'It seems like a lot of people have come outside.'
'They have weapons in their hands.'
'Are they here to drive us away?'
In the forest, the wind whistled past.
The spirits whispered to each other, discussing in low voices.
'Why don't we send the big guy to scare them a bit?'
In the past, when humans ventured into the forest, a little fright was enough to send them running.
But this time, so many people had arrived.
Had they not scared them enough?
Rustle—
The wind in the forest picked up.
A giant hand pushed aside the leaves, revealing an eye like a searchlight.
Its voice rumbled, 'Do you want me to go?'
Seeing the big guy appear, some of the smaller spirits also bounced up.
'I'll go too, I'll go too!'
'I can transform into the scariest form!'
'Let's scare them more so they don't come back~'
Listening to his companions' voices, the big guy blinked its eyes, 'Would that be alright?'
'What if Grandma finds out...'
The big guy hesitated.
With so many people outside, it would be bad if things escalated.
The little spirits chimed in, 'Don't worry, don't worry, we'll be quick!'
'That's right, that's right, quick and back.'
'We must not let Grandma find out.'
Encouraged by his friends, the big guy nodded and rumbled, 'Alright.'
...
On the outskirts of the mountain forest.
Many soldiers stood guard.
At intervals, a soldier stood watch.
Besides guarding the forest, they also had to dispatch some people to stop the netizens rushing in from nearby.
"You cannot enter here, please leave immediately."
"Please leave immediately and do not approach the forest."
Some of these netizens listened and were livestreaming from a distance.
Others, however, were contemplating where to sneak in.
Money makes the world go round, and people are no different.
If they could bring back a ginseng spirit, they wouldn't have to worry about the rest of their lives.
Just as the soldiers were constantly driving people away.
A rustling sound suddenly came from the mountain forest behind them.
Following that, a strong wind blew, and even the sky began to darken.
Seeing this, many netizens froze, stunned.
This scene was so familiar.
In the livestream playback, this was exactly the scene.
Then the ginseng spirit darted about.
Various dark shadows flew back and forth, and no one knew what they were.
"Monsters, monsters are out!"
"Ghosts! Run!"
The netizens who couldn't be driven away earlier were now fleeing down the mountain.
Among them, one or two took the opportunity to sneak in from the side.
'Take a gamble, and a bicycle might turn into a luxury car!'
In the eyes of some, crisis and opportunity coexisted.
It was time to risk it all!
If this life could be exchanged for several million, it would be worth it.
"Be careful! Prepare for battle!"
Seeing this, the soldiers could no longer afford to hesitate and became vigilant.
Ye Youshi and Jiang Ziwei also moved to the front, on alert.
In mid-air, the matchstick-man paper effigy was also released.
Its cape fluttered in the wind.
In the mountain forest—
Just like last time, various dark shadows darted back and forth.
Amidst the strong wind, strange sounds could be faintly heard, indistinct.
"Roar—"
With a roar, a giant hand pushed aside the leaves, revealing an eye like a searchlight.
The pupil was light green, a vertical slit.
The ground also began to tremble slightly.
The soldiers looked at the netizens who hadn't managed to reach the foot of the mountain yet, gritting their teeth.
They raised their weapons, waiting for the captain's order to engage.
The next moment, the matchstick-man guarding Jiang Ziwei moved.
Besides the [active] command to defend against ghosts and remind its master, the matchstick-man had another command.
That was to protect the master first when the master was in danger, and to attack targets designated by the master.
The matchstick-man was incredibly fast, appearing before the big spirit like a flash.
It spun and kicked, its foot landing squarely on the big spirit's head.
Under the force of gravity, the big spirit's head tilted.
Feeling wronged, its light green pupils were covered with a thin layer of crimson.
"Roar—!"
It was angry!
In the surrounding forest, those faint, strange sounds reappeared.
'The big guy is being bullied! The big guy is being bullied!'
'Let's go help it!'
'This way, let's split up~'
From the forest, spirits of various strange appearances emerged.
They broke through from all directions.
There were those with horns on their heads, baring fangs, resembling cats.
There were those floating in the air, with only a few strands of hair on their heads, their lower bodies like snakes covered in scales.
And there were creatures with large heads, stout bodies, and eyes of unequal size, as if they were deformed.
The appearance of these creatures startled everyone.
They almost caused friendly fire.
"Captain..."
A soldier asked for instructions. Should they open fire?
There were many non-human creatures, but only one matchstick-man.
Even if they could fight, they couldn't fight them all.
Ye Youshi frowned, standing at the very front, "Is there any news from the Underworld Livestream?"
"No, it's still closed."
"Keep monitoring it."
After speaking, he waved his hand and said to the soldiers, "You all retreat."
This incident was entirely entrusted to their agency.
The command naturally fell into his hands.
"Do not act until the last moment!"
The soldiers were all equipped with double protection, both the items he had collected and Jiang Ziwei's talismans.
Currently, they still didn't know where the spirits here came from or what their purpose was.
Until the last moment, they must not allow the situation to become irreversible.
Suddenly—
Bang!
A soldier, who had been pounced on by a spirit, accidentally fired his gun.
The bullet flew into a tree.
Although it missed, it once again ignited the anger of all the spirits.
Screech~
The spirit that pounced was scorched by the talisman. Gritting its teeth, it jumped back onto the tree behind it.
Using strange sounds that humans couldn't understand, it began to shriek.
The battle was imminent!
...
The netizens livestreaming from afar saw this scene and their limbs turned to jelly.
They were speechless. The viewers in the livestream chat were so scared they almost forgot to breathe.
Would something happen?!
If those spirits rushed out... would it be a great disaster?!
"...Paper! Paper!"
"It's a paper effigy!"
Suddenly, a viewer's eyes widened, looking at a corner of the screen.
On the horizon, rows of white objects, resembling paper effigies, vaguely appeared!