Chapter 135: Chapter 53: Spirit Disaster Bureau Headquarters
Gao Tian was a bit surprised.
"Xu Yuan got the scans himself and took them home. Could he even understand them?"
Hospital tests weren’t like ordering fried chicken. Without a medical background, what normal person could make sense of medical scans?
Then it hit him. When Xu Yuan was alive, he was a monster who had mastered Sanskrit and all sorts of cryptographic algorithms. He could learn anything instantly. It was very likely that, in his quest to understand how ghosts came into being, he had taught himself biology and medicine and had the relevant background knowledge.
’Right, his intellect can’t be measured by normal standards.’
A man like him would have achieved tremendous success even in an ordinary world without the supernatural.
Xia Ta continued speaking.
"After taking all the hospital reports and test results home, the log’s owner consulted a vast amount of research. He finally confirmed that he had a rare, terminal illness called ’Blue Heart.’"
"The incidence rate for this disease is one in a billion. In other words, there are no more than a measly ten recorded cases in the medical archives of the world’s top academic institutions. Its cause and treatment are almost complete unknowns. Anyone who gets this disease can only wait to die."
"Once diagnosed, the survival period is about five years. Death can come at any time within those five years, and no existing medical technology has any data to prove it can extend the patient’s life."
"Even Supernatural Artifacts couldn’t cure Xu Yuan’s Blue Heart disease."
"Rather than a terminal illness or a supernatural curse, in his log, Xu Yuan called it ’divine punishment.’ He saw something he shouldn’t have on the sixth floor."
Anyone else would have probably just waited to die in despair.
As she spoke, a look of confusion crept into Xia Ta’s eyes. It seemed even she couldn’t comprehend the bizarre words that followed in the log.
"Perhaps the disease affected the log’s owner. Afterward, Xu Yuan started to become mentally unstable."
"He began to search earnestly... for a way to achieve immortality through death and rebirth."
"He believed that only by abandoning his frail physical body and entering a new state of being could he uncover the truth of this world and complete the work he had left unfinished in life."
Hearing this, Gao Tian knew that Xu Yuan had already been looking for a way to maintain his consciousness after death.
The timeline then returned to what Gao Tian already knew.
Xu Yuan had used the last five years of his life to do many things.
He completed ten green-text missions in the Living Human Apartment, founded the Jialan Society, found the Divine Tree, met the Artist in the Inner World, and began to construct a salvation plan with the Artist at its core. And all the while, he lay in wait.
At Sapphire Mall, his body, ravaged by the terminal illness, finally reached its breaking point. Xu Yuan died without any warning, and the Artist he controlled devoured his head. The reborn Xu Yuan became a sentient vengeful spirit and returned to the Inner World. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Now, he possessed both the undying nature of a ghost and the independent consciousness of a human, along with an inexhaustible lifespan and countless ghost-like, super-powered subordinates.
Indeed, he was nearly identical to the Immortals of legend.
He had also thwarted the determination of that thing on the sixth floor to kill him.
’As expected of Xu Yuan, to find a way to survive even in such a situation.’ Not only did he not "die," but he was forced into a corner only to emerge even stronger.
Gao Tian then recalled Xu Yuan’s plan to spread S-Level vengeful spirits throughout Shanghai.
At first, he thought Xu Yuan’s goals were twofold: first, to collect enough life force for the Divine Tree and get more powered individuals to join the Jialan Society; second, to force out Old Man Sun, the Spirit Disaster Bureau’s trump card, and destroy the final obstacle on his path to salvation.
Thinking about it now, another of Xu Yuan’s goals might be to return to the Living Human Apartment. To re-ascend to the sixth floor in his "Immortal" body.
To confirm what that thing was—the thing that he had glanced at all those years ago, which had directly led to him erasing his own memory, even his very existence.
This was likely Xu Yuan’s unspoken, core objective.
The next few days in Shanghai would be the final calm before the great battle.
Like the quiet before the storm.
Old Man Sun had already received Jiang Yang’s information about the Rainy Woman. After returning to the Spirit Disaster Bureau, he would probably start taking the time to root out the mole.
Hopefully, he could take out one of the S-Level vengeful spirits before the Jialan Society made its move.
Otherwise, he would face the fate of taking on three S-Level spirits by himself.
「...」
「...」
Ai Ning lay collapsed on a training mat, her sportswear soaked with sweat that dripped continuously from her temples and jawline. Every breath was a heavy pant. Suddenly, the phone in her pocket vibrated urgently. An encrypted message from headquarters popped up—a bright red Level Three Emergency Warning.
’A Level Three warning... must be another supernatural incident nearby.’
After being a patrol officer for half a month, she had been promoted to a full-time position at lightning speed, probably because the Spirit Disaster Bureau was severely short-staffed at the ground level. Now she was also qualified to receive messages from headquarters and was responsible for helping nearby Ghost Hunters handle ordinary supernatural incidents.
Not daring to delay, Ai Ning quickly changed her clothes and left the training ground.
The location of the emergency alert was 77 East Thirteen Road. All official Spirit Disaster Bureau employees within range were required to arrive at the location and assemble within half an hour.
Seeing the address, Ai Ning hesitated for a moment and double-checked it.
Of course, she knew what stood at that location: a pure-black, domed building. Its outer walls had no windows, making it impossible for outsiders to see what was happening in any of the offices inside. Even those inside who wanted to look out had to use special peepholes in the walls.
These densely packed peepholes were everywhere, from the sewers at the black dome’s foundation to its highest floor. The sight was a bit creepy.
The building had appeared out of nowhere on a corner of East Thirteen Road. At first, some curious reporters went to cover it. But soon, all related reports and photos online were forcibly taken down. Discussion of the bizarre, hideously ugly building of unknown purpose quickly died down.
Ai Ning knew why. That building was the Spirit Disaster Bureau’s temporary headquarters in Shanghai.
She just didn’t understand why the location for a Level Three warning would be set there. The entire building was crawling with Ghost Hunters and Supernatural Experts coming and going. With so many Ghost Hunters around, what kind of supernatural incident could possibly happen there that would cause a shortage of manpower?
But headquarters had issued the summons, and as a rookie, she didn’t dare ask too many questions. She hailed a cab and arrived at the foot of the headquarters building twenty minutes later.
Outside, quite a few other Spirit Disaster Bureau Ghost Hunters were waiting, all of them inexplicably summoned. One by one, they swiped their cards, lined up, and had their identities checked for mental contamination or replacement by a vengeful spirit. After being cleared, they were allowed into the black building.
Ai Ning scanned the crowd but didn’t see anyone she knew. She could only follow the line obediently, her heart filled with unease.
At the checkpoint, two staff members in black uniforms and face masks gave Ai Ning a routine check. After confirming her ID and that she was, in fact, a living person, they shoved a stack of documents into her hands and pointed down the corridor.
"First floor, coordinates 3, Classroom 103."
"The instructor will arrive in 15 minutes to conduct emergency training for you rookies. During this period, do not leave the classroom for any reason, including using the restroom or getting a drink."
’What the... so it’s just a training course for Ghost Hunters.’
Holding the heavy stack of documents, Ai Ning breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she grumbled internally about how strange headquarters was being today. Why use an emergency alert to summon Ghost Hunters just for a training course?
Behind Ai Ning, a more senior Ghost Hunter was already voicing her displeasure.
"What class are you from? Who the hell told you to use a Level Three alert like this?"
"I was in the middle of handling a supernatural incident at a B&B nearby. I got the alert, thought something had happened at HQ, and dropped everything to come over. And now you’re telling me it’s for some goddamn emergency training?"
"If I don’t deal with that incident, a family of three might die, you idiot. Don’t you know that?"
The staff member raised his eyes above his mask and gave the veteran female Ghost Hunter, who looked to be in her forties, a cold glance before making a gesture.
"This woman is overly emotional. Take her to the nearest black room to rest for a while. Let her into the Black Tower once she has calmed down."
As Ai Ning walked away, she heard faint sounds of arguing and scuffling from the corridor behind her, but they quickly subsided. The troublemaking, hot-headed Ghost Hunter had probably been "escorted" to the black room.
For some reason, as she walked deeper down the corridor, the unease in Ai Ning’s heart grew stronger.
She had only just become an official employee and hadn’t had many opportunities to visit headquarters. She didn’t know if this situation was normal for the Spirit Disaster Bureau or if it was truly unusual.
A part of Ai Ning even felt that the Ghost Hunter who had been sent to the black room had a point...
’Just how important is this emergency training?’ It was important enough to forcibly recall Ghost Hunters who were in the middle of handling active incidents.
Still, Ai Ning tried to console herself.
’Maybe there’s some kind of mass supernatural event happening in Shanghai, one with a very specific killing pattern that all Ghost Hunters need to learn about immediately, without a second’s delay.’
’Yes, that explanation makes it seem much more reasonable.’
That is, until she followed the instructions, found Classroom 103, and walked inside.
The classroom was not large and was rather run-down. Besides Ai Ning, it was already filled with all sorts of people. They were all Ghost Hunters in black uniforms, recalled to headquarters, waiting for this so-called "emergency training course."
Shortly after Ai Ning sat down, two people hurried to the front of the classroom. One was a woman in a black suit with an upright posture; the other was a balding, panting man in a white shirt.
After entering the classroom, the balding man closed the front door and also switched off the incandescent lights above, which had already left the classroom dim.
"Thank you all for returning to headquarters under such urgent circumstances."
"Since everyone is here, we won’t waste your time. Our training course will be very brief."
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