It's time to become an evil god.

However, with each blink of Bai Ge's eyes, the woman with her back to him took another step closer. Even if she was only peeking into his memories, it gave Bai Ge an ominous premonition.

"Wow, it's actually walking towards me. It didn't choose to run away but instead approached me on its own initiative?"

Bai Ge tried taking a step back, and then heard strange footsteps behind him.

It felt like someone was walking barefoot and tiptoeing down the cold corridor.

Realizing something was wrong, Bai Ge turned around, only to have a gray, dead man's arm suddenly reach out from the darkness and grab her neck.

A feeling of suffocation washed over him, and he was unable to move. At that moment, it suddenly dawned on him: "Could it be that, to prevent leaks, someone has implanted memes deep within the consciousness of Truth?"

The surrounding temperature plummeted, and even my hands and feet became icy cold. My consciousness began to blur, and at the critical moment, my memory was forcibly interrupted.

Bai Ge suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the paper effigy and other ghostly figures gripping his hands tightly, he realized he had been choking him, nearly killing him. The little fox had cut off the power, preventing him from being strangled to death deep within his consciousness.

Bai Ge lowered his hand, and the paper effigy that was tightly holding his arm finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The paper effigy quickly patted Bai Ge on the shoulder, saying, "Boss, don't be so pessimistic! Their 'Ghost Fighting Talent' team is just getting started. You can't just abandon them now. At least squeeze out the last bit of value from them before you leave."

Then Bai Ge, with a gloomy expression, forked the paper effigy away.

"Cough cough cough, it seems that the guy who hired Truth really did a flawless job."

Bai Ge rubbed his neck with lingering fear, looked up and saw that Zhenli's eyes had rolled back and he was slumped in the chair, motionless.

The buried memes were likely activated the instant the consciousness invasion was initiated.

However, at the last moment, Bai Ge still managed to see the metal nameplate on the woman's body, which vaguely showed the name of Xushi Mental Hospital.

A mental hospital, another mental hospital.

All the clues about the secrets of Yaotai Town point to this obscure old hospital, so Bai Ge has reason to investigate what secrets it holds.

Just then, Bai Ge received a caring greeting from Xi Zeliang.

"You disappeared after the mission was completed. Brother Bai, are you alright? You didn't even collect the bounty from the Special Affairs Bureau."

"It's nothing. I had something to do at the time, so I left on my own."

Every player has their own secrets, and Xize Liang, being a smart man, didn't press the issue. He said, "The evil god that appeared earlier has attracted the attention of the Special Affairs Bureau. We suspect it might be a high-level player. I'd like to ask Brother Bai if you know any clues? Of course, we won't let you work for nothing; the bounty will be transferred to your account."

clue?

What clues could I possibly have? Would I betray myself?

"Given that evil god's understanding of memes and subcultures."

After a moment of contemplation, Bai Ge offered a suggestion to Xi Zeliang: "Be wary of the anime/manga fans around you."

Chapter Fifty-Nine: I'm going to fill your thighs with tally marks!

First update

"Hey hey hey, 5 Centimeters Per Second taught me what first love is, Anohana taught me what childhood friendship is, The Garden of Words taught me that age doesn't mean anything, and One Piece taught me what brotherhood is."

"How much does anime and manga weigh in your heart? 300 grams. It's so light. I thought you loved anime and manga so much. A person's heart only weighs 300 grams."

"There's a place I want to stay in for the rest of my life, and that place is called the world of anime and manga."

"The electric light dancing at your fingertips is my undying faith in this life."

These highly anime-inspired words sounded like carcinogenic substances that raised his blood pressure to Nishizawa Ryo, making him completely unable to handle them!

"Stop, I understand. Goodbye, see you later!"

He deeply regretted asking Bai Ge what a "veteran anime fan" was. He quickly made an excuse and logged off. Finally, he replied with a hastily learned phrase, "Have you ever considered going back to the anime world?"

Looking at the blackened steel dragon head statue of Nishizawa, Bai Ge muttered to himself, "Hey, what's wrong with talking like that? Hey, tell me. So, you guys don't like it anymore... How cold-hearted of you~"

……

At the intersection of Lin'an Street, a middle-aged man hurried along the puddles toward the deserted No. 45 Lin'an Street. His secretary, following closely behind, carefully avoided the puddles filled with floating garbage and plastic bags, constantly complaining, "Section Chief, wait a minute. Is this Teacher Zhang you mentioned really that amazing?"

"Shh, when you come in, you'd better be respectful to Teacher Zhang. He's a very serious person."

Section Chief Xing put on a serious face and said, "When I was a rookie in the criminal investigation team like you, Teacher Zhang had already opened this folk museum. Back then, there was no special affairs bureau yet. Some of the older generation would secretly come to consult Teacher Zhang about cases involving horror and the supernatural. I personally witnessed Teacher Zhang burn a monkey covered in green fur in a coffin to ashes with a flamethrower."

"Flame gun?"

The assistant was a little confused. Wait, didn't these enlightened masters use peach wood swords and Taoist talismans to exorcise evil spirits?

The section chief continued, speaking to himself, "Those ghostly things that might have caused trouble were all hidden in this courtyard by him. It's just a pity that later, Zhang Tianshi felt that his later years were inauspicious, so he closed the Folklore Research Association and went on a pilgrimage, disappearing without a trace."

Arriving back at the entrance of the Folklore Research Association, Section Chief Xing stroked the old wooden door, seemingly lost in memories of the past. He straightened his appearance, coughed, and gently knocked on the door, trying to calm his trembling voice, and whispered, "Is Teacher Zhang here?"

The door opened a crack, and a little girl with animal ears poked her head out, blinking her innocent eyes.

Section Chief Xing smiled kindly, reached out and patted his head, and said affectionately, "Look at this child, he's become smart as soon as he's told to stop."

The little fox shrank back, watching the other party warily, and said, "Hey, hey, hey, that's all talk, don't do anything reckless, or I'll call the police and have you arrested, you weirdo."

Section Chief Xing's smile froze on his face, and his lips twitched slightly. Meanwhile, his secretary and assistant behind him tried their best to pretend to look around at the scenery.

Section Chief Xing squatted down and asked kindly, "Little friend, is Teacher Zhang here?"

"Who is Teacher Zhang? I don't know him."

The little fox shook the QR code for receiving payments hanging on its chest and said, "You can come in, but you have to pay first."

"..."

Section Chief Xing clenched his fist, feeling a sense of disillusionment with the decline of morality.

After paying and entering, the furnishings inside remained unchanged, but he did not see Teacher Zhang. Instead, a young man walked out of the warehouse while wiping bloodstains from his hands.

Section Chief Xing immediately stared at the other person warily and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing...?"

Bai Ge could tell at a glance that the person opposite him was not simple, but he did not panic. Instead, he calmly asked, "This is the Folklore Research Association. Who are you looking for?"

"I am Section Chief Xing from the Special Affairs Bureau. This is my assistant, Xiao Liu. Is Teacher Zhang here?"

"No."

Bai Ge calmly said, "My name is Bai Ge, and I am currently in charge of handling paranormal matters at the Folklore Research Association."

"Are you Teacher Zhang's disciple? Can you exorcise ghosts?"

Section Chief Xing looked at the young man in front of him with a suspicious gaze, seemingly questioning his abilities.

Don't you believe me?

Bai Ge waved his hand, signaling the section chief to come with him into the warehouse.

Upon entering, Section Chief Xing was instantly stunned. The collection of ghostly artifacts in the warehouse had doubled compared to more than a decade ago, and there were all sorts of bizarre torture instruments inside. Chainsaws, cleavers, skull crushers, axes, and other torture instruments were hanging on the walls. An unsuspecting person might think they had entered the dismemberment room of a deranged killer.

Inside, a group of inhuman creatures were squatting, and on the ground was a stack of paper money from the Universal Bank of Heaven and Earth. The group of ghosts glanced back at Section Chief Xing, who was staring in astonishment at the door, and then silently turned back to continue playing cards.

"Now you should believe me, right?"

Section Chief Xing nodded with great difficulty. After leaving the inhuman warehouse, he pondered for a moment, then took out a document from his pocket and handed it to Bai Ge.

"Actually, I came here today to see Teacher Zhang. Now that you're in charge, I'll be frank: can you help us solve this damn thing?"

Bai Ge took the folder handed to him, which contained several photos. "Although there are a few players in the Special Affairs Bureau who are good at eliminating anomalies, they are not suitable for dealing with this kind of meme decryption anomaly."

Section Chief Xing explained the whole story. He said that an urban legend had been circulating in Xu City for some time now: if you turned on the TV after midnight, there was a chance you'd see a non-existent television station. The Special Affairs Bureau hadn't initially paid attention to this urban legend until bizarre murder cases began to occur.

All the deceased were sitting in front of the sofa staring at the static screen of the television. According to the testimonies of their families and witnesses, the deceased seemed to be watching some program before they died. However, from the witnesses' perspective, there was nothing on the television screen except for the static.

"Until we captured this."

Section Chief Xing handed Bai Ge a photo of a woman combing her hair in front of a dressing table. "We were worried about meme infection, but this is a static image that we've processed."

The image is a screenshot of a color-printed photograph. A woman in white is facing away from you, combing her hair little by little. From the angle of the photo, you can only see half of her face.

Bai Ge felt that something was off, and the more she looked at the photos, the more she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Don't you guys think this painting looks a little strange?"

Assistant Xiaoliu spoke up timidly, "Section Chief, it feels like it's a little different from what we saw before?"

"How is that possible!"

Suddenly, as if he had discovered something, the section chief's eyes narrowed sharply, and he took a half step back, his expression one of shock. "Mr. Bai! Quickly put it away!"

The section chief hurriedly urged Bai Ge, saying sternly, "Haven't you noticed anything amiss? The women in these pictures are all looking at us!"

"what?"

Bai Ge hesitated and looked down. She saw the young woman in the photo still slowly combing her hair in front of the dressing table mirror, with a half-smile. However, her behavior was different from the portrait a few seconds earlier.

Bai Ge remembered that at that time, she was looking straight ahead at herself in the dressing table mirror as she combed her hair.

Now, however, her eyes are slanted to the side, and she notices Bai Ge outside the painting through the mirror.

Seemingly noticing Bai Ge's surprised look, the woman in the picture actually put down the comb, turned her head, looked at the three people in front of her, and smiled.

boom!

Section Chief Xing felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and an inexplicable chill seeped from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

That's impossible! Nothing like this has ever happened before!

Even vengeful ghosts must follow basic rules! Could it be that the way memes spread has changed?

"Don't panic, it's a minor incident."

However, Bai Ge didn't take it seriously. He grabbed a pen from the table and, with swift, elegant strokes, filled the woman's thigh with tally marks.

Chapter Sixty: You've lost both your money and your mother.

Section Chief Xing stared dumbfounded as Bai Ge tossed aside his pen. Looking at the dense rows of tally marks on the woman's thigh in the image, he was momentarily speechless. Was this the latest exorcism method of the 21st century? He cautiously asked, "Is this method of 'good triumphing over evil' the latest exorcism technique of the 21st century?"

"what?"

Bai Ge, holding the pen, turned around and looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, saying, "I wasn't exorcising a ghost, was I?"

Section Chief Xing was completely bewildered. "Wait, if you didn't exorcise the ghost, why did you write tally marks all over someone's thigh?"

Bai Ge explained in a serious tone, "Doing this can reduce the terrifying atmosphere of the vengeful ghost."

What the hell do you mean by reducing the horror factor?! Are you even reliable?!

Young man, you're so slutty, I'm tempted to give you an anti-slutty injection!