Fear Monger? I'm a Respectable Family Man!

The environment inside Yin Fate Mountain was eerie.

This mountain had always been feared by the locals. In the past, even old farmers gathering herbs would only wander around the edges, never daring to venture deep inside.

The reason was simple. It was dangerous.

Every year, hikers or a local child would get lost after entering the mountain, never to be found again. Local rumors claimed the Mountain God was displeased with humanity's wanton destruction of nature.

Therefore, anyone who entered alone might be punished and forced to remain in the mountains forever.

In recent years, however, reports of people getting lost seemed to have dwindled. The elderly in the surrounding towns would joke that the Mountain God had finally calmed his anger.

As for why his anger had subsided, they refused to speak of it.

The last time the Mountain God had gotten angry, he had turned a village of over a hundred people into a ghost town overnight.

No one survived. None were spared.

It was said that the police team sent to handle the tragic case had been traumatized. Almost everyone vomited until they were pale, and all of them required psychological therapy afterward.

The ground had been littered with remains and rivers of blood. Calling it a hell on earth would not have been an exaggeration.

Today, the place was bustling with activity once more.

"Remember! Do not talk to any of the villagers!" the An City Director ordered, his expression cold. "Guard the road into the mountain. If they try to leave, you have permission to kill them on the spot!"

Afterward, he looked worriedly in the direction of Yin Fate Village.

The place looked prosperous and thriving.

However, just half an hour ago, it had been the same old deserted village. They had been waiting for Xiezhi without any issues.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Yin Fate Village had filled with a cacophony of noise. Eerie villagers had appeared out of nowhere and started busying themselves.

It seemed they were preparing for some kind of grand sacrificial ceremony. The stage being built in the central plaza already looked magnificent.

Faced with this sudden development, the Director could only order his subordinates to retreat outside the village and guard the entrance to prevent any accidents.

After all, these villagers were clearly not human.

Some didn't even have heads. They were just bodies with intestines and organs dangling outside, mechanically moving trusses to help build the sacrificial stage.

"Director, Xiezhi has arrived!"

Just then, good news arrived.

The deep frown on the An City Director's face instantly relaxed, and he seemed much more at ease. Before long, a subordinate led Xiezhi and Baili Dao before him.

"Old Xie, I'm really troubling you this time," the An City Director joked. "You know me. I'm good at fighting people, but I'm useless when it comes to fighting ghosts."

Chewing his gum, Xiezhi replied irritably, "Just remember to treat me to a good meal afterward. I want Maotai."

"Alright, alright, no problem, haha!"

Chatting, the two of them walked toward the interior of Yin Fate Village. The An City Director had nothing to worry about now. These Ghost Villagers couldn't cause any trouble in front of Xiezhi.

Baili Dao and one of the Director's trusted subordinates followed close behind. It was a chance to gain experience while also providing support. They weren't qualified to face the Yin Fate Great God, but dealing with some Ghost Villagers was no problem.

After all, these villagers looked pretty weak.

Dong! Dong! Dong-dong!

The four of them had just entered the village when the sound of gongs and drums echoed to the heavens.

The sacrificial ceremony in the plaza was beginning. Most of the villagers stopped what they were doing and began to dance wildly where they stood.

Many of them were grievously maimed, disemboweled and mutilated. As soon as they started dancing, severed hands and feet flew everywhere, and intestines and organs littered the ground.

Yet no one seemed to think there was anything wrong. They continued to display their hideous dance moves with wild abandon, as if they wanted to dedicate their entire being to the so-called Yin Fate Great God.

This was a dance of karma from hell.

Slowly, it burned its way into the mortal world.

【Mental Strength: 47——46】

【Mental Strength: 100——99】

The An City Director and Xiezhi, who were walking in front, both felt their expressions change as they noticed their Mental Strength beginning to fluctuate.

They were both level 27 Spirit Calamity Players.

Although level didn't directly represent a player's strength, relying solely on attribute points from leveling up wouldn't create a superman who stood above the social order. Even a player at the current level cap of 30 couldn't shatter a mountain with a single punch if they put all their points into Strength.

Of course, Director Qing Long was an exception. No one knew why he was so powerful. Even compared to players of the same level, he was far, far ahead.

The real reason high-level players were strong was experience. Players who survived past level 20 had cleared dozens of Instances at the very least. They possessed countless equipment bonuses and trump-card items.

For example, both the An City Director and Xiezhi had passive defensive equipment that could, without conscious effort, resist the kind of insidious Mental Contamination that was otherwise impossible to guard against.

Even so, both of them still lost one point of Mental Strength.

This indicated that the Mental Contamination within the village had reached a terrifying level.

Looking back, the faces of Baili Dao and the other man were almost purple.

Without special defensive equipment, their levels weren't high and their Mental Strength was low to begin with. That single wave of contamination had cost them a quarter of their total.

Xiezhi waved his hand casually.

Two yellow talismans stuck themselves to the chests of Baili Dao and the other man. A feeling of clarity immediately washed over their minds, clearing the fog from their thoughts.

Their depleted Mental Strength was also instantly replenished.

"We've underestimated that Yin Fate Great God," Xiezhi said, his expression growing more serious. "You two head out first and tell the others to retreat further. Mental Contamination of this level is no joke for you."

Seeing this, Baili Dao hurriedly started to retreat. But as soon as he turned around, he bumped right into a Ghost Villager with a gaping hole in its chest.

He staggered twice before regaining his footing.

Only then did he discover in horror that the space behind them was already packed with Ghost Villagers, completely blocking all possible escape routes.

"These guys… they want to keep us here!?" Baili Dao gritted his teeth and pulled a Nine-Ring Broadsword from his backpack.

The blade was thick, with nine iron rings threaded through its spine that rattled when swung.

【Bloodthirsty Ring Blade (Fine Quality): After equipping, increase Strength limit by five points and Constitution limit by three points. Each enemy killed temporarily increases Strength by one. Stackable up to 20 times, duration one minute.】

【Equipment Requirement: User must possess a biological hand structure.】

【Note: My great blade is already thirsty!】

This was the weapon he was most skilled with and also his best piece of equipment. He was lucky. The weapon was perfectly suited for crowd control, growing stronger the more he killed.

The other subordinate, his face pale, took out a pair of gauntlets and put them on. He was clearly a player who specialized in close-quarters combat.

At a time like this, they couldn't possibly trouble the two directors to escort them out. The directors still had to deal with the source of the incident, the Yin Fate Great God.

Now, their only option was to fight their way out!

"Kill!" Baili Dao roared.

His Nine-Ring Broadsword danced with the might of a tiger as he charged into the mob of Ghost Villagers to break through.

As the two fought their bloody battle, they completely failed to notice that on the other side of the village, Ghost Villagers were fleeing in panic toward them.

That's right. They weren't coming to surround or reinforce.

They were fleeing.

As if they had encountered some great terror, even the legless Ghost Villagers were scrambling to escape, crawling on the ground with their hands.

Standing before them was a bewildered young man. His name was Zhang Wei, though he was also Wu Wang.

Of course, only the face belonged to Zhang Wei.

Using the identity of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau member from outside, Wu Wang had easily slipped into Yin Fate Village. Once inside, he took off the uniform and changed back into the guise of the dejected youth.

He had naturally noticed the Ghost Villagers. He even knew what they were.

They were the souls of villagers bound by the Yin Fate Great God. The unlucky souls sacrificed over the years were all here, as were the villagers killed by the Resentful Spirits he had released.

But none of that was important.

What was important was the strange system notification that sounded in his ear the moment they met. Something new had appeared on his personal panel.

【Fear Monger Pending Death】

He had seen this ID format before. Back in the 'Fight Back to School' Instance, Baili Dao's ID was just like this. 【Eagle Vision Baili Dao】.

The first part had to be a so-called 【Title】.

Baili Dao's title allowed him to easily observe distant objects and micro-movements invisible to the naked eye. This title that had inexplicably popped up for Wu Wang was even more absurd.

【Fear Monger: When a target feels fear towards you or something you have caused, the degree of fear will be amplified in the depths of its soul. At its peak, this can cause sudden death in living beings or the dispersal of Spirit Bodies.】

【Note: From the artist of fear, Pending Death, who orchestrated a symphony with screams as the score, explosions as the drums, and flying flesh and blood as the music.】

"?"

Wu Wang was speechless.

"Slander! I'll sue you for slander!" he muttered. "I'm a perfectly respectable family man! How did I become a 'Fear Monger'?"

He knew why they feared him. He had released the Resentful Spirits, and the villagers had indeed died miserable, painful deaths. In a sense, he was the main culprit behind their demise. There was also the fact that the Yin Fate Great God was terrified of the Black-hearted Penguin, and that terror was being projected back onto its bound souls.

But Wu Wang refused to accept it.

Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the collar of a Ghost Villager paralyzed on the ground, viciously hoisting it up.

"Are you scared? Are you that scared of me? It's not like I killed you with my own hands!"

Bang!

Unable to break free, the ghost exploded on the spot into a pile of white bone powder.

It had been scared to death.

Wu Wang froze. "..."

Taking a closer look, the Ghost Villager's clothes were a bit familiar. It had been the most terrified upon seeing him, so much so that it couldn't even move its legs to run.

Oh. It seemed to be Uncle Li.

Well then, that was fine. This old bastard deserved to be scared. Wu Wang took back what he'd said. After all, he really had personally pushed the man toward that mob of vengeful spirits.

He dusted the bone ash off his clothes.

Wu Wang smiled, though it looked a bit helpless and strained.

Objectively speaking, this title was actually quite useful. At least he wouldn't be pestered by Ghost Villagers in this place. They couldn't even run away from him fast enough.

It seemed he could just go find the Yin Fate Great God directly.

I hope you guys from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau can hold on, he thought. My Sword Spirit is counting on you!