Zhou Su stared at the charred right hand displayed on the page, expression conflicted.The right hand of the charred corpse was far more valuable than the earlier piece of charred skin. If he fused it, he would gain two rather good abilities. But after hesitating a moment, he still chose to give it up—the drawbacks were simply too severe.He didn’t sell it either. He figured that if he encountered a situation where there was no other way out, this might ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) be his last lifeline.His gaze shifted away from the crimson book—then paused on the Lychee-Wood Torch beside him.The illusory interface displayed the remaining burn time—only eight minutes left.Zhou Su was certain that from lighting the torch to killing the charred corpse, no more than an hour had passed.“Using the torch to attack malevolent spirits shortens its burn time.”He came to the conclusion.But he wasn’t overly worried—he already had a rough understanding of this trial.The Lychee-Wood Torch continued burning quietly. No new malevolent spirits appeared. Without that suffocating sense of malicious coldness, the room felt almost unfamiliar.He tried storing the torch back into the Blood Moon Mark, but the burn timer continued ticking down, so he had to take it back out again.Eight minutes passed quickly. The flame dimmed and went out.He took out a new torch but didn’t light it immediately. He held the lighter ready, poised to ignite at any moment.Time flowed.He sat in the darkness.Nothing happened.“Just as expected.”He had already grasped the true structure of this trial.The Blood Moon Rules had stated everything—especially the narration line:【Narration: In the dark, savor solitude. Firelight and courage will bring you dawn.】“Darkness” meant to avoid artificial light—it attracted malevolent spirits.“Firelight” referred to the Lychee-Wood Torches.And “courage” was encouragement to fight back—because when malevolent spirits were wounded by firelight, they temporarily disappeared.Zhou Su had already noticed this. The first time he provoked the charred corpse, after it was lightly injured, it had vanished for about five minutes.Meaning: as long as the trial participant wounded a malevolent spirit before the torch burned out, there would be a temporary safe vacuum period.That was how most people would clear the trial.But Zhou Su had used a more… severe approach:He killed the malevolent spirit.Of course, without the Stove-King Oil, that would have been nearly impossible.But that oil came from the crimson book. And the book was his ability—meaning all of this counted as his own power.Zhou Su finally relaxed a little. As long as he didn’t provoke anything now, there shouldn’t be danger for a while.“…Should I turn on the lights, and use them to lure more malevolent spirits to kill?”He stared at the two-thirds of a bottle of Stove-King Oil left.A dangerous thought flickered.But he dismissed it quickly.No one knew how many spirits the light could attract.His earlier victory had looked smooth—but any single misstep would have resulted in a disastrous death.The curtains swayed in the night breeze. Through a slit, he could see the street outside.The city had gone quiet—except for occasional, bone-chilling screams.Corpses were scattered across the road. Their twisted expressions made it clear that their final moments were filled with agony.In the pale streetlights, malevolent spirits wandered aimlessly—hell brought to the human world.Then—without warning—the streetlights went out. Apartment buildings followed.“Power cut.”Zhou Su guessed this was the work of the Great Xia Federation authorities.With their reaction speed, they would have realized that artificial light brought danger.If not for how suddenly the Blood Moon descended, they would have handled this far better.His stomach growled. At this hour, he would normally already be hungry. He grabbed some small bread rolls and ate quickly. He needed energy for what was still ahead.Even while eating, he remained vigilant. The lighter and torch were at hand.He dragged a chair up against the wall—minimizing any possibility of being ambushed from behind.Though honestly, malevolent spirits revealed themselves long before they struck—their presence was louder than footsteps could ever be.Heavy footsteps echoed outside the door—followed by the sound of a key sliding into the lock.Zhou Su paused.The landlord?Landlords always kept spare keys.If the door opened now, something terrible might be drawn in.He ran to the entrance and shot the deadbolt locked.The key turned harder—louder. Zhou Su felt irritation—but made no sound.He crouched and peered through the peephole.The hallway was dimly lit by backup emergency lamps—small lamps with internal batteries that could last a few hours.In that faint light—he froze.It wasn’t the landlord.It was three familiar faces:Tiger Brother with the tattoo on his arm, the bald man with the gold chain, and a hunched skinny guy.They were the main participants of the “midnight drinking sessions” next door.They looked like street punks, but times had changed—these were just laborers unloading rebar at construction sites.Now, they staggered as if drunk—but their faces were unnaturally pale.Their eyes were hollow, puppet-like.Cold seeped into the air.Zhou Su shivered—his hair stood on end.He tightened his grip on the Lychee-Wood Torch—and stepped back.Too late.A crimson pupil suddenly filled the peephole—staring directly at him.A wave of invisible force washed over his mind.Thoughts went blank.His body froze.But in that second—he saw it clearly.A giant head, black hair hanging down, only one exposed eye—bloodshot and burning crimson.Below the head—no torso.Only three pale umbilical cords, stretching outward—each one connected into the skulls of the three men.“This malevolent spirit can control people.”The realization struck.At the same moment, his mind cleared—body snapping back into motion. He retreated fast.He had always felt something off:Everyone had been given three torches. One torch protected enough space for seven or eight people. Working together, surviving eight hours should have been easy.He had even considered cooperation—then instinctively rejected it.Now he understood.There was a hidden rule in the Blood Moon Trial:The more people gather together—the more terrifying the malevolent spirit that comes.

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