Invasion of reality (6)
Startled by his sudden movement, Chen Li widened his dark, shiny eyes and shifted a little deeper into the sofa: “What’s wrong with you?”
Fu Yan’s tone grew excited, completely losing the cold arrogance he had moments ago. Like a husky off its leash, he rushed over and stopped just half a meter away: “How do you know that noble person?”
His eager gaze was almost like it could set Chen Li on fire.
Chen Li had lived for twenty years without ever encountering someone like him, and for a moment, he was too stunned to respond: “That noble person?”
Fu Yan nodded and, disregarding his dignity, knelt on the sofa staring at him intently: “The one you just asked about…”
“Fu Moyang?” Chen Li blinked.
Hearing him say the full name again, Fu Yan gasped sharply: “You know him?”
“Yeah, I came looking for him,” Chen Li nodded somewhat bewildered. “What’s your relationship? Brothers?”
Right after asking, he regretted it. Although he didn’t know how long Fu Moyang had lived, as the world’s first and only ghost, there was no way he could be brothers with a human.
Fu Yan’s reaction was even stronger than he expected, nearly falling off the sofa: “No way!! He’s my ancestor!!”
Chen Li nervously tugged the sofa cushion: “Ancestor?”
His expression grew more complex. Though it was obvious from Fu Moyang’s obsession with strange marriage rituals that he had lived a very long time, this was the first time he had such a direct sense of the gap between them.
He hadn’t expected his “descendants” to be this grown up.
Then he suddenly realized: Fu Moyang had said he was the first and only human he liked—so where did these descendants come from?
Seeing his expression shock in just a few seconds, Fu Yan hurriedly explained: “Not a real ancestor, but recognized. More precisely, our Fu family worships him.”
“Worship?”
Fu Yan nodded: “Yes, worship. My great-great-grandfather nearly died in a famine, but that noble person saved him, gave him a surname, and granted him wealth, honor, and protection from ghosts and spirits. So our Fu family has thrived ever since, all thanks to that noble person.”
Chen Li was dazed. “Oh… so that’s how it is.” What nonsense!
It all sounded so mystical.
But the person himself spoke so earnestly, unlike how players in the game feared Fu Moyang, he only had pure reverence mixed with genuine admiration. As he spoke, Fu Yan even looked a little embarrassed: “Every one of our family’s children has achieved something in their fields. From childhood, we were taught to do everything possible to fulfill any request from that noble person. Unfortunately, since my grandfather’s generation, that noble person hasn’t appeared—maybe because he finds this world too boring.”
At this, Fu Yan showed a look of regret.
Chen Li’s thoughts went even deeper, feeling a bit of sympathy.
Though he was a Ghost King, living alone for so long must be lonely.
That’s probably why he let his core escape.
After finishing his story, Fu Yan turned to Chen Li expectantly: “Why did you come looking for the noble person? What’s your relationship?”
Being stared at so warmly by a dignified CEO almost overwhelmed Chen Li.
He braced himself: “Um, because I promised to find him. We’re… friends.”
Though it wasn’t intentional, explaining further would be too complicated, so he chose to downplay their closeness.
Fu Yan’s face lit up with sudden understanding: “Is it related to that Horror Game that invaded Earth recently? If we wake that noble person, it should solve the problem, right?”
From his oddly silly face, Chen Li saw his unconditional trust in Fu Moyang.
He caught the key word: “Wake?”
Fu Yan suddenly lowered his voice nervously: “Yes, actually I had a dream yesterday that if someone came looking for him, I should take them to the Forbidden Area. I thought it was just a random dream, since it was only a voice. But now it must be true!”
No wonder he believed him so easily—Fu Moyang had paved the way.
Chen Li blinked, eyes slightly reddened.
Sure enough, the Horror Game invading Earth had also affected Fu Moyang.
He was originally the world’s first and only ghost. As the Ghost King, he had gathered all the ghostly energy in the world. Now that a force of ghosts not originally from this world is invading, he must be feeling very distressed.
Thinking this, Chen Li couldn’t help but ask: “Can you take me to see him?”
“Of course,” Fu Yan replied, his gaze on Chen Li shining with admiration.
Anyone who could be friends with an ancestor like that had to be extraordinary!
Chen Li smiled gratefully at him.
Fu Yan’s face instantly flushed red.
Yeah… a true expert is a true expert—even their smile looks amazing.
Fu Yan stood up: “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Forbidden Area right now.”
He moved almost mechanically to open the door. The moment it swung open, his expression switched back to his usual cool and world-weary look. He cleared his throat softly, drawing the secretary’s attention.
The secretary dutifully stepped forward: “Sir, where are you headed?”
Chen Li followed behind, stunned by the sudden change in expression.
No wonder he commands the whole company.
Fu Yan: “Any appointments this afternoon?”
The secretary held a file: “You have a meeting with the Li family in half an hour, and then at 3 PM—”
Before she could finish, Fu Yan raised his hand to stop her: “Cancel it.”
The secretary was surprised: “All of them?”
“Mm,” Fu Yan said coolly, hands in his pockets. “I have plans today.”
Secretary: “Understood, sir. Have a good day.”
Fu Yan stepped toward the private elevator, glancing back to make sure Chen Li was following.
Every move showed the decisive efficiency expected of a CEO at a publicly traded company.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Fu Yan’s true nature showed again—his expression turned nervous: “It’s been a long time since I went to the Forbidden Zone!”
Chen Li thought for a moment: “Is it outside the city?”
It sounded dangerous.
Fu Yan paused: “No, it’s on the company’s B2 floor.”
Chen Li was surprised again. That casual?
Fu Yan hurried to explain: “The Forbidden Zone was set up by my great-great-grandfather. Back then, it was a remote, uninhabited Feng Shui treasure spot. But after all these years, it’s now in the city center. Luckily, our Fu family has powerful patrons, so we’ve always maintained absolute control over this precious land.”
Fu Yan suddenly spoke up proudly: “Thanks to the protection of our ancestor, no one in the Fu family has ever had an accident—even our employees are completely safe. Our FuTech Tower is probably the safest place in the entire world.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the elevator suddenly jerked to a halt.
Both of them grabbed onto the elevator walls tightly to keep from falling.
Chen Li said awkwardly: “…Sorry, I forgot to tell you—I have a ghost-attracting physique.”
Everything is meaningless in front of a ghost-attracting physique.
Fu Yan tried one last desperate hope: “No, this must be a mechanical failure.”
Chen Li looked up at the floor indicator—it had stopped exactly on the third floor.
A chill ran down his spine. Something wasn’t right.
Last night, when “Xiao Qian” called him out, he also ran into elevator trouble—it stopped dead on the third floor then too. He thought it was caused by “Xiao Qian,” but now he realized it was another vengeful ghost.
And it had followed him here.
Fu Yan, still skeptical, pressed the emergency button repeatedly, nearly smashing the small red button before the little speaker above finally came to life.
A female voice came through: “Please do not panic. Remain calm and wait patiently.”
Fu Yan tried to speak through the tiny intercom: “Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Two people are trapped here!”
But the voice only mechanically repeated: “Please do not panic. Remain calm and wait patiently.”
“What does that even mean?” Fu Yan snapped, banging on the elevator buttons.
Chen Li shivered uneasily: “Maybe we should try shouting for help outside?”
He had just checked his phone—no signal, as expected.
Fu Yan shook his head: “That would just drain our energy faster.”
Just as they were feeling helpless, the elevator door was suddenly pried open. Outside stood a man in long sleeves, his smile stiff as he looked at them: “How did you get stuck in here?”
Fu Yan sighed in relief: “The elevator broke down. Please get us out.”
“Please do not panic. Remain calm and wait patiently!”
The voice inside the elevator rang out again, this time sounding more like it came from within, growing sharper and more chilling: “Please do not panic. Remain calm and wait patiently!!”
The voice seemed like it wanted to rip them apart.
Fu Yan and Chen Li were both terrified—now anyone could tell something was very wrong with this elevator.
The creepy announcement didn’t stop, and the man outside seemed to be deliberately provoking the elevator ghost. He stretched out his hand: “Grab my hand and come out.”
But when he extended his arm, a patch of decaying, mottled rot showed on his wrist.
Fu Yan instinctively pulled his hand back.
“Please do not panic. Remain calm and wait patiently!”
“Hurry up, come on!”
The two loud voices overlapped, stabbing their eardrums.
Chen Li’s face darkened. Trapped between a tiger and a wolf.
He gritted his teeth and chose to exit the elevator first.
The long-sleeved man’s gaze gleamed with blatant malice: “Good child.”
Fu Yan was terrified but didn’t want to be left alone, so he followed: “We—”
The next moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Chen Li reached out without hesitation and shoved the long-sleeved ghost away. The ghost hadn’t expected to be betrayed by such a tempting “treat” and fell straight back into the elevator.
At the same time, the elevator doors shut tight with no support.
The elevator ghost inside finally emerged and immediately clashed with the intruding ghost.
Even through the closed elevator doors, Fu Yan could hear the two ghosts’ angry howls and screams—it sounded like a fierce battle.
Fu Yan swallowed nervously and looked at Chen Li with new respect.
No wonder he’s an expert—truly terrifying.
Author’s note:
Someone will appear in the next chapter!
Some readers guessed they might be brothers—haha, you’re playing it safe!