CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 42: PARANORMAL HANDLING DEPARTMENT BASE

Everyone rushed toward the sound, naturally finding Liuyun firmly held in the bushes by several Puppet arms.

Seeing her unharmed, everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and quickly went to help her stand up.

But as soon as she stood, everyone froze.

"Liuyun... your legs..."

He Zhan lowered his head unwillingly, his tone becoming more somber. The situation he hoped wouldn’t happen had indeed occurred.

Standing up, Liuyun glanced down; her once slender legs were now full of a plastic texture, almost causing her to stumble.

Witnessing this, Wu Liang turned his head and sighed.

The Ghost Compendium clearly marked that a Puppet Ghost could transform a defenseless person into a puppet. It was fortunate that Liuyun hadn’t fully turned into a puppet.

However... Wu Liang felt he should have noticed earlier.

If he had flipped through the Ghost Compendium before entering, could this situation have been avoided?

For a moment, everyone stared silently at Liuyun’s puppet-like stiff legs.

She seemed to sense her companions’ sadness, forcing a smile and saying, "What are you afraid of? I’m not dead, am I? Plus, my Awakened Ability doesn’t rely on kicking, so it doesn’t affect me."

With that, she picked up the sword seized by the Puppet Ghost and symbolically swung it a couple of times.

Seeing her forced smile, Wu Liang felt even more ashamed.

Had he been underestimating these resurrected Fierce Ghosts all this time?

Maybe to him, these Fierce Ghosts were mere consumables, like subjugated Pokemon comrades, but for ordinary people, or even most Awakened, they were mysterious, deadly, and full of threats.

Indeed, he was more suited to act alone.

At this moment, Wu Liang resolutely decided to hunt Fierce Ghosts solo once again.

"Let’s go. Liuyun, back to the base for inspection. Priest, bring the puppet head. Wu Ming, come with us, and we’ll register your information too." Captain He quickly snapped out of his heavy mood and started assigning tasks.

It was no wonder he could become the captain.

In most emergencies and moments of grief, he could swiftly adjust his emotions and make logical judgments and commands.

"Alright, no problem." Wu Liang wanted to use this opportunity to understand the operations of the official establishment.

He was curious about how far the national agency’s research on Fierce Ghosts had progressed.

They helped Liuyun onto the car.

As they prepared to depart, He Zhan cast a complicated glance at Wu Liang, recalling the strange string of questions he asked when he found the Puppet Ghost’s main body, he couldn’t help but say:

"You might want to cut down on your online surfing with your brother; you seem very complicated now..."

"?"

He remembered when he first encountered Wu Ming, thinking he was a mysterious, strong, and sophisticated mature Awakened.

Now it seemed, how did he feel that this guy was increasingly behaving erratically like his brother Wu Liang?

Yet, unknown to them, the Puppet Ghost with Wu Liang’s face was still rolling on the ground, searching for Fierce Ghost Fragments, further degrading Wu Liang’s image.

......

City center location.

At the entrance of a place resembling a forest park, the checkpoint was heavily guarded. A police car flashing red and blue lights carried the group inside.

Wu Liang was a bit curious as he eyed the surroundings, never expecting the Chengyang City Paranormal Handling Department’s base to be right in the city center.

He thought it would be hidden in some remote mountain.

"Hehe, a bit surprised, aren’t you?" He Zhan seemed to catch his surprise.

"A bit, but on second thought, it’s reasonable. Only being centrally located can ensure you reach any supernatural event as quickly as possible," Wu Liang pondered and replied.

After hearing his analysis, a frail Liuyun also smiled and said, "Yeah, so the surrounding housing prices have surged to two hundred thousand per square meter because being near the base provides more security for those wealthy and in power."

"To speak unpleasantly, we working inside the base can’t even afford houses outside," Cannon jokingly commented.

The police car passed through several checkpoints in a row.

It finally stopped in front of an area full of two-story bungalows.

"Interesting, isn’t there no building over three stories in the base?" Everything there intrigued Wu Liang.

He Zhan glanced at the strange bungalow-like office building group and sighed, "There used to be, but after a Fierce Ghost appeared on the sixth floor, the supernatural lockdown and height caused many to be trapped and unable to escape, resulting in 36 deaths; hence they remodeled everything into bungalows."

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang couldn’t resist examining this office area once more.

Indeed, now if something happened on the second floor, those unable to escape in time might at least try jumping out the window.

That’s safer than being trapped in a supernatural incident.

The Paranormal Handling Department was established from successive supernatural events; each rule and anomaly had a blood-borne lesson behind it.

"The white building ahead is the data registration area. Come with me for information input. Cannon, take Liuyun to the treatment room. Priest, go to the evidence room and seal the puppet head."

With that, He Zhan introduced the office building’s functions while leading Wu Liang to the registration area.

The white building looked like a typical village house from the outside, but stepping inside one found a different world.

Rows of densely packed files and archives were neatly arranged on shelves, resembling a library extending beyond one’s sight. A quick glance allowed Wu Liang to count over twenty cameras.

Oh my, there’s no blind spot in this surveillance system.

No doubt, even if a fly flew in, they’d likely know whether it first moved its left or right wing, right?

Oddly, the figure sorting files along the bookshelf aisle was a metallic robot!

The reception desk was cluttered with mechanical parts and a computer with six stacked monitors.

"Old Meng, I’m bringing a newcomer for record registration!"

Along with He Zhan’s shout, a balding middle-aged man behind the desk stood up, his checked shirt and slightly bulging beer belly made Wu Liang pause.

If they met on the street, no one would doubt labeling him an overworked corporate programmer.

Who’d guess this figure was in charge of official Awakened information entry?

"Hey, Captain He! Long time since you’ve had a newcomer in your squad; I heard this one’s uncommon." Old Meng chuckled as he spoke.

His eyes quickly assessed Wu Liang, pondering something unknowable.

He Zhan froze upon hearing; he hadn’t mentioned much about Wu Ming to others, so what made him special?

"Hehe, playing dumb? If he were an ordinary newcomer, would Minister Long wait here for so long?" Old Meng continued.

As soon as he finished speaking, He Zhan’s pupils suddenly contracted, his muscles tensed considerably—Wu Liang noticed all these abnormal reactions.

Before he could speak, a youth with a slight smile walked out leisurely from behind a row of bookshelves.

He held a scrambled Magic Cube and a document folder, heading towards Wu Liang and He Zhan. For unexplained reasons, an indescribable sense of oppression slowly filled the room.

Strong! Very strong!

That was Wu Liang’s first reaction.

Though the youth just walked over, goosebumps raised on Wu Liang’s arms, an unprecedented sense of danger inexplicably arose in his heart.

This man... was stronger than any Fierce Ghost he’d seen so far!

"Welcome to the official ranks, Mr. Wu Ming."

"I’m in charge here; you may call me Minister Long."