After the Leigong Village incident was reported, not only did the higher authorities send people to take over the case, the Heihe Research Institute also became involved in the investigation.
The reason they hadn’t immediately contacted Xu Muchan over the past few months was, first, because the impact of the Heihe flood had been too great.
Leigong Village had nearly two hundred permanent residents. Including the young people who had been called back by their elders midway through, the total number had even exceeded two hundred.
Ninety percent of these people had disappeared during the Heihe flood. Most of the survivors who had escaped together with Zheng Shengli and Tao Shu were children from the village and young people who had been called back home.
They had witnessed their relatives’ deaths with their own eyes. They had also witnessed the appearance and retreat of the Heihe flood.
Not only did these survivors require psychological treatment, the authorities also had to investigate the social relationships of those who had disappeared and comfort their relatives, so that they wouldn’t expose the matter to the public in an emotional state and attract even greater public attention and scrutiny.
Only after all these people had been settled could the authorities give a low-key and reasonable explanation for what had happened at Leigong Village.
Once they had more or less cleaned up this entire mess, the second step was to investigate and discuss how they should treat Xu Muchan.
Whether it was ghosts or deities, everyone maintained an attitude of keeping their distance with respect. If they posed no threat to human survival, then everyone living in peace and minding their own business was the best possible situation.
But Xu Muchan was different.
He had a complete record of growth. He had started elementary school at the age of ten, then repeatedly skipped grades, eventually being admitted to the best high school in Yundong City with outstanding grades. Later, he was taken back to Jiangcheng by the Xu family, which even landed him on the trending searches twice.
Even after he transferred to Nanming to continue his studies, his grades remained exceptionally good.
If it weren’t for what had happened at Leigong Village, no one would have connected him with the Ghost King.
In fact, there had been a great deal of disagreement internally this time over how to deal with the newly emerged Ghost King.
One side believed that allowing the Ghost King to integrate into human society was an extremely dangerous signal. Once the Ghost King lost control, it could potentially cause an uncontrollable disaster.
The other side believed that special circumstances should be treated specially. Xu Muchan was clearly different from other ghosts and strange beings, so a more conciliatory approach should be used to communicate with him. It would be even better if they could bring him onto their side.
The Heihe Research Institute represented the second attitude. In the end, they had won the right to have a say in the matter, which was why they had sent He Yunyi and Shang Chuan to act as persuaders.
He Yunyi gently got to the main point.
“We learned some things about you from Officer Zheng and Officer Tao. Later, when we contacted the Religious Association, it happened that two Daoist priests from the Laoshan Sect also knew you. They told us some things about you as well.
“Over the years, there haven’t been many cases like yours in the country, but there have actually been a few. Because of the relatively high level of danger involved, according to the rules, you would normally need to be registered and reported to the authorities and placed under the supervision of the security departments.”
Seeing that Xu Muchan’s brows had already begun to furrow slightly, He Yunyi continued.
“However, because you saved two police officers and the villagers of Leigong Village, and because everyone we’ve contacted has given you very high evaluations after our investigation from multiple sources, especially the two Daoist priests from the Laoshan Sect, who have a very high opinion of you, we believe we should take a more humane approach.
“That’s why we came here personally this time. We hope you’ll join Heihe as an external staff member.”
“External staff members of the research institute receive the same benefits as formally appointed employees. This way, as an internal member of our institute, you won’t need to undergo mandatory registration and supervision anymore, and you’ll have a greater degree of freedom.”
The Heihe Research Institute truly had come with an enormous amount of sincerity.
He Yunyi and Shang Chuan looked at Xu Muchan expectantly, believing that he had no reason to refuse.
But Xu Muchan frowned and thought for a moment before asking hesitantly, “What would I have to do as an external staff member?”
Seeing that he was indeed interested, Shang Chuan hurriedly turned the computer toward him. After typing several times on the keyboard, several black markers appeared on the electronic map, each labeled with a timeline.
Shang Chuan explained, “Based on our investigation, we suspect these black areas are disaster-site remnants left over from a very long time ago. The earliest disaster-site ruins we’ve found date back to the late Qing Dynasty. There may even be older ones, but they’ve probably been buried by the passage of time.”
“Our research institute has always been trying to understand the Heihe. Going backward, we need to excavate older disaster sites and trace the origin and cause of the Heihe. Going forward, we need to find ways to predict the Heihe flood season and prevent more disaster sites from appearing.
“For this purpose, the institute has sent quite a few people to track down and investigate the Heihe, and we’ve obtained some research results as well.
“For example, disaster sites like Leigong Village that have already been swallowed by the Heihe are said to have sunk into the Heihe shallows. But the Heihe shallows have always been more like a legend within the institute. No one has ever seen or found that place.”
“For this reason, the institute once established a special investigation team. Everyone on it was an elite with extraordinary abilities. Not long after they risked approaching the Heihe, we lost contact with them.
“But much later, some of the missing members managed to send us part of their information through means that weren’t exactly scientific.
“That message contained only four words:
‘The flood is coming.’”
“In recent years, the frequency of Heihe floods has increased, and there are even signs of them becoming more widespread. Clearly, that message wasn’t referring to these small-scale floods.
“After conducting numerous investigations, we suspect that what the message meant was that sometime in the future, the Heihe will experience an unprecedentedly massive flood.
“But at present, we know far too little about the Heihe. No one knows whether this massive flood will actually occur, when it will happen, or how large an area it will affect……”
“We know nothing.”
“So we need more people to join us. On one hand, we need to confront the floods directly and prevent more disaster sites from forming. On the other hand, we need to do everything we can to uncover the origin and cause of the Heihe and cut off the floods at their source.”
Shang Chuan enlarged the map and pointed at an orange-colored area.
“Look here. This is Shuinaan City. Using our new technology, we’ve predicted that this is the next location where a flood might occur. Coincidentally, the local authorities have also reported some abnormal incidents.
“If you’re willing to join the institute, your most recent assignment would probably be to go to Shuinaan City with our researchers and investigate exactly what’s going on there.”
Xu Muchan listened carefully until Shang Chuan finished.
He realized that Shang Chuan really was showing a great deal of sincerity in asking him to join.
If he hadn’t accidentally been dragged into Huangshi Town before, he probably wouldn’t even have known that the Heihe shallows existed. Yet the other party was telling him about them so openly now.
However, after thinking it over, he still shook his head and refused.
“You’re very sincere, but your work sounds like it requires a great deal of time and energy. But I’m in my final year of high school now, and I’ll be taking the Gaokao next year. My classes are extremely demanding. I’m afraid I won’t have time to cooperate with you.”
He Yunyi and Shang Chuan were both stunned.
There was even a look of disbelief on Shang Chuan’s face.
“You still plan to take the Gaokao?”
Xu Muchan was also stunned by the question.
“I’ve been going to school all these years. Isn’t it all for the Gaokao?”
That was certainly true.
But the person standing in front of them wasn’t even human.
He was an extremely dangerous Ghost King.
Although their investigation had already revealed that his academic performance was excellent, hearing that he still intended to take the Gaokao nevertheless felt somewhat surreal to He Yunyi and Shang Chuan.
He Yunyi was dazed for a moment before asking, “Then what are your plans after taking the Gaokao?”
Xu Muchan answered honestly, “I plan to apply to Capital University. I should go to the capital to study then. After that, I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll continue on to graduate school and a doctorate or enter the workforce.”
Shang Chuan, who had come within a hair’s breadth of getting into Capital University himself: “……”
He exchanged a glance with He Yunyi.
He Yunyi reacted quickly and changed tactics.
“Actually, our research institute also has a partnership with Capital University. Not just Capital University—we have partnerships with several of the country’s top universities. Quite a few of the institute’s researchers and technical personnel came from those schools.
“Considering your age, we can help you apply for a special recommendation to Capital University. As long as you pass the assessment, you’ll be able to attend Capital University.”
“Of course, Student Xu, your grades are excellent, so you’d have no problem taking the entrance exam yourself. But aside from the recommendation, we also have other, more generous benefits. You can hear them first and think about it carefully.”
“For example, after you graduate, if you want to continue your studies, you can directly enter a graduate program or go straight into a doctoral program. Several of the institute’s core researchers are leading experts and can personally supervise you.
“Of course, your research topic wouldn’t be one of those conventional topics outside. They would all be related to the Heihe.
“If you don’t want to continue your studies and would rather start working directly, you wouldn’t need to compete with other fresh graduates either. Once you graduate and join us, you’d immediately receive a formal position, with five insurances and two funds, one month of paid annual leave, and high travel allowances whenever you’re sent on business trips……”
He Yunyi described the benefits so enthusiastically that she practically wanted to pull out a contract and have Xu Muchan sign it on the spot.
But although Xu Muchan was young, he wasn’t that easy to fool.
Even after hearing such tempting conditions, there wasn’t the slightest ripple of emotion or interest on his face.
Seeing that he still wasn’t nodding, He Yunyi had no choice but to bring out her trump card.
She looked around the luxurious villa, which nevertheless bore traces of life everywhere, and slowly said,
“Besides benefits for the employees themselves, we also provide preferential treatment for employees’ family members.
“When we investigated you, we discovered that your older brother also has some abnormalities.
“According to his identification records, he is twenty-eight years old this year and is supposedly some distant relative of the Wei family.
“But in reality, we discovered that his identity card was only issued recently. Before that, there had never been a person named Wei Xilou in the Wei family.
“His entire twenty-eight-year social history is a blank.”
“Although he hasn’t shown any abnormalities for the time being, because of you, it’s estimated that his abnormality will soon attract the attention of people who are interested in such things. In order to deal with all kinds of supernatural incidents, besides our research institute, other departments have also been established over the years. Different departments have different views on how to deal with non-humans. If you’re willing to join the research institute, we’ll deal with the trouble involving your family members as well. That way, even if the other departments discover something unusual, they won’t be able to interfere recklessly and will have to hand the matter over to the research institute.”
He Yunyi had deliberately tried to make these words sound as little like a threat as possible. After all, this was simply an objective fact. If Xu Muchan had not been so unwilling to agree, she would not have brought up making arrangements for his family as one of the bargaining chips.
Sure enough, once his family was involved, Xu Muchan’s attitude was no longer as firm.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’d like to think about it.”
He Yunyi expressed her understanding. She took a stack of documents from her briefcase and placed them in front of Xu Muchan.
“These contain some basic information about our research institute, as well as the employment contract and so on. Although you’re still a minor and an external member, so you don’t need to sign an employment contract yet, the benefits are the same. As for the five insurances and two funds, they can’t be paid at the moment, but they can either be converted into cash or exchanged for other benefits. Take a look and think it over carefully. Shang Chuan and I will be staying across the street for the time being. If you’ve made up your mind, you can come find us anytime.”
After leaving the documents behind, He Yunyi and Shang Chuan finally took their leave.
Xu Muchan took out the documents and went through them one by one. Wei Xilou came down the stairs from the second floor, bent over, and picked up the documents spread across the coffee table.
“Ah Chan wants to go?”
Xu Muchan raised his eyes and glanced at him.
“You heard everything? Why didn’t you come out just now?”
Wei Xilou casually put the documents back down and sat beside him, smiling.
“According to my way of thinking, the person who threatened me wouldn’t get another chance to speak. But if I did that, Ah Chan would have no choice but to hide with me in some remote mountain wilderness. You wouldn’t be able to go to the capital to study, nor would you be able to find a job anymore. You could only stay by my side every day.”
As he spoke, his gaze flickered, and he actually felt that such an arrangement would be quite nice.
Xu Muchan fell silent for a moment. Seeing the smile deepening on his face, he suddenly felt a sense of danger. He gathered up the scattered documents and put them away, saying firmly, “Then I’d better not trouble Big Brother. I can handle it myself.”
The smile on Wei Xilou’s face deepened. He gave an indifferent “Mm.”
Only then did Xu Muchan relax his guard. Muttering to himself, he said, “Those two people are pretty sincere, but they didn’t tell the whole truth either.”
He pulled out a high-value insurance policy from the stack.
“If this were just an ordinary job, they probably wouldn’t buy employees insurance with such a high coverage amount. And the work-related injury compensation in the contract is also extremely high. That means this job should be fairly dangerous.”
But this wasn’t too much of a problem for Xu Muchan. It wasn’t that he had particularly great confidence in his own strength. Rather, he also agreed with what the two of them had said—the Black River really did seem to be showing signs of overflowing.
It wasn’t just that the tides had become more frequent. All kinds of abnormal creatures had also become increasingly active.
Whether it was Xu Muchan himself or the people around him, everyone was being drawn into it, either willingly or unwillingly. It really did seem like some kind of omen.
And assuming that an extremely large flood tide really would occur in the future, Xu Muchan felt that rather than passively waiting for it, he might as well take the initiative.
Joining the Black River Research Institute would certainly involve danger, but at least he would be able to obtain more information.
When the great flood tide truly arrived and affected him directly, he would also have more confidence in dealing with it.
Xu Muchan said, “I’ve made up my mind. I want to give it a try.”
Although he had already made his decision, Xu Muchan didn’t want to appear too eager. It wasn’t until Monday that he knocked on the door across the street and gave them his answer.
However, he also made another request.
“I can cooperate with you on business trips, but I hope you can arrange them for weekends or holidays whenever possible, so they won’t affect my classes. For example, this trip to Shu’nan City—can we go during the New Year’s holiday?”
Shang Chuan had never met someone who loved studying this much.
Oh, no. A ghost.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Sure. The situation in Shu’nan City isn’t particularly urgent. I’ll have the others go over first and conduct some basic investigations and gather information. Once school lets out this Friday, should we arrange for someone to come pick you up?”
Xu Muchan nodded. After saying goodbye to the two of them, he got into the car and went to school.
Watching his retreating figure, Shang Chuan sighed to He Yunyi.
“If only I’d loved studying as much as he does back then, I wouldn’t have missed out on Capital University!”
He Yunyi rolled her eyes.
“Stop bringing up that ancient history of yours. We have a video conference later. Remember to attend the meeting.”
Xu Muchan, who was being talked about by the two of them, was peacefully attending classes at school. Although he had taken on a part-time job, it had not affected his enthusiasm for studying in the slightest.
During the last class on Friday afternoon, everyone was getting a little restless. Wan Zheng also knew that with the holiday about to begin, these students probably couldn’t settle down to study anyway, so he simply moved the class meeting to the final period.
The homeroom teacher was giving them a motivational speech at the front of the classroom. Beside him, Wei Yao kept kicking the leg of Xu Muchan’s chair with his foot. Stretching his neck as far as he could, he openly whispered to Xu Muchan, “What are you doing during the New Year’s holiday? Want to go out and have some fun together?”
Xu Muchan was organizing his textbooks and notes, thinking about what he needed to bring for this trip. Hearing that, he shook his head.
“I’m going to Shu’nan.”
“Shu’nan City?”
Wei Yao said, “What are you going there for? Traveling? One of the UP hosts I often watch is in Shu’nan too. He suddenly made a fortune some time ago and stopped livestreaming. Now he spends every day traveling around the mountains. I’m telling you, the mountains and rivers there are beautiful, and the scenery is actually pretty good.”
Xu Muchan said, “Not for traveling. I have something important to do.”
Wei Yao was about to ask what important thing when a piece of chalk flew straight at his head with pinpoint accuracy.
Wan Zheng looked at him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Wei Yao, what are you talking about that’s making you so happy? Why don’t you come up here and tell everyone?”
Wei Yao made a pleading gesture, and only then did Wan Zheng finally let him off.
He indignantly glanced at the completely unaffected Xu Muchan beside him and thought bitterly that Old Wan was really biased all the way to his armpits. They had clearly both been whispering together, so why had he been the only one who got hit?!
Xu Muchan had absolutely no idea what was going on inside Young Master Wei’s head. As soon as class ended, he said goodbye to Wei Yao and Wen Dajiang before heading toward the school gate.
The family driver didn’t come today. Instead, an ordinary Volkswagen came to pick him up. It was someone He Yunyi had arranged to take him.
There were two people in the car, one driving and one in the passenger seat. Unexpectedly, both of them were very young, looking to be in their twenties, as if they had just graduated from university.
Xu Muchan politely greeted them before sitting in the back seat.
The young man in the passenger seat turned around and spoke to him.
“Hi, my name is Peng Ye. The guy driving beside me is Jiang Fang. We’re both frontline investigators. Sister He said you just joined, so you probably don’t know much about the situation yet. She asked us to show you the ropes.”
Xu Muchan nodded and concisely said, “I’m Xu Muchan. Looking forward to working with you.”
Peng Ye stared at him expectantly, as if his expression were saying, That’s it?
Xu Muchan looked at him blankly while holding his earphones.
Peng Ye coughed awkwardly.
“Uh, this time we’re partners too. Sister He told us a little about your situation. It’s just that… are you really that thing?”
His eyes were filled with an intense thirst for knowledge, and he stared at Xu Muchan like a pair of searchlights.
Jiang Fang couldn’t help reaching out and pushing his head back around.
“He’s just really curious. Sometimes there’s a screw loose in his head. You don’t have to pay attention to him.”
Xu Muchan gave an “Oh” to show that he didn’t mind, then put on his earphones.
The car became very quiet. The sound from the Bluetooth earphones could be faintly heard. Peng Ye reclined his seat and listened carefully for a while before suddenly blurting out, “Holy shit.”
He turned around in disbelief.
“He’s actually listening to English listening exercises.”
Jiang Fang kept his eyes on the road as he drove.
“Didn’t Sister He say that he’s still in his senior year of high school? His schedule is pretty tight. She told us to try to finish investigating the situation during the New Year’s holiday.”
Peng Ye scratched his head, his expression more animated than a monkey’s.
“This isn’t about whether he’s a senior in high school or not! The problem is that he’s already that—that thing…”
How could someone really become a ghost and still love studying this much?
Peng Ye didn’t understand.
Peng Ye was deeply shaken.
Xu Muchan sighed and took off his earphones.
“I can hear you when you talk.”
“…”
Peng Ye awkwardly turned his head back and gave an awkward dry laugh.
“Haha, well, it’s just my first time meeting someone who loves studying as much as you do. I was a little shocked, haha.”
Xu Muchan said, “Actually, for the past seventeen years, I always thought I was human. It was only recently that I discovered I was somewhat special. So really, there isn’t much difference between me and you.”
Peng Ye met his clear, cool gaze and suddenly didn’t know what to say. He waved his hands awkwardly.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that you were some kind of freak or anything. It’s just my first time seeing one, so I was a little curious…”
As he spoke, he realized that he seemed to be digging himself deeper and deeper. Finally, he awkwardly shut his mouth and apologized in a dejected voice.
“Sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way.”
Xu Muchan nodded, indicating that he accepted his apology.
After that, the three of them didn’t speak again. They went all the way to the airport, boarded the plane, and then flew for another three hours to Shu’nan. By the time Xu Muchan arrived at the hotel, it was already nighttime.
According to Jiang Fang’s introduction, six people from the research institute had come on this investigation mission. In addition, three people from the Religious Association had also come, making nine people in total.
“Oh, right. You should know two of them.”
Eager to make up for his awkwardness with his new colleague, Peng Ye took the initiative to introduce them.
“Pei Rong and Yan He of the Laoshan Sect. I heard they’re the outstanding members of the Laoshan Sect’s new generation. They’re supposed to be pretty strong.”
Just as he finished speaking, Yan He and Pei Rong walked in from outside.
Both of them had solemn expressions, apparently thinking about something. They actually failed to notice the three people in the lobby. It was Jiang Fang who recognized them and called out to them.
Yan He turned around and immediately saw Xu Muchan. The solemnity on his face faded somewhat. He stepped forward and greeted Xu Muchan before saying to Jiang Fang,
“You finally made it. Something has changed. I’m afraid we won’t have time to rest tonight.”
“What happened? Where is everyone else?” Peng Ye asked.
Pei Rong said, “You hadn’t arrived by noon, so we split up and went to investigate the areas where abnormalities had been reported. But when the agreed meeting time came in the afternoon, none of them had returned.”
“At first, we thought some unexpected situation had held them up. But Yan He and I couldn’t contact them at all. We searched all the areas they might have gone to, but still couldn’t find anyone.”
“I’ve already reported the situation. The people above will send more personnel over. But things are rather urgent right now, so I’m afraid you won’t have much time to rest tonight.”
Pei Rong said, “There were indeed some abnormalities in the areas reported earlier, but Yan He and I haven’t found out what the problem is yet. Now that you’ve arrived, let’s go take another look.”