"Mr. Xia, please wait here for a moment. Director Chen will be here shortly."
When Xia Tianqiong arrived at the Administration Bureau, Chen Qiao's secretary greeted him and led him to the same meeting room as last time.
The secretary turned to leave, as if she had suddenly remembered something.
"Mr. Xia, two ghost hunters from our bureau went missing a few days ago. We heard they had contact with you before they disappeared. Do you know their whereabouts?"
Xia Tianqiong looked completely innocent. "How would I know? There are strange things everywhere now. Maybe he died somewhere!"
"That's true, that's certainly possible."
The secretary didn't ask any further questions and turned to leave the meeting room.
Xia Tianqiong smiled inexplicably; he understood the official stance.
Three to five minutes later, Chen Qiao pushed open the door and entered, followed by five or six people. Judging from their attire and demeanor, they were not ordinary staff members.
"Xia, thank you so much for last night."
As soon as Chen Qiao entered the meeting room, he praised Xia Tianqiong, his attitude much more friendly than last time.
Xia Tianqiong politely replied, "It's nothing, it's what I should do."
"Let me introduce you. These are the heads of various departments in our administration bureau: Minister Liu of the Information Department, Minister Qian of the Mission Department, Minister Zhang of the Logistics Department..."
Chen Qiao introduced them one by one, and Xia Tianqiong shook hands with each of the ministers.
The main leaders of the Lin'an branch are all here, which shows how much they value Xia Tianqiong.
"I called you here because there's nothing particularly important, just for a casual chat."
Inside the meeting room, everyone took their seats. Chen Qiao was the first to speak, setting the tone for the meeting and reassuring Xia Tianqiong in case he had any ideas.
"First of all, thank you for your contribution yesterday. I have instructed the mission department to calculate your points. You can contact Minister Qian later, and he will tell you your current points. You will also have priority in selecting missions."
Furthermore, the cooperation model you proposed is now being implemented nationwide, and as the proposer, you will receive a special reward. I know you value information most, so I've granted you higher access than others; you can check with the Information Department later.”
Chen Qiao said a lot, mostly praising and rewarding.
Next, the other ministers asked Xia Tianqiong a few questions.
Some people asked him where he got so much ghost money, some asked him where he went a couple of days ago, and some asked him how he made a contract with those strange creatures.
In short, the authorities wanted to find out his background.
Xia Tianqiong wasn't a child either; she didn't utter a single truthful word. She just laughed and made up stories, leaving everyone present speechless.
Knowing that he was not telling the truth, the leaders did not ask any further questions.
Director Sun of the Supervision Department asked one last question, "Mr. Xia, three days ago, two of our bureau's ghost hunters went missing. Someone reported that you arrested them. Is this true?"
Xia Tianqiong feigned surprise, "I was assassinated by three ghost hunters right after I left here that day. It turns out they were ghost hunters from the Bureau. Do you know who ordered them?"
This question startled Minister Sun, who quickly explained, "It was absolutely not instigated by our bureau."
“I know. They said themselves that the Liu family sent them to kill me. I had a small misunderstanding with the Liu family, and your Captain Zhou Boyu knew about it. Because of this misunderstanding, the Liu family wanted to kill me.”
"Where are the two ghost hunters?"
"I taught them a lesson and let them go. Maybe they went to join the Liu family, or maybe they died in the mouth of some strange creature."
Xia Tianqiong made up a story on the spot.
He knew that the authorities didn't really want to investigate the matter; it was just a formality to give everyone an explanation.
As expected, Chen Qiao spoke again, "This matter still needs to be investigated. Let's stop here for today!"
"Still needs to be investigated" means that the investigation has been postponed.
The brief meeting has now concluded.
Minister Qian of the Mission Department took the initiative to find Xia Tianqiong and offered to take him to the newly opened Mission Hall of the Administration Bureau, which is where all civilian ghost hunters accept missions.
Minister Qian was very enthusiastic and explained the relevant information to him as they walked.
The tasks issued by the Administration are divided into levels of strangeness. For example, a Wild Ghost-level task means dealing with strange occurrences of the Wild Ghost level.
The mission may not necessarily involve killing the supernatural entity; it could also involve tracking, investigating, or capturing it.
Different tasks yield different points.
Besides earning points by accepting tasks, there are several other ways to earn points.
For example, you can hand over any strange objects or tools you obtain during a mission to the Administration Bureau and receive a large number of points.
Alternatively, the eerie nature of the Hunter's Contract may have special functions, enabling one to provide valuable services to others and earn points in return.
At this point, Minister Qian specifically mentioned that Xia Tianqiong's "Life-Gambling Trick" could help people increase their lifespan, and this could also be exchanged for points.
Xia Tianqiong understood what it meant as soon as she heard it.
The leaders of the various departments in the administration bureau are all in their forties or fifties, and Director Chen, with his graying hair, is almost sixty or seventy years old. They must be trying to prolong their lives.
This is also why the reason why Xia Tianqiong killed two ghost hunters was not investigated.
He is simply too important. Putting aside his personal strength, his mastery of the "Death-Gambling Trick" alone is enough to give him a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Xia Tianqiong readily agreed to Minister Qian's request, promising to extend their lifespans as long as they accumulated enough points.
Minister Qian immediately beamed and became even more enthusiastic, giving a more detailed explanation.
Points are very useful; they can be used not only to exchange for mysterious information but also to exchange for various resources and privileges.
Now that chaos is emerging, the authorities have begun to tighten the supply of various resources. Some scarce resources can only be redeemed through points at the Administration Bureau.
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