A chorus of croaks echoed through the room. David Dong tried to scream, but only croaking sounds escaped his throat. I stared in shock as, little by little, David Dong's body widened; black-green skin sprouted across him, his back became lumpy and misshapen, oozing black pus.
David Dong had completely transformed into a giant toad. Walter Cao burst into loud laughter, then stroked the ox beside him—once Terry Chen—and laughed again.
"Terry, you're an ox now—diligent and tireless. For all eternity, you will work for me."
As he spoke, the ox let out a mournful moo and ran off into the distance, while the toad that had once been David Dong jumped and twitched, a deep sadness in its eyes.
"David, have you ever heard the story of the toad who wanted to eat swan meat? Greed leads to ruin—your death is well deserved. Hahaha..."
The next day, David Dong's corpse was found outside the city. I could sense that his soul had been completely drawn out—by Walter Cao.
David Dong's death was bizarre: he was hauling a wagon full of stones, when the wagon overturned and the stones crushed him to death.
The Red Mask Agent also visited the scene. He watched the men hauling stones and smiled faintly.
"Such an incredible monster—grown this strong already? It's time. Monster against monster—who will die? Oh, no, it's ghost against monster..."
That night, Walter Cao closed his studio early. He seemed to sense something, knowing the Red Mask Agent would come for him, and waited at the door. Sure enough, late in the evening, Walter Cao finally saw the Red Mask Agent approach, slowly putting on his mask.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm here now."
"Please, come in. My photo studio is always open for guests."
Walter Cao rasped out the words. The Red Mask Agent walked forward step by step. Suddenly, a shutter clicked, and a gap split open in front of Walter Cao.
"You're quick. So fast—already possessing a Shadow Realm, impressive."
After the Red Mask Agent entered, I saw an ox and a toad constantly hauling huge stones, placing them in just the right spots. Gradually, the stones formed the photo studio.
"Not bad—the construction of your Shadow Realm. But your apprentices, one an ox, one a toad. What a strange combination."
The Red Mask Agent spoke, crouching low, fingers digging into the ground. In an instant, he pulled out a black stone, sat down, crossed his legs, and silently observed Walter Cao in his wheelchair.
"Do you think all I have is a Shadow Realm?"
As Walter Cao spoke, he stood up and slowly floated into the air. Then, with a swift motion, he drew his Wraith Armament—the Sword Camera, a European-style sword with a built-in lens. I had witnessed its power before.
Clap, clap, clap—the Red Mask Agent applauded, his voice full of praise.
"Impressive, Walter Cao. You even have a Wraith Armament now, and I can't even see how many Ghost Souls you possess anymore."
The Red Mask Agent stood up, his fists clenching with a crackling sound.
"What is it? Finally ready for revenge?"
Walter Cao shook his head.
"It's meaningless now. All those things that held me back—they're gone."
"As expected, you're very much like us in the Immortality Society. As long as you can take photos for a lifetime, you're satisfied, aren't you?"
"That's right..."
With a whoosh, Walter Cao became a streak of green light, thrusting his sword at the Red Mask Agent. The Red Mask Agent casually blocked the attack with a single finger, neutralizing it instantly.
"What, you don't want to look for Grace Hu anymore?"
The Red Mask Agent spoke, and as a flurry of sword strikes flashed, his body moved like paper, deftly dodging every attack.
Walter Cao floated into the air, while the Red Mask Agent showed no intention of attacking at all. He simply dragged his right hand, kept his left hand in his pocket, and wore a smile on his face.
"Since those meaningless things have been cast aside, perhaps it's time for us to calm down and talk about cooperation. After all, there are still many interesting things in this world, like the Ghost Sovereign, for example."
"Is that so? The seven evil ghosts that dominated the ghost realm over a hundred years ago? Indeed, I've only heard of them, but aren't they all gone now, vanished without a trace?"
The Red Mask Agent burst into loud laughter.
"Not quite. There's still one left in this world, known as the Red-Haired Malice Ghost Sovereign. He survived, and now he's starting to scheme. So, what do you think? Want to cooperate with me? Our faction is mortal enemies with that Malice Ghost Sovereign. We must find a way to erase his existence—and your wraith powers could be of great use."
"I'm not interested," Walter Cao replied with a cold chuckle. "All I need is to be able to take photographs."
As he spoke, Walter Cao attacked the Red Mask Agent again. At that moment, I heard a sharp click—suddenly, Walter Cao's sword pierced the Red Mask Agent's neck, and black blood began to drip and flow.
"Can't speak now, can you? I've already destroyed your vocal cords. After all, your constant chatter was rather annoying."
With a tearing sound, Walter Cao withdrew his sword. Suddenly, the Red Mask Agent punched at him. Walter Cao didn't dodge; with a bang, half his body was destroyed by the blow.
Walter Cao screamed in agony, but soon his body gradually regenerated, accompanied by a green glow.
A rustling sound arose, followed by the rhythmic thumping of a heartbeat. Black tendrils wrapped around the Red Mask Agent’s neck, then gradually withdrew back into his heart.
"Do you really think you can kill me?"
As the Red Mask Agent spoke, I once again saw his bulging, blood-engorged eyes and heard that steady heartbeat echoing through the air.
Walter Cao’s expression turned to one of shock.
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"I told you, there are beings in this world far stronger than you—ones you’ve never even seen. Don’t you want to use your camera to capture them?"
Just as the Red Mask Agent finished speaking, I saw a flash of excitement in Walter Cao’s eyes.
"Heh, it’s meaningless. True, I can’t kill you or defeat you, but I can imprison you forever."
Suddenly, Walter Cao pressed the camera shutter again. I saw a photo floating in the air—the Red Mask Agent was surely trapped inside.
With a whoosh, Walter Cao transformed into a green light and flew in front of the photo. Suddenly, a fist shot out from the photo, smashing Walter Cao’s head with a single blow, spraying green blood everywhere.
The photo drifting in the air shattered completely, and the Red Mask Agent appeared once more.
"Is that so? So this whole space is a camera, and you can trap people inside it. What a unique ghost domain. That attack just now—looks like you appeared in my photo, so I didn’t feel a thing, heh."
In just an instant, the Red Mask Agent completely understood Walter Cao’s ghost domain. As Walter Cao recovered, he stared at the Red Mask Agent in astonishment.
"Hmph, no matter how strong you are, you can’t withstand endless attrition."
"A hundred years or so—my heart can last. It’s useless; your ghost domain isn’t offensive, its killing power is basically zero against me."
Then came the sound of shutters snapping. The Red Mask Agent was trapped in photo after photo, but each time he broke the photo with his fist and reappeared before Walter Cao.
No one knows how much time passed as this cycle repeated over and over. At last, Walter Cao stopped; he finally understood that his ghost domain was useless against the Red Mask Agent.
"So? Can we have a proper talk? Maybe, surprisingly, we’d get along."
I watched all this, gritting my teeth. The old Walter Cao—the kind, somewhat timid man—was gone. Now, in my eyes, he was no different from the Red Mask Agent. One had willingly discarded what mattered most; the other, though forced to let go, still had a way but refused to act.
"By the way, if you want Hu Xiaohui to return, you can go to the Soul Guest Inn. There’s a Ghost Sovereign named Yun Mei who might be able to help. What do you say?"
"Not interested. Right now, all I want is to take a good picture of you, guest."
I lowered my head, looking at Walter Cao. As expected, he was completely blind to what truly mattered.
"Let’s continue, Walter Cao."
The Red Mask Agent spoke, raising his fist again and launching himself at Walter Cao. This time, Walter Cao burst into manic laughter.
"If you have the power to smash my photos with a single punch, then I have the power to keep trapping you in photos, forever."
The sound of camera shutters clicked again and again. At that moment, Walter Cao was surrounded by a massive surge of ghostly energy.
Suddenly, I realized that as the shutter kept clicking, there was a photo within a photo, and those photos were endlessly looping—more and more photos densely appeared inside a single image.
"I’ve completely absorbed the souls of everyone I’ve photographed. Take your time—maybe one day, if I forget, you’ll break out of the photo and appear before me again."
Walter Cao laughed wildly and vanished, leaving only a single photo floating in the space. All around, the sound of camera shutters never ceased.
The photo imprisoning the Red Mask Agent was frozen in midair. Meanwhile, a strange event occurred in the city: Walter Cao, the best photographer in Jiangnan, vanished overnight—along with his entire studio.