After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

“Ahhhhhh!”A shrill cry reverberated through the underground vault. The cry was agonising, and it sounded almost not human-like. It was like a sharp knife suddenly cutting through the air, putting an end to the original silence in the room. It made one’s hair stand on end and their bodies tremble with fear.Outside, the others turned back in horror, looking in the direction of that sound as they internally speculated about what could be happening below.Countless fearful gazes travelled over.But that terrible cry continued, even intensifying, and it was even mixed with muffled cursing and wailing. It was terrifying and horrific, like a scene of murder.“T-this….” The smile on Wei Yuechu’s face was stiff, “This is the Paranormal Bureau’s official business…..”But her explanation was useless.Everyone ran for their lives and in just a few minutes, the originally full lobby became completely empty.Blast, “Say, do you think they’ll call the police?”Chen Qingye pushed up his glasses, “Yes……”Wei Yuechu took a deep breath and gave up struggling, “If they want to report, let them report. This matter will soon become something that we no longer need to worry about anyway.”She heartlessly pushed all the responsibilities to the Bureau in F City. They have always been maintaining a good relationship with the police after all so they should be able to sort this out easily.After that demonic sound lasted for several minutes, it suddenly came to a stop, as if someone had suddenly drawn a rest symbol in the music score.The empty lobby became extraordinarily quiet at this moment, making them feel a little uncomfortable.The three of them looked at each other.In the dead silence, steady footsteps sounded below. Every moment it hit the smooth marble floor, it seemed to match the frequency of their heart beats.A young man appeared at the door of the underground fault. He climbed up the stairs step by step and soon his entire body was revealed from below.The large scythe had been put away at some point in time and both hands that were hanging by the side of his body were stained with dark red blood. There were even still some bone and flesh fragments stuck to his skin.Drip, drip.Blood slowly dripped down from the tips of his fingers, hitting the smooth ground below, forming a small pool.Under the shadow of his hood, there were no expressions on the young man’s face.There were a few drops of blood splattered across his cheeks, rolling down to his jawline. The blood was particularly eye-catching against his pale skin. It almost looked like a bleeding wound, making him look beautifully cruel and terrifying.His lips were slightly pursed into a cold and distant line and his entire body was covered in a suffocatingly strong and bloody smell of ghost energy.As if he was a death god stepping out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, the people present instinctively felt fearful.Blast subconsciously gulped.Although he had fought against the other person before in the game and he had also interacted with Ace’s disguised self in the real world recently, this was his first time seeing the other party so unrestrained.It was a little……scary.But-----His gaze moved to Ace’s hands and he paused briefly in confusion.What happened to Dream Maker’s head?Clearly, the other two also had the same question on their minds.Wei Yuechu asked cautiously, “Um…. where’s that ghost’s head?”Ye Jia seemed to have been pulled out from his thoughts by the other person’s question. He raised his eyes and looked towards Wei Yuechu. There was a faint curve to his lips as he said in a calm voice, “Oh, him.”He pointed at the vault behind him, “Down there…..”But before the three of them could breathe a sigh of relief, the young man before them added lightly, “But it’ll probably be difficult for you to piece him together again.”The three of them: “…….”Fuck……T-this cruel?Ye Jia went over to the empty counter and reached over to retrieve a few pieces of tissue and used it to slowly wipe his hands that were so densely covered in blood, one could no longer see his original skin underneath.This series of actions was done extremely smoothly, but it made the others feel uncomfortable inside.Blast gulped and leaned closer towards Chen Qingye and whispered, “Don’t you think Ace seemed to have changed----”----Into a psychopathic murderer.But before he could finish his words, the man beside him forcefully stomped on his foot.Blast grimaced in pain but he held it in and didn’t cry out.Chen Qingye took a step forward without a change to his expression. He carefully thought over his words and then broke the chilling silence, “So, did you get the information you need from him?”Ye Jia lowered his eyes and tossed the blood-soaked tissues into the bin beside him.The lid of the bin closed with a clang, the sound echoing in the empty hall, “He said everything that could be said.”But for him, it wasn’t enough.In addition to the need to deal with those numerous human souls, there were still the remaining fierce ghosts in Dream Maker’s company that needed to be cleaned up. The subsequent matters would be difficult and complicated. Although it was no longer part of their responsibilities, the Bureau may still need their assistance.Ye Jia bid goodbye to the other three and left the vault first.When he found Ji Xuan, the first line he said was, “Where is Puppet Master?”Ji Xuan narrowed his scarlet eyes slightly and looked fixedly at Ye Jia for a moment before activating his ghost domain without another word.Ye Jia stepped in.The scene around him instantly changed, turning into a dark warehouse.The moment Ye Jia stepped in, Puppet Master noticed his existence. He immediately straightened up and looked over in his direction.Ye Jia stopped before him and looked down at the fierce ghost who had the appearance of a child. There were no emotional changes in the depths of his amber-coloured eyes. Just like a frozen lake, there were no ripples or changes.A hint of surprise flickered across Puppet Master’s eyes.He could smell the blood coming from Ye Jia --- The smell was very familiar. He immediately realised what had happened.He actually…….won?Ye Jia slowly moved another step closer, and cold ghost energy instantly spread out from his body, bearing down onto Puppet Master. That energy that carried the scent of blood was of the same origin as Ji Xuan’s, so terrifying that it was almost unbelievable that the other party was actually just an ordinary human being.Puppet Master instinctively took a step back in fear.----- Ace ate Dream Maker.After eating an S-level lord, Ace’s strength had grown at a terrifying speed. This terrifying power of his was simply----Heart-stopping.Ye Jia bent down and slowly asked, “So, have you thought about it?”He was referring to the question he had left behind last time.Puppet Master’s mind worked quickly.In fact, he was very hesitant.Him revealing Dream Maker’s location was a way of revenge and a test.Dream Maker used to be one of the strongest ghosts amongst those of the S-Level lords, but after sustaining serious injuries, his strength had been greatly reduced.If Ace was killed by him, Puppet Master would naturally be pleased, but if he lost the fight, then it would be a big setback for Mother’s plans and it would in turn help him address his grudge ---- After all, the gift Mother had gifted him seemed to enhance his powers on the surface, but it had in fact stabbed him in the back.But what he didn’t expect was that Ace had not only killed Dream Maker, but he had also devoured his powers.And to Mother, something like this was no longer a small issue.Even Puppet Master was put in a difficult position.Mother most definitely wouldn’t forgive a betrayal of this level.Even if he did escape from Ace, he would need to face the enraged Mother --- Instead of that, it would be better to cooperate with Ace for the time being and then find a way for him to survive afterwards.“Of course….” A smile rose on Puppet Master’s face, “Although I am willing to help you, it would be difficult for me to give you answers to certain questions.”“However…..” Puppet Master raised his hand and pointed at the warehouse where he was imprisoned in and a strange glimmer of light flashed in the depths of his dark eyes, “I think you should already understand, no?”“Good…..” Ye Jia stood up. His expression was calm, as if he had expected this answer from the other party.He opened his mouth and said, “Inside Dream Maker’s vault, there is an empty space. Something used to be there, but it was moved out before I arrived.”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly and continued slowly, “Let me think….what was the date Dream Maker mentioned earlier…..?”Puppet Master’s heart fell and his expression stiffened --- He was a little in disbelief. The other party had managed to immediately grasp onto the key point. He originally thought he would be able to drag it out a little longer to buy himself some time to think of a better solution to deal with his current situation, but now……Ye Jia seemed to be able to see through his thoughts. There was a slight smile on his lips, “It happened to be just before you were caught.”The reason why Puppet Master leaked the Dream Maker’s location was because he knew very well that, regardless of what Dream Maker’s task was, he had already completed it, so even if he was defeated or killed, it wouldn’t affect Mother’s overall plan.He sure thought it through.Puppet Master’s expression was solemn, “So what?”“Nothing…..” Ye Jia chuckled, “What I need this time is also just an address, but….”He dragged the last word out and a cold light flickered across the depths of his eyes, “This time, I want a fierce ghost who hasn’t sent the item out yet.”Puppet Master looked back at him; his expression indecipherable.Ye Jia wasn’t in a hurry either. He calmly waited and finally, after a long time, Puppet Master took in a deep breath, picked up a pen, wrote a few lines on a piece of paper and tore it off and threw it at Ye Jia.After doing all this, as if all his strength had been drained from his body, Puppet Master slumped down onto the ground. His face was pale, and his eyes had lost its vigour.He knew very well that as soon as he took this step, he had boarded Ace’s pirate ship.Being a double agent was clearly no longer an option.Before, he could still have a chance of living after returning to Mother’s side but now he can only hope that Ace kills Mother. That was the only way to ensure his survival.Ye Jia smiled and turned to walk out.Puppet Master’s sinister voice sounded from behind him, “You better win.”Ye Jia didn’t look back. He only waved, “You don’t have to worry about this.”Ji Xuan was waiting outside.Seeing Ye Jia coming out, he stepped forward to meet him. With his eyes lowered slightly, his scarlet irises shone a dark light, and his voice was low and gentle, “Have you got what you want?”The expression on Ye Jia’s face disappeared as quickly as dew under the morning sun. He raised his eyes to glance at Ji Xuan and calmly made a sound of confirmation.He tossed over the note in his hand.Ji Xuan lowered his head and glanced at the note.This time, the address given to them was the capital and he was much more generous than last time and even wrote down the street name.Ye Jia, “We’re going here next.”Ji Xuan raised a brow, “We?”Ye Jia turned and walked on, “Yes….”Ji Xuan’s eyes narrowed, and his thin lips hooked up, “So those three aren’t coming?”Ye Jia’s walking pace paused briefly but he didn’t turn back and his back was still as straight as usual. There were no emotional fluctuations in his voice, “Yes…..”That night, at the capital.The Bureau’s headquarters suddenly sounded the alarm.The yin energy readings in the city’s south had suddenly peaked and it was at an all time high. They had never seen such a value since the ghost rampage last time. The entire headquarters was in a state of panic and alarms sounded throughout the building.Everyone was extremely nervous.“What’s going on?” One of the captains on night duty wiped away the sweat from his forehead as he hurried over.A staff member in charge of monitoring the readings slowly shook his head and said with an extremely solemn expression on his face, “I don’t know. The team members on the other end aren’t answering.”“How high is the reading?”The staff’s expression turned ugly again, “Twenty million…….”The captain was shocked.He swallowed to moisten his dry throat and put in a calm act, “I’ll gather all the members of the Combat Division who are currently available. Although it will be difficult tonight, it shouldn’t be impossible to deal with……..”“You don’t understand….” The other party’s face was pale and cold sweat slowly fell from his forehead. He slowly turned to look at the captain and enunciated each word with emphasis, “The highest reading the detector in the city’s south can record is twenty million.”This line was like a direct blow to his head. The captain instantly felt the world around him spin.The yin energy readings had exceeded the upper limits of the detector. This meant that…..they have absolutely no way of knowing what kind of existence they are facing.From a group of A+ level fierce ghosts to even a group of S-Level fierce ghosts, anything was possible.He took a deep breath to calm himself down and ordered, “The highest alert level, hurry!”With the highest alert level summons, very soon, the members of the Combat Division as well as the Logistics Department were armed and ready.The Combat Division would enter the area while the Logistics Department would be responsible for evacuating the public and reducing the number of casualties.But when they arrived at the location of concern, they were all left dumbfounded.The residential area was completely peaceful with most of the lights turned off, the residents having already fallen into a deep sleep, and there were only a few windows that were still bright. The entire area showed no signs of a ghost attack.What…..what’s going on here?The captain turned to look at the logistics staff behind him and tried to confirm, “This is the place?”The logistics staff was also confused. He lowered his head to check the equipment in his hand with a frown and said with some doubt, “It’s indeed the right place…..Based on previous experiences, this place should already have been invaded by ghost energy, but…”This area seemed completely unaffected and there didn’t appear to be any ghosts around.“Let’s continue on for now.” The leader spoke after some thought.After advancing on for a while, they suddenly saw that there were several people lying unconscious by the side of the road. They sat back-to-back in a pile, their limbs sprawled over each other and were clearly completely blacked out.The captain who recognised the uniforms they wore couldn’t help but be surprised.----They were the Bureau’s administrative staff who had been stationed here in this part of the city.Paramedics soon arrived and placed them onto stretchers.But before they could be transported onto the ambulance, all the staff woke up one after another. They sat up with confused expressions, looking as if they had woken from a long sleep. As they took in the unfamiliar scene around them, they asked dazedly, “Huh?”“Where is this?”The leader hurried over and asked anxiously, “What happened?”Those people were confused. They clearly also had no idea why they were lying by the side of the road.They had gone to their posts as usual but had for no apparent reason fallen unconscious.Things were really….becoming stranger and stranger.At this moment, the detector in his hand suddenly went off. Harsh alarms cut through the night, startling everyone present.What’s going on?Clearly nothing was happening around them but the readings on the detectors had suddenly soared before stopping at the highest point, unable to move even higher.The captain grew alert. He instructed the logistics staff as well as the medical staff to retreat and then slowly advanced on with the fully armed Combat Division personnel. Step by step, they advanced several metres. They all vigilantly scanned the darkness around them, for fear that a fierce ghost would suddenly emerge from it, baring their teeth and claws.At this moment, they suddenly realised that…….something didn’t seem right.The leader raised his head slowly and saw not far above their heads that there seemed to be some strange kind of film protruding in their direction. Like a huge lens, it distorted everything around it----The next second, there was a loud tearing sound, as if something was torn apart by an external force.Strong ghost energy that was powerful enough to knock them unconscious instantly charged towards them like flood waters and a huge, bony hand stretched out from the opening in the film, resting heavily on a nearby building. With a loud crash, that sturdy structure instantly collapsed, flattening the place, and soon following that, that hand flew through the night towards them!“Brace yourself!” The captain shouted hoarsely.Although he had shown a lot of fighting spirit, he wasn’t confident inside and there was even a trace of panic.What they’re facing is definitely a fierce ghost of at least A+ level! Could they really handle it with just these people?But at this moment, a clear and cold voice sounded from above, “Back off…..”Immediately afterwards, a sharp blade cut through the night, cleverly avoiding the hard bones. The blade was like a beam of light, cutting straight through the joints between the bones.The next second, earth shattering screams sounded. The bony arm that had fallen off smashed onto the pile of building debris.Smoke and dust rose. It soon became hazy.Everyone coughed and struggled to see through the dense haze.The young man landed lightly in the distance, the dust and ashes in the air making his appearance unclear. They heard him whistle and not long afterwards, a huge fish skeleton swam over and bent down before him.The young man leapt lightly onto its back as the large scythe in his hand flashed an icy cold light.The giant fish slowly flicked its tail and rose in an instant, swimming towards the gap that had appeared in the sky just now. In a matter of seconds, they disappeared before everyone’s eyes.The dust settled. Everyone was in a state of confusion.The people from the Combat Division all looked at each other with blank looks, “What…..just happened?”“Who was that person?”“I don’t know. Have you seen him before?”“Is that person who is fighting against that S-Level fierce ghost a human?”The captain raised his head and looked at the crack in the distance with a blank expression, “I-is this real?”After dealing with the giant skeleton attempting to break through and destroy the place. Ye Jia returned back inside the ghost domain.Ji Xuan raised his eyes to look at him with a smile lingering on his lips, “All done?”On the ground, the sea of blood surged, revealing all the fierce ghosts who were imprisoned in it. They growled and hissed as they struggled but were unable to break free from the swamp and could only be slowly eaten away little by little.At the very centre was a huge skeleton wearing a layer of skin as well as a thick armour made of bones. It glared fiercely at them with its pair of green and sunken eyes and its voice contained strong resentment, “Despicable!”It didn’t know how the other party knew about its hiding place.That hateful human had suddenly invaded their base camp without warning and ran off after making a big fuss, luring them out. It was only after they saw the sea of blood charging towards them that they realised that it was all a trap.Ye Jia grinned, “I’m flattered.”The fierce ghost: “….”It slowly turned and looked at Ji Xuan who stood beside him and its green eyes lit up with a contemptuous cold light. It sneered, “You think you can still be considered a Ghost King? You’re more like this human’s bitch!”Ye Jia’s expression turned cold. He exerted force on his feet and the sound of crushing bones and agonising screams echoed through the night sky.Ji Xuan took a step forward.The next second, his figure changed. From his tall and straight figure, it changed into a thin and slender body.He leaned against Ye Jia’s shoulder, his long black hair cascading down. He then used his pale and slender finger to draw circles on the young man’s chest, and shyly pursed his lips and smiled, “Many thanks…..”