Persuading the car-crash female ghost and her son wasn't difficult — they understood the Shadow's terror better than Chen Ge did, and they both knew of the Nether Fetus. They simply hadn't expected the Nether Fetus to appear so quickly.
The two Red-clothed in the White Dragon Cave Tunnel agreed to help, but they only allowed the car-crash female ghost to leave with Chen Ge. Her son refused to leave the tunnel no matter what.
This situation was different from Liwan Town. Chen Ge already had plenty of Red-clothed by his side — one more car-crash female ghost wouldn't change the overall balance. What he needed was the special door inside the tunnel. The two sides spent a long time discussing the matter.
Gradually, Chen Ge came to understand the Red-clothed's concerns. The door that the car-crash female ghost's son could open led to the tunnel connecting to the door-front world. No matter where he opened it, it would always lead to that same place.
The problem was that the car-crash female ghost's son had only ever opened the door in reality. He had never tried opening one inside another Red-clothed's door-front world, and he couldn't guarantee that the door he opened then would lead back to reality.
That was only the first issue. There was another important reason — the car-crash female ghost's son possessed a highly unsettling ability: weaving dreams.
Any vengeful spirit he devoured, he could absorb part of their memories, and from those memories, he could weave a dream.
The clarity of the memories determined how long the dream could persist. Most dreams vanished in an instant, but a small number could last a very long time — and as long as they were continuously repaired, there was virtually no chance of them dissipating.
Over the span of several years, the car-crash female ghost's son had planted numerous dreams throughout the tunnel. If someone accidentally stumbled into one, it would be troublesome even for the Shadow.
These dreams were terrifying, but they also required the car-crash female ghost's son to maintain them constantly. If he left for an extended period, every single dream would shatter.
"If the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact." Chen Ge laid out the facts and reasoned with him, arguing his case from every angle, until finally the car-crash female ghost's son agreed — within the next nine days, he could leave with Chen Ge for one night.
One night was enough for Chen Ge. He thanked the two Red-clothed profusely, and once the agreement was made, he left with the car-crash female ghost, heading for Liwan Town.
"Da Nian, what if one day, every page of your comic book is filled with Red-clothed? Wouldn't that put a lot of pressure on you?"
"You're the strongest existence below the Red-clothed — you need to have confidence in yourself! You need to be fierce!"
"Don't worry about what anyone else says — you're the most awesome one out there!"
"Look at Old Bai — see how powerful he is now? You should try absorbing some obsessions too. Maybe one day you'll become a Red-clothed, and then you'd be the strongest Red-clothed below the Vengeful Gods!"
Chen Ge walked a long way down the road before he finally found a car willing to pick him up.
On the way to Liwan Town, he sat holding the comic book and talking to himself. The driver initially thought he was on a phone call, and only when Chen Ge got out of the car did he realize Chen Ge hadn't been wearing earbuds at all.
Hurrying as fast as he could, Chen Ge finally arrived at Liwan Town before midnight.
He found the location of the door and waited. When the clock struck twelve and the door was covered in blood-red threads, he picked up his backpack and pushed the door open.
Thick, blood-tinged mist clung to his body. Breathing became difficult, and every inhale filled his lungs with the metallic taste of blood.
Chen Ge flipped the switch on his voice recorder, summoned Xu Yin, and began walking down the blood-red street.
Compared to when he had last left, this place didn't seem to have changed much.
"When the door is pushed open, Xiao Bu — as the door opener — should have sensed my arrival."
Liwan Town was a three-and-a-half-star scene. Blood-red covered more than half the town. After killing the Shadow, most of the original residents had secretly fled, though many new ghosts had quietly moved in as well.