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Ji Mo didn't wait foolishly at the hotel entrance. He strolled to the nearby commercial street, stood in front of a clothing store that was closing, with wireless earphones in his ears, and looked down at his phone.

Hearing familiar footsteps approaching, Ji Mo didn't even look up. He took off one earphone and casually asked, "Finished chatting?"

"I thought you were eavesdropping." Mary took off her hat and mask, turning back into the cute little girl she always was, but this didn't attract any attention from passersby.

"There's no need." Ji Mo put the earphones back into the charging case, his voice flat: "If you can't stop him from pursuing you, you'll lose his right to enter the country, or even his life... Any sane supernatural tale writer should know what to do."

"What a pity," Mary shrugged, her tone tinged with regret at her unfulfilled desire to perform. "I was trying to get your feedback on my impromptu performance, even though I was being so emotional."

"Emotional appeal?"

Ji Mo couldn't imagine that Mary, who always talked about being a pet and who would occasionally show a mischievous grin like a little devil in front of him, could be associated with the word "sentimental."

If she is two different people in public and in private...

Ji Mo closed his eyes, his mind flashing through tired internet memes.

I have always treated you well; how could you betray me? Do you truly not remember anything from the past?

All that happened in the past, the past? You mean the past... You, what do you have to say?

Speechless. Please take action immediately.

"That's probably the kind of sentimental story about star-crossed lovers. No, maybe it's even less touching."

The source of the clichés at least had some genuine, equal emotion, but Mary's attitude towards ordinary people was never equal.

"That's an excessive compliment."

Mary, a frequent internet user of strange tales, understood the implication, but her ambiguous smile made it impossible to confirm whether she was truly dissatisfied with the assessment.

As more and more people arrived at the scene, whether they were leaving get off work or shopping, Mary looked around and suddenly said, "If we wait any longer, he might chase after us. Besides, aren't you afraid of being stared at strangely in front of so many ordinary people, talking about ghost stories and eeriness? You didn't even set up a soundproof barrier or anything."

Ji Mo glanced at her indifferently, didn't reply, but turned and walked towards a small park nearby.

At the park entrance, a brightly decorated milk tea cart was preparing to pack up. Mary's eyes lit up, and she tugged at Ji Mo's sleeve: "Treat me!"

Ji Mo said expressionlessly, "You're not Xiao Jiu, why should I invite you?"

This ghost story is probably just a tale of someone who's lost their mind; the methods used to deal with someone like Baihe are not applicable to him.

"You cheapskate," Mary snorted, but quickly pulled out her phone. "Give me two drinks."

Ji Mo refused: "I don't like drinking this."

"You're such a straight man! Not cute at all! In Hope City, only those with extremely weird fetishes in ghost stories would keep one!"

The two walked to a park bench and sat down. Mary held her warm milk tea, took a big sip through the straw, squinted her eyes contentedly, and looked up at the night sky that had begun to twinkle with stars.

"So what do you want to know from me?"

Ji Mo looked at her.

"Still pretending? Sanchuan isn't some kind of philanthropist. While he wouldn't say he'd do anything without a reason, the fact that he's willing to help people like us means he definitely wants something from me, especially given the current chaotic state of the rules world."

Mary, however, saw things clearly. After a pause, she said, "To be honest, you're so roundabout that you don't seem like a typical Sanchuan employee. If everyone at Sanchuan could learn from you, that would be wonderful."

Cooperation is not impossible, but can't we try to appease them with a sweet treat first, and then resort to harsher measures if that doesn't work?

Since Mary had already said that, Ji Mo didn't hold back anymore: "Tell me about the strange tales of Hope City."

"Does that even need to be said? Don't you know all about it? Ghost stories like humans; they either buy them or kidnap them." Mary's tone was more self-deprecating when she said this.

"I used to think the same way, but after seeing you, my thoughts changed. At least before that, this was the first time I had ever heard of ghost stories where people liked to be imaginary friends and then disappeared after a certain time." Ji Mo did not deny that she had held stereotypes before. "But since ghost stories can form a civilization, they should naturally have different attitudes, just like human society. It's just that people only listen to the loudest voice."

"You're quite frank," Mary's expression softened considerably. "Actually, Jack and I are from the atonement faction."

"...The Atonement Faction?"

Seeing that Ji Mo was a little curious, Mary finally regained some initiative, albeit by revealing her own embarrassing past: "You should know that ghost stories all originate from the bizarre."

"Um."

"I have never lied. The legend is true, and my current attitude towards humanity is also true."

After saying that, Mary glanced at Ji Mo, but didn't see the expected surprise.

Aren't you surprised that we've killed a lot of people?

"When we were in the abandoned building, I knew you had a lot of blood on your hands. Those hallucinations didn't seem like something someone who hadn't experienced it could conjure up."

Mary exclaimed, "So this is where the flaw was revealed?"

She didn't dwell on that point too much and continued, "The first batch of strange tales that turned into ghost stories were mainly second-generation ghost stories where humans transformed into strange tales and then into ghost stories."

"What a strange name."

"Oh, that's not important. What's important is that there were too few suitable second-tier ghost stories to target back then, so they set their sights on some well-known weirdos, like me and Jack. Once the transformation was successful, they could see the reactions under extreme love and hate."

"What if we fail?"

"The rule-based world can benefit from having one less group of high-level anomalies with a strong desire for killing, and who are relatively less restricted by their territory."

Ji Mo didn't know if the transformation ritual would be fatal if it failed, but it seemed that even if he didn't die after the transformation failed, there would definitely be a supervisor to kill him.

Based on the legends surrounding Mary, Ji Mo felt that the possibility of her actively participating in the transformation ritual was very low.

Were the second batch of main original inhabitants of Hope City actually coerced into conversion?

Mary liked intelligent people, and when she saw the slight change in Ji Mo's expression, she knew that he had deduced some unspoken rules.

If she were to reveal that she was forced into the ritual and transformed into a ghost story, how embarrassing would that be?

"How do you describe the feeling after this cognitive transformation? Hmm... You can think of it as an ordinary person in your world suddenly awakening memories of their past life and discovering that they were a serial killer from another world, and instantly feeling lost and helpless."

"How could I have killed so many people? Why do I feel happy? The bottom line instilled by my education clashes strongly with my memories, and then I discover that the people I killed have actually been reincarnated and are right beside me, which naturally twists into the well-known extreme love."

"At its core, it's still about guilt and atonement, at least for me."

"In a sense, it's hard for me to say whether I am the original Mary or a new Mary whose original personality was deleted and rewritten."

"That's why not all ghost stories that originated from the supernatural can accept their former selves. A small number of ghost stories, like mine, will waver. Do we really deserve to live? Do we really deserve to take care of humanity as a matter of course, and then use that to beautifully forget the sins we once committed?"

"It's true that I want Shirakawa and the others to be happy, and it's also true that I've suffered extreme pain because I've harmed humans like him. This makes it impossible for me to face the same human for a long time, especially when his feelings for me keep increasing."

"We call ourselves the Redemptionists because of our strange tales."

Mary turned her head and smiled at Ji Mo, a smile that contained a multitude of emotions.

Bitterness, longing, confusion...

"If you ask me what I really want?"

"I don't want to keep any human as pets; I just want to be friends with humans normally."

"But this is the only thing I can't do. My underlying code makes it impossible for me to maintain normal emotional communication with humans."

"Whether it's when you're a ghost or a supernatural tale."

Those deep blue eyes, like the sea, were filled with sorrow, and paired with that doll-like delicate face, anyone who saw her couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and wished they could personally call out, "I'll be your friend."

"So what do you, the atonement faction, think of the current resistance?" Ji Mo asked.

"...Seriously, you're so clueless about romance." Mary's expression instantly changed, looking disgusted. "Shouldn't you be hugging me right now and saying I'm your friend?"

"If I told you, you could break free from the underlying code of excessive love, and I would. But obviously, you won't change; you'll still be in a self-deceiving emotional relationship."

Ji Mo made a clear distinction; the underlying code couldn't be destroyed by a few sentimental words.

Moreover, Mary is such a good actress; perhaps she really thought that way, but Ji Mo is definitely not the first listener.

Mary snorted, too lazy to argue with Ji Mo: "Although I've been away from Hope City for a while, I can still deduce similar thoughts... To sum up our attitude and thoughts in religious terms, it's 'The righteous have come.'"

There are several interpretations of "righteous person." A non-religious interpretation is that a person whose words and actions conform to the standards of justice or morality.

In a religious sense, it means someone who has divine righteousness and is reconciled with God.

In many cases, both explanations can coexist.

Regardless of the interpretation, it proves that at least Mary and similar ghost stories acknowledge the legitimacy and necessity of the resistance.

"No, that's not accurate enough." Mary denied it as if she could read Ji Mo's mind. "That's the limitation of mortals who don't believe in God."

"We call the rebels the righteous, which also means something else: we are beings who have committed great sins and have been abandoned by God. Since God has sent the righteous to walk in the world again, it means that we can be saved by helping the righteous. This is the correct direction for religious people to think."

"Too many strange tales have been transformed from the bizarre, and we are deeply tormented by this. This may be our only chance for redemption."

Seeing Ji Mo frown deeply, as if deep in thought, Mary could roughly guess: "Are you saying that Hope City still doesn't intend to establish a presence, or that there are too few ghost stories like mine?"

"No, although I'm not in Hope City, I'm certain that Hope City hasn't taken any action, purely because of the rules set by that person."

"The creator of Hope City, one of the most powerful mystical entities in the realm of rules, and also a former leader of the resistance..."

"Hongye"