Three days later, Li Shanji stood in front of a seemingly ordinary government office building. She wore a turtleneck sweater to cover the black lines spreading across her neck and gloves to hide her sometimes mutated fingers.
"You've arrived." Kang Min-jeong greeted her with a smile.
"Follow me."
The two passed through a series of security doors that required identification, eventually arriving at a spacious circular hall. The walls were covered with constantly changing holographic projections displaying supernatural events from around the world.
"Welcome to the Paranormal Research Institute." Kang Min-jeong gestured. "First, we need to conduct physical data analysis and assess your supernatural abilities."
Li Shanji showed no resistance; she had already made preparations before coming here.
Kang Min-jeong took her to have her blood drawn and undergo various tests.
A moment later, Kang Min-jeong returned with the freshly printed report, looking astonished. "Your temperature, heart rate, and respiration are all far below normal, even lower than the data from your physical exam a few days ago."
Li Shanji didn't say anything. Not only were her vital signs abnormal, but in the past few days she had also noticed that she occasionally smelled of a corpse, as if her body was in the process of dying.
"Next, we will test your extraordinary abilities," Kang Min-jeong said.
They were moved to another empty room, which was set up with various obstacles and moving targets, where Li Shanji was asked to demonstrate her abilities.
The test lasted an hour and a half. Li Shanji carefully controlled the scale, demonstrating enough value to gain attention without revealing the dangerous abilities associated with the Charred Corpse.
Any object that comes into contact with her can be easily corroded and torn apart by her; she hides her most dangerous parts: a killing instinct and a deadly sensitivity to sound and movement.
"The last item is psychological assessment."
Kang Min-jeong led her into a room decorated as a living room, with seemingly ordinary landscape paintings hanging on the wall.
"Please have a seat," an elderly man in a white coat gestured. "I am Professor Choi, the head of the Department of Psychology."
The subsequent conversation was very routine, focusing on childhood experiences, educational background, and hobbies—it seemed to be just going through the motions.
Just as Li Shanji was beginning to relax.
"Have you had any dreams lately?" Professor Choi suddenly asked.
"No," Li Shanji replied calmly.
"If you see someone injured, what is your first reaction?" Professor Choi asked again.
"Help him," Li Shanji lied.
Professor Choi asked a few more psychology questions, and the test ended quickly.
Afterwards, Kang Min-jeong arranged a new residence for Li Shanji: "As a valued superhuman, the research institute is gifting you a property. You will receive a monthly stipend. Your main tasks at present are to receive training and cooperate with research. Later, you will participate in fieldwork as needed."
Li Shanji nodded, seemingly satisfied with the current situation.
Unaware that the Charred Corpse had become one with her, the research institute was still searching for the Charred Corpse's whereabouts.
South Korea's Paranormal Research Institute is currently unaware that an extraordinary monster can combine with an ordinary person.
Jing City.
The black fog has dissipated.
Wen Jingyan and Bai Jingjing are evenly matched in strength, and a stalemate would only result in mutual destruction.
The leaders of Jing City intervened and communicated with Bai Jingjing several times, paying a certain price, and finally persuaded Bai Jingjing to withdraw.
Bai Jingjing left with her damned black mist.
With the black mist no longer causing widespread Supernatural interference, Wen Jingyan dealt with the other Fierce Ghost scattered throughout the Jing City one by one.
However, Wen Jingyan only put the Fierce Ghosts into a temporary state of stillness, without containing them. His reason was simple: imprisoning Fierce Ghosts required Golden Container, and he personally could not afford gold.
The city gradually resumed normal operations, but the dead could not be brought back to life, and the enormous losses caused could not be Neglect or concealed.
Worst of all, everything about the supernatural was forced to be made public.
With Jing City under siege for an extended period, relevant departments missed their best opportunity to control public opinion.
Public opinion has now been completely ignited.
The bright sunlight shone on the dilapidated streets of Jing City, and a faint stench of corpses filled the air.
In front of the gate of a temple in Jing City, survivors crowded together to pray for blessings. Most of them looked dazed, their eyes revealing fear and unease.
"Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your protection... Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your protection..." A middle-aged woman, Lin Xiufen, knelt before the Buddha, her forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, repeating the prayer over and over again, as if as long as she prayed sincerely enough, disaster would stay away.
The monks in the temple silently struck their Wooden Fish, their chanting echoing through the main hall. But if you listened closely, you could hear a tremor in their voices—not of piety, but of fear.
Because traces of the black mist still remain in the corners of the temple.
Not long ago, in the early stages of the supernatural event, before the black fog had completely enveloped the entire city, many residents from the vicinity chose to flock to this temple, hoping to receive the Buddha's protection.
Lin Xiufen also came to the temple with the crowd. The temple was bustling with people, and she stumbled as she squeezed through the crowd. Looking up, she saw that the steps leading to the main hall were densely packed with people, including white-collar workers in suits, mothers with children, and even a few elderly people in hospital gowns. Everyone had a similar expression on their face, like drowning people grasping at the last straw.
"Make way! Make way!" A burly man roughly shoved Lin Xiufen aside. He was holding something wrapped in red cloth, with a glimpse of gold peeking out.
It was a Buddha statue; Lin Xiufen recognized that it appeared to be made of pure gold.
Multiple supernatural events have occurred in Jing City, cell phones have lost signal and communication with the outside world is impossible, and the journey out of Jing City is equally fraught with danger. Many people have flocked to this temple, partly to seek protection, partly out of herd mentality, and also because the large number of people provides a false sense of security.
The temple suddenly became incredibly popular, with only regular worshippers on ordinary days now crowding the place with people from all walks of life. They brought gold and silver Buddha statues, consecrated ritual implements, and even "relics of eminent monks" acquired at great expense, as if these objects could form a protective barrier.
Lin Xiufen also had a good luck charm in her pocket, which she bought from a temple for two thousand yuan. It was expensive, but as long as it could protect her, it was worth spending ten times the price.
"Please line up to receive incense, benefactor." A young novice monk stopped her, his voice hoarse. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his robes were wrinkled, clearly indicating that he hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.
The main hall was filled with smoke, making it hard to open one's eyes. The three gilded Buddha statues, illuminated by candlelight, looked down at the kneeling crowd below. Lin Xiufen found a gap and knelt down, her forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles.
"May Buddha bless me, believer Lin Xiufen sincerely prays, that my daughter may return home safely..." she murmured to herself with her eyes closed, pressing the amulet tightly against her chest.
The chanting of sutras rose and fell in the hall. There were monks leading the recitation of the Diamond Sutra, old women chanting Buddhist prayers with tearful voices, and young people playing electronic versions of the Great Compassion Mantra on their mobile phones. All kinds of sounds mixed together to create a strange, almost frenzied religious atmosphere.
This atmosphere lasted for a long time, until...
"Look!" someone suddenly cried out outside the hall.
Lin Xiufen turned around and looked up. Through the palace gate, she saw a black mass slowly rising in the distance, spreading out like ink dripping into clear water.
The black mist is spreading towards the temple.
The hall fell silent for a second, then erupted into even louder chanting. Some people began to wail, while others desperately pushed their way to the Buddha statue, trying to place their offerings closer. Lin Xiufen's legs went weak, and the amulet in her hand was soaked with sweat.
"Don't panic!" A white-bearded monk stood before the Buddha, his voice booming, "This is a pure Buddhist place, protected by all Buddhas. Please join me in reciting the Shurangama Mantra; this mantra can dispel all demonic obstacles!"
The old monk clasped his hands together and led all the monks in chanting sutras. The deep chanting echoed in the main hall, and the worshippers gradually quieted down and joined in the chanting.
Lin Xiufen had never read the Shurangama Mantra, so she could only keep repeating "Namo Amitabha Buddha," while her eyes were fixed on the approaching black mist outside.
Amidst the chanting of sutras, the black mist had already spread to the temple entrance. Lin Xiufen saw the first few people to come into contact with the mist suddenly freeze, unable to utter a sound, withering rapidly like plants drained of water. Their skin turned ashen, and then—
"I can't look anymore, I can't look..." Lin Xiufen closed her eyes tightly, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
The chanting grew even louder, almost deafening.
Black mist enveloped the temple gate.
The ginkgo trees outside the hall lost their color, and their golden leaves fell one after another.
"Keep chanting! Don't stop!" The old monk's voice was hoarse, and veins bulged on his forehead.
The black mist surged into the hall as if it were alive. Lin Xiufen felt a bone-chilling cold. Two voices seemed to be tugging at her mind: one said, "You should believe in Buddha and continue to pray devoutly," while the other said, "Run! You'll die if you don't run!"
After hesitating for a few seconds, her survival instinct overcame her faith in Buddha, and Lin Xiufen quickly got up and scrambled away from the black fog.
The chanting of sutras was deafening, Wooden Fish was struck rapidly like raindrops. The monks had no choice but to believe that in this pure Buddhist sanctuary, the Buddha himself was protecting them, and evil spirits dared not disturb them.
Unfortunately, the black mist did not stop; it swept over like a tide, enveloping the kneeling monks in the back row, and in an instant, their flesh began to rot.
They struggled desperately, but only black blood gushed from their throats, their skin melting like wax to reveal their stark white bones. Yet their skeletons remained in a kneeling posture, hands clasped together, their empty eye sockets facing the Buddha statue.
The chanting in the main hall stopped abruptly.
"Ah--!" One scream after another rang out.
Lin Xiufen turned her head and saw a middle-aged man who was kneeling in devout worship suddenly convulsing violently. His skin began to peel off, his mouth was wide open, and he watched helplessly as his body gradually turned into bones.
Chaos erupted in the main hall as people screamed and scattered in all directions, but there was nowhere to escape. Black mist had already enveloped the entire temple, and the gold paint on the Buddha statues was peeling off, revealing the mottled clay beneath.
"Buddha! Why—" The old monk knelt before the Buddha, tears streaming down his face. Behind him, several young monks lay on the ground, their bulging bodies beneath their robes rapidly shrinking. One of them had his shinbone piercing through his robe, its stark white color particularly jarring in the dim hall.
Lin Xiufen huddled under the offering table, trembling all over. Through the gap in the tablecloth, she saw the skin on the white-bearded old monk's face peeling off in pieces like cracked wall plaster, but the old monk was still chanting sutras. Even though his chin had exposed bone and the prayer beads had slipped from between his fingers, he was still using his leaking lungs to utter his last chanting.
"Liars! They're all liars!" A furious roar suddenly echoed through the hall. Lin Xiufen saw the burly man kicking and punching the temple's donation box, throwing the golden Buddha statue he was holding violently. "I spent so much money! Wasn't it said that a consecrated Buddha statue could ward off evil spirits? How come it's completely useless!"
In despair, more and more people broke down emotionally. Some overturned the offering tables, some tore up scriptures, and an old woman wailed. "The temple has collected so much money from incense offerings, why doesn't Buddha protect me?"
Lin Xiufen was also on the verge of a breakdown and wanted to cry and make a scene, but the burly man had just thrown the golden Buddha away, and it happened to land near her.
In that instant, her greed for gold overcame her fear.
Lin Xiufen quickly picked up the golden Buddha and then curled up in a corner.
The black mist and skeletons would attack the living. When the skeletons got close, Lin Xiufen picked up the golden Buddha and waved it wildly as a weapon.
The black mist arrived quickly and left just as fast, as if its owner was merely passing by.
After the black mist dissipated, the temple was completely unrecognizable. Two-thirds of the people inside had turned into skeletons and followed the black mist away. The rest were either stunned or hysterical.
Lin Xiufen couldn't believe she had survived, and she was still holding a heavy golden Buddha in her hands.
A young monk who was still alive stood in front of the Buddha statue, looking at the clay and wooden sculpture that showed no joy or sorrow, and suddenly smiled.
"Buddha..." he murmured, his voice filled with desperate mockery, "We've chanted so many scriptures, burned so much incense, where... are you?"
Clearly, the faith of some of the surviving monks has collapsed.
But Lin Xiufen was different. She wrapped the golden Buddha in her outer garment, feeling extremely grateful and wishing she could shave her head and become a nun on the spot.
Although Buddha didn't protect others, he did protect her!
Those who died may have committed sins in their past lives; only a truly good person like her would receive Buddha's favor.
One-third of the survivors in the temple shared similar thoughts with Lin Xiufen: it didn't matter if others died, as long as they survived, it might be because Buddha was protecting them.
The extraordinary truly exists, and given this premise, no one dared to complain before the Buddha. Therefore, when the black mist completely dissipated and the Jing City gradually resumed its normal operations, the temple remained a popular place of worship.
Lin Xiufen keeps the golden Buddha statue in her home and burns incense to worship it. She comes to the temple every day to kowtow to the Buddha and donate some money for incense.
Putting everything else aside, having this emotional support at least keeps her mental state stable.