Mysterious Resurgence: Starting with the Strange Bus

Chapter 54 Cao Yanhua's Speculation (Please Subscribe)

"What did you say?"

"A major paranormal event has occurred in Xiaozhou City?"

"An unknown, terrifying ghost has appeared within the territory of Xiaozhou City. Its ghost domain is unusually large, easily enveloping the entire city?"

Dajing City.

The Ghost Riders Headquarters.

Inside the office of Zhao Jianguo, head of the switchboard department.

After listening to the operator's report, Zhao Jianguo's expression changed drastically. He felt terrible, as if nothing had gone right recently.

Just a while ago.

Vice Minister Cao Yanhua asked him to try contacting Wang Chaling in Dadong City to see if he could go on a business trip to Dachang City. However, Wang Chaling refused, giving a very good reason: that there were also paranormal events in Dadong City, and he simply couldn't get away.

Zhao Jianguo then contacted several other top ghost tamers at headquarters, but the results were all unsatisfactory; none of them were willing to go on a business trip to Dachang City.

Their reasons were very similar to Wang Chaling's, essentially saying they were too busy to go at the moment. Even worse, some simply disappeared, becoming completely unreachable.

Just as Zhao Jianguo was busy searching for effective support personnel for the paranormal incident in Dachang City, the operator rushed into his office and said that a major paranormal incident had also occurred in Xiaozhou City.

"Is the news confirmed?"

Zhao Jianguo rubbed his throbbing head and made a final confirmation to the operator.

Despite knowing the chances of error were almost zero, he still hoped to hear the nearly impossible answer from the operator.

However, Zhao Jianguo's idea failed.

The operator quickly replied, "Yes, just now, the person in charge of Xiaozhou City called and requested assistance from headquarters, saying that an unknown vengeful ghost has appeared in Xiaozhou City and he cannot resolve it."

"He classified this sudden paranormal event as S-level. The specific abilities of the vengeful spirit are unknown, but it displayed a vast ghost realm, resembling a hazy gray world, and ashes of paper were falling within that ghost realm..."

The operator recounted the information she had received from Xu Qiuyu.

"Wait a minute." However, Zhao Jianguo, who had just finished listening to the operator's explanation, immediately realized something was wrong and asked:
"You mean, the person in charge of Xiaozhou City described a gray, ghostly realm, and there were ashes falling in that ghostly realm?"

"Yes!"

The operator's tone was very certain. She was always very serious about these kinds of work matters, remembered things very clearly, and would never make a mistake unless Xu Qiuyu's description was incorrect.

"Okay, I understand. The person in charge of Xiaozhou City is Xu Qiuyu, right? Go and see if you can keep in touch with Xu Qiuyu and report the situation in Xiaozhou City in real time. I will make arrangements regarding the request for assistance."

Upon receiving confirmation from the operator, Zhao Jianguo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his tense mood instantly easing considerably. He then signaled for the operator to return to their post and perform their duties.

As the head of the call center, Zhao Jianguo's position and authority at headquarters were not low, and he was qualified to access many confidential files and documents.

The department he manages deals with ghost controllers all day long, or you could say they deal with the supernatural. So Zhao Jianguo is familiar with supernatural events happening at home and abroad, including the ghost painting incident!

The two clues—'a hazy, illusory world' and 'a ghost realm large enough to engulf an entire city'—are not enough to confirm anything.

However, if we add the detail that "paper ash keeps falling inside the ghost realm," Zhao Jianguo can pinpoint the source of this "paranormal event" to be 80% certain that it is related to the ghost painting.

Globally, only ghost paintings can simultaneously meet all of the above conditions.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that it is a completely new paranormal event, but the probability of that is too small. This sudden large-scale paranormal event in Dachang City is ultimately just a special case.

According to Zhao Jianguo, the ghost painting incident had occurred in Dahai City not long ago, and some people even took the opportunity to control the ghost painting's supernatural power.

He was a mysterious man, and headquarters has yet to confirm his identity.

At last.

The mysterious man lured the vengeful ghost in the painting abroad, and if nothing unexpected happens, the painting is still wandering overseas.

As for the "major paranormal event" mentioned by the operator and the person in charge of Xiaozhou City, Zhao Jianguo felt that it was most likely the ghost realm of that mysterious man.

The only thing he couldn't understand was...

What is the other party's purpose in doing this?

Regardless of the other party's motives, Zhao Jianguo felt that this matter should be reported to Vice Minister Cao Yanhua.

He knew that Cao Yanhua was now very interested in the mysterious man and was eager to invite him to join the Ghost Tamer Headquarters, and Zhao Jianguo himself was happy to see it happen.

A top-tier demon tamer joins the team.

The benefits to headquarters are undoubtedly enormous.

If the invitation is successful, Zhao Jianguo will also be one of the beneficiaries, and the power he can mobilize will be greatly increased.

Think of this.

Zhao Jianguo immediately got up and walked towards Cao Yanhua's office.

.........

Are you serious?

The deputy minister is in his office.

After listening to Zhao Jianguo's account, Cao Yanhua was just as surprised as Zhao Jianguo was when he first heard about the large-scale paranormal event that had occurred in Xiaozhou City.

"Indeed it is."

Zhao Jianguo nodded and said that he had already asked his staff to confirm the news.

It didn't take long.

There was a knock on the office door.

After obtaining Cao Yanhua's consent, a staff member quickly walked in carrying several things that looked like photos.

At Zhao Jianguo's instruction.

The staff member first placed the photo on the desk in front of the two people, and then spoke:
"Reporting to Minister Cao, our investigation shows that the source of the ghost painting incident is still in the United States. The ghostly domain covers California, and the mysterious person who lured the ghost painting to the United States recently left the country..."

At this point, Cao Yanhua understood.

Everything Zhao Jianguo just said is true. The mysterious man who controlled the supernatural power of the ghost painting has returned to China, crossed the vast ocean, and landed in a small boat.

It even caused a misunderstanding.

The sheer size of the ghostly domain led the officials of Xiaozhou City to mistakenly believe that a large-scale paranormal event had occurred.

Zhao Jianguo, who was standing to the side, breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the staff's report.

Although he had his suspicions, Zhao Jianguo was not entirely certain until the final investigation results were released. After all, anything could happen in supernatural events, and he couldn't be sure that the ghostly area that appeared in Xiaozhou City was not caused by a real vengeful ghost.

"Alright, you can go back to your post and start working now."

Cao Yanhua said to the staff who had finished their report.

After the staff left, Cao Yanhua and Zhao Jianguo exchanged a few more words, and finally Zhao Jianguo also chose to leave.

He has a lot to do and is far from finished.

In particular, the support plan for Dachang City is currently under Zhao Jianguo's responsibility, and he is in charge of all personnel mobilization.

After everyone left.

Cao Yanhua bent down and took out a file folder from the drawer under his desk. The folder showed signs of having been opened, indicating that someone had already looked at it.

He opened the bag with practiced ease and took out the files inside. These files had been delivered by staff not long ago and contained information about some of the known Ghost Tamers in Dahai City.

The reason it is described as a part is...

This is because the people recorded in this file are all male demon tamers, and there are strict requirements regarding their physical appearance.

It was determined by comparing the physical outline of the mysterious man who controlled the ghost paintings.

In other words, the ghost tamer in the file in Cao Yanhua's hand has a figure and outline that are extremely similar to the mysterious man who controlled the ghost painting spirit. In fact, that mysterious man may even be one of them.

The file folder contained five sheets of paper, each recording the story of a demon tamer.

Cao Yanhua laid out five sheets of paper in a row on his desk. The first one on the table was Li Hui's, with his photo and some information about him that the headquarters had found out.

The second-ranked person is named Zhao Longbo. Apart from his facial features, his body shape is extremely similar to Li Hui's.

If two people were to stand together dressed in identical clothes and wearing hoods, even the most skilled criminal investigators would likely be unable to tell them apart.

As for the information placed in the third, fourth, and fifth positions, Cao Yanhua didn't even glance at it, because he had already ruled out those three possibilities not long ago.

Cao Yanhua was extremely concerned about the mysterious man who wielded the supernatural power of the ghost painting.

After the staff compared the results, he conducted an in-depth investigation into the current situation of the five people on the table. In the end, the people in the third, fourth, and fifth files had appeared in Dahai City not long ago.

The only two whose whereabouts remain unknown are Li Hui and Zhao Longbo.

Cao Yanhua speculated.

The mysterious man who controlled the ghost painting was very likely one of the two, but he couldn't be sure who it was.

"Could it be him?"

Cao Yanhua's gaze kept sweeping back and forth across the personal information files of Li Hui and Zhao Longbo, and finally he fixed his eyes on the paper containing Li Hui's information.

Compared to Zhao Longbo, who was just an ordinary ghost tamer who controlled a single vengeful spirit, Cao Yanhua felt that Li Hui was more likely to be the culprit.

After all, Li Hui's previous display of strength was already on par with other top ghost tamers in the country. He sent Ye Zhen flying with a single punch, a feat that even Fang Shiming in his circle of friends couldn't achieve.

Let’s take a step back.

Even if Li Hui wasn't that mysterious man, he was still someone Cao Yanhua desperately wanted to win over. Who wouldn't want to recruit more powerful ghost tamers like him?

Think of this.

Cao Yanhua picked up the phone next to him, entered Li Hui's phone number from the file, and tried to dial it again.

at the same time.

Xiaozhou City.

Ashes of paper filled the air.

The city's environment began to turn gray and hazy, with faint, indistinct things constantly drifting down from the sky, like a thick gray fog or clumps of cold, eerie gas.

In the blink of an eye, the entire city was enveloped by that hazy, illusory world.

Everything in reality, upon coming into contact with that world, seemed to be assimilated, becoming dull and colorless, gradually becoming part of the world.

This is the scene that Xu Qiuyu saw as she came out of the building.

The whole world seemed to have lost its original color, turning gray and hazy. Even the neon lights that played advertisements were affected, emitting a gray glow.

It is worth mentioning that.

This gray world was devoid of any life; apart from himself, he saw no living creatures, only a deathly silence.

This surprised Xu Qiuyu.

I don't understand where all the people in Seiichi have gone.

Subsequently.

Watching the things falling from the sky, Xu Qiuyu tentatively reached out and caught a ball in her hand. She then gently rubbed it, leaving a gray mark on her palm.

He recognized the mark.

It's like the ashes left after paper has burned.

Back in her school days, Xu Qiuyu would secretly burn her notebooks to avoid doing homework, and the ashes left behind were exactly the same as the ashes falling in front of her.

The grayish paper ash seemed to carry an unknown supernatural power.

As more and more ashes fell on Xu Qiuyu, he discovered a terrifying phenomenon: the vengeful spirit he was controlling had suddenly fallen silent and was no longer responding.

(End of this chapter)