Chapter 60: Lord of the Shadow Ghosts (1)

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Wu Zui finally put an end to his miserable days of staring at photographs.

At the entrance of the Detective Bureau, Wu Zui and Xiao Ke'ai stood eagerly, waiting for their new car to arrive.

"Doo la la~ doo la la~"

Xiao Ke'ai hummed a cheerful tune under her breath, her rabbit-ear headphones swaying rhythmically from side to side, clearly in a good mood.

I wonder what the new car looks like? How long will Master let me drive it?

With this thought, Xiao Ke'ai cast a furtive glance at Wu Zui, who wore black sunglasses. His eyes were bloodshot from days of intense use. Yesterday, in a moment of impulse, Wu Zui even channeled magnetic energy into his eyes, turning them a deep azure blue—he looked a bit like an alien.

But, of course, still quite handsome.

"Here it comes!" Wu Zui announced, his gaze fixed on a truck approaching the distant overpass.

"Where? Where?" Xiao Ke'ai's eyes sparkled with excitement as she followed Wu Zui's line of sight.

"On the overpass, two kilometers away—the same person who delivered our last car," Wu Zui explained, pointing at a tiny black dot in the distance.

Though frequent use of his eyes had taken its toll, Wu Zui wasn't without gains. Now, when he channeled magnetic energy into them, his vision was sharper and farther than ever before.

Soon, with a screech, the truck stopped outside the Detective Bureau. The driver stepped out—it was the same man who had previously delivered their car. He opened the rear compartment, revealing a sleek black vehicle.

"Wu Zui, Spirit Detective, right? Here’s your Soaring Dragon One: an amphibious semi-magnetic vehicle for land, sea, and temporary air travel. Please sign here," the man said, handing Wu Zui a stack of papers, including a receipt and a user manual.

While Wu Zui signed, Xiao Ke'ai was already beside the car, gazing at it in awe. The streamlined body resembled a dragon's lowered head, its black lacquer finish exuding a solemn, mysterious allure.

It was a four-seater, spacious inside—clearly a large business-class SUV. Xiao Ke'ai, ever observant, noted its excellent waterproofing. Beneath the chassis was a thick air cushion, likely for aquatic travel.

As for the temporary air function the driver mentioned, she saw no obvious signs. The car’s reflective film made it hard to see inside, so she pressed her hands to her forehead, peering through the window.

Her wide eyes blinked against the glass.

The vehicle was soon unloaded, and the delivery man drove off, leaving them to their new prize.

"Let’s try it out!" Wu Zui appeared at Xiao Ke'ai’s side, handing her the keys and the manual.

"Yes! Yes!" Xiao Ke'ai exclaimed, delighted, and took the keys. She opened the door and joined Wu Zui inside.

The ergonomic seats automatically buckled their seatbelts, and Xiao Ke'ai twisted comfortably in her seat. The dashboard sported several unfamiliar buttons alongside the usual controls: one resembled four upside-down lollipops, another looked like an inflatable raft.

Curious, Xiao Ke'ai started the engine and, without hesitation, pressed the lollipop-like button.

Clack! Clack!

The Soaring Dragon One’s four wheels lifted off the ground, a sudden weightlessness pressing them into their seats as the car rose three or four meters.

Nearby pedestrians stared in astonishment at the vehicle’s dramatic transformation, their minds full of wild speculation.

Aliens invading Earth? With ghosts already running rampant, must there be more chaos?

Buzz~

As Xiao Ke'ai pressed the accelerator, a humming noise came from beneath the car. Both she and Wu Zui felt a surge of magnetic energy lifting the vehicle. After speeding several hundred meters, the wheels folded back into place, and the car was now hovering in midair.

"Wow! It’s a magnetic levitation car!" Xiao Ke'ai cried out with joy. The Soaring Dragon One shot forward like an arrow, gliding through the sky about twenty meters above the ground, scenery speeding past below.

Five minutes later

The Soaring Dragon One hovered above the Binhai Bridge, attracting the attention of both pedestrians and vehicles.

Ding~ ding~ ding~

A sudden alarm sounded inside the car, above the fuel indicator. Wu Zui quickly grabbed the user manual Xiao Ke'ai had set aside; the very first page explained the indicator:

Magnetic Energy Indicator: When hover mode is activated, the vehicle consumes internal magnetic energy. The indicator light will illuminate for one minute before the energy is depleted. Please land at a safe location promptly to avoid accidents!

━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━

"Quick! Find a place to land—the magnetic energy’s almost gone!" Wu Zui broke out in cold sweat, fear etched across his face. They were more than twenty meters above ground; if they fell, it would surely be fatal.

"...Master, which button is for landing?" Xiao Ke'ai's face paled, her voice faint.

Wu Zui was terrified.

The buzzing beneath the car was now intermittent, and the vehicle began to drop suddenly, then stabilize and hover again—clearly running low on power.

Bang~

At the critical moment, Xiao Ke'ai pressed the air cushion button. A ring of air cushions deployed from the chassis, and the car veered toward the nearby Binhai waters.

Just as she finished, the magnetic energy depleted and the car dropped straight into the sea, creating a massive splash.

The Soaring Dragon One’s waterproofing was superb. It quickly resurfaced, switching to gasoline power and moving forward like a boat.

"Whew—"

"Whew—"

Both Xiao Ke'ai and Wu Zui exhaled in relief.

Their abrupt plunge felt like bungee jumping without a safety rope!

Q(`⌒´Q)

Wu Zui glared at Xiao Ke'ai, who sheepishly stuck out her pink tongue, her embarrassed grin making her look both innocent and adorable.

Wu Zui gave her hair a vigorous tousle, dislodging her rabbit ears and messing up her freshly combed hair before saying lightly, "Get us ashore."

"Okay~" Xiao Ke'ai replied pitifully.

o(╥﹏╥)o

As Xiao Ke'ai drove, Wu Zui studied the Soaring Dragon One's manual—he couldn’t afford to make such a mistake again. He certainly didn’t want another bungee jump, especially not knowing if there’d be water below next time.

After some time, they returned to Binhai City’s Detective Bureau.

Flying really is faster; driving on land feels like crawling, compared to before.

That was the driver Xiao Ke'ai’s internal monologue. If Wu Zui knew, she might soon have to say goodbye to the Soaring Dragon One!

Once parked, Xiao Ke'ai reluctantly left the driver’s seat and moved to the passenger side.

Wu Zui had just declared that she was forbidden from touching the car until she finished reading the manual—which was as thick as the latest edition of the New China Dictionary!

=͟͟͞͞(꒪⌓꒪*)

Determined to drive again soon, Xiao Ke'ai hugged the manual and began to devour it.

Meanwhile, Wu Zui sat in the driver’s seat, pulling out his phone to look for a suitable assignment. After the last ghost marriage mission, he conservatively chose a task featuring only a three-star ghost spirit.

He noticed the updated app seemed less detailed than before. For example, last time, it promised two three-star ghost spirits, but there ended up being a two-star butcher ghost, a three-star oddity, a terrorist from the Purification Society, and numerous one- and two-star ghost puppets—a hellish difficulty for a supposed three-star task.

Perhaps the increase in supernatural activity had stretched investigators thin, or maybe the surge of incidents made details harder to track. He wasn’t sure.

For safety’s sake, Wu Zui picked the newly refreshed mission.

Mission Level: Three Stars

Mission Location: Binhai City, Tiansheng Cinema

Ghost Name and Estimated Strength: Cinema Ghost Spirit (Three Stars)

Mission Description: Tiansheng Cinema is a high-end, large-scale theater with private screening rooms. This morning, during a movie showing, a ghost spirit suddenly appeared, releasing a confinement field that sealed the entire cinema.

While some managed to escape using burrowing grenades, due to limited magnetic energy stored in the grenades, nearly fifty visitors and staff remain trapped inside.

The mission is straightforward, the location nearby, and with the supernatural event just occurring, the situation is unlikely to change.

Nice! This is the one!

Wu Zui hit the accept button, then drove the Soaring Dragon One with Xiao Ke'ai straight toward Tiansheng Cinema.

On the way

"Ready? We're about to get to work!" Wu Zui glanced at Xiao Ke'ai, still engrossed in the manual.

"Don’t worry, Master! I’m good!" Xiao Ke'ai patted her golden hammer by her feet, though her eyes never left the manual. On her shoulder, Commander Cat had popped up at some point, clearly itching for action after days of leisure.

At that moment, the three-story building of Tiansheng Cinema was fully sealed by resentful energy, forming a confinement field. No one could exit or enter—unless they had a burrowing grenade or Wu Zui's blood. Otherwise, the only way out was to deal with the cinema ghost spirit.

Inside the cinema, the vast three-story hall was eerily empty.

All of the people had been dragged into the screen space by the cinema ghost spirit. As a spirit tethered to a specific object, its abilities resembled those of the Mirror Ghost; possessing its own domain, it was far more troublesome than an ordinary three-star ghost spirit.