Chapter 624: Haunted Mansion
When Thessy nodded, a grin slowly spread across Henry and Natasha’s faces.
"We just happen to have received an invitation to become judges for this competition."
Thessy’s eyes widened in surprise. "You did?"
Both Henry and Natasha nodded.
"But you have to remain impartial," Thessy quickly said. "I don’t want to make Lana lose by using petty tricks."
As she said this, she even pouted slightly, making herself appear genuinely concerned about fairness.
Seeing her expression, Henry and Natasha exchanged amused glances before grinning.
"All right, all right. We won’t use any petty tricks," Natasha assured her.
Henry’s smile deepened.
"However, since fate has given us such a convenient opportunity, we will certainly make sure that she understands the disparity between an ordinary cultivator and a truly top-level cultivator."
After all, Henry and Natasha had once been major contributors to the cultivation world.
They had not been given their positions as judges because they had won any particular competition. Instead, they had earned the respect of the cultivation community after contributing significantly during the Ghost Zone’s elimination process.
From a corner of the room, Thessy’s eyes quietly flashed with delight. ’This is perfect.’
Meanwhile, Lana remained completely unaware of what was being planned against her.
At that moment, she was speaking with Monica, who was looking at her with a tense expression. Lana noticed the worry in her eyes and calmly asked, "What happened?"
Monica sighed.
"Honestly, I didn’t even want to drag you into this right now, especially with your important competition approaching. However, this matter is very important."
Lana’s expression became serious. "What happened?"
"Recently, I received a private case," Monica began. "The payment was one hundred million dollars, so I decided to accept it."
Lana’s eyebrows rose slightly when she heard the amount.
"One hundred million dollars?"
Monica nodded.
"Yes. We were simply asked to look after a girl for an entire month, and we did not even need to dispatch a large number of people. Only a few people were required, so we agreed, thinking it was nothing more than an ordinary babysitting assignment."
She paused, her expression becoming increasingly grim.
"Who would have thought that this time, we would be asked to babysit a ghost?"
Lana’s eyes narrowed.
"The girl we were asked to look after is possessed by a ghost, and several of our people have already been injured because of her. Anyone who stays there to look after her throughout the night ends up suffering serious injuries. Some of them have even experienced near-death situations."
Lana’s gaze sharpened as she listened.
"Did you investigate the situation thoroughly?" she asked. "Perhaps the ghost is simply a very high-level entity."
Monica immediately shook her head.
"That is the strange part. At first, we also thought we had encountered some extremely powerful ghost. However, when we tried to question the contractor about it, he clearly stated that the ghost possessing his daughter is only three years old."
Lana frowned. "What about your own reports?"
Monica’s expression became complicated. "According to everything we have investigated, the ghost possessing that girl really is only three years old."
Lana fell silent for a moment. ’That makes no sense.’
After considering it carefully, she finally said, "In that case, I will go and investigate it myself."
Monica sighed with relief. "Please do. We are also trying to get to the root of the problem."
After Monica left, Lana remained seated for a while, quietly thinking about the strange case.
Something about it bothered her.
The more she thought about the details, the more unnatural the entire situation seemed.
Eventually, she went to the library that Luciana had built specifically for her and began searching through various records and case files.
She searched for similar cases, comparing the details with memories from her past life and recalling a few other strange incidents she had encountered.
After several hours, Lana’s eyes suddenly flashed. ’I remember something similar.’
The next day, Lana skipped university again.
The moment Axel learned about it, his brows furrowed. He immediately picked up his phone and called her.
The call connected after a few rings. "Lana, where are you?"
Lana calmly explained everything that had happened.
Axel remained silent for a moment before sighing.
"I understand that you want to help others, but remember that you need to remain in peak condition. Do not get yourself injured."
"I know."
"And you should also investigate whether this case is some kind of trap designed to interfere with your preparation for the international competition."
Lana suddenly froze. "How would they know about my connection with Monica?"
Axel chuckled softly.
"You are too naive, Lana. You don’t understand how these people operate. They are very smart, much smarter than someone who thinks they have successfully hidden everything."
Lana puffed out her cheeks. "Are you talking about me?"
Axel laughed. "You can say that."
He then became serious again.
"Anyway, there is almost nothing that can remain completely hidden from competitors of this level, especially when they have considerable influence and connections."
Lana sighed. "All right. I will look into it carefully."
Once the call ended, Axel remained silent for several seconds.
He immediately contacted several of his connections and asked them to investigate the situation surrounding Lana. He genuinely wanted to make sure that she did not run into any unexpected trouble.
He also informed Conrad, Lucian, Leonardo, Melody, and Thompson and asked them to keep an eye on Lana.
’There is a possibility that this is related to Thessy,’ Axel thought. ’It could even be Thessy who has taken action against Lana.’
Meanwhile, Lana arrived at the location given to her by Monica.
The wealthy man who had hired them lived in a suburban area, far away from the noisy center of the city.
At first, Lana found the location somewhat strange, but the moment she saw the enormous mansion standing in the distance, her expression changed.
The mansion was surrounded by thick black clouds that seemed to hang unnaturally low over the property.
’This entire mansion is haunted.’