What kind of ghost position is this?

After the battle to subjugate Sona Ghost, it became clear to everyone that those old-fashioned, broken missiles were truly useless.

The missiles currently in storage were merely those from the vicinity of Mount Sona; there were still piles of missiles across the world waiting to be decommissioned.

Although dealing with this junk was quite a headache, there was a more important matter currently sitting before Director Sawai.

Sitting right in front of him was a burly man, hunched over on a tiny stool like a bear, who looked like he could kill him with a single punch.

"Ahem, I'll call you Ah Hong, if you don't mind."

Clearing his throat, Director Sawai opened the conversation.

Zhou Hong shook his head. "I don't mind. Everyone calls me that."

Director Sawai crossed his hands and got to the point.

"I want to know how you were so clear about things like Sona Ghost. Now, this isn't an interrogation; it's just a bit of curiosity from an old man."

The words were phrased nicely, and Zhou Hong had no intention of hiding anything, so he spoke straight to the point.

"Stories from various myths and legends are, by rights, not just legends, but accounts of facts, even if they have changed slightly during the process of being passed down."

"However, the gap between them and the truth usually isn't that large."

"If you look at it this way, perhaps Director Sawai, you can understand."

The local legends and the public's accounts of Gakuma and Sona Ghost confirmed this fact, but the mere thought of those countless gods and ghosts gave Director Sawai a headache.

Thinking about the sheer amount of manpower and resources required to organize data that wasn't even confirmed to be true or false made his head throb.

Myths and legends were not exclusive to this small country.

He rubbed his aching temples and took another look at the man before him.

The TPC headquarters had pulled up the resident records, but aside from the fake documents created by a certain man, no birth records or anything of the sort existed; the metropolitan system had no data on this man at all.

It was as if he had popped out from a crack in a rock.

But as long as a person exists, they leave traces; there is no such thing as an invisible person in this world.

Unless they were an alien.

Blood tests, sweat analysis, and even hair samples taken after he joined the team all confirmed he was still human.

Although he was built nothing like a human, after hearing from Hibiki Gousuke about the swordsman who could cut down Sona Ghost with a blade, perhaps Zhou Hong wasn't too much of an exaggeration.

If he were an alien, Chief Yoshioka might have already resorted to pointing a laser gun at his temple, but since he was human...

Perhaps it would be.

"Who the hell dares to touch my people!" The beloved little folding fan was snapped in two, and the exposed single eye erupted with a scarlet, bloodthirsty glow.

In any case, he was quite difficult to deal with; Director Sawai had a deep understanding of his old rival's stubbornness.

"Then, how much do you know about these myths and legends?"

Although he wasn't clear on the various internal issues of the TPC, Zhou Hong was still able to answer this question.

"I have a 'little bit' of insight into general myths and legends," Zhou Hong said with a touch of false modesty.

After a long moment of thought, Director Sawai smiled and said, "Then, how about I invite you to become the myth and legend consultant for GUTS?"

What kind of strange, bizarre position was this?

What was the point of this job? Did the TPC even have such a position?

Zhou Hong's bewildered expression made Director Sawai chuckle. "It's a dormant position, only requiring you to provide some consulting services when matters related to myths and legends arise."

He seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "This is just a part-time role; it won't affect your duties as the vice-captain of the Rookie Squad."

Zhou Hong understood. "So, you're saying while I'm the vice-captain of the Rookie Squad, I also have to act as some sort of consultant in my spare time?"

Director Sawai felt quite awkward, but he just smiled, not resorting to his usual tactic of offering more money.

When investigating Zhou Hong's personal files, he had accidentally stumbled upon that massive sum of money, and after tracing the transfer records, he understood one thing.

This money was extorted, wasn't it!

Oh, it was extorted from the Kyrieloid, so that was fine; he could keep it and spend it.

If he were to directly confiscate that huge sum of money, in all honesty, Director Sawai felt that a large group of people would fight him to the death.

And if he didn't reclaim the money, truthfully, he didn't have any good bargaining chips.

The passion for protection would eventually be worn down and cooled by the ruthless reality, and he didn't want to see that happen.

Yet, he was a man of unknown origin; although he had acted to protect them several times, no one could guarantee he would always do so.

Or perhaps, whether he had some ulterior motive.

Although there were those in the upper-level meetings who believed he was trustworthy, the final decision was to play it safe.

"I accept."

The unexpected answer made Director Sawai pause, then his slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he smiled as he extended his right hand toward Zhou Hong.

"Then, I look forward to working with you."

Zhou Hong took Director Sawai's hand and held it firmly without letting go; the old man looked at Zhou Hong with a hint of surprise.

"Director, as the consultant for that... thing, should I start fulfilling my duties as a consultant now?"

Director Sawai maintained his smile, "That goes without saying."

"Then, please don't be afraid of what I'm about to say next."

To this, Director Sawai chuckled. As an old man who had witnessed the transition from the chaotic old era to the new, there was no storm or wave he hadn't seen before.

He wouldn't even show panic if a monster appeared right before his eyes.

Seeing the lack of any guarded expression on the old man's face, Zhou Hong didn't try to dissuade him and spoke directly.

"The thing is, the number of yokai is actually quite large."

The temperature in the hand he was tightly gripping dropped suddenly; the old man wasn't quite as steady as he claimed.

A wry smile appeared on his face, "That is truly not good news."

Zhou Hong, however, wore a smile, "But compared to the Sona Ghost, the other yokai I know of don't actually have such bad temperaments."

"If one day they do emerge to commit evil, it must be because something has crossed their bottom line or the like."

Director Sawai pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and said, "The lifespans of yokai are far too long compared to those of humans."

"The pace of development in recent years has been too fast—so fast that even I, as Director, feel a bit bewildered."

"If there are any difficult matters, you can tell me now, and I will strive to see them done."

Zhou Hong clapped his hands, "Then tonight, I'll treat you to a bowl of old-fashioned noodles, and we can chat while we eat."

"My palate is quite picky, you know." Treating him like a nephew, Director Sawai smiled and followed Zhou Hong.