Kyoko knelt on the floor, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Her mind was a jumbled mess, leaving only her terror of the two "ruthless bandits" before her and her lingering reluctance to part with the eggs in her fridge.
Hearing her endless crying, Tomie's initial excitement was quickly replaced by irritation.
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes impatiently.
"Are you blind?"
Kyoko jolted violently, her sobs catching in her throat.
"Didn't you look closely when you checked the mirror just now? There's been something clinging to your back this whole time!" Tomie raised a hand, pointing at the full-length mirror in the entryway.
"My back?"
Kyoko repeated blankly, stiffly turning her head.
In the mirror, it was still just her, covered in "blood" and wrapped in a bath towel.
There was nothing...
No.
Kyoko's eyes instantly froze.
In the reflection, a pair of hands had somehow appeared on "her" shoulders!
They were withered, charred claws with livid purple nails!
Suddenly, she felt something cold and clammy slowly sliding against the back of her neck.
The next second, a horrifying head peeked out from over her shoulder!
"Ah—!"
A third scream finally tore from her throat, startling the neighbors throughout the entire building.
"It's the middle of the night! Are you trying to wake the dead?!"
"Scream again and I'm calling the cops!"
Angry curses and the sound of people pounding on the walls echoed continuously.
The ghost behind Kyoko was very distressed.
It had been enjoying its prey's fear, but those two from next door had actually followed it here!
So annoying!
Ghost Call let out a hiss, glaring viciously at Yang Yi and Tomie by the door.
Then, it reluctantly released Kyoko, turning into a wisp of black smoke and vanishing through the wall.
At the same time, the "blood" spraying from the bathroom showerhead reverted to clear water.
With the thing on her back gone, Kyoko went limp, collapsing to the floor and gasping heavily for air.
*She was still alive... The ghost left?*
She thought of the two "ruthless bandits" from just now.
*The ghost... only appeared after they kicked the door open! No, the ghost was already there; it was this female bandit who warned her! And then... the ghost was scared away by them!*
*So... they weren't bandits? They were here to save her?!*
*Yes, that had to be it!*
As if grasping at a lifeline, Kyoko scrambled over on her hands and knees, whimpering.
"Save... save me..."
But after crawling only two steps, she froze again.
Her eyes widened into perfect circles, staring fixedly at the doorway.
The two people at the door had somehow changed their outfits.
The impossibly handsome man was now wearing a purple Daoist robe, holding a peach wood sword in his left hand and a copper coin sword in his right, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura.
Meanwhile, the lunatic who had kicked her door flying was now dressed in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, her stunningly beautiful face bearing a trace of holiness. However, the metal baseball bat in her hand, still speckled with wall plaster, looked a bit out of place.
*Could... could this be... a legendary professional exorcism team?!*
"Masters!!"
A sudden burst of inspiration hit Kyoko. She scrambled forward, throwing her arms around Tomie's thigh and wailing loudly.
"You're master exorcists, right?! Please, I beg you, save me!"
Tomie's body instantly stiffened.
The next second, a look of pure disgust appeared on her face, and she kicked Kyoko in the shoulder, shoving her away.
"Get off me! You ugly freak!"
"You're all sticky, and you got blood on me!" Tomie glared down at her from above, her face full of malice and revulsion. "Hurry up and wash yourself clean, then put some clothes on, or don't even think about coming near me!"
Kyoko was stunned by the scolding, but eventually hugged her shoulders and returned to the bathroom to wash off the blood.
However, she didn't dare close her eyes this time, poking her head out every few seconds to check on Yang Yi and Tomie.
After she finished showering and changed her clothes.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Suddenly, a series of knocks echoed from the door.
"Who is it? Why are you knocking in the middle of the night?" Tomie yelled, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Kyoko was also completely bewildered. *Why would anyone be knocking on my door this late? Could the ghost have come back?*
*Wait! Wasn't my door kicked off its hinges? How did it get put back?!*
The knocking continued relentlessly. Tomie impatiently leaned in to look through the peephole.
She saw two pale-faced "ugly men" standing outside.
"Two ugly bastards. How dare you even go outside looking like that? Aren't you afraid of scaring people?!"
*Crack!*
The people outside might have gotten tired of knocking, or perhaps Tomie had wounded their pride. A gleaming fire axe hacked straight through the door panel, the blade stopping less than half a meter from Tomie's face!
As the axe was yanked back out, Kyoko peered through the crack and saw the scene outside.
Standing in the hallway were two men with deathly pale faces and twisted expressions! One of them was the perverted neighbor from downstairs who constantly peeped on her!
The other was somewhat unfamiliar.
*Vrrrr—!*
Suddenly, the other man pulled out a chainsaw and revved it up. The jagged chain spun at high speed as he began frantically sawing into the door!
"Help me!!!"
Kyoko's brain short-circuited. Screaming, she hid behind Yang Yi, gripping his Daoist robe tightly and squeezing her eyes shut as she trembled all over.
*She was doomed! She was going to die! She could only hope the master's peach wood sword and the rune-covered baseball bat could hold them off for a few extra seconds!*
*Crash!*
The door shattered completely, and the two possessed puppets charged in with sinister grins, raising their chainsaw and fire axe high!
However, the very next second, they slammed on the brakes.
Even the roar of the chainsaw seemed to weaken.
After hearing nothing for a long moment, Kyoko couldn't help but peek through her fingers, only to freeze in shock.
The peach wood sword and baseball bat that Yang Yi and Tomie had been holding were somehow gone.
In their place...
Kyoko blinked hard, suspecting she might have been scared into a hallucination.
She saw that the "Daoist Priest" was now wielding a massive firearm she had never seen before! The gun was dark gold, covered in intricate golden runes, and its muzzle was thicker than her wrist!
Meanwhile, the "Shrine Maiden" Tomie wore a sickly, fanatical smile, dual-wielding silver submachine guns! Their barrels were similarly engraved with runes, glowing with an eerie blue light!
"The swords..."
Kyoko's mind completely short-circuited.
"Where... where are the swords?!" she cried out, her voice trembling with tears. "Where did you guys even get guns?!"
What kind of exorcism team was this?!
"Things like swords are too inefficient."
"This stuff is way better!"
Yang Yi didn't look back. His gaze bypassed the two puppets and landed on the two masses of twisted black energy behind them.
He offered a gentle smile, aiming the Bolter—a weapon once carried by The Emperor himself for tens of thousands of years—at the two ghosts.
"Gentlemen, times have changed."
"Heeheehee..." Tomie laughed gleefully, darting her tongue out to lick her lips. "Are you ready to be 'exorcised'? You scum!"
She felt she had definitely followed the right person! This man always brought her the ultimate surprises and thrills!
The two vengeful spirits sensed a fatal threat and frantically tried to control their puppets to flee.
*Trying to run? Too late!*
Yang Yi pulled the trigger.
*BOOM—!*
A blinding pillar of golden light erupted instantly, swallowing everything in its path. Tomie opened fire at the same time, two eerie blue tongues of flame spitting wildly as countless glowing blue bullets sprayed forth.
The two puppets at the door, along with the vengeful spirits behind them, didn't even have time to scream before they were vaporized in the light.
Kyoko slumped on the floor, completely dumbfounded.
However, this terrifying commotion was like poking a hornet's nest.
A chorus of wails suddenly echoed throughout the entire apartment building.
Immediately after, from upstairs, downstairs, and rooms in all directions, waves of auras far colder and more terrifying than the previous vengeful spirits began to emerge.