Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 170 The Bone Maze
The feeling of falling wasn't long, but the sticky texture was nauseating.

Bai Yu felt himself pass through a substance similar to amniotic fluid. It was cold, damp, and carried a faint, musty smell of ink. When his feet touched the ground, the sound of the wind in his ears vanished abruptly, replaced by an extremely oppressive silence.

In this silence, the only sound was that regular, muffled thumping.

"Bang. Bang. Bang."

Bai Yu opened her eyes, the red umbrella in her hand tilted slightly, and the dark light illuminated the surroundings.

This is a space that cannot be described by common sense.

Above, the bottomless well opening had become a tiny point of light. The surrounding walls were no longer made of mud or brick, but of countless pale bones. These bones were densely packed and interwoven, creating a bizarre geometric beauty.

What's even more chilling is that countless thin red ribbons hang from these walls of bones. At the end of each ribbon hangs a sealed glass jar. The jars are filled with a dark red liquid, and within them, fresh, living hearts are beating faintly.

"Old Bai, this place... seems a bit eerie."

Mo Fei's voice came from behind. He landed very steadily, his two high-frequency battle axes still sheathed, but the blue light on their blades was already shimmering slightly. He didn't charge out as usual, but instead guarded Bai Yu's side warily, his combat boots making a crisp cracking sound as they stepped on the bone-paved ground.

Captain Anmu landed last. His greatsword pointed diagonally at the ground, and the golden "Iron Wall Royal Authority" domain didn't expand widely, but rather condensed within a five-meter radius around the three of them. This precise control maximized energy conservation and also indicated that the captain had a very high assessment of the danger level here.

"Lan Ce, can you hear me?" An Mu pressed the communicator on his ear.

“The signal is weak, but it’s barely holding.” Lancer’s calm voice was tinged with obvious electrical interference. “You are currently about fifty meters underground. The curvature of the space here is very strange. My detectors indicate that you are inside a huge 'sphere.' Notice those jars; they are emitting a high-frequency, regular fluctuation.”

Bai Yu walked towards the nearest red ribbon, her gaze falling on the glass jar.

The heart inside the jar was an unnatural bright red. As it beat, tiny ripples appeared on the surface of the jar.

“These are not human hearts.” A deep purple light flowed in Bai Yu’s right eye. “These are some kind of ‘rule nodes.’ Each heart represents a dreamer who was devoured. They were forcibly left here to provide energy for this labyrinth to operate.”

"You mean, every heart here is a dead colleague?" Mo Fei's breathing became heavier, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the battle axe.

“It’s not just colleagues.” Bai Yu’s voice was a little hoarse. “It’s also the missing townspeople. The Nightmare extracted their life force and solidified it into this form.”

Just then, that gentle opera singing rang out once again from the depths of the maze.

"Zheng—"

Another string twanged.

Bai Yu let out a muffled groan, his body swaying slightly. He felt the Black Words within him struggling violently, their proud will seemingly being severely challenged.

"Ara...don't listen..."

A muffled voice echoed in Bai Yu's mind. It wasn't Hei Yan, but the gentle male voice that appeared in the photograph.

Bai Yu suddenly turned his head and looked at a wall of white bones on his left.

Among that intricate pile of ribs, he discovered some markings.

He walked over quickly and wiped the dust off with his hand.

Those were words forcibly carved with some kind of sharp tool, the handwriting messy and full of urgency:
June 14th. The investigation enters its seventh day. The labyrinth is alive. It is learning my way of thinking. The red ribbon is not a constraint, but a nerve. The original guardian is awakening; it needs an interpreter. Arabic, if you see this, leave immediately. Do not look back.

The signature is just a simple letter: B.

Bai Yu's fingers gently stroked the letter "B," her fingertips trembling.

This is his father Baishan's handwriting.

“Captain, my father did come here ten years ago.” Bai Yu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “He discovered something, and he knew I would come.”

An Mu walked over, looking at the engravings on the wall with a solemn expression: "Senior Bai Shan's analytical abilities were among the best in the bureau back then. If even he thinks this place is dangerous, then we must be extremely careful."

"Old Bai, look over there!" Mo Fei suddenly whispered.

Following the direction Mo Fei pointed, a faint red light suddenly appeared deep within the previously silent White Bone Corridor.

The red lights flickered in the darkness, like countless hungry eyes.

As the red light appeared, the red ribbon that had been hanging in the air began to sway slowly. The glass jars collided in the air, making a crisp and frequent clanging sound.

"Ding. Ding. Ding."

The heart, which had been beating rapidly, suddenly accelerated, and the liquid inside the glass jar began to boil.

"Rule Explanation: Marionette".

Bai Yu's right eye instantly caught those translucent threads in the air.

Countless red ribbons descended from the sky, and at the convergence of those red lights, "puppets" forcibly sewn together from white bones and red ribbons slowly stood up.

These puppets have no skin; their bones are tightly bound together with red silk. Two glowing red crystals are inlaid on their heads, and they hold spears made from leg bones.

“Thirty-six in total.” Lan Ce’s voice came through the communicator. “Bai Yu, their behavior is highly coordinated. Be careful of being surrounded!”

"Mo Fei, left flank! I'll guard the front!" An Mu shouted, his heavy sword sweeping across the front.

The golden domain erupted instantly, forcefully repelling the three skeletal puppets at the forefront.

Mo Fei did not rush to attack. He stepped forward, his burly body like an iron tower, blocking Bai Yu's side and rear.

"High-frequency blade, low-frequency oscillation."

Mo Fei swung his battle axe steadily. He didn't aim for a fatal blow, but instead used the shockwave to forcibly sever the red ribbons that were trying to approach. He knew that in a rule-based maze, protecting the analyst Bai Yu was the top priority.

“These things can’t be killed!” Mo Fei said in a deep voice.

Indeed, the bones shattered by An Mu's attack rapidly reformed in mid-air under the pull of the red silk. The heart jars continuously supplied the puppets with dark red energy.

"Sever their connection to the jar!" Bai Yu shouted. "The red silk is the conduit for energy transmission!"

Bai Yu suddenly opened the red umbrella in his hand. He did not participate in the battle, but focused all his energy on analysis.

In his vision, each puppet was connected to at least three red ribbons, which eventually converged at a shadowy spot at the top of the maze.

"Black words, point me to something!"

"Hehe, my artwork, you've finally learned to ask for it."

Hei Yan's elegant laughter rang out. Bai Yu's right pupil suddenly contracted, turning into a strange cross shape.

A black dotted line pierced through the layers of the maze, pointing to a large door made of white bones at the end of the corridor.

"The core node is behind the gate! As long as the hub there is destroyed, these puppets will be paralyzed!"

"Mo Fei, clear the way!" An Mu ordered.

"Leave it to me!"

Mo Fei let out a low, angry roar. He crouched slightly, his muscles bulging beneath his combat uniform.

"High-frequency liberation, full power output!"

The two battle axes burst forth with dazzling blue light. Mo Fei moved like lightning, without using any fancy moves, but instead using a simple and extremely violent straight-line charge to tear a path through the group of puppets.

The battle axe swung, and a piercing tearing sound filled the air.

Those hard white bones were as fragile as withered branches before the high-frequency blade at full power. Mo Fei precisely controlled his strength, each axe strike landing precisely on the densest knots of the red silk.

"go!"

Anmu protected Baiyu and followed closely behind. The golden domain was like a mobile fortress, deflecting all the bone spears fired at them.

The three walked through the long corridor and arrived at the huge white bone gate.

The gate is about five meters high, and a huge mural is carved on it. The mural depicts a faceless woman holding a broken-stringed zither and weeping by a blood-red lake.

"Is this the true form of 'Red Actress'?" Mo Fei wiped the ashes off his face, his eyes wary.

Bai Yu stepped forward and placed his hand on the door.

An overwhelming sadness flowed from his palm into his mind.

This is not an attack by a nightmare, but rather a lingering emotional resonance.

“She’s not crying,” Bai Yu said softly. “She’s waiting. Waiting for someone who can understand her music.”

A purple light swirled in Bai Yu's right eye, and the white bones on the gate began to move slowly.

"Click—click—"

With a heavy scraping sound, the skeletal gate opened inward.

A strong, almost tangible, stench of blood wafted over.

Behind the door was a huge underground cavern.

At the center of the cave is a blood-red lake, hundreds of meters in diameter. The lake water is viscous like mercury and emits a faint fluorescence. And in the very center of the lake, a crystal-clear ice coffin floats.

Countless red ribbons hung down from the top of the cave, connecting the ice coffin around it, like a giant spider web.

In front of the ice coffin stood a thin figure.

The man had his back to the crowd, wearing a neat Bureau of Investigation uniform. His hair was already gray, but his back was still ramrod straight.

"Baishan?" An Mu exclaimed in disbelief.

The figure trembled slightly and slowly turned around.

It was a face that bore a striking resemblance to Bai Yu's. Though etched with wrinkles and the marks of time, the eyes remained clear.

"Ayu, you've grown up." The man spoke, his voice as gentle as the winter sun.

Bai Yu stood frozen in place, nearly dropping the red umbrella in her hand.

"Dad...is it really you?"

Mo Fei gripped his battle axe tightly, remaining vigilant despite the other party's identity. He keenly noticed that there was no shadow beneath the feet of this "White Mountain."

"Old Bai, be careful!" Mo Fei whispered a warning. Bai Yu didn't rush over. He closed his eyes, and the power of Hei Yan surged wildly within his body.

"Rule Analysis: Mirror Echo".

Bai Yu opened his eyes, his tone turning icy: "You are not my father. You are merely a 'record' he left here, or an illusion created by this labyrinth to lure me in."

The man named "Baishan" smiled, a hint of satisfaction in his expression: "As expected of my son. His analytical abilities have surpassed mine back then."

He pointed to the ice coffin behind him.

“Ayu, your father is indeed here. But he is not in this ice coffin; he is in the deepest part of that well, suppressing the ‘first watcher’.”

"Who are you?" An Mu stood with his sword in front of Bai Yu.

“I am the ‘analysis backup’ left behind by Bai Shan,” the man said calmly. “Ten years ago, he realized that he could not completely eliminate the nightmare here, so he chose to use himself as part of the seal. He left me behind to guide those who come after him.”

He looked at Bai Yu, his expression turning serious.

“Ayu, listen carefully to what I’m about to say. The rule of this maze is ‘immersion.’ Every heart you see represents someone who once tried to decipher this place but failed. They were so deeply ‘involved’ that they ultimately became part of the play.”

"So what should we do?" Lan Ce's voice came through the communicator, sounding somewhat urgent. "Bai Yu, your energy readings are rising rapidly! Something is about to emerge from that blood-red lake!"

"Boom-"

A dull thud came from the ice coffin.

The chill on the surface of the ice coffin shattered instantly.

Bai Yu saw that what lay in the ice coffin was not a person, but a huge, blood-red zither.

Countless black silk threads were wrapped around the zither, and those threads were frantically devouring the surrounding red silk.

“That’s a rib of the ‘First Nightmare’,” Bai Shan’s backup voice became urgent. “It’s using your father’s life force to reshape itself! Ayu, you must use the power of Black Words to forcibly sever its logical chains before it completes its reshaping!”

"I understand."

Bai Yu stepped out of An Mu's protective range. The red umbrella in his hand suddenly closed, transforming into a jet-black longsword.

“Hey, stop pretending to be asleep. This is your favorite ‘work of art’.”

"Hehe, indeed. This kind of beauty, full of despair and rebirth, is truly mesmerizing."

The power of Black Words completely took over White Words' left hand. Black runes spread along his arm, eventually converging at the tip of the sword.

"Mo Fei, guard the lake shore! Don't let those things interfere with me!"

"Alright! As long as I'm still breathing, nobody's going to get close to this lake!"

Mo Fei roared and slammed his two battle axes into the ground. The high-frequency energy formed a circular shockwave that shattered all the red-ribbed monsters that crawled out of the blood lake.

Captain Anmu stood behind Mo Fei, his heavy sword planted in the ground, and "Iron Wall Royal Authority" activated at full power.

"Royal Power - Absolute Forbidden Zone!"

A golden beam of light shot into the sky, clearing a path for Bai Yu to reach the center of the lake.

Bai Yu moved like lightning, his toes lightly touching the viscous blood, each step sending up a burst of black sparks.

Just as he approached the ice coffin, the gentle opera singing suddenly turned high-pitched and frantic.

"kill--!"

Countless black strings shot out from the ice coffin, like venomous snakes, blocking all of Bai Yu's escape routes.

"Analysis: Imaginary space."

Bai Yu's figure twisted strangely in mid-air, and the black strings pierced through his afterimage, striking the blood lake behind him and causing a burst of blood waves.

Bai Yu appeared above the ice coffin, his jet-black longsword carrying destructive power of rules, and fiercely stabbed towards the zither.

"Clang—!"

The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the cave.

Bai Yu felt a terrifying recoil force coming from the longsword, his tiger's mouth split open, and blood flowed down the hilt of the sword.

But the instant his blood touched the instrument, the black threads seemed to have met their nemesis, emitting a hissing sound.

"Your blood... tastes like your mother's."

The voice of Baishan Backup rang in my ears, carrying a hint of relief.

"Ah Yu, the final blow! Use your will to put an end to this charade!"

Bai Yu's eyes widened, and the purple light in his right eye and the black energy in his left hand merged perfectly at that moment.

"Rule Reshaping: The End!"

The jet-black longsword burst forth with an unprecedented light.

"boom--!"

The entire ice coffin was completely shattered by this attack.

The blood-red lake instantly boiled, and countless mournful howls echoed within the cave.

The red ribbons that were originally wrapped around the maze broke apart, and the glass jars hanging on the walls shattered one by one, their hearts turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air.

"Success?" Mo Fei panted, looking at the gradually calming lake surface.

Bai Yu landed on the platform in the middle of the lake, the longsword in his hand having transformed back into a red umbrella. His face was so pale it was almost transparent, and his body swayed precariously.

On the lake, the blood-red zither has disappeared, replaced by a tattered sheet music.

Bai Yu bent down to pick up the sheet music.

On the cover of the sheet music, a black handprint was clearly printed.

Below the handprint, there is a line of extremely well-hidden small characters:

This is only the first movement. Baiyu, see you at the 'Bloody Wedding'.

Bai Yu's pupils contracted.

"The Crimson Wedding"... that was the final ceremony that Captain Anmu mentioned after the twelve priests were fully activated.

The figure of the backup of Baishan is gradually fading away.

He looked at Bai Yu and gave her a gentle smile.

“Ayu, well done. Your father is in a deeper place, and he can’t come back for the time being. But remember, what’s in the shadows isn’t necessarily the enemy.”

After saying that, the backup turned into specks of blue light and merged into the blue crystal in Bai Yu's hand.

The originally dull crystals became crystal clear after absorbing the blue light, and the regular runes flowing inside could even be seen.

"Old White!"

Mo Fei and An Mu rushed over.

"How are you?" An Mu helped Bai Yu up.

"It's alright." Bai Yu shook her head, carefully putting away the sheet music and the crystal. "We need to leave quickly. The structure here is about to collapse."

"Lan Ce! Get ready to provide backup!" An Mu shouted into the communicator.

"Understood! I have located your position, and the rappelling cable is being lowered!"

Just as the three were preparing to leave, Bai Yu suddenly turned around and looked at the dried-up blood lake.

In the silt at the bottom of the lake, he saw corpses dressed in modern clothes.

The corpses were arranged neatly, each with a broken string inserted into its chest.

Bai Yu's gaze fell on one of the corpses.

He was a man wearing the uniform of the Investigation Bureau's Inspection Department.

Bai Yu remembered him; he was Shen Ling's deputy and had been reported missing for half a month.

Bai Yu's heart sank.

Shen Ling's betrayal may have occurred earlier than he imagined. And this Qing Shi Town is not only a sacrificial site, but also a dumping ground for those traitors to dispose of their "waste."

"Let's go."

Bai Yu turned around and never looked back.

As the three of them returned to the wellhead via the elevator rope, the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the red mist.

The thick red fog quickly dissipated under the sunlight, and Qing Shi Town revealed its original appearance once again.

Although it is still dilapidated, the oppressive atmosphere of death has disappeared.

Lan Ce stood by the well, looking at the three people covered in blood, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Welcome back.

Bai Yu looked at the blue crystal in her hand, then gazed at the distant horizon.

He knew this was just the beginning.

That sheet music, that "bloody wedding," and that person wearing a white mask.

All the clues point to a much larger and darker conspiracy.

He must find all the answers before his soul completely disintegrates.

(End of this chapter)