Chapter 260: 242. The Recipient

242. Chapter 242: The Recipient's Identity

"My name is Li Yi. I was referred here by Wang Qiao, the head of Dazhuang City. I need to speak with the head of Zhongyang City—could you help me contact them?"

At this moment.

Li Yi suddenly appeared before a security team leader near the gymnasium, in a way no one could have anticipated, and spoke those exact words.

The team leader was stunned and instinctively reached for his gun—but upon hearing "referred by the head of Dazhuang City," his expression changed instantly. He lowered his weapon and said at once: "Wait a moment. I must report this to my superiors."

"No problem," Li Yi said.

Indeed, this most direct method was the most effective. At least by invoking the name of the Dazhuang City head, they would treat him differently and dare not ignore him.

In fact, Li Yi's reasoning was correct.

Though the team leader knew little, he was well aware that any matter involving a head—or a supernatural event—must be reported immediately. Li Yi's sudden appearance had made him realize this man was no ordinary person, so he suppressed the urge to draw his gun, knowing firearms were useless against such individuals.

Not long after.

A vehicle swiftly crossed the cordon and drove over.

The car stopped, and a man dressed neatly, wearing glasses, resembling a civil servant, hurried over on foot.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Li Yi, correct? I'm Zhang Wen, liaison officer for Zhongyang City. The security team leader just told me you were referred by the head of Dazhuang City. Since we're colleagues, no need for formality—just state your request, and we'll cooperate fully." This Zhang Wen was not the head, yet he treated Li Yi with unusual warmth.

"I need to find the head of Zhongyang City. This matter involves a supernatural entity—only a Ghost Driver can handle it. Ordinary people are useless." Li Yi shook his hand and spoke seriously.

"I know that, but Mr. Li, you probably don't understand the current situation in Zhongyang City. Our head lost contact recently and has now been declared missing." Zhang Wen lowered his voice, revealing a critical piece of information.

Li Yi frowned. "Missing? How?"

Zhang Wen hesitated, glancing around, then finally pointed toward the gymnasium: "Our head disappeared while handling the supernatural incident inside this gymnasium."

At these words, Li Yi's expression hardened.

Missing since earlier?

Probably dead by now.

Clearly, the Zhongyang City head wasn't a match for that ghost—perished inside the gymnasium.

"So that's how it is," Li Yi's heart sank.

If even a Ghost Driver capable of confronting a ghost had died, how could ordinary people like them survive? This yellow letter might not be deliverable within three days. Was Zhang Jing right? Should they abandon delivery and instead risk everything—push to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, then project their Primordial Spirit across dimensions to escape?

But she could do that. Li Yi could not.

Even with his fastest cultivation speed, he couldn't break through two realms in just a few days.

So the letter still had to be delivered.

Thinking this, he prepared to turn back toward the gymnasium and seek another solution.

But before leaving, Li Yi remembered something and asked: "By the way, what's the name of your Zhongyang City head? If I encounter them, I'd like to recognize them—even if dead, finding the body would help."

"Her name is Wang Fei," the liaison officer Zhang Wen replied. "If you find her—alive or dead—and bring back word, I'll personally thank you on behalf of headquarters."

Wang Fei?

Hearing the name, Li Yi's face stiffened.

Wasn't that the recipient's name on the letter?

So this letter was meant for the Zhongyang City head. No wonder he'd checked every staff list inside the gymnasium and never found a Wang Fei.

Li Yi then asked calmly: "Earlier, I entered the swimming pool area inside the gymnasium. I can confirm a ghost is present—and many have died. The pool is filled with corpses. Do you have any way to identify Wang Fei? Appearance, clothing, distinguishing features? If possible, even a location tracker."

"A city head should carry some kind of communication device, right?"

"No problem. I can provide all that information free of charge. As for location data, I need to request it from headquarters. Wait ten minutes—I'll handle it immediately." Zhang Wen was eager, immediately pulling up Wang Fei's file and contacting headquarters.

One had to admit, people in this world moved fast—likely because supernatural events demanded urgency.

Less than ten minutes later, staff nearby printed out Wang Fei's photo, appearance, and description, then delivered the latest satellite location data.

Li Yi took the papers but didn't look yet. He said: "I'm returning to the gymnasium to search. Keep this area sealed. No ordinary people allowed. The ghost here is dangerous—and be especially cautious around water. That supernatural force seems tied to water."

"Tied to water? Good. This information is vital. Thank you." Zhang Wen was grateful. If the ghost's killing rule involved water, he'd immediately cut off all water supply nearby, seal every source—even order other departments to disperse rain clouds if it rained.

In short, every possible method must be used to prevent the supernatural from spreading.

After receiving the data, Li Yi immediately turned back. He no longer concealed his abilities—revealing his uniqueness, he vanished from Zhang Wen's sight in mere seconds.

"Is he also a Ghost Driver?" Zhang Wen, witnessing Li Yi's extraordinary ability, wasn't shocked—only assumed he was one.

"Though Li Yi hasn't joined headquarters, he knows the Dazhuang City head and is now helping search for Wang Fei. He's an ally, not an enemy. We should assist him fully."

Zhang Wen, as a liaison officer, wasn't foolish. He believed Li Yi on sight. In the face of supernatural events, he was willing to offer free aid—after all, their goals didn't conflict.

Back near the swimming pool, Li Yi reunited with the others and recounted what had just happened.

"Wang Fei is the city head? The letter is for her? Damn it! If we'd known, we should've contacted Zhang Wen earlier instead of avoiding security—now Tao Yuan died for nothing." Qin Bing slammed his fist into the ground in fury, instantly cracking the asphalt.

This sight made Guo You and the others' hearts race.

That power—if it landed on us, we'd be dead.

Li Yi sighed: "It's too late to regret now. As we analyzed earlier, survival here depends not on brute force but on intelligence and information. This time, we were lucky—we split up to scout. If we'd moved together like before, we'd all be dead."

"Enough. Let's look at Wang Fei's data."

He unfolded the printed materials: Wang Fei's photo, description, and—most importantly—the latest satellite location.

But when they saw the final location, everyone wanted to curse.

Wang Fei's last known location wasn't inside the swimming pool—it was in a different dormitory building.

Meaning, they'd all been searching in the wrong place.

The hundreds of corpses in the pool did not include Wang Fei.

"Damn it! This letter misled us! We assumed the recipient was among those corpses—but they weren't! Who built this Ghost Post Office? Who's running it? If I find them, I'll kill them myself." At this moment, Zhang Jing erupted in rage.

Li Yi's face darkened.

He hadn't expected this outcome either.

"That makes sense," Guo You murmured. "A first-floor letter shouldn't be this hard. We were misled—we thought the recipient was in the terrifying swimming pool, but they're actually in the less dangerous dormitory."

If a first-floor letter were this deadly, they might as well just kill us outright. Why go through this charade?

"Give me the letter. I'll go to the dormitory." Li Yi said.

"I'll go with you," Qin Bing said, lighting another cigarette with one hand.

Li Yi replied: "No. If I don't return, then you go."

He had decided to confront the Ghost Post Office directly—to understand what this delivery task truly meant. He refused to believe that ordinary people could complete such a task while his group of cultivators could not. In intellect and memory, they surpassed these world's commoners—why should they be the ones dying?

Earlier, he could blame ignorance. But now he understood the Ghost Post Office's rules. If he died now, he'd blame only himself—not anyone else.

"Since you've made up your mind, fine." Qin Bing handed back the letter. "Be careful."

Li Yi took the letter, nodded, and set off without looking back.

His speed was swift. Now that he'd created a false identity outside, he no longer feared exposure. The world already had supernatural forces—let them speculate. Survival came first.

Soon.

He picked up some pebbles and arrived beneath the dormitory.

He looked up.

The dormitory was soaked everywhere—water dripped from the corridors, stains covered the floors, yet many areas remained dry.

But Tao Yuan's death wasn't without value—it delivered crucial information.

"Just avoid water stains?" Li Yi leapt effortlessly to the first floor.

He remembered the location data pointed here.

But which floor? Unclear.

Standing at the balcony's edge, avoiding water stains, he tossed a pebble. With a burst of qi, the dorm room door exploded into fragments.

Inside, darkness reigned—but one glance revealed everything.

"Not on this floor."

Li Yi leapt again to the second floor. He repeated the method—tossed a pebble, shattered the door, observed the interior. This way, he avoided touching or entering each room personally.

At this moment, he understood his survival method.

Use his own strength flexibly—complete the delivery task in ways ordinary people couldn't.

But as he opened the second-floor door, he froze.

Standing behind it was a drenched corpse—a woman in a white dress, long hair hanging over her face, pale hands and feet exposed, utterly motionless.

"That attire isn't Wang Fei's. Likely a ghost." Li Yi felt relief—his method was correct.

Had he opened the door carelessly, the chance of being targeted by the ghost would've been high.

But he'd already confirmed: unless specific conditions were met, the ghost wouldn't attack.

With this in mind, Li Yi steadied his nerves and ascended to the third floor.

He tossed another pebble, shattering the door.

As the door broke, a stench of decay surged forth. Li Yi's eyes glowed—he noticed something unusual. He threw another pebble.

With a burst of qi, the window shattered, and the bathroom door exploded inward.

Through the broken window, he saw a bathtub inside. One corner was visible—two bloated, rotting legs protruded, emitting thick, foul odor.

"Could this be Wang Fei?"

He couldn't be sure. His eyes couldn't see through walls.

He flicked his wrist—qi and blood energy condensed. Two pebbles flew forward in sequence, exploding against the bathroom wall, blasting a hole through it. Through the opening, he finally saw the interior clearly.

Inside the bathtub floated a bloated corpse. The water was murky and foul. The body's face was unrecognizable, covered in wet black hair—but from the upper clothing, Li Yi recognized it instantly.

The corpse in the bathtub was Wang Fei.

"Found it."

Li Yi felt a surge of excitement—but quickly calmed himself.

Finding the recipient was only the first step; what followed was delivering the letter safely.

He immediately began observing everything around him.

The ceiling dripped water, the floor was wet, the air was damp. There was no shortage of water, but there were still dry spots to stand on—just a little caution was needed.

After confirming the situation, Li Yi leapt straight down from the balcony.

His body was agile; though tall and bulky, he moved with astonishing lightness, instantly darting into the room and landing firmly on a single bed with a swift turn.

At this moment, he was closer to the corpse in the bathtub.

The stench in the air grew even stronger.