A moment later, Wang Xiaoming and Professor Wang hurried in with a stack of thick documents, looking somewhat exhausted.
At that moment, Yang Jian, Zhao Kaiming, Ye Feng, Zhang Han, as well as He Chuan, and Sun Yi among a total of nine people, all turned their gaze to him.
Wang Xiaoming stood in front of the meeting table and opened the thick stack of files; “First, distribute a copy of the information on there to each person.”
The clerical staff member beside him immediately distributed the materials.
“The meetings I preside over are always straightforward, and from my current analysis, this matter is not accidental, but a continuation of what happened after the last ghost charmer, Zhou Zheng, died from the ghost’s resurrection,” Wang Xiaoming said seriously. “About Zhou Zheng’s death, Yang Jian, you should be very clear since he died in the No. 7 Middle School Ghost Door Knocker case, and you were a survivor of that incident.”
The others then looked toward Yang Jian.
“Indeed, I witnessed Zhou Zheng’s death with my own eyes. The Ghost Infant tore through his stomach and ran out, chasing after me to bite me. It nearly ate me. Later, I encountered it twice in Dachang City, once in my classmate Wang Shanshan’s home, and another time during a suicide incident in the city center. Zhao Kaiming was also present the second time I saw it; he was the exorcist in charge of the matter,” Yang Jian recounted calmly.
Zhao Kaiming’s expression changed slightly. Was this guy calling him out?
“Indeed, I was handling that incident, but that thing was too malignant; it might have created a Ghost Domain. I simply didn’t have the power to deal with it,” he admitted, unashamed of his inadequacy.
Wang Xiaoming continued, “The Ghost Infant emerged from Zhou Zheng’s body, and it should have undergone three stages of change. You’ll find related pictures on the second page of the documents. Also, turn on the projector and display the photos.”
At once, images appeared on the white sheet behind him.
In these images, there were three photos of the Ghost Infant. The first photo was taken in a laboratory, showing Zhou Zheng lying on a medical bed, his belly distended with an infant’s face pushing against his skin, revealing a ghastly outline.
The second photo displayed a cyanotic-skinned child standing in the middle of a road, captured by a camera.
The third photo was of an expressionless adult with a cyanotic aura emanating around, standing inside a multi-story building. The picture was taken through a glass window and was fairly clear.
“Infant stage, child stage, youth stage, these are the three most apparent changes of the Ghost Infant. You all understand what this means,” Wang Xiaoming said earnestly. “This entity is growing, and I personally speculate that its method of growth is…cannibalism.”
“Now, look at this photo.”
He pressed the switch again, and the projection changed to another image.
It was a rental room, with bloodstains all over the floor, hair scattered around, several broken fingers, and blood-drenched scratch marks on the walls.
It was hard to fathom the desperation and struggle the victim had endured before death.
“This photo was retrieved from the case files of the Northern City District Casework Bureau. After the incident, the Ghost Infant was captured on camera in front of a nearby convenience store with bloodstains on it. DNA analysis from the site matched that of the victim,” Wang Xiaoming continued.
The crowd frowned.
A man-eating Ghost Infant? That indeed was bizarre.
“So what you’re saying is, as long as we take out this little brat, it’s over?” Ye Feng said with a relaxed laugh.
The Ghost Infant might be fierce, but it couldn’t harm him in his shroud.
So, he wasn’t worried about becoming its victim.
Wang Xiaoming said, “If that were the case, this incident wouldn’t be so complicated. Just yesterday, I collected another set of data coming from the major hospitals in Dachang City.”
Pressing the switch once more, the projection changed to a different image.
“I’ve selected a few particularly clear images for you to see.”
In the pictures, several women had slightly distended abdomens, looking as though they were pregnant. However, there were outlines of struggling infants visible on these women’s bellies.
“Ghost Infants?” many exclaimed, eyes widening with shock.
Wang Xiaoming said, “I’ve tested them, and they are indeed Ghost Infants, not just Zhou Zheng’s one. According to the information I currently have, there are a total of one hundred and twenty, no, wait, it’s one hundred and thirty-eight now. These are the confirmed cases, and there are many more unconfirmed.”
“Are you kidding me? Over a hundred Ghost Infants, is this some kind of overbreeding incident? Are you trying to kill us?” a ghost charmer said in a panic. “We can’t handle this matter by ourselves, just the nine of us. How is this any different from sending us to our deaths?”
Any exorcist who had been through such incidents would feel queasy and a chill in their heart.
“Whether you live or die is your concern, and it has nothing to do with me. My only task is to resolve this issue, but for the moment, I am missing one piece of information. I need a Ghost Infant for my research. Your first task now is to capture a Ghost Infant for me,” Wang Xiaoming stated.