70 Chapter 70 (Two in One)
◎If you don’t take it, I won’t take it either. It’s a waste not to take it◎
When will the “wedding banquet customers” arrive?
Even the “customer himself” cannot be sure of this issue.
The ambushes failed one after another. Changing the time and place was useless. Before Ye Pingan could leave, the men were exposed and captured...
The members of the True Spirit Society who were transferred from other places had just arrived in Jiang City and they began to feel the strangeness of Jiang City.
"This place is truly eerie. It seems like everything is against us. Even drinking cold water makes my teeth ache. The guys who set out to ambush the Xile Hotel early this morning were apprehended by patrolling investigators upon arrival."
"I heard that the previous base also had some inexplicable incidents... Jiang City's alert level for searching for strange objects and their use is higher than other cities, and several batches of strange objects have been lost in incidents. It's made it difficult to use strange objects on this mission."
"That pack of hyenas is surrounding us too tightly! Could it be that one of the traitors has rebelled?"
"Unlikely. She even reminded us investigators of patrol times and when to go out in pursuit. Otherwise, how could so many people have escaped?"
"Hey, can't we just let the target come out on his own?"
"Of course, she can, but she rarely goes far from the restaurant. If she goes too far, she feels it will delay business and is reluctant to come out, so she asks us to go to the store."
"It's better to give her the money. If we catch her, the money will be ours anyway."
Outside the door, the subordinates' murmurs could be heard, shirking responsibilities and complaining non-stop.
Tai Sui turned on the communicator, and Cheng Yi's message was the first to pop up, urging him to ask when she would come next time.
"Lord Divine Envoy, I heard from the investigators that tomorrow is their shift change. Perhaps there's an opportunity? Perhaps by raising the price, perhaps the boss will be willing to move further away, away from the investigators' protective circle? But hurry up! The boss is getting impatient because this deal is taking so long to close. I persuaded her for a long time today, and she finally reluctantly agreed to meet again to discuss it."
She seems very considerate, but look at the sharp drop in staff...
Tai Sui's forehead ached slightly, and his breaths scattered a handful of what looked like dust. He gathered his consciousness, suppressed the anger and irritation that was disrupting his thoughts, and groped for the unusually tactile skin, pulling off a mushroom-shaped object.
White mushrooms are round and plump, pure and cute.
The place that had just been torn off was connected to wisps of mycelium-like floating fluff, and Tai Sui crushed them without hesitation.
Puff. The "mycelium" squeezed into a pile of slime, then quickly turned into black mist and flowed back into his body.
Tai Sui put the white mushrooms into a small box and turned around to put it down.
The boxes behind have filled up the wall, with strands of hyphae crawling out from them and connecting with each other. The original steel and concrete have become like a house grown from mushrooms.
Tai Sui stared at the tangled mycelium with fascination. "It's almost done, almost done. Let me see... if this special Trickster the Guild Master is interested in is suitable for sacrifice."
He didn't have the patience to wait for this group of makeshift subordinates, and he didn't want to listen to Cheng Yiwei's complaints anymore.
I originally wanted to keep the strange objects and funds that the guild had transferred for my own use, but it seems I have to spend them anyway...
Tai Sui: [I'll transfer the remaining 900,000 to you. Tell her to meet at the No. 3 Riverside Square at 10:00 tonight. We'll go find her.]
Cheng Yi stared at the communicator expressionlessly. After receiving the message, he did not waste a second and immediately sent out the time and place he had just received.
She added a side note: "Business has been booming lately, with several big contracts. The 'wedding banquet' invitation has been postponed too many times, so the money I paid might not be enough."
Tai Sui's obsessed expression twitched a little from the vibration of the communication.
Tai Sui looked at the funds that were transferred away through several springboards and sent out a new message with a painful heart.
Central idea: "President, this guy is too difficult to deal with. He has no money!"
If you don't take it, I won't take it. It's a waste if you don't take it.jpg
The news spread quickly and investigators took action.
Cheng Yi trotted over to Ye Ping'an and said, "Boss! The client for the wedding banquet said we'll meet at 10 o'clock tonight..."
Ye Ping'an had just finished dinner and was slumped over watching videos. When he heard the phrase "wedding banquet client meeting," he frowned. "Tonight? There's only a little over an hour left, and we have to run to the riverside... Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"
The wedding banquet customer still hadn't shown up, with appointments kept getting postponed. If he hadn't already paid, Ye Ping'an would have suspected he was being played a trick.
[Ding Dong! 900,000 yuan has arrived!]
Ye Ping'an sat up straight.
Cheng Yi smiled widely. "The customer said that he caused trouble for the boss, so the salary was increased. Together with the previous payment, the total upfront payment is one million."
Well, no matter how much you can get later, these are all advance payments, there is nothing wrong with that.
"No trouble, no trouble. It's just right, I'm going to go for a ride by the river on the way!"
Listening to the pleasant payment collection announcement, Ye Ping'an smiled and drove out in the van at lightning speed.
In the small square along the river, there are many people enjoying the cool air on summer nights, and the sound of square dancing can be heard from far away.
The address obtained this time was very vague. Investigators arrived early and urgently checked the suspected members of the Zhenling Society, but no results were found.
Yan Mingyue frowned. "No, they've changed their strategy. They were caught several times before because they were afraid of alerting our investigation by bringing strange creatures. Since they'll be caught regardless of whether they bring strange creatures or not, this time they might be planning to... bring strange creatures to suddenly rob people?"
"Attention all units, stay hidden, evacuate the surrounding area, and beware of attacks from strange creatures! If a reserve investigator is confused by a strange creature, it will be considered a failed strange event. Be alert!"
A water truck sang as it passed through Square 3, forcing the original square dance group to move. The aroma of food stalls wafted in from all directions, attracting people seeking a cool breeze.
After a while, most of the people in the small square were gone.
Just after a few rounds of attraction were over, melodious flute sounds floated from the square speakers.
Xia Zihan nervously surveyed the square, on guard against any crime that might pop up out of nowhere. "After a few days of missions in a row, I feel like I could just transfer directly to the next station as a plainclothes officer. The core team hasn't confirmed their target yet? Speaking of which... who changed the music? It's pretty good. But the volume keeps fluctuating. I really want to go fix his player—ah hey hey!"
Seeing his teammates stand up and walk forward in a daze, Xia Zihan almost jumped up.
The knowledge learned from the reserve investigator training and the repeated instructions before the mission echoed in her mind. The strange events she had experienced made her react quickly:
...After being arrested in several batches, the evil organization could no longer hold back and began to take risks by using strange objects!
Xia Zihan grabbed his teammate and pressed the communication button, and the alarm sounded in the headset channel.
The alarm sounded extremely harsh, as if it had been pressed several times almost at the same time, and the overlapping sounds made my ears buzz.
My ears were buzzing, but the melodious flute music outside seemed unaffected, its fast rhythm sometimes louder and sometimes softer, and the thought of getting closer was still lingering in my mind.
Xia Zihan could see that there were still a few scattered people left in the square.
Some were attracted by the strange music and walked towards the speakers buried in the fountains, statues and other areas of the square, while others stayed where they were, confused, complaining that the speakers were broken.
Yan Mingyue's smiling voice echoed through the headset. "Reserve investigators, I'm glad to see you resisted a strange temptation in time. Now, Teams 2 and 3 will conduct an investigation of enemy ghost control agents. Suspicious characteristics will be distributed by the information department. Team 4 will remain hidden and continue to evacuate the square. Team 1 will be on alert."
"Yes." The responses rang out one after another.
Yan Mingyue switched to Zhou Xing's communication at the Xile Hotel. "It's a bit strange. The information department compared it and found that the artifact used is the D-rank [Magic Flute] that has appeared before.
"The information about the Hungry Ghost den is top secret, but judging from previous events, the True Spirit Society should already know that low-level weirdness is ineffective against Boss Ye. After being tracked down and their living space was squeezed by us, they are now in urgent need of completing their mission. It's impossible for the Magic Flute to deceive Boss Ye alone under our noses..."
"Especially knowing clearly that we are rounding up and tracking them. If Boss Ye goes out, we will definitely come to investigate here. This reaction is abnormal." Zhou Xing pondered, "Perhaps they have other strange contact and control methods?"
Yan Mingyue thought for a moment and issued a reminder, "Attention, all teams, light the cleansing candles promptly when arresting and checking, and use restraints in advance."
Soon there was a burst of noise from the speakers, as if there was a fierce fight on the other end, which affected the playback equipment.
The flute sound from the speakers disappeared and returned to the previous music, but the flute sound in the square did not disappear.
"The target is fleeing westward. Confirmed to be carrying a strange object. The restraint device is ineffective. Please prepare to intercept in the West Square. Repeat, the target is fleeing..."
"Team 3, heading for support... Wait a moment, fall back and be on guard."
Yan Mingyue looked at the van that slowly slowed down and stopped at the west entrance of the square with a strange smile.
The west side of the square, near the university town, was the shortest route to the riverside and the most heavily guarded. Now... she probably didn't need to do anything.
Driving into the square was not allowed, so Ye Ping'an turned on the hazard lights and parked the car at the entrance of the square to ensure that any customers who came could see him.
"It's so late, there aren't many people out enjoying the cool air. Meeting at this time to talk about the wedding banquet... a little bit, ahem."
Ye Ping'an looked at the sparse crowd in the square, shook his head, and swallowed back his rude complaints about the customers behind their backs.
The one who pays the money has the final say, and the customer can do whatever he wants.
The summer night breeze blowing through the car window is cool enough without turning on the air conditioner.
Lao Liu is a true used car dealer. He sent me a new neck pillow, lumbar support, and a mahjong mat for the car seat—all small things. But after replacing the car's interior, the comfort level instantly went up several levels.
"I didn't expect the interior would improve so much. If I had known Lao Liu said it could be installed last time, I would have asked him to do it. But it's not too late to use it now. In the summer, I can use ice silk and a cool mat, and in the fall, I can use the plush model!"
Feeling the breeze and leaning on the cushion, Ye Ping'an leisurely clicked on the video and continued watching the food show he had not finished.
Given the customer's previous procrastination, Ye Ping'an doubted whether they could arrive on time at 10 o'clock.
A melodious flute sound mixed in with the square music. It was pleasant to listen to, but as it got closer, the high notes became quite noisy.
Ye Ping'an looked towards the square in the direction of the sound, and saw a person appearing under the street light a few dozen meters away.
He was pale, and he watched her play the flute intently. The flute looked like it was made of some kind of bone, slightly yellowed. The flute player's clothes were ordinary but tattered, as if they had been torn into many holes.
As Ye Ping'an looked up, the flute player's eyes flashed with light, and a smile twisted the corners of his mouth as he stared at her closely.
A chilling sound blew out from every hole of the flute. The strange thing was still effective and attracted the target's attention.
He had struggled to escape the Bureau's encirclement, only managing to get away from them for a few minutes. Not enough for him to escape completely, but enough to complete his mission.
He knew that Ye Ping'an's ability was very special. But he only needed to pay attention to it. Even if she was not controlled by the strange creature, the mission would be completed!
"...He's a vagabond, playing music on the street. Art is such a hard thing to understand. Don't look at me. It's not my song that I ordered, so I won't pay for it."
Ye Ping'an respected and blessed, then put on headphones and continued watching the show.
The flute player's smile froze.
Isn't that enough of an allure? Normal people would at least respond to the music, and the more extroverted would probably come over and take a look!
The flute sounded again, and this time it was not only noisy, but also as loud as a tweeter, and even the full-coverage headphones could not block out the noise.
The flute player ran straight to the door and started playing.
Ye Pingan could no longer bear it and reached out to press the flute player's shoulder as he got closer and closer. "What's the matter? If I don't reward your performance, you're going to make so much noise?"
At the moment the photo was taken, the flute player trembled all over.
Tiny dust-like substances gushed out from the mouth, and as it moved, strands of snow-white mycelium grew out from the mouth in the blink of an eye.
The spores grew rapidly, and the eyeballs, mouth, ears, nostrils and other holes all began to spray new "spores".
In the seemingly normal structure of the body, spores and hyphae surged upwards, outlining a misty outline around the flute player.
The flute player knew that he only needed to create an opportunity for the messenger to complete the mission, but he didn't expect it to be created in this way.
How dare Tai Sui use his brother, who was currently serving the gods, as a sacrifice to the gods?! When did Tai Sui do this to him?
Shock and anger echoed in his mind, and fear had just emerged when he seemed to taste the mycelium in his mouth.
He couldn't help but think of the soup that Tai Sui had given them when they first arrived at the base.
It tastes really good.
I have never felt so comfortable after drinking soup.
He hadn't felt comfortable for a long time since he mastered the fragments of the gods.
Something crawled in his veins, and fear turned into a strange desire. The flute player smiled in ecstasy:
"You look...suitable...for growth." The last two words were slurred and mixed with the sound of swallowing saliva, making them indistinct.
The tiny substance landed on the smooth metal door of the van, and the facial lines of the person in the driver's seat shrank into a ball in a second.
Layers of shadows appeared on the car door, but they still couldn't cover up the traces of alternative substances growing on the surface.
Like mold and hair growing on metal, a dense layer of mycelium covered the surface, swallowing up the shadows. The seemingly new car door quickly revealed spots of rust, which continued to expand, but the changes were only superficial for the time being.
Yan Mingyue, who was on guard nearby, noticed the changes in the hearse at the first moment.
"The [Hearse] was suppressed and devoured. There are traces of bacteria, which match the description of the remains of [Tai Sui]-related events. The ghost control personnel sent by [Tai Sui] have been controlled by [Tai Sui]."
Yan Mingyue figured it out in a second. "The Investigation Bureau's blockade was too strict. They chose to attack directly. The simpler the plan, the easier it is to succeed. They are trying to create a moment of trance to let [Tai Sui] control Boss Ye!"
Yan Mingyue's heart just jumped up, then she realized: it was just the car that changed, Boss Ye who was in direct contact with her didn't react at all.
Boss Ye can use the golden bowl as a food bowl, but it is just the influence extended from the contact with the weird creature, just spilling some water.
Ye Pingan looked at the flute player's smile, withdrew his hand in disgust, and frowned, "What do you mean by appropriate or not? Don't smile so disgustingly. It's such a big place, and you insist on getting close to my car, and you won't let me stop you?"
The flute player's smile froze, and his gradually dead eyes became dull for a moment. He tried to look sideways at the shoulder where his hand had been moved away.
From the pores of the skin to the mouth, he saw that the "spores" were still spraying everywhere, and the mycelium like velvet extended from the skin and grabbed Ye Ping'an's palm.
But the part that fell towards Ye Ping'an stopped moving as soon as it touched her, as if it was rapidly withering away. It had no chance of touching her at all and fell straight into the carriage.
The "spores" fell to the carriage floor, turning into strands of slime. Before they could fully disperse, the curled-up human face secretly peeked out, and the carriage floor rolled slightly, swallowing all the "spores" in one gulp.
The flute player watched in astonishment, his brain struggling to comprehend what was happening. "You... can still leave?"
Ye Pingan raised the car window in disgust. "Just talk, don't spit! How long has it been since you took a shower? You're spitting dust when you move. Stay away from me!"
The last expression on the flute player's face was frozen in astonishment.
His skin had turned snow-white, as if it had been constructed entirely from mycelium. However, it had sunk irreversibly, his body like a tree trunk hollowed out from the inside out. Raising his hands, grasping anything, felt incredibly heavy on his body.
Click.
The flute fell to the ground.
The melodious flute sound rose several octaves and rang out from the ground.
A chill erupted from around the flute, and invisible hands pressed between the holes, producing an even stranger melody. A similar sound faintly echoed from the flute player's throat, as if even bones had begun to play.
"...Your hand shook and it fell off. It's none of my business."
Ye Ping'an was too lazy to even look at it. He stepped on the accelerator wordlessly and drove away to avoid being scammed.
The van started, and the door, whose surface had been covered in mycelium and exposed to rust, quickly raised its shadow, dragging the mycelium deeper into the car. The door became shiny and new again, and the wrinkles on the face of the person huddled under the seat transformed into a smile.
The Pied Piper was left behind the car, and a snow-white mushroom grew on his cheek, white and plump, like a real mushroom with perfect appearance.
A mushroom grew on the top of the head. A mushroom grew in the throat, and the music became indistinct.
The snow-white mushrooms grew rapidly, arms, chest, legs... one after another mushrooms grew out. The flute player who stood stiffly in place seemed to have become a human culture medium, and even his eyeballs were covered with mushrooms.
Until there was no place left for them to grow, the mushrooms huddled together and suddenly lost their shape, as if melting, and even the mycelium disappeared.
The mushrooms melted, revealing the shrunken flesh and bones beneath, with a vague human form visible. The remaining body of the flute player, like a withered tree trunk, fell to the ground without the mushrooms surrounding it.
Just a slight collision and it turned into a handful of dust.
Everything happened in an instant, and apart from the investigators who were paying close attention to a corner of the square, no one else around was even noticed.
The white bone flute was entangled by the remaining mycelium, and the sound of the flute seemed to be screaming, but the sound was getting weaker and weaker.
The shadow under the wheel lingered on the edge of the bone flute, and the small black hand was tentatively exploring in the shadow, not daring to grab it directly.
Yan Mingyue's expression was serious. "The influence exerted by the [Tai Sui] monster failed to affect Boss Ye, and the monster controller was also consumed. It has been confirmed that Boss Ye is not affected by [Tai Sui]. When driving a vehicle, [Tai Sui] can no longer devour the [Hearse]. The [Magic Flute] is being devoured by [Tai Sui], and the [Hearse] also has the tendency to devour..."
"Based on previous records, we can only establish a biological isolation zone to isolate the growth of [Tai Sui]. Reserve investigators are prohibited from approaching. Pay attention to Boss Ye's response and prepare to seal off the square."
The van drove forward a few meters and stopped again.
Before Ye Ping'an's eyes fell, the little hands that stretched out from the shadows quickly retracted.
Ye Pingan glanced at the rearview mirror, "...Eh? Where's the person?"
The only sound left was the still-humming flute, its sound growing fainter and fainter as if it had run out of battery - but still quite noisy.
Ye Ping'an's mouth twitched. "I understand you bought a flute that plays music automatically to show off, but it's your fault for showing off so loudly in public. What's the matter? When you found out you couldn't get the money, you even gave up the equipment? Do you have any sense of public morality? Or are you planning to falsely accuse me of stealing your flute?"
Ye Ping'an opened the door and got out of the car. He walked around to the back of the car, picked up the flute, and wrapped it with a tissue. "Ugh, it's sticky. How do I turn it off? I don't see a switch... Is it blocked by dirt?"
The tissue wiped the flute, and white "mycelium" fragments so small that they were almost invisible fell down, and turned into wisps of cold mist and dissipated before hitting the ground.
As he watched, Yan Mingyue could no longer maintain his serious expression.
...How can it really be wiped off?
When the [hearse] comes, chase the car and catch the driver. When the golden bowl comes, just catch the golden bowl... So it is reasonable to wipe out the traces of [Tai Sui]. Yes, it is very reasonable.
The moment the mycelium fragments fell, Tai Sui, who was staying in the house in the distance, suddenly looked up and stared at a small piece of withered mycelium on the wall.
His face was gloomy. "...The operation failed again? They couldn't even complete such a simple task just to contact Ye Ping'an. What a bunch of rubbish!"
The Investigation Bureau always follows the clues to catch people in one fell swoop. Tai Sui didn't receive any news from the members who remained on the periphery of the operation, so he knew that they had probably been arrested.
Without any news from the scene, he could only guess what happened based on the feedback from the monster.
"…We made contact, but it didn't work. Was the time too short, or the quantity insufficient?"
Tai Sui's anger slowly subsided as he grabbed another mushroom that had popped up. "That's right, her willpower must be very strong. She must be special enough to attract the president's attention and become the best sacrifice."
-
With a light wipe, most of the mycelium on the bone flute was wiped off, and the rest quickly turned into fragments and fell off.
After wiping it, Ye Ping'an searched for a long time but couldn't find the switch on the flute that kept making noises.
"Is it the same technology as the flower-blooming electronic candles, the kind that keep making noises even when smashed to pieces? Wouldn't that mean it would keep making noises forever?"
Ye Ping'an patted the flute, and the screaming sound of the bone flute stopped abruptly.
"The power is finally out." Ye Ping'an looked around and found the security booth on the side of the square with satisfaction. He walked over in two steps and knocked on the window.
"Officer, I found a flute that someone else lost. When you successfully report it as lost and found, please help me publicize the Xile Hotel's honesty!"
The investigator sitting in the security booth was stunned.
Is it okay to guard the intersection of the square and wait for a strange monster to fall from the sky?
After Ye Pingan finished plugging his flute, he looked around at the sparsely populated area, then at the time and sighed helplessly, "...It's already 10:10 and he's not here yet. He's late again."
The investigators urgently contained the strange creature, and Ye Ping'an walked back to the car and continued watching the unfinished show.
"The design of this cooking competition is quite interesting. Is the second season coming out? Make sure to check it out!"
Ye Pingan happily added the video to his favorites, exited the full-screen mode, and then noticed the time. He immediately flew into a rage, "It's almost eleven o'clock! Where's he?! You're standing me up again???"
Cheng Yi waited in the store, looking at the door from time to time.
As the night deepened, the lively food stalls in the food court all dispersed. A van sped up at the intersection, and Cheng Yi immediately stood up, "Boss!"
Ye Ping'an's face darkened. "Xiao Cheng, go ask the client what he means. Are you going to eat or not? You can't be so rude even if you ask for extra money. He doesn't even have a reason and just doesn't come! And this isn't the first time he's done this! We need to find someone else to handle the wedding banquet."
Cheng Yi: "Boss, the customer wants more money."
Ye Pingan immediately smiled, "...How much?"
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