paper man.
Recorded as Ghost Sequence No. 9, it was the ninth type of ghost discovered.
There are very few records concerning it.
It is said that the taboo in funeral customs forbidding the drawing of eyes on paper men originated from Ghost Sequence No. 9 - paper man.
This point is impossible to verify.
But one thing is certain: if one draws eyes on a funeral paper man, it may trigger the Ghost Gate Pass and draw in... the paper man.
These were the words Number 35 had said to him during the final transformation.
"Jiang Jiuguo, are you sure you won't join us?"
Number 35 put away the diary.
Number 47 also spoke up: "You are the most tenacious person I've ever seen. I didn't think you'd survive at first, after all..."
"After all, I consumed the ghost sequence formula for Ghost Sequence No. 9 - paper man, right?"
Jiang Jiuguo finished the sentence for him.
"Yes." Number 47 nodded in admission. "With your Ghost Sequence ability, you are very well-suited to help us destroy the Ghost Gate Pass."
"No, thank you."
Jiang Jiuguo shook his head, politely declining Number 47's offer.
Seeing this, Number 47 did not push further.
After a year together, Jiang Jiuguo got along well with Number 35 and the others, but no matter how well they got along, one fact remained.
And that was that they had kidnapped Jiang Jiuguo.
Without Number 35 and his group, Jiang Jiuguo wouldn't have endured a year of hellish torture, nearly dying time and time again.
"When do you plan to leave?" Number 35 asked at this moment.
There were only two purposes for kidnapping Jiang Jiuguo and the others.
One was to increase the number of Sequencers.
The other was to add Sequencers to their organization.
Since Jiang Jiuguo had successfully become a Sequencer and refused to join, there was no longer any reason for him to stay.
"Today."
As he spoke, Jiang Jiuguo scanned Numbered Room 15.
This was the place where he had lived for a year. Even if it was a 'prison cell,' he had developed some attachment to it after a year.
"I don't have any luggage to pack. I want to go home as soon as possible."
"Fine, then set off immediately."
Number 35 took out a specialized hood.
This place was a secret location. Since Jiang Jiuguo refused to join, he naturally couldn't know its whereabouts and needed to be hooded while being led away.
Immediately after.
Jiang Jiuguo took out the 35 little red flowers he had saved over the year and exchanged them for money with Number 47.
"Well then, until we meet again."
As he spoke, he put on the hood.
Seeing this, Number 35 gestured to another companion identified by a number to lead Jiang Jiuguo away.
He watched as Jiang Jiuguo walked up the passage toward the surface entrance.
Until he vanished from sight.
Only then did Number 35 turn around. "Let's go, time to replenish with a new batch of people."
Number 47 glanced sideways at Number 35.
He said, "Why didn't you personally see Jiang Jiuguo off? There's been no news of a Ghost Gate Pass appearing recently, so it wouldn't have delayed you."
"Does it make a difference whether I see him off or not?" Number 35's chiseled face remained calm.
It seemed Jiang Jiuguo's departure caused no emotional fluctuation in him.
"It makes a difference. I saw that you got along quite well with him this past year." Number 47 smiled, his eyes curving like crescent moons.
Number 35 turned his head upon hearing this.
He said, "He's as humorous as you are, so we got along well. But so what? In the end, we aren't walking the same path."
"Is that so? I'm not so sure." Number 47 shrugged and laughed.
As he spoke, he looked in the direction Jiang Jiuguo had left.
People like them gathered for their own reasons, with the goal of destroying the Ghost Gate Pass.
But Jiang Jiuguo was different; he just wanted to go home.
But so what?
Once you enter the circle of Ghost Sequences, it's not so easy to walk away unscathed.
After all, the current Jiang Jiuguo no longer belonged to the category of humans... Wearing the hood and immersed in darkness, Jiang Jiuguo was led out from underground.
Based on his step count.
He knew clearly that they had walked a long distance, at least several thousand meters.
The path during that time was difficult and muddy; he could smell the scent of earth and grass.
"Is it built inside a mountain?" Jiang Jiuguo guessed.
After walking a bit further.
He was led into a car by his guide and had headphones placed over his ears to prevent him from judging the location and distance through external sounds.
This sort of thing often happened in movies.
It might be difficult for an ordinary person to deal with.
But Jiang Jiuguo was no ordinary person.
Since becoming a Sequencer who could turn into a ghost, he possessed ghostly traits while his physical fitness and five senses far surpassed those of normal humans.
"Wanting to stop me from knowing where this place is?"
Jiang Jiuguo wore a smile even with the headphones on.
He turned his head toward a certain direction—the location of the underground facility.
"Hmm?"
The guide noticed Jiang Jiuguo's movement and was momentarily stunned.
"He still remembers the location of the underground facility?"
But soon, Jiang Jiuguo turned his head back, leaving the guide tilting his head in bewilderment.
"It should be a coincidence. The hood is specialized; it's impossible for Jiang Jiuguo to know the location. I even intentionally made several turns to lead him astray as usual."
At the same time.
Jiang Jiuguo was unaware of the guide's thoughts.
He was carefully sensing that direction as it gradually receded, but no matter how far away it got, he could faintly feel a weak connection.
To be precise.
He could faintly sense the 35 little red flowers held by Number 47 in the underground facility thousands of meters away.
These little red flowers were rewards given to him by Number 47.
But unlike other little red flowers, they were stained with his blood.
"I'm starting to understand why Number 35 and the others said my Ghost Sequence would be very powerful. It was worth enduring a year of living death."
Afterward.
He asked the guide how much longer it would take to get back. Upon learning it would still be a while, Jiang Jiuguo immediately closed his eyes to sleep.
Within seconds.
Jiang Jiuguo fell asleep.
Without the torture of the ghost sequence formula, he swore this was the best sleep he'd had in nearly a year.
Even though the road was as bumpy as the valve of a boiling pressure cooker.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"Wake up."
Jiang Jiuguo's headphones were removed, and the guide gently shook his shoulder.
"Hmm? Are we here?" Jiang Jiuguo asked, bleary-eyed.
His hood was taken off, and looking out the car window, he was momentarily dazzled by the neon lights of the streets.
Ahead.
A night market street.
It was the busy evening hour, with crowds of people coming and going as if tireless, sketching a picture of the bustling nightlife of modern society.
Jiang Jiuguo was dazed by the scene before him.
Having lived underground for a year, how long had it been since he'd heard such clamor or smelled the aroma of night market barbecue?
He was dazed, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
The guide saw all this and didn't disturb or rush Jiang Jiuguo.
Once he snapped out of it.
Jiang Jiuguo opened the door and got out of the car.
"You should still remember the way home, right? This is only one street away from your house."
"I remember. I was gone for a year, I didn't lose my mind for a year."
Jiang Jiuguo scanned the night market. "I haven't been here for a year; the changes are quite big. Several shops have changed hands."
As the guide drove away.
Jiang Jiuguo straightened his clothes and picked up his phone.
The moment he turned it on.
It was like a bombardment; countless messages and missed calls popped up on the phone, all from his parents and younger sister.
After he was taken, Jiang Jiuguo's parents and sister had called and messaged him constantly.
Looking at the content of the messages, they were all filled with anxiety and concern over Jiang Jiuguo's disappearance.
Jiang Jiuguo felt a warmth in his heart.
In the next second.
No longer thinking about anything else, Jiang Jiuguo walked into the night market street, heading toward home...