At dusk, the training in the western suburbs concluded.
Jiang Han set off on the return journey alone.
His residence was located by the Jialing River, an old-style apartment building that had seen some years. Although the facilities were slightly outdated, it won out for its quiet environment and passable security.
On the way, Jiang Han kept his right hand in his coat pocket, his thumb constantly rubbing the Green Tier Soul Jade he had just acquired.
That warm, jade-like touch made him reluctant to let it go; he couldn't help but quicken his pace, wanting only to get home as soon as possible to thoroughly absorb the power within it.
Approaching the vicinity of the residential complex.
The wide road was empty at this moment, with only the occasional car whizzing by; pedestrians were pitifully scarce.
To be honest, Jiang Han was also a native of Yuzhou in his past life, so he naturally understood just how eerie this world truly was.
It was only eight o'clock in the evening now; logically, there should be no shortage of elderly people taking walks or couples strolling on the street.
Yet, at this very moment, the entire street was dead silent. He actually had the illusion of walking a night path in the wilderness.
"Young man, do you know where the Red Star Furniture City is?"
Suddenly, a hoarse, aged voice came from behind him.
Jiang Han subconsciously turned his head to look and saw an eighty-year-old man leaning on a cane, his back hunched.
"Grandpa, why are you asking about Red Star Furniture City? It should be closed by now, right?"
Looking at the old man's appearance, as fragile as a candle in the wind and seemingly ready to topple over at any moment, Jiang Han asked curiously.
The old man spoke tremulously, "I... my son is the manager inside... but it's past work hours now, and he hasn't come home. I can't get through on the phone either. I'm worried something happened to him..."
Hearing this, Jiang Han replied casually, "Grandpa, you should go home and wait for the night. If you still can't get through tomorrow, then..."
Suddenly, halfway through his sentence, Jiang Han froze entirely.
His face instantly turned iron-gray, his lips pressed tight. Without another word, he turned and left, not daring to pause for a moment. No matter how the old man behind him called out, he didn't soften his heart in the slightest.
It wasn't until he rushed through the gates of the residential complex and confirmed that nothing was following him that Jiang Han finally let his guard down, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Red Star Furniture City caught fire a year ago! All the staff inside were burned to death, and it hasn't reopened to this day!!!"
Recalling his conversation with the old man just now, Jiang Han couldn't help but quicken his heartbeat. "Too scary! Holy crap! No wonder there's no one out late at night; you can't even tell humans from ghosts anymore!"
A Lost Ghost!
That old man from just now was nine times out of ten a Lost Ghost!
Jiang Han stood at the complex gates and looked back.
He saw the road stretching into a straight line in the night, the dim yellow streetlamps on either side looking like soul lamps guiding the way in the underworld.
Not daring to think further, Jiang Han hurriedly went upstairs and returned home.
Opening the door and seeing the familiar furnishings inside, Jiang Han collapsed onto the sofa.
The scene just now had truly terrified him; it was even more nerve-wracking than being in the ghost domain in the western suburbs.
After all, those ghosts were obviously ghostly entities at a glance. But in the middle of the city, who could have imagined that an old grandpa asking you for directions and chatting could actually be a Lost Ghost harboring evil intentions?
This world was too broken, absurd, and bizarre.
Bang!
Suddenly, just then, the bathroom door opened without cause.
Jiang Han's heart jolted. "Don't tell me that Lost Ghost followed me?"
He gulped, summoned his dagger Lifebound Spirit Tool, and carefully looked toward the bathroom.
Next, a black-haired girl wearing beige bear-print pajamas came into view.
"What's the matter? Looking like a coward? I heard a Spirit Controller from the Tianji Pavilion went to your school today. Don't tell me you got scared?"
The girl mocked him while toweling her wet hair.
Jiang Han froze, then remembered that the graceful girl before him was the sister of the original owner of this body.
Here, we need to briefly explain Jiang Han's original social relationships.
Jiang Han was an orphan. After being adopted by a family in the orphanage, he smoothly gained a pair of parents and a sister with no blood relation.
Wait!
Why emphasize the no blood relation part?
Cough—
In any case, Jiang Han's fate wasn't actually all that great.
His adoptive parents had been missing without a word for several years due to certain special reasons.
Currently, only he and this sister were left to depend on each other for survival.
"Eh? You really awakened a Lifebound Spirit Tool?"
The girl's bright eyes swept over the dagger in Jiang Han's hand. "Speak, how many skill slots?"
Jiang Han said, "Three."
"Three?" The girl paused, then said with disdain, "Tsk, tsk, that's really funny enough~"
Jiang Han pursed his lips. In his memory, this sister of his was quite black-bellied and sharp-tongued.
Since childhood, she had been a favored daughter of heaven like Bai Ruoxue—smart, quick-witted, and eager to learn, shining brilliantly in every aspect.
Compared to a brother like him, it was like one was in the heavens and the other on the earth.
The girl walked over in fluffy white slippers, sat opposite Jiang Han, then crossed her fair, tender legs and started playing with her phone.
Jiang Han took this opportunity to examine this non-blood-related sister carefully.
Hmm, very good-looking, extremely good-looking.
Fair and smooth skin, a petite and cute figure, hair like a waterfall. Because she had just finished bathing, she was still radiating heat, with crystal water droplets hanging from her bangs. Willow-leaf brows curved gently, a small cherry mouth that made one want to take a sip, and a pointed chin—a standard beauty in the making.
"There's food in the rice cooker."
Suddenly, the girl said out of the blue.
"...Mm." Jiang Han responded sullenly.
The girl put down her phone and looked at Jiang Han. "No way? Looking this down and out? A Lifebound Spirit Tool with three skill slots is indeed a bit trash, but it's not like you can't do other things? Like an IT programmer? Telemarketer? Assembly line worker? Street sweeper?"
"Oh, right, I forgot you're trash in other aspects too..."
The girl's previous sentence was quite considerate, but the next one immediately twisted the knife hard.
Jiang Han pursed his lips inwardly, thinking to himself that he had only transmigrated to this world today and was unsettled after encountering the Lost Ghost.
"Forget it, who let me, your sister, be naturally smart and have boundless prospects? You won't starve to death in the future, so don't think too much." The girl said narcissistically. "Hurry and play a round of Gods' and Demons' Legends. I'm determined to reach Gold today no matter what."
"Not interested."
Jiang Han turned over.
"Hmph! Who cares about a good-for-nothing big brother like you." The girl snorted, very dissatisfied.
Before long, the sounds of "First Blood" and "You have been slain" rang in Jiang Han's ears.
"Ahhh!!! So annoying! Is this support disabled? Not giving the blessing skill to teammates but saving it for the enemy, is that it?"
Soon, the girl was swearing like a sailor, even turning on the game voice chat and going AFK at the fountain.
"Number three, looking for your mom in the jungle? I'm telling you, actually the enemy number three hid your mom long ago!"
"Number one position, you only have five skills, where do you get the face to claim the number one position? Eating three lanes of resources and then OBS-ing in team fights?"
"And number five, running away with your head in your hands the moment you see a ghost. You're such a coward, why don't you get your grandma to play?"
"..."
Perhaps it was because the girl's toxic tongue was too strong, or because her light, pleasant voice was enjoyable even when she was cursing, in any case, surprisingly no one flamed back.
Jiang Han listened from the side, the corners of his mouth twitching. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and took out his phone. "Come on, bro will carry you."
"You?"
The girl glanced at Jiang Han disdainfully. "A Silver II trash. If it weren't for carrying you, this lady would have been Diamond long ago."
"Ain't Diamond players the most trashy noobs? Stuck in the middle, can't go up or down."
As Jiang Han spoke, he logged into Gods' and Demons'