Chapter 144: The Fourth Treaty
Tu Lanxun's surprise faded. She took Tao Si's phone and asked, "What happened at the factory?"
"It's just a small cannery," Tao Si muttered. "Profits depend on the entire group's publicity and sales channels. Just making sure the product is of the right quality and quantity is enough."
"But what?" Tu Lanxun understood Tao Si's narrative style very well.
Tao Si glanced at Tu Lanxun with satisfaction and said, "But recently, let alone maintaining quality and quantity, we can't even produce qualified products."
The food processing factory under Tao Sijia produces canned tomato sauce, which is usually sold to the kitchens of major hotels in the area, with some also packaged and exported abroad. While the brand may not be popular, its distribution channels are extensive.
But all this has a prerequisite, that is, tomato sauce of stable quality.
"For some reason, recent quality inspections of tomato sauce have been showing alarmingly high defect rates. There are even some batches where not a single normal can is visible," Tao Si said. "Those faulty cans have strange flavors—some are salty, some fishy, and some bitter."
Zhang Xiaohuai interrupted again: "Is there something wrong with the raw materials? Did they put the additive in instead of the desiccant?"
Tao Si rolled his eyes at Zhang Xiaohuai and said viciously, "Canned food doesn't need additives or desiccants."
Zhang Xiaohuai didn't take it as an offense. Instead, he said with a cheeky smile, "I saw a movie where someone killed someone, dismembered the body, and hid the body in a meat filling barrel at a sausage factory..."
Tao Si was furious, but his face turned pale: "Shut up!"
Tu Lanxun separated the two men, who were fighting like cockfighting cocks, and said, "Go on. What's going on with the photo?"
Tao Si then unraveled the story. The photo, which appeared to be of Viola, was taken by a worker on the night shift. The cannery had been plagued by problems, with two or three large orders still outstanding. Management was in a dilemma, forced to pay workers to work overtime to try to secure a high-yield batch.
But the workers had other ideas in mind.
Especially that one person, it is common for him to get paid to work overtime, but the defective rate of the cannery makes people worry about the future of the factory. There is a lot of discussion below: Is the factory going to go bankrupt?
So the quick-witted operator had an idea and actually violated the rules by starting a live broadcast of pictures and texts on the forum in the factory workshop, stirring up the rumors that were already spreading on the Internet.
The headline "Supernatural Events at a Factory Under a Major Enterprise" garnered considerable attention on local online forums. However, the workers didn't broadcast their appearance or the factory's interior through livestreams—this was to avoid subsequent investigations and accountability—and they didn't create any content that violated the platform's regulations. Consequently, at a time of social change, where humans and ghosts are intertwined, this venerable livestream was surprisingly not deleted.
The haunted photo was taken at that time. It was a coincidence that when the worker turned around, a cloud of white smoke rushed into his face. Then he felt dizzy and his finger subconsciously pressed the camera button on his mobile phone.
He vaguely felt that the cloud of white smoke was shaped like a woman's face, very beautiful, but too big, staring at him intently, and rushing towards him like a truck.
The worker thought it was just a subconscious fantasy caused by feeling guilty about doing something wrong, so he didn't take it too seriously. But when he picked up the phone, he was so scared that he let out a scream.
On the phone screen, the pale female ghost was shrinking and smiling at him.
The man fainted immediately and the ghost photo was not sent out. When his coworkers and workshop leaders rushed him to the nearest hospital, he recounted his experience on the hospital bed with a pale face. However, when people looked at his phone, they could only see a glare that was not even a human face.
"Is your phone not focused properly?" said the workshop director.
"Psychological effects may cause hallucinatory memories," said the doctor.
"Hey, you must be feeling guilty." said a co-worker.
The photos eventually came into the hands of Tao Si and her daughter. They didn't know Viola, and had no way of identifying the "suspected ghost face". They just felt that it was somewhat believable and supernatural. After all, Tao Si herself had her soul sucked out, and Tao Si's father had heard a lot of rumors about the Heavenly Kingdom and even the Tourism Administration in the local circle.
Relying on the well-informedness of the rich, Tao Si and his daughter decided to find Tu Lanxun. It was not very difficult to find out the identity of the mysterious account at the time - at that time they thought it was a master, but now it seems that it is either from the Tianguode lineage, the official tourism management bureau, or some big ghost.
The first option can be completely ruled out, and the third option is like looking for a needle in a haystack, so Tao Si and her daughter rushed directly to the second option. Hey, when the veil was lifted, they found that it was Tu Lanxun, Miss Tao Si's former best friend, convenience store owner, and the king of bankruptcy in the development zone.
"Name a price," Tao Si said skillfully. "I have a bank card with me, but I can have someone deliver cash."
Tu Lanxun sighed: "What's the price?"
Tao Si raised her head and said curiously, "Help my family investigate the matter of that ghost face? Didn't you take money for saving me last time? And him too." She patted Zhang Xiaohuai's arm very hard.
Tu Lanxun stared at the two of them, deliberately giving them a wicked smile. Zhang Xiaohuai shrank to the side as if burned, looking like a pure young man being defiled. Tao Si also rolled his eyes, "You stinking gold digger, can you stop imagining things?"
"I'm a gold digger, and you're a canner."
"You're the kind of person who gets mad at yourself for being so ugly when you look in the mirror. You don't even consider your appearance. You have a child's body. When you walk into a shopping mall, people think you're a tall children's clothing model."
"You bought an iron cat and studied like crazy every day. You don't even consider your age. When you go to school, people ask you why your granddaughter is so old. Grandma, you look so young."
They had definitely discussed this, and they'd reached a consensus that "Ah, we were both saved by Tu Lanxun, so if we need anything in the future, we can just look for her." Tu Lanxun couldn't tell from their current relationship how they'd discussed this.
But she still shouted, "Stop!"
The two of them looked at Tu Lanxun, and Tu Lanxun said, "I won't charge you this time. Just hand over all the clues you have."
She is now representing the Tourism Bureau, and the matter of the Kingdom Group, especially Viola Kris, is an official business, not a private matter.
But there was no need to explain it so clearly to them. Just a few words were given. Tao Si and Zhang Xiaohuai, who grew up with smart parents, basically understood the meaning of the music and quickly sensed that Tu Lanxun's current work background was different.
"Okay, okay!" Zhang Xiaohuai's eyes lit up, and she said "Okay" three times in a row. She shook Tu Lanxun's hand sincerely and said, "Sister, I'll follow you from now on!"
Tao Si glared at him: "Get out of here, I don't want you."
The chaotic coffee and lunch finally ended. Tu Lanxun copied all the photos from Tao Si's phone, and despite Zhang Xiaohuai's persuasion, he didn't even leave Tao Si with a copy of the originals. As the three of them were about to get into their respective cars, Tu Lanxun said, "Tao Si, someone might come to your factory to investigate in the next couple of days. Be prepared."
Tao Si lowered the window a little and said, "Don't worry, nothing will leak out."
So, saying goodbye, Tu Lanxun drove directly to the Lucheng South Police Station. N appeared in the passenger seat at the right moment, looking at the pedestrians on the road, and said, "She has yin-yang vision, he doesn't, the man in yellow has half, and the kid who ran over has also had it implanted in his head."
Tu Lanxun turned around and looked at the child. The child's back looked very similar to Tang Weining's nephew Tang Guangming, which made her feel dazed. However, Tang Guangming had been dead for several years.
The little boy ran over and looked towards another pair of parents. The mother was wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat and a long gown, while the man was wearing large black sunglasses that looked quite rock-and-roll. The strange couple held the little boy's hand and walked away.
She didn't know the couple at all. Maybe there was more than one child who looked like them in this city. All the children were similar.
If you calculate carefully, if Tang Guangming returns to the collective consciousness of the universe and then "reincarnates", the boy who is separated may not necessarily be the original him. But if reincarnation really exists, the age of that boy will be almost the same as the time of the real Tang Guangming's death.
"Where do so many yin-yang eyes come from?" Tu Lanxun frowned. "Could it be that the Heavenly Kingdom Group is still operating? Except for K, almost everyone else has been controlled."
Before N could answer, Tu Lanxun suddenly realized what was happening and exclaimed in shock, "Treaty Four!"
Treaty 4 may be shaken!
Because so many living people may have seen ghosts, the fourth treaty, which stipulates that anyone who does not silence the ghost after it appears will be wiped out, may have already developed a deep crack.
Tu Lanxun tentatively asked, "If the Fourth Treaty disappears completely, will a new treaty be created?"
"It's possible." N glanced at the sky outside the car window. "A new treaty was formed to replace the overturned Fourth Treaty. It might be related to the yin-yang eyes in this half of the street."
The plan of the Kingdom of Heaven Group finally took root.
They have caused such a big commotion at home and abroad, and exposed the existence of ghosts to human beings. Now the living people have no escape.
Tu Lanxun suddenly figured it out. Although she, the convenience store and the Tourism Administration slammed on the brakes, the Tianguo Group had already started planning by hiding deeply, having a wide sphere of influence and taking action early. It was like a coiled ribbon with one end dropped. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the group would fall like a dragon or snake under gravity.
only……
"The Heavenly Kingdom Group narrowly won this tactic, but what did they gain?" Tu Lanxun muttered to himself. "The streets are full of ghost-eyes, able to see ghosts. What good does it do them? Other than a slogan to let ghosts take over the world."
The more I think about it, the more it seems unfeasible. If living people can see ghosts, wouldn't that force ordinary people to form an alliance? This would actually benefit the Tourism Bureau and the government.
N's eyes were desolate and vague. Tu Lanxun sat up straight, his head hitting the seat. He said in surprise, "It's the time difference between stages!"
This time N's eyes also changed.
Tu Lanxun continued, "As you said, both the overthrow and reconstruction of treaty rules require a long process. It is a gradual process."
"That's right." N nodded.
Tu Lanxun looked at the groups of pedestrians outside and gasped, "Look, it takes time for these people's Yin-Yang eyes to mature. So, the overthrow of the Fourth Treaty will precede the establishment of a new one, just like the demolition of a residential complex before the construction of a new one..."
N's expression was almost hard and indifferent, "This is bound to happen."
Tu Lanxun slapped his thigh. "So, something's going to happen! What's going to happen in the gap between when the Fourth Treaty is invalidated and when the new one is not yet established? How long is this gap?"
"It could be as short as half a month or as long as indefinitely." N answered the last question first. "During this period, ghosts can appear before the living at will and harm them without being destroyed. The living will fall into panic and despair."
"The yin-yang vision that is developing in the living may intensify these emotions, forcing the living society to make instinctive, but not necessarily wise, choices that are simple and may even lead to ceding territory and paying compensation."
Tu Lanxun's expression remained undeterred. She slowly raised her head and said, "If the living society can survive this time difference, then the advantage will be on us."
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