Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Head Replacement
âLiu Qiang, havenât you noticed anything wrong with yourself?â Yang Jian asked, staring at him seriously.
Seeing everything in the surveillance footage, Liu Qiang was also stunned. He tried to recall but some things he simply couldnât remember, as if at certain moments he experienced blank periods in his memory. If he didnât pay close attention, it seemed like everything was normal, as if he was just working his job and hadnât done anything out of the ordinary.
âYang Jian, are you saying, like those people in the surveillance footage, my head has been replaced too?â
Liu Qiang looked at him in shock, his face full of incredulity.
âIt seems you donât know your own situation. Let me ask you, where were you before coming to the security room?â Yang Jian said.
âI was atâŠâ Liu Qiang started to reply, but then he paused again.
How did he come to the security room?
Did he come after the power outage? Which path did he take, who did he meet, what did he see?
He couldnât remember. Liu Qiang couldnât recall, or rather, he had no memory of that part.
Source: novgo.co
Yang Jian said, âYou can check your surveillance footage. The mallâs surveillance usually has night vision capabilities, so even if all the lights outside are off, you should be able to see clearly.â
âIâll have a lookâŠâ Liu Qiang immediately began searching for his surveillance footage.
Soon, he found it.
The time went back to when Master Luo was conducting the ritual.
All the people in the mall watched Master Luo perform the ritual in the lobby on the first floor.
Yang Jian, feeling amused, couldnât help interrupting Master Luoâs ritual, causing a few words to be exchanged.
However, Liu Qiang in the surveillance footage seemed to ignore this and left straight away.
No one paid attention to a security guard leaving.
âWhy did I go to the power room at that time?â Liu Qiang was stunned upon seeing himself in the surveillance footage.
After Liu Qiang went to the power room, it wasnât long before the mall lost power.
The power had been cut by Liu Qiang himself.
Yang Jian said, âJust because you donât remember doesnât mean you didnât do it. Keep watching.â
After all the lights in the mall were off, Liu Qiang stood still, like a wooden man paused in place, motionless. But this didnât last long.
He moved again soon afterwards.
He turned and headed towards the bathroom on the first floor of the mall.
Seeing this, Yang Jian realized it matched with everything that had happened previously. The ghost that had come into the bathroom just earlier was Liu Qiang.
âImpossible, this canât be possible. Why canât I remember doing this at all?â
Liu Qiang stood up abruptly, looking back at Yang Jian with a face filled with fear.
Yang Jian took a step back and said seriously, âBecause during the time you lost your memory, you were no longer human, but⊠a ghost, or replaced by one. The only reason you have retained your memory is that your head is still there, it hasnât decayed completely. In a few days, when your head has rotted away, your memory will disappear completely.â
âSo strictly speaking, youâve been dead for several days now. Touch your neck, the scar from the head swap should still be there. If you werenât a ghost, that scar would be impossible to have.â
Instinctively, Liu Qiang touched his neck.
As his palm grazed the skin on his neck, the tiny cut was immediately pried open, revealing the crimson flesh within, and at the same time, a putrid smell wafted out.
He was already decomposingâŠ
âImpossible, I refuse to believe it, I refuse to believe Iâm already dead. Iâm clearly still alive and well.â
Liu Qiangâs emotions started to flare up, he kept touching the wound on his neck, trying to verify the truth of Yang Jianâs words.
However, as his head had been replaced by a ghost several days prior, the wound wasnât secure. As he touched it, the cut opened further, and his flesh began to fall off in flakes.
The stench of decay grew even stronger.
âWhat should I do? I donât want to die, Yang Jian, is there any way you can help me?â As Liu Qiang grasped the reality, he was completely panicked. His hands were covered in blood, reeking of foulness, with his head having shifted on his neck, looking at Yang Jian in a very disjointed manner.
In his eyes, Yang Jian saw fear, pleading, and despairâŠ
âIâm sorry, thereâs nothing I can do to help you,â he said earnestly. âThe most I can do for you is to remind you to call your family. Say a few words; thatâs the only thing you can do.â
Trembling, Liu Qiang took out his phone from his pocket, his eyes filled with tears, he bowed his head to call his family.
However, as he bowed his head.
The head that had been moved could no longer support itself on his neckâŠ
âThump~!â
A dull sound of impact rang out.
Liu Qiangâs head became detached from his neck and fell to the ground, rolling several times on the tiles before finally coming to a stop against the wall.
The headless body immediately stiffened, and the phone in its hand had just lit up the screen, but in the end, the call was never made.
Glancing at Liu Qiangâs head, eyes closed and face a deathly pale without a trace of blood, Yang Jian sighed in his heart.
Another person had been killed by a vicious ghost.
Looking away, he turned his attention to Jiang Yan, who was trembling in fear against the wall.
Yang Jian walked over, grabbed her delicate cheek a bit roughly, and pressed her head against the wall, then ran his finger forcefully across her neck.
âYouâre actually not a ghost?â Yang Jian said with a hint of surprise.
As his fingers slid across her neck, they did not touch the wound.
Jiang Yan, both afraid and angry, said, âYou actually suspected I was a ghost?â
âI have to suspect, you are also an employee of the commercial center, who knows if your head has been swapped, anyone whose head has been changed is a ghost, and the person itself does not know about it,â Yang Jian released Jiang Yan.
âWhat do we do now? Those things are outside, how do we leave?â
Jiang Yan wasnât angry about the situation, instead, she was afraid Yang Jian would be upset, and, with a bit of pitifulness, tugged at his hand.
Yang Jian said, âThere are still people in the mall, I will lead them out and leave, and the keys to the main door should be with Elder Sister Li, we can leave once we get the keys from her.â
âBut before we leave, you must stay here and go through these surveillance videos to figure out the ghostâs true identity, and itâs best to find the source of the ghost.â
âAh, I donât want to stay here, I want to follow you.â
Jiang Yan was startled, hurriedly hugged his arm, and refused to let go.
Yang Jian shook his head and said, âNo, I need you to watch the surveillance, how else would I know when a ghost is approaching? How could I confirm the final identity of that ghost? I donât have time to waste here any longer, it is going to be dark soon, and visibility in the mall will be much worse at night, which is even more disadvantageous for us.â
âBut, but Liu Qiang is here, Iâm scared being by myself,â Jiang Yan said with a sob in her voice.
Yang Jian ignored her and simply took a phone from the hands of Liu Qiangâs corpse, then dialed his own satellite-positioning mobile.
âKeep the phone line open at all times, immediately notify me if anything happens, and remember one thing, never turn your back on anyone, the ghost can only take a personâs head from behind to swap it, as long as you face a ghost, and the direction of the head is wrong, the ghost wonât attack you.â
After speaking, he put the phone in Jiang Yanâs hand.
âI, Iâm still very scared,â Jiang Yan said.
âHavenât you forgotten how you promised me on the first floor before? Donât disobey, you wonât be able to leave alive otherwise, you are a smart person, you know when to do what, just be a little braver, and this wonât be a problem for you, now, no more wasting time, letâs get to work.â
After saying that, Yang Jian left the surveillance room without another word.
âHeyâŠâ Jiang Yan wanted to hold him back.
But the door slammed shut.
Jiang Yan wanted to follow, but she immediately stopped in her tracks.
Because outside was even more dangerous, only a security guard like him had the courage to roam around a mall filled with ghosts.
After hesitating for a moment, she bit her lip, braced herself against her fear, and walked to the surveillance console, holding tightly onto Liu Qiangâs phone.
As for Liu Qiangâs headless corpse and the head resting against the wall, she didnât dare to give them another glance.
âHello, can you hear me?â
Yang Jian walked through the mall, speaking into his satellite phone.
âI can hear you, I can already see you from here,â Jiang Yanâs nervous voice came from the other end of the line.
âGood, keep an eye on any movement around me, and inform me promptly,â Yang Jian said calmly, which somewhat reassured Jiang Yan.
Yang Jian clipped the walkie-talkie-style phone to his chest and headed to where Boss Tang and the group had encountered trouble.
Among that group was Elder Sister Li⊠and she was a ghost.
âOne million wonât just go down the drain, will it?â
Yang Jian thought to himself, âBut this time, if Jiang Yan cooperates well, I might be able to make this money without having to use the power of the Ghost Eye.â
Just as he started to act, shadows began to emerge one after another from various hidden corners and closed shops within the mall, which had been eerily quiet up until then.
They had various appearances, all pale-faced, with closed eyes, and their movements were somewhat stiff.
Seeing this scene from the surveillance room, Jiang Yan turned pale with fright.
Some were already alarmingly close to Yang Jian.
âThose things have appearedâŠâ Jiang Yanâs voice trembled as she warned.
âI know, just report the positions of the ghosts near me, donât worry about anything else, and donât forget my earlier reminder,â said Yang Jian, his tone was very steady, which instantly calmed Jiang Yan down somewhat.
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