Chapter Six: The Second One

“Map? The neighborhood map?”

Using the cramped space, Shen Lin began to examine the machine’s outline. According to the street layout and building arrangements described, this was clearly a detailed surface map of Anhe Residential Complex.

A satellite map? But in the Ghost Realm, what use is a map? Directions and routes mean nothing there.

Hmm? A red dot? Shen Lin studied carefully, and based on the map’s layout, the red dot seemed to be located at...

Building 8! Room 503!

This device was showing Zhang Ming’s position.

What was this? Shen Lin felt confused.

Logically speaking, satellite phones and similar devices usually don’t work inside the Ghost Realm, because the Ghost Realm is essentially another dimension—signals cannot transmit. So how could this map be indicating Zhang Ming’s location?

Could this ghost have lifted the signal suppression? Was it trying to lure him over?

Some black technology from headquarters? With Wang Xiaoming around, headquarters always managed to develop all sorts of cutting-edge tech. A positioning device capable of penetrating the Ghost Realm seemed plausible.

Should he take the risk? Shen Lin’s heart pounded. The life-or-death test triggered a massive release of hormones in his body, sharpening his thinking speed severalfold under extreme stress.

“Take the risk!”

Damn it, Shen Lin cursed silently. He knew very well that this damned world was about to become fraught with danger. He had to gamble; if he lost, he would die. If he didn’t gamble, he’d die sooner or later anyway. Only by gambling was there a chance!

“You all stay here. I’m going out to find Zhang Ming.”

Shen Lin declared.

This woke Li Meng up, who grew anxious.

“Linzi, are you crazy? You want to go out and die now?”

Sun Yue also nodded repeatedly, and even Zhou Fang couldn’t help but speak up.

“Shen Lin, didn’t you say this golden coffin is safe for now? It can block that ghost’s power. Shouldn’t we just stay here and wait for rescue?”

Shen Lin shook his head.

“You’re still stuck in your rigid thinking, trying to understand these horrors. Their supernatural power can’t affect gold or penetrate it, but they can manipulate the land, the trees, everything around the gold.”

“As long as this ghost wants, it can cause the land beneath us to collapse, burying us alive ten thousand meters underground.”

“No one knows if when this ghost leaves, we’ll be dragged away with its Ghost Realm, or if it hasn’t left yet, we’ll starve and thirst to death.”

“I’m going to fight for us a chance—a chance to survive.”

He paused in thought, then fixed his burning gaze upward.

“If I succeed, we’ll be safe and sound. If I fail, well, I’ll be dead. You all stay here; at least you’ll have a sliver of hope.”

“I’m going with you. You’re always telling me to knock you out when you lose control.”

Li Meng was loyal and didn’t hesitate at this critical moment. He felt he could help Shen Lin somehow.

Shen Lin smiled.

“No need, fatty. I’ve barely learned to control myself. If it gets bad, I’ll just bash my own head against the wall.”

With that, seeing Shen Lin’s resolve, the others had nothing more to say. They seemed to understand the situation and knew he was serious.

If they went, they had a slim chance to survive.

“The noise outside has quieted. On the count of three, I will open the coffin. After I open it, don’t move. I will close the coffin lid outside again.”

“After that, stay put inside. Unless the coffin is opened from outside, or in an emergency, never open it yourselves.”

“Remember, no matter what you hear, do not open the coffin. The horrors here are beyond your understanding; even if someone cries for help—even me—it could be fake.”

“Got it?”

Shen Lin’s voice was grave as he gave his final instructions.

The others nodded silently. Their brief history of fleeing had established Shen Lin as their unquestioned leader. At this moment, his word was law—the only way to survive. Even Zhou Fang, who hadn’t always agreed with Shen Lin, understood this clearly.

“All right!”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

With a slight push, Shen Lin lifted the lid and leapt out with lightning speed, snapping the coffin lid shut behind him.

The surroundings were grim; visibility had dropped to around four meters again. The coffin was surrounded by countless black footprints, like a group of people treading through black oil.

Shen Lin exhaled deeply. Choosing to escape was the right call. Those beings were indeed strange—likely ghost slaves born in this Ghost Realm, hunting unconsciously.

The instrument’s map still flickered, but Shen Lin had no idea where he was.

No matter. In the Ghost Realm, knowing your location hardly mattered.

He turned and plunged into the mist, ready to leave his fate to chance.

He flailed about like a headless fly, going wherever chance led. Whether he reached his destination depended entirely on fortune.

“Whew!”

The scene shifted. Shen Lin looked down at his current position. Around him was a patch of cheap plastic turf, glaringly artificial.

He had arrived at the community center’s sports field. The developer had once boasted about building an urban stadium here for residents’ recreation, but the actual structure was less than a tenth of the promised size—a mere facade. Usually, only a few parents brought their children here; few others ever came.

The red dot on the map still blinked, growing more distant.

Shen Lin took a deep breath. One more time!

As the scene changed again, looking down, he saw a pair of eyeballs nearly bursting from desiccated skin—inside a residential building, its occupants likely doomed.

No time to hesitate. One more time!

Shen Lin pushed through the mist repeatedly, traversing the Ghost Realm.

The electronic device’s display showed he had been doing this for over five hours.

The closest he ever got was Building 9, Room 102—normally just minutes away, but now a chasm as vast as the heavens.

Exhausted, he slumped to the ground, munching on instant noodles scavenged from one of the buildings, desperately replenishing his strength.

His luck held—he had found food and water several times. Otherwise, he might have already succumbed to dehydration.

Relying on luck to find Zhang Ming in this vast complex was a fairy tale, but Shen Lin had no better method. Just as he finished eating and prepared to move again, the mist before him began to writhe strangely, suddenly spreading five or six meters.

His visibility extended beyond ten meters.

Hmm? The ghost was suppressed. Who was it? Reinforcements? A ghost controller? Or perhaps Zhang Ming’s last desperate stand?

No time to ponder. Whatever it was, it was good news for him.

Go! When you have the advantage, you press it—that’s common sense.

On his fourth attempt after restarting, Shen Lin arrived at a meeting room. The old, dated decor of the neighborhood committee’s interior reminded him of the place’s purpose.

If he remembered correctly, there was an old landline phone here that had long since fallen out of use due to disrepair.

His gaze swept within visibility and landed on a black phone on the desk—only a model, its line unplugged. The committee’s facade project was truly all for show.

Shen Lin smiled, ready to leave—then suddenly heard an unsettling sound.

“Riiing~”

His footsteps froze. He whipped around to the black phone and instinctively took several steps back.

“Riiing~ Riiing~”

A ghost! It had to be! Besides that woman ghost, there were other spirits in the Ghost Realm. At that moment, Shen Lin’s scalp tingled.

A ghostly ring? Or a spectral call?

He hadn’t suffered harm yet, so hearing the sound didn’t immediately mean death. But perhaps the effect was delayed.

Like the knocking ghost—when you hear the knock, you don’t die instantly. It comes slowly, consuming you bit by bit.

He couldn’t linger here. Shen Lin strode forward resolutely, disappearing into the mist.

Inside the ancient meeting room, the eerie ringing ceased as Shen Lin left, as if the phone itself were alive.

Back at a new location, Shen Lin quickly scanned the area and sighed with relief. His entire body had been on edge moments ago; he had underestimated his own composure in the face of the supernatural. No matter how rational your plans, when death draws near, your reason shatters utterly.

The map indicated he had reached a new destination. Shen Lin was startled.

He had overlapped with the red dot on the map. Where was this?

He examined his surroundings closely—inside another residential building, and he even spotted a door.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and opened it.

Room 402!

Building 8, Room 402! He was only separated from Zhang Ming by a single wall, but the mist completely isolated them.

Shen Lin’s eyes darkened deeply. Undoubtedly, this was the closest he had ever been to his goal. He could even see the shadow of stairs at the edge of his vision. Given a chance, he could reach Zhang Ming in ten seconds. But no one would grant him that chance.

Unless fate favored him!

Boom!

As if heaven had heard Shen Lin’s prayer, the mist that had shrouded the area wavered and then vanished. Shen Lin even faintly heard a desperate roar of fury.

It was Zhang Ming! His final act of resistance!

Run!

Shen Lin tensed every muscle and sprinted with all his might.

He leapt swiftly, crossing the narrow divide between the fourth and fifth floors.

As the mist returned to cover the area, Shen Lin smiled at the sight before him.

At the edge of his vision stood a figure, battered and scarred.

It was Zhang Ming!