Ghost

Biodata

Nature and Origins

The Investigation Bureau has no definitive explanation for what Ghosts are, where they originate, or what they ultimately want. Its preliminary definition describes them as physical manifestations of twisted minds. Their shared characteristics are intense malice toward humans and the emission of mind-corrupting radiation 32.

Legends of Ghosts appear to date back to antiquity, but both those legends and accounts of extraordinary people disappeared for a period. Their modern resurgence follows an unexplained gap of nearly a century. Initially rare, reported Ghost appearances have become increasingly frequent 34.

Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital provides evidence of human transformation into Ghosts. Fang Xiu finds a report concerning a failed transformation and later sees fragmented visions of experiments on half-human, half-Ghost subjects. He concludes that the hospital’s patients were transformed experimentally, while the female doctor became a Ghost through contamination from her Scalpel 8 22 26.

Appearance

Ghosts have no uniform physical form; examples range from human-looking figures to shapeless apparitions 5 26 32.

• Humanoid disguises: Fang Xiu’s wife initially appears as a beautiful woman wearing a white silk nightdress 1.
• Faceless shadow figures: Humanoid entities completely wrapped in black shadows walk the streets 5.
• Hybrid creatures: Fang Xiu sees snake-like beings with human heads draped over unaware pedestrians’ shoulders 6.
• Distorted human anatomy: The Ghost Doctor has white eyes, spider-like limbs, legs over two meters long, and a neck capable of rotating 180 degrees 14 15.
• Non-solid manifestations: Nightmare appears as scarlet eyes surrounded by churning, shapeless black smoke 26.

Perception and Manifestation

Unseen Ghosts

Fang Xiu can see Ghosts that other people cannot perceive. Ordinary pedestrians remain unaware of nearby creatures, and awakening Spirituality does not automatically grant access to this same view 6 29 33.

• Zhao Hao cannot see the Ghosts overhead after becoming a Spirit Tamer 29.
• Shen Lingxue cannot initially see Fang Xiu’s wife, despite being an experienced Spirit Tamer 33.
• Fang Xiu also observes illusory Ghosts inside the Investigation Bureau that its personnel apparently cannot see 38.

Entering Reality

Fang Xiu concludes that Ghosts already exist in an unseen state and enter reality when certain conditions are fulfilled. To other people, this looks like an entity appearing from nowhere 35.

• His wife becomes visible to Shen Lingxue and Li Wenhao only after Fang Xiu acknowledges her presence. He interprets this as triggering a medium that brings her into reality 33.
• Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital initially overlaps Hundred Willows Academy without replacing the ordinary buildings, then becomes accessible during the supernatural incident 7 8 33.
• Before manifestation, Fang Xiu can walk through his wife’s body 35.

Responding to Ghosts

Fang Xiu theorizes that humanoid Ghosts impersonate coworkers, classmates, and relatives to make humans acknowledge their existence. His resulting precaution is to avoid responding to suspicious voices or supernatural signals 6.

• His wife attacks after realizing that he can see her 1 3.
• This is not a universal survival rule: Ghosts encountered within a Ghost Domain can kill without first being visibly recognized by their victims 11 12.

Abilities and Skills

Consumption and Growth

According to the Investigation Bureau, Ghosts appear to consume human minds or mental energy and strengthen themselves through that consumption 32.

• Some also physically eat their victims; the Ghost Doctor dismembers and consumes people 14 15.
• Physical consumption can influence an individual Ghost’s attack intervals. The Ghost Doctor remains occupied until she finishes eating 14 39.

Mental Corruption

Every Ghost is described as a source of corruption, constantly affecting its surroundings in a manner compared to radioactive material 32.

• Exposure can stimulate negative emotions and twist a person’s psyche 32.
• Ghost power can awaken Spirituality, but the process simultaneously contaminates the mind 12.
• Objects contaminated by Ghost power can become Ghost Artifacts, which retain supernatural functions and transmit further corruption to their users 35.

Physical Power and Durability

Ghosts can possess strength, speed, and resilience far beyond ordinary humans, although their individual capabilities vary substantially 15 22 29.

• An ordinary punch injures Fang Xiu’s hand without harming the Ghost Doctor 15.
• His Spirituality-powered attack causes her pain, but produces little damage and exhausts his available Spirituality 22.
• Ordinary weapons and armor are ineffective against Ghosts. Mindsteel equipment can affect them when supplied with Spirituality 41.
• Their durability gives them greater tolerance for mistakes than Spirit Tamers, whose bodies remain vulnerable flesh and blood 41.

Individual Supernatural Powers

Abilities and vulnerabilities differ between Ghosts rather than following a single shared pattern 26 34 39.

• Dream manipulation: Nightmare forces nearby people asleep and creates frightening dreams. Greater fear causes faster death 26 39.
• Large-scale disease: Plague can spread disease over a vast area despite possessing a weak true body 34.
• Ghost servants: Some powerful Ghosts control dead humans or animals as servants; these controlled beings are generally weaker than Ghosts themselves 38.

Ghost Domains and Killing Rules

Ghost Domains

A Ghost Domain is a Ghost’s territory, described as another dimension. During the Hundred Willows Academy incident, its presence suppresses light and cuts off phone signals 11.

• Shen Lingxue states that a domain ordinarily forms around one Ghost. Other Ghosts can wander into it, and separate domains can merge 38.
• She also states that Ghosts have difficulty coexisting peacefully and do not normally gather in large groups 38.
• Fang Xiu’s account of dozens of Ghosts confined in Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital contradicts her assessment. She identifies the additional entities as servants, while he insists they are genuine Ghosts 38 39.

Killing Rules

Wang Ziteng explains that ordinary people’s best chance of survival is to identify a Ghost’s killing rules and avoid triggering them. Careless movement or contact within a domain can violate an unknown taboo 11.

• Killing rules are not necessarily safe to exploit after interference: Fang Xiu suspects that attacking the Ghost Doctor or stealing her Scalpel disrupted her usual pattern 22.
• Ghost Hitting the Wall traps victims in an apparent spatial loop. Fang Xiu escapes the hospital stairwell loop by closing his eyes and feeling along the wall until he finds a concealed iron door 16 17.

Threat Classification

The five threat ranks run from S → A → B → C → D. Rankings measure potential harm, not simply how difficult an entity is to defeat in direct combat 34.

Documented Examples

Relationships

• Fang Xiu — Can perceive the otherwise unseen Ghosts surrounding humanity. Repeated deaths turn killing every Ghost into his stated ambition 5 25 39.
• Spirit Tamers — Natural enemies whose abilities nevertheless depend on Ghost power. Awakening requires a severe mental shock and contact with that power; further advancement requires increasingly dangerous encounters with stronger Ghosts 12 33.
• Investigation Bureau — Investigates supernatural incidents, assigns Ghost codenames and threat ratings, and deploys Spirit Tamers against them 32 39 42.