"Zhou Ming, you pair up with Fang Cheng, responsible for the left reservoir area."

"Lin Xue, you and Fatty, along with me, will handle the purification equipment area on the right."

"Each group gets a detector and two water guns. If anything happens, shout immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ming’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly approached Wang Lan:

"President, how about I team up with you! I have experience and can protect you!"

Wang Lan rolled her eyes at him and bluntly refused:

"Quit it. Your lousy Kung Fu can’t protect anyone. Better stick with Fang Cheng and look after our new member. Just don’t cause any trouble."

Zhou Ming immediately resembled a defeated rooster, dejectedly trailing behind Fang Cheng.

After distributing the equipment and explaining the operational precautions, everyone set off in different directions.

Fang Cheng took the water gun. The light touch in his hand stirred a sense of absurdity within him.

This so-called talismanic water... can it really handle such things?

He and Zhou Ming moved cautiously, single-file, down the left passageway, heading deeper into the factory.

The cement floor beneath was full of cracks, with green moss growing in many spots.

The overhead cement beams were laden with thick cobwebs, and a musty, rotten smell hung in the air.

The detector in Zhou Ming’s hand flickered with green light, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

Everything seemed normal.

"Zhou Ming, do you have a thing for Wang Lan?"

Fang Cheng suddenly spoke, his voice softly echoing in the empty factory.

Zhou Ming slipped, almost falling, his face instantly flushing a beet red:

"What, what nonsense are you spouting! I... I just admire the president. A girl who’s so brave and fearless, I look up to her greatly."

Arguing stiffly, he didn’t dare meet Fang Cheng’s gaze, his ears turning bright red.

Fang Cheng chuckled softly and didn’t press further, changing the subject:

"By the way, about that shadow you mentioned at school, have you seen it yourself?"

Zhou Ming visibly relaxed, returning to his usual talkative self:

"I haven’t seen it; it was my uncle who saw it firsthand."

"Was it like the story Wang Lan told?"

Fang Cheng pressed on.

"Pretty much."

Zhou Ming nodded, his tone becoming more serious:

"My uncle used to be a soldier on the frontier, once stationed at a post in the dead of night. The barren Gobi Desert lay outside, with snow-capped mountains visible in the distance."

"That day, he had just rotated back inside, ready to rest, when he saw a pitch-black shadow seeping in through a crack in the door."

"The shadow wriggled eerily, lacking a solid form, yet seemingly possessing long limbs. At times it twisted into bizarre shapes, then swiftly recoiled into a lump.

"Most horrifying was its head, which had no features other than two faint red lights glowing in the dark, like a pair of malicious eyes staring at my uncle."

"He stood petrified, instinctively grabbing his gun and pulling the trigger, only to find the bullets had no effect after passing through the shadow."

"The shadow silently glided along the wall, floating straight towards him, and the air suddenly turned bone-chilling."

"Uncle was so frightened he almost lost his mind. Fortunately, the shadow seemingly had no real intention to harm him, though he remained unconscious for days."

"Since then, Uncle was forced to retire and became a different person, muttering things no one else could comprehend."

"But he told me he saw something in this world that shouldn’t exist."

Zhou Ming raised his voice, his tone laced with a touch of longing:

"That’s why I grew interested in supernormal phenomena, wanting to uncover the secrets of this world!"

His eyes sparkled, like an explorer on a great mission.

Listening to Zhou Ming’s excited narration, Fang Cheng felt heavier inside.

After a moment of silence, he tentatively asked:

"Did your uncle ever mention seeing black rain?"

Zhou Ming paused, surprise written across his face:

"Black rain? How do you know about that?"

"Indeed, my uncle did mention it. He said it started raining black that very night."

"But when I asked what kind of rain it was, he couldn’t describe it well, just that it was disgusting and stank.

"But I’ve never seen black rain myself, Fang Cheng. Have you?"

At Zhou Ming’s words, Fang Cheng’s heart sank.

Zhou Ming hasn’t witnessed the black rain, but his uncle did, and Fang Cheng himself had seen it with his own eyes.

The swelling on the back of his hand hadn’t fully subsided, remnants of the black rain’s corrosive mark.

Could it be... that only a select few, special people can see these things that shouldn’t exist?

People like himself and Zhou Ming’s uncle?

Just then, a scream of terror suddenly echoed from afar, interrupting Fang Cheng’s thoughts.

"Ah—"

"It’s Wang Lan’s voice; something’s wrong over there!"

Zhou Ming’s face went pale, as he raised the water gun and shouted, "Quick, let’s go check it out!"

Fang Cheng also rushed towards the direction of the sound, his heart unnerved yet curious.

The sensation of confronting a supernatural phenomenon firsthand felt more real than any story or rumor.

And it convinced him even more that he was nearing some truth.

The two of them dashed through a partially collapsed wall, entering another area.

It was the pump room of the water factory, where several massive water pumps lay like rusted giant beetles on the ground.

Wang Lan and Lin Xue stood back against a wall, looking very tense.

The detector in their hands emitted a piercing "beep beep," at a startling rapid pace.

The urgent beeping signified an intense anomaly nearby.

"What happened?"

Zhou Ming rushed forward, asking urgently.

Wang Lan was fixated on a corner, her eyes locked.

She held the talisman water gun in her left hand and clenched her right hand into a fist, ready to strike at any moment.

"Do you see it? The ghost is right there!"

Wang Lan pointed into the dark depths, her voice quivering slightly, yet tinged with excitement.

Fang Cheng and Zhou Ming followed her gesture.

In the darkness, there was indeed a mass of writhing shadow, barely discernable as it seemed to peel away from the wall.

"Quick, spray it with the gun!"

Zhou Ming shouted, raising the talisman water gun and pulling the trigger first.

"Splash—"

A white jet of water shot out precisely at the shadowy mass.

However, the shadow struck by the talismanic water did not change at all.

The detector’s alarm continued blaring, its sound nearly piercing through their eardrums.

Thinking the spray wasn’t strong enough, Wang Lan hurriedly raised her water gun and fiercely sprayed the shadow with it.

"Wait a minute!"

Fang Cheng suddenly sensed something was amiss.

The shadow was too still, remaining perfectly motionless.

Squinting, he moved forward a few steps, finally seeing the so-called "shadow" clearly.

It was merely tattered pieces of canvas draped over a pipe, with the dimness adding to Wang Lan’s mistake.

Without Fang Cheng needing to point it out, the others soon noticed as well.

"What about this?"

Lin Xue held up the detector, its screen still flashing violently, with the alarm incessantly ringing.

Fang Cheng’s gaze swept across the surrounding pumps, slowly explaining:

"These old-fashioned water pumps have large internal magnets, which can easily interfere with such highly sensitive detectors."

"Uh..."

Wang Lan awkwardly lowered her arm, her cheeks reddening:

"Looks like I made a mistake, this spot’s too dark."

Zhou Ming joined in laughter, the previous tension wiped away:

"I figured, it couldn’t be that easy to see the real deal!"

Lin Xue also breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily turning off the detector.

As everyone was laughing and relaxing, Fang Cheng suddenly realized someone was missing.

"Where’s Fatty?"

Only then did they notice that Li Dazhuang was gone.

"He said he was going to the bathroom, why isn’t he back yet?"

Wang Lan asked, puzzled.

Could something have actually happened?

Everyone’s hearts tightened, and they hurried back to search for any sign of Li Dazhuang.