Mysterious Revival: Starting by Controlling the Person-Hiding Ghost, Part 26

Zhao Xiaoya pointed at Zhao Kaiming lying on the ground as she spoke, turning her face toward Sun Yi, who stood nearby. She seemed to be expecting praise.

Sun Yi, however, remained expressionless, staring numbly at Zhao Kaiming's body, which lay in a pool of blood.

To be precise, he was looking at a figure standing beside Zhao Kaiming. The figure seemed not to exist in reality; only Sun Yi could see him.

At that moment, the relatives in the storeroom came out one after another and gathered around Sun Yi.

"He's as good as dead, son."

The speaker was a woman with a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She gently patted Sun Yi on the back, as though brushing dust off him.

Another man, elderly and ashen-faced, with a scar on his face, frowned and said quietly:

"Killing someone is a serious crime. We can't let anyone else find out. Your uncle and I will dig a hole nearby and bury him in a little while. Don't let anyone else come near here."

Zhao Kaiming's family and relatives surrounded Sun Yi, fussing over him. Not only did none of them care whether Zhao Kaiming lived or died, they were even discussing how to dispose of his body and destroy the evidence.

"Heh heh."

A shrill laugh rang out, echoing through the crowded storeroom.

"Heh heh, hahahaha!"

At some point, the wound on Zhao Kaiming's head had healed, and even the blood on the floor had vanished without a trace.

He lay on his back on the floor, laughing miserably.

His laughter grew ever more shrill and desperate, as though he wanted to pour out all the grievances and resentment he had bottled up inside.

He wanted to wail, but he couldn't shed a single tear.

His parents no longer saw him as their son, and his children no longer saw him as their father. What was there to hold on to in a family like this? In a world this hopeless, what was there left to live for?

No.

Zhao Kaiming's eyes snapped open, turning blood-red as he stared venomously at the ghost disguised as Sun Yi.

"You dared to steal my family. Even if you're a ghost, I'll never let you off."

Without further hesitation, Zhao Kaiming turned to the Wishing Ghost beside him and made a request.

"You can take anything I have left. Even if you want my life, I don't care, so long as you make this damned ghost pay."

Veins bulged across Zhao Kaiming's face as he snarled, his features twisted. "I want him dead! Even if I can't kill him, I'll bite him to pieces! I'll make him pay in blood!"

The ghost beside him, who did not exist in reality, moved. His blurred features twisted slightly, as though revealing a cold sneer. Then he walked into Zhao Kaiming's body of his own accord.

Seeing this, Sun Yi raised the newspaper in his hands and slowly retreated behind the others.

The people who had once been Zhao Kaiming's family immediately raised their faces and glowered at him, their gazes so vicious that they might have been facing a mortal enemy.

The next moment, several more shots struck Zhao Kaiming. Blood sprayed everywhere, staining the storeroom crimson.

Dawn had yet to break.

There would be no peace in this warehouse on the outskirts of Dachang City. Bursts of gunfire, muffled grunts and screams rang out from time to time.

Early the next morning, someone knocked on Jiang Li's door.

The visitor was none other than Zhao Jianguo, who had failed to recruit him before.

This time, he had brought an invitation and a satellite positioning phone, identical to Yang Jian's. His intentions couldn't have been clearer.

"Jiang Li, there's going to be a meeting tomorrow to wrap up the Hunger Ghost Incident. Although you aren't a headquarters' person in charge right now, you made a major contribution during the incident, just like Yang Jian."

"So, as the captain of the criminal police at headquarters, I've given it careful thought and decided to extend you a special invitation to the meeting, as well as make you a city person in charge candidate ahead of time. What do you think?"

"Not much. I'm still a student wearing a school uniform. How could I possibly shoulder responsibility for an entire city? You think too highly of me."

Jiang Li spoke while feeling a little puzzled.

How did this old fellow know he didn't have a phone to use? He had even come to deliver a special headquarters phone in person, and he was being so sincere that Jiang Li almost felt embarrassed to refuse.

"I'm not overestimating you. I believe you have the potential, and that has nothing to do with age." As Zhao Jianguo spoke, he pressed the satellite positioning phone into Jiang Li's hand.

"Before Yang Jian became Dachang City's Ghost Eye detective, he was also a high school student about to take his college entrance exams. Isn't he doing a fine job now?"

"If you're worried about being tied down by too many restrictions, you could start as a candidate. You'd have the title and benefits of a person in charge for the time being, and you'd follow other official persons in charge to get accustomed to the work. Headquarters wouldn't assign you any tasks during that period, and you'd also be free to join other civilian organizations. How about it?"

"..."

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected Zhao Jianguo to make so many concessions for him, even offering to let him join other organizations as he pleased. He had beaten up Guo Fan, Zhao Jianguo's subordinate, just last night, yet the man was still being so friendly to him?

What Jiang Li didn't know, however, was this.

In Zhao Jianguo's eyes, he had already become a candidate for a second "Zhou Zheng."

After all, as the outside world saw it, Jiang Li was just an ordinary high school student caught up in the Hunger Ghost Incident. After accidentally gaining control of a fierce ghost during the incident, he had joined Yang Jian and the others without looking back, risking his life alongside them to help deal with it.

If Zhou Zheng had voluntarily sacrificed himself during the Knocking Ghost Incident because of the responsibility he bore as Dachang City's person in charge,

then Jiang Li stepping forward had been entirely the act of a hot-blooded youth.

That was what Zhao Jianguo believed.

Headquarters had only just gained a foothold in the supernatural circle and was in urgent need of young people who would shoulder responsibility, had a sense of duty and weren't overly self-serving to serve as persons in charge.

Now that there was a candidate who seemed to meet every requirement, how could he let him slip away so easily?

Chapter 41: The Examiner Sent by the Friend Circle

Seeing how enthusiastic Zhao Jianguo was, Jiang Li found it hard to keep refusing.

So Jiang Li accepted the invitation and headquarters' satellite phone and agreed to attend the Hunger Ghost meeting two days later.

Not long after Zhao Jianguo left, there was another knock at the door.

This time, it was Wang Shan.

He seemed rather pleased with himself, his face still flushed from drinking. As soon as he entered, he flopped back onto the sofa.

Tea had already been prepared in the living room. Jiang Li calmly handed him a cup of hot tea, then asked:

"Wang Shan, how did it go?"

"Pretty smoothly. The Friend Circle is planning to send someone to evaluate you. They call it an evaluation, but really, it's just going through the motions over a few meals and drinks." As Wang Shan spoke, he waved a liquor bottle in front of Jiang Li.

"That's all? Isn't that a little too much of a joke for an evaluation?" Jiang Li couldn't help asking.

"That's how it looks on the surface, but the waters run deep underneath." Wang Shan pointed at his head. "You have to understand, these are capitalist ghost tamers. Naturally, they'll choose the method they're best at for the evaluation. What looks like an ordinary dinner to you is actually full of hidden currents."

"The person coming to evaluate you is fairly low-profile. Even I don't know his exact position in the company, but it definitely isn't low."

"What's his name?" Jiang Li asked.

"His surname is He, and his given name is Tianxiong. You can call him President He when you meet him. He's also a top-tier ghost tamer. You might be able to learn something from him," Wang Shan replied, blowing on the scalding tea.

"Hmm..."

Jiang Li took a small sip of tea, then abruptly frowned.

"What's his name?"

"He Tianxiong. Have you heard the name before?" Wang Shan asked.

"No, but it's a good name. It gives the impression of someone whose great wisdom appears foolish."

Jiang Li took a sip of tea as he replied.

"It's good that you think so. There's nothing but benefits to befriending someone like him," Wang Shan said. "If you ever get into trouble out there, you can ask someone you know in the Friend Circle to help settle it."

"After all, no matter how strong an enemy is, they can't be stronger than the entire Friend Circle. When those presidents see things going badly, they'll call for reinforcements, who call for more reinforcements, layer after layer. In the end, the one who comes out will be Fang Shiming."

Jiang Li rolled his eyes at him and replied mildly:

"I've already seen what Fang Shiming can do. I used up that photo of his in my confrontation with a fierce ghost. I'm not denying that he's formidable, but if you're saying he can solve any trouble at all, I'm afraid that's not necessarily true."

Maybe one day he'd pick a fight with a street punk covered in betel nuts, and that young man would wipe out the entire Friend Circle single-handedly, even cutting him in two.

At the thought, Jiang Li couldn't help rolling his eyes.

He probably needed to secure a place for himself in the Friend Circle as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he still couldn't get a word in at meetings when the time came, and Fang Shiming went to cut Yang Jian's head with the Ghost Scissors and dragged the whole Friend Circle into a fight to the death with Yang Jian, all his plans for this period would come to nothing.

As for He Tianxiong, who would be arriving soon...

Jiang Li pondered for a moment and suddenly felt that there was plenty of room for him to maneuver in this so-called evaluation.

After all, He Tianxiong was one of the very few members who had managed to escape when the Friend Circle was wiped out. Not only was the man greedy for life and afraid of death, with an extraordinary knack for surviving, he also had an extremely anti-human way of thinking.

If Jiang Li played his cards right, he had a very good chance of winning He Tianxiong's trust and approval outright. With his backing, Jiang Li's standing in the Friend Circle would undoubtedly soar in no time.

At the thought, Jiang Li couldn't help laughing aloud.

If Jiang Shangbai were the one coming, he might have had more of a headache. After all, the only connection between them was that Jiang Li had saved his grandmother, and it would be hard to gain his recognition in a short time.

But He Tianxiong was completely different.

The man wasn't very bright, and he especially loved showing off and throwing his weight around in front of others.

As long as Jiang Li went a little against his conscience and kissed up to him, then arranged a few supernatural incidents that looked accidental at the right moments and stepped in to resolve them swiftly and decisively, He Tianxiong would probably sing his praises to the heavens.

"I've passed on the message, so I won't stay any longer." Wang Shan patted his backside as he spoke and took out a business card. "Here's my contact information. You can reach me whenever you need me. I can pretty much guarantee I'll be available twenty-four hours a day."

Jiang Li took the card and pondered for a moment before saying:

"You don't seem to have my contact information yet."

Wang Shan chuckled but said nothing more. He simply picked up his phone and began tapping away.

The next moment, Jiang Li's satellite positioning phone rang. The number was the one on Wang Shan's business card.

"Don't doubt my professional ability in this area. I told you, even those dedicated headquarters operators might not do a better job than me. That's confidence that comes from my own abilities."

With a few proud, satisfied chuckles, Wang Shan opened the door and left the small villa.

The living room fell silent again. The unfinished cup of tea on the table was no longer steaming.

Jiang Li sat silently on the sofa, motionless for a long time, as though lost in thought.

Time passed bit by bit, and the sky, which had only brightened a short while ago, gradually darkened again.

It wasn't until evening that someone else came to his door and rang the doorbell.

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then got up and opened the door.

This time, it was Yang Jian.

His expression was as impassive as usual, but there seemed to be a barely perceptible trace of joy on his face.

"Two pieces of news, one good and one bad," Yang Jian said.

"More news? Let's hear the bad news first." Jiang Li paused thoughtfully. "Surely nothing else has gone wrong with the Hunger Ghost?"

"No, but it's not much better." Yang Jian took out several photos. "Other detectives took these in a warehouse in Dachang City. Take a look."

Jiang Li took the photos and examined them carefully.

They showed the inside of a dim warehouse, with many bodies scattered haphazardly across the floor. There were elderly people, women and even children among them.

Without exception, blood had streamed from all seven of their orifices, their faces were deathly gray, and their eyes were wide open, unable to close in death.