All the negative energy Zhang Ding absorbed went into his left eye. This meant that his body was unable to recover. His mind was at the edge of breaking.
Wrinkly skin was folded on his face. Zhang Ding’s left eye was open. The eyeball was unique. It was as dark as the night, but there was a burning light deep down. It could not only absorb the power of the shadow world but also cleanse most of the negative emotions.
“The eye of a Dream Ghost?” Gao Ming’s heart sank.
“The headquarters’ Dream Ghost has been watching you, but he will not harm you because you’re the most suitable candidate to enter the black mist.” Jing Tuoshen continued slowly, “The black fog will trigger the ghost tattoo. We have tried many methods. Once the investigators enter the fog, the ghosts in their tattoos will lose control. Some of the ghosts might consume the investigators.
“We have been weakening the ghosts and finally reached a balance. However, the security members are still too weak to reach the inner parts of the black fog.” Jing Tuoshen looked at Gao Ming, “We’ve checked many files and realised you’re the only exception. Even without using the power of the ghosts, your constitution is stronger than the lingering Gods in the mud figurines.
“Our original plan is to kill you in this anomaly so that we can conduct research on your soul and body to figure out the truth behind your uniqueness. However, we’ve found a more suitable method to cooperate with you. Plus, is this not a chance for you? Do you not want to leave Han Hai and see the real world outside?”
Since Gao Ming was only staring at Zhang Ding, Jing Tuoshen waved his hands. The second black car entered the anomaly. When the shadow covered the car, a lot of blood leaked out of the car. The car door slowly opened. A harrowing howls echoed out. The God of Flesh and Blood hiding behind Gao Ming was drawn by something. Its large body moved. Soon, a few investigators rushed out. They were mad and ugly. They had been implanted with the corpses of Gods.
To ‘help’ them survive, Gao Ming didn’t stop the God of Flesh and Blood. God tore out the mutated flesh on the investigators and sent them into the torture room to conduct ‘recovery’ on the surgical table. After eating the divine corpses, the God of Flesh and Blood exuded a sense of satisfaction. As his power grew, the blood city tattoo on Gao Ming became redder. If this continued, they would eventually become a Dream Ghost.
“The flesh came from the black fog. The fog has something that you need.” Jing Tuoshen took out a remote control to project a video, “We purposely let go of the people who came with the big dog. They couldn’t reach your promised location to meet up because we chased them to the small town at the edge of the black fog. If you rush over there now, they should still have their rationality intact.”
“Granny Shen used to be called Elder Ma. She was a fortune-teller in the east city. Later, she was trapped in an anomaly by Situ An. The lady with many mouths on her face is Auntie Busybody. Her husband is a higher-up at Han Hai Charity…” Jing Tuoshen rattled off the background of each of the ghosts on the screen to prove the investigation centre’s ability. However, this only proved that the centre really didn’t know about Xuan Wen.
“Your friends are currently trapped at Piety Safety Town. That is the last location where we received the communication from our latest batch of investigators. We will assign many investigators to go with you. We only hope you can take one thing back for us.” Jing Tuoshen finally reached the crux. “The thing is Recorder 003. It seems to have recorded the reason behind the real spread of the black fog.”
If the situation were not really desperate, the bigwigs at the centre wouldn’t be so agreeable.
“Don’t you have the Dream Ghost? Why don’t you send him over?” Gao Ming scoffed.
“The Dream Ghost cannot leave the headquarters in his entirety.” Jing Tuoshen didn’t reveal more information. He waved to order the other black cars to leave the anomaly. “The black fog is corroding Han Hai. This city has been cut off from the outside world. If we do not solve that soon, everyone will die. Also, shouldn’t you let my people go now?”
The investigation centre let Gao Ming’s friends back, but they did a lot of things to them. Gao Ming was the same. Everyone in the anomaly had been imprinted by the torture room.
After the cars left, the warning from the God of Flesh and Blood stopped. Gao Ming moved the gate door. All the clocks inside Everlasting Life Apartments chimed. A path appeared before the crowd. Once the investigators were released, Gao Ming sealed up the anomaly. This would be his base.
Gao Ming carried Zhang Ding’s head into Prosperity Neighbourhood. Along the way, he tried many ways to heal Zhang Ding, but he failed.
“Do I have to dig out the eye?” Once he had that thought, his heart paused, and his body convulsed with pain. Gao Ming resisted the pain and took out a knife. However, once the eye was damaged, it would use Zhang Ding’s soul to recover. This only damaged Boss Zhang.
“It’s quite disgusting for them to leave an eye with me.” Gao Ming temporarily had no better idea. The headquarters were stronger than he thought. He suspected the headquarters had more than one Dream Ghost.
He placed Zhang Ding’s head inside the God of the Future’s broken altar. Gao Ming covered it up in layers and placed it in his bag, which he carried on his back. After that, he summoned all the survivors.
“You heard the investigation centre. The other founders of Dead Water Forum are trapped inside the black fog. I need some of you to come with me.” The crowd was silent. Situ Cheng and Shen Tian looked at each other. Their eyes twitched.
“The black fog can make the ghost tattoo lose control. Therefore, you might have the chance to discover the items left behind by the security members in the black fog. In fact, you might even find missing ghost tattoos to print them on yourself.”
Gao Ming had his own goals. He did want to enter the black fog. In fact, he wanted to return to the tunnel. He wondered if he’d be killed by the mysterious person again now that his power was close to that of a Dream Ghost.