Becoming an indescribable god after failing to ring in the new year.

Chapter 24 Core Sacrifice

In the video, the sword in Gao Mi's hand flies out.

Because of the filters used during filming and some post-production processing, the prop threads are completely invisible under normal viewing conditions.

However, if one has sharp eyesight, it is entirely possible to see that the so-called "flying sword" is somewhat fake, as its flight trajectory is completely illogical.

But the next moment, the sword's trajectory changed completely.

At the same time, after a brief flash in the video, the flying sword was already right in front of them.

Combined with the flickering patches in the video, the sword suddenly had a naked-eye 3D illusion, as if it could break through the screen at any moment and stab the person in front of the phone to death.

Even though Lu Shi was prepared, his heart skipped a beat because of this flying sword.

At this point, some comments like "That scared me to death" appeared in the video's live chat.

The "jump face kill" technique may be common, but it's common precisely because it's genuinely effective.

However, everything seemed to return to normal afterward.

In the video, Gao Mi once again makes a sword-finger gesture, directing the flying sword to change shape.

These videos are usually accompanied by verses from a classic Chinese fantasy drama series.

"Riding the wind on a sword, buzzing and whistling through the heavens and earth." But during this process, the signal seemed to have a problem again. Some words of the poem were pronounced in a different tone due to the noisy electrical sound, making them difficult to hear clearly.

"With joy and happiness, without joy and happiness, I'll die of joy."

The last word, "madness," sounded almost like the word "death" due to the hissing sound.

And below... that's all.

Gao Mi originally used his sword to dance with his fingers, pretending to be drunk, then bent over and lay on the ground, before doing a somersault to his feet.

However, after the word "death" was uttered, the video went into an eerie silence, with no comments or sound.

Gao Mi fell to the ground, the flying sword that had been thrown earlier now piercing his body, and a large amount of blood gushed out from his body.

After a brief, buzzing screen flash, the entire video was now stained crimson.

Only then did a barrage of comments appear.

"Is this fake?"

This single comment stood out starkly against the backdrop of the screen full of comments in the first half of the video.

The video ended abruptly with a snap, and when Lu Shi clicked on it again, the video returned to normal, showing Gao Mi showing off.

"They really did make a move."

"A very authentic simulation of horror."

Make a good impression with serious videos first, and then insert these weird videos after that impression has been established.

This eerie contrast can create an extremely unnatural sense of fear.

And that is the essence of simulated horror.

By hijacking signals, the abnormal is abruptly inserted into the normal, creating a sense of astonishment that goes against common sense and a sense of the bizarre breaking the normal order. This will cause an uncontrollable fear to grow in one's heart.

However, this video will probably only be seen by a few people.

The lone barrage of comments behind it is proof of that.

"So, Gao Mi is a sacrifice?" Lu Shi realized.

Master Shi was also one of the offerings, but he has already been sacrificed.

Even Lu Shi and Wang Zijian could be considered sacrifices, because they also witnessed the unusual movement of weapons.

However, the value of the offerings also varies.

Lu Shi and his group were the mild ones; the unusual movement of the weapons was just to scare them. That momentary fear of something beyond reason was enough.

People who watch eerie videos are also sacrifices, though these sacrifices aren't particularly heavy; their main purpose is to provide a sense of fear.

However, if one is truly frightened and becomes mentally unstable, and there happens to be a cold weapon nearby, then under such suspicious circumstances, the status of the sacrifice will be elevated.

In addition to these lighter offerings, there were also heavier offerings, which were called core offerings.

During this time, Lu Shi also roughly understood that the core offerings required for promotion were calculated based on the level.

For example, if Lu Shi wants to upgrade the Blood Calamity to level two, he needs to select a dimension and then select two core offerings based on the elements of that dimension.

If the mastermind wants to advance from level two to level three, they need to select three core sacrifices based on the corresponding dimensional elements.

Currently, Master Shi is considered a core offering, Gao Mi is another, so there is probably another offering that is being hidden.

"Have you controlled Gao Mi?" Lu Shi looked up at Sister Xu.

At most, Gao Mi and his group had only been involved in various violations, and no one had formally filed a lawsuit. At most, they would invite them over for tea under the guise of a meeting, test their spiritual sense, ask some key questions, and then send them away.

"Someone's following us, but we haven't caught them yet." Sister Xu shook her head and said, "The analysis department's opinion is to leave Gao Mi outside and wait for him to come to us!"

Although it was in the office, Sister Xu still lowered her voice when she said this.

Strictly speaking, this practice of using "ordinary people" as bait is illegal.

Since it has been determined that the other party is the core sacrifice, controlling them will make their ritual opportunities incomplete. Finding another sacrifice will be time-consuming and laborious, thus revealing more clues.

Leaving them outside like this makes it difficult to guarantee their personal safety.

If you don't catch any fish and the bait gets eaten, there's no way to avoid a penalty.

"So hasty?" The people in the analysis department probably wouldn't have suggested using bait to catch someone if they weren't in a hurry to find the mastermind behind it all.

"Sigh..." Sister Xu didn't say anything, she just shook her head.

Changshi is currently going through a turbulent period, with various abnormal videos frequently appearing.

Compared to these things, a wild metaphysical ability user just wants to advance from level two to level three.

As long as the other side doesn't act recklessly, the maximum number of casualties will be less than ten.

A level three ability user is not likely to amount to much.

In particular, the opponent's abilities are neither directed outward nor inward. Their unusual weaponry sounds impressive, but in modern society, even a level three ability user like this can't cause much trouble.

If the other side really wanted to cause trouble, after the report was submitted, a special forces team armed with firearms would wipe them out completely.

There are priorities in everything. The matter of unusual weapon movements is currently only being investigated by their third team. They haven't even broken the rule of "no overtime" yet, which shows the attitude of the higher-ups.

If the mastermind behind the unusual weapon movements is causing trouble, then let's be a little more aggressive and capture them quickly.

If we can't catch them, as long as we don't cause too much of a commotion, then so be it.

The point is to calm things down quickly, not disrupt "normalcy," and focus on dealing with other more important matters.

As for what this more important matter was, Lu Shi guessed it was related to No. 1 Middle School, but he didn't ask.

The Metaphysics Society takes confidentiality agreements for various matters quite seriously.

Lu was about to say something when Captain Fu received a call.

According to him, he has already located the weapon.

Then Gao Mi's side will need Lu Shi to look after it.