Chapter 34: Loss Of Control
As Lu Jinzhao’s words fell, Wei Ling’s nearly collapsing expression seemed to find comfort, and her reason on the verge of loss of control was pulled back.
She nodded: “Okay, I believe you.”
Her voice was somewhat difficult, but as her emotions gradually calmed, her tone of speech was no longer intense.
In this desperate situation, she regarded Lu Jinzhao as her only straw to clutch at.
Lu Jinzhao’s pale hand directly reached into her pocket and touched the parchment that had always been stored there.
She actually couldn’t confirm whether the scene before her eyes was real or fake, nor could she confirm if the Wei Ling on the verge of collapse right now was truly an illusion. The only thing she could confirm was that this roll of parchment she possessed was absolutely not an ordinary supernatural item.
If even the words on the parchment were an illusion, then it would be even more impossible for her to break this boundless illusion herself.
But Lu Jinzhao felt it wouldn’t be.
In fact, she vaguely had a premonition that her fall into such a desperate situation now might have this parchment to thank for no small part.
Its purpose in wanting to make a transaction with her was too undisguised, and Lu Jinzhao had also seen from the other passengers’ expressions and words that the difficulty of these two platform missions was somewhat excessive.
Once might be an accident, but twice—could it still be an accident?
If her guess was correct, and the platform difficulty exceeding standards was due to the parchment’s meddling, then the illusion of a Class C mission couldn’t possibly trap the parchment.
As if confirming that Lu Jinzhao now had the thought of making a transaction, the blood script before her eyes changed once more.
[Will you pay one-third to obtain the way to survive this mission?]
The price given by the parchment made Lu Jinzhao pause for a moment in the action she had intended to take for the transaction.
“One-third? One-third of what?”
She couldn’t care less that Wei Ling was still beside her and directly asked the air.
She knew the parchment could “hear.”
But the parchment gave no response.
Lu Jinzhao furrowed her brows: “If you don’t explain clearly, there’s absolutely no way I’ll exchange with you.”
The air was quiet for a few seconds, then the blood script before her eyes changed.
[Will you pay one-third to ensure survival of this mission?]
The words changed, but the price of one-third remained unchanged.
Lu Jinzhao was almost amused with anger.
This damned ghostly thing.
“I need to know what that one-third is.”
She emphasized again.
But the parchment no longer responded.
One person and one object thus remained in a standoff for a long time until finally, the blood script before her eyes changed once more.
[You have no time left.]
[Can you be sure whether the train has come or not?]
The parchment began to tempt her.
[If you don’t make a decision soon, you might stay here forever.]
Lu Jinzhao sneered.
“Then you can stay here with me forever too.”
The parchment fell silent.
But Lu Jinzhao didn’t feel complacent for winning this verbal battle; on the contrary, from these few words of the parchment, she saw something even worse.
This ghostly thing actually possessed a certain “wisdom.”
Although it seemed somewhat rigid, without a doubt, it was more human-like than the ghosts she had encountered inside the platform!
What exactly was this parchment?
Perhaps, after leaving here, she should make a trip back home.
A few more seconds passed, and the parchment responded.
[Pay one-third of your soul to ensure survival of this mission.]
Seeing the words “soul,” Lu Jinzhao’s heart jolted.
This price was far too great.
One-third of her soul—wasn’t that equal to one-third of her life?
What did this thing want with her soul?
Clearly it was more powerful than the ghosts inside the platform. The ghost from [Summon Ghosts] that could be seen after surgery—if she so much as glanced at it, she would immediately be possessed, and the parchment wasn’t afraid of it either, yet for a transaction with her, it wanted one-third?
What was restricting it?
In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Lu Jinzhao’s mind.
She even had an extremely extreme idea in her heart.
“…It seems very eager to transact with me and doesn’t want to stay inside the platform. If I keep refusing the transaction, when the train is really about to leave, will it remind me to avoid staying inside the platform?”
But doing so would be tantamount to betting her life against the ghost!
The parchment wouldn’t die if left inside the platform, but she would.
Lu Jinzhao couldn’t take such a risk.
So she spoke: “One-quarter, and I’ll transact.”
She probed the parchment’s bottom line, but…
[Transaction failed.]
The parchment refused.
Lu Jinzhao frowned, realizing that the parchment’s attitude was even more resolute than she had thought.
At this point, Lu Jinzhao no longer hesitated; having made her decision, she didn’t waver for a moment:
“Okay, let’s transact.”
The next moment, the blood script before her eyes, like an illusion, turned into blood mist. The mist seemed to outline a blurry face that revealed a chilling, spine-tingling smile now that its purpose was achieved.
[Transaction successful.]
In an instant, Lu Jinzhao felt darkness before her eyes. Her body uncontrollably fell to the ground, her whole person as if plunging into an endless abyss. Darkness surrounded her; she could only feel herself constantly falling, falling…
Something from the darkness approached her, wrapped around her body, then permeated inside.
Amid the coldness was a bone-chilling chill that effortlessly merged with her, devouring a part of her.
Lu Jinzhao felt herself losing consciousness. Her mind involuntarily began recalling past memories, then the memories jumped and cut like stuttering footage, even becoming blurry.
Some unfamiliar scenes appeared before her eyes—places she had never seen, dim, deathly still, oppressive.
Indistinct faces flashed frame by frame before her. Fear born from nowhere haunted her heart, making her want to scream, to escape, but she couldn’t make a sound or control her body and thinking.
Time seemed to stretch on forever, yet also like just an instant. Lu Jinzhao’s out-of-control brain and body gradually regained a bit of autonomy.
She heard Wei Ling frantically calling her name, telling her to wake up; she felt her body being shaken.
Lu Jinzhao barely opened her eyes, only to feel her brain spinning dizzily. She tried to lift her hand but found herself somewhat unfamiliar with her own body.
“…Has control over my body become problematic?”
It made sense, after all, she had sold one-third of her soul to the parchment.
Lu Jinzhao forcibly suppressed the fear arising from the abnormality in her body and tried to speak, telling Wei Ling to shut up first and stop shaking her.
Then, after spending some more time, she supported her somewhat unfamiliar and sluggish body to stand up. She looked toward the ancestral hall entrance and found that the train had disappeared.
She asked: “When did the train outside the door disappear?”
Wei Ling’s eyes were panicked and helpless; she was already somewhat at a loss: “When you fell down, the train disappeared.”
“Did we… miss it?”
Lu Jinzhao shook her head and affirmed to her: “No, that was just an illusion. The real train hasn’t come yet.”
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