"Only this many people? There seemed to be even fewer than before."
Yang Jian looked at the dozen or so survivors behind Tong Qian and could not help frowning.
"There are only this many," Tong Qian said. "The rest have probably gotten separated. The Ghost Domain is strange. Often, a path the people in front have already taken changes by the time those behind them follow it. The two groups end up disappearing from each other. There's nothing I can do about that, so there are fewer and fewer survivors."
"It doesn't matter. As long as you're alive," Yang Jian said.
"What do you mean?" Tong Qian asked.
"Not a single Ghost Tamer was rescued, so this mission can only be considered a failure for me," Yang Jian said. "How many survivors I can save depends on fate, but at least one Ghost Tamer has to survive."
"So I've become your bargaining chip for benefits?" Tong Qian was both furious and enraged.
"More or less." Yang Jian said, "You don't need to be angry. Having value is a good thing. The worst thing is for a person to have no value at all. Look at them."
As he spoke, he pointed at the terrified survivors who had been dragged into this for no reason.
"Cold-blooded," Tong Qian said.
Yang Jian gave a faint sneer. "This isn't cold-blooded. It's a matter of choices and sacrifice. It was the same when I got dragged into a supernatural incident back then. No one came to save me either. I had to save myself. Do you know why I've never gone through the assessment to join Headquarters? Because I'm not prepared to shoulder the safety of an entire city. After all, if someone takes responsibility, someone has to be held accountable. When that time