A few minutes later, the door was indeed knocked on.
Su Ming opened the door, but what appeared before him wasn't a person, but a badge.
A cool voice sounded from behind the badge: "Special Investigator, this is my identification. I hope you can cooperate."
Su Ming only had time to see the name on the badge, Gu Yan, before it was swiftly withdrawn.
Only then did he see the full appearance of the visitor.
A tall, slender woman with a dignified appearance, her gaze calm and indifferent, looking at people without a trace of emotion, exuding a strong sense of oppression.
Cold and elegant, that was Su Ming's first impression.
Like an unapproachable iceberg.
And beneath the iceberg, there was a hint of ruthlessness.
Indeed, if one dealt with ghosts for years, they wouldn't survive without a bit of ruthlessness.
Gu Yan didn't enter the room.
After putting away her badge, she glanced around the room and then asked without any emotion, "What did you see the night before last?"
Su Ming blinked in confusion, thought for a moment, and said, "I only heard screams. As for anything else, I didn't see."
"But I heard that Li Tao and his group encountered a ghost. I don't know if it's true."
Gu Yan nodded, leaving a single sentence: "Alright, I understand."
With that, she turned and left.
Leaving Su Ming standing there, dumbfounded.
Truly a woman like the wind.
Coming and going in a hurry, without even stepping inside.
She only said three sentences from start to finish.
After closing the door, Su Ming murmured in confusion, "Are all Handlers like this? Not a word wasted, like emotionless robots."
Meanwhile.
Gu Yan sniffed the air, her expression grave.
The middle-aged man beside her asked nervously, "Sister Gu, did you find anything?"
Gu Yan raised two fingers and said, "The scent of two ghosts, one faint, one strong."
"The strong one matches the ghost scent left at the police station."
"The faint one," Gu Yan frowned and said, "should be a Cursed Object, an unformed ghost, originating from here."
"This ghost is most likely Song Liyi."
The middle-aged man hurriedly asked, "Sister Gu, do you mean another ghost killed Li Tao and Zhao Fei, not Song Liyi?"
"You could say that," Gu Yan nodded. "Song Liyi probably hasn't awakened yet. There should be a Cursed Object related to her nearby."
Seeing the middle-aged man about to search, Gu Yan stopped him: "No need to look, I know where it is."
"Li He, contact the main bureau immediately, have them send all Handlers from Pingjiang City, level two and above."
"Preferably have Elder Lin come personally."
Li He was dumbfounded.
Is the situation that dangerous?
All level two and above Handlers from around Pingjiang City gathering, and preferably having Elder Lin come personally.
Elder Lin is a Level 5 Handler, and there are only three Level 5 Handlers nationwide.
"Is it that boy?" Li He suddenly thought of Su Ming on the balcony.
Gu Yan's silence was an acknowledgment.
She had smelled a lot of ghost scent in Su Ming's room.
Although Gu Yan seemed calm at the time, she was actually terrified, not daring to even step inside.
After leaving, her back was drenched.
That room was filled with ghost scent, like a ghost's lair.
One of the ghost scents matched the one in Li Tao's room and the Old Town Police Station.
And another ghost scent, Gu Yan didn't even dare to describe.
All she could say was it was terrifying.
She had only smelled such a scent once before.
And that time, countless lives were lost, nearly wiping out a city, and it was only suppressed by the state under the guise of a pandemic lockdown.
Watching Li He leave, Gu Yan took a deep breath.
If this matter isn't handled properly, Pingjiang City might really be doomed.
The ghost with that terrifying scent back then caused the deaths of millions.
When Gu Yan knocked on Su Ming's door again.
She found the door wasn't closed, a gentle push and it opened.
Her whole body stiffened, standing at the doorway, not daring to step in for a long time.
Only one thought in her mind: "He's found out."
Indeed.
After Gu Yan left, Su Ming sensed something was off.
Although he didn't notice Gu Yan's nervousness, by eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
The truth was, Gu Yan had already discovered his problem.
How did she discover it? Su Ming didn't know.
That was a Handler's method.
"What are you standing there for, come in and have a seat."
A voice came from inside the room.
Gu Yan bit her lip, her already pale face turning even whiter.
She could only walk into the room with stiff steps.
The room's temperature was chillingly low.
But the temperature wasn't the main point.
The main point was what she saw.
The Jumper Ghost standing behind the sofa.
This ghost was extremely dangerous, most likely at the Extreme Danger Level.
But the most dangerous was the female ghost sitting on the sofa, lost in thought.
The aura she emitted, just a slight whiff, rendered Gu Yan's sense of smell instantly useless.
It was an existence beyond her comprehension.
Possibly even more terrifying than the ghost from back then.
And this female ghost was Su Ming's Ghost School Belle.
To bring out the Ghost School Belle to back him up.
He had promised a lot.
"Come."
Su Ming beckoned to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan dared not resist, walking with heavy steps to stand before Su Ming.
Su Ming grinned, pointing to the chair beside him, "Sit, make yourself comfortable."
"Want something to drink?"
Gu Yan forced down her fear, bit her tongue to steady herself, and slowly said, "Anything is fine."
Su Ming snapped his fingers, "Xiaolou, get two bottles of Sprite from the fridge."
At this, Gu Yan completely lost her composure.
She had seen people command ghosts.
But never like this.
That was a ghost, a pure negative entity, composed of pure resentment, malice, madness, and hatred.
Ghosts of Restricted Level only had instincts left, let alone being commanded, they couldn't even communicate.
Even intelligent ghosts would mainly focus on tormenting and mocking the living, how could they obediently follow human commands?
Humans and ghosts were inherently opposing forces, the most extreme of natural enemies.
So, seeing Su Ming command the Jumper Ghost to fetch Sprite was no different from seeing a chimpanzee knock down a UFO with a rock, not only knocking it down but also climbing inside to pilot it.
When the Jumper Ghost placed the Sprite in front of Gu Yan, she was still in a daze.
Finally coming to her senses, Gu Yan didn't even dare to look at the Ghost School Belle, only daring to ask softly, "Who is this?"
Su Ming grinned, wrapping an arm around the Ghost School Belle, "This is also one of mine, my School Belle sister, pretty, right?"
The Ghost School Belle didn't speak, just silently pried Su Ming's arm off her.
But seeing this scene.
Gu Yan's mind buzzed, plunging into a blank state.
She felt she might have gone mad.
To have such severe hallucinations.
Su Ming continued speaking to himself, "Since you've already found out, I'll be straightforward."
"That's right, I had the Jumper Ghost kill Li Tao and his mistress."
"Those two were scum, killing their wives and dismembering them, they deserved to die."
"I also deliberately stirred things up."
"Just to meet you Handlers."
"If you hadn't come today," Su Ming took a file from his inventory and tossed it on the coffee table, "I planned to have the Jumper Ghost deliver these files to reporters tonight."
"Luckily, you came."
Gu Yan looked at the file on the coffee table, then raised her head to look at Su Ming, asking in a nearly trembling voice, "Why are you looking for us?"
Su Ming slapped his thigh, "What else, of course to join you."
"Mainly because I," he wrapped an arm around the Ghost School Belle again, "have dreamed since childhood of serving my country, bringing glory to the nation."
The Ghost School Belle just silently pried Su Ming's arm off her again.
Su Ming continued, "Our teachers often told us to study hard, to become pillars of the nation, to shine for the country."
"That's been my dream since I was little."
The Ghost School Belle pried Su Ming's hand off for the third time.
Seeing Su Ming about to wrap his arm around her for the fourth time, she snapped his arm with a crack.
Standing up, she grabbed Su Ming by the neck.
This scene left Gu Yan's mind in a state of shock.
What was happening?
What was this situation?
Su Ming was bleeding from his seven orifices, then his whole body stiffened, and he stopped moving.
The Ghost School Belle tossed him onto the sofa, not even sparing a glance.
But Gu Yan was already on the verge of collapse.
Was he dead just like that?
Dead?
How could that be!
Master Xing once told us.
Bleeding from the seven orifices is bleeding from the seven orifices, death is death.
These are two different concepts.
Please don't confuse them.
Su Ming wiped the blood from his face and sat up, "Sorry, sorry, my School Belle sister has a bit of a temper, you'll get used to it."
"We usually mess around like this, as the saying goes, hitting is affection, scolding is love, you should understand."
The Jumper Ghost knelt beside him, calmly handing Su Ming tissues, wet wipes, towels, and face cloths.
"Where were we?"
"Oh right, I was saying..."
Whatever Su Ming was saying, Gu Yan couldn't hear.
Because her mind had already short-circuited.
Even her gaze was vacant.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"I'm talking business here, give me some reaction."
Su Ming waved his hand in front of Gu Yan's eyes for quite a while before she snapped back to reality.
Once she regained her senses, she quickly stood up, first bowing to apologize, then loudly saying, "Please wait a moment, I need to make a call for instructions."
Gu Yan even used honorifics, showing the extent of her inner shock.
With Su Ming's consent, she quickly went to the balcony, first taking a deep breath.
Because even she didn't know how to report this to her superiors.
After organizing her thoughts a bit, she dialed the Anomaly Management Bureau's number.
As soon as the call connected, she heard the director's urgent roar: "Gu Yan, hang in there, the Handlers from around Pingjiang City are already on their way."
"And Elder Lin has also been dispatched, he should arrive in Pingjiang City in about three hours."
Listening to the director's urgent roar, Gu Yan took another deep breath, speaking in a slightly trembling voice, "Director, there's no need to send anyone."
"Right now, I have something very important to report."
"Please sit in your seat, hold onto the armrests, fasten your seatbelt, try to relax, breathe more, and if necessary, strap the phone to your ear."
After instructing the director.
Gu Yan's first sentence was, "Director, do you believe in love?"
Director: ???