Mysterious Awakening

Chapter 273: Support urbanization

---

"The gloom over Dachang City is dissipating."

It was 9:30 at night.

An astonishing piece of news came from the temporary command center outside Dachang City.

The gloom that had enveloped Dachang City for nearly a month finally began to recede today. Observers outside the city had watched it grow denser and the situation worsen, with no signs of improvement until now.

"What? Is this information reliable?"

Upon reaching the ears of Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua, he jolted awake inside the tent and sat up: "Quick, notify the others, call an emergency meeting."

Instantly, countless lights lit up around the command center, and all key personnel still at rest were awakened.

In less than ten minutes, the temporary meeting room was packed with people.

"Yang Jian has succeeded. He has contained the source ghost, and it seems the Hungry Ghost incident is resolved for now. The gloom is disappearing; we should be able to send people into Dachang City," Wang Xiaoming's voice came through the communication console.

"Great, Minister, give the order. I'll lead the repair team into Dachang City and ensure that water and electricity are restored within eight hours," a logistics officer said excitedly.

"Our medical and rescue personnel are also assembling. We can be ready within ten minutes, please give the order, Minister."

"The first batch of emergency supplies is ready to go. As long as the roads are clear, we can deliver the supplies to Dachang City within half an hour."

Cao Yanhua was also somewhat excited, but he didn't let the joy cloud his judgment, saying, "What's the rush? Proceed as planned. Li Jun, Zhao Jianguo, take the special forces and the supporting criminal police into Dachang City, and make sure to meet with Yang Jian as soon as possible."

"Bring the box, and don't let any accidents happen. I'll wait here for your report."

"Rest assured, Minister, we guarantee to complete the task," Zhao Jianguo said.

"Move out."

The two quickly left the meeting room and began to gather their teams to enter Dachang City.

The vanguard had to be composed of ghost controllers, as the situation in Dachang City was complex and unique. Rushing in recklessly could lead to unforeseen dangers.

In just a moment.

On the main road leading to Dachang City, Zhao Jianguo, with fifteen criminal police officers and Li Jun with ten special forces members, were already driving over.

Five armored vehicles stopped near the caution zone.

They observed again.

The gloom that had covered the road ahead had already dissipated by at least seventy percent. Although remnants of gloom still floated, the road ahead was now clear, and even the outlines of buildings within Dachang City could be faintly discerned.

If it weren't for the night, the situation would be even better during the day.

"The gloom really has dissipated, and the situation has improved significantly from what we observed before. Yang Jian has indeed succeeded; things are getting better here," Zhao Jianguo said. "Li Jun, send a team to Guanjiang Residential Area to pick up Professor Wang, I'll meet with Yang Jian and secure that thing in the box, ensuring nothing goes wrong."

"Be careful, there might still be ghost infants lurking in Dachang City," Li Jun warned.

"You too."

"Let's go."

The five armored vehicles were the first to enter Dachang City, their headlights illuminating the path ahead, bringing a glimmer of light to this dark city.

Yang Jian was unaware and unconcerned about how the rescue operation outside was unfolding.

He simply reported the situation to Wang Xiaoming.

Soon, the information would be relayed to the criminal police headquarters, and he didn't need to worry about the rest.

At the moment, Yang Jian moved a chair and sat at the entrance of the school, his eyes still fixed on the motionless corpse in the security room.

Fearing a resurgence or an accident, he had to stand guard until he was certain the thing was securely imprisoned.

The corpse of the Hungry Ghost, which had looked identical to Zhou Zhengzhang, had been motionless since a coffin nail pierced through its skull, still in the fallen posture, no different from a normal corpse.

A corpse that doesn't move is a good corpse.

Yang Jian firmly believed this.

If this thing could still move, then the situation could change again.

"My deduction was correct; this coffin nail can indeed pin the Hungry Ghost here, rendering it immobile... But what exactly is this thing, capable of suppressing even a ghost of this caliber?" Yang Jian frowned slightly as he looked at the coffin nail on the dead man's head.

Unclear, it was an unsolved mystery.

Perhaps there would be a chance to figure it out in the future.

"It seems that it's truly over. With the source contained, those derived ghost infants have lost their power source and died outright, just like Wang Shanshan before."

He looked up at the sky.

Helicopter lights were already shining in this direction. As soon as his mission was successful, support from outside had already come in.

"Yang Jian, it's me, Zhao Jianguo. I've confirmed your location and have entered Dachang City. I'll be there in fifteen minutes to help you imprison that thing," suddenly, Zhao Jianguo's voice came through the satellite-positioned phone.

Yang Jian replied indifferently, "Understood, I'm at the north gate of the school."

The criminal police headquarters would soon take over here.

Although he didn't need to worry about the remaining troubles, Yang Jian kept his gaze on the corpse of the Hungry Ghost.

There were two things on it that he was somewhat reluctant to hand over: one was the coffin nail, and the other was the burial clothes on Ye Feng.

The coffin nail was like a sword against fierce ghosts; combined with his Ghost Eye, he could snipe any ghost from a distance. The burial clothes were a very special ghost item; wearing them could ward off other fierce ghost attacks. Although there was a risk of the ghost reviving, Yang Jian wasn't worried about this.

With the Ghost Shadow controlling the burial clothes, he would have the strongest shield, making it impossible for fierce ghosts to kill him.

"Forget it, it's better not to cause trouble at this critical moment. I can't take the coffin nail, and the burial clothes might be removable, but if it suddenly revives, who knows what level of horror it would be? What if the ability to reset time isn't the Hungry Ghost's own, but the burial clothes', wouldn't that mean I've doomed myself?"

Facing a fierce ghost of this magnitude, Yang Jian dared not act rashly.

Not for others, but for his own sake, fierce ghosts were too dangerous, and any mistake could change the outcome.

"You really did it, Yang Jian. You didn't disappoint me," suddenly, a familiar voice came from not far away.

A man in a criminal police uniform with a cold face emerged from somewhere.

Before Yang Jian could turn around, his Ghost Eye had already locked onto him.

"Zhao Jianguo?"

"Thanks to you, I succeeded. This feeling is quite nice," Zhao Jianguo approached with a limp.

The next moment, Yang Jian drew his gun and aimed at him: "Dachang City is in this state because of you. Should I settle both old and new scores with you?"

"Everyone dies; I just hastened it for them. Besides, killing me in front of those criminal police officers won't do you any good. Some might take advantage and erase your merits. Hey, no one wants to see a grassroots hero rise and sway the global situation. You need to be extra careful in the future," Zhao Jianguo said.

"The greater the merit, the greater the danger, especially since you don't have your own power base."

Yang Jian replied, "Do you think I can be swayed by your few words? If your plan has already succeeded, then you're just an ordinary person now. I shoot, and you're dead for sure."

"Of course, this bullet can kill me, but I'm not in front of you. I should have already left the school by now, far enough away that we probably won't meet again. If we do, it means I'm dead."

As Zhao Jianguo spoke, his body suddenly began to disintegrate, turning into a blackish-green mist and dissipating on the spot.

Just like those vanished ghost infants.

"This guy... I'll have Zhao Jianguo send someone to look for him later; he's a disaster waiting to happen," Yang Jian lowered his gun and continued to guard the corpse.

He knew it was just an illusion, similar to the hallucinations he created in the ghost realm. But with the source ghost contained and the blackish-green gloom dissipating, this fake couldn't last long.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly.

The sound of car engines approached, and several beams of light shone in this direction. With a couple of armored vehicles stopping.

A dozen international criminal police officers quickly got out of the vehicles under the leadership of Zhao Jianguo.

"Haha, Yang Jian, that's great. I knew you would succeed. You really didn't let us down. You're the hero who saved Dachang City," Zhao Jianguo said with a hearty laugh as he approached excitedly.

Hero?

Yang Jian thought of Zhao Jianguo's parting words.

No one wants to see a grassroots hero rise.

He frowned slightly, then calmly said, "The corpse of the Hungry Ghost is inside. Let's imprison that thing first."

"Sorry, it was my oversight," Zhao Jianguo immediately ordered his men to act.

A heavy box was quickly rolled out of an armored vehicle, ready to imprison the now-contained Hungry Ghost.