Chapter 74: The Dragon’s Well (2)

To be honest, Ma Liang had no desire to go down. But, just as the man said, if they didn’t investigate the well, the viewers would certainly complain. By then, the payment they’d negotiated with the company could be reduced or even lost entirely.

After much deliberation, Ma Liang nodded.

“The cameraman and I will go down and take a look. The rest of you, stay here and keep watch,” Ma Liang instructed the others. He was being paid more than the rest; in such situations, even if he didn’t volunteer, the others would insist he go—so better to offer himself and earn some goodwill.

The cameraman’s face darkened with reluctance.

But there was no helping it, for only this camera was specially made, crafted from magnetite and gold. The other cameras couldn’t withstand the energy of resentment; if they tried, the footage would be unusable, as if they were filming a comedy. The portable cameras were even more useless.

“Alright.”

The cameraman responded, slinging the machine over his shoulder. He and Ma Liang fastened the prepared ropes and cautiously approached the edge of the well, preparing to descend and see what lay below.

The audience erupted with excitement, tipping and gifting wildly across the screen.

“The streamer’s going down the well! Tip him, tip him!”

“Will there be a water ghost in there?”

“Water ghost? Those are for fishing; this is Dragon Prison Well! There might even be a dragon inside!”

“No way! A dragon? Do such things exist?”

As Ma Liang and his team neared Dragon Prison Well, the time struck one in the afternoon. Suddenly, the sound of waves echoed from the depths, a surge of sulfur and putrid odor rose, and the chains clanked and rattled violently.

On impulse, Ma Liang signaled for the camera. A powerful flashlight beamed into the well, and on the camera’s display, water surged upward, the surface rising as if something was about to emerge!

Every viewer watching the livestream held their breath, as if afraid whatever was inside the video might leap out at them.

With a popping sound, like a bubble bursting, a gaping hole opened in the water at the bottom of the well, the solitary chain plunging into darkness without end.

Ma Liang’s team froze, then, as if following a predetermined order, each leapt into the well one after another, like dumplings dropped into soup.

In an instant, they vanished.

The livestream cut out, the screen went black, and chaos erupted among the viewers.

“Something happened?”

“Another livestream accident!”

“Too bad! We can’t see what it was! What kind of ghost or monster could it be?”

At that very moment, Wu Zui and his two companions watched the blackened stream with grave expressions.

As fellow three-star Awakened, they had seen traces of a confinement space in the sudden rupture at the bottom of the well. Any entity capable of pulling five three-star spirit detectives into its own domain was not to be underestimated.

“Don’t watch anymore, Master!”

“You should focus on recovering your magnetic energy first!” Xiao Ke’ai snapped Wu Zui out of his daze. As for the creature beneath Dragon Prison Well, others would handle it—this was Yanjing, not Binhai; there was no shortage of four- or even five-star spirit detectives here. Wu Zui need not throw himself into the fray.

“Alright. We’re here; let’s go in,” Wu Zui said, snapping his now-dark laptop shut. The three had arrived at the Yanjing City Spirit Detective Bureau.

“OK!” As the car stopped, the trio entered the bureau.

Unlike Binhai, the special rooms here were underground, a privilege Wu Zui had earned by opening the Shadow Ghost’s sealed confinement space in Binhai. He had enough points to purchase specialized equipment and to use the magnetic energy enhancement chamber to restore his own reserves.

Beneath the Yanjing bureau, Wu Zui and Xiao Ke’ai went to soak in the baths, while Ming Rourou exchanged her points for the corpse of a two-star anomaly and borrowed a dissection room to continue her research.

Restoring magnetic energy was far from pleasant, reminiscent of Wu Zui’s first time in the enhancement chamber. He was forced to cling to the bottom of the pool, once again experiencing the sensation of nearly drowning.

But the process didn’t take long, so Wu Zui lingered in the water, hoping his magnetic energy might reach the four-star threshold.

Meanwhile, the group that had entered the space beneath Dragon Prison Well—including those who had arrived first—had now gathered together.

The cameraman still carried his device on his shoulder. Though they couldn’t transmit footage in real time, this would be valuable evidence once they made it out.

The bottom of Dragon Prison Well was unlike any ordinary confinement space; it felt like a new world entirely. Even when they focused all their magnetic energy into their eyes, they couldn’t see the edge of this world. No matter how powerful a five-star ghost might be, such boundless confinement was impossible.

A brief exploration revealed that, if their original world was one of color, this realm was shrouded in gloom. A gray, misty sky; brownish-gray trees; bizarre, distant architecture; and pools of filthy water all combined to create this eerie, shadowy world.

Nearby was a strange, black, polluted lake. Though there was no wind, ripples constantly disturbed the surface. Fortunately, they had landed on the shore—who knew what might have happened if they’d fallen straight in?

Among Ma Liang’s team was an Awakened specializing in detecting ghosts. His open eyes glowed deep blue, images flickering within—scenes from their immediate surroundings.

“How does it look?” Ma Liang asked warily. With no idea what lay nearby, none of them dared act rashly. The world around them felt openly hostile.

The Awakened shook his head, blue light fading from his eyes. “No ghosts in the vicinity, but the concentration of resentment energy is incredible! Compared to the confinement spaces of three-star ghosts, this place is in a different league entirely!”

“We should focus on getting out first,” said the spirit detective who’d fallen in before them.

The group fell silent. No matter what they discovered, survival came first. If they died here, no information would ever make it back—no matter what secrets to becoming a nine-star powerhouse might be hidden here, it would all be for nothing.

“How did you end up here?” Ma Liang asked the spirit detective.

“I was on routine patrol at noon when I heard a noise from Dragon Prison Well,” the detective recounted after a moment’s thought. “I went over to check, and as soon as I reached the wellhead, everything went black—and I fell in.”

“You didn’t sense any ghosts near the ancient well?” Ma Liang asked in surprise. Spirit detectives were usually more experienced and better equipped than Awakened; Ma Liang had hoped the detective might have noticed something he himself had missed.

“No! The opening resembled a wall of resentment energy in a confinement space, but I didn’t sense any actual energy. If I had, I’d never have leaned over to look in!”

“That’s strange. If no ghost dragged us here, could this place open at fixed times, and we just happened to stumble in?” Ma Liang speculated as he gazed at the bizarre world, noting the absence of ghosts.

“I fell in just after eleven—I remember because I was about to get lunch when I heard the noise,” the detective supplied.

“We arrived around one in the afternoon, and after searching the area, it must have been nearly one when the entrance opened. Perhaps it always opens on the hour?” Ma Liang mused aloud, analyzing the timing.

“In that case, if we wait, shouldn’t the opening appear again?” a teammate suggested.

“Normally, yes,” Ma Liang agreed.

They settled by the stones at the lake’s edge and waited.

Who knows how much time passed, but the once-gently rippling black lake grew turbulent. The familiar sound of crashing waves filled the air—strangely, the group on the shore remained dry despite the surging water.

Soon, a rift appeared in the sky above the lake, bringing a shaft of light to this shadowy world. That, surely, was the exit—the very place they’d fallen from. Rust-stained chains slowly descended from the gap, stretching down to the lake’s center.

The opening hovered just above the water; if someone could grab the chain while in the lake, escape seemed easy. One of Ma Liang’s companions immediately leapt in, but instead of sinking, strode across the waves toward the exit.

The spirit detective thought the man must have some special ability, but Ma Liang’s face had turned grim. As he watched the water, anger at his teammate’s solo escape faded to terror.

“Oh, hell—run!” Ma Liang shouted, bolting away from the lake like a frightened animal.

The others were still confused—why was Ma Liang fleeing in such panic?—until…

The surface of the lake suddenly split open, revealing a massive maw lined with triangular blades. The would-be escapee vanished into the gaping hole. Instantly, the same openings riddled the entire lake.

Then the lake began to writhe and twist!

Only then did they realize—this was no mere lake.

It was the body of a colossal creature, a serpent-like being without a head. The shimmering water was its scales, slicked with translucent mucus.

It had no mouth in the traditional sense, only enormous cavities ringed with inverted, triangular blades—its version of jaws.