Chapter 1578: Chapter 1578: Ghost Bell
——The rumble of explosions echoed through the mountains.
Doors and windows shattered, smoke billowing, the heavy scent of gunpowder filled the air.
Aria Jackson looked at the burning house before her, her heart trembling with fear.
At the time, the situation was critical, and it was only after evacuation that she heard from her subordinates that Gavin Graves and Cherry had been taken back by the monster’s tentacles, and time was too tight for rescue!
It’s no surprise the countdown was short; if it were too long, it would have given the monster ample time to escape.
Aria Jackson led her team into the house to investigate.
The smoke inside was thick, many places burned with blazing flames, black viscous matter turned to ash in the high-temperature explosion, and the monster was already shattered.
A glance around revealed the scattered remnants of exploded corpses all over the ground… like a hell on earth.
Aria Jackson stared at the devastation, a profound sense of despair and helplessness rising from within.
“Quick, somebody! He’s still alive!” a teammate exclaimed in shock beside her.
Together, they pulled a man from the pile of corpses, his body covered in thick black blood—undoubtedly Gavin Graves.
Aria Jackson rushed forward, tested his breath, eyes wide in disbelief, “He’s really not dead… Quick! Find a stretcher and carry him out!”
They carried Gavin Graves into a vehicle and hurriedly sent him to the hospital.
Aria Jackson stayed at the scene to count the remains with the other personnel.
Though the corpses were beyond recognition, they had to be collected as much as possible for identity verification once back, comparing them against the missing persons list.
A nearby officer said, “From the positions, these corpses seemed to have surrounded him completely, layering up, and thus dampening the shock of the explosion, which might explain why he survived.”
Everyone exclaimed, “Incredible…”
One among them looked up at the ceiling, pressed his palms together in prayer, “They say three feet above your head there are gods, could it be the immortals appeared?”
Aria Jackson squatted on the ground, picked up a small piece of cloth, and gently rubbed it between her fingers, silent for a moment.
She recognized the fabric as from the clothes Cherry wore.
“There aren’t really any immortals in this world, it’s just… someone happened to love him…” she murmured, sighing wistfully.
…
With the operation concluded, work came to a pause.
By now, night had fallen. Aria Jackson gathered her team to report back at the police station, leaving a few to guard the scene.
In the vast night, an old man strolled by with his hands tucked into his sleeves, seemingly passing by casually, then stealthily slipping into the house.
The burnt stench of corpses hit him —
He inhaled deeply before he could react and immediately covered his nose and mouth, seized by the urge to flee.
Suppressing nausea, he looked around, walked to a corner of the living room, parted a piece of charred flesh, poked two fingers in, and revealed a bronze ancient bell from within.
He shook it, but the bell made no sound.
He wrapped the bell in a cloth edge, gently wiped it, and whispered to it near his mouth: “Hey, are you really dead?”
No response.
Sighing, he pocketed the bell and stepped out, caught by the beams of several flashlights.
“Hey! No one is allowed in here! Didn’t you see the police line outside?!” the guarding policeman shouted scoldingly.
Mr. Ghost Hayes quickly huddled his shoulders apologetically, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving! Ah… I was just curious to take a look…”
Once the idle people were shooed away, the guarding policemen muttered to themselves, “Strange, I was watching closely, how did I miss seeing that old man go in? Did you see him?”
The colleague shook his head, “Nope.”
A cold wind blew, rustling the surrounding trees, inexplicably adding an eerie feeling.
“Tsk tsk… could we have been ghost-blinded?”
“Stop saying that, it’s getting creepier!”