The night in Liushu Town, Pingcheng, was thicker than elsewhere, as if something were swallowing the light.
The streetlights were on, yet they could only illuminate a few paces ahead before the light dissolved into a heavy, greyish fog.
That fog hung over the small town like the background of an old photograph.
The town was more than half empty; many residents had already begun to flee before the official notice of "emergency evacuation."
Some clever individuals first noticed they were becoming forgetful, and then realized everyone around them was becoming forgetful too. This was clearly abnormal. Without even packing their bags, they immediately took their families and fled as far as they could.
The Bureau's team arrived in the afternoon.
Three armored vehicles, two communication vehicles, and one black van without any markings.
The van stopped at an open space on the edge of town, its doors tightly shut.
“Containment object LK-003 is in position,” the transport group leader said into his communicator. He then pushed a golden metal box out of the van.
The box was small, just large enough for a person to curl up inside. It was equipped with universal wheels on the bottom, which made a dull rumbling sound as it rolled over the gravel road.
The head of the Pingcheng branch came forward to meet them. She was a middle-aged woman in her forties, surnamed Meng, with short hair and a sharp gaze.
She glanced at the golden box and lowered her voice. “Is this...?”
“The Knocking Ghost you requested,” the transport group leader replied calmly.
Manager Meng said no more. She turned and led the team toward the center of town.
The box was pushed behind her by four people in protective suits.
The surface of the box was very cold; that seeped-out chill could be felt even through gloves.
Liushu Town Central Primary School was the center of the supernatural incident. The fog spread outward from here; the closer one got to the school, the thicker the fog became and the colder the air grew.
If a person stood in the fog, their memories would vanish without them even realizing it.
The school gates were wide open. The guardhouse was empty, with a half-finished cup of tea still sitting on the table.
Schoolbags and textbooks were scattered across the playground. A few bags lay in the middle of the track, unzipped, their pages fluttering loudly in the wind.
Manager Meng stood at the school gate, looking into the greyish fog. She pointed toward the grey-and-white building. “The source of the anomaly is on the third floor of the teaching building. That's where the fog is spreading from. We sent two teams in, and neither has come out.”
“What happened to the people who went in?” the transport group leader asked.
Manager Meng said somberly, “We lost contact. Their vital signs seem to still be there, but they don't respond to any of our calls.”
The transport group leader nodded and turned to the people behind him. “Set up the site.”
The team quickly dispersed, taking various pieces of equipment from the box, adjusting angles, and calibrating parameters. Everything was done in silence; no one made any unnecessary noise.
Everyone knew that the containment object they were about to use was even more dangerous than the source of the anomaly inside the building.
Half an hour later, the preparations were complete.
The transport group leader and Manager Meng stood at the entrance of the teaching building before a temporary command station.
The screen displayed a thermal image of the building's interior. Three humanoid heat signatures were curled up at the end of the third-floor corridor, motionless.
Those were the investigators sent in earlier. They were still alive, but it was unknown if they were still conscious.
“Begin,” Manager Meng said.
The transport group leader raised his wrist and pressed his walkie-talkie. “Activate the bait.”
Around the teaching building, several people in protective suits simultaneously pressed buttons on their remote controls.
A specific instrument set up outside the building emitted a low-frequency hum that resonated deep into the structure.
A few minutes later, at the end of the third-floor corridor, a mass of thick fog began to move. It moved slowly, like a piece of wriggling giant jelly.
It surged out from the depths of the corridor, moved down the stairs past the second and first floors, and finally gathered in the lobby of the teaching building.
The fog grew thicker, and the temperature dropped sharply.
“It’s coming out,” Manager Meng whispered.
“Proceed as planned,” the transport group leader said into his walkie-talkie.
In the lobby of the teaching building, the mass of fog began to condense and shrink inward.
As the fog became denser and more solid, it eventually took on a humanoid shape.
A humanoid figure made of fog, its edges constantly shifting. Its face was a blurry oval without features, yet one could sense that it was "looking."
It began to move toward the door.
“Here it comes.” The transport group leader retreated behind the command station. “Prepare for containment.”
On the open ground outside the teaching building, a circular area about ten meters in diameter had been marked with fluorescent powder.
In the center of the area stood a door—a special prop door from the Bureau, with a metal frame, a solid wood panel, a lock, a handle, and a peephole, looking exactly like the door to an ordinary residence.
The door stood upright in the clearing. The humanoid fog floated out of the teaching building, lured toward that door.
Its speed was slow, as if it were hesitating, but it eventually floated across the playground and stopped in front of the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking rang out.
Everyone who heard it felt a shudder; the sound inspired an instinctive fear.
The metal box containing the Knocking Ghost had been opened in advance. The Knocking Ghost was instinctively attracted to the door, and now only the door stood between it and the humanoid fog.
Upon hearing the knocking, the humanoid fog became unstable, its body expanding as if it were on the verge of dissipating.
It was then that everyone saw a figure in the center of the fog.
A very ordinary middle-aged man, wearing pajamas with messy hair. He seemed to be the source of the anomaly in Liushu Town.
Knock, knock, knock. The knocking sounded again.
The time had come. The transport group leader pressed a button.
Then, the prop door opened automatically.
The Knocking Ghost's killing rule was triggered. The humanoid fog "inside the door" suffered a supernatural attack and completely dissipated.
Once the fog vanished, only the middle-aged man at its center remained, lying motionless on the ground.
The transport group leader rushed out from behind the command station, grabbing the golden containment box. “Quick! The Knocking Ghost's activity is increasing rapidly; it's about to undergo resurgence. We must re-contain it before it fully revives!”
The team methodically stuffed the Knocking Ghost back into the containment box. They had done this many times, yet it was still hard to get used to; every time was nerve-wracking.
The containment box was closed, the bolts were tightened, and the runes glowed once more.
The mission was successfully completed without any accidents involving the Knocking Ghost.
“Pack up,” the transport group leader said, standing up and brushing the dust off himself.
Manager Meng stood at the entrance of the teaching building, looking at the now-dispersed fog. She remained silent for a moment. “That’s it? It's solved?”
The transport group leader nodded and tapped the containment box. “The Knocking Ghost is fierce. Any low-risk anomaly with a physical form can be easily handled by it.”
Manager Meng didn't ask any more questions. She turned to the team members behind her and ordered, “Group one, contain the source of this anomaly. Group two, enter the building and search for the trapped personnel.”
Voices and footsteps crackled through the communicators.
The crisis was over. Lights flickered on in the windows of the teaching building as the transport group leader headed back to the containment station with the Knocking Ghost.
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