Capital, Headquarters.
Fu Youhua hung up the call with Hu Jiu, his expression unusually solemn.
He was sitting in a conference room, where senior leaders from Headquarters were also present. They had heard the entire call, and every single one of them looked rather grim.
"Just now, the Ghost Tamer codenamed [Obituary] cursed Hu Jiu, and in less than a second, [Obituary] suffered a backlash and is now seriously injured and unconscious."
"Previously, the [Secret Peeker] spied on Hu Jiu's secrets, resulting in severe injuries and permanent disability; he is still in critical condition..."
As Shen Jiliang spoke, his brows furrowed tightly. [The Secret Peeker] and [The Obituary] were the two top experts at Headquarters. [The Secret Peeker] was skilled at gathering intelligence, while [The Obituary] was skilled at long-range curses that ignored spatial distance. But now it was clear that they had both fallen at the hands of the same person.
It is precisely for this reason that the Headquarters has reached a consensus on how to treat Hu Jiu; at least under the current circumstances, they do not want to sever ties with Hu Jiu, this hidden and mysterious powerhouse.
Moreover, Hu Jiu is not simply a violent and dangerous individual; he can indeed play a significant role. For example, during this trip to Langzhou, Hu Jiu investigated the hidden situation at Langzhou University and Langzhou City within a single day, dealt with the Ghost Tamer, and even uncovered relevant intelligence about the Beidou Organization. Such high efficiency... if Hu Jiu were an upright person, he would be perfect!
"Since things have come to this, we can only tolerate Hu Jiu's existence for now. If he behaves well in the future, it's not impossible to let bygones be bygones." Fu Youhua interrupted Shen Jiliang, defining the nature of the matter.
He then added, "Right now, the most important thing is the information about Big Dipper and the Chu Family. We've always known very little about this mysterious organization, Big Dipper, and now we've finally obtained some useful intelligence."
"Big Dipper is not a monolithic entity; it's riddled with internal factions, which is good news for Headquarters. However, it's rumored that the Chu Family has already seized control of several remote cities—that's outrageous!"
"Now, we need to verify the authenticity of this intelligence as soon as possible. If the intelligence is true, then Headquarters must quickly find out which cities have been occupied by the Chu Family, and then crush this cancerous tumor of the Chu Family with lightning speed!"
Fu Youhua spoke passionately, but it was all just talk. If the Chu Family were willing to submit to Headquarters, his words could be completely ignored.
Shen Jiliang added from the side, "I think Headquarters could try to start by looking at the internal conflicts within Big Dipper. Don't forget that our current collaborator Prophet, is also a member of Big Dipper. Obviously, the faction the Prophet belongs to is not the same as the Tianji faction represented by the Chu Family; they are even hostile to each other."
"Find an opportunity to ask the Prophet; it doesn't matter if it comes at a price. Try to get information about the Chu Family from him."
"At the same time, Hu Jiu and the Chu Family have become mortal enemies, and we must make full use of this..."
The meeting proceeded in full swing, not only to discuss Hu Jiu and the Chu Family, but also the unusual Endless Corridor, the dire domestic situation, the South Korea Ghost Tamer's attempt to make contact with the United States, and the super soldiers being developed by the Research Department...
Meanwhile, in Langzhou City, He Ming had already gone to a hotel to rest, while Hu Jiu, who didn't need sleep, changed his appearance and went to the Crocodile Bar.
The trip to Langzhou was very fruitful. Chu Shan was killed and the origin of the Mirage Ghost was learned. However, these things had almost nothing to do with the rebirth, and the clues to the rebirth investigation went cold.
Chu Yan, the person in charge of Langzhou City, will definitely be dealt with, which will leave the position vacant. Rather than handing it over to someone else, it's better to give it to one of our own.
Gu Dao would be perfect.
He was a local of Langzhou City, very familiar with the area, and had been operating there for a long time. He was also one of Hu Jiu's undercover agents. Why would he let someone else benefit from such an easy opportunity to promote his own person?
Although Gu Dao was not a true Ghost Tamer at this time, it would be incredibly easy for Hu Jiu Ruo to present him as a pseudo- Ghost Tamer.
After exchanging words with Gu Dao for a while as a high-ranking executive of the Playing Cards, Hu Jiu turned and left the Crocodile Bar.
Hu Jiu then found Lin Lipeng and took back the Bronze Tree from him. When he spoke with Fu Youhua earlier, Fu Youhua hadn't mentioned Lin Lipeng to him, probably because he didn't want him to come into contact with anything related to the Bronze Tree.
Of course, Fu Youhua didn't ask how to deal with the Nightmare that Chu Shan was controlling, because it would be pointless to ask. In the past, Hu Jiu had never handed over any of the Fierce Ghosts he had taken in, let alone something as valuable as Nightmare!
Nightmare should originally be classified as Intangible Fierce Ghost without a physical form. However, Chu Shan controlled it and was killed. Now, Chu Shan is equivalent to the physical form of Nightmare, but it is difficult to revive because the Ghost-Drawing Talisman are restricting it.
Ghost-Drawing Talisman are likely a rare type of Fierce Ghost with minimal side effects on humans.
It seems that there are not only second-generation officials and second-generation rich kids in this world, but also second-generation ghosts. To be precise, Chu Shan should be an nth-generation ghost. Others struggle in Supernatural events and rely on luck to control ghosts, but Chu Shan does not need to go through these things. His elders will naturally help him choose powerful Fierce Ghosts with minimal negative impact.
For Chu Shan, controlling Fierce Ghost was like a rite of passage into adulthood. In some ways, he was similar to He Ming, not needing to worry about survival and appearing very relaxed, unlike ordinary Ghost Tamer were always on edge.
Having completed his mission, Lin Lipeng was dismissed by Hu Jiu. He didn't kill him for the time being, but kept this pawn in the game, perhaps to be used to frame someone in the future.
In the early hours of the morning in Langzhou City, the Silence streets seemed forgotten by time. The lonely streetlights cast their glow on the empty roads, adding a touch of mystery to the tranquility. Hu Jiu wandered the streets silently, like a ghost, lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, the eastern sky gradually began to lighten.
Just then...
Buzz--
The Satellite Phone suddenly vibrated; it was He Ming calling. Hu Jiu answered immediately.
Bang--
A loud vibration came from the other end of the phone, along with some random crackling noises, making Hu Jiu raise an eyebrow.
Immediately following was He Ming's urgent cry for help, "Old Hu, something terrible has happened! Someone's come knocking on our door!"
"I'm currently in the Langzhou City government building. Two strange Ghost Tamers have broken in and are harassing me. With my abilities, I can only defend myself. The situation is very urgent! They were sent by the Chu Family to retrieve Chu Shan's body..."
Before He Ming could finish speaking, Hu Jiu's figure had already vanished from the spot. He wasn't using the Ghost Domain to travel, but rather he had used spatial jump, instantly teleporting to He Ming's side...