Mysterious Awakening

Chapter 272，(1) – Five Second Plan

Clutching Zhao Kaiming's satellite-locating phone, Yang Jian's expression was particularly grim.

Just moments ago, he was on the brink of success. No, it was certain he would have succeeded, only one step away. The source ghost hadn't managed to kill him; he had withstood the wave of assault, victory was within reach. But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the outcome had changed drastically—the ghost vanished.

He had returned to forty minutes earlier.

Everything was starting over.

"No, this can't be possible. How could a ghost manage something like this?" Yang Jian slammed his hand down on the lectern, still unable to believe the result.

The sturdy lectern shattered instantly, stirring up a cloud of dust.

But even this did not quell the rage in his heart.

"What happened on your end? Was there any change in the operation? You seemed about to win earlier."

At that moment, Wang Xiaoming's voice came through the satellite-locating phone.

Yang Jian's face was particularly unsightly as he replied hoarsely, "Things have gone beyond our imagination. The plan was progressing smoothly, but an unbelievable emergency occurred. Just as I was about to succeed, everything before my eyes flickered, and I was sent back forty minutes in time. The time here has been reset by the fierce ghost, which probably realized it was in danger and used this impossible method to escape."

"But my memory hasn't been reset, which means the plan that nearly succeeded just now can't be executed a second time. The fierce ghost will surely be on guard."

Wang Xiaoming fell silent.

Even the temporary command center outside Dachang City was engulfed in silence.

Everyone had been closely following Yang Jian's actions, and just as he was about to succeed, everyone had been on the verge of leaping up in excitement. Yet, with a single sentence, all hopes were plunged into the abyss.

"What's the time on your end?" Wang Xiaoming asked after about ten seconds of silence.

"8:50 PM," Yang Jian checked the time.

Wang Xiaoming said, "It's just past 8:10 PM on my side. Based on the current situation, the time reset is real. I'm sorry, I've never encountered such a situation before. This goes beyond normal reasoning. Strictly speaking, this ghost can't be classified as A-level or S-level anymore."

"My previous deduction was wrong. Zhang Han indeed cannot be used as bait; otherwise, we would lose another ghost controller."

"Do you still have the coffin nail in your possession?"

"Of course," Yang Jian replied.

Wang Xiaoming thought for five seconds, "I've come up with a temporary plan that might just work."

"Is there still a chance of success under these circumstances?"

Yang Jian said, "My actions just now were very meticulous. I used myself as bait to lure the fierce ghost into attacking me. After withstanding the first wave of attacks, I used the coffin nail to pin it down, ensuring a foolproof victory. But if it resets time, then no plan could possibly succeed."

"Your plan was bold, and the success rate was very high, almost seventy percent by my estimation, especially after you withstood the first wave of attacks, the success rate was nearly ninety percent. But the unexpected still happened, which was what I feared the most."

Wang Xiaoming said, "I don't know the situation on your end, so I'll just lay out the temporary plan I've devised."

"Assuming the time reset is real, then this time reset is only happening locally. The outside world's time isn't affected, at least the time here is different from yours. I boldly speculate that the range is the area of No. 7 Middle School, and that's a conservative estimate. The time reset range might only be the building you're in."

"If that's the case, I suggest you engage in long-range combat, set up a sniper plan."

"Let's hear it," Yang Jian frowned deeply.

Wang Xiaoming said, "Find a way to shoot the coffin nail into the body of that fierce ghost like a bullet, just like a sniper. As for the sniper rifle that can fire the coffin nail, that's your Ghost Eye."

"I've been secretly collecting your data, and I've found that your Ghost Eye grows stronger with quantity. But I've studied the Ghost Domain more thoroughly than you. If you can maximize your Ghost Domain and try to condense it into a straight line, well, a beam about the size of the coffin nail, as long as this beam is cast beyond the range of the time reset and hits that ghost, you can transfer the coffin nail directly into its body."

"Achieving an instantaneous sniping effect."

"This speed is nearly that of light. The fierce ghost might not be able to react and reset time in time. After all, you felt a flicker before the time reset. Based on human nerve reaction speed, conservatively, there's an interval of about 0.5 seconds."

"Using 0.5 seconds as the data, as long as you can do what I've said, you can stand anywhere in Dachang City and snipe that ghost. It will have no ability to retaliate. But I don't know how far your Ghost Eye can extend, so I suggest you try to reach the farthest distance possible, just in case."

"However, this method has a low success rate and is very risky. After all, there's only one bullet. If it fails, or if you choose the wrong target, then the coffin nail in your hand will be lost. And this is just a preliminary plan I came up with in five seconds. There are many potential problems to overcome, such as how to find that source ghost, and how to ensure your Ghost Domain isn't interfered with..."

"Enough, I get your point. I'll figure out the rest. Just snipe the ghost from a distance," Yang Jian cut him off.

Then, holding the unused coffin nail, he turned and walked away.

Using his Ghost Domain, he left No. 7 Middle School directly.

Here, Yang Jian had no chance of winning. If the ghost could reset time once, it could do it a second time. And he only had one life; if the fierce ghost got him, it would be over.

Sniping the fierce ghost from a distance, although Yang Jian saw many difficulties to overcome, there was still a chance of success.

As long as there was a chance, he had to try.

After fighting to this point, there was no turning back.

After surveying the surroundings of No. 7 Middle School, Yang Jian finally arrived at the rooftop of a telecommunications building over a thousand meters away.

Standing atop the tall signal tower, he could overlook everything at No. 7 Middle School.

The gloom was pervasive, and Yang Jian couldn't see clearly, but through his Ghost Eye, he could barely make out the outline of the school through the haze.

If time had reverted to forty minutes earlier, then the ghost must still be in the school.

The school was large, but at least there was a definite location, rather than searching blindly throughout Dachang City.

"To do as Wang Xiaoming said, I must overcome two conditions. The first is that the Ghost Domain can penetrate the school's gloom, after all, that's its home turf. The second is to find and lock onto the source ghost while the Ghost Domain is condensed into a line."

Yang Jian's eyes flickered, and a mass of black shadow gradually emerged from his body, as if some evil spirit had attached itself to him.

To use the power of the Ghost Eye to its limit, he had to suppress its resurgence with the ghost shadow.

Fortunately, the ghost shadow was in a state of deadlock, and no matter how he used its power, there was no sense of revival, which gave him confidence.