The captain spoke, his expression contorted in frustration.
He had been in the ghost-exorcism business for over thirty years and had never heard of an exorcist who could transform into an Armored Warrior.
Personnel from the Guardian Bureau were required to write reports when encountering supernatural incidents, much like police officers filing case reports.
But now.
He had no idea how to write the report.
Should he write that he arrived to exorcise a ghost, but before he could even act, an Armored Warrior had already vanquished the ghost?
The captain was certain that if he wrote such a report, he would be summoned the next day and have his report thrown back in his face by his superior.
His superior would likely exclaim, "What the hell are you talking about? What kind of report is this, 'Armored Warrior'? Do you think this is a fairy tale, are you playing around?!"
And then, his superior would call security to have him forcibly taken for a mental health evaluation.
"Huh? Fired? Surely not," the young man asked, confused. Hearing the captain's words, he couldn't help but inquire,
"Captain, are there no exorcists who can transform?"
The captain replied with a sigh,
"I've seen people who invite ghosts or spirits to possess them, granting them supernatural powers, and I've even used such methods myself. But inviting animated cartoon characters to possess you? That's ridiculous. Why would I bother with spirits when I could just summon Ultraman?"
The young man and woman exchanged bewildered glances. It did seem to make sense.
"Then..." the young man began, about to speak.
Suddenly.
A scream pierced the air.
The young man and the other two looked in the direction of the scream, their faces changing drastically: "Not good!"
The scream came from the bus.
As they had been talking,
The ferocious ghosts, having been pushed back by Qiu Xiaolin and the others, were soon more than half dead. Just as Qiu Xiaolin was about to strike down another, a scream came from behind her. A ferocious ghost had appeared on the bus and was holding a child hostage.
"There's still a Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost?"
Sensing the chilling aura emanating from the ghost, the captain's expression darkened as he recognized its power.
He had never expected.
That there would be a Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost hidden among these spirits.
In fact.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost had also not expected to find itself holding a child hostage, but it had no choice.
It had originally sent these ferocious ghosts to capture the people on the bus for its consumption. However, its grand plan had been thwarted by the appearance of the four armored women. Its ghostly companions had suffered heavy casualties at their hands.
Crucially, those armored individuals were overwhelmingly powerful. If they had joined forces, it would have been no match for them.
But the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost had no intention of fleeing.
The reason was simple.
It had set its sights on the belts worn by Qiu Xiaolin and the others. As a Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost, it could sense the immense power of those belts, the very source that allowed ordinary people like Qiu Xiaolin and her friends to wield such terrifying strength.
Without a doubt.
Those belts were supernatural artifacts.
It became greedy. If it could obtain these exorcism items and refine them into ghostly objects, its power would undoubtedly surge.
With this thought.
It clutched the child in one hand and the middle-aged woman in the other, letting out a chilling ghostly voice:
"If you don't want them to die, then stop what you're doing."
"Damn it, they flanked us," Zhang Ya cursed.
Qiu Xiaolin and the others had been too careless. Participating in an exorcism for the first time, they lacked experience and were too caught up in the excitement of fighting the ghosts, failing to notice a ghost lurking behind them.
Subsequently.
Forced by the presence of the child and the young woman in the ghost's grasp, they were compelled to stop their attacks, preparing to find an opportunity to rescue them.
However, before they could devise a plan.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost's voice echoed from the bus:
"If you don't want this child to be choked to death by me, throw your belts to me!"
Upon hearing this.
The captain and the other two in the distance changed color, especially the young man and woman.
"Not good, Captain, we can't let that ghost get the belts. Those are the source of the Armored Warriors' power. If a ghost gets them, it might be able to transform into an Armored Warrior too."
"What did you say?" The captain's expression turned grim.
Before the captain could act.
Qiu Xiaolin's voice rang out:
"Okay, here's your belt. Don't hurt the child. The child is innocent."
Qiu Xiaolin indeed spoke.
As she said this, she removed her belt and threw it towards the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost.
The entire process was swift and decisive, leaving the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost, the captain, and the others momentarily stunned.
[Ding! The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost is stunned. It was given to me so easily?]
[Host receives System Points +30]
*Bang.*
As the belt landed at its feet, the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost was somewhat taken aback. It was too decisive, wasn't it? No bargaining at all.
Although it was confused for a moment.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost didn't harbor much suspicion. Exorcists were often like this, cherishing ordinary human lives. It had encountered such situations before.
Subsequently.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost picked up the belt, which looked as plain as a toy, its face filled with excitement.
Even though it looked like a toy, it knew this thing was formidable.
Seeing it about to repeat the process, forcing Qiu Xiaolin and the others to throw three more exorcism belts,
At this moment.
The captain and the others couldn't stand by any longer and rushed forward.
"We can't give it the belts!"
The captain and his team charged forward, holding their peach wood swords.
"Guardian Bureau?!"
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost's expression changed as it recognized the captain and his team. Especially after sensing the captain's strength, it was terrified. A top-tier Tiger Guard?!
The captain ignored the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost's expression and said sternly:
"The belts cannot be given to them. Leave the Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost to us. We are from the Guardian Bureau."
In response.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost's face darkened. It knew that obtaining the other three exorcism belts was impossible, and it might even lose its life here.
The next moment.
Without hesitation.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost threw all the people on the bus out, attracting the captain's attention, and fled with the belt.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The captain roared and gave chase:
"Zhao Xuan, you stay here and protect the citizens. I'll pursue the ghost."
With that said.
The captain rushed out and quickly disappeared from sight.
...
Not long after.
At the entrance of the tunnel.
As the ghost domain disappeared, Qiu Xiaolin and the others emerged.
"Ah? Those belts aren't yours?" Zhao Xuan's eyes widened.
After their conversation, Zhao Xuan and the others discovered that Qiu Xiaolin and her friends were not exorcists but ordinary people.
"Yes, our Big Daddy gave them to us."
Zhang Ya said.
Although they were from the Guardian Bureau, she dared not reveal Zhang Wei's name, fearing it might implicate him. After all, one had to be cautious.
Qiu Xiaolin and the others were the same, only saying that a "Big Daddy" had given them the items.
"Big Daddy?"
Zhao Xuan and Lin Feng exchanged glances, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
Was this a godfather-godchild relationship? Who was this "Big Daddy" who casually gave away such powerful exorcism items?
Despite their curiosity.
They didn't pry further, knowing that the girls wouldn't tell them.
With that in mind.
Lin Feng expressed some regret: "Even though the exorcism items were given by your Big Daddy, you shouldn't have handed them over so readily. Those things can transform you into Armored Warriors, alas."
His words.
Were met with a strange look from the four girls, including Qiu Xiaolin.
"Uh, what's wrong?" Lin Feng asked, surprised.
Zhang Ya complained, "Our Big Daddy told us that if the ghost wanted the belts, we should give them without hesitation. We were actually planning to give all four belts to the ghost, but you guys rushed out and stopped us."
Lin Feng, Zhao Xuan: "????"
Just then.
The captain walked over from a distance, a look of apology on his face:
"I'm sorry, I couldn't catch that ghost. It got away with the belt."
Qiu Xiaolin smiled: "It's alright, it's gone, it's no big deal. As long as everyone else is safe. Sirs, you are from the Guardian Bureau, right? We'll leave the rest of the work to you. We'll be going now."
They had no intention of staying longer, partly to avoid being questioned further and revealing Zhang Wei's information, and partly because it was Zhang Ya's birthday today, and they didn't want to waste time here.
Seeing Qiu Xiaolin and the others turn to leave without even a hint of regret.
The captain was dumbfounded:
"Hey, wait, aren't you going to leave a phone number? If we recover the belt later, I'll call you."
In response.
Qiu Xiaolin shook her head and smiled:
"No need. That belt... our Big Daddy told us before that it's useless to a ghost. On the contrary, it's life-threatening."
The captain stood there, momentarily unable to process this.
Later.
When he learned the details from the young man and woman.
The captain's mouth twitched.
Such powerful exorcism items, and they just gave them away? They knew that exorcism items given to ghosts could be refined into ghostly objects. Even if they were from their "Big Daddy," they didn't have to treat them like toys and give them away so casually. Were women who were kept so capricious?
However.
This confusion was finally understood a week later.
It was a week later.
They encountered that Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost again.
Facing the pursuit of the captain and his team.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost decisively produced the exorcism belt. After a week of its refinement, the exorcism belt had become a ghostly object.
Subsequently.
As the captain and his team stood there stunned.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost sneered and pressed the belt against its waist.
The next moment.
The belt emitted a series of BGM.
"Cobra!"
"What happened!"
"What happened!"
"What happened..."
"Release your true self."
"hia~hia~hia~hia~hia~~"
"Walk my~~~ path"
"Kamen Rider ZI-ZI-ZI-ZI-ZI-DE!"
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost transformed into Kamen Rider ZI-DE, then it laughed maniacally, feeling this incomparably powerful strength. As it took a step forward... *boom!* It exploded, along with the armor and the belt.
The Red-Clothed Ferocious Ghost was killed on the spot.
The captain and his team stared in disbelief.
In their minds, they recalled what Qiu Xiaolin and the others had said: "Our Big Daddy said we could give the belts to ghosts."