Chapter 148: Conceptual Ability, The Supernatural Entity Outside the Door

Chapter 148: Conceptual Ability, The Supernatural Entity Outside the Door

"The statue is alive?!"

Ji Yan’s heart lurched the moment he saw the eyes.

In the next second, he suddenly realized something and summoned a hammer into his hand.

With lightning speed, he smashed the plaster statue’s head into pieces.

Dust and debris scattered everywhere. Liu Congming spat out the plaster dust from his mouth and waved his hand, asking, "Wh-what’s going on?"

"The statue’s eyes moved."

Gripping the hammer, Ji Yan scanned the surroundings and swiftly smashed the heads of the other two plaster statues.

"You mean there are other Supernatural Entities in this room?"

Ji Yan didn’t answer because he still felt eyes watching him.

Finally, his gaze locked onto the picture frames.

Oil paintings, sketches, ink paintings—all depicted subjects with eyes. Whether it was a trick of perspective or not, every pair of eyes now seemed to slant and fixate on Ji Yan.

"We can’t stay in this room. Let’s go!"

Without waiting for Liu Congming, Ji Yan turned and bolted. Liu Congming, sharp as ever, sensed the danger and followed closely behind.

Entering another room, Ji Yan quickly inspected it, confirming there were no plaster statues, paintings, or anything else with eyes.

Just to be safe, he picked up the bathtub and flushed the few goldfish inside down the toilet.

Watching this series of actions, Liu Congming seemed to piece it together: "The eyes are the problem?"

Ji Yan wiped the water from his hands and said, "Any eyes could lead that Supernatural Entity straight to us."

"A sports complex building filled with random oil paintings and plaster statues is already unnatural."

"If I’m not mistaken, every eye-bearing object in this building is connected to the eyes on its body, like some kind of wireless communication."

"The moment those eyes spot us, it’ll come for us immediately!"

Liu Congming’s eyes widened. "In other words, the entire building is one big hidden surveillance system. To truly hide, we need to find a spot without any eyes—the perfect hide-and-seek location."

"Once we understand its ability, it’s much simpler!"

"Seems like that Supernatural Entity’s power isn’t all that overpowered?"

Ji Yan remained silent.

If it were really that easy, why had so many Players died in this test?

Players who could enter a Third Tier Instance were no pushovers. He doubted he was the only one who’d discovered this hidden Danger Zone.

"Let’s stay here for now and buy some time," Ji Yan said.

If the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t miss the chance to snatch the bell from the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity’s waist. A [Diamonds 9] was tempting, after all.

Besides, without a Playing Card, they couldn’t advance the Instance Plot.

Not everyone was like Liu Congming, clinging to a [Spade 2] and just coasting…

…

Time passed, and another 10 minutes slipped by.

Another Player was eliminated.

A member of the Clubs Faction.

Now, both Hearts and Clubs were down to their last Player, fighting alone.

"Too bad it wasn’t that Dung Beetle. That guy’s out of Playing Cards, yet he’s still holding on?"

Liu Congming listened to the announcement, his face full of disappointment.

Ji Yan countered, "You’ve got a big grudge against him?"

"Not exactly a grudge."

Liu Congming leaned against the corner and sat down: "That guy entered the Instance with me, but I got lucky and snatched his [Spade 2] from him."

"After that, he held a grudge, but my streak of bad luck put him in his place a few times. He couldn’t out-argue me either—total loser!"

Ji Yan listened half-heartedly to these meaningless ramblings, his focus fixed on the time displayed on his watch.

Another 20 minutes passed, yet no elimination announcements followed.

It seemed the remaining Players had figured out the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity’s hunting abilities!

If this kept up, the difficulty of the exam had indeed dropped significantly.

But Ji Yan suspected the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity still had tricks up its sleeve—this game of Hide-and-seek wasn’t even halfway over yet...

The moment they had a breather, Liu Congming’s mouth wouldn’t stop running.

Sitting there, he went on about everything—from how he got chosen for the Supernatural Game to what happened in his last Instance.

Ji Yan rubbed his ear.

Sometimes, he thought the reason this guy had no roommate wasn’t just because of the Misfortune Supernatural Entity, but also because of that mouth of his...

"Bro Ji, let me tell you more about this Instance."

Liu Congming grew more animated as he talked, but halfway through, he instinctively rubbed his eyes.

He shook his head before continuing.

But Ji Yan noticed something was off—his eyes were tearing up.

Then, his right eye began darting erratically within its socket, its color shifting unnaturally before finally locking onto Ji Yan.

"Close your eyes!"

Ji Yan reacted swiftly, pressing his palm over Liu Congming’s eyes.

Almost immediately, Ji Yan felt his own left eye twitch, his vision moving uncontrollably.

It was as if a hand had reached into his eye, rolling his eyeball around like a marble!

Ji Yan shut his eyes tight.

Despite his usual loudness, Liu Congming quickly pieced together the reason for the eerie discomfort in his right eye: "Don’t tell me that damn Supernatural Entity..."

"Exactly. It can 'use' our eyes too!"

Ji Yan kept his eyelids firmly shut, making sure Liu Congming’s right eye stayed closed as he slowly withdrew his hand.

"Holy shit, it can do that? That’s practically a conceptual-level ability!"

Liu Congming clutched his right eye, his scalp crawling with dread.

"Probably realized the remaining Players saw through those Plaster Statues and portraits, so it upgraded its hunting method."

Ji Yan pulled out some gauze from the Toolbar—leftover from the last hospital Instance—and wrapped two strips around his affected eye.

"We need to move again!"

Ji Yan stood up. If Liu Congming’s eye had locked onto him earlier, their position might be compromised. Better to relocate, just in case.

But the moment he turned and touched the doorknob, he yanked his hand back as if electrocuted.

A sharp sting in his fingertips—the Blood Gu Supernatural Entity was warning him.

"Bro Ji, don’t open that door!"

Liu Congming spoke up too, his stomach visibly swelling.

Then, faint footsteps sounded outside the door, and Ji Yan caught a whiff of rotting flesh in the air.

"It found us already?!"

Ji Yan’s expression darkened as he motioned for Liu Congming to stay quiet.

He pulled a Coffin Nail from the Toolbar, his gaze fixed on the door.

The footsteps grew louder before stopping abruptly. Then, the doorknob began to twist—but the lock held firm.

"Let me guess... how many little Rats are hiding behind this door?"

Outside the door, the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity's mocking voice slowly echoed, and in an instant, both Ji Yan and Liu Congming tensed up.

Receiving no response, the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity continued in an amused tone: "What I love most is trapping rats in a corner and watching them tremble in fear, their hearts leaping into their throats."

"Stop hiding. I can see you both clearly—through your own eyes."

"Your game is over. Will you come out yourselves, or shall I come in?"

The voice outside the door persisted.

Ji Yan furrowed his brow, took two steps back, and turned to Liu Congming, whispering urgently, "Is the Misfortune Supernatural Entity inside you still asleep?"

"Yeah, it's still sleeping. What are you planning?" Liu Congming asked.

"Wake it up! Let it out!"

Liu Congming widened his eyes. "But what about you?"

"I’ll figure something out later."

Ji Yan’s expression darkened. "Right now, the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity is blocking the door. We need a scapegoat to take the hit!"