Chapter 406 | Slaughtering the Survival Game with an Evil Ghost on My Back

"It's okay."

"Don't worry. Your eye will be fine once we leave the pollution world. Now that we know the truth of the world, essentially, the injuries we suffer in the pollution world are just illusory projections. They'll heal once we leave."

"I'm not worried."

Jiang Haoyu scratched his head, feeling a bit frustrated. "Oh..."

"You don't need to worry about me. When A-Nan absorbs the pollution later, you must focus. As soon as you can expand the anti-pollution corridor, activate it immediately."

"A-Nan's body also needs to recover."

Zhu Xi Ning turned to look at Jiang Haoyu. One of her eye sockets was a bloody mess, the blood having turned into a pale black scab. Looking at him with that and her one remaining eye was a bit terrifying.

"O-Okay, don't worry!"

Jiang Haoyu felt a bit better knowing he was useful. "Sister Nan, don't worry, I'll definitely expand the corridor as quickly as possible."

Nan Yue nodded. Jiang Haoyu glanced at the winding line ahead and whispered, "When do you plan to absorb it? Could we just walk out of the pollution world like this?"

While that would be nice, it wasn't ideal for expanding the anti-pollution corridor.

The outside could be seen as a space filled with bubbles. Once they left this bubble, another bubble would quickly crowd in. Since the pollution concentration remained high, it would be difficult to find a moment to expand the anti-pollution corridor.

Only while inside a bubble could they absorb as much pollution as possible from it and expand the anti-pollution corridor directly within it.

This way, by the time they left the bubble, the corridor would already be formed, making it impossible for other bubbles to crowd in.

"No."

Jiang Haoyu wasn't sure why Nan Yue was so certain they couldn't just leave the pollution world like this.

In the purification missions he had done, they usually left shortly after completing the main mission.

As Jiang Haoyu was pondering this, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

It seemed... to have grown quiet.

The sounds of laughter and chatter, the talk of where to go for drinks and how to rebuild their lives once they were out, had vanished.

He looked up and saw the line had stopped.

Even more terrifyingly, the horsemen of the Qi Family Gang who had been walking in front of them had all suddenly turned around for some reason, staring straight at them.

Being watched by over twenty expressionless people, especially since these people had been friends, brothers, and comrades who had just escaped death a moment ago.

Jiang Haoyu got goosebumps.

Was the mission not over yet?

"We can't get out."

"We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out. We can't get out."

Their expressionless, lifeless former comrades stiffly opened their mouths, repeating the same words over and over.

As they spoke, their forms began to change.

Jiang Haoyu watched in shock as the familiar figures of the horsemen dissipated. Their eyes became two dark, hollow sockets, and their clothes turned into white cloth.

They turned into the same forms as the villagers they had seen in Fish Fry Village.

The white cloth tightened more and more. Jiang Haoyu hadn't known a human body could be constricted to the thickness of half a palm.

No!

How could they still be human like this?

Their features were wrapped in white cloth; they became white figures, indistinguishable from one another, their human forms barely recognizable.

Jiang Haoyu was dumbfounded. The scene before him looked exactly like...

Exactly like those white figures that had been haunting them in the rainforest!

The twisted shadows he had seen when he looked back were identical to the horsemen in the distance.

So, back in the rainforest, it had been the villagers of Fish Fry Village haunting them.

No...

If the people of the Qi Family Gang had turned into white figures, then the villagers they met were...

As if sensing Jiang Haoyu's confusion, Nan Yue let out a soft sigh.

"The ones who tried to stop us from going to Fish Fry Village in the rainforest were them."

"It was the horsemen of the Qi Family Gang."

Jiang Haoyu stammered, "Then... then the Qi Family Gang that's been with us all along..."

Nan Yue looked at the white figures before her with a hint of sadness.

"They died long ago. They've been trapped here for generations. Their resentment manifested this pollution world and also manifested the living Qi Family Gang."

"I suspect that before we arrived, every time someone was lured here, the Qi Family Gang would appear."

"They have no memories. Along with those innocent people, they experience despair and death over and over again."

"They hope that one day they can break this cycle and escape their fatal destiny."

"They want to find a way to live, even though they are already dead."

Jiang Haoyu opened his mouth and looked back at the thoughtful Yin Qian and Chi Yu. Zhu Xi Ning and the others had calm expressions, as if they had known or sensed it long ago.

"So, that's why those white figures tried so hard to stop us? They were actually trying to warn us not to go any further?"

Nan Yue nodded. "Yes. The weight on the horses, the white figures blocking the path, and the shadows appearing in the water when we used it—they were all hints."

Jiang Haoyu bit his lip. These were indeed hints, but who could have connected them at the time?

Even if they had noticed, neither they nor the Qi Family Gang at the time could have stopped.

Entering Fish Fry Village was inevitable.

"Sister Nan, when did you find out?"

Nan Yue was silent for a moment. "From the moment I found the silver Headman Qi gave away on the horsemen."

At that time, Nan Yue hadn't linked it to the Qi Family Gang being long dead; she just thought it was very strange.

Why would the money the villagers took appear on the horsemen?

But later, she saw that person on the first floor of the stilt house who felt exceptionally familiar—someone who, although unrecognizable, still exuded Headman Qi's presence in every movement.

The actions that person took before vanishing gave Nan Yue this idea.

Finally, finding that King’s Coin in Headman Qi's chest confirmed it.

At that time, Nan Yue had asked him, what if they were destined never to leave?

"As long as we can save one more person, it's worth it."

Those were Headman Qi's words then.

The seven of them were able to leave alive entirely because of the help of these returning spirits.

Without Headman Qi's King’s Coin, they would all have turned into human-shaped fish eggs by now.

The Qi Family Gang were legendary figures in life and death; even though they were dead, they never gave up hope.

The twenty or so white figures twisted and made way.

"Go"

"Leave"

The mouths of the identical white figures opened and closed, speaking moving words.