She's a Passerby, But Can See the Protagonist's Halo

Communicating with a group of ghosts via mobile phone was quite an extraordinary experience.

Especially when Yan saw the questions and replies displayed on the phone in front of her—she nearly burst out laughing.

[Why are you chasing after him?] (The "him" referred to Zhuo Si.)

[We weren’t chasing him. He ran away as soon as he saw us. We had to follow because we were afraid he’d end up somewhere he shouldn’t be.]

Reading the exchange on the phone, Zhuo Si practically jumped out of his skin.

"You could’ve just told me!"

"I wasted so much time running for nothing!"

He grumbled for a moment before suddenly realizing something and promptly shutting his mouth.

Zhuo Si remembered the two children he had encountered—one without eyes, the other without a mouth.

One couldn’t see him, and the other couldn’t speak.

Zhuo Si fell silent.

"My bad. I didn’t understand the situation and made you chase me for so long," he apologized with a deep breath.

The real issue was—who wouldn’t be terrified if they saw eyeless or mouthless ghosts suddenly appear and ask if they were new here?

Well, except for the two standing right in front of him.

"So, what the hell is going on here?!" Zhuo Si watched as Zhu Jue’s phone was passed around among the ghosts.

Those who still had eyes and hands could type, writing down their circumstances.

Those who couldn’t see had words painstakingly traced onto their palms by other ghosts, one character at a time.

"Excuse me, but are all of your situations different?" Yan looked directly at the group of "ghosts" before her and handed over her phone.

But she didn’t think of them as ghosts. Some had vacant expressions, others seemed dazed—as if they barely had any consciousness left.

Zhu Jue’s phone was only passed to a few who were clearly capable of communication.

[They’re still alive, just soul-scattered. We’re already dead.]

This time, the reply came from a "female ghost" whose lips were missing.

Through continuous exchanges on the phone, Yan and the others learned that these ghosts—let’s call them that for now—had no idea where they were either.

This place was shrouded in mist. They didn’t need food or drink, just wandered aimlessly every day. At first, there hadn’t been so many "ghosts"—their numbers had gradually grown over time.

This realm had existed for ages, its inhabitants unaware of the passage of years.

Aside from the occasional new ghost inexplicably drawn in, Zhuo Si was the first "living person" they’d seen. Unfortunately, the two children who found him didn’t understand the difference between ghosts and humans—their first words sent Zhuo Si fleeing in terror.

Those who could smell the incense on Zhuo Si were ghosts.

Those who couldn’t were the lost souls of still-living people.

Humans have three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls. The spirits here were all corporeal souls that had vanished along with certain organs, leaving them with little awareness. The ghosts here didn’t want them to suddenly regain consciousness either.

These ghosts had also been drawn to Yan and Zhu Jue by the scent of incense.

[Your incense is strong. More people came to you.]

[Others went to different incense sources.]

"If you were behind us this whole time, why didn’t you say anything?" Yan asked.

When she and Zhu Jue had been whispering and playing Sudoku, the ghosts had probably been right behind them!

[We didn’t want to scare you.]

[Like him.]

The "him" was obviously Zhuo Si.

Speaking of Zhuo Si, Yan couldn’t help but glance at him now.

The [Supernatural Intern] halo above his head had now been upgraded to [Supernatural Investigator].

This guy had actually been promoted from intern to investigator. Thinking about how he’d bolted at the first sign of danger… Well, self-preservation was a crucial quality for an investigator, wasn’t it?

Zhuo Si had stumbled into this place after burning paper offerings—maybe he had a knack for attracting bizarre incidents.

Then again, given how often he courted danger, it’d be stranger if he didn’t run into trouble.

After discussing the situation with the ghosts, Yan and Zhu Jue decided to regroup with the others.

Since ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‍the ghosts could smell incense, and everyone who’d entered this place carried the scent, it made sense to gather all the victims and outsiders together. There was strength in numbers.

Though Yan’s group didn’t know the way, the ghosts who’d been here for a long time did.

There was still no phone signal, but time was passing second by second.

The living couldn’t afford to stay here too long.

Yan and Zhu Jue weren’t the only ones who’d thought of this. Before long, they ran into Officer Zheng Yi, who was also being guided by ghosts.

Soon, more members who’d entered this nameless realm began to gather.

The phones used to record their exchanges kept being passed around. Thankfully, Yan and Zhu Jue had brought portable chargers, or they’d have run out of battery long ago.

"I’ve got a decent grasp of the situation here," Officer Zheng Yi said, her expression tense as she looked at Li.

Since entering this place, the progress bar for her case had advanced significantly, unlocking more information.

After communicating with the guiding ghosts via phone, the puzzle pieces of this mysterious case had multiplied—though details about the mastermind remained scarce.

"What we know so far is that this is a criminal organization that harms citizens, with a disturbingly well-established operation."

"The supernatural aspects are beyond my expertise."

"Based on the Cold Case Unit’s findings, their activities include human trafficking, mutilating victims for begging, overseas sales, and organ trafficking." Zheng Yi’s voice was heavy.

Yan’s breath caught. The "Beautiful Red Envelope Group"—this was the ugliness behind its name.

"We can confirm that this criminal group operates under a strict hierarchy and uses unknown methods of communication."

"Many victims didn’t even realize how they were chosen or harmed at first," Zheng Yi continued.

"Harvesting life and breaking limbs," Li interjected.

"In ancient times, some used this for medicinal purposes or to make money through begging."

"And then there’s harvesting living souls for death rituals."

The ancient demon’s expression darkened. "The first two are the work of living monsters. The last one is sorcery."

"This is downright inhuman!" Zhuo Si hugged himself.

"These lost souls are all trapped here. The answer to our case is clear—it’s the third method," Li said, closing his eyes briefly.

"So, we’re currently inside the criminals’ storage for harvested souls? Then this place…" Zheng Yi trailed off.

"If we could enter, it means this place isn’t completely sealed off. Especially in this era, whoever’s behind this doesn’t have the power to create an independent pocket realm."

"Most likely, this is a natural boundary between yin and yang, modified with spells to serve their purposes," Li analyzed.

"Especially... Zhuo Si was able to send messages earlier, and there was a signal, which means this place is real."

"Now there’s no signal, but that’s only because we’re deep inside this maze."

Yan raised her hand at this point.

"So, Li, what you’re saying is that we’re still in the real world right now, and this isn’t some illusory space?"

"Zheng Yi already explained—this organization has a tight structure and an entire chain of operations. Even the mastermind would need to communicate with their underlings."

"If the mastermind has gathered all the trapped souls here, could this be their headquarters?"

"Holy crap?" Zhuo Si was completely stunned.

Yan immediately turned to him.

"Zhuo Si, do you remember where you were when you sent us that message earlier?"

Zhuo Si paused, then shook his head. "I can’t remember. Everything looks the same to me here."

"We know," one of the spirits raised a hand.

"He was running over there."

Led by the spirits, the group continued forward through the disorienting fog.

"But even if we get a signal, how do we get out and send a message for someone to break the formation? We still don’t know where we are," Zhuo Si muttered, baffled.

Zhu Jue glanced at him. "Don’t worry about that."

He turned to Li. "Li, I have a question."

"Will the mastermind come here today? If we move the victims out, will they notice immediately?"

"My guess is no," Li replied.

"First, so many of us have already entered, and Zhuo Si has been here since early morning. None of us have encountered any unknown figures, meaning the mastermind likely has no idea what’s happening here."

"The mist filling this place is meant to trap spirits and souls—or, to put it another way, before the mastermind makes their move, this is just a storage site."

"Today is the Ghost Festival, when the gates of the underworld open and resentment surges. They wouldn’t set foot here today."

Yan rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So, as long as we don’t damage the formation, we could ransack this place today and they might not even know?"

"Exactly," Li nodded.

By now, they had reached the spot where Zhuo Si had been earlier.

Sure enough, a faint signal appeared on their phones!

"There’s a signal, but how do we get out? Call in an expert remotely to break the formation?" Zhuo Si asked.

Yan and Zhu Jue exchanged a glance, silently communicating something.

She lowered her head and tapped on her phone.

A moment later, she flashed a friendly smile.

"Alright, I have an idea."

Yan motioned for Officer Zheng Yi and Li to lean in. Five minutes later, everyone present—well, everyone except Yan and Zhu Jue—stared at a wooden door that had suddenly appeared before them, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.

Yan examined the door. The "Dimensional Convenience Store" sign, which Lu Chen had previously removed, was gone, leaving it looking perfectly ordinary!

Zheng Yi looked at her young informant, feeling as though she was seeing her in a whole new light.

Li studied the two of them intently. Those brought here by the bell were truly anything but ordinary.

She had just said there were no man-made secret realms in this day and age, yet these two seemingly average young mortals had summoned a portal between dimensions.

"This door is borrowed temporarily. The entrance is set at Ma Lu Wan, and the exit is here—two-way passage."

"That way, the police can act simultaneously—evacuate all the victims while sending people into the formation to lie in wait and strike straight at the heart of their operation."

Yan tapped her chin as she spoke.

"That’s all we’ve got for now."

"Anyway, this door is borrowed. The owner might come by later."

"So… we’ll head out first?"

Yan and Zhu Jue stepped forward, demonstrating how to pass through the wooden door.

As the two experts vanished, Zhuo Si gaped. "Holy crap, a magic door?"

"Is this for real? Couldn’t we just drop a million troops straight onto that island country next door?"

For a moment, everyone’s thoughts spiraled wildly at his words. Then Zheng Yi and Li locked eyes.

With this door, things were about to get a whole lot easier.

I wonder who the owner is… Maybe we could borrow it a few more times?

Hmm. Zhuo Si isn’t completely useless after all.