Chapter 41 Open the Door!

"Zhuo Yan..." Lu Yuan swallowed hard.

Zhuo Yan's eyes had turned completely blood-red, and she remained fixed in a steady, unblinking gaze at the blood moon in the sky. Lu Yuan dared not touch her, fearing that any physical contact might trigger an immediate, violent reaction. He subconsciously backed away, observing her for a moment. She seemed merely lost in a trance, showing no signs of attacking him.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan carefully stepped forward and poked her. No reaction. Good! She hadn't gone berserk. Growing bolder, he walked around to face her and waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"Is she frozen?" Lu Yuan frowned slightly. If the blood moon could immobilize specters, did that mean all the entities in the Dream of Specters were currently paralyzed? He considered this and dismissed it as impossible; if every entity in this world were immobile, where would the danger come from? The blood moon might be able to temporarily stun or mesmerize them, but it certainly could not sustain such a state indefinitely.

Lu Yuan hesitated for a long time. In the end, he decided to try and wake her. They had only just left the villa and had not yet officially entered the urban area of S City; losing a helper right out of the "newbie village" would be a significant setback.

"Zhuo Yan?" Lu Yuan gave her a nudge. Still nothing. He raised his hand to cover her eyes, blocking her view of the blood moon. It worked—her body visibly twitched.

Before Lu Yuan could celebrate, a bone-chilling cold washed over him, and he instinctively dodged to the side. He looked down to see a kitchen knife slicing through the air where he had just been standing. Had he not moved, the blade would have plunged into his abdomen, carving out a gaping hole.

Zhuo Yan slowly lowered her head. She was no longer looking at the blood moon, but Lu Yuan stumbled backward in alarm. Her blood-red eyes were filled with hatred. She kept murmuring the name of Zhuang Dong, clearly mistaking Lu Yuan for him. The blood moon possessed hypnotic properties—even specters could be entranced.

"Zhuo Yan, I'm not Zhuang Dong! Look closely!" Lu Yuan pleaded, hoping his words would reach her.

His words seemed to have some effect. A flicker of hesitation and confusion crossed her red eyes: "You are not Zhuang Dong... you are..."

Lu Yuan let out a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn't Zhuang Dong, that was enough.

The next second, his smile vanished.

"You are An Shi! You deserve to die too!"

A gust of bloody wind lunged at him like a starving wolf, giving him no time to react. Lu Yuan cursed under his breath. He knew that wearing the face of An Shi would eventually lead to trouble. Zhuo Yan had gone mad. No matter what he said, she refused to listen, relentlessly swinging the kitchen knife at him.

"I never expected the first danger I'd face after leaving the villa to be Zhuo Yan," Lu Yuan thought with a bitter smile. In truth, he had never fully trusted her; she was, after all, a specter. He couldn't fathom her thoughts, so he had remained cautious. He just hadn't expected her to turn on him so soon.

*Rip.*

A sharp, searing pain shot through his arm. During a desperate dodge, he glanced down to see a bloody, jagged wound.

"I can't beat her. I have to run."

Lu Yuan’s mind raced. He was no match for her, and he only had a fruit knife; the other abilities granted by the television were ill-suited for this situation. Moreover, the hatred fueling Zhuo Yan had been amplified by the blood moon, making her far more terrifying than she had been in the villa. He felt a fleeting sense of luck—Zhuo Yan had only recently entered the Dream of Specters and was at the lowest rank of entity. Even with the corruption of the blood moon, she wasn't yet hopeless to overcome.

"I have to abandon Zhuo Yan for now."

Lu Yuan turned and ran without hesitation. His original plan had been to have her protect him, but that dream was shattered. He had to separate from her and rethink his strategy. Once the decision to run was made, there was no room for doubt. Adrenaline surged through him, granting him a burst of speed that allowed him to pull away from her, but Zhuo Yan was clearly bloodthirsty and pursued him relentlessly.

"This won't work. I need to find a place to hide!" Lu Yuan could feel his stamina draining rapidly. He was a living human, not a specter with supernatural endurance. If his stamina ran out, he was dead.

Despite the danger, his brain remained calm and sharp. He began to recall the map of the area surrounding the villa complex. The geography of the Dream of Specters was a one-to-one replica of S City; mastering the map was his only hope for gaining the initiative.

He glanced around, taking in the nearby buildings. They were still within the villa district. The Xiangshe Liwan estate, where the An Shi villa was located, was a sprawling, high-end residential area. Even a brisk walk from the villa to the security office took over half an hour.

"Keep going. Almost at the security office."

He had been to Xiangshe Liwan once before, on the morning Zhuo Yan’s body was discovered. Relying on his decent memory, he had memorized the general layout of the estate. He pushed himself to run faster.

What he hadn't anticipated was that while he was forced to run, Zhuo Yan was hovering through the air.

*Whoosh.*

A cold sensation grazed his head as a kitchen knife flew past his ear. "Lucky she’s a bad shot," he thought. He looked back and his pupils contracted as he cursed out loud, "You shameless creature! I’m running, and you’re flying? Do you specters have any regard for the feelings of us living people?"

Zhuo Yan’s feet were not touching the ground; from Lu Yuan’s perspective, she was gliding toward him in a state of levitation. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie!

Lu Yuan didn't dare look back again. Any lapse in concentration could cost him his life. Just as he felt his strength beginning to fail, he saw the security office ahead. His heart leaped, and he sprinted toward it. The door was right in front of him. He grabbed the handle and shoved with all his might.

In an instant, his face went blank.

It was locked!

He frantically rattled the door, the lock screeching with a jarring, metallic friction, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Damn it! Open up!"

The aura of hatred behind him grew closer and more intense. If he couldn't get inside, he didn't even want to imagine what kind of death awaited him.