The two exchanged a quick glance.
The vengeful spirits on their backs began to stir.
On Chen Yan's ghost-marked back, the twisted visage of an old man grew increasingly distinct. A dark aura rippled around him.
"Before backup arrives… we have to hold them off!" Chen Yan said grimly.
A pale ghostly hand extended from his back, its blackened fingernails stained with dried blood. Ever since the Gates of the Underworld opened, the spirit within him had grown significantly stronger.
With Chen Bin's Ghost Eye to assist, holding off a few C-Class ghosts was more than manageable.
Chen Bin exhaled deeply, his pupils flickering with spectral energy.
But just as the two were about to spring into action—
Something went terribly wrong.
From the mountain of disembodied eyeballs, one rolled down and hit the ground with a wet plop.
Red tendrils, like blood-soaked spider silk, began spreading from it—writhing, branching like veins.
Those blood-like threads suddenly shot into the forehead of a nearby C-Class ghost.
The ghost didn't even have time to scream. It just shuddered as its aura rapidly faded.
Then—
That eyeball embedded itself firmly in the ghost's forehead.
Grrruuuggghhhh...
Something unspeakable began to change.
The eye turned bloodshot, pulsing with an evil glow. The nearby ghosts, sensing the shift, prostrated even lower than before—trembling in abject fear.
An aura far more powerful than anything before—tens of times stronger—began spreading throughout the morgue.
It was pure, unfiltered malice.
"A Shard Ghost...!!!" Chen Bin's pupils shrank.
The bizarre scene in front of him triggered an instant recognition in his mind.
Shard Ghost—among all ghost entities, they were one of the most terrifying.
They had no complete body, no stable form. One might be a strand of hair… another, a severed finger.
But they could possess any ghost—completely overriding it—and then slowly rebuild themselves by gathering parts.
Once a Shard Ghost fully reconstructed itself…
Its power would be no less than S-Class.
There had once been a Shard Ghost in the U.S.—it began by inhabiting a weak, nameless spirit. No one noticed it at first.
But when it reappeared…
It had become an S-Class ghost and turned an entire city into a haunted realm. Humans were reduced to livestock.
S-Class meant natural disaster.
It meant annihilation.
Only five S-Class ghost entities had ever been recorded—and each left a legacy of devastation that humanity could barely recover from.
Chen Bin never imagined that he'd one day come face to face with a Shard Ghost.
One that could… possibly become S-Class.
A ghost.
Chen Yan's inner spirit suddenly froze.
Like a rabbit caught in a predator's gaze—it sensed an overwhelming, primal threat.
Blood threads enveloped the Shard Ghost's new body—it was now fully in control.
It glanced down at the kneeling ghosts nearby. The single bloodshot eye on its forehead narrowed in distaste—disappointed.
Clearly, these ghosts were beneath its standards.
Then… the Shard Ghost twisted its head—a full 180 degrees—until it was staring directly at Chen Yan.
"Mine..."
"MINE!!!" it shrieked.
Chen Yan's expression shifted instantly. He knew—
The Shard Ghost had set its sights on his Ghost-Back… it wanted to make his spirit one of its fragments.
With a sudden motion, the Shard Ghost raised both hands.
Two waves of horrifying ghostly energy burst forth.
CRACK!!
The energy sliced through the air and into the kneeling ghosts.
Not a single one tried to resist.
In an instant—they were obliterated.
Black mist from their scattered remains was absorbed into the Shard Ghost's form.
Facing the incoming blast—
Chen Bin's Ghost Eye began to bleed. The blood spread like a red veil, forming a thin protective membrane before the two.
Chen Yan hunched lower. The pale ghost hand behind him surged with raw power, reinforcing the membrane.
But—
BOOOOM!!!
The impact struck like a meteor.
Their defense shattered like glass.
Unstoppable force sent both of them flying.
CRASH—!
The concrete wall behind them crumbled like paper.
"Ughhh!!" Chen Bin landed in a half-kneel, blood gushing from his mouth.
Chen Yan fared worse.
He had shielded his brother with his own body during the blast.
Old wounds reopened. New ones layered over them.
Now, he felt like a porcelain doll on the verge of collapse.
If it weren't for the ghostly hands holding him up—he would've fallen already.
"Brother! Are you okay?" Chen Bin rushed over and caught him.
Chen Yan forced a bitter smile. "Okay? How could I possibly be okay…"
He now realized—this Shard Ghost had just possessed a new body…
And it was already A-Class.
"But even so… we cannot let it leave this hospital!" Chen Yan said through gritted teeth, rising despite the agony.
He knew what such a ghost meant.
Even if it cost him his life—
Even if it was hopeless—
He would not let it escape.
Not when the city of Huadu was at stake.
Even if it meant standing in the path of a tsunami armed with only a twig—
He would not run.
Then—
A pale, ghostly face suddenly appeared before his own.
The single evil eye shimmered with amusement—mocking him.
Chen Yan's body froze.
His mind blanked.
That gaze—
Stole away his will.
And he could no longer move.