Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 190 Scrutiny

Chapter 190: Chapter 190 Scrutiny

Song Que is a person who holds a high opinion of himself.

Good birth, exceptional appearance, a clever mind, and even athletic ability, he far exceeds the average person.

Moreover, his eyes were naturally different from others.

After realizing this, Song Que naturally developed the belief that... if reality were a novel, he would be the protagonist.

In fact, his life did develop as he imagined. Whatever he did, he was stronger than others, achieving success easily in every endeavor with half the effort.

Until... the day the door opened.

Song Que would forever remember that day, panic arose inexplicably, and when he pushed the door open and entered the room, he found himself in the Fog Gathering.

It’s laughable to say, but at first, he wasn’t afraid of the Fog Gathering’s existence; he was excited!

Having read many fantasy books, Song Que understood this kind of story development: leveling up, battling monsters, enhancing abilities, then transcending the world and gaining eternal life.

He even felt that he truly was the protagonist of the world!

However... the first mission completely shattered his fantasy.

Initially, Song Que didn’t believe that ghosts existed. This was the modern world, a technologically advanced society. If such things existed, wouldn’t the order of the Human World already have collapsed?

But when he saw his "senior" being eaten alive by a fierce ghost covered in limbs, like a spider, he was finally petrified with fear.

Afterwards, with tremendous effort and with the help of his companions, he barely survived the first mission.

After leaving the Fog Gathering, Song Que mobilized his family’s power to gather information about ghosts.

He even spent a lot of money on many "experts."

The "experts" spouted vague and mysterious words that sounded reasonable at first, but upon deeper thought, they were all meaningless.

Later, all the information he collected told him that there was no superpower in this world!

All those spells, Taoist Skills, talismans, Holy Water... none of them worked. No matter how much you prayed to gods or sought immortals, aside from gaining some mental peace, they were completely ineffective against the ghosts in the Fog Gathering!

During that time, Song Que was in despair.

Could it be... his life would end in that abnormal space?

Song Que refused to accept this, continuing to investigate the Fog Gathering and information related to ghosts in reality, and this time, he really uncovered something!

Originally, the world was ordinary, without any anomalies.

But starting ten years ago, ghost stories in every city began to increase.

As if... Pandora’s box had been opened.

Song Que was very concerned about this, and recently he had some leads.

But now... he might not have the chance to continue his investigation.

...

"Is that Song Que?!"

Qi Nian heard the cries for help coming from downstairs.

Bai Yanliang nodded, "Yes, I heard it too."

Seeing Bai Yanliang’s unmoved demeanor, Qi Nian didn’t know what to do.

Unlike Bai Yanliang’s earlier state, Song Que was clearly in despair and panic now.

Crying out for help loudly was extremely foolish; if Song Que stayed calm, he wouldn’t have done this.

Bai Yanliang glanced at Qi Nian and said, "He’s stalling for time."

Qi Nian was startled, then immediately opened her phone to check the time.

Only three minutes remained until the second round ended!

"The fact that he can still call for help means the ghost hasn’t killed him instantly, so he’s hiding in a closed space. Although he’s safe for the moment, he’s trapped by the ghost. Additionally, he surely knows that shouting for help is counterproductive, so his cries aren’t for us to hear, but for... the ghost." Bai Yanliang lowered his eyes, as if he could see what was happening downstairs.

"The ghost he encountered is likely not the one that’s a rotting fierce ghost. Yuan Jie died in the last round; I think the ghost Song Que encountered is him." Bai Yanliang softly voiced his hypothesis.

Qi Nian listened carefully to Bai Yanliang’s analysis and thought it over.

Bai Yanliang’s reasoning made sense, Song Que’s yelling seemed like a struggle of despair but indeed had another purpose.

Because even she, upon hearing Song Que’s irrational cries for help, would most likely choose not to assist him.

So, Song Que wasn’t crying for help, he was summoning the ghost!

"Could it be... he thinks that the rotting fierce ghost and the ghost suspected to be ’Yuan Jie’ stand on different grounds? That they might clash?"

Qi Nian voiced her doubt softly.

Bai Yanliang shook his head slightly, "I don’t know, so he’s gambling. Moreover, doing so has another advantage, which is that the fierce ghost besieging him might pause after hearing the cries for help."

"Why?" Qi Nian didn’t quite understand Bai Yanliang’s meaning.

Bai Yanliang smiled and said, "Many times, humans and ghosts share the same psychology, just like earlier when we tricked the ghost down the slide. To use an inappropriate analogy, if you were a police officer, and at this moment you and your colleague had a criminal surrounded, and he called for his partner to come to his rescue, what would you do?"

Qi Nian’s eyes lit up, "I would temporarily let him go, not even apply pressure, waiting for his partner to come and then catch them both in one swoop!"

"Exactly." Bai Yanliang flexed his fingers, "The ghost might think the same way."

Qi Nian finally resolved her doubt.

She also understood why Bai Yanliang remained unmoved earlier.

One, it was truly too dangerous. Two, there were only three minutes left, and the chance of saving Song Que from the fierce ghost within three minutes was almost zero.

Clearly, Song Que also understood this very well, so... his seemingly desperate cries were actually self-saving!

Bai Yanliang turned his head, looking out the window again.

Whether Song Que could buy himself three minutes depended on his luck.

And what Bai Yanliang was pondering was another matter.

Something... overlooked by everyone due to the strangeness of this event.

Decryption.

The decryption of this task was the phrase "ambiguous reality, truth and falsehood indiscernible."

Up till now, that rotting fierce ghost hadn’t shown any ability to disguise itself as others. It seemed to search for those hiding based on sight and hearing alone.

Moreover, its eyesight and hearing fell within the human range, not overly exaggerated.

Also, it didn’t possess perception ability or X-ray vision.

Currently, aside from knowing it could defy gravity and climb on walls, its other abilities remain unknown.

Then what does "ambiguous reality, truth and falsehood indiscernible" refer to?

Who is false and who is real?

Where is the truth and where is the deceit?

Wait a minute...

Bai Yanliang suddenly thought of a characteristic in the textual structure.

These eight characters form a typical parallel structure.

If... these characters were split and rearranged, they would become "false reality, indiscernible distinction."

Bai Yanliang’s eyes lit up, realizing the truth.