Chapter Summaries

Wang Xiaoming and Li Jun escaped the laboratory, but Wang Xiaoming feared the released ghost was heading for the nearby training base. At the base, Yang Jian sensed a supernatural darkness and found a pair of strange hands tugging at his human skin paper.

• Wang Xiaoming condemned Li Jun for rescuing him, but Li Jun argued that Wang’s research was essential to humanity’s future.
• Li Jun suspected someone had released the ghost from the Ghost Coffin, and Wang Xiaoming concluded it had waited for them to leave the laboratory.
• Wang Xiaoming warned that the ghost might have reached the training base and ordered Headquarters to evacuate people and hold an emergency meeting.
• Yang Jian noticed the shooting range darkening despite the searchlights still glowing faintly.
• A pair of cold, stiff hands appeared on Yang Jian’s human skin paper and tried to pull it from him.

Yang Jian fought off an unknown ghost that tried to take the human skin paper, but it escaped with his Ghost Rope. After another attack struck the training base, Liu Xiaoyu warned him that a ghost had infiltrated the area, leaving Yang Jian to face the danger threatening the other Ghost Tamers.

• Yang Jian used his Ghost Eye and Headless Ghost Shadow against the stiff hands reaching for the human skin paper, but neither could stop them.
• Yang Jian released the Ghost Rope, which weakened the unknown ghost and forced it to let go of the paper, though it took the rope away as it retreated.
• Yang Jian suspected Wang Xiaoming had arranged the attack, but a scream from the dormitory made him realize the ghost was attacking others too.
• Liu Xiaoyu contacted Yang Jian by satellite phone and warned him to flee because a ghost had entered the training base.

Yang Jian realized that the escaped ghost from Wang Xiaoming's laboratory had attacked the training base and began trying to escape. As the other Ghost Tamers gathered to flee, the ghost appeared on the rooftop and caught one of them with Yang Jian's old straw rope.

• Yang Jian learned from Liu Xiaoyu that a dangerous ghost had escaped from Wang Xiaoming's laboratory, and he suspected it was the Ghost Coffin ghost that could suppress and absorb other ghosts.
• Yang Jian concluded the ghost had already begun killing Ghost Tamers and headed for the training base exit with his travel bag.
• Wang Jiang and Zhang Lei learned that Headquarters had ordered an evacuation, and Zhang Lei gathered the Ghost Tamers to flee together.
• The Ghost Tamers heard footsteps on the rooftop and began running, while one jumped from the fifth floor to escape.
• An old straw rope dropped from the rooftop, looped around the jumping Ghost Tamer's neck, and began dragging him upward as he pleaded for help.

Yang Jian tried to escape the training base, but every route led him back, so he used increasingly powerful layers of his Ghost Domain. He discovered that the barrier trapping him was the lid of the Ghost Coffin, meaning he was inside it.

• Yang Jian returned to the training base gates after trying to leave and concluded that a ghost was trapping him there.
• Yang Jian lit a Ghost Candle and walked onward, but it did not help him escape, so he extinguished it.
• Yang Jian opened the first, second, and third layers of his Ghost Domain, but a black wall blocked his path.
• Yang Jian opened the fourth layer despite the strain on his body and saw that the wall was an old wooden board resembling a coffin lid.
• Yang Jian realized that he was inside the Ghost Coffin.

Yang Jian discovered that the darkness at the training base was connected to the Ghost Coffin and prepared to survive by protecting the other Ghost Tamers. At Headquarters, Wang Xiaoming revealed that Wei Jing had become a ghost with the Ghost Coffin’s ability to suppress and absorb other ghosts, and the ghost had already begun growing stronger.

• Yang Jian found the Ghost Coffin at the edge of the darkness and suspected it was itself the ghost responsible for the training base incident.
• Yang Jian asked Liu Xiaoyu to check whether the Ghost Coffin remained in the laboratory and arranged for Li Yao to return his mother to Dachang City.
• Yang Jian headed toward the dormitory building to gather the Ghost Tamers and prevent the ghost from growing stronger through their deaths.
• Wang Xiaoming told Headquarters that his experiment on Wei Jing had failed and that Wei Jing had become a ghost invading the training base.
• Wang Xiaoming revealed that the ghost could suppress three ghosts in a Ghost Tamer and increase that limit by killing Ghost Tamers and taking their ghosts.
• The meeting fell silent when Wang Xiaoming warned that the ghost had likely already killed someone and begun to grow stronger.

At Headquarters, Wang Xiaoming classified the growing supernatural incident as the S-class Ghost Messenger and rejected a plan that risked releasing the Starvation Ghost. When Yang Jian asked for help from the training base, Wang Xiaoming agreed to investigate the ghost coffin, which might offer Yang Jian a way to survive.

• Feng Quan explained that the Ghost Coffin ghost required at least three ghosts in a room to satisfy its killing rule and would return after being contained, repeatedly attacking survivors.
• Jiang Shangbai proposed using the coffin nail against the ghost, but Wang Xiaoming refused because it could trigger another S-class incident by freeing the Starvation Ghost.
• Wang Xiaoming warned that the ghost might possess some of Wei Jing's intelligence and classified the incident as S-class under the codename Ghost Messenger.
• Liu Xiaoyu reported that Yang Jian was trapped at the training base, and Wang Xiaoming chose to help him despite Jiang Shangbai arguing that rescue was futile.
• Yang Jian asked Wang Xiaoming to investigate the ghost coffin's current state, and Wang Xiaoming agreed.

Yang Jian entered the ghost’s dark domain to gather the scattered Ghost Tamers before the fierce ghost could kill them all. After finding Huang Ziya and discovering a victim’s remains beneath the dormitory, he hurried upstairs, racing against the ghost’s growing threat.

• Yang Jian decided to avoid confronting the fierce ghost directly and searched the area around the dormitory for other Ghost Tamers.
• Yang Jian found Huang Ziya near the dormitory, brought her along, and told her to help contact Headquarters to locate the others.
• Yang Jian found blood and corpse fragments beneath the dormitory and realized a Ghost Tamer had already been killed.
• Yang Jian led Huang Ziya up the dark stairwell, saving his nearly unused Ghost Candle for a critical moment.

Yang Jian searched the dormitory building for surviving Ghost Tamers and gathered Huang Ziya and another man, while other survivors tried to regroup in the darkness. The chapter ended when Zhang Lei found a cold, stiff hand blocking the way and warned his group that the ghost was ahead.

• Yang Jian searched the dorm rooms and found a frightened Ghost Tamer hiding alone, then led him out after explaining that the ghost targeted isolated people.
• Huang Ziya told Yang Jian that Qian Yi was heading back from the first floor, and Yang Jian arranged to meet him at another emergency stairwell.
• Zhang Lei and Wang Jiang discussed how the group had become separated and decided to search the floors before leaving together.
• Wang Jiang received a Headquarters message that Yang Jian was alive and leading people up from the first floor, so Zhang Lei headed toward the emergency stairwell to meet him.
• Zhang Lei touched a cold, stiff hand in the darkness and told the others to retreat because the ghost was ahead.

After the group encountered the ghost on the fourth floor, panic scattered them through the dark dormitory. Zhang Lei realized they had been safe together because their combined ghosts could suppress it, but another Ghost Tamer was killed, and Yang Jian saw blood dripping from the fourth floor.

• Zhang Lei and the others fled after he warned them that the ghost was ahead, scattering through the dark corridors.
• Zhang Lei realized their group had possessed six ghosts between them, enough to suppress the ghost’s five, and regretted splitting up.
• A lone Ghost Tamer was seized by the ghost, which tore a ghost from his body and killed him.
• The ghost gained a sixth ghost and headed toward the right stairwell.
• Yang Jian saw blood dripping from the balcony corridor on the second floor and realized another Ghost Tamer had died.

Yang Jian learned that Qian Yi had lured them into the dormitory building as bait before fleeing, while Zhang Lei’s group had been scattered after encountering the ghost. After meeting the escaping Wang Jiang on the third floor, Yang Jian led his group back upstairs to find the others and improve their chances of survival.

• Huang Ziya reported that Headquarters had located Qian Yi fleeing toward the training base entrance, and Yang Jian realized Qian Yi had used them as bait.
• Yang Jian condemned Qian Yi and warned that he would kill him if the ghost did not.
• On the third floor, Yang Jian stopped Wang Jiang, who had fled alone after Zhang Lei led their group into an encounter with the ghost.
• Wang Jiang told Yang Jian that Zhang Lei and the other Ghost Tamers had disappeared during their retreat.
• Yang Jian persuaded Wang Jiang and the others to return to the fourth floor with him to search for Zhang Lei and the remaining Ghost Tamers.

Yang Jian led his group across the fourth floor to find the remaining Ghost Tamers while avoiding the ghost that was hunting them. After hearing a nearby death and spotting a figure ahead, he learned that Zhang Lei was still alive and carried three ghosts.

• Yang Jian warned Wang Jiang, Huang Ziya, and the others to stay quiet and follow his commands as they searched the fourth floor.
• The group found a freshly killed Ghost Tamer whose ghost had apparently been taken by the ghost in the coffin.
• A nearby scream revealed that another Ghost Tamer had died, so Yang Jian hurried toward the northern emergency stairwell, hoping to find the last survivor.
• Yang Jian spotted a human-shaped figure ahead and prepared to use a ghost candle in case it was the ghost.
• Huang Ziya relayed Headquarters' message that Zhang Lei was alive on the fourth floor and carried three ghosts, shocking Wang Jiang, who had previously traveled with him.

Yang Jian risked the rapidly burning ghost candle to reach Zhang Lei, who was unknowingly walking toward the Ghost Messenger. He pulled Zhang Lei free just before the candle went out, and the group escaped together.

• Yang Jian saw a figure ahead while his ghost candle burned fiercely, and Huang Ziya confirmed that Zhang Lei’s signal was nearby.
• A second figure appeared in the darkness, and Yang Jian realized the first was Zhang Lei and the approaching second was the ghost.
• Yang Jian rushed toward Zhang Lei, but the darkness blocked his warning as Zhang Lei continued toward the Ghost Messenger.
• The Ghost Messenger seized Zhang Lei’s shoulder, but Yang Jian’s ghost candle briefly illuminated the area and let him pull Zhang Lei free.
• The ghost candle went out, and Yang Jian dragged Zhang Lei away with the others.

Yang Jian led the survivors away from the black ghost and explained that their numbers were keeping it from targeting them for now. As they searched the training base for other Ghost Tamers, Wang Xiaoming confirmed the ghost coffin was still in the laboratory and warned that the ghost was developing new abilities, leaving Yang Jian to consider asking the human skin paper for a solution.

• Yang Jian led Zhang Lei, Wang Jiang, and Huang Ziya away from the black ghost, then explained that their combined number of ghosts kept them safe temporarily.
• Yang Jian warned that the ghost could target them again after killing more Ghost Tamers, so he led the group toward the training base's main gate to find survivors.
• Yang Jian reviewed his dwindling defenses and noted that the Ghost Eye was close to reviving, while the cloth doll and ghost hand remained among his possible safeguards.
• Yang Jian asked Wang Xiaoming for the results of the investigation, and Wang Xiaoming reported that the ghost coffin remained open in the laboratory.
• Wang Xiaoming explained that the coffin nails had been lost after Li Jun used them against Wei Jing, and warned that the fully formed ghost seemed to have gained additional abilities.
• Yang Jian warned that the ghost could eventually threaten J City, and Wang Xiaoming suggested consulting the human skin paper.

Yang Jian consulted the human skin paper for a way to survive the Ghost Domain trapping him and the other Ghost Tamers. It revealed that the ghost could now suppress eight ghosts and described a plan that had worked earlier but could no longer be carried out, leaving Yang Jian to question why the paper had given him an apparently useless solution.

• Yang Jian considered Wang Xiaoming’s motives and concluded that the ghost had separated from the ghost coffin and become an independent threat.
• Yang Jian told Zhang Lei, Wang Jiang, and Huang Ziya that the Ghost Domain trapped them like a coffin, and the group continued searching for other survivors.
• Yang Jian took out the human skin paper, which warned that the ghost could suppress eight ghosts and would attack once the sixth Ghost Tamer died.
• The human skin paper described a plan involving two groups and a white ghost candle, but Yang Jian realized too few survivors remained to carry it out.
• Yang Jian wondered why the human skin paper had offered a plan that seemed useless, since its information had always been true and its plans had never been entirely without value.

Yang Jian considered using the old bloodstained newspaper to make the ghost misjudge how many ghosts it could suppress, but he knew the plan was dangerous. After finding another dead Ghost Tamer and realizing the ghost was killing faster than they could find survivors, Yang Jian decided to change tactics and took out a white candle.

• Yang Jian inferred that the human skin paper’s unfinished suggestion might mean altering the ghost’s memories with the old bloodstained newspaper.
• Yang Jian told Zhang Lei, Wang Jiang, and Huang Ziya that they needed to gather survivors while avoiding the ghost, and warned that staying trapped in the Ghost Domain would remain dangerous.
• The group searched the training base together but found no other Ghost Tamers, leaving them with five people against a ghost that could suppress as many as eight ghosts.
• Huang Ziya spotted a mutilated corpse on the road, and Yang Jian realized that continuing to search at their current pace would lead to everyone’s death.
• Yang Jian decided to change their approach and took a white candle from his luggage bag.

Yang Jian decided to use a white ghost candle to draw the ghost toward his group, hoping to keep it from killing the people scattered around the training base. He lit the candle despite the risks, and the group moved toward an open area to face the ghost.

• Yang Jian warned that the ghost was killing people faster than they could find them and said they had to stop it from growing.
• Yang Jian proposed lighting a white ghost candle to draw the ghost to the group, reasoning that it only killed people who were alone.
• Wang Jiang understood that keeping the ghost near them might give the scattered survivors time to regroup, and Zhang Lei and the others agreed to take the risk.
• Yang Jian warned that the candle might override the ghost's killing pattern or draw more ghosts than they could handle.
• Yang Jian lit the white ghost candle, and its grayish-black flame darkened the surroundings as a sinister presence closed in.
• Yang Jian led the group toward an open area to wait for the ghost.

Yang Jian and the others lit a ghost candle to draw the fierce ghost to them while preparing an emergency means of defense. The ghost abandoned Qian Yi and headed toward the group, leaving them to face its arrival.

• Yang Jian rejected the suggestion to leave the ghost candle unattended and prepared a soul bottle and a ghost hand as emergency safeguards.
• A Ghost Tamer hiding alone in the cafeteria was killed after darkness and heavy footsteps closed in on him.
• Qian Yi discovered that he could not escape the training base and realized the ghost had targeted him.
• As the darkness neared Qian Yi, it suddenly retreated toward Yang Jian's group, drawn by the ghost candle.
• Yang Jian and the others remained gathered around the burning candle as the fierce ghost approached.

Yang Jian lured the ghost that killed people who were alone into their group with a white ghost candle, but discovered it could suppress the Ghost Eyes and possibly more ghosts than he had expected. After releasing the ghost hand failed to stop Wang Jiang from being dragged away, Yang Jian opened a golden bottle to release another ghost.

• Yang Jian waited with Zhang Lei, Wang Jiang, and the others until the white ghost candle attracted the ghost and darkness swallowed them.
• Yang Jian used the Ghost Eyes to watch their surroundings, but the ghost suppressed the eyes and forced them closed.
• Yang Jian released the ghost hand from its gold foil, gambling that the ghost could suppress nine ghosts.
• Wang Jiang was seized and dragged away despite the ghost hand's release, so Yang Jian opened a golden bottle to release a second ghost.

Yang Jian opened the gold bottle to increase the number of ghosts on his side while Zhang Lei and the others struggled to keep Wang Jiang from being dragged into the darkness. Although Yang Jian saved Wang Jiang with his headless ghost shadow, he realized the attack had come from the ghost rope, and the ghost hand had begun to revive on Huang Ziya.

• Yang Jian opened the gold bottle, releasing another ghost in an attempt to restore the balance against the ghost in the ghost coffin.
• Zhang Lei, Huang Ziya, and another Ghost Tamer held onto Wang Jiang as an unseen force tried to pull him into the darkness.
• Yang Jian's headless ghost shadow invaded Wang Jiang and stopped the force from dragging him away.
• Yang Jian rejected the others' relief, explaining that his own ghost ability—not a restored balance—had saved Wang Jiang.
• Yang Jian examined the ligature mark on Wang Jiang's arm and recognized it as a mark from the ghost rope.
• Yang Jian turned and saw the ghost hand on Huang Ziya's shoulder disappearing as it revived.

Yang Jian tried to keep the group alive as the ghost situation spiraled beyond his expectations. He ended up with a ghost hand attached to his body and discovered that the ghost in the golden bottle had escaped, then led the Ghost Tamers onward to find the others.

• Yang Jian used the headless ghost shadow to seize the fading ghost hand on Huang Ziya before it could enter the third layer of the Ghost Domain.
• The headless ghost shadow acted on instinct and attached the ghost hand to Yang Jian, replacing his original hand, which he stored in a box.
• Zhang Lei warned Yang Jian about a bottle falling, and Yang Jian found the golden bottle empty and realized its ghost had escaped nearby.
• Yang Jian told the group that their numbers still gave them an advantage and urged the Ghost Tamers to check their abilities.
• Yang Jian led the group to search for the other Ghost Tamers, insisting they could not stay and wait for death.