Trembling At A High Altitude

"He's a severe psychiatric patient, you all need to capture him quickly!"

Li Teng pointed at the bone-spur evil ghost in front of him and issued an order to the psychiatric hospital orderlies in the illusory realm.

The bone-spur evil ghost seemed somewhat surprised to see Li Teng return.

After it hissed at Li Teng a few times, it didn't continue to wave its claws to attack, but instead...

Its body let out a series of explosive noises, and those weak old men and women in the warehouse instantly transformed into black fog clusters that entered its body.

Then, a large amount of black fog tentacles flew out of its body, grabbing towards Li Teng from several directions!

They blocked all possible escape routes for Li Teng!

"A significant increase in spiritual power detected! From the D-class evil ghost deployed this time!"

A staff member reading the meters reported loudly to the man in uniform.

At the same time, all the surveillance screens showed interference stripes.

This indicated that the spiritual energy cameras at the scene were severely disrupted.

"Not good! This evil ghost has mutated! Isn't it a physical series? How did it learn to perform mental attacks? If so, its rating has reached C-class or even C-class and a half!" the man in uniform said in a terrified tone.

An evil ghost with mental attacks is half a tier stronger than a physical series evil ghost of the same level.

Having both mental and physical attacks, the strength rating of this evil ghost should be elevated by about one and a half tiers!

Deploying a D-class evil ghost for assessment requires the presence of two C-class control field ghost hunters nearby to ensure safety.

But if a C-class evil ghost is deployed, it's necessary to apply to the headquarters for two B-class control field ghost hunters, otherwise, a single C-class evil ghost could easily escape from two C-class control field ghost hunters.

And now this C-class and a half evil ghost, possessing both physical and mental attack capabilities, could even counter-kill two C-class control field ghost hunters!

If the evil ghost were to escape to the urban area and cause injuries, it would consume a lot of effort and time in recapture and handling procedures, including erasing the memories of the involved individuals.

If the casualties are too large, causing dissatisfaction from the city authorities, the Ghost Hunter Department would have to hold someone accountable for these casualties.

The man in charge of this operation in uniform would undoubtedly be inescapable from blame.

"What should we do now?" the man in uniform asked his superior, the woman in a black mask, for instructions.

"Send two control field ghost hunters into the scene. Don't attack recklessly, just try to prevent the C-class evil ghost from escaping! I will immediately rush over for reinforcement," the woman in a black mask issued the order.

The next moment, she had vanished from the temporary office.

"Control field ghost hunters, enter! Be aware! The D-class evil ghost has mutated! The new rating is between C-class and C-class and a half! Do not engage it directly! Just hold it off for a little over a minute, and you will receive strong reinforcement!" the man in uniform issued new orders.

...

One minute later.

The woman in a black mask arrived at the scene from a kilometer away.

She passed through the Ghost Gate and into the warehouse.

Li Teng sat in a corner, holding his body with his head down.

The two control field ghost hunters and their assistants stood in the center of the warehouse, staring at the mess of remains on the ground...

In a daze.

"What happened? Did the target escape?"

The woman in a black mask, sensing the seriousness of the situation, rushed over.

"No..."

The two control field ghost hunters shook their heads.

"So what happened? Did you... kill it?" the woman in a black mask also looked down at the mess of remains on the ground.

Two C-class control field ghost hunters, combining their forces to kill a D-class evil ghost that had just mutated to C-class, wasn't too far-fetched.

This D-level Evil Ghost, after possessing a fresh corpse, had probably just mastered mental attacks and was not very adept at it yet.

However, for the two of them to join forces and kill a C-tier double system Evil Ghost within a minute, blasting it to pieces, was somewhat beyond her expectations.

"No, it wasn't us who killed it, it was him." The two Control Field Ghost Hunters pointed at Li Teng together.

Li Teng, who was still sitting by the wall, hugging his body.

"Him? How did he kill it?" The woman in the black mask was even more puzzled.

"With one punch, he killed it with one punch."

...

"Hello, I'm Aila, the person in charge here." The woman in the black mask approached Li Teng, pulled down her mask, and introduced herself.

"Aila?" Li Teng looked at the woman opposite him, feeling a bit puzzled, as she seemed familiar.

"Do you know me?" Aila asked, somewhat surprised.

"I don't know you." Li Teng shook his head.

"The Ghost Hunter Department welcomes you to join." Aila extended her hand.

"The Ghost Hunter Department?" Li Teng did not reach out his hand.

"It's the official organization that recruits superpower users." Aila explained.

"Oh… Can I choose not to join? I came here only to find the whereabouts of my girlfriend, Liu Yin." Li Teng's expression became somewhat guarded.

"Superpower users who do not join officially and do not register will be treated as Evil Ghosts and eliminated," Aila warned Li Teng.

"Then let's give it a try?" Li Teng was somewhat displeased.

"If you don't consider your own welfare, at least consider your daughter's…" Aila continued to warn.

"If you dare touch her, I'll make this whole world pay for her burial!" Li Teng narrowed his eyes.

"I've heard about your situation, and I know where Liu Yin is now," Aila finally spoke again after a long silence.

"Where is she?"

"Wait a moment, I need to make a phone call." Aila took out her phone and walked away to a distant place.

...

"Come with me."

After finishing the call, Aila gestured to Li Teng.

Li Teng followed her out of the storeroom, where an SUV was already waiting outside.

There was no one in the car; Aila drove herself, allowing Li Teng to sit in the passenger seat.

After they got into the car, Aila started the vehicle.

Soon, the car left the large gates of the warehouse, and instead of going back to the city center, it continued towards the rural outskirts.

"Where are we going?" Li Teng asked Aila.

"To your girlfriend's place," Aila answered Li Teng.

Li Teng did not speak again, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes to rest.

...

"You've been lying in bed for five years. In these five years, what happened?" After an unknown amount of time, Aila initiated the conversation again.

"Nothing much." Li Teng, his eyes still closed, did not want to answer the question.

He had been to Dream Star, where he had trained for fifty thousand years, reaching the Saint Realm; this experience was too bizarre to contemplate.

"Before the car accident, you lived in He City for over twenty years, did you ever feel anything unusual?" Aila asked again.

Li Teng furrowed his brows.

The memories of over twenty years were somewhat blurry, but he still remembered some.

Especially the events that occurred just before he crossed into Dream Star.

For example, his romance with Liu Yin...

Speaking of which, his romance with Liu Yin was quite abnormal.

The daughter of the wealthiest man, why would she fall for a poor guy like him? After a blind date, she decided to be with him.

Five years later, when he woke up, he already had a daughter, and he didn't think much about his past romance with Liu Yin.

"Do you feel that many things are not normal?" Aila asked again.

"It's alright," Li Teng, still with his eyes closed, responded in a lazy tone.

"Like all this right now, is it normal?" Aila stopped the car.

Li Teng opened his eyes and looked through the front windshield, stunned by everything in front of him.

After a moment, he opened the car door, got out, and walked a few steps forward.

Aila also got out of the car, took a few steps forward, and came to Li Teng's side.

In front of them, the road that should lead to other counties was now enveloped in rolling black fog.

Not just this road, but on both sides of it, there was an endless amount of black fog, like a huge wall or a giant cover, stretching from the ground to the sky, blocking everything in front of them.

"In the more than twenty years before your car accident, had you never left He City? Were your impressions of other places only formed through the internet, news media, and others' words?" Aila asked again.

Li Teng stayed silent.

Aila was right, for the first twenty years, he was a homebody, absorbed in his own world, with few friends and little news consumption, he had never left He City, not even once.

"It seems we are living in a vast lie, or rather, this is supposedly an illusory world," Aila's voice was also filled with confusion, as if talking to Li Teng, but also as if talking to herself.

"Seeing this scene, are you not at all surprised?" Aila asked, somewhat puzzled as she looked at Li Teng.

His reaction was too calm, was it not?

"I just want to know where Liu Yin is," Li Teng was indeed surprised, but having experienced fifty thousand years in Dream Star, this scene still could not stir too much emotion in him.

At this moment, he was only concerned about Liu Yin and Yingying.

He wanted to help Yingying find her mother.

"Is she very important to you?" Aila inquired.

"She is very important to Yingying, Yingying can't be without her mother," Li Teng replied.

"Come with me," Aila returned to the car.

Li Teng followed her back into the car, and sat down on the passenger seat.

Aila turned the car around, drove back a little way, then turned onto a side road, entering the woods.

A concrete road led straight into the depths of the forest, with boundless trees on both sides.

There was not a single car along the way.

Aila's phone rang; she parked the car on the side of the road and got out to answer the call.

Bored, Li Teng glanced out of the car window and saw a small log cabin in the woods.

On the wooden wall of the cabin was a line of words.

"If the heart is a wasteland, life is a wilderness everywhere."

Seeing these words and the forest, Li Teng suddenly felt as if he was in a different world.

Before his eyes, he seemed to see a man, holding a little girl's hand, struggling to walk step by step on the snow-covered concrete road.

Was that a residual memory from a previous life?

After finishing the call, Aila returned to the car and continued driving forward.

Half an hour later, the cement road ahead opened up.

Then, the boundary of the black fog appeared again.

At the edge of the black fog, a large building hidden among the trees emerged.

On the building were the large characters "Galaxy Technology."

The building was tall and covered a large area.

To the left, to the right, upwards—its boundaries were not visible, and the slightly farther view was obscured by the fog.

This building seemed to be constructed on the edge of the black fog area, half inside the fog and half outside it.

Li Teng furrowed his brows again.

He seemed to have been to this place before, but he couldn't remember clearly.

"Galaxy Technology, the enterprise of Liu Yin's father, Liu Qian. However, the background of this company is more terrifying than imagined. I can only take you this far to find Liu Yin, the rest is your family affair. You handle it.

"I've arranged with them, someone will receive you after you enter."

Aila walked over to Li Teng and told him.

"Okay, thank you." Li Teng headed straight towards the entrance of Galaxy Technology.

The guards at the door stopped Li Teng.

Li Teng exerted his Soul Power, instantly subdued the guards, and forcibly entered the building.

A woman standing in the center of the lobby turned around and looked at Li Teng.

"Liu... Hui?"

Li Teng furrowed his brows.

He did not remember ever seeing Liu Yin's sister, Liu Hui.

When he went to the Liu Family with Liu Yin, Liu Hui was not present.

Before that, he had never met Liu Hui; at most, he had only heard about her.

Since he did not follow the news much, he had never even seen a picture of Liu Hui.

But now, seeing Liu Hui, he recognized her instantly.

"Are you Li Teng? The Li Teng who deceived my foolish little sister?" Liu Hui stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Li Teng as if ready to start a fight at any moment.

"I'm not here to cause trouble, I'm just here to find Yin Yin. Please tell me where she is," Li Teng said, not wanting to provoke his sister-in-law.

"Follow me!" Instead of striking Li Teng, Liu Hui gave him another fierce glare and then turned and walked into the building.

The two wound their way to an elevator, which did not ascend but instead descended deep underground.

Exiting the elevator, the corridor outside was lit, but it was filled with drifting black fog, making it feel as though one were in a dream.

After winding through a long path, they took the elevator again.

As the temperature grew colder, and after exiting the elevator once more, Liu Hui went into a nearby room and retrieved two black printed down coats, wore one herself, and handed the other to Li Teng.

Although Li Teng could use his Soul Power to combat the cold, there was no need to waste his Soul Power since he had a down coat.

After going back and forth and taking the elevator at least five times, not knowing how far underground they had gone, Liu Hui eventually stopped outside a room.

"She's inside. You go in and see her yourself," Liu Hui said, seemingly not planning to enter the room.

Li Teng looked at Liu Hui doubtfully but still pushed open the door and went inside.

Liu Hui hadn't lied.

Liu Yin was indeed inside.

The room was arranged like a young girl's boudoir.

Warm yellow tones, cartoon rabbit patterns.

Liu Yin was dressed in a pink cartoon rabbit pajama set, standing quietly in the middle of the room, smiling at Li Teng.

"Yin Yin?" Li Teng took a few steps forward, reaching out to Liu Yin.

But Liu Yin still stood motionless, her expression unchanged.

Li Teng reached out and touched her...

Her body was hard and ice-cold.

After studying her for a long while, Li Teng couldn't help but get angry.

This is a real person, right? Isn't this a wax figure?

"She's severely ill and doesn't have many days left. My father had no choice but to use black technology to temporarily seal her up until we find a cure, then we'll wake her up," Liu Hui's voice came from behind.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be in this situation!" Liu Hui's voice became angry.

"If your parents hadn't obstructed our relationship, if they hadn't driven her out of the house after my car accident left me a vegetable, she wouldn't be in this situation either," Li Teng retorted to Liu Hui.

"You..." Liu Hui was at a loss for words.

"I have a way to save her, but first, you need to release her seal," Li Teng said, using his Soul Power to feel Liu Yin in front of him but unable to sense anything, probably due to the strong seal.

"With our current technological means, we can't release her seal, unless..."

A male voice appeared behind Li Teng.

Turning around, he saw Liu Yin's father, Liu Qian, who had appeared in the room at some unknown time.

"Unless what?" Li Teng asked Liu Qian.

"Unless a person with very powerful Soul Power, at the same time as we release the seal, infuses all their Soul Power into her body to nourish her very weak Soul, can we bring her back.

"Otherwise, forcibly releasing the seal would only lead her to a dead end.

"But we can't find such a person, and even if we could, no such powerful being would sacrifice their own life to save hers," Liu Qian explained.

"I can," Li Teng offered after a moment of silence.

"I've heard about you from Aila. Although your Soul Power is still fairly strong, I fear it hasn't reached that level," Liu Hui spoke up.

"I told you I can," Li Teng insisted.

"I have a device that can test your Soul Power index. Would you like to undergo the test?" Liu Qian offered to Li Teng.

"No problem."

...

Two hours later.

"Your Soul Power index has reached the level necessary to save her."

After a series of complex tests, Liu Qian delivered the results to Li Teng.

"That's great," Li Teng sighed deeply in relief.

"Although there's something I didn't want to tell you, I reckon that if I don't, once Yin Yin wakes up, she wouldn't be able to forgive me, so I've decided to tell you," Liu Qian's expression turned serious.

"What is it?"

"Releasing the seal and reviving Yin Yin would not only deplete your Soul Power but also your life. So, think very carefully before making your decision," Liu Qian handed a set of documents to Li Teng.

Li Teng flipped through the documents.

Professional stuff was headache-inducing.

Yet, some of the content Li Teng managed to understand.

That's the condition for removing the Seal.

It's not just about using Soul Power to save someone, but essentially trading life for life.

After having cultivated Soul Power for fifty thousand years, Li Teng, who is very knowledgeable about Soul Power, could roughly understand the process and the consequent repercussions.

"Is there no other way? If you could use another method to undo her Seal, I would have a way to bring her back to life," Li Teng suggested to Liu Qian.

"When we found her, she was already at death's door, in very bad condition.

"The Seal was almost conducted while she was in a state of death, and the process of unsealing it and saving her is integrated. If we don't follow these steps, by the time the Seal is opened, she will already have died, which would be meaningless," Liu Qian shook his head.

"Give me a day's time, I'll come over tomorrow morning."

After remaining silent for a while, Li Teng brought it up with the Liu family father and daughter.

...

Rented home.

Night, before going to sleep.

"Yingying, Mommy can come back tomorrow," Li Teng soothed Yingying to sleep.

"Really?" Yingying was very happy.

"Once Mommy is back, Daddy will have to go away for a while and won't be able to see Yingying," Li Teng continued.

"Daddy, don't go. Other kids all have both a mom and a dad," Yingying grasped Li Teng's hand.

"Daddy is just leaving for a bit, during which Mommy will be with you. Don't you miss Mommy?" Li Teng asked.

"I miss Mommy, but I want you to stay too," Yingying shook her head.

"But if only one person can stay with Yingying, would you choose Daddy or Mommy?" Li Teng asked.

"I want Mommy and Daddy."

"You can only choose Daddy or Mommy..."

"I want Mommy and Daddy!" Yingying cried loudly.

"Yingying, don't cry. Mommy will be back tomorrow."

"I want Mommy! I want Mommy now!" Yingying continued to wail.

...

Galaxy Technology.

"Let's begin," Li Teng said softly, and then lay down on the metallic bed covered in various tubes.

"Are you really decided on sacrificing your own life to save her?" Liu Qian confirmed again with Li Teng.

"Yes, she has been with Yingying for five years, and Yingying's feelings for her are even deeper. Only if she returns, will Yingying truly be happy," Li Teng said with a resolute expression.

He had entered into Yingying's dreams numerous times, where Yingying was almost always looking for her mother.

Never looking for her father.

After all, from her birth till she was over four years old, it was Liu Yin who had protected her and brought her up.

It goes without saying, who was more important to her.

"Perhaps ten or twenty years from now, after deeper research into this mist, we might develop new technology that wouldn't require sacrificing your life to bring her back," Liu Qian offered Li Teng another option.

"Yingying's life happens only once, and her growing up happens only once; these things can't wait and can't be redone," Li Teng shook his head.

"Is everything you're doing for Yingying? For your daughter?" Liu Qian asked.

"Yes."

"You rascal! Having become a father, do you now understand why I was against you and Yin being together in the first place?"

Li Teng remained silent.

"This is your choice, and I respect your choice," Liu Qian also remained silent for a long time before speaking again.

"Let's begin!" Li Teng closed his eyes.

...

"Character has died."

"Protection program activated..."

"Automatically eliminating death status..."

"Restoring memory..."

"Memory has been restored."

"..."

...

...

One year later.

It was still the same rented house.

Yingying didn't want to go to the Liu Family, saying she was afraid that Dad wouldn't be able to find her if he came back.

Having no choice, the Liu Family had to buy that house.

At night, just before bedtime

"When is Dad coming back?" Yingying asked Liu Yin.

"Your dad is a great hero, he... he... he..." Liu Yin choked up.

"Mom, you're crying." Yingying reached out her tiny hand to wipe Liu Yin's tears.

"Mom's not crying."

"Then when is Dad coming back?" Yingying asked again.

"He... he'll definitely come back, very soon."

"I miss Dad, I want him to come back now." Yingying's eyes grew red.

"Dad only spent a few days with Yingying, why do you miss Dad so much?" Liu Yin asked.

"Dad is always with Yingying, he just loves to sleep, sleeps for a very, very long time," Yingying corrected Liu Yin.

"Cough..." Liu Yin was at a loss for words.

"Mom, can you bring Dad back? Tell him, he can still keep sleeping, he doesn't even have to play with Yingying, I just want Dad to come back," Yingying pleaded with Liu Yin.

"When Yin Yin grows up, Dad will come back, Yingying must be a good girl and grow up nicely!" Liu Yin deceived Yingying.

"I don't want to grow up, I miss Dad, I want Dad now!" Yingying cried loudly.

...

Film and Television City.

"Always striving to maintain your Invincible Golden Body, you temporarily erased your memory and for a woman, a woman with whom you had no real emotional foundation, just a night of pleasure, you gave up your own life. This doesn't fit with your usual playboy image at all! Which one is really you?" A white fog teased beside Li Teng.

Li Teng didn't make a sound, just quietly watched the image of the mother and daughter in the floating sphere before him.

"Not playing with you anymore, I have a new project lately, 'Deadly Challenge,' quite interesting, I'm going off to have some fun there," the white fog prepared to leave.

"Wait," Li Teng called out to the white fog.

"What is it?"

"Erase part of my memory and throw me into this," Li Teng indicated the floating sphere before him.

"Oh?"

"Don't give me any special abilities, don't add anything strange to this world. I just want to be an ordinary person, in an ordinary world, being an ordinary dad, an ordinary husband, to accompany them for a lifetime," Li Teng added a few more words.

"Congratulations."

"Congratulations for what?"

"Congratulations on finding the meaning of your life."

...

...

...

"Mom, can you bring Dad back? Tell him, he can still keep sleeping, he doesn't even have to play with Yingying, I just want Dad to come back," Yingying pleaded with Liu Yin.

"When Yin Yin grows up, Dad will come back, Yingying must be a good girl and grow up nicely!" Liu Yin deceived Yingying.

"I don't want to grow up, I miss Dad, I want Dad now!" Yingying cried loudly.

No matter how she tried to comfort her, it was not working.

"Yingying, stop crying! If you keep crying, Mom will get angry! If Mom gets angry, she won't talk to you!" Liu Yin pretended to be angry.

"Mom, don't be angry, don't ignore Yingying..." Yingying was scared, and her crying lessened.

"Yingying, go to sleep now, you are Mom's good girl, Mom loves Yingying the most, goodnight Yingying," Liu Yin lay down beside Yingying.

Yet, Yingying turned away, curled up her body facing away from Liu Yin, and sobbed softly.

Liu Yin's tears could no longer be controlled as they streamed out.

But she dared not cry aloud.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Liu Yin instantly tensed up.

Who could it be knocking at this time of the night?

It feels very unsafe without a man in the house.

"Who is it?"

Liu Yin walked to the door and cautiously asked.

"It's me."

Through the door, a muffled voice responded.

Liu Yin couldn't believe the voice she just heard, she tiptoed to peek through the door viewer.

A few moments later, she pulled the door open abruptly.

Crying, she threw herself into the man's arms.

"Is it Dad?"

A small head peeked out of the bedroom door.

"Dad!"

...

...

...

(The end)