Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Gu Yuan’s Organization, the Butterfly Seal, In the Name of Nightmare Hunter

Meanwhile.

Yun Zhenyue was tidying up the house.

She figured that since she’d be away for a few days, Gu Yuan would definitely be too lazy to clean.

So, she cleaned every nook and cranny of the house.

As Yun Zhenyue was using the broom to clean under the bed,

she suddenly discovered a box.

She pulled it out and opened it.

Inside was a strange stamp.

The stamp was shaped like a butterfly, giving off a cold glint under the light. Its base was blood-red, with a dark ink that seemed to flow faintly within.

"Hm?"

The moment Yun Zhenyue’s fingertip touched it, she felt a sudden chill.

’I wonder if this stamp still works.’

Yun Zhenyue decided to try it.

She casually pressed the stamp onto the back of her right hand!

’If it works, I can just wipe the mark off later,’ she thought.

Instantly, a blood-red butterfly appeared on the back of her hand.

The butterfly was incredibly lifelike, its wings spread as if about to take flight.

Then!

Dark red blood suddenly seeped from the butterfly’s eyes, soaking into Yun Zhenyue’s skin.

Yun Zhenyue only felt a cold sensation on the back of her hand, and before she could react, the mark vanished.

"What a strange stamp."

"It should still be usable, I think."

Yun Zhenyue shook her head.

She carefully placed the stamp back in the box and slid it under the bed again.

Gu Yuan had a lot of miscellaneous things.

Some things she had thrown away after asking him and being told they were useless, while others she just left where they were.

TAP, TAP~

After a short while,

Yun Zhenyue finished cleaning and walked into the living room.

Gu Yuan turned his head to look at her and took the initiative. "Same old place. Go get your reward yourself."

Just as he said that, he seemed to sense something and let out a small sound of surprise.

"Did you see the stamp under the bed?"

"Mhm, I found it while I was cleaning. I figured it must still be useful, so I put it back."

"Oh, right. I accidentally stamped the back of my hand with it. That’s okay, right?" Yun Zhenyue asked obediently.

"It’s fine," Gu Yuan said slowly. "I just didn’t expect you to find it so quickly."

"I don’t think I’ve ever told you I have an organization, have I?"

"That stamp is something I used in the organization."

’Gu Yuan’s organization?’

Yun Zhenyue’s eyes widened in surprise.

This was the first she’d ever heard of it!

"Can you tell me more about it?"

"Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough."

Gu Yuan smiled, shook his head, and decided to keep her in suspense.

His organization was called Nightmare Hunter!

It was the nightmare of countless supernatural beings!

The hunters lurking in their midst!

The organization was filled with innumerable powerful ghosts, all of whom obeyed his commands.

Even an ordinary Great Evil ghost was considered merely mid-tier.

In that chaotic and disorderly era, brute force was necessary to make the entire Ghost World obey!

To that end, Nightmare Hunter had mobilized on a massive scale!

They had left deep psychological scars on the masters of countless SSS-level instances!

Many Great Evils would go weak in the knees just from hearing the name Nightmare Hunter.

’Yun Zhenyue had stamped herself.’

’She now carried the aura of his mark.’

’The ghosts in the organization should be able to find her soon.’

Gu Yuan had also noticed that the Yaksha upstairs had gotten lucky and evolved into an Evil Star.

But with that Yaksha’s abilities!

It was nowhere near qualified to enter his organization!

Even just hearing of its existence was a luxury it couldn’t afford!

...

At that moment,

after hearing Gu Yuan admit to having his own organization,

the audience in the Dragon Country was plunged into shock!

Organizations in the Ghost World were different from ordinary instances. They were collections of ghost-filled instances, whose terrifying masters willingly submitted to a single ruler for a common purpose.

Whenever a mission was issued, all the ghosts in the organization would work together in concert!

They were not a force that any single instance could hope to stop!

To date,

humanity knew of only a few such ghost organizations, and each was extremely mysterious, their purpose and leader unknown.

A few years ago,

a player had accidentally stumbled into an organization called the Monster Talk Foundation!

According to legend, all the ghosts in the organization were Crimson-robed Ghosts!

Its thirteen "Myth Weavers" were even Evil Stars, all of them masters of SS-level instances!

For a time, this led everyone to believe that player had gone mad!

It wasn’t until he took a picture of the organization’s seal that the rumor gained credibility.

[Gu Yuan has an organization too? No way!]

[I literally sat bolt upright. Doesn’t that mean he has a ton of instance bosses under his command?]

[You guys forgot, Gu Yuan himself has a pile of property deeds, plus a bunch of stuff other people gave him.]

[Holy crap, he said he HAS an organization, not that he’s IN an organization. I heard that right, didn’t I?]

[The only question now is how many ghosts are in that organization. I’m so curious!]

...

When the audience from Elephant Country saw how excited the Dragon Country viewers were,

they felt like their thunder had been stolen,

and every one of them grew dissatisfied.

When it came to bragging, no one could beat them, the people of Elephant Country!

[All they do is brag. An ’organization’? I could manage a public toilet and call it an organization.]

[Yeah, he probably doesn’t even know this mission has a bug. Otherwise, he should send out his subordinates to clash with our Lord Yaksha’s underlings!]

[Gu Yuan was a low-level Evil Star in his prime, but Lord Yaksha is an active Evil Star right now. No amount of bragging will make him stronger than Lord Yaksha!]

[I can’t wait to see the look of regret on the Dragon Country woman’s face when she gets to the Fierce Ghost Mall.]

[She must be delirious with hunger. She should eat some more curry. Dragon Country doesn’t have delicious food like this!]

...

This time,

Yun Zhenyue did not take Gu Yuan’s gift.

She didn’t satisfy the Dragon Country audience’s expectations,

by going to see what was in the other bedroom drawer.

This was mainly because the mission required self-reliance, so taking items would be useless.

Soon,

as a white light flared,

Yun Zhenyue was instantly teleported into the Fierce Ghost Mall.

...

The moment Yun Zhenyue entered the Fierce Ghost Mall,

she heard a clamorous noise.

She looked up,

gazing at the mall’s interior.

Ghastly white light shone down from the ceiling, like countless desiccated hands fumbling in the darkness.

The escalators were still, their steps covered in a thin layer of dust. Useless plastic mannequins lay toppled and scattered. Someone had stripped their faces of all features, leaving only smooth, blank surfaces that nonetheless gave one the eerie feeling of being watched.

A faint, moldy smell drifted through the air.

’Is this a mall that specializes in clothing?’

Yun Zhenyue saw five floors.

The higher the floor, the more shops were lit up, and the more luxurious the decor became.

But on the first floor, where she stood,

only a few dilapidated clothing stores had their lights on.

’So...’

’the gifts we have to pick this time are clothes?’

’And preferably clothes from the fifth floor?’

’And since we can’t bring ghost currency, we have to use our wits to get the clothes, whether by working or by trickery.’

’Otherwise, I could probably just buy out the entire store.’

As Yun Zhenyue was lost in thought,

a nearby noise assaulted her ears.

She glanced over instinctively.

There stood Han Sumei, Yamada Aiko, and the other women.

But what was surprising

was that many of them had unfamiliar ghosts following behind them!

There were even Crimson-robed Ghosts among them!

"Huh?"

’This confused Yun Zhenyue.’

’Weren’t we told not to bring gifts from our partners—’

’Oh~’

’I guess these ghosts don’t count as gifts.’

’Did they exploit a loophole?’

Yun Zhenyue felt a twinge of regret.

If she had known, she would have gone to Gu Yuan too. Maybe she could have brought a few helpers from the orphanage.

But Yun Zhenyue didn’t dwell on it.

’It’s just manual labor, right? I’m already used to that!’

"Hm?"

Just then,

Yun Zhenyue suddenly felt a chill on the back of her right hand.

It seemed to be coming from the spot where the butterfly mark had been.

’What’s going on?’