"Remember one thing — no matter what you encounter out on the water, as long as the boat doesn't flip, there's still hope." Zhang Dapo was a good fellow. Seeing that Chen Ge had everything ready, he went back into the management room and came out with a life jacket. "It's the only one in the entire reservoir. The higher-ups gave it to me, but I've never actually worn it. Make do with it."
"Much appreciated. Head back inside — it's not safe by the shore." Chen Ge didn't stand on ceremony. He put on the life jacket, waved Zhang Dapo off, and began paddling toward the open water.
Out on the reservoir alone in the dead of night — it was a strangely surreal experience.
The sky and the water were both pitch black, with no light anywhere. He was completely enveloped by darkness, to the point where he felt his own body was slowly dissolving into it.
Chen Ge didn't rush to the center of the reservoir. Once he'd paddled away from the bank, he began communicating with the Jar Ghost.
This ghost, brought out from the Living Coffin Village, had no memories of its former life. Most of the time it simply acted on instinct, making conversation extremely difficult.
From an outsider's perspective, Chen Ge looked utterly bizarre — standing in the boat, waving his hands at the water's surface as though he were conversing with it.
"The little girl's body is roughly this long. When you spot it, let me know where it is, then I'll hand you the rope and you tie it around her." Chen Ge repeated the instructions several times, but the Jar Ghost still couldn't wrap its head around such a complex task. It hovered beneath the surface, its round head bobbing and blowing bubbles, staring up at Chen Ge with wide, earnest eyes.
"Fine, I'm asking too much of you." Chen Ge couldn't bring himself to blame the Jar Ghost. He pulled out his phone and found a photo of a young child. "Go underwater and see if you can find a kid who looks like this. And whatever you do, don't make too big a commotion. If you run into anything you can't handle, retreat immediately. Your safety comes first."
Chen Ge frequently asked his employees to carry out all manner of tasks, but he had his own principles — he would never sacrifice a ghost to achieve his own goals.
Perhaps that was precisely why the ghosts who ended up staying in the haunted house for one reason or another would gradually grow and transform into outstanding "employees."
With the simplified instructions, the Jar Ghost seemed to finally understand. It sank downward, gradually vanishing from Chen Ge's sight.
"It's not even midnight yet. Hopefully everything goes smoothly." Chen Ge glanced at the shampoo bottle inside his backpack. He actually had a more efficient option — he could release Wenwen's older sister and let her search for the body on her own. "If the Jar Ghost fails, I'll consider Wenwen's sister."
He waited by the shore for a good ten minutes or more before the Jar Ghost returned. Its expression was one of sheer terror — it looked completely spooked.
Hiding beneath the water's surface, the Jar Ghost waved its arms — comically small compared to its head — babbling away. Chen Ge couldn't make out a word of it; all he saw was the water erupting with countless bubbles.
"Slow down, will you? You're going to summon something else at this rate." Chen Ge flipped through the comic book and summoned Old Zhou. "Can you understand what he's saying?"
He figured that ghosts should have an easier time communicating with each other. Old Zhou stared at the Jar Ghost's mouth movements for a long while before finally replying: "There are a lot of people down there. He's terrified."
"Ask him if he's found the little girl's body." Chen Ge let out a breath of relief. It suddenly occurred to him that Old Zhou had a gift for translation — he was a genuinely rare talent.
The exchange between Old Zhou and the Jar Ghost was silent. Chen Ge could only vaguely catch fragments of their muffled words using the ghost-ear ability granted by his black phone.
"He didn't find the girl's body, but he did discover a spot on the bottom where a large number of corpses are piled up. It's possible the girl's body is among them." Old Zhou relayed the conclusion after consulting with the Jar Ghost. "There are many corpses underwater — the one you're looking for should be there. It'll just take time."
"One night should be plenty. Slow and steady is fine." Chen Ge had the Jar Ghost lead the way and was about to paddle farther out when a beam of light suddenly fell upon him.