Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 96: You Are the Nightmare in My Heart

"What kind of good person would come knocking at the library in the dead of night?"

Just last night, she had a knife in her hand, so she hadn’t been particularly wary when she opened the door.

Now, Li Mumu wasn’t so sure.

She tiptoed to the door, holding her breath to avoid making any noise.

However, it seemed the person on the other side was also cautious, as the knocking stopped as soon as she approached.

Outside the door, it was quiet as a mouse. Not a single sound could be heard.

Li Mumu slowly bent down and placed the kerosene lamp she held on the ground.

With a loud thud, the door burst open, and a small figure shot in like a cannonball.

Li Mumu sprang to her feet, her hands crossed in front of her chest as she slammed into the intruder.

The two immediately tumbled into a scuffle.

In the darkness, Li Mumu couldn’t see anything, but relying on her experience in fighting blind, she closed in on the attacker, grabbed their shirt tightly, ducked her head, and delivered a fierce headbutt toward their chin.

"As a professional gamer, learning various combat techniques in virtual reality games is a reasonable thing."

"You have faced countless harsh battles while recording damage-free solo boss fights, and now you are fearless."

If her headbutt had connected, the other party would have surely suffered a mild concussion, but it was as if they had anticipated her move, raising their hand to cushion her headbutt, thus greatly weakening the force.

"The command-reading feature is crap!"

When her move missed, Li Mumu quickly retreated and rolled away to dodge.

So-called command reading is a mechanism designed by the game planners specifically to irritate players, dodging immediately when a player attacks and counterattacking when a player takes potions to heal — mechanisms like these read the player’s commands to increase the difficulty of the game.

Done well, it can indeed enhance the gaming experience.

Done poorly, it’s just plain annoying.

It’s like playing rock-paper-scissors, where no matter what you throw, your opponent always counters it.

And they still tell you, Young Hero, don’t be discouraged, skip the game segment by watching a 30-second ad."

Approaching the door quietly but still being detected, her improvised killer move easily blocked by the opponent, Li Mumu immediately realized that she might have been command-read.

Ordinary people wouldn’t react so quickly. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

If they could react that fast... why bother with tricks?

Her attempt to roll away was also ineffective. Before she could steady herself, the attacker’s next move followed right up, kicking her against the wall.

Then a barrage of punches whooshed towards her face.

In the darkness. they exchanged blows rapidly. Within just a few seconds, Li Mumu lost count of how many punches she had received.

Just when she found a gap and kicked her attacker away, quickly creating distance, Li Mumu stumbled backward a few steps and sat down hard on the ground, blood flowing uncontrollably from her nose.

The person opposite didn’t launch another attack but leisurely picked up the kerosene lamp from the ground and lit it.

The dim light revealed the face of the newcomer.

She saw her own face.

The Li Mumu holding the lantern slightly turned her head to stare at the Li Mumu lying against the corner and said coldly, "Surprised, aren’t you?"

"Not really."

Li Mumu held her nose and shook her finger.

"From the first time we clashed, I knew who you were—I have integrated various styles into my own combat style, which others can’t imitate, nor can they predict as accurately, causing me such a great disadvantage."

"You sure are confident."

"That’s called self-awareness."

"So what then?"

The Lantern-bearing Li Mumu’s corners of her mouth slightly rose.

"You should have guessed who I am by now, right?"

"Yes, you are my replica."

Li Mumu naturally spoke the words that drastically changed the opponent’s complexion.

"Replica?"

The Lantern-bearing Li Mumu couldn’t help but sneer.

"How dare you, an outsider, claim I am your replica?"

"This is based on rational judgment."

Li Mumu held up two fingers, "Perhaps you think you are the real Li Mumu of this world, I respect that idea, but only if you can answer two questions."

"First, why are you here?"

"I came here to check the records; what are you here for?"

This question plunged the Lantern-bearing Li Mumu into silence.

After a long while, she hesitated and said, "After the Spirit Possession Ceremony succeeded, your soul suppressed my consciousness until I entered this world; only then did my consciousness awaken and break free..."

"That does sound somewhat plausible. So, the second question, why didn’t you go find Wendy?"

Li Mumu directly addressed the core issue.

"To put it nicely, Wendy was your best friend; you both climbed mountains and crossed seas together, walking through Saifu’s streets and alleys. Why did you not seek her out as soon as you regained consciousness, and why haven’t you mentioned her at all even now?"

"To put it badly, the whole originator of this situation was Wendy, not me, so why don’t you hate her but instead hate me? How does this hatred mechanism work? Or is it because I seem easier to bully?"

"You ran outside to knock on the door and scare people, full of food and bored; what’s the motive behind your actions?"

The Lantern-bearer had no answer.

"The answer is actually very simple; you just don’t want to face the truthful reality."

Li Mumu stopped her nosebleed, leaned against the wall to stand up, and smiled at the girl before her, "On the night of the full moon, the Real World and the Outer Dimension intersect with Dreamland as a buffer, hence things from Dreamland also appear in this world."

"You are not an independent and complete soul; all that’s left in your head is hatred towards me. The essence of this hatred is my subconscious guilt towards the original owner of this body and the fear of this strange world."

"Light can dispel evil spirits, which is well-known common sense, and both you and I are safe under this light, which explains a lot. I am the real Li Mumu, and you are just my nightmare, which is why you hold such intense hatred towards me, have learned all my combat moves, and know all my weaknesses. Despite your best efforts to instill fear in me, you have nothing else."

Before her words had even finished echoing, Li Mumu lunged at her with steps quick as an arrow, her fingers together like a knife aimed directly at her throat.

The other party showed clear signs of wavering and couldn’t react in time. Although her body instinctively dodged backwards, it was still a beat too slow.

I am the replica...

In that moment, she suddenly understood the meaning of those words.

Hatred solves nothing; it only blinds rationality.

The real Li Mumu would obviously have guilt and fear, but this doesn’t stop her from killing.