In and around Dachang City Stadium, security was tight, with the security forces at the highest level the city could currently achieve.
Every vehicle entering and leaving the area had to undergo strict inspection, and the nearby roads were completely blocked off. Without special permission, anyone attempting to cross the area would be detained by force.
Yang Jian drove through three security checkpoints before he finally stopped next to an indoor basketball court at the stadium.
When he entered the basketball hall, it had already been set up as a temporary meeting center. A large conference table had been improvised out of ping-pong tables, and many people had already arrived early.
Yang Jian recognized many familiar faces.
Sun Yi, Zhao Kaiming, and even Ye Feng were all present.
"Yang Jian is here~!"
Someone said, and the others temporarily put down what they were doing to look at Yang Jian, who had just walked in.
If a month ago Yang Jian was an insignificant figure in Dachang City, now, without any exaggeration, his existence could influence the fate of the entire Dachang City.
A man who controlled two ghosts, a ghost manipulator who had solved several cases, a being who had nearly killed many of the people present.
Following the death of Wang Xiaoqiang, no one could look down on Yang Jian anymore.
"I know I'm handsome and popular with women, but you don't have to stare at me ," Yang Jian said. "Ye Feng? So you're also attending this meeting."
His gaze sharpened as he looked toward Ye Feng, who wore a trench coat and hat, trying to keep a low profile.
Ye Feng raised his head and smiled, "Professor Wang asked me to come. He has canceled the warrant for my arrest. Strictly speaking, I'm not a criminal anymore. Yang Jian, I know we have our differences, but can we join forces for now and deal with the immediate issue before settling our conflicts?"
"The number of ghost manipulators in Dachang City is already very low. Losing even one more would decrease everyone's chance of survival. If you're not responsible for yourself, you should at least be responsible for the citizens of the whole city."
"If we don't resolve this incident, how many people do you think will survive in the entire city?"
Yang Jian said, "No matter how many people survive, the issue between us will be settled."
"Of course, but we might not live to see the time of reckoning. Given the current situation, whether we can survive is itself a question," Ye Feng remarked.
Zhao Kaiming sat nearby, silent. He wouldn't get involved; if possible, he would prefer Yang Jian and Ye Feng to keep fighting.
"Yang Jian, please take a seat. We can talk about anything else after the meeting," Sun Yi said.
Yang Jian also understood what it meant for Wang Xiaoming to have called Ye Feng at this time.
In light of this issue, all the ghost manipulators' strengths in Dachang City must be fully utilized to jointly resolve the matter.
In matters of life and death, all disputes and hatred should be temporarily set aside.
"Then I hope you all behave in my presence, genuinely planning to put effort into resolving this crisis. If I find any of you making little moves, sorry, but I'll prioritize dealing with you," Yang Jian said with a cold face and took a seat.
Ye Feng smiled and said no more.
After waiting a while longer,
several more ghost manipulators gradually arrived, one of whom surprised Yang Jian.
Zhang Han was originally a member of the Xiaoqiang Entertainment Club and survived in Huanggang Village, where he learned how to control a second ghost from Wang Xiaoming.
It seemed that Zhang Han had successfully lived through it.
"Yang Jian, I thought you'd be here," Zhang Han greeted Yang Jian warmly. "Thanks to you, I didn't die when the fierce ghosts revived."
"It seems you're lucky, congratulations. I just hope we can be as fortunate in what follows," Yang Jian replied.
"Don't worry, with so many of us coming together to solve this, it will be easy," Zhang Han was optimistic, possibly because the revival of the fierce ghosts had been delayed, greatly improving his mood to the point where he could still smile at this time.
"You're Yang Jian? I heard you killed Wang Xiaoqiang," said another ghost manipulator, staring at Yang Jian with a strange and unfriendly look.
Ye Feng calmly said, "He used to be a club member too; I think his name is He Chuan. He wasn't around the club much. We thought he might have died in the revival of the fierce ghosts, turns out he's still alive."
"He Chuan? Never heard of you. So, you have a problem with me killing Wang Xiaoqiang?" Yang Jian asked.
He Chuan responded icily, "A big problem, big enough that right now I want to kill you."
Yang Jian just smiled, "Really? Seems like by taking out the club, I've made quite a few enemies. But with that extra you've got there, don't embarrass yourself. If I were a novelist, you wouldn't last three chapters in my book. If I were a director, you'd be done for in the first episode."
"Say that again, I dare you," He Chuan challenged.
Zhang Han interjected firmly, "He Chuan, calm down. If you go crazy now, don't blame us for ganging up on you."
"Keep it down. Now's not the time to make trouble," Ye Feng said calmly. "If you cause a disturbance, I won't let it go."
Stirring up trouble at this moment will do no good for anyone.
However, it is said that He Chuan's mind isn't very stable, and he hasn't appeared at the club for a long time, so I estimate that it won't be long before the fierce ghost rises again.
"Ye Feng, I've tolerated this for the sake of you, but I won't tolerate it for much longer," He Chuan said, his eyes crazed, though somewhat restrained under the presence of others.
"A guy who could blow up at any moment," Yang Jian narrowed his eyes slightly, taking note of this He Chuan.
Not because of He Chuan himself, but for fear this man might die from the ghost's resurrection and cause trouble for him.
"It seems everyone has almost arrived, we can now start today's meeting," said Yang Jian.
A moment later, Wang Xiaoming and Professor Wang hurried in with a stack of thick documents, looking somewhat exhausted.
At that moment, Yang Jian, Zhao Kaiming, Ye Feng, Zhang Han, as well as He Chuan, and Sun Yi among a total of nine people, all turned their gaze to him.
Wang Xiaoming stood in front of the meeting table and opened the thick stack of files; "First, distribute a copy of the information on there to each person."
The clerical staff member beside him immediately distributed the materials.
"The meetings I preside over are always straightforward, and from my current analysis, this matter is not accidental, but a continuation of what happened after the last ghost charmer, Zhou Zheng, died from the ghost's resurrection," Wang Xiaoming said seriously. "About Zhou Zheng's death, Yang Jian, you should be very clear since he died in the No.
7 Middle School Ghost Door Knocker case, and you were a survivor of that incident."
The others then looked toward Yang Jian.
"Indeed, I witnessed Zhou Zheng's death with my own eyes. The Ghost Infant tore through his stomach and ran out, chasing after me to bite me. It nearly ate me. Later, I encountered it twice in Dachang City, once in my classmate Wang Shanshan's home, and another time during a suicide incident in the city center.
Zhao Kaiming was also present the second time I saw it; he was the exorcist in charge of the matter," Yang Jian recounted calmly.
Zhao Kaiming's expression changed slightly. Was this guy calling him out?
"Indeed, I was handling that incident, but that thing was too malignant; it might have created a Ghost Domain. I simply didn't have the power to deal with it," he admitted, unashamed of his inadequacy.
Wang Xiaoming continued, "The Ghost Infant emerged from Zhou Zheng's body, and it should have undergone three stages of change. You'll find related pictures on the second page of the documents. Also, turn on the projector and display the photos."
At once, images appeared on the white sheet behind him.
In these images, there were three photos of the Ghost Infant. The first photo was taken in a laboratory, showing Zhou Zheng lying on a medical bed, his belly distended with an infant's face pushing against his skin, revealing a ghastly outline.
The second photo displayed a cyanotic-skinned child standing in the middle of a road, captured by a camera.
The third photo was of an expressionless adult with a cyanotic aura emanating around, standing inside a multi-story building. The picture was taken through a glass window and was fairly clear.
"Infant stage, child stage, youth stage, these are the three most apparent changes of the Ghost Infant. You all understand what this means," Wang Xiaoming said earnestly. "This entity is growing, and I personally speculate that its method of growth is...cannibalism."
"Now, look at this photo."
He pressed the switch again, and the projection changed to another image.
It was a rental room, with bloodstains all over the floor, hair scattered around, several broken fingers, and blood-drenched scratch marks on the walls.
It was hard to fathom the desperation and struggle the victim had endured before death.
"This photo was retrieved from the case files of the Northern City District Casework Bureau. After the incident, the Ghost Infant was captured on camera in front of a nearby convenience store with bloodstains on it. DNA analysis from the site matched that of the victim," Wang Xiaoming continued.
A man-eating Ghost Infant? That indeed was bizarre.
"So what you're saying is, as long as we take out this little brat, it's over?" Ye Feng said with a relaxed laugh.
The Ghost Infant might be fierce, but it couldn't harm him in his shroud.
So, he wasn't worried about becoming its victim.
Wang Xiaoming said, "If that were the case, this incident wouldn't be so complicated. Just yesterday, I collected another set of data coming from the major hospitals in Dachang City."
Pressing the switch once more, the projection changed to a different image.
"I've selected a few particularly clear images for you to see."
In the pictures, several women had slightly distended abdomens, looking as though they were pregnant. However, there were outlines of struggling infants visible on these women's bellies.
"Ghost Infants?" many exclaimed, eyes widening with shock.
Wang Xiaoming said, "I've tested them, and they are indeed Ghost Infants, not just Zhou Zheng's one. According to the information I currently have, there are a total of one hundred and twenty, no, wait, it's one hundred and thirty-eight now. These are the confirmed cases, and there are many more unconfirmed."
"Are you kidding me? Over a hundred Ghost Infants, is this some kind of overbreeding incident? Are you trying to kill us?" a ghost charmer said in a panic. "We can't handle this matter by ourselves, just the nine of us. How is this any different from sending us to our deaths?"
Any exorcist who had been through such incidents would feel queasy and a chill in their heart.
"Whether you live or die is your concern, and it has nothing to do with me. My only task is to resolve this issue, but for the moment, I am missing one piece of information. I need a Ghost Infant for my research. Your first task now is to capture a Ghost Infant for me," Wang Xiaoming stated.