Chapter Twenty-Three: Take Him Down!

Meanwhile, Shen Lin’s body, which had just been preparing to move, finally stirred.

The Ghost Image seemed to sense something; its eyes, glowing with a ghastly light, flickered incessantly. Shen Lin’s long-suppressed Ghost Domain finally showed signs of activity.

As those aged hands drew near, Shen Lin whirled around abruptly.

In the darkness, he caught a glimpse of something—as if there was something behind those hands, buried by the gloom, though he could not see it clearly.

"Got you!"

Shen Lin smiled. His Ghost Domain condensed into a single line, sweeping toward the opponent's hands.

On the eerie stone steps, the man and the ghost seemed to freeze in place.

Closer, even closer!

Shen Lin smiled, just as the Ghost Mother had once given him an opportunity. If he could break through the opponent's Ghost Domain, even for a fleeting second, he was confident he could lead these people to safety.

As the two sets of hands neared, the withered, aged hands did not slow down at all.

"Got it!"

*Hum!*

The next moment, everyone’s eyes widened. Under the scarlet light of the stone steps, they saw it with perfect clarity.

Those hands passed through Shen Lin’s hands and arms like a holographic projection, coming to rest before his neck.

They gripped his throat!

"It doesn't exist!" Shen Lin knew clearly that he had touched the creature just moments ago, yet it had been completely futile.

Eerie. Indescribably eerie.

This ghost was clearly standing before him, yet it seemed not to exist in this world. It could pass right through him like a non-existent hologram, yet it could effortlessly crush his windpipe.

It was inconceivable. In all his imaginings, Shen Lin had never expected to encounter such a ghost.

*Crack!*

Eerie energy surged. The hand was applying pressure. The Ghost Image’s oily, glowing eyes began to leak streaks of blood; it was fighting with everything it had.

Shen Lin knew well that this was no time to conserve resources. He reached into his jacket to retrieve a Ghost Candle, but the grip of the withered, aged hand grew stronger. He felt his breathing become increasingly labored.

The pressure on his neck caused the blood flow throughout Shen Lin’s body to stagnate. Oxygen deprivation made his brain sluggish, causing his thoughts to fade into a void.

Shen Lin’s hands, reaching for his jacket, fell limp and unconscious. His eyes began to roll back, the light fading from his pupils. It felt as though he would die in the next second.

Driven by the primal urge to survive, Shen Lin’s hands unconsciously reached up to claw at the withered, aged hand—just as someone hanging themselves might instinctively struggle, or a drowning person might fight for air.

It was a desperate cry of life itself. As if responding to a call of destiny, scarlet traces began to permeate the Ghost Image. The black-and-white sketch-like lines transformed, in the next moment, into a deep, blood-red.

***

In the Shanshui Residential District, an unknown distance away from Longhu Villa.

Everything was peaceful and serene.

It was a leisurely afternoon; some were napping, some were chatting, children were playing, and women were gossiping. It was the most ordinary of lives, and the most beautiful.

In a villa in the southeast corner of the complex, something was happening.

It felt as though an earthquake were occurring; everything began to tremble slightly, especially the walls of the master bedroom.

Inside the wall, the gold coffin, over a meter tall, shook incessantly. Bound as it was, it seemed to hear a summons—it was struggling, struggling with all its might.

Within the coffin, the Ghost Mother—whom Shen Lin had gone to such great lengths to seal—remained as gentle as ever. If one ignored her nature, her temperament would befit that of a noble lady. She lay there peacefully, like a woman who had only recently been laid to rest. Her pale, bluish-white hands and her cracked, pallid cheeks were striking, but her scarlet lips were the most dazzling—one of the most beautiful features a woman could possess.

The next second, she opened her eyes!

***

"What is the status?" Zhao Jianguo asked in the reception room, his voice laced with anxiety.

About five hours ago, Wu Qiu reported that Shen Lin’s positioning signal had vanished, causing quite a stir at Headquarters.

The name "Shen Lin" was now renowned among the staff and Ghost Controllers at Headquarters. Almost everyone knew that this young newcomer had independently resolved an A-class incident and was highly regarded by Professor Wang, even receiving a newly developed supernatural item from him.

Many organizations had tried to contact the young man as soon as they learned of him, but none had succeeded; he seemed highly resistant to interacting with them.

"No response. I contacted the local authorities to check his residence, but everything is normal. It seems Shen Lin has been caught in some incident." Wu Qiu’s eyes were full of worry. As Shen Lin’s handler, she was more concerned about his safety than anyone.

Ghost Controllers were erratic; no one knew what they might do next. Headquarters had conducted psychological evaluations on most of them, concluding that the majority were in an extremely dangerous mental state—potential psychopaths or the mentally ill.

Among the few Ghost Controllers, finding someone as polite and gentlemanly as Shen Lin was a stroke of incredible luck. Wu Qiu desperately hoped he was alive; otherwise, she would be reassigned to the next Controller, and no one knew if the next one would be a ticking time bomb.

"Instruct the local authorities to initiate the B-class emergency protocol. I authorize them to investigate Shen Lin’s travel itinerary. Also, dispatch a team to the last known satellite location, but do not get too close. Ensure everything is reported back to headquarters in real-time," Zhao Jianguo ordered calmly.

They could not push Ghost Controllers too far. This was why, even though they installed satellite trackers, they did not monitor them in real-time; it made the controllers uncomfortable and could easily lead to dire consequences.

One could never be sure if a satellite signal was genuine, which was why investigating the travel route was necessary. They had once trusted satellite tracking implicitly, until a team of Ghost Controllers was wiped out because of it. Technology could lie. Especially when dealing with these ghosts—most of the time, they were likely lies.

"Understood," Wu Qiu replied.

***

Top floor of the Ping An Building.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the city, the office of the leader of Da Jing City’s premier enterprise was excessively simple. It was vast, looking more like a gym than an office, with only a few desks, some sofas, and a few computers. Compared to the massive space, these furnishings were inconspicuous.

"What are your opinions?"

The young man in the suit sat in a position of authority. His pale face was extremely handsome, but his voice was chillingly cold.

"Headquarters is watching him very closely. I do not suggest we act directly; it would cause significant conflict with them," someone said, stating their suggestion.

"Resolved an A-class incident? Quite an impressive display," Gao Zhiqiang laughed, sounding somewhat deranged. His mental state was terrible; he had played several female secretaries to death in a hotel the day before. He knew this condition would persist for a long time, but he didn't care.

"Jiang Shangbai was able to suppress him, or even beat him back. This indicates that this Shen Lin is not very dangerous. Solving the A-class incident was likely due to some supernatural item. I’ve read the report from Headquarters; he himself emphasized that his method could not be replicated," He Tianxiong chimed in. He liked to stir up trouble, and the Circle of Friends needed to establish its deterrence. If any stray cat or dog could provoke them, the existence of the Circle would be meaningless.

"Then take him out. Does anyone have an objection?" Fang Shiming asked. Although it was a question, his tone was unquestionable.

"No objections."

"I agree."

"I approve."

"I will arrange this," Director Fei said, standing up. He handled most of the Circle of Friends' daily affairs.

Fang Shiming nodded. Just as he trusted Director Fei in the past, he believed he could handle this well. He was just a small pawn pushed out by Headquarters to stir up trouble; there was no need for them to risk their own supernatural recovery to deal with him.

After a few words, the topic was concluded, and they had reached a consensus—at least on the surface.

"The situation at Huanggang Village is not right. The people we sent into Headquarters have all been compromised. That ghost is much fiercer than we imagined," Director Fei spoke again.

"Headquarters is very keen on this matter. There must be something extraordinary in that village," Jiang Shangbai added at the right moment. As the person with the deepest roots in Headquarters for the Circle of Friends, he knew much more than many others.

"I don’t suggest we continue to lose our people like this. Wang Xiaoming is a typical pragmatist. Even if he does find something in the village, we will eventually get a share," Director Fei said.

They had invested quite a bit of manpower into Huanggang Village, but it had all been lost. A ghost capable of wiping out two teams was not to be trifled with. Even if they went to great lengths to get what was in the village, what then? Could a weakened Circle of Friends hold onto it against Headquarters? They all understood this.

"Then put the Huanggang Village matter on hold. Shangbai, keep an eye on it and report any developments," Fang Shiming ordered. Few dared to oppose his decisions. As one of the top three Ghost Controllers in Asia, his name carried immense weight wherever he went.

***

In the darkness, after Shen Lin’s hands came into contact with the withered, aged hands, they began to crack and rot rapidly, as if they were burning charcoal, about to turn into ash.

This was the erosion of a Ghost, incurable.

At the moment the Ghost Image turned completely blood-red, Shen Lin’s struggling body moved!

His cracked hands healed visibly, then grew even paler, eventually taking on a faint cyan hue. Veins bulged, and black fingernails grew wildly; the entire sight was unnervingly grotesque.

The withered, aged hand paused, as if struck by something. It struggled violently. In the tug-of-war, the cyan-black fingernails pierced directly into the bark-like skin of the aged hand.

The entire dark space trembled.

The next moment, the hands released Shen Lin and vanished without a trace.

The entire dark space collapsed.

With their foothold gone, they began to fall into the seemingly bottomless darkness.