Chapter 833: Chapter 800: Li Leping’s phone call

Yang Jian answered the call from this unknown number, not expecting the person on the other line to introduce himself as Li Leping. This was already the third Li Leping he had encountered.

Both previous ones were fakes, impersonated by fierce ghosts.

Fortunately, he had made a trip to this people’s head supermarket and obtained quite a bit of intelligence, which allowed him to understand the current situation in Dachuan City even better. Although he faced some danger, he believed it was all worth it.

Without taking risks, how could one gather information about fierce ghosts?

“You say you are Li Leping? I can’t trust that. When I got off the plane, there was a Li Leping to pick me up, and now his head is displayed on the shelves in this supermarket at my feet,” Yang Jian said, “In this city, there aren’t many people I can trust, and you are not one of them.”

On the phone, Li Leping’s voice rang out again: “I have no way to prove that I am truly Li Leping, but I indeed am. Ghosts had invaded this city a long time ago; I discovered it too late. Additionally, the incident with the ghost painting at headquarters caused a delay, which led directly to the loss of control over Dachuan City.”

“I’m trying my best to rectify the situation, but it’s too late. The loss of control is happening faster than I imagined.”

Yang Jian listened, his gaze intensifying.

These words seemed credible, as if they were not uttered by someone whose mind had been eroded by fierce ghosts.

But that’s just it–Yang Jian remained unconvinced in his heart.

Li Leping continued: “I didn’t know you had come to Dachuan City, but when I saw the commotion in the city today, I knew that a ghost master must have entered the area and begun fighting against the fierce ghosts. I’m aware of the supermarket you mentioned; it houses many human heads. If possible, I hope you won’t destroy those heads.”

“Why not?” asked Yang Jian; “Why not destroy those heads? Should we leave them for the ghosts to use?”

“Those people aren’t truly dead yet; consciousness still exists within those heads, and there is a possibility for them to be saved before the heads decay,” Li Leping explained.

Yang Jian sneered: “You’re thinking too much. Even if the heads still contain some residual consciousness, it’s the same as being dead without their bodies.”

“If there’s a place storing heads, there must be a place for bodies too. I have stored the headless bodies somewhere else. Even though some are spoiled, some bodies are still useful,” Li Leping said.

“Even if you have the bodies and heads, resurrection is impossible. The fierce ghosts have eroded their consciousness, and these people have become ghost slaves,” Yang Jian responded.

On the phone, Li Leping went on: “Yes, you are absolutely correct, which is why I attempted a rather bold experiment while fighting against the fierce ghosts.”

“What kind of experiment?” Yang Jian pressed on.

“I tried to control that ghost, to dominate it, and then use its power to save all the people who lost control,” Li Leping revealed an important piece of information on the phone.

He had attempted to control the Ghost Shadow Figure.

The idea wasn’t wrong.

If successful in controlling it, indeed, those influenced by the fierce ghost could be brought back to life.

Yang Jian hadn’t expected Li Leping to have such a desperate determination to turn the situation around.

“But you failed, and even your memories were stolen by the ghost. Hence, the ghost replaced you and became the person in charge of this city,” Yang Jian said.

On the phone, Li Leping replied, “Indeed, Dachuan City completely lost control because of my failure, becoming what it is now. The ghost was hard to control–extremely hard. It erodes people’s consciousness, and the thing that ghost masters fear the most are these kinds of fierce ghosts.”

“Without maintaining one’s consciousness, even the strongest ghost master will fail.”

He was right.

For ghost masters, the most important thing is not the physical condition but the living consciousness.

If there are ghosts that can influence or even control human consciousness, then even the weakest ghost is fatal to a ghost master.

It’s their nemesis.

Once an attack succeeds, the ghost master is done for, no matter how many ghosts they have controlled, no matter if they are at the Captain Level.

“You failed to control that ghost, which indicates that you have been controlled by the ghost as well. By admitting this, aren’t you just making me more suspicious of you?” Yang Jian asked again.

“No, I did a bit of preparation before I attempted to control that ghost. That is, I forgot everything that happened that day.”

Li Leping said, “This is the ability of another ghost that I control; it can forget many things. I forgot my own memories of today and erased the experiences of that day, and the supernatural forces that were affecting my consciousness that day would also disappear according to my will.”

“Therefore, even if I fail, the ghost cannot control me. On the contrary, if I succeed, then I would be able to control that ghost.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian couldn’t help but be amazed. The skillfulness and audacity of Li Leping’s methods earned his admiration.

Using forgetting to combat the spiritual invasion of a fierce ghost.

Proactively using oneself as a faulty experiment subject.

Once successful, the consciousness of the fierce ghost might be erased by the Forgetful Ghost controlled by Li Leping, and the Ghost Shadow Figure would be trapped in a state of deadlock… easily controlled by him,

and then everyone in the city affected by the fierce ghost could return to normal.

“So you retained the head and the body with the intention of restoring order to Dachuan City after you controlled that fierce ghost?” Yang Jian now understood Li Leping’s approach.

It was a bold gamble.

Not unlike when he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in Dachang City.

Regrettably, Li Leping lost the gamble, having just a bit of bad luck.

After all, there are many uncertainties involved with supernatural affairs. Even if the plan is good and perfect, and even the results can be foreseen,

the only thing not visible is the chance of success.

“Yes.”

Li Leping’s voice sounded somewhat disheartened: “The consequence of my failure is not just the loss of control over Dachuan City. The really fatal part is that for a while after my failed control and the disappearance of my consciousness, it seems the ghost controlled me for a period, and my two teammates were eroded by it. By the time I woke up, the ghost had already left my body.”

“After I regained consciousness, I immediately realized my counter-ghost control had failed, but everything was too late. I no longer had the ability to turn the situation around.”

“You mean to say you are still alive?” Yang Jian hesitated before asking.

“Yes.”

Li Leping said, “I’m in Dachuan City, in a place within the city.”

“Where?”

Yang Jian said, “If you really are Li Leping, I think it’s necessary for us to meet. Otherwise, I won’t believe what you’re saying.”

“I don’t know if you’ve ever looked over the archives of supernatural cases I’ve handled, but one of them, dubbed Ferocious Ghost District, was established by me. I’m currently in Ferocious Ghost District, inside a community called Mingyue Community.”

Over the phone, Li Leping hesitated for a moment and then spoke an address in a deep voice.

Ferocious Ghost District, Mingyue Community?

When Yang Jian heard this address, he was immediately taken aback.

The address was exactly the same as the delivery address for the letter; he was supposed to deliver it to Building 7, Room 301 of Mingyue Community.

“You’re in Mingyue Community?” Yang Jian asked again for confirmation.

“Yes, but you’d better not enter this community. There are truly terrifying fierce ghosts here. Although their impact is not as great as the ghost outside, even someone like Yang Jian would have a hard time surviving if encountered. I’m staying in this community to control the ghosts inside, preventing them from going outside,” Li Leping said.

His purpose for staying in Mingyue Community was to restrain another ghost.

Yang Jian immediately understood his intention: “I see that you’re hiding in Mingyue Community, using the ghosts inside the community to help you withstand attacks from the fierce ghost outside. That ghost has stolen your memories, and with so many Ghost Slaves in the city, you’re bound to be attacked, so you use the supernatural presence of Mingyue Community to conceal yourself.”

Li Leping fell silent.

Yang Jian’s guess was correct.

Li Leping was now hiding within the community, maintaining the balance there, preventing the ferocious ghosts from going out of control.

He was saving himself as well as others.

That’s why he couldn’t show up and could only barely survive within Mingyue Community.

While Li Leping remained silent, Yang Jian started to ponder.

Who exactly lives in Room 301, Building 7 of Mingyue Community?

Or maybe there are no inhabitants at all, and Room 301 is just inhabited by a terrifying ferocious ghost.

Of course, there’s another possibility, that this address is where Li Leping lives.

It’s very likely, as Li Yang guessed, that this letter is addressed to Li Leping.

And according to the rules of the Ghost Post Office,

the only possibility for living people to receive a letter from the Ghost Post Office is to fall under its curse and become a new messenger.

The Ghost Post Office’s goal is likely to recruit Li Leping as its new messenger.

“It’s not an impossibility. Once Li Leping becomes a messenger, he will have to enter the Ghost Post Office. If he does, and the ferocious ghosts of Mingyue Community lose control, Dachuan City is certainly doomed. This aligns perfectly with the Ghost Post Office’s objective of promoting the resurgence of the supernatural,” Yang Jian conjectured.

Yang Jian’s conclusions about the Ghost Post Office’s motives for hastening the resurgence of the supernatural were speculative, without definitive evidence.

His current hypothesis was based upon reasonable inference from previous guesses.

“I need to go to Mingyue Community,” Yang Jian said earnestly, picking up the phone again.

“No, your coming here might just make things worse. The only reason I called you today was to find a way to deal with the ghost wandering outside. Only when it’s safe out there can I have more room to maneuver,” Li Leping instantly rejected Yang Jian’s suggestion.

He was concerned and didn’t want Yang Jian to enter Mingyue Community; instead, he wanted Yang Jian to handle the Ghost Shadow Figure.

“While I’m not opposed to dealing with these anomalies outside first, that thing is really hard to find. Besides, there are all sorts of strange people everywhere. Who knows which corpse the ghost is lingering in now? Searching in such a huge city is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Yang Jian explained.

“Moreover, I don’t trust you right now. Unless I enter Mingyue Community and meet up with you to verify your story, I won’t take any action,” he continued.

He also concealed some information.

If he really went to Mingyue Community, Yang Jian would definitely first investigate Room 301, Building 7.

Delivering the letter to that household will suffice; there’s no need to specify whose hands it must be given to.

“The ghost has already set its sights on you. If you come to Mingyue Community, there’s a high likelihood you’ll bring the ghost with you, which will further complicate the situation in the community. This isn’t in your favor,” Li Leping cautioned while also suggesting, “I’d still prefer you to first deal with the situation outside.”

“Besides, if you’re still in that supermarket, the ghost won’t leave you be; you won’t be able to come over,” he added.

“Think about it carefully, Yang Jian. I know you can handle the ghost outside. Just be cautious not to let your consciousness be invaded, and the ghost won’t be hard to deal with. Actually, I’ve already imprisoned that ghost once before; it’s just that I failed to control it myself and ended up releasing it again,” Li Leping’s voice conveyed a hint of regret.

Li Leping wanted to salvage the situation, and he even imprisoned the Ghost Shadow Figure. However, following a failure, not only did he ruin the stability that had just been achieved, but he also caused the death of two team members.

“That’s all I have to say. If you have more questions, feel free to contact me by phone any time.”

Having finished speaking.

The phone disconnected, and he hung up.

“Was that Li Leping’s call? He’s still alive, right?”

Li Yang asked curiously, having overheard some of the conversation.

Yang Jian nodded, “He said he’s Li Leping, still alive, and right now he’s in Mingyue Community. However, I can’t be sure whether the call was real or fake. It could be another ghost impersonating Li Leping. But from some of his words, I gathered some intelligence about this fierce ghost.”

“Combining what just happened, I can now create a file, codename: Ghost Shadow Figure.”

“This ghost seems to invade living persons through their shadows, influencing their consciousness. Even a person who controls ghosts would be controlled if attacked, becoming a Ghost Slave of the fierce ghost.”

“The terror level isn’t high, but its influence is substantial and quite unique. It’s also very eccentric. If not handled carefully, it could result in the same situation as Dachuan City, turning into this current state.”

Having said that, he paused and then asked, “How’s the matter I asked you to handle earlier?”

“I’ve made contact with Tong Qian and Xiong Wenwen. They are preparing to fly to Dachuan City. Moreover, Minister Cao was shocked when he heard about the situation here. He said that if we can handle the situation, we could make a request to the headquarters.”

Yang Jian said, “Tell Cao Yanhua, I want that Ghost Gate, plus three Ghost Candles, and don’t forget the Ghost Scissors he promised earlier.”

“I’ll ask and see.” Li Yang contacted headquarters again.

But a response came quickly.

Cao Yanhua agreed.

To exchange one supernatural artifact plus three Ghost Candles for Yang Jian’s team to handle the supernatural event in Dachuan City.

Yang Jian’s request was not excessive. Cao Yanhua would certainly agree.

After all, the ghost here has already affected the functioning of an entire city, which is almost out of control. It’s not just about the items; even if the price was doubled, Cao Yanhua would agree.

But Yang Jian did not wish to proceed this way.

Business should be ongoing and moderate, especially since he had his own task of delivering a message involved this time.

So his price was relatively fair.

“From Dachang City to here, taking a chartered plane, with some delay on the road, it will take at least three hours to arrive,” Yang Jian checked the time.

“That means their arrival time here will be after six in the evening.”

“Let’s go to the airport to wait for Tong Qian and Xiong Wenwen. We can’t let them encounter danger as soon as they arrive. Although they’ve been warned on the phone, it’s better to be safe than sorry, just in case they get scattered. If one of us is invaded, our whole team would be done for.”

What he was most worried about now was his companions being invaded by ghosts, their consciousnesses affected, and becoming Ghost Slaves. Then suddenly attacking him at some point.

That’s how Li Leping got utterly defeated.

“Bang! Bang!”

Suddenly, loud banging sounds came from behind. Those eerie figures crammed in the corridor were trying to get up to the rooftop terrace, but they were being blocked by a metal door, and now they started banging on it.

“They’ll be up here soon, do you need me to block the door? I can hold them off,” Li Yang said.

Yang Jian replied, “No need. Let Tong Qian deal with these matters later; he’s suited for this situation. We can’t afford to waste our strength like this.”

He lost due to his condition.

Otherwise, he would have already restricted that Ghost Shadow Figure with a Coffin Nail, and there wouldn’t be any more trouble here.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Yang Jian said.

He grabbed Li Yang and then leaped down from the building.

Five full stories.

About ten or more meters high.

An ordinary person would have died from such a fall.

But Yang Jian steadied himself midair and then with a thud landed firmly on the ground.

Not only was he unharmed, even Li Yang was not injured.

His body was now almost akin to that of a fierce ghost; it was impossible for him to be killed by falling. Even if he were injured, he could immediately stitch himself back together with the Headless Ghost Shadow’s abilities.

The premise is, his head must not be shattered, nor cut off by something.

“Yang Jian!”

“Yang Jian!”

As soon as he landed, someone among the nearby crowd was shouting his name in a voice still so bizarre and terrifying, seemingly wanting to keep Yang Jian behind.

“I’ll deal with these ghostly things later.” Yang Jian’s gaze turned cold as he ignored the calls from the crowd and promptly cleared a path, walking out from the swarm of people that resembled a tide.

This aggregation was due to the Ghost General controlling these living dead in transition.

After sustaining some minor and ineffective attacks, Yang Jian left the area and was surprisingly not interfered with again.

It seemed that not all people possessed by ghosts were infinite in number; there were limits after all.

The streets were now utterly desolate, devoid of a single soul.

Yang Jian seemed to have entered a Ghost City.

No, this was indeed a Ghost City.

At this moment, he picked up a phone and dialed a number: “Hello, Li Yi? It’s me, Yang Jian.”

“Yang Jian? How are you doing, are you still alive? This place is too horrifying. I’m currently hiding somewhere in this city and can’t get out. If we go outside, we get attacked. But I’ve found that if we hide and don’t get seen by those people, we’ll be safe,” Li Yi’s voice came immediately from the other end.

Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly, “It seems like you are trapped in Dachuan City?”

“Good, I need you to meet me at the airport. After we rendezvous, I will head to deliver the message. Those who want to complete this message delivery task can come over.”

“The airport?”

Hearing this, Li Yi almost coughed up blood.

He had just escaped from the airport and now he had to go back?

“The airport is full of ghosts, going there means seeking death. Yang Jian, let’s meet somewhere else instead.”

Yang Jian said, “The meetup time is three hours from now, six o’clock in the evening. As long as you arrive there alive, I will handle the rest.”

“Alright, okay.” Upon hearing this, Li Yi reluctantly agreed.

They could not leave Dachuan City, and they had to deliver the message. Rendezvousing and acting together with Yang Jian was indeed the best course of action.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Jian immediately found a damaged but still drivable car on the roadside and began driving.

“Do we need to team up with the messenger on the third floor?” Li Yang queried, “They probably won’t be of much help, right?”

“That might be true, but among those people, I suspect someone might have become a Ghost Controller. If they die in some unknown place, the next time we meet, they might not be human but a ghost. What if a ghost follows us to complete the task and enters the Ghost Post Office with us, getting to the fourth floor? How would we handle that?”

Yang Jian’s gaze flickered: “Let them stay close to us. At least this way, we can confirm who’s human and who’s a ghost, rather than letting a ghost sneak in undetected.”

Li Yang said with slight embarrassment, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

Yang Jian had already considered the matters following the completion of the message delivery task.

Nonetheless, such precaution was reasonable. If after completing the task, a ghost invaded one of the messengers and entered the Ghost Post Office with them, that would be terrifying.

“No need to panic. As soon as Tong Qian arrives, many of the problems here won’t be issues anymore,” Yang Jian said while driving.

He had confidence in Tong Qian.

That was someone who could cause two ghosts to crash together–an exceptionally unique existence worldwide.

The reason why Tong Qian’s fame wasn’t big was not due to a lack of ability, but because he solved too few incidents.

At this moment.

In a shop down an alleyway in Dachuan City.

Li Yi, Guo You, and Leuk Qingqing were hiding there, afraid to go out. In the corner of the store, there were several headless corpses lying around.

This place too bore the traces of a ghost invasion.

“Yang Jian wants us to meet at the airport and has agreed to deliver the message together.”

Li Yi put down the phone, his face grave, “The airport is super dangerous, and it’s not easy to make our way there either. Do you think we should take this trip?”

“Really unlucky, having to go back there?”

Guo You looked displeased and irritated, “We should never have given that letter to Yang Jian. Li Yi, you are too greedy for money; you sold the letter for just a few tens of millions, causing us to lose the initiative.”

“What do you mean ‘just a few tens of millions’? If you’re able, you can return that ten million to me,” Li Yi retorted with a glance.

Guo You was lost for words, then said, “Didn’t you ever think that Yang Jian might deceive us, making us risk our lives?”

“No need to.”

Leuk Qingqing spoke calmly from the side, “Yang Jian simply does not regard us as a threat. His agreement to let us join in the message delivery is not because he needs our help, but rather he hopes we don’t cause him any trouble. He must be worried that if we were invaded by a ghost, it would affect the delivery mission.”

“Anyway, let’s first meet at the airport. He set the time for three hours from now; I have sufficient time to act,” Li Yi said.

“Right, Yang Xiaohua contacted me before, hoping to meet and join Yang Jian,” Li Yi added.

“Send her the details, see if she can survive down to there.”

“In times like these, another person equates to a better chance. Considering the difficulty of this delivery task is quite high, being together might lead us to some good strategy.”

“Alright,” Guo You sent the information to Yang Xiaohua, albeit very reluctantly.

In another part of the city.

Exhausted and on the brink of despair, Yang Xiaohua suddenly received a message on her phone.

She hurriedly opened it and looked.

Immediately, a glimmer of hope surged through her despairing eyes.

Meet at the airport?

Is Yang Jian going to the airport?

But soon after, Yang Xiaohua’s gaze dimmed again, “In my current state, there’s no way I can make it to the airport alive. I’d probably get killed along the way.”

“Wait.”

Then, an idea struck her, “I can wait for Yang Jian on the way to the airport.”

There are just a few main roads leading to the airport.

If one is careful in choosing, it’s entirely possible to wait for someone at a certain intersection, on a certain road.

After all, there are no longer any normal vehicles in Dachuan City.

Even if there were, none of them would be heading to the airport.

The chances of waiting successfully are still quite high.

Thinking this.

The desire to survive made Yang Xiaohua take action once again, as she forced her tired body to move, facing the risk of being killed at any moment as she started towards the selected spot and intersection.

Her condition was not sufficient for prolonged activity, so she had to take a gamble next.

At Dachang City’s airport.

A private jet had already taken off at this moment.

On the jet, aside from the crew and the pilot, there were only two passengers.

Tong Qian and Xiong Wenwen.

“It seems that a crisis really has emerged in Dachuan City. Otherwise, Yang Jian would not casually seek help with his personality,” Tong Qian observed outside the window, his expression grave.

“Let’s get this over with quickly. I still need to go home to do homework. Yang Jian definitely won’t run into any trouble. He probably called us over just to exploit our labor,” Xiong Wenwen muttered, clearly unhappy.

Tong Qian said, “How long can your premonition ability last at most?”

“I don’t know, never tried,” Xiong Wenwen replied rudely, unwilling to say more.

“Take this. You’ll know how to use it when it’s crucial.”

At that moment, Tong Qian handed Xiong Wenwen a red candle.

This was a Ghost Candle.

It was sent from headquarters as compensation for mediating the last conflict between Yang Jian and Ye Zhen.

“Is this Yang Jian’s? Are you stealing from him?” Xiong Wenwen eyed him suspiciously.

Tong Qian explained, “With Yang Jian and Feng Quan away, I’m in charge of Dachang City. Using one Ghost Candle is to ensure the safety of this business trip. I can protect myself, but you can’t. Apart from your premonition, you have no means to deal with ghosts.”

“Alright then.”

Xiong Wenwen did not refuse and accepted the Ghost Candle, and then added, “If Yang Jian asks later, I won’t admit it was me who used it.”

Tong Qian shook his head, not saying anything more, but used the time to analyze the documents and files Li Yang had sent over earlier.

As time gradually passed.

The sky also began to dim.

Dachuan City was entering evening.

The street lights were all lit up.

But still, there was scarcely any human activity in the city.

Even if there were some people moving about, they were skulking in the shadows, not seeming like the living, but rather like the dead.

The empty city was shrouded in gloom and terror.

Yang Jian was driving a battered car on the road to the airport.

Even though he knew beforehand that malevolent ghosts were lurking inside that supermarket filled with people.

But to attempt capture was too risky.

Having failed twice, the malevolent ghost started using the crowd to try to separate him and Li Yang, which meant the ghost’s next wave of attacks would become even more terrifying and strange.

Yang Jian was not in a state to fight too hard.

Moreover, he did not want the malevolent ghost to become aware of his Coffin Nail, because if it got lost in the crowd, that would spell major trouble.

For safety’s sake, he decided to let Tong Qian take action.

Waiting for two or three hours, delaying a bit of time, didn’t seem like much compared to the reduced risk.

“Hey, stop the car, stop the car.”

Suddenly.

Just at that moment, a woman covered in blood and in a sorry state suddenly dashed out onto the road ahead, waving her hands, standing in front of the vehicle, attempting to stop it.

“Is that Yang Xiaohua?”

Yang Jian recognized the woman at a glance.

He was somewhat surprised.

How come Yang Xiaohua was here?

But he didn’t step on the brake because of that.

At this time, who knew whether Yang Xiaohua was human or ghost; she might have been eroded by a ghost, turning into a Ghost Slave.

However, very quickly.

Yang Jian realized something was off.

Under the illumination of the car’s headlights, a long shadow stretched out from behind Yang Xiaohua on the road.

Living people have shadows, while those who have been eroded by ghosts do not.

This was the best proof.

She’s still alive?

Yang Jian’s gaze flickered, and he instantly turned the steering wheel sharply, pulling over to the side of the road.

Since she was a living person, he had no reason to just drive by.

Even though he was emotionally detached, he wouldn’t wantonly kill ordinary people; that was his bottom line.

“How come you’re here?”

Yang Jian got out of the car, eyeing Yang Xiaohua.

Yang Xiaohua staggered forward, covered in blood, and she hurried over to him: “Yang Jian, save me, please save me.”

As she spoke.

Several eerie figures emerged from the dimly lit area beside the road.

These people stood under the street lights illuminated by the glow; they lacked shadows but held weapons in their hands instead, ready to attack Yang Xiaohua.

It seemed that Yang Xiaohua, too, had been targeted by a ghost.