I awkwardly covered myself, surrounded by pedestrians snapping photos. Just moments ago, I was desperately thinking I needed to suppress my Deathbane Aura, or it would cause a disaster. I didn't expect to instantly revert to human form, and the aura vanished in an instant.
Soon after, an ambulance arrived. Fortunately, this was a busy pedestrian area—although traffic was heavy, the cars moved slowly, so no one was seriously injured. Before long, the police came and took me away.
I was immediately identified as the culprit behind the twenty-three car pileup. I couldn't explain myself at all, nor could I say anything to the police.
Now, draped in an oversized trench coat and handcuffed, I sat in a chair while a police officer kept questioning me—why did I run out there, did I have any history of mental illness? I stayed silent, refusing to say a single word.
"Officer, may I make a phone call?"
I was told I couldn't make a call. I wanted to say I was a police officer too, but after thinking it over, I gave up. Staring at the handcuffs on my wrists, I was frustrated—I could easily turn into a ghost and escape, but then I remembered the police had already identified me.
I sat on pins and needles as the officer kept questioning me, leaving me at a loss. Back in that photo space, everything on me—including my ID card—had already been burned away.
After the police got nowhere with their questions, I was detained and taken to a holding cell. The neighboring cells were packed with people. I lay down, and just then, a sudden angry roar erupted next door.
"I'm innocent! Let me out! Let me out!"
I looked over. It was a young man, probably in his twenties, with a shaved head, wearing a white t-shirt. His arms were covered in colorful tattoos, making him look rather fierce. He wore both handcuffs and shackles, clearly agitated and desperate.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that he seemed familiar. The shaved-head guy—I'd seen him somewhere before, though I couldn't quite recall. It was already late at night, and people in the other holding cells started shouting for him to shut up. After yelling for a while, the bald guy could only sit down, looking thoroughly frustrated.
Just then, the bald guy turned to look at me. Our eyes met, and in that instant, I was sure I'd seen him before—but I still couldn't remember exactly who he was.
"Hey, isn't this Ethan Zhang? You haven't changed a bit. What happened? You used to be a model student—how did you end up like this?"
"Who are you?" I looked at the bald guy in confusion.
"What, you don't recognize me? Back in freshman year, we were in the same dorm. At first, anyway—after I got expelled for fighting, we never saw each other again."
"You're Jason Zheng?" I suddenly recognized him. He was my classmate; back in freshman year, we really did share a dorm. This guy used to hang out with street punks and even brought girls to our dorm, kicking all of us out.
I had no time to deal with him. I moved aside, thinking about how I could get in touch with the outside world.
"Well, well, Ethan Zhang, acting all tough now."
With a bang, Jason Zheng slammed his handcuffs against the iron bars beside me, acting all cocky as he stared at me. I couldn't be bothered with him—I was tired, and planned to get some sleep first.
But then, Jason Zheng suddenly started acting like he was on drugs, banging on the iron bars nonstop. I shot up from my bed, my eyes filled with murderous intent as I glared at him.
"Shut up, damn it."
Jason Zheng froze for a moment, then quieted down, apparently intimidated by me.
"Hey, Ethan Zhang, how did you end up in here? Tell me—I'm being transferred out tomorrow anyway. You were always the good student, how'd you get yourself arrested?"
After a while, Jason Zheng started talking again. Helpless, I sat up.
"What about you—how did you end up here?"
"Ethan Zhang, let me ask you something—do you believe in ghosts?"
Jason Zheng muttered quietly. I stared at him in surprise, then leaned closer, watching him intently.
"A buddy of mine—he got possessed. Haven't seen him for months."
I looked at Jason Zheng with some annoyance. I remembered—he was always like this, only ever telling half the story, never making sense, and you could never figure out what he was getting at.
From Jason Zheng's story, I learned that he used to have a close friend—a brother-in-arms. They both worked for a local boss, but a few months ago, because of some debts, the boss started looking for Jason's friend.
At first, Jason Zheng tried to cover things up. He really thought his friend had taken their boss's money, but in the end, he had no choice but to take the boss to find his friend. That's when the accident happened.
"Someone died."
As Jason Zheng spoke, his eyes went blank and his whole body started trembling. He seemed to be reliving something terrible, his expression growing frantic and fearful, his emotions spiraling out of control.
I was trying to figure out how to calm Jason Zheng down. Just then, a voice inside me reminded me—it was my shadow.
"Look into my eyes. Don't panic, just take it slow."
Jason Zheng looked up, and suddenly fell asleep. I stared in surprise, and at that moment, my shadow stood on the ground.
"Stop asking questions, Ethan Zhang—just look inside his head directly."
I grunted in response and slowly released my Specter Web, sending it into Jason Zheng's body. Gradually, I began to sense something.
One night, Jason Zheng led more than twenty people down a rundown alley lined with low buildings. He and his crew were in a place littered with trash, the environment harsh and squalid.
I remembered—this was an urban village called Wen Temple Village. Years ago, it was newly built, but as the city grew, the area was slated for demolition by Huawei. Many residents fiercely resisted, and even now, nobody wants to buy the land or houses. It sits in the northwest outskirts, near the suburbs.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest!)
After walking a while in Wen Temple Village, Jason Zheng and his crew arrived at a house. I saw someone walk up and kick the door open, shining a flashlight inside.
In the corner inside, a man was shivering. Just as someone was about to question him, the man suddenly turned his head. I saw his eyes—they didn't look human. That gaze reminded me of the guy I'd seen in the old district of North City, in that soon-to-be-demolished apartment building.
Then, in a matter of moments, the people with Jason Zheng twisted the man's neck and ripped out his organs. The whole scene was bloody. Jason Zheng crouched, trembling, at the street corner. For some reason, the man didn't kill him—instead, he walked right up to Jason, suddenly threw open his coat, and I saw a dog's head, red-eyed, jut out and bark wildly at Jason. Then the man left.
Jason Zheng was so terrified he ran home that night and went straight to bed. The incident happened just last night. Early this morning, the police arrested him, but he seems deeply traumatized and can't remember some things.
Now I fully understood what had happened. The problem was, how could I contact Hugh Thompson? Frustrated, I lay down on the hard wooden bed and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, I heard the sound of a door opening.
"Jason Zheng, come out. This officer has some questions for you."
Half-awake, I got up and yawned. Suddenly, I saw someone rushing toward me.
"Hey, Ethan—what are you doing here, brother?"
I quickly opened my eyes and looked at the short, round-faced, slightly chubby guy in front of me. He was from the Ghost Burial Squad—I recognized him right away. He was from Team 7, named Leo Li. Because of his round face, everyone called him Little Round.
"Little Round..."
I started to say, then quickly stopped. He just smiled.
"It's fine."
I quickly told him what had happened and asked him to find a way to get me out. Less than half an hour after he left, a police officer came in and told me I could go.
Soon after, Jason Zheng was also brought out. Sure enough, there was a Ghost Burial Squad van parked in the police station courtyard. Leo Li explained that the night before, something extremely bloody had happened here, and since there were no cameras and the victims looked like they'd been mauled by wild animals, the Ghost Burial Squad had to step in.
Now Jason Zheng, handcuffed, was sitting in the Ghost Burial Squad's black van.
"You have no idea, Ethan—your wife went nuts the day before yesterday. She beat up several of our guys so badly they nearly died. If you don't come back soon, we're out of options."
I let out a surprised sound.
"Rachel—what happened to her?"
"Who knows. The day before yesterday she just snapped—said she wanted to spar with someone. Sigh."
I kept apologizing over and over.
"Good thing you're here—I can rely on you this time. Hey, Ethan, come with me to the scene later, okay? I'm scared to go alone. It's not something I can handle by myself. Lucky you're here."
I smiled, patted Leo Li on the back, and he handed me his phone. I spent quite a while on the phone with Hugh Thompson, telling him everything in detail.
"Ethan, go take a look. That guy might be the same type as the one we've got locked up in the Ghost Burial Squad."
I hung up and got in the van, planning to grab something to eat first, then ask Jason Zheng in detail about what had really happened.