A familiar corridor.

Looking back, it turned out to be the classroom he had escaped from earlier.

He had actually returned to the door of the fifth-floor classroom.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t that door connected to the restroom?” Brian Cooper felt increasingly baffled.

“Cough, cough cough~!”

Suddenly, a weak and painful cough sounded.

“It’s you. How did you come out of the classroom?”

A man in a trench coat, pale and gaunt, was leaning against the corridor wall. His bloodshot eyes watched Brian Cooper warily.

“Eric Clark?” Brian Cooper was taken aback for a moment, then replied.

“I don’t know what’s going on either. Earlier, when I left with them, I was grabbed by a ghost and dragged into the restroom. After finally finding a way out and opening the door, I discovered I was back here.”

“Is that so? It’s because of the ghost domain. Looks like that thing doesn’t want to let you go.”

Eric Clark’s eyes flickered slightly. “But there’s only one ghost in a ghost domain, and that ghost is the old man in the black robe. But he already left earlier. What you encountered should be a ghost slave.”

“What’s a ghost slave?” Brian Cooper walked over and asked.

Eric Clark said, “A ghost slave is something formed from people killed by a fierce ghost within the ghost domain. They’re controlled by the ghost and obey its orders unconditionally, just like servants—hence the name. They’re not as terrifying as the fierce ghost itself, but they’re still a huge threat to ordinary people like you... cough cough, this ghost domain hasn’t even existed for long, and there are already ghost slaves. You’re really lucky to have made it out alive.”

“But now’s not the time to talk about this. It’s just right that you showed up here.”

He took out something from his coat that looked like a walkie-talkie.

“This is a satellite phone. Take it and get out of here as fast as you can. If you manage to escape this haunted place, someone will contact you afterward. Just tell your contact everything that happened here.”

Eric Clark said, his face twisted in pain.

“Big brother, what about you?” Brian Cooper asked.

Eric Clark said, “I’ve reached my limit. When I held off that old man just now, I used too much of the ghost’s power. That thing is about to revive. Those who can control a fierce ghost are called ghost tamers, but at the same time, the ghost will gradually erode the person. For someone like me, neither human nor ghost, living in this world is already a kind of torment... ah~!”

Before he could finish, he suddenly screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground, writhing.

In his struggle, his large trench coat fell open.

Brian Cooper was startled. Under the coat was a hugely swollen belly, even bigger than that of a pregnant woman. The skin was somewhat translucent, and inside, curled up, was a baby the size of a three-year-old child.

The baby’s whole body was bluish-black, its hands had sharp claws, and its eyes were pitch black without pupils. It squirmed and tore at the belly from inside, as if trying to rip its way out.

“Wh-what is that?”

“A ghost... a ghost infant. That’s what the file calls it.”

Eric Clark gritted his teeth against the pain. “When it first appeared in my belly, it was only the size of a thumb. Every time I use the ghost’s power, it grows a bit. Even if I don’t use it, it still grows. Everything in my belly has been eaten clean by it. Every day I have to endure the pain of it gnawing at my body. Every night, the pain keeps me from sleeping...”

“My body has almost been eaten away by this ghost infant. There’s nothing left but an empty belly. An ordinary person would have died long ago, but I just can’t die. For me, living is pain and torment. Death would be a relief.”

“Go. Take the phone and go.”

He reached out and threw the phone, shouting, “If you don’t leave now, this ghost infant will break out. Then there’ll be two ghosts here, and it’ll be even harder for you to escape.”

Brian Cooper picked up the phone. Seeing his pained expression, he couldn’t help but touch the back of his own hand—he had experienced this kind of pain before.

A ghost tamer?

Could he have become like Eric Clark?

“Sorry to disappoint you all. That old man was too powerful. I wasn’t a match and couldn’t hold him back or get you students out. From here on, you’re on your own.”

Seeing Brian Cooper pick up the phone, Eric Clark gave a bitter smile.

Brian Cooper said, “Since you know so much, why did you stay in the first place? If you’d left earlier, you could have gotten out safely. There was no need to stay and die with us.”

“Because I’m the person in charge of Dachang City. Only people like us can deal with ghosts. If we’re cowardly and afraid of death, this world is finished... I don’t do this job for myself, but for the safety of this city.”

Eric Clark’s mouth twitched, the pain growing more intense. He felt he couldn’t hold on any longer and suddenly shouted, “What are you still standing here for? Go! Hurry up and go!”

Brian Cooper’s heart trembled. Not daring to linger, he gripped the phone tightly and turned to run.