179: Chapter 179 To deal with a bratty kid, you need to find someone even more bratty than her.

Holy light and blazing flames collided violently in the air, exploding outward.

The vengeful spirit that had been preparing a sneak attack dissolved into wisps of black smoke, completely dissipating in the wind and rain.

The streetlights on the overpass flickered violently twice before finally returning to normal.

Sadako stood behind them, clutching the blind box in her hands. The moment that resentment erupted, the spiritual energy in her body had almost gone berserk instinctively, but fortunately, Emma had resolved it too quickly.

Qin Ming recognized the origin of this ghost story.

The girl just now had shouted "Yumi," and the time was exactly 23:04. This was "one missed call."

That morbid girl who had been long neglected by her mother and even secretly abused her younger sister to gain her mother's attention—Mimeko.

After her death, she became a vengeful spirit that spread through mobile phone networks, sending death notices to victims in the form of "future voicemails." A few days later, at the specified time, the victim would die in an extremely tragic manner, and the phone would automatically call the next person in the contact list.

A blatant smile curled at the corners of Qin Ming's mouth.

"Look at that, points are coming right to my door," Qin Ming whispered to himself.

Just as Qin Ming finished muttering about points coming to him, an extremely eerie music box melody suddenly drifted out from Sadako's pocket.

Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling-ling.

(You can go listen to the 'Death Ringtone Melody'; it's not bad and works well as a phone ringtone.)

It was precisely that exclusive, life-claiming BGM from "one missed call."

Sadako hurriedly pulled out her phone. The caller ID on the screen was her own number.

Qin Ming watched the eerie green light flashing on the flip phone and raised an eyebrow.

He had thought that after Emma punched away the vengeful spirit's vanguard scout, the main culprit would have called him or Emma to save face.

Why go after Sadako? Do evil spirits also like to bully the weak and fear the strong?

"Why didn't she call me?" Qin Ming asked casually.

Emma glanced at the phone in Sadako's hand and said as if it were obvious, "Brother, our SIM cards are American numbers. A local, rural little vengeful spirit like this probably can't afford the international long-distance roaming fees."

Qin Ming realized she was right; the spirit's scope was too small.

The business range of a land-bound spirit ultimately couldn't even leave the Kanto region.

He glanced at Yoko, who was still unconscious on the ground. He no longer had any interest in whether this woman lived or died; saving her once was already a stroke of luck for her. He turned his head toward Sadako, who was still immersed in shock and hadn't come to her senses.

"It's raining, let's go straight home," Qin Ming said, pulling out his own phone and whispering an order to the screen: "Larry."

A second later.

Sadako felt her vision go dark, and an intense sensation of weightlessness suddenly hit her.

But strangely, when she was forcibly dragged into that electronic medium channel filled with static and blinding light, she didn't feel much fear deep in her heart.

On the contrary, the rushing currents, noise, and flickering data fragments around her actually gave her an inexplicable sense of intimacy, like returning to the womb.

Qin Ming glanced at Sadako as he was pulled into the screen.

This could be considered letting her experience the famous scene of crawling through a TV in advance.

Inside the living room of Qin Ming's home.

The huge LCD TV hanging on the wall lit up without warning, emitting a loud "sizzle" of electrical static.

Three figures were "spat" out directly from the TV screen onto the thick carpeted floor of the living room in a manner that completely defied the laws of physics.

The living room was very quiet, with only the wall lamps emitting a warm yellow light.

Robert was clearly still working overtime at the company and hadn't returned.

Sadako slumped onto the carpet, still tightly clutching the blind box she had won at the game center.

Her worldview had undergone repeated shattering and restructuring tonight.

A little girl who could blow up an invisible monster with one punch.

A long-armed evil spirit that could pull people into a television.

And the little boy in front of her who seemed accustomed to all these supernatural phenomena.

"Qin... Qin Ming-kun." Sadako swallowed, her voice trembling as she looked up at Qin Ming, who was patting his pant legs. "Those things on the overpass just now... and you, who exactly are you people?"

Qin Ming walked to the open kitchen, poured two glasses of warm water, and handed one to Sadako with a perfectly calm expression.

"Don't be nervous, Sadako-nee. Actually, we are legal."

"Legal?"

"Yes." Qin Ming sat down on the nearby sofa with his legs crossed, lying without even blinking. "The branch company Robert came to Japan to open is an import-export trade business on the surface, but its full name is actually the American Bureau of Supernatural Phenomenon Handling, Asia Branch.

Our family has been exorcists for three generations. I'm considered a formally licensed clerk."

Sadako held the water cup, listening blankly.

"The invisible thing on the overpass just now was a local evil spirit," Qin Ming continued to bluff with a straight face. "Emma is an intern Battle Nun. We were just handling some work in passing.

As for the fellow who pulled you into the TV, that's the latest type of AI transportation developed by our bureau. It's mainly low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and avoids traffic jams."

Sadako opened her mouth slightly.

This kind of American hardcore exorcism setting was clearly too advanced for a rural girl like her.

But thinking of the unreserved kindness Qin Ming and Emma had shown her tonight, the fear of the unknown was miraculously suppressed.

"So... there really are ghosts and monsters in this world," she whispered.

"Not only are there, but some are particularly ill-mannered." Qin Ming looked at her.

Before he could finish his sentence.

"Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling-ling-ling—"

The phone Sadako had put in her pocket earlier rang again. The gloomy music box ringtone sounded particularly piercing in the quiet living room.

Sadako's hand jerked, and the water cup almost hit the carpet. She tremblingly took out the phone; the caller ID was still her own number.

"Answer it." Qin Ming gestured with his chin.

Sadako took a deep breath, pressed the answer button, and carefully brought the phone to her ear.

There was only extremely faint static in the receiver, like the rustling sound of an old radio not tuned to a channel. No one spoke.

At that very second, Qin Ming's perception suddenly twitched.

He sensed the temperature in the room dropping at a terrifying speed.

This chilling cold wasn't aimed at him, but was locked onto the flip phone in Sadako's hand.

"Ugh... ugh..."

A bubbling sound, heavy with the smell of earth and moisture, echoed eerily in the shadows of the living room.

Little Sadako's spirit form appeared behind Sadako without warning. Her ankle-length black hair moved despite the lack of wind, and her pale face was mostly hidden in the darkness, revealing only one bloodshot eye staring fixedly at the phone still in the middle of the call.

Although the current Sadako was still in a "blank slate" stage, as the future absolute overlord of the Japanese ghost story world, Little Sadako's territorial awareness regarding "curse mediums" was ridiculously strong.

Killing via curses transmitted through phone and network lines?

That was her lane.