The Headquarters Meeting and the Pawn Pushed Forward

The Headquarters had just convened a meeting when Zhang Hongwen launched his attack:

"Li Zhaoqiang, the Resources Department's specialist in charge of transporting resources, has absconded with a large amount of Supernatural resources! Lu Mou, you must take responsibility for this!"

"I have joined forces with other departments to apply to higher authorities for administrative punishment of you, temporarily suspending you from your post. Until that resource is recovered, you should report to the Old Cadres Bureau."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mou's already serious expression turned even uglier. He hadn't expected Zhang Hongwen to target him so quickly!

In fact, the Resources Department was not as important as other departments, but even so, Lu Mou could still reap a lot of benefits.

Privately misappropriating some Supernatural resources won't be investigated by anyone, as long as the urgently needed items are provided immediately.

Using the misappropriated resources, Lu Mou secretly recruited many Ghost Tamers.

But those who have reached his position know better than anyone what it means to be forgotten once you're gone.

Ghost Tamers have no sentimentality. Once Lu Mou can no longer provide resources, most of the Ghost Tamers who surround him and serve him will immediately disperse.

For him, it was like falling from heaven to Hell!

However, Lu Mou remained outwardly calm, his tone conveying apology:

"I will obey the Headquarters' arrangements; this responsibility truly belongs to me."

The reason I accepted it so readily is because the outcome was acceptable.

Such a serious dereliction of duty, yet he wasn't detained for investigation; he was merely transferred to another department to sit on the sidelines. Lu Mou was momentarily puzzled. Would Zhang Hongwen be so lenient?

Just as I was thinking this, someone in the meeting said coldly, "Such a big thing has happened, is simply transferring Lu Mou a bit too lenient?"

"Actually, I've always suspected that Lu Mou orchestrated this whole thing, that he bribed someone to steal those resources."

"As far as I know, Lu Mou often secretly misappropriates some things from the Resources Department. If you don't believe me, I have evidence."

"Given this past record, I simply cannot abandon my suspicions about Comrade Lu Mou."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mou's face turned a deep crimson. This was a really harsh accusation!

He hurriedly defended himself. "Don't talk nonsense and make false accusations! You yourself said that as the Minister of the Resources Department, I have the ability to secretly misappropriate resources."

"If that's the case, why should I risk stealing Hu Jiu's resources? Besides, I'm just an ordinary person; Supernatural resources are completely useless to me."

The person who had just criticized Lu Mou said expressionlessly, "I'm not a mind reader, how would I know what you're thinking?"

"To prove your innocence, you need evidence, not your excuses. You and all those involved in the Resources Department who lost such a large sum of resources should be placed under investigation!"

"You should be detained until the resources are recovered to prevent you from evading investigation or colluding with others to flee the country."

His words were accepted by most people.

Zhang Hongwen finally had no choice but to nod reluctantly, "Comrade Lu Mou, you are in charge of the Resources Department. Now that the Resources Department has made such a big mistake, you cannot escape responsibility no matter what!"

Lu Mou's face was ashen.

But Zhang Hongwen suddenly changed the subject and said, "You still have a chance to make amends."

"What opportunity?" Lu Mou asked through gritted teeth.

Zhang Hongwen smiled and said, "It's like this, the lost resources belong to Hu Jiu, the person in charge of Linjiang City. It's unknown how long it will take to recover them. In the meantime, Headquarters is temporarily unable to allocate a batch of the same resources to replenish Hu Jiu's supply."

"So we'll just have to make Hu Jiu bear with it for now; we'll owe him that reward for the time being."

"However, everyone knows the nature of those Ghost Tamer; having lost so many things, they certainly won't let it go easily."

"Comrade Lu Mou, if you can persuade Hu Jiu to forgo these resources for the time being, Headquarters might make an exception for you."

Lu Mou's mouth gaped slightly, his face filled with undisguised shock. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"Hu Jiu is an expert who can solve S-class Supernatural cases on his own in a short time. He's not just for show. How could Headquarters be planning to delay payment?"

Zhang Hongwen sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The amount of those resources is indeed enormous. If we were to gather another portion and leave it in Hu Jiu's hands, it would definitely remain idle for a while. It's better to give it to Ghost Tamer needs it to put it to use."

Lu Mou's heart sank to the bottom. Saying such things would definitely offend people!

Zhang Hongwen continued, "That resource was originally intended for Hu Jiu, so if you really think about it, Hu Jiu also bears some responsibility."

"Why do resources not get lost when I send them to other people, but they get lost when I send them to him?"

"Headquarters is currently overwhelmed with work and doesn't have much energy to help him recover those resources. I think we can treat this resource loss incident as a mission and issue it directly to Hu Jiu, letting him take the initiative to retrieve it."

"If too many of the resources he recovers are missing, Headquarters can make up for it; after all, this is considered force majeure."

"If it can't be found, then we'll have to leave this matter for now. The lost resources belong to him, and Headquarters shouldn't bear this responsibility alone."

Lu Mou was stunned by his twisted story. The resources were stolen by the Headquarters' deliveryman, so how could the responsibility be pinned on Hu Jiu?

I really don't understand. Doesn't Zhang Hongwen fear that such actions would significantly reduce the cohesion of the Ghost Tamers at Headquarters?

Before Lu Mou could speak, the others couldn't sit still any longer and voiced their opposition to Zhang Hongwen.

But Zhang Hongwen was adamant. "No matter how powerful Hu Jiu is, he's still just a Ghost Tamer. Does he dare to turn against Headquarters? If he doesn't take the job, there are plenty of people who can replace him."

"That resource belongs to him. What's wrong with letting him investigate resources that belong to him? Headquarters is very busy right now; he should consider the bigger picture and lighten the burden on Headquarters."

Everyone looked at Zhang Hongwen with expressions that were hard to describe.

Zhang Hongwen, however, remained calm and said, "Let's just consider this a test of Hu Jiu's bottom line."

"This Ghost Tamer is clearly out of control, and may even be showing signs of going astray."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized that Zhang Hongwen wasn't simply being foolish, but had a deeper meaning.

But why does it still feel a bit stupid?

"Comrade Lu Mou, this important task is entrusted to you. You will communicate with Hu Jiu, convey all the contents of our discussion to him, and try to persuade him to accept the Headquarters' proposal."

Zhang Hongwen stared intently at Lu Mou, his face conveying a "I have high hopes for you" expression.

Lu Mou gasped, his voice filled with resistance. "What if Hu Jiu doesn't accept...?"