Chapter 062: Halloween Halloween Halloween

Chapter 062: Halloween Halloween Halloween

The police arrived swiftly, not the special security bureau, just regular officers from nearby. After assessing the situation, they consoled the two girls. Seizing this opportunity, Chi Shen quickly whisked Bai Wan away.

If the media were to catch wind of this and want to interview them as heroes, it would be a huge problem.

As they left, Bai Wan's red candle was replaced with a cup of milk tea. The girl from earlier felt that Bai Wan's hand was so cold that she must be freezing, hence she bought her a warm milk tea. Bai Wan looked at the drink, perplexed, but upon Chi Shen's insistence, she accepted it.

Ghosts are particularly sensitive to warmth. The girl had intentionally asked for an extra hot milk tea to warm Bai Wan's hands. To any ghost, the temperature would be scalding, yet Bai Wan held onto it.

Holding the milk tea, Bai Wan now looked more like a regular person dressed as a ghost bride for Halloween festivities, devoid of any menacing aura.

The lady in red, with a hint of envy, looked up at the bubble tea. Chishen pushed her down, pointing in the direction where the ghost dressed as a zombie had just left. "Go that way and see."

The direction in which the zombie-like ghost had departed was odd. He had been moving in a straight line but then suddenly halted, turned 90 degrees, as if drawn to something, and headed directly that way.

"Was he being controlled?"

Chishen pondered for a moment. He had initially wanted to intercept the zombie-like ghost, but seeing this behavior, he refrained and chose to follow and see where it was headed.

"This ghost initially appeared merely decayed. Why it resembled a zombie is puzzling to Chishen. After all, a rotting corpse and a zombie do have noticeable differences."

"Could someone be up to mischief on Halloween?"

"Would that person be in the direction where the zombie departed?"

After Bai Wan got her bubble tea, fewer people approached them for photos. Perhaps the atmosphere wasn’t as chilling anymore, lessening the scare factor.

The closer they got to Central Street's heart, the more crowded it became. Suddenly, a shadowy hand snatched a girl's phone from her bag. It fell with a thud, and she remained oblivious, pointing excitedly at someone in armor in the crowd, exclaiming to her friend that it was her favorite character.

The phone landed right on a man's foot. He glanced around, bent down to pick it up, and was about to discreetly slip it into his pocket.

Out of nowhere, a tap came on his shoulder. Startled, he turned to find a handsome man staring at him.

Chishen then tapped the girl who dropped the phone, telling her, "You dropped your phone; my friend found it."

The girl glanced at her bag and thanked the man profusely, taking her phone from him amidst his embarrassed thanks.

Chishen didn't linger, continuing forward with Bai Wan and soon disappearing into the crowd.

Chishen had noticed that the closer they got, the more ghosts were present, all blending into the crowd, making it challenging to single them out.

"Who could it be? And why release these spirits?"

Rounding a corner, Chishen found himself in an area thick with ghostly presence.

He stopped in his tracks.

Across the way, a group of young people were chatting. One of them, upon turning his head, spotted Chishen. As Chishen tried to leave, the young man eagerly approached, exclaiming, "Chishen!"

Left with no choice, Chishen turned with a forced smile, "Out enjoying the festivities, I see."

The person calling out to him was his colleague, Ma Caijin, and the person standing in the area dense with spirits was Li Xu.

He should've known!

"Just soaking in the Halloween atmosphere!" Today, Ma Caijin also dressed up. He wore a black trench coat, painted his face white, sported bat wings on his back, and wore fake fangs, making himself up to look like a vampire.

Accompanying them were other colleagues. Lately, the work environment at Ledao Culture had improved significantly, attracting more job applicants. What used to be a small company of just a few people now employed over a dozen.

Except for Li Xu, all the other colleagues also dressed up. Li Xu naturally exudes a somber aura. Standing there with his dark demeanor, even without any visible spirits around him, he still seemed to be embodying a wandering soul in this festive setting.

The other colleagues mainly wore small wings or little horns on their heads. But there were outliers. Some had very realistic zombie makeup—Chi Shen, upon a cursory glance, thought one of the spirits from earlier had found a companion. Another was dressed in a ghostly bridal gown, face painted to resemble a skull. Upon closer inspection, Chi Shen recognized this to be the eldest brother from the art department.

Yes, the one in the wedding dress was the big brother.

Upon seeing Bai Wan, the big brother's eyes lit up. A Chinese ghost bride and a Western ghost bride had met, and he immediately wanted to exchange experiences.

However, Chi Shen stopped him, saying his sister was shy.

Ma Caijin, on the side, said, "I messaged you in the group chat. You never responded. It's Halloween! We work at a horror game company. Don't you want to join us and feel the spooky atmosphere?"

Chi Shen replied, "Oh, I didn't check the group."

Who checks the work group chat after hours?

"Whatever." Ma Caijin understood Chi Shen's personality. Always leaving on the dot and ignoring them on days off was typical of him. He decided not to fuss over it. Showing off his outfit, he proudly asked, "How do I look? Don't I resemble the handsome vampire from those dramas?"

Chi Shen offered a feigned compliment, "Very handsome."

Pleased by the praise, Ma Caijin showcased his glowing fake fangs. Then, looking at Chi Shen's attire, he patted the red-clothed female ghost on Chi Shen's shoulder, asking with confusion, "Why did you go out with just a mop on your back?"

The red-clothed female ghost on Chi Shen's shoulder: ?

After that, he noticed the hand resting on Chi Shen's shoulder, and gave the hand with its red-painted nails a squeeze, "This hand prop is quite well-made, although a bit stiff and cold. Plus, it's kind of ugly. Aren't you cold wearing it?"

The red-clothed female ghost: ...

Chi Shen lifted the red-clothed female ghost to show Ma Caijin her face and calmly explained, "I'm playing a character haunted by a fierce ghost."

However, Ma Caijin, as if not having heard Chi Shen, stared at the female ghost's face for a while before concluding, "She... is really ugly. No wonder you have her face down. If she was face up, she'd easily scare people."

The lady in red: I can't take it anymore!

Veins bulged from her pale skin, and her red nails suddenly grew longer—

Chi Shen patted the lady in red's head, making her retract her nails reluctantly.

But in that brief moment, the ghost bridegroom, who had initially wanted to chat with Bai Wan, took notice. "Can her nails actually grow longer?"

"Oh, it's a mechanism," Chi Shen showed them. "Tap her head, and her nails extend. Tap again, and they retract."

Chi Shen patted the lady in red's head, prompting her to extend her nails. Another pat, and she retracted them.

"Fascinating," said the groom in the wedding dress. "May I try?"

Chi Shen nodded: "Sure."

The groom tapped the lady in red's head with his gloved hand, but nothing happened. "It doesn't work?"

Chi Shen gave a warm smile: "Might be jammed. Hold on."

The lady in red: ...

Reluctantly, she extended her nails again. The groom tapped once more, and she retracted them.

Seemingly finding the mechanism intriguing, the groom played with it for a while and then asked, "Are there any other tricks?"

"Yes," Chi Shen revealed the face of the lady in red, "If you press her face like this, she'll stick out her tongue."

The lady in red rolled her eyes, revealing a long tongue.

The groom watched with amazement, "This is fun! Where did you get it? Send me the link; I want one too!"

Chi Shen, taken aback by the unique perspective of this colleague from the art department, replied, "I bought the head and hand separately. I made the mechanism myself."

The groom had no choice but to give up.

After a short chat, Chi Shen excused himself to walk with his sister, Bai Wan. She then commented, "They're all good people."

"Most people are good," Chi Shen smiled, "It's rare to find so many bad ones."

Bai Wan lowered her head, deep in thought, but she didn't continue the conversation.

Afterwards, they participated in various Halloween events hosted by local businesses. Chi Shen acquired a demon's hat adorned with horns. Wearing it, he continued to stroll with Bai Wan. Every now and then, when they spotted a ghost, he'd call Xu Jiayuan, who would shout from the other end: "Another one?!"

As it approached 10 PM, the festive atmosphere in the plaza peaked. Lights on the buildings illuminated in a grand Halloween display, with businesses tapping into the modern trends, joining in the jubilation.

Everyone gazed up at the buildings. Chi Shen flipped the lady in red, so she faced upwards to enjoy the view. Bai Wan, with her head tilted back, watched the dazzling lights and whispered, "It's beautiful."

Chi Shen adjusted the demon's hat on his head and remarked to those beside him, "The essence of the human realm."

Ji Xingchen, standing by his side, remained silent.

Around 11 PM, Chi Shen and the group of ghosts headed home. They had work the next day, and even the spirits needed rest. Being in crowded places for too long made them uncomfortable.

Once home, Chi Shen lit incense to dispel the excess yang energy the ghosts had absorbed from mingling with the living. He then labeled Bai Wan's milk tea with her name.

Bai Wan had held onto her milk tea for so long it had turned from hot to frozen solid in this snowless season in the harbor city. Chi Shen thawed it in the kitchen before offering it to Bai Wan as a tribute.

Only Bai Wan could enjoy the milk tea labeled with her name.

Chi Shen could palpably sense that after tonight, the resentment around Bai Wan had significantly diminished. She increasingly resembled an ordinary young girl.

While the harbor city's center buzzed with Halloween spirit, its suburbs remained eerily quiet. Any festive youngsters would party in the city, not the outskirts.

In the northern part of the harbor city, a newly initiated construction site had most of its temporary huts erected. Workers hadn't moved in yet; only a security booth was lit.

On this silent site, the security guard had no intention of sleeping. He was engrossed in his phone, reading

a cultivation

novel.

The novel's intricate relationships and vendettas captivated him. He imagined himself as its flying-sword-wielding protagonist, with lives hanging on his every whim, able to grant life or death—

A faint noise seemed to come from the huts' direction. Probably just a rat, he thought, or maybe a weasel. This old place has its fair share of critters.

Yet, his novel was far more enticing. One man, one sword, prosperity to those who align and destruction to those who oppose!

The noise grew louder. Weasels surely couldn't make such a racket. Irritated, he lamented the potential steel thieves disturbing his reading. He wasn't even sure if any materials had been delivered yet.

Setting aside his engrossing world of life and death, he grabbed his flashlight, heading over angrily, ready to show them the might of his hand. He circled the huts, finding nothing amiss. Not even a single rat in sight.

Has he run away?

Could these people actually possess the art of sword flight?

He turned with his flashlight in hand, illuminating a dark object that he hadn't noticed upon his arrival.

He walked forward with a puzzled look, detecting a pungent smell in the air that made him instinctively cover his nose.

As he approached and moved the flashlight over, he suddenly fell to the ground in shock.

——He recognized what it was.