Chapter Forty-Eight: The Lady Ghost and the Dog

Deep beneath the earth, in a bunker about a kilometer from the hotel, a wounded soldier, drenched in blood, stood rigidly as he reported his unit’s outcome.

On the screen, his sharp-featured, short-haired female superior exclaimed in disbelief, “Annihilated? Are you joking? You’re an elite special operations team, handpicked by the Revolutionary Committee from the world’s finest military forces. With your combat training and firepower, you should be able to go toe to toe with entire battalions of mechanical police. And you’re telling me that two entire squads, forty men each, have left only you alive? Are you out of your mind?”

The wounded man’s face was expressionless. “Face reality, ma’am. They’re gone. Wiped out.”

“By what? Some gang from the slums?”

“Not a gang. Just one man. No… not a man—a devil.”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The wounded man collapsed.

“Well, that was close. Nearly let him finish his story.”

A gleaming silver python revolver appeared on the screen, its barrel smoking. The hand that held it was slender and pale, uncalloused, the cuff of an expensive suit visible—its cufflink sparkling, unmistakably diamond.

The woman’s pupils contracted. She leaned into the screen, shouting, “Who are you? The experiment is over. Killing is a crime. You’re provoking the Global Council, provoking the Revolutionary Committee!”

A languid male voice answered, “Keep your voice down. Be calm. Isn’t that what suits a high-ranking government official like you?”

Her chest heaved with rage. “You won’t get away!”

“Of course, of course, the government is all-powerful,” he replied with mock enthusiasm, and the screen went black.

The camera zoomed out, revealing the one they called Number Two.

He glanced around, then dismantled the monitor and turned away, muttering, “Why do I have to do the grunt work collecting electronics? Send a grunt for this kind of thing. Ridiculous…”

He kicked open the door and strolled away.

Just then, a dog slipped out from the shadows, its gaze oddly intense.

“Lucy, looks like I’ve run into a real opponent. This kid’s bold, openly challenging the authorities. Time for Boss Baozi to do some tracking! Heh heh…”

The dog shook out its fur, preparing to follow, when a car pulled up in front of the building. Three cleaners in work uniforms stepped out.

“There’s a corpse here. And a dog, looks like it’s got blood on it too. Should we take care of it?”

“Do it quickly.”

The dog bolted, legs churning. “Damn it, I’m just a dog! You people won’t even spare me? Monsters—absolute monsters…”

Pop!

A muffled shot, and a spray of blood burst from the dog’s head as its body crumpled to the floor.

One cleaner retrieved the silenced pistol. “Done. Let’s move, there’s a lot more work today.”

They pulled body bags and a host of automated cleaning tools from the van. Working seamlessly, they wrapped the bodies—man and dog alike—bundling them into the vehicle. They scrubbed away the blood from floor and walls, neatened the chaos of the room, and when they left, the place was immaculate, filled with a fresh hint of orange.

Two kilometers away, a large wolfhound woke in a cage, shivering as a sudden awareness lit its eyes.

“Huh? How did I end up here? Damn it, Boss Baozi got killed again!”

Baozi hurled himself against the bars with a clang.

“If I see those three again, I’ll tear them limb from limb!”

A vivid image flashed in Baozi’s mind—three clueless cleaners strolling the street, only to face a radiant, handsome dog. Wind rippling his fur, noble and awe-inspiring, he let out a single bark that froze them in terror. Then, with lightning speed, he pounced, sinking his fangs into their throats, leaving their blood spraying as he strode away, proud and solitary.

Baozi relished the vision, preparing to howl in triumph.

But suddenly, a car stopped outside. The same three familiar cleaners got out.

“Six bodies inside—four adults, two kids. There’s a dog in the yard, locked in a cage. Do we deal with it?”

Baozi ducked his head.

“Hey, this dog food looks decent. Maybe I’ll have a taste.”

One glanced at Baozi, who was attacking his food bowl with his tail spinning like a propeller. “He’s clean. Let’s get to work.”

Relieved as they ignored him and went inside, Baozi straightened up, pride restored, and watched their backs with renewed bravado.

“You wouldn’t dare lay a finger on Boss Baozi. Think my four tours in the mission worlds were for nothing? Hmph!”

He strutted around his cage, nose in the air, scoffing at the nearly empty food bowl.

Lost in self-admiration, he barely noticed when the workers wheeled their cart back out. Baozi bent to inspect a puddle on the ground.

The cleaners loaded the mummified bodies into the trunk, tidied their tools, and sped off.

“Hmph, lucky you ran fast!” Baozi snorted, preparing to leave—only to realize he was still locked in the cage.

“Damn it, now I have to call that wretched woman again!”

After a moment’s struggle, he eyed the thick chain around the cage and resigned himself to reciting the incantation: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.”

He pressed his paw into the puddle. Steam rose, and in a blink, a woman ghost in white, hair unbound, materialized before him.

The air grew cold, making Baozi shiver violently. “Jiu Ninth Sister! Wake up, Ninth Sister!” he called.

He called several times, but the ghost simply drifted, the world around them dimming despite the daylight, a chill crawling over his skin.

“Wake up, damn it! Wang Zuxian, time to get up!”

Suddenly, the ghost’s head snapped up, and the chill began to fade. As her face became clearer, her form grew more solid.

Her obsidian eyes locked with Baozi’s, and for a moment, they stared at one another in silence.

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say?”

“Oh, don’t start with me, you old ghost! Hurry up and get me out of this cage or I’ll tear your throat out, fast as wind and sharp as lightning!”

The ghost drew a circle on the bars with her finger. Instantly, the iron rods snapped, the cut smooth as glass.

Clang, clang, clang…

The bars fell to the ground, ringing out.

Baozi froze.

The ghost spoke softly, “What did you just say?”

Immediately, Baozi stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail like a helicopter. “Zuxian, I missed you so much!”