Strange things happen, and I drive the evil god mad by chasing debts.

"Keep your eyes straight ahead and don't glance around at all, even if you're curious."

Shen Qingchan warned in a deep voice, "These vehicles are strange. They lock onto their prey by line of sight, and once you make eye contact or turn around, they immediately trigger a chase."

Fang Yue stared intently at the straight street ahead, not daring to look away: "I understand! The previous patrols of alleyways, windowsills, and school buildings all used lock-on mechanisms; this one is definitely more ruthless!"

The two men walked steadily past the car without looking to the side.

Just as the two people were level with the car body, the dark car window slowly slid down an inch.

A wet, pale face was pressed against the inside of the car window, its eyes dark, a stiff smile on its lips, silently staring at the two people's backs.

There was no sound, no breathing, no movement inside the car, only that eerie gaze fixed on the two of them.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on Fang Yue's back, his scalp tingled, and he clenched his teeth: "Sister Qingchan...it's watching us! I can feel it 100%!"

"Hold on." Shen Qingchan's tone was calm but carried a sense of pressure. "Don't turn around, don't stop, keep walking at a normal pace. If you lose your composure, we're doomed."

"I can handle it!"

The two ignored the prying eyes behind them and walked away from the car parking spot step by step.

But just as they had walked a few meters away—

Amidst the pattering rain, a gentle yet familiar female voice suddenly came from behind, whispering in his ear: "Fang Yue."

Clear and distinct, every word is clear.

Fang Yue froze instantly, his steps halting abruptly.

It was his mother's voice before he traveled through time.

Gentle, familiar, and without any coldness, it was exactly the same tone as when he called me home for dinner on a rainy night in my memory, so real it was almost uncanny.

"Don't answer! Don't run! Stop right there!" Shen Qingchan shouted instantly, reacting swiftly. "Rule number three! When your name is called, immediately remain silent for three seconds!"

Fang Yue's mind went blank for a moment, all the longing, yearning, and instinctive urge to turn back surged wildly, almost overwhelming his reason: "I...I know! She looks so much like Sister Qingchan! She really looks so much like her!"

"I know it's similar!" Shen Qingchan's tone was urgent yet firm. "It's precisely because it's so similar that it's most deadly! This is a trap set by the Time-Space Ghost that has seized your deepest obsession, specifically designed to break your mindset!"

The sound of rain behind him gradually subsided, and that gentle female voice rang out again, closer and softer, as if someone were standing behind him whispering in his ear: "Fang Yue, turn around, I've come to take you home."

As soon as the words "go home" were uttered, Fang Yue's eyes instantly reddened, and the longing that had accumulated in his heart for countless days and nights exploded.

He desperately wanted to go home.

Through countless days and nights of fighting for survival, the only thought that kept him going was these two words.

"Hold on! Three seconds! Just three seconds!" Shen Qingchan stared intently at him, counting down the time for him, "One, two, three!"

Just as the three-second time limit expired, the two of them almost simultaneously lifted their feet, wanting to leave this dangerous area immediately.

But the next second, a cold warning from the system exploded.

[Hidden rule triggered!]

[Hidden Rule: On your way home on a rainy night, calling out twice in a row with lingering obsession will trigger the pursuit of the [Returning Soul in the Rain]!]

Swish-!

The rain suddenly turned black!

The originally cold and gentle drizzle instantly turned into pitch-black rain threads, which corroded the ground and produced fine white smoke.

The streetlights along the entire street went out one by one, and the whole world instantly fell into darkness and silence.

"Oh no! There's another hidden pursuer!" Fang Yue's expression changed drastically.

"I was wrong," Shen Qingchan said immediately in a deep voice.

"The first three levels each have only one main type of anomaly, but the fourth level features two anomalies linked together! The car anomaly locks onto your gaze, while the rain anomaly locks onto your obsession!"

Just as the two finished speaking, they heard soft, dragging footsteps behind them.

Tap...tap...tap...

The footsteps were light and slow, accompanied by the sticky sound of wet clothes, following closely behind the two at a distance of three meters.

Neither approaching nor distancing itself, it's like a maggot clinging to a bone.

Fang Yue didn't dare turn around, his breath catching in his throat: "It's following us! Sister Qingchan, what do we do now? There's no rule in the written rules about how to dodge this kind of pursuit!"

"Don't panic, let's review the rules!" Shen Qingchan spoke quickly and clearly, "No umbrellas, no turning around, no answering names, and pausing for three seconds when your name is called—we followed all of them!"

The pursuit isn't a penalty for breaking the rules; it's a mandatory requirement of elite monsters in the dungeon to chase you! You can only avoid it, not stop it!

"How can we evade it?!" Fang Yue exclaimed anxiously. "It's been following us relentlessly, we can't shake it off! The system has already said it's locked on and on the hunt!"

"The ghostly apprehend on rainy nights relies on its [obsessive aura] to track us," Shen Qingchan quickly determined. "The more we yearn to go home, the more we waver, the closer it follows us, and the faster it moves!"

The footsteps behind me quickened, the sticky sound of water grew closer, and the chilly breath felt almost against my back.

Meanwhile, the engine of the black sedan that was originally parked on the side of the road started silently on its own.

Without a sound or a light, the car slowly turned around, its front precisely aligned with the direction the two had fled, and silently followed.

"A double trap!" Fang Yue's scalp tingled. "The situation ahead is unknown, we're being pursued from behind, and there are cars blocking our side! Is this a dead end?!"

"It's not a dead end!" Shen Qingchan's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Remember the core of the dungeon? This is a remnant of time and space! All the strangeness, all the traps, are just illusions of fragmented memories!"

"This illusion needs our unwavering belief to maintain it!" she shouted immediately. "Fang Yue, forcefully sever these thoughts! Tell yourself that there is no home here, no family, no gentle return journey—it's all fake! It's all a fabricated deception!"

Fang Yue gritted his teeth and nodded, forcibly suppressing the surging bitterness in his heart, and forcefully shook himself awake: "I understand! I won't overthink! I won't let myself become obsessed!"

But just as he forcibly suppressed his emotions, his mother's voice rang out behind him again, filled with grievance and sobs, each word piercing his heart:

"Ah Yue, aren't you going to turn around and look at me? Don't you really want to go home?"

Fang Yue's steps faltered abruptly, his heart nearly breaking: "It...it's deliberately poking at my weak spot!"

"Hold on!" Shen Qingchan shouted sharply. "The more this happens, the more it proves that it can only kill through your obsession; it can't kill us on its own! As long as we completely sever our attachment, its pursuit judgment will become invalid!"

The two sped up and ran wildly along the long street in the rainy night.

The footsteps of the Ghostly Returning Soul behind them grew more and more urgent, and the dark raindrops frantically gathered behind them, transforming into a giant black hand that reached out to grab them from afar!

"Dodge to the side!"

Shen Qingchan grabbed Fang Yue and rolled to the side, slamming her dark palm hard on the ground. The entire street surface instantly cracked, and the water stains turned black and bubbled.

Fang Yue scrambled to his feet, panting heavily: "The physical damage really can hit us! It's not just a purely mental attack! It's a dual-form attack combining physical and mental damage!"