Inside the water valve room, Jiang Chen noticed a heavy set of footsteps approaching quickly, accompanied by a strong smell of disinfectant—and soon, they reached the 5th-floor staircase.
"Oh, so you hid in here!"
Heavy door-chopping sounds rang out from outside.
*Thud! Thud!*
After two blows, the security door was split open.
Jiang Chen's eyes twitched involuntarily. With the residual strength he had now, if he faced this ghost head-on, she could probably kill him with a single slap.
The female ghost entered Room 502, but found no one there.
"Hehehe, you're too cunning… but I *must* get your answer!" She burst out again and charged straight down the stairs.
In the cramped water valve room, the two people squeezed together let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
The woman was relieved because the ghost had temporarily left.
Jiang Chen was relieved because he'd barely managed to hold himself back.
"My name is Chen Xue. You can think of me as a special agent who handles supernatural incidents—or call us 'supernaturals'," Chen Xue said, finally removing her hand from Jiang Chen's mouth. In the darkness, a faint blush rose on her pretty face, barely noticeable.
"As for my rudeness earlier, I won't apologize—after all, I just saved your life."
"From now on, stick close to me. Only then will you have a chance to survive!"
As she spoke, she pushed open the wooden door. The talisman on the door fell off, burst into flames mid-air, and turned to ash.
"First, we'll hea—" Chen Xue's words cut off abruptly, and her face darkened.
Because at the dark staircase corner between the 5th and 4th floors, a woman covered in blood, holding a knife, was peeking out quietly. On her completely disfigured face—so mangled that no facial features were recognizable—a faint "smile" seemed to form.
"So this is where you've been hiding," a cold, hoarse voice echoed, sending chills down one's spine. "Now, can you tell me… am I beautiful?"
Chen Xue's expression hardened. She formed her fingers into a sword shape, pinched a yellow paper talisman, and chanted rapidly: "Heaven and earth are the origin; all qi stems from this root. Through eons of cultivation, I manifest my divine power."
"Golden Light Talisman!"
In the meantime, the female ghost—holding a sharp knife the length of a forearm—had already charged forward fiercely. "You're not speaking… does that mean you think I'm not beautiful?"
She dashed forward in a few steps, reached Chen Xue, and swung the knife down violently.
The talisman between Chen Xue's fingers burst into golden light, colliding with the sharp knife.
*Clang!*
The sound of metal clashing rang out. The female ghost's knife flew out of her hand. She let out a shrill scream, was sent flying backward, and crashed into the stairs.
"Badass," Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that real Taoist magic existed in this world.
But in the next moment, Chen Xue stumbled back sharply and crashed into Jiang Chen. He felt a powerful force hit him; his back slammed against the wall, and he nearly coughed up blood.
"Ah…" Chen Xue let out a pained cry and clutched her shoulder—her wound had split open again from the impact.
Even more fatal: ghostly qi was invading her body, and she had to divert her true qi to suppress it. After activating this Golden Light Talisman, she had no true qi left for fighting.
"Dammit! A mid-tier evil ghost should've been easy to deal with… who knew there's another ghost in this godforsaken place!"
Chen Xue's face was filled with unwillingness. She turned to look at Jiang Chen. "My true qi is almost exhausted. Later, I'll hold her off with my life—you run down the stairs, go contact the security office, and tell them to send supernaturals over. Understand?"
Jiang Chen nodded.
By then, the female ghost had climbed back up, picked up the knife again, and closed in on them. When she spotted Jiang Chen, she seemed delighted. "Oh, there's another young man! What do *you* think—am I beautiful?"
Jiang Chen glanced at her. "Little sister, you're very beautiful."
"No!" Chen Xue didn't have time to stop him; her face darkened. "You answered her question—she'll haunt you until you die!"
Sure enough, the cold laughter from the female ghost grew louder. "Oh? You really think I look beautiful like this? Then… do you want me to turn you into someone like me too?"
As she spoke, the knife in her hand suddenly started dripping blood for no reason—a sign that she was about to attack.
"Why would you do that?" Jiang Chen shook his head. "Every person is a unique flower. Little ghost sister, your way of thinking is too extreme!"
"But if I don't do this, how can I prove that you truly think I'm beautiful?" The female ghost sneered.
"That's easy!" Jiang Chen's eyes seemed to light up. He grabbed the female ghost's cold wrist in one swift move. "C'mon! Come inside with me!"
The ghost froze for a moment. When she realized what he'd said, even her disfigured face seemed to stiffen.
*"What's he doing inviting me inside? This is moving way too fast! +10 Ghost Qi."*
"Let's go, ghost sister—let me get to know your beauty *intimately*!" Jiang Chen pulled her hard. His intense gaze left the Disfigured Ghost stunned.
*What's with that look? Does he really want to… do something to me? But I'm a ghost!*
*"+20 Ghost Qi."*
Chen Xue, standing beside them, was also dumbfounded.
She would never have guessed the plot would take such a turn.
When Jiang Chen saw the ghost wasn't moving, he stepped forward, wrapped his arm around her waist, and blew a warm breath near her neck. "What's wrong? Are you shy?"
The Disfigured Ghost shuddered violently and jumped away like a startled cat.
*"Damn it! He's flirting with a ghost? Is he a devil? +30 Ghost Qi."*
Of course, these were all instinctive reactions from being caught off guard.
After calming down, the female ghost suddenly grabbed Jiang Chen's hand. "Fine—let's go inside. But if you're not being sincere with me… I'll disfigure your face bit by bit!"
The man and the ghost walked into the bedroom of Room 502.
As soon as they entered, the female ghost pressed Jiang Chen against the wall, her bloodied, mangled face twisted into a terrifying smile. "Hehehe… I forgot to tell you. Since you love me so much, you must be willing to look more like me, right?"
"Sigh…" Jiang Chen let out a sigh.
This ghost wasn't as easy to fool as the Knocking Ghost. He'd only earned 60 Ghost Qi so far, and he already had to use a Demon Transformation Card.
"Ah well—at least when a ghost dies completely, there's one last big wave of Ghost Qi, the largest one."
"Use Demon Transformation Card—"
"Red Python Spirit!"
Jiang Chen's body began to change: his muscles bulged, his skin became as tough as steel, his blood qi roared like a boiling furnace, and surging demonic power flowed through his veins.
*Ding! Randomly obtained supernatural ability—Giant Python Strength!*
The female ghost froze, confused. She noticed the man in front of her seemed to grow taller; the wrist she was holding had become incredibly hard, and a stabbing pain came from it.
Most of all, his gaze had turned sharp in an instant—as if he'd gone from a docile little rabbit at her mercy to a top-tier predator.
"Hehe…" A smirk tugged at Jiang Chen's lips. Confidence surged in his heart. He stared straight at the female ghost, who was raising her knife. "Ghost sister, why are you so fixated on your appearance?"
"Hmph! You people only stand and talk without knowing how it feels!" The female ghost's body trembled. She raised the knife like a madwoman and stabbed it toward Jiang Chen's face. "Wait until you become as ugly as me—then you'll know how vicious people's stares can be!"
"I get it. You're not confident about your looks," Jiang Chen said, as if suddenly understanding. "That's easy. I'm an amateur doctor— I can help you solve this problem permanently."
"Theoretically, you just need a small surgery: remove all the body tissue above your neck. Then no one will care about your appearance anymore!"
His words left the female ghost stunned.
*Is there really such a magical surgery?*
*Wait—removing everything above the neck… that's just cutting off my head! You bastard!*
*"+30 Ghost Qi."*
"I'll kill you!" The female ghost's face was filled with malice.
Jiang Chen stretched out one hand. With his terrifying strength, he grabbed the wrist the ghost was using to swing the knife. In a near-brutal manner, he crushed her bones without mercy.
The knife fell, and he caught it. With one swift chop—
Roll, roll…
A head hit the ground and rolled away.