His fingertip pressed down on the recorder. Chen Ge bent forward slightly, every muscle in his body tensed like a fully drawn bow.
His encounter with the Red Coat vengeful spirit in the Fanghua Garden apartment complex was still fresh in his mind. That day he had summoned both the Pen Spirit and Xu Yin at the same time, but they had only managed to hold off the Red Coat for less than ten seconds.
This was the second time he was facing a Red Coat without Zhang Ya by his side. The difference from Fanghua Garden was that this time he had brought every single ghost from his haunted house along — a full deployment, thoroughly prepared.
"Ten against one — there shouldn't be a problem!"
His hair standing on end, Chen Ge was ready to fight with everything he had.
Outside the door, the Ghost Infant stared at the wooden panel. Its skin slowly wrinkled, and pungent red liquid dripped from its body. The moment the droplets hit the ground, they began circling around it like tadpoles.
Every drop of blood seemed to possess a will of its own, looking just like the blood threads on the monsters of the Ghost Talk Association — infused with resentment and deathly intent, sending chills down one's spine.
"This child looks only a few months old, not even old enough to form memories. How can it carry such intense resentment?"
The conditions for becoming a Red Coat were something Chen Ge still hadn't fully figured out. He only knew a few key points: first, the person had to be filled with resentment before death; second, they had to be extremely aggressive.
Every Red Coat was synonymous with cruelty and brutality. Their first instinct upon seeing another ghost was to tear it apart, then devour it.
Both Zhang Ya and Xu Yin had displayed similar characteristics.
Facing a Red Coat, Chen Ge didn't dare let his guard down for even a moment.
The lantern light grew dimmer still, and the walls lining the street took on a faint red hue. The infant slowly rotated its body. Rather than attacking directly, it began crawling toward the wooden door at an unhurried pace.
Blood flowed beneath its body, poised to surge toward the door at any moment.
In this critical moment, Chen Ge ran through his plan mentally. He intended to summon Xu Yin first, then create distance and use Yan Danian's ability. Even if he couldn't drag the Ghost Infant into the comic, it should at least slow the creature down.
Seizing that opportunity, he would summon the other vengeful spirits from his comic album. All of them would strike together, aiming to grievously wound the Ghost Infant in a single coordinated assault.
Chen Ge had always avoided direct confrontation with Red Coats, but that didn't mean he lacked the ability to fight.
"The risk is enormous, but if I can kill the Ghost Infant and have Xu Yin devour it, then Xu Yin will absolutely become the next Red Coat!"
With that thought, Chen Ge finally made his decision — no turning back, a fight between life and death!
The Yin Eye radiated a faint chill. He was ready. But outside the door, the Ghost Infant suddenly stopped. Its wrinkled ear twitched. From somewhere far away, a woman appeared to be calling its name.
A flicker of wariness and fear crossed its ugly face. The blood droplets on the ground returned to its body, and its skin smoothed back to normal. The Ghost Infant then retreated faster than it had come.
Only after the creature had crawled far away did Chen Ge slowly unclench his white-knuckled fist. He struggled to loosen his stiff body.
"Whether it's a good or bad thing that this Red Coat child left, I honestly can't tell." Chen Ge's expression was conflicted. The Ghost Infant's departure had spared him from a battle with poor odds. But the fact that a woman's voice was enough to frighten it away meant there was another Red Coat in the village even more terrifying than the infant. The next time they met, he might have to face two Red Coats at once.