117. The Gatekeeping Ghost Who Becomes Invincible Upon Opening the Door

Chen Sheng had thrown a kick, but he missed. The moment he lunged, the doorkeeper ghost—who had been blocking his path just a second ago—suddenly dissipated like a puff of gray smoke, only to rematerialize a few steps away.

The doorkeeper had been keeping his head down, but now he slowly lifted it. His eyes began to glow with a color that did not belong to this world: an eerie, vibrant green.

The manifestation of malice is the very source of a ghost's power!

The doorkeeper had been dressed entirely in white—a white shirt and white trousers—but below the cuffs, there were no feet. Now, as his malice surged, his entire form became suffused with a green radiance.

This green glow did not last long, but the very spot where Chen Sheng and the little girl ghost stood was instantly stained the same shade. It was a color foreign to the mortal realm, acting like a containment field that trapped them firmly in place.

"Watch out! This ghost has been assimilated by the derivative rules of this Gourmet City," the little girl ghost said urgently. "And he was likely a formidable individual among the 'Great Desirers' before he died."

Hearing this, Chen Sheng looked at the nervous girl ghost, feeling a bit strange.

Great Desirers?

Weren't those just players?

In other words, the developers of this "healing game" had repurposed a max-level account to act as an "elite monster" here?

"Or perhaps a player accepted a class-specific quest and was transformed into a ghost," Chen Sheng mused, sticking to what he considered a logical explanation.

He glanced at the "Great Desirer," a flicker of envy crossing his eyes. After all, he didn't even have a class yet!

Still, envy aside, Chen Sheng—who was currently maintaining his stance as a human—tried to mask his jealousy with a look of disdain. "Why choose to be a ghost when you could be a decent human being?"

Feeling personally attacked, the little girl ghost peeked up at Chen Sheng. She desperately wanted to defend ghosts, but she didn't dare. Deciding to redirect her frustration, she glared at the white-clad, bespectacled doorkeeper and spat, "Four-eyes are never any good!"

No sooner had she said that than the little girl ghost clutched her head and crouched down, looking up at Chen Sheng with a grievance-stricken expression. "Master, why did you hit me all of a sudden?"

"Sorry, my hand slipped," Chen Sheng said, his face impassive. "Continue."

Hearing his explanation and apology, the little girl ghost chose to forgive him. She scrambled up, glared at the doorkeeper again, and shifted her rage back to him: "Four-eyes are all heartless..."

*Thwack!*

The little girl ghost crouched down again, her eyes brimming with tears. "Master, why did you hit me again?"

"Apprentice, my hand slipped again. I'm sorry, please believe me, it really was an accident!" Chen Sheng touched the bridge of his nose, feigning a look of guilt.

The little girl ghost hesitated, then timidly said, "Master, please don't have any more accidents. That ghost is over there, not right next to you. Don't hit the wrong person again..."

Chen Sheng nodded, then asked with a smile, "Master, do you want to keep cursing? Get it all out of your system?"

The little girl ghost shook her head vigorously.

Although she sometimes seemed a bit dim, she was actually quite sharp most of the time. For instance, she realized that this rebellious apprentice had hit her on purpose both times!

Why would he hit her? She hadn't even cursed him!

Furthermore, to ensure her words wouldn't be misunderstood, she had specifically used the descriptive term "four-eyes"!

This apprentice didn't even wear glasses, so why was he hitting her?

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. How could she, a dignified half-step fierce spirit, be so miserable?

Chen Sheng looked away. He wasn't hitting her just for the sake of it; he just couldn't stand how she kept saying "four-eyes." Cursing "four-eyes" was fine, but why did she have to include the word "all" every single time?

Wasn't that insulting him too?

Although his avatar in this "healing game" didn't wear glasses, he wore them in the real world! Every time the little girl ghost spoke, Chen Sheng felt like he was being insulted by proxy.

Chen Sheng turned his attention back to the white-clad, bespectacled doorkeeper. He clenched his fists, and suddenly, a canvas resembling solidified flames unfolded around him.

He reached out, and a stream of crimson light, like flowing flame, took shape, forming a whip-like weapon that he lashed toward the doorkeeper.

Since he started playing this healing game, every ghost he encountered was either too weak to put up a fight or restricted by "plot limitations," preventing him from going all out or testing his Flame Spirit Qi. He decided to use this "dungeon run" to test the limits of his "exclusive skill."

The only downside to this healing game was that he had no idea how his "exclusive skill" actually worked. Couldn't they at least give him a damage readout?

He had used his Flame Spirit Qi to lash out before, but that wasn't in a combat state; that damage could only be used as a reference, not as a true demonstration of his skill's efficacy.

The Flame Spirit Qi, resembling a sword aura from a film, pierced through the air like a blade, tearing through the green space before flying toward the doorkeeper.

*Boom!*

The doorkeeper dissipated into gray smoke once again, dodging the attack.

"Not as effective as my beginner gear..." Chen Sheng noted, though it was within his expectations. He then used his Flame Spirit Qi to shatter the green space and stepped out.

With a wave of his hand, he "summoned" his "beginner gear."

Having tested the damage of his "exclusive skill" once, he didn't want to waste any more time.

Before he could strike, however, a voice suddenly echoed: "Quick! Close the door! That’s an 'Opening Ghost'; he’s practically invincible while the door is open. If you close it, he won't be able to exert his full strength as a fierce spirit!"

Chen Sheng looked up and saw someone peering out from a window in an irregular building.

"Is that an NPC or another player?"

As he pondered this, the doorkeeper prepared to attack. Behind Chen Sheng, his gallows frame stirred.

A noose, as if passing through the void, settled around the doorkeeper's neck. The rope tightened, pulling upward. The malice in the doorkeeper's eyes flared with the intensity of a fierce spirit's curse, but after a few desperate struggles, he could only collapse into a cloud of gray smoke.

This time, the ghost did not re-form.