At that, a mocking smile curled Shen Lingxue's lips. "Director Wang, you don't actually believe him, do you? Nowhere in the world is there a ghost domain containing dozens of ghosts at once. Fang Xiu is just a rookie. Even if he really has Future Prediction and saw dozens of ghosts, that only means what he saw were Ghost Servants controlled by ghosts."
"When people are terrified, the slightest disturbance gets blown out of proportion.
"In my judgment, there should only be two ghosts in the entire Hundred Willows Academy ghost domain. If there really were dozens, forget predicting the future-even omniscience wouldn't have gotten Fang Xiu out alive.
"One is a ghost in the form of a Female Physician. I suggest the codename Ghost Doctor. Her killing pattern is to kill whoever is nearest, one person at a time. She won't attack again until she finishes eating. Based on the description, the Ghost Doctor should be a Class D ghost."
"The other controls dreams. I suggest the codename Nightmare. Its killing pattern is to kill people in their dreams. It can force nearby people to fall asleep, then conjure all kinds of horrors in their dreams to trigger their fear. Once they succumb to fear, they die.
"Conversely, as long as you aren't afraid, Nightmare is less dangerous than the Ghost Doctor. It appears to have no means of physical attack. Considering its unusual abilities and the threat it poses to ordinary people, I suggest a Class C rating.
"After all, the Ghost Doctor has no means of killing on a large scale, while Nightmare can force multiple people into dreams at once.
"In conclusion, given that Hundred Willows Academy is a fixed ghost domain located in a sparsely populated area, I recommend a Class C threat rating."
"How frightening are Nightmare's dreams?" Wang Dehai asked thoughtfully.
Shen Lingxue idly ran a hand over her freshly manicured nails, looking somewhat distracted. "How frightening could they be? Enough to scare ordinary people, that's all. Fang Xiu already has strong nerves. Add in the fact that he predicted Nightmare's ability beforehand and knew everything was an illusion, and of course he wouldn't be afraid.
"As for Zhao Hao, he's a coward and a lecher. He dulled his fear by watching porn and survived too.
"That shows even rookies like them can withstand Nightmare's fear, let alone veteran Spirit Tamers who have been through multiple ghost incidents.
"Nightmare's ability is suited to surprise attacks. Once you know beforehand that everything is an illusion, it may be even less dangerous than the Female Physician."
Wang Dehai nodded. He trusted Shen Lingxue's judgment. After all, she was a veteran Spirit Tamer who had experienced multiple ghost incidents.
"Codenames approved. Create files for the Ghost Doctor and Nightmare. As for the Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital ghost domain, we'll wait until tonight's lottery draw before making any arrangements. If the ticket doesn't win, that means there's something wrong with Fang Xiu, and his statements can't be trusted.
"If he knows this much without Future Prediction, there must be a vast organization behind him. This could even be a plot targeting the Investigation Bureau."
"Next, bring Fang Xiu here. I want to meet him."
Shen Lingxue looked mildly surprised. "Director Wang, you want to meet Fang Xiu personally? That would hardly comply with regulations. We still don't know what his real ability is. What if some private organization is backing him, and his real objective is to claim he has Future Prediction so he can infiltrate the Investigation Bureau? Besides, he hasn't undergone a mental contamination test yet. We don't know how high his risk of losing control is."
"To be safe, let the captain meet him instead."
Wang Dehai shook his head. "Captain Yang isn't at the bureau right now. He's tracking down the Head Ghost."
"What about the deputy captain?"
Wang Dehai smiled. "He went too."
Shen Lingxue was astonished. "Those two can actually work together?"
"Do you think those two could possibly work together? They're competing. Each is working alone to see who can resolve the Head Ghost incident first."
Shen Lingxue was speechless for a moment. "Is this that damned male competitiveness? A captain and a deputy captain, both ridiculously childish. What do they think a ghost incident is, a contest?"
"Enough. Go get Fang Xiu. Here in the Investigation Bureau, he won't be able to cause much trouble even if he has malicious intentions."
Seeing Wang Dehai insist, Shen Lingxue could only comply, though she added, "I'll have him take the mental contamination test first. If he passes, I'll bring him over."
With that, Shen Lingxue took matters into her own hands and walked straight out.
Wang Dehai froze for a moment, then let out a helpless chuckle.
He knew Shen Lingxue was protecting him. Still, as a leader, having his orders obstructed left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
But he had long since grown used to it. That was how it went when ordinary people managed Spirit Tamers.
In the lounge, Shen Lingxue brought over a professional Spirituality Lie Detector and set it in front of Fang Xiu.
She also held a sheet of test questions in her fair hand.
"Next, you'll undergo a mental contamination test. This is a Spirituality Lie Detector. Unlike an ordinary lie detector, it detects lies through fluctuations in spirituality. Professionally trained agents can fool ordinary lie detectors, but no one can fool a Spirituality Lie Detector.
"Spirituality is a manifestation of the mind. Whenever your words contradict your thoughts, it reacts, so you must answer truthfully. No lying.
"This is also a test every newly awakened Spirit Tamer must take. The Investigation Bureau won't allow a severely mentally contaminated Spirit Tamer to roam free."
"Mm." Fang Xiu nodded.
"First question. If a powerful ghost is slaughtering people throughout a city, what would you choose? One, fight the ghost. Two, flee alone. Three, save as many people as possible and take everyone you can with you."
"I choose one. Fight the ghost," Fang Xiu said calmly.
Shen Lingxue gave Fang Xiu a slightly skeptical look, then checked the Spirituality Lie Detector. It showed that he wasn't lying.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face.
She had never imagined Fang Xiu would be someone willing to sacrifice his life for others.
Fang Xiu genuinely hadn't lied about this. He hated all ghosts. Even if he couldn't defeat one, he would still try, gathering more information and searching for its weaknesses. If he couldn't kill it the first time, he would try twice. If twice wasn't enough, he would try three times.
"Second question. If ghost incidents become increasingly frequent, humanity is clearly outmatched, and an intelligent ghost invites you to join their side, promising you tremendous power and unimaginable authority and status, would you join?"
"No."
"Really? If the ghosts offered you great authority and also gave you places for your family, friends, and loved ones, protecting them from harm, would you join?"
"No." Fang Xiu's answer remained concise.
The lie detector showed no fluctuations either.
Shen Lingxue found it hard to believe. She had always felt that Fang Xiu wasn't the kind of person wholly devoted to humanity.
"Then what if your family sided with the ghosts and invited you to join them?"
"I have no family."
"What about friends? As far as I know, you're close to Zhao Hao, and he's your only friend. If he wanted you to betray humanity and join the ghosts, would you agree?"
"Then I wouldn't mind having no friends."
Shen Lingxue: "..."
"Third question. What do you most want to do after becoming a Spirit Tamer? Or, in other words, what's your ambition?"
"Kill every ghost in the world."
For a moment, the room fell silent. Shen Lingxue stared at the unresponsive lie detector in disbelief.
This has to be fake, right?
Since when did the ranks of Spirit Tamers include such a paragon of virtue?
She had watched many Spirit Tamers take the test, but not one had been like Fang Xiu.
Some Spirit Tamers even gave deeply selfish and twisted answers. After all, their minds had been contaminated, amplifying the dark side of human nature without limit.
For instance, with the first question about a powerful ghost slaughtering people in a city, some immediately chose to flee alone. Those with a little conscience chose to save as many people as they could.
Those with higher levels of mental contamination gave even more outrageous answers.
"What? A ghost is slaughtering people? Then I'll help it kill them. Let's see who's faster."
The second question asked whether they would join the ghosts.
Most Spirit Tamers answered, "If you can't beat them, join them," "I'll join whoever's stronger," or "I'll join whoever treats me well."
The twisted Spirit Tamers: "I love ghosts most of all!"
The third question hardly needed mentioning.
Surviving, getting ahead, wealth and luxury, marrying a hundred wives, and so on.
The twisted Spirit Tamers: "Flesh is weak; ascend as a ghost! My ambition is to become a proper ghost."
It wasn't that no one had ever answered like Fang Xiu. But whenever they did, the lie detector would buzz incessantly.
Yet Fang Xiu's answers hadn't triggered any response from the lie detector. That meant everything he said was true!
Before you continue