Twin female zombies come to the door: My lord, please have mercy!

The last rays of the setting sun were completely swallowed up by the thick, leaden clouds.

The dim streetlights on Taiping Old Street lit up early in the morning.

"Bang!"

The glass door of Lin's Funeral Shop was suddenly pushed open, slamming against the doorstop with a dull thud.

Fatty Wang rolled into the hall, panting, like a meatball just pulled out of the water.

The early autumn evening was already slightly cool, but the back of his jacket was soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his body.

He didn't bother to speak, grabbed the already cold teapot on the octagonal table, tilted his head back and gulped down more than half of it before finally letting out a long breath.

"Yoko! We've found out!"

The fat man wiped the tea from the corner of his mouth, strode to the counter, and stared wide-eyed.

"Seventy miles west of Jiangzhou, in Heishui Town, at the abandoned No. 44 paper mill! That old fox Chen Banxian personally revealed that the core protectors of the Yinshan Sect are all hiding there, plotting some kind of 'Hundred Ghosts Night Parade' formation!"

Lin Ye was sorting through the ten catties of top-grade water-based cinnabar that the Song family had sent.

Upon hearing this, his fingers, which were fiddling with the cinnabar, paused slightly. He raised his eyes, and his expression instantly became solemn and iron-like.

"Blackwater Town? Paper Mill No. 44?"

Lin Ye walked around the counter, took out a blank sheet of yellow paper, laid it flat on the table, and quickly sketched the terrain outline of the western suburbs of Jiangzhou City on the paper.

Hearing the noise, Leng Yue slowly walked down the stairs leading to the second floor.

She changed into a high-necked, fitted long dress for home, her silver hair casually tied up with that dark wooden hairpin, exuding an aloofness untouched by worldly affairs.

Froststar followed behind her sister like a little tail.

Holding a whetstone, she was diligently sharpening her small, dark blue bone knife, making a sickening "shh" sound.

"My lord, the name of this place sounds like it's filled with death."

Leng Yue walked to the table and her gaze fell on the simple map.

"It's more than just deathly aura; this is practically the perfect place to raise corpses and refine ghosts."

Lin Ye pressed the tip of his pen heavily on a spot on the edge of the map.

"During the Republican era, the area around Heishui Town was an execution ground for condemned prisoners, and later became a mass grave, with tens of thousands of unclaimed bones buried underground."

"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to suppress the bad luck there, the authorities approved the construction of this paper mill on the land."

He raised his head, looked around at everyone, and began an in-depth analysis of the feng shui.

"However, papermaking requires a lot of water, so there must be huge sedimentation tanks and pulping tanks dug in the factory area. Water is inherently yin, and it has been soaking the earth veins of the mass grave for many years. Those tanks have become natural 'yin funnels'."

"The Yinshan Sect went to great lengths to choose such a place as their lair, using the pungent chemical smell of the paper mill to mask the stench of corpses and deceive everyone."

The fat man felt his hair stand on end and tightened his clothes.

"Ye Zi, that old fox also said that the Yinshan Sect is going to set up some kind of 'Hundred Ghosts Night Parade Formation.' That formation sounds terrifying. What exactly is it?"

Leng Yue snorted coldly from the side, a complex light flashing in her deep red eyes, a mixture of pity and disdain.

"The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts is the most vicious method of massacring cities by evil cultivators. It uses the essence and blood of living people as a catalyst to awaken tens of thousands of slumbering vengeful spirits underground."

"Once the formation is complete, the area within a radius of twenty miles will turn into a ghostly realm. With the resentment flowing in, the grass and trees will wither, and birds and beasts will die suddenly. If a living person is touched by even a trace of the formation's black mist, their three souls and seven spirits will be forcibly separated and become food for these evil spirits."

Upon hearing this, the funeral parlor fell into a deathly silence.

Wang Pangzi's legs went weak, and he slumped into the chair, his face ashen.

The area within a radius of twenty miles has been transformed into a ghostly realm?

This is no longer a feud between江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world); it's clearly an attempt to drag down the entire innocent population of the western suburbs of Jiangzhou!

Just as the atmosphere reached its most oppressive point, a faint light flickered on Lin Ye's retina, and the system's cold, metallic notification sound rang out crisply.

"Ding! My Lord, please be mindful of your conduct. System notification: A major-level chain disaster mission has been detected: [The Night Parade of One Hundred Ghosts in Blackwater Town]."

When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? Host, please finalize your pre-battle strategy within three minutes, showcasing the orthodox grandeur of the Xuanmen!

The light screen popped open, and three options appeared in mid-air:

[Option A: A lone hero, a man of reckless courage—without a word, he led the two zombie women directly towards Blackwater Town.]

[Reward: Obtain the title "Unrivaled Warrior". Consequence: You will be bogged down in a quagmire of tens of thousands of vengeful spirits, exhausting your energy. The Yinshan Sect protectors will seize the opportunity to complete the formation, resulting in widespread devastation in the western suburbs of Jiangzhou.]

Option B: Pack your belongings and flee – outnumbered and outgunned, immediately close the funeral parlor and escape Jiangzhou City overnight with your millions in savings and family.

[Reward: Obtain a rare, limited-edition RV. Consequence: The Ninth Bureau will label you a coward for deserting your post, subjecting you to lifelong pangs of conscience and a complete collapse of your moral compass.]

[Option C: Use a borrowed knife to kill, for the common good—this city-slaughtering operation is no longer a personal grudge. Immediately share the intelligence with the official Anomaly Management Bureau (Bureau Nine) free of charge. Let the official heavy firepower clear out the surrounding minions, while you lead your elite squad straight to the heart of the enemy and carry out a decapitation strike!]

[Reward: 500 Official Points, and the blueprint for the high-level formation-breaking talisman "Taiyi Heavenly Thunder Talisman".]

Dealing with such inhumane terrorist attacks by fighting alone is something only a brainless idiot in a novel would do.

The official machinery of violence is readily available; might as well use it.

I choose C.

Lin Ye gave his answer in his heart without hesitation.

He turned around and stared intently at Fatty Wang, who was slumped in the chair.

"Fatty, give me your phone."

Lin Ye's voice was steady and powerful, carrying a calming and reassuring quality.

"Last time at the Fourth Mental Hospital, Chu Hongyan, the deputy captain of the Ninth Bureau, left you her contact information, right?"

The fat man snapped out of his daze and frantically rummaged through his pockets for his phone: "I left it! I added you on WeChat when I settled the five million bounty!"

Call her right now.

Lin Ye pulled out a chair and sat down, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"Tell her that the Yinshan Sect will launch the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade Formation at the No. 44 Paper Mill in Blackwater Town at midnight tonight. Tell her to immediately apply for the highest-level disaster warning from her superiors."

The fat man swallowed hard, his fingers trembling as he dialed Chu Hongyan's voice call.

The phone was answered after only two seconds of ringing.

Chu Hongyan's slightly tired but still capable voice came from the other end.

"Mr. Wang? Is there something Boss Lin needs from you at this hour?"

Lin Ye snatched the phone, turned on speakerphone, and said calmly, "Vice Captain Chu, it's me, Lin Ye."

The breathing on the other end of the phone noticeably faltered, then the tone became extremely serious: "Hello, Mr. Lin. You're contacting me personally; something serious must have happened?"