Chapter 91: Foreign Ghost Hunter Team

The white mercenary standing in the corridor looked highly professional. A dark red religious blessing device was mounted on his Submachine Gun; the baptized bullets it fired were meant to obliterate targets far beyond ordinary humans. His Goggles were equipped with a specialized tracking function that revealed high-heat signatures invisible to the naked eye. Under specific conditions, they could also shield the user's vision to prevent them from seeing things that would instantly drive a person mad.

Gao Tian made a simple deduction.

This was a foreign ghost hunter.

Supernatural incidents were erupting all over the world, not just in Xia Country. Foreigners were human too; they died just the same when they ran into ghosts. Corresponding professionals and agencies had emerged overseas specifically to deal with these entities.

Based on what the mercenary had said, this corridor was likely a closed zone within some North American supernatural incident. A woman in their team named Nancy could create a spatial channel to lead the entire squad out of this sealed space.

For some unknown reason, however, the spatial channel's exit point had malfunctioned. Instead of California, it locked onto the eleventh floor of the Jinhai Building in Shanghai City, thousands of miles away. This was what caused Wang Wenbo and the others to mistake the sudden appearance of the mysterious staircase for a paranormal phenomenon.

This corridor must have originally housed some Fierce Ghost or an entity beyond human comprehension, though its current whereabouts were unknown.

After hearing the Wind Attendant Buddha's explanation, the white mercenary slowly lowered his Submachine Gun. His eyes remained full of wariness, tracking the Wind Puppet's every move.

He continued to press in English, "What city is downstairs?"

Gao Tian replied, "Shanghai City.

"It seems Miss Nancy from your team has a terrible sense of direction.

"The deviation of this exit channel is way too large. To lock onto Xia Country's Shanghai City all the way from California."

The misunderstanding between the two sides cleared up a little. The mercenary, who had been extremely tense and on edge, relaxed slightly upon learning that the other party was human. "I am Bruce.

"Was the guy who just came up your accomplice?"

Gao Tian knew he was referring to the security guard, Xiao Liu.

"No, he is just an ordinary person.

"Your botched coordinates dragged him into a supernatural event he had no business being in. He is stuck at the top of the stairs, and his sanity has already slipped.

"I plan to take him away when I go back downstairs."

Bruce let out a soft chuckle, utterly dismissive of Gao Tian's words. "This is the Spire of Bitterness. Once an ordinary person enters, they shouldn't even dream of leaving in this lifetime.

"If your friend wants to get out of here, or even sue us for medical expenses and emotional damages, the prerequisite is actually making it out alive."

He had no desire to waste time on a normal human. In contrast, Bruce was far more interested in Gao Tian's "superpowers." "Are you a mage? Or some kind of esper? Otherwise, how can you command the wind element to fight for you?

"I have never seen an ability like this. Captain Aurora would love it.

"Your control over the wind element is perfect for exploring the Spire of Bitterness. Want to consider joining our team? You would get extremely generous compensation."

In the distance, the terrifying roar of that woman echoed again. It sounded like countless fingernails scraping across a metal panel, enough to cover one's entire body in goosebumps.

Gao Tian countered with his own question, "What is the Spire of Bitterness?

"How long is your channel going to last here? I hope no monsters from this corridor will charge outside and wreak havoc on Shanghai City."

Bruce turned his head and smiled at a new figure appearing in the corridor. "This newcomer really knows nothing. Forget it. Nancy, you explain it to him."

This time, it wasn't Bruce who answered his question. From around the corner, a tall, blonde, blue-eyed white woman slowly stepped out. She smiled and explained to Gao Tian, "After the supernatural revival, a massive number of haunted houses appeared in America. Acting as individual units, each haunted house contains supernatural entities that defy scientific explanation.

"Once targeted by a haunted house, it is a dead end for an ordinary person; they can only wait for death. But for mercenaries like us, haunted houses hide massive amounts of wealth—things humanity couldn't have even imagined before this new era."

Lan Zhu had mentioned this concept of haunted houses when she flew back from America.

She had provoked two haunted houses while in America, one of which was called the Silent Terminus Corridor. Its nature was quite similar to the Living Apartment. At regular intervals, the victims had to eat dinner at a designated location. Residents who refused would be forcibly hanged inside the haunted house.

This so-called Spire of Bitterness was likely a similar haunted house.

The blonde beauty named Nancy looked at the Wind Attendant Buddha's wind-composed torso with deep interest in her eyes. She continued her explanation, "The biggest difference between the Spire and other haunted houses is that it is made up of absolutely closed, secret spaces. Once an ordinary person enters any of these spaces, they will never be able to leave in this lifetime.

"Therefore, for players who enter the Spire to leave, they must have someone with special abilities. Someone who can create a channel, a wormhole, spatial displacement, a door—call it whatever you want, but you absolutely must have your own method of getting out.

"Because of this, the entry threshold for the Spire is extremely high. Ordinary ghost hunters don't have the qualifications to come here at all; doing so is a guaranteed death sentence, let alone for a mortal."

This explained why Bruce and the others were so eager to invite Gao Tian into their team the moment they saw his Wind Attendant Buddha.

The Wind Puppet's ability was incredibly unique and perfectly suited for the Spire. After entering a closed space, one only had to focus on completing the mission without needing to worry about how to evacuate.

"Seriously, won't you consider joining our team?

"The squad's compensation is extremely lucrative. On every floor of the Spire, there are items that certain important figures need. We just have to take the missions and retrieve the items from the Spire for those corporate bosses, and we can earn more wealth than we could spend in a lifetime.

"Manors, supercars, yachts—you can have whatever you want.

"Our team is also very diverse. As long as they are capable, anyone is welcome to join, regardless of their country or region.

"If you are willing, I believe you would get along perfectly with Chen and Mr. Muto. After all, you come from the same cultural background.

"We've been talking for so long. What is your name, my friend from Xia Country?"

Faced with both Nancy and Bruce's recruitment efforts, Gao Tian didn't react much. He neither accepted nor refused. "My name is Gao Tian. You can call me Gao.

"What exactly is at the end of the corridor? That woman's voice is getting louder. Are you sure your team members have handled it cleanly?"

Carrying the burden of the Living Apartment was already exhausting enough for him. He had zero interest in joining some haunted house at the moment.

Bruce smiled and walked toward Gao Tian at a leisurely pace. "Mr. Gao, I have to say, although you are an outstanding individual, you have one very bad flaw.

"You talk too much nonsense.

"This is just an abandoned psychiatric hospital and a mad widow who was locked deep inside the electroshock therapy room over fifty years ago, forgotten by everyone.

"I don't know how she managed to survive for over fifty years with chains still hanging around her neck. This madwoman's body has undergone some mutations. Even if she is sprayed with bullets, she remains completely unharmed. If her head and limbs are severed, they instantly regenerate.

"Of course, there is no need to worry, Mr. Gao. Everything is under control.

"Our Watchman Team has entered and exited many far more terrifying Spire spaces and handled much tougher enemies. A madwoman of this caliber isn't even worth mentioning. My two teammates have already brought her under control."

Gao Tian realized that this woman had simply turned into a ghost.

Ghosts were immortal and indestructible. Relying on machine gun fire could suppress her for a while at best, but it was impossible to completely kill a ghost.

Furthermore, every ghost had its own Killing Rule. It was just that this "madwoman" hadn't displayed hers yet. With Bruce maintaining such an arrogant attitude, something was bound to go wrong soon.

Nancy said smugly, "Our teammates have almost secured the item Mr. Jiu requested for this commission. All we have to do now is wait here for our partners to regroup, and then leave through the channel. Then this mission will be over.

"Mr. Gao, I'm afraid your friend won't be able to leave this staircase. That's because the stairs were prepared for our Watchman Team's retreat. If an ordinary person walks in, it will only become an infinitely looping staircase for them—only going up, never down."

Bruce glanced at the watch on his wrist, looking somewhat puzzled. "How much longer until the channel you created closes, Nancy?"

"It's still early. One hour," Nancy replied.

She joked, "But, if I am killed, the channel will turn into an ordinary staircase and completely collapse within two minutes.

"May God bless me and keep that from happening."

A trace of surprise appeared on Bruce's face. "Strange, it's been almost five minutes. Why haven't Joe and the others come over yet?

"Didn't they already send the signal for us to open the channel and prepare to leave this godforsaken place?

"Could they have run into another unexpected situation on their way from the other corridor?"

Nancy said, "It's only been five minutes. Don't be so impatient; patience is a virtue.

"If they really encountered something they couldn't handle in that electrotherapy ward, they would fire a flare to call us over."

In the distance, the woman's roaring didn't sound right anymore. It was visibly drawing closer to their direction.

Bruce was a veteran mercenary who had faced death for many years, making him highly cautious. "Something's not right here. I don't want to wait for those two idiots anymore. I'm taking the stairs and leaving first."

Nancy refused to leave—though naturally, it wasn't out of concern for her comrades' lives. "We haven't secured Mr. Jiu's item yet; we can't leave!"

Just as the two were arguing, the Wind Attendant Buddha controlled by Gao Tian couldn't help but interject, "Um—

"Do you guys want to take a look at what exactly that lump running toward us down the corridor is?

"Is that your teammate?"