Chapter 675 - Chapter 675: Chapter 642 An Individual's Action

Chapter 675: Chapter 642 An Individual’s Action

Although Yang Jian had escaped danger and returned to Dachang City to rest, this did not mean the emergency with the ghost paintings had come to an end.

On the contrary, the situation started to deteriorate, just as anticipated, after he left.

At this very moment.

Within a desolate city devoid of people, the sky was a murky gray, as if layers of ash were endlessly drifting down. The air was filled with a gloomy haze, making this eerie city unlike any other in the world because it did not belong to reality but to the world within a painting.

The mission had failed.

The first operation to contain the ghost paintings ended in an utterly predictable and woeful defeat. Although they were not wiped out, the losses were extremely heavy.

One of the survivors was sitting by the empty roadway at this moment. He had an erect posture, but he was covered in blood, with a face charred black, looking like a burnt corpse. It was difficult to imagine that such a person could still be breathing, still be alive.

Li Jun was indeed still living, but his life was arduous and painful.

“Failed,”

he said in a hoarse voice, his throat seemingly burnt away. His whisper was chilling to the bone.

Under Li Yang’s leadership, Li Jun had successfully found the building suspected to be the source of the ghost paintings. They had ascended the bizarre wooden staircase and even entered the room filled with countless portraits smoothly.

They found the place that Yang Jian had visited before once again.

But the outcome was harsh.

The room was not as simple as they had thought. They experienced the most horrific supernatural event; the ghost’s attacks led them to despair. Forget about containing the ghost paintings; just surviving was a matter of luck. And the result after this mission was that Chen Yi was dead, Leuk San was dead, and as for Xiong Wenwen…

Clutching a photograph in the middle of his speech, Li Jun continued.

The photo was black and white, showing a child around ten years old, his face filled with terror and despair.

Xiong Wenwen hadn’t died, but he had been trapped inside the photograph, with very little chance of surviving.

The Ghost Camera had been used three times in this mission: one failure, one success, and one loss of control.

The odds were still manageable, not particularly unlucky, as it malfunctioned only once out of the three. The one time it did, it was Xiong Wenwen using it. His premonition ability was highly accurate; he found the fierce ghost in the ghost painting, but when he used it, luck was not on his side. After he pressed the shutter, it wasn’t the ghost, but he, who disappeared.

The only successful time wasn’t used against the ghost paintings but against other ghosts, an act of self-preservation, a gamble taken as a last resort.

But that success was not crucial.

“Captain, all the routes have changed; I can’t find the exit we used to leave this place before,” said Li Yang, approaching with a pallid face. He was in terrible shape; livor mortis had begun to appear on his skin, and the smell of a corpse emanated from his body.

This was a sign of overusing the ghost powers.

Keep in mind, he had only just become a ghost manipulator a few days ago.

If he hadn’t been a non-primary force in this operation, he definitely would have fallen here.

But traumatic experiences can often lead to the quickest growth. Having endured this operation and survived, Li Yang had become somewhat more stable mentally.

“Can you contact the outside?” asked Li Jun in his hoarse voice, sounding much like a fierce ghost.

“The signal is blocked; still can’t get through,” Li Yang fell silent, feeling desperate.

Only after going through all of this did he realize just how difficult it was for people like them to stay alive.

Li Jun’s Ghost Flame could still burn in this Ghost Domain, it could utilize the Ghost Domain, but it came at a great cost. It was for this reason that he had kept Li Yang alive.

“Take this.” Suddenly, he pulled something out of his pocket.

A wooden doorknob, smeared with mottled red paint, appearing like a relic of great age exuding a strange and ominous aura.

“At the right time, use the doorknob to open a door, and if you’re lucky, you can leave this place. Remember, you only have one chance, and the time is… twelve noon. If successful, deliver the intelligence about this place back to headquarters, and Professor Wang will arrange the second mission.”

Li Jun handed the Ghost Gate’s doorknob to Li Yang.

This was a backup plan in case of failure.

“Captain, what about you?” Li Yang asked, somewhat surprised, as he took the doorknob.

“There’s still a chance, I have to fight on, even if the vengeful ghosts revive, I have to restrain the ghost drawings. I saw earlier, my Ghost Flame can suppress the ghost domain of the ghost drawings,” Li Jun’s fingers lightly grazed the ground.

His charred and smelly fingers held a green flame flickering within.

The ground immediately disappeared, turning into black paper ash, and with a gust of wind, it was gone, leaving only a damaged gap.

But this gap slowly reverted back to its original state over time.

Li Jun might have an advantage against the ghost drawings, however, he was still a bit too weak to gain the upper hand.

“Considering the situation, there’s no chance left, let’s withdraw together,” Li Yang said, his eyes wide with disbelief. He couldn’t fathom that after their near-extinction, Li Jun still intended to act.

Li Jun slightly lifted his head to look at him, his eyes equally charred black, uncertain if he could see clearly in this state. He continued, “This is my decision, you just have to follow orders. Now stay away from me. Whether I succeed or not, you don’t need to concern yourself. Just do what you have to do.”

“Take Xiong Wenwen’s photo as well, even though she’s trapped in it, she might not be dead yet. There might still be a chance to save her. As for the Ghost Camera, I need to keep it for now, it’s my only leverage against that ghost.”

At this moment, Li Yang understood Li Jun’s intention.

He was determined to fight to the death.

With the Ghost Camera, he indeed had the assets for a final gamble, but that was all it was—a gamble.

Because Li Jun wouldn’t last much longer, he was going to die, either at the hands of a ghost or the revival of a powerful specter.

“I understand,” Li Yang said, no longer trying to persuade him.

Li Jun struggled to his feet, covered in blood, his body charred black, his own blood continuously flowing from the cracked skin. However, he couldn’t concern himself with his physical state now; gripping the Ghost Camera, he limped forward.

Surrounded by a layer of green Ghost Flame, he soon vanished from sight.

With the wooden doorknob in hand and Xiong Wenwen’s black and white portrait, Li Yang clenched his teeth and rapidly distanced himself from the most dangerous area.

As a survivor who had lived there for several months, he possessed a wealth of experience. As long as he wasn’t targeted by a ghost, his chances of survival were significant, especially now that he held an exit out of this place in his hand.

However, he didn’t place all his hope on this doorknob, but instead, he searched for an exit. He had previously left with Yang Jian, knowing the location of the exit.

Only at the very last moment would Li Yang use the doorknob as instructed, to pass through that incomprehensibly eerie wooden door and leave this place.

Dachang City.

Like many others, Yang Jian was unaware of the specifics of this operation. He had not participated in it and thus did not show much concern, spending the night in a relaxed and carefree manner.

The next morning, he got up very early.

“The office isn’t even open yet, so why not rest a bit more?” Zhang Liqin was startled awake and said languidly.

“Going for a walk,” Yang Jian replied still with his usual indifference, and then he left the room.

There wasn’t anything dangerous stored on the fifth floor now, just some weapons and tools; hence, he didn’t need to stay distracted to keep watch.

After leaving his residence, Yang Jian took a stroll around the neighborhood to get some exercise and also to patrol the area. He had been away on a business trip for a while, so he needed to familiarize himself with the place again. After all, there had been considerable changes within the community during his absence; there were many new residents and quite a few strangers.

However, when he was about to return from his round, he noticed several security guards gathered at the entrance of the complex.

He saw these security guards using their cell phones to take pictures of something on the ground, suggesting that there was some kind of situation.

The security work at the Guanjiang Residential Complex was very well done since it concerned the safety and lives of many people. They couldn’t afford to be negligent.

“What’s happened here?” Yang Jian approached and asked casually.

“Nothing’s wrong, everything is normal,” a security guard responded immediately.

Yang Jian said, “If everything were normal, there wouldn’t be so many people gathered here.”

With that, he walked forward.

“Resident, there really isn’t a problem, everything is normal. We’ll handle any issues,” the security guard blocked Yang Jian, insisting earnestly.

Yang Jian said, “You can handle normal situations, but abnormal ones may not be so easy for you.”

He glanced briefly.

A large patch of bloodstains had appeared on the ground at the entrance of the complex, as if they had extended from inside the community to the outside; however, the trail ended here.

“Yang Jian, you’re here too?” Suddenly, a person emerged from the crowd and signaled for the guards not to obstruct.

Yang Jian… President Yang?

The previous guard didn’t recognize him, but now hearing the name, he seemed somewhat startled.

They all knew that there were two owners of the complex, one of them named Yang Jian, who lived in the villa on the right side of the entrance.

“Good day, President Yang,” the other security guards greeted him one after another.

Yang Jian nodded as a greeting and then asked, “Zhang Han, what’s going on here, has the complex been burglarized?”

“Not sure, I’ve just arrived not long ago. The situation is a bit strange. Come take a look,” Zhang Han said.

Yang Jian walked over and saw the large pool of blood on the ground.

“The blood hasn’t completely dried, it must have been left between three and four o’clock last night, and…” Zhang Han squatted down and sniffed.

“It smells like corpse decay,” Yang Jian frowned, recognizing the familiar scent.

“So the blood on the ground is foul?”

Blood from a living person should not smell; blood that smells foul indicates that the person is dead.

“No. The blood isn’t foul, it’s this object that is foul.” Zhang Han pointed to a footprint left on the bloodstain, a child’s, barefoot at that.

“A child’s footprint, barefoot. On such a cold day, running around at three or four in the morning, don’t you find that odd?”

“Not at all odd,” Yang Jian’s expression shifted slightly.

This was clearly the footprint of a Ghost Child. The ghostly kid seems to have been quite active at night lately; looking at this trail, it’s unclear who it had attacked this time, but the blood surely must belong to the victim.

“Has anyone in the community been harmed?”

Zhang Han shook his head and said, “Haven’t heard of anyone getting hurt, everything is normal, but I am having people check the surveillance footage to hopefully get some results.”

“If no one inside has been hurt, then the injured person must be from outside the community,” Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly.

Once again, someone had sneaked into the complex covertly.

He remembered Wang Shanshan speaking about an occasion where, after the Ghost Child returned from going out, it had several human fingers in its mouth, without knowing who it had bitten. He speculated that the person was a ghost controller, and last night, there was another victim of an attack, leaving a trail of blood, probably bitten by the Ghost Child.

The incidents before and now might involve the same group, or even the same person.

“Attacked once and still daring to come here indeed doesn’t fit common sense,” Yang Jian contemplated.

He crouched to examine the bloodstains.

“However, this injured person is likely not to live long.”

A normal person bitten by the Ghost Child before would be fine, but being bitten by the Ghost Child now was a serious matter, since it now carried corpse fluids.

These were left by a former ghost controller named Ye Jun after his death.

Foulness from corpse fluids on an ordinary person would lead to decay and death within three days, though ghost controllers could resist, albeit at a cost. However, Yang Jian surmised that the person who infiltrated the complex this time wasn’t a ghost controller, otherwise they wouldn’t have been so silent; they would have caused some noise.

But another oddity was that the Ghost Child had been ordered only to attack unfamiliar ghost controllers yesterday.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be attacked by the Ghost Child, otherwise Yang Jian wouldn’t allow such an entity to wander the community.

“Incomprehensible.”

Yang Jian shook his head somewhat and then said, “Zhang Han, if there’s any news from the surveillance, let me know. I want to see who’s sneaking into the complex. This is not the first time we’ve encountered this. We had a similar situation last time, and I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Sure, I will keep a close watch. But as for that matter you asked me to investigate last time, there’s still no result. I can assure you, though, that the person who infiltrated the complex last time definitely wasn’t a local from Dachang City, they must have fled. If this case is connected to the last one, I can find out,” Zhang Han nodded.

Now that his whole family lives in Guanjiang Residential Complex, and being in the same boat as Yang Jian, they both prioritize survival, so safety here is of great importance.

“I’ll be responsible for the company for the time being. You can take a break and focus on this,” Yang Jian said.

“That’s great, I can relax a bit,” Zhang Han said with a smile.

Compared to keeping an eye on the entire Dachang City, this was indeed a bit easier.

“Hope it doesn’t involve anything serious,” Yang Jian gazed at the pool of blood on the ground, thinking to himself.

Now he was somewhat troubled.

In the past, being barefoot meant not fearing those wearing shoes. After ensuring his mother was settled, he could fight anyone to the death, but now, after so many experiences, he was no longer alone; a whole community of people depended on his survival.

Yang Jian knew he absolutely couldn’t afford any missteps.

This was also one of the reasons he had fled from the incident with the Ghost Painting.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co

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