As the countdown began, a deep red time reminder appeared at the top of Zong Qi’s vision, quickly dropping into the nine-minute range.
“Clang—Clang—Clang—”
On the other side, in the dimly lit, abandoned restroom, the sound of a hammer striking nails was particularly clear.
The black-haired young man leaned against the charred wall, chest heaving as he began to think rapidly.
He had returned to ten hours ago.
Soon, the murderer who had nailed a human head to the door in the cubicle would come out and stand right outside his door.
Knowing in advance that there was a murderer outside, the safest way to save his life was, of course, to push the door open and run now.
There was still some time before the killer came out, and Zong Qi had quite a distance between him in the first cubicle and the last one. Running out now, he wouldn’t have to worry about being chased and could escape safely.
But he couldn’t.
Zong Qi exhaled lightly and tightened his grip on the Swiss army knife in his hand.
The murderer and the forces behind him had framed him precisely even without seeing his face. Zong Qi guessed that since they could fabricate evidence, they must have a direct connection with the forensic doctor who came to the scene. After all, he had run into the forensic doctor at the door, so even if he ran out from here, it would be hard to ensure he wouldn’t end up back in the previous situation.
Following this logic, even if he ran, the organization could still make him a scapegoat. In a modern society with so many police officers, it was impossible for Zong Qi to be on the run, living a life of hiding.
Most importantly, he wasn’t guilty of anything. Why should he be involved in a murder case? Why shouldn’t the bad guys get the punishment they deserve?
There was only one way.
Zong Qi made up his mind and glanced down at the army knife in his hand.
The knife was very short. He carried it with him just in case he encountered any unexpected events while ghost hunting. It could only be used to cut ropes at best, as an auxiliary tool.
However, the killer had not only a hammer but also a dagger. The dagger was later found by the police as ironclad evidence with Zong Qi’s fingerprints.
He couldn’t win in a direct fight; he had to find another way.
Zong Qi returned to the horror movie director system and opened the points column.
All the items in this column could only be obtained by drawing, and coincidentally, the first draw required 100 points, which was all he had.
But it not only had powerful abilities like [Sorcery] and [Acupuncture] but also mundane items like [Ordinary Dagger], [Useless Exorcism Talisman], [Single-use Vacuum Cleaner], and [Broom with Unknown Purpose].
Of course, if he drew a supernatural item, he was likely to die here today.
Zong Qi could only hope for some luck.
‘Taishang Laojun, Jesus Christ, Buddha, big brother, please bless me. If I can clear my name today, I vow to be a vegetarian for half a year and not touch meat!’
He prayed to every deity he had ever heard of in his heart and then nervously pressed the draw button.
[Drawing in progress, please wait. Draw successful.]
[You have obtained B-level ability Intermediate Hypnosis.]
[Due to the rarity of the item, the next draw will cost 500 points.]
Hypnosis? Great stuff!
Zong Qi whistled inwardly and quickly checked the detailed information on this B-level item.
[Intermediate Hypnosis: Can only be activated through physical contact with the subject. It cannot impose suggestions. Duration: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 3 hours.]
Zong Qi’s eyes lit up.
This ability wasn’t an offensive skill, but it was definitely a great support. Used well, it could even be a killer move.
Of course, the premise was that it had to be used well.
The headache was the requirement for physical contact. He not only had to time it right but also create enough opportunities for himself.
Zong Qi pondered while learning the new skill.
The seemingly unscientific skill quickly turned into a stream of light that entered his forehead. The mysterious feeling enveloped Zong Qi, making him quickly understand how to use hypnosis.
Having witnessed a grand time-reversal, learning a skill with a wave of his hand was nothing; Zong Qi didn’t even blink.
The countdown had 7 minutes left.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Because it was a repeat, the scream value and script progress hadn’t changed at all.
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“Ktewq, atewq, atewq.”
Coafg vljilcu 110, tf qea tlr qtbcf lc tlr qbmxfa, tfiv atf fzalcuelrtfv oijrtiluta lc tlr ifoa tjcv, tlr olcufg bc atf rklamt. Llr batfg tjcv uglqqfv atf xclof bc atf vbbg ibmx bo atf meylmif.
Grandma, please bless me.
Zong Qi prayed silently, his fingers twitching involuntarily.
“Open the door, I need some paper.”
The sinister, unpleasant voice echoed in the silent restroom.
This voice was unforgettable for Zong Qi.
So, the black-haired young man turned his back, raising his volume while discreetly unlocking the door, “What did you say? I can’t hear you.”
The person outside was momentarily stunned by this unconventional response, “I said—”
In an instant, Zong Qi pushed the cubicle door forward with nearly all his strength, causing the thin wooden board to creak under the strain, echoing through the abandoned hospital like an explosion.
Caught off guard, Chen Hongyi stumbled back from the impact, retreating along with the force.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Next, the black-haired young man swept his leg, kicking the unsteady man against the wall.
Despite the series of sudden events, Chen Hongyi quickly realized that something was wrong.
How did the information leak?
“Which organization are you from? Daring to oppose us?”
After a moment of shock, he steadied himself, his expression dark.
“National Security Special Task Force? Secret Mobile Unit?”
Zong Qi sneered, “Asking which organization? Ever heard of the Communist Youth League? Do you feel the righteous light shining on you, you wicked scoundrel?”
Chen Hongyi flew into a rage: “Are you mocking me?”
The next second, he raised the bloody dagger in his hand, the tip still smeared with the remnants of wax and human tissue, and lunged at him.
Zong Qi’s expression turned serious as the live broadcast stand in his hand was easily slashed, forcing him to retreat step by step.
“I thought you were someone important, but you’re just a weakling.”
After a few moves, Chen Hongyi noticed that his opponent was not only weaponless but also lacked combat experience, which made him relax.
He flashed a bloody grin at the black-haired young man, “Since you came to me, you can’t blame anyone else.”
“Too much talk.”
Zong Qi blustered, making a quick decision not to fight head-on.
He was outmatched in strength, weapons, technique, and physical attributes against this murderous maniac.
Although pushing the door had caught the killer off guard, he hadn’t managed to make physical contact due to needing to get out of the cubicle quickly, a mistake on his part. Plus, his Swiss army knife was too short compared to the killer’s dagger, making it seem like a child’s toy.
Captain Gao was right.
He really should have learned some self-defense, like karate or taekwondo.
If he survived this, Zong Qi vowed to report to the police station every day for training.
“Ring, ring, ring, ring.”
In the middle of their fight, the killer’s phone rang.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Zong Qi had experienced.
The man casually pressed the speaker button, continuing to advance with a sinister grin.
An armed hunter wouldn’t regard an unarmed prey as a threat.
One more step back and he’d be outside the restroom door.
He had successfully drawn the killer’s attention, and the police wouldn’t arrive for another ten minutes. It was still up to him.
Zong Qi made a quick, dangerous decision—
He turned on the flashlight and flashed it at the killer’s eyes, simultaneously throwing his short army knife.
The sudden light blinded Chen Hongyi, and the small knife struck his thigh.
“Ah—”
Hearing the killer’s scream, Zong Qi didn’t move to attack but turned and ran out the door.
This brief distraction created a distance between them again.
This distance was enough for him to run outside and use the darkness to his advantage.
“Damn it.”
Chen Hongyi viciously pulled the knife out of his thigh.
He knew the opponent was now unarmed, as helpless as a lamb to the slaughter, so he grabbed his hammer and limped out the door.
The phone call continued.
A mechanical, altered voice spoke coldly through the speaker, “Task complete?”
“Complete.”
“What? Encountered an unexpected situation?”
The person on the other end ignored Chen Hongyi’s pained voice and asked condescendingly.
“A pesky little bug, but give me some time!”
The speaker let out a mocking laugh, “That pesky bug already called the police. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Clearly, this statement struck a nerve with Chen Hongyi.
He gripped the hammer so tightly that the veins on his hand bulged. In his heart, he wished he could cut that black-haired brat into a thousand pieces and flay him on the spot.
The person on the other end of the phone sneered, “Let the logistics handle the aftermath. Get out of there quickly. If you get caught, the organization won’t clean up after a low-level cleaner like you.”
The dial tone buzzed as the call was abruptly cut off.
“Fuck, that lackey,” Chen Hongyi cursed, taking a deep breath and reluctantly heading out.
He wasn’t stupid; despite his rage, he knew he had to leave. No matter how powerful the organization was, if he got caught by the authorities, it would be difficult to handle. The organization certainly wouldn’t go to great lengths to save a low-level member like him.
Besides, with this interruption, that little bugger was probably long gone.
The more Chen Hongyi thought about it, the angrier he became, filled with impotent rage.
Fine, since the organization would handle the aftermath, that black-haired guy would probably end up as the scapegoat.
Even though his mission failed, and he couldn’t personally kill the guy and pour white wax into his head, it still wouldn’t quell his anger.
“Consider yourself lucky, you escaped this time, you wretch,” he spat, heading out with the hammer.
Outside, it was pitch black, and he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.
The sealed iron windows had blocked all light from the abandoned hospital, with only a sliver of noon daylight faintly visible at the end of the corridor.
Cursing under his breath, Chen Hongyi lowered his head to turn on the flashlight on his phone.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind swept past him.
Before he could react, he was knocked to the ground by a heavy force.
“You bastard…”
He paused, then exploded with rage.
That black-haired guy hadn’t left!
It wasn’t Chen Hongyi’s fault for not anticipating this. A normal person, faced with a murder scene in a bathroom and unarmed against a killer, would definitely run. Especially since Zong Qi had thrown his only weapon before running, clearly trying to buy time to escape.
But Zong Qi hadn’t run. Instead, he had crouched by the bathroom door, waiting to ambush the killer when he let his guard down.
Zong Qi knew very well that if he didn’t subdue the killer and hand him over to the police today, his name would never be cleared.
“That’s right, I’ve been waiting here to take your life, scum.”
The black-haired young man pounced, enduring the pain in his hand from hitting the hammer handle, and coldly punched the killer’s nose, causing blood to spurt out.
Wrongly accused and furious, Zong Qi’s anger had already reached its peak.
If it weren’t for his director system, someone else might have been wrongly killed.
【Hypnosis initiated】
The next moment, Chen Hongyi’s eyelids drooped, and the hammer fell to the ground with a clang.
“Give it here!”
Zong Qi quickly picked up the fallen hammer, knocked away the knife from Chen Hongyi’s hand, and delivered a sharp chop to the back of his neck.
He learned this move from a TV show; supposedly, a heavy strike to the carotid artery could cause a brief blackout.
Three seconds flew by, but it was enough time to do a lot.
Three seconds ago, the killer was fully armed. Three seconds later, he was empty-handed.
Chen Hongyi struggled to stay conscious as his head throbbed and his vision swam. “You…”
Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head, and he blacked out completely, collapsing like a sack of potatoes.
“What do you mean, ‘you’? Trash,” Zong Qi muttered, stepping on his chest and hefting the heavy hammer. “TV shows are indeed deceptive. Smashing is safer.”
Just to be sure Chen Hongyi stayed unconscious, Zong Qi knelt down and gave him a few more hits.
Blood oozed from the back of Chen Hongyi’s head, enough to keep him unconscious for a while but not to kill him.
With only thirty seconds left, Zong Qi dragged the unconscious man to a corner. Exhausted and shaking from the adrenaline and fear, he realized his body was covered in cold sweat.
“When the countdown reaches zero, I should go back. This is my last chance; nothing can go wrong.”
Soon, the police would arrive.
Though Zong Qi had captured the killer, the mysterious organization behind him remained in the shadows.
Zong Qi had no doubt that if the organization was determined to get him, they could twist the facts and frame him, no matter what evidence he presented to the police.
His efforts might seem futile, like an ant trying to shake a tree, but he had to try.
Fortunately, he still had the director system.
When Zong Qi checked the system’s interface, he saw it had recorded the entire time-reversal process and would provide him with a finished video after it ended.
It made sense that a director system would film and produce a complete video.
Whenever Zong Qi thought he understood the system, he realized he was still far from comprehending it fully.
If it came to it, this video, shot from a god’s-eye view, would be his ultimate evidence.
“I’ve done my best. Now it’s up to fate.”
He reassured himself, waiting for the final moment.
【Reshoot time is up】
The crimson numbers reset to zero.
Then, the world around him froze.
After about a second, the colors began to shift, surrounding him like countless shards.
Unlike before, this time the colors were bordered by black and white film strips, giving him the feeling of waiting in a darkroom for film to develop, as if the movie fast-forward button had been pressed.
Reshooting these ten minutes was like a butterfly flapping its wings, altering the predetermined future.
The cold light of the interrogation room reappeared before Zong Qi.
【You have returned to the correct time point】
