33 Chapter 33 (Two in One)
◎Is the gold thread on your banners real gold?◎
The photo of the restricted area, which was almost entirely blurred by halos, was circulated among various investigation bureaus and then lit up on a screen in a closed hall somewhere.
"The Buddha is about to gaze upon us, but his vision is obscured..." A captivated voice echoed through the hall, but everyone's gaze remained fixed on the white-haired figure in the corner of the screen. "It's Tushan Sui again! He appears whenever the restricted area appears. It's as if he's born to oppose the gods. How come he's still here? This is the power of the gods!"
The emotions in the voice were complex, and it was hard to tell whether it was disgust and hatred, or jealousy and greed.
The figures in the hall looked at the photo, and the frantic murmurs gradually quieted down and the voices cooled down.
"Impossible! Tu Shansui can't fly, so how could he possibly solve both the restricted area and the revival of the Hundred Eyes at the same time? As long as one of them isn't solved, the restricted area can't be stopped. There's only one stele!"
Amidst the stunned murmurs of doubt, someone sneered bitterly. "Du Teng, assigned to Jiang City, brought three E-level divine fragments, a D-level monstrous creature, and [Hundred Eyes] with him. Our provincial base provided all the E-level fragments. The plan was well calculated before it began. Tu Shansui was transferred, and the other senior investigators were drawn to the restricted area. The success rate of further divine awakening was at least 0.00%. But what's the reality? You're telling me now that the plan failed?"
Tu Shansui didn't die in the restricted area, and [Hundred Eyes] was lost in Jiang City. A big part of our future plans is missing. How can we fill it? Who will compensate us for the divine power we're lacking? We're being pursued so closely by the Investigation Bureau, who will take our place?!
"Who knew the Investigation Bureau would be so secretive and send experts to ambush us in Jiang City... Jiang City is truly wicked. [Ghost Call] was half-dead, but he's still here. Several spirits have vanished in Jiang City, and the Investigation Bureau is blaming us for it, chasing us and biting us like mad dogs! Now that the restricted area is moving, the Investigation Bureau is bound to go even crazier!"
"Who did this? Where did such a master emerge from the Bureau? He was able to suppress the B-level resurgence so easily? From the time [Hundred Eyes] was monitored by the Ghost Suppression Monument to the time it disappeared, it only took a few minutes! Who missed the information and deliberately sold us brothers and sisters to curry favor with the Bureau?"
"Quiet." The silent president at the top knocked on the table to stop the angry noises below. "Keep quiet for now, don't get caught by the Investigation Bureau. There's a problem in Jiang City, so temporarily halt all plans to expand there. Brothers who are rebuilding their bases should also be careful."
The shadows in the hall disappeared one by one.
The president pulled out a bunch of previously compiled documents, each with a few names clearly outlined, and distributed them to the last person left. "Bai Lu, you're in charge of Southern Province now. Here's the record of the Jiang City Investigation Bureau's actions over the past month. Send someone with a clean identity to investigate. What kind of expert is hiding in the Bureau, constantly sabotaging us?"
Bai Lu laughed dryly, "President, I just received news that Tu Shansui's plane has just landed in Jiang City. A batch of personnel from the province has been sent to Jiang City, and two more personnel have been sent for the [Hearse] and the restricted area incidents. The fragments of the divine spirit that revived [Hundred Eyes] were still obtained from other people..."
The president was silent for a moment, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth. "Secretly, investigate, recruit members. You want me to teach you? You can't do anything without the divine fragments?"
Bai Lu nodded and left. The president behind him said quietly, "Before Tu Shansui leaves, don't bring any strange objects to Jiang City. The Stupendous Monument is not as good as before, but its nose is more powerful than that of a spirit. If you bump into it and cause trouble, and then lose a strange object..."
Bai Lu's scalp tightened, "I promise I won't!"
-
Jiang City Airport.
"Counselor Tushan, welcome, welcome. I've heard a lot about you."
"Is this Doctor Feng from the General Administration? You're the youngest doctoral advisor. I heard your institute has been developing new research topics to address the mysterious and bizarre. Thank you for your hard work..."
The team flying in from the restricted area included not only the always mysterious consultant, but also a medical support team that had just finished running through the restricted area and was running back again.
The investigation bureau and the cooperating police and military personnel who were busy handling the final stages of the "Hundred Eyes" incident gathered at the airport today and received greetings from the guests.
Others are responsible for the noise.
Tu Shansui walked out without saying a word.
The white-haired young man has superior facial features, but when he has no expression on his face, he looks like a jade sculpture made of ice, as if he has excluded everyone and is in a world of his own.
The accompanying assistant looked at the consultant anxiously, not daring not to shout, but also not daring to shout, for fear that it would interfere with his thinking and affect the capture of the strange creature.
Feeling the heated gazes from the people in Jiang City, the assistant reluctantly made way and introduced himself again, "This is Consultant Tushan, here to investigate and confirm the details of the Level B incident. Should we go directly to the dissipated ghost den after leaving the airport?"
Hearing the word "ghost den", Tu Shansui, who was walking out mechanically with his eyes blank, came back to his senses and nodded lightly, "Tu Shansui, nice to meet you."
No one told him that planes could fly so high and so fast! I feel dizzy...
What these people were saying was so complicated that he couldn't understand. But he was Tushan, so he had to understand!
Tu Shansui looked straight at the short-haired woman in the lead, as if asking, and as if urging.
He was still suppressing the dizziness and nausea in his throat, and his expression was restrained, appearing even colder.
Seeing him, Hu Tu and Lao Li looked at each other, both a little surprised: I didn't expect the consultant to look so young, like a college student...
But wasn't it clear that Consultant Tushan had already sided with the Bureau when the mysterious creature had been resurrected decades earlier? Could it be that, like in a certain novel, their family also had descendants of a strange creature sharing the same name?
Receiving the cold gaze from the white-haired young man, Hu Tu shuddered, "We haven't found any strange creatures at the haunted den yet. If you want to go now, we'll set off immediately."
The area surrounding the University Town Mall had been cordoned off and cleared, leaving it desolate and silent. The bodies and other eerie remains had been cleared away, the only visible traces remaining being the shattered glass and the ritual markings in the garage.
Dr. Feng's team brought numerous instruments to investigate and collect samples from the recently dissipated ghost den. Old Li, pushing Hu Tu's wheelchair, followed closely behind, recounting the events surrounding the resuscitation written in the report.
"The Hundred Eyes is not here." Tu Shansui rubbed the small stele in his palm and said affirmatively.
Old Li added, "Bai Xian has already investigated, and there are no strange things left in Jiang City. We have found the latest True Spirit Society base in the city. Do you want to go there and take a look?"
Tu Shansui shook his head, sniffing the faint lingering strange scent on the wind. "No need to follow me. I already know the direction."
I just saw someone use navigation, and with that weird aura, he’ll definitely be able to find the location!
Tushan Sui's back looked particularly distant, but the direction he was heading was completely different from the Zhenlinghui stronghold.
Hu Tu looked at the team assistant who was following him. The assistant spread his hands helplessly and said, "The consultant doesn't like people following him. But he will contact us if needed, so don't worry. Consultant Tushan has his reasons."
"I understand." Old Li nodded in agreement.
What ghostbender didn't have a quirk? She was surprised that the top ghostbender still looked normal.
Tu Shansui avoided everyone's sight, leaned against the wall and retched for a long time, finally vomiting out the dizziness he felt on the plane.
After vomiting, he walked out of the alley, looking cool and elegant again.
The white-haired young man stood coldly on the street, with a 200% turning head rate.
A passing student kept looking back even after he had walked away, "Where did this handsome guy come from? Is he a celebrity taking street photos? His aura is so scary... Forget it, stay away."
Tu Shansui stared blankly at the intersection, the busy lanes, the winding viaduct, the dense crowds of people...
He opened the navigation software he had just downloaded and stared at the spider-web-like map for a long time but couldn't find the direction.
The location of the ghost den was not obvious before, but after coming out, the remaining strange aura was so faint that it was almost non-existent, mixed in with the complex smells, and drifted in all directions.
...How did the city get so big? Which way should I go? Why is the strange aura lingering in Jiang City so scattered?
Small question marks popped up above his head. Tu Shansui paused for a moment, as if he had made some kind of decision, and continued to move forward.
Jiang Shi was a strange person. People could be deceived, but their instincts wouldn't. He would always find the problem after searching through everything.
After watching Tu Shansui leave, Doctor Feng, who was setting up the equipment in the mall, looked at Hu Tu and said, "Captain Hu, do you have time to cooperate with us to do an examination?"
To be honest, Dr. Feng originally thought that Jiang City was about to fall.
It was a Class B incident, and one that triggered a restricted zone, yet the number of casualties was minimal. Even back to the time when the strangeness first began to resurface, nothing like this had ever happened.
If they hadn't known that Jiang Shi was still there and were not aware of Hu Tu's character, the General Administration would have almost thought that the news was concealed when they first received it.
The medical team came here, firstly to collect data on the ghost's remaining remains, and secondly to actually see the status of the survivors and the Jiang City Investigation Bureau - to see if there was a one in ten thousand chance that they were being controlled by something strange.
But after personally experiencing the situation, Dr. Feng ruled out most of the speculation. No matter how bizarre the result, the strangeness is gone, and the person survived, which is a pretty good truth.
Doctor Feng smiled thoughtfully, "You should be heading back to the hospital to recuperate, right? We're going the same way. The consultant didn't care about that. Before we left, the General Administration specifically told me to help you recuperate after your hard work and buy you some time."
Before Hu Tu could say anything, Old Li's eyes lit up. "That's great! Other action teams basically have one D-class monster and multiple E-class monsters to rotate in and out. Our captain has been working so hard. This time, I'd like to ask Doctor Feng to take a closer look and rest as much as possible."
Hu Tu smiled helplessly, "Sorry, Lao Li was just too worried."
In the inpatient building of the hospital that cooperates with the Investigation Bureau, after more than a dozen examinations were completed, Dr. Feng's brows were furrowed more and more.
Old Li's heart was in turmoil, "Feng——"
"Captain Hu, your physical condition is very strange." Doctor Feng said seriously.
Hu Tu smiled instead, "Worsened? It's okay, I can handle it, just tell me directly."
Doctor Feng shook his head. "No. Based on the data from the previous examination, theoretically, you no longer have the ability to limit [Ghost Calls]. As the strange creatures resurrect, one thing will increase while the other decreases, just like a broken bottle, it will only leak faster and faster. But..." She hesitated for a moment, looking at the data in confusion. "You're actually in good condition. Have you come into contact with anything?"
Old Li couldn't help but say, "The captain has to spend most of her time every day trying to break free from the illusion of [ghost calls], and she's already confined to a wheelchair. Is that considered not bad?"
Doctor Feng looked at the calm Hu Tu, who shook his head at Lao Li. "When you got the strange object, you also read the information of those predecessors. At least I can still use the strange object and have the strength to speak and go out, instead of being devoured by the strange object and becoming half-human and half-ghost."
Hu Tu pondered for a moment. "During the [Hearse] incident, the [Wooden Man]'s recovery progress regressed and it weakened greatly. During the [Hundred Eyes] incident, the [Waving Shadow Puppet], trapped in a ghost den, failed to recover and instead weakened. This should be mentioned in the documents submitted by Lao Li. I suspect that being swallowed by a ghost den will also affect the recovery of strange creatures. I've come into contact with the [Hearse] with [Ghost Call], so perhaps it's related."
"Oh? We'll try an experiment later." Doctor Feng noted the possibility and wrote a new medication formula for her. "Follow this for now. There's no way to treat the weakened vitality for now, but it will make you feel better. I've been in Jiang City recently. If you think of any other possible options, remember to let me know."
The team that landed in Jiang City was like a drop of oil falling into water. There were slight ripples, but they merged silently into Jiang City.
Old Li went to the hospital for several days and met Dr. Feng again at the captain's bedside.
Doctor Feng shook his phone screen. "I've learned the general situation of the survivors and have confirmed with the General Administration that everything is fine. Your application for funds and other auxiliary supplies should be approved soon."
Hu Tu breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."
Doctor Feng asked with interest, "By the way, that folk ghost tamer you mentioned is E-rank, but can restrict [Waving Shadow Puppet]. How's he? Do you know what kind of ghost he is?"
Old Li shook his head helplessly, "We are arranging people to observe."
To be precise, I have been observing for a few days, but have not found any valuable information.
...As the number of investigators clamoring to go to the Xile Restaurant increases day by day, the cooking skills of the chefs in the bureau's cafeteria are increasingly being disliked.
"What else do you remember besides eating? Have you forgotten the observation skills you learned in training? You're all acting like customers and observing while eating. Who started this?" Old Li slapped the investigators on the head in frustration. "We're only letting you go because it involves strange objects and the bizarre. Don't force me to borrow the expertise of the neighboring unit."
The investigator who just returned from his shift complained, "It's not that we can't observe it, it's that there's really nothing to observe!"
"Boss Ye lives a very healthy life. She doesn't run around everywhere, act sneaky, or stay out at night. She doesn't go to the same place every day. She only goes to the vegetable market!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I've discovered she really loves cooking. When she's free and lying outside in the sun, she's either browsing cats and dogs or watching gourmet cooking videos. A foodie who likes furry things just wants to make money, what bad intentions could there be!"
"Deputy Captain, she only works eight hours a day! Do you understand eight hours?! We've been swapping shifts at the Xile Restaurant these past few days, and our work and rest schedules have improved, and we've even gained weight! I wonder when Boss Ye will hire waiters. I'm tempted to work for her."
Old Li: ...
The investigators who were working overtime in the office slowly turned around and stared at their colleagues who had snatched the observation task.
They stared with their eyes wide open, their faces pale, and their resentment was even more than weird.
The investigators sitting opposite them pretended to wipe their tears, but their faces were flushed, their cheeks were plump, and their dark circles were gone.
The investigator observing the mission's voice suddenly changed from sobbing to complaining, "This mission is really confusing, Deputy Captain. If you ask me, she's not planning to harm anyone, so forget it. I'm even wondering if there's a mistake. She's not actually a ghost controller. Boss Ye is the legendary high-energy, energetic individual, a positive person who actively pays taxes. I can't see why she would use a ghost at all. And she doesn't carry any special items with her, unless her ghost is a spatula."
Old Li was annoyed, "What nonsense are you talking about... Wait?"
Old Li paused slightly.
Xia Zihan mentioned in his oral account that Ye Ping'an often promoted "medicinal food" to nourish the body when he encountered ghosts.
The captain's health wasn't this bad on the first day. When she was rounding up the "Life-Buying Money" last month, she actually had no appetite to eat.
That day, the captain unknowingly finished half a bowl of simple braised noodles at the Xile Restaurant. Afterward, he ate intermittently and rested to recuperate. Lao Li thought he was just persevering and recovering a little.
But now I think about it, I don’t know if it’s because it’s delicious and I’ve whetted my appetite, or because of the noodles themselves?
Old Li couldn't wait to rush to the hospital and told the captain his guess.
Captain Hu recalled, feeling a bit uncertain. "I felt a little better after eating, but..." she said helplessly, "Maybe it's just a psychological effect. After all, everyone feels better when they're full, right? You went there to eat last time, did you feel anything special?"
Old Li shook his head awkwardly.
After eating, they were still injured by the monsters and affected by the strange aura. She asked the team members below, and they all thought it was delicious.
Captain Hu thought for a moment and said, "Don't be so rash as to disturb Doctor Feng. Take Xiaobai with you and go to the restaurant to eat again. I remember they have 'medicated food', you can also go and try it."
As soon as he got back to the bureau, Lao Li called everyone else over. "Have you prepared the bonus and banner for Boss Ye? Call and ask if there's any vacancies at the store. Once you're done with your work, let's go give the banner and have a meal together."
The investigators didn't understand how the topic jumped to this point, but when they heard about food, they immediately:
"Love you, Vice Captain~"
Old Li said in disgust, "Go, go, go and do your own thing!"
-
Ye Ping'an bought some new seasonings and ingredients from the mall and tried them for several days in a row.
After the new menu was changed, fewer customers came for the fish.
Some customers, unwilling to give up, ran to the restaurant, but when they didn't get to eat the fish, they reluctantly pulled Ye Ping'an to leave and said, "Boss Ye, when you have more fish, please call us!"
The remaining guests almost treated Xile Restaurant as a canteen: they didn’t know what to eat, so they just walked into Xile Restaurant with their eyes closed and ordered something.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Lao Li and his team came in.
Ye Pingan paused the barbecue documentary, looked up and smiled, "Officer, it's you. Aren't you busy today? How did you find time to come and have dinner together? The little guest was sick before, is he recovered now?"
She said that the work intensity of Jiang City police is very high?
Officer Hu, whom I had met earlier, was still sick in a wheelchair, still struggling to take care of a child who had just given birth. Several officers were probably still injured, still reeking of blood, and so busy they had to go out to eat with their team.
Then you must eat it well!
Ye Ping'an smiled with his white teeth, which startled Hu Tu and made him smile as well.
"Boss Ye." She picked up the banner and saluted solemnly. "Thank you for your hard work in providing clues and bravely protecting the people in this incident. Thank you."
"Thank you!" The investigators saluted in unison.
On the unfolded banner, eight large characters were embroidered with gold thread: "Be brave to act when justice is done, and have eagle eyes and golden pupils."
"Me?" Ye Ping'an was stunned when he saw the banner and forgot to reach out to take it.
Hu Tu was having a hard time holding it, so Old Li held the scroll and handed it to Ye Ping'an, "This is what you deserve, don't refuse it."
"Ah? I didn't mean to refuse." Ye Pingan came back to his senses, looking puzzled. "I just wanted to ask, is the gold thread on your banner real gold?"
Lao Li:?
Investigators:?
"..." Hu Tu was stunned for a moment, "Yes. But it's worthless if you cut it open."
Ye Ping'an took the banner with both hands and touched the gold thread lovingly, over and over again.
"Look at what you said. Am I the kind of person who would cut a banner just for a few bucks?"
Investigators: ...Aren’t you?
If you touch it any further, it’s hard to say whether the golden thread of the banner will break.
Old Li quickly changed the subject, "The reward has been approved. One hundred thousand for a clue to a mysterious... ahem, incident. Did you check and see if you received it?"
"Got it!" Ye Ping'an smiled from ear to ear.
The police have a lot of work to do, so the bonuses are very generous.
The reward for information leading to a major incident was much higher than her recent sales. No wonder some people made money tracking wanted criminals.
But she was just an ordinary person who ran a small shop. She was not qualified to be a professional in catching criminals, so she could only be jealous.
Ye Pingan greeted them warmly, "Are you all hungry? We've been waiting for you to arrive. The food will be served soon. Drinking mutton soup in the summer is just right for sweating."
The biggest gain from going to the fresh food supermarket is confirming a group of seasoning manufacturers and food origins.
Although the fresh vegetables and meat in the supermarket were all spoiled, the quality of the frozen ones was still good. After trying the vegetables, Ye Pingan asked around and bought a batch of mutton supplied to the supermarket through Aunt Qin's channels.
...It is said that something happened in the newly built shopping mall and it has to be closed for a while. The suppliers will sell the meat to anyone.
As soon as the copper pot is placed on the table, the hot white mist makes people feel hot.
A large pot of soup was boiled until it turned milky white. The fish meat had long been melted, leaving only its freshness which was cooked into the lamb chops. The lamb chops were cooked until they were 90% done, and the clear water was boiled out with a rich and fatty aroma.
Each person starts with a spoonful of soup. Chili peppers are added for those who like them, chopped green onions are added for those who prefer them, and a light touch of salt and pepper neutralizes the fattiness of the lamb. The hot soup rolls down the throat and warms the stomach.
There are countless fresh vegetables in summer, such as lettuce, mushrooms, tofu... When they are rolled in the boiling soup, they are crispy and have the rich aroma of lamb.
After blanching a round of dishes, the potato starch at the bottom of the pot was stewed until it was white, plump, soft and glutinous, and the lamb chops were also thoroughly stewed, fresh and tender. When you pick them up, the fat and tendons will fall down with the meat, and the bones will fall off when you suck them, leaving your mouth full of the aroma of meat.
The investigator ate so fast that he almost swallowed his tongue. Bai Xuan held the bowl and just remembered to eat hard.
Old Li and the captain looked at each other and shook their heads slightly.
Hu Tu couldn't eat anything, so he just drank a small bowl of soup and felt full. But apart from a slight warmth after filling his stomach, he didn't feel anything special.
The same goes for Lao Li.
I didn’t realize that Ye Ping’an was a ghost master before. This time, I carefully tasted the dishes, but still found nothing.
Is there really nothing special about the dish?
Old Li pondered for a moment and called Ye Ping'an, "I heard your family also sells medicinal food?"
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