This is a trap!

Tonight, Carbonhead is coming back, and I believe all these matters will soon be resolved. As someone with abilities who can temporarily leave D University, he undoubtedly possesses vital information.

After seeing Zhou Zitong’s text message, I headed straight for the forbidden zone on campus: deep within the woods. This time, unlike before, I didn’t get lost in a supernatural maze; I walked directly inside. Like a scene from a drama, a stone tablet stood there, inscribed with two large red characters: “Forbidden Land.”

I gritted my teeth and stepped resolutely inside. An unknown mist gradually rose, visibility in the woods grew ever lower, and the chill settled in from nowhere, biting cold. My foot caught on something and I fell to the ground, warily surveying my surroundings.

I reached out and found the hard object that had tripped me, picking up a fragment. It was a shattered skull.

“Heh. So I’ve arrived?” I muttered wryly to myself. Encountering such strange things, I must have reached the depths of the so-called forbidden land.

The white mist had now completely enveloped me; visibility barely stretched five meters in any direction.

“You’ve come,” a hoarse voice echoed from within the fog.

It was as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard. I shouted, “Are you human or ghost? Show yourself!”

“Heh, mere mortal, do you know who I am?” The hoarse voice grew louder, as if it had drawn closer.

This mist-shrouded environment was not my battlefield; my power was greatly restricted here.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“Nothing much. Ajiao said you have something she needs.” A gaunt figure emerged from the dense fog, his eyes gleaming with greedy intent as he pointed at me.

“Ajiao hasn’t fed in a long time. You’ll do nicely as food.” The man cackled, his voice steeped in eerie malice. He was so emaciated, skin stretched tight over bones, almost skeletal.

No sooner had he spoken than a ghostly shadow lunged at me. I dared not relax for a moment; light flared brilliantly in my hand and I obliterated the apparition.

“You do have some skill,” the skeletal man said, pointing at me. Blood mist seeped from his body as he toppled over.

“Die.” The fallen man’s bloodthirsty gaze sent a chill from my neck to the soles of my feet.

The mist around me vanished instantly.

Gravestones rose all around. Cold winds howled as coffins burst from the earth.

Skeletons climbed from the coffins, advancing step by step toward me, wielding their own hand or leg bones as weapons.

Damn it! I dodged to the side and kicked out.

One skeleton shattered under my foot.

Not so formidable after all? I thought, and threw out two punches, smashing two more skeletons.

“The game is over.”

A sharp blade pressed against my throat; a woman had somehow appeared behind me.

“Lin Zijian, I’ve finally caught you.”

I recognized the voice and spun around. Zhou Zitong!

“Zhou Zitong, what are you doing?” I dared not move, fearing she’d slit my throat.

“Heh, forgive me, but I’d rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one escape.”

“You think our Plum Contract holders with ghostly powers are terrifying? Let me tell you—the true Ghost Card is far more frightening than you imagine.”

“You can’t fathom how dreadful the Ghost Card becomes when it survives to the end.”

“For the balance of the world, die!”

As Zhou Zitong rambled, I summoned the last of my energy and activated my Light Armor, enveloping myself in radiant protection and knocking her away.

She shook her head regretfully. “It would’ve been easier for you to die by my hand just now. Now, you’ll suffer before you die.”

With her words, dozens of divine weapons materialized behind her—thirty or forty at least.

“Zhou Zitong! Why are you so convinced I’m the Ghost Card? Why must you kill me?” I dodged and racked my brain for a solution.

Her attacks came down like torrential rain; some I could only withstand with my Light Armor, but her arsenal seemed endless.

“I can’t be sure you are, but I can’t pass up this chance to eliminate you alone.”

“Your faction now has the most contract holders. If you’re allowed to grow, you’ll become a stumbling block in the path of destroying the Ghost Card.”

“Let’s say, even if the Ghost Card is one of your friends, could you bear to kill them?”

Her attacks ceased, and I hesitated.

Lin Wan had said earlier: to stop this game, the only way is to kill the Ghost Card.

Nothing else could solve the fundamental problem, yet I kept hoping for another way out.

Zhou Zitong’s words made me waver.

If the Ghost Card was one of us—Chen Hao, Carbonhead, Han Xue—what would I do?

If it truly was one of them, could I bring myself to kill them?

“Heh, Lin Zijian, you really lack resolve,” Zhou Zitong said, approaching me.

“The owner of the Ghost Card won’t even know they are the Ghost Card.”

“The Ghost Card is cunning, disguising itself as another card. Do you really think no one has died simply because of your strength?”

“Everyone is just watching for now. If there’s even a hint someone is the Ghost Card, the rest will band together to kill them.”

“When that happens, who will you be able to protect?”

Standing before me, she smiled as I fell into deep thought.

“Farewell, Lin Zijian.”

A blade appeared in her hand, aiming to pierce my chest. I instinctively dodged, but my shoulder was gashed, blood pouring out.

My Light Armor was gone; my power was spent for now.

This entire setting was designed to counter contract holders like me who wield light-based abilities.

Now I finally understood why Zhou Zitong had summoned me here.

He intended to kill me from the start; our earlier alliance was clearly a sham.

“Give up, Lin Zijian. You have no chance,” Zhou Zitong said coldly. “Without your powers, you don’t even qualify to fight me.”

“Maybe so, but I won’t let you slaughter me,” I replied, charging at her.

Zhou Zitong looked at me with contempt as countless blades rushed toward me. I felt I was about to be shredded.

Suddenly, my body felt light, and I was instantly beside Zhou Zitong.

She was startled, trying to dodge, but I gave her no opportunity, landing a punch squarely on her face.

Despite the saying, striking someone’s face is the quickest way to incapacitate them.

Zhou Zitong retreated, clutching her face, and once again unleashed her weapons.

At that moment, a shadow rushed in front of me, blocking all the attacks.

“Lu Ling?” I called out to the towering figure, whose build resembled Chen Hao’s.

Lu Ling, his skin now iron-gray, smiled wordlessly.

“Lin Zijian, you really are foolish, charging in alone like this?” Lin Wan emerged from the woods.

“If Wu Mingran hadn’t come looking for me, I wouldn’t have known you were silly enough to seek out the enemy alone.”

“Zhou Zitong isn’t exactly an enemy,” I protested.

“She’s trying to kill you—how is she not? You’re too naive.”

“Think about it—besides me and Lu Ling, who has truly allied themselves with you?”

“Heh.” I could only chuckle. I had no idea what Lin Wan truly thought, but since he came to rescue me, he must at least be on my side.

“Lin Wan, it seems you’re courting death. Let’s settle old scores together.”

“You think you can take us both?” Lin Wan stood beside Lu Ling. “Ability activated! Acceleration!”

Lu Ling shot forward like a bullet. Zhou Zitong barely managed to defend herself, but was pushed back several steps.

“Hmph, do you think you’re the only ones with reinforcements?”

Black smoke billowed behind Zhou Zitong as two figures slowly took shape in the dark mist.

One was dressed in white, the other in black, each holding a soul-calling banner.

“Plum Contract Holder, Black-and-White Impermanence, reporting.”

Their voices were spectral as they encircled Lin Wan and Lu Ling.