When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

The alley was deep, with high, old walls on both sides that blocked out the sunlight. The ground was wet and covered with moss, making it slippery to walk on. The air was filled with a strong fishy smell mixed with the musty odor of something.

The further Richard and his companions walked, the heavier the pressure became, and they felt increasingly suffocated by it.

As Richard walked, he kept thinking about what had just happened:

"I just found someone who can get information, and that person happens to know Puda? They even know his address, and it's so close... It's like they were all prepared and waiting for him to come and ask. This is way too easy!"

In his mind, things going too smoothly often mean that something bad is about to happen...

Richard slowed his pace and glanced back. Thales was jogging behind, panting and covered in sweat. Rosalie walked slowly beside him, her eyes fixed on the depths of the alley.

The alley was deserted, and no one was following them. Should they let them wait here?

Richard hesitated for a moment, then muttered, "But they don't have any supernatural abilities either. Wouldn't it be safer with them around me?"

So he turned back and continued walking forward.

Turn right at the third alley... He silently recited the address the young man had given him, walked forward for about a few dozen steps, and then saw a courtyard.

Just as the young man had described, there was a high pile of broken wood next to the courtyard. It looked as if it had been soaked in water for a long time beforehand, with its wet and rotten surface. Thales could easily wipe off a handful of debris with just a light touch.

Accompanying this was a stench, and it was already visible! The stench wafted from the pile of wood, causing the three of them to sneeze repeatedly.

The wood smelled terrible, but you could still detect some of its natural woody fragrance. Richard couldn't identify the type of wood, but he was certain that it would have been excellent material for making perfumes before it rotted! If the wood hadn't rotted, they would have gladly accepted it even if it were given to Xixi Beauty Shop…

But who would let wood that could be used to make spices rot in front of their own house?

Richard's uneasy feeling grew stronger.

He glanced at Thales, who was huddled behind him, staring at the pile of wood and the insects crawling around inside.

"You all stand here and wait for me, don't go in yet."

Richard took a deep breath and reached out to push open the rusty iron door.

The door hinges creaked loudly, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet alley.

He went inside, but Rosalie and Thales ignored him and actually followed him in!

"You guys..." Richard looked slightly puzzled.

Logically speaking, Rosalie shouldn't be disobedient, and her mind has already been affected by the insects. During this time, she would obediently do whatever Richard asked her to do.

But now, as if she hadn't heard Richard's instructions, she neither argued nor stayed where she was, but silently followed him in...

Richard wanted to push them out, but his attention was immediately drawn to something in the yard...

In the very center of the courtyard, there was a giant balloon floating!

Its surface was dull and covered with a thick layer of dust, and it was tied to a dilapidated chair with a hemp rope about the thickness of a thumb.

The chair had only three legs and stood there crookedly, barely holding itself up only because of the pull of the rope!

Richard stared at the three-legged chair for a few seconds, then looked up at the motionless balloon. As he stared at it, a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

He was all too familiar with this feeling.

From the very first day he transmigrated to this world, he had been dealing with these kinds of things... the burst balloon in Alice's box, the transparent balloon that appeared when the sewing machine was weaving, and the mist that floated out when those extraordinary items took shape... it seemed that everything related to the extraordinary would inexplicably turn into the shape of a balloon in the end.

"Something's not right," Richard said in a low voice.

He took a step back, shielding Rosalie behind him, while simultaneously reaching out to stop Thales from moving forward.

"Don't touch that balloon, whatever you do, don't touch it."

Thales froze for a moment, then quickly took two steps back, shrinking into the corner and not daring to move. Rosalie, however, stood there staring at the balloon, her eyes bright, lost in thought.

Richard stared at the balloon, his mind racing. This was a trap. The young man had deliberately told him about this place, deliberately lured him in. The balloon, the wood, the courtyard—everything had been arranged beforehand, just waiting for him to walk in!

He was about to tell Thales and Rosalie to leave quickly when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"What do you want with Puta?"

Richard suddenly turned around.

A person was standing outside the iron gate.

It's that young man!

He still looked disheveled, with one hand resting on the rusty iron gate, staring at the three people in the yard through the gate.

Richard instinctively pulled Rosalie back even further, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the movement of the red lines around them.

The young man waited a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

The smile was fleeting, disappearing in an instant.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it." He raised his hand and knocked lightly twice on the iron gate.

bang bang.

Two very soft sounds, but the moment the sounds faded, the balloon behind them burst open! With a deafening crash, the balloon shattered into countless fragments. These fragments scattered in mid-air, transforming into countless fine red lines. These red lines, as thin as hair, spread out densely, intertwining and twisting together to form a vast net.

The net expanded outwards from the center of the yard, covering the entire yard in the blink of an eye.

Richard looked up, and the sky was now completely obscured. The red lines intertwined and coiled overhead, layer upon layer, impenetrable. Sunlight couldn't penetrate, and the courtyard suddenly darkened, as dark as dusk.

He glanced back at the doorway.

The iron gate was still there, but the door frame was now wrapped with red thread. The thread was wrapped tightly around the frame, sealing the gate completely. Some of the red thread even slipped through the cracks and spread along the edge of the door frame.

The young man stood outside the door, looking at him through the dense red lines, a sinister smile on his face.

"Don't bother, you can't get out."

Richard stared at him, his hand already on his ring: "Did Puta tell you to do this?"

The young man stood there, hands in his pockets: "Dead men have no right to ask questions. I think you should wait until you get out before talking to me. Your interrogative tone is very annoying; I don't like it at all."

Upon hearing this, Richard paused for a moment, and the courtyard fell completely silent, with only the red lines swaying gently overhead, as if something was blowing them from somewhere unseen.

Richard looked up at the dense red lines, his mind blank.

can not go out.

They were trapped.