"Did you understand what I said? If there are no problems, go and inform them." Hu Jiu looked calmly at the mayor's secretary.
"No, no problem, I'll arrange it right away!" the mayor's secretary stammered, barely managing to remain calm. He then hurriedly ran out of the office, afraid that if he was late, he would anger Hu Jiu and be killed.
Seeing the mayor's secretary slip away so quickly, the others dared not make any rash moves. They had suppressed many Ghost Tamers in the past, and seeing those Ghost Tamers helpless and frustrated by them, they inevitably looked down on them, thinking that Ghost Tamers were nothing special.
But what they just witnessed—the mayor being hanged to death—was a wake-up call. The Ghost Tamer in front of them really does kill people; he's completely unreasonable!
The reason Ghost Tamers in the past were bound and manipulated was because they were too reasonable. Once the Ghost Tamers broke free from the rules and moral constraints of human society, killing people became incredibly easy for them!
He Ming sat silently beside Hu Jiu. What he had seen and heard today had a profound impact on his mind, and Hu Jiu's words and actions had a great influence on him.
To be precise, Hu Jiu has been influencing He Ming from beginning to end. After all, He Ming was just an immature high school student before. From the first time they met, Hu Jiu left a deep and colorful mark on his life.
"Is this really okay?" He Ming couldn't help but quietly ask Hu Jiu. Wouldn't such reckless killing lead to repercussions from Headquarters?
Hu Jiu smiled faintly at He Ming: "Do you know what core competitiveness is?"
He Ming was stunned, wondering why Hu Jiu suddenly changed the subject.
Hu Jiu explained, "Since you used to be a high school student, let me use school as an example. Answer me a question: as a student, what is the most important competitive advantage in school?"
He Ming thought for a moment, then said without hesitation, "Results!"
Hu Jiu slapped his thigh. "You got it right, that's a score!"
"As students, your core competitiveness is your grades. Think back to your school days. Even if a classmate with excellent grades makes a mistake, teachers and school leaders will subconsciously favor them, sometimes even covering for them. As long as it's not a particularly serious mistake, teachers and school leaders simply turn a blind eye and pretend not to see it. Do you understand what I mean now?"
He Ming froze on the spot; he seemed to... understand.
Hu Jiu continued, "The core competitiveness of students is their grades, so what is the core competitiveness of Ghost Tamer?"
"Strength!" He Ming blurted out without hesitation.
"That's right, it's all about strength," Hu Jiu affirmed.
"Given the current situation, I think you understand what a powerful Ghost Tamer represents without me having to elaborate. So how could Headquarters possibly hold a powerful Ghost Tamer accountable for such a trivial matter? You need to have confidence in yourself. If you 'accidentally' kill someone, Headquarters will handle it leniently, at most giving you a superficial punishment, and might even help clean up the mess."
"If Headquarters really wants to hold the Ghost Tamer accountable, believe me, over 90% of the Ghost Tamer in the world are heinous criminals deserving of death, and even being shot ten times wouldn't be an exaggeration."
After hearing Hu Jiu's words, He Ming frowned, seemingly uncomfortable with this dark side. "So, will Headquarters really just let the Ghost Tamers do whatever they want forever?"
Hu Jiu thought for a moment, "Unless Headquarters possesses the absolute power to decisively suppress all Ghost Tamers with ease, this is the only option."
"If the state can allow capitalists to grow and exploit the masses, and allow the powerful to use mental illness to escape punishment, then the Headquarters will naturally allow the Ghost Tamer crimes in private. Everything they do is to maintain stability, not for justice or fairness. The weight of the word 'stability' far outweighs everything else, so... it doesn't matter if someone dies innocently. There are countless innocent people who have died unjustly in this world. Just check the police records; there are so many cold cases that have gone unsolved, and sometimes we even have to rely on public opinion to interfere with the judiciary."
He Ming wanted to retort, but he didn't know what to say. Hu Jiu reminded him meaningfully, "How long have we been staying in Langzhou City? Headquarters hasn't contacted you or me yet."
He Ming froze on the spot.
Meanwhile, the mayor's secretary was frantically making phone calls, contacting each of the leaders one by one, wanting to know how to handle the current predicament.
"Another hothead trying to establish his authority?" A disdainful laugh came from the other end of the phone. "What's there to be afraid of? Does he dare to kill you all? It's just a way to make an example of you. Just go along with it on the surface, no need to worry too much."
The mayor's secretary chuckled, "Easy for you to say, standing there like that! The knife hasn't been thrown at these people yet, so they have no idea just how dangerous Hu Jiu really is!"
He quickly hung up the phone and then sent messages to the heads of other departments. Whether they were willing to come or not was of no concern to him! Saving his own life was the most important thing!
He would elaborate on the details for people he was close to, earnestly reminding them that they absolutely had to attend the meeting; for those he wasn't close to, he would just pass on a few words, omitting even the mayor's death—anyone knows how to use euphemisms, right?
After the notification was given, the mayor's secretary respectfully handed a personnel file to Hu Jiu. A local official is more powerful than a distant one; now that Hu Jiu held his life in his hands, he would work diligently for Hu Jiu. This is the wisdom of those who understand the times!
As Hu Jiu silently reviewed the documents, time slowly passed. Several people entered the conference room one after another. Some of them had obviously rushed over, with beads of sweat on their foreheads. Upon entering, they saw Hu Jiu and another Ghost Tamer, He Ming.
Many of them knew that He Ming was a target, but now the situation has clearly changed; the mayor's body is still there!
Hu Jiu ignored these people and continued to look through the documents.
Those people quietly and obediently found seats and sat down. In fact, they were very annoyed, but they didn't say it out loud. In the past, the people of Langzhou City had cooperated and conspired to deal with a few Ghost Tamers. In their eyes Ghost Tamers were nothing special, so it was normal for them to Ghost Tamer.
Seeing that Hu Jiu was ignoring them, some people picked up their phones and started contacting others in the group chat.
"Where is Chu Yan? Such a big thing has happened, why hasn't he shown up yet?"
"Chu Yan is currently at Langzhou University, handling matters there, and can't get away for the time being!"