Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

"Mingyue, they're back!" Changle warned.

Li Mo looked up and saw three dark figures at the door.

One tall, one hunched, and one thin as paper.

"How… how did he get here?"

Li Mo frowned, confused.

The martial artist's human skin effigy should have been in the slaughterhouse. Why was it here?

"Mingyue! The door, the door is about to collapse!" Changle cried out.

The room's door, battered by the three ghosts, was warped and cracked, its creaking like the wails of a tormented woman.

Li Mo stood firm, like a steadfast pine, before the twisted door.

Although the door looked close to breaking, it could still hold for a while.

Perhaps one more ghost would shatter this delicate balance.

The martial artist's human skin shouldn't be here. It should still be in the slaughterhouse.

If there was one difference between this timeline and the last…

It was that he hadn't gone to the slaughterhouse, hadn't triggered the rules of eye contact and standing under the tree.

Especially his own human skin effigy, hanging from the top of the scholar tree. That sinister, Bizzare skin… just one glance had almost erased his consciousness.

"No, there were two martial artists' human skins. There's no reason for only one to come. So this human skin is one of the assassins…"

"But how did he become a human skin ghost?"

A flurry of questions swirled in Li Mo's mind. All the events seemed unrelated, yet a thread seemed to connect them all.

The night was too dangerous. Li Mo didn't even dare to take out his phone to check the time, lest he attract more ghosts.

If the number of ghosts outside exceeded four, he would have to restart immediately.

After three restarts, he would be closer to a Bizzare Entity, likely recognized as a ghost himself, increasing the room's defense limit.

But that would only be a temporary solution. If the number of ghosts outside reached five or more, he would still die.

During the Bizzare surge, new ghosts would inevitably wander near the room, see the living inside, and join the knocking.

The ghost stomach could only protect them for a while; it couldn't last the entire night.

"I have to do something."

Ignoring Changle's anxious cries, Li Mo looked thoughtfully at his Bizzare Bud left hand.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. He couldn't afford the price.

Usurpation required another death, and usurping a rule meant paying an equivalent price.

The price of usurping a Bizzare characteristic was self-evident.

He might retain his human consciousness, but he would lose his human form.

If he seized the rules and abilities of a Bizzare Entity, he might become a hunched Granny Cat-Face, a sinister human skin effigy, or, at best, a portrait ghost, retaining a human-like appearance.

But it was best to avoid consciousness-type Bizzare contamination; it would corrupt his own mind.

Li Mo withdrew his left hand and took out his notebook.

Unlike before, he now had two options.

But both would require a heavy, almost irreversible price.

"When she was young, she didn't know that fate's gifts had already been priced."

This quote perfectly described the relationship between Li Mo and the notebook.

The only difference was that Li Mo knew the price was unbearable, yet he had to pay it.

The notebook's price wouldn't manifest immediately. By the time he noticed, it would be too late.

It blinded its users, leading them step by step towards a cliff, then pushing them into the abyss without warning.

Usurpation was straightforward. The price was paid immediately upon use.

The price wasn't explicitly stated, only described as: equivalent.

The moment you gained something, you would lose something of equal value.

Like opening a blind box. Two sealed boxes were placed before Li Mo.

He wished for something from his memories to appear in one box. Upon opening it, the desired item would be inside. Then he would open the other box, and a random item of equal value from his own being would appear.

It could be an organ, a limb, his consciousness, or even his soul.

Li Mo hadn't figured out the logic behind usurpation's equivalent exchange, so he didn't dare to use it carelessly.

The only time he had used this ability was to bring the illusory Yae Kasumi to his side.

But that was because the Herrscher of Sentience had been pursuing him, so he had entered the cave well ahead of schedule. The Bizzare cave should have taken something from him, and the more time he saved, the greater the price.

But the notebook had said the price of usurpation overlapped with what the Bizzare cave demanded.

So what price had he paid? What had he left behind in the Bizzare cave?

Li Mo pondered, considering the feasibility of usurpation.

Usurping the portrait ghost's rule… he might not retain his sense of self, losing not only his face but also his identity as Li Mo.

He couldn't accept such a price, unless there was a less grotesque ghost.

"Using usurpation, I'll pay the price immediately. Using the notebook, I won't lose anything in the short term, but I'll face a greater dead end later."

"What about the second page?"

Li Mo thought about the second page's rule: ensuring his survival. If the second page could offer a suitable solution, it might work.

The wooden door shook violently, as if the room was at the epicenter of an earthquake.

Li Mo snapped back to attention, seeing four shadowy figures outside the door. A new ghost with an unknown rule had arrived.

It had wandered here from nearby…

"Mingyue, should I attack them? They're about to break in!" Changle's voice was urgent, her breath ragged.

Cracks spread across the wooden door, bloody handprints marring its surface.

A sinister human skin was pressed against the door, staring intently at their every move.

Granny Cat-Face's mouth was split to her ears, revealing sharp fangs, her green eyes fixed on Li Mo.

Her mouth twitched, her throat moving. She was about to let out the third meow.

The portrait ghost continued to knock on the door, but because of the balanced forces, the damaged door had exposed its unfamiliar face to Li Mo and Changle.

Fortunately, Changle had listened and avoided eye contact.

"Step back."

"Okay."

Changle quickly retreated, dragging the two unconscious assassins with her.

Li Mo took out the notebook, taking a deep breath.

When true danger arrived, the notebook's solutions would only become more extreme.

Nipping the threat in the bud was the best option.

But not everyone could find it. The notebook could, but Li Mo might not dare to use it.

Li Mo forcefully opened the notebook, but he still couldn't turn past the first few pages.

Only the blood-red first page was visible, as if inviting him to ask freely, without worry.

"Call out the second page. I don't need you."

Li Mo's voice was cold.

The first page crinkled slightly, blood-red, twisted words appearing on its surface.

[My name is Li Mo. 9:12 pm, I refused the first page's suggestion.]

[9:31 pm, a fifth ghost appeared outside, breaking the ghost stomach's limit and entering the room.]

[9:32 pm, I died.]

[My name is Li Mo. I need it, I need the first page to help me survive tonight.]

"Turn to the second page."

[…]

"Second page."

[…]

"Fine, tell me what you think." Forced by the first page's dominance, Li Mo sighed, conceding, waiting to see what solution it offered.

The second page was too weak, so weak that even the previously incomplete first page could suppress it completely.

Let alone the now mostly restored first page.

"?"

Li Mo waited, but the first page remained blank. No matter how much he tapped it, it remained silent.

But wasn't the first page always eager for him to follow its instructions?

Moonlight filtered through the window screen, illuminating a corner of the room, half white, half crimson.

"According to the notebook's previous entries, it should be 9:12 pm now."

"The fifth ghost, breaking the balance, will arrive at 9:31 pm. That's a nineteen-minute window of safety."

"There's still time…"

Li Mo murmured, staring at the notebook.

He didn't believe the notebook would abandon him here.

If it truly wanted him dead, it wouldn't have given him any hints in the first place.

The notebook was setting traps for him, but he was also deducing its logic and intentions.

The notebook would only offer seemingly viable solutions when it needed something from him.

After all, it was just an inanimate object, incapable of action. Even with its near-omniscience, it needed a living person to do things it couldn't.

Both the first and second pages had given him hints earlier, which meant they both needed something from him.

Li Mo was confident.

The first page would offer a solution.

But he wouldn't necessarily follow it.

He only needed the notebook to reveal clues about the nature of the Bizzare incident, not a path to certain doom.

"..."

Changle huddled in the corner, trembling, her gaze fixed on Li Mo with growing unease.

From her perspective, Mingyue was whispering to something with his back to her, like a witch casting a curse, uttering incomprehensible words.

She couldn't understand what he was saying.

It had been like this before. Mingyue would speak softly, seemingly lost in thought, but the strange words that escaped his lips made Changle suspicious.

She swallowed, tightening her grip on the Bizzare Handgun.

Even though Mingyue had given it to her.

Could he be… talking to those demons outside?

What was he? Human or demon?

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of splintering wood echoed through the room. The door was almost broken.

In its current state, it wouldn't last until morning. Once the fifth ghost arrived, the balance would shatter.

With five overlapping rules, the living inside would have no chance of survival.

In this world, after Xu Shi, during the Bizzare surge, Bizzare Entities actively sought out and attacked the living. The night was filled with their gazes. Simply being near them meant facing an attack.

"Do you really want to see me die?"

"Fine, as you wish."

Li Mo scoffed, seemingly resigned to his fate, closing the notebook with a blank expression.

He seemed ready to embrace death.

But just as the notebook was about to close, blood-red words appeared on the first page.

Li Mo stared at them calmly. The instructions were simple, something that could be done in seconds…

[My name is Li Mo. 9:25 pm, I readily accepted the first page's solution.]

[9:26 pm, I walked up to Changle and made eye contact with her.]

[9:28 pm, I completely forgot all memories related to Changle.]

[9:29 pm, He appeared.]

[…]

"He?"

Li Mo was curious about this "He." Based on his past experiences, it meant the target was neither human nor ghost, but something else entirely.

[My name is Li Mo. Tonight, I survived.]

[My name is Li Mo. When you see these words, "I" am already dead.]

"..."

"The last 'I'… the blood and color are much darker than the rest of the entry."

"Should I follow these instructions?"

Li Mo pondered. The solution was too simple, so simple that it made him uneasy. He couldn't see any traps.

It was as if the notebook's first page was showing kindness, offering him a perfect escape route.

The apparent price was just forgetting an insignificant woman.

He had forgotten her many times before. Forgetting her once more wouldn't be a problem. He had left a reminder on his sleeve.

Changle also had proof if she wanted to survive.

Was the first page truly being this kind?

"Mingyue…"

Changle huddled in the corner, watching as Li Mo turned stiffly, his cold, Bizzare gaze fixed on her.

"Tap… tap…"

Li Mo's steps were light, but the room was dilapidated, the floorboards fragile.

"I'll forget you in a moment," Li Mo said, standing before Changle.

"Eh? You're going to forget me again? But… how do you know you're about to forget me?" Changle asked.

"You're not qualified to know."

Mingyue's cold voice reassured Changle somewhat. Not because she enjoyed being treated coldly, but because, with the room's door about to be destroyed, Mingyue remained calm.

It meant he had a plan.

Compared to the invisible demons outside, Mingyue's coldness was like a sturdy shield, comforting.