Chapter 16: The Malevolent Spirit Tablet
"Turn off your phone. Now."
Li Mo walked in front of the members of Shigure Kira's team and said calmly.
The Valkyrie who was called out by Li Mo was clearly stunned for a moment. She had just turned on her phone for lighting.
"I'm just afraid of the dark, so I'm using my phone for light and to look at some old photos. You should know that there's no signal in here," the named Valkyrie replied with a displeased look on her face.
She didn't use her phone to take secret photos or do anything inappropriate.
Everyone was young, and no one liked others bossing them around.
Shigure Kira quickly walked between the two, trying to stop the conflict.
"Okay, don't argue. You guys woke up the others," Shigure Kira pointed to the vicinity.
The Valkyries and the students had all woken up, looking in confusion at Li Mo and a young Valkyrie who were facing off.
"Xiao Yu, you turn off your phone first," Shigure Kira said to the Valkyrie who had been called out by Li Mo.
"Captain, I just..." The Valkyrie felt very wronged and wanted to tell her captain her dissatisfaction.
But in the next second, a gunshot rang out, accurately shooting through the glowing phone.
This time, everyone was completely awake. Those who had been drowsy instantly became alert. Li Mo's decisive gunshot made everyone in the auditorium feel deafened.
Instantly, as the phone was destroyed, the screen immediately went dark.
"What are you doing! Who do you think you are!"
"Why did you ruin my phone!"
The Valkyrie stood up angrily, glaring at Li Mo resentfully.
The silver-gray pistol was emitting a reddish-red smoke. The bullets were normal, but there were clear mysterious patterns on the gun body, like marks deliberately left by an artist.
"Stop! Go back!"
"Captain!"
"I won't say it a second time!"
When the Valkyrie saw the fierce look in Shigure Kira's eyes, she instantly cowered and obediently returned to her seat, looking very aggrieved, with tears welling in her eyes.
Shigure Kira calmed her emotions and walked in front of Li Mo, loudly asking, "I need a reason, a reason for you to shoot."
"You must have a reason for what you do. I know that you're not someone who makes trouble for no reason, nor are you someone who abuses their power."
"If my teammate is wrong, I'll take responsibility, but similarly, if she hasn't done anything wrong, but I let her be humiliated, then that's a dereliction of my duty as the captain of the Valkyrie squad."
"So, tell me now, why did you do that?"
Shigure Kira asked loudly. This wasn't to put pressure on Li Mo, but to give him a way out.
As long as Li Mo gave a reasonable explanation, he would only have a higher prestige in everyone's hearts. She took the initiative to lower her stance and give him the right of judgment because she wanted to let everyone survive.
But similarly, if the reason wasn't sufficient, then Li Mo would undoubtedly be the target of everyone's criticism.
Shigure Kira believed the former situation was more likely.
Faced with Shigure Kira's questioning, Li Mo put the gun back on his waist and looked around.
No one dared to take out their phones. The only light in the entire auditorium was the fire from the grave incense, but this fire was obviously reduced a lot.
If nothing went wrong, the first grave incense stick wouldn't last until 7 AM tomorrow morning...
After seeing the silent Li Mo, Saori Tsuruyo immediately spoke up to defend him: "Big brother must have discovered something. He's definitely not the kind of person who shoots at random."
"Yes, we can guarantee that."
All the students agreed with this. Li Mo hadn't shot when he was facing Ekri, who was possessed by a head-eating ghost.
Even when Ekri was aggressive and confrontational, Li Mo still didn't shoot.
And in the following time, Li Mo didn't show off his gun. Instead, he proactively put it back on his waist and concealed it.
If it wasn't for Li Mo's unusual behavior tonight of suddenly shooting, Shigure Kira's side would probably have no idea that Li Mo had such a special pistol.
But the current truth was that Li Mo had shot without any warning.
Saori Tsuruyo's heart hardened. She also looked around. Could it be that…
Li Mo: "I have no obligation to tell you the reasons for my actions. Telling you is out of goodwill, not telling you is my right. But there's one thing that I need to remind you. If you think this place is safe enough that you can do whatever you want, then please tell me. I can ignore it. After all, I'm not your parents. If we really reach a critical moment, I will prioritize my own safety above all else."
"If you insist on doing things that are out of line, if you're lazy and careless, without any alertness."
"I won't pay attention if one person dies, but if it threatens everyone, including my life, then the next bullet won't be as simple as just piercing an object."
"Take a good look at what just happened."
Li Mo stretched out his hand and pointed at the spirit tablet directly in front of the black coffin and the wooden table where various funerary items were placed.
Thick, blackish-red blood flowed on them. It didn't look like human blood. Even if human blood was very dark, it wouldn't be the same color as the blood on the table.
It was as if pig blood had been mixed with a little bit of oil.
Such a large amount of blood didn't have a bit of a fishy smell. If Li Mo hadn't woken them up, they might not have noticed the blood flowing next to them.
As for the Li Mo portrait on the spirit tablet, it was even more bizarre. The blood was flowing from the eyes on the portrait, and the expression was very strange, both laughing and crying.
It gave everyone a twisted and weird feeling.
In a normal portrait, the person's eyes would generally be looking at the door, looking directly ahead, but at this moment, the portrait's eyes were looking at the phone that had been shot through.
That's right, it was looking openly, without trying to hide from everyone.
The Li Mo in the portrait was staring straight at the real Li Mo, with a ferocious, hateful expression on his face as if he couldn't wait to tear Li Mo's gun-wielding hand to pieces.
"Hey... You guys think... The portrait's eyes were looking at our direction just now?"
"...I remember... The portrait seemed to be looking at the door, right..."
Instantly, cold sweat broke out on everyone's palms and backs. Their scalps went numb, and a strange feeling instantly surged into their hearts.
It had moved, and its hateful gaze shifted onto everyone.
The portrait's eyeballs moved very clearly. As long as someone wasn't blind, they could see that incredibly dark expression and gaze.
"Everyone, stand behind me!" Shigure Kira shouted loudly, pulling out her broken greatsword and tensing her nerves, ready to strike. "Fu*k! It's happening again!"
Shigure Kira couldn't help but swear. Did these ghosts not rest!?
Li Mo calmly walked toward his own portrait, not caring about Shigure Kira's reminder.
"Hey! Gloomy Man, don't go there. The portrait moved. There must be something wrong with it!" Shigure Kira shouted loudly.
Li Mo looked back with a cold and indifferent gaze and calmly replied, "I know. I've noticed it since I first came in. The drop in temperature on the thermometer also proved that."
"You didn't want to know why I shot through the phone, right?"
Li Mo walked in front of the first grave incense stick and carefully held it in his hand. The grave incense stick was already less than 10% of its original length.
"The portrait is dripping blood. The ghost inside wants to extinguish the grave incense."
"Once the grave incense is extinguished, the auditorium will lose the ability to shield the ghosts' perception. Then, all the ghosts in this academy will discover that there are dozens of living people in the auditorium, and we will all definitely die."
Li Mo spoke calmly, but every word made everyone's heart turn cold.
It was only then that everyone realized that they hadn't left the danger zone. They had always been with the ghosts.
As long as they hadn't left St. Freya...
They were always just one step away from death.
"But what does this have to do with you shooting through the phone?" someone asked.
"Because in Shenzhou, there is a saying: Don't sleep with the lights on at night because it will be like a lighthouse in the vast sea, attracting dirty things to your bedside to watch you."