Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: The Pondering Burned-to-Death Ghost
[Immolated Ghost]:
You see, I was an intellectual-type Ghost Hunter in my past life, one who preferred using my brain to solve complex supernatural incidents. I surely have nothing in common with you brutes who rely on sheer force to solve your problems.
But don’t worry, I forgive you.
It’s just an old habit of mine, a holdover from when I was alive. Whenever I see the struggle between ghosts and humans in a supernatural incident, I instinctively put myself on the human side.
[Immolated Ghost]:
I’m just bored in this group. Surely I’m allowed to make a few guesses, right? Otherwise, this group would be far too dull.
@Living Person’s Apartment
Since the President hasn’t replied, it means he’s given his tacit approval. So, I’ll begin my speculation on how to break the Ghost Realm.
[Infinite Floors]:
Shut up, you stupid pig.
[Immolated Ghost]:
First, we must understand how a Ghost Realm is created. A Ghost Realm is a special ability used by high-level ghosts. With themselves as the epicenter, they pull the surrounding area into their own domain. This is also known as a ’pocket dimension.’ It’s a standard ability for powerful entities like our President.
Where does the energy that powers a Ghost Realm come from? Of course, it’s a bit ridiculous to talk about the conservation of energy when dealing with supernatural incidents. Ghosts are immortal and indestructible. Once a vengeful spirit masters a Ghost Realm to a certain extent, it can maintain it almost indefinitely, trapping everyone inside forever.
Oh, apologies. I was a physics Ph.D. before I died, so I used a few technical terms. I hope you all were able to follow.
[Ghost Infant]:
@Living Person’s Apartment
Can we just kick this guy?
It looks to me like he’s doing this on purpose.
[Immolated Ghost]:
Given that a Ghost Realm can last indefinitely, if I were an ordinary person trapped inside, trying to wait it out until the realm dissipates on its own would be an impossible way to escape.
But don’t forget, a Ghost Realm must be maintained with the ghost at its center. And our dear President is not currently at the white house.
From this, we can draw a conclusion: the Ghost Realm at the white house is just something the President left behind, a trap set to automatically activate when intruders appear. While it can last for a certain amount of time, it certainly can’t be maintained indefinitely like a true Ghost Realm.
This means that if I were a living person trapped in the house, the only thing I could do is stall. Stall until the Ghost Realm outside dissipates on its own. That’s how I could leave the white house.
Of course, that’s by no means an easy feat. Don’t forget there’s still a vengeful spirit roaming inside the house.
Based on my understanding of the President’s power, I estimate that the Ghost Realm he left behind can be sustained for about ten minutes before it dissipates.
Of course, this is already a remarkable achievement in itself. The President can deploy a pre-set Ghost Realm even when he isn’t at his stronghold. However, for a duration of a mere ten minutes, it is theoretically possible for an ordinary person to survive inside the house and escape.
It’s no longer a situation of certain death.
...
...
And just like that, with so many ghosts in the group watching, the Immolated Ghost had figured out how to break the Ghost Realm.
Just one word: stall.
Just drag it out.
Honestly, when Gao Tian read that, he started to wonder if the Immolated Ghost was a living person, too.
’What kind of ghost in its right mind would sabotage another ghost’s plan to kill humans and reveal the only way to survive?’
[Ghost Cave]:
If we hadn’t already purged this group, I’d seriously suspect you’re the human who was lurking in here.
What’s your purpose for joining this group?
[Ghost Infant]:
Don’t worry, I’ll go find him tonight.
I’ll follow the connection and see what the hell he is.
[Immolated Ghost]:
@Ghost Infant
Oh, yes, please do. I’d be honored to welcome a beauty like you.
We’re all ghosts anyway. You can’t kill me, and I can’t kill you. Life is so terribly dull.
To be killed by the hands of a beautiful woman... that would truly be my honor.
[Ghost Infant]:
You’re so disgusting.
Do we have to kill him? Can’t we just kick him from the group? @Living Person’s Apartment
[Immolated Ghost]:
@Ghost Cave
I’m just pointing out, didn’t the President himself say the defenses he set up for the white house were flawless?
I’m just helping the President find vulnerabilities so he can preempt any unforeseen circumstances.
What did I do to become your target again?
Besides, there are no living people in this group anymore, just ghosts. Didn’t you already test that when you sent out the ’black envelope’?
It’s all ghosts reading our chat history. Who’s going to leak these secrets?
[Living Person’s Apartment]:
@Ghost Infant
This person cannot be kicked out for now.
Relax. I’ve verified the identity of every single person in this group. He is, without a doubt, a ghost, not a human.
He’s just got a smart mouth. Just put up with him a little longer. The day this all ends is close at hand.
...
...
Gao Tian stopped reading their bickering. He had the crucial clue he needed; the rest was just useless chatter.
’I just have to stall for ten minutes, and the Ghost Realm outside will automatically vanish.’
’How many minutes has it been since the Ghost Realm appeared?’
Gao Tian did a quick calculation. The woman’s face had appeared from upstairs and started killing. Then, Grey Wolf, in a desperate gamble, had been the first to charge out into the blood-red sky. That was when the Ghost Realm had pulled the room into its pocket dimension. At least five minutes had passed since then. That meant in less than five minutes, the blood-red dimension outside would begin to fade.
Gao Tian opened his eyes. Reflected on the staircase, he could see a massive silhouette from the second floor, still slithering slowly like a giant snake.
The pungent stench of blood filled the air. At first, there had been screams and the sound of blood trickling down the stairs. But the woman-faced ghost was highly efficient. After calling out their names a few times, she had quickly found the other three and killed them, one by one. By now, he was likely the only one left alive.
The female ghost hadn’t returned to the third floor. She could sense the presence of a living person still in the house. But after a full sweep of the second floor, she hadn’t found anyone, and her frustration was clearly growing.
Lying on the first floor, Gao Tian remained motionless, still waiting for the perfect moment.
’Don’t rush,’ he thought. ’The more critical the moment, the calmer I must be. Any careless movement could attract the attention of the ghost searching upstairs.’
Outside, the sky was still blood-red. They remained trapped in the prison of the Ghost Realm, yet to return to the normal world.
Wait.
Gao Tian suddenly heard an extremely faint shuffling sound from across a pile of clutter.
The sound lasted less than two seconds before stopping abruptly, but because Gao Tian was lying on the ground with his ear pressed to the floor, his hearing was exceptionally sharp. Even a sound that faint could not escape him.
’There’s someone else alive on the first floor?’
Gao Tian glanced across the room. This time, he finally saw it: something glinting from within a pile of junk. It had to be a pair of human eyes. The person was hiding behind the debris, covered by a black cloth. It was an excellent hiding spot. When the woman-faced ghost was rampaging through the first floor, she hadn’t bothered with a thorough ground search and had missed him.
’What was that guy’s nickname again? Lai Zi? Or was it Ah Guang?’ Gao Tian couldn’t recall at the moment.
The other man had also spotted "Zhao Qiang" playing dead on the floor. They were now brothers in misery; all the men they’d brought with them were dead, leaving the two of them as the likely sole survivors.
From behind the pile of junk and black cloth, the hidden henchman shifted. He gestured toward the gun in his hand, then pointed up at the ceiling.
Gao Tian understood what he meant. He was saying that they couldn’t hide there forever. Sooner or later, the woman-faced ghost would return to the first floor and find him. He wanted to take the gun he was holding and make a last, desperate stand—a final, suicidal fight against the vengeful spirit.
Doing that would be certain death.
Gao Tian made a small gesture, signaling for him to calm down from across the living room. At the same time, he pointed towards the window, indicating for him to look at the world outside.
The sky, once a solid sheet of blood-red, was no longer the same. The bizarre pocket dimension, where stepping outside meant being instantly burned and flayed alive, had already started to fade.
A few wisps of crimson cloud remained, but patches of blue sky were now visible behind them. The Immolated Ghost had been right. With the passage of time, the Ghost Realm left by Xu Yuan was weakening and slowly dissipating.
Gao Tian’s gesture was meant to reassure the other man. If the world outside was returning to normal, all they had to do was escape the house to survive.
Meanwhile, without drawing attention to himself, Gao Tian tapped a few options on his phone before stuffing it under the edge of a tattered sofa.
On the staircase, the enormous shadow, topped with a face like a round platter, was slowly growing larger.
Gao Tian and the other survivor knew instantly: having found no one on the second floor, the female ghost was coming back down to search again.
’Hold on. It’s not the right time to drop the act.’
Gao Tian closed his eyes again, half-lying on the ground, putting on the appearance of someone who had been killed.
CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE...
Hearing a cackle like a hen growing closer, he knew the female ghost was here. The shadow cast by her immense form swept through the living room. It passed over the bodies of her victims as she began to inspect them carefully.
When her inspection reached Gao Tian’s body, the female ghost paused.
Her intelligence wasn’t high, but even she found it strange. The other bodies had been torn apart by her curse, a gruesome sight. Why was this one so perfectly intact? It hardly looked dead at all.
The woman’s face descended. Its lips clamped onto Gao Tian’s collar, flipped him over, and dragged him toward a window where the light was better.
"Zhao Qiang..." freёwebnovel.com
"Zhao Qiang."
"Zhao Qiang!"
Sensing instinctively that Gao Tian wasn’t truly dead, the female ghost called Zhao Qiang’s name again, hoping to deliver the finishing blow.
But at that very moment, an unforeseen event occurred in the living room—something neither human nor ghost could have predicted!
