Shady Dealer

"Will that ghost not come back?"

Yang Jian had stayed home all night without sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared wearily toward the front door.

The door was left open.

He needed to see the ghost the moment it appeared.

But things were not as perfect as he had imagined.

"I can't keep waiting here for that ghost. If it has already left and doesn't plan to return, I'm just wasting time. And time is precious to me right now."

Yang Jian rubbed his bloodshot eyes, trying to clear his head and relax.

If he kept his nerves stretched tight all night like this, he would go crazy sooner or later.

"If I can't find that ghost quickly, then I need to prepare for both possibilities." Yang Jian rose from the sofa, took a shower, packed his things, and prepared to head out.

The first possibility was that, if he survived, he would look for a way to keep surviving.

The second was that, if he really was going to die, he needed to earn some money for his parents' retirement.

With a backpack slung over his shoulders, Yang Jian walked out of the somewhat aging apartment building.

Looking up at the scorching sunlight outside, he felt slightly dizzy.

"But ghosts don't seem to fear sunlight." Yang Jian touched the back of his hand but felt no unusual reaction from that eye.

In other words, ghosts could appear even during the day.

Folktales claimed that ghosts only appeared at night. It seemed that claim had now been overturned.

All daylight did was give people a certain sense of security and make them feel less afraid.

"Boss, do you buy used phones?"

Yang Jian arrived at a small phone repair shop by the street.

The shop owner gave him a look. "I don't buy those old brick phones. I only take smartphones released within the past two years."

Yang Jian sat down. "I'm not selling the phone in my hand. I'm selling these."

He took out the phones Zhang Wei, Wang Shanshan, Zhao Lei, and the others had left behind from his backpack.

"So many? Where did you steal them from?" The owner froze for a moment, then eyed Yang Jian suspiciously as he looked over the smartphones of various models.

"My friends didn't want them, so they gave them to me. Besides, could stolen phones be this new? Boss, name a price. If it's fair, I'll sell them all to you," Yang Jian said.

The owner examined them. They were indeed all good phones, practically new. Each one sold for two or three thousand on the market, while the expensive ones went for seven or eight thousand.

"This one isn't worth much. I can only offer three hundred."

"This one is decent. I'll take it for one thousand, and this one for thirteen hundred," the owner said as he assessed them.

At that moment, one of the phones on the counter suddenly rang.

Yang Jian glanced at it. The screen displayed: Dad.

Who knew whose father it was.

"The owner is calling, huh?" The shop owner laughed. "If he comes looking for it later, I'll be in trouble. I can only offer five hundred for this phone."

As he spoke, he prepared to turn the phone off.

Yang Jian picked it up and answered. "It's not the owner. It's a friend's dad."

"Hello."

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end. "Is this Yang Jian?"

"It's me. Who are you?" Yang Jian asked.

"So Shanshan's phone really is with you. I'm Wang Shanshan's father, Wang Bin. There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Is this a convenient time? I'd like to meet you," Wang Bin said.

"Uncle Wang, huh? I've got some things to deal with these past few days, so I'm a little busy. It's not very convenient," Yang Jian said.

"It won't take much of your time. Where are you? I'll drive over and pick you up."

"If Uncle Wang has something to say, just say it. I really have something going on here and can't leave for the moment," Yang Jian said.

Wang Bin fell silent for a moment before saying, "It concerns my daughter Shanshan. Do you know what happened to Shanshan at school that day?"

"Didn't Wang Shanshan tell you that the school was haunted?" Yang Jian asked.

The school was haunted?

Wang Bin was stunned on the other end of the line.

Did such ridiculous things still exist these days?

"The school was haunted? You high school students actually believe in that?" he asked skeptically.

"I didn't believe it before. Now I do," Yang Jian said. "What happened to Wang Shanshan? Did she run into a ghost again?"

Wang Bin said, "Maybe she's just mentally exhausted. She's timid and got scared. She keeps feeling that something is looking for her, following her. And Shanshan said you could help her."

"Something is following her?" Yang Jian's gaze shifted slightly. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Was it a baby?"

A baby?

Wang Bin remembered the tiny palm prints in the bathroom. Weren't those baby handprints?

"You think my home is haunted?"

Wang Bin said, "I'm asking you seriously. Please don't brush me off with ghost stories. Shanshan is in a very bad state. If you know anything, I hope you'll tell me honestly. Of course, I won't let you help for nothing."

He was a successful man. How could he believe in something as absurd as hauntings?

Yang Jian pondered.

From Wang Bin's tone and attitude, he could tell that Wang Shanshan had indeed encountered a ghost.

It was very likely the Ghost Infant that had escaped from the school.

But that made no sense.

Though the Ghost Infant was not as terrifying as that old man who knocked on doors, Wang Shanshan was just an ordinary person. If she had truly encountered it, she should not still be alive.

Ghosts did not negotiate before killing people.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Wang Bin asked when Yang Jian remained silent.

Yang Jian came back to his senses. "I can deal with Wang Shanshan's problem, but it's a very troublesome matter. The last time I saved your daughter for free, I almost failed to leave the school alive. This time, though, I'm not doing favors, and I won't help for free. So, Uncle Wang, name your price. How much are you willing to pay to have this resolved?"

Wang Bin was taken aback, but he quickly recovered and immediately said, "If Shanshan can return to normal, I can privately give you twenty thousand as a reward. Of course, if you can't help my daughter, you won't get a single cent."

He had not expected this student named Yang Jian to be so worldly, already knowing to charge money for doing things.

His tone immediately became much more distant.

"Twenty thousand? I thought you were going to say two hundred. Twenty thousand is too little. This is dangerous, not as simple as you think. If I don't step in, it won't just be Wang Shanshan. Maybe your entire family will die. That thing doesn't show mercy when it kills," Yang Jian said.

If he wanted to deal with the Ghost Infant, he would need to use the ghost's power.

And that would speed up the ghost's revival.

In other words, he would be helping at the cost of his life.

Sacrificing oneself to illuminate others was what candles did.

Yang Jian needed to earn a service fee. Besides, Wang Shanshan's family was relatively wealthy, while he himself was broke.

"Fifty thousand. How about that?" Wang Bin replied.

"It seems Uncle Wang still doesn't understand the market rates for this kind of thing. Overseas, handling a similar incident starts at five million dollars. But I'm a fair man. For the sake of being classmates, five hundred thousand," Yang Jian said seriously.

"Damn it, five hundred thousand? Are you crazy for money? And you still have the nerve to say it's for the sake of being classmates?" Even Wang Bin, who usually had a good temper, could not help exploding at that price.

Yang Jian did not get angry and merely smiled. "Uncle Wang, there's no need to get upset. Given your family's financial situation, five hundred thousand may hurt a little, but it isn't something you can't afford. After all, even one of your homes is worth at least four million. All right, let's leave it there for now. Uncle Wang, think it over and get back to me. Preferably soon."

"Because if it's too late, either Wang Shanshan will die, or I will. I don't have long to live, and I still have a mother to support. I'm trading my life for this money from you. It won't come easy. If you wait too long, then when you want to find someone for help, this won't be something that can be solved with just money. Also, don't call this number again. Call my other phone. Calls on that phone are free."

After saying that, he gave Wang Bin Zhou Zheng's satellite phone number, then directly hung up.

"Friend, for all these phones together, I'll offer five thousand," the owner said at that moment.

Five thousand?

Yang Jian set down the phone and frowned. "So little? Boss, are you kidding?"

"These phones of yours aren't worth much. For example, this latest Fruit phone is fake," the owner said. "If you don't believe me, I'll take it apart and show you."

As he spoke, he actually dismantled the phone. Sure enough, it was supposedly fake.

Fake?

What bullshit from this shady dealer.

How could Yang Jian not know whether Zhang Wei's phone was real or fake?

Yang Jian's face darkened. "Boss, you didn't secretly swap out the phone while I was on the call just now, did you?"

"I run an honest business. Why would I do something like that? Your phone is obviously fake. If you don't want to sell it, take it back. I won't buy the other phones either."

The owner looked completely unconcerned. His attitude changed instantly as he waved Yang Jian away.

Yang Jian stood up and grabbed him by the collar. His bloodshot eyes glowed faintly red, carrying an eerie, indifferent coldness. "You shady dealer, are you looking to die? If you want to die, just say so. I'll grant your wish. You dared to scam me?"

The owner shuddered when he saw Yang Jian's eyes.

Were those eyes a human should have?

Cold and devoid of even a trace of emotion, they held a terrifying, unnatural eeriness.