Chapter 128
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In the following journey, they safely arrived at the Anomaly Control Bureau.
The first floor of the Anomaly Control Bureau was already flooded, so they entered directly through the window on the second floor. The children and the injured woman rescued on the boat were taken over by the Anomaly Control Bureau for assistance, while Lou Yan and the others, along with the still frightened Qin Feng, were personally led by Lin You to the conference room.
Qin Feng had a myopia of nearly four hundred degrees, so he could actually see things clearly nearby without his glasses, but he was so used to wearing glasses that he felt all kinds of discomfort without them. He walked closely behind Lou Yan, afraid of losing himself. “Boss, where are we?”
Lou Yan glanced at him, his mouth suddenly quirking up. He put his arm around Qin Feng’s neck and led him to a set of rules and regulations. “Take a look at what the first line of the big characters says.”
Qin Feng squinted and approached, reading each word aloud, “Anomaly Control Bureau… Rules and Regulations? What does this mean?”
His expression slowly cracked on his poker face. What kind of bureau was the Anomaly Control Bureau? How come he had never heard of it before? And the four words “Anomaly Control” sounded so strange, wasn’t this some place dealing with superstition?!
Lou Yan smiled knowingly, “What do you think was pulling you underwater just now?”
Feeling that his boss’s smile was full of ill intentions, Qin Feng’s neck felt cold, and he habitually wanted to push his glasses up, only to find nothing there. Awkwardly putting his hand down, he seriously guessed, “It wasn’t a person, and I wasn’t entangled by any ropes… Could it be a whirlpool underwater? Or maybe my legs cramped at that time, but I didn’t feel it?”
Lou Yan continued to smile, “Then why could I pull you up with just one whip strike on the water surface?”
Qin Feng was stunned, “Could it be that the whirlpool disappeared, so I came up?”
Lou Yan looked at Qin Feng’s self-deception and calmly said, “Do you think that the force pulling you at that time could only be achieved by a whirlpool two meters deep underwater?”
Qin Feng couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. He could actually feel that something was wrong, but as a staunch materialist, Qin Feng subconsciously leaned towards a scientific explanation for the reason, otherwise, what else could it be? It couldn’t possibly be that there are real ghosts!
Upon hearing their conversation, Lin You immediately turned back, excitedly asking, “Did you encounter the ‘Water Ghost’?! And you managed to rescue the person alive?!”
Qin Feng rubbed his ears, feeling like he might have misheard, “…The water what? What ghost?”
Lou Yan whispered to him like a demon, “It’s the ‘Water Ghost’, similar to what you’re thinking of as a water ghost. Assistant Qin, you were just being pulled by the ‘Water Ghost’.”
“…”, Qin Feng’s head suddenly throbbed, and he suddenly remembered the incident not long ago when Song Yuran said she found a moving plastic model in the company. At that time, he thought Song Yuran’s brain was broken, but now, Qin Feng felt that either everyone here had broken brains or there was some terrifying truth approaching him.
He tried hard to reject Lou Yan’s explanation, forcing a smile, “Boss, don’t joke with me, how could there be ghosts in this world?”
Lou Yan gave Qin Feng a mysterious smile, then suddenly reached behind his neck and pulled out a section of Spinal Whip in front of Qin Feng’s shocked eyes.
“Spinal… Spinal whip… The Spinal Whip is out…?!” Qin Feng’s eyes rolled back, and he directly passed out, falling to the ground.
Lou Yan, who just wanted to tease his assistant, muttered to himself, “…Huh, he faints so easily?”
Lu Haoxiu couldn’t help but stifle his laughter, sounding like a deflating duck. Li Sanxin, helpless, rolled his eyes, silently giving up on his childhood friend, squatting down to help the poor assistant up, and asked Lin You to find someone to take Qin Feng to the rest room, also taking Little Yu to rest.
After sending them away, Lin You couldn’t care about anything else and asked eagerly again, “Comrade Lou Yan, what did you mean by your conversation just now? Did you already encounter the ‘Water Ghost’?”
They had arrived at the door of the conference room by this time. Lou Yan stopped, briefly explaining the encounter with the “Water Ghost”. After listening, Lin You became even more excited, his eyes burning, “Comrade Lou Yan, does this mean you have a way to deal with the ‘Water Ghost’?”
Lou Yan neither confirmed nor denied, “Let’s wait until after the meeting. Maybe there are other individuals who have a way?”
Lin You could only suppress his anxiety and pushed open the door of the conference room for them to enter. As soon as they entered, Lou Yan’s group faced dozens of pairs of eyes staring at them.
Lu Haoxiu saw this scene and felt a bit socially anxious. He subtly hid behind Duan Zege, who humorously pulled his lips and also blocked Lu Haoxiu.
It was a large conference room with a long office table that could accommodate fifty or sixty people. At this moment, at least forty people were already seated around the table. These people were of all ages, with either arrogant expressions, deep vigilance, or gloomy faces.
Lou Yan looked around at these faces, recognizing many familiar faces from his previous life. Among them were two people he had dealt with in this life—Ye Buyan and Wen Yian.
As soon as they saw Lou Yan and his group, Wen Yian and Ye Buyan immediately stood up and greeted them. Wen Yian’s smile was particularly warm and gentle, looking at Lou Yan as if he were looking at a lover from a past life, full of tenderness, “Chief Lou.”
Lou Yan glanced at Wen Yian and then looked away, turning to Ye Buyan next to him.
Ye Buyan stood coolly with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing black T-shirt and long pants, with a thin gray checkered coat on top, and a dark red duckbill cap on his head. He simply nodded in acknowledgment, “You’ve arrived.”
Lu Haoxiu’s eyes brightened when he heard the familiar voice, and he excitedly ran up to Ye Buyan, flashing a brilliant smile with his big white teeth, “Ke Buyan!”
Ye Buyan didn’t expect Lu Haoxiu to also come along. He was taken aback for a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable, and adjusted his duckbill cap, “Um… My surname is Ye now.”
“Oh oh oh, sorry,” Lu Haoxiu smiled embarrassedly. Rarely seeing a classmate, he was extremely excited, “Hehe, Ye Buyan, I thought I wouldn’t see you again! Didn’t you leave Chengjiang City?”
Ye Buyan’s expression dimmed a bit, his lips straightened, “Something happened in my hometown, so I came back with Brother You.”
Brother You referred to Lin You.
“Alright, let’s catch up later,” Lou Yan interrupted their conversation with a smile, “Sit down and wait for the meeting.”
The group found their seats separately, ignoring Wen Yian’s existence altogether. Li Sanxin gave Wen Yian a cold glance and didn’t say much. Wen Yian followed along with the same unchanged smile, naturally wanting to sit with them as if she were also a member of Lou Yan’s group.
Duan Zege walked in front of Wen Yian, seeing Wen Yian’s cultivation, couldn’t help but admire her. He chuckled softly a few times, his hoarse voice carrying a sandpaper-like texture, “Celebrity Wen, what are you following us for?”
Wen Yian looked at Duan Zege. This man with a strange appearance had such a low presence that it was frightening. Even though Wen Yian knew there was such a person beside Lou Yan, she often forgot to pay attention to him. Now, this was the first time Duan Zege had actively spoken to Wen Yian.
Wen Yian’s expression looked more haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes overflowing. It seemed that she had been mentally tortured by Lou Yan. With a hint of sorrow in her eyes, she smiled bitterly, “Mr. Duan, I just want to apologize to Mr. Lou and ask Mr. Lou to forgive me.”
Duan Zege laughed a few times, his smile strange, making it hard for people to guess what he meant, “Celebrity Wen, you’re really interesting.”
Wen Yian asked in confusion, “Interesting?”
“Celebrity Wen has been in society for so long, how could she not understand these social nuances,” Duan Zege still smiled, tapping the rain stains on his coat, his voice slow and leisurely, but with a deepening chill, “You sold out Lou Yan in the entertainment industry, and now you just want to rely on superficial apologies and pity to make Lou Yan forgive you. Miss Wen, your calculations are so obvious to me.”
“Mr. Duan is joking,” Wen Yian remained composed, “Mr. Duan, I sincerely want to apologize to Mr. Lou. Ever since I left the entertainment industry, I have been trying to contact Mr. Lou, but I haven’t been able to reach him. These past two days, I’ve been really anxious. Today, I finally saw Mr. Lou, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. I just want to explain things properly to Mr. Lou and apologize for what happened in the entertainment industry. I hope Mr. Duan can understand my guilty feelings and put in a good word for me with Mr. Lou.”
Duan Zege chuckled softly, “Miss Wen’s Tai Chi skills are quite impressive, but I don’t see sincerity in your apology. Perhaps you do feel guilty, but the main reason for your urgency is probably what’s going on in your head… Miss Wen, I’ve made myself clear, I don’t believe you didn’t understand the meaning behind my words. But for your sake, let me be even clearer—Miss Wen, if you make a mistake and want to apologize, you have to show sincerity and offer something that can make others forgive you. Hmm, our Lou Yan is currently most troubled by the ‘Water Ghost’ incident flooding Chengjiang City. If Miss Wen can help with this matter in any way, it’s not impossible to make amends.”
Wen Yian’s expression was complex. However, Duan Zege no longer cared about what she was thinking. He moved a few steps away from Wen Yian, choosing a seat next to Lou Yan.
In the blink of an eye, the seats on both sides of Lou Yan were already occupied by Li Sanxin and Duan Zege.
Lou Yan’s tender yet unfeeling peach blossom eyes lightly swept over Duan Zege, “Why bother telling her so much?”
Duan Zege slouched in his chair, his hands crossed peacefully on his abdomen, lazily saying, “Just giving her a little nudge for you.”
Lou Yan snorted, sarcastically saying, “I don’t need her help.”
There was a hint of indulgence in Duan Zege’s voice as he spoke, “Make the most of every resource.”
They didn’t say much more. Lin Feng, the director of the Anomaly Control Bureau in Chengjiang City, walked in with a stack of documents, swiftly activating the projector and enlarging aerial images of the disaster in Chengjiang City in front of everyone.
Director Lin Feng looked haggard, his clothes wrinkled, obviously not having had a good night’s sleep since last night, with half of his hair now white. His face was solemn as he surveyed the room, speaking with a heavy tone.
“Everyone, you are all the talented individuals that Chengjiang City could invite, and you are the most likely people to solve the crisis in Chengjiang City. According to reliable information, this time, an anomaly called the ‘Water Ghost’ has appeared in Chengjiang City. It has the ability to completely submerge an entire city, and we have classified it as a Rank A anomaly. The only thing we know for sure is that it is invisible and intangible in the water, and once humans fall into the water, there is a danger of being strangled by it.”
The attendees looked at each other in astonishment.
They were aware of the recent classification of anomaly entities by various countries. So far, the scariest anomaly entity discovered was also Rank A. Rank A anomaly entities were rare, and a small island nation had recently experienced three Rank A terrors simultaneously, namely the “Death Bus,” “Masked Woman,” and “Hanging Rope.” The appearance of these three Rank A entities had caused the death rate in the small country to skyrocket, and society had even begun to descend into chaos.
And now, Chengjiang City, where they resided, had also encountered a Rank A anomaly!
“‘Water Ghost’? What is that?!”
“A Rank A anomaly entity?! Invisible and intangible?! Who can deal with that…?”
Even the most arrogant and self-assured individuals restrained the contempt on their faces, revealing expressions of concern and fear.
The director silently observed their expressions, feeling disappointed and heavy-hearted, as if a weight was pressing down on his chest. When he saw that Lou Yan and his group remained calmly composed, he felt some comfort in his heart.
Lin Feng changed several pictures of humans struggling desperately in the water before their death, “We have sent out many soldiers to try to rescue those who fell into the water and to capture the ‘Water Ghost,’ but all our attempts have ended in failure. So far, we have lost 37 brave soldiers from our bureau.”
A fleeting pain flashed across Lin Feng’s face. He hid the moisture in his eyes, and Lin You handed out the documents he held to everyone.
After everyone received a copy of the documents, Lin Feng said solemnly, “The information on these documents is the data transmitted by the 37 soldiers before their deaths. It should provide further assistance in understanding the ‘Water Ghost.’ Everyone, this battle is not just our individual fight, but the fight of all residents of Chengjiang City! If we fail, Chengjiang City will be submerged by the ‘Water Ghost,’ and the vast majority of people living in Chengjiang City will die at the hands of the ‘Water Ghost.’ If anyone has the ability or ideas to deal with the ‘Water Ghost,’ please inform me promptly!”
The four or five dozen talented individuals sitting at the desks either frowned or pondered as they looked at the documents, but no one stood up to say they had a solution.
Director Lin Feng had anticipated this situation. He clapped his hands, and two heavily armed soldiers entered the room. Each soldier placed a sealed box on the table in front of Director Lin Feng and silently left.
All eyes turned to the boxes in front of Director Lin Feng, even Lou Yan and Li Sanxin’s group.
Director Lin Feng tapped on the two boxes and said in a heavy tone, “These are the items that we have been studying since the first strange incident occurred. I know it’s very difficult to ask you to deal with the ‘Water Ghost,’ but if you are willing to fight alongside us, I will distribute the contents of these boxes to everyone for free. And I promise, on behalf of the Anomaly Control Bureau, that in the future, anything developed by our research institute will be provided to you free of charge if you need it!”
With this statement, the conference room erupted into uproar. Everyone asked excitedly, “Director Lin, are you serious? Can you make promises on behalf of the national Anomaly Control Bureau?”
“What’s in these two boxes? Are they useful against the anomaly?”
“Yes, Director Lin, you have to let us see what’s inside the boxes! Then we can discuss other things!”
Lin Feng smiled faintly and directly opened the first box on his left. The voices in the office quieted down, and pairs of eyes stared intently at Lin Feng’s actions.
As the box was opened, Lin Feng pulled out a slender transparent syringe from inside. The liquid in the syringe had a faint bluish hue under the fluorescent light, with a slightly viscous texture when it moved.
Lou Yan’s eyes flickered; this was a Mental Recovery Syringe.
The color and texture of this liquid were different from the inferior version of the Mental Recovery Syringe previously researched by the institute. Instead, it was identical to the authentic Mental Recovery Syringe obtained by Lou Yan from a fanatic in this lifetime.
It seemed that the Mental Recovery Syringe Lou Yan had given to Lin You in advance had indeed been replaced by an identical substitute developed by the institute.
“This is the Mental Recovery Syringe,” Lin Feng introduced, “It is made from various medicinal elements and an important substance extracted from anomaly entities, processed after proportioning. Those of you who are well-informed should have heard of its name. It is a reward given by anomalies to their cult followers. One injection can quickly restore ten points of mental strength without any side effects. The Mental Recovery Syringe developed by our research institute has the same effect as the one held by the cultists. If you agree to join us, each of you can now receive two Mental Recovery Syringes.”
“!!!”
“Mental Recovery Syringe?!”
After hearing Lin Feng’s words, seven or eight people stood up in shock, greedily eyeing the Mental Recovery Syringe in Lin Feng’s hand.
“Wow! Look at that!” Lu Haoxiu excitedly kept tapping on Ye Buyan’s arm, “Ye Buyan, it’s really the Mental Recovery Syringe! I recognize this syringe; it’s exactly the same as the one in the hands of the cultists! Wow, I’m so excited! Our country’s research institute is really awesome!!!”
Ye Buyan: “…calm down.”
Li Sanxin leaned back and whispered to Lou Yan’s ear, “Yanzi, I didn’t expect the Anomaly Control Bureau to actually have something. And he said it would be provided free of charge in the future. Doesn’t that mean that after this, we’ll have as many Mental Recovery Syringes as we need? Wow, that’s really generous.”
Lou Yan nodded, “Indeed, it’s generous. Without dangling a good bait in front of them, these people wouldn’t take the bait.”
Li Sanxin chuckled, “After seeing this box, I’m even more curious about what’s in the other box.”
More than just Li Sanxin thought this way. Amidst the urging voices, Lin Feng also opened the other box and took out a white paper burial clothes from inside.
The shroud was covered with red longevity characters, with grotesque and anomaly patterns in the details, giving off a chilling feeling.
Lin Feng solemnly said, “These paper burial clothess were obtained from an anomaly named ‘Funeral Old Lady.’ This anomaly would appear with a funeral home at irregular times in the middle of the night. Our people risked their lives and lost several lives before finally getting rid of the ‘Funeral Old Lady’ and bringing back these paper burial clothess. Wearing these paper burial clothess can prevent other anomalies from approaching us. The protection of the white paper burial clothes disappears only when it slowly seeps blood and turns into a red paper burial clothes. Its function is equivalent to armor. In today’s era, you should know its value!”
As soon as the paper burial clothes came out, the reaction of the crowd was even more excited than when they saw the Mental Recovery Syringe. If the appearance of the Mental Recovery Syringe could still keep some people rational amidst their excitement, upon seeing the paper burial clothes, these people were almost going crazy.
An anomaly tool that could prevent other anomalies from approaching oneself!!!
As Lin Feng said, this was equivalent to a suit of invulnerable armor during chaotic times!
It was an absolutely precious life-saving item!!!
A middle-aged man wearing a gold necklace directly asked, “Will this paper burial clothes also be provided free of charge?”
Lin Feng sighed, smiling bitterly, “To obtain these paper burial clothes, we have already paid a painful price… Currently, these are the only paper burial clothes we have found, and this anomaly tool cannot be replicated by our research institute. So, this item… cannot continue to be provided in the future.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd was somewhat disappointed, but they also knew it was normal. If the country could really mass-produce paper burial clothes, every citizen would have had one long ago.
Although the enthusiasm of the crowd slightly diminished, the expressions on their faces as they looked at the two boxes still showed varying degrees of excitement.
Lin Feng closed the two boxes and had the two soldiers outside reseal them and take them away. He solemnly looked at everyone and said, “Everyone, this is all we can offer you, whether it’s for Chengjiang City or for yourselves. I sincerely request that you join us in this fight side by side. The threat of the ‘Water Ghost’ is imminent. I will give you one hour to consider. Those willing to fight alongside us, please stay here after one hour. If anyone is afraid of danger and wants to leave, I won’t stop you; you can leave directly from here. That’s all for now. I’ll go handle some work first, and I hope to see all of you again in an hour!”
After finishing speaking, Lin Feng bowed solemnly to everyone and then left the conference room with large strides.
Once he left, the conference room became noisy again. Amidst the clamor, Lin You quietly approached Lou Yan’s group and whispered, “Comrade Lou Yan, the director wants to invite you to his office. He has something else he wants to discuss with you privately.”
Lou Yan’s group glanced at each other and nodded. They followed Lin You discreetly out of the conference room.
Lin You led them to Director Lin Feng’s office. When they pushed open the door and looked inside, they saw not only Director Lin Feng but also Cui Ansheng, whom Lou Yan’s group had met before.
Cui Ansheng wasn’t particularly surprised to see Lou Yan’s group. He greeted them with a smile and a wave, “Long time no see, everyone.”
Li Sanxin was somewhat surprised, “Boss Cui, what are you doing here?”
Cui Ansheng helplessly turned to look at Director Lin, “I was brought here by Director Lin.”
Director Lin Feng sighed heavily, “Sigh, after learning about the existence of the ‘Water Ghost,’ we went to see Mr. Fu Xuezhou this morning, hoping he could deal with the ‘Water Ghost.’ Unfortunately, Mr. Fu left Chengjiang City in the middle of the night, and we couldn’t reach him. After investigating, we found that Mr. Cui has a close relationship with Mr. Fu, so we brought Mr. Cui here, hoping he could help us contact Mr. Fu. But unfortunately, Mr. Cui also couldn’t reach Mr. Fu. However, Mr. Cui mentioned that Lou Yan might be able to contact Mr. Fu Xuezhou.”
Lou Yan looked at Cui Ansheng speechlessly.
Cui Ansheng smiled awkwardly but somewhat assuredly, “Mr. Lou, I think you might be able to contact Ah Zhou. Why not give it a try?”
Lou Yan smirked, “You can’t even reach him. How could you think I could?”
Cui Ansheng chuckled, “Mr. Lou, can’t we just give it a try? Anyway, I think if anyone can reach him, it’s you. I understand a bit about Ah Zhou!”
Director Lin Feng and Lin You both looked at Lou Yan hopefully. Lou Yan felt helpless under their gaze. He really didn’t think Fu Xuezhou would treat him specially.
But since it had come to this, just making a phone call wasn’t a big deal anymore. Lou Yan reluctantly agreed and found a seat on a couch, took out his phone, asked Cui Ansheng for Fu Xuezhou’s number, and started dialing.
“Ring… ring…”
The phone rang.
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