Mysterious Revival - Chapter 9 - The Ghost Baby

“The ghost seems to have vanished.”

As Yang Jian cautiously retraced his steps, he found no trace of the ghost that had been chasing him.

Perhaps this was what people meant by “narrow escapes bring blessings.”

He pushed open the door and stepped through, only to freeze in place.

A familiar hallway stretched before him.

Turning back, he realized he was standing outside the very classroom he had fled from earlier.

He was back at the fifth-floor classroom door.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t that door supposed to lead to the restroom?” Yang Jian felt increasingly baffled.

“Cough, cough-!”

Suddenly, a weak and pained coughing sound broke the silence.

“It’s you. How did you come out of the classroom?”

A man in a trench coat, pale-faced and gaunt, was slumped against the hallway wall. His bloodshot eyes, filled with wariness, locked onto Yang Jian.

“Zhou Zheng?” Yang Jian was momentarily stunned.

“I don’t know what’s going on either. Earlier, when I followed the others out, I was grabbed by a ghost and dragged into the restroom. After struggling to find a way out, I pushed open a door and ended up back here.”

“Is that so? It must be the ghost domain at work. Looks like that thing doesn’t want to let you leave.”

Zhou Zheng’s gaze flickered. “But a ghost domain usually only has one vengeful ghost. That vengeful ghost is the Old Man in the black long robe. However, he left earlier. The one you encountered must have been a ghost slave.”

“What’s a ghost slave?” Yang Jian walked closer, curiosity piqued.

Zhou Zheng explained, “In a ghost domain, those killed by the vengeful ghost transform into ghost slaves. They are bound to the ghost master and obey its commands unconditionally, much like serfs to a feudal lord. That’s why they’re called ghost slaves. They’re not as terrifying as vengeful ghosts, but they’re still a significant threat to ordinary people like you. Cough, cough. For a ghost domain that’s only recently formed to already have ghost slaves… You’re lucky to have made it out alive.”

“But now’s not the time to discuss this. Your timing is perfect.”

He pulled out a device resembling a walkie-talkie from his coat.

“This is a satellite phone issued to criminal police. Take it and leave this place immediately. If you manage to get out, someone will contact you later. Just report everything you’ve seen here to the person who reaches out to you,” Zhou Zheng said, his face contorted in pain.

“What about you?” Yang Jian asked.

Zhou Zheng replied, “I’ve reached my limit. Earlier, when I tried to hold off the Old Man, I used too much of the vengeful ghost’s power. That thing is about to enter revival. Those who can wield the power of ghosts are called Ghost Tamers, but the ghosts also gradually take control of us. For someone like me, caught between life and death, existence itself is torment… Ah-!”

Before he could finish, Zhou Zheng let out a pained scream and collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.

As he struggled, his trench coat fell open.

Yang Jian gasped in shock. Beneath the coat was a grotesquely swollen belly, larger than that of a pregnant woman. The skin was semi-transparent, and inside, curled up, was a baby the size of a four- or five-year-old child.

The baby’s skin was bluish-black, its hands tipped with sharp claws. Its eyes were pitch-black, devoid of pupils. It squirmed and clawed inside the belly, as if trying to tear its way out.

“What… What is that?”

“A ghost baby. That’s what the files call it.”

Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth against the pain. “When it first appeared in my belly, it was only the size of a thumb. Every time I use the vengeful ghost’s power, it grows. Even if I don’t use it, it still grows. It’s eaten all my intestines and organs. Every day, I endure the agony of it devouring me from the inside. Every night, the pain keeps me awake…”

“Even now, with all my organs gone, leaving only an empty shell of a belly, I can’t die. Any normal person would’ve been long dead. For me, living is torment, and death would be a relief.”

“Go. Take the phone and leave.”

He threw the phone toward Yang Jian and shouted, “If you don’t leave now, the ghost baby will break free. When that happens, there’ll be two vengeful ghosts here, and it’ll be even harder for you to escape.”

Yang Jian picked up the phone and looked at Zhou Zheng’s agonized expression. He couldn’t help but glance at his own hand, remembering the pain he had endured earlier.

A Ghost Tamer?

Could he have become like Zhou Zheng?

“I’m sorry to disappoint you all. That Old Man was too powerful. I couldn’t hold him off and get you students out. From here on, you’re on your own.”

Seeing Yang Jian pick up the phone, Zhou Zheng managed a bitter smile.

Yang Jian asked, “If you knew so much, why didn’t you leave earlier? You could’ve escaped safely. There was no need to stay and die with us.”

“Because I’m a criminal police officer and a Ghost Tamer. Only people like us can deal with ghosts. If we run away, this world is doomed. I do this not just for the country and the people, but also for my family… and for myself.”

Zhou Zheng’s face twisted in pain as his suffering intensified. He suddenly roared, “What are you still standing there for? Go! Run!”

Yang Jian’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t dare linger and bolted, clutching the phone tightly.

“Oh, one more thing. Be careful of that student in your class, Fang Jing. I ran into him earlier. There’s something very strange about him. He doesn’t seem… human. But I can’t be sure. Stay away from him. I’ve already reported him, and someone will investigate later. Don’t believe any nonsense he spouts about the future. It’s impossible for anyone to travel back from the future. The research institute has already conducted experiments on that.”

Zhou Zheng shouted one last warning amidst his agony.

“What?”

Yang Jian turned back in surprise.

“Ah-!”

As soon as he looked back, a chilling scream pierced the air. Zhou Zheng’s swollen belly had been torn open. A bluish-black baby’s arm reached out, followed by a widening tear as the ghost baby’s head emerged. It looked around curiously, like a newborn child.

But its pitch-black eyes radiated an eerie, malevolent aura.

Run!

Yang Jian’s heart pounded as he turned and sprinted away.

“Waaah-!”

Descending the stairs, he heard the ghost baby’s unsettling cries echoing through the hallway, announcing its arrival to the world.

The ghost baby slowly crawled out of Zhou Zheng’s body. His once-bloated belly deflated like a punctured balloon, leaving behind only blackened, decayed flesh.

Just as Zhou Zheng had said, his organs had long been devoured by the ghost baby.

“Mom… Dad… I’m sorry…”

Zhou Zheng’s eyes dimmed, losing their light. His head lolled to the side as life left him. But his lifeless eyes remained fixed on the ghost baby, which was now crawling in the direction Yang Jian had fled.

The fourth floor, the third floor…

“Thank goodness, I’m not lost.”

Yang Jian hurried down the stairs, a glimmer of hope rising in his chest.

The stairs were no longer shrouded in darkness. Though dimly lit, everything was visible, and there were no signs of the ghost wall phenomenon from before.

No darkness, no disorientation. If everything remained normal, he could leave the school in just a few minutes.

Reaching the second floor, he saw Zhang Wei, Miao Xiaoshan, and a few other classmates wandering the hallway in terror. They held their phones, using the light to guide their way, pacing back and forth aimlessly.

They seemed trapped in some illusion, unable to find a way out.

“No… It’s not that the ghost domain has disappeared or the darkness has receded. It’s that I can see through it now…” Yang Jian’s expression shifted as he glanced at the red eye on his hand.

Could this be the ability of a Ghost Tamer?

If so, then this eye… was also a ghost.

He recalled Zhou Zheng’s earlier words about the ghost baby starting off the size of a fingernail and growing larger over time.

If that were true, what would this ghost eye eventually become?

Would it, too, turn into a vengeful ghost and consume him?

Thinking of Zhou Zheng’s fate, Yang Jian felt a chill run down his spine. He looked at the red eye on his hand with growing dread.

The joy of seeing through the ghost domain vanished instantly.

“Even if this eye eventually kills me, that’s a problem for the future. Right now, I need to get out of here.”

Yang Jian gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus, and strode toward Zhang Wei and the others.

But to Zhang Wei and the others, the world remained cloaked in darkness.

The light from their phones barely illuminated a meter ahead, leaving everything beyond shrouded in shadow.

“Zhang Wei, we’ve been walking for half an hour and still can’t find a way out. Are we going to be trapped here forever?” Miao Xiaoshan asked nervously.

“That Zhou Zheng guy said this is a ghost domain. Do you know what a ghost domain is? Could there really be ghosts? What if we can’t get out because of them? What happened in the classroom earlier… could that have been a Supernatural Event?” another student whispered cautiously.

Zhang Wei replied seriously, “Don’t worry. There’s no way we’ll be trapped here forever. That’s impossible. Trust me, in a few days, we’ll starve to death here. It won’t take forever.”

“…”

Of all times, he had to make a joke like that.

Suddenly-

“Tap, tap, tap-!” Footsteps echoed from the darkness.

“Who’s there?!” Zhang Wei tensed up instantly, his voice trembling. The others, too, were on edge, shaking with fear.

“Relax, it’s me-Yang Jian.”

Yang Jian’s voice emerged from the shadows.

“Stop right there! Don’t come any closer! If you’re really Yang Jian, prove it! What if you’re a ghost pretending to be him?” Zhang Wei demanded.

Yang Jian sighed. “Zhang Wei, can you stop being so paranoid? This place is dangerous. I can lead you out. If you follow me, you won’t get lost.”

He had come specifically to save Zhang Wei and the others. If he didn’t, they were as good as dead. While he had a grudge against Fang Jing, he bore no ill will toward the rest of them.

Besides, with two vengeful ghosts now loose in the ghost domain, the danger was unimaginable.

“Wait. If you’re really Yang Jian, then answer this: What’s my English name? You only get one chance. If you get it wrong, you’re not human,” Zhang Wei said.

“Wordgear Inbangbang,” Yang Jian replied flatly.

Zhang Wei immediately relaxed. “Alright, it’s really you. Not a ghost. You scared me for a second. Good thing I thought of using a code word.”