The Brat Joins the Operation

As time ticked by, less than twelve hours remained before the Yang Jian Curse was about to erupt.

However, the operation targeting the ghost paintings has already officially begun.

Not many people were involved because manpower was needed to deal with the ghost paintings that kept appearing in the city. The source painting only required one team. This was not Ghost Messenger operation, so there was no need to compare the number of ghosts with the ghost paintings. All that was needed was to locate the ghost paintings and then detain them.

The team was led by Li Jun and Liu San, and included Li Yang, who had recently become Ghost Tamer, and Chen Yi, one of the team leaders.

There were only four people, which seemed a bit few, but it was for the sake of caution. If they encountered unimaginable danger, the losses wouldn't be too heavy, and Headquarters would still have the opportunity to reorganize manpower. So, the first operation also had the purpose of scouting the situation.

"Wait here for a moment, I'll go upstairs to find someone else." Li Jun and the others arrived at the foot of a building in a residential complex.

"Does it matter who it is?" Liu San asked.

Chen Yi glanced at the building. As one of the city's leaders, he knew the residences of most of the Ghost Tamer and immediately said, "I remember this neighborhood is inhabited by the families of some important figures, and it's usually a high-priority area. This building should be Xiong Wenwen's home."

"So it was that brat."

A strange smile appeared on Liu San's sallow, sickly face. "If this brat is willing to get involved, it can indeed save a lot of time, but isn't Su Fan more suitable?"

"Although my precognitive abilities aren't that strong, they're still more reliable than this brat's."

Chen Yi said, "We also need someone to look after the city. We can't bring everyone into the team. After all, we also need to consider the arrangements if our operation fails."

"So Su Fan the backup, Xiong Wenwen is going first?" Liu San said, "That's really a bit cruel for a child."

"This world is cruel. We have no choice. When it's time to step up, we have to step up. No one is an exception. Xiong Wenwen's precognitive ability is too important. According to what Li Yang said before, Yang Jian once explored a dangerous area suspected of containing ghost paintings alone, but was attacked by two ghosts in succession and almost died there."

Chen Yi usually has a short temper, but this time he was much calmer.

"I think anyone else would have been dead in that situation if it weren't for Yang Jian. So we can't follow his path. We must avoid all dangers and locate that ghost painting. Once we find it, the operation will be 70% complete."

"Things aren't that simple."

Liu San shook his head slightly; "The patterns of the Ghost Painting are unclear, and the reason why the Ghost Tamer team abroad was wiped out has not been found. The real danger of the Ghost Painting is still hidden, because no one has actually come into contact with that painting yet."

"A paranormal event that can be classified as S-class paranormal event abroad must be extremely terrifying and hopeless. Think about the Starvation Ghost Incident. Almost all the Ghost Tamer in Dachang City were wiped out. The Starving Ghost was almost unsolvable if it weren't for that coffin nail. So the Ghost Painting must also contain some kind of taboo."

"Didn't Yang Jian come out alive before?" Chen Yi asked.

Liu San said, "That's because he hasn't found the real ghost painting yet. He might be very close, but being close also means he's very close to danger. When people move forward in the dark, they won't care about the abyss at their feet until they step into a hole. But we're different. This time, we'll definitely come into contact with it, and we'll have to bear all the dangers."

"If we're not careful, we could all be wiped out."

Li Yang, standing to the side, couldn't help but tremble as he listened to the conversation of these bigwigs.

He was just a newcomer, and he never expected that he would be drawn into this terrible operation so soon after leaving the Ghost Painting Incident, and that he would have no choice but to accept it.

"I'm definitely going to die this time." Li Yang's face was a little pale. Although the reward for the operation was high, he estimated that it would only be enough for his family's settlement.

Chen Yi said, "Keep your worries to yourself; the operation must continue."

"I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about you all." Liu San forced a smile onto his thin, sallow face.

"Then there's even less to worry about," Chen Yi said.

The two were talking downstairs.

Inside a house upstairs.

Xiong Wenwen and his mother Chen Shumei met with Li Jun.

"That's roughly the gist of the matter. I need Xiong Wenwen's help for this operation. His presence is crucial to this mission, and I hope Madam will agree." Li Jun sat upright on the sofa, his face, which had a strange bluish tinge, filled with a serious expression.

Just now, he briefly explained the operation and its details to Chen Shumei.

However, the crucial details could not be revealed and were kept secret.

"Another mission?"

Chen Shumei's mature and beautiful face immediately showed a worried expression. "Captain Li, Xiong Wenwen is still just a child. Can't we arrange for someone else to carry out the mission? A man Yang Jian came to me before. Is he not suitable? And that General Manager Jiang, he also seems very capable."

She didn't know many people, and the only people she had actually interacted with were Yang Jian and Jiang Shangbai; she couldn't recall many of their names.

Li Jun said seriously, "Their situation is a bit complicated. They had a fight a couple of days ago over something, and Jiang Shangbai died. Yang Jian is also dying soon."

"How could this be?" Chen Shumei exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.

It hasn't been long, and that young man who had just eaten at his own home is now dying.

Not only her, but Xiong Wenwen next to her also widened his eyes in disbelief. It was the first time he had heard about Yang Jian's situation, and he was unaware of the previous conflict between Yang Jian and his circle of friends, since no one had told him about it.

He's a little kid who spends most of his time at home playing games.

"That's the truth. Their conflict has escalated quite a bit and has had a significant impact on the current situation, which is why we need Xiong Wenwen's help this time, because time is of the essence."

Li Jun said, "So I hope Madam will agree to let me take Xiong Wenwen away."

"This is no longer a personal matter; it concerns the safety of the city. I can assure you, Madam, that I will take good care of Xiong Wenwen during this operation. He will be well protected; we will only need to utilize Xiong Wenwen abilities at crucial moments."

That's all.

Chen Shumei hesitated.

She really wanted to refuse, but she also knew in her heart that Commander Li Jun's personal visit must have been for a very important mission, and Xiong Wenwen, having joined Headquarters, naturally needed to obey arrangements and orders.

It's been quite a while since my last business trip.

"I... I need to think about it." Chen Shumei's eyes darted away slightly; she didn't know how to respond to Li Jun.

"Alright, give Madam ten minutes. I'll wait outside." Li Jun finished the steaming tea on the coffee table in one gulp, then got up and left the room.

Ten minutes?

Chen Shumei was taken aback. The consideration period was too short; she had wanted to ask for three to five days.

"It seems this situation is even more urgent than last time." She sighed helplessly and glanced at Xiong Wenwen beside her.

Although Xiong Wenwen is a child, he is not the kind of child who is completely ignorant. He is already in the fifth grade of elementary school and has some personal thoughts. In addition, due to the influence of the ghost in his body, he is quite precocious when it comes to paranormal events.

"Mom, Li Jun has already come to our door, so we definitely can't refuse this task."

Chen Shumei panicked and didn't know what to do. "What should we do? It will be very dangerous for you to go. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Xiong Wenwen scratched her head. "Since there's no other way, we have to go. Judging from Li Jun's expression just now, we definitely can't persuade him."

"What if they can't protect you when you're in danger?" Chen Shumei asked.

Xiong Wenwen didn't know what to say; he was currently bearing pressure that someone his age shouldn't have to bear.

After thinking for a while, Xiong Wenwen said, "How about this, if something really happens to me, Mom, you can call Yang Jian to come and rescue me. I don't know if he'll agree, but this is his private phone number; nobody else knows it, and this is the only number we can contact him with."

As he spoke, he wrote down a phone number.

"Isn't Yang Jian about to die?" Chen Shumei hadn't forgotten what Li Jun had just said.

"I'm just about to die, I'm not dead yet. If I really die, then so be it. Anyway, leaving other people's phone numbers won't get me any help," Xiong Wenwen said.

He was severely corrupted by the ghost within his body. Under the ghost's influence, he had a premonition that Yang Jian was not dead, and this premonition was very accurate, not just some nonsense.

But that's all there is to it.

As for where Yang Jian is now, or what danger he has encountered, he has no idea. At present, he can only make this very simple and undifficult prediction instinctively.

Chen Shumei stared blankly at the note on the phone.

At this moment, she recalled the conversation she had with Yang Jian when they first met, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Last time, he kicked others out before they had even finished eating. Now that Xiong Wenwen is in trouble, the only person he can turn to for help is Yang Jian. The others simply don't care about Xiong Wenwen's life or death.

"I'm such a terrible person," Chen Shumei thought to herself.

About ten minutes later.

Li Jun was outside the door, saw Chen Shumei escort Xiong Wenwen out.

"Thank you for your understanding, Madam."

Li Jun immediately said, "Xiong Wenwen, let's set off now. We can't keep the others waiting too long."

"I have a feeling you're trying to trick me," Xiong Wenwen muttered, pouting.

Li Jun pretended not to hear and said again, "I assure Madam that I will take good care of Xiong Wenwen and will definitely bring Xiong Wenwen back safely."

Chen Shumei still looked worried and didn't say anything, only nodding slightly.

Soon, the two went downstairs.

"That child is Xiong Wenwen? Code name: Spirit Child?" Li Yang looked at him with slight curiosity.

Xiong Wenwen spotted the stranger in the group immediately and pointed at Li Yang, saying, "Li Jun, who is this idiot?"

"."

Li Yang instinctively clenched his fist, feeling an urge to hit someone.

Now he understood why Liu San called him a brat. He had previously thought it was because of his surname, Xiong, but now it seemed to have nothing to do with the surname. He was just a purebred brat.