Chapter 217 Entering the Night
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Due to the potential outbreak of a large-scale supernatural event in Dachang City, Yang Jian had to temporarily abandon his actions against Ye Feng.
The conflict with Zhao Kaiming was also forced to stop. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
In fact, like Yang Jian, Zhao Kaiming also thought it would be foolish to continue fighting against each other in the face of such a special event.
Heaven knows if they could survive this supernatural occurrence.
If they didn’t, all their conflicts would be meaningless.
"First, go to Captain Liu’s place," Yang Jian said as he drove straight into the city.
The sky was already darkening, and with evening approaching, all the streetlights in the city center, despite being lit, couldn’t dispel the sense of gloom that enveloped the whole city. This atmosphere was cold and thick, carrying with it a permeating eeriness.
It was unimaginable what Dachang City would turn into after nightfall.
Would ghosts take advantage of the dark and emerge?
Yang Jian furrowed his brows deeply, knowing staying in a big city wasn’t a good choice, as densely populated areas were too prone to triggering supernatural events. He had been moving out of the city center at the fastest pace possible, avoiding the heart of the city, but he hadn’t expected an event of this scale to occur.
"This range, it covers Guanjiang Residential Complex too. Is it some kind of Ghost Domain, or something else? Liu Xiaoyu mentioned that Dachang City has been sealed off, with certain areas outside of the city set as boundaries, preventing free entry and exit," Yang Jian pondered.
"If a single ghost could achieve this, its level must have surpassed A Catastrophe Level. It’s impossible that a ghost of this level existed in Dachang City before without any notice," he continued to think.
Neither the Xiaoqiang Entertainment Club when it was still active nor Zhou Zheng during his time mentioned any reports of such caliber.
Yang Jian was not overly afraid of fierce ghosts, what he feared more was that unknown terror.
Without sufficient information, the only way to understand a ghost was to risk one’s life in the attempt.
This was exceedingly perilous.
"However, this feeling seems somewhat familiar, as if I’ve encountered it before," Yang Jian said, looking at the layer of dark gray haze overhead, recalling the image of the Ghost Infant.
Zhou Zheng died because of the Ghost Infant that was released by a revived fierce ghost.
The last encounter with the Ghost Infant was supposed to have been in an office building in the city center.
By that time, it could no longer be called a Ghost Infant but a Ghost Person.
Because within about a month’s time, the thing had grown from an infant to a child and then to an adult.
Growing in an almost supernatural manner.
"It can’t be the Ghost Infant, could it? If classified, that thing’s danger level would probably only be C Level. It kills one by one, which is too slow in efficiency. However, by the last time we met, the Ghost Infant had indeed grown to a level capable of using a Ghost Domain," Yang Jian continued to muse.
"But that Ghost Domain was very small, barely enough to cover the area of one floor of an office building, even lacking the ability to completely seal off the Ghost Domain; ordinary people could come and go freely."
"Wait, why do I think that the Ghost Infant also has a Ghost Domain?"
Recalling the last supernatural incident in the office building downtown, a group of office workers encountered the Ghost Infant and were forced to jump off from the upper floors.
If that had truly been a Ghost Domain, they would have had no chance to jump from the building.
So... it wasn’t a Ghost Domain.
At least not the same nature as the Ghost Domain controlled by Yang Jian.
"Intuition tells me that this incident is out of the ordinary. If we don’t prepare in advance or figure out a way to deal with the source, I fear the consequences will be extremely severe," Yang Jian said as he looked at the increasingly dim sky, feeling his unease grow.
The car stopped.
He had arrived at Captain Liu’s location.
"Yang Jian, have you arrived? We have already made arrangements here; you can access those weapons, but you have a supervisory responsibility. They absolutely cannot end up in the hands of criminals again," Liu Xiaoyu’s voice came through the satellite-located mobile phone.
"When can your backup arrive here? There aren’t many ghost controllers in Dachang City now, probably less than ten combined. With such few people and the lack of enough intelligence, if we really run into an Unsolvable Level supernatural event, the likelihood of our group being wiped out is very high.
Even if Zhao Kaiming and I try our best to protect Wang Xiaoming, it would be tough to ensure their safety," Yang Jian said, making the situation sound graver to acquire more support.
"We are already in action here, actually we are even more anxious than you," Liu Xiaoyu said.
"Since you’re free anyway, why not help me sort out and give me a copy of all the supernatural files you have on Dachang City. I fear this supernatural event might trigger others, making the situation even worse than imagined," Yang Jian requested.
Ghosts generally do not target other ghosts, but they can break certain balances, triggering potential supernatural events.
So this needed to be considered.
"You’re right, your idea has alerted me. I will report this immediately and will get you a file of all supernatural events in Dachang City within three hours," Liu Xiaoyu promised promptly.
Just as Yang Jian entered, he saw Captain Liu and several colleagues were already waiting there.
"Exorcist Yang Jian," Captain Liu greeted with a salute.
"Captain Liu, nice to meet you," Yang Jian shook hands, "Has the higher-up already notified you about the weapons left by those criminals who tried to assassinate me last time?"
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"Everything’s here, nothing missing," Liu said, pointing at a table that had been temporarily set up.
Several strong, well-equipped personnel were protecting it with guns, ensuring nothing would go wrong.
"We have a total of twenty-five pistols, three sniper rifles... and a number of special bullets," Liu read from a list in his hand.
"If you need more weapons support, Yang Jian, just ask the higher-ups, and they can provide even more assistance."
Yang Jian said, "Ordinary weapons are useless, not even as good as a brick. These are special weapons, so they’re somewhat useful."
Although they couldn’t kill ghosts, they could still serve some purpose, such as long-distance probing, dealing with ghost slaves, or intimidating those who didn’t follow orders.
If he were to buy these himself, they would be too expensive. Heaven knows how many middlemen they’d gone through. Being able to use this batch of confiscated weapons meant he wouldn’t have to worry about them for a considerable time.
"There’s too much of this stuff for me to use all of it. Leave some for your team, Liu. It might come in handy sometimes. I’ll take the rest. As for the bullets, give me more of the same type. Ordinary ones are fine too.
There’s an old saying about not waiting until the battle to sharpen one’s weapons; I should find some time to practice," he said.
Yang Jian’s marksmanship was guaranteed at five meters, relied on luck at ten meters, and beyond ten meters, as unbelievable as it might sound, he could aim for someone’s head and end up hitting their bird instead.
"I’ll have to request permission for that. I can only supply you with ammunition if the higher-ups agree," Liu said.
Yang Jian replied, "Of course."
In these special circumstances, such requests would naturally be approved. It wasn’t long before the higher-ups gave their consent, on one condition - Yang Jian would be responsible for ensuring the weapons didn’t fall into the wrong hands.
After taking the weapons, Yang Jian prepared to leave; "Liu, I fear the situation in Dachang City these past few days is more serious than we imagined. Though your team is fighting hard on the front lines, I hope you can be more careful. In some situations, it’s best to ensure your own safety first."
"Rescuing people is an unquestionable duty, but one must also consider their capabilities."
Liu fell silent for a moment before saying, "Thank you for the reminder, but there’s something else I should tell you."
"What is it?"
Liu said, "Xiao Zhang, he’s dead?"
Xiao Zhang?
Yang Jian showed a hint of puzzlement.
"It’s Zhang Yuan, the one who was trapped in the mirror last time."
Liu pointed to a piece of decorative material that had been removed from the wall and said, "To prevent too much of a disturbance, that object has been taken away and dealt with specially."
Only then did Yang Jian remember that during his last visit, there indeed had been someone trapped in a mirror that glowed; "Sorry, although I resolved that incident for now, I couldn’t save the person inside."
He wasn’t lying; that was simply the truth.
Because Zhang Wei had already died once, the ghost had vanished, and naturally, there was no chance of reentering the mirror.
"Zhang Yuan died of thirst while trapped in the mirror. His death was agonizing and helpless. I witnessed it with my own eyes. I don’t even dare to tell his mother about this. Do you know? Just yesterday, his elderly mother was sitting on the doorstep, wailing for her son.
Although the report said that Zhang Yuan was missing, his mother has guessed that he has already been sacrificed," Liu said.
Liu added, "At that moment, I didn’t know how to comfort his mother, and I even dared not tell her the truth."
"I understand. The likelihood of sacrifice is high once involved in such events. And you are a ghost controller, with the power to handle these events. I’m not asking you to do anything because I’m well aware that you too risk your lives dealing with those ghostly entities. Still, I can’t help but say something."
"Please take over from here on, and don’t let the sacrifice of us all become meaningless," Liu said, with utmost seriousness and sincerity.
Yang Jian didn’t respond. Out of respect, he saluted Liu and then left without looking back.
He didn’t have the courage to take on that responsibility.
Because he wasn’t that noble; everything he had done until now was just to survive, to live better.
Global paranormal events aren’t changeable by one person.
It’s like when an earthquake or flood comes, they can’t be reversed by human effort. Sacrifices, deaths, and pain are unavoidable parts of it.
After departing, the skies outside had grown even darker.
The surroundings were enveloped in a thick fog-like mist of dark, greenish-black air, dense and sticky, lingering.
But this darkness didn’t affect visibility too much. Looking ahead, one could still make out objects clearly, though they seemed blurred, as if suddenly beset with myopia.
He looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds weighed down like a city under siege, making one feel almost breathless.
The luminous lights from the shops along the sidewalks cast a murky glow in this dim world, creating an unnervingly eerie and sinister atmosphere.
The whole bustling city, with its bright lights and revelry, now resembled a ghost city.
Perhaps, in some corner of the city, an unknown supernatural event was occurring.