Chapter 9

"That ghost seems to be gone."

When Yang Jian carefully retraced his steps, he did not see the ghost that had been chasing him.

Perhaps this was what they called a narrow escape leading to good fortune.

He opened the door and walked in, but suddenly froze.

A familiar corridor.

Looking back, it was the classroom he had escaped from earlier.

He had somehow returned to the door of the classroom on the fifth floor.

"What's going on? That door should lead to the toilet." Yang Jian felt increasingly bewildered.

"Cough, cough~!"

Suddenly, a weak and painful cough echoed.

"It's you, how did you come out of the classroom?"

A man in a windbreaker, pale and emaciated, leaned against the corridor, his bloodshot eyes watching Yang Jian with a hint of caution.

"Zhou Zheng?" Yang Jian was taken aback.

"I don't know what's happening either. When I left with them earlier, I was grabbed by a ghost and taken into the toilet. After finding a way out, I pushed the door open and found myself back here."

"Is that so? This is due to the ghost domain. It seems that thing doesn't want to let you go."

Zhou Zheng's eyes flickered. "However, in a ghost domain, there is only one powerful ghost. That powerful ghost is the old man in the black robe. He left earlier, so what you encountered should be a ghost slave."

"What is a ghost slave?" Yang Jian asked as he approached.

Zhou Zheng explained, "In a ghost domain, the things formed from people killed by the powerful ghost are controlled by the ghost master and unconditionally obey the powerful ghost's commands, much like servants in ancient landlords' households, hence the name 'ghost slave.' They are not as terrifying as powerful ghosts but still pose a significant threat to ordinary people like you..."

"Cough, cough, this ghost domain has only just formed, and ghost slaves have already appeared. It's a miracle you managed to survive and get out of here."

"But now is not the time to talk about this. Your appearance here is just in time."

He took out something that resembled a walkie-talkie.

"This is a satellite phone standard for international police. Take it and leave quickly. If you can get out of this place, someone will contact you afterward. Just tell the person who contacts you about the situation here." Zhou Zheng said, his face showing pain.

"Brother Police, what about you?" Yang Jian asked.

Zhou Zheng replied, "I've reached my limit. I used too much of the powerful ghost's power to hold back that old man earlier. That thing is about to awaken. Those who can control the powerful ghost's power are called ghost masters, but the ghost will also gradually control the person. My existence, neither human nor ghost, is a torment... Ah~!"

Before he could finish, he suddenly let out a painful scream and fell to the ground, struggling.

As he struggled, his wide windbreaker opened.

Yang Jian was shocked. Under the windbreaker was a highly swollen belly, larger than that of a pregnant woman. The skin was slightly transparent, and inside was a fetus the size of a four- or five-year-old child.

The fetus was entirely blue-black, with sharp nails on its hands and pitch-black eyes without pupils. It writhed and tore inside, trying to break through the skin to come out.

"What, what is this?"

"A ghost fetus, that's what the files call it."

Zhou Zheng endured the pain. "At first, it was only the size of a thumb. Each time I used the powerful ghost's power, it grew a little. Even without using it, it would still grow. It has eaten all the intestines and organs in my belly. Every day, I endure the pain of it gnawing on my insides, and I can't sleep at night..."

"Even now, with all my organs eaten by this ghost fetus, leaving only an empty belly, I should have died long ago. But I can't die. For me, living is a torment, and death is a release."

"Go, take this phone and leave."

He threw the phone and shouted, "If you don't leave now, the ghost fetus will come out, and there will be two powerful ghosts here, making it even harder for you to escape."

Yang Jian picked up the phone, looking at Zhou Zheng's painful expression, and involuntarily touched his hand. He had experienced this pain before.

Ghost master?

Could he have become like Zhou Zheng?

"Sorry, I let you down. That old man was too powerful, and I couldn't hold him back. I couldn't take you students out. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourselves."

Zhou Zheng saw Yang Jian pick up the phone and smiled bitterly.

Yang Jian asked, "Since you know so much, why did you stay behind at the beginning? You could have left safely if you wanted to. There was no need to stay and die with us."

"Because I am a police officer and a ghost master. Only people like us can deal with ghosts. If we were afraid of death, the world would be doomed... I do this job not just for the country and the people, but also for my family and myself."

Zhou Zheng's mouth twitched, and his pain intensified. He felt he couldn't hold on any longer and suddenly shouted, "What are you waiting for? Go, leave now."

Yang Jian was startled and didn't dare to linger. He gripped the phone and ran.

"By the way, be careful of a student in your class named Fang Jing. I encountered him earlier, and he was very strange, not quite human... I can't be sure, but you should stay away from him. I've already reported him, and someone will investigate. Don't believe his talk about the future; it's impossible for anyone to travel from the future to the present. The research institute has conducted such experiments."

Zhou Zheng shouted as he struggled in pain.

"What?"

Yang Jian was surprised and turned back to look.

"Ah~!"

As soon as he turned, he heard a scream. He saw Zhou Zheng's belly being torn open, and a blue-black infant's arm reached out. The tear grew larger, and the ghost fetus's head emerged, curiously looking around like a newborn baby.

But the black eyes revealed a strange and evil nature.

Go!

Yang Jian was startled and quickly turned to run.

"Ha ha ha~"

As he ran down the stairs, the eerie laughter echoed in the corridor behind him, as if announcing its arrival.

The ghost fetus slowly crawled out of Zhou Zheng's body, and his swollen belly deflated like a deflating balloon.

No blood flowed, and no organs were visible, only some blackened flesh.

As he had said, his organs had been completely eaten by the ghost fetus.

"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry..."

Zhou Zheng's eyes gradually lost their light, becoming dull. His head fell to the side, and his life faded, but his eyes remained fixed on the ghost fetus slowly crawling in the direction Yang Jian had left.

Fourth floor, third floor...

"Great, I didn't get lost."

Yang Jian quickly descended the stairs, feeling a sense of relief.

He noticed that the stairs were no longer shrouded in darkness. Although it was dim, everything was clear, and there was no more ghostly maze.

Without darkness and no getting lost, if everything was normal, it would only take a few minutes to leave the school.

When he reached the second floor, he saw Zhang Wei, Miao Xiaoshan, and a few other classmates walking back and forth in the corridor, their faces filled with fear. They held their phones, lighting up the corridor, walking from one end to the other, and then turning around to walk back.

They had been doing this for a while.

It was as if they were trapped in some illusion, unable to escape.

"No, no, it's not that the ghost domain has disappeared or the darkness has retreated. It's that I can see through it all..." Yang Jian's face changed as he looked at the red eye on his hand.

Could this be the ability of a ghost master?

If so, this eye is... a ghost.

He remembered what Zhou Zheng had said about the ghost fetus in his belly, which started as small as a fingernail and grew to its current size.

If that was true, what would this ghost eye become later?

Would it also turn into a powerful ghost and consume him?

Thinking of Zhou Zheng's situation, Yang Jian felt a chill and looked at the eye on his hand with fear.

The joy of seeing through the ghost domain vanished instantly.

"Even if I will be killed by this eye in the future, that's a problem for later. The priority now is to leave this place."

Yang Jian bit his lip to stop himself from overthinking and walked towards Zhang Wei and the others.

But in Zhang Wei's eyes, everything around them was still dark.

The light from their phones only illuminated a meter around them, and beyond that, it was unclear.

"Zhang Wei, we've been walking for half an hour and still can't get out. Will we be trapped here forever?" Miao Xiaoshan said nervously.

"That Zhou Zheng said this is a ghost domain. Do you know what a ghost domain is? Could there really be ghosts? Could what happened in the classroom be a supernatural event? If there are really ghosts, we might never get out." Another student said cautiously.

Zhang Wei said seriously, "Don't worry, we won't be trapped here forever. That's impossible. Believe me, we'll starve to death in a few days, not forever."

"..."

At a time like this, you're still making jokes.

Suddenly.

"Tap, tap, tap~!" A series of footsteps echoed from the darkness.

"Who, who's there?"

Zhang Wei tensed up, and the others were on edge, trembling in fear.

"Don't be nervous, it's me, Yang Jian."

Yang Jian's voice came from the darkness.

"Stop, don't, don't come closer. How do I know it's really you? What if you're a ghost in disguise?" Zhang Wei said.

"Zhang Wei, when are you going to stop being so fussy? It's dangerous here. I can lead you out, and you won't get lost if you follow me."

He had come to save Zhang Wei and the others. If he didn't, they would surely die. Although he had a grudge with Fang Jing, he had no issues with them.

Additionally, with two powerful ghosts in the ghost domain, the situation was likely to become even more terrifying.

"Wait, if you're really Yang Jian, what's my English name? You only get one chance. If you get it wrong, you're not human." Zhang Wei said.

"Wodejier Yingbangbang..." Yang Jian replied.

Zhang Wei sighed in relief. "It really is you, not a ghost. You scared me. Good thing I learned to use a code phrase."