Psycho. Ghosts? Whatever. - Chapter 32 - So You're Not as Dumb as You Look?

“Don’t be too discouraged,” Chen Qingli said with a reassuring smile as he noticed the somber expressions around him. “The authorities have been working on this for years. Who knows? Maybe one day, they’ll develop weapons capable of dealing with high-level Evil Ghosts.”

The crowd heard his words but didn’t seem overly optimistic. Such vague promises felt like distant dreams-nice to hear, but hard to believe.

Bai Yuan, however, caught onto a crucial detail in Chen Qingli’s statement: “For years?”

So these supernatural incidents had been happening for quite some time already?

He mulled over this revelation. “Looks like the authorities have been quietly working behind the scenes, trying to suppress these supernatural events before they spark widespread panic. But the outbreak must’ve escalated too quickly for them to contain.”

“Come on, cheer up a little,” Chen Qingli encouraged. “The power of Evil Ghosts is distributed like a pyramid. High-level ones are rare. If you can handle the low-level ones, you’ll have a fighting chance to survive-and even protect your family.”

The group straightened up, shaking off their earlier despair.

In every era, the ones who stand out are always the minority. For ordinary people like them, survival was enough of an accomplishment.

“Think of your mediators as weapons and your courage as armor. If you can find a way to break an Evil Ghost’s defenses, you’ll already have the upper hand in a fight,” Chen Qingli continued, his tone firm and encouraging. “And if you manage to resolve a supernatural incident, you’ll be rewarded handsomely-enough to ensure your family’s financial security.”

Nods rippled through the group, and a spark of excitement lit their eyes. For most of them, joining the Intelligence Class was the only way to dream of wealth and success. Their regular jobs would never have offered such opportunities.

Chen Qingli turned back to the projector and said, “Now, let me give you a brief overview of the types of ghosts the authorities have identified so far-specifically, the low-level ones that mediators can handle.”

The day passed quickly. By the end of the session, the members of the Intelligence Class felt they had learned a lot. Their fear of ghosts had diminished, even if only slightly.

“This stuff doesn’t last forever,” Bai Yuan muttered to himself as he walked back to his hotel, his hand brushing against the small vial of rooster blood in his bag.

According to Chen Qingli’s lecture, these mediator weapons were only effective against low-level ghosts. Against high-level Evil Ghosts, they were useless. You couldn’t touch them, and you’d still be vulnerable to their curses.

“Is there a better alternative out there?” he wondered aloud, his gaze drifting to the Ghost Face etched on his chest.

“Hey, buddy,” he murmured to it, half-jokingly. “You’re not worse than those Accompanying Ghostly Entities, are you?”

When Bai Yuan arrived at the hotel, he was surprised to run into a familiar face.

“Han? What are you doing here?”

Standing at the hotel entrance was Zhou Han, flanked by three others. Their expressions were a mix of excitement and apprehension.

“Bai-Ge? Is that really you?!” Zhou Han exclaimed, his face lighting up as he hurried over to Bai Yuan.

“What’s going on? Why are you here?” Bai Yuan asked, puzzled.

“I’m here on a mission,” Zhou Han replied with a shrug, spreading his hands.

“A mission?” Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow, his expression turning skeptical. “Don’t tell me the authorities sent you guys to handle the supernatural incident here?”

Zhou Han nodded earnestly. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. Bai-Ge, you’ve got to have my back on this one!”

He hadn’t wanted to take the assignment at first. But when he saw that the incident involved Bai Yuan’s neighborhood, he couldn’t help but accept, suspecting that Bai Yuan might be caught up in it.

“…”

Bai Yuan’s lips twitched. They wanted a regular guy like him to protect Ghost Spirit Users?

At that moment, Zhou Han pleaded again, his tone almost desperate.

“If this works out, you can have a share of the Ghost Crystals from our mission reward!”

Though Zhou Han was a Ghost Spirit User and had gained some confidence recently, the thought of actually facing a ghost still made him shiver. After all, even with Wang Li’s protection, four members of Ghost Spirit Class Two had died during that incident.

“Ghost Crystals?” Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow, immediately catching the key point.

Hearing this, a skinny young man scoffed and said bluntly,

“Zhou Han, what nonsense are you spouting? Why should an ordinary person get a share of our reward?”

“Li Zichen, shut up!” Before Zhou Han could respond, a burly man barked at the skinny youth.

“Huh? It’s you?” Bai Yuan blinked, recognizing the burly man at once.

It was none other than Liu Wang, the guy whose Accompanying Ghostly Entity Bai Yuan had snatched earlier.

“Bai-Ge…” Liu Wang let out an awkward laugh, clearly having done his homework on Bai Yuan since their last encounter.

Seeing how both Zhou Han and Liu Wang treated Bai Yuan with such respect, Li Zichen, though visibly annoyed, had no choice but to swallow his frustration.

“Alright then, tell me about these Ghost Crystals,” Bai Yuan said, his eyes gleaming faintly, a greedy expression creeping onto his face.

“Ghost Crystals are rewards issued by the authorities. They can enhance the abilities of Ghost Spirit Users and are also a standard currency in the Ghost Spirit industry,” Zhou Han explained.

“Is that so?” Bai Yuan’s initial excitement dimmed slightly. It didn’t seem like something that would be particularly useful to him.

Noticing Bai Yuan’s reaction, Zhou Han quickly added,

“Bai-Ge, if you don’t need them, you can exchange them for Daxia Coins. One Ghost Crystal is worth 100,000 yuan.”

“What?!” Bai Yuan’s eyes widened, and suddenly, he was wide awake.

He was seriously strapped for cash these days. With his current appetite, his savings wouldn’t last much longer.

“So, how many Ghost Crystals is your mission reward?” Bai Yuan asked.

“Two,” Zhou Han replied.

“Which means I could get 200,000 yuan… Not bad,” Bai Yuan muttered to himself.

“??” The group collectively turned to look at him. So he really planned to take a cut, huh?

Aside from Zhou Han, the other three exchanged glances, their expressions subtly shifting.

“Bai-Ge, we’ll be counting on you then!” Liu Wang quickly chimed in, his tone full of flattery.

His mind was already working overtime. He had been worrying about how to gather intel on ghosts, and now, by sheer luck, he had run into Bai Yuan. If they could get valuable information about the ghosts, their chances of completing the mission would skyrocket. As for Bai Yuan’s fate? Well, that wasn’t really Liu Wang’s concern.

“Of course, of course,” Bai Yuan replied, a sly smile playing on his lips. He glanced at Liu Wang, and in that instant, he saw right through the man’s intentions.

The group arrived at the hotel and gathered everyone together.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m the Ghost Spirit User sent by the authorities to handle the paranormal incidents here. You can call me Liu Wang!” Liu Wang stepped forward, addressing the crowd and attempting to calm their nerves.

Despite his flair for showing off, the guy had a knack for talking. In no time, he managed to ease much of the fear lingering in the room.

“Tonight, the five of us will each patrol one floor. You don’t need to worry about anything,” Liu Wang assured them. “If you notice anything unusual, just shout loudly, and we’ll be there to handle it immediately.”

Though they were Ghost Spirit Users, locating the Evil Ghost wasn’t exactly within their capabilities. They could only wait for the entity to make its move.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, their hearts slightly steadier than before.

The five regrouped in the hotel lobby. Liu Wang took the lead and spoke up.

“Bai-Ge, with your abilities, patrolling the fifth floor shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

The incident earlier that morning had occurred in Room 506, meaning the likelihood of the ghost appearing there was significantly higher. Moreover, being on a higher floor meant that escaping the hotel in case of a deadly threat would be far from easy.

“It’s a problem,” Bai Yuan replied bluntly, raising an eyebrow. “The fifth floor is too dangerous. I’m not going. Whoever wants to go can go.”

“??”

Liu Wang froze for a moment, completely taken aback. So, you’re not as gullible as I thought?

He had assumed that his earlier flattery had inflated Bai Yuan’s ego enough to make him take the bait. But when it came down to it, Bai Yuan flat-out refused without hesitation.