This bug is amazing!

Chapter 272 The Invisible Murderer
"Ah~ Ah—"

The ghost's singing was melodious and lingering, giving people a chilling feeling.

Linlin looked around in terror, but she couldn't even pinpoint the direction of the sound, let alone its source.

"Don't panic, it's probably an effect of some kind of equipment or item."

Ji Yi pressed down on Linlin's shoulder to calm her down, while he quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

"After reviewing the surveillance footage, that person didn't directly abduct Xiaoqin. One reason was that Xiaoqin wasn't a player, so there was no cognitive barrier between them and ordinary people, making it more difficult to attack her."

"On the other hand, his ability to descend into the room is probably not the type for direct combat, so he wouldn't dare to confront Liu Jianhua, who was armed, head-on. Combined with the fact that the door lock was working properly, this means he doesn't need to enter the house to kidnap the two of them."

Thinking it over, Ji Yi bent down and lay on the ground to observe the footprints on the ground with the help of the light.

"Sure enough, there were only two kinds of footprints on the ground, and neither of them had even left the room door."

This directly corroborates Ji Yi's conjecture.

This is an effect that can make someone disappear out of thin air, but the drawback is obvious: the pre-effect animation is too long, and you have to listen to the ghost's song for at least ten minutes before it takes effect.

With such restrictions, the item's quality will not be too high, and even its effective range may be limited.

"I need to determine the trigger distance of the ghostly singing. Linlin, go out and run towards the corridor first, and see if the sound disappears."

Although Linlin was very scared, she carried out the order the moment she received it.

She immediately ran towards the far end of the corridor, while Ji Yi came to the door of the room and carefully observed her surroundings.

From his vantage point, he could see Linlin's situation at any time, so he didn't need to worry about her going far away and being in danger.

"I have nine minutes left. I need to find the other person or stop singing during this time, otherwise it will be a complete defeat for me."

As she spoke, Ji Yi unzipped her backpack, picked up the sleeping Crimson Infant Ghost, and shook it vigorously:
"Get to work! How can you sleep at your age? Don't you know you were born to serve capital like a beast of burden?"

As Ji Yi spoke, she shook the baby, but before she could wake the red infant ghost, Linlin quickly returned:
"By the time we reached the fourth door, we could no longer hear anything."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi looked down the corridor and asked, "So close?"

His guess was right; as long as you were a certain distance away, you wouldn't be affected, which meant the murderer must be nearby.

"Stay here and wait for me."

As Ji Yi spoke, she walked in the opposite direction from where Linlin had just gone.

Just then, his phone rang. Ji Yi tucked the Crimson Infant Ghost under his arm, took out his phone to check, and saw that it was Xiao Qin calling.

Ji Yi frowned, but still pressed the call button while continuing to walk at the same time.

A stranger's voice came through the phone:

"You'd better stay where you are, or I won't hesitate to kill those two."

Ji Yi responded with a cold laugh:

"You don't even have a decent means of attack, yet you dare to kill people? Do you think I would just sit here and wait to die because of two people I'm not even close to? Ridiculous, do you think I'm some kind of benevolent saint?"

As he spoke, he walked through four doors, and the ghost's song disappeared at that moment.

Ok?
Ji Yi felt a sudden sense of doubt.

I thought the attack would happen in the room next to mine in the hotel, or in a nearby place.

But this raises a question: if you walk in two opposite directions from the location of the incident, why would you exceed the range at the same distance?

Could the murderer be in the room?

No, that's not right!

The room has already been searched, and since the other side has captured Liu Jianhua and Xiaoqin, they could easily ambush them with guns in the room. Why are they still slowly activating the ghost's song?

Is it in the room directly opposite?
In the blink of an eye, the other party spoke:
"If you really don't care, why bother coming to rescue her? How about this: you leave now, and I'll have some fun with your beautiful girlfriend. She's got really big breasts, hehe~"

Ji Yi immediately frowned, and an inexplicable feeling made him exert all his strength to tightly grip the Crimson Infant Ghost under his armpit.

'Didn't it scare you? Trouble.'

Ji Yi thought to herself, then returned to the door of her room, her gaze turning to the door opposite.

Is the killer hiding here?
"Yes, that's it. If you just stay here quietly for a few minutes, I can release them both."

A voice came through the phone again.

'Can he see me?'

Ji Yi stared at the room directly opposite. Could the murderer be hiding in the room across the street?

Something doesn't feel right; many things still don't make sense.

While they were pondering, the Crimson Infant Ghost, having been disturbed by Ji Yi, had woken up and started to wail.

Ji Yi immediately turned off her phone's microphone to avoid making any noise that might cause trouble.

Ji Yi glanced at the Crimson Infant Ghost out of the corner of her eye and saw that its entire body was even redder, as if it was about to drip blood.

At that moment, a new panel popped up:

【Name: Crimson Infant Demon (Bloodlust)】

[Type: Summoned Item]

[Note: This summoned creature has been afflicted with a bloodlust state. Please have it consume one person within 30 minutes, otherwise the Crimson Infant Ghost will devour its master.]

Grass.

It's really a double whammy.

'But if the other party lives right across the street, and I quickly break in and let the Crimson Infant Ghost devour him, I should be able to rescue the hostage before he silences me, right?'

Thinking it over, Ji Yi put her phone in her shirt pocket, held the Crimson Infant Ghost in one hand, and took out her pistol again with the other.

"what!"

Linlin let out another scream at this moment, and Ji Yi gave her a somewhat displeased look.

Seeing this, the other party innocently replied:

"This doll kept staring at me, like it was about to pounce and eat me at any moment."

Linlin's timid tone, with its appropriate innocence and purity, was enough to keep most men from getting angry.

Ji Yi was no ordinary person, so he was not angry at all, but even a little happy.

'The Crimson Infant Ghost chose Linlin as its target, but assuming the murderer is watching me through the peephole across the street, he should be the closest person to me.'

Moreover, the murderer remains fearless, showing no panic even while carrying a red infant ghost.

'I see, now I know where the problem lies.'

Ji Yi thought to himself, tucked the pistol into his waistband, took out his phone, and turned the microphone back on:

"The girl next to me is innocent too, shouldn't she be allowed to leave?"

The other party was silent for a few seconds before responding:
"Sure, after all, all I want is your life. Speaking of which, you're not simple, bringing a pretty girl along. So, the original plan for tonight was to have a threesome?"

Ji Yi “.”

Ignoring the other person, Ji Yi looked at Linlin and gave her a look, while...
He thrust his hips to the side, showing Linlin the side with the pistol.

"You should leave first tonight. That woman stood me up, and it ruined my mood."

Linlin was very quick-witted and said with a mischievous smile:

"Okay, then Brother Ji, you must take Linlin to play next time! Linlin really wants to see the power of Brother Ji's gun."

As she spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone, she pretended to reach for her gun, but actually drew the real gun from Ji Yi's waist and discreetly holstered it. 'Pretending? This woman is abusing her power!'

She mentally complained, but considering how capable she was, Ji Yi decided not to pursue the other party's clumsy actions.

"Hahaha! Being handsome has its advantages. You have rich women to carry you in the game, and you can sleep with women as you please in real life. I'm so damn envious!"

Then I heard a voice on the phone.

And the ghost's singing voice became more and more distinct as time went on.

Although she could sense that she could last longer due to her extraordinary soul strength, there was still a limitation of "descent level," and Ji Yi's soul power was ultimately not very strong, so she could only last a few more minutes.

"Since you know I have a rich woman to guide me, you should also know that I've risen to a very high level in a very short time, and even changed jobs."

Ji Yi spoke up.

"Actually, I can give you far more than three epic-level equipment pieces, so why do you have to kill me?"

Upon hearing this, the other party sneered:
"Heh, how foolish! He really is a good-for-nothing who relies on others to level up! Just a male ornament!"

Ji Yi: "."

"What's the use of getting involved with a nobody like you, who has no background or resources and is only kept by a rich woman? Even if you could give me four or five epic items, what good would it do?"

The other party seemed to be getting excited and wanted to give "Ji Yi" some pointers so that he could die knowing the truth:
"Even if you can promise me a price that tempts me, who can guarantee you'll actually deliver? You're a level 21 'pro' player, how can a nobody like me possibly compete?"

Ji Yi was about to ask, "Isn't Zhang Tianyi the same?"

The other party then added:

"The leader of the Heavenly Rebellion Alliance is different. He openly posts bounties, which gives him a lot of credibility. Moreover, his experience and personal charisma are destined to attract many people. The Heavenly Rebellion Alliance will become the most powerful player organization sooner or later."

Ji Yi: "."

"Killing you will not only be a reward for me, but it will also be the best proof of my loyalty! With this achievement as a starting point, I can rise to the top in the world."

Ji Yi didn't listen to his grand plans any further.

It can only be said that the difference in intelligence between people may be greater than the difference between people and pigs.

"Ah~ Ah—Ah~"

The eerie singing grew louder and louder, and Ji Yi felt that she might not be able to hold on for much longer.

But he remained standing in the corridor, without moving an inch.

"Hehe, it's starting to work, isn't it? Can you feel the ghost's singing getting louder and louder? Now you can't even hear my voice anymore?"

Ji Yi covered her head and remained silent.

The crimson infant ghost he held in his other arm emitted a crimson light and stared intently at Ji Yi, as if it were ready to devour him at any moment.

"Don't worry, this voice won't kill you outright, but you'll end up like those two, falling into my hands and obediently submitting to my control."

"boom!"

Just then, a gunshot rang out from the other end of the phone.

"who?!"

The assailant shouted, and then two gunshots rang out from the phone: "Bang! Bang!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi let out a cold laugh:
"Heh, do you really think I'm just chatting idly with you because I have nothing better to do? That's obviously a way to distract you."

After speaking, Ji Yi glanced meaningfully at the corridor surveillance camera.

The assailant was indeed not in the room opposite, otherwise the Crimson Infant Ghost would have reacted long ago. And if the assailant was not in the room but could still observe Ji Yi's movements, then the location of the assailant was already very obvious—the monitoring room.

Ji Yi gave Linlin a look, and she understood.

Ji Yi deliberately placed the pistol to his side and did not move until Linlin left, in order not to reveal that Linlin had taken the gun.

Of course, this was also thanks to the fact that Linlin never revealed her player identity to the other party from beginning to end, which greatly reduced the other party's vigilance.

"Next, all we need to do is get out of the area affected by the sound. However..."

Ji Yi muttered to herself as she walked straight into the room.

The house had already been searched thoroughly, and no suspicious items were found, but perhaps the search was not thorough enough?

Ji Yi recalled the message Xiao Qin had sent.

She said she was very scared, as if someone was watching her.

So what exactly did the criminal do to make Xiaoqin discover it so easily?
Ji Yi already had a guess.

He placed the Crimson Infant Ghost on the coffee table, freed his hands, moved the sofa in the hotel room, and then, stepping on the back of the sofa, reached up to touch the ceiling.

There was a ventilation duct opening in the ceiling. Ji Yi removed the outer casing, then jumped up, kicking over the sofa beneath her feet, and used her arms to grab onto the ventilation duct.

Then, something appeared before my eyes.

[Title: The Cursed "Man-Eating" Radio]

[Type: props]

[Quality: perfect]

[Effect: Pressing the start button will emit a captivating song. The longer the target listens, the more their spirit and soul will be absorbed, eventually drawing them into the radio.]

[Note: You can remove the inhaled target from the radio while it is asleep.]

"The item is indeed here."

Due to its excessively long wind-up and limited range, this thing only deserves perfect quality.

"The perpetrators were hiding inside the ventilation duct, waiting for Liu Jianhua and Xiaoqin to fall into their trap and be taken inside. It was the noise of climbing the ventilation duct that attracted Xiaoqin's attention and frightened her."

Looking ahead, one could see that Xiaoqin and Liu Jianhua were both unconscious inside the pipe.

"The criminals saw the news and knew I would arrive soon, so they only had time to take Liu Jianhua's service pistol and Xiaoqin's phone. Since they had seen the surveillance footage from the underground parking lot, their decision not to engage me in direct combat was undoubtedly the right one."

Ji Yi muttered to himself, but at this moment, the song in his mind made him unable to even hear his own voice.

"Little baby, if you break this thing, I'll take you to eat people!"

He shouted and threw the radio down through the vent, hitting the Red Infant Ghost directly.

"Whee!"

The Crimson Infant Demon let out a sneer, and with a loud "bang," the radio was instantly shattered into pieces.

At the same time, the voice in Ji Yi's mind disappeared instantly.

"Mr. Ji! Mr. Ji, can you hear me?!"

Linlin's anxious voice came through the phone.

I was just being deceived by the ghostly singing, and now I can hear the phone call.

"Yes, I heard that. It seems the outcome of the battle is quite clear."

Linlin remained anxious: "The assailant has been killed, but I haven't found the hostage."

"Relax," Ji Yi interrupted, "I've found them."

As he spoke, he looked at the countdown to the cannibalism display on the Red Infant Ghost's information panel.

"By the way, Linlin, could you please move the body over here?"

(End of this chapter)