A Dangerous Choice

This is a suburb far from the city.

A newly paved asphalt road runs down the highway and into the distant mountains, where a research institute, resembling a base, is located.

This location is marked as Ping An Technology Research Base on the map, and it is registered as a legitimate research company.

In reality, this is just a cover-up.

The weather today doesn't seem too good. The sky is overcast and it's drizzling, making the already wintery climate damp and cold. In this kind of weather, few people would choose to go out unless it's something important.

But just now...

On the asphalt road, which was previously deserted with no vehicles or pedestrians, a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

This person walked alone, the continuous drizzle falling on his head, seemingly determined to continue along this road forever.

But the figures on the road didn't appear for long.

In a flash, the figure vanished again, and the street became empty once more, as if the figure from before was just an illusion and had never appeared at all.

"Right here?"

Yang Jian stood before the gate of the Ping An Scientific Research Base. He slightly raised his eyes and glanced inside. Under the watchful gaze of an eerie red eye, many secrets were revealed.

But there are even more areas that cannot be explored.

"Let's take you in first."

Yang Jian's eyes flickered; he found a relatively secluded spot that was not easily discovered.

The next moment, a dark-skinned child flashed past, disappearing in the blink of an eye. When he reappeared, he was standing in front of a window of a building, looking around curiously, as if trying to find something interesting.

"Stay there and don't move."

He ordered the ghost child to lie low and not show itself unless absolutely necessary.

Yang Jian closed his Ghost Eye at that moment, causing the Ghost Domain to disappear.

So he appeared out of thin air in front of the living people, and also in the nearby surveillance footage.

Without hesitation, he strode into the research base.

Security personnel noticed Yang Jian's direct intrusion. Instead of stopping him, they were somewhat alarmed and immediately verified his identity through the identification system before reporting it to the authorities.

"We've arrived at Ghost Eye Yang Jian."

A message spread.

Some people at the research base were alarmed.

Before Yang Jian even reached the first building, a person was already waiting for him at the entrance.

The man was a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit, with a cold face, dark skin, and empty, numb eyes. He was stiff all over, seemingly not even breathing, standing like a corpse in front of the dimly lit door. At this moment, he seemed to be slightly raising his head to look in this direction in order to welcome Yang Jian's arrival.

Ghost Messenger Wei Jing?

This must be his new code name; he's an anomaly among Ghost Tamer. He doesn't seem to control any ghosts, because he himself is now a ghost.

The strange yet familiar ghost rope was casually hung on the belt around Wei Jing's waist.

The old straw rope looked out of place with the modern suit, but the terrifying ghost rope that had been revived showed no signs of movement, suggesting that it had been suppressed by Wei Jing.

"I thought Li Jun would be in charge of receiving me. It seems he's been very busy since becoming the captain and is no longer Wang Xiaoming's bodyguard. Have you become the new bodyguard?" Yang Jian asked, his gaze shifting from the blackened ghost rope.

Wang Xiaoming's treatment remains very high.

For his safety, the Headquarters insisted on assigning him a Ghost Tamer with Ghost Domain.

Both Li Jun and Wei Jing can use the Ghost Domain. There are relatively few Ghost Tamer like this, and having them in a team can greatly increase the team's survival rate.

"Ghost Eye. Yang Jian?"

Wei Jing's empty, numb eyes moved slightly, and his voice was icy cold with a strange hoarseness, a tone that no living person could produce.

"We've met many times, but today seems to be our first real meeting. As a Ghost Tamer, your existence is far too dangerous. If you continue to act recklessly and don't rein yourself in, there will be no good outcome."

He was issuing a warning.

This also reflects Wei Jing's dissatisfaction with Yang Jian's recent actions; this is Wei Jing's personal opinion.

Yang Jian said, "The Ghost Messenger is still trapped in the ghost painting, but you've escaped from the Ghost Messenger incident. Such an anomaly is rare. Who knows if you're really Wei Jing? Maybe you're a ghost that escaped from the Ghost Messenger. So, in terms of danger, you're more dangerous than me."

Although he was wary of Wei Jing, he was not afraid of him.

Yang Jian didn't believe that Wei Jing could truly suppress other ghosts as perfectly as a real Ghost Messenger.

"Come with me."

Wei Jing didn't speak. He turned around stiffly and walked into the building.

Yang Jian's eyes flickered. He had already thoroughly understood the architectural structure of this place. Except for many areas that he couldn't explore, he already had a map of this place in his mind.

Therefore, he followed Wei Jing without any suspicion.

The experimental base building here has no elevators, seemingly to intentionally avoid interference from paranormal events, or perhaps to keep the building's structure as simple as possible. Therefore, all floors are accessed via stairs.

The stairwell is spacious and bright, not cramped, and can accommodate a large number of people to evacuate together in a short time without causing a blockage on the stairs.

Wei Jing led Yang Jian toward the stairs leading underground.

"Professor Wang is waiting for you in his research lab on the fifth basement level. The plan regarding the Music Box Curse is complete; he's just waiting for your arrival," he said on the way, seemingly to avoid any misunderstanding.

Yang Jian watched Wei Jing's retreating figure and asked, "How long can you maintain this state? Before you can truly control Ghost Messenger, there must be some kind of flaw; it's impossible for you to exist in this state for long."

"This is my business, you shouldn't ask."

Wei Jing's chilling voice echoed in the stairwell, and he felt a strong aversion to Yang Jian's probing.

"Since you don't want to talk about this, then forget it." Yang Jian looked up slightly at the sky.

His Ghost Domain couldn't penetrate down, which meant that each floor of the building had a partition that could prevent the intrusion of supernatural forces and also isolate the Ghost Domain.

The only way to go up and down is by stairs.

However, each floor of the staircase has several large doors. Once these doors are closed, each floor can be individually sealed off, like a large golden box, imprisoning ghosts and other uncontrollable and terrifying supernatural phenomena here, preventing them from spreading outside.

"Wang Xiaoming is waiting for me in the laboratory on the fifth floor. There are only five floors underground. It seems he has some ideas. He is both guarding against the resurgence of my vengeful ghost after my death and targeting me, creating an opportunity to perfectly suppress me or even eliminate me," Yang Jian thought to himself.

Wei Jing's appearance was a dangerous sign.

But he couldn't not come.

From the moment Yang Jian appeared at this experimental base, it meant that he had no other way to break the music box's curse and could only find Wang Xiaoming.

Wang Xiaoming had also made arrangements in a tacit manner, waiting for his arrival.

Soon.

Wei Jing and Yang Jian appeared in the laboratory on the fifth floor.

He pushed open three layers of sealed doors, and finally, separated by several layers of special glass walls, he saw several laboratory staff members, including one of them, Wang Xiaoming.

"Yang Jian is here." Wang Xiaoming turned slightly to look in their direction.

Dr. Chen was standing nearby, said, "Please be careful this time. If things get out of control, the consequences will be unimaginable. It's not just Yang Jian; there are other uncertain factors involved. As you've done research, you should know that ghosts in paranormal events are much more complex than we imagine. We still know far too little."

"It's alright, you and the others can leave this floor for now, leave the rest to me," Wang Xiaoming said calmly.

"Since you've already thought it through, I won't say anything more."

Dr. Chen nodded, signaling his other assistants to put down their work and leave with him.

Yang Jian walked over, glanced at Dr. Chen and the others who were hastily leaving, then shifted his gaze to Wang Xiaoming and asked directly, "What's your plan to break the music box's curse? I want the truth, don't try to fob me off, I don't have much time."

Wang Xiaoming said, "I took something from Guo Fan these past two days—a spirit tablet. It's a very special thing. If you touch it, your consciousness will enter the spirit tablet, and the ghost inside will take your place. So I'll use this method to transfer your consciousness."

"The specific plan is as follows: you need to first transfer your consciousness into the spirit tablet, and then let another consciousness in the spirit tablet replace you. The music box's curse should not enter the spirit tablet with you."

"The rules of the two supernatural objects will most likely conflict, so you just need to wait for a while until the music box's curse subsides, then I will return your consciousness to your body. This way, you can avoid being killed by the curse."

He gave a brief explanation.

"That's it?" Yang Jian glanced around and quickly noticed a coffin placed in a separate room, along with a memorial tablet in front of it.

The coffin had no lid and was pitch black inside, but he recognized it; it was the coffin that gave birth to Ghost Messenger.

"Then why did you put the ghost coffin here?"

Wang Xiaoming said, "Considering that there might be a resurgence of a vengeful ghost during the time you are unconscious, your body will be placed in a ghost coffin to suppress the ghost within you. This is a safety measure, and you should be able to understand my approach."

"What if the music box's curse transfers along with my consciousness?" Yang Jian asked coldly.

"I'm sorry, but the chances of you dying are very high. After all, everything carries risks, especially when it comes to curses involving supernatural events."

Wang Xiaoming spoke frankly, seemingly without any attempt to hide anything.

Yang Jian then asked, "So, in the end, my body will be replaced by another consciousness? To you, whether I live or die is unimportant."

Wang Xiaoming nodded and said, "That's how it works in principle. After all, you're an anomaly among Ghost Tamer. It would be too much of a loss to lose a top-tier Ghost Tamer because of a curse. I need to make ample preparations. This is for the sake of the bigger picture. Whether you understand it or not, I will do it. If you refuse, it's not too late."

Although he spoke calmly, his tone was filled with a strange cruelty and indifference.

This is to maximize Yang Jian's value.

"Who is the person enshrined in the memorial tablet now?" Yang Jian asked again, without immediately becoming angry.

Wang Xiaoming said, "It was a ghost before, now it's Guo Fan."

"So, in this plan, one of us, Guo Fan and I, will survive, while the other will be cursed and die?" Yang Jian asked.

"Isn't it fair? He's betting his life, his memorial tablet, and the curse on you and the music box to see if the curse will transfer to him or stay with you."

Wang Xiaoming gave a cold smile.

"If the curse is removed, I will have Guo Fan die in your place; otherwise, you will be the one who dies, and your body will be replaced by Guo Fan."

Yang Jian smiled coldly, "This is really in line with your style. You just lay out your plan like this. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you right now? You really think you can stop me by bringing Wei Jing along? If I want to deal with him, ten seconds is enough."

He was well prepared this time. If he unleashed his full power, no Ghost Tamer could stop him, and even Old Qin might not survive.

Wang Xiaoming nodded and said, "I don't doubt that you can really do it, but that won't change the outcome. Even if Wei Jing and I both die here, you will still carry out my plan. So what's the point of you killing me and Wei Jing here? Just to vent your anger?"

"Don't forget, you still have to live after you survive. If you kill me and Wei Jing, you'll probably be wanted worldwide and forced to flee. It's not wise to pay such a price just to vent your anger."

Yang Jian's gaze flickered slightly as he looked at him.

He wasn't surprised by Wang Xiaoming's almost cruel plan, but he believed that the plan was not that simple, because it was very likely based on a piece of parchment, thus containing an invisible trap.

A trap you can't see.

Wang Xiaoming might not even see this trap, but it already exists.

The trap will only become apparent the moment the plan is implemented.

But by then it was too late.

According to the plan, Yang Jian's consciousness will enter the spirit tablet, and his body will be taken over by Guo Fan. At that time, he will truly be unable to control his own body.

"Will the Ghost Chest's trading rules come into play at this time?" Yang Jian suddenly thought of the existence of this thing again.

The only way to avoid this invisible trap is to rely on the Ghost Chef's seven-day trading rules.

"You have time to consider, but it won't be much. You'll decide when to implement the plan, and of course, you can refuse." Wang Xiaoming wasn't in a hurry to urge him; he was willing to wait for a while.

This won't take long, because the music box's curse is still ongoing, and the outbreak should be within 24 hours.