Mysterious Awakening

The conference began with Deputy Minister Cao Yanhua singing praises of Yang Jian. It seemed this meeting had become a stage for Yang Jian's personal showcase, set to let him shine in front of others, with every word hinting at laudation for Yang Jian.

However, Yang Jian regarded this adulation as nothing but hot air.

He wasn't some naive youngster who would become emotionally touched by a few compliments and then loyally commit wholeheartedly.

Yang Jian had his own way of living.

"To tell the truth, the outbreak of S-level supernatural incidents globally is no longer an anomaly. Similar severe events occur abroad, but those are either resolved or suppressed. If our country fails to manage the Hungry Ghost incident, it will have a considerable impact internationally and might even shake our nation's future standing on the world stage."

"So we absolutely cannot allow such a precedent to occur, at least not within our country," Cao Yanhua said with solemnity.

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian began to understand a bit.

It was somewhat akin to a global military competition—not based on the economy or weapons anymore but rather on the ability to handle supernatural incidents.

If a country can't deal with an S-level supernatural incident, it means the country's future prospects are worrisome. Naturally, it won't be viewed favorably internationally.

"Alright, I've said my piece. Now, I welcome Yang Jian to the stage to present a summary of the actions taken in this incident," said Cao Yanhua after talking for about fifteen minutes before handing over the podium to Yang Jian.

Having heard so much praise from Minister Cao Yanhua, Yang Jian faintly sensed that this meeting was not as simple as he had imagined. The supposed action report he hadn't even prepared for—was he really unafraid of speaking carelessly and revealing everything?

Or was the meeting just a front, looking to draw out some of his secrets?

He glanced at Zhao Jianguo.

The man sat upright with a serious demeanor, not indulging in idle chatter, apparently listening attentively to the meeting.

Then there was Wang Xiaoming, the internationally renowned Professor Bruce Pi, who also seemed to manifest some expectation and interest in the meeting.

"These old foxes," Yang Jian cursed silently in his heart.

But after the incident, handing over the Hungry Ghost and valuable items like the Coffin Nail and shroud felt like a fair trade to the Ghost Manipulators' headquarters. Yet compared to this, the headquarters was definitely more interested in what had happened during those seven days he went missing since it concerned the resolution of an S-level supernatural event at its core.

Only Wang Xiaoming knew some of the details, yet not all.

But that guy Wang Xiaoming would certainly say nothing. It was just his character to not announce uncertain things to avoid misleading others.

As a prestigious professor, he knew all too well the impact even a slight hint could have on the country, or even globally. Thus, he had cultivated the skill of speaking cautiously.

But could the secret of resurrection be disclosed?

It involved the Ghost Mirror, and that was bad enough, but most important was its link to the existence of human skin paper—an eerie and horrific object that was his own cornerstone. Without it, he would have already died in the Ghost Coffin incident.

"Honestly, there's not much to say about this operation. It all relied on Professor Wang's planning; I was merely an assistant. He is the true hero of the incident. I was just someone who took action, just more fortunate that I was the only Ghost Manipulator who made it to the end."

Yang Jian stepped forward and immediately began, "If it weren't for Professor Wang's research discoveries about the behavior of the Fourth-stage Ghost Infant, as well as his ability to neutralize the final Ghost Infant, I would have likely died in this incident."

"Therefore, I really can't speak on experience, and as for that, there are many here who are more senior than me and I believe possess even more experience in handling supernatural events. I'm just a small fry who recently made the switch from temporary worker to permanent; how can I teach you anything?"

He behaved with utmost humility, concealing all his sharpness.

When it was time to shrink back, Yang Jian did so without the slightest hesitation.

Cao Yanhua's mouth twitched viciously upon hearing Yang Jian's words. This kid turned so amiable all of a sudden, but he hadn't been like this during the phone conference earlier, daring to confront even the top brass, threatening the ghost manipulators' headquarters not once but many times. Now that he had resolved an S-grade paranormal event, why had he suddenly turned into a coward?

He glanced over at Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo slightly shook his head, evidently thinking trying to pry information out of Yang Jian with this method would not succeed, he had already become cautious.

Someone who could survive on the brink of life and death wasn't so simple.

"Yang Jian, I heard you're controlling two ghosts. Coincidentally, I'm also a manipulator who controls two ghosts, and I'd like to know if an operator of our level could face a Hungry Ghost of the S-grade directly." Suddenly, Cao Yang asked smilingly, "After all, I've never encountered such an event before and would like to understand my own capability to get a clear sense of where I stand."

"Of course, controlling two ghosts qualifies you to confront a Hungry Ghost. If you're lucky, you can even manage to imprison it directly. You just need to discern the murderous patterns of the fierce ghost and possess some special abilities."

Yang Jian nodded, looking serious and sincere.

"Damn, this kid is trying to set me up," Cao Yang cursed in his mind. If he really believed what this guy said, he wouldn't even know how he died.

He had seen the profile of a ghost manipulator from Dachang City named Ye Feng, who also controlled two ghosts. The result was that he died on the first day of his operation, showing that controlling two ghosts did not qualify one to confront a Hungry Ghost directly.

Although Cao Yang didn't believe it, other ghost manipulators did. Some had never faced a paranormal event of this level, so they thought an S-grade event was nothing much.

"Yang Jian is right. As long as we know the pattern and have the ability, it shouldn't be difficult for us to contain this Hungry Ghost. It was only because the ghostly thing sealed off the entire city, preventing our support from getting in, that such a large disaster brewed," a manipulator commented, nodding.

"Bullshit, you actually believed his nonsense. You must be looking to die quicker," another retorted.

Cao Yang glanced at the person and thought to himself, "This is an inflated fool. Better stay away from him in the future. As long as he doesn't drag me into his troubles, that's fine."

However, Yang Jian was smiling as he said, "That's right. With Professor Wang's help in planning, any ghost manipulator could resolve this event with relative ease. Actually, I think defining the Hungry Ghost event as S-grade is a bit of an overstatement. I believe it's at most an A-grade paranormal event. Of course, there is also a misleading element in naming.

I think 'Ghost Child Event' would be more apt."

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Comparing the Hungry Ghost event with the Ghost Child event, the latter sounds much less harmful, even somewhat petulant, making it hard to sense the severity of the situation.

"I also feel that the headquarters overreacted this time. If it were truly an S-grade event, how could it have been resolved by a single person in the end? It must have been an initial lapse in reaction, giving the entity a chance to escalate the danger. After engaging with it, we found the actual ghost to be not as terrifying," another ghost manipulator joined in the discussion.

Yang Jian added, "You're right, the Ghost Infant originally emerged from Zhou Zheng's body. Zhou Zheng, who had controlled one ghost, even if it were a resurrected fierce ghost, could only cause limited harm."

"You're really lucky, stumbling upon what was actually an A-grade event and treating it as an S-grade situation. Furthermore, with Professor Wang's advice and strategies, you fortuitously earned tremendous credit. But dealing with paranormal incidents can't rely on luck; you managed to resolve it this time, but next time you might not be so fortunate."

Some shook their heads with laughter, considering Yang Jian to be nothing more than a lucky guy.

Yang Jian sighed, "Yes, that's why if I encounter an S-grade event in the future, I need to stay as far away as possible. I absolutely can't rush in hot-headed; otherwise, I won't even know how I died. Do you all know why I've been hiding and not showing my face lately? I was frightened, too scared to leave my house..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Yang wondered if it was really as Yang Jian said, just a misjudgment of the event's level, along with Professor Wang's help, that allowed him to inadvertently achieve such great success?

Wang Xiaoming remained silent, neither agreeing with Yang Jian's words nor revealing the truth.

He generally didn't care about such trivial matters, knowing that Yang Jian didn't want to divulge his secrets.

Based on his understanding of Yang Jian, he knew that whatever Yang Jian didn't want to reveal would remain unknown. Yang Jian was very adept at keeping his cards hidden; he already had a profound experience during the event, where everyone thought they were doomed, yet Yang Jian still had the capability to turn the tables without ever showing his hand.

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