Chapter 1137 - 1103: Blockade Plan

It’s dawn.

The sunlight dispelled the darkness, illuminating the deserted highway service station.

Several people gradually emerged from various places in the service station.

Yang Jian did not sleep all night.

He was neither tired nor fatigued, as being an aberrant, he no longer needed sleep or bodily functions to sustain life; what kept him going were supernatural powers and the will to survive.

Li Jun, Ah Hong, Cao Yang, Feng Quan, and others gathered together.

They needed to discuss the follow-up actions for the Ghost Lake incident.

“Where are Yang Jian and Leuk San? Why haven’t they shown up? Are they still asleep? Contact them and let them know to come over quickly.” Li Jun looked around but didn’t see the two of them.

Ah Hong picked up the satellite phone to contact Leuk San.

However, in the next moment.

Leuk San walked out from the toilet beside the service station: “Sorry, I had to use the restroom. Do we need to gather this early today?”

“We need to discuss some strategies. Acting early is beneficial for everyone.” Li Jun said.

“We only rested for a few hours; this time is not enough to adjust well.”

Leuk San said casually as he walked, not mentioning the attack on the Soul Summoner He Liansheng in Taiping Town last night at all.

Cao Yang scrutinized him: “Leuk San, you look worse than a dead man now. You didn’t look like this when you withdrew from Ghost Lake yesterday. What happened last night?”

He was a bit suspicious because Leuk San had changed significantly overnight.

“Nothing much, just consumed too much energy before. It’s normal for the state to have deteriorated.” Leuk San offhandedly said.

“That’s right. You were quite exhausted yesterday.” Cao Yang knew he was lying but didn’t press further.

Over-inquiring into others’ secrets is a foolish thing.

Leuk San said no more.

He was indeed not in good shape; taking down the Soul Summoner He Liansheng last night had come at significant risk.

“Only Yang Jian is left. He can’t still be asleep, can he?” Li Jun added. “Feng Quan, go and call him. It’s not early anymore; it’s time to decide our next actions together. Everyone is waiting for him.”

“Okay, I’ll call Yang Jian.” Feng Quan nodded.

Yang Jian didn’t have a satellite phone, only a personal phone.

However, when Feng Quan dialed the number, it showed that the phone was off.

“Yang Jian’s phone might be damaged and not contactable.” Feng Quan said.

“I’ll go call him. Yesterday I saw Yang Jian enter that room and never come out again.” Cao Yang said as he walked toward the nearby hotel building.

They were all anxious at this moment.

Without Yang Jian, there was no point in discussing the next actions. After all, after the Ghost Lake incident, he was the key to breaking the deadlock, so his opinions and thoughts were crucial.

Nonetheless, Yang Jian was not in the room.

He appeared near Zhongzhou City, examining the scene influenced by the supernatural.

At this moment.

Yang Jian stood beside a great river, which originally didn’t appear on maps. It emerged after he altered the landscape yesterday. After a night, the rushing water had calmed entirely, although slightly murky due to the short existence of the new river, requiring time to settle.

He squatted by the riverbank, waving his hand gently.

Immediately, the water parted, revealing the riverbed that was submerged.

“Still under control, indicating the spread of Ghost Lake has been curbed.” Yang Jian pondered for a moment, then turned and left, heading for other places.

This was outside a county town.

Originally, a river flowed near this county, but now it had become flat land with no trace of the river. Many locals were amazed and visited the flat land for pictures, marveling in awe.

Yang Jian’s presence was inconspicuous.

He briefly checked the area, confirming no interference and then left.

There are significant side effects to altering landscapes within the Ghost Domain.

Geological collapses, river backflows into cities, groundwater eruptions—if these aren’t handled properly, they can trigger natural disasters.

Yang Jian spent some time making rounds, addressing some unreasonable places while confirming the spread of Ghost Lake.

Though the action to confine ghosts was unsuccessful, fortunately, the spread of Ghost Lake was contained.

This means.

Ghost Lake only submerged Zhongzhou City and affected a few surrounding regions without expanding along waterways to other places.

“The fierce ghosts that broke free from Ghost Lake have disappeared.” Yang Jian then noticed another potential threat.

During the confrontation with Ghost Lake, several fierce ghosts emerged from it. They were lingering nearby before, but now they’re gone without a trace.

This signifies that the ghosts have left the area.

“The fierce ghosts that can escape from Ghost Lake are definitely not simple. I’m afraid a few supernatural events will occur again.” He frowned now, feeling somewhat troubled.

But at the time, there was no managing so much, given Ghost Lake’s out-of-control impact was immense; other supernatural events were insignificant.

After searching fruitlessly, Yang Jian returned to the highway service station where he had rested earlier.

“Yang Jian, where did you go? We were looking for you. Cao Yang searched for you earlier, and you weren’t at the service station. We thought something happened. If you plan to leave, you should inform us in advance to avoid worrying others.” Just upon arrival, Li Jun immediately spoke.

“I took some time to tour the surroundings. The impact of altering the landscape is significant, so I needed to check in person. Currently, the situation is mixed.” Yang Jian replied.

“What do you mean?” Li Jun asked.

Cao Yang, who returned, said, “Share your thoughts.”

“Currently, blocking Ghost Lake is fairly successful, and the supernatural spread has been stopped. However, when Ghost Lake invaded reality yesterday, fierce ghosts walked out of the water and are now missing. This poses a potential threat, indicating that supernatural events will increase around Dayuan City in the future.”

Yang Jian remarked calmly, “Who is the captain responsible for Dayuan City?”

“It’s Captain Yinzi, but she had an accident and sank into Ghost Lake. However, those elder ghost wielders from Taiping Town seemingly rescued her from the lake bottom yesterday. The current situation remains unknown.” Feng Quan said, having some understanding of basic intelligence from headquarters.

“No, the latest situation is that Captain Yinzi has come online.” Cao Yang disclosed a new secret.

Leuk San was astonished: “That’s impossible. She’s already dead. We all saw it; how could she still be alive?”

“The latest news from headquarters can’t be wrong.”

Cao Yang said, “Don’t be so surprised. Those people in the ancient town desperately attempted to retrieve the corpse for a reason. Now resurrecting is a good thing; at least we’ll have another hand available in the future.”

Despite that, Leuk San couldn’t be happy.

Because if that Captain Yinzi was truly from Taiping Ancient Town, she would likely seek revenge on him for killing He Liansheng last night.

This was not good news for him.

“Let’s discuss regarding the person in charge of Dayuan City later. We should now focus on how to handle Ghost Lake and quickly resolve the present issue. After a night of rest and reflection, I believe everyone has some ideas.” Li Jun interrupted the conversation and continued to discuss the Ghost Lake incident.

After all, handling Ghost Lake was their mission and goal on this trip.

Leuk San was the first to speak: “The vengeful spirit in Ghost Lake has already appeared, and it’s right on that wooden boat in the middle of the lake. If we really need to handle this, I think instead of fighting it head-on, we should try a different approach. Li Jun, do you remember that haunted camera? I think we can give this plan a try.”

The haunted camera?

Li Jun’s expression slightly changed as he recalled this supernatural item.

This thing can capture vengeful spirits, and once the capture is successful, it can imprison the spirit within the photo. However, the cost is not small; during the shooting process, there is a risk of the haunted camera going out of control. If it loses control, the user themselves will be imprisoned within the photo, which is very sinister.

It was used during the Ghost Painting incident, and unfortunately, it failed due to bad luck.

“The haunted camera is highly feasible; this plan is pretty good.” Li Jun nodded and said, “Yang Jian, what do you think?”

Yang Jian said, “Ghost Lake cannot be handled; I think this supernatural incident can end here.”

“What?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Jun was immediately surprised: “Abandon the mission? No way, the impact of Ghost Lake losing control is unimaginable. If it isn’t dealt with this time, it’ll be over if it loses control again next time. We’ve gathered so many people this time, we’re fully capable of fighting the vengeful spirit. This is the best opportunity.”

He unequivocally rejected Yang Jian’s idea.

Cao Yang and Leuk San, however, started to ponder at this moment.

They were not surprised by Yang Jian’s suggestion because Yang Jian had already said that since Ghost Lake had been successfully sealed off, this supernatural incident was essentially resolved in a strict sense.

It’s just that the place confining Ghost Lake is a bit large.

If we continue to choose to fight, it would be hard to handle if more problems arise.

Yang Jian, expressionless, said, “Many vengeful spirits are dormant in Ghost Lake; if Ghost Lake is gone, those spirits will be freed. What will we do about those issues then?”

Li Jun said, “I can send those ghostly things into Ping’an Tower all at once.”

Yang Jian glanced over and said, “What’s the difference between that and Ghost Lake? Both Ghost Lake and Ping’an Tower are places for confining vengeful spirits, and both exist in reality. The only difference is that Ping’an Tower confines a building, while Ghost Lake confines a city. Apart from the area of confinement, their nature is completely the same.”

“And can you guarantee that Ping’an Tower won’t lose control as it holds more vengeful spirits? There are two S-level supernatural incidents inside: the Ghost Painting and the Ghost Envoy. If the confinement fails, the impact would be no less than that of Ghost Lake.”

Li Jun was silent at this moment, his brows furrowing tightly.

Because Yang Jian made sense. Upon further thought, there was no difference between Ping’an Tower and the blocked-off Zhongzhou City.

Yang Jian withdrew his gaze and continued looking in the direction of Ghost Lake: “Moreover, Ghost Lake has a terrible growth potential. If we fail this attempt, its growth would cause many deaths. Right now, we’ve hardly managed to seal off this area. If it loses control again, no one could enforce a second seal.”

“It’s not that I disagree with taking action now; it’s just not prudent due to the risk of failure. And this failure risk is too great to gamble on.”

“Makes sense. We’ve already sealed off Ghost Lake at the smallest cost. Taking another risk now may not lead to a good outcome,” Cao Yang understood Yang Jian’s point.

It’s not about refusing to act, but rather being unable to bear the consequences of failure.

The reason for gathering captains to deal with Ghost Lake before was that the supernatural influence had already spread to other cities. Plus, two captains and a supervisor disappeared because of it, so it had to be taken seriously.

Although Ghost Lake hasn’t been resolved at present, the influence has been reduced to the Zhongzhou City area, and there’s no longer any tendency to spread.

This way, further agitation might not yield a good result.

It’s better to make a timely retreat, rather than push aggressively.

Leuk San also said, “Exchanging an abandoned Zhongzhou City for an S-level supernatural incident is an acceptable price. Yang Jian is right; we’ve encountered the vengeful spirit in Ghost Lake before, and it is indeed terrifying. My Ghost Camera plan is theoretical only, not guaranteed to succeed, and subsequent problems are also tough.”

“I suggest postponing dealing with this supernatural incident. We’ve seen how terrible Ghost Lake is; once we’ve grown more capable, handling it later will be much easier.”

“If we don’t deal with Ghost Lake, wouldn’t this trip be for nothing? It’ll be hard to explain to headquarters,” Ah Hong hesitated.

Yang Jian said, “There’s no requirement for a supernatural incident to be thoroughly resolved. The Ghost Envoy wasn’t resolved, nor was the Ghost Painting. Moreover, many A-level supernatural incidents still exist in the headquarters’ archives. When faced with insoluble supernatural incidents, as long as the danger is minimal, it can be allowed to exist.”

“The Ghost Painting and the Ghost Envoy locked in Ping’an Tower are precisely because of this. As long as the two vengeful spirits can’t wander out and cause damage, headquarters naturally turns a blind eye. If you don’t believe, report the damage assessment and see what Cao Yanhua says. He’ll definitely agree to my sealing plan.”

Li Jun said, “Yang Jian, don’t rush into a decision. Let’s do this: I’ll contact headquarters first, see their take, and then we’ll discuss further.”

“I’m just a hired hand; getting Cao Yang out and sealing Ghost Lake have been my utmost efforts. Cao Yanhua wouldn’t want to see us exhausted to death here,” Yang Jian said.

Li Jun was already contacting headquarters and had reported Yang Jian’s words up.

Such an important matter had a group dedicated to receiving and handling it at headquarters.

Soon, a response was received.

Li Jun put down the satellite positioning phone and looked at Yang Jian: “Minister Cao has agreed to your sealing plan. The Ghost Lake incident is allowed to be temporarily shelved, but the prerequisite is that you must ensure the supernatural aspect of Ghost Lake won’t spread.”

“The supernatural is full of uncertainties; how am I supposed to ensure that? Sign a guarantee? How long would I be sentenced if I breached it?” Yang Jian said.

The satellite positioning phone was still not hung up.

Cao Yanhua heard Yang Jian’s words and replied loudly, “Yang Jian, I only need you to occasionally monitor Ghost Lake. Additionally, if there are signs of losing control, I’ll redeploy you. I hope you can come promptly then.”

“You would need to add money for that,” Yang Jian said.

“Then owe it,” Cao Yanhua said.

Yang Jian said, “Owing it also carries interest, and the interest is quite high.”

“It still will be owed first.”

Cao Yanhua said, “This time the matter wasn’t settled, and I haven’t asked to claim back previous items, so take that as a concession.”

He was also expressing his stance, not letting Yang Jian get too greedy every time, or else he’d be hard to employ once his appetite gets big.

“If you say so, next time you ask for my help, I’ll still charge you, and the task will be left pending,” Yang Jian said, “You’re forcing a trustworthy person like me to become a rogue.”

Cao Yanhua was momentarily speechless and then said, “Headquarters seems to have collected Ghost Money previously. I’ll find it later and give you three coins.”

“Only three? No, it must be seven coins,” Yang Jian said.

“Once I find Ghost Money, however many coins there are, you’ll get them—no more talking nonsense. If you have a plan to deal with Ghost Lake, I’ll allow you to take freely from the containment room,” Cao Yanhua said, painting a pie.

Unfortunately, the pie was too small, and Yang Jian was uninterested.

“No need. I’m already at my limit with Ghost Lake; going this far is the best I can do. If you want to handle it, get other captains. Conceding loses half the battle; at most, I’ll return half the overtime pay,” Yang Jian said.

Cao Yanhua grudgingly said, “Well, let’s settle it this way. You keep an eye on things, report promptly if there are problems.”

The conversation concluded in the end.

Headquarters gave their bottom line and agreed to the plan of sealing Ghost Lake.

Cao Yanhua, with his usual steady style, although he wanted very much to resolve Ghost Lake, also feared the complete wipeout of several captains. Now, having rescued Cao Yang, the Silver Captain was also found, even though Zhongzhou City’s chief Cheng Haw was lost, and Shen Lin disappeared, the overall situation had significantly improved. If everything was sent out again this time, it would be regretful, especially since the supernatural spread of Ghost Lake has been stopped.

“You all heard it, Cao Yanhua agreed, the Ghost Lake incident is shelved, not to be handled for the time being,” Yang Jian looked at the others, “What’s your take?”

Cao Yang shook his head and said, “I have no objections, I agree. I also feel the Ghost Lake incident must stop here and cannot continue.”

“I agree as well,” Leuk San said.

Fighting to death with Soul Summoner He Liansheng himself already affected him, and he didn’t want to continue exerting himself.

Li Jun said, “Naturally, we must follow headquarters’ orders, but only if we are sure Ghost Lake is sealed. If we leave now and Ghost Lake loses control immediately after, what then?”

“If you’re uneasy, we can stay here for a few more days,” Yang Jian said.

“Observe for three days. If there’s nothing unusual after three days, then I have no objections; otherwise, I won’t agree,” Li Jun said.

“Alright, we’ll observe for three days,” Yang Jian didn’t mind staying a bit longer.

He also wanted to study the new supernatural Ghost Lake.

After all, it’s his newly mastered supernatural power, and it needs to be explored slowly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com

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