Chapter 43: Can You Become My Contracted Spirit?

"What?"

Although the head nurse's head was tightly wrapped in gauze, making her expression invisible, her body language clearly showed that the statement had struck a chord.

Duan Ming pulled Han Lingling behind him and faced the head nurse directly.

"I think you must have been looking for Pei Qiongyin's CD all this time, right?"

"You found it?!!!"

"Of course! You must have found the clues in the cafeteria to uncover Sun Dapang's beastly nature. Did you find where he hid the CD?!!!"

"Give it to me!!!"

The head nurse suddenly grew agitated, darting forward right in front of Duan Ming and roaring almost face-to-face.

Duan Ming did not feel scared at all.

It was just a bunch of gauze, and in some places, it was even more pleasing to the eye than an ordinary person.

He withdrew his gaze and calmly replied, "No."

"You're playing with me!!!"

He Yuwei flew into a rage instantly. Ghostly energy surged wildly around her, and the strips of gauze on her face burst open one by one, revealing her battered and bloody visage underneath, looking utterly terrifying.

Duan Ming's expression remained unchanged, and he even spared a glance.

"I mean, there is no CD belonging to Pei Qiongyin."

With dark-tipped fingernails less than ten centimeters from Duan Ming's eyes, He Yuwei glared with wide, bloodshot eyes and said coldly, "Go on."

Duan Ming pointed at Ward 513 at the end of the corridor. "I think you already got the answer from that person's mouth, didn't you? It's just that you were unwilling to believe it."

Sun Dapang was strapped to a hospital bed, struggling and making roaring motions, yet not a single sound came out.

"Even at the cost of consuming a massive amount of ghostly energy to perfectly replicate this entire Greenfield Hospital into the Ghost Realm, you've gained nothing after exploring for so long. Deep down, you actually know this truth very well."

"The CD of Pei Qiongyin being violated does not exist."

"Impossible! Qiongyin she... Qiongyin she..."

He Yuwei muttered with flickering eyes, seemingly trapped in inner conflict.

"What's wrong with Pei Qiongyin? Did she tell you herself that she was violated?"

"No, not only did she not say that, she even told you that she was never raped. She managed to escape back then. Instead, it was you who stubbornly insisted on gathering evidence to accuse Sun Dapang of his crimes. You thought you were seeking justice for Pei Qiongyin, but quite the contrary..."

"Perhaps the surrounding people discussing her caused her immense psychological pressure, but the disbelief of her best and most dependent friend was the final straw that broke her."

"The one who truly killed Pei Qiongyin was you, He! Yu! Wei!"

By the end, Duan Ming was practically roaring.

"Impossible~"

"Impossible~"

"How could I harm Qiongyin? Impossible! This is all one-sided nonsense from you. I don't believe it!!!"

At this moment, Han Lingling timely produced the diary she had just obtained and handed it to Duan Ming with a smile.

Duan Ming glanced at her, took the diary, and held it out in front of He Yuwei.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you."

He Yuwei took it like a madwoman, cradling the small notebook in her hands, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"This is... Qiongyin's handwriting?"

She hurriedly began to flip through the pages like a maniac.

Page after page, until she finished reading the very final entry. At that moment, she collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Right now, she looked just like a young girl who had made a mistake, completely devoid of the intimidating aura of an Evil-tier ghost spirit.

It was a heartbreaking sight.

Seeing this, Chen Feng and the others breathed collective sighs of relief.

They must be safe now.

Yet the very next second, their just-relaxed hearts tightened again.

They watched as Duan Ming fiercely slapped the diary away: "What's the use of crying!!!"

"Do you know what your second mistake was?"

He Yuwei lifted her tear-stained eyes.

"And you claim to put your friendship with Pei Qiongyin above everything else. Look at what you've done all these years!"

"All that talk about killing those who deserve death, making them suffer endless pain—it's all utter bullshit!!!"

"Have you ever thought about going to look for Pei Qiongyin?!!"

"Have you ever considered that perhaps Pei Qiongyin has also been searching for your trace somewhere in the Ghost Realm?"

"Gasp~"

He Yuwei widened her eyes in shock.

At that exact moment, the scarred face she had exposed slowly reverted to normal, fair skin, and the remaining gauze gradually fell off. Within two or three seconds, the head nurse transformed from her horrifying gauze-wrapped visage back into the pure girl from the ID photo.

Simultaneously, a dark shadow slowly detached itself from her body and melted into the darkness—that was the disfigured He Yuwei.

The sudden transformation stunned everyone present.

Duan Ming used an investigative skill on the normal He Yuwei.

Her strength had returned to Fierce Ghost tier 99,999.

Chen Feng tentatively poked his foot toward the transparent wall from earlier.

"The transparent wall is gone!"

"And..."

He eagerly ran over to the railing, leaned down to listen for a moment, and his expression instantly lit up with joy.

"And those screams below seem to have vanished too!!!"

Duan Ming actually knew that the matter had come to a close even earlier than Chen Feng.

Just as He Yuwei completed her transformation, the notification for completing the hidden quest popped up in his mind.

[Completed the ultimate hidden quest of the Greenfield Hospital instance: Skewed Stubbornness]

[Greenfield Hospital has returned to normal and will no longer exist in the form of an instance.]

[Rewards: 1. Ghostly Energy +300]

[2. Ghost Skill—Surge]

[3. Coffin Nail x5]

[4. Death-Substitue Doll x1]

[5. Taunt Bullet x10]

[6. Xiaoyun's Left Ear]

[7. Ghost Coins 2.0 Billion]

[Surge: Upon use, doubles the current ghostly energy output for ten seconds. After the effect ends, the user will fall into a state of exhaustion lasting twenty-four hours, during which only half of the original ghostly energy can be utilized.]

[Note: Cannot use double ghostly energy to surpass the major boundary of Evil tier and above.] (For example, an Evil-tier with 799,999 ghostly energy using Surge can only reach Evil 999,999 and cannot break through to Calamity tier. The same applies upwards.)

[Coffin Nail: Driving it in forces the target into a rigid state until the nail is pulled out. Effective up to Fierce Ghost tier. Note: Drive it in deep; ghostly energy can exert impact on the Coffin Nail.]

[Taunt Bullet: Rule-based bullet, non-lethal, forces the target to attack the user regardless of level, lasting ten seconds.]

As expected of the ultimate hidden quest of an instance—what a massive harvest!

Looking at the pile of items that had suddenly appeared in his boundary stone space, Duan Ming grinned from ear to ear.

Only, something unexpected seemed to have mixed in the middle.

Turning back to look at Han Lingling, he found her wearing a delighted expression as well. Their eyes met.

Meng Qian rubbed his eyes.

"Am I seeing things? Why did it look like Duan Ming and Han Lingling's eyes both flashed at the exact same time?"

Then, Duan Ming turned back to face He Yuwei.

Having laid all the groundwork, it was time to reap the rewards.

He squatted down.

"What are your plans for the future? How are you going to find Pei Qiongyin? Where will you look?"

He Yuwei shook her head blankly.

The Ghost Realm was unimaginably vast. Trying to pinpoint another ghost in a vast sea of ghosts was indeed daunting, and she had no idea where to begin. Moreover, she was now only at the Fierce Ghost tier, and adventuring everywhere was still quite dangerous—after all, not everyone was like Ying Hongyan, who could practically bulldoze through everything.

Duan Ming smiled slightly. "Why don't you listen to my suggestion?"

He Yuwei nodded.

Duan Ming said, "Look, my name is Duan Ming, and just hearing this name makes it sound perfect for adventuring in the Ghost Realm—bright and promising."

"Secondly, my strength isn't low either. At such a young age, I've already been chasing fierce ghosts around and beating them up, and my future is limitless."

"Thirdly, I'm smart. Didn't I manage to completely expose your entire background in less than a day?"

"And of course, the most crucial point... I'm handsome."

He Yuwei: "???"

"Why are you saying all this?"

"Of course it's useful!" Duan Ming crossed his legs and sat down opposite her with great interest.

"Look at you. You want to find Pei Qiongyin, but you don't even know where to start, right?"

"Now look at me. I'm a master adventurer in the Ghost Realm, and every time I enter the Ghost Realm, my drop location is completely different. Searching like a wide net the way I do has got to be more efficient than you flying around like a headless fly, doesn't it?"

"So..."

Duan Ming reached out his hand toward He Yuwei, wearing the smile of a Big Bad Wolf.

"Would you like to become my contracted ghost spirit?"

Everyone: "∑(o_o；)"