The Corpse That Floated to the Surface

When Shen Liang received Yang Jian's call, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

What?

The vengeful spirit of Lin Shan has resurrected; has Zhang Lei fallen?

What was originally an ordinary criminal case suddenly turned into a supernatural event, and the Ghost Tamer even died. This escalated the incident significantly, and if true, the entire J City would be shaken.

Because the severity of this paranormal event cannot be determined, it can only be handled with the highest level of protocol.

But if he actually did that, Shen Liang, the team leader, would immediately have to resign, and his fate wouldn't be much better than Zhao Jianguo's.

"Yang Jian, are you kidding me? The vengeful ghost of Lin Shan has resurrected? Is this for real? I've seen his file and had some contact with him. His limit can't be reached so quickly; it should be at least ten more days." Shen Liang's tone was anxious, even somewhat panicked and uneasy.

Yang Jian, "No one can be sure when their own vengeful spirit will resurface. Can you estimate when that Lin Shan vengeful spirit will resurface? Captain Shen, wake up. Maybe that guy is lying to you. If he's about to die, no sane person would tell anyone, because if they did, he wouldn't be worth saving."

"Furthermore, Lin Shan's file has significant gaps, especially regarding his knowledge of vengeful ghosts. While every Ghost Tamer may conceal some information about their abilities, the fact that he left out every single detail is clearly problematic."

"Even so, Zhang Lei shouldn't have fallen so quickly. Isn't he with you?" Shen Liang said through gritted teeth.

The fact that Lin Shan is really dead is still within the acceptable range.

If Zhang Lei also falls, things will get really complicated. A small incident could cost two Ghost Tamer; he can't bear that responsibility.

It was an accident.

Yang Jian calmly said, "There was a section of water in the corridor leading to Lin Shan's room, which looked abnormal. I didn't recommend wading through it. He heard Lin Shan's voice coming from the room and thought that he hadn't yet awakened as a vengeful ghost, so he rushed over."

"The result was a bit unexpected; the water, less than half a meter deep, submerged him, and he just mysteriously disappeared before my eyes."

"How can I save you in this situation?"

Hearing this, Shen Liang realized he had no right to blame Yang Jian. If a supernatural event really happened, anything could happen, and no Ghost Tamer could guarantee their survival.

"Can you resolve this?" Shen Liang asked through gritted teeth, as if he were tearing his own flesh apart.

Although he hadn't known Yang Jian for long, he still had a deep impression of this man who used to work under Zhao Jianguo.

Yang Jian is very capable.

Since becoming Ghost Tamer, I have solved numerous paranormal cases without ever making a mistake.

Yang Jian, "I was confident when I faced Lin Shan, who was still alive, but if we get involved with Zhang Lei later, it's hard to say."

"Zhang Lei might not be dead yet. His situation is very special; he's not easily killed by ghosts. Investigate further. Here's what we'll do: if this matter is resolved, I'll give you five ghost candles. This is my final offer; this is all the resources I can control right now," Shen Liang said through gritted teeth.

"I don't care about the process, I just want this matter resolved. Even if you destroy the entire building, it doesn't matter. This is J City; we absolutely cannot let paranormal events get out of control."

"Captain Shen, you're really poor. I rarely need to use the white ghost candles. Those things are dangerous and can't be lit casually. So the difference between three and five isn't that big. How about this, give me three ghost candles plus Lin Shan's spot for controlling the second ghost. Anyway, he won't need them." Yang Jian said casually.

Shen Liang wanted to say that Yang Jian already had one spot available, didn't he?

Then he remembered that this guy had given the spot to control a second ghost to a Ghost Tamer on Supernatural Forum.

"Okay, I promise you," Shen Liang said.

"I recorded the call, so don't even think about going back on your word," Yang Jian.

Shen Liang said, "I promise I won't go back on my word, but please, you must resolve Lin Shan's matter."

"I can't guarantee it, I can only say I'll try my best." As Yang Jian spoke, he suddenly noticed a series of bubbles rising from the waterlogged walkway ahead.

The water was churning, and a huge shadow appeared in it.

The shadow looked like a person.

"I have something to do here, I have to go now, I'm hanging up. You can answer with your satellite-guided phone, I don't know if your phones are waterproof." Yang Jian hung up his private call, hung the satellite-guided phone around his neck, and kept the call connected.

Suddenly, a person emerged from the still, undisturbed water in front of them.

That person should already be dead; half of their body was floating on the water, back up, face down, slightly curled up, motionless and somewhat stiff.

"It's not Zhang Lei, it's the female waitress from the hotel before." Yang Jian's gaze sharpened slightly.

It was a female corpse, dressed in a hotel waitress's uniform. She appeared to have died recently, as her skin still retained some color and had not been swollen or decomposed from being soaked in water.

But the appearance of this female corpse was strange.

Judging from the height of the water, if there were a female corpse floating in there, he would have spotted it no matter what; he wouldn't be that blind.

"The most urgent thing now is to determine whether Lin Shan is dead or not. If he is dead, and the vengeful ghost has really been resurrected, I really can't take Shen Liang's salary. After all, my current condition is problematic, and the conditions do not allow me to use the vengeful ghost's abilities for an extended period of time. Moreover, there is Zhang Lei, whose fate is unknown."

Yang Jian weighed the pros and cons in his mind, while also considering his next move.

However, at this moment, the situation suddenly changed.

The corpse floating on the water suddenly moved, followed by a splashing sound as it was violently lifted off the ground by a hand.

A head popped out of the water and gasped for air.

"Damn it, I almost died." Zhang Lei gasped for breath, his already stiff face now looking even worse.

His codename Ghost Eater. Although he wasn't as infamous as Ghost Eye Yang Jian, he was still quite fearsome. He almost drowned in this ditch.

Yang Jian was slightly surprised. "You actually came back. I thought you were beyond saving. I was just reporting the situation to Headquarters and telling them to make preparations."

"You're right, it's indeed very dangerous here. It took me a lot of effort to escape. This Lin Shan is no ordinary person. Anyone else would have been dead in that situation. There's no way they could have come back alive." Zhang Lei's face showed lingering fear, as if he had just faced something incredibly terrifying.

"It's good that you're not dead. If you were dead, it wouldn't be as simple as a vengeful ghost resurrecting," Yang Jian said.

Even though it was his first time meeting Zhang Lei, as a normal person, no one would want to see another Ghost Tamer die in front of them.

Zhang Lei nodded, and then struggled to his feet from the floodwater.

As he stood up, Yang Jian noticed that the female corpse he had pushed away from the surface was now gripping Zhang Lei's arm tightly with a stiff hand. Despite being a corpse, she didn't let go, seemingly trying to drag Zhang Lei into the depths of the puddles in front of them.

"Ghost Slave?" Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly.

Judging from the timeline, the waitress must have died first, followed by Zhang Lei being attacked by the vengeful ghost.

How could a waitress who had already turned into a female corpse possibly grab Zhang Lei, who had fallen into the floodwater behind her?

Therefore, the drowned female corpse has become a new kind of supernatural phenomenon.

However, just as Zhang Lei bent over to get up, his expression changed, and he slumped down, almost falling back into the water. Fortunately, he managed to grab the wall beside him in time.

"Damn it."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down and saw that his legs, which were submerged in the water, were being firmly gripped by stiff, pale hands that were surprisingly strong. His body felt as if it were sinking into quicksand, and he was slowly sinking deeper.

In just a few moments, the water had reached above his knees.

"These things are trying to pull me into the water. Yang Jian, I can't use my abilities on these things recklessly, or I'll die." He suddenly raised his head and looked at Yang Jian not far away with a hint of fear.

Zhang Lei knew very well that no matter how many ghosts he eliminated, it would be futile because they weren't the source.

So if the stalemate continues, he will either die from the resurrection of the vengeful ghost, or he will be swallowed by the stagnant water and drown.

"Don't worry, you won't die." Yang Jian opened his Ghost Eye at this moment.

A strange eye appeared on his body, enveloping him in a faint red light.

Through this Ghost Eye, he saw what was happening underwater in front of him.

The seemingly less than half-meter-deep pool of water was actually bottomless, like a hellish abyss, with countless corpses floating in it.

Some of the corpses had just died, while others had been dead for a long time, their bodies already unrecognizable after being submerged in water. Some were highly decomposed, their skin rotting away in the water, leaving only grotesque and terrifying mutilated remains.

However, these corpses tightly bound Zhang Lei's legs, rendering him unable to move.

With so many corpses entangled around Zhang Lei, it's no wonder he couldn't escape from this small, flooded area.

"Just how many people has Lin Shan killed using his ghostly abilities?"

With a somewhat grave expression, Yang Jian, after ascertaining the situation, decided to take action and get Zhang Lei out of there first.

He covered an area of about one meter around him with his Ghost Domain, then strode forward.

The water ahead did not hinder him; although it appeared he was walking in the water, he actually did not make any direct contact with it.

Without touching the puddles, the corpses submerged in the water showed no reaction whatsoever, not actively attacking him, but continuing to attack Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei struggled to resist, but he couldn't stop his body from sinking further.

The water had already reached his chest, and he could feel several cold corpses lying on his body, as if he had jumped into the lake carrying several cold iron blocks on his back.

That feeling is so intense that even if you want to survive, it's futile.

"Yang Jian, quick!" Zhang Lei stretched out his hand and hurriedly called for help.

"What's the rush? I know what I'm doing." Yang Jian had already walked to his side and grabbed his arm.

At that moment, he felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was hanging beneath Zhang Lei, and he even had the feeling that he was about to be dragged out of the ghost Ghost Domain and fall into this stagnant water.

But that alone is not enough.

Yang Jian's ghostly figure stretched out from under his feet and entered the puddles.

The corpses that had been binding Zhang Lei trembled eerily, then released Zhang Lei all at once. As if losing all their supernatural power, they floated to the surface one after another, no longer trying to pull Zhang Lei down.

"Splash!"

Zhang Lei was pulled out of the water. His body still bore handprints, as well as some rotting hair and skin.

The surface of the previously empty water was now covered with corpses that had surfaced.

"Has the ghost not appeared yet?" Yang Jian ignored Zhang Lei, who had escaped, and focused his attention on the corpses.

He originally intended to use Zhang Lei as bait to lure out the ghost in the water.

This is the best method, because he dares not venture into that puddle.

But no ghost appeared; none of the corpses were ghosts.

"If the ghost hasn't appeared yet under these circumstances, there's only one possibility: the ghost isn't in the water at all, but rather..." Yang Jian immediately turned his gaze to the half-open door not far away.

A ghost is in the room.

It's located near Lin Shan.

His guess was correct.

Soon.

A hand, swollen from being soaked in water, peeked out from behind the half-open door. The hand rested on the doorway and slowly opened it.

Inside the room, the sound of dripping water could be heard.