Steven remembers spinning in the air several times, and remembering being carried into the kitchen by the fog, then falling down a flight of stairs and crashing into the hard ground. He also remembered that Lannie's experience was similar to his own, and the place where the other party fell was next to him, so he was basically sure what the "soft thing" he was holding onto. So, he deliberately struggled, sat up with difficulty, and took the opportunity to rub his hand on the thing a few more times.

However, when Steven sat up straight, Lanny's back came into view. He looked at his hand, and saw that what he was holding was nothing more than a handmade doll.

"." Steven muttered and threw the doll away.

There was a white mist in the basement, and the air was mixed with the smell of rotting and damp earth.

The fog was really thick. Steven couldn't even see Lanny's back, and the other party was only a few steps away from him.

"So, what's the plan?" Steven asked, getting up.

Lanny walked back in front of Steven, then raised a hand. A faint orange glow flickered a few times above the hand, but it didn't condense in the end.

"I can't indulge in spirits." Lanny said, "I'm afraid you can't either." ”

"Don't jump to conclusions." Steven raised his hand to the side, and the doll he had thrown out earlier flew back into his hand, "Look! It's your technology that doesn't come to home. ”

"I mean, you can't indulge in this fog." Lanny responded, "If something pops up later, you're going to smash it with that doll?!" ”

A blue glow slapped into Lanny's face, only to scatter in the mist before it was far away.

"It's weird." Steven said, "Have you ever been in this situation before? ”

"Only once, in the kitchen above us." Lanny said, "Remember the blade you made." ”

"All I remember is that shoe that the Asian imp tossed." Steven responded.

"Look at this." Lannie raised her hand again, "This is the expression level of Alpha Fifteen"

As before, an orange spherical silhouette emerged, flickered a few times, and then vanished.

"This time it's Beta Fifteen." Lanny said, "Look at the difference. ”

An orange ball of light was generated, and in an instant, it was absorbed by the surrounding mist.

"Understood?" Lanny asked.

"Understood. You fail twice in a row. Steven responded, "Three times, counting the beginning." ”

"Alright," Lannie shook her head, "shut your mouth and listen to me." She held the screen of the bracelet up to Steven's eyes, "Alpha means positive expression, Beta means negative." Spirits can only be expressed in negative ways, so we counteract them with positive expressions. But no one cares so much about it when it comes to indulgence. When the other person throws something over, you will directly create a light blade and break it, without thinking about how you feel when you made the light blade. ”

"You sound like the guy hiding in the van." Steven said.

"Let me finish." "Perhaps, this time it will be different. While positive expressions can still cause harm to that spirit, negative expressions can be exploited by it. If that's the case, it explains why the other party wants us to stay alive. If you are frightened, or in pain because of an injury, the level of expression at the time of the spirit will definitely be negative, and the consciousness you use for the spirit will be absorbed by that spirit. ”

"Wait, absorb consciousness?!" Steven was surprised and said, "Is there really such a thing?" ”

"You must have thought that your father could not have been attracted here by an ordinary spirit." "I actually have more direct evidence. Emilia and I have both been attacked by the Blue Lightblade, and the spirit has manipulated some leaves in the same way that Ziang manipulates rune paper. ”

"You're saying that when I'm in the spirit, I still have to think about happy things all the time?" Steven raised his hand and pointed at Lanny's face, "Then we're going to have to fix this thing of yours." ”

"Even if you can maintain a positive expression," Lannie ignored Steven's words, "you can't indulge in this fog." It is important that the spirit must not be expressed in a negative way, otherwise the spirit will become stronger and stronger. ”

"It's like food." Another voice came out of the mist.

Kylie appears in the fog on Lanny's side. Most of her body was still surrounded by a thick fog, making her look a little ethereal.

Behind Kylie, the silhouette of a humanoid figure emerges. On either side of this silhouette, two thin objects protruding horizontally can be seen.

"He asked me to keep my grief all the time," Kelly continued, "and only then could he keep getting what he wanted from me." Who would have thought that even if you lose something important, it is impossible for people to continue to grieve forever. In contrast, physical pain is much more direct. ”

Lannie glanced at the silhouette behind Kelly. "There's no need to let anything hurt you anymore." She held out a hand to Kelly, "Come to us first." ”

"You should have left." Kelly said, "You can't help me, and now, you can't help yourself." ”

Steven threw the doll in his hand and smashed the head of the humanoid silhouette.

Lanny turned her head and glanced at Steven.

"At least it's better than throwing shoes." Steven said.

The humanoid silhouette receded and disappeared into the fog.

"It's the same question I was at the beginning," said Steven, "is there a plan?" ”

"You're asking, is there a way to stay positive after being half dead?!" Lannie said in a sarcastic tone as she looked around.

"Absolutely." Steven responded, "I'm going to kill you." ”

A figure flashed past Lannie.

Lannie tried to dodge to the other side, but no sooner had she seen half a rag and a few exposed straw plants than a pain came from her back.

The scarecrow cuts through Lanny's clothes, cutting a cut in her back.

"Or, if you knock me out, I'll knock you out again?" Steven glanced at the area where Lanny had been scratched, then turned his back to her and stood behind her, "When you're unconscious, there's no such thing as a negative expression." ”

A wooden stick burst out of the fog and hit Steven on his already injured leg.

Steven let out a shout and fell to the ground clutching his legs. ", I'm ......" His waist was thumped by something in his coat pocket, so he didn't finish his swearing. He pulled out the object, looked at it, and then looked up at Lannie's bleeding wound.

"Lanny, there's something I want to say to you." Steven got up from the ground, stepped forward, and grabbed Lanny's hand, "You...... Don't fucking mess with me anymore! I'm dealing with it alone. At this, he paused abruptly and winked at Lanny, "How do I think, it was my hand that was pricked?!" ”

Lannie pushed Steven's outstretched hand aside and let the syringe he was holding stick into his other hand.

"Damn, you can't make me stupid." Steven's mouth didn't work very well.

"I have a better idea." Lannie responded, "The scarecrow is the object of the spirit's manipulation, I can't control it, the doll is too small and soft to be lethal, but there's another thing...... Do I need to go on? ”

Steven frowned, then showed a look of realization. "You ......" his already loose facial muscles didn't let him finish his sentence. He went limp and fell to the ground.

An orange glow appeared on Steven's body, causing him to stand up.

Lannie looked at Steven, who was standing upright with his eyes closed, pursed her lips, and stifled a smile.

The scarecrow burst out of the fog, but this time, before it could get closer, Steven pounced on him. He grabbed one of the scarecrow's arms, and the orange glow lifted his hand, breaking the other's arm violently. He threw himself forward, knocking the scarecrow to the ground, then lifted the pointed stick, which had been used as his arm, and plunged it into his chest. In the next second, he grabbed the other party's head with his other hand, and then tore it upward, pulling the head directly away from the other party's body. Holding a stick in one hand and a scarecrow's head in the other, he knelt on the ground, spread his arms, and leaned his upper body back in a long roaring motion. His entire face was still paralyzed, which made his mouth open and his eyelids rolled upwards to make an extremely comical expression.

The scarecrow didn't move again.

Little by little, the thick fog that spread through the basement faded.

Steven fell to the ground. There was a loud bang between his forehead and the ground, followed by a slight snoring coming from his open mouth.

The fog completely dissipated, plunging the entire basement into darkness.

Lannie made a ball of light and turned her head to look at Kelly, who was standing not far away. "I ask you one last time," she said, "are you ready to get out of here?" ”