Best Not to Get Your Hopes Up

Silence enveloped the surroundings. The ghost woman stood there, rigid. The crisis level, which had shot up to 99%, abruptly dropped to 50%.

"Eh?" The ghost woman appeared stunned.

Lynne cleared his throat with a hint of embarrassment, "My apologies, but when you suddenly approached like that, I couldn't help but want to give you a kiss. Please forgive my rudeness. It's just that you truly fit my aesthetic."

The ghost woman, in her daze, muttered, "Fit your... aesthetic?"

Viscous droplets seeped from the cracks in her face. Her foul-smelling tentacles and sharp spines seemed like a scene from a horror movie.

Lynne, his face turning slightly red, clutched his racing heart, "Indeed... ever since I was a child, I've had a deep admiration for girls with great sets of teeth and tentacles..."

He reached out, gripping two of the viscous tentacles hanging from her split face, caressing them along with the sticky liquid.

"Especially the sticky types like you, dear Miss. You're akin to the radiant moonlight in my eyes."

The ghost woman hesitated, "Um..."

Something's not right! There's something off about this human! Why did he remain so calm when she showed her real face? And when she revealed her terrifying visage, he seemed even more excited?

Lynne, by her side, affectionately caressed the sticky tentacles (*๓´╰╯`๓).

Time seemed to stand still. However, in that frozen moment, Lynne suddenly halted his actions, furrowing his brow.

The ghost woman immediately reacted, her eyes narrowing in a sneer, "What's wrong? Don't you adore sticky, well-toothed woman like me?"

[Crisis Level 70%]

Lynne said gravely, "I've noticed something concerning. Miss, don't you pay much attention to oral hygiene?"

The ghostly woman, once again bewildered, retorted, "What's it to you?"

Lynne rose abruptly, declaring, "How can a beautiful lady like yourself allow any imperfections? I believe, dear lady, you're in dire need of exquisite care! And I'm exactly the kind of professional skilled at providing such care."

The ghost woman was once again taken aback, "Um..."

...

Several minutes later.

Lynne, satisfied, gazed at the ghost woman before him who now had gleaming, spotless teeth. He then took out a small bottle of breath freshener and sprayed it liberally over her teeth.

"Do you feel a sudden freshness in your breath now?"

Lynne took out a mirror, his smile broad and animated, and held it before her.

Seeing her own radiant, split-mouth with its sharp spines and refreshed tentacles in the reflection, her expression froze.

In fact, for the past few minutes, her brain had essentially been in a state of shutdown. Because this wasn't right! This development was absolutely not what she had envisioned! It was one thing for him not to be afraid, but to actually look thrilled while providing her oral care...

Was this a normal human reaction? By the usual conventions, shouldn't he be screaming in terror and then fleeing in utmost fear? Something's not right! This human is not right!

Crack, crack, crack—

The woman reached out, forcefully closing her split face, reverting to her previous charming, sophisticated human appearance.

Smack—

She slapped the counter, coldly stating: "Stop buttering me up. I'm here on serious business. Speak! Did you perform surgery on a pigfolk yesterday?"

[Crisis Level 71%]

Lynne pondered for a moment, "Yes."

The ghost woman narrowed her eyes, sneering, "You operated on him, and you even extracted a baby from his belly, didn't you?"

The image of the ghost baby immediately floated into Lynne's mind.

"May I know who you are?"

The ghostly woman's voice was deadly, "I am her mother."

Lynne: "!!!"

...

This was beyond anything Lynne had envisioned. For he absolutely couldn't associate the ghost infant, one that reveled in decay, with the ghost woman before him.

Lynne, eyes wide, exclaimed: "Patience, patience. I'm merely perplexed. How could a lady as beautiful as yourself fall for that pigfolk? And even if so, shouldn't it be birthed by you?"

The woman scoffed coldly, "Do not feign confusion. You must know the circumstances; he must have told you. A month ago, he consumed a little ghost. That little ghost was a part of me. Since it has taken form, I am its mother."

Lynne: "!!!"

Lynne struggled to maintain his composure, inquiring tentatively, "So, madam, you are here to..."

The woman, with a cold laugh, licked her crimson lips and said, "Naturally, to retrieve my child. If I'm not mistaken, my child should have morphed into a catastrophe by now, hasn't it?"

Lynne, eyes wide, retreated step by step.

"Uh, how should I put it..."

And then, the woman's face once again split open in an instant, her entire body continuously oozing foul-smelling slime. Countless tentacles writhed out from her hair, slender hands sprouting one eye after another with a crackling sound.

She advanced step by step towards Lynne, laughing coldly, declaring: "Slaughter! Malice! Resentment! Wickedness! My child possesses all the delightful qualities I possess. Since it has been born, it will undoubtedly become a qualified hunter, bringing catastrophe and nightmares to all!"

[Crisis Level 81%]

[Crisis Level 91%]

Lynne, trembling, backed away, the medicine cabinet behind him, leaving him no room to retreat.

"Madam, please wait a moment! How can you be so certain that the infant is your child? If you wish to take him, I think we should have the pigfolk confront you directly!"

Lynne hastily tried to stall for time.

The woman sneered, "Confront? Fine! I will have him confront you right away!"

With a gasp, she suddenly opened her enormous bloody mouth, accompanied by a series of regurgitations. A slime-covered pig's head immediately dropped from her mouth onto the counter.

Thump—

The nearly completely corroded pig's head stared straight at Lynne. Lynne recognized at a glance, it was the pigfolk he had operated on yesterday!

Lynne: "(ΩДΩ)!!"

[Sanity -20!]

[Sanity -20!]

Consumed! The pigfolk had actually been devoured by this ghost woman!

"Hand over my child immediately!" The woman approached step by step with a cold laugh, countless tentacles surging around Lynne. "Perhaps, I might consider sparing your life!"

Lynne, his back against the wall, said seriously, "I'll hand over! Definitely will! But… that… your child may be a little bit different from what you imagined…"

And it was at this moment, from behind the curtain, there came the sound of tiny footsteps.

Lynne's heart skipped a beat. The ghost woman immediately raised her head, sensing the presence; a cold smirk instantly appeared on her face, saying: "It seems, my child has heard and is coming, hehehe…"

The ghost woman no longer paid any attention to Lynne. She turned around, facing the curtain, countless tentacles writhing wildly around her, her smile growing more chaotic and distorted.

"I might as well see what my child has turned into now. An indescribable distortion? Or a forbidden evil ghost rolling in malice? I'm quite looking forward to it! Heeeee—"

Lynne swallowed, wide-eyed, "I think it would be better if you don't harbor any expectations, madam."

Because…