Where Did You Get a Dad?

Yang Jian searched the website and quickly found a section on classifying the levels of malicious ghosts.

When he opened it, there was a line of text at the top: Based on the degree of harm malicious ghosts pose to the world, governments of various countries classify ghosts into the following levels.

Note: This does not represent the terror level of a malicious ghost.

C-class: Restricted.

Malicious ghosts fixed within a single area, with a threat level below one hundred people. They could be restricted and contained by Ghost Tamers and did not possess transmissibility.

B-class: Dangerous.

Malicious ghosts that had already gained the ability to roam. They were extremely dangerous, but their threat level was below ten thousand people. They could not be contained, but could still be restricted by Ghost Tamers and possessed a certain degree of spread.

A-class: Catastrophic.

If left unchecked, they could wipe out the population of an entire city within a certain period of time. They were extremely terrifying, currently impossible to restrict or contain, and possessed considerable spread.

S-class: Destructive.

They possessed the ability to wipe out the populations of several cities. If they could not be curbed, they could even destroy an entire country.

"So malicious ghosts are classified according to the harm they cause humanity, which doesn't represent how terrifying they are." Yang Jian's gaze shifted slightly as he understood what these classifications meant.

Whether it was a C-class or A-class malicious ghost, their terror levels might be about the same. It was only because the C-class ghost did not pose enough danger to people that its rank could not be raised.

"These so-called classifications are only for reference. They're not really useful."

Yang Jian shook his head and did not take the classifications too seriously. These were disaster ratings established by various countries. If he really encountered a ghost, he would still die.

What difference was there between only he dying and a hundred people dying?

Death was still death.

Yang Jian continued browsing through the other information.

Suddenly, a special ranking list caught his attention.

"Global Malicious Ghost Terror Rankings."

"They even made a ranking list. These foreigners really have too much free time. Why not make a female ghost ranking list? See which female ghost is prettier and sexier. It'd be even better if they held a bikini runway show." Yang Jian muttered to himself. The moment he opened it, his eyelids twitched.

His expression immediately turned grave.

Malicious Ghost Rankings, Number One:

Codename: Ghost Call.

Characteristics: Once a phone rings, death is certain. It makes no difference whether the call is answered or not, whether it can be heard, or whether there is a phone nearby. It kills indiscriminately across the globe. It has no physical form and resembles a causality-based attack. There is currently no solution. Fortunately, a single Ghost Call only kills one person. Currently classified as B-class.

Note: A foreign president has already died to Ghost Call.

"This works too?" Yang Jian was dumbfounded after reading it.

This was far too unsolvable. The moment a phone rang, someone died. It was simply a death knell. It did not matter whether a phone was nearby, and even a deaf person who could not hear it would still die.

Malicious Ghost Rankings, Number Two:

Codename: Nightmare.

Characteristics: People die in their dreams. Its killing pattern is currently unknown, as is its spread. It has no physical form and kills indiscriminately across the globe. It once killed three hundred and fifty-one people at once. Currently classified as A-class.

Note: Not sleeping can prevent Nightmare.

Malicious Ghost Rankings, Number Three:

Codename: Ghost Eats People.

Characteristics

As Yang Jian looked at the malicious ghost rankings, he could not help but feel a wave of despair.

Indiscriminate killing across the globe.

Those few words alone made one's scalp go numb.

There was no defense, no escape, not even any warning. Once you encountered one, death was certain. Whether you were a billionaire, a destitute beggar, or even the president of a country, everyone lived under the threat of malicious ghosts.

Everyone in the world who knew such things existed was bound to be gripped by fear.

"Still, with so many people in the world, the odds of running into one of the ghosts on this list are pretty low. If I really get killed by one, I can only blame my own bad luck." After a brief shock, Yang Jian quickly regained his composure.

"I'll use the bathroom, then come back and keep reading."

After browsing for a full hour, Yang Jian got up and left the computer.

"Dad, why are you reading the newspaper without turning on the lights? You'll ruin your eyes."

He came to the living room and spoke when he saw that none of the lights were on.

A middle-aged man sat on the sofa, holding a newspaper over his face. He seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness. He appeared to be reading the news intently, but he remained silent and did not answer Yang Jian.

Yang Jian did not pay much attention to him. After using the bathroom, he continued surfing the internet.

He had to understand what exactly had happened to this world as quickly as possible and find a way to survive.

The Human-Skin Parchment said he would not live beyond three months.

But he did not believe that becoming a Ghost Tamer meant there was no way to survive.

Back at school, Fang Jing had said that he had a method that could keep Ghost Tamers from dying to ghost resurgence.

But Fang Jing was dead.

The contents of the Human-Skin Parchment had also been rewritten. Yang Jian did not know what that method was, but he believed there had to be a way to survive.

"While searching for a way to live, I also need to prepare for the worst," Yang Jian thought.

<The power of ghosts can affect all matter, with only one exception: gold.>

Signed: Bruce Pi.

A thesis appeared before his eyes.

Yang Jian opened it and continued reading, but then a phone beside him rang.

When he turned his head,

he saw that it was Zhou Zheng's satellite positioning phone.

"Hello, who is this?"

Yang Jian answered the phone while continuing to read the thesis.

"You dared to lie to me. Your name isn't Zhang Wei at all. You're Yang Jian, from Meishan Village, Yang Town, Dachang City, in a certain province. Born on January 1st, currently nineteen years old, twenty by traditional age—"

Liu Xiaoyu's gritted voice came from the other end of the line.

Yang Jian was not surprised. "So you found Zhang Wei and investigated him? Your efficiency is pretty average. I thought you would have figured it out six hours ago. Don't misunderstand me. How could I trust a stranger calling me from the start? What if it was a phone scam? Giving you false information was also for my own safety."

"How much time and effort did your one lie waste?"

Liu Xiaoyu said, "I'm giving you a serious warning. You absolutely must not do this again. We handle many incidents every day, and our workload is heavy. If everyone acted like you, how would we get any work done?"

"That may be true, but I'm not part of your Ghost Tamer organization. You don't have authority over me." Yang Jian did not care.

At that moment, the middle-aged man from the living room walked in and sat on the bed beside Yang Jian. He said nothing, holding the newspaper as he looked down at it.

"Dad, do you need something?" Yang Jian asked.

The middle-aged man did not speak. Instead, Liu Xiaoyu on the phone asked, "Who are you talking to? You should keep matters like this confidential. You shouldn't tell unrelated people, in case it causes panic. I should explain the confidentiality regulations to you."

"I'm talking to my dad. Let's leave it at that for today. We'll talk another time. I'm still busy." Yang Jian was about to hang up.

"Wait, wait."

Liu Xiaoyu's voice suddenly rose, sounding startled. "Your dad? What happened over there? Your file is right next to me. I can see all your information from birth through high school. Where did you get a dad? Your dad died in a car accident when you were in fifth grade. Your guardian was your mother."

"And there's no record of your mother remarrying."

"In other words, you've been from a single-parent family ever since elementary school."

Yang Jian said, "What nonsense are you talking about? My dad is sitting beside me reading the newspaper."

After saying that, he turned around.

The middle-aged man sitting on the bed beside him remained motionless. His raised arm held the newspaper over his face, obscuring his features. Neither the living room nor the bedroom lights were on. Apart from the glow of the computer monitor, everywhere else was dark, and in such dim surroundings, it was impossible to read the words on a newspaper.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Yang Jian reached out, intending to pull away the newspaper.

But then he suddenly saw a black-and-white memorial portrait of the middle-aged man hanging on a cabinet in the room.

His hand instantly froze.

"Yang Jian, something must have happened where you are. Hurry, get out of your home."

Liu Xiaoyu's urgent voice came from the other end of the phone.