My Strange Tale Love Strategy Simulator

As Xie Lichun's fingers twirled the yellow talisman, the seal on the teddy bear's forehead was instantly removed.

The once lifeless teddy bear seemed to be infused with some kind of evil life force, and its small body suddenly emitted wisps of black, sinister energy.

Then, something truly chilling happened.

The teddy bear's skin began to decay and rot at a visible rate.

The once intact brown fur began to fall off in large patches, revealing the grayish cotton underneath. Patches and cracks, like scars, appeared wildly on the teddy bear's body like a plague.

Even more terrifying, this curse of rapid aging did not remain on the teddy bear, but instead spread wildly along the point of contact to Zhang Ying's hand, which was holding it.

Zhang Ying was shocked to discover that his once young and strong hands were now undergoing the cruel erosion of time.

The skin quickly loses its luster, becoming dry and loose; the nails, after growing rapidly, become grayish-yellow and brittle, eventually falling off piece by piece.

The signs of aging, like invisible venomous snakes, climbed up his wrist until his forearm became dry, bony, and emaciated.

Xie Lichun, who was standing to the side, did not stop him. She seemed to know a lot about the danger and purpose of this thing. At this moment, she was excitedly crossing her arms, wanting to see how Zhang Ying would deal with it.

Should you grit your teeth and hold on tightly to the teddy bear, or should you throw away this hot potato out of fear?

This unusual aging phenomenon did indeed stir something in Zhang Ying's heart, making him consider putting down the teddy bear. After all, no one wants to inexplicably become a frail old person. But soon, his keen intuition made him notice that something was amiss.

His right forearm!

The skin on his right forearm was actually created by the "Strange Hand" within his body. The Strange Hand only changed the condition of the skin according to Zhang Ying's current physical state.

If the body is truly aging, the cunning hand will naturally simulate aging skin; but if the body is not aging, but the skin changes, it means that this abnormal aging does not directly affect one's own body.

Since the changes in the right arm are fake, there is only one possible conclusion: the aging phenomenon produced by the teddy bear is essentially an extremely realistic illusion.

Once Zhang Ying understood this, his fear vanished instantly.

The teddy bear aged extremely quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it had taken over Zhang Ying's entire body.

The once upright young man was transformed in just a few seconds into a hunched old man with a face full of wrinkles, age spots, and white hair.

However, Zhang Ying felt no fear whatsoever in the face of this terrifying transformation.

He simply calmed himself down and quietly felt his internal body. His heart was still beating strongly, his blood was still surging in his veins, and his muscle fibers still contained explosive power.

After sensing that beneath that aged and frail exterior, the body was still full of strength, he was completely certain that the aging he was experiencing was indeed an illusion created by the teddy bear.

He became immediately interested in the teddy bear that could change its appearance and create realistic illusions. With a thought, he activated his "mysterious eye" to check the teddy bear's detailed information.

To his disappointment, the information viewing function of the Ghost Eye seemed to only work on the monster itself.

After activating his Evil Eyes, all he could see was the dense Yin energy emanating from the teddy bear. There was nothing else, and no detailed data panel popped up as before.

Xie Lichun was somewhat surprised by Zhang Ying's reaction. She saw that after a brief moment of shock, Zhang Ying casually accepted the fact that he was aging, and even continued to study the teddy bear.

Is this just an extremely positive attitude, or has the truth about this teddy bear already been discovered?

"Alright, time's up."

A minute passed quickly, and Xie Lichun broke the silence, allowing Zhang Ying to put down the teddy bear.

Zhang Ying released his grip and placed the teddy bear on the ground. Xie Lichun carefully pasted the yellow talisman back on.

As soon as the yellow talisman was affixed, the teddy bear instantly stopped emitting yin energy and turned back into a doll.

Zhang Ying looked down at himself; the aged appearance did not immediately disappear because the teddy bear was sealed.

He carefully examined his body through his ghostly eyes and was surprised to find that his aged appearance was not a mere visual illusion, but a real material covering, just like the skin created by the ghostly hand.

However, this "aged skin" is much less resilient than the skin conjured by the Ghost Hand.

"That's interesting."

Zhang Ying's lips curled up slightly, and he suddenly exerted all his strength!

"Click—"

A crisp sound, like a dead tree breaking, rang out.

His aged, withered skin shattered instantly, like dried tree bark, turning into countless tiny fragments that fell off his body and then dissipated into wisps of yin energy in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, the hunched old man disappeared, replaced by Zhang Ying, who had regained his original youthful appearance.

Xie Lichun's eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing this. She couldn't help but step forward, eagerly asking, "How did you do that?"

Zhang Ying looked at her with some doubt: "Didn't Director Xie take this out himself? Don't you know the teddy bear's abilities?"

"Of course I know its ability is to age people." Xie Lichun took a deep breath to calm himself down. "But the aging effect caused by this teddy bear usually takes about a week to fade naturally, or requires special exorcism to remove. This is the first time I've seen someone who, after being affected by the teddy bear, instantly escape the aging state!"

Zhang Ying scratched his head, looking at the dissipated remnants of Yin energy on the ground, and thought to himself: It seems that the Investigation Bureau is not as omnipotent as I thought. They haven't even fully understood the characteristics of their own contained objects.

Xie Lichun didn't dwell on this issue too much, after all, everyone has their own secrets, and the abilities of those who control demons are even more varied and bizarre.

She stuffed the teddy bear back into the pile of old clothes, then clapped her hands and announced, "Alright, test over. Zhang Ying, you passed."

Zhang Ying nodded and asked, "When can I officially start working here?"

Xie Lichun thought for a moment and said, "Although you passed the test, the process still needs to be followed. I need to send your information to headquarters for registration and background filing, which will take at least three days. During this time, you don't need to come to work. Just keep your contact information up-to-date. I will contact you directly in case of any emergency."

"OK."

Zhang Ying and Xie Lichun walked out of the shelter and returned to the elevator lobby.

Xie Lichun pressed the button for the 12th floor, watching the elevator numbers change as he explained to Zhang Ying, "The 12th, 21st, and 32nd floors of this office building are the branch office's exclusive floors. The 21st floor belongs to the Information Section, which is responsible for intelligence gathering and logistics; the 32nd floor is the leadership responsible for decision-making, which is where my office is located; and the 12th floor we are going to now is the dedicated office of the Anomaly Handling Section."

She paused, then added, "The processing department spends most of its time on fieldwork and rarely stays in the office, but sometimes they need to get together to discuss operational plans or handle some paperwork."

With a "ding," the elevator arrived at the 12th floor and opened.

There was a corridor of moderate length in front of you, at the end of which was a heavy iron door.

Above the iron gate hung a gleaming gold sign.

"Canghai Entertainment Co., Ltd."

Zhang Ying raised an eyebrow. Why did this name sound so unreliable? It looked like a base for live streaming or incubating internet celebrities.

Xie Lichun walked to the iron gate, pressed the fingerprint lock, and after a soft "beep," pushed open the iron gate and led Zhang Ying inside.

As soon as he entered the door, a noisy argument immediately reached Zhang Ying's ears, making his eardrums ring.

"3 o'clock! Are you trying to get close to my little white rabbit again? You took the copper coins I hid!"

"Heaven and earth bear witness! I've already said I can't see your little white thing! Why don't you question point two?"

"Heh, you still say you can't see! Last time, my little white dog almost got kidnapped by you!"

Zhang Ying looked towards the source of the argument and saw a spacious hall filled with various pieces of furniture that appeared high-end but were actually cluttered. The man in black he had met at the hospital yesterday morning was pointing at a man in a Taoist robe and hurling insults at him. And that Taoist priest was the tarot reader who had given him a reading yesterday afternoon.

On a sofa on the other side of the hall, a long-haired woman in a black leather jacket was lounging lazily. Without a mask, her exquisite and aloof face was revealed.

She was stuffing cookies into her mouth while watching a drama on her phone, completely oblivious to the argument around her, as if they were from two different worlds.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Xie Lichun's sharp shout resounded like thunder in the hall.

The two, who had been arguing fiercely, suddenly fell silent, like ducks with their necks being choked.

Xie Lichun glared at them, then pointed at Zhang Ying and said, "This is Zhang Ying, our new colleague. From now on, we're comrades in arms. At 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock, you two give Zhang Ying a basic introduction to the supernatural."

After saying that, she pushed Zhang Ying in front of the two of them, and then hurriedly left the processing department, saying that she had something to do. She clearly did not want to stay for another second.

With Xie Lichun's departure, the atmosphere in the office became somewhat subtle.

Neither the man in black nor the Taoist priest would yield to the other. After exchanging a contemptuous gesture, they reluctantly approached Zhang Ying.

The man in black looked Zhang Ying up and down with interest, then extended his hand, a smile plastered on his face, and introduced, "My name is Pang Zhidong, an employee of the Abnormal Handling Department, codename '3 o'clock' from 'Big Warehouse 12 o'clock'. We'll be colleagues from now on, so please take care of me."

Before Zhang Ying could reply, the Taoist priest next to him pushed Pang Zhidong aside, grinned, and introduced himself to Zhang Ying: "I am Cao Quan, a disciple of the Northern Mao Xuanmen, codenamed '5 O' of 'Da Cang 12 O'. I have offended you in the past, please forgive me, brother. It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

Zhang Ying shook hands with both of them, his gaze finally settling on the woman on the sofa who was still eating cookies.

Seemingly sensing Zhang Ying's gaze, the woman lying on the sofa stretched out her hand and introduced to Zhang Ying in a half-dead, as if she were about to die, "Sun Yun, Dacang 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock."

This brief introduction seemed to have exhausted all of Sun Yun's strength. After saying this, she turned over and fell silent, continuing to watch her drama on her phone.