CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40 THE BRIDE LEFT IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE

"Do you really like children?" Lu Luo’s fingers tensed slightly.

"I love you so much, I want to have your baby."

I wouldn’t have a child with you even if I wanted to! What do I do now? Lu Luo felt bitter.

"Then let’s have one."

No sooner had Lu Luo spoken than the woman pulled his arm, wrapped it around herself, embraced him, and kissed him.

Only then did Lu Luo see that the woman was wearing a white gauze dress. As he felt her warm lips, everything before his eyes disappeared once again.

The thunder and rain continued, and the room remained pitch dark.

[Observer: She has not released any resentment or hostility. A special Specter Species. Go check the other rooms.]

Lu Luo slowly walked to another room, which appeared to be the second-floor bathroom. As he approached the mirror, the room lit up.

The woman in white appeared in the mirror, embracing his waist from behind. Lu Luo nearly drew his blade to strike, a dark power within him stirring, ready to be summoned, but he held back due to the Observer’s prompt.

The woman in white simply held him quietly. After a long while, she slowly began to speak,

"Darling, the Priest said I’m pregnant. In just seven months, our child will be born! Let’s give him a name. What should it be?"

The woman in white tilted her head, her expression beautiful yet somewhat mischievous.

"I think ’Mingyi’ sounds nice. Wu Mingyi... hmm, that’s a good name, don’t you think?"

The woman’s tenderness touched Lu Luo, and he slowly nodded.

"Wu Mingyi... yes, that’s a good name."

Lu Luo raised his head and met the woman’s gaze in the mirror. Their eyes locked, and the look seemed to carry a different meaning, as if they both understood something unsaid.

"Haha, I knew it! I knew you’d like this name."

After she spoke, the brief illusion ended once again. Lu Luo, feeling the residual warmth on his waist and arms, began to doubt if what had just happened was real.

Is the husband’s surname Wu? Wu Yun, or Wu something Yun... there shouldn’t be many people with that name.

Lu Luo continued onward. When he returned to the central studio on the second floor, the room’s color had turned bluish-gray.

The woman in white, her belly now visibly swollen, ran up to Lu Luo.

"Darling, the Priest said our child is a heretic, a calamity to be judged! What should we do? Darling, what should we do?"

The panic and pain on the woman’s face were inexplicably heart-wrenching. In the Wasteland, the Dawn Church was an entity comparable to the Alliance Council; one controlled administration, the other, faith. For in the Wasteland, the Dawn Church itself represented light, an entity ordinary people could never defy or resist.

This time, the illusion shifted rapidly. The despairing woman lay on the ground, covered in blood. The white gauze she always wore was stained red. She screamed loudly at Lu Luo,

"Darling, run! If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!"

The illusion disappeared once again. As Lu Luo processed its content, he remained silent for a moment before walking to the last room on the second floor—the one with the vanity table.

As soon as he entered, the room’s color turned dark red. The previously white gauze was now completely red, and the serene woman, now in a red gauze dress, slowly leaned on Lu Luo’s shoulder.

Her belly was no longer swollen, and the intense love from before had vanished from her expression. The only things remaining in her eyes were fatigue and indifference.

Lu Luo looked at the vanity table before him. In its mirror, he saw himself, but not her.

"Darling, I will listen to you from now on. I’ll never go to the Church again. The Church is filthy too; everything is just a facade they put on. Will you still leave?"

[Observer: Analysis complete. A Third Tier Specter Species, unnamed, formed from personal emotions, regrets, and aspirations. Sequence Abilities: Illusion and Sensory Mimicry.]

[Observer: This is a female spirit with a story, and the one who left her here has a story too. I think you can talk to her; you might gain something. However, what I don’t understand is why you’re so popular with Exotic Species.]

What exactly did the Church do to them? Did the husband die? Did the woman become a Specter Species? And the child?

Lu Luo had many questions, but at that moment, he felt he should try to converse with this woman. He often spoke with people, but this was his first time speaking with a specter. As always, Lu Luo preferred to hold the initiative.

"What is your wish?"

Lu Luo’s question clearly surprised the woman in red.

"Humans love light, yet they employ every dark trick imaginable. Everyone wears a mask, and behind each mask is another. Everyone is the same."

Lu Luo nodded, acknowledging the female specter’s words.

"But if you wear a mask long enough, you forget the face behind it. The human heart has a part prone to corruption, like a fetus demanding from its mother. Yet the path one ultimately walks is still a matter of personal choice."

[Observer: It’s better to categorize the human heart with data: 1 part innocence, 2 parts kindness, 3 parts ideals, and the remaining 94 parts for lechery. Isn’t that good?]

After speaking, Lu Luo looked at the woman. The affection in her eyes was gone. She seemed to be pondering his words. Clearly, she wasn’t a mindless monster.

Instead, she was a Third Tier Specter Species capable of calm thought. Then why did she show me those things earlier? To move me? Or to tell me something?

"I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t think I can stay here forever. This game of illusions should end."

The woman in red nuzzled her nose against Lu Luo’s neck and sniffed, as if she liked his scent. However, when she looked up, her eyes remained impassive.

"This is not a game."

"My apologies, perhaps my choice of words was poor. Could you tell me what the Church did to you? What was the point of showing me those past events?"

"I’ve forgotten. Besides, you’re so weak. What would be the point of showing you those things? It’s laughable, really."

Lu Luo’s expression became a bit awkward, but he felt the need to defend himself.

"Uh, Miss in Red, people grow. I think I’m quite talented. Becoming a world-class powerhouse in the future shouldn’t be a problem. So, please, tell me."

"Alright then, future world-class powerhouse, I’ll take you at your word. Since you want to know, I’ll tell you. I’ve forgotten everything, even what my lover looked like. The only things I remember are these few illusions... and ’the bride.’ Also, Mr. World-Class Powerhouse, my name isn’t ’Miss in Red.’ It’s Lu Mengna."

"The bride?"

As Lu Luo echoed the word, the red-clad figure of Lu Mengna vanished, leaving only a red gauze veil in his hand as proof of her presence.

[Lu Mengna’s Scarlet Veil]

Grade: Excellent

Effect 1 – Dream Path: Summon Lu Mengna.

Description: A white gauze veil soaked in blood and crimson dye.

Looking at the red gauze veil in his hand, Lu Luo felt something was amiss. A Third Tier Specter Species surviving within the city walls, right across from the Wasteland Security Bureau—it was almost unbelievable. A Third Tier Specter Species sounded impressive, but a Hunter could likely decimate one in minutes. Lu Luo remembered Qin Wanyu fleeing in desperation from Ludie.

Then who handled this case back then? Did the investigator intentionally leave Lu Mengna behind? He’d rented a place here. The Specter Species just happened to be active, showed him illusions, and even gave him this red gauze veil. Was this all a coincidence? Besides the three of them, the only other person who knew they were starting a studio and needed to rent space was Ludie.

Lu Luo dipped his finger in water and began to draw on the mirror.

[Observer: Calm Analysis – Brief Reflection – There is only one truth.]

[Observer: When coincidences pile up, they point to an inevitability! – Detective Observer.]

Ludie... the bride... Specter Species... frequent Exotic Species incidents... After mentally linking them, Lu Luo raised his head and wiped all the words from the mirror.

So, what’s the likelihood Ludie deliberately left Lu Mengna here? What does he mean by this? Is he asking me to investigate?