Chapter Forty-Seven: The Smiling Phantom

Having just survived the terrifying encirclement of the decaying corpses, everyone could guess that this road would be filled with obstacles set by a mastermind waiting for them ahead!

What should they do? What should they do!

Everyone looked to Zhao Shanshan, waiting for her decision. After all, she was the deputy captain of the criminal police team and the nominal commander of this operation.

But this was her first time facing such a life-and-death choice, and it was tied to supernatural, ghostly forces far beyond ordinary understanding. How could she remain calm? How could she bear such pressure?

Fu Yang stepped forward in time, saving Shanshan from her awkward predicament.

"In times like this, everyone has the right to make their own choice—and must take responsibility for it. So, whether to leave or stay, let's vote. Raise your hand if you want to gamble and try to leave; if you want to stay, don't raise your hand."

With that, the burden on Zhao Shanshan was completely lifted.

Yes! When death is looming, and the enemy is a mysterious supernatural force, each person must choose for themselves—don't expect others to decide for you.

Zhao Shanshan looked at Fu Yang gratefully. Ah Huang quietly gave him a thumbs-up, then raised his hand.

"I'm going to try! Rather than waiting to die, running out at least gives us a chance to survive."

Ah Huang raised his hand, Fu Yang and Zhao Shanshan followed, and then Liu Zhan, a respected team member, did as well...

The remaining officers looked at each other, then gritted their teeth and all raised their hands.

"In that case, let's move together. We'll fight our way out!"

It was now three-thirty in the afternoon. The ten-kilometer journey, they estimated, would take three hours. That meant they needed to get out of this area and reach the bustling road before the sun set completely.

Otherwise... when night truly falls, the vital energy fades, the yin energy grows, and all sorts of evil forces will grow stronger—there will be no chance of survival.

Once preparations were complete, the group of ten summoned their courage and stepped into the white, dense fog...

Most human fear springs from the unknown and the mysterious.

Walking through fog so thick you can barely see tests courage to the extreme. You cannot predict what horrors might be lurking, hidden in the swirling mist all around, watching, coveting, waiting to hunt you!

Though the valley was cold, everyone was soon drenched in sweat.

Tension, oppression, and immense psychological pressure made it easy to sweat.

Fu Yang and Ah Huang walked on either side of Zhao Shanshan, protecting her in the middle—even though her hand-to-hand skills were probably among the best in the group. But a beautiful woman always receives a little extra care...

Fu Yang glanced down at the time and navigation on his phone.

They had walked less than ten minutes, barely five hundred meters. It already felt as if a century had passed.

"Damn! This is probably the most dangerous distance I've ever covered."

He sighed, continuing to watch the swirling fog closely for any movement.

A little while later, Ah Huang raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

"Every fifteen minutes, we check the headcount. Don't get separated—otherwise you'll have plenty of time to contemplate your next life."

Ah Huang tried to make a dark joke; some of the officers managed a smile.

But when they counted heads, no one could smile anymore.

Someone was missing!

His name was Xiao Ou, only three years out of the police academy—the youngest besides Zhao Shanshan. Cheerful, funny, and sunny, now he was gone.

A tall, thin officer shouted nervously, "What happened? He was right next to me half a minute ago! How—"

The group's scalp tingled, their bodies prickling with fear.

Everyone stared intently at the fog beside the thin officer, and he himself squeezed into the middle of the group in terror.

"Calm down! Don't panic! You're elite officers—stay composed."

Ah Huang shouted sternly. If panic took hold now, it would truly be the end.

Someone had vanished from the group without a sound—almost certainly in grave danger. It wasn't a case of falling behind; there must be some terrifying evil lurking in the white fog.

"Who! Who's there!"

An officer at the end of the group cried out in panic, unable to control himself. He raised his gun and fired twice into the fog.

Ah Huang yelled angrily, "Are you crazy? You're completely exposing our position, that's suicide!"

"I... I saw a shadow in the fog behind us, following. I was too nervous and couldn't help myself," the officer explained—it really hadn't been intentional.

Fu Yang understood how ordinary people—even elite officers—might react emotionally when confronted with the supernatural. He patted Ah Huang on the shoulder, signaling him not to be angry. At this point, unity mattered most; escaping was luck, failing to escape was fate.

Ah Huang's expression softened a bit. He smiled and said, "Fu Yang, you seem more like a Taoist priest than I do. Stick with it, you've got a bright future..."

Hee hee hee, ha ha ha.

Suddenly, light laughter echoed from all around, within the fog. In the empty, dead-silent, mist-shrouded canyon, it sounded chilling.

As the saying goes, it's not the ghost's wailing you fear—it's the ghost's laughter!

A laughing ghost is always more dangerous.

"Ghost! There's a ghost!"

"We're surrounded by vengeful spirits!"

Some officers panicked, drawing their guns and aiming blindly into the fog—but saw nothing, only the terrifying laughter drifting everywhere.

Zhao Shanshan, skilled as she was in grappling and marksmanship, was still a woman. Faced with such monsters and ghosts, she was naturally frightened. She instinctively hugged Fu Yang's arm, then felt embarrassed but couldn't bring herself to let go...

Being depended upon by such a beautiful woman, Fu Yang felt rather pleased, so he pretended not to notice.

"Come out! If you've got guts, come out!"

Unable to endure the torment, one officer shouted loudly, firing blindly into the blinding white fog.

He failed to notice, overhead in the fog, the vague outline of a little girl's face began to appear!

Skin deathly pale, eyes blood-red, two sharp fangs, lips torn at the corners, always twisted into a strange, eerie smile.

These were grinning ghosts!

They were flying in the air... hidden by the fog, of course no one noticed.

At that moment, Ah Huang finally sensed something was wrong and looked up sharply!

He saw, right above the officer who had fired, a vengeful spirit emerging from the mist.

"Watch out! Above your head!"