Ghost, the Wandering Spirit

I returned to the Dead Puppet Agency, to this desolate, sparsely populated place.

As soon as Jiang Xueming got off the car, he went straight to the department store to buy enough food to last a month. He should have enough cash on him to last three months. Homo sapiens cannot stay in this area under the jurisdiction of the Death Rune for too long, otherwise they may become [Outlaw].

While purchasing food, drinking water, tents, water filters, and other items, a man squatting next to a power bank box happened to see Jiang Xueming. The strange behavior of carrying large and small bags of things outside and loading them into the rented car indirectly confirmed the man's suspicions—

--This distinguished guest seems to be going to stay at the Dead Puppet Agency for a long time.

"Hello, are you a passenger? Are you going to the Dead Puppet Agency? Could you give me a ride?"

Jiang Xueming ignored the stranger's invitation and continued moving the goods.

The man wasn't angry; his phone screen flickered on and off, as if subjected to strong electromagnetic interference, but it continued charging.

The man slowly straightened up, put down his phone, walked to the cashier, and placed one hand on the compressed biscuits on the counter, which originally belonged to Jiang Xueming.

Are you Japanese? Or Korean? Don't you understand English? How about Chinese?

The simple short sentence was broken down into four languages, and the man waited patiently for Xue Ming's response.

Jiang Xueming's face was hidden under the raincoat, and his gaze remained unchanged the moment it fell on the compressed biscuits.

The man was dressed in luxurious clothes, all tight-fitting garments made of leather and buckles, with strips of cloth on the hem to protect against dust and mud, and long boots to tackle the filthy swampy terrain. He looked Asian, with black, shiny hair that was coarse and stiff, like the kind of hair gel that couldn't be moved by the wind.

His eyes gave off a sinister and ruthless feeling; his eye sockets were deep, his brows were prominent, and his cheeks were full, giving him a healthy and cheerful appearance, with a sharp and aggressive temperament.

"My safety officer doesn't want to take me, so, buddy, could you give me a ride?"

The eyebrows have many stray hairs that extend outwards from the center of the brow, with some hairs growing in the opposite direction before they are even halfway through. The eyes are upturned at the outer corners, indicating a face full of fighting spirit.

Jiang Xueming replied softly, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't have time."

The man then exclaimed, "My God! So you're not mute after all!"

"I can help you contact other security personnel." Jiang Xueming pointed to the four electric vehicles behind him. "This vehicle can't hold any more stuff. I'm going to stay at the Dead Puppet Agency for a month, so I can't take you with me."

"Oh," the man said with a disappointed expression, "Then could you please make the trip again?"

"What do you mean by making an extra trip?" Jiang Xueming reached out, trying to push the man's hand away and take back her rations.

The man quickly clutched the compressed biscuits to his chest, his eyes gleaming with mockery. "So you go in first, then drive out to pick me up? How about that?"

Xue Ming didn't think much of it and simply placed her hand on the back of the man's hand.

--At this moment, the power of Fragrant Dream was activated.

The cashier immediately saw the Xiao Shuai lying unconscious on the ground. She screamed and ran out, and together with Xue Ming, helped him to the staff break room.

The cashier was terrified and asked anxiously, "Sir! What happened to him? Why did he suddenly faint?"

Jiang Xueming: "Perhaps it's low blood sugar, or perhaps he can't handle the spiritual pressure here. I'm not sure. Let him rest for a while."

The cashier nodded, looking confused. "Oh, is he alright? Does he have any other illnesses?"

"The passengers should all have the Universal Elixir on them." Jiang Xueming searched the man's waist bag and found an ID card, as well as some versatile exploration tools, a compass and a psionic probe, a survival knife and a grappling hook. Apart from that, the guy didn't even bring a gun.

Jiang Xueming checked the ID card and, finding nothing amiss, handed it to the cashier.

"Here you go. Contact the doctor at the nearby trading post to take care of him. There are quite a few food carts that also have traveling doctors with them; he might wake up soon, and then you can give him a thorough check-up."

The cashier took the card and felt inexplicably at ease. This backpacker seemed very reliable, so she didn't think too much about it or ask any more questions.

Jiang Xueming took the biscuits from the stranger's arms, packed his bags, and immediately drove to the Dead Puppet Agency. The tram rushed into the boundless darkness and headed back towards the brightly lit highway.

The moment he left the department store, the phone at the charging station started ringing.

The ringing sounded like a ghostly wail, sometimes like the orchestral organ of Halloween, sometimes like the suona and gongs of the Ghost Festival, making people uneasy.

The cashier had just returned to her post when she was startled by the strange ringtone. She looked around nervously for a while before her phone screen lit up. The dynamic screensaver flashed bloody and terrifying images of dismembered bodies, including Western straw dolls and Eastern paper zombies, all dismembered by various sharp weapons, with splattered blood staining the screen red time and time again.

She finally walked over impatiently, thinking that it was better to answer the call; in case it was a family or friend, they could pick up this strange and impolite man ahead of time.

When she picked up her phone, she was horrified to find that she couldn't hold the electronic device steady at all.

--Her fingers felt as if they had touched a fine, sandy polymer, which seemed to have crashed directly into the screen. There was a slightly strange damping sensation, like stirring her knuckles in dust, before she left the frame. The cold touch scraped against the skin of her knuckles, and then she touched the warm, smooth countertop.

She paused for a moment, and when her hand completely left the table, the phone seemed like a thick cloud of black mist, and the holes she had poked with her fingers slowly healed.

"It's all your fault!!"

A small zombie dressed in a pheasant robe, in a Qing Dynasty style, flashed across the screensaver. Its belly had been pierced by the cashier's finger, with half of its intestines hanging out of its body. It bled from its seven orifices and cursed viciously.

"You wretched woman! Look what you've done! You've turned me into a complete mess!"

"Wow!" The cashier gasped and involuntarily took a few steps back.

Even after the screensaver changed to another animated image, the ringtone remained just as jarring.

The little girl's face turned extremely pale, and she subconsciously squeezed closer to the counter, trying to take out some psionic items from the safety box for self-defense—this might be a kind of Spirit Calamity.

She frantically reached for the stranger's ID card, then for a vajra, a spiritual catalyst blessed by the Greenstone People's craftsmen, an item capable of directly harming spirits.

She trembled with nervousness, so frightened that she dropped her ID card; the light card was carried away by a gust of wind.

--The names of its crew members have visibly changed; the black ink, like wriggling worms, has transformed from proper Chinese names into a simple English word.

[Ghost·Wandering Ghost]

[VIP/ VIP]

It drifted into the stranger's fingers, and then the passenger opened his eyes, seemingly unaffected by the Fragrant Dream, and his body floated up straight.

He put his ID card away, walked to the front desk, and turned off his phone screen.

Don't worry, don't worry.

"Sir! You're awake?!" The young woman finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the man unharmed. "Just now, it seemed... it seemed like there was a Spirit Calamity. Your phone... you..."

"It's alright." The man took the phone and comforted the young girl in a kind tone, "It's alright, it's alright."

The strong suspension bridge effect caused the helpless girl's blood pressure to rise and her heart to pound.

--The Xiao Shuai in her eyes became exceptionally charming, like a ghost or demon.

"Oh, is there anything else you'd like to order? Shall I make you a cup of coffee to perk you up?"

The man walked outside and could just see Jiang Xueming's taillights.

"Do your best."

The cashier immediately started fiddling with the coffee machine, showing off her tea and snacks.

"Sir, you're in luck today! Let me tell you, we haven't seen a single customer here for days. Our Bailiwei Supermarket's coffee is among the best in the coffee and tea competitions in the surrounding districts! Do you like milk? How much sugar would you like?"

The noise from the coffee grinder drowned out the man's silent whispers.

"That spiritual pressure feels so familiar. A VIP has come here to stay at the Dead Puppet Agency —who is it? He seems to be in a hurry and doesn't want to give me a ride. He even tried to subdue me with his spiritual power."

The cashier searched for suitable cups under the counter, but when she looked up, she couldn't see a single person.

"Huh? Huh?!"

The noise of gravel from the road emanated from all parts of the vehicle. This vehicle was inferior to Commander Nanami's Volga; it was a cheap one rented from a public tram station.

The car body emitted strange noises from the friction between plastic and rubber parts, and the windshield's light transmission was poor. In the dark environment, everything became magical and hazy, and the distant city lights became blurred by the collision of hot and cold air currents.

Xue Ming gripped the steering wheel tightly, occasionally hearing whistling sounds—the sound of dust kicked up by the passing gale hitting the steering wheel.

The spiritual pressure of the Dead Puppet Agency still carries a sense of resentment and sorrow. It originally belonged to the Mountain Giant, but now the master of this palace has become a mindless zombie, and all creatures living around the palace are cursed by the Death Rune.

This time, no vehicles left the city. The Moon God Cup had just ended, and perhaps the passengers were busy meeting with family and friends to watch the games, wanting to give themselves a break.

With just over 300 meters left in the journey, Xue Ming realized something was wrong—

--Because the tram was fully loaded with goods, and the road to the Dead Puppet Agency was a long straight road, its engine was very quiet, almost without any sound.

The cargo load in the trunk and on the seats made the tires grip the ground tightly, and looking out through the windows, there were almost no landmarks to be seen. All of this gave Xue Ming the illusion that "the car is still moving forward."

More than 300 meters away, the river embankment of the Dead Puppet Agency City stands there, together with the access ramp, seemingly never to move forward an inch.

It was only then that Xue Ming realized that the car hadn't moved at all!

He immediately rolled down the window and peered out, but from this angle he couldn't see the condition of the tires. The world outside the vehicle was quiet, except for the hum of the motor as the wheels spun at high speed.

This cautious person decided to stop the car, turn off the engine, and get out to see what had happened.

He opened the car door, stepped onto the solid asphalt road, deliberately avoiding the Lu Enfu on both sides of the road, and crouched down to carefully examine the condition of the tires.

The tire was still warm, and the rim looked normal, so he reached out and pressed his hand against the road surface, but couldn't feel anything!

Specifically, it's like stretching your Five Fingers downwards, as if you've scooped up a handful of dry but smooth sand. When you poke your fingers into this sand, you hit the roadbed subsidence rock deeper inside.

He immediately turned on his flashlight and saw an unbelievable scene—

--The tires sank deep into a dent, which corresponded exactly to the size of the four wheels. The four wheels spun around in the dent, but instead of bursting due to overheating from friction, they ran smoothly for more than a minute.

"What the hell is this?"

I checked all four wheels with the flashlight repeatedly, and it was the same every time. The pitch-black dust seemed like a strange, living substance; as I stirred it with my fingers, it would sometimes turn into soft, fine hairs that would fly up and then slowly slide back down into the pit.

Before Jiang Xueming could react, he heard the tram engine shudder and start up again!

"Is someone in the car?! Is someone following me?"

Xue Ming suddenly looked up and immediately saw a dark figure in the driver's seat. He couldn't see the person's face through the glass, only two rows of pale white teeth, and a grinning face.

In the blink of an eye, the car that had been stuck in the ditch seemed to regain its strength!

The stranger in the car jerked the steering wheel, and the front wheels hurtled straight at Jiang Xueming's calf, as the electric motor, with over 200 horsepower, was operating at full power!

"SD!" Xue Ming had just stood up and was unable to make any emergency dodge maneuvers. A thought flashed through her mind—

--The power of the soul burst forth, and the steel cat grabbed the front of the electric car, as if it were wrestling with a bull, and forcefully lifted the front-wheel-drive car!

The wheel hub was still spinning. Having lost the traction of the front wheel, its rear wheel was about to slide backward. Fragrant Dream pushed it back about ten meters away, and finally it stopped moving.

The car sat there quietly, motionless. Xue Ming remained alert, gun at the ready, observing the endless darkness.

Is it Soul Power? Someone's watching me?

As he thought this, he glanced at the asphalt road again—

The four potholes that had trapped the vehicles were still there, and the road maintenance workers were coming over to work overtime and complain. But the strange dust that had been accumulating inside the potholes had disappeared.

He crept to the side of the tram's driver's seat, opened the door, and aimed his gun at the enemy, only to find no one inside, just a few traces of psionic energy. At the same time, a dark shadow gathered sand behind him, forming a tower and then humanoid shape.

Before Xue Ming could even react, his Inspiration hadn't even sounded an alarm.

Fragrant Dream had already launched its attack! An iron fist slammed into the ghostly figure's head, sending it sprawling to the ground, its head tilted to the side.

"What's going on?" Jiang Xueming finally had time to turn around and observe.

Not far away, the ghostly figure transformed back into human form, revealing himself to be the stranger he had seen in the supermarket. Half of his chin was split open, yet not a drop of blood flowed out.

"It really was you! I knew it! You didn't even have time to react before the spirit attacked first!"

The Xiao Shuai's mouth slurred when he spoke.

"Just try attacking with your Soul Power, and you'll immediately reveal your true form!"

His two halves of his chin slowly healed, and the dark mist reshaped his form. He reached out his hand to shake hands with the nameless hero.

"Hello! I am now a sentinel of the Gate of Wonders. You should have heard of me before. I, the BOSS, and Joe are all in a social media group. My name is [Ghost]."

Xue Ming pulled off his cloak and raincoat, unsure of what to say. He put away his gun, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke.

"I'm on a mission."

Ghost dismissed it. "I know."

Jiang Xueming: "Secret mission!"

Ghost: "I know too."

Jiang Xueming: "I'm going to go find it."

Ghost untied the straps binding his neck, revealing a rune tattoo below his neck.

"I am --"

"--One of them."

[Real Name: Wu Zhaoming ·Ghost]

[Soul Might: Ghost - Wandering Ghost (Stardust Warriors Type)]

[Destructive Power: C]

[Speed:???]

[Range: B]

[Endurance: C]

[Precision: B]

[Growth Potential:???]

[Special Ability ① [Spirit Calamity Transformation - Earth]: The ability to transform matter into a spirit. This transformation is irreversible, and the transformed matter retains its basic functionality, such as electronic products, mobile phones, and appliances. Psychic catalysts and any living thing exhibit very obvious resistance to this ability—it's like a little floor sprite that can make various things in the material world disappear. After being transformed by psychic energy, matter becomes part of the Ghost's spirit. Since this VIP is a walking corpse controlled by Dead Rune, the spirit's configuration is biased towards the carbonaceous elemental structure of sand and soil.]

[Special Ability ② [Evil Spirit Body]: This VIP is not human in the traditional sense. He has been transformed into an evil spirit by the Death Rune. He is a member of the Stardust Warriors. Apart from some strict sealing methods that use psionic catalysts to imprison him, there is almost no way to completely kill him—his physical body is like a cloud of dust, his body is his spirit, and he has no potential for growth.]

[Note: <Ghost> is from DEATH STRANDING: Timefall (Original Music from the World of Death Stranding) - the promotional album for the Death Stranding soundtrack]