Chapter 102: Ghosts With Wisdom

Gao Tian leaped straight into the black hole, landing firmly on the first floor of the Jinhai Building. Amidst the ruins, he unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure: Wang Bowen, sitting on the ground in his plaid shirt. It was hard to imagine just how lucky he had to be. With half the building destroyed and support pillars snapped all around him, Wang Wenbo sat perfectly unharmed on the ground floor. Even his glasses were unbroken.

He was likely benefiting from Gao Tian's Ghost Luck. Those Gao Tian didn't want dead naturally wouldn't die.

Seeing Gao Tian drop from the second floor to land right in front of him, Wang Wenbo stared blankly for a long time. He slowly struggled to his feet, but his legs gave out. Dropping to a half-kneel, he broke down into a wailing sob, then started to gag. He violently threw up everything in his stomach until it was empty. With nothing left to vomit, he just kept twitching and crying.

It was hard to tell if he was weeping in relief at surviving, or howling because his entire company was gone. His department was gone. Everything he had worked so hard to build in the big city, the entire reason he had stuck it out this long—all of it had been wiped away.

The sight before him felt all too familiar.

He had already seen this exact outcome in the Future Urn.

There was only one difference: right now, he possessed none of the arrogance and confidence of the "Gao Tian" he had seen in the urn.

The Fortune from the Black Tie had only been enough to save himself and Wang Wenbo; it couldn't save everyone in the Jinhai Building. In the end, Gao Tian had failed to wipe out Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant, those two mass murderers. He had only managed to reach a temporary compromise with Xu Yuan, the boss of the Galan Society.

He would have to take it one step at a time.

Gao Tian pulled the Mirror from his jacket. With a mere thought, he stored the two Urns inside it—one empty, and the other containing the Shattered Face Ghost.

Now, it was just a matter of seeing who arrived first: the Supernatural Disaster Bureau or Xu Yuan.

While Gao Tian stood waiting, the blare of a train whistle echoed from the distant, smoke-filled ruins of the building.

A train—

A train?

How could a train suddenly appear in a place like this?

This was pure madness.

Gao Tian briefly wondered if he had heard wrong. He looked up toward the distance, past a completely collapsed wall. A black, old-fashioned train really was hurtling toward him, its whistle shrieking through the air.

The howling wind forced Gao Tian to squint. Before this massive Black Dragon, both Gao Tian and the kneeling Wang Wenbo seemed as insignificant as ants.

The strange thing was that no one else reacted. Wang Wenbo, the firefighters charging into the blaze, the paramedics, the reporters—all of them were completely blind to the Phantom Train barreling into the fire. Only Gao Tian could see it.

The fierce wind whipped at Gao Tian's clothes. As the train closed to within just a few meters, he remained perfectly still, ready to retreat into the Mirror at a moment's notice.

Then, defying all laws of physics with a heavily exaggerated deceleration, the train instantly slammed to a complete stop.

A rotting arm shoved its way out of the locomotive's window. Thick pus dripped from the hand as a blood-red gash ripped open on its surface. The gash spoke in a human voice, asking Gao Tian, "Memory Ghost?"

Hearing that title, Gao Tian knew exactly who had sent this phantom.

"Someone from the Galan Society?" he asked in return.

The bloody mouth on the arm curled into a grin. "Boss Xu Yuan sent me. I'm here to take you to the Divine Tree.

"Hurry up, those lunatics from the Supernatural Disaster Bureau are almost here. Go around the other side and get on."

Before leaving, Gao Tian forcibly hauled Wang Wenbo up from the ground, signaling him to hurry up and flee the fire to regroup with the rescue teams entering the Jinhai Building.

Once Wang Wenbo was driven off, he immediately walked around to the other side of the locomotive. The stepping board had already been lowered. Gao Tian stepped up and boarded the Phantom Train.

Inside the old-fashioned locomotive cabin, a rotting male corpse manned the controls. This ghost looked incredibly bizarre: its mouth was on its arm, two eyes stared out from its legs, a nose sat on the back of a skull exposed by rotting flesh, and two ears grew out of its chest.

Even among ghosts, it was an incredibly bizarre specimen. It seemed this guy had completely let themselves go after turning into a spirit.

Seeing Gao Tian board, the ghost driver wasted no words. It yanked the control lever hard, preparing to drive the Phantom Train away from the Jinhai Building.

To look at Gao Tian while speaking, it had to lift both of its legs so the eyes on them could face him directly. "We're heading straight into the Inner World next. We'll pass through a few stations and arrive at the Divine Tree.

"When we're flying high up in the Inner World in a bit, don't look down at the scenery. Especially not at the dangerous stations—Pagoda Primary School, Blood Door Village—

"Those places have been extremely weird lately. They aren't peaceful.

"If you see something you shouldn't, it's one thing if you die, but I, Dead Man's Head, will definitely end up buried right along with you."

So this bizarre-looking ghost driver was named Dead Man's Head.

Hearing its warning, Gao Tian quickly caught the flaw in its words and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't we already ghosts? We're still afraid of death?

"The things in Pagoda Primary School are ghosts, and I'm a ghost too. It's our first time being ghosts, so why should I be the one to back down?"

At Gao Tian's question, Dead Man's Head slowly turned its leg. The eyes on it stared straight at him, a trace of peculiarity flashing through their pale gaze.

A moment later, it murmured a sentence that struck like a bolt of lightning. Gao Tian kept his face completely blank, but a massive storm surged in his heart: "Memory Ghost.

"You aren't actually a ghost, are you? You're a living person."

Gao Tian's expression barely changed at Dead Man's Head's probing question.

Inwardly, his mind raced:

Did he say something wrong? Expose a flaw?

Ghosts don't die. That ironclad rule was stated by Ghost Cave in the Chat Group; it wasn't something he had just made up.

Why was it that even a ghost from the Galan Society feared the ghosts of Pagoda Primary School? Was there a strict hierarchy among ghosts?

Or was Dead Man's Head simply bluffing him on Xu Yuan's orders?

Keeping his voice calm, he asked back, "What's the matter, Dead Man's Head? Did I say something wrong?

"Or do you think ghosts can die too?"

Dead Man's Head sighed. Under its control, the Phantom Train slowly ascended, swiftly leaving the Jinhai Building behind to float high above Shanghai City. Clouds drifted below them. They were about to enter the skies of the Inner World.

It faintly repeated his words, "You aren't wrong. Ghosts do not die.

"But do you really think we count as ghosts looking like this—neither human nor ghost?"

That explanation only confused Gao Tian even more.

It wasn't a ghost?

This was easily the funniest thing Gao Tian had heard in months.

Dead Man's Head touched its own ear. "Forget it. You must have just been turned into a ghost by the Divine Tree, so you don't know anything.

"Let me explain some of the basics to you. Otherwise, you'll genuinely think of yourself as an immortal ghost, and you won't even know how you died when the time comes."

Gao Tian didn't know if his Ghost Luck was taking effect, or if Dead Man's Head was simply like this when it was alive. It didn't suspect Gao Tian; instead, it had made an excuse for him.

Naturally, this was exactly what Gao Tian wanted, and he listened closely.

Just what was this Galan Society gang up to? They had called themselves ghosts for so long, so why was Dead Man's Head suddenly denying it?

Playing the fool here to figure out how the Galan Society operated was much better than exposing a flaw later when he reached the Divine Tree and met the scheming Xu Yuan.

Dead Man's Head said, "First off, if we're going to discuss the same thing, we need to define it. Otherwise, you'll talk chicken and I'll talk duck, and we'll just be wasting our time.

"What kind of existence do you think a ghost is?"

Gao Tian pondered for a moment. "Ghosts are what humans turn into after they die.

"Ghosts have the trait of being immortal and indestructible.

"Every ghost controls at least one Killing Rule. A small fraction of Fierce Ghosts can expand a ghost domain.

"Also, killing the living holds an intense attraction for them, almost like an instinct."

Dead Man's Head asked, "Then do you think a ghost should possess wisdom?

"Being able to communicate normally, or even discuss somewhat abstract concepts, just like we're doing?

"Does that kind of ghost fit your stereotype, or the general public's understanding of what a ghost is?"

That counter-question sent Gao Tian deep into thought.

It was true. Under normal circumstances, ghosts shouldn't possess wisdom.

The Shattered Face Ghost, the long-necked woman, the Mirror Ghost—every entity he had encountered so far was a chaotic, mindless existence. They couldn't communicate and refused to try, initiating their massacres like pre-programmed software.

Even though the Memory Ghost could communicate with humans, that was strictly part of its Killing Rule. At its core, it was an entity that only knew how to kill.

Yet the 'ghosts' in the Galan Society seemed remarkably unique.

Looking at their chat logs in the Chat Group, they seemed just like living people.

Xu Yuan even displayed emotion, capable of negotiating a deal with Gao Tian and making mutual concessions.

This was a blind spot Gao Tian had long overlooked—the Galan Society's 'ghosts' were an incredibly unique breed. They were fundamentally different from naturally formed ghosts.

Dead Man's Head gave an eerie laugh. "I'll just give you the answer outright, kid.

"Ghosts shouldn't have wisdom. Ghosts are indescribable, incomprehensible, and refuse to communicate with humans.

"If a ghost retained its human memories and emotions, while simultaneously gaining a ghost's immortal and indestructible nature—

"Then, in a sense, what difference is there between it and an immortal?

"The immortals passed down in ancient legends, holding eternal youth, living as long as the heavens, and mastering various spells and Great Daos—isn't that just a ghost that kept its wisdom?

"If every ghost could retain their memories and intellect from when they were alive, then becoming a ghost after death would actually seem like an excellent thing. Flesh and blood are weak; who would resist becoming a ghost?

"That is not a normal ghost. Normal ghosts don't even have self-awareness; they're nothing but walking corpses. That's why the living are so resistant to becoming one.

"Can you follow my logic?"

Gao Tian heard his own voice tremble slightly. He carefully hid it as best as he could. "So, according to what you're saying—

"Then what exactly are the people of the Galan Society, and Ghost Cave?"