Chapter 154: Reinforcements

The King of All Ghosts, Xu Yuan, had arrived in his loyal Shanghai City.

The over one thousand ghost hunters stationed at the true and decoy headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau had been completely slaughtered.

About two hundred ghost hunters remained at the Abyss Echo garrison, along with a scattering of unofficial ghost hunters in other districts, but they were powerless to turn the tide.

The resistance forces in Shanghai City had, for all intents and purposes, been completely annihilated.

As for Old Man Sun—was he even still around?

Nearly the entire city had been slaughtered, yet he remained hidden away like an old turtle, refusing to show his face. Most likely, he had died of old age before Xu Yuan even set foot in Shanghai.

It seemed the two S-Level Fierce Ghosts prepared specifically for him would not see any action after all.

Carrying Minister Xie's severed head, Xu Yuan walked step by step across a square where pooling blood submerged his ankles. Wherever he passed, countless ghosts lowered their heads in reverence.

It was a pity that those two children, Ghost Infant and Ghost Cave, were not here.

It was truly a shame that they could not witness this scene with their own eyes, that they could not watch the birth of a new world.

Xu Yuan casually tossed Minister Xie's head onto a nearby pile of corpses. The man was no longer important.

High above the barrier of Shanghai City, a black dot rapidly expanded against the distant horizon—a heavy bomber painted dark gray. Like a cold-blooded steel vulture, it slipped silently beneath the cloud cover. Rows of bombs hung beneath its wings, gleaming with an icy metallic luster in the shadows.

A first roar, then a second quickly followed as a fleet of bombers lowered their altitude, howling past as they practically skimmed the barrier. The monstrous birds dropped several "black eggs" that plummeted toward the shield over Shanghai City.

In that very instant—

The air high above the entire city suddenly rippled like the surface of a pond.

A ring of pale golden light, practically invisible to the naked eye, silently unfurled over the city. It rapidly expanded and stretched, transforming in the blink of an eye into an impossibly massive, translucent dome that completely enveloped the metropolis.

Swarms of bombers swept across the sky, continuously dropping payloads onto the city below. Yet no matter how many bombs rained down, they could not breach the invisible membrane covering Shanghai City, let alone allow the reinforcements outside to enter.

Watching this somewhat comical scene unfold, low snickers echoed from the countless Fierce Ghosts on the ground.

How utterly foolish.

It appeared the reinforcements gathered outside the city had realized they could not enter Shanghai City. They were attempting to forcibly bombard the Magic City's barrier with bombers, desperately trying to tear an opening in it.

All the bombing, of course, was an exercise in futility. The various modern weapons created by humanity ultimately only harmed humans themselves. They had absolutely no effect on a Fierce Ghost's domain.

Xu Yuan lowered his gaze. He noticed a small speck of light inexplicably manifesting in the empty space before him. The speck rapidly expanded, quickly forming into a screen the size of a television. It displayed a live feed of a conference room, with the silhouettes of people shifting inside.

Roused by killing intent, several Fierce Ghosts slowly stood up. They approached the mysterious screen, preparing to attack the people inside.

"This is the sort of cheap trick the Vatican clergy loves to play. The people outside the barrier are attempting to communicate with us.

"There's no need to attack them, nor do you need to pay them any mind. They are completely powerless to stop what is happening here."

Staring at the screen that had materialized out of thin air, the worldly and experienced Xu Yuan did not raise a hand; he merely watched with cold detachment.

In a way, this only proved that the ghost hunter reinforcements massed outside Shanghai City were truly out of options.

Having tried every possible method and failing to breach the barrier, their only remaining choice was to negotiate with Xu Yuan.

The blur on the screen dissolved, revealing three figures dressed in sharp business suits.

One was an East Asian man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He looked to be around thirty, with a lean build and jet-black hair cut in a crisp, neat style.

In the center stood a Black woman in her early forties. Her posture was light yet commanding, her deep brown skin reflecting a soft sheen under the lights.

Seated on the far left was an older white man in his early sixties. He possessed a tall, solidly built frame and a pair of grayish-blue eyes that were sharp and dispassionately calm.

These three were heavyweights within the World Ghost Hunter Association—highly influential ghost hunters and elite figures of immense power.

The Battle of Shanghai City had already shocked the globe. The crisis had dominated the top trending searches in over eighty countries, with countless military and supernatural experts glued to the latest developments. The entire world was watching to see whether Shanghai City would fall tonight.

Serving as the representatives of humanity, they stepped forward to speak with Xu Yuan inside the barrier.

Once the connection bridged the barrier and they confirmed the feed was stable, the man on the far left was the first to open fire. Speaking in heavily accented Chinese, he addressed Xu Yuan: "This is our first time meeting, Mr. Xu. I always assumed you were some hideous, vicious-looking monster. I certainly didn't expect you to appear so civilized and refined.

"Had we met anywhere else, I would have mistaken you for a history professor at some East Asian university.

"Why did you do this? The entire world is watching the war unfolding in Shanghai City. Those ghost hunter boys fought valiantly, yet you slaughtered them all.

"You should be ashamed of your actions, Mr. Xu. Assuming you possess even a shred of basic humanity."

Xu Yuan slowly lifted his gaze and cut the man off. "Shut up.

"The only reason this world grows more rotten and hopeless by the day is because it's monopolized by obsolete, antique elites like yourselves.

"You hoard the vast majority of the world's resources, doing nothing but spouting high-sounding rhetoric while perched on your moral high ground.

"You accomplish nothing and contribute nothing. You just take it one day at a time, pretending you can't see the doomed future staring you in the face.

"Thirteen years ago, I began thinking endlessly about how to save this dying world.

"And the conclusion I ultimately reached was that the true Fierce Ghosts are not those rotting corpses spilling their guts and dragging half-severed bodies around.

"It's you. All of you. You useless figures of authority who do absolutely nothing but muddle through life.

"You are the greatest Fierce Ghosts this world has ever seen."

The Black woman slowly spoke up. "Let us try one last time.

"Xu Yuan, I know you will likely refuse, but I still have to ask.

"Name your price. Whatever it is you want, we will do everything in our power to give it to you. You only have to end this war.

"Enough blood has been spilled on this land today.

"If our goal is truly to save this planet, we shouldn't be slaughtering each other. Our goals align."

Xu Yuan slowly withdrew his gaze. "If you had actively tried to figure out how to save this world thirteen years ago, I never would have needed to step onto the stage of history to begin with.

"In my eyes, you are nothing but dead men walking, reeking of decay.

"Have you ever seen someone negotiate with a morgue? With corpses?"

The East Asian man on the right opened his mouth to speak, but Xu Yuan had already lost interest in the conversation. With a casual wave of his hand, the screen of light—which had taken so much effort to project through the Magic City's barrier—shattered into countless fragments that rained down upon the ground.

The negotiations had broken down.

Xu Yuan turned and walked toward the far side of the square. Out near the horizon, the endless horde of ghosts began to stir as two silhouetted figures slowly approached him.

Gao Tian and Ye Jiu.

"Memory Ghost, you performed a great service in this battle. I welcome your arrival."

The moment Gao Tian arrived, Xu Yuan extended a hand toward him, displaying a profound level of respect.

If it hadn't been for his ability to alter Ai Ning's memories—smuggling a Trojan horse virus straight into the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's Shadow Headquarters—Xu Yuan never would have found their subterranean hiding spot so quickly.

If the battle had dragged on long enough for the Magic City's barrier to dissipate, the ghost hunter reinforcements from across the globe would have stormed their way inside.

Had that happened, today's victor would not have been decided so easily.

As for the living human standing beside the Memory Ghost, Xu Yuan couldn't have cared less.

Was this man a friend of the Memory Ghost? Considering the monumental contributions he had made today, Xu Yuan certainly wouldn't mind if he requested a seat for his friend in the future Ghost Nation.

Their hands met in a firm handshake.

Looking directly into Gao Tian's eyes, Xu Yuan spoke with utmost sincerity. "Today's strategic mission is complete. There are still twelve hours before the ghost domain's barrier dissipates.

"Ghost Cave and Ghost Infant are gone. From now on, you are the ghost I trust most within the Galan Society. The promise I made to you remains forever valid."

Gao Tian looked pensive. He replied in a slow, drawn-out tone, seemingly uninterested in Xu Yuan's words. "Oh."

Yet, as he slowly raised his head, countless wrinkles and the weathering of immeasurable years surfaced on his face. Even his expression shifted into one of mockery, tinged with a cold sneer. "I've caught you...

"...Xu Yuan."