Sunlight streamed through the high-speed train window, Fang Zhitu's profile.
He leaned back in his seat, his eyes half-closed, his fingers tapping the armrest unconsciously.
The DXXXX train is traveling smoothly at 300 kilometers per hour. The temperature inside the carriage is comfortable, and passengers are either playing on their phones or taking a nap, creating a peaceful and tranquil scene.
Fang Zhitu also took out his phone and checked. A lot of bad news had been circulating in Jing City, but most people from other places outside of Jing City didn't really believe it.
At least initially, not many people were willing to believe that such a huge mess would happen in Jing City.
"Attention passengers, we are about to arrive at XX station. Passengers who wish to disembark, please prepare to proceed..." came the mechanical announcement.
Fang Zhitu seemed to sense something, slightly opened his eyes, and scanned the carriage. A strange bluish-green light flashed inadvertently deep in his pupils.
Ah--!
A scream suddenly shattered the silence of the carriage. Fang Zhitu sat bolt upright, his gaze sharp as he looked toward the source of the sound.
Three rows ahead, a middle-aged woman was pointing in horror at the seat next to her.
"He... he... is no longer moving!" the woman said, trembling.
The surrounding passengers all stood up to look, but Fang Zhitu did not move, only slightly narrowing his eyes.
His gaze cut through the gaps in the crowd and landed on a man in a suit slumped in his seat, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape, and his face an unnatural bluish-gray.
"Quick, call the flight attendant! Someone has fainted!"
"It might be a heart attack..."
"Excuse me, I'm a doctor!"
A commotion broke out in the carriage. Fang Zhitu's right hand twitched involuntarily, and a barely visible green flame flashed across his fingertip. He frowned and put his hand back in his pocket.
"No pulse..." The young man, who identified himself as a doctor, examined her and announced with a grim expression, "The pupils have dilated..."
"How could this be? Everything was fine just now!" the deceased's companion exclaimed in disbelief.
The train attendant rushed over and frantically contacted the train conductor and prepared first-aid equipment.
Fang Zhitu noticed that the deceased had no external injuries, but his death was unusually bizarre—his eyeballs were bulging out, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying before he died.
"Passengers, please remain calm. We have contacted the station ahead to prepare medical assistance..." the flight attendant attempted to reassure the passengers.
Fang Zhitu withdrew his gaze and turned to look out the window. The sun was still shining brightly, and the fields and distant mountains rushed past. Everything seemed normal, but the Ghost Fire within him was restless and uncontrollably stirring.
"Something's not right..." Fang Zhitu muttered to himself, "Have we encountered a Supernatural event?"
He observed every detail inside the carriage without making a sound.
Twenty minutes later, just as the flight attendants covered the first body with a white sheet, a second scream rang out.
"Oh my god! Another one!"
This time it was a young girl. She was sitting in the middle of the carriage, and her death was exactly the same as the first victim's—no external injuries, but her facial expression was extremely terrified, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have seen at the last moment.
Panic began to spread through the carriage; passengers looked around anxiously, and some started checking their phones frequently.
"What's going on? This is too weird!"
"Is there some kind of infectious disease?"
"My phone has no signal! What about you?"
Fang Zhitu noticed that almost everyone's cell phones had lost signal. He had noticed this two minutes earlier, which is a typical characteristic of many Supernatural events. The signals of electronic devices such as cell phones may be interfered with by Supernatural phenomena and malfunction.
"Passengers, please remain calm..." The train attendant's voice was already trembling. "The train is about to arrive at XX station, and medical personnel will be boarding..."
Fang Zhitu sneered. If it were a Supernatural event, this train might not even reach any station.
Just then, a little boy by the window suddenly pointed outside and shouted, "Mommy, it's dark outside!"
Fang Zhitu turned his head sharply and saw that the bright sunshine outside the window was fading away at a visible speed, replaced by a gray fog.
Twisted tree shadows and dilapidated building outlines were vaguely visible through the fog, as if the train had suddenly entered another world.
"What's going on? Why did the sky suddenly turn cloudy?"
"No... this isn't a cloudy day... I often take this train, and I've never seen anything like this before..."
The lights inside the carriage began to flicker, and the air conditioning vents emitted eerie whistling sounds. Fang Zhitu sensed that the Ghost Fire was becoming more active, and he had to be more careful to control it. Otherwise, if the will-o' -Ghost Fire got out of control, he himself would become a murderous Fierce Ghost.
He didn't care whether others lived or died; what he didn't want was the trouble he would get himself into for killing someone.
"Train conductor! Why aren't you stopping?" A burly man rushed to the connecting area between the carriages and shouted at a train attendant.
"We... we've lost control of the train..." came the train conductor's panicked voice over the walkie-talkie. "The braking system has failed, and we can't contact the dispatch center..."
Panic was spreading. Some people were still able to remain calm and seriously consider the current situation. But some had begun to cry, some were hysterically banging on the windows, and some were huddled in their seats, trembling.
An elegantly dressed elderly woman kept making the sign of the cross while muttering something; a young man who looked like a college student frantically pressed his phone, trying to find a signal; in a corner, a young couple hugged each other tightly, the girl's tears already soaking the boy's shoulder.
"A third body appeared." Fang Zhitu calmly noticed that another person had died silently in front of him. This time it was a middle-aged man wearing glasses; he didn't even make a sound when he fell.
Having likely encountered Supernatural event, Fang Zhitu's mind raced, trying to find the pattern within it.
Time interval? Seating location? Age and gender?
This was his first encounter with a Supernatural event since obtaining the Ghost Fire; he was both excited and nervous.
Consider it a chance to improve your adaptability.
He needs more data to observe the ghost's patterns.
"Mommy... I'm scared..." The little boy cried as he hugged his mother.
"Don't be afraid, baby, don't look out the window..." The young mother comforted her child, trembling, while covering the child's eyes with a scarf.
Fang Zhitu seemed to be deep in thought.
Not looking out the window? Is this a pattern?
He carefully observed the subsequent deaths. The fourth victim was a middle-aged man who remained calm and composed throughout, and the fifth was a female flight attendant who was looking out the window. Both of them died with their eyes wide open and expressions of terror on their faces.
"What did they see before they died?" Fang Zhitu had a vague guess in his mind. "Many people looked out the window just now. 'Looking out the window will kill you,' so it shouldn't be a pattern of killing."
"Could it be... that he saw something specific outside the window, which led to his death?"
Fang Zhitu had no intention of reminding others. Firstly, he was inherently selfish, and as long as his own safety wasn't involved, he would choose to mind his own business, quietly observe and quietly deal with the Fierce Ghost, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.
Secondly, even if he says it's a Supernatural event, not everyone might believe him, and some might even question him.
He wouldn't bother with something that's thankless and difficult.
But there is never a shortage of smart people in this world. Fang Zhitu aside, some quick-witted people have also noticed something.
A young woman in a pale yellow dress suddenly shouted, "Everyone, you'd better not look out the window. I've been observing carefully, and it seems the previous victims all met their ends while looking out the window."
"What did you say? Looking out the window can kill you?" A man with dyed red hair spoke impatiently, seemingly just venting his frustration, muttering and cursing, "What utter nonsense..."
Before he could finish speaking, the instant he subconsciously turned to look out the window, his expression froze, and he fell straight down.
A deathly silence fell over the carriage, followed by an even greater panic.
"Don't look out the window! Don't look out the window!" someone screamed.
Most people lowered their heads or covered their eyes with their hands.
Fear spread like a plague; some began to cry, some prayed silently, and others tried to force open the car doors to escape.
Fang Zhitu calmly observed everything. He guessed that the ghost's killing pattern might be related to "vision," but the specific triggering conditions still needed further confirmation. After all, he himself would occasionally glance out the window without incident.
Just then, he felt a chill creep up his spine, Ghost Fire churned violently within him, warning him of impending danger.
Fang Zhitu suddenly turned his head and saw a blurry shadow flash by on the glass door at the end of the carriage.
"It's here?!" A ghostly green Ghost Fire ignited in Fang Zhitu's right hand. The flame was inconspicuous, and no one noticed the anomaly amidst the chaos.
Death continues, and although no one dares to look out the window, people are still dying.
Every now and then, someone would die inexplicably.
There were more than ten corpses lying haphazardly on the seats and in the aisle, emitting a strange stench; the carriage had become a mobile graveyard.
"We're all going to die... we're all going to die..." a young girl murmured to herself, clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown, her eyes unfocused.
Fang Zhitu corner of his eye, Fang Zhitu caught another blurry figure flash past the car window next to him.
"It's not looking out the window that causes death, but rather the problem with the reflection in the car window!"
Fang Zhitu suddenly realized the crux of the problem. He knew he couldn't wait any longer. The unknown Fierce Ghost was killing at an accelerating pace. Before it grew stronger, he had to take the initiative!
Taking a deep breath, Fang Zhitu stood up. He walked to the center of the carriage, and under the horrified gazes of all the survivors, Ghost Fire ignited in his palm.
A burst of green flames erupted, blooming like a bewitching lotus flower. The firelight illuminated his expressionless face, casting an eerie shadow inside the carriage.
"Oh my god! What's that?"
"Fire... He has fire in his hand!"
"He's no ordinary person! He can save us!"
Those who were still alive grasped at the last straw, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear, hope, and a strange awe—perhaps this is the instinctive reaction of humankind when faced with the unknown.
Fang Zhitu ignored them, focusing all his attention on sensing the ghost's location. Ghost Fire swirled around him, forming a protective barrier.
"There." He abruptly turned his head to look at a window in the middle of the carriage. In reality, he couldn't see the ghost, but through the reflection in the glass, he could see a blurry Ghost Shadow approaching a passenger, the distance between them getting closer and closer.
Fang Zhitu raised his hand, and a fiery serpent shot out, heading straight for the car window with the Ghost Shadow.
Flames scorched the glass surface, the eerie Supernatural of the Ghost Fire clashing with the Supernatural rules of the unknown Fierce Ghost spirit.
The survivors stared in shock at this counterintuitive scene. They couldn't understand what was happening, but their instincts told them that some indescribable terror was fighting against the man who could manipulate fire.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Fang Zhitu's forehead. An invisible pressure surged like a tide, and his Ghost Fire was constantly being depleted in the struggle.
According to the setting, he knew that overuse of Ghost Fire would accelerate the resurgence of the Fierce Ghost within him. He could vaguely sense that when he squandered will-o' -Ghost Fire, his body temperature became abnormal, and his skin gradually turned a bluish-gray color typical of the dead.
"Is this what it feels like to Fierce Ghost gradually awakening, and to slowly walk towards death?"
If one only commands one Fierce Ghost, one day the Ghost Fire will completely engulf him, and he will no longer be human, but a new Fierce Ghost.
Fortunately, he knew most of the information about Fierce Ghosts and was very familiar with the main methods to delay their Fierce Ghost Revival. After becoming Ghost Tamer, he had no other choice!
"Get down!" Fang Zhitu roared, releasing even more Ghost Fire. The flames formed a spiral inside the carriage, like a fire dragon coiling upwards.
Crackling sounds echoed in the air as unseen Supernatural forces collided. To the survivors' horror, distorted ripples suddenly appeared in the otherwise empty air, like the refraction of air under high temperatures, and a blurry Ghost Shadow could be vaguely seen within the ripples.
"Don't look at it!" Fang Zhitu shouted a warning, but it was too late.
Three survivors suddenly collapsed and died instantly.
This ghost is difficult to observe, but once observed, the observer will die!
Fang Zhitu gritted his teeth and increased the output of the Fang Zhitu' -Ghost Fire. The flames became even more intense, and the bluish-green light almost illuminated the entire carriage. Under the scorching heat of the Supernatural fire, the invisible ghost finally began to slow down and gradually calmed down.
"Just a little bit more..." Fang Zhitu felt a wave of dizziness. He had overused the Ghost Fire and was nearing his limit. But if he didn't suppress the ghost in one fell swoop, all his previous efforts would have been in vain.
Concentrating all his will, Fang Zhitu condensed the Ghost Fire into a bright cluster and hurled it at the ghost.
The Ghost Fire exploded silently, the entire carriage shook violently, all the lights went out instantly, and the survivors screamed and fled in panic.