The danger level of the "Blind Boy" was still very high. Initially discovered in an abandoned elementary school in the City of Li, its humanoid appearance was highly deceptive. Some had tried to communicate with it, but they all died after triggering the ghost's killing conditions, making communication nearly impossible.
In addition to its ability to wander freely, before being contained, it had caused nearly two hundred deaths. Because of this, it was classified as a B-grade ghost.
At that time, supernatural events in the City of Li were not as frequent as they are now, and it had taken more than half of the department’s enforcement officers just to resolve this B-grade incident. That’s why Zhou Shi and his companions were so familiar with this ghost.
It had been more than a year since the ghost was contained. Although it was strange that this ghost, which should have been confined, appeared here, the situation was urgent, leaving them no time to think further.
Zhou Shi knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to deal with this little ghost quickly, or else they would all die here.
His companions understood Zhou Shi's glance and immediately knew which tool Zhou Shi intended to use from the tool bag. There was some hesitation; after a brief pause, they opened their tool bag and looked at Zhou Shi, questioning with their eyes if he was sure about using this tool here.
Zhou Shi nodded firmly, believing it was necessary to use the tool now. Delaying further would only make the Blind Boy more troublesome to handle.
Because the boy targeted the loudest sound, being outdoors with background noise gave them some leeway. But if any unexpected event caused the surrounding noise to drop below the level of their breathing, heartbeats, or even the flow of blood, they would all become the boy's targets—relentlessly.
Moreover, the danger level at Li University was still at S-grade, meaning other dangers could appear at any time. They couldn’t afford to be trapped here waiting to die.
Seeing Zhou Shi’s determination, his companion had no choice but to comply. Carefully, they handed the tool bag over to him.
Zhou Shi slowed his movements and retrieved a baseball bat, meticulously wrapped in cloth, from the bag. Originally intended as an emergency tool, it was now about to be put to use.
Looking at the bat in his hand, Zhou Shi slowly tightened his grip.
The Blind Boy’s ability was indeed tricky, and without understanding its killing method, it had been difficult to handle. But now that they knew, they at least had a direction.
Zhou Shi planned to use this seemingly ordinary bat to deal with the situation.
In theory, as long as they could knock the ball out of the little boy's hand, they would be temporarily safe.
Zhou Shi eyed the boy in the distance, who was tilting his head and listening for sounds. His expression was grim, and his grip on the bat tightened, his hands slick with sweat.
However, while the plan sounded simple, it was actually quite difficult.
Although the ball appeared to be the boy’s weak point, getting close to it made the boy highly alert, and his killing method would change. He would instantly target the person closest to him. Additionally, no human could touch the ball directly—any physical contact meant instant death. Ordinary objects couldn’t knock it away either.
Someone once tried using an iron bar to pry the ball from the boy’s hand, but as soon as they got close, the ball seemed to be fused to the boy's hand. No matter how hard they tried, it wouldn’t budge, and the person holding the iron bar triggered the death condition, dying instantly before the boy even tapped the ball.
The same went for other materials. Only special supernatural tools could take the ball from the boy.
For example, when they had initially confined the ghost, they used a net from the department building in the City of Li to scoop the ball from twenty meters away.
Now, without that convenient retractable net, they only had the bat as a poor substitute.
The bat could avoid direct contact, but the wielder had to be within twenty meters of the boy’s attack range to knock the ball away.
Thus, Zhou Shi needed to approach calmly and carefully, knocking the ball away before the boy heard him and tapped it. Otherwise, it would be fatal.
The bat itself was also a supernatural item, so he had to be very cautious using it.
Speaking of the bat, it was somewhat useless under normal circumstances. Apart from its unknown, extremely tough material that no known technology could cut or destroy, it was handy for dealing with weaker C-grade ghosts.
But it had one fatal flaw: it couldn’t be used to strike spherical objects. That’s why his companion hesitated at first, reluctant to use it.
If the bat hit a spherical object, the object would fly away. If there were no nearby ghosts or other incomprehensible entities, it would harmlessly fall to the ground.
But if there was a nearby ghost, the object would automatically target the most powerful ghost in the vicinity, striking it and attracting its hatred. The person holding the bat would then become the ghost’s primary target. If the struck ghost was powerful, death was almost certain.
Fortunately, the bat’s range limit was eighty meters. In the wide, open campus of Li University, Zhou Shi believed his luck was good enough to gamble on this.
After all, they had no other options. The longer they delayed, the more dangerous the situation became, and there was no telling if another ghost would appear nearby.
No sooner said than done. Taking advantage of the wind rustling the leaves and masking his footsteps, Zhou Shi focused and crept toward the Blind Boy. He silently raised the bat, and in the next second, his biceps tightened, and he swung the bat in the boy's direction, the sound of it cutting through the air. The Blind Boy turned, grimacing, and lifted his hand to tap the ball.
Bang!!!
The ball flew out of the boy’s hand. The Blind Boy looked down at his empty hand in confusion before turning to chase after the ball.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhou Shi watched the red ball fly away, praying there were no other ghosts nearby. But just as he finished the thought, he suddenly remembered something.
In their rush to use the bat, both he and his companion had overlooked a crucial point.
Since the bat would send the ball flying toward the nearest, most powerful ghost, didn’t that mean the Blind Boy himself might be within the target range?
In other words… when Zhou Shi swung the bat, it was possible that the ball might not have flown away at all—or worse, might have been knocked right back to the Blind Boy!
Realizing this, Zhou Shi’s face went pale. He looked at the bat in his hand, a cold sweat running down his back. He cursed himself for his carelessness. After all this time in the job, how could he have been so irrational? He was playing with his life.
Luckily, the ball flew away, meaning Zhou Shi’s plan worked. But that wasn’t entirely good news either. If the ball had flown away, it meant there was a ghost within eighty meters that was more dangerous than the Blind Boy.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Zhou Shi didn’t have time to explain the danger to his companions. In the next moment, the sound of the ball hitting the ground reached his ears, and his face froze.
The sound was too close. Based on his rough estimate, the ball had landed no more than twenty meters away, possibly just around the corner of the crossroads.
This meant a powerful ghost was lurking just around the bend—dangerous enough that it might already be aware of them, especially with the bat’s hatred-attracting effect. The ghost would soon be upon them!
Knowing the situation was dire, Zhou Shi immediately signaled his team to run, not daring to look back. The gate wasn’t far; every meter they ran increased their chances of survival.
The seasoned enforcers understood the urgency, running as fast as Zhou Shi. Only two rookie officers, pale with terror, lagged behind.
But as they ran, a strange figure appeared ahead, posed awkwardly. Zhou Shi’s eyes widened in despair.
Rustle, rustle—at that moment, eerie murmurs filled the air.
The next second, the sky turned blood red, and the ground became soft and wet. Zhou Shi's face, still frozen in despair, was now overtaken by shock.
The young officer, Xiao Wu, who had been following closely, had disappeared. Only a senior enforcer and another young officer remained by his side. Zhou Shi looked down and found that he was unharmed, but the world around him had completely changed.
Everywhere, writhing flesh pulsed. It was like a hell made of blood and meat.
Veins throbbed on the trees, and grotesque growths sprouted from what were once lifeless objects. In the distance, massive chunks of misshapen flesh clung to the buildings, and the ground beneath his feet felt like a living organism.
The sheer horror of the scene left Zhou Shi’s mind blank. It took him a moment to recall his conversation with Xiao Wu about the 33rd Federal Protection Zone incident.
In a daze, Zhou Shi thought, that terrifying inner world had finally descended upon this land once again.
Bang!!!
Meanwhile, under the shade of a tree, a red ball flew straight toward a young man looking down at his phone, hitting him before falling to the ground.
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