Mysterious Awakening

Even before extinguishing his flashlight, Miles had caught sight of a crowd gathered outside the boutique. Their faces had the pallor of the grave, their bodies emanating a nauseating stench of decay.

These were the same figures that had earlier entrapped Mr. Calm, Master Catch, and Manager Li. Having mysteriously vanished once, they now reemerged, blocking every exit. To an average person, escape seemed an impossibility.

In such cramped and congested conditions, one couldn’t guarantee safety from an attack.

“We’re outmatched… Too many of them. Get down quickly and we’ll try to escape,” Ethan urgently suggested upon assessing the dire situation.

“No, don’t get down. Something feels off,” Miles replied, a hint of apprehension fleeting across his face. Swiftly, he turned on his phone’s flashlight.

Under the harsh artificial light, seven or eight of the figures had already infiltrated the boutique, with more continuously trickling in. Their movements were sluggish, but within a minute, they would be within arm’s reach, encircling him entirely.

“Why shouldn’t we? Weren’t we safe from attack if we lay low?” Ethan questioned, puzzlement showing.

“That was then, this is now,” Miles elaborated. “Earlier, we weren’t dealing with genuine spirits, hence their predictable attack pattern. If someone lay down, they lost their target, froze, and then swiftly retreated until their next manifestation.”

“But look at them now. We’re standing our ground, yet they’re still advancing. Can’t you see what that suggests?”

“What are you getting at?” asked Ethan, a cold sweat beginning to form on his brow.

Miles scrutinized the crowd. “The actual ghost is amongst them, and it’s not the dummy you’re carrying. I think this dummy was merely the ghost’s initial vessel, and it has since switched hosts. The body in the changing room behind us is the best proof. If this dummy was truly the ghost…”

“… Then these bodies wouldn’t be mobile under the ghost’s power suppressed by you. Why didn’t you say this sooner?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he quickly withdrew his hand, stopping his ghostly energy flow.

The two-meter-tall blood-soaked dummy instantly became motionless. It toppled over, shattered, and lay inert.

Miles’s hypothesis proved accurate. This peculiar dummy was not the true spirit.

But now, a group of people exuding the putrid scent of decay was closing in on them. Their faces, chillingly pale and devoid of expression, resembled those of the living dead. However, they were more horrifying than any zombie, as the real ghost was lurking amongst them.

“We’re finished. We’re done. We’ve been duped by this ghost. This boutique is a trap, and the conspicuous dummy was just bait. It was a trap specifically designed to catch us,” Ethan admitted, his face pallid and stricken with despair.

Even as a ghost tamer, he couldn’t possibly break free, relying solely on the power of an aggrieved spirit. The awakening of this spirit could cause his death, or he could be killed by the present ghost. Either way, his fate seemed sealed.

“Why all the defeatist talk? We’re not dead yet. Stay close and stop using the vengeful ghost’s power,” Miles said, holding onto Ethan tightly. Suddenly, he was bathed in a brilliant red light as the eyes of five ghosts opened simultaneously.

The red glow extended three to four meters, enveloping Ethan as well. He’d activated his ghost domain—a crucial power that must be harnessed now, or else they’d be facing certain doom. It wasn’t only Ethan who couldn’t force his way out; the same applied to him.

Within the all-encompassing red light, they seemed to disconnect from reality. The oncoming ghosts now passed through their bodies, not making any physical contact, effectively resolving their immediate predicament.

“Is this… a ghost domain? How is it possible? You possess the ghost domain power?” Ethan asked, looking at Miles beside him, more astounded than if he’d witnessed an actual ghost.

“Is the ghost domain that remarkable?” Miles asked in return, glancing at him.

“Remarkable? It’s exceedingly rare. Ghosts with the ghost domain are terrifyingly powerful. Ghost tamers can’t control them; if they attempt to, they’d die instantly from the awakened vengeful ghost,” Ethan said, staring at Miles, his eyes full of dread. For ghost tamers, the power of the ghost domain was an enigma.

Entering the ghost domain implied there was no turning back unless one could trap the ghost within. But was that feasible? It seemed an insurmountable challenge. Most vengeful ghosts capable of the ghost domain were of an A-disaster level. This degree of ghost, combined with the ghost domain, could drive ghost tamers worldwide into a state of despair.

Miles looked at him intently, “Now isn’t the time for this discussion. We have three minutes. In that time, we need to identify the real ghost among these bodies and secure it into your golden box. If we fail, we’ll have to flee.”

His limit was five minutes, but he reserved two minutes for their potential escape.

“With the ghost domain, we can indeed make an escape anytime,” Ethan said, displaying a flicker of excitement, seemingly grasping some of the ghost domain’s capabilities. This enigmatic power was somewhat understood by ghost tamers. However, when he noticed the eerie, blood-red eyes materializing on Miles’s hands and head, his joy abruptly waned.

These eyes roamed casually, occasionally settling on Ethan, sending a shiver down his spine. Ethan could sense that if the ghost inside Miles awakened, it would unleash a horrific disaster.

“Let’s get moving.”

Miles’s phone was already timing. He led Ethan through the sea of bodies, reaching the group’s core. Within the cocoon of red light, they didn’t physically interact with the crowd of ghosts.

Perhaps due to their presence in the ghost domain, the ghost seemed to lose its bearings. At this moment, all the bodies stood still.

Within the confines of the boutique, Miles and Ethan stood rigid, their eyes darting over each corpse in a desperate bid to pinpoint the actual ghost.

“The ghost must be among them. We have three minutes to identify it, or this operation will be a huge setback,” Miles internally strategized. They couldn’t afford to squander the opportunity that the activated ghost domain presented.

But, which one was the real ghost?

The heavily decomposed female body?

The man whose head had been grotesquely replaced?

Could it be Strong’s lifeless form?

Or the male body that bore Blush’s corpse?

All were potential candidates.

“No, guessing is futile given the multitude of bodies. Ethan has relied too heavily on the vengeful ghost’s power. If he tries to summon it now, he’d surely succumb to the awakened vengeful ghost,” Miles reasoned. To verify, he asked, “Ethan, how many more times can you summon your power?”

“I’m nearing my limit. With my current condition, I could possibly manage it three more times. After that, I might… not survive,” Ethan admitted, uncertain because no one can truly discern their limits—they can only estimate.

“Three times?” Miles mused.

Suddenly, a solitary corpse stirred.

In the sea of motionless bodies, it alone moved.

It was a figure clad in a suit, but its neck bore the head of a middle-aged woman. Perhaps due to Miles’s presence in the ghost domain, it abandoned any intention of assaulting them and started to turn, intending to leave.

“It must be her,” Ethan promptly declared.

“Let’s find out,” Miles responded, retracting the red light and enabling Ethan to exit the ghost domain.

Summoning his courage, Ethan reached out and grabbed the moving corpse. His gloves were instantly soaked in a reddish stream that seemed to merge with the body. Blood poured from the corpse’s eyes, neck, and mouth.

It abruptly stilled, as if seized by some invisible restraint.

“Did we do it?” Miles asked anxiously.