Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 110: The Abyss

As soon as Yin Ren got into the green leather carriage, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist talking if he was awake.

The carriage was empty, so Yin Ren moved to an empty seat nearby. He curled up his legs and used his backpack as a pillow. Turning his face away from the back of the chair, he fell asleep.

He used a bunch of hair that had turned into red rope and skillfully created several bone talismans with seals inscribed on them. Yellow Millet maintained its size of a marble and was tied to one of the white bones on the red rope, transforming it into a standard keychain.

It hung on Dog Thing and looked quite harmonious with the hamster key pendant. The colorful ball swayed back and forth with the movement of the train, and Ge Tingting couldn’t help but glance at them several times.

In terms of the situation in Gengsheng Town, Yin Ren probably had no chance to go shopping, so where in hell did he get this from?

It was kind of cute.

As she was thinking about it, she saw the little thing that looked like a rainbow candy ball turn around, and a black dot that looked like a pupil was staring straight at her.

Ge Tingting: “……”

This train was so bumpy that it was causing her to see things, right?

She obediently took the bowl of braised beef noodles and slurped it while freeing up one hand to casually browse her social media feed. Due to the language barrier, she didn’t have many friends, and all her acquaintances were small managers who paid her wages.

Amidst the pile of flowery and fancy words and pictures that evoked feelings of spring and autumn, Shian’s artistic style stood out prominently.

[Huang Jin (junior): Why is it always so difficult for people to live?]

Ge Tingting continued to slurp her noodles and nodded as she swiped down.

[Luo Xiaohe (sister): Welcome home! When everyone comes back, I’ll treat them to a buffet and give them a warm welcome—!!! 🤗]

The accompanying picture was the header image of a famous buffet. Xiaohe Jie seemed to be in a very good mood.

As soon as she wanted to like it, she found Yin Ren’s like below.

Ge Tingting: “?”

My friend, aren’t you sleeping?

However, regarding the affairs of her seniors, it wasn’t something for someone like her to worry about. Ge Tingting stabbed her plastic fork into the braised egg and took a small bite. The savory egg white casually slid down.

[Minister Fu (leader): Hehe.]

The accompanying picture was of a Buddha statue with cracks on top of its head. Ge Tingting was unsure of what he wanted to express. There was obviously no Buddha statue in Gengsheng Town, and the picture was quite blurry, like it was a random picture found online.

Ge Tingting hesitated for a while, but in the end, she didn’t dare to like it.

After the mission was over, Fu Xingchuan specially added her and Huang Jin’s WeChat. Ge Tingting panicked at that time—when she was a dishwasher outside, the manager didn’t add her, but she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask directly why.

If every newcomer was added, how many people would be on Minister Fu’s list?

She fell into a whole new world of confusion.

On the other side of Ge Tingting, Zhong Chengshuo had opened his unfinished book and was reading quietly. His left hand seemed to be stuck to the sampling box, and he was unwilling to move even an inch away from it, as if he were trying to hatch something.

Ge Tingting looked around and found nothing worth mentioning. She cleaned up her braised beef noodle soup bowl and laid it down on the plastic table that still had some residual heat and started dozing off.

For a while, except for Zhong Chengshuo, only three people in the Emergency Management Department were awake in the carriage.

The three looked in three directions, respectively. Among them, Li Nian’s gaze was glued to Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead; the latter looked indifferent.

Rumbling, the green leather carriage passed through the mountains, and the scenery on both sides was as lackluster as usual. It headed towards Haigu, which was full of high-rises, leaving the fog and decay far behind.

Everything was proceeding well. Zhong Chengshuo continued to read in silence.

As he guessed, Shian didn’t disclose the inside story of their execution mission. From Ge Tingting’s point of view, this was just an investigation mission that went awry. Whether it was “Qi Xin’s” abnormal condition or everything related to the “figure in red”, they were all hidden in the dark.

Afterwards, the real report of this mission would be sealed and marked with a higher level of confidentiality.

Fu Xingchuan didn’t ask him to hand in the samples he obtained, and he found more clues about the Divine Descent and Yin Ren’s past that were beginning to emerge. Zhong Chengshuo was extremely satisfied with this mission.

He had to get home as soon as possible and write down this incident—especially regarding that Old Mayor—in detail.

Thinking of the imitation that was the “Old Mayor”, Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t help turning his attention to the genuine product.

The top of Yin Ren’s head was facing him. Probably noticing Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze, an eye grew at the top of his head, rolled its eyes at him, and then quickly disappeared.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Well, Yin Ren’s situation is a little weird, so he should keep that in mind.

……

Yin Ren’s strange state continued until the two returned to Ping’an Manor.

There would always be a rest period after a mission. This time, Fu Xingchuan exempted them from the medical examination process on the grounds that he had already “checked in person”. When the two arrived at their residence, it was just around noon.

Yin Ren walked behind Zhong Chengshuo. Pulling his face in a rare manner, he slammed the door shut and moved with a murderous aura.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly reacted. He jumped to the other end of the room, protecting the sampling box with both hands. Comrade Xiao Zhong hadn’t spoken yet when the entrance was full of evil qi. The curtains behind him closed automatically, without wind.

Originally, the room was bright and sunny, but it instantly became ten times darker.

“Oh, you’re back from that hellhole…” Hu Tao smelled a breath, and a head emerged from the room next door. She glanced at Yin Ren, whose face was so heavy that it was about to melt into dripping water, and instantly brake. She turned her head forcibly 180 degrees and whizzed back into her room.

“Zhong Chengshuo, let’s talk.” Yin Ren squeezed out each word with great emphasis between his teeth.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him for a while and made a pause gesture, then ran back into the bedroom. When he emerged again, he had already changed into loose pajamas and was frantically wiping the ashes from his hand with a cleansing towel. The sampling box was missing. Yin Ren suspected that guy had locked his baby egg in a hidden safe.

Yin Ren watched as the man went through a series of operations. After two minutes, a pajama-clad Zhong Chengshuo was sitting in front of him with his hands on his knees.

“Go ahead.” Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses.

Yin Ren’s side was full of energy that was slowly declining but wasn’t exhausted. Seeing this man’s usual innocent face, his nameless fire successfully flared up again.

He took a deep breath and put on a serious tone that could frighten mortals thousands of years ago.

“I’m very angry. Do you know why?”

Zhong Chengshuo’s face had a look full of confusion.

Yin Ren stepped forward mercilessly with a force in his hand, causing the first two buttons of Zhong Chengshuo’s pajamas to snap off and fly away. The front lapel of his pajamas was torn wide open, revealing bruises and abrasions underneath.

Yin Ren stretched out his finger and pressed on one of the wounds. The spell was spinning frantically at his fingertips, but the brilliance couldn’t touch Zhong Chengshuo.

“Don’t you understand yet?” Lord Ghost King gritted his teeth.

Zhong Chengshuo: “I have already disinfected them.”

“You know I can’t follow immediately, so you left the team to deal with the initiation.” In the dim living room, Yin Ren’s eyes glowed bright red like coal. “There are living people and zombies waiting over there… Okay, you, King Yama, are very capable and aren’t afraid of those small characters, but what about Qi Xin?”

Yin Ren said sharply.

“If I got there a little late, she might’ve killed you.”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren quietly but didn’t answer.

“She has an entity, Zhong Chengshuo, and I can’t even see through her strength. With that power, she can tear you into pieces with her bare hands! If she hurts you seriously, I can’t even heal you!”

Yin Ren pressed hard with his palm onto Zhong Chengshuo’s chest.

“Even if we don’t have this relationship, even if we are just friends, I will be scared to death if you do this. Don’t you understand?”

“……”

Zhong Chengshuo slowly touched Yin Ren’s wrist and held it tightly.

“I have the confidence to escape.” His tone was firm and steady.

“Then, if you’re really confident, do I have to say, ‘Wow, you’re so amazing’?”

Yin Ren grabbed the back of a chair with one hand and held Zhong Chengshuo with the other. His black hair was swaying windlessly, its ends shaking irritably. Zhong Chengshuo was firmly imprisoned in a cage of limbs and hair and could only look up.

“Now that you can escape, but when I lost control in the Archive, you said that even death might have been calculated. Why do you think so highly of me?”

Zhong Chengshuo maintained the posture of raising his head. “When facing you, I never considered running away.”

Yin Ren’s movement froze for a few seconds.

“Oh, really?” Yin Ren’s fierce red eyes were firmly locked on Zhong Chengshuo. “Should I thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded politely.

Yin Ren: “……” Ah, such a person really made him want to explode. He had been sober for hundreds of years and had never seen a person like this.

The tips of Lord Ghost King’s hair swam like a snake on the ground, slapping the floor.

“So it seems to you,” he said almost angrily, “that there’s no problem with you going off on your own to deal with the initiation and not even waiting for an opportunity to discuss it with me first?”

“It’s not 100% no problem,” Zhong Chengshuo explained quickly, “but even if you were by my side, it’s still not 100% no problem.”

Yin Ren suddenly fell silent.

All his worries and anger were emptied, and his heart really stopped at this moment.

Indeed, even if he was by Zhong Chengshuo’s side… If at that time Qi Xin hadn’t stopped for an unknown reason, they might not have survived.

Zhong Chengshuo really knew how to grasp the key points.

All the hair no longer swam around. Yin Ren just looked into Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes and pursed his lips.

Strange eyes. Even when they were happy, there was no brilliance in them, like two withered deep wells leading straight into the bottomless abyss.

This person was also like an abyss.

The love and worry he invested would not stir any ripples. They would fall endlessly, and maybe they would collide with a little echo. But he didn’t know when a response would come back or how long he would have to wait.

Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t making excuses. This person couldn’t understand his worries from the bottom of his heart.

The probability was low, and the behavior was reasonable. For Zhong Chengshuo, it seemed that as long as he presented a “solution process” any matter could be completely turned over.

However, what made Yin Ren angry was that he was attracted by the ethereal voice in the abyss. The unknown, the distant… and even the pain and annoyance they brought.

That was right. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t understand his concerns, let alone worry about himself because there was “no danger”.

His anger eventually fell into the abyss of darkness, and he couldn’t make any waves.

Yin Ren released the back of the chair expressionlessly. He didn’t say another word, but walked to the sofa and sat on his knees in the corner of the sofa that was against the wall. Zhong Chengshuo blinked and watched as the man’s body quickly deformed and countless wings popped out, filling a quarter of the space in the living room, burying Yin Ren deeply inside.

“I want to be alone.” Yin Ren’s voice was muffled.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Is this autism?

“What’s wrong?” Zhong Chengshuo took the opportunity to touch a wing.

Yin Ren didn’t answer. The wing mass shrank, and the feathers on the surface instantly became hard.

Yellow Millet noticed its master’s resentment and dragged Dog Thing around, trying to give this person a little deterrent as a powerful evil.

It was a pity that for a top science post, this soft dumpling was really no deterrent. Zhong Chengshuo squeezed it with two fingers and threw it directly into the bedroom.

“Puff, puff, puff!” Yellow Millet let out a weak cry as it banged on the door.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored it and didn’t go about his business as Yin Ren thought he would. He just sat in a chair with his hands crossed and his eyes on the floor in a standard contemplative pose.

Inside the dark living room, a man was staring at the floor, while in a corner, an evil behemoth had stuffed itself from floor to ceiling, creating a particularly gloomy atmosphere.

For a long time, Zhong Chengshuo pushed away his chair and sat on the uncovered part of the sofa. He leaned back on the hard feathers and slowly took off his glasses.

“Cats will hiss when they are angry, and dogs will wag their tails when they are happy. Spiders are born to know how to make webs. Most animals know to avoid the ‘eye’ organ, and many species have even evolved imitation patterns for intimidation. It’s interesting, isn’t it? They have such a powerful ‘instinct’ and don’t need education. They know what to do from the beginning.”

“People… People cry when they are sad and laugh when they are happy. People also have things engraved in their ‘instinct’, and I really want to understand it.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Zhong Chengshuo’s voice came through the wings, causing a slight tremor that made him a little itchy.

“But the instinct with ‘no education’ is very difficult to learn…”

As Zhong Chengshuo spoke, the feathers became softer.

He didn’t look back but instead looked at the sunlight that was blocked by the heavy curtains.

“There is only one of you in this world. I am worried that a mistake in expression will cause you and me to end here.”

“I don’t know what I feel, and I don’t know how to express it to you, so I have maintained the original approach—the approach of when you like me.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s fingertips gently slid over Yin Ren’s wings. His tone was as quiet as before, but a little strangely helpless.

“Sorry. Don’t ignore me.”

A group of wings struggled out from the large group of wings and squatted solemnly at Zhong Chengshuo’s feet.

“It’s not your fault. There’s no need to apologize.” A vague murmur came from the wings. “Forget it. Who told me to be an elder?”

It gently rubbed Zhong Chengshuo’s ankle.

“What are we eating tonight?” Yin Ren’s voice came from the mass of wings.

Zhong Chengshuo pinched the wing mass, as if he had made some determination.

“Go out to eat,” he said.

“It’s time. I want to take you to a place where we can solve this ‘contradiction’, one step at a time.”

……

On the edge of Haigu, a mansion in the mountains.

Fu Xingchuan stood nervously at the gate. He temporarily borrowed a powder puff from a female colleague to cover up the dark circles under his eyes.

Unfortunately, all the members in Unit 9 were on vacation and missed the earth-shattering news—the #1 Ghost General Minister Fu actually took annual leave!

“You’re still alive?”

The one who opened the door was a woman whose brows and eyes were similar to Fu Xingchuan’s. She looked older than him, but her complexion was much healthier. She looked at Fu Xingchuan up and down for a while, raised one brow, and clicked her tongue.

“Oh, sister,” Fu Xingchuan said weakly. “Help me go and tell our parents. I just want to see my ancestors.”

The woman withdrew her joking expression. “Ancestors?”

“Yes.”

Fu Xingchuan also sunk his face in the same way.

“As the director of Hwajisi 900 years ago, he should know something.”

Kinky Thoughts:

It’s already difficult enough to deal with a gong with low EQ, but one that has 0 EQ?

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 109: Mission Report

When Fu Xingchuan returned to the team with the two scourges, it was almost dawn.

Except for Zhong Chengshuo, the faces of the remaining two weren’t very good. How great. The three of them had six eyes, but they couldn’t find a single bright pupil.

Yin Ren’s entire body was numb.

Modern people were too scheming, Lord Ghost King thought sadly.

This started a few hours ago—

The crisis was lifted and the spiritual contract was formed, so Yin Ren let out a sigh of relief. The job was saved, the identity of the “Evil Spirit” hadn’t been revealed for the time being, and the future was full of hope.

There were still many mysteries about Gengsheng Town, but no matter how he looked at it, it would come to an end. The situation surrounding that imitation and the clues given by Qi Xin could slowly be studied in the future.

Even if Fu Xingchuan deduced his identity as “Zhong Yi”, he could only swallow his frustration and anger without being able to do anything about it.

If they had to talk about it, Haujisi was involved with “Zhong Yi” for a long time. The most widely circulated “symbol” in the metaphysical world was an evil creature that was so lazy that an orthodox cultivator like Minister Fu would never speak of it. And with the record of sealing six Evil Spirits, Fu Xingchuan wouldn’t be so stupid as to make things difficult for him.

The more Yin Ren thought about it, the happier he became. He felt a bit grateful to Qi Xin. Fortunately, she showed her terrifying strength, which allowed him to also use his true abilities to deal with the situation. If he had revealed his true abilities in a small case, Fu Xingchuan wouldn’t have been so hesitant to take action.

Now that Fu Xingchuan knew the two of them were unusual, Shian would no longer follow them intensively. An easy life without any hidden trouble was about to begin.

So why didn’t he start by having a quarrel with Zhong Chengshuo!

However, before Lord Ghost King could brew his emotions, he was targeted by Minister Fu, who suddenly woke up.

“Yin Ren, go and clean up all the evil things in town.” Fu Xingchuan rubbed the stubble on his chin with inexplicable gloating in his voice. “The townspeople are back to normal and they are likely to be frightened by the wandering evil spirits. You can add Yellow Millet to help you, right?”

Yin Ren was stunned.

As expected of the #1 Ghost General. Just after signing a spiritual contract with an unknown evil creature, he put it to use.

“We just had a busy day!” Yin Ren said bitterly. “It’s early in the morning.”

Wasn’t he working hard enough? He didn’t want to work overtime.

Fu Xingchuan: “I only promised to help you hide your secret, but I didn’t promise to cover up this Yellow Millet. If it wants to enjoy the same treatment, it must show some merit. Of course, if you want to hand it over, I also have no problem with that.”

Yellow Millet’s pupils shook tremendously. It began to rub crazily against Yin Ren’s palm, as if it were rubbing two sticks together to start a fire. “Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!”

Yin Ren: “……”

“This mission was well done. According to Shian’s rules, you will get high compensation. The amount will be determined by me.” Fu Xingchuan played the tactics of carrot and stick to perfection. He sat down crossed-legged, folded his arms, and gave off a posture of “Laozi needs time to think”.

Yin Ren: “…Okay, I’ll go.”

Anyway, there weren’t many opportunities for them and Fu Xingchuan to act together, so they won’t be squeezed all the time.

Simply put, wasn’t this just letting Yellow Millet eat its fill in Gengsheng Town? If it ate all the messy things left by Sunken Society, this would also help him save on feed.

Even if Zhong Chengshuo was left alone, this low-profile “King Yama” who had been operating for many years, should still be able to handle the situation with Shian.

Thinking of this, Yin Ren tried to exchange a look with Zhong Chengshuo.

This time, his spiritual harmony died before it even got the chance to start.

Just when he and Boss Fu were busy discussing work-related matters, Comrade Xiao Zhong, seeing that he had nothing to do, took a piece of dust cloth and laid down and slept on the spot.

He didn’t even change into his pajamas but kept his nightcap as a sense of ceremony. Zhong Chengshuo was holding the sampling box tightly in his arms, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

Wow. He really circumvented the possibility of being scolded by Fu Xingchuan.

Yin Ren’s facial features distorted, half relieved that this person could rest for a while, and half with an unknown anger that was rising even higher. He ran to Zhong Chengshuo angrily, threw a windproof spell that circled around him, and then flew away even more angrily.

Fu Xingchuan, who witnessed the whole process: “……”

Good. He decided to be in a coma for a while longer.

……

Time returned to the present.

“What about your injuries?” Seeing Fu Xingchuan intact, Li Nian got straight to the point.

“Met some strange people and encountered some strange things. I’ll write the report later.” Fu Xingchuan grunted twice. “There are some issues with that ‘Qi Xin’, so we have to check it out.”

Li Nian looked at him for a few seconds. A cold light flashed in his hand, and a fountain pen-like thing was directly inserted into Fu Xingchuan’s shoulder. The latter screamed. “Gentler! Gentler!”

“The rapid DNA identification results are consistent. The blood components are basically the same. The tested person is ‘Fu Xingchuan’, with an accuracy rate of 99.99999%… In the analysis of evil qi waveforms, there is no curse, no controlling spells, and there is a presence of a spiritual contract.”

A series of mechanical sounds came from the “fountain pen”.

Yin Ren couldn’t help but glance at the thing a few more times. He smelled the faint scent of medicine in it. If it didn’t hit Fu Xingchuan, then there might have been a backup plan.

Unfortunately, this Minister Fu was as good as a fake.

Li Nian neatly put away the testing equipment. “I contacted support. We can take a collective rest for a while.”

Fu Xingchuan: “Wow, that’s great.”

“You’re hiding something from me?” Li Nian added lightly.

“…You’re saying it as if I did something wrong. I’m just too tired. Weird things happen every year, but this year there are more than usual. Let’s talk about it in detail when we get back.” Fu Xingchuan’s face remained unchanged.

In the thick night, the fog in the mountain town had completely dissipated.

The dark building ruins stood in the center of the mountain town, leaving a dark shadow. The lights of every house were extinguished, leaving not much light left in the town. Those strange and bizarre evil creatures disappeared without a trace, leaving the town in a state of ruin and desolation, just like a sad and lonely scene after the passage of tourists.

The circular loop stopped operating, and the town fell into deep silence like a ghost who was finally laid to rest.

Helping Ren Jiying amplify her voice exhausted all of Ge Tingting’s and Huang Jin’s strength. At this moment, the two of them were leaning on two sheltered corners, each sleeping with faces full of dirt and exhaustion. Ren Jiying was covered by Professor Li’s suit jacket. She closed her eyes and frowned slightly, but there was a hint of relaxation in her expression.

Only Xiang Jiang sat silently in the same place. His eyes were blocked by his bangs, so it was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or not.

When the dust settled, Xiang Hai was nowhere to be seen.

“Report, a large number of evil things in the mountain town have disappeared.” A female voice came from everyone’s headset. Luo Xiaohe and Hao Wenzhe were still sticking to their posts.

“Normal. I signed a spiritual contract with that Yellow Millet. It won’t harm me if I don’t harm it.” Fu Xingchuan replied carelessly, casting a glance at Li Nian out of the corner of his eye. “That thing was under the control of Sunken Society. After the control was lifted, it ate all the evil creatures lurking in the town. It promised not to harm humans, and I, as the representative of Shian, agreed not to pursue it any further.”

“But that’s…”

“Class A-A evil things are not something I can control even if I want to. It’s not good for everyone if it becomes a big mess. This is my judgment.” Fu Xingchuan spoke earnestly, and this time his gaze swept towards Yin Ren, whether intentionally or not.

“I understand.” Hao Wenzhe took over. “Fu Xingchuan, prepare the main points of your report as soon as possible. I want to issue a mission report based on data observation.”

The next day, when the green leather train started, a black cursor was jumping endlessly on the snow-white document.

[Comprehensive Report on Special Investigation Unit 9’s Execution Mission (No. SA8729948766)]

[Mission Location: Gengsheng Town]

[Task Subject: Snake Swallowing (Class A-B Abnormal Phenomenon)]

……

[During contact with Snake Swallowing, our personnel found a Sunken Society’s ant’s nest underground. After preliminary confirmation, this ant’s nest started in the Gong Dynasty and is still active. The task-themed Snake Swallowing has been completely transformed to transport and guard the entrance…]

[The research subject in this ant’s nest is changes in the human body after a small amount of long-term exposure to Evil Force. The samples have been collected, and the analysis results will be supplemented in the attachment…]

[The basic subject is suspected to be “Zhong Yi”, and the new mayor of Gengsheng Town was made into an “imitation” of the subject. It’s understood that this imitation has the power to use the emotion of “sorrow” to control people and evil beings. The specific impact on the townspeople will be supplemented…]

The cursor jumped rapidly, quickly writing down the situation in the ant’s nest. When writing the next paragraph, it moved much slower than before, as if hesitant.

[In the ant’s nest, our personnel were chased by evil things bred by Sunken Society, while the townspeople were controlled to attack our ground personnel. It is suspected they were being mind controlled or were mentally corrupted.]

[During the pursuit, Zhong Chengshuo accidentally fell behind due to his clothes being torn. Later, during the battle, our personnel were stunned by the collision between Snake Swallowing and Yellow Millet. Yin Ren was the first to wake up and went to find Zhong Chengshuo, taking the initiative to leave the team. The two met near the circular loop and witnessed the following scene.]

[The “imitation” full of Evil Force was swallowed up by “Qi Xin” who had assisted the team.]

[The relevant time points and regional evil qi changes in this testimony are consistent with our records. Fu Xingchuan, who arrived later, can testify to this. According to Fu Xingchuan, the person who calls herself “Qi Xin” isn’t a human but some kind of special evil that hasn’t been discovered yet…]

[Qi Xin disappeared after swallowing the initiation, releasing the evil things from its control. The townspeople returned to normal and fell into chaos. Fu Xingchuan signed a temporary contract with the escaped Yellow Millet (An A-level abnormal phenomenon) to eliminate the remaining evil beings belonging to Sunken Society in the mountain town.]

[At each key point, there were no suspicious actions taken by Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo. They actively assisted in restoring Gengsheng Town to normal. Ge Tingting and Huang Jin performed very well. So far, Unit 9’s execution mission can be regarded as ending normally…]

……

[The following is the preliminary judgment of this comprehensive execution mission.]

[Yin Ren: Part of his strength is hidden, possibly due to the influence of previous events with unclear self-awareness. There is no sign of external contact, and his action is completely non-malicious. Currently, he is still able to work normally, but further observation is required. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level F.]

[Zhong Chengshuo: His physical fitness is far superior to the results of the physical examination. Considering the nature of the previous mission, it cannot be determined whether he deliberately hid his condition. There are no external signs of contact, and he’s currently able to work normally, but further observation is required. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level F.]

At this point, the cursor paused for a moment again.

[Xiang Jiang: As the person in charge of Gengsheng Town, he failed to investigate the actual situation of Gengsheng Town clearly, and there was a serious dereliction of duty. During the mission, Xiang Jiang responded negatively, did not guide weaker teammates, did not call for foreign aid in time, and didn’t actively rescue civilians. There were signs of external contact before entering the mission, but there was no clear evidence of betrayal. Currently, he is still able to work normally, but his access to missions needs to be restricted. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level C.]

[The above assessments refer to the opinions of Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian.]

The cursor stopped for a long time after the letter “C”.

After a long pause, there was a crisp sound of the keyboard being tapped, and a small plus sign was added to the C.

On the bright screen, Hao Wenzhe stared at the name of this old colleague without any special expression on his face.

[As of the date of this report, townsperson Qi Xin has not been found, and the identity of the woman posing as Qi Xin is unknown. The police will continue to follow up. Gengsheng Town has received assistance from the local Shian branch. A team of psychiatrists has settled in, and the current mood of the townspeople is stable.]

[The current mayor took the initiative to contact the relevant government departments and will conduct the follow-up development of Gengsheng Town in the near future. She proposed that while carrying out reclamation and governance, the town’s architectural advantages should be utilized to create relevant theme parks, and some of the town’s residents should be retained as staff…”

[Regarding the appointment of the mayor, personal data will be in the form of scanned copies]

Hao Wenzhe didn’t finish typing his sentence. His fingers froze in the air.

When he got here, he subconsciously glanced at the kraft paper bag that was set aside. The kraft paper bag was opened, and he took them out, preparing to scan them later.

He was busy sorting out the data just now and didn’t look at the most “irrelevant” information.

Taking a closer look, a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead.

…The old information on those documents didn’t seem to have a problem at first glance. There were photos that should be there, and the form was densely written in black pen, very typical of old information.

But the words were not words.

At least not the handwriting that existed in this world. No matter what file it was or what department it came from, the printed words on the form were clearly legible, but the words on the form were all crooked and distorted, like some kind of mutated bone, which made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Black pen, ballpoint pen, fountain pen. The handwriting was different, but the content was the same and unrecognizable.

They were even slowly shattering and fading, as if they were rotting.

The same was true of the photo of the old mayor.

Whether he was young or old, his features in the photo were blank, and his figure was blurred.

The traces of the only victim in this incident were gradually being erased.

Hao Wenzhe called Ren Jiying without hesitation.

“Hello?”

The mayor’s panting voice came through.

“Mr. Hao, is there anything I can do for you?”

“What’s the name of your last mayor?”

“Why are you asking this suddenly?” Mayor Ren was a little surprised. “He’s a household name. He’s the only college student that this mountain village has produced. When he came back, he discovered the mines… discovered… discovered…”

“Mayor Ren?”

“It’s fine. I’m just a little dizzy. What were you asking?”

“The name of your last mayor.”

“……”

“I don’t remember,” she said.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 108: Spiritual Contract

Five minutes before Qi Xin disappeared.

If it weren’t for regulations, Fu Xingchuan would really like to smoke a cigarette.

The bloody spear of his life-giving blow hit Qi Xin right in the bullseye but failed to cause the slightest damage. It was true that the two members of Unit 9 cooperated flawlessly and twisted Qi Xin into pieces in an instant.

Hehe.

Of the two, one of them manifested power directly from nothingness into red ropes—truly spiritual.

The other wielded a dagger and moved extremely fast to the point where people couldn’t make out the details, but Fu Xingchuan had a feeling that the crimson knife light looked a bit familiar.

Unfortunately, he was too far away and couldn’t feel the power attributes around the two. It was great that they were doing such a good job of suppressing their abilities.

Fu Xingchuan moved his fingers, holding a non-existent cigarette while his eyes were blank.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have shot that bloody spear and exposed his existence, but he couldn’t afford the consequences of “Zhong Chengshuo is innocent” and “Zhong Chengshuo might die”.

Although facts proved that the little beast was also a fraud. His left hand was probing Shian, while his right hand was disturbing Qi Xin. The judgment of the deception was instantaneous. Zhong Chengshuo was undoubtedly a veteran in combat.

‘It’s too difficult to be a person with a moral bottom line,’ Fu Xingchuan thought gloomily.

Now he could only bet on one thing—

When he woke up from his coma, the “man in red” who was riding Yellow Millet that he witnessed was probably Yen Ren. That kid was strong enough to control a Class A-A evil being, but his powers to simply stun them showed that he wasn’t hostile to Shian.

At least there was no hostility at the moment.

Dressed in red with Yellow Millet on his feet, this was an extremely powerful evil creature. Was Yin Ren the “same kind” as the figure in the mural, or was that figure in the mural actually “him”?

Minister Fu bowed his waist and continued to look into the distance.

The troublesome spirits were talking to Qi Xin shards. Unfortunately, his technique was limited. The images given were quite rough, and Fu Xingchuan couldn’t distinguish the lips of those people.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo weren’t hostile to Shian, but that didn’t mean they had good intentions towards him either. Now Qi Xin came with an unknown purpose, but it didn’t seem like she was in the same camp as those two.

What are their motives…

Minister Fu hadn’t smoked half the cigarette that he imagined yet when his back suddenly felt cold.

He didn’t stay for less than ten seconds when there were two more breaths behind him. Looking at the vicinity of the circular loop, he couldn’t find the figures of Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.

Fu Xingchuan closed his eyes.

They’re coming.

The wound on his shoulder was painful and numb, which was the result of the drug suppression. As soon as he threw the blood spear, his state became unsuitable for fighting. Minister Fu turned around slowly. He dove one hand into the pocket of his tunic as the marquee of life flashed in front of his eyes.

In front of him stood the target of this “execution mission”.

Yin Ren’s long hair was loose, and his body was tightly wrapped in red cloth that resembled an ancient costume. The wounds from his shoulders to his chest were healing at a speed no human should have… Most of Zhong Chengshuo’s jacket was in tatters, revealing unexpectedly fair skin with only a few scratches on it. This kid was firmly holding his sampling box, and his face was full of brilliance as if he had a great harvest.

Were they here to silence him or…?

Fu Xingchuan straightened his back and cleared his throat, just intending to make a sufficiently deterrent opening statement. As a result, before his mouth opened, Yin Ren trotted up to him.

“I’m sorry!” Yin Ren’s tone was so sincere that it was scary. “I didn’t mean to conceal my personal situation.. I’m indeed, uh, not human.”

Fu Xingchuan: “?”

Is this… explaining?

Yin Ren pinched an extremely complicated spell causing Fu Xingchuan’s shoulder to emit a burning-like creaking sound.

Along with green and black smoke floating out, the wound caused by the poison arrow healed quickly. His exhausted limbs slowly stretched, and fatigue melted away like the snow. Except for the emptiness due to exhaustion of power, Minister Fu’s body didn’t feel any pain.

In the pocket of his tunic, Fu Xingchuan’s hand twitched, almost pressing on the most advanced security alarm.

He squinted at Yin Ren and said nothing. To be honest, Fu Xingchuan didn’t know if he wanted to create a sense of oppression or simply had nothing to say.

He would let these two act and see what tricks they were up to.

“Minister Fu.”

Yin Ren took out a colored marble-like thing from his pocket and spoke solemnly.

“Does this count as confessing to receive a lighter sentence? It’s indirectly surrendering itself and gaining merit by confessing to its crimes, right?”

Fu Xingchuan glanced at Yin Ren’s palm and almost vomited a mouthful of blood.

After living for so long, he didn’t know that Yellow Millet had the ability to become smaller. That evil thing that was chasing them was now crushed like an asteroid and was now lying obediently in Yin Ren’s palm, suddenly looking like a rainbow lollipop without a stick.

Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze was more focused than Fu Xingchuan—Comrade Xiao Zhong stared at Yellow Millet, rubbing his fingers on the edge of the sampling bag. Yellow Millet seemed to feel something and nestled hard into the palm of Yin Ren’s hand again.

Yin Ren gathered up his old cushion. “This is Yellow Millet. It has no malicious intentions, but it was controlled by Sunken Society using magic.”

Yellow Millet tried its best to show weakness, letting out a trembling, “Puff…”

Fu Xingchuan’s head swelled to the size of a bucket.

What is going on?

With two identities exposed, shouldn’t there be a dialogue between the strong and the strong? What was this atmosphere like that felt like a work review error meeting?

Yin Ren’s strength was unpredictable, Zhong Chengshuo was immune to spells, and there was no need to talk about Yellow Millet. If he picked any one of them casually, they weren’t an enemy he could easily deal with. Fu Xingchuan had thought about many possibilities, but he really didn’t expect this kind of development.

“Do you recognize this Yellow Millet?” Minister Fu really couldn’t hold back and tried to pivot.

Yin Ren considered his wording. “We used to be colleagues, so I know it very well. You know, Yellow Millet only eats evil things. This one is very lazy and has no interest in actively hurting people.”

“Puff, puff, puff!” Yellow Millet sincerely agreed.

“…I’m not doing a background check on it.” Fu Xingchuan laughed dryly. “This Yellow Millet has at least a thousand years of cultivation. How old are you?”

Yin Ren: “……”

What’s with modern people? Why does everyone keep asking this sad question?

“Or rather, I should ask…”

Seeing that Yin Ren didn’t answer, Fu Xingchuan straightened his tunic, which was covered with blood and dust.

“Is the person on the ant’s nest mural you?”

Yin Ren’s smile froze for an instant.

Since he could confirm that the person on the mural was himself, it would only be a matter of time before Fu Xingchuan deduced that he was “Zhong Yi”.

Sure enough, the #1 Ghost General wouldn’t be so easy to fool. In the next second, Lord Ghost King realized a problem.

Sometimes, “not answering immediately” was also a kind of “answering”.

Sure enough, Fu Xingchuan didn’t wait for his answer. Minister Fu pressed his temples frantically, and his tone became erratic. “Zhong Chengshuo, you… Forget it, we’ll check it ourselves.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses. “Good luck.”

Fu Xingchuan wasn’t in the mood to pursue this person’s attitude. He sat on the ground, flat on his ass, and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

After taking a long puff, Fu Xingchuan looked at Gansheng Town in the night. “…If you two wanted to be detrimental to Shian, at that time in the underground ant’s nest, you had countless ways to kill Lao Li and me. The two of you staying in a C-level investigation team—you have something you want from Shian, right?”

When he said this, he didn’t look at the two of them and showed his back frankly.

“If I report the situation, Yin Ren will definitely be fully inspected and guarded. Zhong Chengshuo will definitely be fired. You can guess this, but you still choose to communicate with me.”

“Well, we discussed it. This is a deal.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes would dart toward Yellow Millet from time to time.

“Fu Xingchuan, you’re a powerhouse who sincerely wants to protect Haigu and knows what actions are most appropriate.”

“It’s useless to flatter me.” Fu Xingchuan took a hard puff from his cigarette and exhaled. “But I can’t drive you to Sunken Society… Haa, how troublesome.”

He raised his hand and spat out the cigarette into his palm.

The originally soft smoke condensed into a sharp blue and white blade, cutting open the wound just healed by Yin Ren. Bright red blood gushed out in an instant and floated upwards against gravity. They stretched into scarlet filaments and spun out runes one after another.

The bloodshot lines intertwined in the night, turning into gorgeous and terrifying giant patterns. It was three meters high and floated quietly in front of Fu Xingchuan.

“Forget Zhong Chengshuo. There’s a complete set of criminal laws governing him.”

Fu Xingchuan moved the bleeding wound, and the huge blood array above the wound moved slightly.

“Yin Ren, since you passed the physical examination, there must be entities that are similar to humans… You can figure it out yourself.”

Yin Ren looked up at the cobweb-like blood as he casually rubbed Yellow Millet with his fingers.

“Puff?”

Zhong Chengshuo also walked to his side. “What is that?”

“A kind of spiritual contract,” Yin Ren said. “The type that is binding on both parties. It’s quite fair… Well, in general, I can’t indiscriminately harm innocent people, and Fu Xingchuan needs to guarantee my freedom. At most, he can only tell Li Nian. It can be regarded as a temporary peace agreement.”

“What will happen to you if you violate it?” Zhong Chengshuo said curiously.

“My own strength will backfire, and even the slightest injury will be serious. This is an agreement based on cognition that can’t be falsified.”

Yin Ren’s palm cracked, and a ball of blood squirmed and flew out.

It also turned into filaments, penetrated the bloodshot gap made by Fu Xingchuan’s blood, and drew out another spell. When the two met, the blood circle immediately collapsed into blood beads and then disappeared into the air with a bang.

Well, Fu Xingchuan personally dared to make this kind of spiritual contract—Yin Ren knew in his heart that even if he was seriously injured, there were still many ways he could destroy Haigu. This agreement couldn’t be 100% binding.

If this was any other official from Shian, they would never take the risk of cooperating with an evil being at such a level.

“I still have some questions.”

After the spiritual contract was concluded, Yin Ren spoke solemnly.

Fu Xingchuan blew out smoke violently: “Ask.”

“You know the situation between me and Zhong Chengshuo. Can we continue to get promotions and raises? What about year-end bonus? Leaving aside the spiritual contract, I’m not human, so is the labor contract still valid? Can I still be Zhong Chengshuo’s partner?”

Fu Xingchuan: “…”

Fu Xingchuan: “?”

He suddenly realized something, stood up trembling, and stubbed out his cigarette butt.

“Damn, wait!” Minister Fu pointed at Zhong Chengshuo with his index finger, which was trembling slightly. “You know that Yin Ren is a thousand-year-old evil?”

Zhong Chengshuo innocently said, “Nn.”

“Are you serious with him? Isn’t it just an excuse for joint activities?”

Zhong Chengshuo replied with a harmless expression, “Yes.”

Fu Xingchuan was silent for a full five minutes.

“Yes, you can. Both of you can do whatever you want. As long as you don’t cause trouble, you can do whatever you want.” Fu Xingchuan finally spoke in a sleepwalking tone. “I’ll tell you what to write in the report later, but this Yellow Millet, I need to collect first—”

He went to grab Yellow Millet, but the naked evil thing instantly turned into a stretched rice cake, half of which was pulled far away by Fu Xingchuan and half of which held tightly to Yin Ren’s palm.

“Puff—puff—”

Fu Xingchuan continued to pull expressionlessly until Yellow Millet lost its form of a ball and was stretched out even longer.

“Puff—puff—” It puffing almost resembled howling.

“You see, it doesn’t want to,” Yin Ren said cautiously.

Fu Xingchuan’s eyes were beyond exhaustion. At this moment, they were dull, almost looking like Zhong Chengshuo’s.

“Oh,” he said. “Then you take care of it, and you’ll be responsible for the consequences if something happens.”

“Okay!”

“When others ask later, you will say that Xiao Zhong was left behind, so Yin Ren went back first to find him after waking up. For the rest, we’ll discuss it when we get back to Shian,” Fu Xingchuan said as he lay calmly on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo squatted down next to his head, and his face was full of doubts.

“I’ll be in a coma for ten minutes. I need a break.” Minister Fu closed his eyes bitterly.

……

Haigu, Municipal Hospital, a certain ward.

The old man looked out the window.

It was late, and the appearance of the house was more clearly reflected than the scene outside the window. The glass window became a half-mirror, reflecting a wrinkled, aging face.

“That guy acted without authorization again.”

He hissed at his own image.

“That guy has been disagreeing with your approach for a long time. Is it okay to let him come over now?”

The old man’s mouth opened and closed, but the image on the window remained motionless.

“The inferior product got out of control, and the mountain town was destroyed. The tragedy spreads among the people… It was obviously an excellent opportunity to test our ‘theory’, but it swallowed the inferior product directly. I know that Gensheng Town is its territory, but—”

The image watched him silently.

“…Okay, I admit, its power is indispensable.” The old man snorted coldly. “Will Sunken Society give this up? Let ‘Ms. Qi’ handle this mess herself..”

“I will judge for myself who should be excluded.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 107: Stillborn

“In addition, be careful of ‘Mr. Qiu’.”

After Qi Xin said this, the only remaining body fragments made a sizzling sound as they became more transparent in the air and were about to disappear.

The speed of the vortex in the sky gradually slowed down, and the surrounding mist was thinned by the evening wind. The remnant Evil Force dissipated, becoming weak and broken, transforming into rich but ordinary evil qi.

Yin Ren was floating in midair. He left a few circles of the red rope around his body so that Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t fall. He finally had time to heal the wound on his shoulder, and when the high tension was relieved, Yin Ren realized that his throat was dry and cold sweat had permeated his back.

Thousands of years ago, he had never seen such a weird opponent.

The “thing” that Qi Xin ate just now smelled a bit like an Evil Spirit, and it was very likely that that was the original target of her trip—a crappy imitation of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi, an evil thing that could transform into an Evil Spirit.

But it was devoured by Qi Xin as if it were bread.

Judging by Qi Xin’s tone just now, if it weren’t for “other mysteries” of his own situation, Yin Ren might have also become Qi Xin’s meal.

What exactly was this “woman” who was mixed into their team? What was her position and purpose?

…No, it was better to send this heavyweight trouble away first.

With his head full of problems, Yin Ren instinctively held his breath and watched Qi Xin, who was about to disappear.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Miss Qi, your approach isn’t appropriate.”

The Qi Xin fragment that was about to disappear stopped fading. The remaining eyeball fragment turned, and its pupil stared at Zhong Chengshuo. Yin Ren choked on his saliva and started coughing.

“You didn’t explain anything to Yin Ren.” Zhong Chengshuo calmly pointed out. “And the so-called ‘Mr. Qiu’… The ‘surname Qiu’ isn’t a common name, but there are still many people who possess it—about 200,000 to 300,000 men. How can you expect us to be careful?”

Qi Xin: “……”

“If you hope for Yin Ren to be safe and survive, I suggest you give us clearer information.” Zhong Chengshuo straightened his glasses as he held the sampling bottle tightly in his hand.

After fighting for so long, Qi Xin looked at Zhong Chengshuo solemnly for the first time.

“You’re also a little interesting. No wonder you can act with ‘him’.” She spat out the words from her broken mouth, unknown how she was able to make a sound. “Don’t you have the most basic fear?”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t answer and just had a look of “Let’s get down to business” on his face. Yin Ren froze in place, not knowing whether he should intervene or not. He awkwardly tightened the red rope again, in case Zhong Chengshuo accidentally offended the powerful figure in front of him.

Fortunately, Qi Xin didn’t make another move.

“Teach you step by step? I don’t want to betray my own kind for the time being,” she replied calmly.

“I gave you enough hints. The rest is up to you. If this cub doesn’t live up to expectations, it won’t be useful when it grows up.”

Yin Ren looked at her numbly.

The answer was correct. He was really indefatigable. He didn’t want to go out looking for trouble to find out all the details!

Lord Ghost King couldn’t wait to go home with one click, wrap himself up in a blanket, and have a big fight with Mr. Zhong about “acting safely”. He didn’t care about the truth, the big picture, or justice; he couldn’t benefit from any of them anyway.

He just wanted to check in to work in the new era and enjoy his life without provoking anyone. Was this too much to wish for?

But Yin Ren had the same premonition—if he dared show anything, he would spend the night in Qi Xin’s stomach.

So Yin Ren frowned and froze himself into an unfathomable statue.

Qi Xin’s remaining eyeball was still staring at Zhong Chengshuo. “But in order to reward your bravery, you can ask me a question—a question that has nothing to do with Yin Ren or me. I will answer according to my mood.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s originally calm face instantly wrinkled. There were too many mysteries in the whole matter. Yin Ren would be the head of that science post, and there was probably an extra copy of “One Hundred Thousand Whys”.

Fortunately, in terms of seeking knowledge, he could rest assured since it was Zhong Chengshuo.

“What is an ‘Evil Spirit’?” Zhong Chengshuo said as he raised his eyes.

A simple and general question but was surrounded by a myriad of mysteries.

Qi Xin smiled.

Although her left eye and lower jaw were only left, the smile still looked obviously weird.

“A stillborn.” Her voice was fluttering and faint, slightly hoarse. “…In terms of the concept of humans.”

As soon as her voice fell, Qi Xin’s fragments completely disappeared.

She had left.

Under the orbit of the circular loop, only Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were left staring at each other.

“I tested it just now. Fu Xingchuan is watching us.” Perhaps it was because Yin Ren’s expression was really ugly that Zhong Chengshuo spoke first. “We have to figure something out.”

The ugliness on Yin Ren’s face instantly multiplied eight folds.

He was so focused on paying attention to Qi Xin that he completely forgot about that flying spear just now…His life crisis was not over yet!

“Will I look a little weaker if I faint now?” Yin Ren gasped in pain.

“No.”

……

Ge Tingting sat on the muddy ground, trying to keep her eyes wide open.

Night fell and the mist became thin. The evil things in Gengsheng Town continued to wander aimlessly, while the evil things that chased them from underground disappeared without a trace. If it weren’t for the messy ruins around her, she would almost suspect she just had a nightmare.

Things hadn’t improved.

Not long ago, almost all the townspeople in Gengsheng Town mobilized. Now there was no one in the area, and the entire mountain town was dark.

In the chaotic night, uncontrollable howls and shrill screams followed one after another as the elderly and children cried in despair together. Compared with the previous pursuit in a weird state, the current Gengsheng Town seemed more interesting—that was, it was a bit more human compared to an insane asylum.

Due to the weird situation, Ren Jiying gave up asking questions about Qi Xin’s whereabouts.

She scratched her hands on the sand a few times, reluctantly got up, and walked towards Li Nian. “What the hell is going on?”

This time, in addition to fear, there were obvious worries in her inquiry.

“Something had affected them before.”

Li Nian glanced at the large numbers returned by Shian. They had dropped quite a bit and were still rapidly falling at this moment.

“…Now that whatever it is has disappeared, the state of these people is close to being awakened from their sleepwalking, so panic is inevitable.”

In fact, he only said a few words to lighten the situation.

The “xenophobia” in Gengsheng Town had reached the point of disregarding the law. Such collective evil should have appeared in a real war. Judging by the corruption here, it was difficult to say how long these people have been corrupted.

This dream was too long.

In the “affected” state, people’s thinking would be completely different. Now that the influencing factors had suddenly disappeared, it was difficult for the brain to deal with such a gap. Not to mention, the previous townspeople turned a blind eye to the evil things in town, which may be part of the influence.

Not everyone was a science post, so for most mortals, it was like waking up in hell.

Ren Jiying’s reaction was fast.

“In other words, they don’t know where they are or what they are doing…” And there was no order around; only chaotic ruins.

“Yes.”

Li Nian picked up the phone. When the fog dissipated, he could immediately call for support from personnel in neighboring areas.

“Wait a minute.” Ren Jiying swallowed. “You have a lot of equipment. Do you have something that can amplify sound, like a PA loudspeaker?”

Li Nian’s movements stopped.

“I need to take responsibility for this place first.”

Even though she knew the townspeople couldn’t see her, Ren Jiying subconsciously brushed her short hair. Her face was covered in mud and ash, making her look quite miserable, and even her tone was full of uncertainty.

But she still spoke.

“If this continues, something may happen before support comes… I have to do something.”

Li Nian lowered his head. “It’s a pity we don’t carry such equipment.”

Ge Tingting breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the bloodstains from her face. She also didn’t have such an ability. If Fu Xingchuan was here, or even Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, perhaps they would be able to find a way…

Ren Jiying’s expression darkened. She held her arms out and sat quietly in the same place. Her eyes were more at a loss and desperate.

Fwish, fwish.

The soft sound of gravel rubbing against the soil was heard.

Ge Tingting subconsciously turned her head and faced Huang Jin, who was looking hesitant. The former Nightwalker had a flat face as he moved his butt a little uncomfortably.

“Why are you looking at me?” Sensing his teammate’s gaze, Huang Jin turned his head and muttered.

“You have a solution?” In the night, Ge Tingting’s AI voice was particularly clear.

“Shhhh!” Huang Jin gritted his teeth. “I can’t help. I just…”

He glanced at Ren Jiying again and muttered in bits and pieces, as if he were trying to convince himself. “Anyway, this is not within the scope of our work. They made us suffer so badly before… It’s none of my business…”

Amidst the constant ghostly howls, a normal person might not be able to make out the murmurs. Fortunately, Ge Tingting’s speech recognition system was made by Shian, and it was top-notch quality. Huang Jin’s muttering became text stacked up like mountains in front of Ge Tingting.

Ge Tingting silently stuffed the phone in front of Huang Jin, and the AI voice said loudly, “Oh!”

Even though he was covered by night, Huang Jin still flushed. “What’s the matter? Am I wrong?”

Ge Tingting didn’t say much and just blinked at him.

“No problem.” She lowered her AI voice. “Your abilities are yours. I didn’t ask for your position.”

They had been rolling in the mud for too long, and their kindness to others was extremely limited, but…

“As a senior, I want to say that if you really believe so firmly, you wouldn’t try so hard to convince yourself,” Ge Tingting continued in a low voice.

…But if they could abandon all their good will, neither of them would be here.

“Okay, I just don’t like her expression.”

Huang Jin looked at Ren Jiying from the corner of his eyes and scratched his hair vigorously. As a result, he had pulled so many roots out at once that he became terrified and abruptly stopped.

“I previously helped Ding Lizi come up with a sound-amplifying spirit device for her songs… It’s doable, but if we want to cover the whole town, we need to lay it throughout the town.”

Ge Tingting remained silent.

Her gaze moved away from the interpreted words, and her eyes widened slightly.

In the dust, something was struggling to crawl. After a while, dozens of bone birds with missing wings and broken legs circled above her head.

Not far from the two of them, Xian Jiang was hugging his knees, with two vague eyes showing through the gap between his bangs.

In the shadows, the disgust in those eyes flashed.

……

Ren Jiying’s voice exploded into the night. It passed through the fog and turned into radio waves and signals leading to the distant Haigu.

[Everyone, don’t panic… The mist is contaminated by a chemical leak from neighboring areas. It’s harmless to the human body but has a strong hallucinogenic effect…]

[The relevant staff will come soon and check on your health tomorrow… Their leader, Mr. Li, has already arrived and has a few words to say…]

The sound of the stereo was slightly distorted, but it was clear enough.

“What did you say?”

In the technical department of Sunken Society, Minister Zou roared in the communication.

“Yellow Millet, Snake Swallowing, and the ‘Imitation’, brought over hundreds of evil creatures with them. The town full of civilians is under lockdown… Now you’re telling me that Yellow Millet is missing, Snake Swallowing is out of control, and the Imitation has disappeared? And Shian has nothing to do with this?!”

“Let alone a hundred evil things; even if it’s a hundred pigs, shouldn’t they at least break one of Fu Xingchuan’s legs?”

“No, I don’t know… The Evil Force was too strong just now, so we can only record approximate data, and Shian can only pass through satellite…”

“Don’t bullshit me. Answer me!”

“Yes, they all seem to be fine.”

The person in charge of Unit 2 of the Technical Department’s face twisted into a bitter gourd as he tried desperately to explain.

“Before, we relied on Yellow Millet to suppress Snake Swallowing, but Yellow Millet seemed to have disappeared… As for that Imitation, there’s also a possibility of collapse. Just now, we detected a peak of Evil Force and there was an explosion…”

“Now that the townspeople are basically awake, we can locate Snake Swallowing. If we force it to use its talents, we might be able to incite violence and chaos…”

At the same time, on the stereo, the voices in Gensheng Town continued.

[…Thank you Professor Li for your explanation.] Ren Jiying hadn’t drunk water all day, so her vocal cords seemed as if they were being rubbed with sandpaper. Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant. [Most likely due to this case, some people may still be affected by hallucinations. Please stay safe…]

There was no echo from the loudspeaker.

The screams and cries became weaker, but they continued.

In the chaos, most people still chose to ignore her, just like they had done before.

[I know everyone doesn’t accept me. I know everyone trusts the old mayor more, as I only tell you to tear this or that down every day… I have not been accepted in the past few years…]

After a while, Ren Jiying’s voice sounded again.

This time there was no smile in her voice—only determination, revealing a trace of willful stubbornness.

Her speed of speech was getting faster, as if she was going to vomit out all her words.

[To be honest, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, and I don’t know what will happen in the future, but the days have passed. In any case, we have to move forward…]

[This is also my hometown, so no matter what, I will definitely be here until the end, until I find a way out…]

[Please go home and rest immediately. If you have any concerns, we’ll talk in person tomorrow!]

“As long as Snake Swallowing can be located—” the researcher of Sunken Society wiped off his sweat and checked the data quickly.

“Wait, there’s a reaction from Yellow Millet!” Another researcher almost broke his vocal cords. “Great, as long as Yellow Millet obeys us… Eh? What is it doing?!”

Thousands of miles away.

Ren Jiying’s voice wafted over the mountain town, and following it, there were blurred and swirling colors. They were like snowflakes with only shadows.

Yellow Millet, a Class A-A evil creature, attacked in the form of cognitive manipulation, and was especially good at expanding emotional influence.

All it took was a seed in a person’s heart—a moment of sorrow, or a moment of peace of mind.

Under the night, the train stopped on the rails, and everything was silent.

Apart from…

“Puff.” Yellow Millet maintained its size as a marble and lay honestly in Yin Ren’s palm.

Yin Ren put his hands together, holding Yellow Millet solemnly.

“Minister Fu.”

Lord Ghost King’s voice was deep and sad.

“Does this count as confessing to receive a lighter sentence? It’s indirectly surrendering itself and gaining merit by confessing to its crimes, right?”

The author has something to say:

Qi Xin a riddler. Xiao Zhong doesn’t allow Qi Xin to be a riddler. Qi Xi insists on being a riddler. (ry

Yin Ren: Cosmic cat.jpg

Kinky Thoughts:

Arc is over. Summary below.

With high suspicion cast on them, Shian decided to assign an A-level mission, an execution mission, to Unit 9 in order to find out Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo’s true nature. They suspected that either one or both could be a plant, whether it was from Sunken Society or another force, and wanted to know what their motivation was for joining Shian.

Led by Xiang Jiang, the head of the Emergency Management Department, Unit 9 embarked for Gengsheng Town, which Shian believed to be a base of Sunken Society. As soon as they entered the town, they noticed many things amiss. There were many evil spirits lingering about, and the town was full of hostility that was chalked up to xenophobia. They stayed with the mayor of the town, who also seemed like an outcast from the town.

Their mission was simple. They needed to investigate the town’s mines in order to find out what Sunken Society was up to. In the following day, led by the mayor’s assistant, Qi Xin, they entered the mines that once made Gengsheng Town prosperous but now were dried up, leaving the town in shambles.

While in the mines, Yin Ren, Zhong Chengshuo, and Qi Xin fell into a trap, got separated from the other members of Unit 9, and were swallowed up into the depths of the mine. Minister Fu and Minister Li were following them closely behind in order to investigate and intervene when necessary. Eventually, they had to reveal themselves, as the trap that triggered was actually part of an evil being called Snake Swallowing.

Snake Swallowing started to chase the members that were swallowed underground, eventually forcing them to run into an unexplored area. Here, it was revealed that they encountered an Ant Nest; a place where Sunken Society conducted their experiments for many generations. There were murals on the walls that depicted what their goal was. Seeing those murals triggered Yin Ren’s memory, at which point he realized the figure in those murals was of him.

Here, we get Yin Ren’s backstory. He was once the famous Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi who was revered by everyone as a great exorcist who sealed away the 7 Evil Spirits. Shian mistakenly believed that the figure in the murals that controlled thousands of ghosts was part of the Evil Spirits, but in actuality it was Yin Ren.

Yin Ren had close ties with Huajisi, which was the ancient version of Shian thousands of years ago. He provided Huajisi with information about evil beings, which they then compiled into <The Book of Exorcism> which was passed on to the present day. Sunken Society also existed back then, but their goal was to obtain Yin Ren’s power.

The experiments they conducted in Gengsheng Town were basically to create an imitation of Yin Ren in order to harness his power and break the limits of humanity. Before Unit 9 could investigate further, they were chased by another great evil, Yellow Millet, which was actually Yin Ren’s sofa cushion in the past.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the other members of Unit 9 and Mayor Ren Jiying were being chased by the villagers. Something had influenced their xenophobia to the point where it reached an abnormal state, and they ignored the laws and wanted to kill them. Since it was against Shian’s principles to harm innocent civilians, they could only run and avoid.

Eventually the two separated teams meet, along with the two great evils, Yellow Millet and Snake Swallowing, and the influenced townspeople. Along the way, Zhong Chengshuo disappeared, leaving Yin Ren behind. When the two evils collided, Yin Ren knocked everyone unconscious and revealed himself. Yellow Millet finally recognized its old master and behaved obediently, while Snake Swallowing, seeing the tremendous power of Yin Ren, cowered in fear and ran away.

Yin Ren left with Yellow Millet to find Zhong Chengshuo and ordered Snake Swallowing to watch over and protect the members of Shian.

Meanwhile, Zhong Chengshuo went to find the source of all the corruption in the town and the thing responsible for controlling Yellow Millet, Snake Swallowing, evil things, and the townspeople. Eventually, he reached the railway loop at the center of the town and encountered the original mayor, who had now turned into a half-evil being.

We then finally learn the background of what happened to Gengsheng Town. Gengsheng Town used to be prosperous due to the rich mineral deposits in the mine. The mayor developed the town, eventually allowing it to reach its peak comparable to a big city. Everyone benefited from the prosperity but eventually prosperity dwindled. Due to the Divine Descent that happened 28 years ago, the mineral deposit dried up and the mining city no longer produced any goods.

The mayor, who was on the mountain at that time, was almost killed after being crushed by falling rocks, but Divine Descent saved him. This was his first step in turning into an evil being.

The townspeople, who once experienced prosperity, were unwilling to leave the dying town and begged the mayor to save it. Under intense pressure and the corruption of the Evil Force, the mayor eventually turned into half an evil being and was transformed into almost an Evil Spirit.

Using his similar aura as Yin Ren, he was able to confuse Yellow Millet and in turn, Yellow Millet’s power was able to control Snake Swallowing and influence the townspeople with its cognitive abilities. After Yin Ren’s death thousands of years ago, Yellow Millet went into the mines to sleep but was unknowingly captured by Sunken Society. Sunken Society wanted to create a Yin Ren and used the mayor that was contaminated by the Divine Descent to experiment on this, exploiting the mayor’s weakness of wanting to save his town.

It was then revealed that the town was simply a breeding farm for Sunken Society. Underground was where they conducted experiments in raising thousands of evil spirits along with Yellow Millet and Snake Swallowing, and they provided them with food that came from the corrupted town on the surface.

Things came to a head when the old mayor was taken away and it was revealed that Qi Xin was an extremely abnormal and powerful being of unknown origins. Her goal was to eliminate the mayor, who would become an Evil Spirit.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo had a great battle with her and managed to beat her with the help of Fu Xingchuan.

Now, some mysteries have been revealed while others arise, and Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo have to deal with Fu Xingchuan, who now knows about their true power.

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