Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 233 Shadow (4000-word medium chapter)
The gaze was indescribable, like a slimy leech, with a bizarre and terrifying sensation that was utterly disgusting, making one's skin crawl.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have jumped up by now and started looking around in terror to find the source, but Zhou You maintained his normal expression and even had time to greet the gatekeeper with a smile.

The city library is located in a very remote area, next to the intricate old town. Zhou You usually takes the bus home, but for some reason, today he deliberately went into the alleys of the old town and disappeared after many twists and turns.

And a moment later.

Despite the sweltering heat, a man still wearing a hoodie emerged from the library. After quickly getting his bearings, he ran off in the direction Zhou You had gone.

The city's old town was built sixty or seventy years ago. Due to planning issues at the time, the entire area is like a maze, with a continuous network of intricate paths. Without a guide, one would probably get lost very quickly.

Zhou You had lived in this city for a long time, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost—but the hooded man behind him seemed to know the place very well, and no matter where Zhou You went, he could always follow him accurately.

It wasn't until someone's figure disappeared into an alley that the man's lips suddenly curled into a slightly manic smile.

That's a dead end.

A complete and utter dead end.

The man in the hoodie quickened his pace without hesitation, following in Zhou You's footsteps—

however.

As he also disappeared into the alley, this man suddenly paused in surprise.

There was no one in the alley.

There weren't even any footprints on the ground.

So, where did this person go?

But that's it.

Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang in his ear.

"Hey bro, what are you looking at?"

The hooded man was stunned for a moment, and then the next second, he felt a leg sweep across his back like an iron whip!

The man felt as if he were floating on clouds, and then he fell directly into a pile of garbage on the side.

Only then did a figure jump down from the wall, which was three or four meters high.

The toes touched the ground lightly, without even stirring up a speck of dust.

—This person was none other than Zhou You.

Since leaving the library, he had been deliberately heading towards secluded areas, for a very simple reason.

It's really nothing more than a few words.

It's simply a ploy to lure the enemy deep into our territory.

After all, this is reality, not a script. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, it would be difficult for him to get to the bottom of things outside.

Faced with such an ordinary person, Zhou You didn't want to draw his sword and cause trouble—the control over knives is still quite strict these days—so he just counted on his fingers and walked towards the hooded man with a smile.

"My friend, you've followed me more than once, haven't you? I, Zhou You, consider myself just an ordinary unemployed vagrant. I have no benefactors or enemies in this city. I wonder what brings you to go to such lengths to follow me?"

The other person did not answer, but instead staggered out of a pile of garbage.

Upon seeing this, Zhou You was somewhat surprised.

He knew the force of that kick. Although he didn't use any magic, just based on his physical strength, an ordinary person would need half a day to recover from such a blow, but this guy actually withstood it.
But at that very moment, the hooded man suddenly bent down and rushed out!

The target wasn't him, but the alleyway not far away!

Zhou You tilted his head, then raised his leg and kicked several times in quick succession.

The first kick barely grazed the man's shoulder, but the second kick directly stopped his momentum, and the third kick landed on his waist, sending him flying far away!

Only then did Zhou You casually put down his leg, walk over to the man who could no longer get up, bend down, and pull off his hood.

however.

What appeared before her was a pale, thin, and completely unfamiliar face.

Zhou You was somewhat stunned.

He originally thought this person was Peng Jiayan—the remnant of the builder he had previously tricked to death—after all, this was the only person in the city who had a grudge against him.

The problem is that he doesn't know this person at all.

Were they hired, or...?
Just as Zhou You was frowning and deep in thought, he suddenly discovered another problem.

For some reason, the man's eyes suddenly became unfocused and blurry.

The feeling was as if you were staring at something, yet also as if you saw nothing at all. Your pupils seemed to swirl and expand, gradually reaching a certain point in the void.

Zhou You had seen this kind of look before.

Long ago, when he still lived in his old home, there was a guy in his neighborhood who was so skinny that he would always have the same expression after smoking all that white powder.

"Wait, is this a poisonous insect?"

As if facing a pile of dog poop, Zhou You quickly jumped away—but then, an even bigger question mark appeared in his mind.

—I don’t have any dealings with poisonous insects, so why is this guy stalking me?

Zhou You pinched his nose and thought for a moment, then decided to try asking if he could.

However, just as he was about to squat down again...

Suddenly, a sharp whistle blared.

It took Zhou You a good three or four seconds to realize what that sound was.

—The sound of sirens.

...Okay, thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite normal.

After all, the entire city is on edge because of the murderer, and the hoodie's previous actions were highly suspicious. He didn't even try to keep quiet when he did it, so it's normal for someone to call the police.

"—But this came a little too fast, didn't it?"

Zhou You quickly glanced around.

There was no one around, and although the walls were high, he could easily escape with his skills. Besides, a few policemen couldn't possibly catch him.
Shit.

In this world where surveillance is everywhere, and you're just a victim who didn't do anything too serious, why would you run away looking for trouble?

Before the police could surround them, Zhou You casually slapped away the footprints on the poisonous insect, then raised his head, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and awkwardly whistled.

moment.

A loud shout suddenly rang out in the alley.

"Don't move, I'm a police officer. We received a report from a member of the public that there were suspicious individuals around here, and we also heard sounds of fighting. Please cooperate with our investigation."

However, when these people walked in, they were all taken aback.

—Where are the signs of a fight?

There was a suspicious person, but he had already fallen to the ground, while another...
He was just an innocent-looking, ordinary-looking commoner.

"Yes, yes, that's it... No, officer, how would I know why he did it? I was just reading in the library and got a little tired, so I wanted to take a walk. Who would have thought that this guy would suddenly pounce on me like that? I panicked and kicked him, and then he lay down—Officer, is this some kind of staged accident?"

The middle-aged policeman in front of him nodded as he wrote down Zhou You's testimony.

Upon learning that this was not the serial killer's second crime, the police officers relaxed considerably. Just then, another person approached and reported to the middle-aged officer.

"Uncle Chen, it seems that guy was indeed high on drugs. He's alright, just unconscious. His identity has been confirmed—a seasoned addict. The drug he used was probably that new drug called 'Fairyland.' As for this guy, his identity has also been verified. He just graduated from university, has a clean record, no criminal record or motive, and his physique doesn't match that of the perpetrator at all."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged policeman nodded and then sighed softly.

"What's going on here? The murderer hasn't been caught yet, and these drug dogs are causing trouble every day. This is the umpteenth time this month. And you, you."

Upon hearing the middle-aged policeman's greeting, Zhou You immediately steadied himself and flashed a big smile.

"Zhou You, right? It's been mentioned in the news so many times, how can you not remember? Hurry home before dark, don't go into these remote areas. This time it's alright, you only saw a guy who was overdosed. What if you really run into that murderer? What do you think we should do then?"

Hearing the middle-aged policeman's words, which were lecturing yet full of concern, Zhou You nodded repeatedly in agreement. However, the middle-aged policeman didn't care about his reaction and simply waved to the other policemen.

"Alright, notify the bureau that this is nothing serious. Also, take this guy who's too high back and detain him. Once he's sober, we'll send him to the interrogation room to ask him where he got the drugs!"

Upon hearing this, the younger police officers exchanged glances, then pinched their noses, enduring the stench emanating from the man's body covered in garbage, and each raised one hand, attempting to shove him into the car.

however.

Right at this moment.

—But the poisonous demon's eyes suddenly cleared!

No one knows where he got the strength, but he actually managed to break free from the restraints of several policemen and lunged straight at Zhou You!

Zhou You frowned slightly, clenched his fist, and was about to give that guy a good whack, but just as he was about to pounce on him, he was swarmed down by the police.

Then they proceeded to berate him, handcuff him, lock his joints, and finally, under the old policeman's direction, shove him into the police car at the alley entrance.

As the siren faded into the distance, Zhou You did not move an inch.

When the poisonous insect pounced on him, it wasn't trying to attack him.

It was simply to say one sentence.

It was a sentence so faint it was barely audible, even with Zhou You's enhanced hearing from the Jing Shen Food Song Technique.

That is--

"—The lost offering has been found."

"Our Lord will soon descend upon the world."

"And the people of the world."

"—All will step into the immortal realm."

Zhou You's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, then suddenly he remembered something, turned around, and dashed towards his home!
Just over ten minutes later.

He kicked open the door to Zhou You's house.

He already had the Broken Evil in hand, and even took out the Broken Moon Bow and Heaven-Shaking Arrow that he had just acquired, all to guard against any uninvited guests.

however.

The room remained calm and peaceful as usual.

There were no unexpected enemies, nor any signs of fighting. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window, bringing a hazy and tranquil hue.

Zhou You remained vigilant, drawing the Duanxie sword slightly before calling out softly.

"Little one?"

Russian qing.

A tiny head peeked out from the kitchen.

Only now did Zhou You finally breathe a long sigh of relief and feel at ease.

The little ghost girl looked at Zhou You, who was fully armed, with a question mark on her face, but she quickly put him aside and tapped the pot she was holding.

After spending so much time together, although they couldn't speak, Zhou You understood what the other person meant.

That means: the food will be ready soon, go wash your hands first, and then sit down properly.

Zhou You gave a gentle smile and nodded to the female ghost, but his expression suddenly turned cold as soon as she turned around.

He suddenly recalled the scene when he first met the little ghost girl.

At that moment, he saw that his Eye of Cause talent had just activated, and what he saw... was the little ghost's scattered corpse, and one.
The altar was stained with blood and was extremely cold.

……

Zhou You shook his head.

It seems like returning to reality this time is going to be a bit troublesome.
-
And not long after.

A police station.

The police officer at the front desk looked at his colleague, who walked in from outside, panting, covered in filth, and exuding an aura that warned others to stay away, with a puzzled expression.

"What have you been doing? Did you go and fight someone on this garbage dump?"

Upon hearing this, one of the young police officers couldn't help but spit out a curse on the spot.

"Don't even mention it. We ran into a crazy poisonous insect. We had already caught him, but then he suddenly went berserk and ended up like this. Ugh."

Looking at the man who was being held in the middle and was clearly out of his mind, the police officer at the front desk asked in a low voice.

"You guys are really unlucky. So, what are you planning to do about this?"

"Uncle Chen's idea is to put him in the detention room first, and then interrogate him after he sobers up to see if we can get any clues about the drugs. But I think it's probably useless. Ugh. No, I'll lock him up first, and then quickly go wash up. And that police car, if we don't clean it, it'll be pickled tomorrow."

What could the receptionist say? She could only wave her hand and tell them to quickly take the prisoner to his room.
-
That night.

Twelve o'clock at midnight.

Since the addict had not woken up, after a quick check of his vital signs and to confirm that there were no problems, he was left in the holding room.

The police station building is quite old and has never been renovated, so don't expect the detention room to be very humane or advanced. It's just a bed and windows and doors sealed with iron bars.

Although the entire city is on high alert because of the serial murders, it doesn't really affect the police station in this area. The officers on duty are staring at their computer screens with boredom, and a few people sitting nearby are already yawning.

But at that moment, no one noticed.

Inside that detention cell, the prisoner, who had already been confirmed to be unconscious, suddenly and slowly opened his eyes.

then.

From his throat.

A slimy tentacle slowly emerged.

　Thank you to "眉间点疤拟朱砂" for the 1000-point reward, thank you to MasterLayton for the 500-point reward, and thank you to reader 160921085447204 for the 100-point reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)