Are You Trying to Defy Headquarters?!

Zhao Wuji's only goal was to escape this damned place.

He glanced up at the door beside him.

Room number: 13.

Zhao Wuji understood that in a hotel like this, the lower the room number, the closer it should be to the exit.

He followed the corridor in the direction of the decreasing room numbers.

The lights in the corridor flickered, and the air was bitterly cold.

Suddenly, Zhao Wuji stopped.

He lowered his head to look at the red carpet beneath his feet.

Under the dim yellow light, a pitch-black footprint stood out starkly on the red carpet.

Outside the Caesar Hotel.

Yang Jian and Ning Rongrong had crossed the city directly through the ghost domain and arrived here.

The hotel's entrance was tightly shut. A chilling gloom shrouded the entire building, radiating an aura that warned the living to stay away.

The two were just about to approach.

A figure suddenly emerged from the shadows beside them, blocking their path.

It was a woman in a trench coat, her face pale and her eyes tinged with fatigue and wariness.

Tong Qian, the person in charge of ZS City.

"Do ghost handlers visiting other cities no longer bother to greet the local person in charge?"

Tong Qian looked at Yang Jian, a hint of accusation in her voice.

Yang Jian stopped. The Ghost Eye on his forehead rolled restlessly before fixing its gaze on Tong Qian.

"Are you going to stop me?" Yang Jian's voice was hoarse and icy.

Tong Qian took a deep breath. "I'm not stopping you. The Caesar Hotel is a supernatural incident under my jurisdiction. It's extremely dangerous inside. There's no need for you to get involved. I'll handle it."

Yang Jian's Ghost Eye swept over Tong Qian.

He could clearly sense the supernatural fluctuations within her.

"One ghost?" Yang Jian sneered.

Ignoring Tong Qian, Yang Jian headed straight for the Caesar Hotel's entrance.

"Stop!"

Tong Qian frowned and instinctively reached out to stop Yang Jian.

But before Yang Jian could act-

A figure suddenly darted out from behind him.

Ning Rongrong's face was cold, her eyes devoid of any human emotion.

Without hesitation, she reached out and clamped a hand around Tong Qian's outstretched wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Tong Qian cried in alarm.

The next second, indescribable agony shot through her wrist.

To her horror, Tong Qian discovered that the skin around her wrist was rapidly peeling away!

Bright red flesh was exposed directly to the air!

The supernatural attack of the dormant Ghost Skin had activated!

"You're attacking someone in charge from Headquarters! Are you trying to defy Headquarters?!" Tong Qian shouted in pain.

Knowing she had encountered formidable opponents, she unleashed the supernatural power within her without a moment's hesitation.

An eerie smiling face slowly emerged on the back of Tong Qian's head.

"Hee hee hee..."

A spine-chilling laugh abruptly echoed through the air.

Ghost Smile Curse attack!

It was an indiscriminate sound-based attack.

Yang Jian and Ning Rongrong stiffened at the same time.

The corners of their mouths began splitting upward uncontrollably!

The skin on the back of Tong Qian's hand had peeled away completely, and blood dripped onto the floor.

Enduring the excruciating pain, she shouted through gritted teeth, "Let go! I'll stop the attack!"

Yang Jian frowned slightly.

He ignored Tong Qian's warning and simply opened his mouth coldly.

Woof!

A muffled bark rang out inside Yang Jian's mind.

The upturned corners of Yang Jian's mouth immediately returned to normal.

Meanwhile-

Ning Rongrong did not use any means of suppression at all.

An ashen sheen suddenly spread across the surface of her fair skin.

The rigid layer of dead skin held the corners of her mouth firmly in place. No matter how the Ghost Smile Curse pulled at them, it could not tear her skin in the slightest!

The supernatural attack had been blocked outright!

At the sight, Tong Qian's pupils constricted sharply, and shock surged through her.

These two had blocked the ghost smile's attack with such ease!

And Ning Rongrong's attack was still continuing!

The peeling skin had spread from Tong Qian's wrist to her forearm.

Large patches of flesh were exposed, and blood stained Tong Qian's trench coat red.

Ning Rongrong watched Tong Qian struggle in pain without expression.

Whether driven by the Ghost Skin's instinct to flay people or by a desire to prove her worth to Yang Jian, she did not loosen her grip. Instead, it grew tighter and tighter.

Tong Qian struggled frantically, trying to pull her hand free.

But to her despair, she discovered that the seemingly frail girl before her possessed astonishing strength!

Although Tong Qian was a ghost handler, her physical constitution was still that of an ordinary person.

Ning Rongrong, however, was a genuine Soul Master from the Douluo Continent!

Even as a support-type Soul Master, her body, tempered by soul power, was far beyond what an ordinary person could contend with.

Tong Qian screamed in pain, cold sweat covering her forehead.

Just as the supernatural flaying was about to spread to Tong Qian's shoulder-

Yang Jian's indifferent voice sounded slowly.

"Now isn't the time to openly break with Headquarters."

A flicker of regret crossed Ning Rongrong's eyes at his words, but she understood and released her grip.

Tong Qian staggered back several steps. She wanted to cover her mangled arm, but there was nowhere she could touch.

Her utterly ruined arm hung limply at her side, blood dripping steadily onto the floor.

Her face deathly pale, she stared fixedly at Yang Jian and Ning Rongrong.

"You..." Tong Qian had just begun to speak.

The Ghost Eye on Yang Jian's forehead suddenly opened wide, and a scarlet light locked onto Tong Qian.

A suffocating sense of mortal danger instantly enveloped her entire body.

Tong Qian shuddered and forcibly swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.

She knew that if she said another word, this madman named Yang Jian would kill her without the slightest hesitation!

Gritting her teeth, Tong Qian turned and stumbled away.

Yang Jian withdrew his gaze and pushed open the Caesar Hotel's heavy glass door.

The two entered the lobby, one after the other.

The twentieth floor of the Paranormal Forum's headquarters building.

Standing before the broad floor-to-ceiling windows, Lin Cheng gazed calmly at the city.

"The Sky Screen is about to start choosing people again?"

Lin Cheng murmured to himself, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Liu Xiaoyu."

Liu Xiaoyu's voice immediately came through his earpiece. "Boss Lin, I'm here."

"If anyone else wants to join the Paranormal Forum, the rules stay the same."

"Taking down the Cockroach Club will be the requirement. Anyone who can do it can join."

"Understood, Boss Lin." Liu Xiaoyu asked no further questions.

Ending the call, Lin Cheng slowly stood up.

He would leave the trouble with the Cockroach Club to those people from Douluo. Even if they died, it would not affect the Paranormal Forum.

The only thing he needed to focus on now was Huanggang Village.

The next second, a deep blue light erupted from beneath his feet!

There was no sound, no rush of air.

Only a suffocating salty, fishy odor that instantly filled the entire office.

The deep blue ghost domain swallowed Lin Cheng's body in an instant.

His body rapidly turned transparent within the deep blue light, and he stepped forward.

The surrounding scenery hurtled backward like a shattered mirror.