Chapter 78: Da Jiang City’s ‘plague’ Incident
“Three Ghost Controllers.”
Lin Qian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at the ice sculpture that was half-buried in the heavy snow.
“You need to hold on for at least another ten minutes.”
Looking at Zhang Liao frozen into an ice sculpture, Lin Qian’s gaze flickered slightly.
Unfortunately, that middle-aged man died on the bus.
That woman was still in this Snowy Region.
The backup plan needed to be prepared.
“The medium in reality was isolated when I entered the Supernatural Land.”
Ghost Performer could transfer himself via the medium.
In the outside world, the medium was left on the Fierce Ghost.
But after he got on the bus, the medium seemed to start being neutralized by the Fierce Ghost.
After fully entering the Supernatural Land, he could no longer sense the existence of the medium.
At the time, he thought the medium had been isolated.
But now it seemed that while isolation was possible, the biggest possibility was that the medium had disappeared.
“Trouble.”
Lin Qian looked at a snow pile on the roads, not knowing how long it would take for the bus to Restart.
“Three Ghost Controllers, one living person, one ice sculpture…”
“If the people on the bus are unlucky, I’ll only reappear here.”
He was not a good person in the strict sense.
When his life was in danger, he unhesitatingly did things against morality.
For that, he wouldn’t hesitate to act like a beast.
This was also why he got off the bus and shouted.
What he wanted was a medium that could let him escape.
Of course, he couldn’t accept harming people for no reason.
So, he saved the other’s life, and the other saved his; that was perfectly reasonable.
As for that woman, well, it absolutely wasn’t because she spoke harshly that Lin Qian threw her out of the bus.
Rather, he felt that such a person wouldn’t survive long on the bus.
That would completely waste his shout.
It was better for her to die here with an intact corpse than to die miserably at a later stop.
Time passed slowly.
The wind and snow grew heavier.
Suddenly, a roar sounded.
Immediately after, a strange scene appeared.
On the roads, an old bus appeared abruptly.
The bus lights came back on, and the bus door opened.
Dim lights emanated from inside the bus.
Lin Qian’s eyes narrowed. “Restart.”
He reached out, probing into the snow, and grabbed Zhang Liao, who was frozen into an ice sculpture.
Lin Qian reached the bus in a few steps and boarded directly from the front door.
The moment he boarded, Lin Qian felt the Fierce Ghost in his body being slightly suppressed.
But he could still use Supernatural abilities.
Throwing Zhang Liao in front of a seat, Lin Qian glanced at the driver’s seat. A driver was sitting there, hands gripping the steering wheel, staring straight ahead.
Wind and snow raged.
Lin Qian exhaled a breath of cold air; his body temperature was gradually rising above the outside temperature.
Da da da~!
Footsteps sounded.
A faint candlelight flickered over.
Three shivering people boarded the bus the moment the candle went out.
“That was close, almost.”
The candle burned out completely.
The three sat down in random seats, their hearts filled with lingering fear.
Lin Qian glanced at the three, then turned and sat beside Zhang Liao’s ice sculpture.
He looked at Zhang Liao.
“You’re very lucky to still be alive, but if you make it out, the chance of encountering ghosts later will be much higher than for ordinary people.”
He didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Wind and snow filled the air, and the bus door abruptly closed.
A terrifying Suppression Power instantly descended.
Suppressing all the ghosts inside the bus.
The thick ice on Zhang Liao’s body suddenly began to melt.
In the blink of an eye, the thick ice disappeared.
Not even water was left.
“Ha~!”
Zhang Liao slumped onto the seat. Lin Qian saw that the kid had passed out.
No, he stroked his chest; the heartbeat had stopped, but in his judgment, he was still a living person, so the kid was in a state of false death.
Lin Qian scratched his head. Frozen into false death—how was he supposed to handle that?
The bus started, advancing against the wind and snow.
Lin Qian looked at the student slumped on the seat; he didn’t seem to have any good methods.
He took some clothes from the other’s backpack and covered him.
Whether he survived would depend on him.
If the kid didn’t pull through, that was his fate.
He had done what he could.
Supernatural Suppression meant the cold on the three who walked from the wind and snow gradually faded.
The wind and snow outside remained wild.
Inside the bus cabin was utterly silent.
The old bus struggled forward against the wind and snow.
Time passed slowly; frost gradually formed on the bus window.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
The bus suddenly jolted.
The surrounding wind and snow rapidly receded.
The surrounding environment quickly turned dim and eerie.
The unchanging wind and snow disappeared.
In its place was a desolate, strange world.
The frost on the bus window visibly melted.
The cold inside the bus rapidly dissipated.
The bus had finally left that Snowy Region.
The three sitting at the back breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, even if the bus stalled, they wouldn’t be in too much danger.
Even if there was danger, it wouldn’t be like in that Snowy Region, where getting off meant death.
“Three stops have passed, twelve more…”
“A journey destined to be long.”
Lin Qian glanced at Zhang Liao; his body temperature was recovering.
His heart had also resumed beating, weak but out of the false death state.
The other’s luck was really good.
At this rate, he wouldn’t die on the bus.
But whether dangers would arise in the next leg of the journey was unknown.
Under the dim sky, wild grass and trees grew thickly, eerie old graves stood silently, figures loomed, and on a dark small path, a bus drove forward.
……
Reality.
Da Jiang City.
“Recently, a viral outbreak has appeared in Da Jiang City, causing multiple deaths with significant harm. This station reports to remind everyone to wear masks when going out, take precautions, and avoid infection.
If you feel unwell, seek medical attention promptly without delay…”
……
……
Wang Xiaoqiang turned off the TV and looked at Lu Lin, whose expression was grave beside him.
“Still not found?”
Lu Lin shook his head. “It’s hard. We don’t even know how those people turned out like this.”
“How many people tainted by Supernatural have died so far?”
Wang Xiaoqiang asked.
“About to break three digits.” Lu Lin sighed.
“Without finding the source, those people are like they’ve been cursed—no issues at first, no abnormalities visible.
But once past seven days, their bodies instantly start rotting, turning into a rotting corpse in less than half a day.”
Lu Lin looked at Wang Xiaoqiang. “Headquarters has sent people to investigate, but without exception, they’ve found nothing abnormal.”
“I’ve also used Ghost Domain to search all of Da Jiang City and found a few ghosts, but none were the source of this event.”
Lu Lin’s expression was grave. “This is a plague, a plague caused by one ghost.”
“That ghost might be in Incubation. Once it succeeds, all of Da Jiang City will be destroyed.”
“No, even before the Fierce Ghost appears, Da Jiang City might already be destroyed.”
Lu Lin wasn’t exaggerating; Da Jiang City’s current situation made it entirely possible.
“Keep intensifying the investigation.”
Wang Xiaoqiang had no solutions; he knew this was the best time to handle the Supernatural Event.
But the problem was, they lacked the ability to find that ghost, and so did Headquarters.
Supernatural Events were breaking out nationwide; Da Jiang City was just the precursor to one.
Headquarters had sent people to investigate, but still no results.
Headquarters couldn’t send more people.
Headquarters didn’t have enough people as it was.
Lin Qian wasn’t in Da Jiang City right now; if he were, Headquarters would send people no matter what to investigate this Supernatural Event thoroughly.
Besides, Headquarters was already taking it seriously.
Five Ghost Controllers dispatched just to investigate a Supernatural Event that hadn’t appeared yet in Da Jiang City.
Wasn’t that serious enough?
“What’s happening in Da Jiang City now is just the prelude to a Supernatural Outburst.”
“Without finding the ghost, we can’t handle it.”
“Right now, either we get lucky and find the source early, or we wait for the ghost to emerge and then Detain it.”
Wang Xiaoqiang’s gaze flickered. “Lu Lin, we might not be able to stop this Supernatural Event.”
“A ghost that even Ghost Domain can’t find—expecting ordinary people or Ghost Controllers without Ghost Domain to find it is a pipe dream.”
“And don’t forget, there’s still a Ghost Controller organization hiding in Da Jiang City.”
“This Supernatural Event might even be something the Reform Society cooked up.”
“Instead of wasting effort on this, you should handle the other manageable Supernatural Events in Da Jiang City.”
“That way, when this one bursts, we can reduce its Harm Level.”
Wang Xiaoqiang pulled out a cigarette and handed it to the silent Lu Lin.
“Don’t dwell on it. I just realized— in all of Da Jiang City, the strongest is actually Lin Qian.”
“With him here, we don’t worry about anything. Without him, we have no confidence in anything.”
“But is that okay?”
“A club, a city, with only one person who can handle things—what kind of setup is that?”
Lu Lin took the cigarette from Wang Xiaoqiang. Since Controlling his second ghost, his allegiance was no longer solely to Headquarters International Police.
Headquarters was well aware but didn’t care.
What they cared about was always only Lin Qian.
City destruction didn’t matter, Supernatural Events didn’t matter—what mattered was Lin Qian.
The technology in Lin Qian’s hands.
Before Controlling a Dormant Fierce Ghost, Lu Lin didn’t understand Lin Qian’s importance.
After Controlling, he understood how crucial the technology in Lin Qian’s hands was.
“Lu Lin, without Lin Qian, we have to handle things.”
“Da Jiang City must not fall, no matter what.”
“Headquarters doesn’t care about one city; in the face of all humanity, millions of lives are negligible?”
“You know, when I contacted Headquarters about this, their first question wasn’t about casualties—it was what Lin Qian thought.”
“When I said Lin Qian wasn’t here, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.”
“Then they sent people.”
“But as you saw, the dispatched Ghost Controllers are all ones nearing Fierce Ghost Revival, and all with notorious records.”
“You know?”
“Compared to those killed by Ghost Controllers, those dying to Fierce Ghosts suffer less.”
“Lin Qian is important—any opinion of his gets attention.”
“We’re not, Da Jiang City’s not, so we get little attention.”
Wang Xiaoqiang lit a cigarette and looked out the window:
“This World is like that.”
“So, we have to step up.”
“We must defend Da Jiang City no matter what.”
“This isn’t just to prove we’re not useless—it’s to fulfill what Lin Qian told me before he left.”
“Guard Da Jiang City well.”
“We, Desolate Club, have five people total, plus you and Lin Qian, seven.”
“Four have Controlled three ghosts, two have Controlled four.”
“You’ve Controlled two; I don’t know how many Lin Qian has Controlled, but definitely plenty.”
“Can’t this lineup handle Da Jiang City’s threats?”
“No, I think we can—even if an S-level Supernatural Event erupts in Da Jiang City, we can try to Detain and handle it.”
“Even if we can’t, our strength should hold until Lin Qian returns.”
“…”
Lu Lin looked at Wang Xiaoqiang. “If I didn’t know Wang Xiao Ming was your brother, I’d really suspect you’re planning a rebellion.”
Wang Xiaoqiang: ???
“Don’t say that casually—I’m still an International Police from Headquarters. It’s fine if I hear it, but others won’t take it well.”
“The situation at Headquarters is not optimistic.”
Lu Lin’s expression was grave. “Headquarters still hasn’t realized how hard Ghost Controllers are to control.”
“But they’ll realize soon enough—just one clash between two Ghost Controllers that affects a city will make it clear.”
“You know, now that I’ve Controlled two ghosts, my Ghost Domain can cover half the city. If I want, I can wipe out all of Da Jiang City in three minutes.”
“Don’t doubt it—you could do it now too, Ye Feng could, Zhang Han could.”
“Too strong, and if feared, Headquarters might list us as dangerous.”
“Headquarters doesn’t know our current strength yet.”
“Especially Ye Feng—Controlled four ghosts, two A-level Fierce Ghosts, one even with Ghost Domain.”
“I’ve kept that hidden.”
“Headquarters just doesn’t know.”
“Your brother probably knows but chose not to tell Headquarters.”
“That’s certain.”
“Otherwise, they wouldn’t send five notorious Ghost Controllers on the verge of Fierce Ghost Revival to Da Jiang City.”
“Because if we die here, Da Jiang City will absolutely fall.”
Uh…
Wang Xiaoqiang stroked his chin. “You… I…”
“Weren’t we discussing how to handle Da Jiang City’s Supernatural Event?”
“How’d we get onto this?”
“Lu Lin, are you sure it’s me rebelling, not you?”
Lu Lin: …
Seeing Lu Lin get awkward, Wang Xiaoqiang burst out laughing. “Just kidding—who rebels in this era?”
“Don’t say this stuff anymore. Desolate Club’s President isn’t me or you.”
“Intensify the investigation in Da Jiang City, fully handle all Supernatural Events there.”
“Clear space for the impending Supernatural Event.”
“Also, speed up Safe House construction—the current pace isn’t fast enough.”
“Our time is short; every extra Safe House saves more ordinary people.”
“I don’t want Lin Qian returning to a dead city.”
“Moving is such a hassle,” Wang Xiaoqiang said.
The topic shifted back.
Lu Lin stood up and nodded. “I’ll arrange it immediately.”
“Have Ye Feng, Zhang Han, and the others lead teams to places with ghost rumors, investigate, handle any Supernatural Events found immediately, and notify me if unmanageable.”
“I’ll come right away.”
“The ghost the President helped with is great—I can now use Ghost Domain to travel without worry.”
Lu Lin said with a chuckle.
“Why do you think every club member follows Lin Qian so loyally?”
“Because he’s rich, strong, or handsome?”
Wang Xiaoqiang joked.
“Uh…”
Lu Lin stroked his chin. “Not for those reasons for me, but I can confirm one person follows Lin Qian devotedly because he’s handsome.”
“Manyue?”
Lu Lin: “I didn’t say anything.”
With that, Lu Lin’s figure vanished instantly.
Wang Xiaoqiang chuckled and shook his head. “My brain’s getting sharper.”
He sighed.
In Da Jiang City, danger still lurked, but it wouldn’t stay hidden much longer.
A strange tale about a relocated school where singing was heard at night quickly went viral online.
Headquarters.
