txolops Chapter 641 An even more terrifying mystery hidden in the shadows
Chapter 641 An even more terrifying mystery hidden in the shadows
"Since the tricks can't affect gold, we need to prepare more gold."
Yang Jian was stationed at the temporary stronghold, taking stock of the gold sealing materials in stock and checking the repair list for the subsequent defense project. He planned to rely on these remaining special materials to get through the dangerous period when the strange fog spread.
Just then, the satellite communicator she carried suddenly emitted a crackling electrical noise, and the urgent voice of liaison officer Liu Ya came through:
"Yang Jian, something terrible has happened! The entire patrol team in the West District has lost contact. Ye Lin and He Chuan have completely lost signal. The last message came from Zhao Daming, who sent back the final message before losing contact: The team encountered a sudden, high-level, bizarre attack, and all members have been fatally attacked!"
"The bureau has made a temporary decision that no one from the West District team survived. Professor Wang Qiming has notified all surviving Ghost Tamers to immediately convene an emergency meeting across the entire region."
Yang Jian's fingers, which were gripping the communicator, tightened slightly, and his eyes instantly became extremely serious.
"Ye Lin and the other two are all dead?"
Ye Lin's combat strength and self-preservation ability are definitely among the top tier of existing field-based monster tamers.
His body is shrouded in a shroud, making him impervious to all evil. He is also home to two demonic beings within him. Even if he were to directly confront a fully formed third-tier demonic infant, he would be able to protect himself.
Even he was completely trapped, which is enough to prove that the danger level of that area in the West District shrouded in black fog has long exceeded ordinary understanding.
"I'll be right there."
Yang Jian put down what he was holding and hurriedly set off for the temporary command headquarters at the Central Gymnasium of Dacang City.
The huge venue was solemn and deathly silent. All the surviving Ghost Riders were present, except for the West District team's seats, which were completely empty.
On the notice board, the names of Zhao Daming, Ye Lin, and He Chuan have been uniformly marked with a black "death in the line of duty" symbol.
What no one knew was that deep inside an abandoned detached house on the outskirts of Dacang City, the real Zhao Daming was not dead at all.
The room was dark and enclosed, without a single light. The walls were mottled and blackened, and the air was filled with a thick, pungent stench of decay and eerie mist.
In the center of the room, four old wooden tablets were neatly arranged, with the names of his wife, children, and parents engraved on them. Below the tablets lay four long-cold and decaying corpses, shrouded in a faint black mist for years.
Zhao Daming, leaning on his golden cane, stood limping before the monument, his eyes devoid of any sorrow, only filled with near-mad obsession and icy killing intent.
Black mist swirled throughout the room, and a strange figure appeared and disappeared. Then, a line of eerie, blood-dripping crimson characters slowly emerged from the void, each word grotesque, hovering in mid-air:
"I will sacrifice the lives of an entire city to fulfill one of your wishes."
Zhao Daming stared at the line of blood-red words, his Adam's apple bobbing as he murmured in a low voice, his tone a mixture of suppressed caution and madness:
"You're not lying to me, are you? I've planned this for so long, activating the Seventh District's Ghost Domain, letting the Ghost Infant evolve, and sacrificing countless Ghost Tamers. If it all comes to nothing in the end... all my sacrifices will have been in vain."
The blood-red text in mid-air flickered slightly and refreshed again:
"The covenant is established, all spirits are sacrificed, blood relatives return, there is no falsehood."
A cold smile slowly crept onto Zhao Daming's tense lips, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as he stared intently at the direction shrouded in black mist in the city center.
"That's good. Soon, Yang Jian, Wang Qiming... all of you troublesome people will perish here, and the lives of millions of people in Dacang City will soon become the nourishment for my family's resurrection."
Zhao Daming remained hidden in the shadows, unknown to anyone. The Starving Ghost was merely the one on the surface; there was another equally terrifying, or even more terrifying, ghost within him.
He would remain silent and bide his time, waiting for Yang Jian and his party to step into the death trap that had been tailor-made for them.
Meanwhile, inside the conference room of the stadium.
Wang Qiming, who had been immersed in paranormal data analysis and the dissection of strange infant samples for days and nights, strode into the meeting room.
His eyes were bloodshot and his face was haggard. The intense work he had been doing for days had completely drained his energy.
Without wasting any words, he immediately activated the holographic projection, projecting the last coordinates of the missing persons in Xicheng District onto the large screen. His voice was tired but serious:
"Before Ye Lin's team completely lost contact, the communication device automatically uploaded a set of abnormal characters in the last second, which was the only clue they left us."
Two clear images popped up on the screen: a single number 7, followed by the number 4396.
"Everyone is free to speak, make bold guesses and analyses, and tell us what these two sets of numbers actually mean."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the room frowned, their eyes fixed on the two sets of numbers on the screen, and a murmur of discussion immediately rose and fell in the room.
Lin Zhou, a newly recruited field agent specializing in controlling strange creatures, was the first to speak up and speculate: "Could it be a wave of attacks from the Strange Infants? The number 7 represents the seventh wave of Strange Infant tides, and the 4396 that follows is the estimated range of the strange creatures?"
Another veteran field team member immediately shook his head in rebuttal:
"That's too far-fetched. In an emergency, it's impossible to have such detailed batch estimates in advance. I think it's most likely that it was a random typo in a panic, and it has no reference value whatsoever."
"It can't be gibberish," another team member, Shen Yue, immediately denied.
"Ye Lin is experienced. He would never send a message in a desperate situation without a reason. The two sets of characters are clear and independent, which must be key clues left intentionally."
Some hesitated and speculated: "Could 7 be the code name for the seventh block? And 4396... could that be the number of people trapped there?"
Various speculations emerged. Some thought it was a coordinate scale, some thought it was the number of parasites, and some were convinced it was meaningless gibberish. The debate raged on, but no one could come to a reliable conclusion.
Just as everyone was at a stalemate in their discussion, Yang Jian, who had been quietly listening to everyone's argument from the corner, finally slowly raised his eyes and spoke.
"No need to guess any unnecessary possibilities. The number 7 refers to the location of the incident, the seventh block."
He paused, his gaze falling on the long string of numbers, and said coldly:
"As for the number 4396, it is most likely the number of ghost infants that Ye Lin observed with his naked eye before he died."
The moment those words were spoken, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
The discussions and hesitations on everyone's faces froze, replaced by extreme shock and disbelief.
"Impossible! There are 4,396 monstrous infants? How is that possible!"
"That's right, it's impossible. How could more than four thousand fully formed demonic infants have developed in such a short time? The development speed is outrageous. If there really is such a large swarm of demonic infants, how can we fight back with our limited manpower and sealing tools? We have no chance at all!"
The atmosphere in the arena was completely unsettled, and panic and despair quietly spread.
Countless people turned pale, shaking their heads in disbelief, completely unable to accept this terrifying data.
Despite the uproar, Yang Jian remained calm and indifferent, offering no further explanation or attempt to appease the crowd.
Further discussion is pointless.
Whether those present believed it or not, it couldn't change the established facts of the destruction of the West District and the terrifying surge in the number of ghost infants. The outcome was already predetermined; Yang Jian had never been one to offer many explanations or justifications.
The atmosphere in the venue was tense, with panicked discussions rising and falling. Everyone was trembling with fear at the sight of more than four thousand high-level ghost infants.
Seeing this, Wang Qiming was about to raise his hand to suppress the noise and speak to calm everyone down and restore morale, because at any time, morale must not be low.
"Everyone……"
Just then, a field liaison officer rushed in, his face pale and his steps hurried. He quickly ran to the front desk and whispered an urgent report:
"Professor Wang, something terrible has happened! A major paranormal event has just occurred at the Jingfu luxury apartment complex in the city center. The entire building has been sealed off by black mist, and numerous wails are continuously emanating from inside."
These words resounded like a thunderclap in the meeting hall.
Wang Qiming's remaining composure crumbled instantly, his face darkening to an extreme degree, his brows furrowing tightly.
The most worrying variable has indeed occurred ahead of schedule.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the heavy weight surging in his heart, and solemnly declared in front of everyone:
"Everyone, immediately stop any unnecessary discussion, get ready and stand by. Thirty minutes from now, everyone will assemble and depart, our destination being the Jingfu Apartment in the city."
"We must personally investigate the true situation of this sudden paranormal event, figure out the strange rules, and understand the true source of the outbreak of the ghost infants."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room turned deathly pale.
The shadow of the more than four thousand eerie infants in the Seventh District still weighs on everyone's minds, and now they are about to actively venture into a brand new supernatural dead zone, which everyone is very resistant to.
But now the entire city is besieged by black fog, and all outside help has been cut off. They no longer have the right to retreat or escape.
Despite their reluctance, the group of demon tamers could only grit their teeth, nod, and solemnly accept the order.
"Yes."
After all the tasks were assigned, Wang Qiming waved his hand, instructing all team members to leave the field first to organize the sealing tools and prepare for action.
The noisy venue was quickly cleared out, and the huge space instantly became quiet.
Only Yang Jian and Wang Qiming remained in the room.