"That's right, it's us." Qiao Hong replied casually, completely unconcerned about being pointed at with two guns.
"You can contact me in other ways, why did you have to force your way in!" Hou Qingxu demanded angrily, waving his hand to have someone clean up the scene and see the guests off.
"That's your problem. We tried contacting you through other means, but you completely ignored us," Qiao Hong said calmly.
Hou Qingxu frowned, reached for a small, specially made phone, and found missed messages. "The banquet was a bit noisy earlier, I didn't notice."
"Your attention span is really short." Qiao Hong chuckled, glancing at Hou Qingxu's face. "Did you drink too much of the Longevity Potion from Headquarters?"
"What do you mean?" Hou Qingxu keenly sensed something, but couldn't figure out the key to the problem, so he could only stare at Qiao Hong with wide eyes.
Qiao Hong narrowed his eyes and whispered in Hou Qingxu's ear, "In the formula for the Longevity Potion, there's something called 'Foolish Ghost Tears.' Just from the name, you should understand what kind of side effects it has."
Hou Qingxu was shocked. Even though he had become stupid, he quickly realized why his brain was getting dumber. He paced back and forth angrily. "Damn it, what is Headquarters trying to do?"
Song Yue smiled with her head down. Actually, the positive effects of the Longevity Potion far outweighed its side effects. To delay the Fierce Ghost Revival, those minor side effects were really nothing. But some people drank the Longevity Potion like a beverage. An ordinary Ghost Tamer might not even drink one dose in their entire life; the slight decrease in intelligence was barely noticeable. Unlike Hou Qingxu, who was visibly stupid, with slow reaction times, poor thinking abilities, and a lack of concentration...
Suddenly, a look of doubt flashed across Hou Qingxu's face. "How do you know such confidential information from Headquarters?"
"No need for you to worry about that. We know plenty." Qiao Hong said arrogantly. The Beidou Organization's intelligence network is extensive. The Headquarters once housed three extremely terrifying Fierce Ghost: "Greed, Anger, and Ignorance." Among them, the byproduct of "Ignorance," the "Foolish Ghost Tears," can Blind Idiot people, and also dull and silence the Supernatural of ghosts. The Headquarters added this ingredient to the Longevity Potion. On the one hand, it can suppress the Fierce Ghost Revival in the Ghost Tamers, and on the other hand, it can make these Ghost Tamers stupid and dull, making them easier to control and manage.
"Alright, put the gun down," Song Yue said quietly.
Hou Qingxu didn't move, but his beautiful assistant put down her gun and looked at Qiao Hong and Song Yue with a respectful expression.
Hou Qingxu's expression darkened as his trusted confidant betrayed him. At this point, even the most foolish man would realize that someone had infiltrated his inner circle.
Damn it! He had thought he possessed unlimited wealth and masculine charm, which was why his female assistant was so devoted to him. Now it seemed he had been completely manipulated!
Could there be problems with the women who have gotten close to him in the past?
It was too late to think about this now. Hou Qingxu forced himself to calm down, lowered his head, and abandoned his former arrogance, forcing a smile, "You two have come from afar, is there something important?"
"I do have something urgent to discuss with you." Qiao Hong had been in a bad mood lately, but seeing Hou Qingxu's frustrated yet apologetic expression brought him a sense of relief.
Indeed, happiness is always built on the suffering of others.
Qiao Hong had tried to contact Hou Qingxu several times before, but was ignored each time, which made Qiao Hong extremely dislike Hou Qingxu.
"Let me speak." Song Yue stepped forward, interrupting the previous conversation between Qiao Hong and Hou Qingxu. Qiao Hong had a bad temper, and Hou Qingxu was no saint either. They were temporarily intimidated, but if Qiao Hong continued to speak rudely and push his luck, Hou Qingxu would eventually lose his temper, causing unnecessary trouble.
In fact, Hou Qingxu also had Parasite Soul, but he drank too many Longevity Potions, which rendered the Parasite Soul useless.
"Mr. Hou, we'd like to use your connections to leave Capital this time, without attracting anyone's attention. We also want to inquire about any major events that have recently occurred in Capital, and why the checks on outsiders are so strict." Song Yue stated her purpose directly.
"I can send you away, but I'm not entirely clear on what happened in the Capital. It seems something at Headquarters has gone wrong," Hou Qingxu said without hesitation, eager to get rid of these two troublemakers.
Just then, a sudden change occurred. A dark shadow appeared on the ceiling, then quickly spread, covering all directions. Immediately afterwards, distorted Ghost Slaves emerged from the shadows, instantly surrounding everyone.
"Damn it! What bad luck! How come we keep running into Supernatural events wherever we go!" Qiao Hong cursed angrily, feeling utterly speechless.
Hou Qingxu's eyes widened. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the Ghost Shadow controlled by his former subordinate Yan San. Why was it here? Had the Ghost Shadow revived after Yan San's death?
"Retreat first, this place is not safe to stay!" Song Yue took the lead and ran out, followed closely by Hou Qingxu and Qiao Hong, along with some guests and staff who hadn't had time to leave.
Once outside, they realized something was terribly wrong. The entire Hou Family Building was shrouded in shadow, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the Flashlight could only illuminate a few meters ahead.
Screams and cries for help occasionally drifted from the shadows, but after a while, nothing could be heard anymore.
In this suffocatingly terrifying environment, a cold and malevolent aura is spreading; the living are killed by the Ghost Slaves and then transformed into new Ghost Slaves.
Hou Qingxu, Song Yue, and Qiao Hong still have the strength to resist, but the others can hardly even escape. The omnipresent shadows could emerge at any moment to launch an attack from the Ghost Slaves.
Hou Family Building was Hou Qingxu's property. Seeing his employees, with whom he worked day and night, dying one by one, Hou Qingxu was furious. How much compensation would he have to pay afterward?!
In a daze, Hou Qingxu saw a very familiar female face. This woman was leading an army of Ghost Slaves, constantly reaping lives in the shadows.
"Ning Yun! It's Ning Yun! What are you doing here!" Hou Qingxu couldn't help but shout.
Ning Yun heard his voice and grinned exaggeratedly. She had no intention of reminiscing; instead, she launched a fierce attack, each move deadly.
Hou Qingxu was incredulous at the beating. He couldn't believe that Ning Yun actually hit him, let alone that she could beat him!
Shouting "This is impossible!" in his heart, Hou Qingxu was seriously injured by Ning Yun in the short time he was stunned. He subconsciously wanted to drink the Longevity Potion, but he forcibly resisted.
Fortunately, Qiao Hong and Song Yue did not abandon this ally and came to his rescue in time. They just wanted to leave as soon as possible and did not want to cause too much of a commotion and attract the attention of Headquarters.
Following Hu Jiu's orders, Ning Yun is killing people with all her might. Doing such inhumane things in the Capital will inevitably have an extremely bad impact, but Hu Jiu is fearless in order to achieve his goal.
Having generated a sufficiently large number of Ghost Slaves, it's time to proceed with the second step.
Hu Jiu took out several Golden Containers. Once outside the sealed golden environment, the contained Fierce Ghost began to stir.
A drop of filthy, swelling water; a twisted, writhing blade of grass; a red candle; several strangely shaped, terrifying Fierce Ghosts...
After eliminating the ghosts that would directly expose his identity, Hu Jiu took out all the others at once.
In an ordinary residential community in Capital, a middle-aged woman was lying in bed scrolling through her phone, while her husband lay beside her, also scrolling through his phone. They should have been an intimate couple, but they looked more like roommates sharing a life together, one staring at a handsome man on his phone, the other at a beautiful woman, not even bothering to pretend.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of water dripping.
"Did you forget to turn off the tap?" the husband asked impatiently.
"You got up to go to the bathroom just now, you must have not turned it off properly," the wife replied impatiently.
"Go and turn it off."
Why aren't you going?
The two refused to get up, and in the end, neither of them got up. The sound of dripping water was like white noise, which made them both drowsy.
"Ah--"
A scream came from next door.
The couple woke up instantly. "Son!"
They jumped out of bed without even putting on their shoes and rushed into their son's room. The next second, the wife burst into tears.
The room was pitted and corroded, emitting a foul stench. Large drops of water dripped from the ceiling. The boy, who should have been fast asleep in bed, was now rolling around on the floor, clutching his face. The parts of his body that had been hit by the water droplets had begun to rot. As he rolled around in agony, rotten flesh was flung all over the floor, gradually dissolving into murky water stains.
"Dad, Mom, please save me!" the boy cried out desperately. His body was dissolving extremely quickly. His father, who had been frantically dialing emergency services, collapsed to his knees within half a minute, and his newly bought phone fell to the ground with a thud.
The wife, disregarding everything, had already picked up her son's mangled body. The Filthy Water stained her skin, adding another victim to the list. The man, witnessing the gruesome deaths of his wife and son, was overwhelmed by the shock. A drop of water from the ceiling fell on his head, sending a sharp pain through him. He knew he was beyond saving, and in the end, he wept, taking his wife and son with him.
Whether this family of three was lucky or unlucky, they faced their deaths with a clear mind. Many other residents in the same community were killed in their sleep, unaware of what was happening.
The screams that came every now and then eventually woke up the others who were still alive, and the emergency call was made without any problems.
On the other side of the city, although it's late at night, for some people, the nightlife is just beginning.
The young men and women in the bar were having a great time, oblivious to the eerie crimson hue that had crept into the lights.
Why do I suddenly feel a little cold?
"I'm so tired, I can barely lift my arms and legs. I didn't even drink much today..."
"Ouch! Your face!"
"How did you suddenly turn into an old woman!"
The crowd gradually noticed something was wrong. The sudden aging caused a commotion. Some people called the police, some called for emergency medical assistance, some broke down in tears, and some thought they were hallucinating from drinking too much.
They never made it out; the once bustling bar was now filled only with raucous music and the sight of elderly people lying dead on the ground.
A sinister figure held a red candle aloft, wandering back and forth through the streets and alleys, deliberately choosing to go where there were many people. The originally dim candle in the wind became brighter and brighter.
Fine, dense green grass gradually spread across the ground, silently proliferating in the Silence of the night.
In fact, the Capital has a very tight defense against the Supernatural. It is difficult for outside Fierce Ghosts or Ghost Tamers to cause too much trouble. However, it is vulnerable to betrayal by Hu Jiu, one of its own. He knows all too well the weaknesses in the Capital's defenses!
Hu Jiu casually disposed of a Ghost Tamer responsible for night patrols, copied their Supernatural, and stimulated the Fierce Ghost Revival to further disrupt the situation. He shook the blood off his hands and frowned slightly.
"Too slow." He wasn't saying his own actions were slow, but rather that Headquarters' response was too slow. Logically, given Headquarters' capabilities, they should have taken action ten minutes ago.
It's highly unusual that Headquarters' defenses are weaker than his known intelligence suggests.
"The arrow is on the string and must be released. Even if there are problems, I can only go all the way!" Once Hu Jiu made up his mind, he would not change it. This plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain must be carried out!
At this moment, the Headquarters was ringing one urgent phone after another, and all the staff in each department were in operation. Fu Youhua answered the phone, and as the person on the other end kept saying something, Fu Youhua's face gradually turned ashen.
The operators in the liaison room were frantically calling their assigned Ghost Tamer. Although they could sense the terror of Supernatural events, they were usually too far removed from their own lives. But now, something had happened in the Capital, and they didn't know if their relatives and friends would be affected. At this moment, they sincerely hoped that the Ghost Tamer would arrive as soon as possible and clean up the mess in the Capital!
Fu Youhua hung up the phone and jogged to a sealed strategic conference room. After his identity was verified, he eagerly entered the conference hall, which was already full of people, with most of the senior executives present.
Before Fu Youhua could even settle in, someone asked, "What's the situation now? Why is there such a large-scale Supernatural event in the Capital?"
"The situation is very unclear," Fu Youhua responded. "The simultaneous emergence of many different Fierce Ghost is very likely not a coincidence!"
"You mean it was deliberate? Could it be foreign forces?" someone exclaimed in surprise.
Fu Youhua shook his head. "The situation is deteriorating further. With the Supernatural Revival, human survival is already threatened. Although there have been many conflicts between countries, in the face of a racial crisis, no one would be foolish enough to attack the capital of Hua Country. Minor skirmishes and conflicts are nothing, but once the bottom line is crossed, no country can afford our retaliation."
At this point, Fu Youhua turned to Shen Jiliang: "According to the information that has been relayed back, one of the Supernatural events that broke out in the Capital is the resurrected Filthy Water, and the other is the Ghost Grass. The Filthy Water has always been firmly controlled by the Research Department, and after the Ghost Grass was contained, it was recently taken away by the Research Department for further research..."