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Evil As Humans - Chapter 182

Published at 21st of July 2023 07:12:04 AM


Chapter 182

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Sunken Society Haigu Branch.

Wei Huaqian looked at the room full of “products” in front of him, revealing a rare expression of difficulty.

Those products were discreetly colored talismans, ranging from heavily ethnic wooden carvings to common national-style ornaments, and even foreign-style “amulets”. There were almost no repeated styles. These trinkets didn’t look expensive, and their audience covered people of all ages and genders.

This was the scene he had long anticipated, but now that the first step of the plan was about to begin, Wei Huaqian found himself uncertain.

One careless move could result in a complete loss. Considering his age, if this ritual didn’t succeed, he wouldn’t have a second chance. Perhaps the group of “suppliers” with unclear ties to the Other Side would continue to cooperate with Sunken Society, but that would no longer concern Wei Huaqian.

He knew that now was not the time.

The research in Gengsheng Town hadn’t reached a proper conclusion, and there was the issue of Zhong Chengshuo’s missing body. The situation in Shian was still not entirely clear, and Xiang Jiang had yet to fully replace Fu Xingchuan’s position. This was simply not a good time to initiate the plan.

“If you continue to hesitate, you’ll never have a chance like this in your lifetime.”

Shen Mo casually picked up an exquisitely embroidered silk pouch amulet and waved it in front of Wei Huaqian.

“When Shian catches up with the progress of Sunken Society’s research on the ‘Other Side,’ this set of cards in your hands is useless. Instead of hesitating, it’s better to make a bold move. Once you succeed, you’ll purely profit—becoming a true Charon, which has always been your goal, right?”

“You’re comfortably giving advice while standing there, ‘old senior’.”

Wei Huaqian’s expression turned unpleasant.

Shen Mo was in his sixties but still maintained the appearance of someone in their thirties. Most of the time, he immersed himself in the Other Side, experiencing minimal physical deterioration. Wei Huaqian, on the other hand, was different. In recent detailed physical examinations, his body had shown various unfavorable signs.

The success of the ritual would be nothing but icing on the cake for Shen Mo. If this attempt failed, he could wait another thirty years and still have an easy time.

Wei Huaqian took the silk pouch from Shen Mo’s hand and said in a cold tone, “Although the corruption source in these items have been carefully balanced and their effects are not significant, it’s better if you don’t touch them randomly… You have been urging me to act earlier all this time. Besides speculation, do you have any concrete evidence?”

Shen Mo retracted his hand and shrugged. “No, I don’t. It’s just I came from Shian, so I have some knowledge about how they work.”

Wei Huaqian stared at Shen Mo for a while.

“…I won’t report the initiation of the ritual to headquarters. Let’s make a compromise. I’ll start with Haigu as a pilot.”

“Haa, you’re indecisive.” Shen Mo shook his head and left the room.

Wei Huaqian’s gaze remained fixed on Shen Mo’s figure until he disappeared at the doorway. Finally, he took out his phone and made two calls.

The first call was to the contact group of Sunken Society on the Nightwalkers’ side.

“The items are ready. Disperse them according to the old method but make it cleaner this time. The deadline is one week. Within that week, all these trinkets must find their owners.”

After speaking, he had no intention of listening to the reaction on the other end of the call. He immediately dialed the second number.

“Hello, it’s me. Mr. Qiu isn’t available? …Well, Mr. Le will do too. I’m just here to inform everyone as agreed.”

Wei Huaqian caressed a wooden talisman carved into a cartoon rabbit in his hand as he spoke in an icy tone.

“The ritual will begin in Haigu. I hope everyone will cooperate. If all goes well, the ‘Divine Descent’ you expect will be fully realized.”

……

Inside a private room of a hot pot restaurant, four people looked at each other.

The red broth in the pot was boiling, filling the air with the fragrance of chili and beef fat, but unfortunately, no one at the table touched their chopsticks.

Sitting at opposite ends of the square table were Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, while on the other side were Li Nian and Fu Xingchuan in disguise. Today, Fu Xingchuan wasn’t wearing his usual long robe and earring. Instead, he dressed extremely plainly and low-key. He even tucked his long hair under a hat, and with his scruffy, pale face, Comrade Fu Xingchuan resembled a fugitive on the run.

“…That’s how things are.”

Yin Ren kept glancing at the limp beef and lamb rolls on the plate, his heart bleeding.

“Now that we have the results of your experiment, many things make sense. The only thing we need to supplement here is the one thing I remember—the chaotic rabbit and the black sea it was connected to is the person beside me.”

Zhong Chengshuo earnestly nodded in agreement.

“Information sharing is crucial,” the former “Black Sea Rabbit” added politely. “After all, my research time is limited afterward, and I still need research support from Shian’s side.”

Li Nian nodded expressionlessly, while Fu Xingchuan stared deeply at the boiling hotpot, fiddling with the menu for a while. “This restaurant doesn’t have rabbit heads? What a pity.”

“The main reason for this open and frank discussion between the two of you is that I have an extremely urgent matter on my hands. Once I resolve this issue, I am more than willing to cooperate with Shian in the research on the Other Side.”

Upon hearing Zhong Chengshuo’s serious tone, Fu Xingchuan finally tore his gaze away from the menu, his eyebrows twitching. “An extremely urgent matter?”

With two ancient Elementals sitting in front of him, fiercer than fierce, he couldn’t quite imagine what could be considered an extremely urgent matter for these two individuals—especially for one of the Elementals who had already solved housing and even had enough remaining life force to outlast a hundred of himself.

The term “extremely urgent” seemed a bit far-fetched for these two troublemakers.

“I must quickly unravel the case of Zhong Chengfeng’s disappearance twenty-eight years ago. My parents made a wish to me, and I promised them. However, they are already advanced in age, and I don’t know how much longer they can wait.”

At this point, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his gaze.

“They are relatively steadfast in their scientific pursuits, and Yin Ren’s healing abilities are limited. If they were to pass away one day, that wish would never be fulfilled. Primordial Elemental research requires a considerable amount of time, so I have to postpone the related studies for now.”

Fu Xingchuan said, “…Having lived for so long, I never thought I would be involved in discussions of this level. You both really give face.”

The anxiety of the “gods” receiving wishes they couldn’t immediately fulfill was something he didn’t understand, nor did he want to understand. Even within Sunken Society, there was no such thing as wish fulfillment as key performance indicators. Fu Xingchuan didn’t know what to make of it for a moment.

It was like the world’s richest person worrying about asset allocation in front of him. Fu Xingchuan’s palm itched, and his hand gradually clenched into a fist.

“But, as it happens, the results of the joint training competition from last time have also been released.”

However, as a composed adult, Fu Xingchuan maintained a calm expression.

“With the incident of the abandoned hospital building, Professor Li fought for it and secured a winning reward for the Haigu branch—two million each, plus eligibility to be promoted to a second-tier investigation team. Since the competition didn’t end normally, the remaining two teams will also receive one million each as a consolation prize.”

Yin Ren suddenly felt that the hot pot became even more fragrant. The Shian duo really knew the current situation. Could it be that this was a special favor for the old ancestors?

However, before his smile could fully bloom, Li Nian’s continuation of the conversation froze him in place.

“It would be too conspicuous to focus solely on Zhong Chengfeng. Instead, we should investigate the disappearance cases from the Divine Descent 28 years ago. There’s more than just Zhong Chengfeng,” Li Nian calmly added.

So it’s more convenient to manipulate, huh? Modern people really don’t cherish the past. Yin Ren’s sense of relief gradually turned into resignation.

However, this was eating with short-hand and a soft-mouth*, so they had to accept their conditions. With a short hand and a soft mouth, the Great Celestial Master had no choice but to spread his palms.

*Idiom referring to manipulating or exploiting someone’s weakness or relying on their inability to resist in order to benefit oneself.

Once they obtained the information, Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren’s heads were immediately close together.

There was a picture of a fierce-looking woman with heavy makeup and a wide smile. She looked more like a member of Sunken Society, but the information clearly indicated Shian.

Meng Huai, a former “Black Seal” Minister of the previous generation’s Emergency Management Department, was considered Fu Xingchuan’s senior in terms of qualifications.

She looked quite young.

“Meng Huai also disappeared during the Divine Descent 28 years ago. At that time, she was only twenty-one years old and had just been promoted to the Minister of the Emergency Management Department,” Li Nian calmly introduced. “Unit 9 can use this as a cover to investigate Zhong Chengfeng’s disappearance—based on what I know, they both went missing near the same nursing home.”

After glancing at the smiling Minister Meng, Zhong Chengshuo let out a long sigh. “I understand.”

Fu Xingchuan discreetly glanced at Li Nian several times before finally continuing the conversation. “You have a visible case to investigate, and Lao Li can use Shian’s resources openly. However, you both… ahem, should keep a low profile. Don’t reveal everything to Unit 9 about Zhong Chengshuo.”

Facing two humanoid bombs, he felt a bit uncertain about his words.

Even if he had his own spirit contract to restrain him, with Yin Ren’s strength, even if he were to break the contract, it wouldn’t cause too much damage. If either of the two ancestors became unhappy, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to turn Haigu back into its state from a thousand years ago.

“I understand. We need to be cautious with both Shian and Sunken Society, right?” Yin Ren said seriously, picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks. “Now that the bonus is in place, everything will work out.”

Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian: “……”

Li Nian: “I will discuss it with the personnel department.”

“Thank you for your understanding.” Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head with a serious expression. “We will also thoroughly investigate Ms. Meng Huai’s case.”

Li Nian nodded lightly, and his hand on his knee twitched slightly.

“Alright, let’s eat quickly.” Fu Xingchuan scanned his old partner with a glance and loudly changed the topic. “If we don’t eat soon, the broth will dry out.”

What so-called genius of the Fu family! Truly a monster. Today, Fu Xingchuan’s mentality is quite calm.

…Perhaps Li Nian was right. Having these two old fellows tied to Shian might not be a bad thing.

In a certain place in Haigu, Lu Xiaohe was humming a song while stir-frying eggplants at home.

She used all the money she earned to treat her mother and hire caregivers, making their home still cramped and poor. However, compared to before, Lu Xiaohe’s face was no longer clouded.

The Great Celestial Master had promised that when the time was right, he would help her treat her mother. Her mother was an ordinary person who believed in ghosts and gods, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Her mother would soon be able to overcome her illness.

Just then, there was a creaking sound, and Lu Xiaohe’s father entered the house carrying two bags of vegetables and fruits. He smiled at Lu Xiaohe in front of the stove and went straight to his wife’s room.

“Wife, take a look.”

He took out an exquisite silk pouch amulet from the inner pocket of his chest.

“I asked a friend to get this from a master. They said it’s very effective!”

The author has something to say:

At this point, I can finally reveal that this is a story about a foolish couple (?




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