44: Possessed by a ghost

The trio consisting of Chen Nian and the others stopped in front of an old residential building.

The building's plaster was peeling away, revealing the dark red bricks underneath.

Zhao Xinyi looked up at the structure, which was at least thirty years old, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "This is the place, right?"

Wu Jiahao glanced down at the terminal in his hand. "Yes, the mission location is right here, Building 3, Room 402."

However, Chen Nian's gaze did not linger on the building itself.

He tilted his head slightly and took a light sniff.

A faint aura drifted into his nostrils along with the wind.

It was a scent mixed with decay and malice, cold and bone-chilling.

It was ghostly qi!

Although it was extremely thin and almost undetectable to ordinary Psionicists, it could not hide from him.

It seemed he didn't even need to go upstairs to have his answer.

The three entered the stairwell; the mottled walls were covered in various small advertisements, and the smell of mildew in the air grew heavier.

They made their way up to the fourth floor.

Wu Jiahao stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The dull sound of knocking echoed through the silent hallway.

After a long while, the rustling sound of footsteps finally came from inside the door.

The lock turned with a crisp 'click.'

The door was pulled open a crack, and a wrinkled, aged face peeked out.

It was a white-haired old lady. Seeing three strangers at her door, her cloudy eyes showed a hint of confusion and wariness.

Zhao Xinyi took a step forward, pulled out a black ID from her pocket, and opened it in front of the old lady.

"Ma'am, we are from the Spiritual Energy Bureau."

"Spiritual Energy Bureau..."

The old lady muttered to herself. A flash of bewilderment crossed her cloudy eyes, followed immediately by immense hope.

In the next second, she yanked the door open and fell to her knees before the three of them with a 'thud.'

"I beg of you, save my daughter! Please save her!"

The old lady's voice was aged, her crying hoarse and desperate.

This sudden scene left both Wu Jiahao and Zhao Xinyi stunned.

They reacted immediately, scrambling to help her up.

"Ma'am, please get up, don't do this!"

"Handling these matters is our duty; there's no need for such a grand gesture."

The two of them worked together to support the frail old lady back to her feet.

Zhao Xinyi softly soothed her emotions, saying, "Ma'am, please don't be so upset. Let us go inside and see the situation first."

The old lady finally came to her senses, wiped her tears, and quickly moved out of the doorway.

"Yes, yes, please come in, please come in."

Chen Nian and his group entered the apartment.

It was a very small two-bedroom apartment with simple and old furnishings.

However, as soon as they stepped inside, even Wu Jiahao and Zhao Xinyi's expressions changed instantly.

A wave of cold, viscous ghostly qi hit them in the face.

This aura was more than a hundred times denser than what Chen Nian had smelled downstairs. It carried intense resentment and malice, making their skin crawl with goosebumps.

Wu Jiahao and Zhao Xinyi exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity of the situation in each other's eyes.

Led by the old lady, they crossed the narrow living room and arrived at a bedroom door.

The door was slightly ajar.

With trembling hands, the old lady pushed the door completely open.

The lights weren't on in the room; only the faint light from outside the window filtered in, outlining a blurry shape lying on the bed.

In the air, that ghostly qi was so thick it was almost palpable, mixed with a heavy scent of medicine and a faint, barely perceptible smell of rot.

Wu Jiahao switched on the room's light.

The moment the light came on, even Wu Jiahao and Zhao Xinyi, who had seen many bizarre scenes, couldn't help but gasp.

A middle-aged woman was lying on the bed.

She couldn't just be described as thin; she was practically skin and bones. Her eye sockets were sunken, her cheekbones protruded, and her skin had an unnatural grayish-white hue.

Her body twitched slightly under the covers, and unconscious groans of pain escaped her throat, as if she were enduring immense torture.

"This... what is going on?"

Zhao Xinyi's voice trembled slightly.

The old lady's tears welled up again, her voice choking with emotion.

"My daughter... she used to work odd jobs at a factory, on the night shift."

"About a month ago, she came home from work one night and said she felt very unwell, like someone was always staring at her from behind."

"At first, I didn't think much of it, assuming she was just too tired."

"But as the days went by, it got worse. She started talking nonsense, saying there was someone in the room. In the middle of the night, she would start laughing to herself, and that laughter didn't sound like her at all..."

"Finally, she couldn't even get out of bed or eat. It's like she's been drained dry. Now she doesn't recognize anyone; she just lies there all day, and sometimes she'll suddenly scream..."

The old lady broke down in tears, almost unable to continue.

Wu Jiahao's brow furrowed. After listening, a key question surfaced in his mind.

"Ma'am, if the situation was this serious, why are you only notifying the Spiritual Energy Bureau now?"

Upon hearing this, a look of regret and helplessness appeared on the old lady's face.

"When it first happened, I sought out the 'Xuanzhen Sect' nearby."

"The Xuanzhen Sect is very prestigious in this area. Everyone says they have profound magical powers and that they are very effective."

"I believed them and invited them to our home to take a look."

"They said they could handle it and there was no need to involve the Spiritual Energy Bureau. They even said your bureau has tedious procedures and by the time you sent someone, it would be too late."

"Because of their great reputation, I kept trusting them."

"But... but they came several times and took a lot of my money, yet my daughter's condition didn't improve at all. Instead, it kept getting worse. I had no other choice, so I thought... I still had to tell the Spiritual Energy Bureau."

After hearing this, Wu Jiahao felt a headache coming on.

It was this situation again. It seemed the Spiritual Energy Bureau's publicity work still wasn't sufficient... He sighed and spoke to the old lady in a serious tone.

"Ma'am, if you encounter something like this again in the future, you must notify the Spiritual Energy Bureau immediately."

"That Xuanzhen Sect might indeed have some fame among the people, but the Spiritual Energy Bureau is an official organization. We have the most standardized procedures and professional personnel to handle these events."

The old lady nodded repeatedly, her wrinkled hands tightly clutching Wu Jiahao's sleeve as if grasping at the last straw.

"Yes, yes, we understand. I beg you, you must save my daughter. She is my only family left!"

Wu Jiahao and Zhao Xinyi looked at the dying middle-aged woman on the bed, then felt the suffocatingly powerful ghostly qi in the room, and their hearts went cold.

The aura of this Ghostly Creature was cold, violent, and extremely solid.

This was definitely not something two minor First-Level Agents like them could handle.

This was at least a Second Rank, or even stronger Ghostly Creature!

This was originally an investigation mission. According to the rules, the most correct thing for them to do right now was to report it immediately.

They should record the situation and the strength Rank of the Ghostly Creature, and then apply for a higher-level agent to come and handle it.

The two exchanged a look, both preparing to speak, intending to stabilize the old lady first and then head back to turn in the mission.

However, just then.

Chen Nian, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly took a step forward.

In the next second.

"Boom—!"

A boundless energy beyond description suddenly erupted from his body!

It was a brilliant golden energy—scorching, masculine, and domineering, filled with supreme majesty!