Chapter 84 - 81: Heeding Manager Ying’s Call

Chapter 84: Chapter 81: Heeding Manager Ying’s Call

The Blood-colored Bus Nightmare.

The Countermeasures Bureau’s camp was built in one corner of this Nightmare Area. The Safe Zone, connected just a short while ago, was located in the opposite corner of the Nightmare.

The distance between the two locations wasn’t particularly long.

But...

Inside the camp, the person in charge, Song Jianshen, gazed at the world outside, his expression grim.

Several ghosts and countless dangers had completely surrounded the entire camp.

A blood-stained bus was parked not far away. From it, one after another, figures with deathly pale faces and twisted limbs disembarked.

These were all part of the bus ghost.

Yet, even these ’parts’ alone were something most Dream Descenders could not fight against.

And in the distance, there was the Butcher Ghost, wielding a large blade;

the Shadow Ghost, commanding a tide of shadows;

and the Paperman Ghost, as thin as stacked sheets of paper.

A total of four ghosts!

Around the perimeter of the Countermeasures Bureau camp, orange-yellow flames burned high within rows of kerosene lamps.

Rings of light, repulsive to the ghosts, spread outwards.

Inside the camp, a Curse Object emitted a series of CRACKLING sounds. Immediately after, sharp bone spikes burst from the ground, forming a circular fence of bone.

The camp’s base began to rotate, and a second Curse Object embedded within it erupted with black light.

In the blink of an eye, black anglerfish manifested, swimming in circles around the camp to form a second line of defense.

Song Jianshen and his team were indeed Dream Descenders who weren’t skilled in combat, which was why they had been assigned to the logistics group.

But relying on this well-established camp, they weren’t so fragile.

Even facing this unexpected situation, they still had a chance to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

It was just...

"Old Yao and Old Chen are still outside!"

Especially Old Chen, who was trying to flee back to the camp but was blocked by the ghosts.

He had no way to advance or retreat.

Group Leader Song clenched his fists.

The strange figures that had emerged from the blood-stained bus had already surrounded Old Chen.

They pounced, ready to tear him apart!

But at that moment, a whisper echoed, and immense Curse Power erupted in the area.

"Curse Art, Ghostly Re-manifestation!"

...

A voice was heard, but no one was seen.

The next moment, the world grew damp. A ghost, radiating a thick, ominous, and chilling aura, manifested in the world.

No, it wasn’t a ghost!

It was a Dream Curse Object, one that had nearly recreated the form of a ghost.

"It’s a Yugui Stream expert!"

This was also the first Lifebound Curse Art developed by most Yugui Stream practitioners—a Curse Art that resonated with their personal Curse Object, allowing it to re-manifest in the form of the ghost it once was in life.

...

"SPLASH~!"

A damp mist spread, and a ghostly figure emerged from within it.

Its hair was soaked, draped messily over its shoulders, with water constantly dripping from the strands.

Its face was withered and deathly pale, its eyes sunken deep into their sockets.

Its lower body was not humanoid, looking like a mass of murky sewage that blended into the damp mist.

It looked just like a real Wet Hair Ghost, grim and terrifying.

The moment it appeared, its wet hair began to extend, twisting together strand by strand to form a long, soaked whip.

The whip of wet hair lashed out violently, tearing through the air with a shriek that made one’s scalp tingle.

"BANG!!"

The bus ghouls, each possessing immense strength, were sent spinning into the air like tops before they could even pounce. They crashed down several meters away, knocking over several other ghouls in the process.

From the Blood-colored Bus, more ghouls swarmed out of the doors and broken windows.

’It seems to be a rare Summoning Type ghost!’

A Witchcraft Flying Eye hovered high in the air.

Shi An took in the entire battlefield. He saw that from within the bus ghost, more ghouls were continuously appearing and rushing out.

They looked human, but their limbs were twisted. Some ran, others crawled on all fours, moving with incredible speed, like a pack of aberrant humanoids.

A foul wind washed over everything.

But they were merely subordinates of the ghost.

Meanwhile, the Wet Hair Curse Object, empowered by the Hair Ghost’s immense Curse Power, was practically equivalent to a living ghost!

This was the true, complete form of the Yugui Stream!

The wet hair kept spreading, and spreading! Like countless giant pythons.

The ghouls leaped and swarmed, but now it seemed as if they had fallen into a hunt led by the giant pythons of wet hair.

They crashed into a tide of hundreds, even thousands of pythons. The thick, wet strands of hair extended, ensnaring the ghouls.

Tighter and tighter! Constantly contracting!

They squeezed until the ghouls’ bodies emitted CRUNCHING sounds.

Until a certain moment,

"SQUELCH—!"

The humanoid ghoul’s body caved in, its bones snapped, and its entire form was brutally crushed.

A cloud of Blood Mist exploded outwards.

Flesh paste and bone fragments rustled down from between the python-like strands of wet hair.

This was the ultimate display of violence! Of brutal might!

"So ferocious!"

Inside the camp, Group Leader Song’s eyes widened. "Since when did our Baijiang produce such a powerful Yugui Stream expert?"

Old Cai’s eyes widened even further.

’This Wet Hair Ghost looks a little familiar, but... that’s impossible, right...?’

Seeing his chance, the surrounded Countermeasures Bureau Dream Descender, Old Chen, didn’t hesitate and sprinted for the camp.

The closest threat to him was the bus ghost.

But the bus’s two "eyes" lit up, its headlights piercing the air with blood-red beams of light.

Its engine roared, accompanied by a trail of Blood Mist.

The entire bus lunged forward as if it were a giant beast about to pounce.

But the pythons of wet hair once again extended madly.

Five meters! Ten meters! Twenty meters!

The serpent pythons stretched across the space, passing through the bus’s frame and trapping the behemoth within the damp mist.

Finally, Old Chen barely managed to escape to the camp’s gate.

The bone spikes parted to form a path, and he quickly rushed inside.

’I’m alive.’

The Wet Hair Ghost stopped wrestling with the bus ghost.

Its power dissipated, and it reverted to its pure Curse Object form. It became a streak of faint light that shot into the camp, disappearing into the top of the Hair Ghost’s head.

Only then...

did Group Leader Song realize that a man in a suit had appeared inside the camp at some unknown point.

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Excellency. The Countermeasures Bureau will reward you handsomely afterward."

The Hair Ghost gave a slight nod.

He had few material desires now and didn’t much care for the Countermeasures Bureau or its mission rewards.

He had only rushed over because the Manager requested it.

He looked outside.

The crisis was not over. The various ghosts were still lying in wait for an opportunity.

Group Leader Song was well aware of how terrifying these four ghosts were. Even with the help of a mysterious expert, they absolutely could not let their guard down.

"If we rely on the camp’s defenses, we’ll have a better chance of holding out until the Bureau’s reinforcements arrive."

But the Hair Ghost spoke again. "No, our reinforcements are already here."

’Reinforcements?’

’There are other reinforcements?’

In the distance, a jet-black sword light slashed across the sky.

"Instant... Slash!"

The sword gleam tore through the black tide. Profound Sword didn’t enter the camp, but instead took aim at the ghost within the tide of shadows, striking it with one slash after another.

In another direction.

The Butcher Ghost was intercepted.

From around a corner, Xi Xue, wearing a Wizard Hat and Witch’s Clothing, walked out slowly.

She walked very slowly.

But the Butcher sprinted very quickly.

The towering Butcher formed a stark contrast with her petite frame, until...

"SHHNK—"

Silver hair condensed into a sharp spear, tearing through the air and piercing the sprinting Butcher Ghost in an instant.

Even farther away,

was Peaches, holding a Heart-shaped Staff.

Li Wei, whose eyes glowed with an eerie green light.

And the group of ’Ordinary Dream Descenders’ arriving on the scene.

"We reinforcements came at the Manager’s call."