Yang Jian halted his steps, his gaze shifting toward a shop on the neighboring street.
The sensation of being watched had come from there.
He was highly perceptive, especially after entering this place, constantly vigilant and always attentive to his surroundings.
"Let's go have a look."
Yang Jian was now both skilled and bold, daring to casually investigate nearby anomalies despite being within the Ghost Paintings, which he would normally avoid at all costs.
He moved toward the shop.
But before Yang Jian could get close, he saw a figure appear inside the shop.
It wasn't a ghost from the Ghost Paintings; it was a person. Yang Jian saw clearly—it was a golden-haired Western woman. The woman, with a terrified expression, rushed out and quickly ran deeper into the city, soon disappearing around a corner up ahead.
Yang Jian's eyes flickered, and without trying to stop her, he hesitated for a moment before following.
"Is she a survivor trapped within the Ghost Paintings? The Ghost Painting incidents first broke out abroad, leading to many deaths, but the circumstances of those deaths were never confirmed. Most likely, they were swept into the Ghost Domain within the paintings and then mysteriously disappeared. Could it be that some of those who vanished managed to survive in this piece of the Ghost Domain?"
He speculated as such.
But he then felt that this was highly illogical.
After all, the last Ghost Painting incident took place over half a year ago. An ordinary person trapped in such a place would starve to death. How could they possibly still be alive?
"If there was enough food and water, surviving here wouldn't be impossible."
Yang Jian, following the woman, saw her enter a dimly lit building, with various items scattered along the path.
Yang Jian saw a bottle of mineral water left on the ground.
This was an item from within the Ghost Paintings.
His expression shifted slightly, and he picked up the bottle, opening the cap to pour it out.
The cool mineral water flowed through his fingers, not a hallucination created by the Ghost Domain, but real water.
"The Ghost Domain of the Ghost Paintings can now alter reality?" Yang Jian saw the water stain on the ground and showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He thought of the ghost in Huang Ziya's possession, code-named Ghost Conman.
It was also a ghost that could affect reality, even capable of restoring living bodies and changing things around it.
"This is truly unbelievable. Even if my Ghost Domain reached the sixth layer, I couldn't make things from the Ghost Domain real," Yang Jian thought to himself; "However, I suspect these things can only exist within the Ghost Paintings. Once they leave the Ghost Paintings, they'd probably disappear immediately. This is a world that exists by the power of the supernatural."
"To some extent, it's both real and illusory."
"If the world within the Ghost Paintings is real, then it's not impossible for survivors to live on."
Although it was difficult to survive in this dangerous place, it was still a possibility. After all, although the likelihood of encountering ghosts within the Ghost Paintings was high, one could survive by avoiding the ghosts' killing patterns.
Furthermore, with sufficient water and food available, the conditions for survival were in place.
"If my deduction is correct, then this Ghost Painting is even more special than I had imagined. It is an enigmatic object that can allow the living to reside within."
Yang Jian looked at the building not far away and followed the trail.
He felt that if anyone could survive here, they would have a very good understanding of this place.
Yet, as he got closer to the surrounding buildings, he noticed that the style of the neighboring architecture had changed.
The familiar streets of the city had become foreign in appearance, with billboards and signs all in English. He recognized some, but most were beyond his comprehension, as he was known for being a slacker in his class, his command of foreign languages limited to some basic common vocabulary, even less proficient than Zhang Wei's self-taught Japanese.
"I've entered the background puzzle of another Ghost Painting. At the last headquarters meeting, Wang Xiaoming's speculations about the Ghost Paintings were correct, the backgrounds within the paintings connect," Yang Jian looked behind him.
The two city puzzles joined seamlessly; on one side was Big J City and on the other, a foreign city.
However, the layout of both cities was almost identical, so much so that from a distance, it was hard to tell them apart; one might think it was just one city.
"But each Ghost Painting contains an exit and also contains a ghost. It's just a matter of where the exit is hidden, and where the ghost is."
Yang Jian remained vigilant as he entered the building.
Under normal circumstances, he would have completely lost track of the woman he was following, but upon entering, he found that the building was marked with a lot of fluorescent material. These fluorescent substances formed arrow signs, clearly guiding in a certain direction.
"Ghosts don't look for directional signs, only living people do, so these arrow markers are for the living to see."
Yang Jian immediately understood the meaning of these signs.
They were for seeking help and facilitating survivors to move in and out without getting lost.
He followed these arrows around the building.
Eventually, he stopped on a certain floor, as the arrow signs ended there.
"Who are you?" an inquiring voice came from the empty floor, but it was in English.
Yang Jian understood the simple question and replied, "I'm just passing through. Does nobody here speak Chinese?"
Soon, he heard some familiar words around him.
"Fuck, another unlucky soul."
"Relax, it's not an evil spirit."
"How much longer do we have to stay in this damn place?"
An Asian-faced man stepped out from a door across the way. He looked haggard, his gaze unfocused and his body emaciated, appearing to be in a poor mental state.
"You need to leave; your presence will bring danger to us," the man warned, staring at Yang Jian.
"So there really are survivors of the supernatural incident," Yang Jian's eyes flickered as he spoke, "How many of you are left here?"
The man showed surprise, as he found the newcomer's composure to be rather excessive. Not only was there no fear, but he also initiated conversation about their situation.
After a moment of hesitation, the man answered, "Not many, just over a dozen left. There were more than thirty of us two days ago, but ghosts found us by accident, and many died... How do you know about the supernatural incidents?"
"It seems you're still lucid and haven't lost your sanity," Yang Jian surveyed him. "How long have you been living here?"
"Not sure, it's been a long time. I was traveling abroad with my girlfriend and then somehow ended up here. At that time, there were a lot of other unlucky people like me, but later on, the number of survivors dwindled." The man was dispirited, silent, and depressed.
"You haven't found an exit?" Yang Jian asked again.
"Do you know where the exit is?" the man suddenly became a bit agitated.
Yang Jian said, "I guess you could say that. After all, the place where I came in is where the exit is. That's the rule. It seems the things you know are also very limited. It makes sense since you're ordinary people. Surviving here is already quite good. I assume you know nothing about the ghosts. Since that's the case, I won't disturb you any longer."
After saying that, he prepared to turn and leave.
"Wait, don't go. Tell me where the exit is; I want to leave this place," the man's emotions overwhelmed him as he began crying, grabbing Yang Jian's arm and refusing to let go.
Yang Jian looked at him. "I can only tell you after I finish what I came here to do. For now, it's not possible. And since you've already been here for so long, you probably don't mind waiting a bit longer."
With that, he shrugged off the man's grasp.
But the man became even more agitated, shouting, "Guys, this man knows how to get out of here! Quick, think of a way to keep him!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
Several nearby doors burst open as six or seven people came rushing out. All with Caucasian features, they looked frantic with excitement plastered across their faces.
"You unlucky bastard, hurry up and get me out of this ghost place. I've been here long enough."
"Stop right there, asshole. Don't even think about sneaking off on your own."
In a matter of moments, Yang Jian was surrounded by the six or seven burly men. Besides them, he saw several women who also seemed to have heard the commotion and came out from another room.
Yang Jian took a glance.
The man was right—there indeed were a dozen or so survivors, ordinary people who had managed to avoid the ghosts' attacks, eking out an existence like ants in this supernatural city.
It was undoubtedly a miracle.