Gathering

"Zhang Lei is still alive? That's certainly good news, but it's also bad news."

Upon hearing this news, Yang Jian breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time cautiously moved closer to the humanoid silhouette in the darkness.

If Zhang Lei is still alive, then the figure in the darkness ahead is very likely Zhang Lei, not a ghost.

"Call!"

Without further hesitation, he lit the ghost candle.

Because he couldn't afford to lose, Yang Jian absolutely couldn't continue gambling at this critical juncture. He needed to eliminate the last possible possibility of a ghost so that he could successfully reunite with Zhang Lei and complete this operation plan.

The eerie green flames flickered, dispelling the surrounding darkness and illuminating the area.

The sudden brightness caught the people behind him off guard, and they all shielded their eyes.

Something's not right.

Yang Jian was gripping the ghost candle tightly in his hand. He saw the flame expand in an unreasonable way and then burn fiercely, and the burning speed was extremely fast.

The ghost candles, which had hardly been used, were now decreasing at a visible rate.

For him, who had used the ghost candle multiple times, this represented a terrifying sign.

The ghost is nearby.

So, the one in front is a ghost?

Yang Jian froze, about to turn and run, when Huang Ziya excitedly announced, "I just located Zhang Lei; he's nearby."

"What?"

Upon hearing this news, Yang Jian was stunned again.

How is that possible?

He grabbed his GPS-enabled phone and glanced at it.

Sure enough, a signal source coincided with his location.

So, the person in front of me was Zhang Lei?

But that doesn't make sense.

The ghost candle was burning fiercely; this was clearly a signal that a ghost was nearby, without a doubt.

Now, is that human-shaped silhouette in front of us a person or a ghost?

"Damn it." Yang Jian gritted his teeth, choosing not to turn back but to continue forward.

He had to be absolutely certain that the humanoid silhouette in front of him was indeed Zhang Lei; otherwise, if he missed this opportunity, there would be no hope of turning the tide.

Zhang Lei alone has three ghosts.

Once they are killed by the ghost, the group of people Yang Jian met will have no hope of survival.

Because he couldn't reunite with Zhang Lei was doomed.

But the closer Yang Jian got to the humanoid silhouette in front of him, the more intensely the ghost candle in his hand burned.

This signal seemed to be reminding him that what was in front of him was a ghost, not a human at all.

But the signal source proves that Zhang Lei is indeed here.

Should we believe in the ghost candle, the signal source, or our own judgment?

Even Yang Jian himself wasn't confident.

He only knew that he was getting closer and closer to the human-shaped silhouette in front of him, and that it would soon be within his field of vision.

However, the ghost candle in his hand burned even more fiercely, until only half remained, and this rate of burning was accelerating. If there were ghosts ahead, this ghost candle would not be able to support their escape at all, and the final result would inevitably be their total annihilation here.

The inexplicable nature of paranormal events is so cruel; one wrong step can lead to utter ruin.

Just as Yang Jian was at the limit of distance, about to confirm the outline of the human figure in front of him.

A terrible thing happened.

In the darkness ahead, another human figure appeared, rapidly approaching, its outline becoming increasingly clear.

Two people appeared in the darkness?

At this moment, Yang Jian felt a slight stinging sensation in his hand because the ghost candle in his hand was burning even more intensely; at this rate of burning, it wouldn't even last five seconds.

The ghost candle could only burn for less than five seconds, a terrifying sight unlike anything he had ever seen before. Even when he faced the starving ghost, the ghost candle could last for at least a minute or two.

"Damn it."

Yang Jian's eyes widened suddenly, and he started running forward.

The appearance of a second figure and the burning of the ghost candle again almost foreshadowed the outcome.

The first figure in front is Zhang Lei, and the second figure is a ghost.

The burning speed of the ghost candle interfered with his judgment, making him think that there was a ghost in front of him, which was why the ghost candle was burning so fiercely. He didn't expect that when the real ghost got close, the ghost candle not only burned fiercely, but was burned out in an instant.

This is a misjudgment based on experience.

As Yang Jian started running, he got closer and closer to Zhang Lei ahead.

But Zhang Lei was unaware of this, and instead continued walking forward.

Directly in front of him, the figure of the vengeful ghost was rapidly approaching.

"Zhang Lei, stop going forward and turn back," Yang Jian tried to call out.

Sound was blocked by darkness, and the vengeful spirit was interfering with everything around it.

Zhang Lei, who was ahead, didn't hear him at all; he continued to grope his way forward in the dark, heading towards the vengeful ghost.

"That unlucky guy," Yang Jian gritted his teeth, not stopping.

The distance was quickly closed.

Zhang Lei, who was moving forward in the dark, was obviously not moving fast enough, and Yang Jian had already caught up with him.

Within five meters, Yang Jian saw Zhang Lei.

He carefully made his way forward, touching the wall with one hand.

The candlelight from the ghost candle couldn't reach Zhang Lei's position, so much so that he didn't even realize someone was behind him at such close range.

However, Zhang Lei was ahead of him.

A stiff humanoid silhouette, hidden in the darkness, stood before Zhang Lei. From the darkness, a pair of stiff, cold hands slowly reached out towards him.

Yang Jian recognized those hands.

The existence of the human skin paper that was stolen from him at the shooting range.

At that moment, the ghost chose to attack Zhang Lei.

"Is the judgment distance not enough?" Yang Jian's eyes narrowed. Although he was already getting closer, the ghost's movements still did not stop.

The range for determining the size of a room is not five meters, but within three meters.

Zhang Lei, shrouded in darkness, was unaware of what was happening around him. He only knew that a scream had just come from the darkness, which made him realize that another Ghost Tamer had been killed, so he had to get away from the direction of the sound as quickly as possible.

Without hesitation, he ran in the opposite direction and left the dormitory building via the stairs.

Meeting at the agreed location was already highly unlikely. Zhang Lei's priority was to ensure his own survival, hoping that he might have a chance to reunite with Yang Jian during their escape.

This is the only chance to survive.

At this moment, Zhang Lei was quickly moving forward in the dark, also determined Yang Jian's location through his satellite positioning phone.

He saw that Yang Jian's signal had overlapped with his own.

However, the signal location had a certain degree of error, and he could not accurately determine Yang Jian's exact location.

Even if two people are only a meter apart in the dark, they might still miss each other.

Zhang Lei hesitated for a moment. He didn't know whether he should continue forward or stay where he was and look for Yang Jian's whereabouts.

However, in that brief moment of hesitation...

Suddenly, a cold, stiff hand appeared on his shoulder in the darkness. The chilling cold seeped in from beneath his clothes, stirring up his fear and causing his already tense heart to stop beating instantly.

The worst, most worrying thing has happened.

The ghost has found itself.

It's over.

There were no thoughts, only despair and the fear of waiting to die.

Zhang Lei already knew the ghost's patterns and abilities very well: it could mindlessly suppress other vengeful ghosts, it would die if it was alone, and it also had the potential to grow stronger.

Now, how many ghosts can this ghost suppress? Five, or six?

He didn't know the exact number, but Zhang Lei knew very well that whether it was five or six, he couldn't fight them off.

However, despair and hope arrived at the same moment.

Suddenly, the surrounding darkness vanished.

A sinister green light enveloped the surroundings.

"Zhang Lei, what are you standing there for? Come with me right now!" Yang Jian's voice rang out from behind. He growled and grabbed Zhang Lei's arm, pulling him backward.

"Yang Jian?" He subconsciously turned around, but what he saw out of the corner of his eye filled him with horrification.

A person with a deathly black face stood before him like a stiff corpse, exuding an aura of death and despair. His clothes, as if they had been buried in the ground and rotting, were also blackened, but one could still vaguely make out that they were the uniform of the person in charge.

However, this was a real ghost.

A terrifying and vengeful ghost, codenamed "Ghost Messenger," born from a ghost coffin.

Before Zhang Lei could clearly see all the features of the ghost in front of him, or even before he could clearly see Yang Jian suddenly appearing behind him, he was caught off guard.

The eerie green light around them vanished, and darkness returned, engulfing everyone.

But in that instant, Yang Jian pulled him away from that cold hand.

The ghost candle burned out completely.

But the rendezvous was completed.

"Walk."

Yang Jian let out another low growl, grabbed Zhang Lei, and led the others in a runaway train.