Chapter 150: Walking by the Abyss

Despite his youth, the man named Ye Jiu had already reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. Even Captain Liang, who was much older, had to salute him.

Drenched in blood, he looked as if he had just stepped off the front lines. It was impossible to tell whether the blood was his or his enemies'. With a faint smile on his face, he gave off the vibe of a street punk rather than an iron-blooded soldier.

Ye Jiu's nose was the gold standard. It was more reliable than any precision instrument or psychological evaluation at headquarters. Since he declared that these two were not ghosts, Captain Liang and the others trusted him completely. The hospital inspection was waived, and they were cleared immediately.

Ye Jiu casually flicked a drop of blood off his shoulder and turned back to Ai Ning. "You want to see the highest person in charge? How high? Will someone like me do?"

Ai Ning remained heavily guarded. "No. I don't trust you.

"I need to see someone at the level of a director or deputy director of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau."

Captain Liang and his team had been preparing to pack up and leave. Hearing this, he scoffed. "You overestimate yourself."

Who did she think she was? A rookie ghost hunter who had just passed her probation, demanding to see the bureau director—where did she get that kind of nerve?

Ai Ning grew even more anxious. Her hands gripped the fabric of her pants as she gritted her teeth. "I obtained crucial intelligence at the Liberation Building. If it isn't safely delivered to the higher-ups, people will die tonight. So many people will die.

"Please, believe me. I've been through the official training; I know exactly how many rules I'm breaking by skipping the chain of command. But this intel is worth it. As long as the director sees it, I don't care what you do to me afterward. Even if you court-martial me, I'll accept it."

Ye Jiu's cold gaze cut into her like a knife as he searched her for the scent of a lie.

After a moment, he made a decision. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small Black Cross made of iron, marred by countless abrasions. He placed it in front of Ai Ning. "Repeat what you just said to this small cross.

"And make sure every single word is the truth.

"If this cross bleeds, it means you're lying to me. If that happens, I'll kill you on the spot and report you as a Fierce Ghost disguised as a human."

Ai Ning stared intently at the Black Cross, well aware that it was a Supernatural Item used for lie detection. Visibly tense, she spoke in a trembling voice, repeating the gist of what she had just said.

The Black Cross remained perfectly still in Ye Jiu's grip. It detected absolutely no deceit.

Ai Ning let out a massive sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her hand.

Standing to the side, Gao Tian watched this play out. He knew full well that Ai Ning was telling the truth—at least, her version of it. With her altered memories, she genuinely believed in the events she had witnessed at the Liberation Building.

It was a lie that no lie detector in the world could ever expose.

"Understood."

Ye Jiu's cold expression softened a fraction, and he nodded. "The director and the rest of upper management have already been evacuated to a secure location. I'll call his secretary now and request a meeting for you.

"You might be rejected. That facility is strictly limited to mid-to-high-level personnel. There has never been a single exception made before.

"Don't get your hopes up."

Ai Ning pressed her palms together in profound gratitude.

She felt incredibly fortunate. Her luck tonight was truly a blessing. Running into a reasonable, open-minded middle-management officer had just given her a direct line to the highest authority in Shanghai City.

'I have to hand this intel directly to the director of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau. He has to know just how cunning these Fierce Ghosts from the Inner World really are...'

That intense resolve completely consumed Ai Ning's mind.

She was entirely oblivious to the fact that her "good luck" was about to deal a final, devastating blow to the entire Supernatural Disaster Bureau in Shanghai City. The idle pawn Xu Yuan had casually placed on the board was about to bear fruit. The bloodiest of blossoms was about to bloom.

Watching this entire scene unfold, Gao Tian felt incredibly conflicted.

Sitting back and watching the Supernatural Disaster Bureau march toward its own destruction wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling for a living human being.

But even if the Supernatural Disaster Bureau won today's battle, what about tomorrow? What about the future? Twenty years from now?

Wave after wave of Fierce Ghosts were being born, their numbers constantly swelling. In the future Xu Yuan had foreseen, humanity's extinction was truly just a matter of time.

To draw Xu Yuan out before his own natural death, Old Man Sun had cast all consequences aside. He didn't care at all about the lives of the tens of millions of people living in Shanghai City.

Even if they managed to seal Xu Yuan, what would happen after Old Man Sun died?

The world would never produce a second Old Man Sun. Once the Fierce Ghosts fully awakened and Old Man Sun was gone, an apocalyptic deluge would drown the world. Perhaps, Xu Yuan really was right.

Back at the Living Apartment, when Xia Ta asked Gao Tian if he wanted to leave with them and he found an excuse to decline, he had already subconsciously made his choice.

It was just that Gao Tian couldn't fully convince himself that this decision was the right one.

Perhaps time would prove everything.

Whether he would go down in history as a sinner or a savior.

No matter whose side he stood on tonight, people were going to die in Shanghai City. So many people.

A few minutes later, Ye Jiu hung up his mobile phone and turned back around. "Today must be your lucky day, kid.

"The director has a five-minute opening an hour from now. He will receive you at Shadow Headquarters and listen to your report.

"However, if you want to enter Shadow Headquarters, you'll need to undergo much stricter inspections. Before entering the director's office, you will be bound in chains, covered in special talisman seals, and escorted by a dedicated security detail.

"It's a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I went through it once, and I've never gone to see the director again.

"Are you absolutely sure you still want to see him?"

Although Ai Ning had never heard the name Shadow Headquarters before, she could guess that it was the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's true base of operations. The branch destroyed at East Thirteenth wasn't the important one.

She nodded firmly. "I accept."

To deliver the intel from the Liberation Building to the Supernatural Disaster Bureau, Ai Ning was prepared to lay down her life.

What did a little indignity matter?

Several staff members took Ai Ning away, preparing to escort her to a nearby hospital for her final inspection before entering Shadow Headquarters.

Who knew if the hospital equipment would be able to detect the needle Ghost Cave had planted in her brain? This was likely heaven offering the Supernatural Disaster Bureau one last chance.

Watching them go, Gao Tian prepared to leave as well. After all, his identity wasn't an official ghost hunter; he was just an ordinary citizen. He was supposed to head to a temporary shelter and wait out the night with the rest of the refugees who had lost their homes, waiting until dawn broke and the war in Shanghai City came to an end.

"Gao Tian."

Ye Jiu's voice rang out behind him, stopping him in his tracks.

Gao Tian halted. He didn't have much of a choice.

He hadn't introduced himself once during this entire encounter. How did this lieutenant colonel know his name?

In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Gao Tian's mind. Had his identity been exposed? Could this man smell the scent of lies on him?

Had he let Ai Ning go just to play a joke on him?

He braced himself for the worst-case scenario.

If he fought these ghost hunters right here and now, what were his odds of winning?

Truth be told, deep down, Gao Tian was extremely reluctant to fight against ghost hunters, who were fellow living humans.

He had already made up his mind: if negotiations broke down, he wouldn't commit murder in the middle of the city center. Instead, he would instantly activate the Black Card and flee to the Living Apartment.

After all, the Supernatural Disaster Bureau was already severely short on manpower tonight. The ghost hunters couldn't possibly spare a squad to march across countless city blocks just to hunt him down at the Living Apartment.

"I'm just an ordinary citizen. How do you know my name?"

Having made his decision and secured his escape route, Gao Tian felt his panic subside. He turned back and calmly posed the question.

"An ordinary citizen? You're no ordinary citizen, esteemed big shot Gao Tian."

Ye Jiu still wore that faint smile, making it difficult for Gao Tian to tell if the man was mocking him.

"A certain big shot, a senior figure in the Supernatural Disaster Bureau, singled you out by name. He told us that this young man was a good friend of his.

"He ordered us to guarantee your safety the moment you entered the city center.

"Furthermore, if the Supernatural Disaster Bureau loses tonight and all of Shanghai City falls... we are to protect you at all costs and evacuate you to a safe zone.

"You're a strategic-level VIP on our protection detail tonight.

"So don't be so modest and call yourself an ordinary citizen."

Ye Jiu had just dropped a massive amount of information. The sudden twist gave Gao Tian whiplash. He needed a moment to process it all.

A senior figure in the Supernatural Disaster Bureau... singled him out by name.

From beginning to end, Gao Tian had only ever known one senior figure from the Supernatural Disaster Bureau.

Old Man Sun.

He told Ye Jiu and the others that Gao Tian was his friend?

Was his personal safety genuinely one of the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's strategic objectives tonight?

Was his status really that high in Old Man Sun's eyes?

It made sense.

Back at the Living Apartment, Old Man Sun had explained to him in excruciating detail over the mobile phone exactly why he had deliberately held back against the Woman in the Rain, allowing her curse to spread.

Would a veteran of Old Man Sun's caliber bother explaining his actions so patiently to an average ghost hunter?

He would have hung up instantly.

In Old Man Sun's eyes, a youth like Gao Tian was a seed of hope for the Supernatural Disaster Bureau's future.

His safety was far more important than the gain or loss of a single city.

It was a pity. Gao Tian had already bet humanity's future on Xu Yuan.

Just like Old Man Sun's lifelong philosophy: for the greater good.

Then, for humanity's greater good, the Supernatural Disaster Bureau had to be sacrificed.

Ye Jiu stepped up to Gao Tian and lightly clapped him on the shoulder. "Come with me to the Abyss Echo outpost. Get some rest for a bit.

"Right now, it's the safest location in all of Shanghai City.

"If the front lines fall, we'll initiate Plan B. We will do whatever it takes to smuggle you past the barrier surrounding Shanghai City. The national support troops are waiting right outside the perimeter. As long as you get out, you'll be safe."

A black hood was pulled over Ai Ning's head, plunging her vision into total darkness.

Special iron chains bound her wrists and ankles, and her body was draped in an Isolation Cloak, which could effectively block the effects of any supernatural power.

Flanked by two ghost hunters, she was escorted forward. She had absolutely no idea where she was, or when she would reach her destination.