He Ming had secretly complained to Fu Youhua, but Fu Youhua felt that the capable should do more, and that it was only right for him to deal with Supernatural events every day.
"Your current workload is normal. The other Ghost Tamers are just slacking off. You can't follow their example and lower your standards." That's what Fu Youhua said. He genuinely believed that Ghost Tamers should be as conscientious and hardworking as He Ming, otherwise they wouldn't be worthy of the benefits offered by Headquarters!
Fu Youhua wanted to cultivate He Ming into a role model, so his requirements were naturally higher. As for those Ghost Tamer always took shortcuts, made excuses when things happened, or even had blood on their hands, they were all dead people who would be dealt with in the future in Fu Youhua's eyes, and they were not comparable to He Ming at all.
Unfortunately He Ming couldn't understand Fu Youhua's profound intentions. He only felt that Fu Youhua was too high up and too detached from worldly affairs. Did he even know what the core needs of Ghost Tamer were?
For He Ming, what he needs now is a sense of security!
But Fu Youhua seemed to see this as a test. He couldn't understand why He Ming was always so anxious and worried, always feeling that someone wanted to harm him.
Other Ghost Tamers, on the other hand, desperately need to extend their lifespan.
However, Headquarters tightly controlled the Longevity Potion, using this life-saving substance as a screening tool for those Ghost Tamer.
The Headquarters offers excellent benefits, but for short-lived Ghost Tamers, wealth and power seem to be of little importance.
Thinking of this, He Ming sighed. The Headquarters was definitely not stupid; they must have their reasons for doing this. Perhaps those Ghost Tamers were just cannon fodder abandoned from the beginning, and being able to pick out one or two usable ones from among them was a way of making use of waste.
"Compared to this, I'm quite lucky." He Ming smiled bitterly and took out the Human Skin Paper, telling his story of the difficulties he had been going through recently. He didn't expect the Human Skin Paper to respond; he was just too lonely and wanted to confide in someone.
No matter how much glory the outside world bestows upon him, in essence, he is just a teenager still in high school.
This time, however, words appeared readily on the Human Skin Paper.
[My name is He Ming. I've discovered that the Longevity Potion has incurable side effects, but thankfully, I haven't taken it even once so far.]
Working at Headquarters was a bit tough, so the Research Department extended an olive branch to me. After much consideration, I decided to establish a relationship with the Research Department. Although I'm wary of the Ghost Contract, as long as I sacrifice a Fierce Ghost to the Human Skin Paper, it can protect me and make me immune to the contract's bindings.
"This is truly a timely help." A look of apprehension flashed in He Ming's eyes. The more he learned about the Supernatural, the more apprehensive he became about this Human Skin Paper.
Last time it mentioned the Beidou Organization. To avoid taking on unnecessary risks, He Ming directly revealed the organization's name to Headquarters. I don't know how the Headquarters' investigation is going.
Now, the Human Skin Paper has openly proposed a "deal," exchanging a Fierce Ghost for its protection. However, He Ming hesitated. He Human Skin Paper would mutate after obtaining the Fierce Ghost, becoming even more terrifying and powerful. If he raised an invincible Fierce Ghost, he would become a sinner!
The Satellite Phone rang, and when it was answered, it was indeed another call for He Ming to handle a Supernatural event.
The moment He Ming hung up the phone, his hesitation vanished. To hell with the big picture! He considered the big picture, but he didn't seem to be in the big picture at all.
The police rushed to the scene, and it was another case that barely reached the level of C-class incident. The complainant was a young man living alone, who claimed that he had been feeling something under his bed lately.
The first time he experienced that feeling, he lay on the floor to check, and then he heard a thud, like a marble falling to the ground, and it seemed like a pair of eyes flashed in the shadows under the bed.
He was terrified and moved out that very day.
Only protagonists in horror movies would insist on living in their homes even after realizing they're haunted. He's just an ordinary person; he'll just consider it spending a little extra money for peace of mind.
However, the strange occurrences did not end there.
On the first night after moving to the new address, that feeling of something watching me from under the bed returned.
In the darkness, he could only hear his own heartbeat. Looking down, he caught a glimpse of eyes again, clearer than the last time he had seen them.
So he moved again. Although he had a vague feeling that it wasn't a problem with the house, but rather that he was being haunted by a ghost, and that it didn't matter where he lived, it was too bizarre to tell the police, so he took a chance and rented a house without a bed, sleeping on tatami mats at night.
Unfortunately, something still happened during the night.
First, the cabinet by the wall made a strange noise, as if someone was hiding inside and sneaking out, with the cabinet door making a slight opening and closing sound.
He was startled, opened his eyes and turned on the light but saw nothing. After that, the room fell silent, as if it had just been an illusion.
He closed his eyes and slept for a while. In his hazy state, he vaguely heard a scratching sound above his head, a continuous, sizzling sound, right next to his ear, getting closer and closer, as if it were tickling his scalp!
He was wide awake and mustered his courage to lift the tatami mat. In the instant the tatami mat was lifted, a pair of eyes flashed by in the gap formed by the angle between it and the floor. This time, he could even see the outline of the face!
The victim reported the incident to the police.
After a preliminary investigation, it was confirmed to be a Supernatural event, and the case was handed over to He Ming for handling.
Upon arriving at the scene, He Ming simply and bluntly named the Source Ghost "[Someone Under the Bed]".
A very weak ghost. Its pattern is triggered when the victim looks under the bed. However, it is too weak to kill the victim in one go. Every time the victim looks under the bed, the ghost becomes clearer and clearer. At first, only the eyes can be seen, but later the entire ghost can be seen. At that point, the victim is beyond saving.
[Someone Under the Bed] has potential for growth, but its starting point is too low, He Ming easily seized it.
But this time, He Ming did not immediately hand the ghost over to Headquarters as usual; instead, he took out the Human Skin Paper.
"You told me about the 'Ghost Contract'; you also said you'd protect me from Ghost Contract bonds through a transaction. You weren't just staging this yourself, were you?"
After saying that, He Ming gave a self-deprecating laugh. He did not really trust the Human Skin Paper, but the Ghost Contract should be real. He had observed carefully and found that some Ghost Tamers did indeed behave abnormally.
"What should we do next?" He Ming asked.
There were no words on the Human Skin Paper, so He Ming could only try to use the paper to directly contact the Fierce Ghost.
The next moment, the Human Skin Paper stuck to the Fierce Ghost, as if an irresistible suction force was pulling the true form of [Someone Under the Bed] into it.
The Someone Under the Bed struggled in vain, but eventually disappeared completely.
He Ming watched this scene unfold, a chill running down his spine. The Human Skin Paper had the ability to devour Fierce Ghost; it was indeed an extremely dangerous Supernatural Item!
The Human Skin Paper fell to the ground, covered in writing. "[My name is He Ming. Work at Headquarters is becoming increasingly difficult. The Research Department has extended an olive branch to me. After much deliberation, I've decided to form a connection with the Research Department. Although I'm wary of the Ghost Contract, I'll sacrifice a Fierce Ghost to Human Skin Paper, and it will protect me from its binding force.]"
"Is this alright?" He Ming took a deep breath to calm himself down, took out his phone, and dialed the operator's number.
"There was no Source Ghost in this incident; the victim was simply cursed by Supernatural. The problem has been resolved. Create a file for them; the code name is [Someone Under the Bed]."
"Okay," the operator replied sweetly.
After hanging up the phone, He Ming returned to his newly purchased house in Capital without giving anything away and quietly contacted Shen Jiliang.
Shen Jiliang acted swiftly and took He Ming away.
Headquarters is a hellhole; the high-intensity work will eventually force He Ming to take the Longevity Potion. The Human Skin Paper said that the stuff has side effects, but Headquarters has never mentioned it.
The Research Department is another pit of fire. The good news is that Shen Jiliang thinks He Ming's abilities are very useful and should be used where they are most needed, rather than being squandered on trivial matters.
Ultimately, it's because Supernatural events happen too frequently in Capital.
He Ming couldn't help but ask Shen Jiliang, "Why are there so many Supernatural events in the capital?"
He had asked Fu Youhua this question before, but Fu Youhua evaded the question and did not give a direct answer.
Perhaps because He Ming was about to become one of their own, Shen Jiliang, unusually talkative, revealed some information about this matter. "The frequent occurrence of Supernatural events in the Capital is related to a Fierce Ghost codenamed [Wish Fulfillment]."
"Wish Fulfillment?" He Ming was surprised. "Just from the code name, it seems to be quite extraordinary."
Shen Jiliang nodded. "[Wish Fulfillment] is a huge ancient Bronze Ancient Tree. It's hard to define whether it's Fierce Ghost or Supernatural Item. Everyone who touches the Bronze Tree will gain the ability to Wish Fulfillment."
He Ming was stunned for a few seconds, then gasped.
Shen Jiliang's lips curled slightly. "It seems you've already realized the problem."
He Ming nodded heavily. "The idea of Wish Fulfillment sounds like a wonderful thing at first glance, but upon closer reflection, one can understand its terrifying aspect—humans cannot control their own thoughts and subconscious!"
"That's right!" Shen Jiliang agreed, "You guessed the truth. People whose Wish Fulfillment come true, when they have wild thoughts or nightmares, will inadvertently generate a lot of derivative Supernatural, so..."
Before he could finish speaking, He Ming understood where the frequent Supernatural events in the Capital were coming from. At the same time, he also sensed the Headquarters' profound resources. "[Wish Fulfillment]—if one can successfully control and manipulate it, what's the difference between that and Omniscience and Omnipotence god?"
Shen Jiliang smiled, "[Wish Fulfillment]'s original codename was [Omnipotence]."
"Then why aren't you using it?" He Ming asked, puzzled.
"Because it's not truly Omnipotence, researchers at Headquarters have speculated that [Wish Fulfillment what you want] is only a part of [Omnipotence]. It tends to 'modify reality with what you think'; theoretically, there might also be things like 'words becoming law' or 'Divine Pen,' modifying reality with spoken words or drawn images. These pieces combined together constitute [Omnipotence]."
The idea of being "Omnipotence" was too far removed from He Ming's reality; he only found it novel. However, Hu Jiu, who had been silently watching him, was deeply shocked!
Shen Jiliang's words were all highly confidential. Hu Jiu had worked at Headquarters for so long in his previous life, yet he had never heard a word about it!
"Wish Fulfillment true? That's great, haha..." Hu Jiu laughed sinisterly. It seemed that the Vengeful Ghost Puzzle he sensed in the Capital was a derivative Supernatural of "Wish Fulfillment".
"It's time to adjust our development strategy." Ever since Hu Jiu obtained the Ghost Pen, which allowed him to enter a relatively stable and powerful state, he has entered a period of quiet preparation, lying low and gradually increasing his strength.
The main quest has finally been triggered, He Ming, this chess piece, is truly a pleasant surprise!
Hu Jiu returned to Linjiang City; he needed to carefully plan how to seize the Headquarters' belongings.
Headquarters is not so easy to deal with; this will undoubtedly be a tough battle. The good news is that Hu Jiu is in the shadows, giving him more room to operate behind the scenes.
In a flash, he came up with a preliminary plan, but he needed some help to implement it.
His gaze swept over a mangled corpse—it was Ning Yun. She had died unexpectedly when she encountered the Ghost Slave; her head was flattened, and even her own mother probably wouldn't recognize her.
However, the corpse is not important; Ning Yun's identity is the most important thing. First, "Ning Yun" must be resurrected.
More than ten hours later, Hou Qingxu received the news— Ning Yun had disappeared and was suspected of being kidnapped.
"What a joke! How dare someone touch my fiancée!" Hou Qingxu was furious. He had been searching for the missing mask but to no avail, and he was already seething with anger. When he heard that Ning Yun was in trouble, he immediately exploded.
Although he didn't have any good feelings for Ning Yun, out of male chauvinism, he always regarded Ning Yun as his woman. He said he didn't mind Ning Yun associating with those girls, but it was just talk. In reality, he was very petty. Most of the men who had pursued Ning Yun or dated Ning Yun disappeared.
Hou Qingxu wasn't really thinking right now; he just felt incredibly unlucky today. First, his auction items were snatched away, then his fiancée had an accident. Could it be that someone was maliciously provoking him?
Like a male lion whose territory has been invaded, Hou Qingxu felt his dignity had been insulted. "Dare to provoke me? No matter who you are, you'll have to bear my wrath!"
He took out a special phone and dialed a number.
Ning Yun's disappearance is not a big deal for ordinary people; it's just a missing person notice that flashes by in the news or a rumor that you can only glance at online.
However, the Ning Family and Hou Families took it very seriously and jointly pressured the police to solve the case with all their might. Under pressure from all sides, the police quickly sprang into action, diligently collecting clues and daring not to be careless in the slightest.
Hou Qingxu, also known as Ghost Tamer, posted a bounty on the Ghost Tamer Forum. The Longevity Potion he casually sprinkled was a treasure that low-level Ghost Tamers desperately sought after, so naturally many people were willing to serve him. Various forces were in turmoil, with undercurrents surging, all in search of a woman named Ning Yun. Anyone who didn't know better would think it was some domineering CEO novel come to life.