Chapter 70: Headquarters Personnel Arrives! (6000-word big chapter)

After becoming Sequence Five—Chaos Instructor, Chen Shoushan already had the intention to initially build a core team, but of course it wasn't an open recruitment; otherwise Headquarters would definitely intervene to stop it.

Chen Shoushan currently only wants elites, to become the Foundation's core strength, so he reached out to recruit Li Leping, because Li Leping has high growth potential and low visibility, making him an excellent choice.

Given Chen Shoushan's ability to suppress ghostly resurgence, as soon as he steps forward and calls out in the paranormal circle, countless Ghost Masters will follow, but basically there aren't many strong ones, because strong ones basically already have their own methods.

Compared to Li Leping, important figures like Yang Jian make Luo Suyi's trio seem ordinary, which is why Chen Shoushan currently treats them with such courtesy in the early stages of the venture.

"Sorry for the wait, three of you!"

Chen Shoushan laughed as he pushed the door open and entered.

Luo Suyi and the three others sat upright with straight backs on their seats, as if they were interviewees trying hard to win the interviewer's favor.

No, not at all.

Luo Suyi hurriedly rose to speak, and after Luo Suyi stood up, Huang Fei and Lin Luomei hastily rose as well.

Chen Shoushan laughed as he walked over to the sofa and sat opposite the trio, gently saying, "Don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat."

Huang Fei and Lin Luomei both glanced at Luo Suyi, and only after seeing him sit down did they relax and sit down.

"The Foundation has just been founded, yet to have the three of you join is undoubtedly like adding wings to a tiger!"

Chen Shoushan laughed and praised.

"Mr. Chen, you flatter us; we too have been moved by the Foundation's spirit of selfless dedication, which is why we want to join the Foundation to help you, Mr. Chen, serve all citizens and let them live better lives."

Luo Suyi himself is a second-generation rich kid; having been influenced by his father's generation, he naturally spouts all kinds of formalities, describing their job-hopping as if it were abandoning darkness for light.

Huang Fei and Lin Luomei, sitting beside him, also hurriedly nodded upon hearing this, indicating they felt the same.

"Good!" Chen Shoushan laughed and lightly clapped, saying, "Our Foundation now needs young people like you three, who hold a sense of justice."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen—no, Chairman Chen!"

Luo Suyi rose excitedly; didn't Chen Shoushan's words mean that their defection had succeeded?

Seeing Luo Suyi rise, Huang Fei and Lin Luomei also hurriedly stood up: "Thank you, Chairman Chen!"

"Please sit, please sit; since you've actually joined the Foundation, I naturally must tell you its core goal."

Upon hearing Chen Shoushan's words, Luo Suyi, bringing the two with him, finally sat down again: "Chairman, please speak."

Chen Shoushan spoke somewhat solemnly: "Our Foundation's goal is just one sentence—to support the collapsing mansion and stem the raging tide."

Upon hearing this, Luo Suyi's trio felt their scalps go numb; "to support the collapsing mansion and stem the raging tide" directly elevated the Foundation's stature to an unprecedented level!

Leaving aside the Foundation's actual strength, just uttering this sentence already puts it beyond comparison with any other organization.

From Headquarters to circles of friends to the Paranormal Forum, each is a famous, powerful organization—but then?

But Headquarters only thinks about maintaining the status quo; friends' circles constantly think of their own private interests, seeking to profit from the chaotic times; as for the Paranormal Forum, it's merely a place for Ye Zhen to mess around and have fun.

Of course this also relates to the Foundation's unique advantage: worldwide, fewer than one percent of Ghost Masters need not worry about ghostly resurgence, while the remaining ninety-nine percent linger on the brink of ghostly resurgence and survive only a few months.

When they're about to die, who still cares about the big picture? Naturally, they just enjoy themselves!

Thus, the careless Ghost Masters desperately indulge, while those who don't want to die desperately seek survival chances; everyone is busy, and nobody has time to think about ordinary people.

The great trend is collapsing; before the fundamental problem is resolved, this cannot be blocked by any force.

"Of course everything needs to be done step by step; let me first tell you about the salary and benefits of joining the Foundation—this is something you should know."

Chen Shoushan then regained his calm, unhurried smile and said lightly.

Luo Suyi also snapped out of some palpitation, hurriedly nodding: "Chairman, please go ahead."

"First, the first clause: Ghost Masters who join the Foundation can obtain a free opportunity each month to suppress ghostly resurgence."

After hearing the first clause, Huang Fei and Lin Luomei couldn't help but frown; once a month is far too few, since each use of paranormal power by a Ghost Master may trigger a resurgence, which cannot be resolved with just one or two attempts.

But Huang Fei and Lin Luomei dared not openly contradict Chen Shoushan; they could only glance at Luo Suyi furtively, and seeing no reaction from him, they had no choice but to continue listening.

"Second, the family members of Foundation Ghost Masters will receive the Foundation's protection; if a Ghost Master dies while carrying out a mission, his family's treatment will remain unchanged."

This clause is reasonable; the three had no reaction, for their original intention in joining the Paranormal Forum was precisely to obtain protection.

"Third, after completing a mission, Foundation Ghost Masters, aside from ordinary material rewards, will also receive a specially minted Foundation gold coin that can suppress ghostly resurgence; the coin permits circulation and trade, and its function is significant—you'll understand later."

"For now, these are basically the three clauses; if there are any additions or reductions later, I will notify you all."

After Chen Shoushan finished speaking, Luo Suyi immediately nodded to show understanding; the Foundation's benefits are certainly not as good as Headquarters' or the friends' circles', but just relying on the ability to suppress ghostly resurgence alone can crush other forces.

As long as Luo Suyi isn't stupid, he can tell that as long as Chen Shoushan doesn't die, the Foundation's future is limitless; moreover, the Foundation currently has low restrictions on recruiting newcomers in its early stage, so once its reputation rises, will there still be opportunities for the three of them?

"Chairman, we want to move to Dahe City right now!"

Luo Suyi directly wanted to use action to show his loyalty.

"No rush; I happen to have a task to assign to you right now."

Chen Shoushan shook his head and refused: Dahe City currently doesn't need too many Ghost Masters; having just himself and Ye Feng is enough, and having more would only attract certain people's attention.

Luo Suyi immediately turned solemn; as the first mission under the new boss, he and his companions naturally must complete it splendidly.

"Chairman, please speak!"

"At present, the Foundation's existence is still little known, whereas the Paranormal Forum, as a world-renowned paranormal discussion circle, constantly spews out information and is the best way to understand the global paranormal scene."

The Paranormal Forum was originally just a small forum for ghost stories, but after the global paranormal outbreak, Ye Zhen became its person in charge, turning it into one of the message hubs for Ghost Masters worldwide.

Yet Ye Zhen's motive in doing this is not some conspiracy theory; it's purely to have fun, with countless messy posts appearing on the forum, which Ye Zhen enjoys immensely.

Luo Suyi momentarily couldn't grasp Chen Shoushan's meaning, so he directly asked: "Chairman, what do you mean?"

"I hope that in the forum, while you pay more attention to paranormal-circle information, you will also select some qualified members for the Foundation."

Luo Suyi now understood: Chen Shoushan wants to use their status as internal staff of the Paranormal Forum to gather intelligence while poaching the forum's members, so that when the Foundation officially launches, there will be an overwhelming response…

The trio quitting the Paranormal Forum is no big deal; anyway Ye Zhen doesn't care about that, but if the three of them were to betray the forum from within… Ye Zhen would surely have them killed.

Now Luo Suyi didn't dare decide alone; he glanced at his two companions beside him, only to see they were also looking at him, waiting for his decision.

"Fine, we have no problem! But we hope our families can move to Dahe City first."

Gritting his teeth, Luo Suyi agreed; after all, Ghost Masters like them at the bottom don't live long anyway, so they might as well risk it for wealth and status.

But even if they die, their families must not be implicated; although Ye Zhen doesn't seem like the type to bring disaster upon families, one fears the unlikely.

Moreover, Chen Shoushan gave them the feeling of being mysterious, powerful, confident, much better than Ye Zhen's carefree appearance, and even more fitting the image of a boss in Luo Suyi's mind.

This made Luo Suyi feel no doubt about the promises Chen Shoushan made; he subconsciously felt that whatever Chen Shoushan said would definitely be accomplished.

And the true reason Luo Suyi finally made up his mind was another sentence Chen Shoushan had said before—'Support the collapsing great hall, hold back the raging flood.'

If one were to die under such a goal, it would surely be better than dying someday in some unknown corner, right?

Luo Suyi silently thought to himself.

"Of course, I guarantee that within Dahe City, no one dares to move them."

Chen Shoushan calmly nodded in agreement; regardless of whether he could do it, he first put the words out there, so that his subordinates could work with peace of mind.

Naturally, Chen Shoushan will try his best to fulfill the promises he made; otherwise, it would be a major blow to his prestige.

Basically, every extraordinary person on the high-ranking lawyer's path is a qualified master of drawing big promises; inciting, stirring up, and drawing big cakes are basic operations.

Luo Suyi and the three others are all inexperienced rich second-generation youths; which young person hasn't dreamed of being a savior? Now Chen Shoushan not only gave them a chance to survive, but also gave them a goal they themselves do not resist.

———————

In Dahe City, the bureau chief's office in the Public Security Bureau was crowded with many people.

"Has Ye Feng not returned yet?"

Zhu Sihai sat in the bureau chief's office, his several hundred pounds of fat shifting uneasily on the seat, constantly wiping the sweat droplets from his forehead.

"For now, there's still no news……"

The Public Security Officer standing before Zhu Sihai spoke softly.

"How is the situation in the city now?"

"Everyone is rather restless, after all, so many people have gone missing—it's not a small piece of news, and we can't suppress it for long……"

Another Public Security Officer had already tried to speak as tactfully as possible—how could it be just restlessness? It's practically exploded; every day many citizens come to the Public Security Bureau seeking answers, and many of them are relatives of the officers—how are we supposed to handle this?

"Bureau Chief, this can't go on; we can't keep it hidden much longer—these past few days, many parents of missing students have secretly crossed the blockade, wanting to enter Second Middle School themselves to search for their missing children, and even, even some of them are our own Public Security Bureau brothers…… Hurry up and think of a solution!"

Another Public Security Officer anxiously said, his nephew had gone missing at Second Middle School; now his parents come to his house every day to cry, and he too feels helpless……

"Damn it, don't I want to solve this? If this ghost thing could be solved just because I wanted to, I would have solved it long ago."

Everyone was speaking over each other, and Zhu Sihai also became furious, slamming the table and standing up; his whole body of fat trembled with anger.

This lousy bureau chief doesn't want to hold the position even for a moment; previously Wang Tong bore the brunt, but now everyone's anger is directed at him, and the problem is that previous paranormal incidents never had such a huge impact.

"Bureau Chief, why don't we inform Chief Chen? Let Chief Chen come back quickly……"

A Public Security Officer spoke with gritted teeth, lately he doesn't dare step out of the Public Security Bureau's doors—once he does, angry citizens surround him.

"Damn, don't you want Chief Chen to come back quickly? Damn it, ZS City is surrounded by tanks and artillery—you can't imagine how serious the situation is!"

Zhu Sihai said angrily, he had already tried to contact Chen Shoushan earlier, but couldn't get through; as for Headquarters, he also reported it, but they merely said only a school's personnel had gone missing, so they told Zhu Sihai to be patient and wait for Chen Shoushan to return.

Headquarters itself is overwhelmed—first there was the starving ghost incident in Dachangshi, then the newspaper ghost incident in ZS City, and there's an upcoming Headquarters meeting; which is not more important than Dahe City?

For a huge country, a minor paranormal incident in Dahe City really doesn't count as a big deal.

Boom boom boom!

"Bureau Chief, outside there's a group saying they were sent by Headquarters to escort Luokuang's corpse to Headquarters."

At that moment, a voice came from outside—a Public Security Officer.

"People from Headquarters? Bureau Chief, why not let them help handle our paranormal incident?"

Zhu Sihai glanced at the Public Security Officer who had raised the suggestion and said unhappily: "Do you think everyone from Headquarters is a Ghost Master? Even if there really were, who do you think I am? A department head? Do you think I have that much face? To let others help us handle paranormal incidents, do you think Ghost Masters are all like Chief Chen? Have you forgotten what happened to Bureau Chief Wang Tong?"

As soon as he said that, everyone fell silent; everyone in Dahe City's Public Security Bureau knew what had happened to Bureau Chief Wang Tong, but to preserve the dignity of the Headquarters' person in charge, Headquarters had even issued a special order to seal the lips, forbidding private spread of this matter, otherwise it would be a major blow to Headquarters' authority.

"Ah~ let's go, Headquarters can finally be said to have sent people to collect the corpse—damn, it's pretty quick just to come for a corpse."

Zhu Sihai sighed helplessly, the times have changed…… For ordinary people, just being able to live well is the greatest fortune.

Meanwhile, the others present acted as if they hadn't heard Zhu Sihai's latter words, pretending to be deaf.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, tightened the belt around his waist to make himself look less obese, and at the same time Zhu Sihai's face also brought up a fawning smile.

At that moment, at the entrance of Dahe City's Public Security Bureau, three men and one woman wearing black Headquarters uniforms and black peaked caps stood somewhat impatiently at the door.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry for keeping you waiting."

Zhu Sihai's bulky body appeared before everyone.

And when Zhu Sihai appeared, the woman among the four glanced doubtfully at her companion on the left.

And the companion on the left, without changing expression, softly said to the woman in English: "Not this one……"

"We are sent by Headquarters to escort Luokuang's corpse; where is the corpse now?"

The leading man completely had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Zhu Sihai, speaking in a cold tone.

The other party's straightforward attitude made Zhu Sihai startled, but he still accompanied with a smile: "It's in the mortuary on the basement level of the Public Security Bureau, but please show your documents, after all, this is the rule……"

The leading man directly produced a Headquarters document; Zhu Sihai glanced at it roughly, the content had no issues, but just as he was about to return it to the man, he noticed the document was actually somewhat wrinkled, not like it had just been opened……

Zhu Sihai's heart inexplicably tightened; he expressionlessly returned the document to the four, and while returning it, he carefully examined their appearances.

They all had the faces of Chinese people, no problem, but under Zhu Sihai's close observation he found that the four persons' faces were strangely unusually flushed, as if congested.

Zhu Sihai smiled ingratiatingly and said: "The documents have no problem, but I also need to look at your four IDs—really sorry, sorry to trouble you all……"

The next moment, Zhu Sihai's heart almost jumped out; the leading man obviously had anticipated this scene, and directly pulled out four IDs from his pocket.

What to do! What to do!

Zhu Sihai was obviously somewhat panicked inside, but on the surface he remained steady, receiving the four IDs and pretending to examine them seriously; the photos matched the persons, and all the seals and such were Headquarters'.

"Su Qingqing! Ah, you're Su Qingqing? My son Wang Tong's girlfriend from Headquarters, right? No wonder that kid always brags to me—how could he not show off such beauty?"

Zhu Sihai suddenly held up his documents and, with a look of surprise and joy, said to the only woman among the four.

The woman's expression was somewhat bewildered; she instinctively looked toward the leading man, as she couldn't understand Chinese……

The woman was bewildered, but in the hearts of the public security officers squad leaders standing behind Zhu Sihai, there was a thump; they had worked with Zhu Sihai for so long, whether he was married or not, could the other public security officers not know!

Even if Zhu Sihai had married without their knowledge and even had a son working at headquarters, could his son be named Wang Tong? Never mind the surname issue, who is Wang Tong—could they still not know? Former Bureau Chief!

Even the dullest public security officer could now hear something off in Zhu Sihai's speech; the group before him had a problem!!

The leading man furrowed his brow, silently thinking 'trouble', yet he spoke icily: 'Bureau Chief, we are currently on a mission; we cannot casually chat with family members! Understand? Please take us immediately to get Luokuang's corpse, okay?'

Zhu Sihai seemed startled by the man's icy tone, sweat continuously beading on his forehead, he hurriedly apologized: 'Sorry, sorry, I was rude; I'll take you all there right away.'

After saying that, Zhu Sihai felt he had lost some face in front of the public security officers, his tone inevitably becoming flustered as he shouted at the people behind him: 'Made, what are you looking at? Get back to your own duties! How come, does showing the way require the whole Public Security Bureau to come along?'

'Bureau Chief, or I could take them; you just go rest.'

The public security officers scolded by Zhu Sihai remained unmoved; one nervous public security officer stepped forward and said.

'Made, trying to steal credit? Get lost, I'm the Bureau Chief, Made, I actually am the Bureau Chief……'

Zhu Sihai's last sentence was spoken so softly that no one present could hear it clearly.

Watching the bewildering argument before him, the leading man couldn't help but interject: 'Didn't you hear what the Bureau Chief said? Get back to work! Let's hurry up and go.'

'Okay, okay! Please follow me!'

Having just berated the public security officers, Zhu Sihai turned his head and gave a fawning smile to the four people.

Zhu Sihai's two-faced demeanor made the four people inwardly scoff; 'Heh, this cowardly bully of a fat pig.'

Thus Zhu Sihai pushed through the crowd, alone leading the four people toward the basement level of the Public Security Bureau, where Luokuang's corpse was stored.

Only a group of squad leaders remained standing at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau.

'Hurry, hurry back to get weapons; the armory key is in the Bureau Chief's office desk.'

'I'll contact headquarters to verify their identities.'

'Clear out the lobby, keep things quiet, don't let outsiders notice, to prevent any possible accomplices from leaking information to them.'

'Okay, you go contact them quickly; the rest of you set up an ambush. Once we confirm their identities are wrong, after the Bureau Chief leaves their side, open fire immediately! Prevent any of them from being Ghost Masters.'

Everyone quickly concealed themselves and moved into action; although as Public Security Officer squad leaders they weren't necessarily battle-hardened, they could still react swiftly to sudden situations.

A 6000-word chapter; I'm apologizing to everyone, I really wrote it all day.

(End of chapter)