I Got My Cheat Skill by Acting My Way into a Horror Protagonist Role Chapter 89

Tianji Headquarters

Gui God Energy Management Division

At the large circular table in the outer lounge, Elder Gu, Z Country's top academician and lead investigator of the horror world exploration division, was bent over writing something.

Beside his hand stood one empty coffee cup after another.

Behind him stretched a long detection corridor, sealed off by layer upon layer of impenetrable security gates.

At the end of the detection corridor lay an enormous laboratory.

Soundproof barriers of exceptional quality eliminated all ambient noise, creating an absolutely silent environment.

Staff entering had to pass multiple inspections and were among the most strong-willed researchers.

They had to wear horror value detectors to constantly monitor their mental state, don protective suits to block high-level contamination, and navigate the dense network of energy transmission pipes and data cables crisscrossing the laboratory. Super-advanced computers operated one after another, while over a dozen figures in special protective suits moved among them.

Faintly visible in the laboratory's center stood a bizarre, towering bronze mirror, its edges framed by skeletal arms wrapped in decaying flesh.

Pairs of blood-red eyeballs protruded from both sides of the mirror, rotating slightly as if they were living creatures.

The mirror surface showed only swirling white mist, reflecting nothing—only occasionally, as if sensing something, would the fog churn gently before quickly settling again.

Unlike the researchers in dark cloaks, two figures in casual clothing stood closer to the eerie mirror, their postures more relaxed and natural.

They were top-tier players from Tianji, members of Dragon Shadow.

One was a girl in a puffy dress—Yang Qianqian.

Her face still carried some baby fat, making her look quite cute. At her waist hung a doll with a wide, foolishly laughing mouth.

The other was a tall young man named Cheng He, his eyes closed with faint blood traces at their corners.

All ten of his fingers were adorned with silver rings engraved with strange totems.

In this room requiring extreme quiet, personnel communicated briefly through professional sign language or sent messages via communicators.

The two Dragon Shadow members stood out like sore thumbs as they conversed in sign language, their movements incredibly graceful and completely silent.

Yang Qianqian's eyes sparkled, her face flushing with an unnatural rosy hue as she signed, then clasped her cheeks like a girl experiencing first love.

"That archive video got me so excited! That Republican Era gentleman is absolutely wonderful! Every part of him hits all my aesthetic preferences!

Being able to use my power to assist in analyzing and tracking his ghost power traces is just amazing!

I wonder if we'll succeed~"

A somewhat morbid, obsessed smile finally broke through, spreading across Yang Qianqian's face.

Despite his closed eyes, Cheng He seemed able to see Yang Qianqian's expression as he frowned slightly.

"That's a ghost creature at Death God Level minimum, completely transformed into another kind of existence. If we actually encountered it, who knows how much damage it would cause."

You haven't served in an exploration team before, so you don't understand how terrifying the Scavenger during Quiet Moment really is."

Cheng He paused, his mind involuntarily recalling when he'd encountered a Scavenger up close during his time with the Fifth Exploration Team.

The entire blood-red world seemed filled with that single massive, bizarre form.

It devoured everything without logic or emotion, the stench of decay and rot as if submerging countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood—a monster beyond human imagination or resistance—

A green light flashed from one silver ring on his hand, and Cheng He stopped recalling that memory, the Scavenger's form dissipating from his mind.

Horror value stabilized, then dropped rapidly. Cheng He rubbed his temples and softly exhaled a breath of turbid energy.

"That's an existence capable of commanding Scavengers. Its level might be far beyond what we imagine. When the time comes, you wouldn't actually want to get close to it.

Look at Sister Shengwan and the others—as soon as they finished, their strained nerves couldn't take it. They're all in isolation rooms now undergoing deep psychological counseling."

Yang Qianqian pouted at Cheng He's perspective, clearly not agreeing.

"But that gentleman was really gentle, wasn't he?

He greeted us and wished us good evening. If he hadn't summoned the Scavenger, that bizarre residential area would have definitely manifested in Maple City and kept eroding the real world.

A benevolent ghost creature?

Could such a thing exist?

Cheng He sighed.

"Perhaps low-level ghost creatures might retain some humanity and be able to communicate.

But you and I should know better than anyone that the higher-level ghost creatures become, the stronger their malice and resentment grows. Their entire being is composed of absolutely negative emotions—how could they possibly treat the living kindly?"

They would only drag the living into endless hell.

The two top players gestured animatedly, expressing their viewpoints. To any uninformed observer, they would look like complete fools.

An elderly man in protective suit glanced at them, shaking his head helplessly before instructing the researcher before him:

"Notify me immediately once you've located it."

"I know my own condition better than anyone. The country needs me, so I care more about my health than anyone else. I'm fine—go attend to your duties."

With that, the old man walked toward Elder Gu's location.

He was one of the Gui God creators, Deputy Director of the Gui God Energy Management Bureau—Elder Ming, Ming Yuan.

Ming Yuan was somewhat short in stature, his face wearing a cheerful smile as he sat beside Elder Gu. "Still not resting? Your old bones aren't as sturdy as mine."

Adjusting his glasses, Elder Gu finally stopped writing, a slight smile appearing on his face. "At least I won't be buried before you."

After checking that no one was around, Ming Yuan leaned closer like a mischievous old child.

Lowering his voice, he said, "About last night's anonymous vote—did you press the red button? When the final results came out, his face turned completely black."

Elder Gu avoided answering directly: "I bet you definitely voted red."

"Of course I did!" Ming Yuan didn't deny it. "Old Gu, stop pretending. I know you voted red too. After all this time, we've finally encountered something unexpected—can't we allow ourselves a little hope?"

"..." Elder Gu fell silent, his thoughts drifting back to last night—

During the meeting about how to handle that Republican Era gentleman.