"The Research Department has no problems whatsoever!" Shen Jiliang stated firmly. "All experiments are conducted in laboratories made of gold; there's no possibility of any Supernatural leaks!"
"Then how do you explain the Filthy Water and Ghost Grass that are causing trouble in the Capital?" someone asked directly.
"If I had known, I would have already found a way to solve the problem. Why would I be sitting here talking nonsense!" Shen Jiliang was unusually out of control, and not only him, but everyone else present was also in a similar state, feeling both shocked and angry.
This is the Capital! How could something like this happen? If word gets international, we'll lose all face!
"Alright, stop arguing." Fu Youhua spoke, picking up a document and frowning. "There's something very noteworthy: among the many Supernatural incidents that have occurred in Capital, there seem to be traces of Longevity Candles. Many of the victims were young people, but they died in an elderly state. After investigating the nearby surveillance footage, it has been confirmed that they were indeed Longevity Candles!"
Longevity Candle!
This name hasn't appeared in a long time. Shen Jiliang lowered his eyes and said, "This is a Supernatural Item that a Ghost Tamer named Zou Cong brought out from Longevity Village. However, Zou Cong betrayed the Headquarters and joined a Civilian Organization called Beifeng Commune. Later, Beifeng Commune was besieged and his whereabouts were not found. Now he's back in business?"
Fu Youhua nodded. "Beifeng Commune is supported by a mysterious organization, which we now know is called Big Dipper. Everyone has seen information about Big Dipper; it has existed for much longer than the Headquarters, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, where there were already traces of their activities..."
Headquarters is Headquarters. Although Big Dipper is powerful, Headquarters has still uncovered many clues. Although it has not yet touched the core of Big Dipper will eventually be completely exposed as time goes by.
This is the advantage of the state apparatus, which is difficult for Civilian Organizations to match.
"Is it possible that the Supernatural events in the Capital were caused by the Big Dipper?" someone asked.
"We can't be sure," Fu Youhua replied. "Right now, resolving these Supernatural events and restoring the city to normal as soon as possible is the top priority. Investigating the mastermind behind them can be postponed for now."
"We've already deployed all the Ghost Tamers trained by the Research Department." Shen Jiliang adjusted his glasses. "We have a mature containment plan for the Filthy Water, so there's no need to worry about that. The key issue is the Ghost Grass. I checked before the meeting, and the Ghost Grass at Headquarters is still under containment. So where did this Ghost Grass come from?"
"It could be Supernatural that was missed in Xihe City last time," Fu Youhua said.
Shen Jiliang said coldly, "That would be for the best. The remaining Supernatural are definitely not as powerful as the original entity, and it would be easier to contain them. But we can't rely on luck. Last time, He Ming contained the Ghost Grass. Let's bring him back. His abilities are very suitable for handling Supernatural events in the Capital."
Fu Youhua disagreed. "He Ming is currently in charge of the mission to explore the Ghostly Ancient Tomb, and there are already many problems at Lanqiong Mountain. Besides, Headquarters isn't short-staffed. Let him stay there and keep watch."
"Get all the Ghost Tamers stationed in the Capital moving! We must bring the situation under control before dawn!"
In order to be efficient, almost Ghost Tamers at Headquarters were mobilized, which correspondingly weakened the Headquarters' defenses. This was exactly what Hu Jiu wanted; he had long ago entertained the crazy idea of infiltrating the Headquarters and stealing its treasures...
The tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain was effective. At this time, the Headquarters was poorly defended, and those powerful Ghost Tamer were particularly famous in his previous life had not yet grown up. This was the best time for him to steal the treasure!
Of course, Hu Jiu's main goal is to achieve [Wish Fulfillment]!
The Fierce Ghost codenamed [Wish Fulfillment] takes the form of a Bronze Ancient Tree. It was obtained from Ghostly Ancient Tomb by Headquarters. Anyone who touches the Bronze Tree will have the ability to "Wish Fulfillment come true," and their thoughts can be twisted to distort reality. There is a high probability that it is the Vengeful Ghost Puzzle that Hu Jiu needs.
Although Hu Jiu had never seen the Bronze Tree in person and didn't know if he could control it, he was willing to take the risk and wreak havoc in the Capital just for the sake of that possibility!
My conscience bothered me for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by tension and excitement.
The Headquarters' warehouse, which houses Supernatural Items and imprisons Fierce Ghost, is naturally heavily fortified, making it difficult to break in from the outside, but much easier for personnel to infiltrate from the inside.
During his surveillance of He Ming, Hu Jiu also gained a preliminary understanding of the personnel structure within the Headquarters, which was enough for him to find an opportunity to follow him incognito and easily infiltrate the secret containment room.
The containment chamber is built with a layer of gold in its construction materials; if someone were to be accidentally trapped here, they would likely become a sitting duck.
In his previous life, Hu Jiu wasn't qualified to visit such a high-class place. This was his first time here, and he actually saw some new and interesting things.
There is one containment area specifically for vengeful Fierce Ghost in their natural forms, such as [Demon Wind], [Yin Thunder], [Ghost Fire], and [Grave Soil]; and another containment area specifically for vengeful Fierce Ghost in the form of funeral items, such as [Wreaths ], [Mourning Ghosts ], and [Tombstones ]. Hu Jiu did not see the specific forms of these ghosts, but only obtained their names from the labels on the doors of the containment rooms.
Although he is curious, he won't waste time on such trivial matters.
"Something terrible has happened! The containment chambers at Headquarters have been breached!"
An alarm sounded, and a staff member from Headquarters quickly informed Fu Youhua of this momentous news.
Bang--
Fu Youhua slammed his hand on the table. "What did you say?! Headquarters was hacked? You're kidding me!"
"I'm not joking, Minister, there are indeed signs of a breach at Headquarters," the staff member explained.
Fu Youhua's face flushed red. He suddenly remembered the series of Supernatural events that had erupted in Capital today. Damn it... could this be a conspiracy?
What could be the purpose of someone who uses external chaos to distract the Headquarters guards and then infiltrates the Headquarters?
"How did you discover the intruders?" Fu Youhua asked again.
The staff member replied, "The containment chamber codenamed [Wish Fulfillment] was opened. We received an alert immediately. Someone bypassed the internal network's defenses in some unknown way and opened the containment chamber, but we didn't detect anything unusual on our surveillance..."
"Wish Fulfillment?" Fu Youhua's anger suddenly subsided, his expression twisting slightly as he forced a smile, "If their goal is [Wish Fulfillment], then they've made a wasted trip."
Hu Jiu was unaware that Headquarters had detected the intrusion. He quickly traversed the massive containment chamber and discovered the containment cell where [Wish Fulfillment] was being held.
Because of the Bronze Ancient Tree's enormous size, its containment chamber is unique and not difficult to find. Although the containment chamber is a sealed room made of pure gold, it has a door, which gives Hu Jiu an opportunity to exploit. His Supernatural abilities cannot penetrate the containment chamber, but they can interfere with electrical circuits and networks...
Then he was doused with cold water.
The containment chamber opened, but it was empty.
The Bronze Ancient Tree codenamed "[Wish Fulfillment]" does not exist!
Hu Jiu turned and ran without wasting a second. The operation had failed, but he didn't have time to stand there and think about how to escape from Headquarters first.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed. I had already taken ninety-nine steps, but in the end, I still crashed.
Why isn't the Bronze Ancient Tree in the containment chamber?
Was it taken by Headquarters for research, or did containment fail?
In the corridor leading to the Headquarters containment chamber, a team of fully armed soldiers cautiously approached. Since the surveillance cameras failed to capture the intruders, they had to find the unknown enemy themselves.
Light, rhythmic footsteps reached their ears. The group didn't notice that Hu Jiu had just brushed past them. The stealth state he gained using the Ghost Book could deceive most people; only those stronger than him, or those Ghost Tamer skills were all focused on perception, could see through his disguise.
But I wonder if the Headquarters has trained such Ghost Tamer. Even if they have, they are probably still dealing with Supernatural events in the Capital.
Just when Hu Jiu thought the matter was temporarily over and he was about to leave Headquarters smoothly, a chilling aura suddenly enveloped him, and in an instant, the surrounding environment changed completely.
Blood flowed freely on the ground, and the air was filled with a stench. The sky above seemed to have turned into a black curtain, with countless fireflies dancing in the air, like stars twinkling, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, never stopping.
"Ghost Domain?" Hu Jiu stopped and looked around, but saw no one.
"I've enveloped the Headquarters with my Ghost Domain. I sense that the intruder is still within my Ghost Domain, but I can't pinpoint his exact location!" A voice echoed within the Ghost Domain, yet no one was visible.
Occasionally, streaks of light would flash past Hu Jiu, but they would only pass by and never touch him.
At this moment, the master of this Ghost Domain was also very annoyed. It felt like he had left his phone in a messy room. He knew the phone was in the small area of the room, but he just couldn't find it. He was furious!
"You little thief, get out here right now!" he cursed, revealing his figure in the Ghost Domain; he was a middle-aged man.
But he wasn't just shouting; with fireflies darting about in dense clusters within the Ghost Domain, he was clearly launching a wide-ranging, all-encompassing attack, hoping to strike his enemy.
However, Hu Jiu will become ethereal.
If a middle-aged man doesn't reveal his body, it's fine; but once he does, he becomes a sitting duck.
Hu Jiu silently circled behind him, and his dark, Ghost Hand touched his neck.
For a moment, the middle-aged man froze, but after only a few seconds, he regained his senses and focused all his attacks on his back.
He was no weakling Ghost Tamer after all; the power of the Ghost Hand alone couldn't subdue him.
Hu Jiu remained in a ethereal state, thought for a moment, and then blew a breath towards the man's head. The next moment, the middle-aged man's already precarious hairline became a completely bald head. Hu Jiu reached out and covered the man's eyes, obscuring his vision, while the rich aroma of alcohol filled the air, directly assaulting his nostrils...
After a series of attacks, the middle-aged man was stunned and seriously injured, but he was still alive and kicking.
Hu Jiu didn't want to waste any more time with him, so he violently tore a corner of his Ghost Domain and slipped away.
"Ah--" A cry of pain came from behind, and the Ghost Domain that had enveloped the Headquarters dissipated.
"Well, did you catch him?" Fu Youhua's voice came from afar.
The middle-aged man shook his head, forcing himself to save face. "The opponent wasn't very strong, but he was extremely skilled at concealment. He could even hide in my Ghost Domain. I was ambushed by him by accident."
Fu Youhua glanced at his bald head, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing. He thought to himself, "Forget it, he's just an idiot who drank too much of the Longevity Potion. There's no need to hold his mistake against him."
Afterwards, Shen Jiliang asked, "Were the intruders after the Bronze Ancient Tree?"
Fu Youhua nodded heavily.
Shen Jiliang sighed, "Information about the Bronze Tree is all classified; not many people know about it. How could such intelligence have been leaked?"
Fu Youhua pondered, "Could it be that the Headquarters' top management has been infiltrated by an unknown force? If that Bronze Tree hadn't been lured away by the Ghostly Ancient Tomb a few days ago, it probably would have really been stolen!"
The Bronze Tree had always been quiet, behaving like a Supernatural Item, but it was originally unearthed from Ghostly Ancient Tomb. Recently, the Ghostly Ancient Tomb has been appearing in the vicinity, and the Bronze Tree, for some unknown reason, ran away. It seems to have some kind of instinctive consciousness, wanting to return to the tomb!
For this matter, Headquarters has allocated a considerable number of personnel to explore the tomb. The Bronze Tree and other terrifying entities within the tomb must be kept under Headquarters' control as much as possible!
"Actually, Headquarters got lucky back then. The Ghostly Ancient Tomb was in its early stages of revival and not very active. The archaeological team excavated the tomb as if it were an ordinary ancient tomb and obtained a lot of valuable ghosts and Supernatural Items. Otherwise, Headquarters would have been powerless to contain the Bronze Tree's terrifying abilities. Now that the Bronze Tree's containment has failed, how does Headquarters plan to capture it back?" Shen Jiliang said calmly, but his tone was tinged with sarcasm.
Fu Youhua smiled wryly, "Let's just take it one step at a time. This current situation is really damn headache-inducing!"
Shen Jiliang comforted him, "Things are alright domestically, but some of the smaller neighboring countries are in complete chaos. In South Korea, it's said that the government and chaebols have been controlled by the Ghost Tamers and have become puppets. Doesn't that make you feel better?"
While his own success was certainly something to be proud of, the failures of others were even more gratifying! Fu Youhua's expression softened slightly, but the thought of those deeply hidden and mysterious organizations in the country still gave him a headache.
The Big Dipper and Playing Cards are just the tip of the iceberg of these behemoths that have only recently come to light. And then there's the Red Moon, like a stinking cockroach—it can never be completely eradicated, and it constantly swarms with followers. When a clearly visible Red Moon follower appears in a region, there's no doubt that a group has likely already formed in secret!
"Minister, we've caught two suspicious individuals!" someone suddenly reported to Fu Youhua.
Fu Youhua immediately perked up, "Take him in for questioning immediately!"
"Let me go! I'm Ghost Tamer from Headquarters!" Hou Qingxu shouted as he was arrested, while Song Yue remained silent.
As the three of them fled the Hou Family Building, they were shocked to find that the Capital was in chaos. They hadn't wanted to get involved and were about to leave the Capital when a stranger suddenly stopped them and, without saying a word, packed them up and took them to the Headquarters entrance.
Qiao Hong has already been eliminated for his insolent remarks, and Song Yue can only accept her bad luck now. No matter what, she will not betray the organization...