Out of Control (II)

"Minister Cao! Satellite images show that the Hungry Ghost's Ghost Domain is moving! The entire headquarters has vanished! The Hungry Ghost's Ghost Domain is carrying the whole headquarters... toward the Ghost Painting!"

"Yes, that confirms it... the Hungry Ghost's defining trait is devouring. It's only natural that it would move toward the Ghost Painting. After all, the Hungry Ghost now has a Coffin Nail."

Wang Xiaoming continued tapping at his keyboard without a change in expression, as though he were simply working a little unexpected overtime at home.

"Are you kidding me? The Hungry Ghost, the Ghost Messenger, and the Ghost Painting have all gone out of control at once?"

Yang Jian watched the distant blue-black Ghost Domain, the scarlet Ghost Eye on his forehead swiveling restlessly.

"According to Wang Xiaoming's theory, the Newspaper Ghost altered Zhao Jianguo's memories? But that doesn't matter anymore. We have to contain one of these ghosts first..."

Taking out his satellite phone, Yang Jian dialed Wang Xiaoming's number.

"Wang Xiaoming, I know headquarters has a lot of things hidden away. With things as they are, this is no longer up to you. If you don't bring them out now, you'll never get another chance."

"I've already sent it to your satellite phone."

"Beep, beep, beep." Wang Xiaoming hung up immediately after speaking.

Yang Jian looked at the information on the satellite phone in his hand.

"I never thought headquarters would have something like this..."

Scarlet light flashed, and Yang Jian's Ghost Domain shot into the sky, hurtling toward headquarters. But his target wasn't the Hungry Ghost. He was heading somewhere else.

On the path the Hungry Ghost's Ghost Domain would have to take, an old man stood in an open area, leaning on a walking stick.

The gale whipped the old man's clothes into a flapping frenzy. The entire sky before him was already shrouded in the blue-black Ghost Domain, which was advancing toward him at tremendous speed.

"I have to stop this ghost here. I absolutely cannot let it converge with the Ghost Painting and the Ghost Messenger."

His face grave, the old man raised his walking stick and slammed it against the ground. A deathly white Ghost Domain spread rapidly outward like ripples.

The next second, the old man's Ghost Domain collided with the blue-black Ghost Domain. Unfortunately, it couldn't hold out for even a second. The blue-black Ghost Domain instantly swallowed that expanse of deathly white.

"As expected, the older generation uses ghosts' abilities with greater finesse. Did he exploit the Hungry Ghost's devouring trait to invade it from within? Then what about the Ghost Painting..."

Fang Shiming turned toward the Ghost Painting. After a moment's silence, he was just about to act when a hearty voice came from the sky. His face immediately darkened.

"Well, if it isn't Old Fang! It's only been a few days, and you've already become this pathetic? Looks like I, Ye Zhen, arrived at just the right time. Old Fang! Just be a good assistant to me! Deal with those little ghosts and watch me take care of that Ghost Painting!"

Only his voice could be heard; he was nowhere to be seen. The clouds split down the middle, layer after layer, and a dazzling light sped toward the Ghost Painting.

"Ye Zhen... a brainless brute."

Fang Shiming didn't follow Ye Zhen. Instead, he took out a specially made phone and dialed a number.

"Wang Xiaoming, it's me. I don't need to explain the current situation. You know there's something wrong with my body. I need that thing now. Give it to me, and I'll help you resolve this crisis."

"No problem. A very fair trade. I've sent you the address. Go get it yourself."

Wang Xiaoming hung up after speaking.

Before long, a map arrived on Fang Shiming's phone.

"Good... once I get that thing, my condition will recover instantly."

Looking at the information on his phone, Fang Shiming clenched his fists.

"I really don't want to get involved in this incident... given a little more time, I might actually have been able to resolve my own ghost's revival. Ye Zhen... if it weren't for that chuunibyou, I wouldn't be in this state..."

Back in the present.

Inside the Ghost Messenger's Ghost Domain.

"The Ghost Messenger and the Ghost Painting have separated. It looks like neither of those two top-tier supernatural entities could overcome the other. If the Hungry Ghost hadn't gone out of control, Wang Xiaoming's method might really have dealt with the Ghost Painting and the Ghost Messenger."

An ordinary-looking man walked lifelessly beside Yang Jian. His gait resembled a sleepwalker's: stiff, mechanical, more like that of a dead man.

"My Ghost Eye is completely suppressed by the Ghost Painting. I wouldn't be much use there. Going up against the Hungry Ghost without the Coffin Nail would just be throwing my life away. This is the only place I'm relatively familiar with, but Huanggang Village has changed a lot. It's nothing like it was before."

Yang Jian walked at the front, analyzing the situation before him.

"Yang Jian, I can't stay in this state for long. The ghosts inside my body haven't reached a complete balance yet. I can only move thanks to a certain item from headquarters. Whatever you want to do, do it quickly..."

Tong Qian walked at the rear, her three faces watching the man curiously. She found that whenever she looked away from him, she would immediately forget his face, so every so often, she switched to another face to stare at him.

"Miss... could you move those two faces a little farther away...? They don't affect me much, but having faces like those staring at me every moment isn't particularly pleasant."

Tong Qian blushed at his words and hurriedly turned her head away. But no matter how she turned, one of her three faces always faced the man.

"The changes in the Hungry Ghost have affected the Ghost Messenger and the Ghost Painting. Although the reason is still unclear, fortunately, the Ghost Messenger and the Ghost Painting haven't undergone any further unpredictable changes. We don't have much time. No one knows what will happen next. We need to act as quickly as possible."

Yang Jian looked at this unfamiliar Huanggang Village, his expression grim. The situation was even more dire than it had been in Dachang City. Back then, they had at least had the Coffin Nail as a fallback. But now, all three S-class ghosts were undergoing unknown changes. No one dared claim they were confident they could resolve this incident.

In supernatural incidents, the most frightening thing was change, especially with an unusual existence like the Ghost Messenger. Change meant that the killing rules they had previously learned would change. An S-class ghost whose killing rules were unknown would be an unsolvable existence.

"Let's go. We'll head inside and take a look."

Li Leping took out a small, blood-red, double-sided drum and led the way into the depths of Huanggang Village.

A helicopter slowly landed beside the former site of headquarters. All that remained of headquarters now was a bottomless pit, which numerous staff members were surveying.

A man wearing glasses stepped down from the helicopter. He had a gentle bearing and handsome features, and an air of scholarship radiated from his entire person.

"Moving mountains and filling seas, jolting mountains and shaking the earth. The Hungry Ghost's growth is simply beyond imagination. I should have acted sooner. Now that the Hungry Ghost is out of control, and the Ghost Painting's and Ghost Messenger's situations are unclear, I've lost my chance..."

Wang Chaling looked at the enormous, pitch-black pit before him. After a moment's thought, two lifeless, wrinkle-covered old people silently appeared behind him.

"It's time to act. If I go now, there should still be a sliver of a chance..."

With that, Wang Chaling vanished from where he stood. It didn't seem like a Ghost Domain, but rather another application of supernatural power.