Ethan finished reading the mission file and let out a low breath.
“Yeah… this one’s nasty. No wonder nobody’s taken it.”
Multiple people were already missing, and none of them had made it back out of the so-called haunted house. Odds were, they were gone. And the worst part was the lack of intel—no clear entity type, no threat rating, no pattern beyond “people go in, people don’t come out.” If whatever was inside was strong, a probationary investigator charging in blind was basically volunteering to die.
Most investigators preferred clean jobs: clear targets, clear danger, fast closures. But senior investigators were constantly deployed all over the country, so cases like this couldn’t immediately be escalated. Instead, it sat in the low-tier queue like a lit stick of dynamite no one wanted to hold.
Ethan didn’t hesitate.
“Taking it.”
If there was definitely something supernatural in there, that was enough for him.
Unit rules required missions to be run in pairs—two people could cover angles, pull each other out, and raise the success rate while lowering the body count. So Ethan opened the internal forum and posted:
[Just grabbed the Haunted House case. Need a partner. Requirements: genuinely afraid of ghosts, sensible, follows directions.]
The replies poured in within minutes.
“Wait—are you the Ethan?!”
“Boss pick me!!”
“I can hype you up nonstop and I’m not totally useless in a fight!”
“Sweet or savage, I can do both—take me with you pls ??”
“Who’s Ethan Parker? I’ve been deployed and missed the gossip.”
“Bro he’s new—perfect 100 on the rookie test, beat Jackson for #1 in the simulation. He’s insane.”
Then one comment stood out, quiet and almost timid among the noise:
Reply #28: “Um… could I go? I’m scared of ghosts, and I’ll listen.”
Ethan didn’t want a scared teammate just to be cruel. He wanted it for strategy.
Supernatural entities weren’t mindless. If there really was something inside that house, it might sense Unit 749 arriving and hide. And if it hid, Ethan couldn’t kill it.
So he needed real fear—something honest enough to draw it out.
Reply #28 belonged to someone he actually knew: Nora Paige.
And the case detail nagged at him: four students went in—three male, one female—and only the girl made it out. That was a pattern worth testing. A female partner might matter.
…
Back in her dorm, Nora lay on her bed staring at her screen like it might bite her.
She usually didn’t run missions with other people. She was terrified of dragging someone down, so she trained alone—day after day—punching practice posts until her wrists burned. Over the last month she’d broken ten of them, to the point even the training-floor maintenance tech looked haunted.
But she’d teamed with Ethan once during the simulation drill. Seeing his post, she finally forced herself to reply.
Then doubt hit.
The thread was already past a hundred comments—so many people stronger than her begging to run with Ethan. Why would he pick her?
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
A message popped up.
[Ethan Parker: 10:00 a.m. Metro station. Meet there.]
Nora’s eyes went wide. She reread it twice to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Then the excitement in her chest burst so fast it almost hurt.
[Nora Paige: Yes!! Okay, Captain!!]
…
The next morning at ten, Ethan arrived on time. Across the platform, he spotted Nora sitting on a bench, staring at the tips of her shoes like she was trying not to panic in public.
“Morning,” he said.
Nora shot up. “C-Captain. Morning!”
She was in the same black athletic outfit as always, hair in twin ponytails, thick black frames over bright, nervous eyes.
“What time did you get here?” Ethan asked.
“E-eight…”
“Meet at ten and you came at eight? Why?”
“S-sorry!”
Ethan sighed. “Stop apologizing for being early. That’s not a sin. Come on.”
They boarded a Unit 749 line—an ultra-fast maglev that ran between secure platforms outside major cities.
Nora leaned in, voice cautious. “Captain… I brought some stuff. I don’t know if it’ll help.”
“Like what?”
She dug into her bag. “Warding talismans. I traded points for them at Logistics. If a spirit attacks, it triggers a golden barrier and knocks it back. We each put one on.”
Ethan stared. “You spent points on this?”
“And—uh—black dog blood,” Nora added quickly. “And a Calmheart Pill. If we breathe in too much yin-qi, it can make you sick or faint, so we can take it.”
Ethan blinked.
The mission reward probably wouldn’t even cover what she’d spent.
She wasn’t being reckless. She was trying—way too hard—because she wanted to matter.
Ethan exhaled and softened his tone. “Listen. Running a mission with me is simple. We draw the thing out, and then we kill it.”
He paused, then added, “But fine. Keep your gear. Might be useful.”
Nora’s shoulders relaxed like she’d been holding her breath for days.
They arrived at Platform Zero outside Harborview City. Ethan had already called Aimee for a vehicle—an SUV was waiting. From there, it was a straight drive to Emeraldstone Old Town.
The old town felt like stepping backward in time: weathered tile roofs, narrow streets, low houses, warm smells from small kitchens. No glass towers. No neon. Just age, smoke, and life.
They headed straight for the “haunted house.”
It was a courtyard mansion—an old-world estate. Yellow tape boxed it off, and nearby homes sat empty. Locals had moved out after the haunting rumors spread.
As Ethan and Nora reached the entrance, a man dressed like a Taoist priest approached—blue robe, cloth shoes, plain and careful.
“Fellow practitioners,” he called out. “Are you here for the haunted house as well?”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “And you are?”
“Daoist Rowan,” the man said smoothly. “I’m from a small shrine about ten miles outside town. Heard there was trouble here, so I came to take a look.”
Rowan lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. “If I’m guessing right, you two are Unit 749. There was a fatal incident here two days ago.”
Ethan lifted a brow. “So?”
“This morning I went inside already,” Rowan said lightly. “No spirits. You’re going to waste your trip.”
Ethan smiled—thin and unimpressed. “You think I’m stupid?”
“The front gate’s locked. The dust is undisturbed. You’re saying you went in?” Ethan gestured at the entrance. “And even if there were no spirits, why are you still hanging around? You got nothing better to do?”
Rowan’s smile twitched.
The kid looked young, but he was sharp—too sharp to bluff.
Rowan had come to capture whatever was inside for his own cultivation. He’d hoped to scare Ethan off with a polite lie. Didn’t work.
Rowan recovered fast. “Haha—fair. I was joking. Spirits manifest after midnight when yin-qi is strongest. How about I go in with you then? More hands, better odds.”
Ethan’s answer was flat.
“You’re not qualified.”
Rowan froze, expression stiffening. “I may be unaffiliated, but there are rules in our world. Even Unit 749 can’t act lawlessly.”
“We can,” Ethan said calmly.
He stepped forward half a pace, voice still even. “I’m here. Which means this site is under my authority now.”
Ethan’s eyes cooled. “And if you want to be a problem, I can solve the problem at the source.”
Rowan’s face flashed with anger—then calculation. He didn’t dare fight an official unit, and he definitely didn’t want to fight Ethan.
He backed off instead, retreating to watch from a distance.
Ethan didn’t rush in and spook whatever was inside. Rowan had one thing right: if something was going to show itself, midnight was the best bet.
They’d move then.
Except they didn’t get to wait in peace.
Not long after, another man showed up—tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in loose training clothes. A martial artist type.
“I’m Ray Mercer,” he announced. “Lay disciple of Golden Buddha Temple. I’m here to subdue the supernatural. This the haunted house?”
Ethan rubbed at his ear, already annoyed.
Another freelancer sniffing around to steal the kill.
He glanced at Nora. “Tell him to fuck off.”
Nora nodded automatically. “Okay.”
Ethan paused, then sighed. “Actually—say it politely. We’re official. We shouldn’t be too unreasonable.”
Nora looked up. “How politely?”
Ethan’s expression didn’t change.
“Tell him… please fuck off.”
