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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 188: Terrifying and Deadly
When I arrived at the police station, it was a little past ten in the morning. This time, after finding Captain Wang, before I could say anything, he hurriedly took me into the Director's office.
This was not my first time meeting the Director, but compared to before, the Director now had significantly more gray hair and looked much more haggard. Upon seeing me enter, he quickly stood up and said, "Master Cao, you finally woke up."
After saying that, he shook my hand warmly. I felt a bit flattered as he pressed me into a chair while he sat across from me and said, "Time is tight, so I won't beat around the bush."
I nodded.
Next, the Director mentioned several cases.
The first case occurred near the Cemetery, on the last street of the Suburb, which was specifically a service street for the deceased. Almost every household there made money by selling items for both the living and the dead, such as Hell Money, Incense Candles, Paper Sedan Chairs, Paper Houses, and so on.
However, six nights ago, all the shops were suddenly engulfed in flames. The fire lasted until around five in the early morning. The entire street was ablaze; when firefighters arrived to extinguish it, the flames only grew stronger. Within a few hours, the whole street was reduced to ashes.
The first person to discover the fire disaster was a shop owner who claimed he had been drinking with someone that night and returned home late. He intended to wash up and go to bed but was startled when he saw a ball of flame suddenly appear in front of his shop. At that moment, the blue flame was only about the size of a face and floated in mid-air. He was terrified; before he could comprehend what was happening, a face suddenly emerged from that flame. It was a distorted face with burn marks all over it. After letting out a loud scream at him, it darted around the room, igniting everything in its path.
The flames reached the wires, and since the buildings on that street were closely packed together, once one shop caught fire, others followed suit. The owner panicked and quickly called for his family to escape outside.
The neighbors were awakened by the commotion; concerned individuals rushed to help extinguish the fire. However, instead of being put out, the flames grew larger and larger; while one area was being contained, another would catch fire.
Within just a few minutes, the entire street was engulfed in flames, turning the sky red and creating an exceptionally terrifying scene.
That massive fire injured one hundred thirty-six people, among whom six individuals who couldn't escape were burned to charred corpses.
The second case occurred five nights ago at the International Trade Building in downtown.
Fire Disaster It all started on the top floor of the International Trade Building, specifically the Eighteenth Floor. The security guard on duty saw flames coming from the Eighteenth Floor and rushed upstairs. However, when they arrived, there were no visible flames, and nothing appeared to be damaged where the light had been. As the guards prepared to return to the Elevator, it opened, revealing a burst of blue flames. Just like before, when the flames touched the guards, one of them revealed a terrifying face and lunged at them.
At that time, there were three security guards who went upstairs. They were all frightened; one reacted quickly and ran towards the stairs, while another rushed into the Elevator after the flames burst out, quickly closed the door, and was the first to go downstairs. The last guard was found the next day, unharmed but unable to get up, with cold air escaping from his mouth, not breathing at all, and even visible mist coming from him.
The third incident occurred four days ago in a Residential Building located about twenty meters behind the International Trade Building.
According to residents of the Residential Building, around ten o'clock that night, a family was watching television when suddenly both the lights and the TV went out. They initially thought it was a power outage, but it lasted less than a second before both the light bulb and the Television turned back on, then went off again, only to turn back on once more.
This process repeated for about ten minutes. One resident claimed he feared his TV was broken and turned it off; however, strangely enough, even though he turned off the Television, it continued to flicker on and off repeatedly. Another resident had an even stranger experience; he unplugged the Television, yet it still turned on and off in the same manner.
Ten minutes later, both the Television and Light went out simultaneously. After about five seconds, they turned back on; this time only the Television lit up, revealing a human face.
It was a bloody face resembling that of a horse, covered in blood with pieces of flesh peeling away, exposing horrifying raw meat. It appeared out of nowhere on the Television, then emitted an extremely eerie smile.
The entire occurrence lasted about ten seconds before the lights in the Residential Building came back on.
A young man from the Residential Building claimed that he did not have a television; that night he turned off his Light to play on his phone. However, at that moment, both his phone screen and the Light began to flicker simultaneously. At that moment, the Ghostly Face also appeared out of nowhere smiling at him. He was so frightened that he threw his phone onto the Ground, but strangely enough, after throwing it away, accompanied by flickering from the Light, his phone stood upright against the wall!
The fourth incident occurred behind the Residential Building at a Factory. The factory is called Iron Boron, employing about two hundred workers. Three nights ago, as usual, employees were working at their stations when suddenly there was a power outage; everything went dark.
The employees cheered in excitement because a power outage meant they could take a break.
However, when they left their workstations and reached the door, they found that the roll-up door of the metal building had closed without them noticing. They assumed their boss didn’t want them to leave and returned to their workstations to chat using their phones for light.
As they chatted, they noticed that there seemed to be more 'people' inside Iron Boron. Those they had never seen before stood silently behind them watching them chat without saying a word. No matter how loudly they shouted or screamed, those figures remained still and silent.
Some hot-tempered individuals attempted to push them away but found their hands passed right through them as if pushing through air.
Later, a worker shouted "Ghost!" Everyone looked over at the same time and discovered that behind the person who shouted stood a faceless flat figure. At that moment, their phone screens suddenly went black. When they turned their screens back on, they were shocked to find that those 'people' who had been standing motionless behind them were now staring at them with real faces.
"Did anything happen the night before last?" After hearing the four cases, I couldn't help but ask.
According to the Director's description, during the seven days after I entered the Underworld, something strange happened almost every night. First, the street near the Cemetery was set on fire. I guessed it must have been caused by Ghost Fire. Strictly speaking, Ghost Fire cannot burn people to death, but it can make one feel as if they are being burned by flames. Ghost Fire also cannot ignite physical objects, but it can lead to the emergence of True Fire.
For instance, stores selling items for the deceased usually light candles or incense. After scaring people, Ghost Fire would guide them to touch things that could cause a fire, leading to arson. The three people who were burned to death or injured were not harmed by Ghost Fire but were actually burned by True Fire.
The second incident was the Ghost Fire event at the International Trade Building. The security guard who didn't run away was clearly injured by Ghost Fire, which is why he had no visible wounds. It seems that Ghost Fire intended to scare people rather than kill them; thus, although the security guard was disoriented, he was not in life-threatening danger.
Moreover, as far as I know, my blind date Ernie works at the International Trade Building, although he is just a minor employee.
The third incident occurred at the Residential Building behind the International Trade Building. It was evident that ghosts were causing trouble there, but it could not be ruled out that they were causing disturbances after possessing someone.
As for the fourth incident, it had escalated into a riot.
"The night before last? Nothing happened then, but something significant did occur during the day," said the Police Chief. "All employees of the International Trade Building suddenly fell ill—over two thousand people in the entire building became sick. Doctors still haven't figured out what kind of illness it is. As for the Residential Building behind the International Trade Building, people moved in and out during the day; even the landlord didn't dare stay there anymore, turning it into a true no-man's land."
"The factory behind the Residential Building? The day after the incident, all employees collectively went on strike; those on night shifts even resigned!" The Director shook his head and continued, "As for yesterday, there were fewer than twenty people in total across the International Trade Building, Residential Building, and Factory combined."
The shopping festival was not mentioned by the Director because that place had already turned to ashes; it was impossible for anyone to remain there.
In this world, there are still some brave individuals who believe in ghosts. However, with several consecutive incidents occurring, it is hard not to believe. Moreover, these events were on a large scale; even if a few people did not believe, they wouldn't dare stay there any longer and could only choose to leave with the flow.
"Master Cao, we may have had some misunderstandings before," said the Police Chief. "I hope you won't take it too seriously. As for Cemetery over there, I've already sent more personnel; you can rest assured about that."
"Those matters are unimportant," I said. "I am a Paper Effigy Maker and someone who makes a living from Yin Yang affairs. Therefore, from my perspective, all these events have good explanations."
"Let's hear it," the Director said hurriedly. I organized my thoughts before slowly saying, “At the Cemetery, there is a Seven Gates Ghost Sealing Formation, but about nine days ago, someone accidentally damaged this Seven Gates Ghost Sealing Formation, causing the Three Directions Emperor Formation within to become loose.”
“The Emperor Formation became loose, and coincidentally that night, there was a Thunderstorm. So one of the tombstone's owners, Chen Xiong, took this opportunity to break free. After emerging from the ground, due to the heavy rain that night, he didn't have time to commit any crimes. The next day, despite being injured, he still lay low until the third day when he recovered and hurriedly recruited soldiers. However, recruiting soldiers requires military funds, which led to the fire in the Shopping District.”
“Hell Money and other items for the dead must be burned for the deceased to use them. Therefore, that fire was intended for financial gain rather than murder; as for those who tragically died, they simply had bad luck.”
“And then?” The Director did not refute me and asked, “And then?”
This was a good start; at least he did not dispute my statements. So I continued: “After acquiring money, Chen Xiong needed a territory—a place where he could train his soldiers and cultivate himself. Thus, he chose the International Trade Building!”
“The International Trade Building can be considered Chen Xiong's stronghold. He valued it because of its unique location.” I had not only heard of the International Trade Building but had also visited it. Its location belongs to Wolong Cave and is geographically advantageous; working at the International Trade Building ensures smooth sailing.
“What about afterwards? If what you say is true, then what about the Residential Building and Factory?” the Director asked.
I smiled slightly and continued: “The International Trade Building is his stronghold. Once the stronghold is established, naturally there needs to be a place for daily living and accommodation. In other words, the Residential Building is where Chen Xiong provides sleeping quarters for his soldiers, while the Factory serves as his training ground.”
“From what you say, Chen Xiong's ambition is quite large. A single International Trade Building could accommodate thousands if only administrative positions are arranged,” the Director said with a smile.
I also smiled. What I didn't say out loud was that once Chen Xiong recruited enough Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals, he could even wipe out everyone in the city and turn it into a Hell City.
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