Surrounded

"Huff, huff!"

Yang Jian was panting heavily. Wang Xiaoming's office was on the 24th floor, the top floor.

Walking up and down stairs the whole way, or running and jumping, would exhaust any normal person.

He had been exercising regularly during his school years and his physical fitness was quite good, but right now he was so tired that his legs felt like they were about to break.

"I must train hard when I get back. Although Ghost Tamer are special, they are still ordinary people at heart. I can't rely on the power of ghosts for every difficult task. That would be a waste of my life. I still need to keep up with the physical demands. I can't be too lazy," Yang Jian thought to himself.

But in the end, he arrived at the twenty-fourth floor safely without any major incidents.

After looking around, they quickly found Wang Xiaoming's office.

However, he looked towards another safety exit.

Not a single footstep could be heard coming from below.

In other words, Wang Xiaoming and his group haven't come up yet. Even if they were a little slower, they should at least be five or six floors behind, and by then they should have heard footsteps.

If things continue like this within five minutes, Yang Jian can conclude that Wang Xiaoming must have encountered danger again, most likely getting lost on some floor or encountering a ghost.

"Never mind that for now, let's get that finger first. We'll be able to move around more easily once we have it. Otherwise, we really don't have any good way to stop that ghost that can even break into the Ghost Domain." Yang Jian didn't waste any time and directly burst open the office door.

The lock on this door wasn't very secure, but Wang Xiaoming felt safe leaving his belongings there because there were usually security personnel present.

The office was cluttered. On the desk were a map of Dachang City, files of various Ghost Tamer, accounts of various paranormal events in Dachang City, and some important experimental data.

Yang Jian searched for a while and quickly found the box that imprisoned the Ghost Infant.

"We shouldn't have lent this to Wang Xiaoming so generously in the first place; now we've dug our own grave."

Upon opening the box, the Ghost Infant inside remained motionless, lying there as if dead, while a withered finger pierced through it like a sharp dagger.

Yang Jian immediately took out the withered finger, then hurriedly closed the box, sealing it tightly.

The moment he removed the finger, he sensed the Ghost Infant inside the box come to life, struggling violently as it tried to break free.

Unfortunately, the power of the vengeful spirit could not affect the gold, and no matter how much it struggled, it could not escape.

"All done, we can retreat now." Yang Jian left as soon as he finished taking the things, without wasting any time.

But when he was about to go downstairs, he hesitated for a moment. Should he go down the way he came up, or take the emergency exit near Wang Xiaoming's place?

"No, I think it's better to wait a bit longer. At least I'm safe now, so there's no need to rush. If we go down now, we might encounter ghosts on the lower floors. Rather than going to their aid, it's better to wait for them to reunite on their own."

Yang Jian thought for a moment and decided to preserve his current state and recover his strength before waiting a while.

Time passed gradually.

The surroundings remained eerily quiet.

The lights in the corridor appeared dim and gloomy in the dark blue haze, without a single ray of light.

The surrounding chill was so intense that it was hard to believe it was summer in Dachang City.

Yang Jian sat quietly in Wang Xiaoming's office, waiting.

He remained motionless, listening intently to any sounds or noises coming from outside.

Although he was on a high floor, he could vaguely hear the eerie cries from downstairs, the sounds of Ghost Infant after its birth. He also heard some unusual footsteps, such as someone slowly walking past his office, yet strangely, without making a sound or making any attempt to open the door.

Yang Jian stared at the office door until the footsteps outside faded into the distance before he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Have the ghosts already infiltrated this level? But there's still no sign of Wang Xiaoming and the others. They're most likely trapped, though we can't rule out the possibility that they're already dead. Sure enough, following them is the most dangerous thing. But then again, if they all die, it will be difficult for me to handle the current situation alone."

He's torn: should he go and rescue them, or not?

If we save them, they might all die together; if we don't, so many Ghost Tamer will die in vain, which will only worsen the current situation in Dachang City, and they might not escape death in the end either.

At this moment, on a certain floor of the hospital.

Wang Xiaoming and his group had to stop their advance, because what blocked their path made them feel very uneasy and wary.

A child.

A naked child, his body covered in bluish-black discoloration.

It stood there, stiff and unyielding at the turn of the stairs, its dark, empty eyes staring at the crowd with its head tilted.

"It's a second-stage Ghost Infant."

Wang Xiaoming's eyes flickered slightly. "But it saw us, so why didn't it attack us? Could it be that the conditions triggered by these later-born Ghost Infant aren't cumulative, but rather individual? The second-stage Ghost Infant only attack you if they come into contact with it?"

"It's very likely that the derived ghosts won't possess the same abilities as the original ghost, otherwise Dachang City would have been finished long ago, and wouldn't have dragged on until now. Since it's a condition that was triggered separately, then it's easier to handle."

"Keep moving forward, avoid this thing, and you'll be fine as long as you don't touch it. Zhang Han, lead the way."

Zhang Han also saw the child ahead, and his palms were sweating with nervousness. He didn't refuse, and could only grit his teeth and walk forward.

Although he was nervous, he was still somewhat confident in dealing with this thing.

I walked cautiously ahead, getting closer and closer to the strange child.

But it did nothing and just stood there.

Even after Zhang Han passed by the child, the child never attacked him. Instead, the child stared at him with strange eyes, turning his head in the direction Zhang Han was looking.

Although being stared at made my scalp tingle, I couldn't deny that I was safe in front of me.

"Professor Wang, it's alright. This kid is acting strangely. It doesn't seem to want to attack me. Should we take this opportunity to lock it up?" Zhang Han said in a low voice.

"No need. We only prepared one container. It's better to use it for the source ghost. This second-stage Ghost Infant isn't much of a threat, as long as we don't touch it." Wang Xiaoming gave the child a deep look.

Without the superposition of conditions or indiscriminate killing, a thorough analysis reveals that it is not so terrifying.

Ultimately, it's because people have too much of a taboo surrounding the word "ghost," and in their fear, they're capable of doing anything foolish.

However, the next moment...

The child, however, began to move. It didn't chase after Zhang Han above, nor did it attack Wang Xiaoming or the others. Instead, it went down the steps and wandered aimlessly around the hospital.

A pair of dark, empty eyes stared at everyone, but still did not attack.

Everyone carefully avoided it, letting it leave.

"It also has the characteristic of acting without a purpose. Very good. I understand the second and first stages of the Ghost Infant. All that's left is to determine the third stage of the Ghost Infant," Wang Xiaoming thought to himself.

Without personally verifying it, relying on data to speculate is indeed not very accurate.

Although it took a lot of time.

But watching the ghost brush past them, everyone felt an indescribable sense of relief and joy.

Mastering the method means a significant increase in the chances of survival; even ordinary people can survive in this situation.

However, they were celebrating too soon.

At this moment, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs above, the nearby floors, and the stairs below.

At the same time, the elevator lights on this floor turned on strangely, indicating that an elevator would soon be stopping on this floor.

It seemed as if something was surrounding us from all directions.