Chapter 20: I'm Not Crazy Enough Yet

　　I let out a snicker, getting it now. So, the freak inside Yumeng was the mastermind behind this whole haunted house gig!

　　I dug my heels into the ground, closing the gap between me and Yumeng in a flash, and threw a solid punch!

　　Wham!

　　Yumeng's body got slammed right back into the doorway in a split second!

　　I followed suit and marched inside.

　　Inside that blood-splattered doorway, I was taken aback. The place was crammed with all sorts of junk, clearly some kind of storage room. And there, not too far away, lay Yumeng's limp body sprawled out on the floor, not moving an inch.There's this middle-aged dude in a slick black suit, rocking some glasses, just standing there all stiff as a board next to her.

　　And on either side of him, Wu Jing and Zhang Yang are lying on two iron beds.

　　Wu Jing's already lost her limbs, lying there with her eyes shut tight, while Zhang Yang, missing both legs, is also out cold, making me wonder if they're even breathing.

　　"You're quite the character!" the middle-aged dude comments, giving his glasses a little nudge.

　　"Wait, are you the boss of this haunted joint?" I ask, scratching my head. He seemed like a dodgy old fella just a sec ago.

　　"You got it!" he answers with a smirk.

　　Taking a quick scan around the room, I notice this storage space is actually pretty roomy!

　　"Well then, you're toast!" I say, my bone hand creeping out slowly from behind me.

　　"Hang on!"

　　"Got any last words?""Do you seriously wanna go back to that world full of lies and filth?" he questions.

　　"How about sticking around and ruling this world together?" he gazes at me with eager eyes.

　　The bone hand keeps inching closer.

　　"Psh, you call this place divine? The real world's just a pair of nutjobs starving for attention, ain't it?" I scoffed."My research shows that when we're about to kick the bucket, the brain goes haywire, making time slow down to a crawl here. We could potentially stick around in this joint for a couple hundred years or more!" he brags, flashing a cocky grin.

　　"No!" I spit out, my voice dripping with ice.

　　"No? What's the holdup? You're already off the deep end. I don't know how you pulled it off, but tampering with memories has turned you into a nutjob just like me. Think you'll do any better back in the real world?"

　　As I stare at the guy, I finally shut my trap for once. Am I even fit to blend back into society now that I've gone bonkers?

　　But then I burst out laughing and say, "You forgot one thing!"

　　He looks at me, puzzled. "What?"

　　With a wicked grin, I retort, "I'm a nutjob now, and all I wanna do is off you!"My six bone hands were fully stretched out, ready to strike!

　　"Don't you forget, this here's my turf!" He coolly ditched his glasses, letting them hit the floor.

　　A soft thud echoed, a sign for me to unleash my bone hands like razor-sharp daggers!

　　Boom! Boom! Boom! The bone hands slammed into the wall with a fierce force, kicking up a cloud of dust. But the middle-aged man? Vanished into thin air!

　　"Better think twice about my offer, pal!" the man chimed in again from the corner of the room, standing tall on a set of stairs.

　　I yanked my bone hands out of the wall, leaving six gaping holes behind, and without skipping a beat, I charged toward where the man had stood.

　　"Zhu Zhongcheng!" I hollered with a grin.

　　He hesitated a moment, then bolted up the stairs like his life depended on it.

　　I reeled in my bone hands and raced after him, one step at a time.He paused for a sec, then bolted up them steps like his life was on the line. It was a two-step deal with just one rusty iron door waiting at the top. But when I busted outta there, boy was I in for a shocker! Turns out, we were behind our school's teaching building, and the spot we'd just ditched was nothing but a rundown storage closet!

　　Zhu Zhongcheng was standing about twenty yards away, his back turned toward me.

　　"Now this spot gives us some room to maneuver!" he said, his voice soft but crystal clear.

　　"One last shot to become a god, or meet your maker," he tossed out, casual as you please.

　　"What if I don't fancy either?" I shot back.

　　"Then you're taking the dirt road out, my friend," he replied, cool as a cucumber.

　　And with that, his skin started to glow crimson, swelling up like a balloon!

　　"Ah...!" he groaned softly, the sound of his bones cracking echoing in the air!The clothes were ripping like crazy!

　　Shoes busting apart at the seams.

　　His body, man, it was arching and bulging like nobody's business. And get this, horns started sprouting from his head, and he was growing bigger by the second. Then, out of nowhere, he's got these three bony tails sticking out from behind his rear end.

　　And his feet? They turned into these massive, beast-like hooves!He's gotta be about five or six meters tall now!

　　And if he stood up, he'd be even taller!

　　As he turned around, the middle-aged man's face had become immensely huge, covered in cracks!

　　He turned into this weird creature, like a mix between a man and a bull!

　　"Argh!" he roared at me, the sound waves pounding my eardrums!It wasn't until then that he stopped changing!

　　"We're all batshit crazy!" I hollered.

　　With my skeleton arm fully extended, I lunged towards Zhu Zhongcheng.

　　But Zhu Zhongcheng spun around, and his three bone tails swung at me like sharp blades, each tail measuring six or seven meters long, covering a vast area. His speed was lightning fast, moving like a slick cat!

　　I extended three bone hands to grab at his bone tails!Crack!

　　Crack!

　　Crack!

　　"Ahh...!"

　　My bone hands snapped instantly, and with a wail, I was flung away.

　　As the world spun around me, I had no idea how far I rolled. My right bone hand was broken, and as I slowly lifted my head, my eyes were bloodshot."I'm crazy enough not yet...!" I grinned.

　　"Yaaahh...!"

　　A tingling pain surged from my back as over twenty blood-red tentacles sprouted from where my bone hands used to be. They grew to the same length as the bone hands, writhing irregularly up and down.

　　"Let me taste your blood!" I charged forward.

　　"Hahaha!"

　　Zhu Zhongcheng laughed ominously, leaping up in place and swinging his massive hand towards me!

　　Boom...

　　Dust flew as a massive crater formed on the ground, but by then, I had already appeared behind him, stepping on his back!His back is tough as nails, but I'm betting my bone hands can punch through that.

　　He gives me a quick once-over, and before I can even think about making a move, his tail whips towards me like a lightning bolt. I jump up, dodging three bone tails, and in that split-second of evasion, my bone hands dart out like rockets!

　　Bam! Bam! Bam!

　　Three solid thuds hit home, but they don't sink in as deep as I'd hoped.

　　I yank out my bone hands, ready for another go, but Zhu Zhongcheng rolls away like a cat on a hot tin roof.

　　As he rolls, he swings his colossal fist at me. The blood-red tentacles behind me snake around his fist, pulling it straight, and dragging me along for the ride!

　　But this is all part of the master plan. As I'm dragged along, my bone hands lunge forward with a vengeance!Squish! Squish! Squish!

　　Three more meaty thuds echo through the air!

　　He rolls over and yanks his right hand, flinging me out like a ragdoll. I release his fist from my grasp and land smoothly not too far away.

　　We both come to a sudden halt, and his massive, grotesque face glares at me with teeth clenched in anger.

　　Several wounds on his body leave bloody trails, dripping onto the ground.

　　I smirk at him, my eyes glowing crimson with bloodlust, painting everything in a bloody hue.

　　Three blood-stained bone hands extend before me, and I reach out a finger to wipe off a bit of blood, gleefully putting it in my mouth. Then, I grimace and spit it out.

　　"Crazy blood doesn't taste good!" I sigh.

　　He looks at me in bewilderment, perhaps surprised by my transformation, but... who cares?