Mysterious Awakening

"This is an outdated plan,"

Yang Jian concluded after seriously examining the proposal.

The conditions for completing this plan were very harsh.

It required both groups to reach a state of not being alone, and also for one group to have the courage to sacrifice themselves.

Because by lighting the Ghost Candle and drawing the ghost away, the group that does so would not be attacked, but they were doomed to never leave the Ghost Domain. They would be forever followed by the ghost behind them. As for why the other group would survive and leave safely, Yang Jian did not know; this would require a personal attempt to understand.

However, at the very bottom of the parchment, a line of writing that seemed unfinished caught Yang Jian’s attention.

"Perhaps I can find a way to make that ghost misjudge the number..."

Yang Jian paused slightly when he saw this last sentence.

Make the ghost misjudge the number?

Your journey continues at

If such a mistaken judgment were made, the ghost would target an individual who was alone and would not attack others.

But, how could that be possible?

This was even more difficult than gathering two groups of people together.

"No, maybe it really is possible."

Yang Jian immediately dismissed the idea of impossibility that had entered his mind and then realized what the parchment was suggesting he do.

Use that blood-stained old newspaper to alter the ghost’s memory.

Only then might the ghost misjudge the number of ghosts.

"But can one change a ghost’s memory, is that realistic?" This doubt surfaced in his mind once again.

Not to mention the dangers of direct contact with the ghost while altering its memory but whether the blood-stained old newspaper actually had the ability to change a ghost’s memory.

Implanting memories in a ghost, altering memories; it all sounded so unrealistic.@@novelbin@@

Do ghosts even have memories?

Perhaps they do, perhaps they don’t, but that’s not important. What’s important is that ghosts don’t act according to memories, and even if one successfully altered the memories with the blood-stained old newspaper, it was still uncertain whether it would be effective. ℞𝘢ŊŐ₿Ε𝙎

Even if it were effective.

Could memories altered by the old newspaper really affect a ghost?

Yang Jian did not know because he had never tried it; he only knew that the old newspaper was useful for people and for Ghostmasters, but he had never tried it on a complete ghost.

"Could this be another trap on the human skin parchment? It didn’t tell me to use the old newspaper to change the memory of that ghost, just to find a way to make the ghost misjudge the number," Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly, feeling that there might be a potential trap.

If he wasn’t careful, not only might he lose the Ghost Rope, but the blood-stained old newspaper would likely not be preserved either.

Or perhaps the trap isn’t here at all but in the contact with that ghost.

To change the ghost’s memory, a direct confrontation is necessary.

This is the most dangerous part, for if the endeavor fails, it would result in a total wipeout.

There are many places where traps could be hidden. Yang Jian was wary, somewhat unclear whether the human skin parchment truly wished to help him survive this supernatural event or intended to ensure his death here.

"Yang Jian, what are you looking at?"

Zhang Lei noticed he had been silent the entire trip, seemingly staring at a piece of paper, completely unfocused on the surroundings.

"Nothing much. I’m considering a way to leave here alive. We can’t resolve this supernatural event on our own; survival is already the greatest luxury we can hope for. The headquarters have said the same; there’s no need for us to confront that ghost. We just need to survive," Yang Jian said as he slightly lifted his head and clenched the human skin parchment in his palm, keeping it from other people’s view.

"If we gather enough people, we should be able to leave this place, right? At least we won’t have to worry about being killed by the ghost," Wang Jiang also came over and whispered.

"Gathering enough people is just the first step to survival, but don’t forget, we are still within this ghost’s Ghost Domain. This Ghost Domain is very unusual; it does not influence the surrounding objects nor does it cause us to have hallucinations. It hasn’t formed a strange, special space. It just traps us in the training base, preventing us from leaving."

Yang Jian surveyed his surroundings, "If this situation persists, something terrible that we can’t predict will definitely happen."

"Ghosts don’t trap us in one place for no reason. Even if we gather enough people to avoid the ghost’s killing pattern for now, this balance can’t last forever. As long as we keep staying here, there’s still the possibility of being killed."

"Yang Jian is right, we can’t stay in the same place with such a terrifying ghost. Who knows what might happen if too much time passes," said the woman named Huang Ziya, full of worry.

Everyone nodded in agreement, deeply convinced.

"So, have you thought of any way to leave?" Zhang Lei asked.

Yang Jian responded, "Still thinking. Right now, finding the others is more important. The ghost is still killing, still growing. If we can’t withstand this first wave of attacks, no other thoughts will matter."

If the number of ghosts on their side was surpassed, they would have no chance of even facing a ghost. With all of their ghosts suppressed, they would have no means to fight back, only to be harvested by that ghost.

Everyone felt heavy-hearted.

The joy of escaping death quickly dissipated, replaced by a lingering shadow of death over their hearts, creating a suffocating feeling that was inescapable.

But their desire to survive drove them to do the right things, seeking that sliver of hope for survival.

After all, those who made it to the training base were ghost controllers whose mental strength was at least somewhat stronger than that of average people. Otherwise, in the face of despair, death, and terror, some would have already collapsed.

Time was critical.

The search for other people picked up pace.

Because of the existence of the ghosts, everyone couldn’t split up to search. Faced with the vastness of the training base and severe visibility issues, the efficiency of the search was very low. Up to this point, they hadn’t found any ghost controllers besides themselves.

So far, they were still five people, with the number of ghosts at: 8.

"Damn it, where the hell are the others? Not a single sign of them. We’ve searched almost half the area and still haven’t found anyone else," someone was starting to panic, their tone not so much angry but filled with an inexplicable terror.

"If this keeps up, our situation will likely become very bad," Wang Jiang also looked somewhat dejected.

Zhang Lei’s pale, rigid face showed a faint sign of anger, "Don’t talk about that useless crap. We all made it out of the dormitory building alive, and that shows that this supernatural event isn’t completely hopeless for us. As long as we work hard, we will be able to leave here alive."

He was comforting these people, but also trying to stifle that spark of crumbling emotion.

"Look ahead."

Suddenly, Huang Ziya, who had been observing their surroundings, pointed ahead somewhat nervously.

There was a concrete road with greening trees by the sides, but in the middle of the road lay a pool of blood and half of a mangled corpse. Nearby, there were also numerous signs of a struggle.

This was a ghost controller who had been killed.

Seeing this scene, everyone’s eyes narrowed, and a chill rose from the bottom of their hearts.

The ghost had been here not long ago, killed a person who was alone, took the ghost from his body, and then left.

As a result, the number of ghosts that could be suppressed had increased again, maybe 7, or perhaps... 8.

If it was the former, they still had a little time to breathe. If it was the latter, once the ghost killed another person, all five of them would become isolated, and the outcome would be fatal.

"Yang Jian, do we still have any hope if we keep going like this?" Wang Jiang asked him, looking frightened, his tone tinged with despair.

With each person the ghost killed, they were one step closer to death, yet they had made no progress so far. This way, death seemed like an inevitable conclusion.

At this moment, Yang Jian stopped walking, his eyes fixated on the torn body as he frowned slightly.

He too had a premonition: if they continued this contest with the fierce ghost, they were bound to die. Their pace of gathering others was far slower than the ghost’s killing speed.

"This won’t do. We need to change the method, or everyone will die, including me."

He murmured to himself, then glanced at the human skin paper in his hand, a dangerous plan forming in his mind.

"Yang Jian, what are you saying?" Zhang Lei didn’t hear clearly and asked again.

Yang Jian didn’t elaborate, he simply took something out of his luggage bag.

A white candle.