Chapter 131
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When Lou Yan and the others returned to the meeting room, there were only thirty people left inside. With their five, there were a total of thirty-five people.
Among those who remained was Wen Yian. Whether they stayed for the sake of their own interests or to protect Chengjiang City, as long as they stayed, it meant they were prepared to face the “water ghost” and possibly die.
Shortly after, Team Leader Lin also entered. He wasn’t surprised that more than a dozen people had left. After solemnly thanking the talented individuals who stayed, Team Leader Lin announced that Lou Yan would have full command of this operation, with support from the Anomaly Control Bureau’s armed forces. The rest of the talented individuals needed to obey Lou Yan’s orders.
Upon hearing this, those who remained immediately began to argue. Everyone was a talented individual, and although they didn’t say it aloud, they were proud of their own talents. Why should they listen to another talented individual?
Two burly brothers stood up directly, their faces full of hostility. “Why?”
“Why should we listen to that guy named Lou Yan? Who does he think he is? Come out and show yourself! We are all talented individuals. Can he really know how to deal with the ‘water ghost’?”
“Yeah, we’re dealing with an A-rank terrifying anomaly! This is handing our lives over to him. I don’t accept it! Who does Lou Yan think he is? Come out and show yourself! I want to see what he’s capable of! He better not just be a pretty face who can’t even beat me!”
Others also voiced their dissent, full of dissatisfaction and skepticism. Team Leader Lin tried to calm everyone down, but the insults became even more intense and unpleasant. Li Sanxin frowned, wondering if this was intentional provocation involving personal attacks.
Lu Haoxiu’s face was flushed with anger. Rolling up his sleeves, he stared fiercely at the few who were hurling the most offensive insults. “Argh, I’m so angry! How dare they insult my brother Lou!”
He stood up, ready to fight, but fortunately, Ye Buyan stopped him in time. “Don’t get agitated. Your brother Lou isn’t angry.”
Lu Haoxiu glanced worriedly at Lou Yan, only to see Lou Yan unmoved, even smiling slightly in response to the escalating doubts.
That smile was beautiful and elegant, but Lu Haoxiu felt a hint of darkness lurking within it. He shivered, suddenly feeling that someone was in for trouble.
As the calls for Lou Yan to come forward grew louder, Lou Yan calmly stood up and walked to Team Leader Lin’s side. “I am Lou Yan.”
Seeing Lou Yan walk up, Wen Yian couldn’t help but shake her head slightly, feeling sorry for those who didn’t understand the terrifying aspects of Lou Yan.
The room fell silent as everyone scrutinized Lou Yan with suspicion.
Lou Yan didn’t flinch under their scrutiny. His every move was pleasing to the eye, exuding a strong aura that dominated the room. Some gazes carried malice, especially from the two brothers who had spoken out earlier, and a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression.
These two brothers were named Mashan and Mahai, while the gloomy middle-aged man was called Kong Ping. Mashan’s talent was the ability to leap with his feet, allowing him to jump up to twenty meters away from a standing position. Mahai’s talent was to double his weight, strengthening parts of his body to ten times their normal weight to deliver powerful blows to enemies.
Among them, Kong Ping’s talent was the most special. He could turn invisible, but only for a short time, lasting only ten seconds.
These pieces of information were all from Lou Yan’s understanding of them from previous lifetimes. Every time this happened, Lou Yan deeply felt the benefits of having memories from several lifetimes.
Lou Yan had always been a rebellious person since he was young. Facing doubt and challenge only made him more excited to crush his enemies. He raised an eyebrow, chuckled lightly, and said, “Words are nothing compared to actions. Since you doubt my strength, why don’t you come and test whether I’m all talk or truly powerful?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lou Yan took a step to the right. The next moment, with a loud bang, Mashan had already leaped high and landed exactly where Lou Yan had just been standing. The ground cracked as Mashan reached out to grab Lou Yan’s neck but found himself awkwardly frozen in mid-air. Unable to believe what happened, Mashan turned back to look at Lou Yan, who just smiled at him and effortlessly stepped back.
A fist with a gust of wind slammed in front of Lou Yan, causing his black curly hair to fly up. If Lou Yan hadn’t stepped back, this punch might have smashed his brain out.
Despite his failed attack, Mahai still glared at Lou Yan.
Lou Yan chuckled twice, raised his right hand, and suddenly delivered a heavy elbow strike backward. An invisible person was directly knocked back into the wall by the powerful force, leaving a crack shaped like a human on the wall. The invisible person fell from the wall, losing his invisibility and revealing Kong Ping’s pained and grimacing face.
Everyone looked at Lou Yan in shock, and some couldn’t help but stand up.
From start to finish, Lou Yan didn’t make any big movements. Apart from his slightly reddened skin, indicating he was a bit hot, he didn’t sustain any injuries. It was as if he had foreseen everyone’s attacks and had complete control over them, a state that was even more unsettling than any talent ability.
And Lou Yan’s elbow strike… Everyone’s gaze turned to Kong Ping, who was about to faint. It was clear that Lou Yan didn’t use much force, but he managed to cause such great damage. This force seemed even more exaggerated than Mahai’s ability to double his weight…
How did he do that?
At this moment, Lou Yan moved again. He extended two slender and fair fingers, lightly pushing outward from a point twenty centimeters away from his neck. As he did so, a faint white line, reflecting the light like a fishing line, was exposed in front of everyone.
Lou Yan followed the white line to a girl wearing black-framed glasses, with thick bangs and an extremely honest appearance. “Your ambush skills are good,” he remarked.
The girl retracted the white line, sincerely admitting, “You’re very strong.”
Lou Yan smiled lightly, then, as if he had anticipated it, brushed off the dust that suddenly fell on his shoulders, sweeping away a black finger that resembled a withered tree branch.
These two casual moves, executed with ease, made the people who had just been stunned by him even more doubtful. Lou Yan smiled and asked, “Do you still want to continue?”
No one moved, and no one questioned further; they were already convinced.
After waiting for a while and seeing no response from them, Lou Yan raised the corner of his lips and began to explain why he became the overall commander. The reasons were simple: his strength and his ability to see the “water ghost.” With these two factors, even those who harbored some complaints in their hearts had nothing more to say.
Using intimidation with force first and then explaining the reasons afterward, Lou Yan, who had traversed the business world for many years, was adept at this approach and effortlessly suppressed these people.
There were a total of thirty-five talented individuals here, including semi-anomalies like Ye Buyan. Lou Yan divided them into groups of five, creating seven teams in total. Each person was responsible for patrolling a specific area to track the movements of the “water ghost.” Upon sighting the “water ghost,” they were to report to Lou Yan immediately.
Team Leader Lin acted as the deputy commander of the Anomaly Control Bureau, dispatching armed forces to assist the talented individuals in each group. Each group was accompanied by five soldiers, whose presence was not only to help eliminate the “water ghost” but also to protect the talented individuals.
In this era of anomaly resurgence, every talented individual capable of dealing with anomalies was extremely precious. Due to the heavy losses suffered by the Bureau, as well as the need to maintain some combat capability and supply materials for Lou Yan’s operation, there were still a significant number of forces left behind.
Additionally, personnel within the Bureau who had awakened talents, like Lin You, were assigned to one of the seven groups by Team Leader Lin. As a result, each group had six to seven talented individuals and five fully armed soldiers.
After efficiently assigning tasks, the talented individuals and the Anomaly Control Bureau immediately began to act. Lou Yan, Li Sanxin, Duan Zege, Lu Haoxiu, and Ye Buyan happened to form one group, and Team Leader Lin wanted to assign Lin You to their group as well.
However, this approach raised doubts from Duan Zege. “Team Leader Lin, if you send Lin You out as well, who will protect your safety?”
Team Leader Lin was taken aback for a moment, then waved his hand and laughed heartily. “What protection do I need, an old guy like me? Lin You is strong and can help you deal with the ‘water ghost.’ The most important thing now is the ‘water ghost’; we can’t waste our forces just for an old guy like me.”
“Oh,” Duan Zege realized, and casually said, “But if something happens to you at this time, the entire Anomaly Control Bureau will be in chaos, right? Once the Anomaly Control Bureau is in chaos, the distribution of supplies on Lou Yan’s side will also become chaotic, and the order of Chengjiang City will probably be disrupted.”
Team Leader Lin and Lin You exchanged a glance subconsciously, both thinking of the undercover cultist within the Bureau.
Lin You knew about the undercover situation within the Bureau because Lou Yan had told him. Team Leader Lin knew because Lin You had told him.
After learning about this, Team Leader Lin had been secretly investigating the personnel within the Bureau and had made some progress recently.
They weren’t fools; they knew that the situation Duan Zege mentioned might indeed occur because the cultist would be happy to see such chaos…
Lin You immediately said, “No, I won’t go out. Team Leader, I will protect you personally.”
Team Leader Lin pondered with his hands behind his back for a moment, then nodded slowly. Just as he was about to say something, a young staff member hurriedly came over with Little Yu.
“Team Leader, this little girl wants to see an adult.”
Seeing Lou Yan and the others, Little Yu immediately grabbed the staff member’s hand and threw herself into Lou Yan’s arms.
Lou Yan allowed her to hug him in surprise, reached out to touch Little Yu’s head, and keenly sensed that Little Yu was somewhat uneasy and anxious at the moment.
He frowned slightly, glanced at Li Sanxin and Lu Haoxiu beside him, and gave them a signal. Li Sanxin stepped forward and pulled the staff member aside to inquire about Little Yu’s situation, while Lu Haoxiu instinctively pulled Ye Buyan aside to shield Little Yu and Lou Yan.
Lou Yan squatted down, his dark eyes meeting Little Yu’s. He asked softly, “Little Yu, what’s wrong?”
Little Yu anxiously gestured with her hands, revealing everything about what had just happened with Xia Wu in full detail. From the first sentence Xia Wu spoke upon appearing, to her appearance and the ghost mask behind her head, she recounted every detail meticulously.
Finally, Little Yu hesitated to gesture, “She should be a cultist. When Uncle Cai Mo used to have me by his side, I heard him make phone calls with her. Uncle Cai Mo called her ‘Ghost-faced Xia Wu.’ She should be even more formidable than Uncle Cai Mo…”
If Xia Wu weren’t a cultist, perhaps Little Yu would keep it a secret from her. But Xia Wu was a cultist, and her secret infiltration into the Anomaly Control Bureau was definitely for malicious purposes. Little Yu deeply understood how terrifying cultists could be, having been harmed by one before. Therefore, even though Little Yu liked Xia Wu very much, she would not hesitate to tell Lou Yan about this matter.
She would only tell Lou Yan.
Even though Li Sanxin and Duan Zege were kind and gentle to Little Yu, and Lu Haoxiu was always afraid that Little Yu would feel lonely and had become Little Yu’s playmate, when faced with such a situation, Little Yu only thought of Lou Yan first.
Because Little Yu would always remember that on a cold rainy night in Liushu Village, Lou Yan saved her from the hands of the cultist Cai Mo, telling her to “run fast.” Lou Yan carried her all the way, placed her safely in a tree, and said to her, “Don’t be afraid.”
After listening to Little Yu’s words, Lou Yan’s eyes darkened.
Ghost-Faced Xia Wu.
Lou Yan knew her. Like Wen Yian, Ghost-Faced Xiao Wu was also one of the leaders among the cultist believers. She had a brother named “Ghost-Faced Xiao Jie,” who also wore a ghost mask behind his head.
The strength of this sibling pair was extremely terrifying, derived from the ghost masks behind their heads. The older brother, Xia Jie, was unpredictable, while the younger sister, Xia Wu, was cunning and ruthless. These two were the only cultist believers who dared to directly use their real names as aliases.
Lou Yan didn’t expect Little Yu to encounter such a dangerous individual… Fortunately, Little Yu was unharmed!
Subsequently, Lou Yan looked towards Duan Zege’s figure with a complex expression.
Not long ago, Little Yu had witnessed a cultist sneaking into the Anomaly Control Bureau, yet Duan Zege had just spoken to Lin Feng and Lin You about it.
There seemed to be no connection between the two incidents, but Lou Yan didn’t believe it.
Was Duan Zege using tarot cards again?
Lou Yan patted Little Yu’s back reassuringly, then stood up and led her to Lin Feng’s presence. He calmly and coolly said, “Team Leader Lin, I suggest you immediately seal off the Anomaly Control Bureau and investigate whether there are cultist hiding here.”
Team Leader Lin was slightly surprised. “Comrade Lou Yan, are you saying…?”
“Yes,” Lou Yan didn’t mention that Little Yu had told him about this matter, instead pushing the responsibility onto himself. “Just now, in the meeting room, I ‘saw’ that a very powerful cultist had infiltrated the Anomaly Control Bureau. This cultist holds a certain position in their sect. She’s a young girl with red hair, wearing a ghost mask behind her head.”
Team Leader Lin’s eyes suddenly became serious and sharp. “Comrade Lou Yan, I understand. Thank you very much for providing this information. I will immediately investigate the personnel within the bureau. You can go and busy yourselves. The matter of the ‘water ghost’ cannot be delayed. I’ll trouble you with it!”
After saying that, he hurriedly left with Lin You.
Lou Yan and the other talented individuals who needed to search for the “water ghost” also left the Anomaly Control Bureau under the protection of the soldiers. They boarded the assault boat and began patrolling various areas of Chengjiang City.
The news that “going into the water means death” had spread through various channels early in the morning. Even those who hadn’t received the message understood the concept of not going into the water when they saw the tragic situation around them. Therefore, except for occasionally seeing humans accidentally falling into the water, the rest were people floating on boats or wooden planks on the water’s surface, while many others stood on buildings with anxious and fearful faces, staring intently at them.
It seemed that the “water ghost” was deliberately avoiding Lou Yan. Throughout Lou Yan’s patrol route, the water remained unusually calm. Even when someone fell into the water, the “water ghost” didn’t appear, even after Lou Yan’s team rescued the person.
While other teams did encounter the “water ghost,” by the time Lou Yan rushed over, the “water ghost” had already disappeared without a trace.
After a whole afternoon of patrolling, Lou Yan still hadn’t seen a trace of the “water ghost.” Not to mention seeing the “water ghost,” it hadn’t even appeared within a two-hundred-meter radius of him.
Even as night approached on the third day, a soldier voluntarily jumped into the water as bait to lure the “water ghost,” but even after the soldier soaked in the water for twenty minutes, they didn’t see the “water ghost” being attracted over.
After this battle, Lou Yan was already certain that the “water ghost” was definitely avoiding him.
And this avoidance lasted for two whole days. Lou Yan hadn’t found a trace of the “water ghost” during this time.
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