Chapter 100: The Offered Terms

Gao Tian's hands never stopped moving. He continued to incubate the third Ghost Infant against Ghost Cave's cocoon. At the same time, he held his mobile phone and complained to Xu Yuan about the misdeeds of these two 'brats': "Old Xu, I'm not trying to criticize you, but these two ghosts have gone way too far.

"Today, who knows what got into them. They tracked me down through the internet, stubbornly insisting I was a living person instead of a ghost. They wanted to butcher me to clean up the Chat Group.

"As their elder, I didn't want to bicker with them, so I let them kill me once to prove I wasn't human. That shows enough patience, right? I treated it as kids acting out and didn't blow it out of proportion.

"But after killing me once, they wanted to kill me a second time, and after the second time, a hundred times more. I gave them an inch, and they took a mile. It was completely endless. If they wanted to kill me for ten thousand years, was I supposed to just sit here for ten thousand years and wait to be killed?

"After being killed for the fifty-seventh time, I lost my patience and triggered my Killing Rule to leave. Who could have guessed that this Ghost Cave would suddenly lose its mind? It activated its ghost domain and completely sealed off the space so I couldn't escape.

"No matter what I used to be, I was someone of status before I died. I never suffered this kind of humiliation when I was alive.

"Out of sheer necessity, I imprisoned the female ghost first, yet the male ghost still wanted to keep fighting me. I warned it plenty of times. Now, I'm going to tear apart all of its Killing Rules and confiscate its ghost domain. As for its body, it's useless, so I might as well leave it for my little ghosts to eat.

"Brats need a proper lesson. If their family won't teach them how to behave, someone else out in the world eventually will."

Gao Tian firmly stood his ground on three points.

First, he was not a living person. There wasn't a living person in the world powerful enough to resurrect after being killed fifty-seven times.

Second, it wasn't that he was unwilling to prove he was a ghost. On the contrary, ever since Ghost Cave and the other ghost arrived, Gao Tian had been actively cooperating with them.

It was Ghost Cave who kept pushing its luck, forcing him to take action and punish it. He absolutely hadn't struck back out of guilt or a fear of continuing to prove himself.

Third, he possessed his own Killing Rule, and a formidable one at that. In the ghost realm, he could be considered an elder who had been dead for quite some time. This was further proof that he wasn't a living person.

On top of that, Gao Tian had faintly realized something else.

In the Chat Group, the Galan Society had very few true core members—only Xu Yuan, Infinite Floor, and a few others were relatively active.

There were other ghosts in the Chat Group, like Burned Ghost. The rest of the Galan Society didn't actually know them, and they had no idea what Xu Yuan's goal was in dragging these wandering spirits into the group.

Because it was no longer their usual small circle, Xu Yuan had forced a bunch of unrecognized ghosts together in the Chat Group. This was what had triggered Ghost Cave's massive bout of paranoia, prompting it to scour the group for a living intruder.

Xu Yuan had likely warned it beforehand not to go flying through the internet on a whim. There were some heavyweights in the Chat Group whose bottom lines even Xu Yuan wasn't entirely sure of.

But if a brat actually listened, it wouldn't be a brat.

Now that Gao Tian had single-handedly suppressed two Fierce Ghosts, he could be considered one of the unfathomably deep 'ghost heavyweights' in the Chat Group.

It seemed Xu Yuan was also treating him as a peer in these negotiations. Concepts like compensation were only offered between people of equal standing.

Since he held the moral high ground, even when facing a great terror like Xu Yuan, he had to fake a tough, uncompromising stance.

Slightly to his surprise, Xu Yuan didn't actually seem to care much whether Gao Tian was human or a ghost. His main concern going forward was discussing the price for Gao Tian to release the ghosts.

The man's voice on the mobile phone was calm. "Yes, there are many heavyweights in the group. These two wild children still think it's like when they were alive, back when the Galan Society was newly founded. Back then, everyone outside the office was a familiar neighbor. If they offended someone, they could just apologize, take a beating, and it would all blow over.

"How about this, Mr. Memory Ghost.

"Our time is precious, and I don't like to waste words, so I'll get straight to the point. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer for all the damage and problems caused by their unauthorized actions today.

"But I am taking these two ghosts back at all costs. No matter the method, no matter the price.

"I failed to protect them when they were alive. I can't fail to protect them now that they're ghosts.

"I am a reasonable man. Their test should have ended after killing you twice. Everything they did after that was excessive. You can name whatever compensation you want. However, if normal compensation isn't enough to satisfy you, I will also consider using some extraordinary methods to take them away.

"After all, aside from my lifelong dream of ending the era of the supernatural, the children of the Galan Society are my only family in this world. No matter what they've done out there, I could never just stand by and watch them be locked up.

"Do you understand what I mean?"

It was rare for Xu Yuan to say so much, and the sheer volume of information hidden in his words was explosive.

First of all, Gao Tian understood his main point: Xu Yuan was going to take Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant away.

The price could be negotiated. Compensation could be discussed. Anything could be negotiated. But Gao Tian shouldn't dream of keeping the Ghost Infant in the box; its existence meant too much to the Galan Society. The same went for Ghost Cave.

Right now, Xu Yuan was still thousands of miles away, speaking to Gao Tian over the phone line. If the negotiations fell apart, Xu Yuan himself would likely pay a personal visit to the Jinhai Building.

Second, Xu Yuan had unintentionally let slip a very strange statement.

His lifelong dream was to end the era of the supernatural?

Weren't the members of the Galan Society all murderous ghosts who killed without batting an eye?

It was true that they had once been alive. Back then, they were struggling residents of the Living Apartment, working as ghost hunters. If Xu Yuan had said that his and his teacher's wish when they were alive was to end this supernatural era, there would be absolutely no problem with that.

So why, after Xu Yuan's death, were the Fierce Ghosts in the Chat Group all bloodthirsty monsters who would jump through the internet at the drop of a hat to slaughter people, dragging an entire building into a ghost domain? Given the terrifying devastation they had caused right in the center of Shanghai City, for Xu Yuan to abruptly claim his dream was to end the supernatural era—wasn't that completely contradictory?

On top of that, Xu Yuan, Ghost Cave, and the other ghosts had repeatedly mentioned in the group that they were working on something that was fast approaching. It only layered mystery upon mystery.

Was this impending event related to Xu Yuan's goal of "ending the era of the supernatural"?

Was he just spouting nonsense to deceive him, or was Xu Yuan becoming a ghost actually part of some massive scheme itself?

Before Gao Tian had time to think, Xu Yuan continued speaking on the other end of the phone, pouring an overwhelming amount of information into his mind. "We don't have much time left. With the entire Jinhai Building vanishing in the middle of the city center, the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's forces will be rushing here.

"When they arrive, let alone Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant, even you won't be able to leave.

"Memory Ghost, I want you to immediately release the imprisoned Ghost Infant. Ghost Infant will then take the sealed Ghost Cave in the cocoon and leave. You won't have to worry about anything after that. All you need to do is ignore them as they depart.

"Of course, under my orders, these two infants will absolutely not dare to attack you again once they escape captivity."

Next came the main event.

Gao Tian asked, "Then, what's in it for me?"

Xu Yuan replied, "Four things.

"First, you can claim two bottles in front of the Divine Tree. I originally prepared these two bottles for myself, but I am transferring them to you free of charge.

"Second, I will transfer another four hundred years of the lifespan hidden within the Divine Tree to you.

"Third, a total of ten favors. From now on, as long as you @ Ghost Infant or Ghost Cave in the Chat Group, they must immediately appear before you to do one thing for you. It doesn't matter what kind of enemy you are facing—whether it's a living person, a Fierce Ghost, or the stations of the Inner World. They will obey your commands, and all their Killing Rules will be at your disposal.

"Fourth, I can tell you about something that is destined to happen in the future. The fate of all humanity."

Gao Tian didn't even have time to weigh whether Xu Yuan's offered conditions were greater than his own loss from letting the Ghost Infant go before Xu Yuan continued. "On top of that, there are two bonus conditions. They might not be useful to you right now, but you can save them. One day, they will definitely prove useful.

"First, I will reserve a seat for you, Memory Ghost, in the future Ghost Nation I am establishing. This is a ticket to the new era.

"Second, we can meet face-to-face and talk about the secrets of the Divine Tree and the Inner World. This is information that other ghosts dream of obtaining. As a show of sincerity, I am willing to tell you a portion of it."

The sheer volume of information was overwhelming. Gao Tian needed to properly digest it all.

It was obvious that Xu Yuan truly wanted Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant back. The list of terms was so long that Gao Tian couldn't even memorize it.

The most noteworthy term that had come up was the Supernatural Disaster Bureau.

Gao Tian had seen this organization's name more than once while checking on the recent supernatural events happening across the country.

The Supernatural Disaster Bureau was the official government agency responsible for handling all kinds of supernatural events. From what he remembered, aside from going dark for a while after the Woman in the Rain incident, the Bureau was generally capable of handling most other events.

Even Xu Yuan was somewhat wary of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau. Once they attracted the Bureau's attention, even Xu Yuan's arrival might not be enough to fix things.

Then, there were the Divine Tree, the Ghost Nation, and the small bottles.

What on earth were all these things?

It sounded like the place the Galan Society resided in after death was what they called the Divine Tree?

Mysterious small bottles hung beneath the Divine Tree, and the tree itself harbored lifespan inside?

Gao Tian remembered the first time he claimed a Black Envelope in the Chat Group; it had required him to pay a portion of his lifespan as the price.

After learning that all the members of the Chat Group were ghosts, Gao Tian had complained about it. If they were ghosts, why did they still need the lifespans of the living as currency for their transactions?

Now it seemed that the lifespans of the living, using something called the Divine Tree as a medium, were actually useful to ghosts?