Chapter 96

"Thud!"

The knocking sound came again, with the same rhythm as before, the intervals perfectly precise.

It was hard to imagine that someone could control the rhythm to such a fine degree. Was it his aunt? Zhang Yuanqing's head throbbed, his mind hazy. Just as he was about to get out of bed to open the door, his body suddenly stiffened as he lifted the blanket.

He suddenly realized,

There were no footsteps outside the door.

Yes, no footsteps. Before the knocking sound, he hadn't heard any movement. For a Level 2 Night Walker, at such a close distance, even with the slight soundproofing of the door, it was impossible to completely block his hearing.

Not an ordinary person!!

Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand, pressing it against his throbbing head, thinking:

Has someone uncovered my true identity? Are they here to confront me? Is it the Dark Rose, the Black Impermanence, or the Taiyi Sect?

At this moment, his body tensed, adrenaline surging, temporarily suppressing his headache.

"Whoever it is, sneaking into my house at this time, they can't have good intentions. I can't fight them here; it would endanger my aunt and the others. I need to lure them outside..."

Just then, the knocking stopped, and Zhang Yuanqing saw the doorknob slowly turn.

"Click"

The sound of the lock springing open, the bedroom door creaked open a crack, revealing pitch-black darkness beyond.

Zhang Yuanqing stared intently at the open crack, his muscles taut. He still couldn't sense the enemy's presence, and cold sweat trickled down his spine.

"Slam!" Suddenly, a dark-skinned hand reached in from the crack, gripping the door frame and pushing the door wide open.

As the door was violently pushed open, Zhang Yuanqing finally saw the uninvited guest.

It was a disheveled woman, wearing a white, dirty cloak that dragged to the ground.

Her posture was strange, twisted and uneven, like a doll with its limbs put on wrong.

Her dark right hand held a rusty kitchen knife, the blade pointing backward.

Her long, messy hair obscured her face, and drops of dark blood fell from her hair.

This, this appearance had a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere before... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized: the white-clad killer woman? The vengeful spirit from the text message?

This wasn't a prank?!

His face was full of shock, never expecting that the spam message he received during the day was actually real?

This was something he couldn't guard against, but if it was a vengeful spirit, he wasn't afraid... Just as he was thinking this, the white-clad killer woman, with clumsy yet swift steps, rushed toward him.

Her posture was strange, as if she was walking backward, her body twisting and contorting unnaturally.

"Hmph!" Zhang Yuanqing's eyes darkened, summoning the power of the Great Yin...

His expression suddenly changed when he realized he had lost the ability imprinted in his genes, losing his control over the vengeful spirit.

At that moment, the white-clad killer woman staggered backward, raising the kitchen knife high. Her right arm twisted 180 degrees, the blade pointing at Zhang Yuanqing, and she slashed down.

Zhang Yuanqing rolled off the bed. Thud, thud, thud.

The kitchen knife followed him, leaving deep slashes on the bed.

Zhang Yuanqing rolled to the floor, his face growing even more grim. Not only had he lost his abilities, but his physical strength had also returned to that of an ordinary person.

Completely stripped of his powers.

He couldn't help but think of the description in the text message. Is this a dream?!

It's not that my abilities have disappeared, but that I am in a nightmare, where my abilities and items are useless.

There was no time to think further. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the vengeful spirit in the dirty robe raise her knife again.

Zhang Yuanqing rolled again, hearing the sound of the oak floor breaking. If that knife had hit, he would have been decapitated on the spot.

He pushed off the ground, quickly rushing to the living room,

rushing to the entrance, rushing to the security door.

He wanted to escape from this house.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't turn the handle of the security door; the lock seemed to be rusted shut.

A whistling sound came from behind him, and without thinking, Zhang Yuanqing ducked.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

The kitchen knife spun through the air, embedding itself in the security door.

The kitchen knife can be thrown? Zhang Yuanqing swallowed, instinctively wanting to pull the knife to counter the vengeful spirit. But when he looked up, the knife was gone, leaving only a deep mark on the security door.

The white-clad killer woman, holding the kitchen knife, staggered backward toward him again.

Zhang Yuanqing, seeing this, took a few steps to the dining table, grabbed a high-backed chair, and swung it hard to meet the incoming knife.

The high-backed chair shattered with a "crack," the kitchen knife cutting through the chair and striking Zhang Yuanqing's chest.

Pain shot through him instantly, the rusty blade slicing open his chest and breaking several ribs.

In the dream, he had lost his self-healing ability.

Zhang Yuanqing smelled the scent of death, staggering a few steps and leaning against the edge of the dining table.

The white-clad killer woman staggered forward, raising the kitchen knife high. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sidestepped, and the rusty knife "thud" into the dining table, embedding itself deeply.

The white-clad killer woman tried to pull the knife out but failed.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yuanqing, despite the pain in his chest, grabbed another high-backed chair and swung it with all his might at the vengeful spirit's waist.

"Slam!"

The white-clad killer woman's waist snapped instantly, twisting unnaturally as she fell to the ground.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The vengeful spirit on the ground convulsed, her head tilting to the left, her limbs moving in opposite directions, her left knee pointing right and her right knee pointing left, like a haphazardly assembled doll.

Amid the "crack" of bone movement, her waist snapped back, her lower body standing up while her upper body dragged on the ground.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing's scalp tingled. He clutched the wound on his chest and staggered back to the bedroom.

This thing can't be killed.

Back in the room, he locked the door and staggered to the window. Zhang Yuanqing opened the window and looked out. It was pitch black outside, with no streetlights, no vehicles, and no nearby buildings visible.

If this were the real world, he would risk jumping to the air conditioner unit outside.

But this was a dream.

Not to mention whether jumping out the window would save him, what if the outcome was death?

What should he do?

Trapped in the dream, unable to kill the vengeful spirit, and with no use for his abilities or items, Zhang Yuanqing was in a dire situation.

More critically, the blood from his chest wouldn't stop. If this continued, he would die from his injuries within ten minutes.

What would happen in the real world if he died in the dream?

He didn't dare to think about it.

Who wants to kill me? I remember that dreams are the domain of illusionists, but I have no grudges or connections with them...

At that moment, the doorknob moved. After realizing the door was locked, the vengeful spirit outside became very agitated, the doorknob creaking as she tried to open it.

A few seconds later, it stopped, seemingly giving up on opening the door.

Suddenly, there was a loud "thud," and half of the kitchen knife protruded from the door.

She's chopping the door... Despair filled Zhang Yuanqing's eyes. He glanced at the dark window, considering whether to risk jumping out.

Thud, thud, thud!

The kitchen knife chopped at the door, the wood gradually splintering, the gap growing larger.

Finally, with a "crash," the door shattered, and the disheveled vengeful spirit, holding the knife, stepped in with a strange posture.

Ps: Yesterday, I was really tired and extremely sleepy. I woke up to find it was almost noon, quickly ate a few bites, and started writing.

The word count is a bit less, please bear with me, I'll make up for it tonight.

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