Bai Ci's voice was gentle as she reminded her, but her hand didn't loosen in the slightest, half-coercively dragging Ou Li's attention back to the road ahead.
The others weren't fools either. Seeing this, they didn't immediately corner Bai Ci to pepper her with questions.
Instead, they kept moving, crossing the crosswalk without looking left or right, and quickly distanced themselves from the intersection.
Only after they had walked dozens of meters and were completely clear of the intersection did Bai Ci finally release her grip.
Ou Li looked back with lingering fear. Lowering her voice, she whispered in shock and disbelief, “Lady Ming Ci, what on earth was that just now? Was it a hanged ghost?”
“That was way too terrifying. Hanging right over the intersection and swaying back and forth like that... it looked so eerie.”
As Bai Ci released her hold on Ou Li, the others stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Ou Li, waiting for an explanation.
Although the rest of them didn't have Ou Li's Yin-Yang Eyes to see spirits clearly, they had all felt an inexplicable, sudden chill when they passed the intersection.
Even Zheng Gang, whose class wasn't related to the supernatural, had detected the abnormal aura thanks to his exceptionally high Inspiration as a Historian.
Bai Ci didn't hide anything and briefly explained the answer she had gotten from Ming Yi to everyone.
“That's a Foetal Feeder, a special kind of sinister, evil entity.”
“It feeds on human lives and has a fixed consumption limit. Each time it takes a life, the blood-red color on its body fades a bit. Once the color completely vanishes, it will dissipate on its own into the world.”
Hearing this, Mi Ke frowned. As a medium, she was highly sensitive to such sinister entities and immediately asked, “With something so dangerous, is no one going to deal with it?”
Her question voiced the doubts of all the players, including Bai Ci, who was also very curious about the answer.
Beside them, Wu Daoqing looked ashamed. He lowered his eyes, sighed softly, and explained truthfully, “It's not that no one cares, it's just too difficult to deal with.”
“The Foetal Feeder has an extremely unique physical makeup. Ordinary Daoist arts, talismans, and Heavenly Master techniques are mostly ineffective against it, making it virtually immune to conventional attacks.”
“Furthermore, it has a fixed lifespan. Once it consumes its quota of human lives, it dissipates on its own without lingering for long, so the harm it causes is limited.”
“Those who want to deal with it lack the ability to do so, while those who have the ability are busy with far more important matters.”
“It takes a lot of time and effort with very little results. Over time, very few in the Association are willing to take action, mostly leaving it to run its course.”
“It's just a pity for the innocent ordinary people who fall victim to it.”
“Ugh, my temper... so they just don't treat ordinary people like human beings?” Ou Li felt a heavy weight on her chest, her anger flaring up, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about the situation.
She could only swallow her anger and mutter in a low voice.
“I have a gut feeling that if we just let this kind of thing run wild, the consequences might be very severe.”
Wu Suowei, who had been listening in silence, felt a sudden urge to investigate. He asked casually, “What is the origin of this Foetal Feeder? It couldn't have just appeared out of thin air, right?”
Wu Daoqing shook his head slightly, looking bewildered. “Foetal Feeders don't appear very often, and they are incredibly difficult to capture and study. There is currently no definitive conclusion regarding their cause.”
“However, based on their habit of lingering at busy, multi-way intersections, most people speculate that they are highly likely formed from the condensed resentment of those who died unjust deaths at these crossings.”
An ordinary person passes by and is killed by a Foetal Feeder.
The tragically deceased soul is reanimated, only to become a new Foetal Feeder.
If that was the case, it looked like a vicious cycle no matter how one sliced it.
Since Wu Daoqing and Bai Ci had already explained what needed to be explained, the players in this instance showed little interest in this side content that was clearly unrelated to the main quest.
After all, they weren't even sure they could survive the highly dangerous main quest. If they took on a high-risk side quest, they would be putting the cart before the horse and likely end up dying an even more miserable death.
Everyone fell silent, choosing not to delve any deeper into the matter.
The group soon arrived at their destination and stepped into the highly-rated home-style restaurant.
The interior was clean and tidy, filled with the bustling aroma of good food. Even though the lunch rush was nearly over, customers were still coming and going in a steady stream, proving that the food here was indeed exceptionally delicious.
They casually ordered a few dishes and a soup, taking a brief break to eat and enjoy a rare moment of peace.
The dishes leaned on the spicier side, rich and fragrant. After a few bites, a fiery heat rushed straight down their throats.
Ou Li ate until sweat beaded on the tip of her nose and her tongue went numb. She kept panting and sucking in cool air, making soft, burning noises.
As she ate, she really couldn't bear the burning sensation in her mouth any longer. She set down her chopsticks and stood up.
“No, no, this is too spicy. I can't take it. I'm going to the convenience store next door to buy an ice cream to cool my mouth down. You guys keep eating, don't wait for me.”
Without waiting for a response, she quickly walked out of the restaurant and headed straight for the convenience store down the street.
Before long, she emerged with a yogurt ice cream bar. The cool, sweet flavor suppressed the fiery heat in her mouth, making her squint her eyes in sheer comfort.
As Ou Li slowly licked her ice cream and prepared to turn back to the restaurant, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the nearby intersection.
The next second, the screech of brakes and a dull impact suddenly shattered the air.
Another sudden traffic accident had occurred at the busy intersection.
Pedestrians screamed, car horns blared, and clamor instantly erupted as chaos once again enveloped the crossing.
Ou Li's heart leaped. She instinctively focused her gaze on the traffic light post, looking for the eerie creature officially known as the Foetal Feeder.
A car hitting someone running a red light.
This exact script... if it wasn't the work of that bat-like, upside-down thing, she would do a handstand and wash her hair in public right here at the intersection.
The final trace of blood-red clinging to the collar of the Foetal Feeder dangling from the horizontal bar of the traffic light completely faded away at this very moment.
According to what Wu Daoqing had just said, once a Foetal Feeder consumed its full quota of human lives, its color would fade completely, and it would then dissipate, vanishing entirely from the world.
But at this moment, the hairs all over Ou Li's body stood on end.
She witnessed a bizarre scene that was the exact opposite of what she had been told.
The Foetal Feeder's body did not dissipate. Instead, it transformed into countless fine wisps of grayish-white mist. Silently, these wisps detached from the traffic light bar and flowed rapidly toward a certain direction in the city.
It hadn't disappeared.
It had been hijacked from afar, or perhaps transferred, by someone or some unknown force.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ou Li pulled out her phone and dialed Wu Suowei's number, speaking in a rushed, urgent tone.
“Get out here! Something's happened!”
“The Foetal Feeder didn't disappear! It floated away, flying toward the northwest!”
“I'm going to follow it and see!”
On the other end of the line, everyone immediately dropped their chopsticks and stood up.
“Don't do anything rash. Stay safe, we're on our way!” Wu Suowei instructed in a deep voice, immediately rushing out of the restaurant with Mi Ke and Wu Daoqing.
Since Bai Ci had to protect Wu Daoqing, she naturally followed right behind them.
Only Zheng Gang remained completely unhurried. He calmly lagged behind, called over the waiter to explain they weren't dining and dashing, and pulled out his phone to scan the QR code to settle the bill.
Rate on N.U.
