Chapter 35: The Charred Building
“So, are you willing to pimp for me?” Zhang Qian asked expectantly.
No matter what Feng Quan was thinking, as long as he was willing to work, it was fine.
This guy was a bit dull, but he knew far more Ghost Controllers than he did. With him making introductions, acquiring Fierce Ghosts would be much faster.
“I have a better way.” Feng Quan shook his head.
“What? Tell me.”
“The fact that you can suppress Fierce Ghost Revival hasn’t been spread by me and Zhang Han yet, and even Headquarters doesn’t know. So I think there’s no need to let those Ghost Controllers know. You can just have them come to me, and then you hide your identity and come heal them.”
“Hmm… because other Ghost Controllers would come after me?” Zhang Qian said casually. “I really didn’t think that much at the time.”
The first Ghost Controllers he came into contact with were all from Headquarters, so he had assumed that most Ghost Controllers were people risking their lives to fight the supernatural.
Later, Republic of China Era Ghost Controller Li Qingfeng and out-of-control Ghost Controller Xiao Fan made him realize that being a Ghost Controller was just an identity, and becoming one only required luck. Not all Ghost Controllers had Headquarters’ level of integrity.
Feng Quan nodded. “With your strength, you really don’t need to worry about that much. To be honest, most Ghost Controllers currently are not as good as me, let alone compared to you.”
But after praising him, he changed the subject. “But you are indeed very strong. Those Ghost Controllers can’t beat you, but you have family and friends. Those Ghost Controllers have no bottom line and can completely threaten you through your loved ones.”
“You know, many Ghost Controllers lack the courage to face Supernatural Events, but they can comfortably inflict violence on ordinary people.”
Indeed, the ugliness of human nature doesn’t disappear with power; instead, it becomes more openly exposed as power grows.
Plus the influence of Supernatural Power, it’s actually hard to find completely law-abiding existences among Ghost Controllers.
Not to mention chaotic evil Civilian Ghost Controllers, even lawful good ones like Li Yan and Feng Quan—whose hands aren’t stained with a few lives?
“Having you act as the middleman can indeed avoid this problem. What about you then…” Zhang Qian asked, then realized he might have said the wrong thing. “Sorry.”
“It’s all in the past.” Feng Quan’s face showed no emotion, and a wisp of mist emerged from his side, eventually transforming into several faces.
“I don’t think I’m pitiful. At least I gained the power to fight the supernatural from a Supernatural Event, which is much better than those powerless people.”
Zhang Qian said, “Then let’s do it your way. Just call me directly when you find someone.”
“Yeah, for the first few times, we can relax the requirements a bit, build up reputation, and then raise the price. Ghosts come in many types. Those with low terror levels aren’t very useful to you, right?”
“Good, thanks for the hard work. If you need healing, come find me.”
“Maybe I won’t need healing in the future.” Feng Quan rarely smiled. “Last time I provided information, Professor Wang said there was progress on controlling the second Fierce Ghost. With my contribution, I should have enough for a quota.”
“That fast?” Zhang Qian asked in surprise.
It had only been a few days. Was the mere word “balance” enough for Wang Xiaoming to figure out how to control a second ghost?
Feng Quan said expectantly, “I heard their laboratory had some prior research on this. This time it’s like giving Professor Wang an idea. I hope it succeeds soon. My current Supernatural Power really isn’t enough.”
His eyes were a bit wistful. He really missed the days when Ghost Mist opened and Fierce Ghosts pounced…
“I’ve wasted so much of your time, and in the end, I was being presumptuous.” Feng Quan limped down from the van. “Next, I’ll quickly find a batch of friendly Ghost Controllers to trade with you. I won’t disturb you further now.”
Zhang Qian got into the driver’s seat, rolled down the window, and asked, “You’re injured now. Do you need me to give you a ride?”
Feng Quan was a bit touched but politely declined. “No need, you…”
“Good, bye.”
“……Pfft pfft.”
The van floored it, feeding Feng Quan a mouthful of dust. He watched Zhang Qian drive away and felt emotional.
As expected of the man who will become king—his style of doing things is different from ordinary people.
Zhang Qian, driving the van, didn’t head straight back to the villa but planned to find a temporary base.
Even the weakest Fierce Ghost is an instant kill against ordinary people. He didn’t want his family staying with such a dangerous thing, even with gold isolation—it wasn’t safe enough.
The safe house wasn’t built yet, so it was best to find a sparsely populated place specifically to store the Fierce Ghost.
There were plenty of such places in remote wilderness areas, but Zhang Qian hoped the base could be close to home so he could rush over in case of any sudden situation.
There were many conditions, but plenty of buildings met them.
After all, with the increasingly frequent supernatural resurgence, many residences or buildings had been abandoned because of it.
He’d browsed many Supernatural Forums lately and picked out a few suitable places.
“Hmm… the burning building. This should be the place, right?”
The van slowly stopped in front of a twelve-story residential building.
Zhang Qian got out of the car and compared the building in front of him to the photo. “Charred outer walls, broken glass. Should be correct.”
He was browsing content on his mobile phone, where a user nicknamed Supernatural Investigator solemnly recounted a horror story about this building.
“It was a peaceful evening. The residents of Building 3 were preparing dinner amid laughter and chatter. Wisps of cooking smoke drifted out the windows toward the sunset. Children played in the corridor. Everything was so beautiful until that fire arrived…”
“The fire that ignited out of nowhere instantly engulfed the entire building. Flames licked everything, easily claiming fresh lives. Cries and screams merged into one, the charred smell rising straight into the sky with the black smoke.”
“Rescue arrived quickly, but even with 12 fire trucks dispatched, the fire department couldn’t control the blaze. Even firefighters in top gear couldn’t enter. Everyone could only watch as all 48 households perished…”
“Post-incident scene investigation couldn’t find the cause of the fire, so it was ruled an accident.”
“But this was just the beginning. Afterward, many ghost hunters or outdoor streamers wanted to explore inside, but without exception, they all fell into a coma after returning.”
“Some woke up screaming after days of sleep, with varying degrees of burns on their bodies; others died inexplicably in their sleep, leaving only a charred corpse.”
“Maybe those residents never left. They’re wandering in the charred building, looking for more people to keep them company…”
