I Got My Cheat Skill by Acting My Way into a Horror Protagonist Role Chapter 42

Stumbling awkwardly back into the residential building, having escaped the Writer's oppressive aura and gaze, the Thin Ghost was once again dominated by his chaotic consciousness.

Resentment and hatred surged within him, stimulating his nerves. He viciously lifted his leg and kicked the door of 3B303.

The door rattled loudly, just as he had always done in the past. "Damn it, you deaf bitch! Come open the door for me!!"

His hands trembled slightly from alcoholism, but he was still gathering his strength.

As for the hand that had been pierced by Xiao Gui'an, it was still bleeding, the wound continuously rotting and stinking.

He planned to grab his wife by the hair the moment the door opened, then beat her however he pleased since she couldn't fight back anyway.

Clearly, as Xu Zisheng had previously described the second scenario, this family was perpetually trapped in the girl's nightmare, cycling through it. When the instance ended, she would continue living in her nightmarish home.

"Creak—" The door slowly opened. Before the Thin Ghost could clearly see who had opened it, or even raise his hand, he felt a heavy blow to his abdomen.

"Ugh—"

"Who kicked me? How dare you—" the Thin Ghost cursed angrily, feeling his abdomen had been deeply dented, his internal organs seemingly displaced by the kick.

He looked up and saw a handsome, slender young man wearing a high-necked sweatshirt standing at his doorway.

The other's gaze was heavy. In one arm, he held a pink plush rabbit, while the other hand gripped a rusty axe dragging along the floor.

Then, he slowly curved his lips into a gentle smile that made ghosts shiver. "Alcoholism and domestic violence... you ghostly scum. It seems we need to have a serious chat about your psychological issues. This is quite severe..."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Drag marks appeared on the floor.

Then, with a "creak," the door closed again.

The Thin Ghost's screams were cut off by the heavy door panel.

Half a moment later.

Xu Zisheng flicked the debris off the axe, gently wiped the bloodstains from his hands, and calmly put the axe away.

An E-class ghost, not even one protected by the instance's rules—it would probably be killed by a higher-level ghost someday anyway. He had merely accelerated the process.

Out of sight, out of mind. Such disgusting trash—worthless as a human, and as a ghost, he'd make sure it died without a trace.

Xu Zisheng fiddled with the pink plush rabbit and found a small tag beneath its bow. He gently pulled it out and saw the character "Han" engraved on the tag.

His eyes flickered; he had already decided what name he should write.

With just over an hour left, it was better to leave this place. After all, he couldn't determine whether the Real Ghost girl knew what was happening in this home.

Glancing at the dense clusters of spiders, Xu Zisheng thought that even if she was unaware of other areas, she might occasionally peek at the situation at home.

"Rustle—"

Just after Xu Zisheng left 3B303, Black Beetles crawled out from somewhere and began tearing into the hairy spiders, gradually consuming the spiders' bodies.

After gaining nutritional supplements, the Black Beetles trembled, the closed eye patterns on their shells gently opening. Then, an even smaller Black Beetle emerged from the original shell.

They reproduced rapidly at this pace, silently infesting the entire residential area.

While descending the stairs halfway, Xu Zisheng also noticed something amiss. The stairwell had a strong smell of blood, along with dripping bits of minced flesh. Some Black Beetles that hadn't hidden in the shadows failed to escape his keen perception.

He frowned slightly. Wasn't that Black Beetle crawling past his foot the same type that fell from Chen Ze's body?

What exactly were these things?

Channeling Ghost Power into his hand, he swiftly caught one. He saw closed eye patterns covering the Black Beetle's shell.

Although somewhat distorted, upon closer inspection, if the eye patterns were to split open, the marks would closely resemble the pupil-less mark that appeared on Chen Ze's forehead when he used forbidden power.

The Black Beetle pinched between his fingers seemed uncomfortable, trembling violently before self-destructing in Xu Zisheng's hand, turning into a pile of ash and dispersing.

Xu Zisheng's heart sank heavily.

Given Chen Ze's previous condition when caught by the short-haired Ghost Child, he should have been completely devoured by now.

How could he still cause trouble?

Looking down, he saw a trail of deep blood staining the lower floors, as if something was slowly crawling upward from below.

Xu Zisheng's gaze sharpened, internal alarms blaring. Without further thought, he rushed upstairs.

If Chen Ze wasn't dead yet, then the reason he was dragging his shattered body up the stairs must be to break the second rule.

[Rule Two: Please reach the top floor during the rotation time, otherwise you might disturb certain beings]

Thinking of the ghostly figure in the faded student uniform on the rooftop, Xu Zisheng wasn't sure what would happen if the rule was broken.

Would it directly declare their game failure?

Or would something else terrible occur?

As Xu Zisheng took two or three steps at a time rushing upstairs, his hurried demeanor was fully observed by Xiao Gui'an.

What's going on?

Did something happen?

He had timed his entry into the residential building perfectly. Just now, looking upstairs, thanks to the current characteristic ability of the 'Real Ghost,' he could clearly sense Xu Zisheng's tense state. The other was quickly heading toward the rooftop.

The rooftop—

That place seemed blocked by something, outside the area the 'Real Ghost' could perceive.

After a moment of thought, Xiao Gui'an decided to follow and check it out. He couldn't let anything happen to Xu Zisheng.

"!"

Too late!!

The rooftop door, which he had previously closed, was now wide open.

Xu Zisheng stepped onto the rooftop and looked up.

Chen Ze, now barely recognizable as human, stood in the center of the rooftop. His neck exposed his windpipe, his mouth devoid of flesh, emitting an unpleasant, wheezing laugh like an old exhaust fan. Only half a red eyeball hung loosely in its socket.

"Heh heh—……"

The flesh in his abdomen had completely disappeared. His body was covered in outward-turned flesh and countless bite marks, with no intact skin left.

His entire frame was supported by a gnawed, dilapidated skeleton. Dense clusters of Black Beetles crawled within his body, a mass of shadows already writhing slowly inside his skull.

After making final eye contact with Xu Zisheng, half of Chen Ze's face split open, as if attempting a grotesque smile.

Then, his entire body collapsed, lifeless.

"Whoosh—"

Meanwhile, the figure in the student uniform slowly moved, walking toward the edge of the rooftop. It seemed to cast a ghostly glance at these uninvited intruders before plunging straight down.

"Smack—"

A sound like flesh smashing against the ground.

The night wind on the rooftop suddenly intensified. Pale mist churned, and Xu Zisheng felt himself enveloped by the unavoidable fog. The scenery before him began to distort, blur, and change incessantly, impossible to resist.

Xu Zisheng half-knelt on the ground, his whole body growing drowsy.

Before completely losing consciousness, he saw a tall, slender figure leaning on a cane, seemingly walking slowly toward him.

Is it the [Writer]?...

Unable to think further, Xu Zisheng fell into an endless illusion.

For some reason, despite the rooftop door being wide open, not a single ghost appeared.

Half an hour later, within the illusion.

Xu Zisheng expressionlessly plunged a sharp knife into a student who looked exactly like him. Only after ending the other's life did he finally break free from the cycle of repeatedly jumping to his death within the illusion.

The ability of that ghost in student uniform was truly unexpected. If he had died a few more times in the illusion, his real brain probably wouldn't have been able to handle the pressure and would have cracked.

"Phew—" Xu Zisheng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As long as it was resolved. He should return to the instance now; he had delayed quite a while.

But things didn't go as he expected.

The school surroundings receded like a tide. The pale mist once again obscured his vision. When he could see clearly again,

Xu Zisheng found himself in a somewhat familiar Republican-era mansion.

Pavilions, towers, small bridges, flowing water—figures dressed in last century's clothing passed by in the distance. Sunlight gently showered everything with a feeling of peace and beauty.

A distant piano melody faintly drifted from an upstairs window behind him.

Where... is this place?