This bug is amazing!

Chapter 291 A Wonderful Magic Tower Journey with Miss Cat (Part Thirteen)

I want it

"To become a player like you, and to see more of the world."

The main questline has been changed.

[Current Main Quest: Promise to fulfill Himeko's wish]

[Note: If you fail to fulfill her wish in the future, you will be punished according to karma.]

Ji Yi and Xie Jiayi were both taken aback.

To be honest, Ji Yi really didn't expect that Shi Himeko had such a simple idea.

Perhaps his understanding of this ghost story girl was still too superficial and insufficient.

"I do have a way to turn people into players, but..."

Ji Yi paused, her tone gradually becoming serious:

"Becoming a player is indeed an opportunity, but also a curse. You can see all kinds of mountains and rivers, and even have the opportunity to transcend the universe and become a super-dimensional being, but you will have to go through all kinds of hardships, and in the end, you will most likely die on the way to the top."

"Your lifespan will no longer be eternal; you will only become a fleeting shooting star in the long river of history."

Ji Yi did not hide the players' ultimate fate.

Since he knew the truth, he wouldn't harm Shihiko just to complete the mission. After all, Shihiko wasn't a truly bad person.

As to which of the different options to choose, Shihimeko needs to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.

No hesitation.

Shikiko's answer was quite straightforward:

"It doesn't matter. Nothing is truly eternal, and I know I will die sooner or later. Rather than living the same life for thousands of years, I might as well make my limited life more exciting."

"So I still want to become a player like my older brother, is that okay?"

Looking down at the girl, Ji Yi felt a slight touch in her heart.

Although Princess Corpse lost some of her humanity due to becoming a ghost story, she must have been a good girl in life.

After being innocently implicated and forced to live a second life, only to find her family gone, hatred overwhelmed her heart and distorted her life goals.

"Yes, I'll help you."

Ji Yi spoke calmly.

"But it will take a little time. Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. And since I made a promise, I will never break it."

Shihime immediately beamed with joy and rushed towards Ji Yi, ready to give him a big hug.

Ji Yi dodged the attack with a quick movement:
"Men and women should not touch each other; hugging is unnecessary, and kissing is even more so."

Shikiko pouted, "Eh? I thought this would make big brother happy."

"Sorry, I'm actually into mature women, I don't like lolis."

Miss Cat glanced at Ji Yi, her expression indifferent.

Aya's expression was somewhat subtle, and her gaze towards Ji Yi clearly held a different meaning.

Shikiko's mouth formed an "O" shape: "Hmm! So that's how it is!"

She exclaimed adorably, her childlike demeanor seemingly genuine.

"Alright then, since big brother isn't interested in my body, what exactly do you want?"

Returning courtesy to courtesy shows that Shikiko still retains a human side.

After all, she and Ji Yi have only met twice and are just casual acquaintances. Ji Yi is likely helping her because he wants something in return.

Their friendship is not very deep yet, and is currently limited to a mutually beneficial relationship of "you help me, I help you".

"When you become successful in the future, just look after me. Oh, and there's one more thing."

Ji Yi looked at Aya, who was sitting to the side and hadn't said much:
"The Church of Light is also an organization I developed, and I hope you will stop making things difficult for them in the future. If possible, I hope that in addition to ensuring their safety, you can use your zombie army to help them improve productivity and develop technology."

Shikiko seemed to have anticipated this, and agreed very readily:

"No problem, it's a piece of cake."

This was originally intended as leverage to coerce Ji Yi into making a deal. Now that Ji Yi has exceeded the target, it would be acceptable to go a little further.

“Very good.” Ji Yi nodded.

"Regarding the destruction of the island nation, I will try my best to make progress. Of course, I actually think it would be better for you to take revenge yourself after you become a player. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Shikiko smiled.
"Big brother has already done a lot, exceeding my expectations. I would feel bad if I took up any more of your time. So please help me when you have time. If you don't have time, you can do it yourself after I become a player."

Although this sounds a bit teasing, if it's her true feeling, then she's actually quite easy to talk to.

Shikiko is an honest and kind person.

"Okay, then it'll be a pleasure working together."

Ji Yi extended her palm.

"Okay~ It's a pleasure to work with you."

Shihime also extended her small hand and shook hands with Ji Yi.

[The main mission has been completed]

[Level 15 cleared]

After stepping out of the castle gate, you can proceed to the next level.

The banquet ended in a harmonious conclusion that satisfied everyone.

Before leaving, Aya called out to Ji Yi:
"Mr. Ji, you have done so much for the shelter, Aya feels she can never repay you."

Ji Yi was about to wave his hand and say, "We're all brothers, it's nothing."

But then Aya continued:
"Mr. Ji just said he likes mature women, was he actually referring to me?"

Miss Cat: "?"

Ji Yi: "???"

Aya is 178cm tall, a model-like height. Due to her excellent proportions, she appears even taller than Ji Yi.

Despite her young age, her mature and flamboyant appearance perfectly embodies the term "mature woman."

"If Mr. Ji doesn't mind, Aya..."

"Stop!" Ji Yi silenced her with a kiss. "What are you talking about? Do I look like the kind of person who's fickle?"

"what?"

Aya asked in confusion, "I didn't say Mr. Ji was a womanizer. Aren't you single?"

"Of course not."

Ji Yi paused halfway through her sentence.

He turned to look at Miss Cat: "Am I single?"

Miss Cat glanced at me sideways: "Hehe, why are you asking me whether Mr. Jiba is single or not? No one knows better than you, right?"

"right."

Ji Yi pondered for a moment, then looked at Aya:

"That's right, I'm still single for now."

Miss Cat: "."

Aya smiled generously: "So, does that mean I can pursue Mr. Ji now?"

Miss Cat's gaze silently fell upon them again.

Ji Yi, however, had no intention of continuing with the joking and bluffing, and said seriously:

"No, I already have someone I like."

After saying that, he very naturally took Miss Cat's hand.

The other person did not resist, but simply turned their face away, no longer looking at Ji Yi and Aya, letting their delicate hand be tightly held.

"Oh, I understand."

Aya's eyes held a hint of regret, but her smile remained radiant.

"I apologize for my presumption. I wish Mr. Ji happiness. I will do my best to develop the Brightness Cult and strive to help Mr. Ji one day!"

For her, love may be something to look forward to, but it is by no means the center of her life.

It's normal for Aya to admire and love Ji Yi. After all, Ji Yi saved her and the shelter, and he's also a capable man. From any perspective, Ji Yi is someone you can entrust your life to.

However, Aya is not a love-obsessed person.

She bears the heavy responsibility of reviving humanity and needs to take on the role of a pillar in the end times, becoming a queen and leading humanity to rebuild their home.

To accomplish all this, Aya knew that in the end she could only rely on herself, not on begging or on Mr. Ji's charity.

Being rejected by Ji Yi made her feel at ease, which strengthened her determination to accomplish her great mission.

Seemingly understanding the conviction in Aya's eyes, Ji Yi smiled politely at her:

"Then, I'll wish you success as well."

The two ended their meeting with a handshake.

As Ji Yi and Miss Cat passed through the castle gates, their vision began to distort. "Mr. Ji Ba."

Before my vision returned, Miss Cat's voice came first.

"what?"

“You performed well just now, so I’ve decided to rescind the punishment for Mr. Giba.”

"Oh, could you tell me more about the specific reward?"

"no."

"start?"

"roll."

Just as Ji Yi was about to say something, the distorted scene in front of her finally began to take shape.

This is a world that is almost entirely black, white, and gray, as if someone had turned the color saturation to an extremely low value, and the colors could only be vaguely discerned.

A black sun hung high in the sky, but it had no warmth.

Just then, Ji Yin could clearly feel that the air he was breathing was different. Although it was colorless and odorless, he still keenly sensed a strong feeling of nausea.

"Such a strong toxic substance."

[Welcome back to the Forbidden Zone of Strange Tales. Due to the interruption of the transmission of ancient god power, the danger rating of this area has been downgraded to SS-level disaster.]

Despite the downgrade in rating and the cessation of expansion of the affected area, it is evident that the concentration of the toxic substance here is significantly higher than when you last visited.

Ji Yi frowned and began to examine her surroundings.

Miss Cat has disappeared without a trace.

The massive amount of harmful substances in the air even obstructed the view of God; the farther one looked, the more blurry it became, much like looking at smog.

"Brother Eye, it's your turn to show off your skills."

[Haha, if you could always maintain such a polite attitude, how wonderful the world would be.]

This is Biquan City, a city located on the edge of the final wave of the Ghost Stories Forbidden Zone.

As for why even the outskirts of the area have such a strong concentration of malevolent energy, I think it's probably related to Misaki-chan. By the way, did you bring her flowers this time?

"Flowers? What flowers?"

What a cold-blooded man! Doesn't he even remember the simple wish of a 30-something elementary school student?

"Um, I think there is such a thing."

He remembered.

Before leaving last time, Ji Yi not only promised to treat Misaki's resentment backlash problem, but also said that she would bring Misaki flowers.

That was a simple and pure wish that Misaki made when she was pretending to be strong, preparing to deceive Kii, and bear everything alone.

"At this point, the flowers are definitely not the point anymore."

Ji Yi gazed at the sky, her brows furrowing even more deeply.

"It's also my fault for coming back too late. I don't know how Misaki is doing now. I hope she's still okay."

As she spoke, Ji Yi took a deep look at the [Panacea] in her inventory.

This thing could save Misaki's life, but Ji Yi didn't come to rescue her immediately, which seems to have caused some terrible change in the restricted area.

But in truth, he can't be entirely blamed.

After leaving the restricted area, the first thing Ji Yi did was to cut off the transmission of the ancient god's power and contain the disaster in the restricted area.

Immediately after obtaining his second job, he was eager to improve his strength and participated in the job change quest.

As for the numerous trivial matters that plagued him in real life, not to mention the mystery involving the evil god that pointed to the Demon Tower, even his rare date with Xie Jiayi after recognizing her had to take place in the Demon Tower instance.

"Fortunately, the 16th floor of the Demon Tower has returned to the forbidden zone. Hopefully, it's not too late."

Thinking it over, Ji Yi first checked the task panel.

The main quest is currently displayed as "None (Pending Trigger)," indicating that there is no further information available.

Looking around, the entire city of Biquan was deserted, without even a trace of the strange tales.

"Since Biquan City is on the edge of the last forbidden zone to be swallowed up, it must be at least two hundred kilometers away from Dayan City."

As she spoke, Ji Yi looked in one direction.

With his current physical condition, he could reach Dayan City in less than an hour if he jogged at a steady pace, but that would obviously be very dangerous.

"With my vision obstructed and my reconnaissance capabilities greatly weakened, most S-rank ghost stories can definitely spot me first."

Running in this situation is pure suicide.

"This is the only relatively safe way."

As she spoke, Ji Yi looked toward a certain spot.

There was a subway station entrance there, which was inconspicuous in the gray world.

However, if you look closely, you can see that the light bulbs at the entrance are lit, but they are not very bright and are not very noticeable during the "daytime".

"The cities inside the restricted area have all lost power, but this subway station is still lit up. It's not hard to guess what's inside."

SS-level ghost story, the paranormal train.

This is a strange tale full of unknowns, with an unclear origin, and possesses a domain ability similar to creating time tunnels.

"Using the subway tunnel, like last time, would be the safest method, but until then..."

Ji Yi looked around again.

"We can't leave Miss Cat out alone."

This place is fraught with danger, and meeting up here is clearly more important than going directly to Misaki.

Thinking about it, Ji Yi took out the [Ghost Phone].

And the data analysis tool, at this very moment, popped up a text window:

Dial 063 to summon the "Mind Ghost," similar to the Broadcast Ghost, which also possesses the ability to communicate remotely. Why not just find the Broadcast Ghost? Well, you'd have to ask Tan Ming.

"The radio ghost died on another timeline, so in the real timeline it shouldn't have died."

"So, due to the characteristics of death rewind, it was wasted as a resource by me? That's a bit of a pity."

Similarly, the skin-changing ghost number 071 should also be dead. Now, only 998 ghost stories can be contacted by phone.

Oh well, this loss is insignificant, there are alternatives anyway.

"So, Gul'dan, what will be the price?"

The cost of summoning the Spirit of the Soul is minimal; it only requires you to display a heart of gold and to forbid any hypocrisy or deception. After summoning it, you will be unable to lie for 24 hours and will not be able to refuse to answer questions; you must be honest in the face of any inquiry.

Once you break the rules or try to hide something, it will devour your emotions and turn you into a walking corpse.

"The rules are simple, but the penalties are quite severe."

But as long as you're sincere, that's all that matters, right? It's not hard to follow.

Without further thought, Ji Yi dialed number 063, and the phone rang.
[A crescent moon, a swaying shadow, a little imp, clinging to my back]

It asks you the truth; answer honestly and don't lie.

[Tell the truth, and the candy will taste sweet; lie? Open your big mouth—]

[With a gulp, I devoured my dirty conscience!]

As the music ended, a "beep" sounded, and a strange little doll popped out of the phone and then climbed onto Ji Yi's back.

It was a dirty rag doll with a hole missing where its heart should have been.

It spread its limbs wide, pressed itself against Ji Yi's back, and then remained still.

"I need to have a telepathic call with Miss Cat. No, I mean, a remote telepathic connection. Please help me connect, thank you."

The little baby on his back nodded upon hearing this.

Then, Ji Yi felt as if her consciousness had traversed countless distances, sending out some kind of signal in one direction.

"Zi-"

This feeling suggests that the connection has been established.

"Hello? Miss Cat?"

Ji Yi tentatively began to speak.

“Brother Ji”.

The voice that answered him was Misaki's.

"?"

Before Ji Yi could react, the other person spoke again:
"Misaki said she wanted to see flowers last time, brother, do you remember to bring her flowers?"

"I"

Ji Yi's lips parted slightly.

"I forgot."

(End of this chapter)