Recruitment on Day 5

"Wait?" Lin Chaoying said with a smile, "It seems you knew I was coming all along?"

Chu Tang tilted her head and said confidently, "From the first time you saw me, I knew you would find out."

Lin Chaoying laid her cards on the table, saying, "Then you should know why I'm here."

Chu Tang nodded. "Of course." She pointed to the teacup in front of her. "Really not going to try this tea?"

The dim light shone on the water, casting even darker, distorted shadows that rippled and undulated. Lin Chaoying picked up her teacup, drank it down in one gulp, and asked, "I want to hear what you want if you want my friend to go? Or what do you want me to give in exchange?"

Chu Tang smiled with a satisfied expression and said, "I knew you were smart." She slowly stood up, walked to the door, looked in the direction of the River God Temple, and said disdainfully, "What's so great about Twelfth Street? It's just a bunch of good-for-nothings. Why don't you join the Ghost Gate?"

Lin Chaoying found it absurd, turned around and looked up at her, her upward gaze meeting her downcast eyes. She asked in confusion, "I joined the Ghost Gate?"

"Of course," Chu Tang said affirmatively.

Unable to figure out the other party's tactics, Lin Chaoying could only calm herself down and talk about related matters, "So, Wang Shao, Wang Yu are also from the Ghost Gate?"

"Heh." Chu Tang rolled her eyes and said, "Do you think the Ghost Gate is a garbage dump? You're overestimating them."

"So, you only had your eye on Wang Ge? And turned him into Scarface?" Lin Chaoying asked.

Chu Tang walked behind her, shrouded in a dark shadow. Lin Chaoying forced herself to remain calm and sat in her original position. The fragrance behind her grew closer until she felt the other person's hands on her shoulders and heard a ghostly, seductive voice in her ear, "Stop beating around the bush, just ask what you want to know."

Lin Chaoying turned to the side, shifting her body away, and said with a smile and distance, "I just want to know, why did you kill Xiao Mei?"

Chu Tan sat back down in the opposite seat and sighed softly, "He's just an NPC, why bother?"

"NPC!" Lin Chaoying was so angry that she couldn't control her expression. She understood what the other party meant. Anyone who helped to arouse Wang Ge's emotions, regardless of the reason or whether the other party was Xiao Mei or not, as long as they were Wang Ge's relatives or lovers, would die.

Chu Tang frowned slightly and said, "I deliberately let Xiao Mei hear that Wang Shao killed Wang Ge's parents and grandfather, and I also led her into the back mountain to see the grave that I had prepared to be dug up."

Lin Chaoying: "Tomb?"

Chu Tang pointed to herself and said, "Yes, this is my grave."

Lin Chaoying instantly understood her meaning: it was Wang Sui's grave that made Xiao Mei aware of the River God's deception, prompting her to expose the truth. "So you took advantage of her personality?"

"I don't think so," Chu Tang said with a smile. "She wasn't originally that impulsive, but I stirred up the villagers' emotions, and her emotions were naturally stirred up as well. In addition, Zhuang Huan and Wang Shao were afraid that she would expose their crimes..." She gestured with her hands, "Bang - the conflict erupted, and her crimes were exposed."

Lin Chaoying glared at her, her anger barely contained. "Do you think I'd be willing to join the Ghost Gate after you've said all that?"

Chu Tang propped her face up with her hands and reminded her, "You forgot, you came here to make an exchange, not to ask if you're willing or not?"

"Exchange?" Lin Chaoying laughed sarcastically, then took out her phone, placed it on the table, opened a video call, and said, "Do you want to see what your good subordinates have to say to us?"

The video contains Wang Ge's recorded testimony.

Chu Tang's expression changed instantly. "You think this can threaten me?"

"How could that be?" Lin Chaoying switched to Weibo and took back the reins of the conversation. "You should know that I have a friend named Jiang Chuangu, who was the one you initially wanted to kill, but Wang Ge messed things up. In the end, you had to get the entertainment company, the star himself, Twelfth Street, and the police to work together to manage the public opinion and get the public's attention away. I think this matter must have had a big impact on the Ghost Gate, right? Otherwise, why has the Peach Blossom Village plan been accelerating? How many parents have died in just a few days?"

Chu Tang crossed her arms, remained silent, and quietly observed her expression and state.

Lin Chaoying clicked the plus sign, then clicked on the video to start uploading. She pretended to be careless and said, "Oops, it's uploaded! What if I click 'publish'? Your Ghost Gate's Creation God Project will be exposed to the world!"

"Do you dare?" Chu Tang approached Lin Chaoying, her eyes flashing with ruthlessness and killing intent, and said, "If the matter of the superpowered people gets out, do you think life on Twelfth Street will be easier?"

Lin Chaoying said coldly, word by word, "I just like it: fish, dead, net, broken."

Chu Tang gritted her teeth, her eye muscles twitching with anger, and stubbornly said, "You want to control me with public opinion? Don't forget, if you were really afraid of public opinion, you wouldn't have killed Jiang Chuangu."

Lin Chaoying retorted, "Because you can't control Wang Ge anymore, can you? We were able to find out the cause of death of Shi Zan and Li Chao because Wang Ge didn't dispose of the bodies at all. But Wang Ge is someone who has been in the Ghost Gate for eight years. Your plan has been implemented for decades, which means how many people died tragically during that time and were covered up by the Ghost Gate as natural deaths?"

Her eyes seemed to see right through her, and her tone was sarcastic, "What are you pretending for, Chu Tang?"

Chu Tang was exposed and didn't respond.

Lin Chaoying picked up her phone and, right in front of her, clicked the "X" to exit Weibo. The screen's light shone on their faces, sending a chill through them. She said, "These things can't be brought into the light anyway. Let's each take a step back. If you release my friend today, I won't use Jiangchuan Valley's traffic to expose your crimes and make things worse for everyone..."

Chu Tang took out her phone, clearly losing her initial patience, and dialed a number, saying in a harsh tone, "Let them go."

Lin Chaoying showed no intention of leaving and continued to drink water from her teacup.

Chu Tang retorted, "Aren't you going to check whether I've really done it?"

"No need." Lin Chaoying looked directly at her frankly, her eyes sparkling. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she deliberately said, "Do you think I can't see through you? If you really intended to kill those three, you wouldn't have waited for me to come, nor would you have told me so much. It seems your target wasn't them to begin with. Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

"I knew you were smart." Chu Tang was even more impressed and said with a smile, "I'll say it again: join the Ghost Gate. Now that I'm the leader of the Ghost Generals, you will help me ascend to the position of adopted son."

Lin Chaoying got annoyed. "Don't you have anyone else? Why are you looking for me?"

Chu Tang: "I really like a woman like you who is smart, has special abilities, and has no ambition."

"I will not enter the Gate of Hell." Lin Chaoying's eyes suddenly changed, becoming sharp, and she asked, "My younger brother, Lin Chaotai, drowned on February 29th, 3026, at Anyuan Bridge in the Dongshan District of Fengcheng. Were there any remnants of your supernatural abilities left at the scene? What is your connection to that?"

Winter? Five years ago? Fengcheng?

After a few seconds of silence, Chu Tang's brows relaxed instantly. "So that person was you?"

Lin Chaoying: "So, did you do it? Did you brainwash me and make me jump off Anyuan Bridge?"

Chu Tang's voice carried a seductive undertone as she said, "If you're willing to come back to the Ghost Gate with me, I'll tell you who the real murderer is and find a way to help you get revenge. How about it?"

As dawn broke, the chirping of birds filled the air, accompanied by the fresh, damp scent of earth. Two men wearing sunglasses stood at the doorway. Qin Ming grinned and said, "I heard someone here is trying to poach my girlfriend?"

Chu Tang's expression changed drastically, and the moment she looked up, her whole body was filled with murderous intent.

Lin Chaoying's legs were numb from sitting so long. She stood up, holding onto the table, and said, "You've finally arrived."

Qian Fei crossed his arms, adjusted his sunglasses, and said angrily, "No wonder they're from the Ghost Gate, all they know is how to play dirty tricks, and they even dare to attack from behind!"

Lin Chaoying left the battlefield to the three of them, then obediently left the room. She turned around and politely waved to Chu Tang with a smile, then slammed the door shut. Seeing Kong Yue and Jiang Chuangu in the courtyard, she raised her chin and said, "You came pretty quickly."

Jiang Chuan Gu, his stubble already showing, leaned against the courtyard wall and asked, "Aren't you going in to help them?"

Lin Chaoying shook her head, "No, my special ability is only suitable for ambushes in a fight, not for direct attacks." She glanced down at Kong Yue's wrist, "Why is your hand bleeding?"

Kong Yue said dismissively, "It's nothing, I just bumped into something."

Qian Fei used his supernatural power to make the table fly up. Chu Tang took out a knife from her waist and slashed it hard at the center. She kicked open a crack and was met by Qin Ming grabbing her neck with one hand.

Chu Tang couldn't keep up with his speed, so she grabbed his wrists with both hands and twisted them in the opposite direction. The moment they fell to the ground, Qian Fei kicked her in the waist, and the prayer mats in the space all came crashing down on her. Unexpectedly, Chu Tang was extremely agile. She flipped over and leaped up from the ground, grabbed a prayer mat, and slapped it at Qin Ming's face.

Qin Ming gathered water in his palm, trying to restrain her, but Chu Tang lifted half a table with one hand and bounced the water back directly, soaking both of them.

At this moment, they finally realized that Chu Tang's superpower had no offensive power. How did she become a Ghost General? Her body was too agile, she was too good at finding the loopholes in the opponent's superpower, and she was ruthless and fast. She could even barely fight to a draw in a 1v2 situation.

Lin Chaoying was outside the house, preparing to check if Jiang Chuangu's back injury had worsened, when "bang!" a strong force broke the door open from the inside, and two familiar faces rolled out.

Qian Fei and Qin Ming.

Chu Tang still had Wang Sui's face, her thin and vulnerable appearance was too bewildering. She stood at the door, the bloodstains on her hands and neck like medals, and said with her head held high, "I told you that Twelfth Street is too useless, otherwise I wouldn't be waiting for you here."

Jiangchuan Valley pulled out his baton and stood in the middle.

Qian Fei and Qin Ming stood up again and stood in front, while Lin Chaoying leaned against Kong Yue and said, "Hold me tight."

In an instant, she detached from her body and rushed into Chu Tang's body. Qin Ming once again used water to pursue her, while Qian Fei used his mental power to control countless ropes in an attempt to entangle her. Lin Chaoying also realized how powerful Chu Tang's mental strength was; after all, even after entering her body, she could feel that she couldn't control it.

So Chu Tang twisted and fought back against herself, while also retaliating against Qian Fei and Qin Ming's attacks.

Finally, she raised the knife in her hand into the air, aiming it at her face. Qian Fei used ropes to control her legs and waist. Chu Tang and Lin Chaoying struggled for control of their bodies, and even Qin Ming helped.

After a hissing sound, a wound appeared on Chu Tang's face, with fine beads of blood flowing out, gathering into a warm stream that flowed down her face and neck.