Adam Carter shook the Imperial Bell again and turned his head to look back, seeing that the Black Hand was now less than two meters away from him.

Just now, when he failed to ring the Imperial Bell, it slipped out of control and almost got close enough to Adam Carter to crush him to death!

Luckily, he reacted just in time!

That was close!

Not daring to turn his back on the Black Hand again, Adam Carter faced the massive arm two meters away, ringing the Imperial Bell as he slowly retreated.

Invisible sound waves continued to radiate outward, enveloping the Black Hand.

As a result, the Black Hand moved forward in a stuttering, frame-skipping manner, like a lagging video, always maintaining a two-meter distance from Adam Carter.

It wasn’t until Adam Carter exited the alley that the Black Hand finally stopped pursuing him.

At the mouth of the alley, it spread its ten fingers in vain, but could only watch as Adam Carter's figure gradually receded, leaving the apartment complex.

Daylight poured into the dark side street, making the ground faintly gleam.

Adam Carter stood beside several trash bins, holding the Imperial Bell, watching his own shadow overlapping with the bins behind him. No more viscous black liquid oozed from the shadow, nor did it morph into a shadow fiend to rise up and kill him.

Only now did he feel certain that he had escaped!

He had survived!

It didn’t seem all that difficult after all...

Letting out a few nervous laughs, Adam Carter walked out of the side street and saw a street both familiar and strange.

Shops of all kinds lined both sides of the street, neon signs and advertising lightboxes flashing, still presenting a scene of bustling city life.

However, here and there, cars were piled up in collisions, others skewed into the greenbelt, black smoke billowed everywhere, wildfires burned in many places, making this bustling scene feel strangely absurd.

Adam Carter looked across the street at a barbershop.

Through the glass door, a barber was cutting a customer's hair.

One hand held scissors, the other supported the customer's neck.

But there was no head on the customer's neck; the scissors snipped futilely in midair.

The barber's own neck was also bare—no head.

Adam Carter's heart, which had just calmed down, began to race again.

His eyes darted around, and in every shop he could see, people were sitting, standing, or lying down, but not a single one had a head on their necks!

Not a single living person!

Where had all these people's heads gone?!

A chill froze Adam Carter's blood!

Before Adam Carter could recover, the lights in the surrounding shops, the neon signs on the street, and even the flames from burning cars all went out one after another.

Red lanterns slowly rose from behind the tall buildings.

Crimson light fell upon Adam Carter.

His vision soared upward, overlooking this crimson and desolate street.

On this long, red street, just fifty steps away from him, beside a cake shop, a small temple stood abruptly.

Orange firelight glowed from within the temple, barely carving out a small space in the street shrouded by red light.

The orange glow felt very warm, very safe.

Adam Carter continued to look down.

He saw his own body standing stiffly at the mouth of the side street, his neck bare.

So, it was even less safe outside the apartment building...

That was the last thought to flash through his mind.

Chapter 9: The Eerie Hand

"You are dead."

"Temporary talent: Koi Possession (White) has disappeared."

"This simulation has ended."

"Score: Lower B.

Comments: Out of the wolf’s den, into the tiger’s lair. Life is always this painful, isn’t it?

Reward: Lower B score base reward 100 jade coins, comprehension of temporary talent Koi Possession (White) +1 jade coin, Talent Upgrade Talisman (Blue) ×1, Talent Upgrade Talisman (Green) ×1."

Adding the 3 jade coins from before, Adam Carter now had 104 jade coins.

So the base reward for a B-level score is in the triple digits? That’s quite generous.

The standard for a C-level score is to grasp the pattern of the anomaly’s activity and make some valuable attempts, while to get a B-level score, you need to successfully escape from the area covered by the anomaly?

Then, to get an A-level rating, do you have to actually harm the anomaly? Can that thing really be killed?

Adam Carter pondered this, and the frustration from having his head taken by the red lantern and dying was eased somewhat by the generous settlement rewards.

His mind began to race, analyzing and organizing the many details.

"The red lanterns that appear outside the apartment complex and can silently decapitate people—I’ll call them ‘Lantern Anomalies’ for now."

"I’ve encountered this type of anomaly before—in that simulation at Yunlong Temple."

"Back then, I caught a glimpse of Mingzhou City being covered by countless red lanterns, which even spread to the countryside."

"So, unlike the Shadow Anomaly, the Lantern Anomaly covers most or even all of Mingzhou City. Its level of threat is on a completely different scale!"

"Judging from this encounter, it seems to have the ability to instantly turn off all the lights on the street. When the lights go out, that’s when the Lantern Anomaly starts killing."

"But it’s still unclear whether the Lantern Anomaly kills by shining its red light on people, causing instant decapitation—

Or if it kills completely at random, so that even if you’re illuminated, as long as you’re not chosen, you won’t die?"