In the evening, on the streets of Nym City.
A six-eyed flying fish descended from the sky, and two people and one snake jumped off its back. The flying fish then soared into the sky and disappeared into the moonlight.
"Phew, we're finally back. I've been starving for a month, let's find a place to eat a big meal."
"Hmm... not the Dark Kitchen."
Wen Wen, after a brief conversation with someone from the General Association on the Sky Whale, was brought down by a six-eyed flying fish.
However, they only delivered him to Nym City; Wen Wen needed to buy his own ticket to return to the Huafu District.
Actually, for Wen Wen, it didn't matter where he worked as a detective, as the language was the same, and the Golden Eagle District was even more novel to him.
But the foundation of the Containment Facility was in the Huafu District, so Wen Wen didn't want to stay in other districts for too long.
Wen Wen's custom-made aircraft would likely take some time to complete. By then, people from the Greater United States and Canada would deliver it to his doorstep, so Wen Wen didn't need to worry about it himself.
After a hearty meal, Wen Wen used his Hunter Association privileges to obtain two free tickets and prepared to return to the Huafu District.
...
Menxia Province, Xihong City, Araki County.
A man holding a briefcase had a pale face and was trembling uncontrollably.
His name was Wei Jixian. He was an assistant from another province. Although not a super-powered individual, he possessed some abilities beyond ordinary people.
The prolonged demon hunting work placed too much mental pressure on ordinary people, so every assistant was given a period of leave after working for a while.
His home was in the countryside. Because his bus arrived late, the sun had already set, and only one bus was left heading back to his home.
Only he and one other passenger were waiting for the bus. Strangely, as he boarded, the bus departed before the other person could get on, and there was only one seat left on the bus.
The bus drove very smoothly, not giving Wei Jixian any sense of jolting.
Initially, Wei Jixian didn't notice anything unusual. He was tired from his journey and just wanted to sleep on the bus.
But as soon as he fell asleep, he received a call. It was from his captain, informing him that his leave had been extended by more than ten days and he didn't need to rush back to work.
When he hung up, Wei Jixian felt a chill. When he woke up, it seemed like all the passengers were looking at him...
Upon closer inspection, no one on the bus was talking, snoring, or even...
Breathing!
This was a ghost bus!
A middle-aged woman sitting next to Wei Jixian quietly leaned into his ear and said, "Brother, you got on the wrong bus. The people on this bus are not human..."
"Then... then what should we do?"
Wei Jixian stammered. He looked terrified, but he had already taken out a new ghost-catching weapon: a high-pressure water gun filled with virgin boy's urine.
This item had recently been issued by the association's high command. It was effective against ordinary minor ghosts, usually killing one with a single shot. Although he couldn't deal with all the ghosts on this bus, he could still take a couple of them down with him if he died.
But why would such a ghost bus appear in his hometown?
Was the Hunter Association in this area neglecting its duties?
It was one thing if the ghosts hiding in secluded places were not discovered and dealt with. But for a ghost bus to openly pick up passengers at the bus station and still be operational was outrageous. And with so many passengers on board, how could it not be discovered?
The aunt whispered, "How about this, I'll take you and jump out the window. Otherwise, once those things react, you..."
"Okay, quickly."
Wei Jixian knew that the aunt had no good intentions. She might want to take him away from the bus for herself. However, Wei Jixian's eagerness was genuine. Once he got off this bus, he would only have to deal with this aunt.
The aunt grabbed Wei Jixian's shoulders and jumped directly out of the bus window.
The power of the ghost allowed Wei Jixian to land smoothly without any harm.
As Wei Jixian had expected, the aunt revealed a sinister smile and said to him, "Now, no one will compete with me for you."
The aunt's face turned pale green, and she exuded a chilling ghostly aura. Wei Jixian also gripped his virgin boy's urine water gun, ready to spray it in the aunt's face at any moment.
At this moment, a faint, indistinct crying sound occurred, interrupting the one person and one ghost who were about to make their move.
The two turned their heads and saw a long-haired woman in a red dress with a ponytail, sitting with her back to them under a street lamp.
Wei Jixian's heart tightened. As one of the assistants, he knew with his toes that this newly appearing woman was definitely problematic.
The aunt sinisterly walked towards the young woman. Was this little red-clad ghost trying to snatch her man?
When she was alive, Madam Zhao had never been the type to share things. Back then, when a woman tried to snatch her husband, she was directly humiliated in the street.
And this woman only had a faint ghostly aura. Madam Zhao could scatter her soul with a few slaps.
"Get up, and then scram."
"My... eyes, are gone... my nose, my hands..."
Madam Zhao raised an eyebrow. Was this little ghost trying this trick? Would she turn around next to scare her?
These were common tactics for weak vengeful spirits. They were weak, so they had to drive the living to insanity to succeed. But this was useless against a seasoned ghost like her.
She placed a palm on the red-clad girl's shoulder. As she pressed down, the shoulder caved in, as if there was a loose ball of yarn inside the clothes.
"This doesn't feel quite right. I should be able to touch her ghostly body."
The puzzled Madam Zhao turned around and saw the front of the red-clad girl. Her eyes widened in shock, and she felt a chill rush to her head, her ghostly body becoming unstable.
On the front of this girl, she saw the ponytail again!
Not just the ponytail, but this woman squatting on the ground had only long hair and a bloody mass of vocal cords, nothing else!
The red dress was propped up by her hair!
Moreover, the ghostly aura on this woman did not come from herself but from a shapeless ghost in front of her.
The woman's countless hairs were weaving through the ghostly body, searching for each part of its body. While searching, she muttered:
"Where did my feet go, my heart... my ears..."
Madam Zhao hastily tried to escape, only to find herself unable to move, her powers completely ineffective.
"After I finish finding him... I'll find you." The mass of vocal cords said indistinctly to Madam Zhao.
Wei Jixian slowly retreated. After backing away about ten meters, he turned and ran.
That mass was definitely not a ghost, nor was it a simple monster. At least the Hunter Association in his city had never encountered anything so bizarre.
The ghost bus hadn't scared him, and Madam Zhao hadn't scared him, but that mass of hair and vocal cords made the battle-hardened him shudder.
He ran all the way to the entrance of another village before finally stopping.
His face was pale, and he was trembling.
He decided to contact the local Hunter Association first. He knew that something was about to happen in his hometown.
Both the ghost bus and that indescribable mass told him that this place was on the verge of losing control.
However, he did not see that on the back of his clothes, a strand of long black hair was wriggling. If one listened carefully, a faint sound could be heard.
"Where are you... my bones... my blood... where did they all go?"