Beep beep beep.
I stared quietly at the number on my phone. It was Hugh Thompson calling—his tenth attempt already. I didn't answer. This phone was given to me by The Engineer; Ethan Zhang used it before me. There's a Bing app installed, but I have no idea why The Engineer handed me this phone. After all, I'm not Ethan Zhang. The Spectral Juggernaut they engineered from his corpse has vanished, and the app is basically useless now.
It was already past midnight. Everything around me had fallen silent, except for a few faint streetlights still glowing. The phone rang again—call number eleven.
I let out a cold, bitter laugh and still didn't intend to answer. Instead, I turned off the volume and vibration, then shoved the phone into my pocket.
"That bastard, John Chou."
I muttered under my breath. The news was out—Illusory Realm? I had no idea where that space actually existed, but Ethan Zhang was in the Illusory Realm. I wanted to tell someone about it—Rachel Lan. But I didn’t know where she was. John Chou had taken her somewhere, and their whereabouts were a mystery. At least ten days had passed since they disappeared. I visited Rachel’s home several times during that period, and each time I saw her crying. I wanted to give her hope, but on second thought, I decided against it.
"Maybe it's better this way. Cruel truth forces people to grow. Everything has changed, and Rachel herself must become stronger."
I stood up, planning to head back to the bay, but for some reason I couldn't move my feet at all. The phone in my pocket kept flashing a red light. In the end, I pulled it out—call number nineteen.
"At this point, there's nothing left to say, Hugh Thompson."
"Ah, Earthly Soul, hearing is deceptive but seeing is believing. I want to take you somewhere, and tell you more about us."
Two minutes later, I arrived at a deserted road in the northern district. An SUV was speeding by—I landed directly on its roof with a whoosh, then slipped inside and took the passenger seat. The smell of smoke lingered nearby.
"What do you want me to see?"
I asked. Hugh Thompson smiled with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"You'll know when we get there. That disaster years ago—it looked like a curse, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise."
"Everything has changed. Nothing is the same anymore."
Hugh Thompson nodded. I stared out the window at the world rushing by. For some reason, Ethan Zhang’s shadow kept appearing in my mind—he would never bow to evil, not now, not ever.
"I’m not asking for your forgiveness, Earth Soul. Because all of this..."
"Enough with the pointless talk. In those two years after Ethan Zhang left, you all helped me a lot—especially you, Hugh Thompson. I don’t blame you. Nobody wants to die in times like these."
Hugh Thompson smiled faintly, still driving along the old, rough road. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I’d noticed fresh tire tracks on the ground—lots of cars had passed through here today.
"I’ve asked in detail. The members of the Ghost Burial Squad taken by the Immortality Society—Miles Mao, Howard Lee, Dalton Fang—they’re all different now. And so are the trainees."
I had no idea what Hugh Thompson wanted to say, but it looked like we’d arrived. I sensed a heavy presence of ghostly energy ahead—a newly built village at the edge of the woods. There were orchards on the mountainside and farmland on both sides, but it seemed the village was deserted.
"Are we here to deal with these ghosts?"
I asked. Hugh Thompson nodded, and drove straight into the village. I felt something strange—there seemed to be a fight happening nearby.
"See for yourself first."
Without thinking, I turned into a streak of black lightning and rushed to the battlefield. Purple flashes lit up the area. I saw Howard Lee leading six members of the Ghost Burial Squad. Among them was a girl named Claire Zhang. She’d once been captured by Cao Wanzhi and never came back, taken by the Immortality Society. She looked much more grown up now.
Howard Lee shouted resolutely as the six around him quickly set up a formation. By a tree in the distance, a wraith crouched—clearly one of the more powerful spirits. But in its eyes was pure fear.
The air was thick with sound as purple talismans flew at the wraith. Howard Lee moved with the grace of a swallow, sword raised, and stabbed directly at the wraith in the tree.
With a scream, the wraith was bound by a golden light and dragged to the ground. Howard Lee drove his sword into its chest. The six trainees rushed in, forming seals with their hands, then performed the sealing ritual. Soon, the wraith was locked inside a jar, completely contained.
Everything before me left me stunned. Five years ago, the Ghost Burial Squad would have died fighting a wraith like this with so few people. But now, their coordination and strength were on a whole new level. I had no idea what changes they’d gone through in those five years, but it was incredible. Thinking back to what Hugh Thompson wanted me to see—it was clear the Ghost Burial Squad had become something else. Their power was what mattered. I let out a cold, bitter laugh.
I watched the seven members of the Ghost Burial Squad celebrate. Howard Lee laughed heartily.
"You all did well. After we get back tonight, we can take a break—a few days off to enjoy ourselves."
"Howard, let's all have dinner tomorrow to celebrate the successful mission."
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Claire Zhang giggled, her smile blooming like a flower, pure joy radiating from her face. I watched silently. The difference from before was clear—the atmosphere of fear and sadness was gone. Back when I was still mentally unstable, the Ghost Burial Squad was totally different. Whenever they responded to a supernatural event, it was like heading into battle—because they could die. But now, they had confidence. They smiled.
A group of them joked as they passed by me. They couldn't see or sense my presence. Even with all their progress, in my eyes, their power was still insignificant.
I returned to the village entrance. Howard Lee and the others looked surprised to see Hugh Thompson standing there.
"Hugh, what are you doing here? This was a minor problem—it's fine now."
"You all head back. I have a few things to handle and will leave soon."
Howard Lee looked at Hugh Thompson in confusion, but in the end they all got into the black van and left.
After Howard Lee and the others had left for a while, I landed in front of Hugh Thompson.
"Is this what you wanted me to see?"
Hugh Thompson lit a cigarette, took a drag, and nodded. Smoke curled around him, and his face was etched with resignation.
"I've already negotiated with the major sects. They'll regularly send people to join the Ghost Burial Squad and help us train capable recruits. Over a hundred trainees have returned, and their strength has greatly increased. It may not seem like much to you, but it's enough to keep the Living World safe."
Hugh Thompson continued, explaining what had happened over the nearly three years since they were taken.
It was just as Old Stone said—those who were taken were first forced to fight each other, only the victor could survive. But even before that, the Immortality Society had tampered with their bodies. As long as the soul wasn’t destroyed, they could be revived.
This process repeated countless times. According to Miles Mao, most people grew numb to life and death. But what they didn’t expect was the next phase—they were separated out, made to battle ghosts, the ones the Immortality Society had captured for experiments.
During this ordeal, the Immortality Society even brought in specialists from the occult world to instruct and educate them. They learned a lot—far from the cruel experiments you'd expect. The only catch was, they couldn’t leave the Society’s facilities.
Gradually, they stopped fearing ghosts. Step by step, the Immortality Society finally released them. When they returned, the authorities immediately sent a new director. Hugh Thompson didn’t know who he was at first, until John Chou sought him out and talked all night.
I couldn’t make sense of the Immortality Society’s methods, and was deeply shocked. They weren’t the type to do things like this. But soon, I found myself laughing.
"Maybe they’re not so bad after all. Who knows?"
I laughed at myself. Hugh Thompson said nothing more and got into the car.
"Earthly Soul, maybe this is hard for you to accept, but since the Ghost Burial Squad was founded centuries ago, it has always existed to protect the Living World from ghosts—to protect people. Power is necessary. In the past two years, those of us left have been running ourselves ragged. With no one to manage the Living World, ghosts roam everywhere, and incidents keep happening. Rely on the occultists? The Underworld? Or those ghost lords?"
I looked up at Hugh Thompson. Fury burned in his eyes.
"None of them. We can only rely on ourselves. Remember this, Earthly Soul—Ethan may be gone, but what he taught us, every member of the Ghost Burial Squad remembers. We won't forget. Earthly Soul."