I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Generally speaking, ghosts that can cause such obvious deathly appearances in people are very powerful ones.

These kinds of ghosts usually possess vast mystical powers and strong abilities, and they are not afraid of humans. Once they set their sights on a target, they will choose a day to strike without hesitation.

That’s why Ling Fang had the department members closely follow Chai Yuhu 24/7, not giving the fierce ghost any opportunity to strike.

They thought they could just wait for the ghost to appear, but unexpectedly, they encountered an extremely cautious and elusive ghost king this time, who refused to show itself. Yet it was unwilling to give up on Chai Yuhu, causing the situation to reach a stalemate.

Xie Qingling’s words suddenly enlightened Ling Fang.

It occurred to him: Is this Hair-Eating Ghost really the kind of powerful fierce ghost that can take lives instantly?

All signs indicate that it might not be.

Its methods of causing harm are limited to showing people nightmares, using them to frighten and threaten the victim, which has resulted in Chai Yuhu being unable to sleep peacefully for a long time, leaving him mentally exhausted.

Another method it uses is hair-eating.

Although hair-eating causes significant psychological damage and is highly insulting, it failed to take Chai Yuhu’s life after three consecutive attempts, indicating it’s not a particularly formidable mystical power.

So, is this Hair-Eating Ghost trying to engage them in a prolonged war of attrition?

But Ling Fang didn’t want to continue consuming resources like this.

Now that they had seen through the opponent’s scheme, it would be foolish to keep playing along.

Their team couldn’t afford such depletion.

Ling Fang looked at Xie Qingling and asked, “What are your thoughts?”

“We might need to readjust our battle plan,” Xie Qingling said.

Ling Fang agreed with her perspective: “Tell me your idea.”

So, Xie Qingling laid out the new battle plan that had formed in her mind, explaining it to Ling Fang in detail.

Ling Fang thought for a moment, seemingly considering the plan’s feasibility, and eventually nodded.

The next day, Xie Qingling brought Chai Yuhu to the office.

In the first-floor lobby, with all department members present, Chai Yuhu felt a bit of pressure and began to feel inexplicably nervous.

He stammered, “Is… is there some new development? Do you need my cooperation?”

Seeing his hands trembling, Ye Anran poured him a cup of mind-calming tea and reassured him, “Have a cup of tea first. It will help stabilize your emotions.”

Chai Yuhu remained silent, not saying a word.

Ling Fang explained, “You don’t need to be too nervous. We brought you here today to inform you that this matter ends here.”

Ends… ends here?

Hearing this, not only Chai Yuhu but even the other department members looked at Ling Fang in surprise, unable to understand why they would cancel the operation for no apparent reason.

Was Chai Yuhu no longer being protected?

Was the Hair-Eating Ghost being ignored?

They exchanged puzzled glances, but being accustomed to following orders over the years, despite their many doubts, they chose not to question it at that moment.

“So… am I safe now?” Chai Yuhu murmured.

He touched his scalp. After several days of rest and recovery, a stubble of new hair had begun to grow, looking like it wouldn’t be long before it grew into a crew cut.

At least I’m not bald anymore.

Ling Fang said, “Don’t worry, the situation is still under our control for now.”

“Starting tomorrow, you can return to your normal work and life. We won’t disturb you anymore.”

Hearing Ling Fang’s assurance, Chai Yuhu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat lighter.

To be honest, these past few days with two people constantly following him around, monitoring every move including eating and bathroom breaks even if it was meant for his protection felt almost like being in prison to Chai Yuhu.

Perhaps prisoners even had more freedom than he did.

Now that the operation had ceased, it was equivalent to declaring him “released after serving his sentence.”

“So… I can go now? Thank you for your protection during this time,” Chai Yuhu said.

“Finish your tea first,” Ling Fang replied.

“Okay, sure.”

After gulping down the tea, Chai Yuhu’s visit today was officially concluded.

At 2:30 PM, Chai Yuhu walked out of the office building.

The sun was blazing fiercely overhead. He squinted, stared at it for a few moments, then lazily yawned and slung a canvas bag over his shoulder.

Now without the constant close protection, he had regained maximum freedom in both travel and meals.

Following his usual routine, Chai Yuhu went to the subway station, squeezed through several crowded stops, and returned to his bachelor apartment.

It was Tuesday, a workday.

Having taken a week off, it was about time for Chai Yuhu to return to work.

He took out his phone and opened the corporate WeChat, discovering that his colleagues and superiors had flooded his private messages during his absence.

Opening them revealed their “sincere” greetings mostly asking when he’d recover from his illness and return to work, and how much they missed him.

Heh. More likely, they couldn’t handle the increased workload after he left.

It was obvious that cheapskate boss wouldn’t hire someone new to share the workload just because he’d been absent for a few days. The only possible outcome was his tasks being distributed among others.

For the sake of his colleagues’ wellbeing, Chai Yuhu quickly posted in the work group chat:

“My condition has stabilized, I’ve recovered, and I can return to work tomorrow.”

The boss generously sent a 100-yuan red packet split 200 ways, leading the congratulations for Chai Yuhu.

Everyone else quickly followed suit.

With work matters settled, Chai Yuhu found himself with nothing to do.

He had little social life or friends, and recent events weren’t suitable to share with others. With nothing better to do, he could only lie in bed and sleep.

Surprisingly, he slept remarkably peacefully.

So peacefully that nothing happened he slept straight through until Wednesday morning when his alarm rang.

No recurring nightmares disturbed him, and when he woke up, the newly grown section of his hair remained intact.

Chai Yuhu picked up his bag, put on his programmer-standard plaid shirt, grabbed his laptop, and began another long, tedious day of corporate drudgery.

After being nearly squeezed into a pancake on the subway, Chai Yuhu finally arrived at the company.

“Ding Congratulations, you have successfully clocked in.” Chai Yuhu retrieved his work pass and went up to the 23rd floor.

As soon as he entered the office, Chai Yuhu placed his bag at his workstation and began working.

Chai Yuhu was diligent and reasonably competent at his job the kind of hardworking employee rumored to be as reliable as a workhorse. However, after experiencing such a major incident, his focus at work today was noticeably off.

Programs kept encountering bugs, and his code wasn’t written properly.

“What’s going on with you, Xiao Chai?” The team leader checked his work, his brow furrowing deeply. “This is just an open-source code snippet. It’s such a small task just copy and paste, type a few lines how could you mess this up?”

Chai Yuhu rubbed his head apologetically. “Sorry, team leader. Although I’ve recovered from my illness, I might not have fully regained my work rhythm yet. Could you give me a couple of days to readjust?”

The team leader: “…”

What the hell does he mean by “rhythm”? Is this a video game?

The team leader glared at him fiercely, wanting to lose his temper but lacking the energy because he was swamped with work and had no time to spare.

“Fine, adjust as quickly as possible. Remember, the market won’t stop and wait for you.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Getting scolded on his first day back at work, Chai Yuhu let out a deep sigh.

A colleague from the adjacent workstation leaned over and said, “Why not take a couple more days off at home? Why are you in such a rush to come back to work? Last time my dad was sick, I asked for three days off, and the boss didn’t even approve it.”

Chai Yuhu sighed deeply again. “I’ve been stuck at home for a week already. I was practically growing mold.”

“I don’t get you. Given the chance to rest, and you’re not even happy about it.”

“Maybe I’m just a restless soul can’t stand being idle.”

When lunchtime rolled around, a colleague invited Chai Yuhu to eat at the cafeteria, but he declined.

“I brought my own lunchbox, so I won’t go to the cafeteria. I’ll just heat it up in the microwave.”

The colleague stared at him wide-eyed, as if seeing him for the first time, and exclaimed, “Wow, wow! You prepared your own lunchbox? Wait, don’t tell me you’ve got a girlfriend now?”

Chai Yuhu smiled without answering.

“Dammit!” The colleague was clearly struck by envy. The thought that Chai Yuhu could get a girlfriend just by being sick for a while, while he himself didn’t have a single romantic prospect, felt utterly unfair.

Where was his wife?

Was it the computer tower that had been with him for years, slowly draining the life out of him?

Please, no.

Was he really going to spend his whole life with a computer?

The thought felt incredibly bleak.

After the colleague left, Chai Yuhu stayed alone in the office. He pulled a few meat buns from his canvas bag and had a simple, no-frills lunch with some hot water.

In the afternoon, he idled away at his workstation again, earning several sharp glares from the team leader. Finally, he made it to the end of the workday.

Another utterly ordinary day as an office worker had come to an end.

Work is so exhausting.

I never want to work again in this lifetime, Chai Yuhu thought.

He chose not to work overtime, giving up the double overtime pay, and left on time. After squeezing onto the subway, he returned to his bachelor apartment.

Checking the time, he finished his nightly routine and went straight to bed.

Since there hadn’t been much exertion today even his part-time work had been done half-heartedly it took Chai Yuhu some time to gradually sink into sleep.

Tonight, Chai Yuhu did not sleep as peacefully as he had the previous night.

Around midnight, his previously steady breathing suddenly grew rapid.

Chai Yuhu dreamed he was lying on the surface of a clear lake, his body motionless and heavy as if filled with lead.

This was the feeling of being trapped in a nightmare his consciousness remained relatively clear, and he knew he was dreaming, yet he couldn’t wake up no matter how hard he tried. Though his mind held some awareness, it seemed unable to command his limbs to move.

In the previously empty dream, a figure suddenly appeared.

It was a monster.

The monster had thick limbs and bluish-black skin, crawling slowly on the ground like a small calf.

It had a human-like face, a silver horn on its head, three eyes, and a vertical mouth on its face.

Step by step, the monster approached Chai Yuhu, climbed onto his body, and crouched beside his head, lowering its own head while opening its mouth full of sharp teeth.

But the next moment…

The “Chai Yuhu” who had just been trapped in the nightmare suddenly smiled. Far from being frightened out of his wits, he actively grabbed the Hair-Eating Ghost’s hand.

“Finally caught you.”