Mysterious Awakening

"Aren't you going to sleep anymore? Why are you up so early?"

Zhang Liqin opened her eyes lazily, only to see Yang Jian getting dressed, seemingly preparing to leave.

"Early? I'm going to be late for work," Yang Jian glanced back at her.

"You're still going to work? Who can afford to hire you? A big boss worth tens of billions, building houses with Gold, even the richest man isn't as lavish as you," Zhang Liqin said with a roll of her eyes and a laugh.

Yang Jian said, "Worth tens of billions? That's all on paper, just enough to resolve the problems of food and clothing, without worrying about eating, drinking, peeing or pooping. What I truly want to earn isn't money but life. It might seem like I'm quite rich now, but who knows when currency will devalue, and I'll become penniless."

He had a premonition that if supernatural events continued to occur, the socio-economic structure of the world would surely face major problems, and that day would come.

"Are you busy with ghost-hunting stuff?" Zhang Liqin didn't answer but instead asked another question.

"Don't talk about ghost hunting as if it's easy. If I'm not careful, I might fail in some supernatural event next time. The mortality rate from contact with such things is too high. I need to reduce the frequency of my encounters with such events," Yang Jian said.

Zhang Liqin turned over in bed, propped her head up, and looked at him with a smile, "Have you noticed anything different about yourself lately?"

"Physically."

Zhang Liqin looked at Yang Jian's back. The dull patches of lividity that she didn't know when had vanished, revealing his fit back muscles that had captivated her the previous night.

Yang Jian asked, "Is it getting better or worse?"

"Of course, it's getting better," Zhang Liqin said with a smile.

"Professor Wang gave me a physical training plan before he left. I tried changing my body using his methods—to speed up metabolism, activate bodily potential, and the like. It seems to be somewhat effective."

Yang Jian put on his clothes, turned to look at her and said, "This method is extreme. Ordinary people would suffer bodily collapse, like muscle lysis, fractures, or even poisoning. But it doesn't affect me, my body has long become different from normal."

"The so-called improvement is just a surface phenomenon. It only makes me appear to be a normal person, nothing more. Once the balance is lost, my body will deteriorate rapidly, and livor mortis, the stench of decay, even rot will reappear on my body."

He spoke very calmly, as if he were discussing something trivial.

"Stop it,"

Zhang Liqin quickly interrupted him, somewhat annoyed, "Is it really appropriate to say this in front of a woman? Can't you let me keep some beautiful illusions?"

"After experiencing supernatural events, you should know that these so-called beautiful illusions are false, reality is cruel and frightening," Yang Jian looked at her and said.

"I know that, but I still feel that there's at least you in this world. You let me keep this illusion and believe that when facing ghosts, there will be someone to save me." Zhang Liqin's eyes revealed a mix of complex emotions.

These emotions were a mix of admiration and respect.

Yang Jian thought for a moment and said, "I can save you once, but not for a lifetime. You have to face reality. Anyway, let's end this topic here. I'm off to work now."

He didn't make up an excuse to leave, but Zang Hua had already sent him a message. The arrangements were set; he had to be at Shangtong Tower by nine o'clock for the search.

Yang Jian certainly had to be involved in such matters.

A car was parked at the door, with Zang Hua coming in person to pick up Yang Jian.

Yang Jian definitely had the right to such treatment now, as he was effectively in charge of Dachang City. In terms of authority, he was among the top locally, but he wasn't the type to enjoy wielding power.

"Director Yang," Zang Hua said.

Yang Jian responded, "Captain Zang, just call me by my name. I'm not professionally trained like the others, and my abilities are limited. Rest assured though, other than supernatural events and my personal matters, I won't interfere with anything else."

He wasn't being modest; he was trying to avoid drawing trouble. As someone not destined to live long, he had no desire to spend his energy on managing the district.

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"Alright then, I'll be straightforward," Zang Hua nodded. Since Yang Jian didn't like formalities, it saved some polite talk. "This time we've arranged a team to search Shangtong Tower. The higher-ups' directive is that if the company is found to be involved in illegal or non-compliant activities, we won't show any leniency and will directly shut it down.

However, if this search turns up no evidence, I hope, Yang Jian, you can prioritize the bigger picture."

Yang Jian looked at him and asked, "What exactly does prioritizing the bigger picture entail?"

"Although the evidence we have indicates that this company indeed employed foreign mercenaries to carry out some unsavory activities, and it's very likely that they orchestrated the assassination incident at the Guanjiang Residential Complex last time, we must still proceed according to the law, after all, they are a legitimate corporation, and an international one at that.

It would look bad if we took them down without just cause," Zang Hua said.

"Supernatural events have already occurred, and we're still worried about this?" Yang Jian asked, somewhat surprised.

Zang Hua spoke in a hushed tone, "These are two different matters. As for the supernatural events, we are still keeping the news as contained as possible. At least all countries are tacitly aware and will keep it under wraps as long as possible. If it really can no longer be hidden, only then will we reveal it.

You should understand that once such matters are fully exposed, it will definitely cause social unrest."

"Such unrest wouldn't help in resolving the supernatural events at all; it would only add chaos. By then, there would be a spike in crime rates, workers going on strike, shops closing down... Perhaps, in the end, the greatest casualties wouldn't come from supernatural events, but from man-made turmoil," Zang Hua added.

"Sounds like you might have a point," Yang Jian mused.

From the perspective of those in power, covering up the truth about supernatural events is not about deceiving the masses, but about protecting them.

The horrors of man-made chaos are evident in the pages of history books.

"But this seems to have nothing to do with me," Yang Jian changed the subject.

Zang Hua gave a wry smile, "There's no way to take down an international corporation without reason and evidence. Everyone would be upset if we just aggressively acted unreasonably, especially in these special times, it would still have some impact."

Yang Jian listened for a while and started to understand.

He could operate in the shadows but had to be discreet to save face for the country.

"If I had known it would be this troublesome, I should have just made Shangtong Tower disappear last night," Yang Jian rubbed his chin and looked at the building that was getting closer outside the car window.

Using the power of the Ghost Domain, he could bury the tower ten thousand meters underground in a second.

"By the way, if we seize the company, can I get my hands on this building?"

Yang Jian suddenly remembered his plan to start a business. Although he hadn't figured out what to do yet, he at least needed an office space.

Zang Hua was taken aback and then said, "You want this building?"

"It's a pity for such a building to be occupied by a foreign power with ulterior motives," Yang Jian said. "Besides, as I'm responsible for Dachang City, I should have an office space, right? I like this location; can you find a way for me, by the book?"

"If we can seize this company, then following normal procedures, this building will also be seized as part of the assets, and then the court will auction it off again. Now, with half of Dachang City's downtown area vacant, real estate isn't that valuable anymore. I guess not many would be willing to take over this building. Yang Jian, if you need it, I will ask the higher-ups.

It shouldn't be a problem to allocate it directly to you," Zang Hua said.

If an international ghost controller in charge of a city needs office space, the superiors would definitely approve it without hesitation.

"Now that you mention it, it seems this company must be seized," Yang Jian said with a laugh.

If it were seized, it would be his, making this trip worthwhile.

Zang Hua's mouth twitched slightly, praying internally that Yang Jian wouldn't do anything rash, as this time they were here with a search warrant, not for personal vendetta.

Soon.

The car stopped at the entrance of the building.

Public officials were already gathered here waiting.

"Team Leader Zang, everyone is here. Xiao Wang has already gone inside a moment ago to inform the receptionist and is preparing to meet with the company's person in charge," a public official came over and said.

Zang Hua said, "No need for a meeting. Just give them a notice. We have a search warrant this time and will act in accordance with the law. A meeting would just waste time. Just tell everyone to start looking for evidence to take down this company."

"You don't need to go to so much trouble. Just follow me," Yang Jian said. "Who keeps evidence out in the open for you to find? Could it even be called evidence if you could easily find it?"

"This type of company surely hides its secrets very deeply. I think using some extraordinary measures would be more effective. You just get ready to take over," Yang Jian suggested.

Extraordinary measures~!

The abilities of ghosts?

Zang Hua thought to himself.

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