As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

In truth, Alexander’s interactions with the White-clad Guardian had been scant, their encounters only a handful. Yet the impression she left was indelibly etched in his mind.

Her tender skin, cherubic round face, and striking physique were all too familiar. She was none other than Dolly—the only entity, besides Alexander himself, who had the ill-repute of being blacklisted by every ghost lord in the Thrilling World.

Dolly as the Guardian in White? The thought had never even flickered across Alexander’s mind. But in hindsight, it made perfect sense.

After all, forbidden power—essentially emanating from human emotional thought—was something that could genuinely be harnessed only in the foggy world. Yet Dolly had manifested this forbidden power, inevitably linking her to that mysterious dimension.

No wonder Selena had cautioned him to be wary of Dolly.

During his encounter with the Hell Warrior on Undead Street, a patrolling envoy had mentioned that the Guardian in White was still dormant. Clearly, she had entered the real world for some reason or by some means and had fallen into a deep sleep. Alcohol, it seemed, was the temporary key to her awakening.

A chill sprinted down Alexander’s spine at the thought. Thank heavens he had never brought Dolly into this World!

Although her destructive power was on par with that of a nuclear weapon, she was utterly uncontrollable—she might well unleash indiscriminate attacks, even against Alexander himself.

As all these images and revelations vanished from his mind, Alexander’s focus snapped back to reality. Apart from Karin and Selena, everyone present was still caught in a maelstrom of astonishment.

Alexander sensed the changes within his body; everything was mostly as it had been, save for a strange new energy infused into his ghostly aura. It felt eerily familiar, akin to the mist he’d encountered—it must be the so-called "forbidden."

He had the feeling that he could manipulate this forbidden power at will. It seemed like an innate ability, unlike anything someone else might experience. For others, forbidden would merely be an adjunct energy, something they could never truly wield.

"You’ve... you’ve mastered forbidden?" Kassadin gulped as he saw Alexander open his eyes and retract his ghost energy.

"It’s not quite the same as the forbidden power wielded by Louis. It’s more like my ghost energy is now imbued with forbidden," Alexander shook his head and explained.

"And besides, unlike you all, I’m a human, not a ghost. Even with the power of forbidden, it only gives me enough damage to instantly kill an average ghost king."

"And you’re not satisfied with that?" Explode, whose temper was always at a hair-trigger, couldn’t hold back.

"You’re just a soldier-level being! Even with forbidden—this ’pseudo-forbidden’ you have is clearly inferior—you can now kill a ghost king. What’s not to be content about?"

"Ahem," Edward chimed in with a strained expression, "If I may interject, killing a ghost king is actually rather easy for him. He has already consecutively killed two ghost kings, and they were both at the advanced stages of their power. The entire process took him less than five seconds."

At these words, everyone present staggered, disbelieving looks fixed on Alexander. Even Kassadin’s face mirrored the shock, indirectly confirming Edward’s statement.

In everyone’s mind, a singular thought now took hold:Damn it, this guy must be cheating!

If he wasn’t, just how staggering would Alexander’s actual power be?

"Uh... I just remembered, I have some matters to attend to. Maybe we can chat another day?" Untold’s face cycled through a variety of expressions before he finally spoke, somewhat reluctantly.

"Yes! We have something else to deal with. We’ll be going now, we can chat later when we’re free," Explode readily agreed, nodding and pulling Untold away as they turned to leave.

Alexander’s display was simply too dazzling! Even for ghosts like them, styled Inheriting Emperors, such a revelation was almost too much to bear.

Moreover, there was no need to stick around any longer. While they might not know that Alexander could gauge their favorability ratings, who among the Inheriting ghost Emperors could be considered a fool?

Their instinctual steps back when the cashier had gotten angry was enough of a sign that they’d distanced themselves from Alexander.

Had Alexander been less capable, they could still take advantage of their status as Inheriting ghost Emperors to continue currying favor with him as if nothing had happened.

But the problem was, Alexander now possessed the power of the forbidden! Not to mention the ability to slay ghost kings single-handedly; catching up to them in terms of power was just a matter of time. And that’s not even mentioning other aspects.

A reserve of countless ghost energy points, unimaginable. He even knows Karin, that’s beyond comprehension.

And to top it off, the fearsome James, the Ghost Emperor who had once slaughtered his way solo into the mist world, had actually left Alexander a Forbidden Empowerment bead. That was simply unthinkable.

And don’t even get started on the fact that Karin had sensed the aura of other guardians on Alexander. In the horrifying world, there are only seven known guardians in total, and Alexander knows five of them!

This was not just outrageous, it was terrifying! They could never risk offending someone like that, nor could they ever assume a position higher than him.

Given the circumstances, it was natural that they wouldn’t try to glean any more information from Alexander or subject themselves to further shock by associating with him.

More importantly, both were afraid. Guardians, James the Ghost Emperor, even Forbidden Empowerment—it was all too much.

Were they supposed to be privy to such information? They certainly hadn’t paid the high ticket price for it.

Little did they know, they had already paid, and quite handsomely at that, right there in the No. 9 dining hall.

Truly, what good men they were.

Alexander watched their retreating figures, sighing in contemplation before snapping back to reality.

He turned his gaze to Karin and said, "Thank you." Regardless of the circumstances, gratitude was still in order, especially since he also felt a sense of affinity emanating from Karin.

"I’m just carrying out a friend’s request," Karin shook her head. With a wave of her hand, all the items in the shop began to flow toward her like a river, eventually merging into a gray mist gathered in the palm of her hand. The mist quickly condensed into an ancient-looking ring.

Tossing the ring toward Alexander, Karin said, "All the items you’ve purchased are stored in this ring."

Catching the ring, Alexander realized it was yet another artifact of the mist. This was the real power of the forbidden. The ability to effortlessly create artifacts seemed to parallel Alexander’s own capability to produce Ghost Food. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

After expressing his thanks, Karin simply nodded, not uttering another word. Taking the hint, Alexander and the others discreetly made their exit.

It was only after Alexander had stepped out of the shop that a single tear rolled down Karin’s cheek:

"Is it you... Are you finally coming back?"

....

In a corridor on the second level of the ship, Kassadin noticed Alexander fiddling with a Perfect Identity Card while walking.

Understanding that Alexander was contemplating the plan to plunder Cangshan City, Kassadin cautiously warned, "Alexander, are you sure about this? It seems incredibly risky."

"Don’t worry, I’ve got it all figured out," Alexander replied without hesitation.

If there had been even the slightest doubt or concern in Alexander’s mind before, it was now entirely dispelled.

After acquiring the method to produce Ghost Pills, Alexander needed a massive number of ghost corpses—not just for converting into Ghost Food but also for researching where exactly the forbidden power goes during this process.

If Alexander could harness the transformative power of the Ghost Chef to produce Ghost Pills in an alternative manner, he could swiftly amass an army imbued with forbidden strength.

Based on what he knows, Alexander surmised that his so-called "past life" must have had a purpose, and that the now turn graveyard community was likely a strategic setup aimed at countering the encroachment of the mist world.

It was evident that even the brightest minds of the horror world had succumbed to the mist world. Alexander didn’t think he alone, along with the mysterious figures from the graveyard community, could fend it off. The only solution was to find a way to mass-produce Ghost Pills.

In the present-day horror world, there are only six remaining Ghost Realms, each possessing hundreds of large cities and countless smaller ones. The number of ghosts is probably far beyond tens or even hundreds of trillions.

If Alexander can manufacture enough Ghost Pills to endow these ghosts with forbidden power and lead them against the mist instances, the outcome might not be so predetermined. After all, the most terrifying aspect of the mist world is its forbidden power."

Both Maddy and the former owner of the Haunted Apartment had discovered ways to imbue others with forbidden power, but both died before they could succeed.

Although Maddy found a method for Forbidden Empowerment and even used it to combat the mist realm, his technique was not scalable, which led to his eventual failure.

However, if the Ghost Chef’s abilities could be applied to the creation of Ghost Pills, Alexander might find a way to mass-produce them. Only then would he truly be qualified to fight to the death against the mist realm.

It’s not a matter of numbers or strength. Alexander, who understood the nature of ’forbidden,’ knew that it wasn’t something that could be defeated through sheer force.

The essence of ’forbidden’ is emotion, thought, and mental force. It contends for control, not strength or weakness.

It’s akin to a computer virus. People without forbidden power are like computer novices with no defenses, susceptible to the virus, which can shut down or even control their systems.

With even basic forbidden power, you understand how to disconnect from the network, rendering the virus useless.

That’s why he must return to Cangshan City. Even if he found a way to mass-produce Ghost Pills, the mist instances remain the only places where Alexander could quickly gather the necessary materials.

"You’re too stubborn! If you show even a hint of vulnerability in Cangshan City, you’ll have enemies all over the place!" Kassadin, unaware of Alexander’s thoughts, looked exasperated.

In his eyes, Alexander’s growth and potential were already terrifyingly rapid; there was no need to take this risk. But seeing Alexander’s resolve, all he could do was shake his head and hold his tongue.

Before Alexander could reassure Kassadin, Selena wrapped her arm around Alexander’s and looked towards cabin number 69 in the distance, speaking softly, "Let’s go to the room first. I’m feeling a bit tired."

Selena’s demeanor was intimate, and she and Alexander appeared every bit the romantic couple.

"Weren’t you fine just a moment ago? Why the sudden fatigue? I think you’re deceiving us," Edward said, puzzled. Before he could voice all his doubts, Kassadin grabbed him.

"Edward, I need to talk to you. Let’s go to the next cabin," Kassadin said, pulling Edward towards the adjacent room.

"What is this, Kassadin Imperial? Have you mistaken me for someone else? Selena is a chosen one at the soldier level, and she doesn’t look like she’s exhausted her ghost energy. Could there be a problem?"

"Shut up! The problem is you! No wonder you’re still single, despite your good looks!"

Their conversation faintly reached Alexander and Selena, who both chuckled softly. Opening the door to cabin number 69, Selena looped her arm through Alexander’s, and they walked in like a couple.

Slam!

The moment the door closed, the smile vanished from Alexander’s face.

He looked at Selena and said, "Alright, spill it. You intentionally sent Kassadin and Edward away. What is it that you want to discuss?"

"Shouldn’t you be the one asking me?" Selena responded with a smile, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Alexander, as if she wished to encapsulate him within her gaze.

"Fine, I ask, you answer," Alexander nodded and asked, "The community where I previously lived—what is that place?"

"Good question," Selena praised, then began, "A place... that does not belong here."

Nodding, Alexander chose not to delve further into the question. Selena’s single response had already revealed plenty.

For instance, as he’d surmised, Selena was indeed a neighbor from the Cemetery Community. Also, both the Cemetery Community and Alexander himself seemed to be in an alliance that was potentially in opposition to the mist world.

Alexander proceeded with his next inquiry: "The memories I have of being a salesman—real or not?"

"A salesman?" Selena expressed slight surprise before breaking into a smile. "Those are your memories; you should be asking yourself."

Relief washed over Alexander. Those memories of being a salesman were likely fabricated, and by his own doing. This indicated that Alexander was the one orchestrating the game—or at least, was a willing participant in it rather than a mere pawn.

Continuing his self-examination, Alexander posed another question: "What should I do next?"

"Leave the airship, do what you wish, and trust your own judgments. As for now..." Selena paused briefly, let go of Alexander’s arm, and wrapped her hands around his neck. Her seductive red lips met Alexander’s in a passionate kiss.

After a long while, they finally broke away from the embrace. Holding Selena close, Alexander voiced his next question:

"Sofia, is that you?"