I have a ghost diary

Chapter 186 Grand Ceremony

Yan Wanli felt that Chu Jiang was more terrifying than before. Even though he had not tried to attack him, he still felt a sense of awe towards him, as if it were an instinct.

He even subconsciously felt that what was standing in front of him was not like a person, but more like a ghost.

Moreover, Yan Wanli had a slight suspicion: could it be that the S-class vengeful ghost had returned disguised as Chu Jiang?

But deep down, his instincts told Yan Wanli that it was true, exactly the same as what he had sensed at headquarters, only now the feeling was much stronger.

"Why you? I don't believe headquarters wouldn't know about our history." Chu Jiang sat back down in his seat without any politeness.

Yan Wanli coughed. "I applied for this myself."

"Didn't we have a little misunderstanding last time at the research institute headquarters?"

"I've thought about it. It was just a little argument over pride, so I want to formally apologize to you and let's consider this matter over from now on."

Chu Jiang was genuinely surprised. He had thought Yan Wanli had come specifically to provoke him and seek revenge, but he hadn't expected this guy to apologize to him so politely.

"Hey, I'm telling you, you didn't change your mind at the last minute because you found me scarier in person than before, did you?"

Yan Wanli shook his head firmly, "I had already thought about it before. If you really die in this incident, then our little affair will naturally be treated as if it never happened."

"If you're not dead, it means you're an extremely powerful ghost master. It's obviously not worth making an enemy of someone like you over a matter of face."

Chu Jiang was even more surprised, "I almost wanted to kill you back then."

"Fine, since you're willing to apologize, I won't hold a grudge. Just apologize and leave."

Yan Wanli pondered this statement. It meant that Chu Jiang possessed some special means that could have killed him...

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, and I shouldn't have tried to hit you."

After bowing his head to apologize to Chu Jiang, Yan Wanli waved his hand and said, "Then I'll be going now. We'll meet again sometime."

“Wait,” Chu Jiang suddenly changed his mind, “Sit down, I have some questions for you.”

It's rare to see Yan Wanli being so cooperative. Given his status as captain and the fact that he's been stationed here for half a month, he should know a lot of information that Chu Jiang wants to know.

Yan Wanli hesitated for a moment, but still took the initiative to sit opposite Chu Jiang, as he also wanted to get to know this person better.

As expert Chen once said, the "inequality" between the two sides may stem from the superior-subordinate restraint among ghosts of the same series.

Yan Wanli once thought that it was Chu Jiang's sealed artifact that had restrained his ghost corpse, because the Blood Hand Ghost and his ghost corpse did not match.

But looking at it now, it's unlikely to be a sealed artifact. The more Yan Wanli looked, the more he felt it was related to Chu Jiang, or rather, to a certain ghost within him.

"What happened in the outside world after I disappeared in Luohe City along with the Black Sun?"

"Oh no, let's start from the time when Luohe City was locked down, the more detailed the better."

Yan Wanli nodded and told everything he knew; from the headquarters meeting, the support, to the unexpected collapse of the Ghost Domain, the research institute's relocation to the city, all the way to the most recent events.

"Regarding the aftermath, I think you are well aware that such a major incident cannot be completely suppressed, after all, nearly a quarter of the city's population died."

"But as long as we can prevent the aftermath of the incident from escalating and avoid major social unrest, then we can consider it a success."

"As for the specific implementation, I'm not entirely clear on every step. It seems that in the early stages, they provided ample compensation to keep the survivors from making any unfounded claims."

"Of course, that wasn't enough. On the eve of the opening of the entire Luohe City to the outside world, the research institute began a large-scale ceremony that covered the entire city."

"Among the participants, there are several very special and powerful ghost masters, such as Zhang San, the bodyguard of Expert Chen, who is suspected of being able to modify other people's memories."

"There was another team leader among the participants, whom I knew. His ghosts were related to dreams."

"Finally, it seems that some sealed artifacts also participated in this large-scale ceremony."

"In short, the people at the research institute made the survivors of the entire city have a beautiful dream."

"On the one hand, it is to soothe their psychological trauma; on the other hand, it is to blur their memories of the disaster and change them to the form of a natural disaster such as a solar flare."

"The specific results were not bad, but such a large-scale ritual has very little effect on people with supernatural powers."

"Of course, this result is already acceptable. If there are really some particularly extreme people who want to make a big fuss about this, then the research institute will naturally send someone to handle it personally."

"In a one-on-one situation, even a ghost master would not be able to resist Zhang San's ghost's ability to alter memories."

Chu Jiang nodded in realization. What a grand gesture! The resources of Research Institute No. 21 were even more terrifying than he had imagined; they were actually able to accomplish something like this.

From this perspective, it's understandable why the incident at Luoxi No. 7 Middle School hasn't caused much of a stir.

Although some strange tales and anecdotes still circulate in the area, and some fragmented information can be found online, overall, the impact is within an acceptable range because no one is making a fuss.

Moreover, all sorts of unusual events are happening around the world. Gradually, things like the Luoxi No. 7 Middle School incident are no longer considered eye-catching, because other more outrageous events have attracted the public's attention.

For example, the recent events in Luohe City are a case in point; and the attention given to Luohe City will ultimately be overshadowed by other trending events...

"Next, let's talk about the outside reaction. When the S-class incident just ended, although there wasn't much information about you, it was quickly dug up and spread all over the world."

"In other words, you've become famous. Everyone says that you are the only super-powerful Ghost Master who can independently solve S-level incidents so far."

"Hmm?" Chu Jiang raised an eyebrow. "Why do you look so pale? Are you perhaps jealous of me?"

Yan Wanli was speechless. "I've been used as a stepping stone by you. Do you know how they describe me?" He held back his profanity.

"What 'coward,' what 'impotent rage,' what 'muscle trash'; and various other versions of rumors, vividly describing how I was terrified by your heartbeat and subsequently knelt down and begged for mercy..."

"You have no idea, when I saw those comments, I really wanted to go through the internet and kill those keyboard warriors!"

Chapter 187 The Eve of Return

Chu Jiang couldn't help but chuckle softly; he hadn't laughed so genuinely in a long time.

"Alright, alright, they're just ordinary ghost masters, engaging in the practice of belittling one and praising another; and some are just bragging online when they have nothing better to do. They don't deserve to die."

“For truly knowledgeable ghost masters, they all know very well what the value of the research institute’s captain is, and they will not look down on you because of that.”

"Or rather, it's foolish to underestimate you."

Yan Wanli's expression softened after hearing Chu Jiang's words. "I didn't expect you to be so good at comforting people."

Chu Jiang shook his head. "I'm not stupid. I just happened to be able to counter your strongest ghost. I naturally have a sense of the average level of the captains."

In terms of raw strength, can Chu Jiang now match any of the captains?

If we exclude Yan Wanli, who happens to be the one he controls, Chu Jiang can only say: I don't know.

Because he had never actually faced off against any of the captains.

However, Chu Jiang knew very well that Research Institute No. 21 only had 21 team leaders in total, and this number was fixed.

Because the team leader can access the research institute, receive more resources, and undergo more extra training, the number of team leaders is destined to be limited; for every one who steps down, one can move up.

Moreover, according to what Chu Jiang knew, the research institute's team leader, excluding those who had died, seemed to have already been replaced by the third generation in just over half a year.

In other words, it's impossible for some people to stand out in the early stages of the paranormal revival and then rely on their seniority to stay in the top ranks. Every team leader earned their position through genuine ability; those who weren't qualified had to step down.

As for Yan Wanli, after his "defeat" by Chu Jiang, there were definitely people looking to pick on him. But Yan Wanli is still the captain, and what that means is self-evident, isn't it?

Of course, the competition for captaincy usually doesn't involve going to someone's house to fight.

If we were to do that, the research institute's high-end combat capabilities would be completely wiped out by internal strife.

Except in special circumstances, all those who are willing to compete submit their information to the research institute to prove that they are indeed more capable than a certain team leader before headquarters will consider replacing them.

Only when both sides are truly evenly matched will a "friendly sparring" be held under the auspices of the research institute, and it will be a very low-intensity one.

"Go on, the outside world originally had high expectations for you, and there were all sorts of compliments. The research institute also had a very high opinion of you; even some official organizations abroad were very eager to recruit you."

"In short, although you have disappeared, the discussion about you has only grown stronger."

"However, this situation did not last long. Because you really disappeared without a trace, even the people in the research institute could not find you; and this disappearance lasted for a bit too long."

About ten days later, a new theory spread: that you were dead.

"As for the cause of death, there are many theories. Some say that you fought against an S-class vengeful ghost, but ultimately the ghost couldn't outlast you, and the vengeful ghost within you revived, causing your death."

"Some say you sacrificed yourself to permanently seal the Black Sun somewhere in Luohe City."

"Some people say that you don't have the ability to seal the Black Sun at all; it's just that after the Black Sun killed you, it left Luohe City on its own initiative for some special reason, giving up the chance to kill the rest of the people."

"Of course, not many people wrote this letter, because some people asked him what the special reason was. He stammered for a long time and couldn't say, but it was just a special reason."

"Although there are many rumors, quite a few people do believe that you are probably in grave danger."

"Because logically speaking, since such a person has emerged from Research Institute No. 21, it should be publicized."

"Even if you were seriously injured while fighting an S-class vengeful ghost, it shouldn't be to the point that you can't even show your face, right?"

"If that's the case, it can only mean that your condition is so bad that you're not far from death, and you can't even maintain a normal human form, so you can't show yourself."

“Even within the research institute, some pessimistic thoughts have gradually emerged.”

"Then, just a few days ago, around the fifteenth day, the news of your disappearance somehow got out."

"Of course, this information may not have been leaked by someone who knows the inside story; after all, more than 99% of the people in the entire research institute do not know where you are."

"Since even people inside the research institute don't know, they're most likely either missing or dead. Because if they were just injured, there's nothing wrong with that."

"At the same time, given that a group of members from special departments have remained in Luohe City to carry out special missions, it is normal to conclude that they are 'missing'."

Chu Jiang thought for a moment, "Who is in charge of the Lin Clan Ancestral Hall?"

Yan Wanli replied, "The person directly in charge of this matter is Expert Chen, and he only reports to the Dean and the Deputy Minister of the Paranormal Department, without going through anyone else."

"As for the others who know about it, besides the people on site, it's just a few of us captains who were in charge of searching for your whereabouts in the early days. Oh, and Zhang Haoran too. In short, not many people know about this ancestral hall."

Chu Jiang nodded slightly. "Continue."

"After the news of your disappearance spread, the discussions outside became even more rampant."

"Many people assert that you are dead, while others say that you used some kind of special sealing artifact to banish yourself and the black sun from this world and into another dimension."

"In short, most people believe that you are unlikely to still be alive; even if you are alive, it is unlikely that you will return to this world."

"As a result, people have become more aware of the terrifying nature of S-class vengeful ghosts. Some people have already suggested erecting a monument for you, and they've even prepared the inscription, something like, 'Supporting the collapsing building and turning the tide.'"

"Some people wanted to come to Luohe City to present you with flowers, but Luohe City is under control. No ghost masters are allowed to enter. Only ordinary people can come and go freely, so they can only chat online."

"As for the international situation, I'm not too sure. Some people may feel sorry for it, while others may be watching the show. However, certain forces are probably relieved, since not everyone is happy to see the strength of Research Institute No. 21 growing day by day."

"Interesting..." Chu Jiang muttered to himself, "What do you think about me doing a live stream right now?"