Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 645 The Mysterious Shadow Under the Locust Tree: Humans Are More Fierce Than the Monsters
"You're very angry, aren't you?"

Gao Dongxu turned to look at the group of elites and said coldly, but before they could respond, he continued, "This isn't over yet... I don't know when it started, but many people have heard children crying inside the church late at night."

Furthermore, some couples who were dating near the church reportedly discovered that the tree rumored to be where the evil priest hanged himself would suddenly display the face of a very fierce foreigner. Whether these claims are true or not remains unknown.

So I brought you here. Your mission, which is also a test, is to stay here for two days and two nights to verify whether the rumors are true.

First, I must state that if the rumors are true, then there will definitely be danger, and the enemy is incredibly cunning, employing unknown methods, with an unknown level of danger.

Now, if someone wants to quit, they can immediately walk out, get on a car, go back to Beijing, sign a confidentiality agreement, and then return to their original unit.

Don't worry about people laughing at you. After all, there are many people who aren't afraid of hardship, fatigue, bloodshed, or sacrifice, and who aren't afraid of any enemy, but are terrified of ghosts and monsters. I completely understand that.

For the first time, Gao Dongxu stood before a group of solemn-faced elites who looked straight ahead. Whether they were elite soldiers or technical experts, they all stared intently and firmly at Gao Dongxu as he appeared before them.

After exchanging glances, Gao Dongxu smiled slightly and said calmly, "It seems you're all very brave. Alright then, since no one wants to leave, let's go see that tree where the hanged demon appears and foreign faces emerge—"

Filled with curiosity, everyone followed Gao Dongxu out of the eerie church. Led by two liaisons, they arrived at the west side of the church and saw a locust tree that was as thick as two people could hug.

"The locust tree—"

Many people recognized it, because the locust tree is one of the four legendary ghost trees in folklore.

The locust tree is considered one of the most eerie ghost trees. It is said that the locust tree is full of holes, and every night, the figures of wandering ghosts appear in those holes, reminiscent of the evil spirits of the underworld in legends.

Good heavens, not a blade of grass grows here!

Seeing that the area around the tree was completely covered in yellow earth, without a single blade of grass, the fat man quickly walked forward, circled the locust tree, and turned back to Gao Dongxu with a smile, saying, "Boss, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel very uncomfortable next to this tree—"

"Really?" Wu Xie walked up and circled around, frowning as he said, "It does feel a bit uncomfortable, like being in a tomb—the yin energy is very strong."

Hearing Wu Xie say this, A Ning, Ru Xin, and the others curiously stepped forward to experience it.

Under the tree, the three women couldn't help but shiver, a chill rising in their hearts, and they retreated with a slight change in expression.

"Women are inherently more yin in nature, and the yin energy of this locust tree will make you feel cold."

Gao Dongxu stepped forward and keenly sensed a chilling aura. He placed his hand on the locust tree, not using spiritual energy, but instead drawing up a wisp of internal energy and injecting it into the trunk.

In the next scene, something strange happened: the newly sprouting branches of the locust tree began to sway without wind, making a rustling sound.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the tree branches swaying without wind, and looked incredulously at Gao Dongxu, who had withdrawn his hand and was wearing a mocking smile.

“This place is considered an inauspicious spot. You should all come forward and feel it.” Gao Dongxu stepped aside and said to the elites, who had various expressions. Then he lit a cigarette and handed it out to Wang Pangzi, Wu Xie, Hei Xiazi, and the others, watching as the elites went forward to feel the yin energy under the locust tree.

Interestingly, the abundant yang energy emanating from the elites, when it approached the locust tree, caused the tree to sway its branches once again.

Indeed, when a group of elite soldiers with blood and energy as strong as a furnace get together, most strange creatures will avoid them.

"Alright, let's assemble—" Gao Dongxu didn't want these elite soldiers to dilute or eliminate his murderous aura.

Upon hearing the order, the elites quickly assembled and lined up, each staring intently at Gao Dongxu.

Gao Dongxu smiled and waved to Erpang, who immediately stepped forward, opened the briefcase in his hand, revealing a pile of envelopes inside.

Gao Dongxu picked up a large stack of bulging envelopes, walked up to the elites, and began distributing them, one envelope to each person.

"Here's a thousand yuan. You're given half a day off to do as you please, explore Tianjin, have some good food, and be back by 5:30 PM. There's only one requirement: you must do this alone—"

After distributing all the money, Gao Dongxu looked at the elites and said, "Did you understand?"

"I understand!"
"Alright, dismissed—" Gao Dongxu dismissed the team without hesitation, then led A Ning and the others to the car. Leaving behind a group of elites who, after being dismissed, looked at each other in silence, finally all turning their gazes to the locust tree.

Students from the "Qianlao Innovation Class" at the National University of Defense Technology and researchers from the "Brain Science and Intelligence Technology" Center of Excellence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences exchanged a glance and took the lead in walking towards the church door.

The three cyber warfare codebreakers, two intelligence analysts, an anomaly signal recognition expert, a criminal investigation expert, and a micro-expression recognition expert all opened the envelopes without hesitation, took out the money, counted it, put the money away, and walked towards the church door.

Sitting in the car, watching the group of elites leave one by one, either on foot or by taxi, Gao Dongxu smiled meaningfully.

"Boss, is that locust tree a road hazard?" Fatty Wang asked.

"I didn't expect you to know about Lu Sha," Gao Dongxu said with a smile, teasing Wang Pangzi.

"Having traveled the world for so many years, I've heard many strange and wonderful stories," Fatty Wang said with a smile.

“It’s a Road Demon,” Black Bear said solemnly. “This thing is troublesome. Although it doesn’t have much offensive power, it’s not easy to get rid of unless you find a truly high-ranking monk to perform a grand ritual to deliver the souls of the dead.”

"Give that beastly priest a rite of passage? What a joke! Just cut down the tree, burn it to the ground, and let its soul perish!" Fatty Wang said through gritted teeth.

“Cutting down the tree is useless. That’s the trouble. It’s more like it’s attached to the ground than to the tree,” Black Bear said helplessly.

"Hei Xiazi is right. The so-called 'road evil spirit' is what we call it in China. There is also a more famous name for it, which is what the Japanese call 'earth-bound spirit'."

Earthbound spirits are spirits with strong resentment. They are usually those who died unexpectedly and were unwilling to die. They stay at the place of their death with their obsession, waiting for the next person to die so that they can be freed from their obsession and leave that place of death. It is the act of finding a substitute so that someone else can bear their pain and they can leave that painful place.

That beastly priest was beaten to death by the people after being hung from a tree. He was filled with resentment and believed he shouldn't have died. So he was bound to that piece of land and that tree, unable to escape, unable to move, unable to be reborn. He could only repeat the process of being beaten to death over and over again, which made his resentment grow stronger and stronger.

"So, if we really destroy it, we'll actually help it and free it from its suffering. It's done so much evil and killed so many people. Since it's so cruel and harms the weak, now we can do whatever we want with it." Gao Dongxu explained to everyone with a chilling glint in his eyes, then sneered repeatedly.

Hearing Gao Dongxu's cold laughter, and knowing about his extraordinary abilities, A Ning, Wu Xie, Wang Pangzi, and the others became eager to try it out. They all wanted to personally punish the spirit of the beastly priest to vent their hatred.

As for being afraid, don't be ridiculous. These people may not be good at anything else, but they are incredibly brave. They've all seen and fought before. They've finally run into someone who can't escape and is completely under their control. They're probably too excited to even think about it.

Seeing the eager crowd, Gao Dongxu chuckled and said, "Don't rush. Let's use it to test these elites first. After the test is over, we'll treat it well and make it understand that the evil it committed in the Celestial Empire will not be absolved even in death!"

"Boss, are you giving them money and free time to see how they perceive and react to supernatural beings?" Wu Xie asked Gao Dongxu.

"Hmm." Gao Dongxu nodded and smiled, "I've made it very clear to them. If they don't believe in the existence of supernatural beings like the Weird, then there's nothing I can do. If they do believe, then they'll try to make some preparations. Whether it's effective or not, at least they believe in the existence of the extraordinary."

They are different from us. We have all seen and experienced extraordinary beings, and we know that this world is far more mysterious than we imagined. But they are different. Here—”

Gao Dongxu pointed to his temple as he spoke, "The education and scientific views they received from childhood make it difficult for them to accept the facts unless they truly see, experience, and feel them."

Now, I want to see how many of them believe my story and prepare accordingly.

"Can you guarantee that the earthbound spirit will cause trouble tonight?" A-Ning asked, frowning slightly.

"It will definitely come out. If it doesn't, I'll force it to come out and cause trouble. I'm also curious about its methods. If we figure out its situation, we can send someone to study it carefully, make some sensing instruments, study the weaknesses of Yin energy, and make targeted weapons."

"In short, this is a good research subject. Whether we can better deal with the supernatural in the future depends on how much research we can gain from it," Gao Dongxu said with a faint smile.

Okay, now everyone understands: this beastly priest's earthbound spirit is going to become a guinea pig. The experiments he might face are probably no better than the eighteen levels of hell.

“Let’s go, let’s find a place to eat, then find a hotel nearby to stay and rest, and tonight we can enjoy the real-life version of ‘The Evil Spirits Unleashed’—” Gao Dongxu said jokingly, raising an eyebrow.

Everyone shook their heads and chuckled, but each of them looked on with anticipation, eager to experience the ghost-catching game.

(End of this chapter)