Chapter 57 - Death Curse 10

In the intensive care unit of Shuijing City Hospital, folklorist Ishikawa Kenichi, his body wrapped in bandages, lay on the hospital bed while a regular “beep beep” sound emanated from the heart monitor beside him.

Stack Soldier stood by the bedside, both hands turned into green data streams, pressing on Ishikawa’s chest.

[Special Effect: Sector Recovery.

Scan objects to digitize them and partially repair physical damages]

[Note: Restarting solves 90% of computer problems, reformatting solves 99%, and buying a new one solves 100%.

Old Wang, who smelled a business opportunity in the software wave, invested all his wealth in acquiring and hoarding floppy disks]

[Note: “How can software be installed on a hard drive?

It should be saved on a floppy disk.”]

As the green data stream continued to spread, the burn marks on Ishikawa Kenichi’s body gradually faded, but there was still no sign of awakening—he was in a coma due to shock after sustaining burns, and the hospital was unsure when he would wake up.

“I can’t do it anymore.”

Drained of spiritual power, Stack Soldier had to let go and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This folklorist was undoubtedly the person with the deepest understanding of the Curse’s power in the mission world; if he could be awakened, more information could be obtained.

Stack Soldier turned to Little Red Riding Hood, “How is Suzuki Youko doing?

Has her condition stabilized?”

The bewildered Little Red Riding Hood stood at attention subconsciously, “The doctor says there’s no immediate danger to her life…”

Indeed, the flow of time in the Fujita residence was problematic.

Although Li Cheng and Stack Soldier hadn’t felt much time pass, an hour had already gone by in the outside world, and it had started raining again.

Little Red Riding Hood had also been attacked.

First, she was nearly blinded by a Resentful Spirit, then Suzuki Youko’s abdomen inexplicably swelled as if she were eight months pregnant, on the verge of bursting, and then Yoshikai Ryomi and her best friend were strangled by an unnamed force and hung in the air.

In that situation, Little Red Riding Hood barely escaped, saved Yoshikai Ryomi and her best friend, stabbed Suzuki Youko’s abdomen with a fruit knife, killing the baby-like Resentful Spirit inside, and then drove everyone to the hospital.

After all the frantic efforts to save them, fortunately, there were no fatalities.

“If we say the Fujita residence itself was a Cursed connection point, then after we destroyed the house, the Curse should gradually dissipate.”

Jingzhe Xiazi pushed up his glasses and analyzed, “The problem is, it hasn’t.

That feeling of being targeted hasn’t gone away.”

“Indeed.” Li Cheng nodded in agreement, “I still feel like there’s a thorn in my back, and I’m very uncomfortable.”

“…That is literally a thorn in your back.” Stack Soldier looked at the toothpick placed horizontally inside the Daoist robe on Li Cheng’s back and commented with vacant eyes.

“Hm?

Who put this in here?!”

Li Cheng picked the toothpick out from the inside of his robe on his back, his expression furious.

Having spent some time together, Jingzhe Xiazi had developed a tolerance for Ant’s sudden pranks and continued analyzing, “If folklorist Ishikawa Kenichi’s conclusion about the Curse Elements is accurate, then it only proves one thing—the connection point of the Curse with this world is not the house, but something else.

Like the black water in the bathtub.”

Compared to the water flowing through ordinary residential water pipes, the black water in the bathtub was murkier, with more bacterial colonies, moss, aquatic organisms, sulfates, and lacking the chlorine smell commonly found in tap water.

That is to say, the black water originated from somewhere outside the city’s tap water system.

“…The water reservoir of Shuijing City.

It’s not far behind the hill of the Fujita residence.”

Stack Soldier glanced at the wall clock in the sickroom, “It’s 6:37 a.m.

now, and there is an hour and a half before the next rain starts.

We don’t have much time.

Little Red Riding Hood, you stay here to guard, the three of us will head to the reservoir.”

“Eh, is it me again?” Little Red Riding Hood’s expression was almost tearful.

“We must have someone stay back to protect these targets.

By staying here, you’re actually safer than if you were to go with us.”

Jingzhe Xiazi spoke calmly, “In the Fujita residence, the Curse has already shown the ability to separate the battlefield and isolate players.

If you come with us, you might end up being the primary target and have to face it alone.

“At that time, it wouldn’t just be an avatar.

It would be the original entity in action.”

I’m casting a curse?

Eh…

Really?

Imagining the scene, Little Red Riding Hood could only clutch her fruit knife, watching her three companions walk out of the ward.

Stale, yellowed memories swelled in my mind.

Summer, sports day, on the field.

A plain-looking girl in long sleeves and a long skirt fell by the roadside, her lower body filthy and reeking of stench.

“Wow.

That’s disgusting.”

“It stinks!

Teacher!

Fujita’s wet herself!”

“Ishikawa, aren’t you her friend?

Go help her up.”

“Giggle, so stupid, clumsy, and ugly, can’t even manage her own bodily functions.”

The classmates, long accustomed to bullying and mocking her, circled around her with jeers and laughter, while the teachers looked on from a distance, turning a blind eye and chatting among themselves.

The girl raised her head, her helpless gaze turning toward her only friend.

Ishikawa, held back by classmates, opened his mouth and slowly, with difficulty, averted his gaze, “She’s not my friend.”

The girl’s eyes unconsciously widened, her look became vacant, all the luster fading away.

She slowly got up, moved alone to the restroom to clean herself, and then fetched tools to clean the filth on the ground.

After school, he broke away from his friends, and caught up with the girl on the path, “I’m sorry.”

“Can you forgive me?

I didn’t mean what I said earlier today.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

The memory cut off there, the image pausing with him standing on a mountain road next to the reservoir, watching the girl with her head drooping, walking into the Fujita mansion below the mountain.

“Heh—”

The folklorist, Ishikawa Kenichi, jerked awake from the hospital bed, his eyes wide open beneath the bandages, hoarsely shouting, “Don’t!”

Little Red Riding Hood was startled and asked subconsciously, “Don’t what?”

“Don’t get close, that reservoir…”

Daybreak’s first light, reservoir in the mountains, three players stood on the lakeside.

No one knows what kind of story Jingzhe Xiazi has, but besides the fine quality consumable bombs, she also has the latest submarine-shaped robot from Prometheus Laboratory Company.

As soon as the submarine-shaped robot was deployed into the water, it immediately sent out sonar waves to scan the bottom of the lake.

“Found it.”

Jingzhe Xiazi’s gaze sharpened as the image sent back by the underwater robot clearly revealed the corpse of a little girl lying at the bottom of the lake.

Her lower body was buried in the mud, her upper body clad in a long-sleeved long skirt, half her face severely decayed, her hair naturally floating like seaweed.

It was Fujita Nobuko, who had been missing for twenty-five years.

Taking a deep breath, Jingzhe Xiazi pressed the joystick on the robot’s remote control, “Approaching, ready to deploy the incense ashes bomb…”

The next second, something unexpected happened abruptly.

Fujita Nobuko’s unrotted right eye suddenly opened, silently shrieking in the water.