Chapter 78
Chapter 78
Mo Chen produced another corpse and used an Illusion Technique to make it look like the man.
While lost in pleasant dreams, the man sleeping soundly under anesthesia was smuggled from Dongwu into City A back home.
Once Yun Jianyue was done with Mo Chen, she promptly cast him aside. She fished Doctor Jian’s phone out of his pocket and successfully unlocked it with his fingerprint.
After unlocking it, Yun Jianyue discovered that monitoring software had been installed to run in the background. Everything done on the phone would be logged and sent to another terminal.
It seemed that even the so-called core members of the organization had limited freedom and access.
Yun Jianyue slipped the phone back into Doctor Jian’s pocket, pulled open the tightly drawn curtains, and glanced outside. “Excellent. The weather’s pretty good today. It’s overcast.”
“How is an overcast day good weather?” Lu Changxue asked in confusion.
“Because it means you can strut around in ghost form even during the day!” Yun Jianyue flashed a devious grin. “Let’s go. He’ll be asleep for another two hours, so let’s make the most of our time and find out what secrets this place is hiding.”
According to the files, this place also had ties to Southeast Asian Xuanmen practitioners. She had yet to see any Xuanmen practitioners here, but perhaps they were hiding somewhere.
Yun Jianyue casually tore a sheet of paper from one of Doctor Jian’s notebooks and used blood from her fingertip to draw an Invisibility Talisman on it.
She had learned quite a lot over the past six months, and the Invisibility Talisman was one of the skills she was proudest of.
Unfortunately, the Invisibility Talisman did not seem to work on Si Wuming. The last time she had used one to peep at Si Wuming in the shower, he had caught her red-handed.
Lu Changxue left her body behind, and the woman and ghost began roaming the compound.
Half an hour later, they had figured out the layout.
The two-story building at the very front was part of an Illusion Technique. It housed the hired thugs serving as lookouts, who constantly watched the surrounding area for unfamiliar faces.
There were six rows of single-story buildings. The first housed a scam operation, the second an adult livestreaming operation, and the third an online gambling operation. The fourth and fifth rows were dormitories, while the sixth contained the senior members’ quarters and Doctor Jian’s dissection room.
The dining area was a prefab structure against the perimeter wall. It looked as though it had been put up temporarily and simply never taken down.
Large open spaces lay in front of and behind the six rows of buildings, and the entire compound was enclosed by high walls.
Yun Jianyue could not find a second exit besides the main gate, but she was certain another one had to exist. Otherwise, Brother Dao and the other senior members would have no way to escape in the event of a police raid.
There was something else that caught Yun Jianyue’s attention. The perimeter walls were densely covered in Southeast Asian runes, though she could not understand what they meant.
The runes had also been drawn in a color very close to that of the walls. If she had not examined them carefully, she would never have noticed them.
The runes confirmed that this place had dealings with Southeast Asian Xuanmen practitioners. The only question was whether any of those practitioners were currently living here.
Yun Jianyue memorized several of the runes, then led Lu Changxue to Si Wuming’s office.
The Show-Off King truly lived up to his reputation. He had joined the organization’s inner circle almost as soon as he arrived, earning himself a private office that even had air conditioning.
When the woman and ghost entered Si Wuming’s office, he was busy doing something on his computer that Yun Jianyue could not understand. It looked like he was systematizing a money-laundering operation.
“Aren’t you supposed to be livestreaming?” Si Wuming glanced up at Yun Jianyue and Lu Changxue before returning to his work. “There’s candy in the cabinet. No other snacks.”
Yun Jianyue popped a piece of candy into her mouth and glanced at what Si Wuming was doing. She clicked her tongue. “Is there anything you can’t do, Show-Off King?”
“A lot of things,” Si Wuming replied calmly.
Yun Jianyue grabbed a notebook and pen, then copied down the runes she had memorized earlier. “Show-Off King, take a look at these.”
Si Wuming glanced at them. The puppy smiled at her. “You drew them all correctly.”
“I was asking what they mean. The entire perimeter wall is covered in them.” Yun Jianyue was a little speechless. She hadn’t been fishing for compliments from Show-Off King!
That said, she was still very happy he’d praised her.
“They’re Southeast Asian runes used to suppress ghosts,” Si Wuming explained. “Anyone who dies here will be unable to turn into a vengeful ghost and come back for revenge.”
Yun Jianyue arched a brow. “They’ve done so many terrible things, yet they’re still afraid their victims will come knocking in the middle of the night. They really want to have their cake and eat it too.”
Lu Changxue looked terrified. “They won’t affect me, will they?”
She was a ghost, after all!
“You’re already a vengeful ghost, so these runes are useless against you.” Si Wuming looked at Lu Changxue. “Xingxing has nourished you well. In a few more years, you’ll become an S-rank vengeful ghost. Ordinary talismans won’t work on you, so you can afford to be more confident.”
Before Lu Changxue could celebrate getting stronger, a question struck her. “Xingxing? Yun Jianyue told you her childhood nickname?!”
Having spotted the crucial detail, Lu Changxue flew into a frenzy and tried to strangle Yun Jianyue. “You bitch! Didn’t you say only your family was allowed to call you by your childhood nickname? Even I’ve never called you that, but you let Show-Off King use it! And when did you tell him? Why didn’t I know about this?!”
What kind of best friend did that?!
She was furious enough to haunt someone!
She was going to embrace her dark side!
Yun Jianyue effortlessly pried Lu Changxue’s claws off her neck. “There, there. Stop making a fuss. Once I get my bonus, I’ll buy you a better piece of jade.”
Lu Changxue immediately flashed a sweet, charming smile. “Darling is the best! Darling is the best Darling in the whole world~”
“Back to business. Did you find anything over there?” Yun Jianyue asked Si Wuming.
Si Wuming obediently reported, “The computer I’m using is being monitored. Right now, I’m updating and refining the group’s money-laundering channels. Two of the channels require cooperation from people back home, while another requires the involvement of an official institution in Southeast Asia.”
But since the computer was under surveillance, Si Wuming couldn’t investigate any further.
“This goes too deep. We can’t keep wasting all our time on Brother Dao’s end. We need to infiltrate the group’s true inner circle as soon as possible,” Yun Jianyue said.
Brother Dao only handled the dirty work. There were people above him, and quite possibly people above those people as well.
Brother Dao had been the one to lure Gao Weimin to Dongwu. But after Gao Weimin arrived, one of Brother Dao’s superiors had taken him away.
“Someone from the group’s upper management will be coming for an inspection in a few days,” Si Wuming said.
“I’ll find a way to slip in.” Yun Jianyue took two more candies from the drawer. “It’s about time. I need to go back and keep up the act.”
Yun Jianyue and Lu Changxue returned to Doctor Jian’s room. He was still lying on the floor.
After finishing the candy in her mouth, Yun Jianyue instantly switched to a breathy, cutesy voice and rushed over to shake Doctor Jian in apparent panic. “Doctor Jian, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me~ Please wake up~”
Doctor Jian slowly came to. The moment he saw Yun Jianyue, his mind went blank.
It took him a while to remember that after finishing the surgery, his vision had gone dark and he’d passed out.
Doctor Jian climbed to his feet and waved dismissively. “I’m fine. I was probably concentrating too intensely and didn’t get enough blood to my brain. I’ll be all right after some rest.”
With that, Doctor Jian recalled how calm and curious Yun Jianyue had been during the surgery.
“You two certainly have guts. Once I’ve cleaned everything up, I’ll take you to meet Brother Dao.”