Chapter 145: The Woman in the Rain's Past Life

"We've looked into the records of the Woman in the Rain from when she was alive. Three hundred years ago, during the Bourbon Dynasty, she was a French royal paranormalist, astronomer, and philosopher. Her name was Sophia.

"Her end was bizarre. Free of illness or misfortune, she finished drawing astronomical charts for the royal family one day and inexplicably left behind a two-line suicide note:

'There are extra stars in the sky.

'No one has noticed the anomaly. Everyone naturally assumed those stars had always been there, since the dawn of time.'

"After writing those two lines, she locked herself in her Study and committed suicide. The times were turbulent, so her family hastily buried her. No scholars ever looked into the reasons for her suicide or even her life's research.

"Not long after Sophia died, terrifying folklore about the Woman in the Rain began popping up in Paris, Marseille, Belgium, and Luxembourg. You already know her Killing Rule.

"It was just that in that era, things like the internet and video tapes didn't exist. The Woman in the Rain spread incredibly slowly. Forget an S-Level threat; she barely even reached a B-Level.

"Catholic clergy of the time were sent to deal with her. While they couldn't contain her completely, they basically stopped her from haunting the streets and alleys. After a while, she was gradually forgotten."

Gao Tian knew this.

In that era, the Woman in the Rain didn't qualify as a large-scale supernatural disaster at all, mainly thanks to backward technology.

Entering the modern age meant she could capitalize on its advantages. With her spread across Shanghai City tonight, she was guaranteed to be an S-Level threat at the very least.

The Ghost Infant continued, "Time passed. Someone recorded footage of the Woman in the Rain appearing in an alley in Paris. It fell into the hands of a student from Xia Country studying abroad. After several twists and turns, it was brought into the country and eventually spread completely. The process is a bit of a long story, so I'll gloss over it.

"After the Woman in the Rain broke out, our Galan Society also sent paranormal experts to investigate. We finally discovered some of her rules, but only after paying the price of several members being pulled under her umbrella, their whereabouts unknown."

This Woman in the Rain was truly dangerous.

Even superhumans who were just a hair's breadth away from becoming ghosts themselves were essentially doomed once they fell into her trap.

"For many ghosts, their Killing Rules are related to their lingering obsessions from when they were alive.

"From the Woman in the Rain's perspective, she isn't killing people; she's saving them.

"According to the remnants of her manuscript, a massive catastrophe is coming to the blue planet, and it has to do with the stars in the sky. We don't really understand the connection between the two, though. After all, the original documents are essentially lost.

"After Sophia committed suicide, her obsession became pulling as many passersby as possible into another spatial dimension beneath her umbrella. That way, even if the blue planet's catastrophe arrived, she could save as many people as possible.

"In short, when she approaches you and offers you an umbrella, absolutely do not take it. If you do, you will never come back."

Now, some things finally made sense.

It was why the ghost of the French paranormalist, Sophia, carried such a massive umbrella every time she appeared.

This way, anything looking down from the sky wouldn't be able to see what she looked like or what she was doing.

She was guarding against the stars in the sky.

It also explained why it was always cloudy and drizzling every time Sophia appeared.

The cloudy weather caused poor visibility in the atmosphere. If something truly was looking down at the blue planet from the height of the stars in outer space, it would have a hard time seeing what was happening in this area.

Gao Tian asked curiously, "Where exactly do people go when they take her umbrella? Doesn't the Galan Society know?"

The Ghost Infant said, "We don't know.

"No one has ever been pulled in by the Woman in the Rain and returned alive.

"Neither has a ghost."

Gao Tian asked, "If the Woman in the Rain offers me an umbrella and I refuse to take it, what happens?"

The Ghost Infant turned the mannequin's head to look at Gao Tian and said slowly, "You can try and see for yourself.

"But so far, anyone who enters the range of the Woman in the Rain's umbrella eventually takes it.

"Whether human or ghost, there are no exceptions."

Understood. This was a hard rule.

The Woman in the Rain definitely had a way to force people to take the umbrella. It was either mental contamination or she made her victims see something.

"Once we leave, we're bound to run into this French paranormalist," Gao Tian said. "If we can't even protect ourselves, we definitely can't protect this female ghost hunter."

The Ghost Infant said, "Ghosts don't possess intelligence. That means if you grasp the right method, you can bypass their Killing Rules and even fool them."

She had come prepared. From a corner of the building, she retrieved the White Umbrella she had readied beforehand, along with Brown Rain Boots. She handed a pair to Gao Tian. "Put these on. For a certain period, the Woman in the Rain might consider you one of her own kind and temporarily refrain from pulling you under her umbrella.

"Of course, this isn't a long-term solution.

"If you really do run straight into the Woman in the Rain and there's no way to avoid her, you must enter the world beneath her umbrella and speak a single sentence to her as fast as you can—

'Quando stellae moventur, genus humanum estinguetur.'

"After you say that, the Woman in the Rain will close her umbrella and let you leave.

"However, the magic of those words only works once. Absolutely do not use it unless it's a critical moment. If you use it a second time, it won't have any effect."

As they spoke, Ai Ning remained silent. Following the program Gao Tian had designed in her memories, she walked out of the Liberation Building and headed toward the city center of Shanghai City, where the roar of artillery still echoed.

Realizing she had talked a bit too much, the Ghost Infant changed into her rain boots as fast as she could and hurried out right behind her.

What she had taught Gao Tian was a phrase in Latin. Gao Tian practiced it under his breath a few times, making sure he could spit it out flawlessly in an emergency. Then, he became the third to step out of the Liberation Building.

Having the Ghost Infant scout ahead meant she could handle most supernatural events.

After all, she was a Fierce Ghost too. There was nothing better suited to deal with a Fierce Ghost than another Fierce Ghost.

Her expertise perfectly matched the job.

As they passed through the once-bustling Xixia Road Pedestrian Street, most of the shops on both sides had their doors shut tight, and the street was completely devoid of people.

Bodies were scattered everywhere, dead in endlessly bizarre ways that showed a terrifying amount of imagination.

Sure enough, in a city this big, there were all kinds of ghosts.

There were also corpses wearing black uniforms, still clutching guns in their hands even in death. They were members of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau. In this catastrophe, the difference between them and ordinary people wasn't all that great.

Ai Ning sprinted ahead the entire way. Her only thought was to quickly find the ghost hunters' base and deliver this crucial intelligence regarding Dr. Adam. She completely bought into her implanted memories of being "unconscious" in the Liberation Building, entirely oblivious to what had actually happened.

As they ran, Gao Tian gradually sensed that something was wrong.

The scene on this street was a bit bizarre.

Catching up behind the Ghost Infant, he whispered, "Haven't you noticed? Along the way, haven't the streets around here been a bit too normal?"

The Ghost Infant had also been a ghost hunter in her past life and had long since sniffed out an ominous vibe. However, she deliberately retorted coldly, "What's wrong? Where's the problem?

"We've made it this far without any ghosts attacking us. Isn't that a good thing?"

Gao Tian knew she was playing dumb. She was deliberately holding her tongue to make him say it, testing his reasoning skills.

Without minding it, Gao Tian directly stated his deduction. "With so many people dead around here, there must have been many Fierce Ghosts passing through.

"But we've walked this far and haven't seen a single ghost. How did these corpses get here, and where did the Fierce Ghosts that killed them go?

"There are only corpses, no ghosts."

The Ghost Infant nodded. Keeping her eyes on Ai Ning ahead, she asked, "Then how do you think we should explain this?"

Gao Tian stroked his chin, assuming a thoughtful posture. "There are two possibilities.

"The first is that after the Fierce Ghosts killed the living in this area, they all left, drifting toward more crowded places to continue killing.

"But the likelihood of that happening is extremely small.

"Ghosts don't choose to gather or leave just because an area has more or fewer people. Otherwise, if every resident in Shanghai City chose to isolate themselves in their homes, wouldn't the death rate drop significantly?"

Even the Ghost Infant couldn't help but say, "You've hit the nail on the head.

"It's not easy to notice that.

"So what about the second possibility?"

Gao Tian said, "A much worse possibility.

"A particularly powerful ghost hunter or Fierce Ghost has appeared in this area, wiping out all the other Fierce Ghosts that were wandering around here."

If it were a human, probably only Old Man Sun or a few of the top bosses at Shadow Headquarters could achieve this kind of clearing effect.

But Old Man Sun had already said that he wouldn't make a move until Xu Yuan appeared.

It was even less likely to be Xia Ta and the others from the Living Apartment. When they set out, they had headed in the exact opposite direction.

That left only the possibility of a Fierce Ghost.

Gao Tian still clung to a final sliver of hope. "Could it be the Woman in the Rain's doing? Did she bring all the Fierce Ghosts in this area beneath her umbrella?"

The Ghost Infant countered, "If the Woman in the Rain were that kindhearted, why would the Galan Society expend so much effort? What would be the point of our existence?

"Wouldn't it be better to just let the Woman in the Rain pull every supernatural event in Shanghai City under her umbrella?"

That was true.

As the two spoke, their eyes began scanning their surroundings, ready to confront whatever anomaly was lurking on this street.

Just what kind of entity could drive away all the other Fierce Ghosts within a ten-mile radius?

Just then, Ai Ning, who had been sprinting ahead this whole time, seemed to spot something. Her pace visibly slowed down.

In the distance, the streetlights lining both sides of the road were going out, one by one.

Like a wild beast lunging forward, the darkness swept toward Ai Ning as the streetlights rapidly extinguished.

Ai Ning immediately turned around and fled back toward the Ghost Infant and Gao Tian.

This was bad!

She had clearly seen something in the darkness. Whatever it was, it made the female ghost hunter instantly lose her will to fight and choose to run.

"We can't let this woman die here," the Ghost Infant said coldly.

In the next moment, she activated her supernatural ability.