Chapter Thirty-Six: Bear Dad

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Dongchuan City was bitterly cold at dusk.

The weather was always unpredictable at the beginning of winter. The sky had been clear that morning, yet by evening, snowflakes had begun drifting down for no apparent reason.

Shen Lin followed Chen Zuo to Dongchuan City’s temporary command center. For the time being, Chen Zuo served as Shen Lin’s assistant and driver.

Chen Zuo had official standing and connections, and having him handle the coordination spared them a great deal of trouble.

“How is the situation?” Shen Lin asked directly.

The person in charge here, Fang Heping, had clearly already received word. The moment Shen Lin spoke, he answered without hesitation.

“Mr. Shen, the incident hasn’t fully erupted yet. The ghost’s power this time is very strange. Its area of influence expanded to a certain point and then suddenly stopped. We sent a forward team to observe the situation, but they haven’t reported anything. Still, there’s something odd about the incident itself. That ghost seems to be waiting for something, as if…”

“As if it’s gathering strength. This is the preparation before despair descends—the calm before the storm.” Shen Lin finished for him, his expression grim.

The incident was developing exactly as he had anticipated. The Ghost Staircase had begun to display a certain degree of intelligence, and this event was anything but peaceful.

“Where did the satellite signal from Xiang Jie, the former person in charge of Dongchuan City, disappear? Does his operator have a report on the incident?” Shen Lin asked.

He did not expect to learn much. As far as he knew, Xiang Jie had fallen very quickly and most likely had not discovered much.

“Prepare medical supplies and rescue teams. Expand the evacuation zone by another three kilometers. If I still haven’t sent word in two days, Chen Zuo will report the situation to headquarters and then contact Wu Qiu,” Shen Lin instructed.

He had made contingency plans.

Chen Mo’s ghost curse was extremely sinister. It required two conditions to activate: first, he had to say the words aloud; second, the other party had to hear them.

Shen Lin had made Chen Mo record several messages. He carried the recorder with him in case it was needed.

“Yes.” Chen Zuo acknowledged him. At the same time, Fang Heping arrived with the documents.

Information regarding ghost tamers and various kinds of ghosts was classified as top-secret by headquarters. Accessing it required certain procedures and time.

In fact, if not for the special nature of this incident and Shen Lin’s presence, headquarters would never have released those files.

The information was concise. Xiang Jie’s signal had ultimately vanished on Zhongshan North Road. Shen Lin had also obtained some information from Xu Fang, who had experienced the incident firsthand. Judging by the circumstances, the ghost they had encountered was most likely the Reversing Ghost.

It was understandable that Xiang Jie had fallen into the hands of the Reversing Ghost. At this stage, the only way to deal with it was through ingenuity. No one had any means of confronting it head-on.

“For the next few days, keep an eye on Chen Mo and don’t let him wander off. That child is special. Tell Wu Qiu to find a way to get him a reserve title with Interpol,” Shen Lin instructed.

Chen Mo’s uniqueness lay in his ghost curse. Apart from that, he had no combat ability, and Shen Lin had no intention of bringing him along.

Fang Heping stepped outside and returned a short while later. Leaning close to Shen Lin, he told him that Xu Fang and Zhou Bin had arrived.

Shen Lin was pleased. Those two were clearly no fools; they understood how to weigh their options.

“What about Xiong Wenwen?” Shen Lin asked.

Their team consisted of Xu Fang as the explorer, Xiong Wenwen as support, and Shen Lin as the assault specialist—a standard three-person formation. Xiong Wenwen was indispensable.

“He’s still on the way. He should arrive in about five minutes. Headquarters personnel are personally supervising him, so he isn’t under our jurisdiction,” Fang Heping replied.

That was only natural. Headquarters treasured Xiong Wenwen dearly. They had sent him here only because Shen Lin had forced their hand. Otherwise, they might have tried to fob him off with who knew what.

“Have the personnel on the front line spread out. Tell Xu Fang and Zhou Bin to get ready. We move in half an hour.”

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“Tell those two delivery men from headquarters that if they’re making a delivery, they should at least act like couriers. They’d better not provoke me.”

Chen Zuo acknowledged the order. Fang Heping also kept silent. Although neither of them held a low rank, Shen Lin was unquestionably in control at this moment, and no one would oppose him at such a critical juncture.

The vehicle that brought Xiong Wenwen was a specially modified explosive-resistant armored truck. Although this prized child of headquarters possessed considerable abilities, his survival skills were abysmally poor. Without protection, even an elite ordinary person might be able to kill him.

The interior of the specially modified vehicle was furnished much like a recreational vehicle. It appeared to have been designed specifically to accommodate Xiong Wenwen, with every form of entertainment imaginable—food, drink, and amusement.

At that moment, Xiong Wenwen was still asleep, apparently worn out by the jolting journey.

“Wake him up.”

Shen Lin spoke.

The two accompanying personnel exchanged glances and gave Shen Lin an awkward smile.

They did not dare. This young master ran rampant even at headquarters, and Zhao Jianguo gave him three parts deference. They could not afford to offend him.

“Mr. Shen, my superiors asked me to tell you that if the situation proves impossible, you must do everything in your power to ensure Xiong Wenwen’s safety. His abilities are extremely important to headquarters,” one of the escorts said cautiously.

Shen Lin ignored him.

Since headquarters had been willing to send Xiong Wenwen here, they had tacitly accepted certain consequences.

Wang Xiaoming’s philosophy had always been to maximize benefits. No matter how valuable a person was, that value had to be converted into tangible gains. Potential value that could not be realized did not count as value at all.

Their tacit approval of Xiong Wenwen’s arrival also meant that this was a form of equivalent exchange.

If the Dongchuan City incident could be resolved, they would not mind losing Xiong Wenwen.

This was also the greatest reason Yang Jian had diverged from headquarters in the original story.

After the Circle of Friends attacked Yang Jian, headquarters, seeking to maximize its interests and influenced by certain politicians, had tried to reduce a major matter to a minor one and then let even that disappear.

Shen Lin held such behavior in contempt.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your voices down? Are you looking to die? I’ll say it one last time—don’t disturb your father while he’s sleeping!”

As irritable as ever, he sounded like a spoiled child who had been indulged beyond reason.

The conversation seemed to have disturbed Xiong Wenwen. Without even opening his eyes, he began issuing threats. At the same time, he turned over and prepared to continue sleeping.

Half-asleep, Xiong Wenwen sensed that something was wrong. When he opened his eyes, he found himself being held up by the collar by a young man of about twenty, dangling like a chick.

Damn it! No one had ever dared treat his father like this. Along the streets of the capital’s headquarters, everyone knew who the real boss was.

“Put your father down right now! Believe it or not, if your father gets angry, he can make one phone call and have a whole van full of men come kill you!”

Shen Lin smiled.

Anyone familiar with him knew that when he wore such a smile, it was rarely out of kindness.

“Again.”

Xiong Wenwen lashed out, provoked into a fit of rage.

“Come on! One-on-one! Today, either you die or I live. You really think your father can’t deal with you?”

The aura surrounding Xiong Wenwen began to change rapidly. The vitality of the child vanished, replaced by a deathly stillness. His face turned bluish, and his entire condition became extremely bizarre.

The dashboard of the modified vehicle suddenly malfunctioned, as if stimulated by some eerie force.

“Xiong Wenwen, calm down! I’ll call your mother!”

The headquarters escort grew anxious. This little tyrant feared nothing and obeyed no one at headquarters. Only the mention of his mother could bring him under control.

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The other escort was equally nervous. One hand remained wrapped around a phone, ready at any moment to dial the number belonging to Xiong Wenwen’s mother.

Something unexpected happened. The previously arrogant Xiong Wenwen’s expression suddenly became exaggeratedly fearful. His flailing limbs froze, and he even looked at Shen Lin with a trace of terror. His entire presence collapsed as he put on a pitiful expression.

The two escorts were even more astonished. Seeing this little demon behave that way was an extraordinary spectacle, one that might not occur once in a hundred years.

Xiong Wenwen became obedient, as though he had seen something terrifying. He remained in Shen Lin’s grasp, not daring to move.

His father had nearly been scared to death. He had met every kind of person at headquarters, but when had a monster like this ever appeared?

In the near future, he would witness a scene of horror he could never forget. Even after unleashing the full power of his malicious ghost, he would not last a single move in Shen Lin’s hands.

“Uncle… Uncle…”

He tried to make his voice sound cute and his eyes watery. Xiong Wenwen did everything he could to appear obedient.

The man before him was nothing like anyone he had encountered before. Shen Lin clearly had no fondness for headquarters and did not treat Xiong Wenwen like some precious treasure. In the future Xiong Wenwen had foreseen, if he continued causing trouble, Shen Lin would strike without the slightest hesitation.

“Put away that disgusting expression. Zhao Jianguo should have explained the situation to you thoroughly. I’ll ask only once: can you cooperate properly?”

The words were spoken slowly and in an exceptionally gentle tone. Combined with the smile on Shen Lin’s face, the scene was utterly horrifying.

“Yes! Yes!”

Xiong Wenwen nodded repeatedly.

Damn it, his father knew when to submit. Only an idiot would provoke a lunatic like this. Once everything was over, he would report Shen Lin to headquarters.

Shen Lin casually set the troublesome child down, then instructed someone to bring Xu Fang and Zhou Bin over. The Ghost Staircase was extremely sinister, and there were several things he needed to warn them about before they departed.

“You’re Shen Lin?” Xiong Wenwen asked.

Shen Lin glanced at him.

“What? Don’t I look like him?”

Xiong Wenwen was a typical spoiled brat. The best way to deal with such children was to be even more unreasonable than they were.

The timid feared the aggressive; the aggressive feared the reckless; the reckless feared those who did not care whether they lived or died. The method never failed.

“Are you married?” Xiong Wenwen asked.

A playful look crossed Shen Lin’s face. Xiong Wenwen’s father had died during a ghost incident, while Xiong Wenwen himself had become a ghost tamer during that same event. However, he possessed little offensive ability and was not very capable of protecting himself.

After that, whenever he encountered an impressive man, he took endless delight in recommending his mother, doing everything he could to make the man become his stepfather.

In the original story, the person most persistently harassed by this tactic was Yang Jian.

“What? Do you want to be my son?” Shen Lin asked.

Recently, it seemed as though some divine force had taken an interest in him. One person after another wanted to call him father.

Shen Lin even jokingly imagined himself standing atop the sea, leading his sons in conquering the ocean.

Xiong Wenwen froze, looking at Shen Lin with deep suspicion.

“Have you been interested in my mother for a long time? I’m warning you—if you want to marry my mother, you’ll have to get past me first.”

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