Chapter 7: “A Bizarre Incident in Broad Daylight”

"Daylight Occult Incident."

"..."

The middle-aged man, a second-level police officer, stared at the name "Chen Kun" on the list displayed on his wristwatch, feeling a faint sense of disbelief. How could it be him again?

Was this man born with a "ghost-attracting constitution"?

It was already absurd enough that a novice player would encounter a house-haunting ghost on his very first night. And now, while just out for a stroll in broad daylight, he gets dragged into a "Daylight Occult Incident"?

In this world, life functions normally during the day, but at night, a hundred ghosts roam.

Under normal circumstances, daylight is relatively safe, but there are exceptions: "Daylight Occult Incidents." Such events often emerge randomly. Until an event concludes, no one knows the conditions within the affected area, which becomes completely isolated from the surroundings, allowing no one to enter. Only when the incident ends is the blockade lifted.

The probability of such events occurring is extremely low. The last time a "Daylight Occult Incident" occurred in the North District was two months ago.

Ordinarily, if six ordinary people were trapped in such an incident, death would be certain. Even for six professionals, the survival rate would be slim—and "professional" only meant they had extra means of self-preservation, not that they could face ghosts head-on.

But... perhaps haunted by the image he saw this morning, he felt an inexplicable hunch that this young man might actually survive.

"Master."

Just then, the young officer who had accompanied him that morning walked over. His face had not yet fully recovered its color, and his voice trembled slightly. "The hotel had a death two months ago, and the last Daylight Occult Incident in the North District was also two months ago. This Chen Kun fellow seems like a jinx... trouble follows him wherever he goes..."

"Don't be so superstitious."

The middle-aged officer shook his head. After his superiors finished issuing the final orders, he walked out of the conference room. "Prepare to evacuate the crowd."

...

"Don't turn around!"

Just as Hei Hao prepared to turn and bolt, Chen Kun, who had been walking backward while keeping his eyes fixed on the pedestrians, roared in a trembling voice, "Face them and back away slowly!"

There was no time for further explanation.

The moment he saw the crowd of pedestrians, his breathing quickened, and a terrible thought flashed through his mind. On the street filled with these "pedestrians" who clearly weren't human, lay a freshly dismembered, bloody corpse—an unmistakably recent human kill. These ghosts hadn't rushed at him the moment they made eye contact; they had simply stood there, staring straight at him.

Perhaps it was because... these ghosts could only attack enemies with their backs turned to them. They belonged to the category of entities the woman had mentioned, which could only attack through specific conditions.

He tried to signal for help via his wristwatch, but it showed no signal. Clearly, he was isolated in an independent space.

This was merely a guess.

He didn't know if he was right, but even if he were wrong, they could just turn and run once the ghosts charged.

But... fortunately, it seemed he had guessed correctly. The pedestrians merely stared at them with incredibly eerie, fixed gazes, making no further moves.

"Brother Kun..."

Hei Hao, frozen in place, swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "What now?"

"I don't know."

Chen Kun's eyes were filled with deep fear, yet he forced himself to take deep breaths to stay calm. At a time like this, his fear level must not hit 100%. Once it reached its limit, his mind would go blank—which was a terrible state to be in when dealing with ghosts that relied on conditional attacks.

He checked his fear level: 96%.

Good... still four points of buffer.

Just then—

A rush of footsteps sounded from behind them, and a sharp, piercing shriek erupted!

Others had arrived behind them.

The next instant, the dozens of pedestrians standing on the street suddenly had their eyes glow crimson, and they charged wildly toward them!

Chen Kun’s breath hitched, his fear level instantly spiking to 99%. However, the twenty-plus pedestrians didn't even glance at them; they sped past, charging toward the source of the screams behind them!

Immediately after, even more terrified, agonized screams rang out.

"Turn!"

The moment the group of pedestrians surged past, Chen Kun turned as well, ensuring he was always facing them. By now, the pedestrians had caught up to the girl who had just screamed and were already swarming her, tearing into her.

Clearly, the girl had turned and run, triggering some mechanism, which further validated his theory.

...

"Hoo..."

Chen Kun checked his watch, tremblingly pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and after bringing his fear level down a few points, he looked at the bloody scene and spoke in a hoarse, measured tone.

"Just as I suspected. As long as you don't turn your back on them, these ghosts won't actively attack you."

"Their means of attack appear to be physical. They are fast and possess sharp claws and fangs. Based on the information I’ve gathered, entities that rely on physical attacks can often be harmed by physical attacks themselves."

"These ghosts aren't known for their terror; they're just like wolves that bite. They seem to be the lowest-level entities. Nothing to be afraid of."

"If I had an M249 right now, I could easily mow the whole lot of them down."

"Then..." Hei Hao suddenly realized, hesitating. "If I face them and go over to hack at them, they won't fight back?"

"Theoretically, that should be the case," Chen Kun said hoarsely. "But I don't want to test it. This is a 'Daylight Occult Incident.' I’ve read online that these sudden events usually have a core mission. Complete the mission, and you can leave the area."

"The core area should be that café."

"It's a pity; we should have let that woman stay a bit longer. She looked strong. With her here, it would have been much easier."

"Now, stick with me. Keep the noise down; don't disturb them while they're feeding."

"Keep facing them... and circle around to get back to the café."

Just then—

The doors on both sides of the street suddenly burst open. Through the doorways, one could clearly see a length of rope hanging from the beams, and beneath each rope, a woman in a red dress was hanging.

Above, the sky was suddenly shrouded in dark clouds.

It's over!

The moment he saw the scene, Hei Hao felt his body freeze. But what terrified him more was that he had noticed Brother Kun's fear level hovering around 95% earlier...

He instinctively glanced at Chen Kun's watch. Sure enough, it had hit 99%...

Wait...

Brother Kun wasn't afraid of ghosts anymore? A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Even in this situation, he was only at 99%?

Impressive.

"Back away slowly. Don't look back."

Chen Kun's voice trembled, though his tone remained hoarse. For now, these ghosts seemed to be low-level. It was fine...

It was still manageable.