INHA Chapter 60

The livestream continued.

Xu Dongyou kept providing a general overview of the current incident while also educating the audience about supernatural phenomena, as this was the primary reason for the bureau setting up the live stream. The secondary reason was to gradually help people accept that the world was not as ordinary as it seemed.

“This song possesses a special ability. When we hear it, it makes us feel uncomfortable. The captain felt the same way, so we brought it to his attention. We all agreed that this could very likely be a supernatural incident. Since the song has been uploaded to an app, a large number of users have already listened to it. Therefore, the bureau issued an order to the app platform, requesting a temporary shutdown to prevent more people from hearing the song.”

Xu Dongyou paused and continued, “At the same time, we were also instructed to quickly locate the singer of this song and resolve the crisis as soon as possible. For those who have already heard the song, there’s no need to worry; you are not in any immediate danger.”

Because Tian Haomiao did not mind being identified, Xu Dongyou did not conceal much information about the incident.

The more closely tied the information was to reality, the more it would make people draw associations.

As soon as Xu Dongyou finished speaking, people started laughing.

【Hahaha. No wonder the live stream was scheduled at this time! The music app just happened to be temporarily down for maintenance, and now it all ties together perfectly!!!】

【Hahaha, is this the truth? If someone new to the live stream sees this, they might actually believe it, especially since the app is really down for maintenance and can’t be accessed!】

【I’ve always known that this platform loves to ride the wave, piggybacking off official news and the music app. It was bound to get shut down sooner or later!】

【I think it’s pretty fun. Surely, no one would actually believe this, right? Everyone knows it’s fake, right?】

【Haven’t you noticed something even more interesting? This music app that’s temporarily down for maintenance happens to have a super addictive song. Just a few days ago, it was trending, and many people praised it, saying the more they listened to it, the more it resonated with their souls. And the original creator of that song just so happens to have a name that sounds the same as ‘Tian’.】

【Is this just another attempt to ride on Tian Haomiao’s popularity?】

【We all see what’s going on, but let’s not point it out. It’s well-known that this livestream site loves to stir up hype. If you take it seriously, you’ve already lost. Besides, they didn’t mention any names or say it was from the top charts, so why are your fans getting so defensive?】

【Let’s just enjoy the live stream and leave my Miao Miao out of this. As a fan, I don’t even think they’re trying to ride on his coattails, so why are you all getting so worked up?】

Xu Dongyou, who was still live-streaming, began to explain about spirits. “As for these spirits, they are extremely terrifying, quite similar to ghosts. However, they don’t fear sunlight and lack any human emotions. They only act according to their preset rules for killing.”

“If any of you encounter something strange that gets worse by the day, there’s a strong possibility that it’s caused by one of these spirits. You must report it to the authorities right away and clearly explain the situation. All this information will be passed on to the bureau, and a specialist will be dispatched to handle it. Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last day to call for help.”

The more Tian Haomiao listened, the more uneasy he became. Are these spirits really that terrifying? Can these people really help him get rid of the woman haunting him?

He was desperate to interrupt and ask for immediate help but feared upsetting them, so he forced himself to sit quietly and remain calm.

After finishing his explanation, Xu Dongyou turned to Tian Haomiao and said, “Mr. Tian, please tell us in detail what happened before and after you encountered this spirit. We can analyze its killing rules from there.”

Killing…?

Tian Haomiao shuddered and quickly nodded, “Okay, okay.”

The livestream camera then shifted to focus on Tian Haomiao. Although the audience couldn’t remember his appearance—especially since his voice had been altered—they could still sense that this Mr. Tian had a star-like aura, something an ordinary person couldn’t fake.

This was especially true for particularly famous celebrities, who often carried a mysterious aura of fame that made them stand out even more among other stars.

The comments kept rolling in.

【Where did they find this Mr. Tian actor? He really looks like a celebrity and not just any celebrity—he’s got that aura of someone who’s really famous.】

【Fun fact: Every actor on this livestream platform, even the extras, has top-tier acting skills. Playing the role of a famous-looking star? That’s nothing for them.】

【Hahaha, it’s just a shame we can’t remember these actors’ faces. Otherwise, I’d go watch them in other shows.】

Xu Dongyou signaled to Tian Haomiao that he could start speaking. Everyone else adopted a serious demeanor, as this was crucial for them to figure out the spirit’s killing pattern.

Tian Haomiao steadied himself and began by recounting how, due to a lack of inspiration, he had been resting at home. He then went to a bar, where he met an extraordinarily beautiful girl.

Under the colorful lights of the bar, her beauty made his heart race. For the first time, he took the initiative to approach her.

But as he spoke about this girl, Tian Haomiao couldn’t help but shiver because that girl was currently lying behind him, possibly ready to kill him at any moment.

He carefully went over all the details he could remember, afraid to miss any crucial clues, and then said, “I did what she asked—I published the song I wrote within seven days. She said she would leave, but I didn’t realize she meant she would leave from under the bed to crawl onto me.”

And so, he carried her on his back the whole time without knowing.

【Unbelievable. Even without special effects, just listening to this gives me a sense of dread. I’ve got goosebumps.】

【The creepy atmosphere is spot on. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably have gone insane by now. The thought of an invisible ghost clinging to my back is horrifying.】

【This live stream is getting interesting. I’m looking forward to the special effects later on.】

In the hotel room, although Xu Dongyou and his team had encountered resentful spirits before, this case felt particularly strange.

This was their first time dealing with a spirit involving so many people, and its power was not to be underestimated. If they didn’t handle it well, the consequences could be severe.

Tian Ze began to feel the pressure, a bit of sweat forming on his forehead. Zhang Feng realized the gravity of the situation as well but didn’t find any satisfaction in it.

This situation involved an overwhelming number of ordinary people, but the only silver lining was that it was discovered early, and the spirit had not yet begun to harm anyone.

Xu Dongyou felt a bit confused. Based on what Tian Haomiao described, the events resembled the typical behavior of a resentful spirit, which indiscriminately harms people, but only if that person caused the spirit’s death and fueled its resentment.

However, resentful spirits like this one operate differently—they can only kill according to specific rules.

It was clear that the incident started when Tian Haomiao approached the woman. However, it wasn’t until he mentioned writing songs and revealed that he was a singer that the killing rule took shape.

This entity appeared under Tian Haomiao’s bed and contacted him through his phone, forcing him to release an album as soon as possible. What’s more, Tian Haomiao made a fatal mistake by composing the title track based on this incident, which may have given the song an extremely dangerous supernatural quality.

Tian Haomiao had uploaded two songs to the app, but only this one made him feel a strong sense of disgust when he listened to it.

Anyone who heard this song would turn into a gray mist and be absorbed by the spirit, just like the three gray mists he had seen earlier.

Once enough people listened to the song, no one could predict the terrifying consequences that might follow.

For now, the app platform has been temporarily shut down, preventing the danger from spreading further. However, Xu Dongyou couldn’t understand why this spirit exhibited two distinct characteristics.

One was the unsettling discomfort typical of supernatural entities, and the other was the coldness unique to resentful spirits.

Xu Dongyou was filled with doubt and confusion.

Could there be a third type of spirit, a hybrid between a supernatural entity and a resentful spirit?

But the immediate priority was to locate the object tied to the spirit. So far, Xu Dongyou hadn’t detected any residual traces of the spirit on Tian Haomiao, including his phone.

After discussing the situation, Xu Dongyou and his team decided to visit the bar where Tian Haomiao first encountered the spirit.

Once the plan was set, they immediately headed to the bar. Since Tian Haomiao was a celebrity and had recently risen to near the top of the charts due to this song, he could no longer go out without any disguise like before.

He put on a mask and a hat, instructed his assistant to stay at the hotel, and then followed Tian Ze and the others to the bar.

The bar was open during the day, but there weren’t many people inside. It wasn’t as lively as it would be at night. Everyone was quietly drinking, and the live singer was performing a soft, slow song.

Tian Ze quietly leaned over to Xu Dongyou and asked, “How’s it looking? Have you noticed anything?”

Xu Dongyou shook his head in confusion and whispered, “Nothing seems out of the ordinary.”

Tian Ze nodded, not disappointed. He turned to ask Tian Haomiao, “Which bartender were you talking to that day? Let’s ask him if he remembers seeing that woman.”

Although Tian Haomiao had been drunk that day, he hadn’t blacked out. After scanning the bar, he pointed to a bartender in the distance who was mixing drinks. “I remember it was him.”

Tian Ze whispered, “Let’s go ask him.”

Tian Haomiao briefly recounted what had happened that day. The bartender immediately remembered the nearly disruptive drunk customer and seriously replied, “Sorry, but I really didn’t see anyone sitting at that table.”

“No problem. Is your boss around? We need to check the surveillance footage from that day,” Tian Ze said.

The bartender hesitated before nodding and went to fetch the boss. When the boss came out, he initially planned to politely decline the request, but Tian Ze quickly showed his special police badge. “Let us take a look. We’re conducting an investigation and need you to pull up the surveillance footage from that day.”

The boss’s expression changed slightly, but he was suspicious that they might be impostors. He remembered that a friend of his was dining next door and immediately instructed the bartender to bring his friend over. The police officer checked the special badge and nodded to the boss, confirming that it was genuine.

Just a few days ago, all police stations received a notification from higher authorities that a special department had been established within the police force, and that this department would be issued special police badges.

This information was known only within the police.

The boss immediately apologized and led Xu Dongyou and the other two to the surveillance room to pull up the footage from that day. Soon, the screen showed Tian Haomiao, drunk and approaching the woman across from him. Even through the screen, everyone could sense how extraordinarily beautiful this woman was, so it was no wonder that several people around her kept glancing at her from time to time.

But no one dared to approach her.

Only Tian Haomiao made a move. The woman in the red dress quickly took out her phone, and Tian Haomiao scanned a code, then leaned in to say a few words.

What followed was a terrifying scene.

After putting away her phone, the woman’s deathly pale face seemed to break into a strange smile, and then she vanished.

She simply disappeared.

The men who had been discreetly glancing at her also immediately turned their heads and resumed drinking, as if nothing had happened.

Everyone watching was stunned.

“How could she just disappear like that?” Tian Haomiao couldn’t believe his eyes.

The bar owner was thinking the same thing. How could a person just vanish into thin air?

If it weren’t for the fact that the footage came from his own security cameras, he would have thought the video had been edited. But knowing the footage was real made him break out in a cold sweat in broad daylight.

Could this have been a paranormal event?

What else could explain the woman’s sudden disappearance?

“Officer, is it really haunted?” the bar owner hurriedly sought help from Xu Dongyou and the others. “I still want to keep this bar running…”

“Don’t worry, it won’t appear again,” Tian Ze assured him, waving his hand. After all, the resentful spirit was now attached to Tian Haomiao.

Tian Haomiao also realized this. His face turned pale, his entire body uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Xu Dongyou spoke up, “Play this part again.”

The owner reluctantly complied, even though watching it a second time still made him feel uneasy.

But Xu Dongyou had already found the answer. He quietly said to Tian Ze, “Captain, shall we go?”

Tian Ze nodded. Before leaving, he had to reassure the owner once more that the female ghost would not reappear. Only then did the owner relax a bit, though he still couldn’t shake his unease, mumbling to himself, “Maybe I should get a master to take a look?”

He shook his head and returned to his office, casually browsing Weibo. Suddenly, he noticed a trending topic: #OfficialLiveStream#. Curiosity got the better of him, and he clicked in, following the link provided by the platform’s official account. As soon as he saw the screen, he sat up straight.

On the screen, three people were clearly seen walking into a van, and the surrounding street scene was so familiar that he could describe it with his eyes closed.

Although he couldn’t remember the faces of the three people, their clothes were identical to those worn by the special officers he had just met.

There were too many coincidences, especially when he noticed a comment related to the bar.

“No way, could these people really be scammers?” The owner couldn’t sit still, quickly picked up his phone, and contacted his police friend, showing him the live stream.

The police officer, after glancing around and looking at the live stream, whispered mysteriously, “Actually, we received orders from above that if we encounter anyone with a special police badge, we must fully cooperate and not disobey. Do you think they could be fake?”

“But…” The owner was speechless. Then, realizing the significance of the word “special”, he made a guess, “Could it be that these special officers are tasked with handling unusual cases, like ghosts or something?”

The police friend became curious, “Why would you think that?”

The bar owner lowered his voice, speaking in a conspiratorial tone, “Actually, they came to me because they wanted to check some surveillance footage. Let me tell you…”

After vividly describing the bizarre incident, the police officer was stunned. “No way…”

“Why would I lie to you? If you come back to the bar with me, you can see the video yourself. It’s really creepy.”

The officer immediately nodded, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go, I need to see this.”

The two of them returned to the bar and replayed the video several times, each time shuddering.

No matter how many times they watched it, it was still terrifying.

In the live stream, all the viewers also saw the video and praised the impressive special effects, especially complimenting the bar owner’s acting.

After returning to the van, Xu Dongyou and the others began analyzing the video. Meanwhile, Tian Haomiao, who hadn’t moved at all, sat quietly to the side, listening intently.

After all, this was a matter of life and death for him.

Tian Ze resisted the urge to smoke and turned to Xu Dongyou, “So, what did you find when you were inside?”

Xu Dongyou nodded and whispered, “Captain, I want to ask if our department has ever encountered a third type of entity besides resentful spirits and vengeful ghosts?”

When he was watching the surveillance video at the bar, he noticed that the woman had no trace of gray mist on her body, but the phone she was holding was faintly surrounded by it, so subtle that it could easily be missed if not carefully observed.

That’s why he asked the bar owner to replay the footage and confirmed his suspicions.

The gray mist he saw was not a hallucination, and the woman gave off an extremely chilling vibe—something only vengeful ghosts typically possess.

Tian Ze and Zhang Feng both had strange expressions on their faces. They had never heard of anything like this before. Just as Tian Ze was about to speak, a notification sound suddenly came from his spiritual energy watch. This was a special alert he had set specifically for the Chief.

Tian Ze quickly stood up and stepped outside, quietly asking, “Chief, what’s going on?”

The Chief wasn’t someone who would contact him lightly.

The Chief’s tone was as calm as usual, but having worked under him for several years, Tian Ze could detect the urgency and seriousness in his voice. He immediately adjusted his attitude and listened attentively.

“You may have encountered a special type of ‘Evil Ghost’. This situation is quite rare.”

Special Evil Ghost?

The Chief explained what a ‘Special Evil Ghost’ is. In simple terms, after a person dies, they might become a ghost or a resentful spirit due to strong obsessions or grievances. However, before they could fully transform into a ghost, they came into contact with an evil ghost object. As a result, before the evil ghost could carry out its rules, the person died and became a resentful spirit. But the evil ghost doesn’t care whether you are a ghost or a human; it will proceed with its killing plan once the conditions are met.

This results in a resentful spirit that carries the characteristics of an evil ghost.

Tian Ze was completely baffled. He had been with the Bureau for quite some time but had never heard of such a ‘Special Evil Ghost’ before. “So, Chief, does that mean it’s essentially a resentful spirit? It just has the abilities of an evil ghost?”

The Chief’s voice was filled with approval, “Yes, exactly. You still need to quickly locate the evil ghost object and then seal it up as you would with a resentful spirit and bring it back to the Bureau.”

Tian Ze quickly acknowledged his understanding.

Before ending the call, the Chief added, “I’ve already had the Bureau investigate this woman’s identity before she died. I’ll send the information to Yan Jingnan. Make sure to check it.”

Tian Ze felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that the Chief was concerned about him and his team. Though he wasn’t one for mushy words, he knew this also highlighted how much importance the Bureau placed on this ‘Special Evil Ghost’ case.

The second reason was probably more significant.

But he refused to admit that.

Back in the van, Tian Ze shared what he had learned about the ‘Special Evil Ghost’. This was also the first time Zhang Feng had heard of such a type of spirit, and his expression became serious. “So, this means it’s even more dangerous than a regular ‘Evil Ghost’.”

Tian Ze nodded and explained how to handle this type of evil ghost.

Xu Dongyou suddenly understood why this evil ghost exhibited two distinct characteristics—it was essentially a resentful spirit.

This also highlighted the fearsome nature of the evil ghost, which could even turn ghosts into part of its rules.

It was truly terrifying.

Tian Haomiao, who was listening from the side, was completely confused, especially when he thought about the ghost, or rather, the “special evil ghost”, that was lurking on his back.

An existence even more frightening than a ghost.

But after hearing Tian Ze’s explanation, he became even more terrified—special evil ghosts were even more horrifying than regular evil ghosts.

He couldn’t help but tremble all over, his teeth chattering as he asked, “Do…do you have confidence in handling this?”

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have approached that woman. Who would have known she was a ghost and a special evil ghost at that?

Tian Ze patted Tian Haomiao on the shoulder, his tone reassuring. “Don’t worry. It was originally quite difficult, but we’ve already stopped this evil ghost from growing stronger and accelerated the killing rules’ source. You’re safe.”

This was thanks to Xu Dongyou.

Otherwise, dealing with the evil ghost would have been much more challenging once it had fully developed.

Tian Haomiao did not feel relieved. He was still very scared, but he knew that he couldn’t show distrust in these people during this time.

Yan Jingnan, while waiting for the information from the Chief, had been busy investigating the resentful spirit’s identity and past.

After about ten minutes, Yan Jingnan pushed up his glasses and had some clues. He estimated he would need another two minutes to finish the investigation.

At that moment, he received information from the Bureau. He didn’t feel annoyed; he was well aware of the skilled individuals within the Bureau, including an expert in computing in the research department.

It was likely that this expert had discovered the information.

While feeling increasingly impressed by this expert, Yan Jingnan also felt a surge of desire to take on a challenge.

He hoped that one day, he could become as excellent as the expert.

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