The surroundings were dead silent.

The ghost woman stood there, stiff as a board.

The crisis level, which had spiked to 99, suddenly dropped to 50.

"Eh?" The ghost woman seemed stunned.

Lynn coughed awkwardly and said, "Sorry, miss, when you suddenly leaned in like that, I just couldn't help but want to kiss you. Please forgive my rudeness, but you are so my type."

The ghost woman blinked in confusion. "My... type?"

Thick, sticky drops of liquid began to fall from the cracks in her face.

Rotting, fetid tendrils, barbed and writhing, as if they were part of a horror movie.

Lynn pressed a hand to his rapidly beating heart, his face flushing. "That's right... Ever since I was little, I've admired girls with sharp teeth and tentacles..."

He reached out, gripping two of the sticky tendrils that dangled from the gash in her face, stroking them gently with the viscous goo.

"Especially the gooey type, like you, sister. You're like my white moonlight."

The ghost woman froze. "Uh..."

Something was off!

This human was... off!

Why, when she showed her beautiful face, he was so calm, but when her horrific visage appeared, he seemed more excited?!

Lynn continued to stroke the slimy tendrils with a puzzled expression.

Time seemed to freeze.

But just then, Lin En suddenly stopped, furrowing his brow.

The ghost woman immediately narrowed her eyes, sneering. "What's wrong? Don't you like girls with shiny teeth and gooey tendrils?"

[Crisis Level 70]

Lynn frowned, his tone serious. "I think I’ve noticed something. Miss, you don’t take care of your oral hygiene, do you?"

The ghost woman blinked. "What’s it to you?"

Lynn jumped up abruptly, his voice deepening. "That's not right! How could a beautiful lady like you allow yourself to have any imperfections? You really need a good cleaning!"

"And lucky for you, I'm a professional at that."

The ghost woman blinked again. "Uh..."

...

A few minutes later.

Lynn stood in front of the ghost woman, now sporting a dazzling, pearly white smile, holding a small bottle of breath freshener, spraying it over her teeth with a satisfying hiss.

"How’s that? Doesn’t your breath feel fresher now?"

He pulled out a mirror, smiling with enthusiasm as he placed it before her.

She stared into the reflection, seeing the jagged barbs in her own gaping cracks, and the fresh tentacles writhing around her. Her expression remained vacant.

In fact, during these few minutes, her mind had been in a total fog.

Because this... this wasn’t how things were supposed to go!

This human wasn't afraid! Instead, he was cheerfully giving her a dental care session?

Was this a normal human reaction?

By all means, shouldn’t he have screamed in terror, then run for his life?

This was wrong!

This human... was wrong!

The ghost woman suddenly snapped her hand to her face, trying to close her gaping features, restoring the seductive human form she’d had before.

With a loud smack, she slapped the counter, her voice cold as she said:

"Enough of your sweet talk. I came here for something important. Tell me—did you perform surgery on a pig-headed demon yesterday?"

[Crisis Level 71]

Lynn thought for a moment. "Yes."

The ghost woman narrowed her eyes, sneering. "So, you operated on him, and dug a baby out of his stomach, right?"

Immediately, Lynn’s mind flashed to the ghost baby.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"May I ask... who are you?"

The ghost woman’s voice turned deadly. "I’m her mother."

Lynn: "!!"

...

This was definitely something Lynn hadn’t anticipated.

Because there was no way he could ever link the broken ghost baby to this woman.

Lynn blinked, confused. "Wait, hold on, how is it that someone as beautiful as you would be involved with a pig-headed demon like that? And even if you are, shouldn’t you be his next life or something?"

The woman sneered. "Stop pretending to be clueless."

"You know exactly what happened. He must've told you. A month ago, he ate a little ghost, and coincidentally, that little ghost was a part of me."

"So now that it’s fully formed, I’m her mother."

Lynn: "!!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself, then cautiously asked:

"So, you're here to..."

The ghost woman smirked, licking her blood-red lips. "Of course, I’ve come to reclaim my child. If I’m right, that child should have fully formed into a monstrous catastrophe by now, hasn’t it?"

Lynn took a step back, inching closer to the wall.

"Well... how do I put this..."

Just as he said this, the ghost woman’s face split open again, streams of foul, sticky liquid flowing from every crevice of her body.

Countless writhing tendrils shot from her hair, and her slender arms sprouted eyes one by one.

With a cold, twisted grin, she began to approach Lynn, saying:

"Slaughter! Malice! Resentment! Evil!"

"My child has all the qualities that bring delight to me—once born, it will surely become a skilled hunter, bringing doom and nightmares to all!"

[Crisis Level 81]

[Crisis Level 91]

Lynn staggered back, pressed against the cabinet, with nowhere else to retreat.

"This lady... just wait a moment! How can you be sure that baby is really your child? If you want to take it, shouldn’t you get the pig-headed demon to testify?"

Lynn was desperately trying to stall.

The ghost woman sneered.

"Testify? Fine! I’ll let him testify to you right now!"

With a guttural roar, she snapped her giant, blood-soaked mouth wide open, followed by a nauseating round of regurgitation.

A pig-headed, slime-covered creature immediately fell from her mouth onto the counter.

Thud!

The nearly decayed pig head stared at Lin En with blank eyes. Lynn immediately recognized it—it was the same pig-headed demon he’d operated on yesterday!

Lynn: "(ΩДΩ)!!"

[SAN -20!]

[SAN -20!]

It ate him!

The pig-headed demon had already been devoured by this ghost woman!

"Now give me my child, immediately!"

The ghost woman sneered, her tendrils swarming around Lynn.

"Maybe I’ll consider sparing your life."

Lynn’s back was pressed against the wall, his voice serious. "I’ll give it to you, definitely! But... um... that child might not be quite what you think..."

But just as he spoke,

From behind the curtain, tiny footsteps suddenly echoed.

Lynn froze.

The ghost woman immediately turned her head, sensing the presence. A cold grin spread across her face.

"Ah, my child must’ve heard. Heh heh..."

Ignoring Lynn, she spun around, facing the curtain. The tendrils whipped around her as she grinned manically, her smile growing more twisted.

"Let me see, then... has my child turned into some indescribable abomination, or a writhing, malevolent fiend? I can’t wait!"

Lynn swallowed hard. "I really think, lady, you shouldn’t be getting your hopes up..."

Because...

Because...