In the darkness, a series of urgent footsteps and panting echoes resonated as Yang Jian pulled Zhang Lei along, leading the others quickly away.
Away from that ghastly figure shrouded in deathly blackness, standing before them.
That was true terror.
Moreover, reckless contact would bring unexpected changes; even the rules of how fierce ghosts killed could be altered.
"Has it not followed us?" As they fled, Yang Jian used his ghost eye to glance back.
The ghost had not caught up.
This was not due to the ghost's mercy, nor was it the effect of the Ghost Candle, much less good luck on their part. It was because after Yang Jian and Zhang Lei reconvened, the number of ghosts changed. At this moment, the condition of being alone was no longer satisfied, and they would be safe for a while.
Until the number was broken again, or the ghost underwent some kind of unforeseen ghastly change.
They ran without stopping.
Yang Jian didn't even plan to stay in the dormitory building anymore, as there was no need.
He had searched from the first floor upward, and except for not going to the fifth floor, he had been everywhere else. So, there should be only them left in the entire dormitory—the rest either dead or scattered near the training base.
But now was not the time to think about that; the most urgent thing was to get far away from that ghost, and then consider their next move.
The group was silent, focused only on running.
After a while, they stopped at a playground within the training base.
Those who were physically exhausted gasped for air. The running driven by fear consumed a great deal of stamina. Though they were ghost controllers, their bodies were still ordinary, and not everyone had the abnormal strength that Yang Jian did.
"Ha, hahaha, we're not dead, we've survived," Wang Jiang laughed in relief as the terror began to fade, overjoyed to have escaped death.
Facing such a level of ghost, what should have been certain death turned into living on.
"Yang Jian, thank you so much. If you hadn't arrived in time, I'd already be dead," Zhang Lei said, also grateful for surviving the ordeal. The darkness nearby had lessened, and he could barely make out their surroundings as he thanked Yang Jian.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for your actions, Yang Jian, we would surely have all been killed," Huang Ziya nodded in agreement.
"Celebrating now is too premature. This is just the first step to success, but the danger is not over. We are still within that ghost's Ghost Domain, and this Ghost Domain is different from others—it's a terrifying place that can't be left simply by walking out," Yang Jian said gravely, his face tense. Although he had breathed a sigh of relief, the situation remained grim.
"If we don't find a way to leave here soon, we will still end up dead."
"You're right. But for now, we should be safe, right?" Zhang Ley asked.
Yang Jian explained, "Currently, there are five of us, making up a total of eight ghosts. If I haven't miscalculated, the maximum number of ghosts this one can suppress should be six or seven. But don't forget, there are more ghost controllers than just us remaining; some haven't been killed by the ghost and are scattered around this training base."
"So the ghost will continue to choose to kill and grow. If it kills about three more ghost controllers, we could become targets again, so there's no time for rest. We must find the others and regroup within this period."
Yang Jian analyzed the situation, comparing the numbers on both sides.
They had an advantage, but it was not significant.
"You're right, now is not the time to slack off. We should hasten to regroup with the others," Wang Jiang nodded, setting aside his relief from surviving the ordeal.
"Good, let's take action. We'll start from there and make a quick loop around the training perimeter. If there are any ghost controllers, they will definitely appear far from the training base, not inside it," Yang Jian pointed toward the gate and then said.
The others nodded, fully trusting Yang Jian's arrangements.
This was the man who had led them to survive an otherwise certain death.
The darkness was not dense enough to hide their path, allowing them to see just enough.
Yang Jian led the way, continuing forward.
The group stayed close together, not daring to spread out, vigilant of any sound around them.
Although the others appeared more relaxed, Yang Jian knew that his situation was getting worse. Because of a previous attack at the shooting range, he had lost the Ghost Rope, and during this reunion, he had used up a red Ghost Candle.
The Ghost Eye was nearly revived.
The loss could be described as extremely significant, and without finding a way to resolve his own issues, he wasn't confident that he could survive this supernatural incident.
"The only thing I have left in my hand that can save my life is a cloth doll," Yang Jian's face was somber as he took stock of what he had.
A cloth doll that could transfer the target of a fierce ghost's attack.
A Ghost Hand that was being imprisoned.
A golden bottle that was suspected to still contain a ghost.
Old newspapers that could alter memories.
However, in the judgment of that ghost, human skin paper and old newspapers were not considered ghosts... or perhaps, since they were remnants of a ghost, they didn't meet the criteria of a full ghost, so these things couldn't be used to increase the number of ghosts at a critical moment.
The ghost inside the bottle was too dangerous to release recklessly.
The Ghost Hand, however, could be suppressed.
It was just unclear whether a part of a ghost would be considered a whole ghost.
"Yang Jian, you're still alive, right?" Suddenly, Wang Xiaoming's voice came through the satellite locater phone in his hand.
"Not dead yet. How's the situation I had you check on?" Yang Jian asked.
Wang Xiaoming said, "I've restarted the surveillance of the laboratory base. Because we left in a hurry initially, there was quite a bit of damage to some of the base's facilities, so it took some time."
He didn't need to personally confirm the situation in the laboratory; restoring surveillance would suffice.
"And the result?" asked Yang Jian.
"The Ghost Coffin, it's still there."
Over the phone, Wang Xiaoming replied, "The Ghost Coffin is still in the special room of the laboratory, it hasn't been moved, but it's in an open state, which is different from the initial situation."
"The Ghost Coffin's still there?" Yang Jian's gaze shifted slightly.
But what about the situation he had previously seen with the Ghost Eye?
The coffin was outside, yet he himself was inside the coffin.
The situation simply made no sense.
And wasn't the ghost here the Ghost Coffin itself?
"Didn't you make the ghost from the Ghost Coffin into Coffin Nails before?" Yang Jian suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"Yes, but I lost it. Because of special circumstances, Li Jun used it to deal with the ghost transformation failure of Wei Jing, ensuring my safe escape," Wang Xiaoming said.
"Damn it, no wonder that thing could suppress three ghosts right off the bat, turns out you lost the Coffin Nails you made yourself," Yang Jian cursed involuntarily.
Wang Xiaoming said, "That's right, indeed, the ghost from the Ghost Coffin cannot be destroyed. The creation of the Coffin Nails was from the three ghosts collected by the Ghost Coffin in Huanggang Village. I had imprisoned the Ghost Coffin once, so now the ghost transformation failure of Wei Jing is part of the second wave of attacks. However, what I'm worried about isn't how many ghosts the current fierce ghost can suppress."
"It's that the ghost that has completed its gestation might have other abilities, but I currently don't have enough data to analyze it."
"Professor Pi, you're really outstanding, unleashing something formidable. This ghost can now suppress the number of ghosts to either 6 or 7. Whether it has other abilities is not important anymore. What's important is if it continues to grow, the entirety of J City will suffer a horror disaster," Yang Jian said.
Yang Jian continued, "Don't think this thing is only interested in lone ghost masters. Ordinary people are also valid targets because they do not have ghosts inside them, so they are always in a state of being alone. Now this ghost is at the training base. Once we're all killed, where do you think it will go?"
"Is J City prepared to welcome this ghost?"
"That's exactly what I'm most worried about," Wang Xiaoming said. "So I wanted to ask if you have any good methods. If you don't have any, perhaps you could ask... 'it' that's with you."
It referred to the human skin paper in Yang Jian's hand.