NOVPUBSeeing Zhuo Si's message, Yan couldn't help but frown immediately.
Where has this troublemaker gone to stir up trouble this time?!
What’s going on today? Why is everything happening at once?
Yan massaged her temples in exasperation, but judging by Zhuo Si’s latest message, he had clearly gotten himself into another "spectacular mess."
She deeply doubted his claim of having "accidentally wandered in."
Jue Jue quickly replied, "Where are you? Send your location."
[Zhuo Si]: I don’t know if you guys can even get in here. It’s hard to explain—I can’t send my location.
Reading his vague words, Yan wanted to kick this walking disaster from afar.
Soon, Zhuo Si sent more messages.
As Yan and Jue Jue read his updates, their frowns deepened. The fact that he still had time to text—and even had signal—meant the situation wasn’t too dire.
However, Zhuo Si mentioned that the ghosts he was seeing now were… different from the usual kind.
[Zhuo Si]: The ghosts here! They’re all missing arms and legs—maybe because their bodies are too damaged to reincarnate? Aren’t you guys supposed to handle this?
[Zhuo Si]: Some are missing eyes, noses, ears, or mouths—so many have no faces at all! Holy crap, I gotta keep running!
After sending this, Zhuo Si vanished from the chat, but thankfully, he had already shared the address.
"No faces, missing limbs… that matches," Yan and Jue Jue exchanged glances.
Zhuo Si was cryptic about how he’d ended up in this place, only providing the location while adding that he wasn’t sure if others could even enter.
From his riddling words, Yan guessed it was likely due to the effects of his "Supernatural Intern" status, and that some details couldn’t be spoken aloud.
If not for Zhuo Si’s reminder, Yan had almost forgotten—today was the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival.
He’d specifically chosen this day to go looking for trouble. Yan could only sigh: If anyone was going to run into ghosts, it’d be him!
Ding Ling was temporarily unreachable, but since this involved ghosts—and neither Yan nor Jue Jue were professionals—they needed to call for backup.
"Jue Jue, if we want to reach the Special Case Team now, we’ll have to contact Sister Li, right?" Yan pondered.
Li, Cheng Li—they were the unofficial members of the Special Case Team who had once helped He Xing fulfill her final wish.
They were also the owners of the haunted house startup incubator that had pulled Zhuo Si out of a coffin.
"Otherwise, should I call Brother Ye?" Zhu Jue suggested.
The timing was unfortunate—most of their dormmates were away, and when it came to handling supernatural matters, the only ones they could think of were Ding Ling and Yuan Ye.
Little Ling was the Ghost King, and Yuan Ye could… transform into a female ghost.
But Ding Ling had gone to Yangcheng and hadn’t returned yet, and Yuan Ye wasn’t on campus either.
Even the Special Case Team would need time to mobilize. Since Zhuo Si had brought this on himself, Yan and Jue Jue could only hope he’d survive long enough for backup to arrive.
Meanwhile, Zhuo Si was indeed doing his best to stay alive.
As for how he’d ended up in this place full of mutilated ghosts—well, that required some explanation.
After his first successful (and survival-heavy) investigation as a Supernatural Intern in Xuejia Alley, Zhuo Si had spent seven sleepless nights deliberating before finally signing his official promotion letter.
Yes, the current Zhuo Si—professional troublemaker—was no longer a Supernatural Intern but a full-fledged "Supernatural Investigator."
Zhuo Si had always been drawn to danger and thrills, craving unconventional and niche experiences.
Though his ordeal in Xuejia Alley had nearly cost him his life, he believed it had toughened him up.
He’d been trapped in a coffin, teetering on the edge of death—what else was there to fear after that?
He refused to let go of this hard-earned "opportunity."
Upon becoming an official investigator, Zhuo Si received his first promotion perk:
He gained the ability to see ghosts.
Zhuo Si knew this marked his first real step into the supernatural world.
With this ability, he could now perceive what ordinary people couldn’t.
After all, sometimes the unseen was far scarier than the seen.
As a certified investigator, Zhuo Si had since completed three more supernatural cases in Bin City and nearby areas. After the initial chaos, he’d grown more adept—and bolder.
The higher his performance rating after each case, the better the rewards, which in turn aided his next mission.
Beyond ghost-sight, he’d acquired talismans, learned to wield charms, and was even practicing hand-crafted thunder magic.
Most investigations wrapped up within a week, so in his downtime, he ran his shop while seeking unconventional ways to hone his skills.
When facing real danger, there was no such thing as too many tricks up your sleeve.
This Ghost Festival mission, however, was one Zhuo Si had prepared extensively for—and committed to wholeheartedly.
[Supernatural Investigator: Zhuo Si]
[Current Case Location: Mawan Bay]
[Arrive at Mawan Bay by midnight on the Ghost Festival. Investigate the supernatural phenomenon within seven days and survive.]
[This mission offers exceptional rewards. Proceed with caution.]
The words "exceptional rewards" and "proceed with caution" lingered in Zhuo Si’s mind long after reading the letter.
His last two cases hadn’t included such warnings—though they’d had minor dangers, he’d emerged unscathed.
But this one was clearly riskier, especially during the Ghost Festival. As the saying went, the bigger the waves, the greater the prize. Gritting his teeth, Zhuo Si decided to go for it.
Mawan Bay was a place Zhuo Si had heard of before.
True to its name, it was a coastal area with a series of sharp, winding roads. While not as infamous as the world’s deadliest haunted highways, it was still a notorious accident hotspot.
Due to frequent crashes—and daredevil motorcyclists who loved testing their luck—the Mawan Bay stretch had been barricaded and closed off.
Only during Qingming, the Ghost Festival, and the Lunar New Year would grieving families visit to pay respects.
The accidents here were gruesome—overturned, burning cars, bodies flung from vehicles, injuries ranging from fatal to limb-crushing.
Though the road was now sealed, rumors persisted of distant screams, cries for help, and even the sounds of screeching brakes and collisions from those who ventured near.
It was said that small houses once stood nearby, housing locals who sold goods by the roadside.
But with the road’s closure, the remaining residents had gradually moved away, leaving the area deserted.
While researching Mawan Bay, Zhuo Si stumbled upon an old online comment from someone claiming to be a "former local."
"Back then, my home was near Mawawan. It was actually some distance from the accident-prone curve, but at night, we could often hear crying, screaming, and the sounds of car crashes. By then, Mawawan had already been sealed off—no vehicles could enter. Later, the residents in our area called in specialists to investigate. They said some of the victims' spirits had lingered there, especially those whose bodies weren’t buried whole. If they couldn’t pass on to the underworld, they’d remain trapped at the place where they died."
"I still remember the rituals the adults performed. Children weren’t allowed near. They scattered something in circles and even built a small shrine to honor the deceased. Not long after, the government reclaimed the land, and we moved away."
After researching the details, Zhuo Si felt he had a decent grasp of Mawawan’s situation and assumed it wouldn’t be too problematic.
He speculated that this investigation into the supernatural might involve unresolved grievances from those who died in the car accident. And during the Ghost Festival—a particularly eerie time—he might witness a reenactment of the past and uncover something significant.
But when Zhuo Si arrived at the scene, things took an unexpected turn.
He did see the past replay—ghosts of the accident victims appeared before him.
As the only living person there, it was no surprise that the mutilated spirits began chasing him. A horde of ghosts, missing limbs and mangled, surged after him as Zhuo Si fled in panic, the spectral army close behind.
He kept running, convinced he was still on the road, until he suddenly realized the ghosts behind him had vanished.
Zhuo Si found himself in an unfamiliar place, face-to-face with another group of spirits.
They were also disfigured, but unlike the accident victims.
Car crashes were horrifying, but they didn’t cleanly carve away eyes, mouths, or noses—limbs and features didn’t just vanish as if gouged out.
Only after seeing these ghosts did Zhuo Si take in his surroundings. He was no longer in Mawawan. The road beneath his feet was gone, and no buildings were in sight.
It was as if he’d crossed into some strange realm, surrounded by lifeless, eerie apparitions.
These spirits ignored Zhuo Si’s presence, but he found their appearances far more unsettling.
A face missing only the mouth, leaving no way to speak.
Eyes hollow, as if erased.
Where a nose should have been, there was only smooth, featureless skin.
If the ghosts from Mawawan had been frightening, the ones before him now were downright uncanny.
Zhuo Si realized the true danger of this investigation might not have been Mawawan at all—but this place he’d stumbled into during the Ghost Festival.
This nameless, horrifying domain of twisted spirits.
His phone still had signal, so he quickly messaged the only person he could think of who might save him.
The fact that his phone worked reassured him—wherever he was, it wasn’t some remote, desolate wilderness.
Zhuo Si didn’t dare move recklessly, repeatedly trying to use GPS to pinpoint his location.
Then, a small, clear voice spoke in front of him.
"Big brother, are you new here?"
A boy with hollow eyes and a girl missing a mouth stood before him, holding hands.
Zhuo Si turned and bolted.
