Hu Jiu entered the cordoned-off residential compound.
A squad of police officers followed him, their expressions varied. Some were genuinely willing to come in and take part in the rescue, some looked anxious and resentful, while others showed no discernible emotion at all.
Hu Jiu went on and on, making grand promises. "Although the mission is somewhat dangerous, it's all for the country, the people, and public safety. Afterward, I'll be sure to report to headquarters, put you down for a commendation, and give you plenty of glowing reviews."
The middle-aged officer in the lead gave a wry smile and hesitated to speak. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Hu Jiu was being sarcastic or truly meant what he said.
Just now, he had firmly rejected Hu Jiu's unreasonable demand. Supernatural incidents were for Ghost Tamers to handle; it was enough for ordinary officers to provide support outside. But the moment he said so, Hu Jiu's expression changed. His whole demeanor turned extremely dangerous and terrifying, and an ominous, sinister aura weighed on everyone's hearts.
And so they had all "volunteered" to come in...
Bang!
Just as they approached an apartment building, a corpse suddenly fell from the sky and slammed into the ground not far ahead of them.
Judging by her clothes and build, the deceased was a woman. She had landed face-first, so her features were impossible to make out.
The sudden turn of events startled everyone. They instinctively looked at Hu Jiu, and none dared act rashly. After all, they had all received professional training.
Hu Jiu gave the woman's corpse a cursory glance. Aside from the signs of her fall, she appeared to have no other external injuries, nor was any fresh blood flowing from her. There was only foul-smelling tissue fluid and clotted blood that had turned black.
"Ah!" Someone let out a short scream. Everyone immediately turned to look at him and saw him staring uneasily at the two people beside him.
The two stood motionless with their necks craned upward. Their faces were ashen, and they gave off a faint stench of decay, as though they had been dead for days.
"They're dead!" the middle-aged officer exclaimed. He looked around, somewhat panicked. "What's going on? Does anyone know how they died?"
No one answered.
Colleagues they spent every day with had suddenly dropped dead in the blink of an eye, and panic was spreading. In the past, they had only assisted in dealing with supernatural incidents. This was their first time facing the terror of a Fierce Ghost directly.
Ordinary people were this fragile in supernatural incidents. They knew killing rules existed, but if they wanted to figure them out, they could only do so at the cost of human lives. Police officers were no exception.
At that moment, every gaze turned to Hu Jiu, burning with expectation.
Hu Jiu seemed to have discovered something. He looked up in delight, and several inexperienced officers instinctively looked up with him.
In an instant, their eyes and mouths opened wide. Their bodies grew stiff and cold, giving off the stench of corpses.
They were all dead.
The middle-aged officer leading the squad went livid. He was about to demand an explanation when he suddenly noticed that Hu Jiu, too, was standing completely still. He appeared to be dead as well.
"How did this happen?!"
"Everything was fine just now..."
"This new Ghost Tamer is way too useless!"
The survivors were terrified and could only vent a little of their fear through cursing.
"Captain, why don't we withdraw first? Staying here won't help us save anyone. It'll only add to the pointless sacrifices!"
The middle-aged officer nodded. "This ghost's killing rule may have something to do with looking up. When we leave, no matter what happens, don't look up!"
With that, he dashed out at full speed. The others reacted and instinctively headed out with him.
But just then, something unexpected happened!
Ghost Hands materialized out of thin air and silently patted them on the shoulders.
The entire squad was wiped out. No one survived.
Hu Jiu calmly withdrew the Phantom of himself playing dead.
The corpses of several officers and the woman who had fallen from the building suddenly began to move. Their expressions from the moment of death were frozen on their faces, and, like zombies that had caught the scent of blood, they gradually closed in on Hu Jiu.
They had become ghost slaves controlled by the Fierce Ghost. Other ghost slaves were wandering in every direction, and as the death toll rose, the ghost might grow, becoming more and more terrifying and harder to deal with.
But Hu Jiu was not the least bit worried, because he knew exactly what this ghost was. He didn't know every detail of every supernatural incident that had occurred in Linjiang City in his previous life, but information about this ghost happened to be among the things he did know.
—Codename [Looking-Up Ghost]. Its killing rule was indeed killing by looking up. When a human performed the action of "looking up," it would kill them.
The preliminary test had confirmed that this information was correct.
Knowing the precise killing rule made containing and restraining the Fierce Ghost much easier. The next step was to find the ghost's true body.
Countless strips of bloodstained white silk descended from midair, drifting throughout the residential compound.
The ghost slaves were powerless against the White Sash's supernatural power and fell one after another. The real Fierce Ghost, however, could withstand the attack. The ghost's true body was easy enough to distinguish from the ghost slaves: it was a naked, withered corpse, its head tilted back as it gazed at the sky. Its face was numb and vacant, exuding a deathly stillness that made the living shudder.
The White Sash tightened around the Looking-Up Ghost's neck, but stopped when it tried to cinch down. The two supernatural powers were clashing. Hu Jiu did not approach; instead, he dropped a Ghost Hand conjured by the Mirage Ghost from above and slapped it onto the Looking-Up Ghost's shoulder.
The Looking-Up Ghost froze in place.
Hu Jiu quickly went forward, first copying it with great care, then containing it in a Golden Corpse Bag.
And just like that, a supernatural incident that was not particularly major had been resolved.
For Hu Jiu, it had been a one-sided fight, so handling it swiftly and efficiently was only natural.
But after it was over, he did not contact the headquarters operator immediately. Instead, he found a secluded spot at random and sat down quietly.
Hu Jiu was a master at slacking off and had his own unique logic for getting things done. Some low-level workers always thought that by keeping their heads down, working hard, and doing their jobs so perfectly that their bosses couldn't find a single fault, they could demonstrate their ability and value. But if their bosses didn't know how difficult and dangerous the work was, how could they judge their subordinates' abilities?
In any case, a Fierce Ghost's rating was generally determined by two factors: the verbal account of the Ghost Tamer responsible for handling the supernatural incident and the number of deaths.
Hu Jiu had always been adept at killing innocents and claiming credit for their deaths.
Much later, when the satellite phone rang, he waited a moment before answering. Before Lin Guangning could speak, he struck first, his words exceptionally stern: "Why are you calling at a time like this? I'm dealing with a supernatural incident. Any disturbance could very well cost someone their life!"
"Do you have any idea that I was at the crucial moment of containing the Fierce Ghost just now? Your phone call directly caused the deaths of two officers!"
"You're not an intern or a temp, are you? I'm seriously questioning the overall competence of headquarters right now. With an attitude this careless and sloppy, are you worthy of the trust the country and the people have placed in you?!"