Chapter 205: Searching For The Newspaper Ghost
Since traffic control was already in place on the road, Jiang Shan had a smooth journey.
Soon, he saw a luxurious building in European style appear in his vision. About a kilometer away from it, several cordons had been set up, prohibiting any vehicles or pedestrians from entering or exiting.
Moreover, Jiang Shan noticed that there was a sentry post every approximately five hundred meters around the cordons. If nothing unexpected happened, the sentries at these posts would be armed with real firearms and live ammunition.
The sound of brakes.
The pickup truck carrying Jiang Shan drove directly to the entrance of this hotel.
“You can go back.”
Jiang Shan, after getting out of the car, immediately lit a cigarette and said to Wang Yu in a calm tone.
“If Minister Jiang has any further needs, please contact me immediately.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Wang Yu leave, Jiang Shan walked into the hotel expressionlessly.
The hall of the Caesar Grand Hotel is very large.
It was resplendent and dazzling, with brilliant lights, exuding luxury. There was no sign of anything weird, it appeared to be just a normal operating grand hotel.
However, according to what Jiang Shan knew, this hotel had been sealed off and closed for renovation after Tong Qian went missing.
In other words, it was impossible for this hotel to be open for business normally, and it was unlikely to even have electricity.
Therefore, the bizarre scene it presented now perfectly confirmed Jiang Shan’s thoughts:
The Caesar Grand Hotel is being eroded by a supernatural land.
“How did those people from the Republic of China do it? Was it by relying on their own supernatural abilities? No, it shouldn’t be. If it were that simple, then Yang Jian, who controlled the four layers of the Ghost Lake’s supernatural powers in the original work, could also do it, but he doesn’t seem to have that capability.”
Looking at the hotel being continuously eroded by supernatural forces, doubts arose in Jiang Shan’s mind.
Because whether it was the Caesar Grand Hotel, the Ghost Post Office, or the Fushou Garden.
How did these supernatural lands with distinct architectural features form?
Ghosts don’t do things spontaneously.
Therefore, there must be an unknown method behind their creation.
In the original work, Sun Rui once mentioned:
“The appearance of ghosts is without pattern, without fixed locations or times. It is precisely because of this that supernatural events cannot be prevented in advance. Thus, a place that was originally perfectly normal can suddenly become abnormal at a certain time.”
Sun Rui’s words are indeed worth considering, but only as a reference.
Jiang Shan, however, had a different view on places like the Caesar Grand Hotel that seemed to be connected to a specific supernatural land:
“The appearance of ghosts may be without pattern, or rather, they only appear in reality when a certain medium and opportunity are simultaneously met. However, for places like the Ghost Post Office, Caesar Grand Hotel, and the Slaughterhouse that have been modified by people, they are connected to a fixed supernatural land behind them.”
“Sigh, those old guys only thought about creating a god, but they never considered passing down knowledge related to supernatural affairs.”
Jiang Shan sighed and took a drag from his cigarette, then continued walking into the hotel.
“Huh, the Newspaper Ghost that stole Tong Qian’s body isn’t at the front desk? Is it because it knew I was coming, or is there another reason?”
Looking at the empty front desk of the hotel, Jiang Shan’s eyes sharpened.
According to the plot progression of the original work, the Newspaper Ghost should have been using Tong Qian’s body, standing at the front desk as a supernatural construct to deceive everyone who entered the hotel.
If that were the case.
Jiang Shan, knowing this “inside information,” would find it incredibly easy to detain the Newspaper Ghost.
Considering the terror level of the Newspaper Ghost.
Even with Yang Xiaotian’s memories, under the Ghost Domain of the Dead Face Ghost, it would have almost no chance of escaping.
“If Yang Xiaotian truly intended to use the Newspaper Ghost to guide Yang Jian to the Caesar Grand Hotel, then while Yang Jian hasn’t arrived yet, it is highly likely to still be here.”
Having made a rough guess, Jiang Shan’s gaze shifted to the stairs leading to the second floor of the hotel.
“There are only a few places where the Newspaper Ghost’s supernatural phenomenon manifests, so let’s check the second floor first.” Jiang Shan didn’t hesitate at all and immediately chose to take action.
The second floor of the hotel was accessed by two curved staircases on either side. The marble architectural style was very exquisite, and a red carpet was laid on the floor, preventing people from slipping and falling when walking on it.
However, Jiang Shan saw that an unknown black footprint had appeared on this red carpet at some point.
It looked as if it had been scorched, or perhaps stained with ink.
Jiang Shan knew that these were footprints left by Li Qingzhi’s corpse.
As long as someone stepped on this footprint and their foot overlapped with it, that person would suffer a terrifying attack that ignored distance and supernatural protection.
Jiang Shan was not confident that he could completely withstand such an attack, so he carefully avoided these footprints.
The dimly lit corridor was silent.
Jiang Shan’s footsteps made no sound on the soft carpet, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Yet, in this extremely quiet situation, after walking forward for a short while, a sound gradually came from ahead.
“Ding, ding ding~!”
The sound was clear, without pattern or rhythm, but if one listened carefully, it could be roughly deduced that this was the sound of someone eating, the collision of a knife and fork with a porcelain plate. This sound is very common in some Western restaurants, so it was not too unfamiliar.
“Will it be here?”
Jiang Shan, hearing the sound, his eyes flickered, and he continued to move forward following the sound.
The sound of knives and forks clinking against bowls and plates eating could still be heard in the dim hotel. This hotel had already been blockaded and closed for a long time, so there shouldn’t be any guests or chefs staying here. Even the hotel boss was not qualified to approach within a kilometer of the hotel.
And Jiang Shan knew that in the restaurant where the sound originated, there were countless human faces left by the Newspaper Ghost, and he wanted to know:
The Newspaper Ghost, which did not appear at the first-floor front desk, could it be in the restaurant right now, collecting those bloody and terrifying dead faces?
Jiang Shan deliberately slowed his pace and slowly arrived in front of a large door on the second floor.
Through the door, one could vaguely see rows of dining tables covered with white cloths and neatly arranged inside. Fresh flowers were also placed on them. However, because the blockade had been in place for several days, no one had tended to the flowers, and they had withered significantly.
If it were during normal times, this place would surely be full of guests.
“Solve this thing instantly, without giving it time to escape.” Jiang Shan’s gaze sharpened.
Jiang Shan’s face disappeared, and a pale, bloodless, indifferent, and youthful face, like that of a dead person, quietly replaced it.
The appearance of the dead person’s face signified that the supernatural intensity of the Ghost Domain would reach its peak for this stage.
A silver light, unlike that of a Ghost Domain, instantly covered everything around Jiang Shan at an invisible speed. The originally eerie and weird corridor seemed to have received God’s favor,
its holy and terrifying radiance wrapping the world in a silver sheen.
In an instant, the silver light illuminated the restaurant inside and headed straight for the dining table from which the sound was coming.
