Team Formation

Yang Jian did not intend to take action against Jiang Shangbai at Headquarters; he was merely testing Headquarters' attitude and demonstrating his resolve.

The purpose was to see which side Headquarters would take.

If Cao Yanhua chooses to isolate himself on Jiang Shangbai's side, then Yang Jian will resign and go home without hesitation. Conversely, if Cao Yanhua chooses to stand on his side, then he can take action against his circle of friends without any scruples.

I believe Cao Yanhua can understand this.

No one would allow a group of restless enemies to be constantly targeting them from the outside.

Moreover, Cao Yanhua knew Yang Jian's temperament, so there was no room for compromise, tolerance, or reconciliation between them.

The brief impulse quickly subsided.

Almost everyone who was supposed to attend the meeting had arrived.

Besides Cao Yanhua Wang Xiaoming, who were in charge of the meeting's content, there were also key members who participated in the previous Ghost Painting Incident: Li Jun, Chen Yi, Guo Fan, Zhong Shan Su Fan, and Liu San.

Those who attended the meeting last time were also present this time, such as Feng Quan, Cao Yang, and that stranger whose face I couldn't quite remember, Li Lepeng.

There are a few more new recruits this time, including some who survived the last training base: Zhang Lei, Huang Ziya, and the college student Wang Jiang.

Of course, the old man Old Qin, who lived from the Republican Era and was the one Yang Jian was most wary of, was also present.

The number of people is even greater than last time.

Yang Jian even found an inconspicuous brat in the crowd.

Xiong Wenwen?

I had the experience of working with this kid before at the Caesar Hotel. His ghost is very special; it can predict the future about ten minutes in advance and plays a very important role in handling paranormal events.

And then there are Jiang Shangbai and a few others.

The number of Ghost Tamer in the entire conference room had reached an astonishing fifty or so, and most importantly, most of them were not city officials.

In other words, many people did not attend this meeting.

"There are even more people than last time, Brother Leg. Could something serious have happened? Have you received any inside information lately?" Feng Quan asked in a low voice.

Yang Jian shook his head and said, "I don't know. Although I've been in this city recently, I haven't been paying much attention to news from Headquarters. What about you? What have you been busy with lately? It seems you've been away for a while."

"Of course I went on a business trip, and I almost didn't make it back. What about you?" Feng Quan's expression was not good, as if he had experienced a rather terrible incident.

"Me? Don't you already know? The Ghost Painting Incident happened just a few days after I survived from the Ghost Messengers. Yesterday, I took a ghost painting out of a school. Although I didn't die there, it was still a great risk. That painting is not easy to deal with." Yang Jian said in a low voice.

"Who knows how many more meetings like this will be held? Maybe we won't see each other again next time," Feng Quan sighed.

Life is tough for everyone; you never know when you might die.

Yang Jian's eyes flickered slightly. "So we can't keep going on like this with all these supernatural events. We can't afford to. We need to find a breakthrough. Otherwise, if we deal with each supernatural event one by one, we'll die sooner or later."

"Oh, Yang Jian, have you discovered anything lately?" Zhang Lei asked, leaning over from the other side.

"There's a slightly uncertain clue that requires taking a risk." Yang Jian shook his head slightly. "It might be an opportunity, but maybe I'm overthinking it."

Feng Quan forced a stiff smile onto his ugly face, "Forget it, let's not think about that for now. By the way, have you contacted Tong Qian recently? She should have arrived here around the same time as us, but we haven't seen her. She didn't attend this meeting either. I wanted to ask her for help on my last business trip, but I couldn't reach her."

Tong Qian?

Yang Jian immediately remembered after being reminded of that.

Tong Qian is here too, but looking around the conference room, I didn't see her there. Given the current situation, it's impossible that Headquarters wouldn't have contacted Tong Qian.

Moreover, Tong Qian is no longer an ordinary Ghost Tamer.

Having mastered two ghost faces and simultaneously crashed, she has become one of the most outstanding individuals.

"I don't know, I've never seen her," Yang Jian replied truthfully.

"Could he be dead?" Feng Quan wondered.

Yang Jian immediately said, "Impossible. Killing Tong Qian would be extremely difficult. For an ordinary person, it would be fatal upon first sight. Supernatural events are possible, but her survival rate is far higher than that of someone who can control two ghosts, so the possibility of her dying is unlikely. The possibility of her vengeful spirit reviving is even smaller."

No one understood Tong Qian's special nature better than himself, after all, she was an anomaly he had created himself according to the method on the human skin paper.

"It looks like we'll have to spend some time looking for them. Few of the people we know are still alive. We can't just ignore it like this," Feng Quan pondered.

Yang Jian nodded and said, "That makes sense. I'll keep an eye on this."

As they were talking, the meeting was about to begin.

At that moment, Liu Xiaoyu suddenly handed him a document. "Yang Jian, this is the document for this meeting. Take a look."

"Huh? Why are you still here?" Yang Jian, somewhat surprised, after receiving the documents.

Liu Xiaoyu looked at him strangely. "This isn't your home, why can't I be here?"

"Where's mine? Why don't I have any?" Zhang Lei asked from the side.

"I'm Yang Jian's operator, I'm not responsible for you." Liu Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.

"Uh..." Zhang Lei was speechless.

That seems to make sense.

Yang Jian opened the file, which had several large black characters written on it: Captain Yang Jian (to be selected).

"It's the Captain Plan," Feng Quan said, somewhat surprised.

"Why don't you have it?" Yang Jian looked around; he didn't have the document in his hand.

Feng Quan looked somewhat embarrassed and strange. "I don't know."

He was the first person in charge of Dachang City. The second person in charge was Zhou Zheng, who died in the "Ghost Knocking" incident. The third person in charge (acting) was Zhao Kaiming, who died in the "Starvation Ghost Incident. Yang Jian was the fourth person in charge.

Based on seniority, Feng Quan should be among the oldest.

Yang Jian glanced at the other people at the conference table.

Quite a few people got the team captain spot.

Li Jun, Jiang Shangbai, Liu San, Li Lepeng, Cao Yang.

At this moment, Cao Yanhua, the Deputy Minister, spoke up, "I think some of you have already received the information. This meeting is mainly for two things. The first is to confirm the list of candidates for the Captain Plan, and the second is to discuss how to handle the Ghost Painting Incident."

"Through recent discussions, the person currently holding the information has been selected as the team leader. If everyone has no objections, then this list should not be changed significantly."

"Etc."

At this moment, a man named Xu Yiping spoke up with a cold face, "I want to know, with so many people, what criteria does Headquarters use to determine the team leader? It's not that I don't trust Cao Yanhua, but there has to be a reason for this, otherwise I won't agree to it."

Many people remained silent, but their eyes were fixed on Cao Yanhua.

The so-called Captain Plan was not approved by the majority of people; the personnel were entirely determined internally by Headquarters, making it difficult to persuade others.

However, Cao Yanhua also had his own considerations.

If this plan requires the approval of the majority, then who knows how many conflicts and contradictions it will cause, so pre-determined arrangements are the best approach.

Cao Yanhua said, "Xu Yiping, I know you have objections, and you're definitely not the only one who does. If everyone needs a reason, then this reason should be enough."

After he finished speaking, he gestured to the staff.

"Turn on the projector."

Soon, a list was projected onto the conference table.

The list contained the names of almost everyone, and each name had a corresponding score. Surprisingly, Yang Jian was ranked first.

His score was significantly higher than the second-place finisher.

"Each of you has an internal rating at Headquarters, which is based on the paranormal cases you solve," Cao Yanhua said seriously. "You can look at the ratings of each team leader candidate; without exception, they are all among the top-rated people. Xu Yiping, your rating is twenty-sixth; you are far from being a team leader."

Many people frowned upon seeing this rating chart.

Cao Yanhua continued, "Let's take Yang Jian ranked first in the score, as an example."

After he finished speaking, the slideshow moved to the next image, which was a comprehensive file of Yang Jian's documents.

"Yang Jian has resolved the C-class Headless Ghost Shadow incident, the A-class Head Balloon Incident, the S-class Starvation Ghost Incident, and saved people twice in the S-class Ghost Messenger incident. He also recently handled the Ghost Painting Incident."

"The events he experienced were graded according to internal evaluation standards, which are very strict and subject to adjustment based on the actual circumstances. You don't need to question them."

Yang Jian was taken aback when he saw his comprehensive data displayed in front of everyone.

However, my own rating was indeed somewhat illogical.

According to this scoring standard, Yang Jian is not qualified to be a team leader. His score was entirely due to the S-class Starvation Ghost Incident, which added 100 points to his score. This 100 points far exceeded the score of the second-place candidate.

Cao Yanhua continued, "If you still have doubts, you might as well compare your scores with the scoring criteria and roughly estimate your own scores. The difference is not significant. See if you can surpass a few team captain candidates. If you cannot, then please withdraw your opinions and accept this list."

"If there are indeed more than a few candidates for captain, please state it in front of so many people, and I will personally give you a reasonable explanation."

"You have ten minutes to self-assess. If there are no objections after ten minutes, then the Captain Plan is finalized. We will now begin discussing the Ghost Painting Incident."

Cao Yanhua didn't say anything at length; he simply and quickly announced the list of candidates for the Captain Plan before moving on to the second meeting.

The Captain Plan was predetermined; there was no voting or election involved, and no one's opinion needed to be sought.

This explanation was specifically made to ensure fairness and avoid conflict.

The meeting room quieted down considerably. Many people silently assessed the situation, then shook their heads, indicating that their experience was indeed insufficient to be considered for the position of team leader.

Some people don't care. What's the point of being a captain? They don't even know how long they'll live. Why would they want a promotion or a raise? Joining Headquarters is just a way for them to survive. They're not really willing to risk their lives.

"Now I understand why I wasn't on the shortlist." Feng Quan looked at his ranking, which was absolutely appalling.

He was also involved in the Ghost Coffin Incident, so according to the above evaluation criteria, he can only get a consolation score.

He was then trapped in the ghost coffin for more than two months. During this time, the leaders of Dachang City changed, so he naturally did not achieve any merit.

I managed to rack up some points during the final Head Balloon Incident and Yang Jian's operation, as well as these two business trips.

However, even all of that combined isn't enough to solve one A-class paranormal incident, not to mention that Yang Jian also has one S-class paranormal incident that someone else has.

Especially considering that the incident was accomplished by a single person, no one can match that score when it comes to evaluation.

"No wonder Cao Yanhua wants me to resign as team leader." Yang Jian's eyes narrowed slightly. "My score is so high. If I can't be selected as team leader, then no one else can. This Captain Plan will become a joke. Cao Yanhua is using me as an example to convince everyone."

"But that's not important. Becoming a captain or joining Headquarters is just about surviving better and increasing one's chances of survival."

"Apart from that, nothing else matters."

Yang Jian looked at Jiang Shangbai with some curiosity.

This guy stays in the local area all day, so why does he have such high scores?

"His score was probably inflated by people on his WeChat Moments. He's been credited for many things, all to promote a new captain," Yang Jian thought to himself.

"Li Jun also has problems. He used to be Wang Xiaoming's bodyguard. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have had the points to become the team leader. Is that why he was pre-selected?"

"Cao Yang? That guy's a captain too?"

Upon closer reflection, he began to understand what the so-called captain was all about.

Behind each team leader is a representative.

For example, Jiang Shangbai is backed by a network of friends and a group of big capitalists.

Li Jun's backing is also quite obvious.

Cao Yang? Speaking of Cao Yanhua also has the surname Cao, so maybe they're relatives or a descendant of the same family.

Liu San's knowledge of him is not deep; he may be insignificant in this city, but he could be a huge force elsewhere.

I'm the only one who's truly a loser. If it weren't for the Starvation Ghost Incident, I'd probably just be a background character at the conference table, just listening and watching.

The water here is very deep.

Yang Jian sighed inwardly. Sure enough, as long as people are alive and have a breath left, they will play with power and interests. No wonder Cao Yanhua advised him to give up the captain's position.

I didn't think much about it at the time, but now that I think about it, this thing really wasn't suitable for me, and Cao Yanhua didn't really screw me over.

Right now, I feel like I'm occupying a toilet without using it; I'm superfluous. After all, I'm the kind of person who only needs to feed myself, so guarding Dachang City is enough for me.

"We shouldn't have this captain."

Yang Jian looked at the document, which detailed his responsibilities, obligations, and of course, his powers as captain.

But he wasn't interested, because he hadn't joined Headquarters for these things.

"How about we find some time to make another deal with Cao Yanhua? This spot should be quite valuable, right?" He pondered whether he should exchange it for some tangible benefits.

At this moment, Zhang Lei leaned over and said, "Yang Jian, I just heard someone say that if you become the team leader, you can recruit team members. Why don't I join your team? If we team up, we're less likely to die in special events."

"I want to team up too." Huang Ziya also chimed in, afraid of being left behind.

Feng Quan also said, "Count me in."

Yang Jian was just thinking of giving up the captain's position, but after hearing what they said, he has to reconsider.

Teaming up to handle paranormal events is definitely an advantage. More people mean more power, and you won't be as passive when dealing with ghosts like the Ghost Messenger who rely on numbers. Plus, each person's abilities can complement each other.

Of course, there are also downsides to teaming up.

If one member has a problem, you'll be facing more than just one ghost; the level of danger will increase.

Therefore, team formation must be approached with extreme care; the situation of having a "bad" teammate must be absolutely avoided.

"Don't rush this, let me think about it." Yang Jian neither refused nor agreed.

Zhang Lei and Huang Ziya, on the other hand, seemed quite anxious. They had witnessed Yang Jian's abilities firsthand; he had even survived a seemingly fatal incident involving Ghost Messenger. If they didn't latch onto this powerful figure now, when would they?

"Then you must consider me first; you know my abilities," Zhang Lei said earnestly.

Huang Ziya said, "Although I'm a little lacking, I'm a woman. Don't you want another woman in the team? Besides, I have excellent execution skills and I'm definitely not the kind of person who would mess things up. You know that."

"I think they're both pretty average. If you want to recruit teammates, you could consider Tong Qian," Feng Quan suggested.

"Yang Jian, I heard everything you said."

At this moment, the mischievous child, Xiong Wenwen, walked over and loudly proclaimed, "If you let me join your team, I'll introduce you to my mom. My mom is very beautiful; many people want to date her, but I've scared them all away."

Many people looked at Xiong Wenwen with surprise upon hearing his words.

To curry favor with someone powerful, you'd abandon your own mother?

"Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel like I'm taking care of a baby," Yang Jian said.

"Damn it, you dare to take advantage of me?" Xiong Wenwen immediately cursed, "Believe me or not, one day I'll piss on your head while you're sleeping?"

"I don't believe it. If you wake your mother up, you'll definitely get a beating," Yang Jian said.

"How did my mom get woken up?" Xiong Wenwen didn't react for a moment.

Zhang Lei and Huang Ziya, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh. As adults, they immediately understood that Yang Jian had taken advantage of Xiong Wenwen again.

Xiong Wenwen didn't know what was going on, but judging from the laughter of the people around her, it definitely wasn't anything good.

"Do you believe I'll spit on you?" he said angrily.

Yang Jian nodded and said, "I believe that."

Jiang Shangbai's face darkened upon seeing this. What he cared about wasn't that Yang Jian had become the team leader, but that so many people were willing to team up with Yang Jian so early in the game. Once the team was truly formed, it wouldn't just be Yang Jian alone; it would be a whole group of people to deal with.

The reason why people in the WeChat Moments didn't take Yang Jian seriously was because he was single, so there was no need to worry about taking him down.

"Those two newcomers are one thing, but if Feng Quan and Xiong Wenwen join his team, then Yang Jian will be in real trouble." Jiang Shangbai had also tried to recruit Xiong Wenwen through his circle of friends.

This child's abilities are so extraordinary, it's impossible not to have my eye on him.

However, a problem arose midway through; the wrong person was chosen to win over, leading Xiong Wenwen to believe that he was after his beautiful single mother, and the deal fell through.

"Time's up, so the Captain Plan is settled. Xu Yiping, do you have any objections?" Cao Yanhua spoke up again at this moment.

Xu Yiping paused for a moment before saying, "I have no objection to the Captain Plan."

"Su Fan, what about you?"

Su Fan calmly replied, "I'm not interested. You can do as you please."

"Zhong Shan, what do you say?"

Zhong Shan shrugged. "My score isn't as good as others, so it's understandable that I can't be the team leader. But I have no objection to the others. Li Jun seems a bit lacking. I don't remember him making any special contributions."

"This time, Li Jun led the team to indirectly resolve the Ghost Messenger incident, and with zero casualties, they also successfully brought back quite a few special items. Is this reason enough?" Cao Yanhua asked.

Li Jun was specifically chosen to lead the team for this operation, precisely because he was qualified to be the team leader; otherwise, it would have been difficult for Li Jun to convince the others.

"Then I have nothing more to ask."

Cao Yanhua nodded. "Very good. Since everyone has no objections, let's leave it at that. This matter is not to be discussed again. Now, let's get to the main point."

At this moment, the slideshow jumps.

"The Ghost Painting Incident."

Several large characters appeared on the screen.

For Cao Yanhua, the Captain Plan was just a general notification and wouldn't be discussed in a meeting. Taking up more than ten minutes was already considered a long time. The real task this time was the Ghost Painting Incident that had emerged in the past few days.

As this was classified as S-class paranormal event by foreign authorities, Cao Yanhua dared not be careless or negligent in the slightest and had to resolve it as soon as possible.

He wouldn't be at ease until this matter was resolved, and many things couldn't be carried out as planned.

Upon seeing those four words on the screen, the murmurs at the conference table subsided considerably.

The atmosphere gradually became somewhat heavy again.

These four words seem to possess a strange power, making it impossible for anyone to relax.

This is essentially two chapters combined into one, and it's almost six thousand words long.

Transitional chapters aren't very important, so I won't separate them.