Mysterious Revival

A sharp scream erupted from Li Yao's mouth, carrying a tremor and revealing a strong sense of panic, sounding somewhat hysterical.

However, this scream did not summon Yang Jian but instead startled the neighboring residents.

Many people turned their heads to look at Li Yao, their eyes filled with an odd expression, as if curious why she had reacted so strongly.

As for the person who stood up with a picture frame over their head, the others did not seem as alarmed as they had been at first.

Because the person was not dead, since they could stand up, they must be a living being.

As for ghosts or supernatural events, they never even considered those possibilities; the concept did not exist in everyone's mind.

"It must be some magic trick, probably some kind of performance art, I almost died of fright. I really thought it was a dead body just now," someone commented while also sighing with relief.

"It shouldn't be, this doesn't quite look like it. The wound on the leg doesn't seem fake, it's still bleeding."

"Maybe it's some kind of realistic dummy discarded by someone in the community."

However, the security guard immediately said, "I've already called the police. For the safety of all the residents, I hope everyone stays back for now. Whether it's a realistic dummy or a magic act, let the case officers handle it."

"Let me see what this thing really is."

One bold person, driven by curiosity, walked over and grabbed the picture frame to give it a shake, seemingly attempting to take the frame off.

Just a slight shake.

The painting on the corpse's neck immediately fell down, but what was horrifying was the body's missing head – nothing but an empty space above the neck, with the severed stump continuously oozing blood, as the dense smell of blood filled the air.

And the oil painting that fell to the ground was now turned over to reveal its front side.

The painting depicted a dim urban background with towering buildings, hidden in the dark world with only vague shapes of a skyscraper and window outlines; the tone was oppressive and dark. In the center of the painting was a large road with a female figure whose features were blurry.

This woman's clothing style did not belong to this era, reminiscent of a European style with a hint of the Chinese Republic era.

The character's portrait in the painting was unclear, which seemed to be the style of this type of oil painting, but the only abnormality was that the woman's hands in the painting were exceptionally clear, as if they were popping out of the painting like a 3D image, almost as though there really were hands growing from the painting itself.

Besides, in an inconspicuous corner of the painting,

there was a modern-style haircut head eerily appearing there, discordant with the painting as if it were an extra piece.

However, no one was paying attention to these details at that moment.

The bystanders were all startled, instinctively stepping back and looking at the headless body that kept bleeding with eyes filled with fear.

Because no matter how you looked at it, it did not resemble a realistic dummy, nor was it any kind of performance art.

What kind of performance doesn't have a head?

But what they feared was merely the corpse itself, still unable to imagine the immense horror that its appearance signified.

At that moment, Li Yao had already fled.

Her face was pale, shouting Yang Jian's name while running frantically towards the building Yang Jian had entered earlier. Though her high heels slowed her down and she even twisted her ankle a few times, at this point, she could no longer care about that.

If you're targeted by a ghost, it won't just be a twisted ankle at stake, but your very life.

In front of a real ghost, an ordinary person's chances of survival are even slimmer than that of an insect.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Li Yao, gasping for air, didn't even take the elevator but ran up the stairs, still calling out for Yang Jian, hoping for a response.

But in the empty stairwell, only her voice echoed, as if Yang Jian was not there.

Li Yao didn't think much about it; she only knew that finding Yang Jian was the only way to be safe. Without the protection of a ghost controller, her life was in jeopardy.

The strength that burst out in her panic was quickly exhausted.

By about the tenth floor, Li Yao was so tired she could barely lift her legs, her face covered in sweat, and her breathing felt sharply painful.

She swore she had never been so exhausted in her life.

Finally.

Li Yao saw Yang Jian's figure at the window in the stairway of the eleventh floor.

"Yang, Yang Jian... Thank goodness, I finally found you. Something, something has happened, this community, it's haunted..."

She gasped for air, unable to catch her breath, her speech incoherent.

"I saw it," Yang Jian remained motionless, gazing down at the community below from his position.

The onlooking residents, the moving headless body, and the oil painting lying on the ground... even though they were far apart, he could still vaguely make them out.

However, at that moment, Yang Jian's Ghost Eye had shut down in a disappointing manner.

It was as if it had crashed, completely unusable.

"It's exactly the same as last time; the Ghost Eye always dares not look directly at the ghost painting," Yang Jian said with a slight frown.

This abnormality was rare for him, but it also indicated from the side that this thing posed a significant threat to him.

"Yang Jian, what should we do now? Let's get out of here, I don't want to die in this place," Li Yao, who hadn't been attacked yet, was already scared out of her wits, nervously clutching Yang Jian's arm.

Yang Jian slowly turned his head, "What are you afraid of? If those onlookers haven't died, you definitely won't be in trouble either. If that thing really wanted to kill people, it would have started by now. The fact that only one person has died must mean the others didn't fit its pattern for killing."

"What did you see downstairs just now? Are you sure it was a ghost painting?"

He was too far away, and though the reaction of his Ghost Eye had given him the answer, he still needed to confirm it for himself.

Li Yao seemed to have calmed down a lot now, she swallowed and took a breath, "I'm not sure, I just saw a painting, an oil painting. The painting was propped on the head of a corpse, but the head of the corpse itself was gone... it was as if the oil painting had eaten it."

"An oil painting that kills?" Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly, "Then it's definitely a ghost painting."

He had read the files on ghost paintings. At the onset of the ghost painting incidents, many people disappeared mysteriously, occasionally leaving behind mutilated corpses. Besides, there was one commonality at the scenes: there was always an oil painting present.

"What was painted on the oil painting?" he asked further.

Li Yao hesitated, "I ran away because I was scared, I didn't, didn't see it."

"Is that so..." Yang Jian mused.

"I won't be in trouble, right? Could the ghost painting have set its sights on me?" Li Yao asked cautiously.

Yang Jian said, "I'm not sure. The killing pattern of the ghost painting is not yet determined, or maybe it has been, but the intelligence headquarters hasn't shared it if it has. They would have no need to hide it from me. Don't be so nervous for now; the chances of the ghost painting targeting you are slim."

He had encountered ghost paintings once before in Dachang City, and he had been fine then. If there had been a problem, he would've died long ago.

Hearing Yang Jian say this, Li Yao breathed a sigh of relief once again.

"It seems the hidden dangers from the operation the day before yesterday have emerged. Now, this really is a headache. The ghost painting could have appeared anywhere else, but it had to show up in the city. If this isn't handled properly, it could turn into another Hungry Ghost incident."

"Let's go down and take a look; some people should be on their way."

Yang Jian had already seen several coordinates approaching quickly on his satellite-positioning smartphone.
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Clearly, the headquarters had received the news and would arrive soon to handle the situation.

When he took the elevator down, several special vehicles had already stopped inside the residential complex.

The onlooking residents had been taken away, and the isolation process was beginning nearby.

Those who had arrived included Chen Yi, Jang Shangbai, and Zhang Lei, who had been temporarily pulled from Ping'an Hotel, forming a makeshift team of three Ghost Controllers.

However, Yang Jian knew each of them.

"Yang Jian, you're here too? The headquarters sent you as well?" Zhang Lei was surprised to see Yang Jian walking out of a building.

Chen Yi and Jang Shangbai also turned to look at him.

"I was just passing by and happened to stumble upon it. How are things? Serious?" Yang Jian greeted them.

"I've just got here myself, not very clear on the details. Chen Yi should know more about it," Zhang Lei shook his head. He was just there to make up the numbers, adding manpower.

Chen Yi did not approach the ghost painting but spoke gravely, "It's not too serious yet, but it's showing signs. This painting is not the first one to be discovered today. The other two in charge have also dealt with similar cases. At least three or four such oil paintings have been collected, and nobody knows how they emerged—feels like an invisible curse that is starting to spread."

"However, the situation is still under control, for now. The loss is not significant. So, are you interested in this matter?"

Yang Jian responded, "Who would be interested in such a thing? I just think it's very dangerous, considering it's been defined as an S-class paranormal event abroad; there must be something truly terrifying about it. Just be careful when you handle it. I'll not get involved."

Having said that, he had no intention of staying and turned to leave.

Chen Yi did not stop him; after all, Yang Jian hadn't been assigned the task and didn't have to deal with it.

Jang Shangbai, on the other hand, was slightly concerned upon seeing Li Yao with Yang Jian.

Why was Li Yao with Yang Jian at this time?

"Pack up the painting and take it away, and deal with the scene," Chen Yi instructed the accompanying personnel to start working.

At this moment, Yang Jian was lost in thought, "More than one ghost painting? So, does this mean that the oil painting that suddenly appeared does not belong to the actual paranormal source, and that the truly terrifying ghost painting is still hidden somewhere unknown?"

"This is going to cause quite a few people to lose sleep."

Even though the ghost painting incident had not erupted yet, this harbinger was already enough to instill fear.