered by the wind, turning into a flurry of black ashes.

A night breeze blew, and the ashes of the paper swirled and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, as if they had never existed.

[System notification: The scene "Ghost Train" has ended.]

[Settlement of this performance:]

[Fear Value Gain: 48,500 points (Rating: A)]

[Influence Spreads: Covering the entire country and spreading as a "meme" on the internet.]

Current credit balance: 52,100 points.

Gu Qing looked at the numbers flashing on her retina and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

50,000 points of faith.

This not only means that his lifespan is temporarily safe, but also that he has enough capital to exchange for higher-level "materials".

He raised his head and looked ahead.

Here, deep in the mountains of western Hunan, in this uninhabited area with no GPS signal and where even satellite maps show only a blurry green expanse, stands a strangely shaped mountain peak.

The mountain peak resembles a hunched old man, with a huge, naturally formed cave in the middle. The dark cave entrance is like a big mouth waiting to eat, constantly spewing out white, cold mist.

"This is the best stage."

Gu Qing opened the system panel and swiped her finger across the [Material Library] option.

Since it's in western Hunan, and since a grand drama is to be staged, it can't just be about zombies and ghost carriages. There are legends here that are even older, more poignant, and more eerie than those.

His finger hovered over a card with a pale pink peach blossom design.

【Material Name: Fallen Flower Cave Girl】

[Genre: Ghost Stories/Supernatural/Curse]

[Exchange Price: 10,000 Credits]

[Description: One of the Three Evils of Western Hunan. Legend has it that unmarried women in the tribe who haven't found a suitable husband by marriageable age, and who unfortunately contract a strange illness that causes them to become mentally confused, are considered "Fallen Flower Cave Maidens." They neither eat nor drink, yet their faces are as beautiful as peach blossoms. They meticulously groom themselves daily, claiming they have already been betrothed to the "Cave God." Ultimately, on a day when flower petals fall, they enter a mountain cave and never emerge again.]

"exchange."

Gu Qing did not hesitate.

[System: Resources unlocked. Loading environment rendering module...]

Please specify the delivery area.

Gu Qing raised his hand and pointed to the huge cave.

"Right there."

The next second, a strange change occurred.

Peach trees suddenly sprouted at the entrance of the cave, which was originally dark, damp, and covered with bat droppings and moss.

This is not ordinary growth, but like time-lapse photography, the tender buds break through the soil, sprout branches, grow leaves, and bloom, all within a few seconds.

In the blink of an eye, the dark cave entrance was surrounded by a dazzling display of pink peach blossoms. The petals fell without wind, fluttering and drifting into the cave, forming a pink carpet that stretched deep into the darkness.

The rotten smell in the air disappeared, replaced by a strange, sweet fragrance. The fragrance was so strong that it was intoxicating, even suffocating.

"We're still missing a lead actor."

Gu Qing walked into the rain of flowers. He didn't create a physical "female ghost," that would be too rudimentary and a waste of spiritual energy. What he wanted to create was a "rule," a magnetic field called "longing and sacrifice."

He stood at the cave entrance and gently tapped the void.

[Item Drop: Red Wedding Dress (Phantom Level)]

[Special Effects Loading: Soft Whispers (Surround Sound)]

Deep inside the cave, a blurry figure appeared in the distance.

It was the back view of a woman in a bright red wedding dress. She sat on a stone platform deep in the cave, facing a stone wall without a mirror, slowly combing her long, black hair.

"The man remains silent inside the cave, while the woman watches the falling blossoms at the cave entrance..."

A mournful song drifted out. The sound didn't seem to come from a human; it was elusive, as if echoing directly in the listener's mind. Anyone who heard this song would feel a nameless sorrow, followed by an irresistible urge to enter the cave and explore its secrets.

Gu Qing looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.

now it's right.

True terror is never about a blue-faced, fanged monster suddenly jumping out to scare you.

The real terror is "beauty".

It is a poignant, abnormal, and illogical kind of beauty.

When people are drawn to this beauty, they step by step willingly walk into the trap, and then discover the truth of death amidst the ultimate splendor, that despair is the most profound form of "faith."

"The Cave God is ready."

Gu Qing turned around, his back to the cave that was both alluring and deadly, and looked at the dark forest in the distance.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the dense shadows of the trees, revealing the people rapidly approaching.

"Guests, you'll be here soon."

……

Meanwhile, on a winding mountain road fifty kilometers away from here.

Three modified black Mengshi off-road vehicles are speeding through the torrential rain.

After Gu Qing got off the train, it disappeared, and the people from Bureau 749 could only investigate along the direction the train had traveled.

The wheels rolled over the mud, splashing up mud and water up to waist height.

In the back seat of the middle car, Zhao Feng was resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes abruptly and pressed one hand to his chest.

Just now, he felt a strange palpitation.

The feeling was like the chill that ran down my spine when I was a child listening to ghost stories told by elders. It was also like something, from a very distant place, letting out a soft sigh.

"Captain, what's wrong?" The driver noticed Zhao Feng's unusual behavior.

Zhao Feng shook his head and didn't say anything. He took out a compass from his pocket.

This is a specially made "psychic detector" from Bureau 749, disguised as a feng shui compass. At this moment, the compass needle is spinning wildly, and instead of pointing to a fixed direction, it... is pointing firmly into the depths of this mountain.

"Stop the car," Zhao Feng suddenly ordered.

The convoy immediately came to an abrupt stop.

Zhao Feng pushed open the car door and got out, ignoring the torrential rain that soaked him to the bone. He stood by the roadside, looking at the dark, looming mountain range.

In the night vision goggles, a faint... pink mist appeared around the distant mountain peak.

"Is that miasma?" A team member came over and asked, puzzled.

"No."

Zhao Feng took a deep breath; the rainwater carried a faint, cloyingly sweet floral scent.

"That's a 'trap'."

Zhao Feng's expression became more solemn than ever before.

He turned his head and coldly gave the order into the walkie-talkie:

"Everyone, check your equipment. Load up with live ammunition. From this moment on, whether you see beautiful women, money, or your dead relatives, do not believe, do not listen, and do not look."

"Remember, it's all fake."

"If we get caught in the crossfire..." Zhao Feng paused, a ruthless glint in his eyes, "we're allowed to shoot each other to free our teammates."