Chapter 36: The Ouija Board

Seeing that his brother Jiang seemed somewhat impatient, Richard quickly spoke up: "The three students who played the Ouija board game with us in our dorm three days ago... they're all dead."

An Ouija board game?

Hearing this, Jiang Ren was left speechless.

The Ouija board is a divination game rooted in ancient sorcery, consisting of a flat wooden board and a planchette. The board is marked with letters, numbers, and other symbols, while the planchette features a small transparent circle in the center, used to point to the letters and numbers on the board. Users place their fingers on the planchette and, by asking questions of spirits, allow the "ghost" to move the planchette to provide answers.

This game is similar to the "Pen Immortal" or "Dish Immortal" games from Jiang Ren’s original world. In an ordinary world, playing such a summoning game is merely asking for trouble, but in a world filled with dangerous anomalies, playing it is pure recklessness.

However, the Ouija board has had a history of over thirty years in the Federation, with total sales exceeding ten million units and countless people having used it. With such a massive user base, even if a dangerous anomaly were truly using the board to kill, the probability of being targeted was extremely low—no more likely than winning a multi-million-dollar jackpot.

Jiang Ren rubbed his eyes and asked, "Are you certain the cause of death was the Ouija board game?"

"We are certain!" Henry chimed in, rushing to speak. As if recalling something, an unnatural pallor spread across his face. "During that day's game, because one classmate had to leave early, the four of us left felt bored, so... we asked the board when that classmate would die."

"We were just asking casually, but we never expected the board to actually spell out his name, followed by the next day's date. Then, it proceeded to spell out our names and the dates from the third to the sixth day. We got scared and wanted to stop, but we didn't follow the rules to end the session properly—we just put the board away and went to sleep."

As he spoke, Henry’s face was filled with terror. "The next day, we heard that the classmate had died in a car accident on his way back to school. Then came the second accidental death, and another died this morning. Tomorrow... tomorrow it's my turn..."

Richard’s expression was bitter. "And the day after that, it's mine."

Jiang Ren didn't know what to say. Even he, who never played such games, knew the taboos—most importantly, never ask questions related to death, and when ending the game, one must follow the proper procedure to "send the ghost away." He had even seen many horror movies where the main cast died off one by one because they failed to follow these two rules.

It could only be said that young people these days were becoming increasingly reckless, making quite the "contribution" to population reduction.

Jiang Ren questioned him in detail about the sequence of events. Once he was sure he hadn't missed anything, he fell into deep thought.

"The board spelled out names and dates of death, and the first three people died on schedule due to various accidents. We can preliminarily rule out human interference."

"If it's not human, then it must be a dangerous anomaly."

"There are many categories of dangerous anomalies, but they can generally be divided into chaotic, spatial, and possession types."

"Chaotic types are those without fixed rules or geographic limitations, making them the hardest to clear. Spatial types are confined to a specific area, like the haunted houses common in horror films. Possession types attach themselves to objects or people, moving and killing as the host moves, like the toy house we encountered a few days ago."

An anomaly that has been tracking and killing people for three consecutive days certainly isn't a chaotic type. The person who died this morning had even traveled to a neighboring city, so the spatial type is also unlikely.

That left only the possession type.

With this in mind, Jiang Ren asked, "Where is the Ouija board you used for the game?"

Richard was confused but answered, "In the dorm."

"Richard’s brother, do you believe us?" Henry couldn't help but ask.

In fact, after the third classmate died today, they had been so terrified that they went straight to the police station for help. But the detective in charge of the report didn't believe a word of their story, dismissing them as troublemaking delinquents and nearly resorting to violence.

Jiang Ren glanced at him and said, "Whether I believe you isn't important. What matters is that I will solve this problem."

Without waiting for further questions, Jiang Ren asked for the specific dorm room number and the exact location of the board, then called his employees to go retrieve it.

Usually, people targeted by dangerous anomalies subconsciously avoid asking for help, sometimes even wandering into isolated places to make the "harvest" easier. It was rare for people like Richard and Henry, who had no resistance, to actually seek help from the police.

*If it looks this way, either the anomaly has stopped hunting them, or it is extremely confident in its own power,* Jiang Ren thought.

*Gurgle!*

A strange sound echoed. Jiang Ren looked at the two men clutching their stomachs, turned around, and walked toward the exit of the interrogation room. "Let's go. It's about time for a meal; I'll treat you."

The two hesitated for a moment before hurrying to follow. Although they felt safer inside the police station, given their previous failure to get help, if not for Jiang Ren's intervention, they would likely have been kicked out or locked in a holding cell.

Compared to those outcomes, Jiang Ren’s presence seemed to offer them at least a shred of security.

After dinner, the sky had turned dark. The three arrived at an executive suite in a nearby high-end hotel, where the Ouija board had already been delivered.

"This is... so, it was you!"

The moment Jiang Ren saw the board, he sensed the aura of the dangerous anomaly hidden within. He couldn't have been more familiar with it. In his previous life, he died at eighteen, and the anomaly that killed him was this very one. Over the past few years, he had tried to find it, but to no avail. He hadn't expected to encounter it so unexpectedly.

Jiang Ren suppressed the excitement in his heart and looked closely at the board. This wasn't the anomaly itself, but its medium. The anomaly, having left its aura on the object, could move through the medium to curse nearby players.

"It doesn't seem weak. I wonder how it tastes."

Even though he had just eaten, Jiang Ren felt a new wave of hunger. Now that he had the medium, it would be much easier to lure out the anomaly hiding behind it.

Midnight arrived.

In the living room of the executive suite, all the lights were turned off, save for a single candle burning on the table in the center. The flat board and the planchette were laid out.

"Why has it come to this?"

Henry was on the verge of tears. He had imagined many ways Richard's brother might handle the ghost, but he never expected the man to be insane enough to start another Ouija board game—and force him to be the one to ask the questions.

*And these strange questions... are you sure the ghost won't kill us on the spot once it hears them?*

Henry looked at the note on the other side of the candle, which listed several questions he was expected to ask the ghost in a moment.