The Five Who Emerged

Although the Headquarters' operation was clandestine, it attracted a great deal of attention.

If everything goes smoothly, there will naturally be no problem. However, if the operation is hindered, the potential impact will be enormous.

More than three hours have passed without any good news, which speaks volumes.

The operation may not have failed yet, but the chances of success are slim.

The Headquarters' action team was the most concerned about the situation here.

The operation, arranged by Cao Yanhua, Wang Xiaoming, and others, is now under unprecedented pressure.

This was not a sudden incident, but a meticulously planned operation, and someone must be held accountable for it.

Inside the meeting room.

A group of people watched the footage transmitted from the drone, and everyone fell into a deep silence.

The tense atmosphere that lasted for almost several tens of minutes filled the entire meeting room with an almost suffocating feeling.

Some people looked at Wang Xiaoming, seemingly trying to read something from his face, but unfortunately, Wang Xiaoming's expression remained unusually calm throughout, without even a hint of anything unusual in his eyes. It was hard to tell whether to say he was composed or that his mental fortitude was simply too strong.

"Report, it has been confirmed that Li Jun, Liu San, A Hong, Su Fan, and Xu Yiping all lost contact three minutes ago." The silence was broken by an urgent report from a staff member.

Cao Yanhua, who was frowning and smoking, trembled slightly upon hearing the news. He swallowed hard, paused for a moment, and finally asked, "What's the situation on the ground?"

"Nothing has changed."

The staff member's response seemed designed to extinguish any sliver of hope.

"Li Jun and his team's operation failed. My experience tells me that if even the signal is affected in a place, it means that the influence of that thing has become terrifying. They may still be alive, but they are very likely already too deeply involved. After all, it involves the Ghost Painting Incident."

The speaker was Captain Shen Liang. His eyes flickered slightly as he made his judgment.

"I suggest canceling the operation and taking the ghost painting with us; we can't let the losses escalate."

"Zhao Jianguo, what do you think?"

Cao Yanhua remained composed and turned to look at the other person at the conference table.

Zhao Jianguo, who had already resigned and been assigned to work as a receptionist at a training base, lost his job again due to the Ghost Messenger intrusion incident. Because this incident was particularly important, he was brought in as a consultant.

Although Zhao Jianguo made a mistake, he has extensive work experience, and Headquarters is unlikely to actually fire him.

Since resigning, Zhao Jianguo seems to have become more Zen-like. In addition, his previous job was too leisurely, and he spent his days reading newspapers and drinking tea.

Upon hearing the question, Zhao Jianguo put down the newspaper in his hand, raised his head slightly, and smiled, "I think this matter should also be within Professor Wang's calculations. After all, it's impossible for a plan to be completely unprepared. I think it's too early to worry about this now."

With that said, all eyes turned to Wang Xiaoming.

Wang Xiaoming didn't mince words at this point, saying directly, "There is an evacuation plan, but the key is whether Li Jun will execute it. If he hasn't evacuated, it means the situation hasn't deteriorated to the point of being unmanageable. Our attention shouldn't be on them now, but rather on the vicinity of that Ghost Domain."

"Why do you say that?" Shen Liang asked.

"Uncertain factors bring uncertain dangers. In my eyes, anything that can be considered dangerous must be outside the Ghost Domain, not inside Ghost Domain." After saying that, Wang Xiaoming glanced at Zhao Jianguo: "It's more important to have people pay attention to the surrounding situation. As long as what's inside doesn't spread out, everything will be fine."

"Whether it's Ghost Messenger or a ghost painting, it can always be resolved."

His words revealed both confidence and concern.

His plan was meticulously laid out, but its only flaw was the uncertainty brought about by the collision of the two events. If this unstable factor spread, the paranormal event could get out of control.

Therefore, this step is also very important.

"Shen Liang, you're in charge of the area around the scene, right?" Cao Yanhua asked.

"I sent Zhong Shan, Guo Fan, and Chen Yi, the person in charge in this city, over there. The three of them should be fine," Shen Liang said. "Besides, if an emergency really happens, the people in my WeChat circle definitely won't stand idly by. They're at the Ping An Building right now, and if we need support, they can be there within a minute."

"Furthermore, there are quite a few other Ghost Tamer in the city, and they will rush there immediately if needed."

Although this operation involves only five people, all parties must cooperate.

If a problem arises, the Headquarters' resources can bring together all the top Ghost Tamer in Asia.

Of course, this is not usually done, because gathering all the Ghost Tamer together is extremely risky, and in most cases, Headquarters intentionally disperses them.

"That's good, let's continue to wait." Although Cao Yanhua was slightly anxious, he calmed down.

However, Yang Jian was present at the scene, had already left.

He personally judged that this matter would not end so simply, so he planned to go back and make some preparations, since if the operation did not go well, others would have to step in.

I suspect I'll get involved too.

"Supernatural events are becoming increasingly difficult to handle. If this continues, even the most skilled Ghost Tamer will eventually be wiped out." Yang Jian walked alone on the road, gradually moving away from the area shrouded in Ghost Domain, his heart filled with worry and unease.

"We must find out the truth as soon as possible; only then can we find the right approach."

He thought of the Door-Knocking Ghost the door and the results of his recent investigation.

After dealing with things here, he needs to figure out how to get rid of that Door-Knocking Ghost, at the very least to determine if the Door-Knocking Ghost carries any important information or intelligence.

However, just as he was walking away and about to leave...

Suddenly.

Yang Jian stopped in his tracks.

Even after leaving, he did not let his guard down; the Ghost Eye behind his head continued to watch over that Ghost Domain.

However, right now, that gray, ghostly Ghost Domain is rapidly dissipating.

It seems the era of ghost paintings Ghost Domain has come to an end.

After waiting for half the night, some unknown change finally occurred.

"The plan succeeded?" Yang Jian turned around, his gaze shifting slightly. Although the distance was great, his Ghost Eye could clearly see everything in the distance.

The Ghost Domain has indeed disappeared.

Just like in Dachang City back then, once the starving ghosts were imprisoned, the Ghost Domain naturally dissipated as well.

"Did the Ghost Messenger deal with the ghost painting? Or did Headquarters imprison it? Or perhaps they dealt with both at the same time?" Yang Jian decided to stop and observe further.

However, what he saw was strange.

The ghost Ghost Domain of the ghost painting disappeared, and so did the ghost Ghost Domain of the Ghost Messengers.

Everything in the distance was empty and desolate, there was nothing there, neither that dark, coffin-shaped Ghost Domain nor that gray, shrouded world.

And at the heart of that event.

Five figures were slowly walking towards them.

"It's Li Jun and that paper doll Liu San from before."

Yang Jian's Ghost Eye shifted slightly, and he recognized two familiar figures among the five. He didn't know the others, nor did he know their names.

"It seems it really worked. That saves me a lot of trouble."

Although he wasn't involved, he breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Li Jun and the others emerge safely. After all, this matter involved too many people, and if it failed, he would also be dragged into it.

"In that case, I should change my plans and focus on dealing with that so-called 'friends circle' thing." Yang Jian didn't go up to greet them, because there was no need to.

He felt relieved and prepared to leave.

However, the next moment, just as Yang Jian was about to withdraw his Ghost Eye, he noticed something and his body trembled. He looked at the five figures slowly walking towards him in the distance with a hint of surprise.

He discovered that Li Jun, Liu San, and the other three Ghost Tamer all had a hollow in their palms.

The area around the cavity was grayish-white, as if something was missing, or as if it had been pierced by a sharp weapon.

The strange thing is that the missing parts of everyone are exactly the same size, without any difference.

"Ghostly drawing. Those hands in the mist." Yang Jian thought of a very bad experience from the past.

He had inadvertently encountered the Ghost Domain realm of the Ghost Painting Dachang City, and even saw what appeared to be a ghost.

At this moment, Yang Jian still remembered the pair of pale hands in the ghost painting that were pierced by a candlestick.

The wounds appeared to be the same as those on Li Jun and the others.

Yang Jian's eyes flickered; he wasn't entirely sure of his judgment, as fragmented information was hardly convincing.

He needs verification.

Therefore, Yang Jian calmly took out a white candle.

This is a ghost candle, unlike the red ghost candle; this ghost candle has the ability to attract ghosts.

Immediately.

He lit the ghost candle.

However, the next moment, the five figures in the distance stopped in unison, their five slightly stiff heads turning to look at Yang Jian.

"Damn it."

Yang Jian met the five pairs of eyes, his pupils contracted, his heart trembled, and he abruptly blew out the ghost candle.

These five are no longer human. They are all ghosts.