Chapter 18: The Fee Must Be Increased (Revised)

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As the system subdued the little ghost before him, it vanished into thin air and appeared within the system interface. The moment Yang Xuan sensed the troupe members, his eyes lit up—he could actually understand the words on the paper.

“Heh, this is better. Let me see how I can trick you.”

After leaving Room 1804, Yang Xuan didn’t say a word and shoved the paper into the hands of the talisman specialist, who was wiping blood from his nose.

“This is the entire process.”

“Of course, if you don’t understand what’s written on it, you can ask me—but it’ll cost extra.”

“Extra cost?”

The talisman expert was stunned, disbelief shining in his eyes.

“Money makes the ghost grind the mill, huh?”

But when he looked at the paper Yang Xuan handed over, his eyes nearly popped out. Although he couldn’t read what was written, he was certain it was ghost script.

“Hey, kid, what did you do? Torture?”

Yang Xuan reached into the talisman expert’s pocket, pulled out a whole box of Chinese cigarettes, lit one, and after tucking the rest into his own pocket, nodded.

“What else? By the way, I handled that little ghost, but the rest are trivial—you take care of them.”

Without looking back, Yang Xuan left straight for the hotel.

With the matter here settled, what was the point of staying in the car? Of course, it was time to rest properly at the hotel—most importantly, someone else would cover the expenses.

After receiving the ghost script, the talisman expert didn’t rest; he rushed overnight to the organization’s headquarters.

By the time he arrived, dawn was breaking.

Inside, he immediately sought out the leader.

“Boss, here you go. This was extracted by that kid under duress, but something feels off.”

The man called the boss took the paper, nodded.

“Indeed, this is ghost script. I believe this can’t be forged.”

Just as he spoke, a striking figure appeared.

She wore a tight pencil skirt, a light-colored vest draped over her shoulders, and her cascading wavy hair flowed down her back. Her exquisite appearance was a disaster wherever she went—a true siren capable of bringing ruin to a nation.

However, when the talisman expert saw her clearly, a trace of fear immediately surfaced in his eyes.

“Bo... Boss, why has the Enchantress returned?”

“What’s the matter? You discontent?”

The Enchantress’s thin lips parted, her voice dripping with temptation.

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“...”

“Enough, Enchantress, stop bullying the talisman expert. After all, he’s a veteran in the organization.”

With the boss’s words, the Enchantress restrained herself.

She tilted her body, perched on the desk with her rounded hips, turning her head toward the paper.

“Oh? Ghost script?”

“Haven’t seen this in years. Who’s got such skill?”

The boss smiled faintly and recounted the story of the new recruit. The Enchantress’s eyes gleamed with deep interest.

“Boss, when you have time, I must properly meet this new member.”

After the Enchantress left, the boss’s expression grew troubled.

“Old Zhen, acquiring this ghost script surely shows great ability, but no one in our organization can decipher it. How about getting the new member to translate it?”

As the boss finished speaking, the talisman expert hesitated, then raised a hand and gestured.

“Boss, translation is no problem, but I’ll need some funding!”

“Funding?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Didn’t I already give you 100,000 for expenses before you left? You didn’t embezzle it, did you?”

The talisman expert’s face darkened, feeling deeply wronged.

After all, on this trip, not only was every last cent of the organization’s 100,000 spent, but he also dipped into his own savings for another 50,000.

Beyond that, years of painstaking missions had left him with precious merit points, many of which were lost.

After hearing all this, the boss grew serious and considered.

“Alright then, Enchantress will go with you. I don’t believe she can’t handle him!”

Meanwhile, in a secluded valley.

This place didn’t appear on any map, replaced instead by an expanse of ocean.

If discovered and reported by certain personnel, it would surely cause a worldwide uproar.

Within the valley, no fewer than five Ghost Kings waited, including one recently promoted Ghost Emperor. The atmosphere brimmed with malevolent energy; weaker ghosts knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

“What now? We’ve prepared everything for the resurrection ritual of the Malevolent Ghost Emperor, but we still can’t find his soul pill! What should we do?”

The one-star Ghost Emperor in the lead massaged his temples, a troubled look on his face.

“Ghost Emperor, we must find that soul pill, or all our efforts over these five or six years will be in vain!”

Upon hearing this, a Ghost King below spoke up and was promptly kicked by the one-star Ghost Emperor.

“Out of words? Better keep your nonsense to yourself! You think I don’t want to find it? But where? The Malevolent Ghost Emperor’s scent has vanished!”

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In the ghost realm, any Ghost King carries a powerful personal aura that all ghosts can use to locate one another.

Even though the Malevolent Ghost Emperor had been sealed for years, his aura remained strong. It was because of that aura these followers still had faith, allowing them to toil for so many years.

But now, that aura was gone, leaving the followers restless and uneasy.

“I don’t care what means you use; find that soul pill! If you fail, don’t come back! Die out there!”

The one-star Ghost Emperor roared at his subordinates.

As they prepared to leave, one Ghost King suddenly had a thought.

“Sir, haven’t we already died once?”

“Get lost!”

Meanwhile, Yang Xuan, having just awakened at the hotel, was probing the system.

His phone suddenly rang with a ding. Taking it out, he saw an unnamed message: “With your strength, it would be a waste not to join the Special Operations Department. You should consider it seriously; after all... life is short—why not do something meaningful?”

Reading the message, Yang Xuan felt momentarily confused. The only person inviting him to join the department was that inexplicably scruffy man, but the message’s tone didn’t seem like something the talisman expert would say.

What Yang Xuan didn’t know was that due to a lack of organizational funds, the captain had delegated the ghost script translation entirely to the talisman expert. Unable to pay, the expert had no choice but to soften his stance and turn Yang Xuan into one of their own...

You can’t expect a comrade to work without pay!

Yang Xuan didn’t ponder this too deeply before the system’s prompt caught his attention.

[Employer, the cleaver-wielding little ghost is hungry and needs feeding. Should merit points be supplied?]

“What the hell?”

Yang Xuan was stunned, his face full of displeasure.

He had recruited a subordinate who not only failed to earn money but now expected to be fed by him?

Ridiculous!

There was no way Yang Xuan would agree.

“Refuse! I refuse one hundred and eighty times!”

[System detects employer refuses to feed! Employer has a second option: release the team member to fend for themselves.]

Hmm? That sounds better.

“Confirmed! Release!”

No sooner had he spoken than the cleaver-wielding little ghost wobbled its big head and appeared before him.