Zhao Lei looked down at this body of his and shook his head, then pointed at Cao Yang.
“He was the one who brought us out. I only sped us up a little. It was just an attempt.”
His complexion was terrible. The facial skin that had originally been clear now turned sallow, and many words surfaced upon it. That half sheet of newspaper was about to be completely revealed.
Cao Yang nodded. This man named Zhao Lei was truly bold in his use of the supernatural. In such a short time, he had developed multiple supernatural methods, enough that even Cao Yang could not help but marvel.
He looked at Xiong Wenwen on Zhang Han’s back.
“This child won’t last much longer. Let me take him back to headquarters.”
At this moment, Xiong Wenwen was stiff as an ice sculpture, his eyes tightly shut, his life and death unknown.
Zhang Han was silent for a moment. Yang Jian was on the moon, and he himself had no ability to handle this situation, so he could only send Xiong Wenwen to headquarters.
Just then, a familiar voice came from not far away.
“There’s no time. This child can’t hold on for much longer. Wang Xiaoming’s method might work, but it’s too dangerous, and too unstable.”
Liu San walked over from the distance, a stack of yellow paper still in his hand.
“Leave him to me. I guarantee he won’t die.”
Zhang Han looked at Liu San as he approached and thought to himself:
“Just how many paper men does this Liu San have? Why does another one pop out every now and then...”
Liu San stepped forward, pinched up a sheet of yellow paper, and gently pasted it to Xiong Wenwen’s forehead. The originally bluish-purple skin of his face immediately regained some vitality, a patch of waxy yellow surfacing upon it.
“Don’t look at me like that. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it back inside just now.”
“That’s not what I meant... Anyway, thank you.”
Liu San waved his hand, the waxy-yellow skin of his face pulling into a stiff curve.
“It’s nothing. Just remember to tell Captain Yang properly how I saved you all.”
With that, Liu San took Xiong Wenwen from Zhang Han and strode away.
Cao Yang glanced at Liu San, who was carrying Xiong Wenwen away, then walked toward a car.
At this moment, his feet kept producing the sound of footsteps. With every step he took, a deep imprint was left on the ground, as though he had taken thousands upon thousands of steps in the same instant, pressing a small pit into the earth.
“I’m leaving. We have no way to deal with that ghost right now. But because the puzzle pieces complemented each other, its killing pattern was interrupted. For the time being, we can only give up on this city. My condition has also reached its limit. See you.”
Touching the tattered piece of sackcloth in his bag, Cao Yang narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘The revival has indeed been delayed. Zhang Han’s earlier analysis was right. As long as the intensity of the supernatural is controlled well, it can suppress the ghost inside me. Forcibly taking this piece of sackcloth away was the right choice. Once I return to headquarters, Professor Wang should have a way to restore my condition...’
Without thinking further, Cao Yang started the car and drove off into the distance.
“Pfft.” Zhang Han suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and could no longer hold on, half-kneeling on the ground.
On his split-open back, a man covered in mangled flesh and blood was writhing. The savage tattoo gradually stitched the torn flesh together, but large wounds still remained, unable to close completely. Zhang Han’s entire back was thus exposed, revealing another man’s back.
Zhao Lei walked over, seemingly still retaining a trace of consciousness.
He helped Zhang Han up and asked, “Are you all right? What do you plan to do next?”
Zhang Han looked at Huang Ziya and Feng Quan, who lay unconscious on the ground. The team’s losses were too heavy. Tong Qian was dead, Xiong Wenwen’s life and death were unknown, and the three of them were currently in extremely dangerous conditions as well.
“I won’t die for now. But we need to return to Dachang City. The captain hasn’t come back, and with no one overseeing Dachang City, trouble could easily break out.”
Zhao Lei nodded and said, “It’s not suitable for you to use the fierce ghosts’ abilities recklessly anymore. I don’t know how long my current state can last, but as long as I remain lucid, I’ll help you oversee Dachang City.”
Although Zhao Lei had stayed inside the newspaper for a very long time and knew nothing about what had happened in the outside world, now that he had found Yang Jian’s teammates, as long as he followed them, he would meet Yang Jian sooner or later.
At that moment, a staff member came running over with a phone in hand. Looking at the two of them, he asked, “May I ask which of you is Zhang Han? Captain Shen is on the phone.”
“Captain Shen? Shen Liang?..”
Zhang Han had met Shen Liang at headquarters. Like Zhao Jianguo, he was in charge of a communications room, managing dozens of operators under him.
“Give me the phone.”
Taking the phone from the staff member, Zhang Han asked, “What is it? Just say it. I’m in a hurry to return to Dachang City.”
Zhang Han’s tone was very impolite. After the incident at Huanggang Village, Yang Jian had given him the quota to control a second ghost, so he had gone to headquarters. The person who received him had been Shen Liang.
But at that time, headquarters’ dual-ghost balance plan had too low a success rate, and people died at the slightest mishap. Thus, they had chosen another method.
Zhang Han was not clear on the exact process. He had fallen unconscious, but before losing consciousness, he saw A-Hong, and a sinister, bizarre oil painting.
After Zhang Han woke up, he did indeed feel that the revival of the fierce ghost in him had been delayed, but this was not what he wanted. He had not controlled a second fierce ghost.
Shen Liang had told him then that his condition no longer allowed him to control a second fierce ghost. Even if he did not use the supernatural, he only had three months left to live. If he wanted to continue living, he had to go to headquarters regularly to resolve the abnormalities in his body.
This was equivalent to headquarters forcibly buying him out and making him work for them. Zhang Han felt that he had been tricked. This was also one of the reasons he had initially chosen to follow Yang Jian.
In the end, headquarters had gone back on its word. Even if it was to ensure his survival rate, they should not have done such a thing.
Even though Wang Xiaoming later learned of the matter and personally intervened, separating A-Hong’s medium, Zhang Han still harbored hostility toward headquarters.
Shen Liang’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “Zhang Han, what happened last time was due to poor management on headquarters’ part, and we also compensated you with something of equal value. But this time, I hope you won’t act out of emotion. Yang Jian is not in Dachang City right now. The best option is for you to come to headquarters. We have something here that can delay the state of your revival.”
“Heh.”
Zhang Han gave a cold laugh.
“Like last time, knocking us unconscious again? Let me tell you the truth. Right now, other than Yang Jian, I don’t trust anyone. Dachang City currently has no one overseeing it. I’m going back to guard that place and wait for the captain to return. I know my own condition very well. I won’t die for now.”
“Zhang Han...”
Shen Liang still wanted to say something.
“Enough.” Zhang Han cut him off coldly.
“Arrange a private plane for us. We’re going back to Dachang City right now. If you don’t agree, I’ll head to the nearest airport immediately. You know what condition the few of us are in. Let’s see if you can shoulder that responsibility.”
On the other end of the phone, Shen Liang was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Understood. A private plane will arrive at your location within ten minutes.”