“Truly unbelievable. You actually turned back into an ordinary person from a ghost controller.”
The vehicle drove along a road on the outskirts of Dajing City.
Zhang Lei wore a pair of sunglasses. His face was deathly pale, and he looked as if he were severely malnourished. The strangest part was his abdomen, which was abnormally swollen, as though he were several months pregnant, forming a stark contrast with his gaunt body.
Tong Qian did not reply. She understood in her heart that although the news of her having become an ordinary person again was classified at the highest level, there were certainly people with ulterior motives who had been monitoring Yang Jian’s every move, as well as those of the people around him.
A miracle like coming back from the dead and returning to normal life could not be hidden forever. She was not stupid enough to go around showing off what had happened to her.
However, Yang Jian now carried decisive weight in the entire supernatural circle. Even if someone had ideas about Tong Qian, they would first have to weigh the consequences.
Moreover, she had already entered Dajing City, the safest city in the country. All the more so, no one would dare act rashly.
Zhang Lei quietly observed her through the rearview mirror, a strong curiosity suppressed in his gaze. If there truly was a way for a ghost controller to become an ordinary person again, every ghost controller would want to know how it was done.
Zhang Lei said, “Actually, I understand what you’re thinking. It’s normal that you don’t want to talk about it. After all, something like this is far too unbelievable. I only came to see this thing that’s practically a miracle.”
The vehicle passed by an enormous sinkhole. From a distance, it looked to be the size of more than a dozen football fields. This was the pit caused when the Starving Ghost went out of control. Even now, a few malicious ghosts that had escaped back then still wandered at the bottom.
Some staff members were building temporary structures around the deep pit. A new department had already been established here, specifically to handle the malicious ghosts within the pit that had yet to be contained.
Because the malicious ghosts in the pit were all recorded in Headquarters’ files, some ghost controllers who had only recently controlled ghosts had been sent here. It counted as a form of adaptation, giving them a better buffer when facing supernatural incidents.
However, the destination of the two on this trip was not here. The vehicle continued forward, heading toward the new location of Headquarters.
A location that did not exist on any map, an area even satellites could not capture.
Reinforced concrete walls more than ten meters high stretched on without end. Fully armed soldiers stood on strict guard, and Tong Qian even saw several heavy tanks.
After the incident of the Starving Ghost going out of control, Headquarters had raised its security level by several more grades. In order to avoid another invasion by malicious ghosts, control here was now exceptionally strict.
Along the way, the two passed through at least three checkpoints. After layer upon layer of strict inspection and identity verification, they finally entered Headquarters.
The newly built Headquarters was astonishingly large inside. Countless staff members came and went, and soldiers patrolled everywhere in formation.
After driving for some distance, the vehicle turned into an underground entrance.
Third underground level.
In the conference room, Wang Xiaoming, Shen Liang, and Tong Qian sat facing one another.
Adjusting his glasses, Wang Xiaoming’s voice was as calm as ever. “Have you thought it through? Since you’ve already recovered into an ordinary person, according to legal regulations, we have no right to restrict your freedom. As long as you come here on schedule for physical examinations, that will be enough. There’s no need for you to take risks again.”
Tong Qian shook her head and said, “I’ve already made my decision. Returning to work as an operator and continuing to fight against malicious ghosts is the only thought I have now.”
Shen Liang quietly observed from the side. He knew very well that Wang Xiaoming would absolutely not let Tong Qian leave Headquarters easily. There was only this one case of “reversing the supernatural.” Wang Xiaoming would love nothing more than to study her every day.
The supernatural was always filled with countless possibilities and dangers. Wang Xiaoming was testing her. He suspected that Tong Qian’s current state was only superficial. Perhaps there was some hidden danger that had simply not yet manifested. If another incident similar to what had happened with Zhao Jianguo occurred, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“In that case, I need to conduct a test on you now.”
Wang Xiaoming took two pens from his pocket and handed them to Tong Qian.
“Please use your left and right hands to write two different passages at the same time.”
Tong Qian was slightly startled. She did not know what Wang Xiaoming wanted to do, but she still began writing according to his request.
But something happened that even she herself found astonishing. She could actually write two completely different sentences fluently at the same time.
Wang Xiaoming’s eyes moved slightly, and he continued, “Now draw. You can draw whatever you want.”
Tong Qian did as told. Holding two pens, one in each hand, she began drawing on the white paper. Before long, two completely different pictures appeared on the paper.
“Thank you for your cooperation.” Wang Xiaoming nodded to Shen Liang.
“Take her to handle the onboarding procedures. Also, arrange a separate workspace for her. As for the ghost controller she’ll be responsible for...”
Wang Xiaoming paused and thought for a second.
“Let it be Zhou Deng.”
“Understood.”
Shen Liang rose and signaled for Tong Qian to leave with him.
Zhou Deng’s previous operator had died precisely from the attack of that ghost face of Tong Qian’s. Now Tong Qian had become an ordinary person and was being assigned to take over as Zhou Deng’s operator.
However, Shen Liang understood that Wang Xiaoming had his own considerations. The malicious ghost Zhou Deng controlled could not be said to be particularly exaggerated, but it was truly bizarre. Even if there really was something abnormal with Tong Qian’s body, Zhou Deng would be able to hold out for a while. Moreover, Headquarters had already fully upgraded its communication equipment. Once a problem was discovered, the signal could be cut off immediately.
The conference room fell silent.
Li Jun slowly walked out from the shadows.
His body had already completely recovered. The flesh and blood that had previously been charred by ghost fire had vanished as well. However, the skin all over his body had an unnatural waxy yellow tint, making him look very similar to Liu San’s paper figures.
What drew the most attention was that face. It was frighteningly white, and the blood-red facial features seemed to have been forcibly pieced together, imprinting his face onto the facial skin. It looked completely out of place with the rest of his body.
Wisps of dark green ghost fire flickered beneath his skin. Li Jun said, “I didn’t see anything abnormal. At least, not on the surface.”
His voice was very strange, as though he were speaking through a layer of human skin, carrying a buzzing sound when heard.
Wang Xiaoming opened the notebook in front of him and pulled up row after row of densely packed files.
The words that appeared most frequently on them were the name “Yang Jian.”
For a ghost controller of Yang Jian’s level, Headquarters had always been secretly observing and monitoring him. They had even investigated clearly which protagonist from which movie he liked the most. In a certain sense, Headquarters understood Yang Jian even better than Yang Jian understood himself.
“During the Starving Ghost incident, Yang Jian died once. After he revived, his body showed abnormalities. It was reversed as if in a mirror. From that, it can be inferred that the mirror was perhaps the most crucial supernatural object for resurrection.”
Li Jun stood silently to the side. In his current state, he could barely move by relying on the supernatural power of Liu San’s paper figure, but his whole person was muddleheaded, and he could not fully understand what Wang Xiaoming was saying.
Right now, he actually felt a little like smoking...
He glanced at the no-smoking sign beside him, then fell silent again.