128. The Goddess of the Abyss is watching you.

"Welcome to the Paradise District—! Passengers, please gather your belongings and exit the train in an orderly fashion..."

Traveling by train, Chen Shang arrived at the Paradise District, located on the other side of the city.

Although he occasionally saw wandering ghosts on the roadside—some of whom even tried to strike up a conversation with him—the presence of passing pedestrians helped alleviate much of the fear in his heart.

As the doors opened, Chen Shang nonchalantly stepped over a ghost of a long-haired woman who consisted of nothing but an upper torso, and strode out of the station.

The Paradise District was originally occupied and established by a priest leading his followers, eventually becoming a gathering place for missionaries. Scattered churches could be seen everywhere, their roofs draped with biblical quotes and proselytizing advertisements made of neon tubes.

However, in a place like this, competition between different religions had become increasingly cutthroat.

"Lost lamb, would you like to learn about our Saint Louis Church? We have F-cup nuns in the church~"

"You look like you're in pain; why not come and sit with us at the Radiance Faith? Hey, hey, don't walk away! Scan our QR code to follow our official account and get a gift! Join now and enjoy a thirty percent discount—come on, have a little faith!"

Quite a few eccentrically dressed clergymen were handing out flyers on the sidewalk, all of whom Chen Shang managed to brush off with perfunctory responses.

Keeping his head down and following his phone's GPS, Chen Shang walked into a relatively secluded residential area.

"Is this the place?"

Just as he was about to step into an apartment building, a middle-aged man blocked his path and asked in a low voice:

"Little one... would you like to learn about our Order of the Abyss Gaze?"

"Sorry, no thank you... wait, what did you say?" Chen Shang replied impatiently, but then he froze, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

The person blocking him was not an ordinary clergyman, but a human-shaped ghost drenched in blood, its eyes hollowed out.

The ghost wore tattered black robes, and a rusted axe was embedded in the top of its head, nearly splitting its skull in two.

"What the hell is that!" Terrified, Chen Shang pulled out his dagger, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

"You... you really can see me?" The ghost bared its teeth in a dislocated grin and laughed hideously. "Wonderful! Please, come with me and return to the embrace of the abyss!"

With that, the ghost let out a low, guttural laugh and lunged toward Chen Shang.

Chen Shang tried to fight back, but his body wouldn't move, as if some inexplicable, mysterious force had seized his limbs and throat.

He could only watch helplessly as the monster approached, unable to offer any resistance.

—Is this another hallucination caused by the psychic paranoia... I shouldn't die from this, right?

At that moment, the scent of damp seawater and slightly pungent incense pricked his nose, and his consciousness began to ache.

"Witch... witch... please tell me..."

Vaguely, it felt as if a girl with a muffled voice was singing a heavy nursery rhyme in his ear:

"Why do the thorns pierce your body, imprisoning you in the gaps of the cage..."

The moment he heard the singing, a mirage-like hallucination appeared before Chen Shang’s eyes, and the surrounding scenery underwent a drastic change.

The sky turned a brilliant blue, no longer shrouded by sandstorms; the towering steel structures vanished, replaced by endless mountain ravines and lush forests. Chen Shang's intuition told him this was a place akin to the ancient era.

A commotion erupted not far away. Following the sound, Chen Shang saw a group of adults in white robes shoving a blue-haired girl, leading her toward an altar built of white marble.

A middle-aged man wearing a golden mask stood on the altar, waving a slender scepter as if performing some kind of ritual.

The area around the altar was packed with onlookers, and the surrounding buildings were mostly wooden houses and huts, looking like an ancient, primitive village.

After the blue-haired girl was pushed onto the high platform, the priest muttered a few words and then had someone bring out a pile of torture devices to put on her.

Perhaps the perspective of the hallucination was too distant; Chen Shang couldn't hear what the priest was chanting, nor could he clearly see the torture devices, only vaguely