Kinko's The small warehouse behind the express store was transformed into a temporary command center. The walls were covered with yellowed clippings of supernatural events and hand-drawn maps by Morton House. In the corner were piles of cheap electromagnetic detectors, night vision cameras and homemade "ghost hunting tools". Ed stepped on a folding chair and used Mark The pen circled the four characters "Morton House" on the whiteboard, and his golden brown beard trembled with the passionate tone. "Every four years, at midnight on February 29, this mansion will become Purgatory! All the residents will disappear without a trace - this is the legend of the 'leap year ghost'!"
Harry stood aside, holding the camera in one hand and pointing it at Ed, while adjusting the focus of the lens with the other hand. "We are not here to die, we are here to make history! This video tape is our ticket to enter Hollywood!"
Corbett squatted on the ground to sort out the equipment, gently wiping the lens of a second-hand camera with his fingertips. From the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but glance at the back of Ed - he had a small bag of French vanilla coffee in his arms, and he specifically noted yesterday. Ed mentioned the preference casually. Maggie squatted beside him to adjust the temperature detector. The metal shell made a crisp sound when it collided. She rolled her eyes. "Can you stop talking about 'fame'? First think about how to pay the wages you two owe us."
Spruce leaned against the door frame, spinning a copper coin in his hand, and added slowly, "My grandfather said that my Cherokee blood makes me particularly sensitive to evil spirits - I can already smell the 'negative energy' in this place." As soon as he finished speaking, Ed glared at him. "That's the smell of the burrito you ate last night!"
Everyone carried the equipment, shouted the slogan "Ghostfacers, invincible", got into a dilapidated van, and drove out of the warehouse with the lights flashing. The camera recorded the whole process of this "hot-blooded and successful" departure moment. It was then posted to their personal webpage.
The night shrouded the country road, and AC/DC rock melody overflowed from the radio. Dean held the steering wheel with one hand, and tapped the leather seat with the fingers of the other hand in rhythm. A cynical smile hung on the corner of his mouth, "I can't believe that we actually have to compete with a group of 'amateurs' - we didn't clean up the mess in the 'Hellhound Lair' last time?"
Sam was sitting in the passenger seat, his fingertips caressing the holes in his jeans unconsciously, his eyes a little distracted. Since the end of a hundred time cycles, he would always be subconsciously wary of repeated scenes and sudden unusual noises. When he heard words like "leap year" and "cycle", his temples ached, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the corners of his clothes.
Bai Haorui was sitting in the back seat with his legs crossed, holding a wisp of lavender True Fire in the palm of his hand. The flame danced lightly on his fingertips, and the Nezha golden light between his eyebrows was slightly hot. He closed his eyes to feel the breath around him, and suddenly Then he opened his eyes, True Fire instantly converged. "The evil energy three kilometers ahead is condensed and not dissipated. It is the breath of the earth-bound spirit, and it is also mixed with at least three different soul residues - it is the superposition state of 'death echo + earth-bound spirit', which is much more complicated than ordinary hauntings."
Three Five Emperor Coins popped out from his fingertips. The copper coins spun in the air and landed firmly in the palm of his hand, glowing with a faint black aura. "I'm afraid that amateur team has already broken in. Their equipment cannot deal with this level of evil aura, and will only become food for the earth-bound spirits."
Dean raised his eyebrows and stepped on the accelerator. "Then we have to fish out these idiots before they become 'missing persons'." Sam took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and opened the notebook on his lap. "Morton House. After the last owner Freeman Daggett died of illness in 1964, someone would disappear from this house after midnight every leap year. The police could not find any clues. It was considered a famous supernatural event in their state."
Morton House stands in the wilderness. The dilapidated walls are covered with vines, the windows are as dark as eyes, and the barbed wire on the fence is rusty and rustled, making a "clang" sound in the night wind. Ghostfacers's van is parked on the side of the road, and Harry is using a crowbar to pry the padlock of the back door. The sound of metal friction is particularly harsh in the quiet night.
"Don't move! Police!" Dean suddenly turned off the car lights, pushed open the door and shouted, holding a forged federal agent ID in his hand. Sam and Bai Haorui followed closely behind, and the three of them approached in a triangle formation.
Harry was so frightened that his hand shook and the crowbar fell to the ground. Ed immediately blocked the crowd. After seeing the incoming person, his eyes widened. "It's you! The 'fake hunters' from the west Texas! They ruined our 'Hellhound' exclusive report last time. Are you here to steal your life again this time?"
"Snatching alive?" Dean sneered, took out a stack of missing persons reports and threw it on Ed's face, "Look at these names! One disappears every four years. Do you think this is playing tricks? It's stupid to use your life to gain attention! Can't you remember the things you saw last time?"
"We are now professional paranormal investigators!" Harry pointed the camera at Dean, "Much more professional than you country bumpkins who can only use salt and silver bullets!" He said and took out an electromagnetic detector, "This is the most advanced EMF detector, which can capture the energy fluctuations of ghosts!"
Bai Haorui stepped forward, with a hint of lavender True Fire on his fingertips, and gently tapped on the detector. The instrument instantly sounded a piercing alarm, the values on the screen jumped wildly, and then the screen went black with a "zilla" sound." This is just an ordinary electromagnetic induction device." He took back True Fire with a calm tone, "It is completely ineffective against the condensed evil spirit of the earth-bound spirits. At most, it can only detect the weak fluctuations of ordinary wandering spirits - just like using a thermometer to measure the temperature of a volcano."
Taking advantage of the dispute between the two parties, Bai Haorui quietly took a half step back, took out the ink fountain thread and mugwort juice from his backpack, quickly poured the mugwort juice on the ink fountain thread, and with a flick of his wrist, a lavender light band wrapped around the door frame of the back door of the mansion, forming a simple Yang Gathering Array. His fingertips flashed True Fire, igniting the formation eye, and the light beam instantly disappeared into the wooden door frame, leaving only a faint fragrance of mugwort. "First set up a formation to block the evil spirit. The things inside are not what your toys can handle. Not every time you make fun of your own life, someone will come to save you."
Sam picked up the missing persons report on the ground and pointed to one of the lines: "In 1972, John·Gray Hum, who spent the night at the mansion after a bet, disappeared; in 1976, Julie·Wilkerson, disappeared... All the disappearances occurred after midnight on February 29th. There is now less than an hour before midnight. You should leave quickly."
Ed's face changed slightly, but he still said hard, "We have done our homework a long time ago! This is the 'leap year ghost', and we are here to capture it!" Before he finished speaking, Harry suddenly exclaimed in the mansion, "Ed! Come here quickly! We have captured it!"
The four people rushed into the mansion, and a rotten musty smell mixed with a faint fishy smell hit their faces. The tiles in the kitchen were shattered, and the cabinet doors hung crookedly. Ghostfacers had already set up a "command center" here - three cameras were aimed at the door, corridor and stairs respectively. Maggie was debugging a recording equipment, and Spruce had talismans all over the wall.
"Study on the second floor! The complete spirit appears!" Harry's voice came from the intercom, with uncontrollable excitement. Everyone immediately rushed upstairs. The light in the study was dim, Harry and Spruce was excited in front of a camera. A scene was played repeatedly on the screen: a man in a suit suddenly had a blood hole in his chest and staggered down. The sound of gunshots echoed in the screen. Then the screen reset and the man repeated the death process again.
"This is the echo of death." Sam walked to the bookshelf and brushed the dusty books with his fingertips. "It is the soul trapped in the death cycle. It repeats its own death process over and over again. It usually appears at the place where they were killed. There is no danger in itself." He paused and added, "But the echo of death will not appear alone, especially in a mansion with many missing cases - it is a bait for earthbound spirits to attract living people. The real danger is still behind."
Bai Haorui walked to the center of the room, and dozens of rice-sized World-Purifying Sparks popped out from his fingertips. The lavender sparks were scattered on the ground, like dots of starlight. The moment the sparks touched the ground, they made a "sizzling" sound. A faint black smoke emerged, and the originally cold air seemed to be warmer. "This echo is indeed not directly dangerous," he retracted the spark, "But the evil spirit has begun to condense, and the real earthbound spirit is in the direction of the basement - where is your guy with the camera!?"
Only then did everyone realize that the shyest intern in the team was missing. "He said he was going to the corridor to take a look and wanted to take some 'exclusive material'." Maggie turned pale and pointed in the direction of the corridor, "I heard his camera working just now, but now there is no sound."
Suddenly, a short scream came from the end of the corridor, followed by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground. Everyone rushed over and saw Corbett's camera falling to the ground. The lens was pointed at the ceiling. A tall black shadow flashed across the screen, and then it fell into darkness, leaving only the faint noise of electricity.
The old-fashioned wall clock on the wall dinged 12 o'clock exactly at midnight.
"Bang! Bang!" All the doors and windows suddenly locked at the same time, and the loud collision of metal door panels made people's eardrums hurt. The camera in Harry's hand suddenly experienced strong interference, the screen was filled with snowflakes, harsh noises came from the intercom, and all electronic equipment failed.
"What's going on?!" Spruce was so frightened that he hid behind Maggie. The electromagnetic detector fell to the ground and its shell shattered.
The light at the end of the corridor flickered on and off, and a vague figure gradually appeared - a man in work clothes, standing by the railway track, was suddenly hit by a roaring train, passed through the wall, and fell heavily to the floor. Then the screen reset, and the man stood back by the railway track again, and the sound of the train whistle penetrated the eardrums.
"Another echo of death!" Sam's face was solemn, "These deceased did not die here at all - Dean, do you remember Daggett's information? He is the hospital administrator."
Dean reacted instantly. "This bastard stole the corpse in the hospital! He hid the corpse in the mansion, and these souls were trapped here with the corpse, so there will be echoes of death here!"
"Everyone retreat to the kitchen salt circle!" Bai Haorui suddenly shouted, quickly forming seals with his hands, the Gang Condensation Pill in the dantian spun faster, and the lavender True Fire followed the previously laid out Yang Gathering Array spread, and a faint purple light lit up in the mansion, and the evil spirit was suppressed so that they did not dare to get close. "The formation I set up can last for half an hour. Now is the time to find the anchor point of the earth-bound spirit - the power of the earth-bound spirit is bound to its obsession during life. If you find his lair, you can solve him!"
Sam immediately rushed to the study and rummaged through Daggett's relics. He pried open the hidden compartment at the bottom of the bookshelf, which contained a stack of yellowed documents: hospital corpse labels, Cold War survival manuals, canned military rations, and a diary. "Found it!" he said quickly. Looking through the diary, "Freeman Daggett, a Cold War paranoia and amateur taxidermist, stole corpses from the hospital to go home to 'keep company' because of his loneliness, and hid the corpses in the air-raid shelter in the basement! He must have turned into an earthbound spirit after his death, and captured living people to keep around him every four years to fill his loneliness!"
Sam put away the diary and turned around to report clues to Dean and Bai Haorui, but did not notice the dark shadow quietly gathering behind the study door. Daggett's earthbound spirit was like a ghost blending into the darkness, taking advantage of him At the moment of distraction, he rushed out of the shadows and covered his mouth and nose with cold palms. Sam was caught off guard and struggled to pull out the hunting knife from his waist, but was pinned to the wall by the Earthbound Spirit's strength far beyond that of an ordinary person. The back of his head hit the bookshelf hard, his vision went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.
Daggett dragged the unconscious Sam along the stairs to the basement, his steps so light that there was no sound. He threw Sam into the air-raid shelter, locked his wrists and ankles with chains, and dragged the dying Corbett aside, as if setting up a "lonely party", waiting for the "sacrifice" after midnight.
The basement was dark and damp, the air was filled with the stench of decay, the stairs were covered with moss, and every step made a "squeaking" groan. Bai Haorui Following the guidance of the Yin Qi of the earth veins, the lavender True Fire on the fingertips became brighter and brighter, illuminating the air-raid shelter door in front of it - the thick metal door was stained with rust, and the lock cylinder had long been stuck.
Dean took out the salt gun, "I'll cover you, and you blow open this door."
Bai Haorui nodded, took a half step back, and bent his legs slightly. Muscle and Bone Forging's power poured into his legs, and the ground shook slightly. He took a deep breath, condensed lavender True Fire in his right fist, and the flames wrapped around his arm, forming a thick film of fire. "True Fire Earth-Splitting Fist!"
The fist hit the metal door hard, and there was a loud "boom". The explosive force of True Fire shattered the door lock, and a dent was made in the door panel, which opened with a roar. The scene in the air raid shelter was horrifying: the walls were covered with dried specimens, a moldy birthday cake was placed on a dilapidated table, the candles had long been extinguished, and the old-fashioned record player next to it was playing "It's My Party" on a loop, with a weird and harsh melody.
Sam was tied to a chair in the corner, his wrists and ankles were chained, and he was unconscious. Corbett was lying on the ground next to him, with a rusty iron nail stuck in his neck, and his clothes were soaked in blood.. The tall Earthbound Spirit Freeman·Daggett stood beside the table, wearing a faded shirt, his face was as pale as paper, his eyes were empty, holding another iron nail in his hand, and was slowly walking towards Sam.
"Stay away from him!" Dean pulled the trigger, and the salt bullet hit Daggett, sending out a faint black smoke. Daggett stopped and turned around slowly, with a trace of violence in his eyes.
Bai Haorui pulled out the mahogany sword from behind, and the lavender True Fire instantly wrapped around the sword. The Three-Five Evil-Slaying Talisman text on the sword was lit up and glowed with golden light. "Sam! Wake up!" He jumped up, and the mahogany sword struck Daggett with the sound of howling wind, "Purple Flame Heaven-Burning Slash!"
The purple fire blade that was about ten feet long burst out from the sword body and struck Daggett hard. Daggett let out a piercing roar. A gap was torn open in his body by the fire blade, and black energy poured out from the gap. He stepped back a few steps, waved his hands, and the specimen in the air raid shelter suddenly came to life, and his dry arms grabbed Bai Haorui and Dean.
In the kitchen, Ed, Harry, Maggie and Spruce were huddled in the salt circle, not daring to come out. A black shadow suddenly appeared on the ground outside the salt circle, and the ghost of Corbett slowly appeared - the rusty iron nail was stuck in his neck. Blood flowed down his neck and dripped on the floor, forming dark red traces.
The ghost mechanically repeated the death process: the iron nail penetrated the neck, the body twitched, fell to the ground, then stood up, and was pierced by the iron nail again. The screams echoed in the kitchen, which was horrifying. Maggie was so frightened that he covered his eyes. Spruce clasped his hands together and muttered something in his mouth.
"He... he is interested in you." Harry suddenly leaned into Ed's ear, his voice trembling. Ed was stunned for a moment: "What did you say?" "Corbett, he likes you," Harry pointed at the ghost's eyes, "He always helps you organize your equipment silently, remembers your favorite coffee, and even goes to the corridor alone to shoot the material you want to see, and usually secretly looks at you and laughs."
Ed looked at the ghost of Corbett, and his heart suddenly twitched. He remembered that Corbett always walked at the front of every mission, thought of the French vanilla coffee he handed, and thought of his shy smile - it turned out that those silent efforts were all out of hidden love. The ghost fell down again, struggled to get up again, his eyes were empty, as if he was in endless pain.
"No! His evil spirit is getting worse!" Bai Haorui's voice suddenly came from the intercom, carrying electric noise. He sensed the crisis in the kitchen through Yang Gathering Array, and a three-foot-long Purple Flame Peregrine Falcon formed from his fingertips. True Fire transformed into a peregrine falcon with clear wings, sharp claws, and a purple light, and flew into the kitchen through the wall.
The peregrine falcon hovered in the kitchen, the lavender flame aura spread, the black energy on the Corbett ghost gradually converged, and the death cycle slowed down. "Ed! His obsession is 'the future' Speak of love!" Bai Haorui's voice came again, "Your confession can wake him up, and only he can completely eliminate Daggett - we can injure or even repel him, but we can't kill him!"
"The core power of the earthbound spirit comes from the obsession during life. Daggett's obsession is 'extreme loneliness'. He steals corpses and captures living people, all in order to fill this loneliness." Bai Haorui's voice came through the intercom, with rapid breathing, and he was obviously fighting with the specimen, "My True Fire, Dean The salt bombs and Sam's attacks can only destroy the shell of his soul, but cannot touch the core of his obsession - just like cutting the weeds without eradicating the roots, he will soon be able to regroup with the evil spirit. And Corbett's love is the natural enemy of 'loneliness'. Only this pure emotion can offset his obsession and disintegrate his existence from the root. This is something that our power cannot do!"
Ed looked at the painful appearance of Corbett ghost, took a deep breath, pushed aside Harry's obstruction, and walked out of the salt circle. The protection of the salt circle disappeared, and black energy instantly surged toward him, but Purple Flame Peregrine Falcon hovered above his head, blocking the evil spirit.
"Corbett! Look at me!" Ed stood in front of the ghost, his voice trembling but extremely firm, "I know that you have been silently contributing to the team, I know that you remember my favorite coffee, and I know that you are always at the front to protect us - I was too stupid before. I was so busy with fame that I ignored the most important people around me."
The ghost of Corbett stopped circulating, its empty eyes slowly turned to Ed, and its body trembled slightly.
"You are very important to the team," Ed stepped closer, his voice softening, "More important to me. You never flinch or complain. You are the best Ghostfacers member and... the person I care about the most. Corbett, I love you."
As the words of confession fell, Bai Haorui urged Heart-Guarding Flame, and the lavender True Fire emerged from the ground, turning into a gentle ball of light, turning Ed and Corbett The ghost of was wrapped in it. The light ball carried the power of healing. The iron nails on the neck of ghost Corbett slowly disappeared, the blood faded, the eyes turned from empty to clear, and a shy smile appeared at the corner of the mouth, exactly the same as before.
"Thank you, Ed." The ghost of Corbett said softly, with a touch of warmth in his voice. His figure gradually became transparent, but full of power, "I want to help you, help everyone get rid of this monster."
The voice of Bai Haorui came. "Follow Yang Gathering Array's guidance and come to the basement! We are in Daggett's lair. Only you can offset his obsession with loneliness! Kill him completely!"
The ghost of Corbett nodded, turned into a white light, and flew towards the basement.
Daggett controlled various dried specimens and launched a siege on Dean and Bai Haorui. Dean was entangled in the arms of the specimens and the salt bullet gun fell to the ground. He could only fight with the specimens with his bare hands; Bai Haorui's mahogany sword was tightly hugged by the specimen. Purple Flame Heaven-Burning Slash could not use it with full strength. Daggett took the opportunity to slap his chest with a palm. Bai Haorui was shocked and took a few steps back. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Sam finally woke up. He struggled to break away from the chains, grabbed the salt shaker on the ground, and threw it at Daggett. The salt particles fell on Daggett, and the black smoke grew thicker. Daggett let out an angry roar, turned around and rushed towards Sam, aiming the iron nails in his hands at his chest.
At this critical moment, a white light rushed into the air-raid shelter, and the ghost of Corbett instantly entangled Daggett's body. "Let him go!" the ghost roared, and the white light on his body collided with the black energy of Daggett, emitting a dazzling light.
Ed, Harry, Maggie and Spruce also rushed to the basement. Harry immediately raised the camera to record this shocking scene. "Use salt and Holy Oil!" Bai Haorui shouted, while forming seals with both hands, the Gang Condensation Pill in the Dantian spun wildly, the lavender True Fire surged out from the palm, and turned into several Dragon Fire Vine crossing the river. The fire vines had distinct segments and were as tough as iron. They instantly wrapped around Daggett's limbs and fixed him in place.
Dean picked up Holy Oil on the ground and poured it on Daggett; Sam grabbed the salt bag and sprinkled the salt grains on Daggett Above the head of E. The ghost of Corbett hugged Daggett tightly, and the white light became brighter and brighter. "You are not alone, but you can no longer hurt others!"
Daggett let out a shrill roar, and his body began to dissipate under the triple effects of salt, Holy Oil and True Fire, and the black air became lighter and lighter. The ghost of Corbett looked at Ed showed a relieved smile, and then turned into bits of starlight together with the remnant soul of Daggett, dissipating in the air-raid shelter. The music on the record player stopped abruptly, and the dried specimen instantly lost its vitality and fell to the ground and turned into ashes.
Bai Haorui put away True Fire. The purple flames on the peach wood sword gradually extinguished. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Gang Condensation Pill in the Dantian rotated steadily. After refining Daggett's evil spirit, Muscle and Bone Forging's power became more condensed.
The sun broke through the clouds and shone on the roof of Morton House. The golden light dissipated the remaining evil spirits. All the doors and windows opened automatically, and fresh air poured in, carrying the smell of morning dew. Everyone walked out of the mansion, covered with injuries and exhaustion, but they could not hide the relief of the rest of their lives after the disaster.
Ghostfacers gathered in front of the camera and recorded the closing remarks. Ed looked at the camera with sincere eyes. "On a tragic day, we lost our beloved friend, but we also gained courage and growth. Corbett, you will always be a member of Ghostfacers and the hero in our hearts."
Harry patted Ed on the shoulder. "Love can penetrate the curtain of death and save the world - thank you, Corbett, for teaching us what dedication and courage are."
Dean leaned on Impala, looking at their "serious" looks, and couldn't help complaining. "While commemorating a friend, while crazily using his dead eyeballs, this operation is like no one else." Sam smiled and shook his head, handing Dean a bottle of water. "At least they won't do evil, that's good."
Bai Haorui walked to Ghostfacers, took out a few Clear Heart Talisman, Safety Talisman from his backpack, and handed them to them. "This talisman can block the subsequent evil spirits. Don't wander into such dangerous places again in the future - the supernatural world is not a tool for you to attract attention, but an existence that requires awe."
Winchester Brothers drove away, and Dean suddenly saw in the rearview mirror that Harry picked up the duffel bag he had dropped on the ground on purpose. "Watch it, Sammy," he said with a sly smile on his lips, and pressed the switch under the passenger seat, "Teach these 'professionals' a lesson."
The electromagnet in the duffel bag started instantly and made a "buzzing" sound. Ghostfacers opened the duffel bag excitedly, wanting to see the "Hunter's Secret Equipment", but found that all the video tapes and hard drives had been degaussed under the action of the electromagnet, and the screen was blank.
"No! My exclusive material!" Harry collapsed and shouted. Ed and Spruce were stunned on the spot. Maggie rolled his eyes, but couldn't help laughing.
In Impala, Dean and Sam were laughing so hard. Bai Haorui was leaning on the back seat, looking at the crazy team in the rearview mirror, with the corners of his mouth raised. in the Dantian Gang Condensation Pill rotates more steadily, and the lavender True Fire jumps gently on the fingertips: the evil spirit of the earth-bound spirit is refined by True Fire, and the realm of Muscle and Bone Forging is completely stable, which is not bad.
Sam looked at his brother's smile, and his tight shoulders gradually relaxed. The trauma caused by hundreds of cycles seemed to be relieved a little in this relaxed atmosphere. He turned to Bai Haorui: "Where should we go next?"
Bai Haorui put away True Fire, took out Safety Talisman and distributed it to two people. "Bobby found clues about Lilith, let's go there."
Dean held the steering wheel tightly, the AC/DC music sounded again, and Impala drove towards the distance.