Chapter 832: Chapter 799: Problems and Stagnation

The sound of a swelling crowd came from nearby, with dense footsteps coming from all directions, and the first floor of this large shopping supermarket was already packed with countless people, and more were still squeezing in from outside.

After every corner on the first floor was filled with people, the remainder surged towards the second floor here.

From the elevator entrance, the fire escapes, from any entrance to the second floor.

There were no blind spots.

People were everywhere.

Quickly.

The second floor was packed, unable to accommodate more people, but the rest went on to the third floor, as if these people wouldn’t stop until they fulfilled a certain purpose.

Real ghosts were controlling them.

The purpose might be to kill the two living people who accidentally came here.

Yang Jian and Li Yang.

The Ghost Supermarket seemed very important to the fierce ghosts; otherwise, such a massive abnormal phenomenon wouldn’t occur. Previously at the hotel, there were only some bombings and car accidents, and most abnormal people did not participate.

But now.

All the eerie people in this area were probably mobilized.

One could say that even maintaining the facade of the city’s operation isn’t needed anymore, just to kill Yang Jian and Li Yang.

If they die.

Then these horrific events in Dachuan City will be buried once again, with no one knowing that such a terrifying abnormality has occurred here.

Yang Jian and Li Yang are on the fifth floor.

At this moment, they are doing nothing, just quietly waiting for the countless surging people below to appear.

To deal with ghosts, one must confront the fierce ghosts directly; in most cases, you are not allowed to take shortcuts.

“Those people have started coming up.” At this moment, Li Yang took a deep breath; he felt shivers all over his body, recalling the scenes of survival from the ghost painting world.

But after all, ghost painting is not reality and can be considered a nightmare.

But now, it is truly happening right before their eyes.

A massive supernatural phenomenon occurring in a normal city.

Yang Jian was silent, thinking about how to respond to the fierce ghost next and contemplating the methods this fierce ghost might use to attack them.

If this ghost is truly the Headless Ghost Shadow’s head, then logically, it should possess some characteristics of Ghost Shadows.

No.

It can’t be thought of like that.

Once the ghost is split, perhaps its abilities are also divided.

The Headless Ghost Shadow just has some eerie abilities, and some vital abilities are missing, carried away by the Ghost Shadow Figure.

That part might belong to an unknown domain.

“We must treat this fierce ghost as a completely new supernatural event, not to be confused with the Headless Ghost Shadow incident.” Yang Jian changed his thoughts, adjusting his mindset.

At this moment.

A large number of people had already surged into this floor.

A lot of people, densely packed, forming a crowd that continually pressed in from various exits, each person silent, with a slightly dazed expression, seeming to be living but resembling rigid corpses, appearing rather bizarre.

A chilling air accompanied by a strong stench enveloped the area.

Yang Jian’s expression was devoid of emotion, his slightly reddened eyes scanning these people, his heart devoid of fear, only a trace of wariness.

The seemingly dense crowd, in fact, posed little threat to a ghost controller.

The real threat was one of the countless people hidden among them.

That might be the real fierce ghost.

“Captain, should we take action?”

Facing the upcoming tide of people, Li Yang was a bit flustered, appearing very anxious, looking towards Yang Jian, hoping to immediately intervene against these people coming straight at them.

“No need.”

Yang Jian was very calm: “Just treat them as mannequins, and don’t be confused by these people. The danger doesn’t lie with these people but among them. Pay attention to the real ghost, and as long as we find it and resolve it, all these people will be doomed.”

Li Yang suppressed the unease in his heart.

The two of them allowed these bizarre figures to flood into the storeroom on the fifth floor without stopping or taking any other actions.

Very soon.

These eerie individuals had already reached the sides of Yang Jian and Li Yang.

They were within a meter.

Almost touching them.

At such a close distance, Yang Jian could even see the decay marks on the person in front of him and feel the chilling aura emanating from their body.

Li Yang was also surrounded by several people.

He broke out in a nervous sweat, wanting to act, but forcefully restrained himself.

Since Yang Jian did not move, he did not dare to act rashly.

These living-dead-like things just stood close by, and even though they did nothing, one could still feel a terrifying chill because the real horror was hidden among them.

Maybe the ghost is standing behind you, maybe the ghost is standing in front of you.

In any case, it is definitely mixed among these undead.

Has it stopped?

When the space on the fifth floor was filled, and the two were surrounded by these bizarre individuals, the movement of the crowd stopped at this moment.

Everything became calm once again.

All the people stood still without moving.

No one attacked them.

Although Yang Jian and Li Yang were surrounded, they had been safe so far.

The anticipated attack had not come.

“What, what’s going on?” Li Yang was somewhat unable to comprehend the current situation.

Yang Jian furrowed his brow and scanned around.

The mass of people now standing still looked like the plastic mannequins in a clothing store they once encountered with the Headless Ghost Shadow.

There is a certain commonality in this phenomenon.

But the pattern of the attacks is not.

Because the Headless Ghost Shadow attacked those who turned their backs on it, but now, Yang Jian was surrounded by people, naturally including behind him, yet no one attacked him from behind.

The absence of attacks means that the ghost is likely still lying in wait.

“If I could use the Ghost Eye to directly bring the ghost into the Ghost Domain and check one by one, I could definitely find the source quickly; currently, my capabilities are too restricted,” Yang Jian thought silently.

His available supernatural abilities were too limited, always bound by various restrictions.

However, passive as he was, it was still much better than before.

“Yang Jian, Yang Jian!”

Suddenly, a voice broke the eerie silence, drifting from the dense crowd, someone was calling Yang Jian’s name.

The voice came from downstairs and was not nearby.

But with every call of Yang Jian’s name, the voice came closer.

Additionally, the voice was elusive, sometimes it appeared in front, and then it shifted behind.

The position was untraceable.

In the dim environment.

The standing motionless living people began showing some anomalies.

“Yang Jian!” a strange woman in the crowd woodenly called out the name.

But the next moment.

A few meters to the left, a man in his fifties abruptly yelled out the second call: “Yang Jian!”

The fourth call, from a young man in front: “Yang Jian!”

The voice transmitted through this group of eerie individuals,

Various tones echoed around.

Innumerable voices, innumerable tones, continuously undulating, all shouting Yang Jian’s name.

This feeling.

It was as if a malevolent ghost was shuttling through the crowd, moving in an unfathomable manner.

Each body could potentially be a vessel for the malevolent ghost.

Everyone who has been corrupted by the malevolent ghost could be manipulated.

These people were in a peculiar state, not thoroughly dead, but not quite alive either; they retained consciousness of the living, but were transformed into something neither human nor ghost due to the ghost’s corruption.

“Have you come for me?”

Yang Jian stood still, turning to look in all directions.

In the dense crowd, it was impossible to pinpoint the source of the voice.

“No need to shout, I am right here,” Yang Jian responded to the voice, his face fearless.

“I have arrived.” The voice came from the second floor, revealing a numb and eerie tone.

“I have arrived…”

New voices started emerging continuously in the crowd.

Getting closer and closer.

Having reached this floor from downstairs, they quickly moved towards Yang Jian and Li Yang’s direction, as if they might appear at any moment.

Li Yang was sweating nervously, wiping off his sweat, feeling enormous pressure and a sense of crisis,

For this was the malevolent ghost that had turned Dachuan City into such a dreadful place.

One careless move, and it could really be the end here.

“I have arrived.”

Suddenly.

The voice was extremely close, within the crowd to the left of Yang Jian, less than two meters away.

Yang Jian could even see who was speaking.

He wanted to make a move, but in the next moment, the voice drifted away, appearing about four or five meters away, unable to immediately pin it down.

“Are you playing hide and seek with me?”

Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly: “This ghost has corrupted so many living people, stealing so many memories, and has already adopted certain human behaviors, it can’t be understood in a normal way.”

“But to deal with it, the ghost must appear on its own.”

He spoke again: “Who exactly are you?”

That voice actually began to reply: “I am Li Leping, I am Li Leping, Yang Jian, don’t you recognize me anymore? I have met you at the headquarters.”

“You are not Li Leping. Who are you really?” Yang Jian frowned.

“I am Zhang Jiaxing, I am an employee of your company,” the voice then came from another side, a stranger answering.

Yang Jian’s expression changed: “Who exactly are you?”

“Wuwu, I am your daughter, mommy, mommy, where are you?” The voice appeared again somewhere else, with a man speaking but in the tone of a girl.

“This ghost seems to be able to impersonate anyone,” Li Yang, tense all over, readied himself to act.

Yang Jian gave an unfazed nod, changing the question again: “What do you want to do?”

The eerie voice paused for a moment among the dense crowd, then resumed answering: “I want to kill you.”

“I want to kill you.”

The voice continued to dance among the crowd.

Sometimes one person would respond, and at other times another would speak.

The malevolent ghost was still moving.

“Asking a new question creates about a one or two seconds pause….” Yang Jian’s eyes flickered: “This is the chance to pinpoint the malevolent ghost.”

The next moment, a rust-covered nail appeared in his hand.

Coffin Nail.

About two seconds was enough, even without the assistance of the Ghost Domain, there was still a chance to trap it if taken correctly.

“I want to kill you….”

Different voices in the crowd continued to answer, like a mechanized tape recorder repeating the same question.

Yang Jian posed a new question: “Why do you want to kill me.”

A pause occurred.

One second, two seconds, at the precise third second, a new voice echoed among the dense crowd.

“My body has decayed.”

“My body has decayed…”

New responses continued to emerge among the crowd, the identity of the respondents shifting.

“My body has decayed.”

Suddenly.

A strange man standing behind Yang Jian abruptly opened his mouth and stiffly uttered these words.

The voice echoed right by his ears.

With not even a pause between them; he could back into this odd person with just one step.

Yang Jian’s hair stood on end, and he almost instinctively turned around.

The Coffin Nail in his hand, like a dagger, was directly thrust into the man’s body.

Instantly.

The suppression of the Coffin Nail took effect, and the supernatural power dissipated.

The stranger immediately collapsed, his body going limp, and as his neck lost support, his head directly fell off and rolled into the crowd.

“Failed?”

Yang Jian looked at the other strange people nearby.

None of them fell down.

This meant that the Coffin Nail had not really confined the source; if it had been successful, the others should have collapsed as well.

“My body has decayed…”

Indeed, a new voice emerged deep within the crowd.

The previous attack had failed.

“Why did your body decay?” Yang Jian took a deep breath and continued to probe.

The voice paused again for two seconds, then on the third second, it appeared, coming from a farther direction on the right.

“This is not my body.”

“This is not my body…”

The repetitive phrase continued to emerge non-stop, weaving through the crowd like before, with its position unidentifiable.

Yang Jian waited for the right moment, aiming to pose a new question as the ghost approached his vicinity.

Then, he would act during the three-second pause of the ghost.

This was the safest method.

Capturing that moment, even without utilizing supernatural power, Yang Jian could still confine the ghost.

Having the Coffin Nail meant possessing limitless possibilities.

This was where Yang Jian’s confidence in his confrontation came from.

But the ghost did not seem intent on lingering in this area.

An anomaly appeared again.

The lights on the fifth floor suddenly lit up, just like the situation on the first floor earlier, as someone had turned on the lights on this floor.

Under the lights.

The numerous bizarre people standing still became even clearer in the illuminated environment.

Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly, noting that these people standing still had no shadows, exactly as he had observed before.

“Why would the ghost turn on the lights? Such behavior is definitely not without reason; under normal circumstances, dark environments are more conducive for a malevolent ghost to kill.”

“Unless… turning on the lights relates to the ghost’s method of attack.”

He slightly lowered his head to look.

He noticed a detail.

These people eroded by ghosts had no shadows, but he and Li Yang had shadows.

Yang Jian’s shadow was headless, not his own but belonged to the Headless Ghost Shadow; Li Yang’s shadow was normal.

The appearance of the light was not to illuminate for Yang Jian and Li Yang, but to reveal the shadows of the living.

The ghost attacks were related to the shadows.

Earlier, amidst the darkness, ghosts were roaming, not because they didn’t want to attack Yang Jian and Li Yang, but because their shadows weren’t visible, lacking the medium for an attack.

Now that the shadows had appeared, they conformed to the ghosts’ killing patterns.

“Li Yang, be careful of your shadow; the ghost’s attack might be related to it,” Yang Jian immediately warned.

Shadows?

Li Yang next to him lowered his head to look.

His shadow was cast on the ground, resembling a little dwarf.

Since the light was cast from above, the shadow wasn’t long.

However, he glanced with the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, he saw a black shadow swiftly flash across the ground.

It was like someone running quickly past him, seemingly with bits lacking, not a complete form.

“I see other shadows nearby,” Li Yang said.

“That might be the real ghost,” Yang Jian said gravely.

But before he could finish speaking.

The corpse standing in front of Yang Jian suddenly opened its mouth and said, “This is not my body.”

“Where is your body?” Yang Jian sharply raised his head to look at the corpse.

Opportunity came.

He seized the moment to ask the question.

As expected.

The corpse that had suddenly spoken paused, seemingly falling into contemplation.

Nearby.

He saw a dark shadow flickering.

There was no time to discern anything else because the opportunity was extremely brief, only about two seconds.

Yang Jian immediately stabbed the Coffin Nail in his hand towards the somewhat slow-reacting corpse before him.

Fast and precise.

Directly piercing into the person’s chest.

After all, he was waiting for such a sudden approach.

Yang Jian had to bear the risk of being attacked by ghosts, and the ghost had to bear the risk of being nailed dead by his Coffin Nail.

“Did it work?”

Yang Jian looked at the corpse in front of him, its mouth slightly open and expression dull, feeling unsure.

The process was too smooth, he felt somewhat uncertain.

But the next moment.

Someone on his left moved slightly, a horrifying voice entered his ears, answering the previous question: “My body is you.”

Almost simultaneously as the voice sounded.

That person placed their hand on Yang Jian’s shoulder, the light converged, and there was a bizarre and terrifying shadow under this person’s feet.

This shadow was incomplete.

It was actually a human head with facial features outlined.

Ghost Head Shadow?

Moreover, this shadow head was rapidly approaching the headless shadow behind Yang Jian.

It seemed.

This shadow head was severed from above and was now converging together, forming a complete Ghost Shadow.

Yang Jian’s Headless Ghost Shadow was distorted and elongating under some influence.

The shadow head beneath that person’s feet was also twisting and elongating.

It seemed like the necks were about to connect together.

Everything changed too quickly, almost simultaneously as Yang Jian made his move.

“Captain, be careful.”

At this critical moment, Li Yang’s alarmed shout came from the side.

Immediately after, a massive pulling force fiercely emerged.

The elongated twisted shadow suddenly split apart, moving towards Li Yang’s direction.

This movement was uncontrollable.

It was being forcibly interfered by some supernatural power.

At this moment.

Something tore open Li Yang’s clothes, and within a line-formed gate on his chest’s skin, the silhouette of a fierce ghost struggled to surface, though not clear enough, a female outline was still discernible.

Underneath the skin, a fierce ghost was using supernatural power to affect the surroundings.

This was the fierce ghost Li Yang had controlled inside the post office.

It could pull living people inside the gate.

If it could work on living people, then surely it could work on fierce ghosts too.

The head shadow twisted and swayed, moving closer to Li Yang, seemingly about to be taken away by the ghost inside his body.

“Clatter!”

However, in the next moment, the lights on this floor suddenly went out.

The surroundings plunged into darkness again.

At the same time, the previously still crowd began to surge.

People standing around started to crowd towards Li Yang, seemingly about to engulf him completely.

His interference with the fierce ghost seemed to have angered it.

Or perhaps, the fierce ghost felt threatened by his existence, hence trying to stop his actions.

“Damn it.”

Li Yang panicked, quickly suppressed the ghost inside his body, no longer daring to use the supernatural power.

Because he was being interfered with.

The approaching crowd became his first target to attack, he felt a corpse lying on him being pulled into his body by a supernatural force, the previously targeted person taking advantage of this disturbance to break free.

Li Yang couldn’t use the fierce ghost’s ability to kill a Ghost Slave; it would be too wasteful.

Moreover, there was more than one person here.

“My body is you…”

In the dim crowd, the voice was heard again, answering Yang Jian’s question.

But this voice was gradually moving further away.

“My body is you.”

By the time the third voice appeared, it was already more than ten meters away from the two men.

The fourth voice appeared already at the stairway.

It seemed like the ghost was leaving.

“Did it fail?” Yang Jian felt the suffocating crowd around him, his face somewhat unpleasant.

He had seized the opportunity, found the method, and even made close contact with that fierce ghost.

But still, he failed.

Now the lights went out.

The shadow was no longer visible, and the ghost wouldn’t attack him, nor could he discern the ghost’s position any longer.

This confrontation seemed to have yielded no results.

The ghost’s attack had also failed.

The crowd continued to surge, squeezing Yang Jian and Li Yang as they were carried by the crowd, gradually drifting apart.

It seemed that the ghost was organizing a second wave of attacks, intending to separate the two and then defeat them one by one.

“Although the incident just now was brief, I’m not mistaken; my Headless Ghost Shadow felt like it was getting out of control, as if it had slipped from my grasp.”

“And that ghost seemed to be just a shadow, a shadow of a head.”

“Exactly, this is the head of the Headless Ghost Shadow.”

Yang Jian’s eyes flickered: “The head of this Ghost Shadow seems to be able to erode the consciousness of the living. If Li Yang was attacked by this Ghost Shadow Figure, he could potentially be controlled by the fierce ghost and become a Ghost Slave.”

“For a ghost controller to become a Ghost Slave is a truly terrifying matter.”

“We can’t give the fierce ghost this opportunity.”

Next time the lights come on, the fierce ghost will definitely attack Li Yang, or me.

Neither of us can afford this risk.

This ghost is not of the murderous type, but the type that directly controls the living.

The stronger the controlled ghost controller, the more terrifying the fierce ghost becomes.

“Li Yang, let’s get out of here.”

Yang Jian shouted loudly, choosing to temporarily retreat.

This place was not advantageous for the two of them.

Without hesitation, he employed the ability of the Ghost Hand.

Cold, stiff palms began to appear amongst the nearby crowd.

The Ghost Hand could also manifest numerous palms.

Although one slot was used to suppress Ghost Eye, the inherent ability of the Ghost Hand remained.

Not strong enough.

But still enough to deal with these Ghost Slaves.

Immediately.

Sounds of necks snapping echoed.

The crowd began to collapse rapidly.

Because the heads on their necks had left their bodies, affected by the Ghost Hand, and fallen down.

Without the heads.

The bodies could not move.

Because the Headless Ghost Shadow was controlling the bodies, and now that both ghosts hadn’t completed their puzzle, the ghost-controlled Ghost Slaves could only move their heads, not their bodies.

If the two ghosts became a complete Ghost Shadow.

Even if lacking a head, or arms and legs, the corpses would still be capable of movement.

This was a very terrifying matter.

A gap appeared in the surging crowd.

Li Yang was finally able to take a breath.

Seizing this opportunity, Yang Jian and he regrouped to avoid being carried further by the moving crowd.

After determining a route, Yang Jian did not opt to return the same way but planned to take a safety passage up to the rooftop.

Because if they went downstairs, the ghost might reveal its shadow on the way and find an opportunity to attack.

“Let’s go.”

Li Yang was grabbed by Yang Jian from amongst the fallen bodies, and they quickly left.

The two of them left smoothly.

Because these bodies looked scary, but they were not a significant threat.

If a normal person had a bit more courage and ruthlessness, they could deal with them too.

They evacuated the floor.

But soon, other people on the fifth floor started to move, picking up the heads from the ground and propping up the headless bodies.

Those who had fallen were restored to their previous states.

The crowd surged once more.

Following behind Yang Jian and Li Yang, they also headed to the rooftop.

The clash between ghosts and humans seemed not to plan to stop here.

No.

Rather, from entering this city, the clash between ghosts and humans had already begun, just in different ways.”Close the door, the group from downstairs can’t come up.”

Yang Jian reached the rooftop terrace, asked Li Yang to close the door, while he checked if there were other ways to access the roof.

But when he got to the side of the terrace and looked down, he was immediately stunned.

Downstairs.

Near the large shopping supermarket, the area was densely packed with people, completely encircling it.

Vehicles coming from all directions also completely blocked the road, extending all the way to the end.

The people outside all stood still, not moving an inch.

“Are they trying to trap us here?”

“But with this kind of scale, if Li Leping really fell, it’s no injustice. It’s indeed very difficult to turn the situation around in the face of an out-of-control situation.”

Yang Jian could imagine.

Every corner of the entire city bore traces of ghost invasions, and initially, no one noticed. By the time it was detected, everyone nearby had become an enemy.

Even top ghost controllers would feel despair in such a situation.

And because Li Leping was responsible for Dachuan City, it was impossible for him to ignore this place.

He must have been fighting against the ghosts for a while.

But now, it seemed this fight was somewhat failing.

The person was also missing, the city left to the fierce ghosts.

“How is this delivering a message under these conditions? It’s not just about delivering a message anymore,” thought Yang Jian internally.

“Captain, this situation is tough to handle. Let’s leave, I can open the door and evacuate from here,” Li Yang said quietly after seeing the dense crowd of people below and thinking of evacuation.

Yang Jian calmly said: “Since there’s a way out, and we can leave at any time, why do you feel it’s hard to handle? You go contact headquarters, tell them about the situation here, and ask Cao Yanhua, how much he is willing to pay to have me deal with the ghostly entities here.”

He wasn’t thinking of leaving, but was planning to stay and handle this supernatural event.

He held the conditions for success in his hands.

“Also, have Tong Qian and Xiong Wenwen come over, now we need their effort,” said Yang Jian.

He had roughly figured out the source and situation of the fierce ghosts, and could call his teammates to help.

Li Yang then realized, if the two of them couldn’t handle it, maybe with two more people, the situation would be different.

Immediately, he felt much more relieved and began making contacts.

However, at that moment Yang Jian’s phone suddenly vibrated.

An unknown call appeared on the screen.

“Who would be calling me at this time?”

Yang Jian’s expression shifted slightly.

His phone number was protected, unable to receive junk calls and messages, any incoming calls must have been filtered.

After a moment’s thought, he still answered the call.

“Yang Jian? It’s me, Li Leping.” A low, solitary voice came through the phone.

Yang Jian’s expression immediately became astonished.

Li Leping again?

Just how many Li Lepings are there in Dachuan City.