As a Contract Anomalist, Xu Zhou was still a rookie who had only made his contract recently.
He wasn't very skilled at controlling the ghost, and he had limited experience dealing with ghosts.
This was a ghost capable of unfolding a Ghost Domain. The only question was whether it was an Incomplete Ghost Domain or a Semi-Complete Ghost Domain.
If it was an Incomplete Ghost Domain, then the ghost was at the Green Face level, equivalent to a C-Class Contract Anomalist. If Xu Zhou could get into the right state, he might just be able to handle it.
If it was a Semi-Complete Ghost Domain, then it was a Malignant Curse! That was equivalent to a B-Class Contract Anomalist. Xu Zhou couldn't deal with it at all in his current state.
With the ghost's strength unknown, Xu Zhou was the only one capable of fighting it. He couldn't risk his life for an ordinary person he couldn't control.
Ultimately, the Aberration Association's purpose was to contain ghosts. Saving ordinary people was just something they did along the way.
After thinking it over calmly, Ji Wu gave up on rescuing the woman.
Xu Zhou couldn't bear to leave her, but faced with the unknown, he couldn't control his fear. He was just a college student who had accidentally gained power!
"Xu Zhou! Let the Ghost Hand out!"
"But... I still can't control it."
Ji Wu gave him a look full of trust and encouragement.
Xu Zhou hung the blade at his waist and began trying to communicate with the ghost under contract.
A pair of pale green hands appeared in his mind. Their black nails were long and sharp. If not for their skin color, they would have been a very beautiful pair of hands.
Xu Zhou's face paled. The hands twisted and clawed in his mind, as if they were about to pierce through his skull and tear his brain apart.
Forcing himself to control the Ghost Hand with his mind placed a tremendous strain on him.
Creak, creak!
The sound of nails scraping across glass tormented his brain, making him dizzy again and again.
Xu Zhou forced himself to endure the discomfort and formed a hand gesture. Gradually, his movements synchronized with those of the Ghost Hand in his mind.
This was also the unique way Contract Anomalists communicated with the ghosts under contract.
Give me your power!
Creak! Creak!
As if answering him, the Ghost Hand shifted from intangible to tangible, emerging through his chest and appearing in front of him.
The moment the Ghost Hand appeared,
the baby's cries grew even sharper.
"Waa! Waa! Waaa!"
Xu Zhou endured the stabbing pain in his head and raised his hand. "Tear it open!"
The Ghost Hand immediately lunged at the Flesh Membrane and began clawing at it viciously. Splurt! Its sharp nails pierced straight through the membrane, ripping off chunks of flesh.
The Flesh Membrane writhed as if it could feel pain, and more and more blood dripped down.
Sun Chengzhi had been sitting on the ground, his spirits low. As the blood began to fall more heavily, it kept dripping onto his head. He looked up helplessly and saw the horrifying scene before him.
"Ah!!! It's a ghost! There's a ghost!"
"A baby! There really is a baby crying! Xiao Li wasn't making it up!"
Sun Chengzhi completely broke down, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.
Ji Wu remained tense and alert.
When would the baby, whose cries they had heard but never seen, appear?
The Ghost Hand furiously tore at the Flesh Membrane.
The wound grew larger and larger. At this rate, they might really be able to tear a hole through the Ghost Domain.
"Waa, waa, waaaa!"
Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh! The Ghost Infant clung to the membrane and crawled rapidly toward them.
It was tiny—much smaller than a newborn baby, and looked to weigh only about two pounds. A broken piece of umbilical cord still hung from its belly.
Its whole body was dark greenish-black, and a murky yellow-green fluid dripped from it.
It bit at the Ghost Hand with its mouth and its underdeveloped little hands.
It had no teeth, yet under the Ghost Infant's bites, one of the Ghost Hand's fingers was bitten off.
Xu Zhou's face went pale. He made a forceful grasping gesture, and under his control, the Ghost Hand struck back at the Ghost Infant.
"Waa, waa!" The Ghost Infant's skin was slashed by the Ghost Hand, and it cried out in pain.
The piercing sound made everyone's ears ache. Ji Wu felt as if his brain had been struck; it rang in his head, and he couldn't hear a thing.
He raised a hand to touch his ear. The warm, wet sensation told him it was bleeding.
"A sonic attack?"
Ji Wu pulled a packet of cotton from his pocket, rolled it into two plugs, and stuffed them into his ears.
It wouldn't block much, but it was better than nothing.
Sun Chengzhi clapped his hands over his ears and writhed on the ground in pain.
Ji Wu drew the gun from his waist. It held twelve bullets made of special material that could injure ghosts. There weren't many, so every shot had to hit the Ghost Infant.
The Ghost Infant was currently locked in combat with the Ghost Hand.
The Ghost Hand had lost three fingers.
The Ghost Infant was covered in cuts of various sizes. There was also a hole the size of a finger in its chest; the Ghost Hand had nearly ripped open its chest and pulled out its heart.
"Waa, waa! Waaa!"
The Ghost Infant's cries grew sharper and sharper, while the Ghost Hand kept making a shrill, creaking sound.
Xu Zhou's face grew paler and paler. A large amount of blood ran from his ears, staining his down jacket red.
He was now completely focused on the Ghost Infant, continuously controlling the Ghost Hand to attack it.
Almost!
Just a little longer!
So close!
Tear it apart, Ghost Hand!
Just as he and the Ghost Infant were about to decide the winner, a scream from behind distracted him.
"Ah!"
Sun Chengzhi clutched his stomach, his expression terrified. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "H-Help me!"
He reached out toward Ji Wu, then finally let his hand fall, unwilling to die.
"Giggle, giggle! Giggle, giggle!"
As he collapsed, a Ghost Infant appeared beside him, giggling.
This Ghost Infant was somewhat deformed. One of its hands was so small it was almost invisible, and its head was much larger than its body.
Ji Wu aimed his gun at it. "This is bad. I didn't expect there to be two."
The situation had already spiraled far beyond his judgment. With two ghosts, Xu Zhou definitely couldn't handle them!
Ji Wu took aim and fired at the Ghost Infant.
But it crawled away at incredible speed, dodging the bullet.
"Giggle, giggle, giggle~"
The Ghost Infant laughed merrily. Although it was smaller and deformed, it was much faster than the other one.
The Ghost Infant darted toward Ji Wu.
Ji Wu tried to shoot it back, emptying the magazine, but only managed to hit it twice.
And that was with Ji Wu's excellent marksmanship. Anyone else probably wouldn't have hit it even once.
The Ghost Infant was too fast!
Just tracking its movements was difficult.
"Xu Zhou, stop attacking the Ghost Infant! Have the Ghost Hand attack the Ghost Domain with all its strength!"
"You hold off the bigger one."
"Supervisor Ji?" Xu Zhou understood what Ji Wu meant.
Ji Wu was telling Xu Zhou to leave him behind and escape alone.
With the Ghost Hand and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade, Xu Zhou had a better chance of surviving than Ji Wu. He had the best shot at breaking through the Ghost Domain.
If the two of them kept dragging this out, neither of them would survive.
"Get out and find Bai Zuo!"
Ji Wu drew a dagger and charged at the Ghost Infant.
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