The ceiling and floor were covered in tortoiseshell-like patterns, making it feel as though they were trapped between the shells of a giant turtle. But if the shell was here, where was the turtle’s head?

As the fire on the 18th floor grew fiercer, Shen Ge had no choice but to retreat. He prepared to use the “Collapse” ability of his Invisible Ghost Domain to descend to the next floor.

Invisible Ghost Domain!

Collapse!

Just like before, Shen Ge activated his Invisible Ghost Domain. Strangely, this time, the surroundings didn’t instantly turn transparent. Instead, visible ripples distorted the air.

This was a scene Shen Ge knew all too well—it was exactly what had happened the first time he used “Stillness” to warp space within the Ghost Car’s domain.

Clearly, Shen Ge was now at the center of the “Unyielding” ghost’s spatial domain. His Ghost Domain hadn’t taken effect but had instead clashed with the “Unyielding” space, creating a distortion.

If Shen Ge continued expanding his Invisible Ghost Domain, he might still be able to tear open space. However, the mental energy consumption was extremely high. Even after allocating all his recent free attribute points to mental energy, Shen Ge only had 253% left. With a consumption rate of 50% per second, he could sustain it for just five seconds.

At the moment, Shen Ge had seven Ghost Energy Canisters and eight Spirit Apples left. Combined, they still wouldn’t be enough to outlast this Tier-4 supernatural entity.

Calculating the mental energy expenditure, Shen Ge stopped the Invisible Ghost Domain after three seconds—just as “Collapse” tore a basketball-sized hole in the ceiling.

The moment he deactivated the domain, he hurled a timed explosive into the hole. As the Invisible Ghost Domain faded, the opening rapidly closed, trapping the explosive within the ceiling.

Shen Ge immediately turned and sprinted away from the flames, pressing the detonator in his hand. A deafening BOOM shook the entire floor.

The explosion blasted open a massive gap in the ceiling, revealing not broken concrete but pulsing, bloody flesh bubbling with dark liquid.

As the gap widened, a turtle’s head—at least five meters in diameter—emerged from above. Half of its skull was pitch-black, rotting flesh, while the other half writhed with squirming black insects. The stench of decay was overpowering, enough to make anyone’s stomach churn.

The moment the colossal ghost turtle descended, it locked onto Shen Ge’s presence. Its head split vertically, transforming into a gaping maw lined with jagged teeth, and lunged straight for him!

With its mouth wide open, it’d be rude not to feed it something. As Shen Ge ran, he tossed in flashbangs, grenades, fragmentation mines—anything throwable—directly into the creature’s maw. Then, using “Collapse,” he tore another hole in the ceiling and leaped through.

BOOM!

Amid the thunderous explosions, the ghost turtle smashed through the ceiling, its head bursting through the floor below, still chasing Shen Ge relentlessly.

Shen Ge repeated the tactic, using “Collapse” to open gaps and ascend floor by floor, the turtle’s head snapping at his heels the entire way.

“Hey, big guy, are you a turtle or a snake? Can your neck stretch infinitely? How many laps are we gonna run before it gets tangled?” Shen Ge cursed as he fled. But after observing its movements across multiple floors, he realized the turtle’s head wasn’t physically extending—it was emerging from the ceiling of each floor, as if fused with the building itself.

“You took until the 18th floor to show up? You’re one stubborn bastard!” Shen Ge sucked down a Ghost Energy Canister while hurling explosives—even firing a rocket launcher at one point.

By the time he reached the 24th floor, his black suitcase was empty except for three tortoise shells. The fire, which had started on the lower floors, now raged uncontrollably. In a building like this, once a fire took hold, extinguishing it was nearly impossible.

From the outside, the flames pierced through the thick black fog, engulfing most of the structure in a towering inferno. Down on the street, Fang Mingyue watched anxiously, but she remembered Shen Ge’s orders. Seeing the fire spreading toward the surrounding area, she immediately began evacuating the wounded with Soldier Xiao Li.

The dark red moon still hung in the sky, but night had turned to day—a gloomy, oppressive daylight that made it hard to breathe.

“Stop crying! We’re not dead yet! Investigator Shen is still up there fighting for us, risking his life! And here you are, wailing like it’s the end! If you won’t save yourselves, then just wait to die!” Fang Mingyue snapped, irritated by the survivors’ despair.

But despite her harsh words, her hands never stopped moving. She and Xiao Li carried the severely injured out first, then returned for the others.

Their strength alone wasn’t enough, but soon, lightly wounded survivors joined in. A woman sobbed, “Investigator, don’t be mad. We’ve never seen anything like this—we’re just scared. But with warriors like you protecting us, we’re not afraid anymore. Tell us what to do, and we’ll do it!”

“That’s right, Investigator Fang! We were unharmed under Old He’s protection. We’ve got strength—just give the orders, and we’ll carry whoever needs carrying!” a man declared.

“I can help too!”

“I may be old, but I’ve still got the strength for farm work. Lifting people is nothing!”

“Let’s work together—let’s survive!”

“Survive!”

One by one, those who’d been unharmed or only lightly injured stepped forward. Together, they helped Fang Mingyue and Xiao Li evacuate the wounded.

Watching them, Fang Mingyue felt a surge of emotion. She wasn’t afraid of sacrifice or supernatural horrors—only of her efforts going unappreciated.

Now, she knew it was all worth it.

In the distance, the Ghost Energy Building burned fiercer than ever. No one knew what Shen Ge had done to set an entire skyscraper ablaze in mere minutes.

Just as Fang Mingyue was guiding civilians to safety, she noticed the black fog shrouding the building begin to dissipate. Near the top, part of the structure seemed to turn transparent, revealing the hillside behind it.

Then—a figure shot out from the transparent section, soaring through the air before inflating like a balloon and crashing into the hillside.

Ghost-Skin Armguards!

Investigator Shen!

He made it out!

But Fang Mingyue’s relief lasted less than two seconds before a thunderous CRASH echoed. The building’s outer wall exploded outward as a monstrous, decaying turtle head burst through, its maw—lined with fangs and spewing black fog—lunging toward the hillside.

It bit off half the mountainside in a single chomp.

The terrifying turtle’s head seemed fused with the building, as if the skyscraper itself was its shell. As the head moved, the entire structure uprooted itself, crawling toward Dongyu Mountain.

“A Tier-4 supernatural entity!” Fang Mingyue’s eyes widened in shock. She’d never seen anything so massive, so horrifying.

An entire building—turned into a monster!

And Investigator Shen had been fighting this thing alone!

“Xiao Li, take over here! I’m going to help Investigator Shen on the mountain. Evacuate the villagers!” Fang Mingyue called.

“Investigator Fang, we’ll go with you!”

“Officer Fang, take us! We can help!”

“We’ve got guns!”

“I—I’m not a great shot, but I’ve learned how to use one!”

The unharmed villagers and some lightly wounded ones grabbed the leftover pistols and submachine guns Shen Ge had discarded and ran after her.

“No! The injured still need you here. If… if we don’t come back, remember what Old He taught you. Avoid the supernatural entities, and survive!” Fang Mingyue said firmly.

“Officer Fang!”

“Investigator!”

Without another word, Fang Mingyue fired a grappling hook at a second-floor window across the street, then scaled the building to take a shortcut toward Dongyu Mountain.

“Officer Fang! Come back alive! When we get out of this hellhole, I’ll slaughter two hens for you!” a villager shouted after her.

Meanwhile, Shen Ge had wreaked havoc inside the building, setting it ablaze and turning into a one-man demolition crew. While explosives couldn’t harm the Tier-4 “Unyielding,” he’d confirmed that it was indeed fused with the structure.

Like the Monkey King wreaking havoc inside Princess Iron Fan’s stomach, it might not be deadly, but it was infuriating.

Having thoroughly enraged the ghost turtle, Shen Ge seized the chance to escape using his Invisible Ghost Domain.

Thankfully, Fang Mingyue’s Ghost-Skin Armguards cushioned his fall—otherwise, a drop from that height would’ve crippled him, if not killed him outright.

Now, with the “Unyielding” ghost turtle fully awakened and fixated on him, Shen Ge led it on a chase through the mountains, relying on his Ghost-Leather Boots’ agility to stay ahead.

He could’ve used “Invisible + Soundless” to shake it off, but he feared the creature would just retreat into its shell. Luring it out again would be far harder.

The mountain was still crawling with low-tier supernatural entities. At one point, Shen Ge even encountered a crimson Tier-2 entity—but before he could act, the ghost turtle swallowed it whole.

As he raced downhill, Shen Ge took shortcuts, leaping over U-shaped bends without hesitation. With his Ghost-Leather Boots and Ghost-Skin Armguards, injuries weren’t a concern.

Then, in the distance, he spotted a dense black fog—and the sound of gunfire. Moments later, he recognized a familiar figure ahead.

“Luo Chenguang?”

“Investigator Shen? What are you doing here?” Luo Chenguang gaped as Shen Ge landed in front of him.

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be investigating the Tier-4 entity in the Ghost Energy Building? Had he just set a fire and hid?

Before Luo Chenguang could ask, Shen Ge cut in, “Where’s Old He? Did you find the high-tier entity on the mountain?”

“Of course we did! What about you? Weren’t you investigating the Tier-4 entity in the skyscraper? Did you find it?” Luo Chenguang shot back.

“Yep!” Shen Ge slung an arm around Luo Chenguang’s shoulders, turning him toward the mountain. He pointed at the monstrous turtle head—now the size of a dragon’s—and grinned.

“Meet our new friend. A Tier-4 supernatural entity. Rare sight, huh? Quite the unique looker, don’t you think?”

Luo Chenguang’s legs gave out. If not for Shen Ge’s grip, he’d have face-planted.

“Th-th-th-that’s—!” His tongue tied in terror.

Shen Ge crouched beside him. “So, where’s the high-tier entity you found? I’ll keep this big guy busy—you go lure yours over.”

“Lure it over? How? Why don’t you do it?!” Luo Chenguang snapped. That thing was at least Tier-3 or Tier-4—and it had wings. Even if it couldn’t fly, its legs were thicker than his entire body. No way he could outrun it.

“Any details? What’s its original form?” Shen Ge pressed.

“Probably… a chicken?” Luo Chenguang stammered.

“One word off, and it could be a whole different creature. But if it’s a chicken, it might be interested in these giant bugs. Hurry up and lure it here—it’s closing in.”

“Me? I have to do it?” Luo Chenguang’s face paled.

“Either you lure it, or go tell Old He. But move fast! You’re a man—show some backbone! Don’t you want stories to tell back at the department? Think of the people you admire! You can do this!” Shen Ge hauled him up and shoved him toward the road before darting off.

His final words floated back:

“Use whatever you’ve got! Sing the Chicken God’s anthem for all I care!”

Chicken God’s anthem?!

Luo Chenguang nearly choked. This guy was definitely a hater!

But with the Tier-4 entity now lured out, every second counted. Luo Chenguang was terrified—but he was still a supernatural investigator.

Gritting his teeth, he sprinted toward where the ghost chicken had been. No matter what, he had to tell Old He: Shen Ge had succeeded.

This was their only chance to pit the two entities against each other.

Old He and the Chongqing branch soldiers were still holding off the ghost chicken. While killing it was near impossible, Old He’s Ghost-Bone Staff was effective at restraining it.

Just as he was planning where to lead it next, Luo Chenguang came stumbling back, gasping for breath.

“Chenguang! Why’d you return?” Old He barked.

“Teacher! Investigator Shen—he lured the Tier-4 entity out of the skyscraper! It’s on the mountain now! He wants us to bring the ghost chicken there!”

“Really?”

Old He’s face lit up. He hadn’t expected Shen Ge to actually pull it off. This level of skill was beyond even his own.

If only the Special Investigations Department had more talents like Investigator Shen, he thought. Our generation could retire in peace.

But such experts were rare. With two in the Rong City branch alone, maybe one could be persuaded to relocate to the capital…