Chapter 56 The Runaway Ghost

"Whatever. I am just here to help out this time anyway. Regardless of whether the operation succeeds or not, what was promised to me must be delivered."

Zhao Ziliang appeared quite indifferent. He was a lone wolf, and in this era where malevolent ghosts were gradually awakening, figures of his caliber were rare, with most relying on the headquarters or various private organizations. Yet even under such circumstances, Zhao Ziliang had carved out quite a formidable reputation for himself.

Qian Bojun smiled and casually picked up the phone, dialing a number.

"Execute."

Those who accomplish great things never sweat the small details; Qian Bojun had always considered himself a man destined for greatness.

Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion uses its full strength. Naturally, he wouldn't be foolish enough to send just two people to hunt down a prominent Ghost Controller from the headquarters—that would be the act of a fool.

Since they operated as an organization, they had to maximize the organization's advantages. Human wave tactics were their greatest asset during confrontations.

For this operation, they had hired the top mercenary team from overseas, along with a handful of independent Ghost Controllers, totaling thirty-four individuals.

Thirty mercenaries and four Ghost Controllers.

To Ghost Controllers, money was never truly valuable; gold was the universal currency. They didn't care about the petty cost of hiring these mercenaries. If that Shen Lin wasn't completely useless, the vast majority of these people wouldn't likely make it back, and the matter of payment would naturally resolve itself.

The Circle of Friends never engaged in losing business.

In the descending night, Qian Bojun licked the corner of his mouth with a slightly perverted twitch, his eyes revealing a bloodthirsty glint.

Thirty-four people, plus Qian Bojun and his companion, made thirty-six in total.

Most of them possessed extraordinary skills. Although the security of the entire Sanshui Residential Area was touted as airtight, to these people, it was utterly nonexistent.

In the dead of night, dressed in attire indistinguishable from ordinary citizens, they blended in like fish returning to the sea, scattering into groups of two or three to converge upon a specific villa at the edge of the estate.

They were weaving an inescapable net around Shen Lin.

Disguise, infiltration, reconnaissance.

These were merely the most basic skills of a mercenary. As one of the top mercenary teams in Europe and America, the Panther team boasted an exceptionally stellar combat record.

During a counter-terrorism assault mission eight years ago, hired by a developed nation in the Americas, they captured the leader of the terrorist organization alive in just two days and one night, pulling off a feat that astounded the entire industry.

No one knew how they had managed it; to the industry, the only thing that mattered was that they had done it.

This was a feat belonging to gods.

Their current unit was a mixed force composed of elites from three major mercenary syndicates, with about ten members from each, totaling thirty men divided into three squads.

As the point man for the Panther team, Stephen moved skillfully down the center of the road in the Sanshui Residential Area, occasionally whistling at attractive women passing by.

Mercenaries never fought unprepared battles.

As early as three days ago, they had mapped out every route in the entire residential complex, including escape passages and certain undisclosed basements.

They had laid out all their preparations well in advance, simply waiting for the prey to appear.

"Position point 24. I have arrived at the destination. The villa is unlit, and the situation is somewhat different from expected. Assault squad, proceed with caution."

The earpiece relayed information from the observation post. Stephen glanced around and responded softly.

"Received."

The layout of the Sanshui residential area was not complicated, and the villas were simple duplex structures. They had thoroughly scouted the terrain previously when the target was absent, confirming there was no basement.

Arriving outside the villa where Shen Lin lived, Stephen took out an infrared detection device from his backpack. This equipment was the latest human-body sensor configuration from Europe and America, boasting a wide coverage area capable of precisely locking onto the target. It was one of their team's standard tactics.

The device activated as usual. Stephen operated it skillfully, but a minute later, he stared at the completely blank screen in astonishment.

"Joey, your intel is wrong. There is no one in the villa."

Infrared detectors never malfunctioned unless the subject was a monster without body heat.

"Impossible. I deployed four observation posts around the perimeter. The target has not stepped foot outside the villa since entering it."

Joey was a seasoned spotter; intelligence gathering and target surveillance were his areas of expertise. Stephen had never encountered errors during Panther's previous operations, and a low-level blunder like losing the target would never happen to Joey, nor to Panther.

Stephen fell silent.

"Understood. Maintain surveillance from the outside; I am going inside the villa to investigate."

Stephen spoke. Having received confirmation, he was about to move forward when he saw a flash of dark red brilliance sweep through the interior of the villa. The light came and went so swiftly that it felt unreal.

The target had vanished, accompanied by an eerie red glow. Complications arising right at the start of the mission gave Stephen an ominous premonition.

He picked the lock with practiced ease and stepped into the interior of the villa using an exquisite movement technique. His footsteps were extremely light, making no sound.

"Boom—"

A streak of dark red brilliance flashed, forcing Stephen to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he felt as though he had entered an entirely different world.

It was a villa engulfed in a pervasive dark red glow. The entire estate seemed draped in a thin, dark red membrane, both eerie and sinister.

Inside the villa, pieces of furniture floated haphazardly in mid-air in a manner that defied the existing worldview, completely violating the laws of universal gravitation. Everything here felt utterly surreal.

Something is wrong! Beasts that constantly skirted the edge of life and death always possessed the sharpest intuition. A silent panic surged within Stephen's heart. He quickly took a few steps back, intending to open the door and retreat, only to find that the doorknob felt as though it had been welded shut. No matter how many times he wrenched it, there was no movement.

His pupils dilated slightly as he attempted to contact his teammates, only to hear an inexpressible sound transmitting through his earpiece.

It sounded like Sanskrit chanting, yet more like the low murmurs of a malevolent ghost, weaving through his mind like a curse.

Feeling as though he had seen a ghost, Stephen ripped off his earpiece and crushed it without hesitation, yet the ghostly incantation continued to echo around his mind, refusing to dissipate.

It seemed to emerge from the void, surrounding him from all directions, just like a malevolent ghost whispering in his ear.

Fear. For the very first time in his life, Stephen experienced the emotion of fear.

Something has gone wrong! There is a major problem with this mission! He had to get out of this damn place right now!

Through the window!

His seasoned survival skills allowed Stephen to instantly figure out his next move, and he strode resolutely toward the living room window.

One step, two steps, three steps!

Good. He hadn't disturbed anything. The floating tables and chairs remained motionless, which calmed Stephen's previously panicked heart significantly.

Close! Very close! Just one more step!

Pushing off fiercely with his right foot, Stephen used every ounce of his strength like a panther, intending to crash through the glass.

Just this impact—all he needed was this single impact—and he would be free of this damned place, able to find his teammates and rethink their strategy.

"Hum—"

It felt like plunging into the water of a lake, like a pebble cast into the ocean.

The shattering glass Stephen had anticipated never materialized. Like a stone tossed into water, accompanied by ripples spreading across the windowpane, he vanished entirely from the spot.

"Bang—"

The intense impact left Stephen dizzy and disoriented. In his groggy state, just as he was about to say something in relief, he noticed that his surroundings were entirely wrong.

Wrong, terribly wrong. He hadn't burst out through the window as he had imagined; instead, he had arrived in an unfamiliar corridor.

Bizarre, astonishing, incomprehensible.

Having roamed the edges of life and death for years, Stephen had witnessed plenty of formidable individuals, but for the very first time in his life, he encountered a situation he simply could not comprehend.

One moment he was colliding with glass, and the exact next moment he was in this ghostly place.

What on earth had happened?

Stephen wanted to roar, even wanting to challenge whoever was behind this to crawl out and fight him to the death.

Yet, reason born of panic forcefully swallowed the words back down his throat—the survival instinct of a prey wandering on the brink of life and death.

I cannot shout. If I do, I will die. I will definitely die!

For some reason, Stephen's hyper-stimulated nervous system kept repeating that warning over and over.

Find a way out. Since a path existed, there had to be an exit; he still had a chance.

Stephen picked himself up clumsily, moving with cautious tiptoes until he slowly reached a corner of the corridor. Deep at the bend of the corner, he spotted what appeared to be a locked room.

Due to the bizarre levitation in the surroundings, the door lock hung suspended in mid-air, making it extremely conspicuous.

An eerie location, a locked room—everything signaled ominous foreboding.

Stephen swallowed hard several times. What should he do? Could that be the way out?

He slowly surveyed his surroundings. Aside from the dark red brilliance, he found nothing particularly useful.

The gloomy atmosphere and panic-stricken emotions intensified Stephen's frustration and fear over and over again.

No matter how strong a person was, they would still fear the unknown; it was human nature.

There was no other path; he had no choice. Stephen drew the gun tucked at his waist and advanced slowly with a standard tactical posture.

Keeping his eyes open in six directions and ears tuned to all eight sides perfectly described Stephen's current state.

He was observing everything with every ounce of his effort.

Close. Very close. Another step.

He finally reached the locked door. Holding the gun in his right hand, he reached out with his left to grasp the lock, examining it closely.

It wasn't a particularly special door lock; to someone of his caliber, it offered no security defense whatsoever.

So why would the owner lock it? A bizarre locked door inside an equally bizarre house.

This seemed to suggest that some incredible taboo was locked away inside, and the owner was warning everyone not to enter.

Stephen hesitated for a moment. He had no other choice; this might be his only hope of getting out.

He slowly raised the gun in his hand, aiming it at the lock. All it would take was a single shot to end it all.

"Whoosh—"

Like a gust of chilling wind blowing past, Stephen, completely focused, seemed to sense something behind him. It felt as though someone was standing right there, though he didn't know when they had arrived.

Hesitate and be lost! Years of mercenary training and experience prompted Stephen to take the initiative.

Without a moment's hesitation, he whirled around, aiming the muzzle at the figure. Yet, somehow, he could not bring himself to pull the trigger.

He beheld a scene he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life.

Illuminated by the eerie red light, a faceless man stood sinisterly in the center of the corridor.

He was watching everything.