I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

The high temperature released by the thermite incendiary bomb instantly shattered the scene of "a hundred ghosts waiting to be married" in front of us.

The charming brides, the red lanterns, and the lively wedding banquets, under the high temperature of over two thousand degrees, did not turn into charred black like living things. Instead, they were like burst bubbles, twisted, faded, and eventually turned into nothingness.

The flames went out much faster than expected.

As the last spark extinguished in the damp air, the entire Luohua Village fell into a deathly silence.

There were no corpses, no ruins, not even charred remains of burnt wood.

The vast ancient village vanished into thin air after the fire. Only a thick layer of black ash remained on the ground, like black snow, covering the entire valley.

"team leader……"

One of the team members' voices sounded particularly dry behind his gas mask, "The houses... are all gone."

Zhao Feng wiped the black ash off his mask, his heart pounding.

This defies common sense in physics.

While thermite is powerful, it couldn't possibly burn dozens of stilt houses to ashes. Unless... those things don't exist in the material world at all.

"Is it an illusion?" The technician looked at the compass in his hand. The needle had stopped spinning wildly and was now pointing fixedly at the huge cave entrance ahead. "If it were a holographic projection, the high temperature just now should have destroyed the projection equipment."

"It's not a projection." Zhao Feng looked at the black ash scattered on the ground, a strong smell of burning paper money lingering in his nostrils. "Whatever it is, the fire attack is effective. Maintain formation and continue the advance!"

Although he said that, Zhao Feng's hand holding the dagger was sweating profusely.

If it were an enemy, even a monster, there would be a corpse after it died. This phenomenon of "complete erasure" made him feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

……

Deep inside the cave.

Gu Qing sat on the stone bench, watching the group of suspicious agents on the surveillance screen, a faint smile curving his lips.

"A decisive commander. Using physical heat to break the illusion is a good method."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. "But Captain Zhao, you've got one thing wrong. You only burned the 'scene.' As long as I don't call 'stop,' this play... isn't over yet."

Gu Qing opened the system shop and glanced at the dazzling array of items.

Since the setting has been ruined, we must add a substantial "stabilizing force" to this play—something that can disregard the rules of physics and forcibly anchor "fiction" as "reality."

His gaze settled on an object that emitted a faint purple light.

【Item Name: Red Satin Embroidered Shoes (Left Foot)】

[Quality: Wraith-level (Purple)]

[Exchange Price: 28,000 Credits]

[Background Description: During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the daughter of a chieftain in western Hunan was forced into marriage and fled into the deep mountains, eventually starving herself to death in a cave. Before her death, she donned a red wedding dress and vowed to wait for the one who truly loved her. This shoe embodies her three-hundred-year-long obsession.]

[Special Effects: 1. Forced Pairing (It seeks the "male partner" with the strongest yang energy); 2. Transformation of Reality and Illusion (As an anchor point, it allows the spirit to interfere with the material world).]

28,000 points of confidence.

This nearly depleted most of the fear points Gu Qing had gained earlier. But he didn't hesitate at all.

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

Gu Qing pointed with her finger.

"exchange."

"Drop location: at Zhao Feng's feet."

……

The ruins of Luohua Village, now covered in ashes.

Zhao Feng was cautiously observing his surroundings when suddenly he felt something was wrong with the sensation under his feet.

He was wearing heavy military tactical boots, and his footsteps on the thick layer of paper dust should have been soft and silent. But just now, it seemed that he had stepped on something hard.

It's neither stone nor wood.

Zhao Feng looked down, the beam of his tactical flashlight shining at his feet.

Amidst the pitch-black, grave-like ashes, a striking, bright red stood out abruptly.

Zhao Feng's pupils suddenly contracted.

He carefully brushed away the surrounding ashes with his dagger.

It was a red embroidered shoe.

The craftsmanship is exquisite. The upper is embroidered with "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water" and "Twin Lotus Flowers" in gold thread, and every stitch exudes a sense of antiquity and luxury. The sole is made of multiple layers, and because of its age, the edges have turned slightly yellow, but the upper is still as red as blood.

The strangest thing is that the shoe is too new.

It doesn't look like an antique buried underground for three hundred years, nor does it look like it has just been scorched by two thousand degrees. It is clean, bright, and even... you can smell a faint fragrance mixed with camphor and perfume.

"Where did this thing come from?"

The team members next to him also saw the shoe and couldn't help but gasp. "The fire just now cracked even the rocks, how could this shoe be completely intact?"

Zhao Feng didn't speak; he stared intently at the shoe.

A strong instinct told him: Don't touch it!

This is some kind of "token," or a trigger for some terrifying rule.

"Everyone back off!" Zhao Feng shouted. "This is bait! Get around it!"

However, the moment he finished speaking...

"clatter."

A crisp footstep suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

The sound was extremely faint, but it was like a thunderclap in the deathly silent valley.

"clatter."

Another sound.

The source of the sound... was right behind Zhao Feng.

In an instant, all the agents turned around, and more than a dozen guns were pointed at their backs.

nobody.

There was only an empty wilderness and paper ash flying everywhere.

"Captain...look...look at the ground!" The technician's voice became sharp and trembling.

Zhao Feng suddenly lowered his head.

The red embroidered shoe that had been lying quietly in the ashes had somehow turned around.

The toe of the shoe was directly opposite Zhao Feng's heel.

It's like... there's an unseen person standing opposite him, sticking their foot into this shoe.

"whee……"

A woman's soft laughter, tinged with shyness and a hint of resentment, rang out against the back of Zhao Feng's neck.

The scent of cosmetics instantly became ten times stronger.

[System notification: The item [Red Satin Embroidered Shoes] has been activated.]

[Current target: Zhao Feng (the one with the strongest Yang energy).]

[Loading effects: Sleep paralysis (group version)]

"I...I can't move!"

One of the team members screamed in terror. He tried to pull the trigger, but found his fingers stiff as stone.

It wasn't just him.

Everyone present, including Zhao Feng, felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads. Their bodies seemed to be bound by some invisible force, and they couldn't even blink.

This is a phenomenon that cannot be explained by physiological factors.

This is not a neurotoxin, nor is it hypnosis. This is—the rule.

Within "her" domain, no living person may move without permission.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the red embroidered shoe slowly moved.

It was as if it was being pierced by an invisible foot, gently stepping on the ground, and then taking a step forward.

Immediately afterwards, half a meter in front of it, another footprint appeared out of thin air on the previously empty ashes.

It was a barefoot footprint.

Slender, small, with rounded toes, deeply imprinted in black ash.

"One foot is wearing a shoe, the other is bare..."

This strange description suddenly popped into Zhao Feng's mind.

"Da, da, da..."

The footsteps grew closer and circled around Zhao Feng.

Finally, the embroidered shoe stopped in front of Zhao Feng, its toe almost touching his military boot.

A cold, pale, bloodless hand slowly emerged from the void and gently rested on Zhao Feng's mud-covered shoulder.

In that instant, Zhao Feng saw it.

In the air less than ten centimeters in front of him, a pale face was slowly emerging.

She was an extremely beautiful woman, with exquisite features, yet devoid of any life. She wore the red wedding dress that had just been burned in the fire, but this time, the dress was no longer made of paper, but of real silk, still bearing the scorch marks from the flames.

She leaned close to Zhao Feng's ear, her breath sweet as orchids, but her voice was as cold as ice:

"My lord...you burned down my house..."

"Are you here to take me away?"

boom!

Zhao Feng felt his mind go completely blank.

This is not a holographic projection at all!

The sensation on the shoulder was real, the chill emanating from the corpse was real, and the resentment emanating from the embroidered shoe, a resentment that had endured for three hundred years... was also real.

Deep inside the cave, Gu Qing looked at Zhao Feng's pupils, which had shrunk due to extreme fear, on the surveillance screen and nodded in satisfaction.

"My fear level has exceeded 100,000."

"Item successfully deployed."

He stood up and straightened his collar.

"Well then, let the show begin."

"Now that the shoes have found their owner, the rest of the dowry... should also be given away."

Gu Qing snapped his fingers.

Beneath the ashes, countless pairs of identical red shoes emerged from the ground.