CH 53

“Are you going to find them?”

Puppet Master’s face was still wet from his tears. Mixed with the distressed and shocked look in his eyes, it looked particularly ridiculous. He repeated again in disbelief, “Are you serious?”

Ye Jia raised a brow, “You don’t believe me?”

“Are you crazy?” Puppet Master looked like he had just seen a ghost, “Even I don’t want to see them!”

S-Level fierce ghosts were greedy to no end. They even wished to devour their own kind to make themselves even more powerful.

As a result, the conflicts between them are typically far fiercer and more terrifying than other fierce ghosts. Although it may appear calm on the surface, but in fact, if they really encountered another fierce ghost in their territory, it didn’t matter what Mother’s orders were; they would devour them without a second thought.

“Looks like your brotherly relationships aren’t very strong.” Ye Jia asked with a fake look of concern, “Won’t your mummy be upset?”

Puppet Master’s expression was a little distorted. He looked like he had just swallowed a bug, “…….”

Upset my ass.

Ye Jia casually pulled out a piece of paper from the pile of books nearby and glanced at the contents.

All covered in red.

He looked up and shook the paper in his hand, the paper lightly rustling as he did this, “So, are you ready to cooperate?”

Puppet Master’s eyes fell onto the paper in Ye Jia’s hand. A trace of fear surfaced onto his small face. He swallowed with difficulty and then finally forced out:

“It’s not my fault if you die.”

“You want to know where they are?” Puppet Master sullenly retracted his gaze. He then looked up at Ye Jia, “Of course I can tell you that, but…….”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Apart from their location, I won’t tell you anything else.”

Ye Jia calmly looked back at him. His amber eyes were slightly narrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

Puppet Master glanced at Ji Xuan who stood on the sidelines and then once again looked back at Ye Jia and continued meaningfully, “I think you should already know that us fierce ghosts are restricted by Mother’s bloodline so the information we can reveal is limited. Moreover….the closer in blood relation, the stronger the suppression.”

His dark eyes seemed to be hinting at something.

Ye Jia narrowed his eyes and asked back, “Even at a time like this, you think that trying to sow discord between us would be useful?”

Seeing that his plans were thwarted, Puppet Master could only snort and continue, “Anyway, I can only give you this much information, and I’ll only give you a little each time.”

He was pretty clever. He knew that by not revealing everything in one go, he wouldn’t be killed immediately.

Ye Jia agreed, “Alright……”

After reaching an agreement, Ye Jia left the ghost domain first.

Ji Xuan also turned around preparing to leave, but Puppet Master behind him suddenly called out, “Ji Xuan, have you really thought this through?”

In the middle of the warehouse, a seven- or eight-year-old child sat on the ground holding a destroyed doll in his arms with his head raised. Those dark eyes of his seemed to be filled with poison and he didn’t attempt to hide the malice leaking out from it, “Your power is linked with Mother’s. If Mother is weakened, you will similarly be weakened….After all this time, surely you have already felt it?”

Ji Xuan’s footsteps paused slightly.

“If we were in the game, I probably wouldn’t have been able to put up a fight against the past you.” Puppet Master narrowed his eyes, as if reminiscing and savouring the past.

His lips then silently curled upwards to reveal a sneer, “But….it’s different now.”

Although he was still defeated that day, Puppet Master had noticed that the air around Ji Xuan seemed different from usual.

The failure with the city rampage, mother losing a part of herself as well as Fly King’s death — all of that weakened Mother….and all S-Level fierce ghosts were closely connected to Mother.

As Mother’s direct line of descendant, Ji Xuan was affected more than any of the other S-Level fierce ghosts.

Coupled with Mother’s deliberate act of suppression and punishment, it made him unable to be at his full strength.

Looking at Ji Xuan’s unperturbed back, the arc of Puppet Master’s lips raised even further, “So are you sure you want to go against those S-Level lords who once rivalled you in your current state?”

“Helping humans is harmful to you.” Puppet Master snickered and added, “Mother knows this, you know this, I also know this….but he doesn’t know it does he?”

The sinister look on that child’s face didn’t match with his appearance. He continued looking at the man standing with his back to him and said, “You doing all this…..” The malice and joy in his voice was very obvious, “Is it really worth it?”

“Say, if he knows about this, would he feel bad or would he breathe a sigh of relief?”

Ji Xuan was expressionless from beginning to end, his dark red eyes showing no joy or anger. It was only when the other party said those words that his eyes stirred a little. He turned to look at Puppet Master behind him.

His finger raised slightly.

Puppet Master felt a powerful and terrifying force slam him to the ground. Every bone in his body creaked under the weight and his internal organs felt like there were being crushed into pulp. His dark and bloodshot eyes rolled back as a painful groan was emitted from the depths of his throat.

In his narrow field of view, a pair of spotless shoes appeared before him.

The man’s voice that contained no emotion travelled over from above. That low voice was extremely calm but also extremely dangerous and terrifying, “Looks like you really have too much time on your hands.”

—-Puppet Master not only manipulated dolls and puppets, but he also manipulated people’s hearts. In short, he liked to sow discord.”

“In that case, I’ll help find something for you to do.” Ji Xuan slowly said this as he looked down at Puppet Master who was lying by his feet.

Puppet Master’s expression froze.

The next second, all the papers as well as the broken dolls next to him came alive. Roaring with hatred, they all slowly approached him.

Puppet Master’s pupils instantly constricted.

He seemed to be wanting to say something, but his throat was firmly suppressed by that unknown force, and he could only spit out incomprehensible garble.

Ji Xuan raised the corners of his lips but that smile didn’t reach his eyes. He clapped his hands, “Have a pleasant time….”

He then turned and left the warehouse from which muffled screams rang out.

Ji Xuan stepped out of his ghost domain.

Ye Jia was sitting at the dining table, looking down at a piece of paper that had an address written on it.

He looked up at Ji Xuan who had suddenly appeared and asked nonchalantly, “Why did you take so long?”

His light-coloured hair looked fluffy under the warm yellow light. As he raised his eyes slightly to look in his direction, those glass-like eyes of his seemed to contain patches of sunlight. His expression was calm, with all the former hostility and vigilance stored away. Like a sword in its sheath, all that was left was gentleness —- Although it was just an illusion, it still carried near-fatal temptation.

Ji Xuan lowered his eyes and imperceptibly hooked up the corners of his lips, “Just dealing with some personal matters.”

Puppet Master’s question was very silly —- “Is it worth it?”

As if he was a victim, silently sacrificing himself without asking for anything in return.

How could that be the case?

All fierce ghosts are insatiable and selfish existences.

—– Everything he did and all the sacrifices he made were all carefully calculated bargaining chips. It was all done to invest in the final reward he desired. He would do anything he could, little by little, to achieve this desire of his.

Ji Xuan’s eyes darkened slightly. He cleverly hid the dark look under his thick lashes.

He pulled the chair out and sat down opposite Ye Jia before coughing lightly to pull the other person out from his thoughts.

With a smile on his lips, Ji Xuan warmly suggested, “Let’s eat first. The food would get cold soon.”

Please read this from kk translates

Ye Jia who was still lost in thought responded with an ‘oh’ and slowly picked up his chopsticks.

After picking up two mouthfuls of rice, he belatedly realised that he had forgotten his original purpose of having a proper talk with Ji Xuan after being interrupted earlier.

Ye Jia lowered his head to look at the food in his bowl, “……”

He had miscalculated.

He raised his head and looked at Ji Xuan who sat across from him.

The man had one hand supporting his cheek as he stared at him.

After seeing him look over, he smiled and asked, “How is it?”

Ye Jia looked away, “Mhn, pretty good.”

.

Chen Qingye lowered his head and carefully read the address on the piece of paper in his hands. He then looked up at Ace who sat opposite him and asked, “What do you think?”

Wei Yuechu stirred the green tea milk tea in front of her and interrupted without restraint, “What else could he think? Of course we’ll attack them!”

Her eyes burned with fighting spirit, “Now that we have the address, we should go and drag that fierce ghost out and then torture information out from it!”

Chen Qingye, “……”

He sighed, “You really don’t use your head. Do you always use force to solve problems?”

“Of course…..” Yue Weichu narrowed her eyes dangerously, “Do you want to give it a try?”

A’Chang who was leaning against the coffee cup with its head lowered as it drank milk tea raised its head and looked at the young woman sitting opposite it. Its eyes gleaming similarly dangerously.

Ye Jia sighed helpless, “You two get your heads straight. We’re still in someone’s shop.”

Wu Su who sat to the side nodded, “That’s right, that’s right.”

He lowered his head and drank another mouthful of the green tea milk tea and was accidentally scalded by the heat, “But Ace is right, this place’s green tea milk tea is indeed very good.”

Except for the four of them, there was no one else in this milk tea store.

A yin barrier had been activated to prevent others from hearing them.

Ye Jia took away the piece of paper from Chen Qingye and the gazed thoughtfully at the contents, “This information is reliable, but the source….”

—–Verbal contracts made in a ghost domain must be abided. Since Puppet Master had agreed to cooperate, the information he had given them must be true.

However…..

It didn’t mean that the other party didn’t have any malicious intentions.

“Source?” Chen Qingye keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Ye Jia’s words, “Is it a fierce ghost?”

Ye Jia, “Yes…..”

The four people present all fell silent.

They had interacted with many fierce ghosts during their time in the game so they knew very well that no fierce ghosts would give them information that was completely harmless — Even if the content is true, the intention behind it would often be malicious. If you unsuspectingly believed in the information given to you by them, you would most certainly fall into their trap.

Don’t believe the words of a fierce ghost. That was one of the most basic rules in the game.

“Jeez, so what?!” Wei Yuechu suddenly jumped up and slapped the table, causing the cups on the table to shake and soaking A’Chang in the process.

Chen Qingue frowned and reached out to straighten the cup before him while looking accusingly at Wei Yuechu.

“Apart from this, we don’t have any other clues!” Wei Yuechu exclaimed frankly, “Are we just going to wait for those S-Level fierce ghosts to complete their respective tasks and then come and kill us?”

Chen Qingye took out a tissue and used it to wipe A’Chang’s face.

“Although I don’t like Miss Maid herself….” He neatly folded the dirty tissue and threw it in the bin and continued in all seriousness, “But this time, I agree with her — We have no other options. We can only go and see what happens.”

Wei Yuechu was surprised, “Oh, I thought you would argue against me.”

Chen Qingye pushed up his glasses and didn’t say anything in return to that. He just continued to express his own thoughts, “Although it is like this, but I also think that we should prepare ourselves properly in case of anything unexpected. After all, regardless of whether or not the information we were given is harmless, that is still a S-Level fierce ghost. It would naturally be dangerous.”

Wu Su nodded, “I agree…..”

Ye Jia chuckled, “Since you don’t have objections, then so be it.”

Chen Qingye pulled out another tissue and started to wipe the table. A’Chang who had drunk its fill of milk tea let out a small burp before slowly crawling back into Chen Qingye’s sleeve.

Wei Yuechu frowned, “Are you mysophobic?”

Chen Qingye shook his head, “I just like to keep clean.”

“Then why do you raise bugs?” Wei Yuechu who couldn’t understand asked.

Chen Qingye narrowed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly said, “They are not bugs.”

“Alright, alright…” Wei Yuechu raised her hands in surrender and shrugged, “If you say they’re not, then they’re not.”

Chen Qingye, “…….”

While the two of them continued with their usual bickering, Ye Jia turned to Wu Su, “We may need to leave M City for a while, so I suggest that you remove my signature for the time being. After all, you don’t know who may be attracted over.”

Wu Su nodded, “Okay……”

Ye Jia, “We will try our best to clear out the high-level fierce ghosts in M City before we leave so as to reduce your burden.”

Wu Su nodded vigorously, “Okay!”

Ye Jia, “So don’t forget my remuneration.”

He pointed at the other two, “And also theirs….”

Chen Qingye and Wei Yuechu were both taken aback. They both stopped their bickering and turned to look at Ye Jia with equally confused expressions.

Wei Yuechu, “Remuneration? You get remuneration for doing this kind of job?”

Chen Qingye was a little hesitant, “Then….Are we considered hired employees now?”

Wu Su smiled, “Of course! You are now all special employees of the Paranormal Investigation and Management Bureau and the remuneration is equivalent to the amount special class members of the Combat Division receive. In addition to that, there are also performance bonuses!”

Wei Yuechu’s eyes lit up, “Special class? How much is that?”

Chen Qingye who had already done his homework before coming hesitated for a moment before leaning over and whispering a number.

Please read this from kk translates

Wei Yuechu’s eyes became even brighter, “Wow!”

She stood up and rushed to the counter, “Give me two more cups of green tea milk tea please!”

Ye Jia smiled mysteriously.

—- What could be better than making money alone?

It’s making money together.

At this moment, Wu Su’s phone rang. Out of politeness, he rejected the call.

But less than two seconds later, another call came.

Wei Yuechu, “Pick it up. It might be something urgent.”

Wu Su sighed helplessly and accepted the call. As soon as he brought the phone to his ear, a loud shout travelled over from the other end, almost rendering Wu Su deaf, “Captain!!”

Wu Su: “………”

He wordlessly brought the phone further away from his ear and then asked angrily, “What is it? Speak properly!”

The other side hesitated again and again, “Um…..I think you should come back to the Bureau and have a look yourself.”

“Can’t you just say it through the phone?” Wu Su frowned.

But before he could finish asking this, the other end had hung up.

Wu Su: “……”

When I get the chance, I must replace him with someone more reliable!

After learning about how much money she could make, Wei Yuechu was particularly energetic. She immediately shot up again and said, “Let go! Is there something happening at the Bureau? I’ll handle it!”

Chen Qingye sat with his back straight, “If senior needs help, I am always available.”

Ye Jia was very pleased to hear this, “Since we have you two helping, I can rest assured.”

He had said it exceptionally grandiosely. Before the other three could react, they saw the young man slowly stand up, pick up the green tea milk tea he had not yet finished drinking and turn to leave. The old god even waved his hand, “I’ll see you later…….”

The other three: “………”

Wait a minute, why aren’t you following the usual routine?

And Wu Su on the side couldn’t help but have a thought —- This blatant slacking off behaviour…..Why did it seem a little familiar?

Ye Jia who had already left didn’t feel the slightest guilt at all.

—- After all, he was considered someone with multiple jobs. Although the matters here were done, he still had to check in at the Logistics Department.

After leaving the store, Ye Jia leisurely changed his clothes and then hurried over to the Bureau.

He got onto the elevator and just as he was about to reach the door to the Bureau, he felt that the atmosphere didn’t seem quite right.

It was too quiet.

There should be people coming and going but at this moment, it was so quiet, even the sound of a needle falling could be heard. Through the frosted glass door, he didn’t see any figures moving around.

Ye Jia frowned.

He reached out and pushed open the door.

The next second, a hand reached out from the side, firmly grasping onto Ye Jia’s wrist, “Shhh!”

Ye Jia was startled.

Fortunately, he was able to recognise the other party in advance and stopped himself from retaliating.

Cheng Cezhi pulled Ye Jia aside and whispered nervously, “You shouldn’t have come!”

Ye Jia glanced at the scene —- The main hall of Bureau was in tatters. It was as if a storm had swept through. Various Bureau staff were huddled together in the corners of the hall, as quiet as a quail.

He frowned and asked in a low voice, “What happened?”

Cheng Cezhi, “I actually also…”

Before he could finish speaking, a table that had been melted by high heat such that it still glowed a red light was thrown out.

The next second, a lazy voice sounded from that direction, “So, you don’t know where Ace is?”

Ye Jia: “………”

Damn……

He seems to know who this person is.

He saw a man slowly walk out. His appearance was handsome, and his hair was dyed fire red in colour. With several ear piercings as well as a T shirt with a skull pattern and a pair of jeans with metal chains, he appeared unrestrained and arrogant, “Do you think I would believe in those lies? If no one tells me where he is, I’ll destroy this damn Bureau!”

Ye Jia closed his eyes in despair.

Damn, it’s really him.

“It’s you?!” Wei Yuechu kicked open the door with a chainsaw in her hand and stared in shock at the man before her, “Blast?”

Blast, a player whose ranking often fluctuated between seventh place and twenty-fifth place.

He earned a lot of points but he also squandered a lot of them too, especially as he liked to take part in gambling among the players. There was even one time where he fell out of the top thirty ranks because he had lost too many points.

Although their appearance in the game was not the same as what they actually looked like, but as long as you have seen him before, it would be impossible not to recognise him —- After all, the way he dressed and his hair was just too unconventional. A player’s appearance and their outfit could be adjusted using points in the game. In order to stay away from their enemies and to avoid trouble, many players would spend points to modify their appearance from time to time but Blast on the other hand, no matter what appearance he had, he would always maintain that eye-catching red hair.

Ye Jia looked away in despair.

In a sense, he really had too many enemies.

“You’re also here?!” Blast’s eyes lit up, “Then that means Ace is really here?”

Wei Yuechu narrowed her eyes and said coldly, “Where I am doesn’t concern you. Hurry and let go of those hostages or I will no longer be polite.”

Blast snorted arrogantly, “You? If you have the ability to stop me, why don’t you give it a try?”

Wei Yuechu scowled. She picked up the chainsaw and charged over. The roaring of the chainsaw mixed together with the crackling of the flames. In an instant, it exploded in the Bureau’s main hall, the powerful yin energy scattered paper and debris everywhere in the process.

“A’Chang…..”A voice slowly sounded at the door, “Go help her…….”

The next second, a pitch-black centipede suddenly grew bigger but it seemed to have taken into consideration the building’s size and didn’t grow into anything too big.

Blast swiftly dodged and avoided A’Chang’s attack.

He fixed his eyes on the place he was standing at just now and was met with the multiple eyes on A’Chang’s body.

Blast, “…….”

His face instantly paled in fear, “Ahhhhh!! Bugs!!!”

He instinctively threw out fireballs towards A’Chang’s direction. A’Chang’s body may be large, but it was very flexible. It was able to skilfully dodge those attacks flying towards him.

As a result, the burning fireball that was so hot that it made the air slightly distorted flew straight towards the trembling employees behind—-

Everything seemed to have slowed down. And Ye Jia happened to be standing right in thaat fireballs trajectory.