182: Chapter 182 Resolving Sadako's Situation

In the darkness at the end of the corridor, blue-gold muzzle flashes flickered incessantly.

The deafening gunshots, mingled with Mimeko's piercingly shrill screams, echoed back and forth through the empty hallways of the abandoned hospital.

"Bang!"

"Hahaha, run faster, you ugly monster!" Emma's sweet laughter formed a stark contrast with the sound of the bullets.

Sadako pressed herself tightly against the cold concrete wall, her face pale, her hands death-gripping the hem of her dark skirt.

She stared deep into the corridor, her mind completely blank.

Qin Ming, however, acted as if nothing was wrong. He casually brushed the dust off his cuffs and walked over to lean against the wall opposite Sadako.

He stared at Sadako for a few seconds.

"Sadako-chan," Qin Ming suddenly spoke.

Sadako jolted, straightening up like a startled rabbit. "Ah? Yes!"

"Since we're just waiting around," Qin Ming said, hands in his pockets, "why don't you tell me about... that thing of yours?"

Sadako froze for a moment. "My... what thing?"

Qin Ming tilted his head slightly, looking at the faint wisp of resentment he perceived emanating from Sadako, which seemed to link to something far away. "Ever since you were little, strange things must have always happened around you, or... people must have died for no apparent reason, right?"

Sadako's eyes widened instantly, her lips trembling slightly.

"How... how did you know?"

That was the deepest secret in her heart, the root cause of why her fellow villagers had always viewed her as a monster and isolated her.

Qin Ming sighed and pointed to himself. "Sadako, whenever I sleep, she's always standing right there at the head of my bed, staring straight at me."

Qin Ming paused, his tone carrying a hint of genuine complaint.

"If it were summer, I wouldn't mind; I'd just treat her as a free air conditioner."

"But it's winter now. Who could put up with an evil spirit emitting cold air floating by their bed in the middle of the night?"

Actually, it wasn't just when he was sleeping.

Since Sadako moved in, a red dot had been flashing daily on Qin Ming's [Danger Perception] radar. It really wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Hearing this, Sadako froze completely.

Her pale face instantly flushed bright red. Her heart full of fear turned into an indescribable embarrassment and guilt.

She suddenly bent over, hands pressed tightly against her thighs, and gave a deep, ninety-degree bow.

"Hontoni! Moushiwake arimasen!" (I am truly, very sorry!)

Sadako's voice was on the verge of tears.

Qin Ming waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. Do you want to deal with her once and for all?"

Sadako snapped her head up, her gaze incredibly complex.

She knew what Qin Ming meant by "deal with."

After all, she had seen clearly how Emma "dealt with" that vengeful spirit named Mimeko in the room next door.

"Will she... die?" Sadako bit her lower lip, hesitating for a long time before cautiously asking.

Qin Ming raised an eyebrow, his mind racing with calculations.

In this stitched-together horror world, the lore surrounding Sadako was a complete mess.

There were the movie versions, the novel versions, and all sorts of spin-offs.

Some said she was thrown into a well and developed resentment, others said she was a combination of the smallpox virus and Psychic Powers, and some even said she was intersex.

Heaven only knew which version this timid-looking country girl in front of him was based on.

"She won't die," Qin Ming lied through his teeth, his expression flawless. "Thinking about it, she's actually just a part of your Psychic Powers."

"Because your subconscious created a split personality to protect yourself, and you assigned that extreme, violent portion of your psychic power to that personality. Even if she disappears, it won't affect you. In fact, it'll make you healthier."

This pseudo-scientific theory based on psychoanalysis sounded surprisingly persuasive coming from Qin Ming's serious-looking face.

At any rate, Qin Ming believed it himself; dealing with it directly was the most straightforward way.

Those messy settings didn't matter; turning her into a controlled fighter was what really counted.

"Can we... not kill her?" Sadako's hands were tightly intertwined, her knuckles turning white.

Qin Ming looked at her.

"Even though she's scary... she only comes out to hurt others when I'm being bullied, when I'm being bullied really badly." Sadako lowered her head, her voice soft but carrying a hint of stubbornness. "She's actually protecting me. Even if she's just a personality, she... belongs to me."

The gunshots deep in the corridor gradually thinned out, and Emma's laughter began to sound a bit bored.

Qin Ming glanced through the System Mall.

[ghost sealing sticker: Price 10 points. Can forcibly seal spirits of Vengeful Spirit Rank and below into a specific container, suppressing the emission of their resentment and establishing a master-servant link.]

It was hard to say how many points he'd get for killing Little Sadako.

But if he kept this horror Urban Legend with infinite potential on his side to farm points continuously, the math worked out in his favor no matter how he looked at it.

"Fine then." With a thought from Qin Ming, 10 points were deducted.

A black sticker covered in obscure dark-gold patterns appeared out of thin air in his palm. It looked like a cheap temporary tattoo.

"Take this." Qin Ming casually handed the ghost sealing sticker to Sadako.

Sadako scrambled to catch the flimsy sticker, which even felt slightly warm.

"Stick it on your body," Qin Ming instructed, pointing at her. "That way, Little Sadako will be sealed directly inside you. She won't be able to come out on her own unless you take the ghost sealing sticker off."

"So it's like... imprisoning her inside my body?" Sadako stared blankly at the black sticker in her hand.

"Pretty much." Qin Ming leaned back against the wall. "But this way, she'll be able to truly feel everything you feel."

"Emotions, touch, warmth, and cold. She won't have to be a non-corporeal voyeur floating around anymore. Plus, you can use this to practice your own Psychic Powers."

"Okay." Sadako took a deep breath, a flash of unprecedented determination in her eyes.

She looked down at herself.

Since she was wearing a dark, vintage-style long dress, there weren't many places where she could directly touch her skin.

Her gaze drifted over her shapely curves, and she fidgeted with the black sticker, her cheeks flushing a bit redder for some reason.

It didn't seem right to stick it on her chest or thigh, but if she put it on her arm, it would be easily seen in the summer.

"Just put it on your neck." Qin Ming, seeing her internal struggle, ruthlessly interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh... okay!" Sadako nodded quickly and reached out to press the dark-gold patterned sticker onto the side of her neck.

Instantly, resentment from all directions converged frantically. It was the instinctive resistance of Little Sadako from far away in the Old Cellar.

But it didn't last long. She turned into a mass of extremely dense black resentment and followed the link to Sadako's side.

The rules were absolute.

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