Chapter 58 You Forced My Hand

The scene fell into a dead silence. Angolo finally gave up struggling with his bound hands, feeling a pressure as heavy as a mountain bearing down upon him from the black muzzle pressed against his head.

"I don't know."

Using his gun like a hammer, Shen Lin struck Angolo's head with a heavy blow. The tremendous force instantly caused a severe fracture, and blood gushed out freely.

"Did you not eat today? Speak up."

"I don't know! We don't know the employer's true identity! We traded through the dark web, and the other party concealed their real information!" Angolo screamed at the top of his lungs.

Qian Bojun had handled this aspect impeccably, crafting a thoroughly convincing persona for the buyer. Although the Circle of Friends did not mind exposing themselves, Qian Bojun still exercised prudent caution when dealing with ordinary forces.

Shen Lin was about to say something more when a whistling sound from behind interrupted his train of thought.

*Bang!*

It was the sniper who had been lying in ambush for a long time. They had set up a total of four sniper positions. After Shen Lin took one of them out, the remaining three were coiled and ready to strike.

The incoming bullet miraculously reversed its direction right in front of Shen Lin, hurtling straight back along its original path at the exact same speed.

Shen Lin maintained a twelfth level of caution. He was acutely aware of his current condition: a Ghost Controller who had not yet fully transformed was both formidable and fragile to ordinary people.

One only needed to point a specially crafted gold-alloy pistol at his head to easily take his life.

Naturally, Shen Lin was not about to give them that opportunity.

The sudden sniper attack created a fleeting opening for Shen Lin. Angolo cleverly seized the moment—mercenaries were adept at exploiting any situation, a survival skill honed on the razor's edge of life and death.

In most cases, such a counterattack would yield miraculous results, but this time they were destined to miscalculate.

Because what they were facing was a Ghost Controller, and an exceptionally troublesome one at that.

From the very moment Shen Lin had formed the intent to kill them, all their tactics were no different from children playing games.

With a nimble roll, Angolo snatched the specially crafted dagger tucked into his thigh sheath and thrust it forward in the most unadorned strike imaginable.

Flashy techniques were merely for show; in actual combat, whatever killed the opponent fastest was the right way.

As long as it could kill the enemy, they wouldn't hesitate to bite with their teeth or pry with their bare hands.

Yet, the combat instincts etched deep into his bones ultimately failed to save him. Angolo stared in utter shock as his own hands slowly dissolved into ash. In his final moments of life, an instinctive terror gripped him at the sight of those ice-cold eyes.

"Damn it! What kind of monster is this? Fall back!" Many observers watched the scene unfold through their binoculars. It was a battle that shattered their worldview; Angolo had been reduced to ashes without being able to put up any resistance.

A battle between ordinary people and a Ghost Controller was never an even fight. Just as several men were packing up their equipment and preparing to flee the scene, a strange crimson light swept across them. Afterward, their bodies stopped listening to them altogether, collapsing limply to the ground.

Releasing the power of the Ghostly Visage once more, Shen Lin gasped heavily for air. The stabbing pain in his chest constantly reminded him of the lurking threat of the fierce ghost within. His corporeal resurrection was drawing closer with every use of the Ghostly Visage.

Plans could never keep up with changes. Shen Lin’s eyes grew biting cold.

This conflict was destined to not end peacefully. The planned experimental project with the headquarters to bond with a second ghost had completely fallen through. If he failed to eliminate these people, he might very well die here.

Since they had gone to such great lengths to orchestrate this, Shen Lin did not believe the enemy would simply send a few ordinary assassins. Upholding due respect for Ghost Controllers, there had to be at least one, if not several, Ghost Controllers hidden around him.

They were like fierce ghosts lurking in the dark, watching with predatory eyes, ready to appear at the slightest misstep from Shen Lin and harvest his life like wheat being cut down.

"You forced me to do this."

Shen Lin's tone grew even colder. He did not want to activate his contingency plan; that was an option of last resort.

The Ghost Bus.

The manuscript of *Resurrection* had once described this bizarre bus in heavy, vivid strokes. It traveled through the city of Xiaochun, yet it moved along roads that did not belong to the mortal world.

The most prominent feature of the Ghost Bus was its ability to help Ghost Controllers suppress their resurrection. The longer a Ghost Controller stayed on the bus, the longer the onset of their resurrection was delayed.

Yet the Ghost Bus also harbored dangers, which was precisely why Shen Lin kept it as a backup plan.

First, this method of suppressing resurrection treated the symptoms rather than the root cause; it could only ever serve as a last resort.

Second, the Ghost Bus carried not only people, but ghosts—and ghosts of an extraordinarily high terror level at that.

Boarding the Ghost Bus was tantamount to gambling. You might successfully suppress your resurrection and survive, but the far more probable outcome was being devoured down to nothing by the multitude of fierce ghosts due to any number of unexpected events.

Did Shen Lin have a choice now? His anticipated plan had been shattered by unexpected developments. He had no choice left.

*Bang!*

Another gunshot broke the silence, the bullet piercing straight through Shen Lin's head.

"Damn it, this is cursed," the sniper cursed aloud, just as he prepared to withdraw and felt a chilling gust of wind blow across his back.

The eerie sensation made his hair stand on end, prompting him without hesitation to cast aside his sniper rifle, snatch up a pre-prepared pistol, execute a tactical roll, and fire multiple shots directly at his target.

He hit!

Before the surge of triumph could fade, the man’s eyes widened in horror.

Before him, Shen Lin’s body was riddled with seven or eight bullet holes, yet no blood spurted forth. His corpse-pale cheeks curled into a sneer of utter disdain.

What kind of monster is this?!

Within the domain of his Ghost Domain, Shen Lin stiffly twisted his neck.

His starting hand could only be described as hellish; the fierce ghosts he had faced several times were almost certain death situations, and his Ghost Domain had been suppressed most of the time, leaving him very little opportunity to utilize it.

That did not mean the Ghost Domain was weak. As an ability heavily highlighted in the headquarters' ghost archives, its ferocity was fatal to ordinary people.

A fatality with no room for resistance.

Since they had forced him to resort to his backup plan, these people had better prepare to witness true terror.

On a high floor of the Shanshui Residential Area, Qian Bojun leaned idly against a window, holding binoculars to watch the battle ahead, occasionally letting out an exclamation of joyful awe as if he were watching an entertaining television program.

In the field of view through the binoculars, Shen Lin had just reduced a mercenary's head to flying ash.

Beside him, Zhao Ziliang showed no interest whatsoever in this child's play of a war.

"They are exceptional, truly living up to their reputation as a mercenary team standing at the pinnacle of the international stage. But it’s not enough. This is someone whom headquarters values greatly and regards as a rising star. Under the expansion of his Ghost Domain, they are no different from lambs sent to the slaughter."

Qian Bojun whistled, lowering his binoculars with a nonchalant shrug.

"The role of pawns is to scout out intelligence. No one expects them to succeed; they merely need to serve their purpose."

"When do we make our move?" Zhao Ziliang asked.

Qian Bojun waved a hand.

"No rush. Let's play with him a little longer."

Amidst the expanding dark-red Ghost Domain, Shen Lin appeared like a ghost behind one opponent after another, ruthlessly and sharply harvesting lives. In this unequal showdown, he never once considered mercy.

Since they dared to make a move against him, they should have known what price they would pay.

"You've been abandoned. It's obvious your intelligence on me was severely flawed, even omitting the crucial part—you had no idea Ghost Controllers even existed."

Reducing yet another mercenary's head to ashes, Shen Lin, soaked in blood, wore a manic expression.

He stood quietly in place, resembling a true fierce ghost set against the backdrop of the night.

Run! Escape by any means possible! Save whoever can be saved!

Such was the unanimous thought of all the surviving mercenaries.

They had seen everything through their binoculars; that was no human—that was a fierce ghost, a demon, an existence no mortal could possibly contend with.

Heaven only knew what had gone wrong in their minds for them to accept such a mission in the first place.

Flee in all directions! It was their tacit agreement, the mutual understanding of mercenaries, hoping to scatter the demon's attention and buy themselves a few more chances of survival.

As Laura fled, she glanced back over her shoulder from time to time. Confirming that no one was pursuing her brought her a temporary sense of relief while simultaneously deepening her terror.

*Clack.*

It was a median barrier in the middle of the road. In her panic, Laura failed to see it clearly, nearly tripping over it.

Fortunately, she steadied her footing after stumbling a few times.

Just as her body regained its balance and she attempted to stand straight, Laura, with her head lowered, caught sight of an extra shadow on the ground through the gaps in the surrounding streetlights.

Overwhelmed with dread, she reached for her gun, only to find that her arm had withered into a pair of skin-and-bone old hands, as though countless ages had passed over them in a single instant.

It’s over. That was Laura's final thought.

"Spare me, please."

"Very well. Give me a reason." A figure suddenly materialized, stepping out of the night. The chill in the corners of Shen Lin’s eyes deepened further, imbuing his entire person with a murderous aura.

Laura opened her mouth, but no words came forth; terror had completely filled her being.

"You wanted to kill me for no reason, and now you beg me for mercy? On what grounds?" Shen Lin squatted down halfway, resembling an ordinary young man crouching by the roadside to smoke a cigarette.

With a hint of playful mockery, he lifted Laura's chin, though his voice grew colder by the second.

"Please—please, I’ll do, I’ll do anything you want."

Cold. Laura could feel a bone-chilling cold radiating from that hand. It was the coldness of a corpse, seeming to tell her that the person before her was no living being at all, but a walking corpse.

Finally, amid Laura's pleading gaze, Shen Lin spoke.

"Then, would you mind dying for me?"

So gentle. The words were exceptionally gentle; Shen Lin even spoke in an inquiring tone, like a courteous young man extending a sacred invitation to the girl of his dreams.

And that invitation was for her to die!

Trembling, Laura tried to raise her gun, but she could no longer feel her fingers. Those skin-and-bone hands were gradually turning into ash, and the dark firearm lost its grip, dropping helplessly to the ground to herald Laura's final end.

"In your next life, keep your eyes open."