The Failed Operation

The Hunger Ghost, blue-black all over, had not only put on the shroud Ye Feng had been wearing, but had also obtained the Ghost Teeth from his mouth.

Even the little that remained of the Ghost Candle had accidentally been bitten off in one of its attacks.

Seeing the Hunger Ghost lumber toward him again, its belly thrust out, Jiang Li gritted his teeth and once more used the Person-Hiding Ghost's supernatural power to conceal himself.

This was no foolproof solution.

The Person-Hiding Ghost's power could temporarily let him evade the Hunger Ghost's attacks, but it could not free him from the influence of the Ghost Domain covering the hospital.

No matter how he hid, he was only circling endlessly around the Hunger Ghost.

Jiang Li sighed as he looked at the severed hand in his pocket, three of its fingers now bent.

In the end, plans could never keep up with changes.

Even if he found the room where the fierce ghost's finger was being kept, he probably no longer had a chance to restrain the Hunger Ghost now that it was wearing the Ghost Shroud.

Not to mention that a Wishing Ghost was watching everything from the shadows.

The two terrifying S-class fierce ghosts, one in the open and one in the shadows, had completely sealed off every possibility for this operation.

Suddenly, Jiang Li felt the chill behind him disappear.

The Hunger Ghost isn't near me anymore. This is a good chance to find that golden box.

Without the Hunger Ghost roaming nearby, Jiang Li moved much more freely, searching the entire hospital in very little time.

Dermatology, endocrinology, neurology...

At last, he reached the hospital's twenty-fourth floor.

This is the last room I haven't been to. It should be in here.

Jiang Li gently pushed open the door before him, which stood slightly ajar, and looked inside.

In the pitch-black office, he could just make out a figure standing in front of the desk, examining something.

At the sight, Jiang Li could not help letting out a soft sigh. "I'm still a step too late. Is my luck really that bad?"

"How did you get up here first? Where are the others?"

Yang Jian immediately put away the golden box he had just opened. A scarlet Ghost Eye abruptly opened on his forehead and turned uneasily toward Jiang Li.

"The others probably won't be making it up here. After all, there's a formidable mole on your team. It would be hard not to get played to death."

Jiang Li continued, "You must have suspected Zhao Kaiming long ago too, which is why you split up, just like I did. There's one thing I don't understand, though. Since you'd already guessed there was something wrong with him, why did you dare let Dr. Wang keep working with him?"

"Do you even need to ask? Wang Xiaoming volunteered, of course. He wanted to use his own presence to keep the situation under control. He's a complete madman."

As they spoke, the darkness in the hospital suddenly began to recede.

Numerous screams and wails immediately rang out through the previously silent hospital. Those sounds had been there all along, but the Ghost Domain had cut them off before.

Now that the Ghost Domain had dispersed, everything seemed to be getting better.

But Jiang Li grew increasingly uneasy. He had a vague feeling that this was an extremely bad sign.

There were still so many living people in the hospital who had triggered the killing pattern. How could the Ghost Domain recede at a time like this?

If the Hunger Ghost had simply been acting on instinct, this would never have happened.

Unless someone had forcibly intervened, making the Hunger Ghost ignore its instinct to kill the living people who had triggered the pattern.

An ordinary ghost tamer could never do that.

No one except Zhao Kaiming-or, to be precise, the mysterious Wishing Ghost inside him.

Yang Jian was somewhat taken aback, but he immediately came to his senses.

"I can barely use the Ghost Domain now. Let's go see if Wang Xiaoming is still alive."

"Give me a ride." Jiang Li frowned. "The key right now isn't Wang Xiaoming, but Zhao Kaiming. Use the Ghost Domain to find him. I suspect the Ghost Domain's retreat has a lot to do with him."

"Good point."

A flash of red light swept past, and the two vanished from where they stood.

The next moment, they appeared in a cramped hospital room.

"You're late." Wang Xiaoming, leaning against a corner, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Where did Zhao Kaiming go?" Jiang Li strode up to Wang Xiaoming and asked.

"He was dragged away by a third-stage ghost infant and never appeared again. I think he did it deliberately, because the Ghost Domain began to dissipate not long after he disappeared."

Wang Xiaoming pointed toward the bathroom in the hospital room and said gravely, "Someone pushed me in the dark. Sun Yi took the fierce ghost's attack for me. He's dying now, and Zhang Han is in terrible shape too. He's already on the verge of a revival."

In the small bathroom, Zhang Han sat slumped on the floor, covered in blood, his head hanging low as he gasped for breath.

On his back, a bloody fierce ghost had emerged halfway out of his body, constantly trying to break free, but it had never succeeded.

Sun Yi's face was deathly pale, and even his pupils were beginning to lose focus.

Everything below his waist was gone, and blood kept gushing out like a spring.

When he saw Yang Jian, a glimmer appeared in Sun Yi's eyes.

He shakily pulled a thin piece of paper from his pocket and grasped Yang Jian's hand.

"Yang Jian... we've eaten together. Before I die, please do me a favor..."

"I'm listening. Go ahead," Yang Jian said, bending down.

"My social media account is written on here... check my friends list for me and see how many girls accepted my confessions yesterday."

The next moment, Sun Yi's hand dropped limply, and the glimmer in his eyes went out completely.

A profound silence fell over the bathroom.

"I brought my phone. You can use mine," Jiang Li said, pulling it out.

"All right. Let's fulfill his last wish here and now." Yang Jian handed him the slip of paper.

Soon, the account name and password were entered correctly, and he logged in.

"No wonder he asked how many accepted. He confessed to every female friend on his list."

"How many accepted?" Yang Jian asked.

"One."

"So there was one after all. I used to think someone as stingy as him would never find a partner," Yang Jian said with a long sigh.

"It's not a partner," Jiang Li said quietly.

"The one who accepted is saved in the app as 'Honored Mother.'"

Chapter 9: The Failed Operation

"Ghost Tamer Headquarters has confirmed that they can no longer contact Zhao Kaiming."

Wang Xiaoming walked over to Yang Jian and said, "I don't know much about Zhao Kaiming, so I can't offer any useful advice. Zhang Han can't take part in the next operation in his current condition either. Everything from here on is for the two of you to decide."

"Are you kidding me?"

"You mean you want the two of us to search the whole city and take on an S-class fierce ghost and a madman corrupted by a fierce ghost, without knowing a thing?" Yang Jian immediately frowned, and the Ghost Eye on his forehead opened again.

"It's not as though you know nothing. At least the target is clear."

Wang Xiaoming pondered for a long time before finally shaking his head helplessly. "Perhaps this is too cruel for you, but there really is no other way at present. We absolutely cannot allow the Hunger Ghost Incident to continue spiraling out of control. Even if there's only a sliver of hope, we have to try."

"There isn't a sliver of hope. Both my Headless Ghost Shadow and Ghost Eye are on the verge of revival. Fighting them head-on would be a dead end," Yang Jian said decisively. "We shouldn't stay here long. I'll use the Ghost Domain to take you back to the safe house now."

Looking at the twisted Headless Ghost Shadow beneath Yang Jian, Jiang Li held his forehead and fell into thought.

It seemed the situation had already diverged from its original course.

Even knowing the Wishing Ghost's and the Hunger Ghost's general movements from here on would not be much help.

The gap in supernatural power was plain to see. He, having tamed one fierce ghost, and Yang Jian, who had not hanged himself in front of the Ghost Mirror, could not contend with the other two S-class fierce ghosts.

Was he supposed to stand by and wait for Yang Jian to hang himself in front of the Ghost Mirror?

Clearly not.

Not only was he unwilling to leave everything dependent on Yang Jian, but the current situation had already begun to diverge from its original course.

If they still followed the usual steps and waited seven days for Yang Jian to hang himself in front of the Ghost Mirror, the Wishing Ghost, having joined forces with the Hunger Ghost ahead of time, would probably have already wiped out all the living people in the city.

By then, there would be no chance of his survival either.

What way is there to break this deadlock?

Jiang Li kept biting his finger, his expression grim in the extreme. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Yang Jian, you're going back to your safe house, right? Do me a favor."

"I have three companions in a supermarket nearby. Please bring them along too."

"All right."

The Ghost Eye's Ghost Domain became a streak of red light that flew over the hospital. After sweeping past a supermarket, it swiftly returned to a residential complex.

Guanjiang Residential Complex.

The red light vanished, and a number of people appeared out of thin air on the complex's asphalt road.

Unlike the city center, where ghosts were everywhere, this remote complex had lights on in the surrounding buildings, and construction workers were working overtime not far away.

"What's going on?" Wang Shan and the other two looked around in astonishment, then turned their eyes to Jiang Li.

"Looks like the operation to contain the fierce ghost failed. At a time like this, you still had the heart to look after ordinary people like us," Wang Shan said, putting out his cigarette.

"Jiang Li, I'll find your people somewhere to stay in a bit. Right now, I have something to discuss with you," Yang Jian said. "Let's talk in my room."

"All right. I happen to have something I want to discuss with you in private too."

The two walked into a luxurious villa.

The villa was brightly lit, and several people were gathered in the living room, apparently waiting for the house's original owner to return.

Two young women sat on the sofa. One was fashionably dressed and beautiful; the other had a cool, aloof air and skin that was almost sickly pale.

"Sister Jiang, why are you still up so late?"

Yang Jian picked up a bottle of cola as he spoke and handed one to Jiang Li as well.

"There are ghosts everywhere outside. How could I sleep when you weren't home?" Jiang Yan said, rubbing the dark circles under her eyes. "Your classmate came looking for you with a parent, and they've refused to leave. I called you, but you didn't answer."

"Mr. Yang... hello, hello. And who is this?" Wang Bin hurried over and respectfully extended a hand to Jiang Li.

"He's like me. He's haunted too. Uncle Wang, you'd better not touch him carelessly, or you might die."

"Huh?"

Wang Bin instinctively raised his head and caught sight of the ghostly face protruding from Jiang Li's neck. He stumbled backward in fright.

"Let's put the household matters aside for now. Even if your complex is remote enough, it's only a matter of time before the Hunger Ghost's influence spreads here. We should deal with the important business sooner rather than later."

"You're right. Follow me."

Yang Jian nodded and led Jiang Li upstairs, instructing Jiang Yan, "Unless it's something serious, don't come upstairs and disturb us for the next two hours."