Mysterious Resurgence: Starting with the Strange Bus

Chapter 117 Supernatural Items
Li Hui's visit to the headquarters was not solely for joining the Ghost Tamer Headquarters; otherwise, there would have been no need for such trouble. The headquarters could have simply modified and created his personal file.

Besides joining the Ghost Tamer Headquarters, the main reason for coming to the headquarters this time was actually for the supernatural items.

That was the payment that Cao Yanhua had promised.

And it's not just one.

As the captain of the headquarters, Li Hui has the authority to access all the resources of the Ghost Tamer headquarters!
Although the Captain's Plan has not been fully implemented yet, its commencement is a foregone conclusion. Moreover, from the moment Li Hui joined the headquarters, his authority was elevated to the level of Captain, and his authority in all aspects would not be lower than that of the Deputy Minister.

As the vehicle moved forward.

Soon, the headquarters complex came into Li Hui's view.

The vehicle eventually stopped in front of a building.

At this moment, there were already quite a few vehicles parked on this open space, but it was clearly not the time for the headquarters meeting to begin, so Li Hui guessed that those vehicles probably belonged to headquarters staff, such as Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua, etc.

"Captain Li, you've arrived."

The moment Li Hui stepped out of the car, a smiling man, probably in his early thirties, walked towards him.

"Who are you?" Li Hui looked at the man with a questioning expression. He knew that this person should be the one sent by headquarters to receive him, but he couldn't guess the other party's true identity.

But considering that they were able to host a captain who was visiting headquarters for the first time, the person must have a high status in the headquarters, because only in this way could the sincerity of the Ghost Tamer Headquarters be demonstrated.

"It's normal that Captain Li doesn't recognize me."

The man smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Shen Liang. I am the acting head of the hotline department. Captain Zhao is currently in Dachang City and has not returned. Originally, Minister Cao was going to personally receive Captain Li, but something came up and he was delayed. So this important task has fallen on my shoulders. I hope Captain Li will be understanding."

Shen Liang?

Upon hearing this, Li Hui sized up the man a few times.

They knew that the man in front of them, named Shen Liang, was the one who would later replace Zhao Jianguo as the head of the Ghost Riders Headquarters' call center.

"Has Cao Yanhua told you why I came to headquarters? Can you make that decision?" Li Hui asked.

The movement of supernatural items cannot be decided by someone other than the temporary head of the hotline department. Even if Zhao Jianguo himself were present at this stage, he could not make the decision. At the very least, someone at the deputy minister level or above would be required to do so.

"I can't make those decisions myself. My job is to receive Captain Li. Minister Cao will be here shortly, and he will take you there."

Shen Liang's smile remained unchanged, and he said, "Captain Li has been sitting all the way, so let's not stand here anymore and go inside."

Then, led by Shen Liang, Li Hui entered the headquarters building and was led to a lounge for the person in charge.

It's called a lounge, but the interior space is actually quite large, even larger than many people's houses. It's also decorated in a cozy style, with a bedroom and a living room.

On the coffee table in the living room, there are various brightly colored fruits and some snacks. On the other side, there is a computer for playing games online, and even some children's toys are prepared.

This small lounge is more than enough to meet a person's various needs. You can easily pass the time by doing something here, instead of just sitting here and getting bored.

Not long after Li Hui and his companion entered the lounge, there was a knock on the door. At Shen Liang's signal, a young and beautiful woman in her early twenties, dressed in a uniform, walked in.

In her hand was a mobile phone shaped like a bricklayer's toy, somewhat resembling the old-fashioned "big brother" style. Li Hui recognized it at a glance; it was a satellite positioning phone specially made by headquarters.

Before Li Hui could ask, Shen Liang spoke first, explaining, "Captain Li, this is the operator and satellite positioning phone that headquarters has provided for you. By the way, her surname is also Li, and her name is Li Wanyu. Maybe she and Captain Li were from the same clan five hundred years ago."

Shen Liang made a small joke, hoping to liven up the atmosphere in the lounge.

At this moment, Li Wanyu, who had just entered the lounge, spoke up, "It is truly a blessing for Wanyu to be from the same family as Captain Li. I hope Captain Li will take good care of me in the future when we work together."

Her voice was very pleasant, but for some reason, Li Hui felt something was off. Even though no tea had been brewed in the lounge, he could faintly smell a tea aroma.

"Then you two chat first. From now on, Li Wanyu will be fully responsible for contacting Captain Li. Of course, if Captain Li is not satisfied with her service attitude, he can replace her at any time."

After saying hello and telling Li Wanyu to take good care of Li Hui, Shen Liang left.

In the lounge.

After Shen Liang left, Li Wanyu took the initiative to find topics to talk to Li Hui, seemingly trying to figure out Li Hui's personality through casual conversation in order to prepare for her future work as a telephone operator.

Li Hui responded with only a few words here and there.

After chatting for a few minutes, Li Wanyu seemed to realize that Li Hui had no intention of chatting, so she quieted down and sat on the sofa, looking thoughtful, seemingly lost in thought.

The atmosphere in the lounge immediately quieted down.

the other side.

After leaving the lounge, Shen Liang went to the office of Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua.

After knocking on the door, and following Cao Yanhua's signal, he pushed the door open and came in.

"Is Li Hui settled in?" Cao Yanhua asked from behind his desk as Shen Liang walked in.

"Yes, as you instructed, he has been arranged to stay in lounge number 3, and Li Wanyu is currently attending to him," Shen Liang replied.

As he spoke, Shen Liang hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know whether he should.

"Are you curious why, even though Li Hui, a top-tier ghost tamer, has joined headquarters and already secured a pre-selected captain's position, I arranged for you to stay in the lounge instead of meeting him directly?"

Seemingly noticing Shen Liang's confusion, Cao Yanhua said, "Li Hui is different from the others. Rather than saying he joined the headquarters, it would be more accurate to say that he was nominally in charge at the headquarters because of Elder Qin's influence. He will not actually follow orders."

"Furthermore, his purpose in coming to the headquarters this time was also for supernatural items. It wouldn't matter if he took some of them, but some of them are not suitable for him to take in his current state."

This wasn't an explanation, nor did he need to explain to Shen Liang. Rather, it was a hint to Shen Liang, as he believed that with the other's intelligence, he should be able to make some connections after hearing his words.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Cao Yanhua had imagined.

Shen Liang was taken aback when he heard this, but he quickly realized what Cao Yanhua meant and understood the deeper meaning behind his words.

Cao Yanhua, on the other hand, glanced at his watch and said, "Alright, it's about time now. You can go and get back to work. Don't worry about Li Hui's matter."

talking.

Cao Yanhua stood up and walked towards the office door.

Seeing this, Shen Liang opened the office door first and then followed Cao Yanhua out, but they went in different directions. Cao Yanhua went to the lounge, while Shen Liang headed towards the switchboard area.

five minutes later.

Cao Yanhua arrived at the door of lounge number 3.

He didn't knock on the door immediately, nor did he push it open and go in. Instead, he paused for a moment and listened attentively.

The room was completely silent.

No movement came out.

Then Cao Yanhua reached out and knocked on the door.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

"Come in."

Li Hui's voice came from inside the lounge.

In fact, Li Hui in the lounge had already noticed Cao Yanhua when he reached the door. He thought it was Shen Liang returning, but he didn't expect it to be Cao Yanhua who pushed the door open.

"Li Hui, it's true that seeing is believing. Although we've spoken on the phone a few times before, this is our first time meeting in person. First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Z City and Dachang City," Cao Yanhua said with a smile.

Hear the words.

Li Hui said, "There's no need to thank me. Handling the human head balloon incident in Z City, the information about Caesar Hotel, and the starving ghost incident in Dachang City were all just transactions with clearly marked prices. There's nothing to thank me for."

As he spoke, Li Hui was also sizing up the man in front of him.

He looked to be in his early forties, dressed in a formal suit, with a square face, a slightly haggard appearance, and bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn't been getting enough rest lately.

"Although it's a transaction, I still want to thank you. You not only reduced the workload at headquarters, but you also genuinely saved many people. Otherwise, if paranormal events were left undiscovered, even if they were eventually dealt with by others at headquarters, the number of casualties would have increased significantly."

Cao Yanhua's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to repeat his initial words.

As for Li Hui, he had already read the detailed file and studied it more than once, so he wasn't particularly curious.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Let's get down to business. First, give me the promised payment. Besides the paranormal items owed for the Z City incident, there's also the payment for the paranormal incident at the Wanting Hotel and for getting people out of trouble," Li Hui said.

For him, these verbal thanks were useless; he'd rather have something more substantial. If he really wanted to express his gratitude, he could just give him a few more supernatural items later.

"Let's go then. All the supernatural items are stored in the base's warehouse. I'll take you there, and you can choose whatever you want then."

With that, Cao Yanhua got up and led the way.

Seeing this, Li Hui stepped forward and followed.

As for Li Wanyu, given her rank, she naturally didn't have the authority to go to the base warehouse, so she left after saying goodbye.

The headquarters' warehouse, used to store supernatural items, is located deep underground. It was converted from an underground base. The narrow and deep passageway is oppressive and dull, and the thick concrete walls are illuminated by faint lights that barely light up the way ahead.

Furthermore, the air here is rather murky, making it difficult to breathe. If an ordinary person stayed here for a long time, they would definitely suffocate due to lack of oxygen.

"How many warehouses at headquarters contain supernatural items?" Li Hui suddenly asked as they walked.

"There are many."

Cao Yanhua responded, "It depends on how you define it. If you're simply talking about places where there are supernatural phenomena, then even places like Professor Wang's research lab would count. But if you're talking about warehouses, there are three headquarters."

"The first one is the warehouse we're going to now, which stores all sorts of supernatural items. The second warehouse mainly stores consumable supernatural items, such as ghost candles and substitute dolls. Then there's the third warehouse."

When Cao Yanhua mentioned Warehouse No. 3, he paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Warehouse No. 3 is the most special because it is specifically used to imprison vengeful ghosts!"

"All the vengeful spirits at headquarters are stored in Warehouse Number Three. For example, the vengeful spirits imprisoned by the person in charge, and those gold containers are all stored in Warehouse Number Three. It is also the most secret warehouse. After all, if it were discovered by someone with ulterior motives and destroyed, the vengeful spirits that have accumulated over the years would erupt, and I'm afraid not only would Great J City fall, but even..."

While talking.

The two arrived deep underground.

Ahead of their passage appeared a series of small rooms, each numbered like 001, 002, etc., extending all the way to a bend in the passage in the distance.

All the room doors were made of steel, thick and sturdy, with a gold interlayer inside to isolate supernatural forces.

Also.

Above each door is a small window with a pale yellow glass pane, also made of gold, through which one can see the view inside the room.

Almost every room is small, with an estimated area of ​​only about five square meters, and each room contains a supernatural item.

For example, the first single room.

As Li Hui approached, he looked up and saw a rather ordinary-looking table in the middle of the room.

On the table sat an old camera, not a modern product, but probably several decades old. The paint had peeled off, making it look dirty and worn, like a piece of junk picked up from a garbage dump. It was hard to believe that this thing could still work properly.

Having read the original novel, Li Hui was very clear about the ghost camera's capabilities. It could take pictures of vengeful ghosts, and once a ghost was successfully photographed, it could be imprisoned in the photo. However, there was a risk of it going out of control. If it did, the user would be imprisoned inside the photo. Therefore, using the ghost camera was highly uncertain.

Li Hui only glanced at the room containing the ghost camera a few times before looking away and continuing to venture deeper into the room. Clearly, the ghost camera was not his target.

Because the Ghost Camera's capabilities were too useless to him.

As they walked, Li Hui said, "Do you have detailed files on paranormal items? That way we won't have to look through each room one by one, which would be more time-efficient."

The real world is not like a novel. The original work does not describe many supernatural items. For example, the items in this underground warehouse are only mentioned as a ghost camera, music box, shroud, human skin lantern, and ghost gate. And the abilities of the first few items are only described.

But at this moment, Li Hui could see at least twenty small private rooms, which meant that many of the supernatural items in them were not described in the original work.

Cao Yanhua, who was standing nearby, said after hearing Li Hui's question:

"The relevant files have been sealed, and even I have no right to access them. Similarly, neither can the captain. But you can ask me; I have all the relevant information memorized."

“We have plenty of time today. If you’re interested, I can explain everything to you room by room. Although the files can’t be accessed, the captain is fully qualified to know the abilities and methods of use of these supernatural items. After all, some of them might be used by you in the future.”

"For example, the first room we just passed had a ghost camera that could..."

Then Cao Yanhua actually started explaining, beginning with the first room and continuing to the last private room.

In addition to the ghost cameras, music boxes, and ghost gates that Li Hui was familiar with, Cao Yanhua also described other items that were not mentioned in the original work.

(End of this chapter)