Volume 1, Chapter 178: The Occult Club (2)

"My name is Zhang Wei, and I am the president of the Paranormal Club. From right to left, these are Liu Yingyong, Guo Xiaopang, and Ke Li."

The one called Guo Xiaopang put his hands on his hips in defiance, "Why do they all get called by their full names, but I'm stuck with a nickname? My name is Guo Pei!"

Ke Li rolled her eyes in utter disgust, "You've been dead for so many years, and you still care about things like that."

Liu Yingyong chimed in as well, "Right now, my head is completely filled with just wanting to find my belongings! If possible, I'd also like to tear the person who harmed me to pieces with my own hands!"

As Liu Yingyong spoke, the dark energy around him grew heavier, emitting an oppressive aura that made even Murong frown slightly.

Qin Yu formed a hand seal with one hand, quickly steadying Liu Yingyong's vengeful spirit. "Take a deep breath!"

Her calm voice carried an invigorating spiritual energy.

"The yin energy in this experimental building is extremely heavy. The four of you, being ghosts, have been eroded by this yin energy, leaving you on the verge of berserk rage at the slightest hint of hatred."

Qin Yu reached into her small bag with her other hand, pulled out a spiritual talisman, and softly chanted an incantation.

The next second, the talisman transformed into a beam of golden light that slowly ascended to hover above the heads of the four ghosts.

Zhang Wei, Liu Yingyong, Ke Li, and Guo Pei all felt a sudden warmth wash over them, as if a temperature had been restored to the depths of their souls.

Qin Yu lowered her hand and elegantly snapped her fingers. "Alright, continue."

The four ghosts looked at each other in bewilderment. They all opened their mouths as if wanting to say something, yet no words came out.

In fact, Qin Yu could even see a vast expanse of blankness and confusion on the faces of all four ghosts.

Qin Yu furrowed her brows in displeasure.

Having all witnessed Qin Yu's abilities, the four ghosts felt their hearts skip a beat whenever she frowned.

"Master, please don't be angry! It's not that we don't want to talk, it's that we truly can't remember what happened!" Zhang Wei took the lead and explained.

The other ghosts nodded frantically, speaking in unison, "That's right, that's right! It must have been too long; we can't remember anything at all."

A disdainful curve formed at the corner of Qin Yu's lips.

So that was how it was.

"Since that's the case, I'll just go and see what happened for myself!"

As soon as her voice fell, Qin Yu bit down on the tip of her ring finger, a bright red droplet of blood glistening on her fair fingertips.

She smeared the blood from her fingertip onto the corners of her eyes, and pitch-black pupils completely overtook her eyeballs.

Murong, standing off to the side, widened his mouth in shock and disbelief, "She... she actually broke through!"

Qin Yu's Heavenly Eye had a flaw; if used too frequently over a short period, it would cause a backlash against her own body.

Yet the light emanating from the Heavenly Eye just now... had changed!

Murong opened his eyes wide with excitement.

In all his years as a ghost, this was the first time he had ever witnessed a Heavenly Eye breaking through!

Meanwhile, in the livestream's comment section:

[What the hell??? What's going on? Why isn't the streamer moving?]

[I have no idea either! Those ghosts aren't moving either.]

[Can someone who knows what they're looking at explain what's happening right now?]

If not for the frantic flurry of comments in the chat, everyone would have thought Qin Yu's livestream had frozen.

[Master Dianqiu has entered the sea of consciousness right now.]

[It's Master Ye, the divine calculator!]

[Master Ye, stop keeping us in suspense! Tell us what's going on right now! It's driving me crazy!]

[This is my first time seeing a spectacle like this, but if I'm not mistaken, the Master must have entered the subconscious minds of these four ghosts.]

[This is getting harder to understand. Can someone send a translator to translate for me?]

[In psychoanalysis, Freud divided consciousness into the conscious and the subconscious. What we call the conscious can be perceived by us, while the subconscious enters our minds subtly without us ever being aware of it.]

[Still don't understand, smida.]

[I don't get it either.]

[Agh! None of that matters! The important thing is that Freud also proposed the iceberg theory, which points out that human consciousness is like an entire iceberg. The consciousness we are aware of is merely the tip exposed above the water, while a much larger portion of the subconscious remains hidden and invisible beneath the water's surface. However, when certain special situations occur, these subconscious elements slowly float to the surface.]

[I'm dizzy. Can someone give me a summary?]

[That is... um, excuse me, what does this have to do with the livestream?]

[Agh! Master Ye means that the memories of these dead ghosts from 20 years ago have been pushed down beneath the iceberg. And Master Dianqiu has entered the iceberg at this very moment to search for those memories.]

[I think I understand, but I also kind of don't.]

[Alright, upstairs, you don't need to understand. You just need to know that our waifu went to find the truth.]

Murong grew dizzy watching the endless stream of comments. "What Freud, or second-rate, or devoid-of-virtue—don't you guys just want to know what happened? Watch this!"

Murong bounced his chubby little body in place twice, and then with a "swoop," he drilled straight into the phone.

The livestream screen changed accordingly.

Murong: [I've connected my consciousness to the phone. What you're seeing right now is what Master Dianqiu is experiencing.]

A row of red text flashed across the livestream.

This bizarre scene dazzled the netizens in the livestream, causing them to cry out in amazement.

—

Twenty years ago.

"Guo Xiaopang, the clubs are recruiting new members. Where are you planning to go?"

Liu Yingyong, built like a brick wall, threw an arm around Guo Xiaopang's shoulder, making Guo Xiaopang look even rounder and more petite by comparison.

Guo Xiaopang puffed out his cheeks, wanting to throw a tantrum, but after weighing the height difference, he held it in.

"Liu Yingyong, I have someone I like. Show me some respect and stop shouting my nickname."

Liu Yingyong's eyes lit up, and he let out a couple of teasing hoots, chasing after Guo Xiaopang to interrogate him. But Guo Xiaopang kept his lips tightly sealed and refused to say a word.

Amidst their playful banter and shoving, they ran into another acquaintance on campus—Ke Li, a freshman from the nursing department.

"Lili!"

Liu Yingyong enthusiastically stepped forward to greet her, but Ke Li seemed to want nothing to do with him, grabbing her roommate and walking away.

Guo Xiaopang watched Liu Yingyong and muttered under his breath, "Unrequited love."

The next second, a fist came crashing down onto Guo Xiaopang's head.

Guo Xiaopang clutched his aching head, tears welling up in his eyes, "Liu Yingyong, what are you doing?"

"Don't think I didn't hear what you said!"

"I wasn't lying! When have you ever seen Ke Li and not swarmed her like a fly to shit?"

Liu Yingyong delivered another blow to Guo Xiaopang. "I won't allow you to call Lili shit! Even if she is shit, she's the best shit in the world."

Guo Xiaopang wiped his tears as his inner monologue screamed frantically: There's no saving him, absolutely no saving him.

Unable to win the argument, Guo Xiaopang could only roll his eyes silently and change the subject. "Oh! By the way, where are you signing up for the recruitment this time?"

Liu Yingyong smiled and pulled a slip of paper from his chest, upon which the three characters "Paranormal Club" were boldly written.

"Naturally, wherever Lili goes, I go!"

Guo Xiaopang rolled his eyes in profound speechlessness, until his attention was completely hijacked by the three words "Paranormal Club." He raised his voice, "You're joining the Paranormal Club too?"

"Huh?" Liu Yingyong tilted his chin up. "What? You're going too? But how come I remember you being the most terrified of ghosts and monsters? What made you think of joining the Paranormal Club?"

Guo Xiaopang's face flushed. "I just purely want to train my... my courage, that's all."

Liu Yingyong was a textbook dense guy and completely failed to notice Guo Xiaopang's bashfulness. He even patted Guo Xiaopang on the shoulder with zero tact, "You definitely need to work on your courage. Otherwise, with that courage smaller than a mouse's, you'll need girls to protect you in the future!"

Having touched upon his sore spot, Guo Xiaopang glared at Liu Yingyong and stomped away in a huff.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Qin Yu was standing right there among them, dressed as a student.

Because they were currently inside the sea of consciousness of these ghosts, Qin Yu existed like an NPC within that realm, serving no substantive role.

Time flew by, and Liu Yingyong, Ke Li, and Guo Xiaopang had been in the Paranormal Club for half a year.

The relationship among these few individuals was exceptionally delicate.

And tonight, the Paranormal Club was planning a major operation—an expedition to explore the experimental building.

Before the three of them joined the club, there had already been two club presidents, a male and a female.

The male president was Zhang Wei, whom they had seen earlier, and the female president was a girl named Chen Xiaoxue.

Zhang Wei and Chen Xiaoxue were not only the presidents of the Paranormal Club, but also a genuine couple in real life.

Zhang Wei was a pharmacy major, standing 1.78 meters tall. Because he loved playing basketball, his muscle lines appeared firm and fluid, and coupled with his frequent smiles, he gave off a very sunny, energetic vibe.

Chen Xiaoxue was from the medical department. The medical department was overflowing with beauties, and Chen Xiaoxue easily counted among them.

She was fair-skinned and gorgeous, and her family owned a hospital; she was a genuine wealthy belle.

Seeing these two together, anyone would praise them as a match made in heaven.

—

"Liu Yingyong, shouldn't we just head back? It's so dark and gloomy tonight, really not a good time to be wandering around!"

Guo Xiaopang shivered in the evening breeze.

"Look at that backbone of yours, and you said you wanted to train your courage! It hasn't even started yet, and you're already trying to back out! You deserve it when the person you like doesn't like you!"

It was this very last sentence that provoked Guo Xiaopang's shred of competitive spirit. He bit the bullet and patted his chest in guarantee, "Who says I'm scared?"

With that, he stormed past Liu Yingyong and entered the experimental building first.

Right behind the two of them, the remaining three arrived fashionably late.

Ke Li bashfully waved her hands at Chen Xiaoxue. "President Xiaoxue, I'm so sorry! The other group is all boys, and I didn't really want to be with them, so I came to join you instead~"

As she spoke, her gaze couldn't help but dart toward the handsome Zhang Wei, her ulterior motives practically written across her face.

Though Chen Xiaoxue felt somewhat displeased, Ke Li hadn't actually done anything out of line, so she could only force a smile. "I'm the president, so it's only right that I take care of you all a bit more."

Ke Li gave a cheeky grin. "That's great then! I was worried my appearance would interrupt the two-person world for you and Big Brother Zhang Wei!"

Before Chen Xiaoxue could speak, Zhang Wei jumped in and answered for Ke Li, "What's there to mind about that? We're all in the same club, helping each other out is how it should be! Xiaoxue isn't that petty!"