The Dying City

Driving on a quiet highway.

The car headlights illuminated the road ahead, but couldn't dispel the gloom before my eyes.

The city was eerily quiet, except for the occasional screams and cries of Ghost Infant in the distance.

The once bustling and vibrant Dachang City is slowly dying because of the existence of the Ghost Infant.

At least, driving through Yang Jian, I couldn't sense a single sign of life.

Death is spreading, fear is creeping in.

Looking out the car window, Yang Jian felt terrible.

He was still pondering Wang Xiaoming's earlier words.

"He placed all his hopes on me, asking me to save the entire city. But I did everything I could. I imprisoned that fourth-stage Ghost Infant, but what was the result? It was just a temporary fix. Too many people have died these past few days: Ye Feng, Sun Yi, He Chuan, and those Ghost Tamer I don't even know."

"I used up all my ghost candles, risking revival to enhance my abilities. But when the source ghost appeared, I had no choice but to run."

Yang Jian chuckled self-deprecatingly as he drove.

Who can be blamed for the failure of the operation? He had done all he could. It's just that reality is too cruel. Does he really have to fight to the death to satisfy others?

"You, Professor Wang, can be noble, can let go of hatred, can be selfless, and can disregard your own life and death, but what about me? A large group of people are counting on my life. If I die, what will happen to them?"

But now, everyone is watching him, no one understands him, and no one says that he has done enough.

Keep in mind that Yang Jian is only a senior high school student, and he has only been Ghost Tamer for less than three months, and has been a member of Headquarters for less than fifteen days.

All of this was too much for him.

Faced with imminent disaster and powerless to reverse the situation, all Yang Jian could do was try to help a group of people survive.

If he tries again and fails, he'll truly have nothing left. He can't afford to lose anymore.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard, and a figure abruptly appeared on the road from the gloom ahead. Yang Jian's car lurched and crashed into it, running it over.

He snapped out of his thoughts and was startled.

Did you hit someone?

I stepped on the brakes, just about to turn around and take a look.

As a result, Yang Jian saw in the rearview mirror that the person who had been hit slowly stood up.

The man's pupils were empty and pitch black, his entire body was bluish-black, and his severed head slumped over his shoulder, staring at him eerily.

"It's not human, it's a third-stage Ghost Infant. This thing can already walk openly on the street?" Yang Jian's expression hardened, but he didn't utter a word.

As long as he doesn't speak and isn't heard by the Ghost Infant, he won't become a target of attack.

Even though that thing could see itself, it was useless.

It is neither the source ghost nor the first-stage Ghost Infant; it simply sees itself and nothing will happen.

Wang Xiaoming's research and inferences are correct.

Yang Jian stepped on the gas and continued forward.

The Ghost Infant in the rearview mirror was still standing there, staring at him eerily, until the car drove away and its figure disappeared into the gloom, and only then did everything calm down.

"If it were an ordinary person, screaming in that situation would be fatal."

Yang Jian watched the Ghost Infant disappear behind him, letting out a slight sigh of relief, but also feeling a strange sense of despair. In a city like this, how many ordinary people could survive without understanding its rules?

Nobody knows.

He is no longer capable of handling paranormal events. The failure of his last operation pushed him to the brink of a ghost's resurgence. Although he managed to control it, he is unsure whether he will encounter problems the next time he uses the ghost's power.

Continue driving.

Although his destination wasn't in the city center, he saw many strange things along the way.

There were corpses lying by the roadside, their bellies ripped open and their flesh mangled; there were also stiff, terrifying figures walking in the gloom; and there were pools of blood where only flesh and internal organs remained.

Occasionally, a desperate cry for help, tinged with sobs, could be heard.

However, no one responded; instead, more terrifying figures walked past in the gloom.

This place has been completely reduced to a ghost town.

Those who survived could only wait in despair for their lives to be taken.

Yang Jian remained silent and continued driving forward.

Here, it seemed he was the only living person who dared to walk on the street; he hadn't seen a single survivor along the way.

He knew that, in their fear, the city's inhabitants had already sensed it; they were hiding in their homes, huddled together somewhere, storing food and water, trying to survive the night and the disaster.

But Yang Jian knew.

That's impossible. No matter how much food and water you have stored up, if the source isn't addressed, you're doomed. The only difference is whether you die sooner or later.

"Yang Jian, satellite positioning shows you've entered Dachang City. You don't need to speak. I know you're in danger right now. I just wanted to let you know that someone here wants to speak with you when you're available. That's all I have to say. I'll turn off my voice and keep it silent from now on."

Suddenly, Liu Xiaoyu's voice came from the satellite-guided phone.

But after she finished speaking, a hissing sound came through, and she turned off the voice recorder, ending the call immediately.

Yang Jian glanced at the phone next to the car, frowned slightly, but didn't pay much attention to it.

What's the point of communicating at this point? Are we going to read a eulogy in advance?

Soon.

He slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop.

This is an old residential area in the southern district of Dachang City. According to the city plan, it was supposed to be demolished, but because it is located a bit far from the city center, the demolition work has been a little slow.

The old, red-reinforced building, only seven stories high, was dark and mottled, appearing somewhat dirty and messy.

The empty window was pitch black, appearing particularly eerie under the gloomy atmosphere.

The neighborhood was eerily quiet, filled with a putrid stench.

This is the stench of a corpse.

A vengeful spirit has already invaded this place, and has been here for at least three days.

"Is he dead?" Yang Jian took out his phone and sent a text message.

"No." The text message received a reply.

Where are you? When will you arrive?

"I'm at the entrance of the residential area, I'll be there in ten minutes," Yang Jian replied.

The text message replied immediately, "That thing is inside the house, be careful."

Yang Jian put down his phone and walked expressionlessly toward the old neighborhood.

Someone, I don't know who, once said that most of humanity's fears stem from the unknown.

Yang Jian felt that this statement was incorrect; human fear should stem from death.

Only those who can overcome death can overcome fear.

Overcoming the unknown can only help you understand your fears; it doesn't solve the fundamental problem.

Although he understood the patterns of first to fourth-order Ghost Infant and knew their methods of killing, he was still tense when he was back in this deathly silent city, even though it was safe for him to swagger around like this now.

Along the way, heaven knows how many ghosts have been watching me from the shadows of darkness.

Those pairs of empty, pitch-black, eerie eyes seemed to be there, as if you could see them and stare back at them if you turned around.

"Building 3, fourth floor."

Yang Jian walked to the front of the third building.

Because of the power outage, the hallway was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Even a phone flashlight could only barely dispel the gloom for a step or two. Who knows what you might accidentally bump into once you go in? If you accidentally touch a second-stage Ghost Infant, you've hit the jackpot.

The reward is death.

When was the last time I faced such a dark staircase?

Oh right, it was when I was in school.

At that time, I, Zhang Wei, Wang Shanshan, and a group of others were experiencing the Ghost Knocking the door.

"Wait, the Ghost Knocking incident?" Yang Jian, who was slowly walking forward, suddenly stopped.

A strange place he had forgotten resurfaced in his mind.

That's where the toilet door in the school's stairwell leads.

A strange space that doesn't belong to this world.

There was nothing there, just pitch blackness, except for a tree that looked like it had grown from a skeleton. A three-meter-tall black shadow was nailed to the trunk, and that's where he got his Ghost Eye.

"Perhaps the second condition can be met." Yang Jian's eyes flickered slightly as he fell into thought.

He devised a way to imprison the source of the demon; the coffin nail of the giant black shadow was nailed into the White Bone Tree.

If the coffin nails can hold down the dark figure, then they can also hold down the source ghost.

That finger is already lost, so the coffin nail could very well serve as a replacement to pin down the source ghost.

However, in return, that unknown shadowy figure will be released.

"Why did I think of this? Imprisoning one terror and releasing another, who knows, that one might be even more ruthless, and things will only get worse then." Yang Jian cursed himself for being an idiot.

But another idea popped into my head.

Even if things get worse, they can't be worse than they are now.

This is a critical moment for the lives of the entire city's population.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll just be a coward for now. The identity of a hero is not suitable for me."

He shook his head, banishing these strange thoughts from his mind, and walked up the stairs, leaning against the wall.

Unable to use the abilities of Ghost Eye and Ghost Shadow at will, Yang Jian chose to be cautious and careful.

Because he understood the patterns of all the Ghost Infant, he wasn't too worried.

The only thing to be wary of is encountering a fourth-stage Ghost Infant.

But the chances are very small.

The city is so big, and even though he's under a curse, it'll probably be some time before it happens to him.

Counting the floors.

Soon, we reached the fourth floor.

The front door of one of the houses was open, and there were dark blue handprints left on the wall next to it.

The sturdy iron gate was twisted and deformed, as if it had been ripped open by something, sending chills down one's spine.

A pungent smell of blood, mixed with a strong stench of decay, wafted from the dark living room.

Clearly, a terrifying and desperate incident occurred here a few days ago; no one knows who died.

Yang Jian walked in with a calm expression.

The ground was slippery with congealed blood that hadn't yet dried.

When the light shines, it covers the ground.

Amidst the blood were clear scratch marks.

The scratches extended into the room, suggesting someone had been dragged in by something, struggling and despairing all the way.

Keep going.

Yang Jian saw the woman's broken fingernails, still painted with purple nail polish, and her scattered black hair, which was covered with dried blood, some of which was black and smelly.

He wanted to walk further, but then he stopped abruptly.

At the dark doorway, a thin, bluish-black figure stood there, biting its finger with an innocent and carefree expression. Its empty black eyes stared at Yang Jian, and several long strands of hair remained at the corner of its mouth, just like those on the ground.

"The second stage of the Ghost Infant cannot be touched." Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly, and his heart skipped a beat.