A Place He Had Been To

The night was not yet over.

The bustling city was still brightly lit, lively, and noisy, just like any other day.

But most people in the city would never have imagined that a bizarre event concerning the life and death of everyone was taking place right on the outskirts of the city.

Although the operation was kept extremely secret, it was not difficult for some people in the circle to find out about it.

After all, this is an S-class operation, and there are definitely more than just one or two people interested in it; even some foreign forces are probably paying close attention to it.

However, compared to the focus on the Ghost Painting Incident...

The top floor of Ping An Building.

People on his WeChat Moments, however, paid more attention to Yang Jian's actions.

"Latest intelligence indicates that Yang Jian's location has changed; he has appeared near the Ghost Painting Incident area. The exact location is the top floor of the training base."

At the conference table, Manager Fei received a piece of intelligence and his expression immediately changed. "President Fang, this is a great opportunity. If he dies now, we can completely pin the blame for his death on this Ghost Painting Incident."

Jiang Shangbai, who was standing to the side, also showed a slight change in expression and looked to the side.

He was curious about what method Fang Shiming would use to defeat Yang Jian, after all, Yang Jian was also a top-notch Ghost Tamer and controlled three ghosts, so he wouldn't be so easy to kill.

What's the rush?

Sitting in the superior Fang Shiming glanced at him lazily and said, "Yang Jian is only there to observe the situation and has no intention of getting involved. If we make a move now and fail to eliminate him, the consequences could be very serious. I will only take action if he is truly involved in a supernatural event."

"The ghosts involved in this incident and my methods, working together from the inside and outside, are the only way to ensure success. We need to be more meticulous in our work. Manager Fei, you are not Ghost Tamer, so there are some things you don't understand. You can never imagine how terrifying a top-tier Ghost Tamer is about to die can be. Therefore, the plan against Yang Jian will be put on hold for now. We will act when the opportunity is ripe."

"Our main purpose today is to observe the Ghost Painting Incident," Fang Shiming said, glancing at an electronic screen not far away.

There are images transmitted from several drones.

Although it was night, a grayish-white world could still be seen emerging from the darkness in the distance.

That place is a ghostly Ghost Domain, a world of grotesque paintings.

This damned thing once wiped out a top-tier team of Ghost Tamer from abroad, leaving not a single survivor.

Their experiences in the confrontation were classified as top secret and were not recorded in the shared archives.

"The success rate of imprisoning the Ghost Messenger is not high; too much time has passed, and there's likely an unexpected situation inside."

Jiang Shangbai snorted softly, "I suggested that Headquarters remove the coffin nails before, but Yang Jian interfered and no one listened to me. If Headquarters has to pay a heavy price this time, perhaps there will be a chance to restart my plan."

"The reason we disagree with your plan is not because of Yang Jian, but because Deputy Minister Cao discovered our intentions."

Manager Fei calmly said, "He doesn't want the coffin nails to fall into the hands of our circle of friends. Otherwise, I would have more say at Headquarters. Yang Jian's appearance just happened to be what Cao Yanhua wanted. He's most happy to see someone jump out and cause trouble."

"Furthermore, removing that coffin nail carries the risk of the starving ghost escaping. No manager would make such a foolish decision, so you should forget about it. Even if this operation fails, they won't agree to your plan, unless..."

"Unless the Ghost Painting Incident and the Ghost Messenger incident completely spiral out of control, Cao Yanhua will have no choice but to take a gamble," Fang Shiming said slowly.

Yang Jian, who was near the scene of the incident, was unaware of the discussions on his WeChat Moments. In his view, if WeChat Moments were to take action against him, they would have to wait until the Ghost Messenger incident was completely over; otherwise, it would all be meaningless.

Li Jun and the others, temporarily trapped in the Ghost Painting world, had no choice but to bite the bullet and push forward.

Since the location of the Ghost Messenger cannot be determined, and waiting idly is not an option, the only thing to do is try eliminating houses one by one, hoping to find the target soon with a bit of luck.

It has now become extremely dangerous; the houses are no longer inhabited by villagers, but by real ghosts that roam the streets.

The three-story rural house had its doors wide open, and the inside was pitch black, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. It was as if all the light had disappeared, but a heavy footstep could be faintly heard from inside the dark house, as if someone was walking around inside, sometimes going up the stairs, sometimes pacing on the roof, and sometimes making some strange noises.

Without a doubt, this three-story house is haunted.

"Should we continue, Li Jun? This is already the seventh house we've checked. You can't hold on like this for long. If this continues, you'll soon die from the resurrection of the vengeful ghost."

Su Fan, who had been playing on his phone as he walked, raised his head slightly and spoke with a hint of admonition.

They formed a team and explored each house one by one.

This is the seventh haunted house they've encountered.

They had previously dealt with the ghosts in two houses, but then felt that this method was too inefficient, so they decided to explore further to determine the ghosts' identities before retreating.

I don't intend to forcibly imprison all the ghosts.

Although the danger has been reduced considerably and the efficiency has improved, it is still frighteningly dangerous.

Fortunately, we were well-prepared, and since we were a group of five, we have survived without any casualties.

But being alive doesn't mean there's nothing to do.

Li Jun was walking at the front, was now moving slowly. His body was withered, like a corpse that was about to be burned, which made people feel horrified. Through the cracks in his charred flesh, eerie green flames were burning.

The emanating green light formed Li Jun's Ghost Domain, forcibly carving out a path in the darkness.

"I bear a lot of responsibility for the Ghost Messenger incident. If I hadn't disobeyed orders, with the laboratory's security level, that thing would never have been able to escape. It would have been trapped inside instead of becoming an unsolvable problem." Li Jun glanced back slightly.

Half of his face was charred black, the flesh was gone, and the eyeballs inside his eye sockets were burned away, leaving only empty holes.

Through that hole, not a trace of flesh or blood could be seen, only a bottomless, eerie flame.

Deep within the flames, there seemed to be many eerie silhouettes, struggling to emerge.

"So you're willing to take the risk?" Liu San asked.

The others also understood that Li Jun's condition meant he was not far from being aroused by a vengeful ghost.

If you want to survive, you either have to withdraw from this operation and go back to control the third ghost to find a new balance, or you have to die here.

There is no other possibility.

"At least we still have the right to fight to the death. I've witnessed the true terror of the Ghost Messenger. Back then, ghosts weren't something you could deal with just by fighting. Anyone who encountered one would only die, without even a chance to escape. You've all seen the information clearly. This is our only chance." Li Jun turned around and resolutely walked into the three-story building.

His arrival brought some light to the otherwise dark living room.

The eerie glow of the will-o'-the-wisps improved visibility somewhat, at least allowing them to see everything around them.

"There's really nothing I can do." A hint of helplessness appeared on Liu San's sickly face.

He had no choice but to follow Li Jun inside.

After all, Li Jun was leading the operation, so he didn't have much room to refuse. Of course, the most important thing was that Li Jun might die, but he wouldn't.

The dimly lit lobby felt a bit crowded with their arrival. They also noticed that the noise inside the house had vanished; there were no more footsteps or sounds of people going up and down the stairs, as if the noises they had heard at the door earlier were just an illusion.

"The ghost is on the second floor."

The next moment, the game on Su Fan's phone showed his character hopping and skipping across the dark stairs. When he reached the second floor, the screen suddenly flashed.

The message above indicates that your game character has died. Please restart.

The unexpected death of the game character reveals that danger lies on the second floor.

"Is there a ghost upstairs?" Everyone looked up at the ceiling at that moment.

They were separated from the ghost by only a wall, less than five meters away. Despite their numbers, the sense of urgency made everyone's hair stand on end.

What will it be this time?

"I'll go upstairs first." Liu San's sallow face looked particularly eerie in the gloomy firelight, but he still took the task of leading the way very seriously.

Because only he has a high probability of surviving if he is attacked by a ghost immediately.

No one else objected, and the formation was immediately stabilized. Those who led the way led the way, those who covered the rear covered the rear, and those who were responsible for emergencies responded.

Everyone was on high alert.

Liu San walked up the stairs with steady steps, without a trace of panic or excessive tension.

This level of mental fortitude is indeed very high.

The brief ascent up the stairs was uneventful, and Liu San arrived at the second-floor corridor, where he saw two rooms.

The room has an old wooden door that's currently half-open because it can't be closed properly.

However, Liu San saw many footprints near the doorway.

The footprints were scattered and covered with grayish-white ash, as if they had been brought in from outside.

"Could the ghosts inside have gone outside?" Liu San's expression changed.

You must know that the outside world is a ghostly realm. According to previous deductions, the ghosts in the ghost coffins are trapped in these dark houses and unable to get out. However, the messy footprints on the ground prove that something did go out and was stained with the grayish-white ash from outside.

Although Liu San was surprised and uncertain, he did not stop, but walked towards the first room where the footsteps were disordered.

If the ghost wasn't of a high level, they could have easily imprisoned it immediately.

Even if the detention fails, we can simply move to the street immediately.

The ghost couldn't possibly chase after him.

However, when he approached and carefully pushed open the door, the scene before him made his eyes widen and his heart skip a beat.

A person who looked exactly like him, but whose body was broken and looked like a dead man, stood at the door. His eyes were lifeless and stared outside, revealing an unusual terror.

However, when Liu San looked closely, he couldn't help but take several steps back.

This thing that looks exactly like him is neither a corpse nor a person, but a lifelike paper figure.

Not only was there a paper figure standing at the door, but inside there was a whole bunch of tattered paper figures lying haphazardly. Although the appearances of these paper figures were damaged, Liu San could recognize that each one looked like him, and he was even certain that he had made them himself.

Scattered footprints covered in ashes at the doorway, the room in ruins resembling a long-dead paper figure.

In an instant, a terrifying thought flashed through Liu San's mind, "I've been here before, and not for the first time."