Chapter 161: Temporary Alliance
The mannequin covered in cracks was held mid-air, its two pitch black eyes staring motionlessly ahead, lips slightly parted as if speaking.
If there were others in the room, they would find that this strange mannequin hadn’t made the slightest sound.
But Zhang Qian could hear some strange tone and understand its meaning.
“One left, one right, continuously opening seven doorways… This pattern isn’t complicated, but without knowing it, trying to figure it out by luck would be nearly impossible.”
Having obtained the clue he wanted, Zhang Qian didn’t loosen his grip on the mannequin; instead, he slightly tightened it, lifting the mannequin to his eyes.
“Then can you explain why you came to chase and kill me?”
“You keep saying your goal is the same as mine, but I don’t remember ever provoking you. On the contrary, you wanted to kill me the moment we met.”
There was no emotion in Zhang Qian’s eyes, as if he would kill the mannequin in front of him at the slightest disagreement.
After all, when Zhang Qian lost his memory, both the Water Ghost and the Shadow Ghost nearly took his life. Though he didn’t know which one the mannequin was controlling, he was certain the mannequin was no good thing.
Treating such a strange thing as a teammate was really unsettling.
Even imprisoning it wouldn’t be secure enough.
In a place like this, finding a chance to devour it might be the best choice.
“This wasn’t my intention…”
“My current state is very strange. I can maintain my self without controlling a Fierce Ghost, but once the supernatural buildup in my body is too much, even my own consciousness will be affected.”
The mannequin seemed to want to argue, but its empty eyes showed no regret—icy cold, deathly still, no different from a true Fierce Ghost.
“The behavior of chasing and killing you was entirely due to the Fierce Ghost’s instinct. At that time, my consciousness was completely suppressed, and I had no way to stop it.”
The mannequin wasn’t lying, just concealing part of the truth.
The Fierce Ghost did affect its consciousness, but completely losing consciousness happened only after fusing with the Ghost Shadow.
At the beginning, when the mannequin’s main body was still hiding in the Water Ghost’s body, its consciousness was actually still clear.
At least at that time it could still think, though without any emotions, just thinking about how to leave the Ghost Ship.
Controlling the darkness to advance was more for exploring the aisle, and the idea of crushing Zhang Qian wasn’t that strong.
Mainly, Zhang Qian happened to be blocking the aisle, and seeing him as just an ordinary person with no help for its actions, the mannequin wanted to kill him offhandedly.
But it hadn’t expected this ordinary person’s life to be so tough—not only did he have a Supernatural Item, but he luckily encountered help from two Fierce Ghosts.
Even after the mannequin fused with the Shadow Ghost later, Zhang Qian was still alive and well.
“…”
Holding the mannequin in his hand, Zhang Qian said nothing.
The meaning was clear: such a reason alone wasn’t enough to convince him.
“Don’t worry, this ability to control Fierce Ghosts seems powerful, but it actually has many restrictions,” the mannequin said.
“Without controlling a Fierce Ghost, my strength is even less than the weakest Ghost Controller, posing no threat to you at all.”
“Moreover, my purpose is also to leave. Now that my consciousness is clear, I absolutely won’t trip you up from the shadows.”
“Keeping me by your side has no downsides, and I can even provide some help from time to time.”
There was some truth to that…
Zhang Qian’s gaze shifted; this mannequin might know some things about the Ghost Ship, which was exactly the information he needed.
He had no leads on the Captain’s position yet; perhaps he could ask the mannequin about it.
“Since it’s a misunderstanding, let’s drop it.”
Zhang Qian nodded slightly, then asked again: “But leaving shouldn’t be that simple, right?”
“From what you’re saying, you don’t want to stay here either. Since you know the pattern, why not leave on your own?”
Seeing Zhang Qian’s tone soften, the mannequin relaxed a bit.
But it still didn’t dare slack off; its mouth opened and closed, emitting a strange sound.
“Opening doorways isn’t hard, but activating a room at the same time means facing the Fierce Ghosts inside.”
“Seven doorways are seven Fierce Ghosts. Though the terror levels of the Fierce Ghosts in the rooms vary, you’ll always encounter one or two existences that can’t be confronted.”
“I don’t have the ability to confront them yet, so even knowing the method, I can only be trapped here.”
The strange tone showed no emotions, but Zhang Qian felt this thing wasn’t lying.
After all, there had been many doorways that couldn’t be opened earlier; the Fierce Ghosts inside those should be the more terrifying types.
As for the safe houses that could be opened, the distances between them weren’t small, making it basically impossible to open them continuously.
Blindly forcing through was like drawing lots; no one knew if they’d draw a terrifying grand prize.
It seemed that leaving this aisle would inevitably require the Ghost Map’s help.
Compared to the mannequin fumbling like a blind person, Zhang Qian with the Ghost Map was like having full map vision.
Not saying all seven rooms were safe houses, but finding a less dangerous route should be no problem.
But even so, the mannequin shouldn’t have been trapped this long.
After thinking, Zhang Qian asked again: “You’ve been trapped here for who knows how long and must have attempted it more than once. Just memorizing the Fierce Ghosts in the rooms should let you find a relatively safe route.”
Even without a map, over such a long time, it should have worn down a route.
“It’s not that simple…”
The mannequin slightly shook its head, revealing a black scar on the side of its face.
The charred skin showed carbonized traces, uneven like scales.
“Once the pattern is triggered, escaping those things is far from just closing the door.”
“Many times, to escape with my life, I had to leave through refreshed aisles, enter new areas, and start from zero again.”
“Had to escape with my life?”
Zhang Qian looked puzzled at the body on the ground.
This rotten corpse was very quiet now, but not long ago it was extremely fierce—even he could only barely confront it.
“Are the things in the rooms that terrifying?”
“You lost control only after meeting me. Before that, plus that eyeball and yourself, you were already controlling three or even more Fierce Ghosts. Even then, you couldn’t confront the things in the rooms?”
Even if these three Fierce Ghosts weren’t a puzzle piece and fought independently, their terror level definitely wasn’t low; in the outside world, few Ghost Controllers could handle them alone.
