The Gu Group's young master?
Recent contact, visitors from Qianzhou...
A figure sprang to mind.
Was he really the Gu Group's young master from Yuzhou?
Although she had heard the people from Qianzhou call him Young Master Gu yesterday, and had heard what Director Qin said, she had never really taken it seriously.
The Gu Family, once the richest family around, was too far removed from ordinary people.
Even if they had gone bankrupt, there was no way she would just happen to run into their young master.
Besides, although he was a little flirtatious, he showed none of a true spoiled rich brat's arrogance.
Her complaints had merely been offhand grumbling. Deep down, she had never actually connected him with the bankrupt Gu Group's young master from the news.
And when she thought of the mysterious methods Gu Zhe had used to save her younger sister, she simply couldn't associate him with a rich heir who spent his days drinking and carousing.
She hesitated.
"Gu Zhe? Mr. Gu?"
"Yes. It seems he left quite an impression on you too, Ming Xuan. I wonder whether you'd be willing."
Would I?
Ming Xuan actually knew the answer. Although they hadn't spent much time together, that man really did seem interesting. Interesting and mysterious-and, well, quite handsome too.
After they parted yesterday, she had thought about that certain girl hoping for a younger brother, who could shamelessly cling to him every day. She must be very happy now.
Meanwhile, she herself had no reason to visit again.
She had even felt a little disappointed, as though something inside her had gone hollow.
Now, she suddenly heard this proposal from the "Jinyiwei," an organization she wasn't sure was legitimate or not.
A flash of happiness and relief passed through her.
But...
Ming Xuan furrowed her delicate brows.
They want me to be a spy?
She didn't immediately answer whether she was willing.
Instead, she asked:
"Why?!"
"Why me? Why him? Why do you... the Jinyiwei, have to get involved...?"
Seeing that Ming Xuan hadn't rejected him outright, Zhu Qiang smiled.
"First, why does the Jinyiwei exist? Why are we getting involved?"
He glanced at the police chief, who was equally curious.
"As for the reason, many people have probably noticed by now that strange changes are happening in this world. The government has decided to let things take their course, so there's no need for so much secrecy anymore. Yes, some of the rumors online are true... strange, uncanny incidents have been occurring everywhere..."
He watched understanding begin to dawn on their faces.
Zhu Qiang offered a pointed hint.
"I hardly need to mention the changes to your handguns, do I?"
Ming Xuan understood.
"No wonder we switched to higher-powered firearms earlier! Now we're even being issued some strange equipment."
"So, as the world changes, the government has established two departments to respond."
"The first is the Third Bureau, officially the Third Kind Contact Administration. It specializes in handling matters involving mysterious external entities."
"The second is our Jinyiwei. Our role is to maintain domestic stability through the upheaval that may come, handle supernatural matters within human society, and monitor people with unusual powers."
"Why him?"
Zhu Qiang fell silent for a moment.
The companions beside him also showed curiosity and amazement about something.
Several breaths passed.
"Haha, there are certain rumors that the Gu Family possesses unfathomable mysteries. Although they've temporarily gone bankrupt in the living world, they supposedly still operate businesses in the Underworld. In Yuzhou and the surrounding areas, there have been several uncanny incidents of spirits appearing in dreams, telling their families to buy property from the Gu Family. One or two could be dismissed as nonsense, but multiple cases can't be taken lightly. So we hope to understand the situation, for the sake of the bigger picture..."
"Yes, the people from Qianzhou came because of those rumors too."
Ming Xuan began to understand.
Thinking back to how those people from Qianzhou had behaved yesterday, they had seemed very certain.
Could it be true?
Perhaps it really was possible. When he saved her younger sister, Gu Zhe had said he had warriors in the Netherworld Land, which was how he could have them possess paper figures and kill that evil ghost.
Looking at it from another angle and thinking through the implications, had the Gu Group really gone bankrupt? Had they really fallen on hard times?
Director Qin was even more dumbfounded.
Yesterday, someone had contacted him and asked him to find a guide.
But who could have imagined something this strange lay behind it? Had anyone else said it, he might have treated it as a joke. But the ones saying this were members of the newly established Jinyiwei, and they didn't seem to be joking.
So?
The Gu Group really does business in the Underworld?
His mind raced. I haven't kicked them while they were down after their bankruptcy, have I?
Otherwise, when he eventually died and became a ghost, being targeted by a force capable of doing business in the Underworld was enough to make him suck in a cold breath.
There'd be no escaping them. None at all, unless my soul scattered after death.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
Maybe I don't need to worry. If the Gu Family can do it, there's no reason our government can't. Look, we've got this Third Kind Contact Administration and the Jinyiwei now.
The country might have a presence in the Underworld too. So I could keep being a bureau director there after I die! That's actually a little exciting. I'd get to live a second life.
His eyes filled with anticipation.
"Brother Zhu, does our country have anything down there... haha, I don't mean anything by it. I just wanted to see whether I could continue devoting myself to public service after I go down..."
Zhu Qiang shook his head with a wry smile.
"We'd like that too. Unfortunately, so far we've only learned a little about the Netherworld through a handful of Underworld Walkers and the few spirits we've contacted. As for establishing a foothold there, the living and the dead are worlds apart, and the Netherworld is vast and desolate. It's difficult, extremely difficult..."
"That's why we need someone to make contact with the Gu Family!"
Director Qin had no response.
Only after a long while did he stammer out a few words.
"Uh, when the Gu Group's assets are liquidated in bankruptcy, should their Underworld holdings be included?"
"And are their businesses in the Underworld subject to labor, corporate, and tax laws?"
Zhu Qiang of the Jinyiwei fell silent.
You certainly have quite an imagination!
Actually, it wasn't just this chief who had such ideas. Some people within the Jinyiwei thought along the same lines.
It was just that... wanting to intervene and regulate someone was one thing. Whether they let you was another.
Because!
This world truly had changed.
He thought of the combat techniques he practiced evolving toward the martial arts sequence, and of the other mysterious beings and methods he had witnessed.
No one knew what the future held for this world!
But Zhu Qiang felt one saying made sense: the future belonged to the mysterious. The mysterious could not be taken lightly or insulted. Only the mysterious could counter the mysterious!
He stopped bothering with the chief, who was pondering whether the legal principle of personal jurisdiction could be applied to the Underworld.
He hadn't come here for him today.
Instead, he looked at the young woman, a very beautiful, very curvaceous young woman.
"As for why we chose you!"
"Well, you did have contact yesterday, after all. You could be considered acquaintances."
Ming Xuan looked puzzled.
"That's it? What does a little contact count for? Couldn't you just send someone to meet him?"
"Ahem, well, Ming Xuan, that's only one reason. The other reason... ahem... well..."
For some reason...
Ming Xuan felt that Zhu Qiang looked a little embarrassed.
He kept hemming and hawing.
Her gaze grew even more skeptical.
"Ahem, I can't really explain the specific reason. Well... please look at the big screen!"
Zhu Qiang seemed to open an image consisting of two pictures placed side by side for comparison.
"Ahem, the one on the left is a recruitment post from Gu Zhe's Moments. The one on the right contains clues revealed in the Moments posts of a young girl who's been in frequent contact with him lately..."
"I've circled the key points too."
The next instant...
Ming Xuan's face turned bright red, burning hot, as though her embarrassment might make her melt.
Because:
The image on the left-[Recruitment: the Gu Group's second round. Hiring one assistant. Requirements: any gender, associate degree or above, any major. Fair skin and good looks are a plus, gentleness and refinement are welcome, and diligence and competence take priority!]
"Fair skin and good looks" and "gentleness and refinement" had been circled in red.
That part wasn't so bad. Although she felt a little embarrassed and inwardly called a certain someone a little pervert, it was still more or less normal.
The main problem was the screenshot of Moments on the right.
One look, and Ming Xuan knew whose it was.
[Brother Gu called me a little girl. He actually wants a female assistant who can't see her own toes. Ha. Men really are all pigs.]
[I don't believe it. Where would he find a cow with boobs that big? Eventually, Brother Gu will realize that a sweet, modest girl and a simple, peaceful life are what really matter.]
[Damn it, impossible! How could that old woman really be unable to see her toes? Brother Gu even sneaked a few peeks. Unfair! Heaven is unfair! Ha, men! Ha, women! Ha, an old woman of twenty-five or twenty-six...]
[Question: does eating papaya really work? Don't get the wrong idea. I just heard papaya is rich in vitamins and good for boosting immunity.]
The Jinyiwei members instinctively glanced at how tightly a certain woman's uniform hugged her figure.
No wonder a certain young master had sneaked a peek.
Zhu Qiang glared at his colleagues.
"Ahem, well, Ming Xuan, don't worry about those details. What does a little girl know about the world...?"
"Yes, ahem, we simply think you're capable and trustworthy. There are no other considerations. We couldn't possibly be that shallow."
"Don't worry. We're not asking you to do anything bad, just to keep an eye on things and serve as a bridge for communication and understanding. It won't violate your principles."
Originally, Ming Xuan had wanted to ask more questions.
But seeing that little girl's outrageous remarks in front of all these people...
She felt as though she had died of embarrassment.
She tried her best not to think about certain aspects of it, and to focus instead on the idea that she was capable.
All she could do was lower her flushed face.
"Mm!"
After that, she barely took in anything the Jinyiwei or the chief said.
Her mind held only one embarrassing detail. Did he really sneak peeks at me?
But I'm older than him!
"Pfft, I'm not an old woman!"