67 067
◎One week◎
These two words suddenly appeared in everyone's mind, but who should they choose?
Most of the people inside the special department have been exposed for various reasons. It is best to be someone outside the special department but who is familiar with these metaphysical things.
At this time, Jiang Chuxu thought of Lu Changan. He was not in the special department system, and he was also a policeman with strong psychological qualities. He was a better candidate.
"How about Lu Changan?" Jiang Chuxu only knew a few people.
"Lu Chang'an?" Ding Yucheng's eyes lit up.
"The one from the City Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division? He's got a strong mental and physical foundation, and most importantly, he's seen ghosts and has worked with our department a few times. He has a clean record and definitely hasn't been associated with the K Organization!"
Xu Zhaojin crossed her arms and tapped her arms twice quickly with her fingertips. This was her habit when she was thinking.
"The candidate is indeed suitable. K is anxious to extend his life, so a 'common man expert' like Lu Changan, with a clean record and outstanding abilities, is more likely to gain their trust. His face looks trustworthy, and he's more reliable than those of us who have been dealing with yin energy for years and have even become gloomy."
Jiang Chuxu touched his face. Has he turned into the underworld?
No.
She nodded without any objection. After all, she was the one who nominated the person. She was just providing a direction. The specific operation was the responsibility of the special department.
"There is no time to lose. I'll go talk to Lu Chang'an right now!" Ding Yucheng acted decisively, grabbed the encrypted communicator on the table and walked out as fast as the wind.
Time is life. K, the old fox, may retreat into his shell completely or take desperate measures at any time because his strongholds are exposed one after another.
Jiang Chuxu sat on a chair outside the isolation observation room, then looked at his remaining merit points, which were quite a lot.
So she decisively exchanged for some strange talismans.
After the exchange was completed, the merit points were not reduced too much. She looked calm, and more than a dozen talismans made of strange materials appeared in her hands out of thin air, neatly stacked.
Soon, Lu Changan was brought over by Ding Yucheng.
He was wearing casual clothes, his posture was still upright, and his brows showed the sharpness and calmness unique to a criminal policeman, but there was a slight dark circle under his eyes, obviously he had not had a good rest for a long time, and he looked like he had not figured out the situation yet, as if he had not had time to digest all the information.
When he saw the twisted "dog boy" behind the glass wall, his pupils suddenly shrank and his Adam's apple rolled, but he quickly regained his composure.
He has seen ghosts, but only normal people and at least one human-shaped ghost.
"The situation is urgent, so let's be brief." Ding Yucheng spoke quickly.
"K, the boss of the K organization, is like a thirsty fish, searching the world for a master who can keep him alive. We want you to impersonate this person and get close to him. This is your only chance to get close to him and even kill him."
Lu Changan's eyes swept over Jiang Chuxu and the stack of talismans in her hand, and finally landed on Ding Yucheng's face. He said in a low voice, "Impersonation? What exactly do you want me to do? What kind of expert do you want me to pretend to be?"
"Mysterious, eccentric, capable but with a strange temper, and most importantly, extremely greedy for money." Xu Zhaojin continued.
She already had a few pages of freshly printed information in her hands.
"These are the characteristics and behavior styles of several suspected life extenders known to K. Consider them together and remember a few key points regarding their speech.
Your life-extending technique requires extremely harsh conditions and a hefty reward. The process is painful and carries the risk of failure. It requires absolute silence without any interruptions. It's a prerequisite to send everyone around him away. And most importantly, you can only perform this life-extending technique once every five years."
The five years are mainly to match the time provided by K’s previous life-extender.
For the next few hours, a highly soundproofed conference room in the special department became a makeshift classroom.
Several experts who are proficient in criminal psychology and rhetoric took turns to simulate various possible dialogue scenarios and possible traps set by K.
Lu Changan has an excellent memory and a high level of comprehension. He quickly absorbed those difficult-to-understand "metaphysical terms" and the arrogant attitude that a "master" should have.
"Remember, you are going to 'save his life', not to beg him. You must be dignified and confident. The more anxious he is, the more you need to control yourself." A gray-haired old expert emphasized.
"He must have knowledgeable core members around him. Their attempts to test you will be very subtle and deadly. Any lack of basic understanding of metaphysics will be exposed."
Another member responsible for intelligence analysis added: "So, talk less and observe more. Use silence and counter-questions to respond to questions you are unsure about. If necessary, you can get angry and accuse them of disrespect."
Jiang Chuxu had been sitting quietly on a chair in the corner. Xiao Hei was napping on her lap, and she was also studying silently.
She watched Lu Chang'an go from being tense at first to gradually getting into the mood. His eyes became distant and indifferent, and the occasional impatience and scrutiny he showed was just right.
It seems that cultivating a fake master is not particularly difficult. This guy is born to do this.
The emergency training came to an end only when it was dawn outside the window.
Lu Changan rubbed his swollen temples, his eyes were bloodshot, but his whole temperament had calmed down, with a cold and hard attitude that kept strangers away.
Jiang Chuxu then stood up, walked up to him and handed him the stack of talismans.
"Here."
Lu Changan took it and held it lightly in his hand. He flipped through it carefully and looked up at Jiang Chuxu with a complicated look.
"How do I use it?" he asked directly.
"Just carry them close to you. When you encounter danger, they will move on their own." Jiang Chuxu said concisely.
Lu Changan nodded, without asking any more questions, and quickly and carefully sorted the talismans into categories and kept them close to his body.
"Here are the locator and the micro camera." Ding Yucheng also handed over two items. "We will receive simultaneous data on what happens over there, and Comrade Jiang will also be able to see it. Remember, safety first. If anything goes wrong, ensure your own safety first."
"I understand." Lu Changan took the thing with him. The camera had a unique shape, similar to a copper coin.
He wore it directly around his neck. The locator was in the shape of a bracelet. He put the bracelet on his wrist and adjusted the angle.
He took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."
Before going to find K, they had to disguise their identities, so these days colleagues from the special department found a more influential person to pretend to be seriously ill.
Then Lu Changan was revealed. Sure enough, the next day someone found out Lu Changan's contact information from somewhere, and seemed to be afraid of any accidents, so they offered a very high price.
Lu Changan naturally said that he would think about it and see how the situation develops.
The person over there sent an address and a large deposit. Everyone was not sure whether it was K, but they could only take a gamble. Judging from the address, it might be K.
…
Songtao Sanatorium, located deep in the mountains on the border of a neighboring country, looks like an old, dilapidated manor.
The stone walls were gray and the tall windows were covered with thick dust.
The surrounding area was filled with dense and somewhat oppressive woods, and the wind blew through the treetops, making a low whistling sound.
A black SUV rolled over the bumpy mountain road and stopped in front of the heavy gate of the sanatorium.
Lu Changan got off the car alone. He changed into a dark gray Chinese-style stand-collar jacket of good quality. His hair was neatly combed. There was no expression on his face, and his eyes swept indifferently over the building in front of him.
He pretends to be very similar.
The scene from Lu Changan's side was clearly displayed on the big screen of the special department's command center.
Jiang Chuxu, Ding Yucheng, Xu Zhaojin and others gathered in front of the screen, and the atmosphere was solemn.
What was revealed behind the door was not a courtyard, but an extremely deep corridor. A few dim wall lamps were lit up barely, and the light barely outlined the vague contours of the deep corridor.
Lu Chang'an remained calm and stepped over the threshold.
Just as he stepped into the corridor, the door behind him suddenly made a loud bang and closed tightly.
The huge sound of the door closing echoed in the space, making people's eardrums buzz, as if they were completely isolated from the outside world.
At the same time, the faint light at the end of the corridor went out completely with a "click".
The darkness swallowed everything.
On the big screen in the command center, the image transmitted from the camera on Lu Changan’s chest shook violently, and then turned completely dark.
Then, the image on the screen turned into wildly jumping black and white snowflakes, which hurt people's eyes.
"The signal is interrupted!" The technician's voice was filled with a barely perceptible tension.
"A ghost wall." Ding Yucheng stared at the snow screen, frowning, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously.
This was probably a test by K to verify the authenticity.
Xu Zhaojin crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "This old fox's gift is quite expensive. It depends on Lu Changan."
In these suffocating seconds, Jiang Chuxu moved.
It's just a ghost wall.
She didn't even look up at the screen. The hand holding Xiao Hei was still steady. She raised the index finger of her free right hand and casually swiped it across the flat screen in front of her that was connected to Lu Changan's perspective.
The snowflakes that were jumping wildly on the screen were instantly smoothed out as if by an invisible hand, disappearing without a trace.
The scene on Lu Changan's side reappeared steadily, still showing the corridor that was so deep that it seemed to have no end.
The moment the picture was restored, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
From the depths of the dead silent corridor, a voice with a hint of disbelief seemed to come from "Huh?". The sound was so short that it seemed like an illusion, but it disappeared quickly.
Lu Chang'an did not stop, nor did he pause for a moment because of the sudden darkness and the instant restoration of light.
The expression on his face remained unchanged, still looking aloof, as if what he did just now was not a show of force at all.
He walked forward steadily, his leather shoes making clear sounds on the cold and smooth floor tiles. This sound was infinitely amplified in the quiet corridor, with a calmness.
He looks like a master at all, and you can't tell he is pretending. In fact, he can't do it at all.
The camera faithfully recorded the cramped view in front of him. The corridor was unusually long, as if it had no end. The locked doors on both sides looked more and more like tombstones, so oppressive that it made people breathless.
The temperature continued to drop, and a cold air silently wrapped around him.
The color of the walls on both sides seemed to be getting darker, like slowly seeping blood.
Lu Chang'an seemed to be completely unaware of the strange changes in the surrounding environment. He looked straight ahead and walked steadily. Only the fingers on his sides curled up very slightly, and his fingertips touched the edge of the stack of talisman paper. A barely perceptible warmth emanated, dispelling the coldness around him.
He continued forward for about a dozen steps.
Suddenly, the ground less than five meters in front of him collapsed without any warning!
It was like a hole was torn open by force. What was even more terrifying was that a lot of pale hands, even with white bones exposed, stretched out from the hole.
Those arms were waving and clawing at the air frantically, as if countless drowned people were struggling to climb out of the abyss.
"Xinghua Building?" Seeing this scene, Jiang Chuxu immediately thought of Xinghua Building.
It was very similar, especially similar. At that time, there was actually no particularly obvious evidence pointing to the K organization, but they always had suspicions and thought that it might have been done by someone else, but the K organization was involved.
Now it seems that it was really done by the K organization.
In the command center, several young team members subconsciously held their breath, their eyes widening.
Lu Changan's footsteps finally stopped. He stood just two steps away from the edge of the darkness. He did not retreat and there was no trace of fear on his face.
He spoke, his voice low but loud enough for the others to hear: "You're wasting my time playing tricks on me."
These words were like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, and the wildly waving pale arms suddenly stopped.
At the same time, Lu Changan felt that one of the talismans on his body was slightly warm, and the heat disappeared in a flash.
He understood it in his heart, but his face showed no sign of disgust, as if the horrific scene before him was just a botched play.
He raised his foot and took a step towards the darkness without hesitation.
Lu Changan's feet stepped firmly on the ground where there should have been a big hole. Those blue-white ghost hands were like the talismans burned by Chu Xu, and then suddenly retracted.
The tiles on the floor returned to their original appearance, as if the horrifying scene had never happened.
Lu Chang'an didn't stop, and didn't even look down at the ground that had returned to its original state. He walked straight ahead.
Jiang Chuxu leaned back in his chair. He was not surprised by this. Moreover, it was really interesting to watch other people through the live broadcast this time. No wonder so many people like to watch live broadcasts.
The corridor finally came to an end.
A heavy dark brown wooden door blocked the way. The door slid open silently, revealing an unusually spacious but extremely dimly lit room behind it.
In the middle of the room, a large single sofa was facing the door. Only a gray head and a hand on the armrest could be seen.
The hand was withered, the skin was loose, and it was covered with dark brown age spots. The knuckles were abnormally prominent, revealing a heavy air of decadence.
Next to the sofa, two expressionless men in black suits stood with their hands hanging down.
Jiang Chuxu in front of the screen compared this person with the couple's memory.
Lu Changan paused at the door, his gaze fixed precisely on the person on the sofa with his back to him. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, scrutinizing him.
He didn't speak immediately, but just stood there quietly, as if waiting for the other party to lose his temper first.
The air in the room seemed to freeze, and the skinny fingers curled up almost imperceptibly.
"You've come a long way, thank you for your hard work." A hoarse voice sounded from behind the sofa. Every word seemed to be squeezed out, revealing the weakness of helplessness and a deliberately maintained majesty.
"Your humble self, K."
A faint smile appeared on Lu Chang'an's lips, but he did not respond to the other party's courtesy.
"No need for formalities, my time is valuable." This statement was so blunt that it seemed rude.
The skinny hand on the armrest of the sofa suddenly tightened, and the loose skin was stretched to reveal the outline of blue veins. The sharp gazes of the men in black suits on both sides pierced Lu Changan at the door like substance.
However, Lu Changan seemed to be completely unaware of the two cold and murderous gazes, and he did not move at all.
A suppressed gasp came from behind the sofa.
It feels a bit like time is running out.
No wonder he was so anxious.
Lu Changan's eyes swept over the two men in black suits with a hint of contempt as if to say "Who do you think you are?", and finally fell back to the gray head exposed on the back of the sofa.
"Time is precious," he repeated, a hint of impatience in his tone, "either talk now or I'm leaving."
A suppressed cough came from behind the sofa, and the skinny fingers gripped the armrest tightly, the knuckles turning white.
"...young man, you are so proud."
"Come in."
Lu Changan then stepped into the room. Various smells in the air pressed down heavily, and the wide sofa turned around.
The person on the sofa was the owner of the profile that Jiang Chuxu saw in Gou Hai’s memory, K, but he looked much older than the couple.
It shouldn't have been that long, but Jiang Chuxu thought it was normal.
He looked older and frailer than in the painting. His skin was waxy yellow and hung loosely on his bones. His eye sockets were sunken, with cloudy eyeballs embedded in them. His lips were pale and slightly open as he breathed laboriously.
Two bodyguards in black suits stood on either side of the sofa like two door gods, their eyes glaring at Lu Changan like knives.
Lu Changan glanced calmly around the room. The room was large but empty. Apart from the sofa where K was sitting, there were only a few uncomfortable-looking high-backed wooden chairs against the wall.
The heavy curtains were drawn, leaving only a gap, allowing a faint light to come in, barely illuminating the dust flying in the air.
There are some incomprehensible abstract paintings with twisted lines hanging on the wall, which makes people feel uncomfortable.
"Sit down." K's voice was dry and hoarse. He pointed casually at a high-backed chair farthest from the sofa with his dry branch-like finger.
Lu Changan's gaze fell back on K's old and tired face, and his brows frowned slightly.
"Your life is not easy to continue."
K stared at Lu Changan with his cloudy eyes, and did not respond immediately, but he also understood, because the man who had been extending his life before also said that it would be very troublesome for him to extend his life this time.
The bodyguard next to K, the one with the scar on his left eyebrow, took a half step forward and said in a stern tone, "The rules are set by the master. You won't be shortchanged, but the prerequisite is that you have to have real skills."
Lu Changan seemed to have heard something funny, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, with undisguised contempt.
He didn't even bother to glance at the bodyguard, only looking at K: "Skill? Those little tricks you just showed outside, is that what you call skill?"
He recalled the feeling of watching Jiang Chuxu's live broadcast and the various "Heavenly Master" quotes taught by the special department, and continued, "Using inferior ghost wall and sleight of hand to test a life-extending master? Mr. K, it seems that the brains of your subordinates are just as weak as your body."
As soon as these words came out, the air froze instantly.
The scarred bodyguard's face turned pale and he suddenly pressed his hands to his waist, as if he was about to draw his gun in the next second.
The other bodyguard also tensed up.
K raised his skinny hand and waved it gently to stop his men.
A strange "ho ho" sound came from his throat, as if he was laughing or panting.
"Young man, be wild enough. A little wildness is good." A gleam of light flashed in his cloudy eyes. "Tell me, what do you want? Money? Power? Or... something else?"
He deliberately prolonged the word "otherwise", with some hint in it.
Lu Changan's impatience resurfaced. "I told you, time is precious. Wait until I'm sure your life is still worth saving before you start testing me again."
In the command center, Ding Yucheng and others were sweating after hearing Lu Changan's blunt comments.
Xu Zhaojin crossed his arms and cursed softly, "You're acting pretty convincingly. Aren't you afraid that old fox will get angry?"
Jiang Chuxu was quite satisfied. She smiled. According to her understanding of K, K would never turn against her, and would even think that Lu Changan was indeed capable.
Lu Changan continued, "Of course, there must be conditions. They must be higher than the conditions of my original order. Otherwise, why would I give up his and take yours?"
K was silent for a few seconds, his cloudy eyes scanning back and forth over Lu Changan. Finally, he raised his hand again, this time pointing to an inconspicuous narrow door on the other side of the room.
The scarred bodyguard immediately stepped forward and pushed open the door. Behind the door was a narrower and darker passage.
Lu Changan didn't say any more nonsense and walked away. Two bodyguards followed him, one on the left and one on the right, keeping a certain distance.
The passage was not long and ended in a smaller room.
This place was arranged like a small reception room, with a sofa and a coffee table. The smell in the air was much lighter. There was a huge one-way glass embedded in the wall, and it was pitch black behind the glass.
K smiled and pointed at the one-way glass and said, "Behind those are some of my pets."
Lu Changan was not quite sure what the pets were, but Jiang Chuxu and the people in the special department knew very well that they were probably rangers like Puppy Boy, or some semi-successful products.
Lu Changan sat down casually on the sofa, leaning back slightly with a relaxed posture.
"Now, tell me."
He looked at K, who was being helped by his bodyguard to sit on the sofa opposite him, and continued, "What's the root of your illness?"
This is what Jiang Chuxu taught. Generally, one needs to know the root cause of the disease before extending life, but this root cause is a very abstract concept.
K leaned back on the sofa. He took a few deep breaths before speaking in a halting voice, his voice extremely hoarse: "Organ failure is happening quickly, much faster than expected."
He had to pause to breathe every few words.
Lu Changan listened quietly, with no expression on his face, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of the sofa.
Isn’t this what you deserve?
Although I thought so in my heart, I didn't show it on my face.
"Extending your life is like drinking poison to quench your thirst. The more you use it, the faster your body will break down. You can't keep going like this forever."
K himself was also very clear about this. He could clearly feel that his health was getting worse and worse after the last time he extended his life. The previous life-extending doctor also mentioned this problem and said that no one could solve it.
The reason he was looking for a new one this time was not only because the original one could no longer survive, but also because he wanted to see if he could find someone who could solve this problem.
It is not easy to find a life extender. Not only Lu Changan, but also several other life extenders he had arranged with were those he had found out about and wanted to extend the lives of certain people, and then he snatched them away.
As long as he was alive, he didn't care whether he would be retaliated against after those people knew that it was him who robbed the person. What's more, he had the little ghost to protect him, so he was not afraid.
K's eyes were fixed on Lu Changan: "Do you... have a solution?"
"Of course there is a way." Lu Chang'an leaned forward slightly, "But it's very costly. First, it requires an absolutely quiet environment, without even a trace of interference. Otherwise, all your efforts will be wasted, and you'll die on the spot."
"Second, time. I need a week to prepare."
"A week is too long!" K's voice suddenly rose, filled with anxiety, "I can't wait!"
"Can't wait?" Lu Changan sneered and interrupted him, "If you want to live, follow my rules."
One week was the time agreed upon by the special department. After all, K was in a neighboring country, and they couldn't break in without any reason.
In addition to the fact that this week was agreed upon with neighboring countries, another reason was that they also needed preparation time to ensure that there would be no accidents during the arrest process.
K was silent for a while. Lu Changan was the last life-extending master he had ever met, and he also had the shortest preparation time. He could feel that he could not hold on for much longer.
Try it first anyway.
So he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! One week, just one week!"
【Author’s words】
Will update tomorrow
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com