Mysterious Awakening

The group of survivors who lived through the ordeal took some time to recuperate at the training base, especially after the Ghost Coffin was sealed away, did they truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the supernatural incident had not been resolved, at least at this stage there was no other choice, containment was the priority, and it seemed that the Ghost Domain of the Ghost Envoy had come under control. At the very least, there had been no other disturbances in the past hour or two. Surveillance confirmed that the darkness remained contained within the valley created by Yang Jian.

The next step was to seal off that area and then consider a response strategy.

However, what came after had nothing to do with Yang Jian; his mission from headquarters had been completed.

"Yang Jian, where are you going?" Tong Qian noticed Yang Jian trying to sneak off alone from the training base and immediately called out.

"The affair is over, I’m of course going back to sleep," Yang Jian said.

Tong Qian said, "There are still many lingering issues that have not been dealt with. Aren’t you staying? There should be a meeting at headquarters afterward as well."

"Lingering issues? How can that be a problem? Inform me about the meeting later," Yang Jian replied.

"Brother Tui, where are you planning to rest? Going back to the hotel? Isn’t it a bit early for that?" Feng Quan walked over and asked.

Yang Jian replied, "Staying here is more troublesome, who knows if there will be another mission later. I don’t want to deal with supernatural incidents anymore; these last few days of wiping butts has already been exhausting enough. Right now, I keep feeling like someone will set me up, so it’s better for me to leave early, I’d like to live a couple more years, don’t want to die so young."

Uh...

Feng Quan and Tong Qian were stunned for a moment.

But after thinking it over, what he said made sense. During the Ghost Envoy incident, Yang Jian had really bad luck, getting dragged into it unwittingly. He might have had a leisurely week at the training base, but now he had to fight desperately just to survive.

"Taking a break is good, otherwise people indeed can’t handle it," Tong Qian nodded in agreement. "The number of tasks you’ve undertaken is indeed higher than average, and that’s hard for most people to bear."

"Who told you to be Brother Tui? Headquarters always has you step in whenever there’s trouble. Without you this time, we probably would’ve faced annihilation," Feng Quan sighed.

Just then, Jang Shangbai approached and said, "Although Yang Jian has indeed been of great help this time, it’s not as though we would face certain annihilation without him. There are more than one person ready to provide support from headquarters. I believe you took on this mission voluntarily, otherwise, given your character, you absolutely wouldn’t have made this trip."

"Right, who are you?" Yang Jian was taken aback and asked.

Jang Shangbai’s face darkened, "You actually don’t know me?"

"I don’t know you, ah. You haven’t introduced yourself. I only know you owe me ten million," Yang Jian thought for a moment and said.

"He’s Jang Shangbai, the one who controls three ghosts, one of the top Ghost Controllers at headquarters," Cao Yang grinned and helped with the introduction. "But his track record isn’t impressive; he’s handled fewer supernatural incidents."

"Handled fewer supernatural incidents, yet controls three ghosts?" Yang Jian’s gaze sharpened, "So, he’s a product of experimentation?"

A Ghost Controller not born by accident, most likely created artificially through experimentation.

"Cao Yang, if you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute. Always so nonchalant, if you continue like this, you’ll die tragically," Jang Shangbai glanced at him and said.

"As if our kind could lead a happy, fulfilling life until the end. Won’t we all die tragically sooner or later? Either killed in a supernatural incident or by the revival of a malevolent spirit," Cao Yang said indifferently. "Anyway, I’ve even prepared my gravestone, arranged everything for after I’m gone; living another day is earning another day."

"That you’ve lived until now is truly a miracle," Jang Shangbai hummed lightly.

"Are the top Ghost Controllers at headquarters that impressive?" Yang Jian asked curiously.

Cao Yang laughed, "Well, let me put it this way, a person who controls one ghost is considered an ordinary Ghost Controller, those who control two are considered first-class, that’s people like us. Those controlling three or more are deemed top-notch. But there are some anomalies; even if one controls only a single ghost, they can be incredibly powerful, like that Zhang Lei."

"Ghost Eater Zhang Lei, you must have seen him; he’s also part of this batch of trainees. This guy is said to be able to eat ghosts. I’ve seen his file, and he easily solved two supernatural incidents, with each case taking him no more than ten minutes on average."

"Actually, before at Ping’an Hotel, that Lin Shan who died because of a fierce ghost’s resurrection wasn’t bad either, it’s just a shame, his mind wasn’t quite there, died due to a fierce ghost’s resurrection. Oh right, this beauty Tong Qian is also ferocious, her Ghost Face ability is unsolvable. If it weren’t for the encounter with the Ghost Envoy this time, she would have been able to hold her ground too."

Tong Qian’s eyes moved slightly, but she said nothing, since her Ghost Face was given to her by Yang Jian; otherwise, she would have died long ago.

"Is the Ghost Envoy with three ghosts considered top-notch?" Yang Jian looked at Jang Shangbai.

"He can only be considered half top-notch because he lacks experience. He can’t compare to us who have survived one supernatural event after another." Cao Yang said, "it’s like the difference between a domesticated animal and a wild one; he’s inferior in every aspect."

Yang Jian felt there was some truth to this.

Handling supernatural events often isn’t about the strength of your abilities, but about whether you can make the right decisions.

Sometimes a single misstep can lead to death, and even your abilities can’t make up for it; after all, no matter how strong you are, you can’t withstand an assault from the supernatural.

"Is experience useful? Abilities are more important. As long as your abilities are strong enough to ensure your own safety, supernatural incidents won’t be scary anymore." Jang Shangbai said, "Your conclusion is wrong."

"Forget it, I won’t discuss this with you any longer; I’m leaving first, you guys can continue chatting."

Yang Jian felt that arguing about this wasn’t interesting. He thought he should find a time to head back to Dachang City after things were mostly settled.

Staying in J City seemed to bring him no benefits and would only drag him into more and more troublesome matters. It would be better to extricate himself sooner rather than later to align with his own goals.

The others lost interest in carrying on the conversation the moment Yang Jian decided to leave.

Before leaving, Cao Yang said with a smile, "If Yang Jian becomes the captain, I have no objections. His abilities are evident. How many spots can your friend circle take?"

"That’s our business, none of your concern, and anyway, your hopes are slim." Jang Shangbai said.

"Heard your friend circle has already made contact with Yang Jian ahead of time?" Cao Yang said with a gleam in his eye; "Was the contact process not very satisfying?"

"You’ve grown more and more fond of meddling in others’ affairs."

Cao Yang laughed: "Do I need to meddle? It’s obvious even from a guess; you made contact with Yang Jian too early. Initially, you definitely rejected him, and I’m sure the contact process wasn’t very friendly. Now that Yang Jian has demonstrated such strong abilities, it’s made you apprehensive, so you’re regretting it now? Lucky for you, Yang Jian doesn’t know you’re from the friend circle, otherwise, he could easily dispose of you here, and nobody would know."

Jang Shangbai’s face darkened. Enjoy new tales from

Although Cao Yang’s words were harsh, they were true.

Indeed, the people from their friend circle hadn’t taken Yang Jian seriously, seeing him as a thorn in their side for occupying a captain’s spot. If they couldn’t win him over, they thought he should be removed.

But no one expected that during this Ghost Envoy incident, Yang Jian’s performance was too impressive.

What was most important was that Yang Jian’s personal abilities were getting closer and closer to those of a real ghost. With such capabilities in handling supernatural events, he would surely be even more formidable dealing with people in the future.

So, Jang Shangbai was indeed in a difficult position now, unsure of how to handle his relationship with Yang Jian.

If it were up to him, he would neither court nor offend Yang Jian. It was worth giving up a captain’s spot, not worth continuing the strife over it, because Yang Jian was just too dangerous, not inferior to a fierce ghost at all.

But the friend circle wasn’t something he could decide on his own.

After leaving the training base, Yang Jian returned to J City alone.

He didn’t go back to his room at Ping’an Hotel to sleep, instead, he wandered in this bustling, lively metropolis, letting the flow of people carry him forward.

No direction was needed, nor a destination.

He felt himself gradually falling off track from normal life, the normal world. Even amidst a crowd, there was an unreal feeling, as if he didn’t fit in with ordinary people. There was an indescribable barrier, as though he had become another kind of being altogether.

Perhaps it was because Yang Jian had been encountering more and more supernatural events, or maybe it was that his body housed an increasing number of ghosts.

Even though he appeared human, he was scarcely any different from a ghost now.

If he continued to live like this, there were bound to be problems eventually.

It was an imperceptive change, and sometimes Yang Jian himself didn’t know what he would ultimately become.

"The problem with the revival of my ghost has been temporarily resolved, but the deterioration of my body continues," Yang Jian murmured with a frown.

This was an unavoidable phenomenon. He could never have a normal body—not while it was influenced by the ghost within him, which was to be expected. Other ghost controllers were probably not faring any better than he was.

However, this deterioration wouldn’t cause any issues within a year, but it was unsustainable over a longer period.

"Forget it, I’ll think of a way to solve this issue later," he said, shaking his head, not dwelling on it for too long.

Just being alive was lucky enough; he could tolerate some minor side effects.

He had no idea how long he had walked the streets of J City, nor where he had ended up. Eventually, feeling tired, Yang Jian found a bench nearby and sat down to rest.

For him, moments without worry about supernatural events offered a tremendous relief.

Bored and wanting to pass the time, he took out his phone, intending to check out Zhang Wei’s recent livestream.

But as soon as he turned on his phone, the screen flickered as if it was malfunctioning, probably due to a poor connection, and then the entire phone went dark.

Broken?

Yang Jian’s mouth twitched as he looked at his pale, slightly stiff palm.

Could the Ghost Hand inadvertently affect real-world objects?

"I need to be careful in the future; I can’t just touch things randomly," Yang Jian realized the danger of the Ghost Hand. Its abilities, still being explored, had to be guarded against.

Otherwise, he might accidentally cause harm next time.

"Forget it, let’s head back. I probably have a meeting tomorrow," he checked the time, planning to grab something to eat and then return to the hotel.

Just as he was about to stand up

In front of him, a pair of slender, fair legs caught his attention.

Hmm?

"Yang Jian? It really is you; I thought I was seeing things," a joyful and pleasing voice spoke up. In front of him, seemingly out of nowhere, stood a petite, sweet-looking, and adorable girl.

She wore a dress, her bright eyes wandering over him.

A few female companions stood by her side, appearing to be friends.

"Miao Xiaoshan?"

When Yang Jian looked up and saw her clearly, he was momentarily taken aback, "Why are you in J City?"

"Didn’t I tell you before? I transferred schools to take the college entrance exams. Now that I’ve finished them, I’m here for school. Did Zhang Wei not tell you? I talked about it in his livestream," Miao Xiaoshan said with a sweet smile.

Yang Jian responded, "I’ve been pretty busy recently; haven’t had the time to contact Zhang Wei. I actually wanted to check his livestream just now, but my phone broke."

"Your phone broke? How about I give you one?" Miao Xiaoshan immediately offered.

"No need, if you gave me one it would just break too; it has to be specially made," Yang Jian said.

Miao Xiaoshan looked happy to see Yang Jian. She sat down and asked, "So, what brings you to J City? Is there something you need to do?"

"Nothing special. I just came to work in J City for a while; I’ll be going back soon," Yang Jian said without any trace of joy or excitement upon seeing her. He was merely somewhat astonished.

He hadn’t expected to bump into someone while aimlessly wandering the streets; it really was quite a coincidence.

Working?

Miao Xiaoshan’s eyes widened; she couldn’t believe someone like Yang Jian would actually work a regular job.

He must be brushing her off; he was certainly here on some secret mission.

Could it be that J City had experienced a supernatural event as well?

Miao Xiaoshan’s mind raced with numerous thoughts.

"No way, you dropped out of high school to work in J City? Why not continue your education? It must be quite difficult to find a job with your credentials," one of the pretty women acted surprised.

"Giggle, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. You just look like you haven’t found a job yet, so I thought I’d kindly remind you," she said before laughing lightly.

Yang Jian looked up at her briefly, "You’re right, it’s important to read more. But it’s getting late now, and if you don’t need anything else, Miao Xiaoshan, I’ll be going."

He didn’t want to affect Miao Xiaoshan’s trajectory in life.

Her normal schooling, university entrance, and graduation... that was all very good.

More contact with him could only bring about something terribly wrong; so he avoided people he knew, including family members.

"Don’t go," Miao Xiaoshan suddenly blocked Yang Jian’s path, boldly standing in his way.

"How can you just leave when we’ve met so unexpectedly in J City?"

Yang Jian scratched his head, "I need to go back and rest. Why are you stopping me? You should be with your friends."

"You’re lying; you’re not even tired," Miao Xiaoshan stared at him, "And what’s wrong with your hand?"

Yang Jian lowered his pale palm, which stood out against his own skin tone, and replied casually, "Nothing, just a little accident."

Miao Xiaoshan looked at the unfamiliar hand, then grabbed Yang Jian’s other arm, saying, "Since you’re not busy right now, come with me for some shopping. I need to buy some daily necessities."

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