CH 68

Dream Maker quickly took a few steps back. His eyes were fixed on the person who had suddenly appeared behind Ye Jia and his expression turned fierce, “Ji Xuan……”

Ye Jia turned to look back, only to see Ji Xuan slowly come over.With his deep-set eyes and his expressionless face, he looked particularly oppressive. It was as if there was cold air coming out from deep within his bones.His scarlet eyes narrowed nonchalantly as he looked down at the person before him from his height. Cold indifference and contempt were evident in the depths of his eyes.But only Ye Jia knew….This was because Ji Xuan is currently still in a weak state!His heart tightened.Although he was still in a weak state, Ji Xuan’s overall strength shouldn’t be too affected. But as an experienced player who had dealt with numerous ghosts over many years, Ye Jia knew very well how their world worked: survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak.Usually, fierce ghosts wouldn’t do anything to the Ghost King but once they find out that their leader is in a weak state, they would start to have other thoughts and possibly even act together ---- Especially since Ji Xuan is currently going against the will of Mother, there were many fierce ghosts watching on in the shadows.The reason why there hadn’t been much trouble yet was mostly because the fierce ghosts were wary of this so-called King of theirs.And that was also the reason why Ye Jia didn’t want Ji Xuan to follow him over to F City.Once this advantage of theirs is gone, the events that follow would be uncontrollable.Not far away, Dream Maker had quickly fixed up his expression, returning to his calm appearance.He straightened his sleeves, patted off the non-existent dust from his high-quality clothes and looked at Ye Jia with a smile, “Looks like you’re really here to destroy the place.”“However, I am not completely unprepared.” Dream Maker pulled out a chair and slowly sat down, “Look, Mother has already warned us after Puppet Master was captured by you that we would meet sooner or later.”He raised a hand and tapped a button on the screen.The next second, a projection screen slowly appeared on the wall on the side. It showed the three other players who had come here with Ye Jia – Chen Qingye, Wei Yuechu and Blast.The scenes behind the three of them were different, but they were all being watched by something in the shadows.Ye Jia narrowed his eyes. He looked at him expressionlessly.Dream Maker said, “Those three are in my building, yes?”Ye Jia’s expression darkened slightly as he continued to look fixedly at the other party.“Of course…..I’m certain your companions are also not very weak and I myself don’t have the confidence that I can deal with them all.” Dream Maker supported his chin in thought and said slowly, “So…..Just in case….I also prepared this.”He tapped the screen again.The projection on the wall changed, turning into small squares the size of tofu blocks. Each square had someone’s face in it. Ye Jia recognised several of the staff he saw earlier but the rest of them were extremely unfamiliar.The smile on Dream Maker’s face deepened, “There are more than two hundred employees in my company and more than a thousand people who have made a deal with me. They were all willing to sign the contracts themselves --- Labour contracts, investment contracts, etc, etc….”He rubbed his cheek with his fingers, “Of course, they didn’t mortgage their souls, but as long as it is a contract, tricks can be played, isn’t that right?”A sly smile appeared on his face, “I’m a ghost. I don’t have what you call a ‘bottom line’ or ‘humanity’. The main question is, do you have it? Can you let these innocent people die?”Dream Maker leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, feeling pleased inside, “You have never thought that you’re actually an indifferent person, have you?”Ye Jia’s expression didn’t change. He continued to look back at him coldly.“No, no, no….” Dream Maker leaned back in the chair and reached for a pen on the table. As he casually spun it around, he said, “You have made a deal with me before and I was even only one step away from touching your soul. My brothers and sisters prepared a lot for your arrival but only I knew that none of it was needed.”“If a businessman wants to make money, they must understand a human’s weakness. Only this way will we be able to succeed.” His eyes flashed a sinister light but the smile on his face was still the same, “As long as there is a weakness, no matter how strong they may be, they are as weak as an ant here.”Dream Maker said contemptuously, “That is the same for you too, Ace.”Ji Xuan’s eyes darkened. He seemed to be wanting to step forward.But Ye Jia raised a hand and grabbed his wrist.Ji Xuan lowered his eyes and glanced over at Ye Jia. He obediently stayed in place.Dream Maker played with the tip of the pen in his hands, “Since you don’t need anything else from me…..please leave?”His expression was gentle and his tone was well-mannered, “I believe you don’t need me to call for the security guards?”Ye Jia had a thought.Now that the other party has already revealed his cards, those thousands of hostages were indeed something he cannot leave alone. But with Ji Xuan currently in a weak state, starting a conflict now would not do them any good. It was better to retreat for now and carefully think of a solution before returning.He calmly smiled at Dream Maker, “We naturally won’t need it…”Ye Jia’s fingers holding the man’s slender and cold wrist tightened and he pulled him out with him.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Dream Maker’s lazy voice sounded from behind, “I never thought that the almighty Ghost King would turn into a dog who is ordered around by an ordinary human. Isn’t it shameful?”Ye Jia’s footsteps stopped. His expression turned colder upon hearing the other party’s words.He turned and looked back.The smile on Dream Maker’s face contained malicious intent, “I wonder if Mother will feel sad when she sees her own descendent wagging their tail and begging for mercy to a mere human.”Ye Jia’s voice was still as calm as usual but it was icy cold, “I also want to know how she would feel knowing that her offspring had their head cut off by an ordinary human and is still unable to fully recover even after so long so he only dares to play tricks instead of directly facing that weak human.”Dream Maker’s expression twitched imperceptibly.The corners of Ye Jia’s lips were slightly raised, but there was no smile in the depths of his amber coloured eyes. Strong oppressiveness emanated from him, “I believe she wouldn’t be sad…..After all, how could an ordinary ghost and a direct descendant be the same?”Dream Maker’s jealous mockery was returned back to him.His expression instantly darkened, and his face twisted maliciously. He immediately shot up, the scarlet tongue twisting about in his mouth and his long nails digging deeply into the wooden table. He looked like he would charge over and break his neck the next second.Ye Jia looked at him calmly.In his hand, a large scythe appeared. Icy cold light glistened in the sunlight and the sharp blade made the entire office feel small and cramped.Dream Maker’s actions stopped.His eyes fell onto the scythe in Ye Jia’s hand and his expression stiffened slightly. He seemed to have recalled some unpleasant memories.“Unfortunately, my scythe here has forgotten what you taste like..…”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes. As his fingers lightly brushed along the sharp blade, he continued calmly, “But don’t worry, it will soon remember.”Dream Maker glared at the young man before him, seemingly wanting to eat him up on the spot. The young man however just smiled lightly at him and dragged the tall man beside him out.The door slammed shut behind them, sending a dull echo down the long corridor.Ye Jia’s expression was still calm. Dragging Ji Xuan by his arm, he quickly dragged him along.Ji Xuan didn’t say anything. He just lowered his eyes and stared at the place where the other party’s fingers touched his wrist, looking a little happy.Halfway to the elevator, Ye Jia suddenly stopped and turned to look at the man behind him.Ji Xuan hurriedly stopped as well and looked back at him innocently.Ye Jia took in a deep breath, “Next time, don’t follow me.”It sounded like it was forced through gritted teeth.Ji Xuan also knew that he was in the wrong, so he obediently nodded.Ye Jia let go of his hand, “Go back……”Ji Xuan glanced with some disappointment at the place the other party just held. The young man’s body temperature still lingered there. He however didn’t want to anger him any further so he just nodded, “Okay…..”But....Ye Jia saw him still standing in place, looking innocently back at him.Ye Jia, “What’s wrong?”Ji Xuan paused and said in a very small voice, “I can’t leave……”Ye Jia, “…….”He asked, “Why?”Ji Xuan, “You can’t activate a ghost domain here.”He paused and explained, “I was only able to follow you here because I left a mark on you.”So that was why Dream Maker was so surprised when he saw Ji Xuan.Ye Jia took in a long and deep breath. Feeling tired, he raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.In that case, if Ji Xuan wanted to leave, he could only go out together with him.But…….Ye Jia couldn’t help but feel a headache forming when he thought of the three people waiting for him outside.Ji Xuan said, “If you want, I can turn into a child?”

Before Ye Jia could answer, the tall man before him rapidly shrank. Soon, he was a young boy whose height only reached Ye Jia’s waist.Ji Xuan raised his small and delicate head and called out with his child-like voice as he grabbed Ye Jia’s hand that hung by his side, “Gege……..”Ye Jia: “…….”I guess that’s fine…..Although Ji Xuan’s child and adult features were similar, but because of the change in temperament as well as the change in eye colour, even Ye Jia who have spent a long time with him would have trouble telling so it shouldn’t be hard tricking those other players who had only seen him a few times.They probably wouldn’t expect the Ghost King to take on the appearance of a child and suddenly appear in the ghost company run by Dream Maker.The reception lady was standing outside the elevator with a sweet smile on her face. Very clearly, she had been waiting for them.She turned and looked at Ye Jia, “Are you preparing…..”Her words stopped. She was surprised to see Ji Xuan with him. She clearly didn’t expect to see a child suddenly appear on the top floor which had restricted access.Ye Jia: “He is with me.”The reception lady seemed to be at a loss, “But…..”The corners of Ye Jia’s lips twitched, “Don’t worry, your boss knows.”“Okay….” After hearing that explanation, the smile on her face appeared again, “My apologies, please come in.”The elevator slowly descended.When they reached the ground floor, the elevator let out a ‘ding’ and the metal doors slowly opened.As soon as the door opened, he saw Wei Yuechu, Chen Qingye and Blast who were clearly waiting for himThey hurriedly surrounded him, “How was it?”Almost at the same time, their eyes fell onto the unfamiliar young boy beside Ye Jia, “This is…..?”The reception lady smiled, “This child is with this gentleman.”Ye Jia: “……”A miscalculation….He should have used a barrier to hide Ji Xuan from the others.It’s all that Dream Maker’s fault for distracting him. If not for him, he wouldn’t have been led astray by Ji Xuan’s idea of turning into a child.Moreover, this time, he was with the other three as Ace. With the situation like this….It’s dangerous!Ye Jia forced out a smile, “It’s a long story…..”Soon, the four of them left the building.After confirming that they are outside of the area monitored by Dream Maker, everyone turned to look at Ye Jia, as if waiting for his explanation.Ye Jia, “…….”He took a deep breath and rubbed the inner corners of his eyebrows, “This….”Ji Xuan similarly raised his head and looked at the other party with his big and dark eyes, seemingly in anticipation.“Is my former companion.” Ye Jia paused and reluctantly introduced.Wei Yuechu blinked a few times and seemed to have remembered something, “Oh! I heard that you didn’t have any teammates in the game and only had a child following you the whole time. This is him?”Ye Jia: “Yes….”Chen Qingye and Blast both looked stunned.Although Ace typically acted alone in instances, most of the players he met outside of the instances knew that he had always been protecting a young boy. No one knew why such a strong player would suddenly go out of his way to bring along a burden in such a cruel game ---- After all, this young boy didn’t seem to have a title or name given by the game and none of the players on the leaderboard matched his characteristics. He clearly only managed to live this long because of the big boss’s protection.This had always made others envious and jealous.How good must it be to be led through the battles by a great god?Chen Qingye, Wei Yuechu and Blast also knew of the existence of this child, but after Ye Jia left the game, the child seemed to have also disappeared, never to appear again.And so, almost everyone thought that after Ace cleared the game, the child who had no one to protect him had lost his life in that cruel world.

Some people sighed and found it a pity while others gloated at his misfortune.After the game crashed, although the three of them were able to meet Ace in reality, they wisely chose not to mention the child’s existence.----After all, after being together for so long, they must have formed a deep relationship. Ace would be very sad if he knew that his friend had died in the game shortly after he left.But what they didn’t expect was…..that they would be able to meet this legendary person today.Blast’s eyes widened in surprise, “So you actually survived….”Chen Qingye expressionlessly kicked him.Blast let out a yelp and resignedly shut his mouth.But although he was able to control Blast, Chen Qingye couldn’t control Wei Yuechu who spoke her mind.Wei Yuechu asked, “Since he didn’t die, then why didn’t he appear next to Ace afterwards?”Ye Jia: “…..”This question was really difficult to answer.He couldn’t say that he was actually not a player, but a Ghost King.He then saw Ji Xuan look up and answer in an angelic, child-like manner, “Because I made gege angry.”Wei Yuechu’s heart melted, “I see, I see, Then I believe your gege has forgiven you now, yes?”Ye Jia: “…….”This question is equally difficult to answer.Ji Xuan said, “Not yet….”He curved his eyes and smiled, “But I will work hard.”Wei Yuechu: “!”Goodness! How adorable!Ye Jia cut off the conversation that was becoming more and more dangerous, and said, “Alright, let’s talk about what you’ve discovered.”Firstly, he briefly recounted the conversation he had with Dream Maker on the top floor --- Of course, it’s a modified version with Ji Xuan taken out of the scene.After listening to Ye Jia, everyone fell silent.The amount of information from that….Is pretty big.Chen Qingye, “So you once fought against Dream Maker and cut off his head?”Ye Jia, “It seems to be the case.”Wei Yuechu showed a look of realisation, “So that’s why he suddenly disappeared….Turns out he got severely injured and went into hiding to recuperate.”Blast couldn’t hold back and asked, “Then….you really don’t remember it at all?”Ye Jia spread open his hands, “Nothing at all…..”Chen Qingye supported his chin in thought, “Since you said that the two of you made a deal in the past, your missing memories may be related to that.”Wei Yuechu sighed, “What a pity. If you remembered the details, then we would know what exactly we’re dealing with. If we know his weakness, then we may be able to kill Dream Maker without hurting the thousands of hostages….But alas….”She didn’t finish her words, but everyone knew what she was saying.Thousands of lives are now bound to Dream Maker. If he died, many more innocent people would die too-----Dream Maker at least got one thing right.He can have no bottom line or humanity.But they couldn’t just leave this alone.Blast angrily kicked away a stone on the ground, “Then is there anything we can do?”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly.He gently rubbed the shallow scar on his wrist with his finger.

After leaving the top floor, the raised scar had sunk back down, and the redness was gone.Ye Jia said slowly, “Not necessarily…..”All of a sudden, everyone looked at Ye Jia.“Did you…..remember something?” Blast asked in confusion.Ye Jia shook his head.He put his hand back down and continued, “I once signed a contract with Dream Make. All the other players who have made a deal with him died but I managed to survive and even inflict damage to him.”Ye Jia let out a short laugh, “This means that there must be a loophole in his contract.”Chen Qingye’s eyes lit up, “Yes…..”Ye Jia narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, “Since I could figure it out the first time, I can figure it out the second time.”His voice didn’t fluctuate much when he said this and although his face couldn’t be seen clearly, those hearing it couldn’t help but be convinced.Ji Xuan raised his head and stared at the young man’s face that was hidden in the shadows with twinkling eyes.---- How beautiful.The other three also became more motivated.Wei Yuechu asked, “What are we going to do next? What should we do?”“Continue with our original plan.” Ye Jia said, “First, go and inform the Bureau to see if this place can be placed under observation and then follow our original plan of looking for victims who have died from making a deal with Dream Maker to see if we can find anything.”“Okay….” The three nodded in unison.At this moment, the door to the building behind them was pushed open and a man slowly stumbled out.He looked lethargic, with deep exhaustion engraved on his face and dark eye bags under his eyes. It was as if he hadn’t slept for a long time.But his eyes showed joy.Ye Jia’s heart fell slightly.He remembered this man.When the elevator stopped for the first time, this man was the man sitting outside the door.Ye Jia’s mind turned, and he quickly stepped forward and called out, “Sir!”The man was stunned for a moment before he realised that the other party was calling out to him, “What is it?”Ye Jia went straight to the point, “Excuse me, but did you just make a deal with the devil?”The man looked at him suspiciously before his eyes wandered around and he said evasively, “W-what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”Ye Jia said, “I actually also came to make a deal with them, but I changed my mind after I saw what I had to put at stake. To put my soul on mortgage….it’s really not worth it, don’t you think?”The man’s expression turned furious, “W-what do you know?!”He balled his hands into a fist and shouted, “My daughter is currently in hospital on the verge of death! If it were you, what would you have done?!”“No matter what the cost is, I can’t let her die!” The man glared viciously at Ye Jia. His voice was filled with anger, and it also carried some sorrow, “All you people who can only stand around and talk can just go to hell! What I’m willing to sell is my business! Mind your own business!”Ye Jia was speechless for a moment.The man’s expression was firm. He had clearly made up his mind. He turned and got into the car parked beside him and drove off.Ye Jia watched the car gradually disappear into the distance with a thoughtful look on his face..Things proceeded the way Ye Jia instructed.With the addition of the Bureau’s personnel, the screening process became much faster --- Very quickly, the cases they found went from fifteen to seventy and then it surged to two hundred.After Ye Jia returned to his hotel room, he began to read through the documents non-stop, trying to look for any useful clues.Time passed quickly and night gradually fell.In the endless sea of information, finding a breakthrough point is extremely difficult.Ye Jia felt the bed sink down. He raised his head and saw Ji Xuan sitting at the end of the bed, his bright, scarlet eyes staring at him unblinkingly, “Gege, do you need help?”He smiled lightly and said softly, “Just a goodnight kiss is all you need.”