There might not be anyone inside, only a little dog or cat,

Or perhaps there are no pets at all, but rather something strange deliberately luring Adam Carter to open the door.

But by opening the door now, he’s essentially stepping on a landmine in advance.

By stepping on all the mines in the simulation, he can avoid many dangers in reality.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The banging became more urgent, as if someone was nodding repeatedly, reminding Adam Carter: “Hurry up, open the door!”

Adam Carter no longer hesitated. He took a deep breath, turned the handle, and pulled the door open!

He pressed himself against the shelves, his body hidden by the opened door, leaving only his ankles exposed.

Thud!

It was as if someone had been leaning against the door, and when it was suddenly opened, they fell headfirst to the ground.

Half of that person’s body lay limply on top of Adam Carter’s foot.

Adam Carter could clearly feel the bones and flesh of the person pressing on his foot. He tried moving his foot to remind the person that they were on top of him, urging them to get up quickly.

But the person didn’t move at all.

Dead?

The thought flashed through his mind.

Hearing something spinning in midair, Adam Carter instantly made a connection, and a cold bead of sweat slid down his forehead.

He clenched his teeth, making sure to keep himself hidden behind the door, staying silent in this triangular space.

Rattle, rattle, rattle—

The sound of something rolling outside suddenly passed over the door.

Adam Carter looked up,

And saw the head of a middle-aged man above him, eyes full of terror, staring at him. The head wore glasses on its nose, was slightly chubby, and ‘he’ mouthed: “Help me, help—”

Before he could finish, the head turned into a crimson blood lantern.

Adam Carter’s own head flew up as well,

Two lanterns spun out of the alley, rising into the sky.

Inside the small grocery store, Adam Carter’s headless corpse let go, the small door swinging loosely, the body falling forward, landing on top of another headless corpse.

“The blood lanterns in the sky are made from the heads of living people!”

“Those heads think they’re still alive, maintaining the will to survive, begging the living for help!”

“And the moment they see a living person, the head of the living person they see, along with themselves, will instantly turn into blood lanterns!”

Thoughts flashed rapidly, and darkness completely engulfed Adam Carter’s vision.

Chapter 13: The Hand of the Corpse-Demon Ghost

“You are dead.”

“Temporary talent Hunger Resistance (White) has disappeared.”

“This simulation has ended.”

“Score: B+.

Comments: Although your survival time was short, your experience could be made into a movie.

Reward: B+ base reward 500 yuan jade;

Comprehended temporary talent Hunger Resistance (White) +1 yuan jade;

Discovered safe house +10 yuan jade;

Contained ‘Ghost Hand’ +100 yuan jade;

Tore apart Shadow Wraith +10 yuan jade, evaded Shadow Wraith’s pursuit four times +12 yuan jade;

Talent Upgrade Talisman (Blue) *1, Talent Upgrade Talisman (Green) *3.

Wallet balance: 51 + 633 = 684 yuan jade.”

He had completely ‘cleared’ the Shadow Wraith instance, and even made some achievements within it, earning Adam Carter a B+ rating.

Most of this reward came from clearing the Shadow Wraith instance.

In the Blood Lantern’s territory, he only received two rewards: discovering the safe house and comprehending the Hunger Resistance (White) talent.

The safe house was the small temple where he stayed for a long time.

The simulator gave a detailed explanation: “In the simulated future, entering a safe house will automatically save your progress.

Inside the safe house, you are very unlikely to be attacked by anomalies, but it cannot prevent some powerful anomalies from destroying the safe house.

In the real world, entering a safe house does not provide a save function, but everything else is the same as in the simulated future.”

The simulator’s prompt indicated that the small temple existed not only in the simulated future, but also in reality.

But Adam Carter often walked down that street and had never noticed such a temple.

The temple itself looked quite conspicuous, different from other buildings. He didn’t think he could have been careless enough to overlook its existence.

“I’d better go check out that street in person tomorrow.”

Adam Carter relaxed and began browsing through the items he could bring out from the simulated future.

The very first item made his eyes go wide as copper bells.

Option 0: The Hand of the Corpse-Demon Ghost.

……

The Hand of the Corpse-Demon Ghost: To bring this item into reality, you must spend 2000 yuan jade.

Because this item is the anomaly from your personal item ‘Mysterious Copper-Wrapped Bone’ combined with part of the Shadow Wraith, only 1% of the item’s value is charged.

If you bring this item into reality, the simulator will contain it for the host free of charge.

Current containment success rate: 1%.

Compatibility with host: 0%.

If containment fails, the anomaly will revive and kill the host.

Please explore the specific use of this item on your own.

Side effects are as follows:

If you use the Hand of the Corpse-Demon Ghost at high frequency, Shadow Wraiths will randomly appear within a fifty-li radius around you and approach you. The higher the compatibility between the Hand of the Corpse-Demon Ghost and yourself, the lower the probability of Shadow Wraiths appearing.