Chapter 69 At this moment, He Zhao's mind was racing. She took a deep breath and sat there blankly...
At that moment, He Zhao's mind was racing. She took a deep breath, sat there for a long time, and then her eyes lit up. She mentally called out, "System..."
[Host, I'm here.]
After some communication, the system finally agreed to He Zhao's somewhat unreasonable request. He Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She sat there, her phone beside her. She stopped playing with it and kept checking the time, turning the screen back on as soon as it went dark.
Fireworks were going off in the distance, and the "thump-thump" sound rang out from time to time. At 11:20, she finally met her guest.
The first one to arrive today is the stitched-up water ghost.
He Zhao took a deep breath, and before the sutured water ghost could speak, he scooped a bowl of rice and placed it directly into its hand. The sutured water ghost hadn't even sat down yet, and looked at the extra rice in its hand with a completely bewildered expression.
Immediately afterward, she heard He Zhao say a string of words: "501, you better watch out. Now it's time for you to repay our kindness. Qiao Yanyu and Wang Yu, these two are people who helped you, you haven't forgotten, have you?" In between speaking, the sutured water ghost nodded, but before she could ask "What happened to them?", she heard He Zhao continue without pausing.
"A group of people has appeared in this city. They are villains, and they carry a ghost with them, possibly more than one. They are stirring up trouble and creating chaos throughout the city, all in an attempt to kidnap innocent girls to complete their evil rituals. Qiao Yanyu and Wang Yu, as righteous public servants, have already gone to the front lines to resist these guys and rescue the girls. Unfortunately, those vicious guys were well-prepared, and their numbers are numerous, making it difficult for them to resist them in the short term."
He Zhao spoke very quickly, but his pronunciation was very clear, and the stitched-up water ghost understood him perfectly. When he heard that those guys were going to harm innocent girls, a shadow crossed the stitched-up water ghost's eyes.
It's clear that it's extremely angry about this persecution of girls. Perhaps because it was an innocent victim killed by bad people, it can't stand seeing others do such things. Not to mention, it involves its benefactor.
Almost immediately after He Zhao finished speaking, the sutured water ghost said, "So what do I need to do?"
He Zhao took a deep breath and replied, "Help stop those ghosts from harming people. If you encounter any trace of those bad guys, come back and tell me, and I will pass it on to Sister Qiao and the others."
The sutured water ghost looked somewhat bewildered: "Then how can I tell you?"
"Hold your bowl and finish your rice. After you're done, take a piece of ghost money, write down the exact location, and put it in your bowl. But you can only use this method once. Once you've used it, run away as fast as you can. Those people have a way to deal with ghosts. Just tell me when you see them from afar. Don't go in yourself. I'll treat you to extra spicy rice and a small drink later."
The suture-wearing water ghost nodded, accepting He Zhao's explanation: "I understand, I will do my best. Don't worry, I definitely won't let those girls and Qiao Yanyu get hurt. Wait for my good news!"
After saying this, the sutured water ghost took the rice and left. This method required He Zhao to mentally battle the system for three hundred rounds before finally getting the system to reluctantly agree. The system also had another reason for its reluctance: He Zhao had already decided to give away a super-sized gift tonight.
She even placed an order directly on a food delivery app, asking the delivery person to bring her rice.
The next two, the Mud Demon and the Tall Guy, were also asked by He Zhao. Neither of them refused; the Mud Demon was even quite willing: "I get a headache from hearing that ghost's wailing every day. I'm right on the main road, and that guy's wailing drives some pedestrians crazy. They're trying to cross the road even when the light is red. If I hadn't stopped them, several of them would have been hit and killed. Doing this on my turf, it's really insane!"
The Mud Demon wasn't exactly a very righteous ghost, but when He Zhao said that after they finished this job today, he would give them a free feast in a couple of days, the Mud Demon immediately beamed with joy and volunteered to join in.
As for the tall guy, he couldn't sit still when he heard that those guys were going to lay a hand on an innocent girl. He muttered to himself, "My wife is so beautiful and so innocent, they will definitely not let my wife go, this won't do... this won't do... my wife can't be hurt, absolutely not."
After saying that, it was about to run away when He Zhao called out, "Come back and take the bowl!" It then remembered that there was such a thing, and hurriedly came back, picked up the bowl, and ran away.
When the old woman arrived, He Zhao was explaining the situation to another regular ghost. That ghost wasn't very willing to help; it wasn't very bright and didn't have much to do. Hearing He Zhao's words, it murmured, "No... I'm too weak. I'm no match for you. You should find someone else..."
Upon hearing this, the old woman immediately became displeased and smacked the ghost on the head. Then, she smiled and said to He Zhao, "Grandma will help you, don't be in such a hurry..."
He Zhao hadn't originally planned to ask the old woman to help, because she looked quite frail, but he couldn't stop her no matter what he did, and she left with her rice bowl. The guest stared wide-eyed at the old woman's help and could only say, "Let me make this clear first, I can't help much, I can only do what I can. Don't blame me later."
"It's not your fault, go in peace."
In the middle of the delivery, the deliveryman also brought the rice. He Zhao carried the rice and, without looking back, carried the rice cooker to the park's restroom. He used the water from the tap at the entrance to rinse the rice, then rinsed it back, put it in the rice cooker, and started cooking it.
After finishing all that, and mobilizing the remaining ghosts, He Zhao rode off on his tricycle.
He Zhao didn't actually have many guests, only about ten, but today they all arrived in unison, and He Zhao dispatched them all. He Zhao didn't know how many people or ghosts were on the other side, but this number was definitely not enough.
He Zhao knew she wasn't strong enough to deal with those people and ghosts, and she didn't plan to go herself. While pedaling her electric tricycle, she tried calling Qiao Yanyu, but couldn't get through. She could only grit her teeth and call Wang Yu instead.
"Hello? Boss, what's wrong? What's the matter? Are you in danger...?"
Wang Yu spoke quickly, as if her situation wasn't much better. He Zhao didn't waste any words with her and interrupted her, saying everything he wanted to say in one breath: "Tell your bureau chief to inform everyone that if you encounter a ghost holding a bowl of rice or eating rice, don't touch it. They're there to help you. That's all. I'm hanging up."
When the call was disconnected, Wang Yu was still a little dazed, but she had heard He Zhao's words clearly and understood what she meant. She also knew that He Zhao was definitely not obediently going home at this moment, but was wandering around on the road.
After realizing what had happened, she immediately dialed the bureau chief's number and relayed what He Zhao had said. The bureau chief was also somewhat stunned when he heard about it. However, she reacted faster than Wang Yu; she knew that in this situation, having help was a huge advantage, and who cared where that help came from?
However, when this notice was sent out, the investigators from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau were completely baffled: What's going on? What does it mean that the ghosts are on our side? And why are they all holding a bowl of white rice? Isn't this a bit too eerie? If all else fails, let's just take care of these ghosts first.
But no matter what, having help is a good thing.
He Zhao was truly busy, wandering the streets and alleys. Whenever he sensed a gloomy or eerie place, he would head straight there, and if he encountered a ghost, he would immediately stuff rice into its mouth. The ghost was still bewildered when it looked down and saw a bowl of rice in its hand. Then, He Zhao said:
"Hey sister/brother, listen to me! I'm hosting a free banquet at the park in two days, all served with this rice. Everyone's welcome!" The moment he said this, coupled with the enticing aroma of the rice, even a ghost would be mesmerized. However, the rice wasn't served in the white porcelain bowl He Zhao had bought; it was served in disposable bowls and chopsticks.
While running around, He Zhao didn't miss any of the small shops that were still open, going into each one to ask if they sold disposable bowls and chopsticks. Fortunately, it was New Year's Eve, and some vendors wanted to make money from people out celebrating, so they stayed open. Even so, shops that sold disposable bowls and chopsticks were pitifully few.
Persistence pays off, and He Zhao has always been a bit lucky, so she actually managed to find one.
Although the bowls and chopsticks were disposable, it did not diminish the allure of the rice. The aroma made the ghost slowly nod and say, "Okay."
He Zhao changed the subject: "But then again, this white rice isn't free. I usually charge ten yuan in ghost money for it. Today's free giveaway comes with some conditions." She repeated what she had said to her customers earlier.
At first, the ghosts genuinely didn't want to agree, but since they wouldn't give in, He Zhao pretended to take the rice back. Under such obvious pressure, the ghosts were bewildered, and some even showed a desire to teach He Zhao a lesson by physically obtaining the white rice.
Faced with this situation, He Zhao was naturally panicked. However, she forced herself to remain calm, trying to soothe her rapidly beating heart while saying to the ghost, "Come on, if you're so capable, kill me today. If you kill me, you'll never eat anything this delicious again! Besides me, who else will cook for you?"
"And another thing, don't think I'm bluffing. Do you know how many ghosts and ghost hunters I know outside? If I die here today, this whole district will be plowed up. Someone like you would be completely annihilated! Think it over!"
Having thought it through, and having used both threats and inducements, even the ghosts couldn't do anything about it. But they still said with some trepidation, "Then I'll only be responsible for saving people and delivering messages to you. I'm going to the park the day after tomorrow, and you have to return this ghost money to me."
"No problem."
He Zhao agreed, but added a reminder: "Don't just draw a salary without doing any work. If I find out, you won't even know how you died."
The ghost curled its lip: "I'm really impressed by you."
The amount of rice given by He Zhao was disproportionate to his demands, and for some reason, taking the bowl of rice allowed him to go for a walk. Therefore, most of the ghosts agreed to He Zhao's request.
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