Chapter 1490: Chapter 907: Strongest Assault
In the plaza in front of Rongjin Building, people hurried by, but three individuals standing perfectly still drew particular attention.
The three gazed down at a twisted, deformed corpse on the ground, its entire skeleton shattered, blood seeping from its mouth and nose, presenting a grotesque sight.
A pair of wide-open eyes were filled with fear and confusion, and what once were bright pupils had dulled.
Occasionally, passers-by cast curious glances at Yang Xiao and the others, but they seemed oblivious to the corpse lying there.
The air seemed to carry the scent of unburned ashes, creating a suffocating scene that was frightening. Yang Xiao and the others remained silent as they bid farewell to their brave teammate.
Near the feet of the corpse was a dropped DV machine. Yang Xiao crouched down and slowly grabbed Munan’s right hand, in which she had firmly grasped her phone.
Yang Xiao tried to take out the phone, but her fingers were clenched too tightly. Looking at her unwillingly departed face, he sighed and reached out to close her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao silently uttered an apology, and after breaking two fingers, he managed to retrieve the phone. At that moment, the screen was still frozen on the recording interface.
There was a clue!
Yang Xiao immediately played the recording, hearing Munan’s voice, and there in front of him was her corpse. In that instant, Yang Xiao felt a sudden disconnection from reality.
Munan’s screams were bone-chilling. Thanks to the comprehensive recording, the clues this time were more complete and accurate. Munan fulfilled her duties, acting per the plan previously agreed upon, yet in the end, she was still killed by the Ghost.
"Wrong! We were all wrong!" Munan’s anguished roar in the recording was heartbreaking.
Thinking from another perspective, Munan must have been despairing at that moment, yet nothing could be done to undo it.
Among the clues Munan left behind, the most questionable information was the last few words: three roots, and hand, which she repeatedly mentioned several times.
Munan was skilled; even at the end of her life, she painstakingly repeated the word "three roots," enough to prove the importance of this information. She was leaving clues for her team, her final act.
"Three roots, hand..." Jiang Qingluan furrowed her brow. These words could have many combinations.
In the next second, Jiang Qingluan’s body stiffened as someone embraced her from behind, two arms somewhat indecently wrapping around her front, holding her tightly.
Having grown up under strict training as the young priest of the Yi Sect, Jiang Qingluan should have instantly counterattacked this sudden assault, but she didn’t, because a familiar voice sounded behind her.
"Don’t move." It was Yang Xiao’s voice.
"Tell me, from your current angle, what can you see?" Yang Xiao was simulating the Ghost’s attack on Munan. Based on the recording, the three were aware that the Ghost had circled behind Munan before striking.
Jiang Qingluan lowered her head and looked at the arms encircling her front, having a sudden realization, "Hand, I can only see your two arms!"
Yang Xiao released her and nodded, "That’s what I thought; Munan’s situation at that time was far worse than yours just now. Her vision was extremely restricted; I think she could only make out the Ghost’s hand."
Using Munan’s recording and the death scenes of the two previous daytime victims, Yang Xiao and the others could deduce that they were tackled from behind by the Ghost, whose limbs wrapped around and tightened, leading to their deaths.
This form of death was extremely agonizing, Munan’s screams in the recording lasted a full thirty seconds, mixed with the sound of snapping bones and vomiting blood.
"Three roots, hand... This might be the Ghost’s characteristic, possibly having only three fingers on one hand." Yang Xiao speculated rationally.
"Makes sense. In the initial accident at East Mountain Machinery Factory, workers were caught in machines in gruesome deaths, their limbs mutilated. Having only three fingers would be plausible." Jiang Qingluan nodded while stroking her chin, "Perhaps... Perhaps combining both hands only results in three fingers as well."
The identity of the Source Ghost was now essentially confirmed as the worker who died tragically, yet they didn’t know this person’s specific information, which required contacting the convenience store owner, though it seemed they would have to wait until nighttime. Jiang Qingluan had called again not long ago, but there was still no response.
"Munan mentioned the Ghost circled behind her before attacking, possibly making sure not to let it circle behind might be another taboo." Chen Nang judged.
"I agree." Yang Xiao supported Chen Nang’s view, as in the previous instances, Chen Moting and Zhou Mingxiao were hiding in the dark and were killed, while Munan persisted until the last minute before being killed once the Ghost circled behind.
"No." Jiang Qingluan suddenly spoke up, "Consider this: if we don’t open our eyes, how do we know the Ghost’s location?"
"Yet if we open our eyes to look, Munan’s recording clearly mentioned reminding us not to gaze toward the Ghost’s direction; the more we look, the greater our fear becomes, as this Ghost can influence us via ’being witnessed.’" Jiang Qingluan quickly added, presenting a contradiction.
But Yang Xiao was unfazed, "This is simple; open your eyes but control your curiosity; don’t lift your gaze toward the Ghost’s location, only look down at the DV machine and use the screen to locate the Ghost’s position."
"That’s a good strategy; no matter who is targeted next, we can leverage the screen’s view of the Ghost to determine its orientation relative to ours. For instance, whenever our back appears on the screen, we must immediately turn to avoid being circled behind by the Ghost." Chen Nang and Yang Xiao reached the same conclusion.
