I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The mixed-race man's gaze was fixed on the back of Chen Xi's neck, and his blood seemed to freeze.

The woman seemed to sense her gaze, her face, covered by a white cloth, turned towards her, and a strange smile curved her lips.

It looks like he's laughing.

That laughter, though silent, was more chilling than any ghostly wails on the scene.

"There's...someone on your back."

The mixed-race child's voice trembled and stammered; he couldn't even speak fluent Chinese.

"A woman, a woman in a white dress."

Chen Xi wasn't even that surprised, and slightly turned her head to the side:

"Yes, I can feel it. It's been following me for a while now."

If things hadn't gone wrong, the mixed-race person would have almost gone crazy—what's wrong with you domestic players?

What the hell are you riding on your neck?!

How can they still be so calm?!

This is even more terrifying.

She subconsciously took half a step back, distancing herself from Chen Xi, her mind racing as she considered:

Was Chen Xi already possessed by an evil spirit?

Was it a deliberate trap for the other party to take them to the rooftop?

Amin is dead, and now only the priest, Ashan, and she remain in the group.

The priest was the first support-type professional we recruited at great expense, and we absolutely cannot lose him.

Ashan is a mercenary; if she dies, she can be recruited again.

Regardless of whether the mission is completed or not, she must first survive.

The mixed-race man's mind raced, but he maintained a composed facade: "You...you knew all along?"

"Just a guess."

Chen Xi didn't explain much, but signaled her teammates to do the same as she had just done, to rescue the priest and Ashan from the holy light:

"These ghosts are the eyes of evil spirits. Rubbing ashes on your face can confuse the evil spirit's perception..."

This was whispered in her ear by Chen Shulan.

As for why there wasn't a warning from the beginning, which led to Amin's death?

Chen Shulan's original words were: "I can't stand these fake foreigners! Let them die."

Considering the era in which this person died, one can understand why this saying exists.

……

Don't get distracted.

Chen Xi lowered his voice and reminded, "Find the evil spirit's true form first; the ashes can only buy us some time."

The mixed-race man nodded, forcing himself to look away from Chen Xi's back and at the dense swarm of ghosts:

"You said you're looking for the original body, how do you do that?"

Chen Xi didn't answer immediately, but instead tilted her head slightly, as if listening to something.

Evelyn leaned closer and heard her ask in a very low voice, speaking directly into the air:

"Why would evil spirits need to use these other ghosts to see?"

Who is she asking?

Is it the ghost on his back?

The priest and Ah-shan, who had just been rescued, also looked at the group with wariness and hesitation.

The surrounding ghosts lost their target and became confused, wandering aimlessly.

As for Amin's half-corpse, it slowly "melted" like cream and was "swallowed" by the writhing floorboards.

……

"Young woman."

Chen Xi heard Chen Shulan's voice, tinged with laughter, drifting softly in her ear:

"These little devils don't attack people on their own; they're all manipulated by evil spirits behind the scenes."

"Your faces are smeared with paper ash and tainted with the aura of the underworld, so the true form can't distinguish between you ghosts and humans, and naturally loses its target."

The sound was not concealed, and Kang Xiaojia and Wang Lei, who were nearby, both heard it. The two looked at each other and swallowed.

—It's one thing for Jiang Chen to be carrying a ghost, but why is Captain Chen also carrying one?!

Jiang Chen noticed the fearful looks from his teammates and smiled calmly.

He clearly didn't care.

Chen Xi followed up with, "The main body manipulates the ghost horde as eyes? In other words, the evil ghosts themselves can't see?"

"You reacted quickly."

Chen Shulan added:

"This evil spirit must have died a terrible death; it must have been blind or deaf."

It uses these little devils as tentacles and eyes; whatever the little devils see, it naturally knows.

"It's just like a sea anemone," Kang Xiaojia muttered.

"What?" The mixed-race child on the side didn't understand.

"Sea anemones in the sea have soft bodies that cannot move, so they grow a ring of poisonous tentacles to hunt."

Jiang Chen immediately replied, "Then these little devils are its tentacles and eyes."

After speaking, Chen Xi suddenly fell silent:

Since the main body has a problem and can only rely on the imp to perceive the outside world, then why was it able to accurately lock onto the target just now?

When Amin and the priest were attacked, they both seemed to have made a move that was easily overlooked.

One of them stuck a dagger into a crack in the wall, while the other smashed a cross into the concrete floor.

There's also Lin Jianguo, who previously lived in an empty house and was "eaten up" by it, and the walls that wriggled as if they were alive...

"The evil spirit is this building! Or rather, it's connected to the entire building!"

Chen Xi suddenly looked up, her eyes shining with an astonishing light:

"The building is part of it; if the walls are damaged, it will retaliate!"

The group felt that everything that had happened in the past few days made sense.

No wonder!

Amin stabbed the wall with a knife, which is why it became enraged and attacked.

The priest's use of the cross was tantamount to touching its body, which is why the three were attacked so fiercely.

The evil spirit isn't hiding inside the building; it's part of the building!

So all these ghosts are barefoot!

It's not about controlling the ghosts through some method, but rather that these ghosts that come into contact with the building are the limbs extended from the evil spirits.

……

……

"...Is that so? No wonder I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked."

There was a hint of realization in Chen Shulan's voice. Chen Xi turned to look at the area where the ghosts were most concentrated and said with certainty:

"Shellfish use hard shells to protect themselves, and with so many ghosts gathering on the rooftop—its true form must be there!"

Where are the ghosts most concentrated?

What was it that she had been overlooking?

Their gazes suddenly swept towards the southeast corner of the rooftop:

The ghosts there were packed tightly together, three layers deep, heels touching to toes, without even a sliver of space.

In the center of the ghost horde, there was a thick mound of paper ash, which looked almost like a small grave.

That's it!

found it!

"Southeast corner! The main body is in the southeast corner!"

Chen Xi gave a low shout, raised his hand to wipe the paper dust off his face, making sure he hadn't given anything away.

Jiang Chen immediately looked over, and in the instant their eyes met, he instantly understood what she meant.

He gripped the baton tightly and shouted at Kang Xiaojia and Wang Lei:

"Let's go! Break through to the southeast corner!"

Break through?! Wang Lei's face turned pale as he glanced at the exit, which was so close yet completely blocked by ghosts:

"So many ghosts... If we charge in, we'll be torn to shreds!"

"That's better than dying here!" Jiang Chen grabbed him and said, "Captain Chen has found a way, let's go with her!"

Kang Xiaojia gripped the baton tightly, her face resolute: "I'll do it!"

She seemed to be venting all her resentment, pressing all her strength into the stick, and forcefully squeezing a path through the horde of ghosts!

The mixed-race child glanced at the priest and tactfully followed.

"Walk!"

Both teams moved at the same time.

Chen Xi took the lead and squeezed into the gaps in the ghost horde.

The ash on their faces was still working; the little devils turned their heads blankly, their eyeballs rolling around in their sockets, but they just couldn't find their target.

The group passed close to their bodies, the icy, yin energy scraping against their skin as if coated with a layer of ice.

Some of the grotesque faces had their skin drooping, half-hanging on the bones, and the stench of rotting flesh wafted straight into the nose.

Some of the ghosts had very long tongues that dragged on the ground, leaving sticky water stains.

Some of the child ghosts had half their heads missing, with white brain matter mixed with blood flowing down, and their eyes, mostly white, staring at them.

The living and the dead were crammed together.

It was so crowded that there was hardly any room to breathe.

"Found it!" Chen Xi shouted in a low voice.