As he lit the white Ghost Candle, he saw the five people in the distance turn emotionlessly to look towards him, and even someone as experienced as Yang Jian broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead.
Fortunately, he extinguished the Ghost Candle in time and hadn’t attracted real ghosts.
Otherwise, he might have faced an attack from five unknown ghosts.
Such a dangerous situation would be fatal.
"How could this be?" After the scare, Yang Jian’s complexion changed uncertainly, his heart filled with astonishment.
Without a doubt, those five people should have been ghost handlers involved in this operation, and although he didn’t recognize everyone, most of them were very familiar to him.
But now... all five ghost handlers had become ghosts.
Did they perish from the resurgence of a ferocious ghost, or was there some other unpredictable change?
"It’s impossible that all five died from the resurgence of a fierce ghost. The operation must have had very meticulous arrangements, and even though there weren’t many people involved, headquarters would definitely have some safety withdrawal plans. The likelihood of a complete wipeout should be very low."
"Even if they encountered terrible dangers within the Ghost Domain, at most one or two would die, not a total extermination."
Yang Jian’s gaze flickered as he quickly calmed down, using the information he knew to assess the current situation.
"Moreover, there hasn’t been any urgent contact from headquarters, which means the appearance of these five people here is unknown to them..."
He glanced at his satellite-positioning mobile phone.
Not a single urgent message had come through, indicating that the operation didn’t require support.
In a flash, he thought of many things, but the doubts in his heart did not diminish in the slightest. Yang Jian could only vaguely surmise that something went wrong with the operation, causing some unpredictable change, and these five people who emerged from the Ghost Domain were the best proof.
No, these five could no longer be called human; they were true ghosts.
The tentative lighting of the Ghost Candle just now was the best proof, as the five immediately turned their heads in reaction.
Because the white Ghost Candle could attract ghosts, and only real ghosts would react to the flame of the white Ghost Candle.
"But now doesn’t seem to be the time to think about these things... The direction in which these five people are moving now seems to be toward the city." Continue reading at Freewebnovel
Yang Jian didn’t hesitate for long. When he turned his attention back to the five people who were gradually moving away, he discovered they were heading toward the city. If no one intervened, by dawn these five people would have completely entered the far-off city.
It was imaginable what consequences would ensue if ghosts who emerged from the haunted painting were to enter the city.
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Initially, just one Hungry Ghost almost annihilated an entire city, and with the haunted painting already defined as an S-class paranormal incident, Yang Jian had no doubt about its capability to wipe out a city.
"Should I follow them to intercept them?"
Yang Jian’s eyes flickered with the thought of action, yet he hesitated.
Unknown ghosts meant unknown dangers, and this wasn’t as simple as an ordinary paranormal incident. Any careless involvement would lead to a despair-laden death. Moreover, if he died here and his ghost was resurrected, it wouldn’t be as simple as an S-class paranormal incident.
After all, he himself was a very dangerous ghost.
"Ignoring it would also be troublesome. If the situation escalates, I would still have to deal with it. Now I only have the option to follow and see. With the conspicuous actions of these five people, headquarters couldn’t possibly be unaware. I’ll see how they plan to handle it first."
Yang Jian didn’t act recklessly. He decided to trail behind discretely and observe.
Dealing with such special circumstances certainly couldn’t be about showing off, especially without certainty. Acting rashly was the worst mistake.
The next moment.
Standing on the dimly lit street, Yang Jian’s body emitted a sinister red glow.
After the red glow appeared, he vanished from his spot.
Meanwhile, the five people in the distance continued walking slowly and expressionlessly.
Their movements were in sync, their strides uniform, with a chilling aura wafting from them—they felt completely devoid of life, as cold as corpses. Now, under the cover of the night, they silently approached the brightly lit city in the distance.
Those immersed in the city’s prosperity were utterly unaware that five unimaginable terrors were closing in.
Once these five potential real ghosts entered the city, the probability of inadvertently triggering their killing spree would increase exponentially.
Then, the true horror of the fierce ghosts would be fully revealed.
Indeed.
Just as Yang Jian surmised, the anomaly was discovered.
Countless drones flickered in the sky, buzzing over like bees.
These drones hovered above the heads of the five peculiarly acting people, their cameras frantically snapping photos and recording videos.
The urgent intelligence was transmitted out in the shortest time possible.
The first to receive the news was the headquarters’ conference room.
"Are you kidding me, Li Jun, Leuk San, Su Fan, Ah Hong, Xu Yiping—did all five of them truly bite the dust? What exactly are they, human or ghost? What do they intend to do—create havoc in the city?" Seeing the projection screen, Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua could no longer remain seated.
He slammed the table fiercely, standing up both shocked and angry, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Underneath the anger was an unmistakable fear.
For if this situation proved to be true, this city would face an unprecedented test.
The revival of five top spirit manipulators, coupled with incidents involving Ghost Envoys and ghost paintings... It could form a huge snowball, gathering momentum, and any spirit manipulator involved would be devoured by this terrifying supernatural event, becoming a part of it.
This was no longer a question of whether the situation could be handled, but how to minimize the damage.
"Professor Wang, what do you think we should do about this situation now?"
Immediately after, he fiercely turned his gaze to Wang Xiaoming.
At this moment, Cao Yanhua regretted perhaps having agreed to Wang Xiaoming’s slightly insane plan was a mistake.
They should not have attempted to control an S-level paranormal incident.
The others in the meeting room also turned their attention to Wang Xiaoming, the atmosphere was tense.
Yet, at this moment, the corners of Wang Xiaoming’s mouth revealed a hint of a smile as he delivered astounding information, "It seems that the plan is going more smoothly than I had imagined."
"What?"
Cao Yanhua exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?"
"Don’t focus your eyes on Li Jun and the others, look at the scene near the experimental base, the ghost domain of the ghost painting has disappeared... The ghost domain of the Ghost Envoy has also disappeared, which means the plan to limit ghosts by ghosts has already succeeded," Wang Xiaoming said slowly.
At this point, the others followed his words and looked towards the screen.
Many people’s faces changed.
Indeed, just as Wang Xiaoming had said, that terrifying ghost domain had vanished, and the coffin-shaped darkness was no longer there.
The concerns from before seemed to have been resolved.
Except for the now very eerie presence of five individuals...
"If, as you say, Professor Wang, the Ghost Envoy and the ghost painting have been successfully dealt with, but what about those five individuals? Are they still alive, or have they been revived by fierce ghosts?" Shen Liang asked after a moment of contemplation.
"The life and death of Li Jun and the others has now become unimportant."
Wang Xiaoming’s voice conveyed an unusual coldness, "Compared to two S-level supernatural incidents, even if all five of them were wiped out, it would be worth it. They were prepared to die when they joined this operation; I have never put their survival first. I only consider how to resolve this incident."
"..." There was a moment of silence among the people.
Although the words were cruel, there was no denying they made sense.
What supernatural event doesn’t result in death?
"However, Li Jun and the others should not be dead; pay attention to the signal. These five individuals may look exactly like Li Jun, Leuk San, Su Fan, Ah Hong, and Xu Yiping, but they are without the satellite-tracking mobile phones. Moreover, if they had died due to the revival of fierce ghosts, their movements would not be so uniform," he continued.
"Look closely at the hands of those five individuals."
Wang Xiaoming pointed out the hands of the five people in the image.
"See that? All five of their hands have identical hollow wounds; these wounds are quite unusual, and they are the same on each person."
"Identical wounds, identical movements, identical expressions, different people..." Wang Xiaoming’s gaze intensified, "It’s almost like they were painted."
Ghost paintings?
Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming’s conjecture and description, someone gasped.
"Are you suggesting that these five people are ghost paintings? How is that possible? A ghost painting is supposed to be just a painting; this is what’s recorded in the files. How could it turn into five individuals?" Shen Liang furrowed his brows.
"Inertia in thinking can easily lead people down a dead end. I don’t need to judge whether they are actually ghost paintings, what’s important is to keep this suspicion," Wang Xiaoming stated, "Deputy Minister, it’s time to prepare the next step. Follow the plan for when a ghost painting goes out of control; there’s no need to worry about the life and death of Li Jun and the others. Lead these five people away, and as long as you keep this thing out of the city, that should suffice."
"As for the containment location, I suggest the Suburban Haunted House."
Suddenly, Wang Xiaoming proposed another location.
The Suburban Haunted House!
Cao Yanhua’s expression changed.
This was one of the few peculiar places in the city that was impossible to deal with and, due to its non-spreading nature, the Suburban Haunted House was permitted to exist by default.
"Is it possible to attempt containment?"
Cao Yanhua wanted to solve this ghostly problem once and for all.
Wang Xiaoming seemed to ponder before replying a moment later, "I cannot offer an opinion; you’ll have to make that judgment yourself, Deputy Minister."
Testing was risky, but it could also yield rewards.
In Wang Xiaoming’s view, the pros and cons were nearly the same; that’s why he didn’t offer his own suggestion.
"I understand."
Cao Yanhua appeared to make a quick decision, "Shen Liang, notify Chen Yi and the others on the scene to prepare for the next step of action."