After leaving the Ghost Village and reaching a safe location, the Pinshishi wanted to drive away alone, but was stopped. He had inadvertently learned too many secrets and had to go to the Investigation Bureau to sign a confidentiality agreement.
After resting for a while, the group set off back to the Investigation Bureau.
When he returned to the Investigation Bureau, Wen Jingyan had a vague feeling that something was wrong; he could smell alcohol in the air.
The three of them had just returned from Hell Ghost Village, their clothes still tainted with the stench of corpses, while the Headquarters hall was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.
"Yo~, you're finally back." Cheng Linzhou's voice came from the stairwell.
Wen Jingyan looked up and saw the bureau chief, dressed in a sharp suit, with a bright smile on his face and his eyes sparkling with an excitement that Wen Jingyan had never seen before.
Feng Qian muttered under his breath, "Is Director Cheng... possessed by some evil spirit?"
Du Yan acted as if he hadn't seen or heard anything, and directly took the Pinshishi to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Wen Jingyan shook his head almost imperceptibly at Feng Qian. He didn't sense any Supernatural aura from Cheng Linzhou; the other party was probably just genuinely happy.
"Come with me, I have good news to announce!" Cheng Linzhou turned and walked towards the office, his steps as light as a 200-pound child.
Wen Jingyan and Feng Qian followed behind Cheng Linzhou.
In the corridor, Wen Jingyan suddenly noticed that the shadow at his feet was somewhat blurry, as if it were being disturbed by some kind of force.
He paused, then stomped hard on his own shadow.
"Ah--"
A cry of pain suddenly came from the shadows, and then a human head emerged from the shadows.
Feng Qian was startled, Wen Jingyan sneered, about to make a move, when Cheng Linzhou shouted, "Chen Zhanji, don't joke around!"
Upon hearing this, the head in the shadows chuckled sheepishly, and then it crawled out of the shadows.
He was tall and thin, seemingly a part of the shadow himself. He wore the Investigation Bureau uniform, but his entire being had an unnatural black tone, as if light could not illuminate him.
"I've long admired your name, Consultant Wen." Chen Zhanji's voice carried a strange muffled tone. "Director Cheng has mentioned you to us quite a bit."
Wen Jingyan glanced at him, recognizing him as a Ghost Tamer as well, and asked, "And who is this?"
"Chen Zhanji, Ghost Tamer recruited by the Investigation Bureau from the public, has mastered the 'Ghost Shadow'," Cheng Linzhou replied.
Feng Qian rolled his eyes in annoyance, clearly displeased with Chen Zhanji's behavior of intimidating his colleague for no reason.
Wen Jingyan simply nodded, indicating that he understood.
Chen Zhanji exuded a kind of naive and foolish air about him; his legs would occasionally sink into the shadows when he walked.
Cheng Linzhou pushed open the office door, Wen Jingyan walked in and saw another person sitting in the office, a fair-skinned young man who was quiet and gloomy.
After Cheng Linzhou sat down, he introduced, "This is Fang Zhitu, also Ghost Tamer recruited by the Investigation Bureau from the public, and he even controls two ghosts!"
As he said this, a smug look couldn't be hidden on his face, and his eyes kept glancing at Wen Jingyan.
Wen Jingyan an eyebrow, as if he understood something. He and Feng Qian walked to the conference table and sat down without making a sound.
"How's the situation in Lan City?" Cheng Linzhou asked.
Before Feng Qian could answer, Cheng Linzhou turned to Fang Zhitu and said, "By the way, did you know that Xiao Fang just dealt with a Supernatural incident in Lishui Bay last night? He solved the problem in ten minutes!"
Feng Qian's report was abruptly interrupted, and he immediately realized that the bureau chief's old man was up to no good again.
Wen Jingyan watched as Cheng Linzhou flaunted the two newcomers like they were new toys, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. He realized that Cheng Linzhou felt the Investigation Bureau had gained confidence and no longer needed to rely on him as an advisor, so his attitude naturally changed.
After praising Fang Zhitu, Cheng Linzhou was clearly still not satisfied, so he opened the computer on his desk and showed a document to Wen Jingyan and Feng Qian.
A photo of a man appeared on the computer screen. "Li Ming, 29 years old, perfectly embodying the 'Blood Handprint,' currently undergoing ability testing in the laboratory."
At this point, Cheng Linzhou's tone became meaningful. "Actually, training a Ghost Tamer in a laboratory doesn't consume many resources. At least... it's cheaper than hiring a consultant, and not as expensive as Lucky Casino project!"
The atmosphere in the office suddenly became strange. Feng Qian's face flushed red. No matter how slow he was to understand, he understood what Cheng Linzhou meant.
The Investigation Bureau has added three more Ghost Tamer, one of whom is a master who has controlled two Fierce Ghosts. Cheng Linzhou feels confident and no longer needs to tolerate Feng Qian Wen Jingyan's "bad habits".
Previously, the Investigation Bureau only had two Ghost Tamer, and most resources were allocated to them. When Feng Qian was in charge of the Lucky Casino project, he took the opportunity to inflate expenses and embezzle gold quotas for his own use.
But you can't blame him. The department responsible for making the gold products cut corners so badly that they even dared to embezzle the Golden Containers used to imprison the Fierce Ghost. The entire Investigation Bureau, or rather the entire administrative department, was rotten to the core. Feng Qian just wanted to make more plans for himself.
As for Wen Jingyan, he did not "embezzle" like Feng Qian. He simply obeyed orders but not directives. Moreover, his position in the Investigation Bureau was even higher than that of Cheng Linzhou, the bureau chief, at one point. This was even more intolerable to Cheng Linzhou than embezzlement.
Wen Jingyan understood that Cheng Linzhou was probably playing a game of power or a system of checks and balances, giving him and Feng Qian a warning and demonstrating his power and status as the bureau chief.
How should I put it?
It's pretty boring.
Wen Jingyan is a centenarian who has experienced too much, so he wouldn't have the obvious emotional fluctuations that Feng Qian does.
No matter how much science and technology develop and progress, there is almost no room for improvement in human nature itself; human history is just a constant repetition.
Wen Jingyan couldn't help but recall the previous era of Supernatural phenomena, where the government's attitude towards Ghost Tamers was almost identical to that of the current government.
On the one hand, they need to use Ghost Tamers to combat Supernatural events, and on the other hand, they treat Ghost Tamers as non-human beings and are wary of them at all times. At the beginning, they respected the powerful Ghost Tamers from the common people and cultivated Ghost Tamer were completely obedient to them. After that, they began to suppress the grassroots Ghost Tamers from the common people.
Many Ghost Tamer were wholeheartedly devoted to the country and its people died because of this suspicion and suppression.
When the Ghost Tamer is racking their brains and facing imminent death in the most dangerous Supernatural events, there are always some high-ranking figures who, out of selfishness, conceal crucial information, justifying it with the excuse. "This is a secret, of utmost importance. Leaking it could cause huge losses, so they shouldn't know."
Thinking of this, Wen Jingyan suddenly felt a sense of dejection, and he said listlessly, "Congratulations, Director."
Cheng Linzhou felt that Wen Jingyan's reaction was a bit off, but before he could say anything, he heard Wen Jingyan say again:
"The situation in Lan City has just worsened. Preliminary estimates suggest that over a dozen A-rank or higher, even approaching S-class, Fierce Ghost Revival. The Investigation Bureau now has fresh blood, so let's handle this matter as soon as possible."
Cheng Linzhou's smile froze on his face.
The smile doesn't disappear, it just moves on.
Feng Qian's lips curled into a malicious smile as he enjoyed the bureau chief's unpleasant expression. He had been hesitating whether to reveal Wen Jingyan's unusual behavior in the Ghost Village.
Now it seems there's no need to say anything, because Wen Jingyan is more reliable than the Investigation Bureau!
Feng Qian even considered keeping the existence of the black box a secret for Wen Jingyan. He would have to find Du Yan and Pinshishi later and shut them up.
The black box is a Supernatural Item with extremely strong defenses. Feng Qian was afraid that if the Investigation Bureau found out, they would use moral blackmail to demand that Wen Jingyan over for confiscation.
If the confiscated black box can be used to handle Supernatural events, that would be fine. The real fear is that this treasure will end up being hoarded by some people.
"You're not kidding?" Cold sweat was already dripping from Cheng Linzhou's forehead. He had personally experienced Supernatural events and often reviewed the files on Fierce Ghosts in the laboratory, so he knew clearly what A- Fierce Ghost and S-class Fierce Ghosts represented.
Wen Jingyan nodded solemnly and recounted his experiences in the Ghost Village, making some revisions.
Feng Qian, standing by, added fuel to the fire, exaggerating the seriousness of the incident.
Perhaps it's not an exaggeration, but the sheer terror of the Supernatural events in Lan City has exceeded his imagination.
After listening to their accounts, Cheng Linzhou frowned. Just as he was about to say something, Wen Jingyan spoke first, "Feng Qian and I were overworked this time and cannot go out on missions for a while. Fortunately, the Investigation Bureau has a new Ghost Tamer who can take over our work."
Feng Qian immediately chimed in, "Ah, yes, yes, we've indeed overexerted ourselves and need to rest for a while."
The two men's intention to quit was too obvious. Cheng Linzhou was indeed flustered at first, but seeing their attitude, he lost his temper and waved his hand to approve their request to go back and rest.
Wen Jingyan nodded, turned around and left the office. Feng Qian followed closely behind; he was going to talk to Du Yan.
After the two left, Cheng Linzhou used them as negative examples to educate Chen Zhanji and Fang Zhitu.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhanji was a simpleton; unless he was told something explicitly, he seemed not to understand anything.
Fang Zhitu remained silent throughout.
Seeing the two of them like this, Cheng Linzhou felt a surge of anger. Were there no Ghost Tamer were even remotely normal humans?!
He lost patience with his subordinates and, after assigning them tasks, dismissed them.
Ultimately, Chen Zhanji and Fang Zhitu were both Ghost Tamers recruited from the common people. Since neither of them showed any obedience, Cheng Linzhou naturally regarded them only as expendable resources to be used in the transition.
The Ghost Tamers produced by the Investigation Bureau's laboratory are more likely to gain Cheng Linzhou's trust, after all, they come from military backgrounds and are more obedient. After successfully controlling the Fierce Ghost, these people will receive more loyalty training, making them more useful than Ghost Tamers from untrained backgrounds.
In fact, the Investigation Bureau's experiments on artificial Ghost Tamers did not find a safe and effective method; they simply relied on sheer numbers and gambled with human lives.
Even if the success rate is low, as long as enough people participate in the experiment, someone will definitely succeed.
That's how Li Ming got his "Blood Handprint." Rather than calling him a successful experimenter, it's more accurate to say he was a survivor.
The experiment was extremely cruel, but none of the high-ranking leaders cared. In their view, dying from participating in the experiment of creating Ghost Tamer was an honor of sacrificing oneself for the country.
At most, they might shed a few crocodile tears when they see that string of death statistics.
With Li Ming as a successful example, Cheng Linzhou and the senior officials of the Investigation Bureau hoped that the laboratory could produce more Ghost Tamers as soon as possible.
Ideally, each high-ranking official should have Ghost Tamer their personal protector. After all, as leaders, they are the brains of the country and society, and their personal safety is of paramount importance.
On the other side, after leaving the director's office, Feng Qian went directly to Du Yan.
After a brief exchange, unsurprisingly, Du Yan agreed almost without hesitation to help conceal the existence of the black box.
It can only be said that the current Investigation Bureau is extremely unpopular.
Du Yan, one of those in the know, sided with Feng Qian, leaving only one remaining Pinshishi.
"Don't worry, I've already warned that internet celebrity. He won't dare to say anything reckless anytime soon," Du Yan said confidently.
Feng Qian replied, "He'd better never talk nonsense."
Du Yan shook his head. "This kind of thing can't be kept secret for long, unless Wen Jingyan never uses that black box again."
Feng Qian thought for a moment, a look of annoyance appearing on his face.
Du Yan said, "Consultant Wen himself hasn't said anything, so why are you jumping around like this?"
Feng Qian waved his hand. "You don't understand."
He didn't know what Cheng Linzhou was up to, but he sensed malice from Cheng Linzhou's attitude. By pushing Wen Jingyan to the front to attract ridicule, he would draw less attention to himself, giving him more room to maneuver.
At this time, Wen Jingyan had returned home, not to the address arranged for him by the Investigation Bureau, but to his own home.
He didn't plan to go back to the Investigation Bureau, firstly because of Cheng Linzhou's attitude—he didn't owe the Investigation Bureau anything.
On the other hand... he sensed the signs of impending disaster. After all, he had lived for so many years and was somewhat sensitive to certain things.
In the previous era of the Supernatural, ever since the Supernatural Revival, it has been developing in a direction that is detrimental to human survival, constantly sliding into the abyss.
In short, the level of Supernatural events will increase, and the harm they cause will become more and more serious. Unless a super-powerful Ghost Tamer can dominate the world and is comparable to a god can be born to turn the tide of the deteriorating situation, the Supernatural Revival will inevitably lead to the end of the world.
Such a god-like figure did indeed appear in the last era of Supernatural, but unfortunately, there will never be one like him in the present day.
In theory, the existence of Fierce Ghosts and Ghost Tamers should be in a certain balance. As the number of Supernatural events caused by vengeful Fierce Ghosts increases, the number of people involved in these events also increases, leading to an increase in the number of ghost Fierce Ghost Tamer Supernatural. These Ghost Tamers then turn around and fight against the Fierce Ghosts, thus slowing down the process of Supernatural Revival.
However, in this era, the Supernatural Revival has been artificially accelerated, while the emergence of Ghost Tamers has been suppressed.