Chapter 57: He's About to Betray!
'Upon discovering this real mission, any method may be used to identify the ghost's location; success is counted upon correct identification.'
This was the most important part of the task, emphasizing a vast allowance:
'any method'
Whenever the word 'any' is added to conditions or requirements, the scope of possibilities becomes almost limitless.
For example, the mutual identification by Fang Shenyan and others, or even Tongguan's pre-recorded videos, all fell under the scope of 'any method'.
For this task, as long as the real task content could be found, nothing else was truly difficult.
But Ji Li's situation was far more complicated.
He carried two ghosts—one originally in his hotel phone, and the other, the one that had nearly killed him.
Unlike Tongguan, he had no backup phone. In this lowest elevator shaft, he was entirely alone.
At present, only Old Xue's and Xiao Li's phones remained with him.
During the time since waking, Ji Li had considered using a method similar to Tongguan's—pre-recording a video with his phone—but that wasn't entirely safe.
Tongguan faced only one ghost; Ji Li had to contend with two.
After much thought, Ji Li decided to rely on the judgment he had conceived before death.
In the silent shaft, wind howled past, and he wrapped his coat tighter around himself. Only the faint hiss of his cigarette disturbed the quiet.
After a long while, the third persona steadied itself and finally responded.
'So… what's your path to survival?'
Ji Li's hair danced in the wind as he lifted his head. Ashes fell in spirals from the tip of his finger.
"Do nothing. Let the two ghosts come for me, one by one."
His voice was low but resolute, and though the plan seemed almost nonexistent, it was the most practical idea he could conceive.
The third persona was intelligent but hadn't fully grasped Ji Li's words.
After another pause, Ji Li continued:
"A ghost's possession is unstoppable. The living lose all consciousness and control. Once possessed, no one can reverse it.
But… I am an exception!"
The third persona gasped, realizing the implication of Ji Li's plan but stayed silent.
Ji Li pressed on: "When I died before, did you call my name?"
'Yes…'
"Then that's right. I'm the bug in this task!"
The third persona finally understood.
Identifying a ghost's exact location is no easy matter.
The safest method is to allow the ghost to possess someone—then identification is guaranteed.
But this ghost had an unthinkably lethal trait: once it possessed someone, even thought itself would freeze.
Even knowing the ghost's position, the person couldn't complete the identification.
This created a paradox—but Ji Li's claim of being a 'bug' could resolve it.
Because inside Ji Li's body was another persona.
And judging from its behavior and traits, Ji Li's multiple personas were not a mental disorder—they were entirely separate souls!
This became clear from the abilities and strange phenomena shown by that gray soul.
Especially when Ji Li's main persona was erased by the ghost, he had clearly heard the third persona's unaffected roar.
This convinced him that, whether it was the crude second persona, the perceptive third, the silent fourth, or the hidden gray soul, all were extra trapped souls within his body.
This was a revelation after dying three times.
After this incident, Ji Li concluded:
His body contained an unknown number of soul entities; death acted as a key to unlock and release them.
So far, the first two souls—personas—posed no significant threat and even aided him in completing tasks.
But over time, as more souls awakened, his personas could become increasingly chaotic, possibly producing uncontrollable personas.
He already suspected the fourth persona had emerged, merely disguised under a facade of calm.
Most concerning was the mysterious gray soul.
It had revealed itself briefly on the fifth floor and clashed with an invading ghost, seemingly victorious.
Ji Li even speculated that the ghost in his original phone had refrained from attacking because of this gray soul. Perhaps the red light on the fifth floor was that ghost, which had been devoured by the gray soul.
This was the only explanation for why the ghost from his phone, although closest to him, didn't act first.
"Could it… devour ghosts?"
It was only speculation, but Ji Li was reluctant to believe it: hidden within him might be a soul stronger than the ghost itself.
Could this gray soul also be a ghost…
The cigarette had burned down to the tip. Ji Li's fingers felt the sting of the heat, but he was too dazed to react.
Then the third persona asked:
'So, you think that when the ghost leans over you, at the moment the main persona ceases, I should speak to identify the ghost's presence?'
The third persona's words pulled the situation back into the task at hand. Although Ji Li believed the other ghost had likely been devoured by the gray soul, he still chose this unconventional approach.
Deep down, he could not bring himself to believe the gray soul could consume a ghost.
"That's correct."
After Ji Li spoke, the surroundings fell completely silent, waiting for the ghost to appear.
Ji Li firmly believed his plan would succeed. The task clearly allowed 'any method', offering an extraordinarily broad margin of error. He could not see it failing.
He sat like a dead tree in the shaft, waiting.
In front of him was Xiao Li's phone. He had previously used it to attempt identification, but the ghost had not been there.
After a long time, a beam of morning sunlight appeared above the shaft. Time had passed, and the stillness of the environment felt unnaturally deep. His throat was dry, and he longed for a smoke.
The pack held only one cigarette. He sighed, took it out, and then suddenly noticed his hands—they had turned completely black.
Ji Li's heart jolted. In the dim light earlier, he hadn't seen it; now, in the morning light, his hands had fully discolored.
It reminded him of the near-touch-transmission curse he had encountered on the eighteenth floor while trying to prevent Xiao Li's death.
Just as Ji Li was about to speak, his hands went rigid, a strong force reviving in his palms.
The ghost that had killed him had never left, instead perching within his hands.
Ji Li could no longer think to identify it, yet events continued according to his original plan. His head was seized by the hands and began to be slowly manipulated.
The ghost had taken the bait—but at this moment, the third persona…
Watched it all silently, saying nothing.
You can read Eerie Overseer ahead by 50+ chapters ad-free and for free at htt ps://ravenarchives. com/book/eerie-overseer]. Bulk uploads are a bit tricky, so updates here might be irregular, but they'll keep coming.