Chapter 58: A Ship of Living Souls

Ji Li’s thoughts ground to a halt. To be precise, the soul of the primary personality, named "Ji Li," had been completely trapped and sealed by the formidable power of the ghost.

At this moment, Ji Li’s soul could perceive everything around him, feeling the supernatural power rampaging recklessly within his body, yet he could do nothing.

The principal executor of the plan was supposed to be the third personality—an unregulated soul residing within Ji Li’s body.

However, at a certain split second, a variable occurred!

Because at this exact moment, unbeknownst to Ji Li, the third personality had been swayed by the words of the newly born fourth personality!

He was an unregulated soul; just as Ji Li had anticipated, he was immune to the interference of the ghost's intrusion.

Yet, by the same token, he might not necessarily obey Ji Li’s arrangements either!

Had this happened earlier, the third personality might have given his all to help Ji Li complete the mission, as he had done in the past.

Ever since Ji Li remained unconscious, following the temptation of the fourth personality, a subtle shift had occurred in the third personality's mindset.

And as time dragged on, his psychological transformation accelerated rapidly.

Ji Li, the primary personality, would die and return to life, and during that period of death, this vessel was ownerless.

Previously, the third personality had lacked the opportunity to seize control, but this time presented an absolute prime opportunity!

The third personality possessed his own inherent thought patterns and code of conduct. He yearned to become a complete, living human being, and now was that rare chance...

Ji Li had calculated everything, but he had failed to factor in the shift in the third personality's temperament.

Second by second ticked away. Ji Li’s neck had already twisted to an exaggerated angle; perhaps in another half second, he would suffer a second death in the exact same spot!

The third personality still remained silent, and the fourth personality continued to conceal himself.

Just a single droplet of rain splashing onto the surface of a lake could disrupt the tranquility of the entire pool. No one could have anticipated the third personality's sudden betrayal.

And once this half second passed, Ji Li’s primary personality might never have another chance to awaken...

Yet, at this critical juncture, another extremely feeble, hoarse voice—as if it had not spoken for a long time—resounded abruptly in Ji Li’s mind:

"The ghost is inside Ji Li..."

The owner of this voice was the second personality, who had not made an appearance for a long time. This time, his tone was deeply weathered, as if he barely had any strength left to speak.

Yet, he still managed to complete the identification!

A certain nerve in Ji Li’s brain instantly broke through its shackles, reigniting his capacity for action, perception, and thought.

Furthermore, his head immediately lost its stiffness, though turning back to the front produced a crisp crack of bone.

The intense, twisting pain in his neck caused Ji Li a momentary suffocation, stripping him of all his strength. He dropped to his knees, gasping heavily for breath.

The world grew quiet at that moment, punctuated only by the sound of his own panting.

After barely managing to utter those words, the second personality went completely dead silent, while the third personality didn't even dare to make a peep.

After a long while, the sound of the rain gradually subsided.

Ji Li raised his bloodshot eyes, staring fixedly at the empty well shaft, and spoke to the empty air, word by word:

"I want an explanation!"

The third personality knew this was directed at him, yet he delayed, unable to offer an explanation.

Ji Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, and then, as if recalling something, he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone and turned on the front-facing camera.

The moment the light illuminated the space, he saw his own pupils, but he immediately closed his eyes.

The third personality could likewise observe the change in Ji Li’s pupils. Through the screen, he looked into Ji Li’s eyes, and a wave of terror welled up deep within his heart.

"How... how could it be like this?" He had never imagined things would escalate to this extent.

In those eyes, there was not merely light, but a terrifying entity buried deep beneath the soul!

"Did you see it... that gray soul is already merging with me..."

Ji Li’s voice was low, his solitary words echoing within the well shaft and bouncing back in waves of sound.

"The fourth personality... he must have appeared before I woke up, and communicated some kind of will to you, making you think that my death would be most beneficial to you!

"But you should use your brain!"

Ji Li had been speaking in a low murmur, but the final sentence came out as a low roar, a scornful reprimand directed at the third personality.

"There should have been two ghosts by my side, but I only encountered one. Where did the other one go? Can't you figure that out even now?

"Inside my body, there isn't just you, Lao Er, and Lao Si; there is also a most terrifying gray soul.

"Every time I die, the gray soul draws closer to awakening. Do you think there will be any place for you once he fully emerges?

"Because right now, it is almost certain that he is the one who swallowed the ghost that was supposed to invade through my phone!

"I am a human—your human. What is he?"

Listening to everything Ji Li said, the third personality dared not utter a single response in return. If this were merely a struggle for dominance between him and Ji Li, Ji Li naturally had no grounds to criticize his actions.

But now, as the third personality thought about it, lingering fear gripped him.

If he had truly heeded the fourth personality's instigation and allowed Ji Li to die once more, perhaps that terrifying gray soul would not only have awakened, but would have destroyed everything!

It would have swept away all the personalities residing within Ji Li's body, because for now, it appeared that the gray soul represented a supernatural power surpassing ordinary ghosts!

"I was wrong. We should have been beings in the same boat. From now on, I will do my utmost to help you get through mission after mission. You must not die again!"

Ji Li let out a long sigh, raised his head to look at the door of departure above, and pulled a climbing rope from his bag while contemplating his current situation.

Within this seemingly ordinary vessel of his, far too many secrets were hidden.

Who on earth had stuffed so many souls into his body? Even that gray soul, capable of devouring even ghosts, must have been forced inside him by someone.

Was it Tianhai Hotel?

Ji Li could not figure it out, but he had a premonition that everything he knew currently was merely scratching the surface. Perhaps as time progressed, he would unearth an increasing number of truths that would leave him utterly astounded.

"Lao San, Ji Li is right.

"I am growing weaker and weaker. Even communication is extremely difficult now. I am merely a personality, yet I can genuinely feel my vitality being rapidly devoured."

Busy extricating himself, Ji Li listened to the second personality's words without speaking.

The third personality fell silent as well. The condition of the second personality already portended one thing:

The awakening of the gray soul allowed it to consume the other personalities, which made him regret his previous decision all the more.

The third personality had lost the hard-earned trust built across Ji Li's multiple crises—a catastrophic blow to him—yet regret came too late now.

"Ji Li, the fourth personality did indeed appear, but I couldn't hear what he said clearly; I was too weak.

"In short, beware of Lao Si. He gives me the feeling that he has an immense connection to the gray soul.

"Ji Li, myself, Lao San.

"We are the only grasshoppers struggling on the same rope.

"And as for me, I won't be able to accompany you much further..."