Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 130 The Road to Yin and Yang, Money to Buy a Life

The off-road vehicle sped along National Highway G302, the roar of its engine sounding like a tireless beast.

The scenery outside the car window was changing at an unsettling pace. What had once been a barren wasteland was now gradually shrouded in a layer of gray fog. The fog wasn't thick, but it had a sticky texture, like layers of translucent gauze, blocking out the sunlight and making the whole world appear gloomy and oppressive.

"This fog is strange." Mo Fei gripped the steering wheel with one hand, while his other hand instinctively reached for the Tomahawk missile resting on the passenger seat. "The visibility is decreasing, and... is the road getting narrower?"

Lan Ce pushed up his glasses and swiped his fingers across the terminal screen: "The GPS signal has been completely lost. The inertial navigation system shows that we are deviating from the original route, shifting 15 degrees to the northwest. But strangely, this road is a straight line on the map."

"Is this what they call 'being lost in a maze'?" Mo Fei curled his lip. "If it were before, I would definitely think the navigation was broken, but now... I think this road is just misinterpreting itself."

Bai Yu sat in the back seat, his gaze never leaving the window. Deep within the pupil of his left eye, a faint, eerie white light flickered.

In his vision, the road was not an asphalt surface at all, but a "path to the underworld" paved with countless gray-white ashes. The guardrails along the roadside were not metal, but rows of stark ribs, bent and pointing towards the sky, as if in supplication.

"Lu Yueqi, what did you see?" Bai Yu asked softly.

The girl beside him huddled up, the brim of her ghost hat pulled low, almost obscuring half her face. Her body trembled slightly, her hands gripping Bai Yu's sleeves tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

“The wall in front of us… has turned into a mouth.” Lu Yueqi’s voice was barely audible, tinged with a clear sob. “It opened its mouth, waiting for us to crawl in. It said… it was hungry.”

"Hungry?" Mo Fei sneered. "Want to eat us? We'll have to see if it has any teeth left. Don't break a mouthful of teeth."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fog ahead suddenly began to churn violently.

A massive shadow slowly emerged from the mist, stretching across the middle of the road and completely blocking the way.

It was an old highway tollbooth.

The style is a red and white design typical of the 1990s, but the paint has long since peeled off, revealing the blackened cement underneath. The ceiling is crooked and looks like it might collapse at any moment. There are four toll lanes in total, but only the rightmost one is lit with a ghastly green light, its railing standing tall as if welcoming passing vehicles.

But this is not a highway at all; this is a national road.

"Stop the car," Bai Yu commanded in a deep voice.

squeak--!
Mo Fei slammed on the brakes, the wide tires of the modified off-road vehicle leaving two long black marks on the ground, bringing it to a stop just fifty meters from the tollbooth.

"This thing looks unlucky." Mo Fei peered at the tollbooth through the windshield. "Lan Ce, can we just ram it?"

“I don’t recommend doing this.” Lan Ce looked at the wildly fluctuating data on the terminal, his expression grim. “The spatial readings ahead are extremely abnormal. A closed-loop ‘rule field’ has formed around that tollbooth. If we force our way through, we might end up in another dimension or be torn to pieces by the spatial turbulence.”

"A rule-based nightmare," Bai Yu concluded.

This is the most troublesome type of Nightmare. They often don't win through sheer power, but rather by establishing a set of twisted rules that they force those who enter to abide by. Once the rules are violated, even an S-rank powerhouse could be caught off guard and suffer a crushing defeat.

"I'll go take a look." Bai Yu unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.

"Old Bai, be careful!" Mo Fei also grabbed his battle axe and jumped out of the car, following closely behind Bai Yu by half a step, watching his surroundings warily.

Lanze remained in the vehicle, pointing the machine gun at the lit toll booth window and activating all detection equipment.

The two walked slowly toward the deserted tollbooth, one after the other.

As they drew closer, a musty, rotten smell wafted over, like moldy paper money mixed with the stench of dried blood.

When they reached within ten meters of the toll booth, a piercing crackling sound suddenly emanated from the booth with its green light, followed by a mechanical, cold female voice broadcasting:

"Welcome to the Huangquan Road toll station. This station operates on a one-vehicle-one-gate system. Please pay in order. Those who evade tolls will have their remaining lifespan deducted."

"These are the rules?" Mo Fei raised an eyebrow. "What if you don't have money?"

"The currency here is probably not RMB," Bai Yu said, looking at the guard post.

The guard booth's glass windows were filthy, covered with various yellow talismans. Through the cracks, one could vaguely see a figure sitting inside. The person was wearing a dark blue uniform and a peaked cap, but their head was bowed low, obscuring their face.

A pale, withered hand slowly reached out, palm up, making a begging gesture.

Below that window, a tattered notice was pasted, with a few lines written in dark red ink:
【Charges】

1. Passing vehicles are required to pay a "toll" each time.

2. Tolls are not accepted in gold or silver, nor in paper money.

3. What we want are the "extra" things in you.

4. If there is nothing extra, leave the most important thing as collateral.

5. If you can make the toll collector laugh, the ride is free.

"Redundant stuff?" Mo Fei scratched his head. "What kind of ridiculous rule is this? What's redundant? Does my appendix count?"

“This is a classic conceptual trap,” Bai Yu calmly analyzed. “If you think the appendix is ​​superfluous, you will lose it once you hand it over. But in this rule-based system, losing an organ may mean a permanent loss of vitality.”

"What should we do then? Are we really going to try to make that deadpan face laugh?" Mo Fei pointed to the motionless figure in the guard post. "I doubt it."

Bai Yu did not answer; he called the name in his mind.

"Black talk".

"What vulgar taste." Hei Yan's lazy voice echoed in Bai Yu's mind, filled with undisguised disgust. "These rules, which are full of the stench of money and outdated superstition, are simply an insult to the art of 'fear.' It's like graffitiing a famous painting with cheap paint."

"Stop talking nonsense and explain the rules."

"Hmph. Rules of this caliber are riddled with loopholes." Hei Yan chuckled. "Pay attention to the third rule. 'Redundant' is a subjective concept. As long as you believe something is redundant, and it actually belongs to you, the rule will hold."

“It belongs to me, and it’s superfluous.” Bai Yu’s heart stirred, and her gaze fell on the drainage ditch by the roadside not far away.

Several corpses lay there, the very same "hyenas" who had tried to rob them earlier. Although Mo Fei had thrown them far away, within the judgment range of the rules field, these corpses were now considered their "spoils of war."

"Mo Fei, go drag those guys over here." Bai Yu pointed to the ditch.

"Huh? Those deadbeats?" Mo Fei looked disgusted. "What are you going to do? Give that toll collector extra food?"

"Pay the toll."

Although Mo Fei was puzzled, his execution was impeccable. He ran over in a few steps and dragged the bald man's corpse over like a dead dog.

Bai Yu pointed at the corpse and said to the guard post, "This is my spoils of war, it belongs to me. But now, to me, he's 'redundant' trash. Is this enough?"

The hand in the guard booth froze for a moment, as if judging whether the logic held true.

A few seconds later, the hand slowly withdrew.

Immediately afterwards, the window of the guard post opened a crack, and a long iron hook extended out, precisely hooking the bald man's corpse and pulling it inside with a sudden jerk.

The small window seemed like a bottomless pit; the massive corpse was instantly sucked in, leaving not even a bone fragment. Then came a chilling chewing sound.

Click, click.

"Ugh..." Lan Ce, who was in the car, almost vomited when he saw this scene on the monitor.

After the chewing sound stopped, the mechanical female voice sounded again:

"Payment successful. Change: 3 coins for resentment."

jingle.

Three black coins were thrown out of the window and rolled to Bai Yu's feet.

The railing slowly rose, and the green light became even more glaring.

"That's it?" Mo Fei's eyes widened. "This is too easy to fool! I should have dragged one over myself."

"Don't be too happy yet." Bai Yu picked up the three coins. The coins were icy cold, with a crying face printed on them. "This is just the first hurdle. The rules aren't over yet."

Sure enough, the moment the railing was fully raised, the mechanical female voice suddenly became shrill, and its tone turned eerie:

"Special vehicles...and...rare goods were detected. Value-added tax needs to be paid."

"Value-added tax?!" Lan Ce exclaimed in the communication channel. "This nightmare even understands economics?!"

"Supplementary payment contents: Half of the soul of the 'container' on the bus."

The moment the sound faded, the surrounding fog suddenly contracted, transforming into countless gray-white ghostly hands that frantically grabbed at the back seat of the SUV.

That was aimed at Lu Yueqi!
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple." Bai Yu's eyes turned cold, and she crushed the coin in her hand.

"Black Words, make your move!"

"As you wish, my contractor."

Behind Bai Yu, a phantom black shadow suddenly appeared. The shadow was dressed in a tuxedo and elegantly extended a hand, gently tapping the void.

"Rules altered: This road is mine."

hum!
An invisible wave erupted from Bai Yu's center. The ghostly hands that were grabbing at the car froze instantly as if electrocuted, then crumbled inch by inch, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

"You... violated the rules..." The voice from the guard post became angry and distorted, "Violators... die!"

boom!
The glass in the guard booth shattered with a loud crash, and the toll collector who had been keeping his head down finally rushed out.

That's not human at all.

It was a monster made of countless tickets, receipts, and banknotes pasted together. Its face was a huge red seal with the word "greed" engraved on it. Its body was bloated, and its limbs were rusty metal bars that made a screeching sound with every movement.

"A C-rank peak Rule-type monster, the Greedy Reaper," Bai Yu instantly announced the monster's codename. "Its physical defense is extremely high, and its weakness is that stamp-faced guy!"

"I've disliked this thing for a long time!"

Mo Fei, who had been poised to strike, roared and unleashed the full power of his exoskeleton, charging straight at the monster like a cannonball.

"Take this from my axe!"

The Earthshaker's battle axe, accompanied by a high-frequency vibrating hum, slammed down on the monster's shoulder. Clang!
There was a loud bang and sparks flew.

Those thick layers of paper were even harder than steel; although the battle axe had cut in halfway, it got stuck.

"You haven't paid yet...you can't leave..."

The monster let out a muffled roar, and its two rusty railing arms suddenly snapped shut, like a giant pair of scissors, clamping down on Mo Fei's waist.

"This paper is really hard!" Mo Fei cursed, but he didn't panic.

He released one hand, pulled a high-explosive flashbang from his waist, and shoved it directly into the wound cut open by the battle axe.

"I'll treat you to something delicious!"

Mo Fei used the recoil to leap backward, simultaneously activating the exoskeleton's shield mode.

boom!
The flashbang exploded inside the monster's body. Although it didn't shatter its body, the intense light and shockwave momentarily stunned it.

It was in that very instant.

"Lan Ce, interfere!" Bai Yu shouted.

"Received! 'Nightingale' has been activated!"

Suddenly, the sound wave transmitter on the roof emitted a high-frequency noise inaudible to the human ear. This noise was specifically targeted at the spirit's structure, causing unstable ripples to appear on the surface of the monster's body, and the papers pasted on it began to fall off.

Bai Yu moved.

Instead of using "Ember", he extended his right hand.

A wisp of black flame swirled around his fingertips—the primordial power of Hei Yan, a "chaotic fire" specifically designed to disrupt the rules.

He was like a black lightning bolt, cutting through the smoke and dust from Mo Fei's explosion and rushing directly in front of the monster.

Sensing danger, the monster suddenly spat out a stream of red ink from its enormous stamp-faced form, attempting to block Bai Yu.

"Little tricks."

Bai Yu neither dodged nor evaded; the "Eye of Truth" in his left eye shone brightly, instantly analyzing the trajectory of the ink spray. He sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the ink, and pressed his right hand directly onto the "Greed" seal.

"Since you like money so much, then I'll give you as much as you want."

Black flames surged wildly into the monster's body along the seal.

"Rule Reversal: Inflation".

The next second, the energy within the monster began to run rampant. The originally tight paper structure expanded rapidly like an inflated balloon, a result of its inability to digest the vast amount of greed it had consumed.

"No...give it back to me...it's mine..."

The monster let out a desperate scream, its body growing larger and larger...

Bang!
A dull thud.

Paper scraps flew everywhere, like a white snowfall. The arrogant and greedy harvester was instantly reduced to a pile of waste paper.

"All done, that's a wrap." Mo Fei walked over, kicked aside a broken piece of railing on the ground, and chuckled, "Old Bai, your 'inflation' trick was really ruthless, it literally burst the grid."

Bai Yu withdrew his hand, his face slightly paler. Using the power of Hei Yan to modify the rules of reality was still a heavy burden for him.

"Stop joking, get in the car. The rules here are broken, and those things around here will soon swarm in."

As the tollbooth collapsed, the surrounding fog began to dissipate rapidly.

The previously obscured road has been revealed again.

The SUV started up again, roaring as it sped over the pile of rubble, crushing the scraps of paper scattered all over the ground.

inside the car.

Lu Yueqi was still shaken. She looked at Bai Yu timidly and said, "Um... thank you."

"No need to thank me." Bai Yu closed his eyes to rest and said calmly, "You are the mission target, and protecting you is my duty."

“No, it’s not just about the mission.” Lu Yueqi said, mustering her courage. “I can feel… that monster is afraid of you. No, it’s afraid of the… shadow inside you.”

Bai Yu suddenly opened her eyes and turned to look at Lu Yueqi.

"Can you see coded language?"

"Hmm...it's blurry." Lu Yueqi gestured. "It looks like an older brother in a suit, but...he has a big hole in his chest, it's scary."

Bai Yu's expression became somewhat complicated.

Ordinary people could never see nightmares; even low-level dream enterrs could only sense their aura. Yet Lu Yueqi could see Hei Yan's true form even in her unawakened state, indicating her spiritual vision level was frighteningly high.

“An interesting little girl.” Hei Yan’s voice rang out again, this time with a hint of amusement. “It seems that Professor Su, that madman, really spared no expense on her. Her eyes are a key.”

"The key?" Bai Yu asked in his mind.

"The key to the 'deep dream.' Protect her, Bai Yu. She might be the key to our turn of events."

Just then, Lan Ce suddenly exclaimed, "Look ahead!"

Everyone looked up.

By this time, they had broken out of the fog and arrived at a high slope.

The sight before them made everyone gasp in shock.

About ten kilometers ahead is the outskirts of Linjiang City.

But at this moment, Linjiang City was no longer a city, but a huge, burning fortress.

A black light curtain, hundreds of meters high, resembling an inverted bowl, enveloped the entire city center. Strange runes flowed across the surface of the light curtain, and lightning constantly struck from it.

Beyond the light barrier, countless black dots, like a swarm of ants, were assaulting humanity's defenses. These were tens of thousands of zombies, interspersed with various bizarre and low-level nightmares.

The flashes of explosions rose and fell along the defensive line, and tracer bullets wove a web of death in the night sky.

"My God..." Mo Fei muttered to himself, "This is no defense line, it's a meat grinder."

“The third line of defense is still holding on.” Lanze quickly adjusted the focus of his observation equipment. “I can see heavy artillery positions and mech units. But… what is that black light curtain?”

“That’s a boundary marker.” Bai Yu’s voice was a little hoarse.

"boundary marker?"

“That’s the Bureau of Investigation’s last trump card. Once activated, it will completely isolate the city from the real world, forming an independent subspace.” Bai Yu stared at the light screen. “Captain An Mu activated it. This means… the situation inside is out of control. He’s going to lock those things inside, even if it means locking himself in as well.”

"That distress signal..." Mo Fei's voice trembled slightly.

"Buzz... This is... Anmu..."

Suddenly, the static on the car radio disappeared, replaced by a clear but weak voice.

"All units still capable of movement... listen up... the boundary marker is running out of energy... and will collapse in forty-eight hours... in the core area... there is a 'nest' hatching..."

“That’s… an S-class… Origin Entity…”

"If anyone hears this... whatever you do, do not come in... repeat... do not come in... detonate... the nuclear..."

The sound stopped abruptly, leaving only the piercing crackling of electricity.

The carriage was deathly silent.

Detonate a nuclear bomb.

This meant utter destruction, and that Captain Anmu was prepared to perish together with his enemies.

"Is this what he called the 'last line of defense'?" Mo Fei's hands gripping the steering wheel were bulging with veins, and his eyes were bloodshot. "That old bastard, he's trying to be a hero all by himself again!"

"Forty-eight hours." Bai Yu glanced at the time on the terminal. "We still have time."

"What do you want to do?" Lan Ce turned his head, his eyes behind his glasses flickering. "That's an S-rank Origin Body, and there's an endless horde of zombies. There are only four of us, how are we going to get in?"

"Who said we were going to go in head-on?"

Bai Yu pointed to the huge black light screen.

"I helped design the boundary marker system. I know where the backdoor is."

He turned to look at Lu Yueqi, his eyes becoming incredibly determined.

"And we have the key."

"Mo Fei, drive. Destination: the abandoned subway terminal in the northern suburbs of Linjiang City."

"Alright!" Mo Fei slammed on the gas pedal, and the off-road vehicle roared like an angry bull, charging down the hill and heading towards the burning battlefield.

"Whether it's hell or the abyss, since the captain is there, let's pull him out!"

The wind is getting stronger.

The wind, carrying the scent of gunpowder and blood, tousled Bai Yu's hair, but it couldn't dispel the resolute look in his eyes.

This game called "Doomsday" has only just begun.

(End of this chapter)