"Hello, is this 110? I want to report something—I just saw a ghost!"
Around 2 a.m., the Nanyang City Police Department's operator picked up the phone, frustration evident in their voice. "Stop wasting police resources, or you'll be detained for disrupting public order!"
Operator Xiao Wang was especially irritated. Recently, people had been filing reports about spotting a Qing Dynasty princess walking a cat around the old textile factory site at night. Ridiculous! Though the criminal investigation team had taken these reports seriously at first, every trip to investigate came up empty. After two months, everyone had grown tired of these absurd claims.
But tonight, someone dared to make another "ghost report." Who even believes in this nonsense anymore? What a lunatic!
Xiao Wang didn't hang up immediately—it wouldn't do to get a complaint for bad service. She set the receiver aside and returned to her files. A string of theft cases had kept her busy lately, leaving little time for nonsense.
On the other end of the line, Jiang Jianjun was panicking. Hearing no response from the phone, he hesitated, unsure what to do next.
Despite his streetwise reputation in the Xixiang area, Jiang Jianjun wasn't fearless when it came to unnatural phenomena.
In his luxurious bedroom, Jiang lit a cigarette, trying to steady his nerves. Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around his neck, making him jump.
"What's wrong, dear? Why aren't you sleeping?"
The voice belonged to a woman with long hair, looking about 26 or 27 years old. She had delicate features but was noticeably younger than Jiang Jianjun, who was in his 40s.
Jiang grabbed her roughly, and the woman melted into his arms. "You're so annoying—let's just sleep."
"Sleep? No way! Come here!"
Sleep was out of the question. The earlier fright had left Jiang on edge. He needed a distraction to calm down.
Annoyed, the woman was about to protest when Jiang kissed her. His thoughts shifted away from the boy he'd seen on the surveillance footage earlier.
Maybe he'd been too tired and imagined it.
...
Meanwhile, downstairs in the villa...
Lin Feng sat on a couch in the opulent living room, comparable in grandeur to the Qingzhu Mountain Estate. In the moonlight, he picked up an apple from the fruit tray and took a bite.
"Boss, what's the plan now?" asked Niu Meng. If Jiang Jianjun had come downstairs at that moment, he'd have been horrified to see the room full of ghosts, their chilling aura permeating the air.
Lin Feng glanced at his karma points mission log and finally spoke.
"Who among you is good at the Phantom Soul Curse? We need to create an illusion to scare him unconscious. The target has blood on his hands—try to get a confession."
The room fell silent.
"Boss... you know me—I'm only good at my Flying Soul Kick. Illusions aren't my strong suit," grumbled Niu Meng.
"Boss... my Head-Plucking Technique can trigger illusions, but it could accidentally kill a regular person," said the headless ghost, wearing a large doll mask, apologetically.
"Boss, you know my deal—skinning and killing I can handle, but interrogations aren't my thing!" The flayed ghost sat on the couch, blood dripping, and shrugged.
"My lord... my ghost arts cover a wide area. The woman upstairs might get scared to death if I use them," added the grinning ghost. He didn't dare take on the task, knowing Lin Feng had no tolerance for harming the innocent—he'd already dealt with the long-tongued ghost and the starving ghost for such offenses.
All eyes eventually turned to Ah Chou.
Shrinking behind Niu Meng, Ah Chou muttered timidly, "Boss... I really can't do it..."
The flayed ghost grinned slyly. "Why not, little sister Ah Chou? Didn't you learn shapeshifting at Qingzhu Mountain? With the veil boss gave you—a magic artifact that hides your ghostly aura and mimics human skin—you could disguise yourself as that woman and lure Jiang out of the room. Then reveal your true form!"
Lin Feng's eyes lit up. That was indeed a good plan. Letting Ah Chou approach Jiang Jianjun as the woman could at least draw him out, ensuring no innocent bystanders were harmed.
After some thought, Ah Chou nodded reluctantly. "But how do we make him confess? I can only lure him out. I don't know how to trap him in a maze."
The flayed ghost chuckled. "Boss's Phantom Soul Curse rivals the headless ghost's skills. Let the boss handle it!"
Lin Feng retorted, "Phantom Soul Curse doesn't work on the living!"
The flayed ghost confidently pulled out a foul-smelling piece of human skin. "Boss, if you're not picky, wear this—it'll let you use ghost techniques on the living!"
Stunned, Lin Feng asked, "Are you sure wearing this will let me use ghost techniques on humans?"
"I'm certain!" The flayed ghost guaranteed.
Skeptical but trusting the experienced ghost, Lin Feng and Ah Chou quietly climbed the stairs. The sound of their footsteps echoed ominously in the still night.
Inside the second-floor bedroom, Jiang Jianjun suddenly froze and asked the woman beside him, "A-Mei, did you hear footsteps?"
Annoyed, A-Mei complained, "There's no sound! Are you trying to avoid me?"
Ignoring her, Jiang grabbed something and headed for the door.
As the bedroom door opened, Lin Feng and Ah Chou, halfway up the stairs, froze. Jiang Jianjun, a slightly overweight middle-aged man, appeared—and in his hand was a gun!
Damn!
Lin Feng's ghostly disguise rendered him invisible to the eye but not intangible. If Jiang bumped into him, there was no doubt that gun would leave him full of holes!
Just as Jiang was about to collide with Lin Feng, he stopped and reached for the light switch.
In an instant, the room was illuminated. Lin Feng found himself face-to-face with Jiang Jianjun. The gun was pointed dangerously close to his leg.
The boss of Night Enchantment Bar no longer wore his usual Buddha-like smile. Instead, his face was filled with vigilance. Bare-chested, he turned on the light and swept his gaze over the staircase. Seeing nothing unusual, he leaned over to check downstairs, pointing the dark muzzle of his gun at any spot that might seem suspicious.
"What's going on tonight? Did I really see a ghost?"
After a thorough sweep, Jiang Jianjun shut off the light, his unease lingering.
Lin Feng, watching Jiang head toward the bathroom, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He whispered to Ah Chou, "Keep the woman in the room occupied for a while. I'll take care of this."
Ah Chou expressed her concern. "Feng-ge, you're still in your mortal form. I'm worried…"
Lin Feng reassured her, "If he starts shooting, I might not hold up. But if I use the Phantom Soul Curse, even his bullets won't hurt me much. Don't worry."
Only then did Ah Chou relax. She knew that if Lin Feng activated the Phantom Soul Curse, Jiang Jianjun's bullets would have no real impact in the illusion. Besides, in the illusion, whether Jiang could even see Lin Feng was debatable.
Inside the spacious, 30-square-meter bathroom, Jiang stood by the toilet, relieving himself. The strange occurrences earlier had unsettled him. There's a saying: "A clear conscience fears no ghost." Unfortunately, Jiang's guilty conscience had him seeing phantoms everywhere. His anxiety was tied to an incident a few weeks ago when, in a drunken rage, he had killed someone.
Jiang Jianjun had built his empire through violence. While he now presented himself as a successful businessman with a Buddha-like demeanor, his past told a different story. At 16, he had already done time, and though he distanced himself from gang life as he grew older, his ruthlessness never waned.
Jiang's thoughts drifted to the crime. He clearly remembered bashing the young man to death with a heavy ashtray. The boy had begged for mercy, but Jiang had savored the thrill of control.
"Zhang Chen… Heh. Your girlfriend was throwing herself at me for ages. You just had bad timing, walking in on us. If you hadn't tried to blackmail me for a million and threatened my daughter, you might still be alive. Blame your own greed!"
Jiang flushed the toilet, his voice filled with venom. He convinced himself that Zhang had sealed his fate by being too ambitious.
"Is that so? Then how did you kill him?"
A sudden voice echoed in the bathroom. Jiang Jianjun jumped, startled.
The lights went out abruptly. Heart pounding, Jiang shouted, "Who's there?"
"You tell me."
The shower curtain rustled slightly. A leg slipped out.
"Don't play games with me!" Jiang shouted. Gritting his teeth, he raised his gun and fired.
Gunshots rang out in the confined bathroom. The shadow behind the curtain was hit repeatedly, blood splattering everywhere as it collapsed into the bathtub. Yet moments later, the figure climbed back out. Its face was a grotesque mess, shattered by bullets.
It was Zhang Chen.
Click. The magazine was empty.
Jiang Jianjun stared in disbelief. He blinked, and Zhang Chen's bloodied corpse disappeared from the tub.
"Ghosts… It's a ghost! Ah Mei! Help me! Ah Mei!" Jiang screamed as he bolted toward the door. But it wouldn't budge, as if locked from the outside.
Suddenly, water began gushing from the sink, toilet, and showerhead simultaneously, rising rapidly to cover Jiang's ankles.
"What the hell is this?! Wait… Is this—? Aahhhh! Blood!"
The liquid was no longer water but blood, the stench of iron thick in the air. Trapped in the bathroom, Jiang Jianjun was overwhelmed by terror.
As the blood rose higher, bubbles began forming and popping. A bloated, lifeless body surfaced—it was Zhang Chen.
"I died so unjustly, Jiang Jianjun. You must pay with your life…"
Though the body's eyes remained closed, it slowly sat upright, grinning eerily. Its face was pale and rigid, with a gaping wound at the back of its head where brain matter oozed out. Zhang Chen lunged at Jiang, grinning madly.
"No! Stay back! Zhang Chen, I'll pay you! I'll give you a million yuan! Just don't kill me!" Jiang stammered in terror, the smell of urine mixing with the stench of blood.
"A million? I want your life!"
Jiang screamed as Zhang Chen tackled him. Overwhelmed, Jiang passed out.
Ding! Karma Points mission complete. Reward: 1,000 points.
Achievement unlocked: Justice Served!
With the system's notification, the bathroom returned to normal. Lin Feng deactivated the Phantom Soul Curse and exhaled deeply.
Who would've thought this guy had a gun? That was a close call. Lin Feng swore to be more cautious with future assignments.
After ensuring Jiang was incapacitated, Lin Feng picked up the bathroom phone and mimicked Jiang's voice to call the police and confess. Though he wasn't initially inclined to intervene in mortal affairs, he'd promised Zhang Chen justice. He couldn't let the ghost down.
As he exited the bathroom, Lin Feng glanced at the bedroom. The young woman was lying on the bed, engrossed in her phone. Ah Chou lowered her head and muttered, "Feng-ge, she hasn't made a move. Should I knock her out?"
Lin Feng shook his head. "Let her be. Let's go."
This entire affair disgusted him. Zhang Chen had been unfortunate to have such a girlfriend—a gold digger who, even now, lounged on the murderer's bed.
Downstairs, Lin Feng found the ghosts lounging on the couch, watching TV. He scowled.
"Clean this place up! You're supposed to be enforcers of the underworld, not petty burglars!"
Muttering under his breath, Lin Feng cursed their incompetence.