Chapter 968: Chapter 685: Ding-a-ling-ling_2
"Agree to advance. Technical squads must be accompanied by combat personnel. After cutting the power, proceed house by house for cleanup. Immediately deal with any household that still has lights on. After the cleanup, do not close the doors, do not touch the bodies up close, and make conspicuous markings outside the doors. Move quickly."
Soon, the support troops arrived to assist Yang Xiao and the two others. With the survey conducted by the professional technical staff, it didn’t take long to pinpoint the location of the Resentful Eye, which was next to Unit 1 of Building 4, in Room 602 of Unit 2.
In the support troops, Yang Xiao did not see Elder Yang. According to the leader of the squad that had arrived, Elder Yang had taken people directly to the mountains.
Hearing this, a bad premonition welled up in Yang Xiao’s heart. The Dark Army Captain had already led his men into the mountains to pursue that troublesome woman.
This Captain Fang was no ordinary man, holding a considerable status within the Rongcheng Dark Army. He possessed at least two Magic Artifacts, and his true combat power was at least on the same level as Yang Xiao and Qu Muzhi, not to mention he was accompanied by two strong assistants.
Right now, Yang Xiao had no energy to concern himself with the affairs of others. After dealing with the Resentful Eye here, he would join Qu Muzhi to settle the score with that woman.
They waited downstairs for news until a technician wearing a silver protective suit stumbled down from upstairs.
"What’s the situation?"
Yang Xiao stayed behind to guard the scene while Qu Mu and Beibei had already dispersed, guiding the direction for the subsequent cleanup troops as combat personnel.
Supported by others, the technician came before Yang Xiao, pulled off his protective hood, removed his face mask, his face beet red and panting: "Director Yang, we can only roughly lock down its position, but the supernatural influence there is too strong. People are already experiencing hallucinations. If this continues, I fear..."
"Take me up there." Yang Xiao strode into Unit 2 first.
"Director Yang, the protective suit—quick, find a suitable protective suit for Director Yang!" The technician was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted to the people around him.
But Yang Xiao did not need one. He had the Ghost Lantern. Judging from the confrontation with that female ghost in the floral dress, the Ghost Lantern was not weak in limiting that entity.
Moreover, he had previously fought with that entity. If they really ran into each other, a bulky protective suit would be of no use, only restricting his movements.
Guided by the thickly-clad technician, Yang Xiao arrived outside Room 601, where the door had already been marked as a high infection zone, with a conspicuously red skull symbol.
Yang Xiao focused on the interior. Three bodies had been dragged out and were piled to the side, with bloodstains on the ground. Each body had gunshot wounds, obviously having been killed not long ago, all reanimated corpses.
"The background of this family has been clarified. They were a family of three, with an elderly person helping to take care of a child," a technician at the scene cautiously replied, his voice somewhat distorted through the thick protective suit.
The bodies, two large and one small, were all male. "Where’s the woman of this family?" Yang Xiao asked.
"Don’t know. Haven’t found her."
"Where exactly is the Resentful Eye located?" Yang Xiao asked again.
"In the innermost bedroom."
"Have all our people withdrawn?"
"They have all withdrawn," the person replied softly.
"Good. All of you evacuate this place and wait for me downstairs." Yang Xiao prepared to handle this trouble alone, having the Ghost Lantern, which should keep him out of major trouble.
Unexpectedly, the technician did not leave, but stubbornly replied, "I am the technical team leader. I can’t withdraw. Don’t worry, I am also an Angel Envoy, I can withstand it. Technically speaking, you are not as knowledgeable as I am."
Yang Xiao was a bit surprised and looked back at him. Through the silver semi-transparent helmet, Yang Xiao saw a young and resolute face.
The next second, Yang Xiao’s eyes relaxed, "Alright, come with me. Stay outside the bedroom door, ready to assist me at any moment."
"Understood!"
Armed with the Ghost Lantern, Yang Xiao walked through the doorway and, following the guidance, arrived at the innermost bedroom.
The bedroom was very small, only about a dozen square meters. A single bed, a wooden table, and a large wardrobe took up almost half the space. Standing in the bedroom, Yang Xiao felt an oppressive sensation in his chest.
This place had to be the source; there was no mistaking this feeling. If he could be so affected despite having the Ghost Lantern for protection, one could only imagine the danger here.
"Director Yang, be careful. Several of our brothers got lost right inside here," the young man standing two meters outside the bedroom door cautioned.
Getting lost in a bedroom that was just over a dozen square meters was something Yang Xiao had never heard before. However, in the context of supernatural occurrences, it seemed entirely plausible.
As spiritual power was channeled into it, the Ghost Lantern glowed brighter. The eerie green light now became Yang Xiao’s amulet. He spun around, his gaze inching through every part of this confined space, quickly realizing something was amiss.
The furniture around him kept moving further away. What started as a mere two steps became four, six... He couldn’t quite describe this bizarre sensation, as if the bedroom were expanding continuously.
If this kept up, he might get lost in here as well. Yang Xiao was well aware that the ghost had not been restrained by him and was now awakening.
After a brief hesitation, Yang Xiao made a bold move. He closed his eyes and manipulated the light from the Ghost Lantern with his mind, condensing it into a narrow fan shape, sweeping around like radar.
This trick he had stealthily learned from the Mirror Ghost, who had shone its light on him. In that instant, Yang Xiao felt as if even his underwear was seen through.
As seconds ticked by, suddenly, Yang Xiao opened his eyes and saw the green light resting on an old wardrobe.
He stepped forward, extracted the Ghost Bamboo Stick, and gingerly opened the wardrobe door, only to be surprised to find it empty.
Just a few colored plastic hangers, and lower down, some children’s clothing scattered about.
"Not here..."
Yang Xiao furrowed his brow, checked the wardrobe several more times with the Ghost Lantern, and, finding nothing, thought for a moment before pushing the wardrobe aside forcefully. But behind it was just a wall. He knocked with his fist and heard a dull thud.
It was solid, with no hidden compartments.
To confirm, Yang Xiao once again closed his eyes and used the green light for inspection. Merely seconds later, he abruptly opened his eyes and looked towards the wardrobe tensely. The feeling was unmistakable, growing stronger with the wardrobe door opened.
There was something in the wardrobe!!
Carrying the lantern, Yang Xiao circled the wardrobe, until at its side, he stopped. The wardrobe was old with visible cracks. Subconsciously, Yang Xiao leaned in to peer through the widest crack.
Darkness engulfed the inside, instantly putting Yang Xiao on alert. The bedroom wasn’t very bright, but it wasn’t so dark that one couldn’t see. Furthermore, the wardrobe door was open; light should have been able to get in.
As he raised the Ghost Lantern, manipulating the green light to shine through the crevice, his wrist shook when he saw what was inside, causing chill to run down his spine. He saw a ghastly and fearsome face, tightly bound with clear tape.
An old black telephone receiver was taped around a woman’s face, the force twisting and contorting it, pasted tightly to her ear, with a short section of cut phone cord hanging from it.
"Ring-a-ling..."
Before Yang Xiao could react, the next second, his cell phone in his pocket suddenly rang, emitting a crisp yet eerie ringtone.
This was not Yang Xiao’s ringtone; it sounded more like an old-fashioned landline telephone. Moreover, after realizing that the spread of the supernatural incident might be related to phone communication, he had decisively turned off his cell phone.
But it was useless; the call still came through. Inside and outside the wardrobe seemed like two different worlds, and this call was from a ghost reaching out from another world.
