I hung up the phone. Poison Dreadstar told me to come straight to Redmane's company when I got back—he wanted to speak to me in person and had something else to give me. Over the call, he gave me an address.
East Plain Street, Harmony Gardens Apartments, Building 6, Room 7087. He told me to bring Sonny Four’s urn there—someone would help me make Sonny Four into a ghost that wouldn’t harm anyone.
I briefly explained to Louis Ox that when I got back, I’d take Sonny Four over and ask a master for help. Then Sonny Four could stay with Louis Ox.
We were almost out of money. After leaving the provincial road and reaching the Universal Temple crossroads, we filled up the tank—now there was barely any cash left. By then, neither Louis Ox nor I had eaten anything.
“Sorry about this, Mr. Chiu, it’s just…”
“It’s fine. I’ve got a few dozen bucks left in my pocket, but it’s only enough for one meal.”
Louis Ox and I took turns driving. By 10 PM, we were back in the city. I planned to go first to the place Poison Dreadstar mentioned, hand Sonny Four’s urn to the people from the Ghost Syndicate, and let them help.
After dropping Louis Ox off at his place, I drove straight to Kevin Chiu’s apartment complex. I checked his bank account number and called Hugh Thompson, asking him to transfer a hundred thousand to the guy.
With a whoosh, I left Kevin Chiu’s body. He might have a run of bad luck for the next few months, but at least I gave him some compensation. I looked around—the old Taoist who’d called me didn’t seem to be nearby. I floated up and headed for the East City.
I didn’t stop for a moment—I just ran. After all, I’d done something I wasn’t proud of. In less than half an hour, I reached the East City. After wandering for a while, I released my ghost network, found East Plain Street, then went straight to Harmony Gardens Apartments, and finally arrived at Building 6, Room 7087, just as Poison Dreadstar had said.
Suddenly, from inside the room, a female ghost floated out with a whoosh—her face was strikingly clean and pale, lips blazing red, nails deep black. She wore a beautiful qipao. My heart jolted, and I clenched my fists.
"Ethan Zhang, go in yourself. Tell that little ghost I’m heading out for a few days—he can deal with it. I’m not his damn babysitter."
I stared in shock at the female ghost, her eyes filled with deep sorrow. In an instant, she vanished before me. I knocked on the door.
After a long while, still no one came to open the door. Without thinking much, I floated in with a rush. The stench hit me immediately—I covered my nose. The room reeked of a mix of foul odors, strangely unique, and it was filthy and chaotic. I entered a living room piled high with leftovers, instant noodle cups, soda cans tossed everywhere, and a game controller lying on the coffee table.
Dirty clothes were scattered all around. I couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. Suddenly, a roar came from one of the rooms.
"Damn you! You try to kill me? Just wait!"
Loud banging noises echoed as well. I quickly floated over, waved my hand, and pushed open the door. Blinking, I saw Ghost Fiend Star, bare-chested, crouched on a chair with huge headphones on. The room was just as filthy as the living room, clothes strewn everywhere.
There was a small bed, the quilt neatly folded, but stacked on top were several empty meal boxes and food containers.
I floated beside Ghost Fiend Star. He kept shouting, fingers flying over the keyboard, clearly furious. He was completely absorbed in his computer game, oblivious to everything else.
"Screw you, Lil Cleaver! Just you wait—once I top up a few thousand, pull some top-tier gear, I’ll chop you to pieces!"