Nightmare Apostle

"Notify Old Ding to hold off on any rash actions; keep a close watch on the person and see who they’ve been recently associating with," Chief Zhou instructed.

"Understood." The visitor nodded, then hesitated and added, "As per your instructions, Old Wu has secretly followed Ma Jiefang and Chen Qiaoyun. But Chief, they’re sent by the higher-ups to assist in the investigation. Could they really be problematic?"

"I don’t know, but something seems off about Ma Jiefang. He seems to know something but isn’t speaking."

"Did you call the city like I asked?" Chief Zhou probed further.

"I did, but they said we don’t have the authority to access Ma Jiefang’s records and dismissed us." The man complained.

"Forget it, I’ll contact them myself tomorrow. I’ll find Director Wang and ask him for help to pull Ma Jiefang’s files."

"I always felt something’s off about this guy. His investigation direction never aligns with our case; he jumped straight into probing some arson incidents, and it’s like we’re being led by the nose by him," Chief Zhou whispered.

"Should we control him first?" The man asked.

"No, don’t startle the snake. If there’s a problem, there’s undoubtedly a bigger fish behind it."

"We’ll pursue two lines simultaneously. We’ll track Sun Fendou and have Old Zhai secretly investigate Ma Jiefang. Once we have evidence, it’ll be time to deal with him."

Chief Zhou emphasized, "Meanwhile, have the factory workers keep a close eye on the production line and report any situations immediately."

"No matter what happens, operations must not stop. This is our bottom line. Quality and quantity must be assured before year-end; this is a task given to us by the people of our nation."

"Understood!" The man nodded solemnly.

...

Under the night sky, Yang Xiao and Ye Zheng walked along a narrow path, cold icy rain slapping their faces randomly. Ye Zheng tightened his raincoat once more.

Feeling something abnormal behind them, Ye Zheng instinctively glanced back, yet the dimly-lit path was shrouded in darkness and the night rain reduced visibility considerably.

"Listen, behind us it seems like..."

"Don’t look back, keep moving." Without turning his head, Yang Xiao took Ye Zheng’s hand and continued walking forward, making the two seem very close.

"It seems like something is following us." Taking advantage of being close to Yang Xiao, Ye Zheng said in a quiet, quick tone.

"I know," Yang Xiao responded, "Don’t be afraid. It’s not a ghost; it’s the security department’s people."

"Why are they following us? Are they trying to use us as bait?" Ye Zheng’s eyes widened slightly, taken aback.

"They suspect us. It’s my fault. I was too impulsive."

If Yang Xiao considered the situation from an opposing perspective, he easily grasped where the issue lay; Chief Zhou wasn’t easily fooled. He surely spotted discrepancies in his behavior.

Yang Xiao speculated that his insistence on investigating several arson cases raised suspicions. After all, these aged cases seemed unrelated to the recent espionage and facial removal incidents.

The reason they haven’t acted against him is partly because they don’t want to alarm him, and partly because they’re unsure of his intentions.

After all, Yang Xiao was dispatched to assist with this case investigation. Unless substantial criminal evidence against him is found, Chief Zhou and the others dare not act against him.

However, Yang Xiao speculates that an investigation against him secretly is inevitable.

If he were Chief Zhou, not only would he organize personnel to investigate secretly, but he’d also immediately apply to the higher-ups to review Yang Xiao’s files.

This was something Yang Xiao always worried about, but he couldn’t help it, as he lacked the time to play mind games with Chief Zhou. What he needed to do was quickly confirm the ghost’s identity and reconstruct the ghost’s life experiences.

Their tailing persisted until they reached the residential building, where it finally concluded. Using a spare key, Yang Xiao opened the building door, and the two returned to their dorm room. Yang Xiao unpacked their bag and found a clean new outfit for Ye Zheng.

Ye Zheng dried his hair and body with a towel, then dressed in fresh clothes. She curled up on the bed and wrapped herself tightly with a blanket. After ten minutes or so, her complexion gradually improved.

In the corridor outside the kitchen area, several wood-stopper large thermos flasks were placed. Yang Xiao picked them up one by one and shook them. One still had over half a flask of water. Removing the wood stopper, he could feel the warm moisture rising from the flask’s spout.

Yang Xiao brought the water flask inside, found an enamel mug, and poured a cup of hot water for Ye Zheng to warm herself.

Curling up on the bed, Ye Zheng sipped the hot water slowly, the icy chill finally dissipating from her body. A slight sweat appeared on her forehead, and she felt rejuvenated.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Ye Zheng looked at Yang Xiao, sincerely expressing gratitude.

"You won’t escape paying me back for this care," Yang Xiao quipped with a sly, merchant-like smile.

Unexpectedly, Ye Zheng responded with earnestness, nodding with seriousness, "That’s only reasonable. Whoever receives kindness must repay it. Which property in Qinglan City are you interested in? I’ll gift it to you."

"Wow, a cup of hot water for a house, this deal is not bad," Yang Xiao joked.

"Though there’s no need. I helped you because we’re teammates, sharing the same dorm. If you fall ill, it would also inconveniently affect me."

"Regardless of who it is, any teammate, I’d offer help as much as possible. You may not know me well yet; I’m Yang Xiao, doing good deeds without expecting returns, pure-hearted, unable to see people suffer," Yang Xiao shamelessly declared.

"I know that much," Ye Zheng acknowledged with a nod, "I’ve heard about you; during operations to eliminate the Evil Cultivator, you never left any survivors, insisting that even corpses must be given an extra blow."

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