Chapter 43: Lord of the Mirror Demon (1)

As for the ghost that had slaughtered everyone aboard the cruise ship, with the infusion of white light, its strength rapidly increased after stabilizing at the five-star level. Flickers of slender white lightning danced around its form. By the time the mysterious celestial energy had been completely absorbed, it had not yet broken through to six stars, but within the five-star ghostly realm, it had awakened its most crucial ability.

Sensing the overwhelming negative emotions left behind by the countless human deaths along the northern coast of Great Metropolis after the waterspout's rampage, the five-star ghost transformed into a bolt of white lightning and shot straight toward the city.

Ordinarily, monsters were too massive to enter human cities for large-scale carnage—such actions would quickly draw the attention of spirit investigators, leading to swift and deadly retaliation. Ghosts, however, were different.

Encountering a power line, the ghost entered it directly, utilizing its newly awakened skill—electromagnetic parasitism—to absorb negative human emotions throughout various locations. Though this method was slower than directly drawing from the celestial anomaly, its steady trickle promised longevity.

After the devastation wrought by the waterspout, negative emotions among the survivors abounded. Despair, helplessness, and terror—all were the finest nourishment for a ghost.

What the five-star ghost did not know was that the whale monster and the red bird had also begun shrinking their forms. Formerly, they only knew how to enlarge themselves to gorge on the blood and flesh of the sea. But after absorbing the energy from the celestial anomaly, they too advanced to late five-star monsters. Now, with their bodies reduced, they could move more freely—and human flesh was far more delicious than seafood.

The whale monster shrank to less than half a meter, while the red bird became no larger than a crow.

"Separate... hunt," rasped the red bird, its beak opening and closing as it mimicked a human voice.

"Do not interfere with each other," came the voice from the half-meter whale monster.

The two creatures went their separate ways. The red bird spread its wings and soared over the coastline, seeking out the richest sources of human flesh from above. The whale monster slipped into the Great Metropolis via the storm drains, where the spacious tunnels promised their own bounty of humanoid delicacies.

After the waterspout’s rampage, peace did not return to the northern coast of Great Metropolis. On the contrary, three five-star monsters, drawn by the abundance of human death, were about to begin their hunt. It was certain that the city’s spirit investigators would soon face a great battle.

While the three five-star monsters attacked humans in Great Metropolis, Huaguo had already finished clearing the battlefield on the southern coast. Most of the monsters there were two-star, yet a fair number of three-star creatures’ cores had been sent to the research institute.

At this moment, the institute was working tirelessly to study how to rapidly generate magnetic energy within the human body. With Huaguo’s scientific prowess, success was only a matter of time.

Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan were recuperating in the hospital. Though officially on rest, Xiao Anguo had handed Wu Zui a stack of photographs. In two days, Wu Zui had looked through nearly a hundred thousand faces, and now the very sight of a photo made him nauseous.

There was good news, however: the elite detective team had all undergone magnetic energy awakening, with not a single member unable to do so due to danger (among those whose photos Wu Zui had seen). They had already begun handling monsters in Binhai City.

Wu Zui felt some comfort in this. In these chaotic times, those who could awaken magnetic energy stood a better chance at survival. Even if luck ran out, one could at least take down a ghost or two before dying.

It was better than being an ordinary person, unable to resist and resigned to slaughter.

Although some ordinary people had also undergone magnetic energy awakening, public willingness remained low. Perhaps they still hadn’t grasped just how terrifying these monsters truly were.

—

At Xiao Keyan’s home

Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan lounged idly before the television. Their period of rest had ended, and they were ready to resume monster hunting. Yet the sealed-off situation in Haishan was proving problematic, and the authorities were still verifying the aftermath, so no new tasks had been assigned.

“Master, how long are we going to have to wait?” Xiao Keyan sat on the sofa, knees drawn up, her two hammers resting beside her. This was Wu Zui’s insistence—never let your weapons out of reach. Though a large number of monsters had been dealt with in Binhai City recently, ghosts remained active.

Unlike the straightforward monsters, ghosts grew far more cunning once they reached the three-star level. Take, for instance, the ghost that had possessed Qian Lan—Xiao Keyan had spent much of her downtime searching for it online, but it had vanished without a trace.

“Just wait. We’ll be notified when there’s news,” Wu Zui sighed, helpless. He was no omniscient sage—how could he know when the next assignment would arrive?

“Alright…” Xiao Keyan replied, pulling out her laptop to resume her daily search for Qian Lan.

While Xiao Keyan searched, a news report on television caught their attention.

“A drug addict, after biting his family to death, charged into a busy commercial district and attacked innocent civilians, leaving many injured. He has since been detained by the detective division. Commentators online say: ‘A moment’s high, a family’s funeral.'”

“This guy looks familiar,” Wu Zui murmured, studying the face of the drug addict on the screen.

“That’s Liu Lei!” Xiao Keyan’s eyes lit up. Wasn’t he the junkie who used to wander around Ping’an Community? She and Wu Zui had gone to Mingzhu Island to catch a small-time boss named Brother Tian, but the monster outbreak had made her forget Liu Lei entirely. She remembered his photo—Wu Zui had even sent it to Lin Feng.

“Liu Lei? Which one?” Wu Zui still didn’t recall; he was better at remembering faces than names. After all, once a criminal crossed his path, there was no escape.

With Xiao Keyan’s explanation, Wu Zui finally remembered the junkie. Since they had nothing better to do, the two decided to pay a visit to this man who had long been on their wanted list.

Having murdered his family, Liu Lei was now facing criminal charges and had been detained by the local detective division. Once the forensic and medical teams collected evidence, the court would await him—and the judge and jury would likely have no qualms about sending him a bullet on behalf of the nation.

When Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan arrived at the Chaoyang District detective division and saw Liu Lei locked in a solitary cell, Wu Zui’s brow furrowed instantly—for there was no trace of mist above Liu Lei’s head.

Wu Zui had only ever seen such a lack of mist in He Ping, ghosts, and corpses.

First, this couldn’t possibly be He Ping; he wasn’t so bored as to play such games. If it were a ghost, a simple metal door would be no barrier. But if it was a corpse, why was Liu Lei still so vigorous?

Ah, and one more thing: Liu Lei was currently banging on the cell door, howling to be let out or threatening the detectives with dire consequences.

—

“Master? What’s wrong?” Xiao Keyan asked, blinking curiously as she watched Wu Zui stare motionless at Liu Lei.

“There’s something wrong with him,” Wu Zui said, drawing his golden longsword. Blue magnetic energy flowed over the blade at his command.

“Is it a monster?” Xiao Keyan, seeing this, immediately took out her hammers.

“I’m not sure—but I’m almost certain he’s not human.”

Wu Zui thrust the golden longsword at Liu Lei’s shoulder. The blue magnetic energy pierced straight through, and a surge of black mist seeped from the wound.

“Argh! Damn it! The Mirror Ghost will not spare you—!” Liu Lei cursed as black smoke billowed from his shoulder. Wu Zui increased the flow of magnetic energy, enveloping Liu Lei in blue light until, amid his curses, his body dissipated into tendrils of black smoke.

“There’s been a monster incursion!” The detective who had been escorting Wu Zui and Xiao Keyan, himself newly registered for magnetic energy awakening, finally realized the significance of what he was seeing and shouted.

“Enough! Stop shouting, it’s all taken care of. Where did you catch Liu Lei? Tell me everything you know,” Wu Zui said, frowning at the chaos.

[The quality of detectives here is truly lacking.]

Soon, a dossier was brought over, detailing Liu Lei’s criminal history and the particulars of his recent family massacre.

“His home is in Ping’an Community… We should go there,” Wu Zui suddenly recalled that he’d first noticed Liu Lei while reviewing surveillance footage from that neighborhood. He turned to Xiao Keyan.

[There could be clues in his home. Ordinary people might not notice, but those awakened to magnetic energy just might.]

“Alright!” Xiao Keyan tossed her twin ponytails and followed Wu Zui out.

As for Liu Lei? Confirmed dead—not even a bullet required. One might say this saved the nation a bit of money.

The two headed straight for Ping’an Community by car.

In one of the apartments there, cordoned off by police tape, stood a massive full-length mirror. The wooden frame was inlaid with black patterns, giving it a sense of age.

Yet the reflection within did not show the room, but a middle-aged man engulfed in flames, burning alive. On closer inspection, his features bore an uncanny resemblance to Liu Lei.

His mouth gaped in a voiceless scream, for the mirror gave no sound. As the man within was reduced to ashes, the great mirror grew translucent, then faded away entirely.