Chapter Summaries

Mr. Li recounted how he and his parents encountered a ghost and a phantom car crash near Xupu, then learned the area was haunted by a driver who had died there. The investigator told him that the ghost’s yin energy had clung to his family and that they would remain affected until the ghost was dealt with.

• Mr. Li described seeing a motionless figure appear and vanish in the road while his father drove through a dark residential area.
• Mr. Li’s parents debated turning back, but his father continued slowly along the road as they searched for the figure.
• Mr. Li heard a crash and saw a car and the ghost in the rearview mirror, after which his father sped away and they drove until dawn.
• Mr. Li learned from relatives that a driver had died after crashing into a streetlight in Xupu and that residents still saw the ghost and car there.
• Mr. Li said his family remained anxious and he kept dreaming about the crash, and the investigator explained that the ghost’s yin energy had affected them.

A team investigated the ghost haunting Lin Road after a woman asked them to help the dead driver move on. They confirmed the road was haunted but did not find the ghost, then learned from traffic police that the driver was Zhao Chi, a businessman who died in a fatigue-related crash.

• The woman asked the team to find the ghost of the driver who had appeared in her car and help him move on.
• The team mapped the woman's route and explained that the ghost might be difficult to help if he had a strong attachment to the living world.
• The team discussed the trace of yin energy left by the ghost and found that traffic accident records and cameras offered little help.
• The team questioned residents near Lin Road, who described Zhao Chi's fatal crash and recurring phantom crash sounds, but the ghost was not found.
• Qian Youjia told the team that Zhao Chi had driven for seven or eight hours before swerving into a streetlight and dying at the scene.

The reporters investigated Zhao Chi’s fatal crash and interviewed his wife, Sun Shan, about his final journey and the aftermath. Sun Shan had experienced no haunting herself, and the chapter left the reports of a ghost near the crash site unexplained.

• The reporters asked for Zhao Chi’s family’s contact information, and the officer arranged for a relative to contact them instead.
• The reporters failed to find Zhao Chi’s ghost and found no ghostly voice in an analysis of the audio recording.
• Sun Shan told the reporters that Zhao Chi had driven to Maoling despite her warning that he was exhausted and should take someone along or travel by train.
• Sun Shan described identifying Zhao Chi’s body, hearing that fatigue likely caused the crash, and arranging his cremation because no one would transport his body home.
• Sun Shan said her in-laws blamed her, she struggled to handle Zhao Chi’s company affairs and debts, and she had experienced no haunting.

The narrator watched Greenleaf’s 2002 investigation of a ghost on Linkou Road, where Wu Ling and Ye Qing helped the victim, Mr. Zhao, move on after a fatal crash. The uneventful case left the narrator uneasy about Greenleaf’s record, and they wondered whether they would live to see demolition signing begin.

• Greenleaf’s recording showed a ghost appearing on Linkou Road, and Wu Ling said it had not fully become a ghost yet.
• A car crashed into a streetlight pole, and Wu Ling and Ye Qing found the injured driver and the ghost beside another wrecked car.
• Wu Ling burned talismans, restoring Mr. Zhao’s memories, and the ghost disappeared after she told him it was time to be reborn.
• The narrator searched for information about Linkou Road and found no news or rumors about Zhao Chi’s accident.
• The narrator closed the laptop, thought about work and demolition proceedings, and wondered whether the world would end before signing began.

The narrator dreamed of Zhao Chi’s fatal crash and identified the speeding car that struck him as Hui C5325. The dream shifted to the car’s driver on a desolate mountain road, where the narrator sensed powerful yin energy and saw a beast awaken.

• The narrator awoke inside Zhao Chi’s car as he drove dangerously fast toward Maoling.
• A blinding light startled Zhao Chi, and his car crashed into a utility pole.
• A speeding car with license plate Hui C5325 passed the wreck without stopping, and the narrator watched it disappear.
• The dream shifted to the driver of Hui C5325 as he traveled along an empty road through the mountains.
• The narrator sensed unusual yin energy as the road vanished into the mountainside, and a ferocious beast opened its eyes and sprang up.

The narrator and a driver became trapped in a mountain road as powerful sinister energy spread, killing the driver without his awareness and distorting their surroundings. After the car crashed and broke down, the driver called for help, and the narrator realized the smartphone meant this was not 2002.

• The driver panicked at the sinister energy, turned the car around, and sped onto a road that twisted despite having been straight.
• The sinister energy spread into the car and silently killed the driver, though he continued driving unaware.
• The driver followed a compass off the road and crashed into a tree, but the compass still pointed ahead.
• The car failed to start, so the driver took a flashlight, checked the damaged engine, and called for help using his smartphone.
• The narrator noticed the smartphone and wondered what year it was.

The narrator watched Zheng Motian become trapped in a dark, isolated forest and get killed by a car, then found himself back with Zheng Motian as he woke from the dream. Zheng Motian believed it had only been a dream, though unmistakable yin energy clung to him.

• Zheng Motian discovered that his phone service had been cut off and could not contact anyone for help.
• After tracking time by counting, Zheng Motian left his car and walked south into the woods with a compass and camera.
• Zheng Motian reached a road and ran toward an approaching car, which struck him and pinned him against a tree.
• The car rammed Zheng Motian again, and he died as dawn broke and his body vanished from the driver’s seat.
• Zheng Motian suddenly found himself driving again and woke from the experience at 2:24 a.m. on January 29, 2014.

After Zheng Motian returned to the moment before his death, he and the narrator heard a radio caller describe luring his fiancée and her lover onto haunted Guangyuan Road. The caller’s voice carried yin energy, and headlights appeared behind their car.

• Zheng Motian restarted the car after returning to the time before his death, and the narrator confirmed that he was still a ghost.
• Zheng Motian tuned the radio and heard host Xiaofang congratulate a caller named Mr. Yu on his upcoming wedding.
• Mr. Yu told Xiaofang that his fiancée had deceived him, was pregnant by her boss, and planned to use him as a shield.
• Mr. Yu revealed that he had brought his fiancée and her lover onto haunted Guangyuan Road and intended to leave her there.
• The narrator sensed yin energy in Mr. Yu’s voice, and Zheng Motian and the narrator saw headlights shining toward them from behind.

Zheng Motian encountered two ghosts on a dark road after Yu Qin abandoned them, and watched them awaken and argue about how they had been tricked. The ghosts could not see or feel Zheng Motian, leaving him terrified as he realized he could not touch them.

• The narrator sensed yin energy from a car that appeared out of nowhere, and Zheng Motian watched its dead driver stop and dump two ghosts onto the road.
• Yu Qin ended his radio call with Xiao Fang, drove away, and left the two ghosts lying beneath the headlights.
• Zheng Motian approached the ghosts, and they woke and argued about Yu Qin drugging them and using a stolen account to lure them there.
• The man and woman chose a direction and started walking, while Zheng Motian tried to grab them and his hand passed through the man's body.
• Zheng Motian stared at his hand, then screamed and crouched on the ground in terror.

Zheng Motian encountered a ghostly road accident that revealed Mr. Yu and another man’s violence, then fled as supernatural figures attacked them. He later passed the missing van and saw skeletons moving inside it.

• Zheng Motian saw the same man and woman walking beside the road and braked beside them as an oncoming car approached.
• The oncoming car struck the woman, then crashed while pursuing the man; Mr. Yu climbed out and attacked him.
• Mr. Yu and the man argued and fought until a ghost car appeared and seemed to run the man down.
• The injured woman rose with a moving lump of flesh, while a radio broadcast played from the overturned car and ghostly figures attacked the men.
• Zheng Motian sped away and passed the reappearing van, where he saw skeletons arguing in the front seats.

Zheng Motian realized he was dead and became trapped in a car on a dark road where his calls for help could not reach anyone. A frightening female ghost approached him, then calmed down and asked how he had died.

• Zheng Motian woke in the car, discovered that time had not moved, and realized he might be a ghost.
• Zheng Motian called the 110 emergency hotline, but the operator repeated the same greeting and his phone kept calling after he hung up.
• A charred, featureless woman pulled open the car window and reached inside, terrifying Zheng Motian.
• A phone lit up beneath the seat, and the woman spoke from inside the car, scolded Zheng Motian for screaming, and started to leave.
• Zheng Motian called the woman back, and she climbed into the rear seat and asked when he had died.
• Zheng Motian said he had died in the early morning of January 29, 2014, and the woman asked whether a ghost had killed him as a replacement or whether he had died on his own.

Zheng Motian learned that he had died on cursed Guangyuan Road, while the female ghost explained how she had died and why she needed a substitute. After realizing the people in his travel group were the only ones connected to his death, he messaged them, disguising his appeal as a complaint about a delayed tow truck.

• The female ghost told Zheng Motian that he had died from the curse of Guangyuan Road, not because another ghost had chosen him as a substitute.
• The female ghost described being killed on Guangyuan Road after a lost driver called the emergency dispatch center, then said she had not found a living person to take her place.
• Zheng Motian realized that he might find a substitute among the people in his travel group, who were connected to his death.
• Zheng Motian turned on his phone and sent the group a message complaining that the insurance company had not sent a tow truck.

Zheng Motian searched for someone to use as a scapegoat, and the narrator learned that he had fled after causing a crash that might have killed Zhao Chi. Zheng Motian lured a family into a fatal collision, and the narrator was dragged off the cliff with them.

• Zheng Motian tried messaging and calling everyone he could think of, then searched his memories for someone to sacrifice in his place.
• The narrator witnessed Zheng Motian's memory of speeding away after a near head-on crash with Zhao Chi and realized Zheng Motian felt no remorse.
• Zheng Motian summoned another driver to the haunted road and prepared to crash into their car.
• The narrator rushed toward the headlights but could not reach either vehicle before Zheng Motian's car collided with the other car.
• Zheng Motian's car drove the other vehicle over a cliff, and the narrator was dragged over as both cars fell and exploded.

The narrator followed Zheng Motian through a supernatural white light, where an empty car ran him down and left him to suffer as his body healed. Zheng Motian emerged in an eerie villa resort, and the narrator recognized it as Guangyuan Mountain Resort before waking from the dream.

• The narrator was dragged after Zheng Motian as he ran toward the retreating white light.
• The light gave way to darkness, and an empty car struck Zheng Motian and drove over him.
• Zheng Motian's body slowly healed while the dark scene transformed into a misty mountain resort.
• Zheng Motian searched the locked villas, then walked down the road as the narrator recognized the square as Guangyuan.
• The narrator felt a force pull him away and woke in his own bed, realizing the dream had taken place at Guangyuan Mountain Resort.

After dreaming of Zheng Motian at Guangyuan Mountain Resort, the narrator searched for the place and found little beyond its unresolved closure. He then investigated Guangyuan Highway, uncovering a history of disaster and hauntings that left him unsettled.

• The narrator checked maps and news about Guangyuan Mountain Resort, confirming that no road there was called Guangyuan Highway.
• The narrator's sister told him that rumors about Huang Anxin had spread at Minqing University, but her protective charm had not reacted.
• The narrator read that an earthquake struck Mount Tai'an in 2000, killing many residents and prompting more than a hundred surviving households to abandon the mountain.
• The narrator learned that a tunnel on Guangyuan Highway collapsed in 2003, trapping five people; the survivors later died in two ambulance crashes.
• The narrator discovered that repeated accidents led to Guangyuan Highway's closure in 2014, though ghost drivers and earthquake victims were still said to haunt the area.

The narrator researched the Guangyuan Highway’s hauntings and learned that a powerful ghost, rather than a mass of spirits from underworld gates, might explain its yin energy. After Wu Ling sent Nangong Yao’s extensive findings on deaths linked to the highway, the narrator realized the victims might be far more numerous than the ghosts from the dream.

• The narrator read accounts of the highway’s earthquake, a dead emergency operator, and a love-triangle murder in which the bride appeared to kill two men after she had died.
• The narrator messaged Wu Ling about the dream, and Wu Ling agreed to investigate.
• At the office, Skinny said his ex-girlfriend had told him the Guangyuan Highway was a famous haunted place.
• The narrator checked whether Guangyuan was near Minqing and felt relieved to find no such place there.
• Wu Ling sent the narrator Nangong Yao’s detailed research into fatal incidents on the Guangyuan Highway, and the narrator suspected the highway had claimed many more lives than the dream had shown.

The narrator reviewed Greenleaf’s chronology of deaths and strange incidents on Guangyuan Highway, from its construction to the discovery of multiple crash sites in 2010. The chapter ended with the revelation that police had found eight additional crash sites while searching for the dispatcher.

• Greenleaf established that Guangyuan Highway was built and extended without deaths, and that the reported Mount Taian earthquake had never occurred.
• Police connected a February 2009 emergency call to a missing traveler and found his crushed vehicle and body in the forest above the tunnel.
• In March 2009, rescuers found a caller crushed to death by fallen concrete inside the tunnel.
• In April 2009, police found a van containing six skeletons, which the narrator recognized from a dream.
• Later incidents included a homeless man who had starved to death and, in May 2010, the discovery of the dispatcher's body and eight other crash sites.

The narrator reviewed the history of Guangyuan Highway’s strange crashes and the details of Zheng Motian’s death. Nangong Yao’s investigation revealed that Zheng Motian’s account had continued messaging his hiking group after his death, apparently trying to lure people to the highway.

• The narrator noticed that photos of the eight crash sites showed Guangyuan Highway’s streetlights and road markings becoming increasingly blurry before disappearing from later reports.
• After the twelfth crash, authorities permanently closed Guangyuan Highway, but people continued entering it and dying in accidents.
• Police concluded that Zheng Motian had been run down by a car thief, though the photos and scene left major unanswered questions.
• Nangong Yao investigated Zheng Motian’s hiking group and learned that Zheng Motian’s account had sent messages days after his death.
• The group owner muted the group, confirmed with Zheng Motian’s wife that no one was using his account, and moved members to a new group while warning them not to respond to Zheng Motian.
• Zheng Motian continued messaging individual group members with hints about Guangyuan Highway, and the narrator was surprised by the group owner’s quick response.

After learning that Zheng Motian's ghost had turned Guangyuan Highway into a deadly ghost road, Qi suspected it was a new kind of supernatural being and warned Ye Qing about Greenleaf's planned investigation. Ye Qing ordered Wu Ling's team to stay in Minqing, then began preparing for something that night and drove Qi out of the office as the daredevil arrived.

• Zheng Motian's wife confirmed that he had called despite his phone and SIM card being in her possession, and the group concluded he had become a dangerous ghost.
• Qi discovered that Li Shi, a victim of a later Guangyuan Highway crash, was Greenleaf's client and had been investigating Zhao Chi's ghost, whose death was connected to Zheng Motian.
• Qi read Wu Ling's theory that the ghost had turned Guangyuan Highway into a ghost road and might be hiding at Guangyuan Mountain Resort, then discussed with Chen Xiaoqiu whether it was a new kind of supernatural being.
• Qi told Ye Qing about the highway and Wu Ling's plan to investigate; Ye Qing ordered the group to stay in Minqing, and Wu Ling asked him how he had died.
• Ye Qing began saying that they would prepare for something that night, then shoved Qi out of the office as the daredevil arrived, prompting Qi to hurry downstairs with him.

Team Leader Lin escaped the burst of yin energy at Greenleaf Paranormal Agency and worried about Ye Qing before falling asleep and entering a dream. The dream left him in an old van with six people arguing over which way to go.

• Team Leader Lin dragged the daredevil out of the building as yin energy erupted around the sixth floor, then watched it recede into Greenleaf Paranormal Agency.
• The daredevil asked Team Leader Lin for help finding a haunted place, but Team Leader Lin denied working for the agency and tried to leave.
• Yuan recognized Team Leader Lin and confirmed that he worked for the demolition office and had a key to Greenleaf Paranormal Agency.
• Guo Yujie and Chen Xiao Qiu interrupted the daredevil and Yuan, allowing Team Leader Lin to enter the residents' committee office.
• Team Leader Lin remembered Ye Qing's instruction to prepare for a dream journey, then fell asleep and found himself inside an old van with six people.
• The van's driver stopped the arguing and asked Third Brother whether he was sure they were on the right road.