Stood Up

9:30 AM.

In the Headquarters' conference room, a private meeting was held today specifically because of Yang Jian's matter. Not many people were present, but they were all key figures in the Headquarters.

Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua, Professor Wang Xiaoming, Team Leader Shen Liang, Ghost Tamer Wei Jing, Team Leader Li Jun, and Operator Liu Xiaoyu.

Liu Xiaoyu was forcibly woken up. When they found her, she was still unconscious. Her head was still spinning and she had no idea what had happened. She only knew that she seemed to have been knocked unconscious by Yang Jian last night.

"Has Yang Jian not appeared yet?" Cao Yanhua checked the time; another ten minutes had passed.

Logically, he would arrive at such a meeting early, since Yang Jian is generally punctual.

"They haven't appeared yet." Shen Liang had been keeping an eye on the people coming and going outside the Headquarters.

Cao Yanhua nodded and continued to wait.

It was 9:50 in a flash.

Cao Yanhua then asked, "There are still ten minutes left until the agreed time. Has Yang Jian arrived yet?"

"Not yet, there's no report of Yang Jian entering Headquarters," Shen Liang said.

Cao Yanhua remained silent and continued to wait.

It was exactly 10 o'clock, but Yang Jian still hadn't arrived, and there wasn't a soul in sight near the Headquarters.

"He's late?" Cao Yanhua frowned. "Or has he already used his Ghost Domain to get here?"

"There's no sign of the Ghost Domain covering us; everything is normal," Li Jun said.

When it was 10:30, Cao Yanhua saw that Yang Jian had not yet appeared, and couldn't help but slam his hand on the table; "Yang Jian must have stood us up, he's not planning to come."

The sound of him slamming his hand on the table woke up Wang Xiaoming, who was sleeping face down across from him.

Wang Xiaoming looked up, yawned, and then said calmly, "Yang Jian didn't come, right?"

"You guessed he wouldn't come?" Cao Yanhua asked.

"More or less."

Wang Xiaoming said, "The chances of him coming to Headquarters for a meeting are no more than 40%. After all, he has already planned to resign, and strictly speaking, he is no longer the team leader. Moreover, he has eliminated the entire circle of friends. In addition, there was a slight oversight in the previous decision-making process at Headquarters, so Yang Jian became wary."

"What is he wary of?" Cao Yanhua asked, frowning.

Wang Xiaoming said, "Be wary, this is a trap. He's afraid we'll kill him. Yang Jian knows very well that his value is no longer significant. He used the music box and suffered a terrible curse. How many days can he live? In his mind, his death would be more advantageous than his life. After all, last night's events caused such a stir, and he even personally dealt with Jiang Shangbai, but these problems haven't been resolved. Moreover, it has made us clearly aware of the terrifying supernatural events that would occur if he died."

"This is delusional disorder."

Cao Yanhua was somewhat annoyed. "He submitted his resignation to Liu Xiaoyu, but I haven't approved it. He's still the team leader. How could Headquarters possibly eliminate its own team leader? Liu Xiaoyu, quick, go and call Yang Jian and tell him to come to a meeting immediately. Tell him that I, Cao Yanhua, guarantee with my life that I will absolutely not lay a hand on him. If he doesn't trust me, I can personally go to the Headquarters to pick him up."

Liu Xiaoyu was also somewhat taken aback, seemingly frightened by Wang Xiaoming's speculation.

Headquarters wants to eliminate Yang Jian?

But looking at the formation, it does seem somewhat similar.

Wang Xiaoming said, "It's no use. He won't come to Headquarters. He's wary of Old Qin, and after meeting Wei Jing, he's already feeling threatened. Last night, I sent Wei Jing to deliver a message to lower his guard and let him know that I don't have such a special person hiding, but it seems to have had little effect."

"Furthermore, I did consider eliminating Yang Jian last night."

"What?" Cao Yanhua was shocked, looking at him in disbelief.

Wang Xiaoming remained calm. "It's a perfectly normal consideration. After all, Yang Jian is going to die, and the harm he causes after his death is too great, equivalent to an S-class supernatural event. If we kill him in advance, it's like nipping a supernatural event in the bud, which is worthwhile in a way."

"I know he's under a curse, but this meeting is about figuring out how to help him."

Cao Yanhua became even more uneasy, never expecting that Professor Wang would actually consider setting up a trap.

"He doesn't trust us, and I haven't been able to resolve the Music Box Curse either, so I don't have enough reason to convince him. If I'm not mistaken, Yang Jian wants to take that bus in the next few days, or perhaps seek some information," Wang Xiaoming said. "He has backup plans, so it's normal for him not to come to the meeting after careful consideration."

Cao Yanhua was stunned. If he thought about it carefully from Yang Jian's perspective, it actually made some sense.

At this moment, Wang Xiaoming stood up. "Let's go to the Ping An Hotel. Yang Jian should be waiting for us there now, but we need to hurry. He's probably already prepared to leave the city."

"You guessed this a long time ago, why didn't you say so sooner?" Cao Yanhua said.

"I didn't sleep last night and overslept a bit, but considering your habit of slamming your fist on the table, Deputy Minister, I'll probably be woken up around ten o'clock." Wang Xiaoming looked listless, as if he hadn't slept enough.

Cao Yanhua was at a loss for words and could only hurry to get to work, leading a few people to the Ping An Hotel.

If we get to Headquarters late, we'll be one less team leader today.

Moreover, once Yang Jian leaves and the events on his WeChat Moments are exposed, it will trigger a series of chain reactions.

Yang Jian did not go to the Headquarters for the meeting, but he did not leave either. He was sitting on the sofa in the room, packing some things.

A box filled with human heads.

A pair of embroidered shoes.

A strange wood-chopping knife.

A shroud for the dead.

In addition, there are two surrogate dolls and several white ghost candles.

He ran out of red ghost candles, so he gave one to Huang Ziya and one to his classmate Miao Xiaoshan. He didn't have any more in stock, since these things were indeed a bit hard to come by.

"The curse of the music box, ah, it's really a headache." Yang Jian put the packed items into the body bag, and fell into deep thought as he listened to the melody echoing in his mind.

He didn't go to Headquarters, not because he was unwilling to make the trip, but because he was hesitant.

This hesitation was the result of careful consideration, because Yang Jian knew that he had destroyed the WeChat Moments yesterday, and also killed Jiang Shangbai. The former was alright, as it was just some personal grudges, but Jiang Shangbai's death was a matter concerning a captain.

I ask you.

A former team leader who resigned, coupled with the impending resurgence of a vengeful ghost, and the killing of another team leader last night, are just one step away from causing a major paranormal event.

How would you deal with someone like that?

Yang Jian's idea was definitely to kill him; keeping him alive was too dangerous.

It was precisely because Yang Jian had considered this point that he did not go to Headquarters.

Perhaps as soon as I enter Headquarters, there will be hundreds of axemen lying in ambush on both sides. If Wang Xiaoming smashes the cup as a signal, Li Jun leads his men out to charge, and then shouts, "I have General Wei Jing, who can fight Yang Jian," then wouldn't my life be over?

Not to mention that the mascot, Old Qin, might also be present.

Even with a strange machete, it's impossible to fight your way in and out.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, I won't go.

"If they really wanted to talk to me, they would come to the Ping An Hotel in person, and they wouldn't bring a lot of people with them," Yang Jian guessed to himself.

"Captain, are you packing your things to leave?" At that moment, the door to the room suddenly opened, and a woman's voice rang out.

Yang Jian snapped out of his daze and looked up slightly. He saw Huang Ziya leaning against the door. Wearing high heels, her fair legs were long and straight, and her slender waist and unusually large bust created a beautiful and graceful curve. A slightly flirtatious smile was on her fair and flawless oval face.

The only incongruous thing was her thick, jet-black hair that almost reached her waist, giving off an eerie aura.

"Well, things here should be done. I have some personal matters to attend to," Yang Jian.

Huang Ziya said, "What about forming a team? You can't just run off by yourself. If none of us leads the team, there's a high chance we'll all be wiped out in the next paranormal event. You don't want to see a beautiful woman like me die at the hands of those ghostly things, do you?"

After saying that, she tossed her black hair, revealing her stunning charm.

Yang Jian glanced at it; "You used that ghost's power again?"

He noticed that Huang Ziya's figure and appearance had changed again. It was hard to describe the change; she seemed to have lost weight in some places and gained weight in others. In short, her figure and appearance had become more perfect.

"As expected of the captain, you have good taste. I spent the entire night studying and finally achieved the most perfect figure and appearance."

Huang Ziya said confidently, "Now I'm definitely the most beautiful woman in Asia, and I'll be the face of the team from now on. After all, I'm going to be seen by people. Look at Zhang Lei, and Wang Jiang and Feng Quan, with their deadpan faces, they definitely can't go out."

"Who are you calling a dead-faced person?" A voice suddenly rang out from behind, and Zhang Lei walked over with a stiff, deathly expression.

"Look at yourself in the mirror and you'll see I'm not wrong," Huang Ziya said, turning around.

Zhang Lei was stunned when he saw Huang Ziya; "Who is this beautiful woman?"

"You don't recognize me, do you?" Huang Ziya said with a smile.

Zhang Lei looked her up and down, and he was indeed amazed. The woman in front of him was definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. "Illusion? Huang Ziya is not like you. She is thin and ugly."

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Ziya interrupted him, "Shut up, this is my true appearance. You must have remembered it wrong before."

"Incredible, absolutely incredible! It's practically a miracle in the paranormal world. It's like you've been given a completely different body. Is this body even real?"

Zhang Lei was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but reach out to touch it, to see if he could feel the body temperature of a living person.

"Trying to take advantage of me?"

Huang Ziya gave a soft hum, walked directly into the house, sat on the sofa, and then looked at Yang Jian beside her, saying, "If the captain wants to have some close contact with the number one beauty in Asia, I might agree."

"Do you think you're prettier, or is the woman in the photo prettier?" Yang Jian took out a photo and placed it on the coffee table.

"Um?"

Huang Ziya's eyes flickered as she looked at the woman in the photo.

Perfect, flawless, stunning, revealing an intellectual beauty that seems out of place in this era.

"Impossible! How could there be such a beautiful woman in this world?" Huang Ziya immediately said, "The photo must be photoshopped."

Yang Jian said, "There is indeed no woman this beautiful, but the photo isn't fake either, because this woman isn't human at all; she's a woman from a ghost painting."

"What?" Huang Ziya exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Lei walked over in surprise. "I've seen the information about Ghost Drawing. The woman in the drawing is completely blurry, her features are very indistinct, as if she wasn't drawn at all. There are only her hands. Captain, have you seen what Ghost Drawing looks like?"

"I guess so. That's why I wanted you to remember what Ghost Painting looks like. You might run into it after I leave this city, so don't fail to recognize it then," Yang Jian said. "As for the photo, take a picture and save it. It might be intelligence data that could be useful to you. Give one to Feng Quan and the others later."

"If you're leaving, I'll go back to Dachang City with you," Huang Ziya said. "I wouldn't dare touch a paranormal event of this level."

Zhang Lei said, "My problem hasn't been solved yet. If it were, I wouldn't be staying here."

"I know you want to solve the problem of the vengeful ghosts resurrecting, but I'm powerless to help you. What I have won't help you. I hope Headquarters can find a solution," Yang Jian.

"I hope so," Zhang Lei said.

Yang Jian then pondered again; if Zhang Lei's vengeful spirit were to revive, using the Ghost Shroud should prolong his life.

He just didn't say it.

He also needs the Ghost Shroud. If, after solving the curse of the music box, he still faces the problem of the revival of vengeful spirits, then he can only use the Ghost Shroud as the fourth ghost he can control.

Of course, this was just a backup plan; if he could, he wouldn't want to wear the dead man's shroud.

"Also, let's put the team formation on hold for a few days. If I'm still alive in a few days, we can discuss it again," Yang Jian added.

He did indeed have the idea of forming a team of Ghost Tamer, and he had enough people: Feng Quan, Tong Qian, Zhang Lei, Huang Ziya, and Wang Jiang. If you include Xiong Wenwen, it would be just right.

However, some things happened during this period, making it impossible for many things to be accomplished smoothly.

"Captain, are you going to do something dangerous?" Huang Ziya asked in surprise.

Yang Jian, "No, I have a problem with myself. I've been cursed by a vengeful ghost, and I need to resolve it. If I can resolve it, I can live; if I can't, I will die in the next few days."

"What?" Zhang Lei was shocked. "How could this happen out of nowhere?"

Huang Ziya was also stunned, looking at Yang Jian with some disbelief.

"That's how it is after a fight with someone on WeChat Moments. Although the news hasn't spread yet, you'll find out in a few days," Yang Jian said.

Zhang Lei then recalled the strange events of the previous night. He had even received a message about Yang Jian's death, but later learned that Yang Jian was still alive. This confusing information left him somewhat bewildered, which was why he had come upstairs this morning to check the situation and confirm what had happened.

Unexpectedly, the Ghost Domain that appeared last night was actually a fight between Yang Jian and people in his WeChat Moments.

"No need to make a fuss, anyway, I won." Yang Jian paused here, glancing slightly downstairs.

Cao Yanhua and Wang Xiaoming arrived.