Chapter Eleven: First Encounter with the Spirit Controllers

For the sake of caution, Feng Tianlin immediately upgraded Frost Freeze to Level 6, spending a staggering eighty-seven thousand Terror Points in total. From Level 1 to 2 required two thousand points, Level 2 to 3 over five thousand, Level 3 to 4 ten thousand, Level 4 to 5 twenty thousand, and Level 5 to 6 a full fifty thousand Terror Points.

Without hesitation, he also learned Spatial Dead Zone, upgrading it all the way to Level 3, so it could extend to nine square meters, enough to envelop both Feng He and his companion. Next was Soul Interrogation; he only just learned it and hadn’t upgraded it yet, uncertain of its true power.

At this moment, Lü Li was already on the verge of defeat. She realized something was amiss, used her psychic sense once more, and shouted in surprise, “Feng He! We felt it wrong earlier! That girl is E-rank! The doll is F-rank!”

Feng He, who was chasing Feng Tianlin with a lighter, immediately turned to look at him upon hearing this. “Damn, it really is F-rank! But I could have sworn I sensed it right just now. What's going on?”

He wasn’t really afraid of Feng Tianlin; the problem was the little girl being E-rank would be troublesome, and he’d have no choice but to run. “Lü Li! We’re pulling out!” Seeing that the mirror-clone of Long Mengting was about to collapse, Feng He knew they couldn’t hesitate any longer—survival was all that mattered.

Lü Li nodded at him and immediately ran backward, with Feng He following close behind, still trying to burn Feng Tianlin with his lighter as he fled.

But Feng Tianlin had already stopped running. With a grand sweep of his hand, he declared, “Behold my Frost Freeze!”

A chilling wave shot from his palm, instantly freezing the lighter solid. Yet the icy surge lasted only a moment before Tianlin stopped the skill—no other reason than the sheer energy cost. Just that instant had drained almost half his reserves.

The reason why monstrous entities could move at all was because of a certain energy within them. Feng Tianlin was absolutely certain that if this energy ran dry, he would be rendered utterly powerless.

To have an F-rank like himself unleash a skill as potent as Level 7 was truly pushing it.

When Feng He saw his lighter frozen solid, he was utterly dumbfounded. He seemed to forget to run, pointing at Feng Tianlin instead, “How... How is this possible? You have two skills? And this one is almost as strong as a D-rank!”

Meanwhile, Long Mengting had already dispatched the mirror clone. Seeing Feng He standing there in a daze, she didn’t wait for orders. She darted forward, and with a swipe of her Claw of Probing, struck him squarely. The unfortunate Feng He’s head exploded, splattering red and white matter everywhere.

Feng Tianlin was at a loss for words. From the earlier conversation between the man and woman, he’d already deduced that the man was the timid type, easier to extract information from, while the woman was strong-willed and unlikely to talk.

Seeing the man killed, Feng Tianlin hurriedly ordered Long Mengting, “Don’t move!”

She obeyed at once, standing still.

By now Lü Li had run over nine meters away, only to slam into Feng Tianlin’s spatial dead zone. She was just registering her shock, unsure what was happening, when she witnessed her boyfriend’s head being blown apart.

“Feng He!” Lü Li wailed, clutching the headless corpse desperately, tears streaming down her face. She was devastated.

She and Feng He had met at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. From acquaintance to lovers, she’d always looked down on his cautious nature, but loved him deeply nonetheless. Scenes from their past played in her mind like a slideshow, but now there was no turning back.

Feng Tianlin shook his head and strode over to Lü Li, preparing to interrogate her—only to realize he didn’t actually know how to speak.

With no other option, he searched the system for a relevant skill.

Seeing the terrifying doll approach but do nothing, Lü Li wiped her tears and looked at Feng Tianlin. “You… You really possess intelligence?”

He ignored her, for he had just found a skill that allowed him to speak.

“Mimic: Can imitate any appearance or voice, though it is only an imitation.”

It only cost five hundred points. Feng Tianlin redeemed it without any hesitation.

Harnessing this power, he began to mimic a voice—a processed male tone that matched the doll’s appearance.

“Tell me, who are you people?”

Hearing the doll speak, Lü Li was so frightened she collapsed in Feng He’s pool of blood, pointing at Tianlin in shock. “You… you can actually communicate with humans!”

For a monstrous entity to communicate with humans—if she told anyone, they’d think she was mad. Ordinary monsters couldn’t even restrain themselves from killing humans, let alone talk to them.

Scientists from around the world had tried countless methods to communicate with these creatures, all in vain. In the end, they concluded: humans and these entities could never communicate.

But Feng Tianlin ignored her astonishment, pressing on: “Answer me! Who are you?”

Lü Li’s shock turned to grim determination. “I’ll never tell you!”

Her mirror’s energy had been completely exhausted by Long Mengting. She was essentially defenseless now, so she had resigned herself to Feng He’s fate—extracting information from her would be nearly impossible. But… Feng Tianlin had Soul Interrogation.

He used Soul Interrogation on her at Level 1. Instantly, her gaze went vacant, her breathing grew ragged, as if she was enduring unimaginable agony.

“I’ll ask again—who are you people?” Feng Tianlin demanded.

“Go to hell! Kill me!” Lü Li’s voice trembled, but she shook her head resolutely.

Feng Tianlin wasted no words, immediately upgrading Soul Interrogation to Level 2. Under its power, Lü Li collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony and howling in pain.

“Tell me—who are you?” His voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

“I… I won't tell you!” Lü Li persisted stubbornly.

Feng Tianlin was impressed—not by her resilience, but by how thoroughly her human organization had brainwashed her, enabling her to endure such torment.

Upgrade again! Take it to Level 3 and see if she still resists.

Under Level 3 Soul Interrogation, she stopped rolling. Lying on the ground, her eyes trembled uncontrollably, drool streaming from her mouth.

“Will you tell me now? Who are you people?”

She nodded mechanically at last, finally unable to withstand the soul-deep torture.

Seeing her nod, Feng Tianlin released the skill at last, then stared coldly and uttered a single word: “Speak.”

Freed from the torment, Lü Li was instantly relieved. Drenched in cold sweat, she lay panting on the ground, wiping drool from her lips.

She got up, looked at Feng Tianlin, and said, “I’ll tell you—but you must let me go.”

Feng Tianlin nodded. “Agreed.”