Chapter 135 Qiao Yanyu's answer clearly satisfied the bureau chief, who continued to give instructions on the phone: "...
Qiao Yanyu's answer clearly satisfied the director, who continued on the phone, "This matter has already attracted the attention of higher-ups, and many cities have begun self-inspections. Our city's countermeasures bureau will also conduct this special investigation. I will arrange for personnel to conduct an investigation first, and you will join the investigation team immediately after you are injured. You know all the candidates currently being considered; I will arrange for Wang Yu and Li Xia to be included."
"good."
Having said that, the director hung up the phone. Qiao Yanyu put the phone away and silently pondered.
She has a very keen sixth sense, and as an investigator, she possesses this intuition to some extent. Qiao Yanyu felt this time that things weren't so simple. Indeed, as the director said, the appearance of so many ghosts whose appearances didn't match their former selves was rather eerie.
This isn't uncommon in the past, but it's really rare. Otherwise, dealing with ghosts would be several levels more difficult. If all ghosts are like this, whose background and reasons are impossible to investigate, then there's no point in doing any information gathering or helping them fulfill their wishes. Just give them a physical send-off. There's not that much time to wait for them to remember their past lives and then look for information.
Just by looking at its tall stature, you can tell how long it will take to wait for it to recall the key information before it can be properly exorcised. These are all ghosts like this; the countermeasures bureau shouldn't even think about getting along with them. There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding these ghosts. For those that look exactly like they did in life, you can infer the probability of them affecting ordinary citizens based on their past experiences.
Those that are very minor can be left unattended for the time being; those with a high probability of being discovered should be monitored promptly.
If it's completely different from how it was in life, that's terrible. Who knows who it was or what happened to it before it died? The only solution is to deploy investigators to monitor it closely. But then another problem arises: where are all these investigators? There are already few investigators, and with those on missions and resting at home, the number of available investigators becomes even smaller.
The fact that the investigators and the ghosts have been able to maintain an ecological balance proves that such troublesome situations are not common.
And the current situation does indeed prove that there are more ghosts in this special case now. Take He Zhao's stall as an example. She only has a few regular customers, less than 20 at most, but three of them have appeared out of these ghosts, not counting Gossian, whose face was initially a bit droopy and whose identity was hard to discern.
If we include Gossian, then there are four.
That ratio would give anyone a headache.
Qiao Yanyu hadn't taken this matter to heart before, thinking that He Zhao's stall was so mysterious that it might be due to its special appeal. However, after receiving Wang Yu's information, she sensed something was amiss. Why was this happening in the downtown area as well?
When the director called, Qiao Yanyu immediately understood—this wasn't an isolated incident, but rather a common occurrence lately. Perhaps some investigators had noticed and reported it much earlier, but as a massive system, the process of reporting step-by-step and issuing confirmation orders did indeed take some time.
There's probably something fishy going on behind this, but at least it's not the same kind of ghost targeting their city as last time.
This undoubtedly relieved Qiao Yanyu. She didn't want anything to happen to the city, because if something did, He Zhao would definitely be affected. The last thing Qiao Yanyu wanted to see was He Zhao get hurt.
When it was time to set up the stall, He Zhao took the rice and went. Just like yesterday, the little ghost appeared again. This time, it just watched from a distance, seemingly waiting for its target. He Zhao had a sudden realization: this brat had most likely set its sights on the old woman.
He Zhao whispered to Qiao Yanyu next to him, "That brat only targets kind-hearted people to scam. It must be because Grandma was especially kind yesterday and even wanted to buy me candy. This brat saw that and thought Grandma was easy to talk to, so he waited there for her to come over. He just wants to take advantage of her and steal money from her pocket."
After she finished complaining, she was still seething with anger: "This won't do. I can't let Grandma be fooled by this brat. When Grandma comes later, I'll keep a close eye on it so that she won't be fooled by this brat again."
"Grandma doesn't have much money, just some loose change, she might as well keep it herself. I didn't even use it to buy candy, but it still had its eye on it."
Qiao Yanyu smiled and said, "Okay, then you should talk to Grandma properly."
The Mud Ghost always arrived earlier than the old woman, but this time, when it arrived, the child ghost didn't even give it a second glance. The Mud Ghost wasn't annoyed; it simply walked to the stall and sat down, giving the child ghost a look and asking He Zhao, "What's it doing over there? It doesn't come over to eat, and it's not bothering anyone like it did the other day."
He Zhao sighed and recounted how it had set its sights on the old woman.
Even the mud ghost was indignant: "How could it be like this? It really is a brat. Grandma is a kind-hearted person, so you'd better keep an eye on it and not let Grandma be fooled by this child ghost."
"You don't need to tell me, I know what I'm doing."
After finishing his meal, the Mud Ghost left. When he got to the Child Ghost, he leaned over and said a few words of advice. He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu were too far away to hear clearly, but they could get the gist of it. Basically, it was the Mud Ghost trying to persuade the Child Ghost, saying that the Child Ghost clearly had money, so why was he so stingy that he couldn't even afford a meal? Was it because He Zhao's cooking was bad, or could he find better food elsewhere?
The child ghost remained silent, but the mud ghost was quick to say that if you have money, spend it yourself and don't always covet other people's. Other people's ghost money is also scarce and hard-earned.
The little ghost got a little annoyed and raised his voice, making sure He Zhao and the others could hear him clearly: "Mind your own business!"
The mud ghost shook its head, tugged at its hat, seemingly ashamed of its earlier well-intentioned advice to the child ghost, and walked away, covered in mud. Other guests, like the mud ghost, who had been kind in life, also went over to offer some words of advice.
Just like the Mud Demon, he ended up only able to lower his head and walk quickly.
This kid is really stubborn and incorrigible.
When the old woman arrived, the little ghost finally moved. Even from a distance, He Zhao could see its eyes gleaming, like a cheetah spotting its prey. He Zhao knew something was wrong, so he abandoned his stall, told Qiao Yanyu to keep an eye on the customers and remember to collect the money later, and then got up and walked towards the little ghost.
The old woman, blocked by the child ghost, didn't move forward. She stood there, looking at the child ghost with kind eyes.
"What's wrong?"
When He Zhao arrived, the little genius had just begun his tea ceremony. He wore an angelic smile and whispered, "Grandma, you look just like my grandma! I feel so close to you the moment I see you. Grandma, I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten for days. If my grandma saw me, she definitely wouldn't ignore me."
Ha! It's only been a few days, and your speech is already so clear. You can even pull off deceptive tricks with ease.
He Zhao ran so fast that he started panting after only a few steps. When the old woman saw He Zhao like this, she ignored what the little ghost was saying and instead looked at He Zhao with concern: "Why are you running so fast? It's not very warm yet. Don't run too fast and make yourself sweat. You'll catch a cold when the evening breeze blows."
Just as the old woman had said, it was gradually approaching March, and even the flowers on both sides of the road were sprouting buds, just waiting for it to warm up a bit more before they bloomed. But the weather became more and more changeable, sometimes cold and sometimes hot, with the temperature constantly fluctuating between ten and several degrees Celsius.
During the day, I don't feel cold at home; I can wear just a sweatshirt. But it gets cold in the mornings and evenings, so I still wear the same old coats and am fully bundled up from head to toe.
Running so fast, He Zhao did manage to get a few drops of sweat on his forehead. He wiped the sweat away, waved his hand, and said, "It's okay, my stamina isn't that bad, I can still run."
Seeing the two of them chatting so enthusiastically, the little devil felt ignored. Her mouth twitched, and she wanted to cry, but she was afraid that Qiao Yanyu would send that super-strong soldier to pinch her mouth, so she didn't cry. Instead, she continued to fawn over her grandmother: "Grandma, I don't need much. Just give me a bite to eat."
Honestly, the child ghost's innocent appearance is truly deceptive. It was just talking about Grandma; if any other elderly person came, they would most likely actually believe it. He Zhao was also worried that the old woman might soften her heart and fall for the child ghost's trick.
He Zhao took a deep breath, just about to expose the child ghost, when he heard the old woman speak.
Its voice was indifferent, lacking the kind and gentle demeanor it had shown with He Zhao before. It sounded more like it was analyzing the tall man's potential betrayal by the student it had donated to: "Grandma doesn't have much money, and even if she did, Grandma wouldn't give it to you. All of Grandma's money is saved for Xiao Zhao, not for you."
He Zhao was stunned for a moment before realizing that the "Xiao Zhao" it was referring to was her. She touched her nose, unsure how to react. She had never been called "Xiao Zhao" before, and felt a little embarrassed.
I have no idea why the old lady would treat me with such kindness.
He Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Grandma, I don't want your money, you can keep it yourself."
The old woman smiled again, still with her kind and gentle expression: "Grandma knows, she knows everything. I'll keep it safe and buy you candy later."
"Really, I don't need it. I don't want to buy candy. You can keep it!"
The two of them were pushing and shoving each other, which made the little kid next to them stare blankly for a long time. Then, his entire Dao heart shattered, and he burst into tears. But this time, it wasn't the kind of ear-piercing, demonic crying; it was a soft, particularly aggrieved kind of crying.
Seeing that it didn't have any impact on He Zhao, Qiao Yanyu didn't come over.
Its crying was so heartbreaking that it sent chills down He Zhao's spine. He asked, "Why are you crying?"
The little devil wiped away his tears, stubbornly pouted, and stopped crying after a while. Then he looked up at the old woman, ignoring He Zhao, and asked very directly, "Why did you insist on giving her candy even though she didn't want it? She's so old, what's the point of her eating candy!"
He Zhao felt itchy all over again; this brat really doesn't know how to talk.
The old woman remained calm. She answered directly to the question: "Because your thoughts are obvious to everyone."
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