Chapter 580 - Chapter 580: Chapter 577: The Effect of the Curse

Chapter 580: Chapter 577: The Effect of the Curse

At this moment.

Liu Xiaoyu’s personal communication room was already filled with people, all of whom were some of the most influential leaders at the headquarters, with Vice Minister Cao Yanhua leading them.

All of their eyes were fixed on the screen above the communication platform.

The screen displayed a bloody scene, with a headless corpse lying on the ground and half of Yang Jian’s pale, ashen face.

This image came from the camera on Yang Jian’s satellite-positioned phone, so there was no doubt about its authenticity.

Even though Liu Xiaoyu had just tearfully informed them of this fact, when they actually saw the scene, everyone fell silent.

…

Yang Jian was dead?

The famous Ghost Eye Yang Jian from the Supernatural Circle had died like this on a common street in our city, his body severed, his head split in two, a sight too horrifying to endure.

And Yang Jian hadn’t died in some supernatural event; instead, he was suspected to have been killed by someone from his circle of friends.

There had been continuous reports that an entire street near Ping’an Hotel had vanished, and Li Jun hurried over to investigate, guessing it had been swept into some Ghost Domain. Now it seemed, this must have been caused by the ghostly resurrection following Yang Jian’s death.

“This is bad.”

After a moment of silence, this was the only thought in many people’s minds.

It wasn’t just the problem brought by one person’s death, but a series of chain reactions that left them stunned, unsure of how to handle the situation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝοѵǤο.ƈο

Once the news of Ghost Eye Yang Jian’s death spread, how many spirit tamers would resign on the spot? Even if they didn’t resign, who would dare to stay here? If there was a mass personnel shift, what would happen to the Ghost Painting incident? Could it still be resolved smoothly?

Besides, the ghosts that emerged following Yang Jian’s death were already showing signs of resurrection; otherwise, the street wouldn’t have disappeared. And if he were to fully resurrect, what level of supernatural event would that be?

It would have to be classified as at least an A-level event, surely.

Which means that a significant number of people would have to be allocated to deal with the ghost of Yang Jian.

“Vice Minister, what do we do now? Yang Jian is dead…” Shen Liang’s face also bore a trace of shock.

Although uncertain, the sight of Yang Jian’s body still sent chills through him.

He was acutely aware that Yang Jian had life-saving items like the substitute doll, the Ghost Candle; under normal circumstances, he shouldn’t have any issues. But now he had died without even the chance to light the Ghost Candle, that red candle lying next to the body, soaked in blood, extremely conspicuous.

Cao Yanhua’s face was terrifyingly grim; he had never felt as bad in his life as he did today.

Anger, humiliation, almost enough to overwhelm his sanity.

He clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging, and in that moment, there was even the impulse to kill.

“Call, make a call to Jang Shangbai, ask if it was done by their circle of friends,” Cao Yanhua managed to suppress all his rage forcefully, and said through clenched teeth,

What?

Yang Jian was killed by someone from his circle of friends?

Cao Yanhua’s words left many who were still in the dark completely dumbfounded, but those who already knew of the situation remained calm.

“I’ll make the contact right now.” A responsible person immediately began to make the call.

Despite the high probability of suspicion, Cao Yanhua still had his wits about him, so he wanted to confirm this fact.

Before long.

Inside the top-floor meeting room of Ping’an Tower.

Jang Shangbai, who had been sitting here for a meeting without leaving, heard his phone ring.

Jang Shangbai took out his phone and hesitated for a moment.

“Is it from headquarters? If so, they must be coming to reprimand us, it looks like President Fang has succeeded, and Yang Jian… is most likely dead,” someone let out a cold laugh.

Others sighed in relief.

With Yang Jian dead, it meant that many in the circle of friends could now sleep easy, not having to disappear or die in confusion like Zhang Jian, President Fei, and He Tianxiong.

“How should I answer this call?” Jang Shangbai fell silent.

The death of Yang Jian did not seem to please him; instead, he felt the situation had become serious.

Previously, Yang Jian was indeed targeting the circle of friends, but what about after Yang Jian was gone? The problems didn’t decrease; now the circle probably had to face the tactics of headquarters.

“Just tell Cao Yanhua that it was us who killed Yang Jian; that’s the response from our circle of friends.”

At this moment, the elevator opened, and Fang Shiming appeared in front of everyone. His complexion was not good, beads of sweat still present on his forehead, as if he had just experienced something extremely dangerous. Yet, his expression remained calm.

“President Fang, maybe we can play for time, no need to admit it so soon; delaying a bit could be good,” someone suggested.

Fang Shiming said, “Do you think we can keep this news hidden?”

He glanced over everyone present. Aside from Jang Shangbai, it was possible that there were others from headquarters amongst them. He could clearly be aware of every move made by headquarters, just as they knew most of the intelligence on the circle of friends.

Both parties were well aware of each other’s situation, so on such a major issue, it was impossible to keep things completely concealed.

Instead of being docile, it was better to admit it directly and face it with strength.

Showing weakness at this time would be a foolish act.

“Jang Shangbai, say whatever you want to say; if Cao Yanhua dares make any move, tell him I can take down Yang Jian just as I can take down Li Jun, Cao Yang, all his team captains, and turn his headquarters into a shell. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll act as if today’s events never happened.”

“The circle of friends remains as it was, and we will also assist fully with the Ghost Candle incident, and by the way, we’ll take care of Yang Jian’s body.”

Fang Shiming didn’t take a completely hard line; he gave Cao Yanhua a way out.

“President Fang, is it really okay to say something like this?” someone’s eyelids twitched, feeling that it was like pouring fuel on a fire.

Fang Shiming let out a cold laugh: “Who is Cao Yanhua? Just a common politician. What else can such people do besides compromise? Each and every one is looking before and after, needing to consider the bigger picture, afraid of losing control of the situation, and not wanting to increase the loss. After losing Yang Jian, would he really risk adding several more team captains?”

“Even if he had the audacity, there are ministers above him, and others above the ministers… it’s not up to him to decide.”

“Do you know why I don’t join the headquarters and prefer to stay in the circle of friends as a corporate president? It’s because I see through this; to me, Yang Jian was a gift. It’s his close team members we should be wary of, lest they retaliate suddenly. But they are nothing more than insignificant small fry that can’t do any real damage.”

“Jang Shangbai, my words should be clear enough now, right?”

“You’re the president; once you’ve decided, I have nothing more to say,” Jang Shangbai shook his head slightly and answered the phone, connecting with someone from the headquarters.

A short while later, the call ended.

The communication ended.

Inside the communication room of headquarters.

With a suppressed voice, Cao Yanhua asked, “What did Jang Shangbai say?”

The manager making the call also had an ugly expression on his face as he discovered the mobile phone, “There’s an admission, the Friends Circle is saying they took out Yang Jian, here’s the explanation for you, Deputy Minister. If you want to take action against the Friends Circle, they’re ready to oblige. They wouldn’t mind knocking down a few of our team leaders to leave us with nobody to use.”

“Moreover, they said that as long as we treat today’s incident as if it never happened, they’d vigorously assist us. They’d help deal with the Ghost Painting incident and even take care of Yang Jian’s corpse.”

Before he’d finished speaking, Cao Yanhua was so furious his eyes were blood red, and with a kick, he sent the office chair of Liu Xiaoyu flying, “This bunch of bastards, they’ve gone too far. Order everyone to put aside their current tasks, even the Ghost Painting incident. Not handled for now. Give me half a day, I give them half a day to take out the Friends Circle.”

“Shut down all the industries related to the Friends Circle, arrest all involved personnel. If they resist, kill them on the spot.”

“Have Old Qin make a trip to Ping’an Tower, and bring over the murderer who took out Yang Jian.”

This response fueled Cao Yanhua’s rage even more, and he couldn’t wait even a single night to start dealing with the Friends Circle right away.

“Stay calm, Deputy Minister. If we act like this at this moment, the situation will spiral completely out of control. If the Friends Circle people fight desperately, we may indeed lose a few more team leaders. The big picture is what’s important.” Someone’s face turned pale, and they immediately began to persuade him.

“Yang Jian is already dead. We can’t add more Ghost Controllers to the dead for the sake of a deceased person. This sort of retaliatory action is wrong.”

“The urgent priority is the Ghost Painting incident, and the issue of Yang Jian’s ghost resurrection after his death. The Friends Circle needs to be dealt with, but not right now.”

The majority did not agree with Cao Yanhua’s order.

“What are the rules for, do I need to repeat them for you? Yang Jian was a responsible person. The Friends Circle took out one of our leaders, under these circumstances, we absolutely cannot let them off,” Cao Yanhua bellowed, “Stay calm my ass, if we don’t deal with the Friends Circle now, we’re finished.”

“This is too serious. We need to notify the Minister. Moreover, Deputy Minister, you are too emotionally agitated at the moment. Under these circumstances, we can refuse your commands, and I will write a report afterward.” Still, no one agreed with his behavior.

Shen Liang stayed silent, with a slight squint in his eyes, he was very clear about the reason for this scene.

Simply put, they didn’t want Yang Jian’s death to affect others.

Everyone wanted to stem their losses.

Meanwhile, at the doorway.

Liu Xiaoyu, with eyes red from crying, saw the arguing scene inside and was momentarily stunned.

It seemed that Yang Jian’s death was no longer so important.

At the same time,

On a street covered in red light, a headless corpse lay silently on the cold ground. A brain, sliced in half by something, lay near the body, with blood continuously flowing from the severed neck, soaking everything around it in a pool of blood.

As time passed, less and less blood flowed from the body, the pool of blood around it gradually congealing, leaving only the cold and death behind.

No one dared to approach the corpse.

Passersby who discovered the body kept their distance in terror, and a few called in to report the crime.

But what they did not notice was that the corpse’s hand still clutched an old wooden Eight-Tone Music Box.

The Music Box was slightly open, with a pitch-black interior that revealed nothing but an indescribable ominous aura—as if out of place in this world, belonging to some antiquated object that had been discarded.

Ding, ding ding…

A crisp, ethereal sound resonated faintly around, as if a child with a lovely voice was singing beside you. Listen to the individual notes and you’d find them pleasant and melodious. But when combined into a piece of music, they struck an eerie, hollow note that brought despair and a chilling sensation.

Curiously, although people kept their distance in horror after discovering the body, not a single one heard the sound. Perhaps it was too faint for them to notice, or maybe these eerie notes weren’t meant to pulse for them.

Regardless, the music emanating from the Music Box was real.

And the only listener was the headless corpse lying in the pool of blood.

Such a scene appeared to permeate the soul with terror.

Yet, as time ticked away, the frigid body that should have sunk into darkness and vanished, found the once-lost consciousness of a living person gradually returning, as if a spirit was being summoned back from hell by the ringing of an Eight-Tone Music Box.

No one noticed the eyes on Yang Jian’s head, split in two, void of life and luster, were slowly regaining a glimmer of light.

The disappearing consciousness was returning.

Heaviness, exhaustion, and the icy grip of imminent death began to fade away.

A thought process belonging to Yang Jian was slowly awakening, and that faint, absent music was becoming increasingly clear.

At that moment, Yang Jian was sure he heard it.

He heard the melody of an Eight-Tone Music Box echoing in his mind, a sound that seemed to possess an incredible power, rousing him from the slumber of death, just as an alarm clock awakens a sleeper.

“Am I, still alive?”

He did not know how long had passed, but at some point, Yang Jian’s consciousness fully recovered, allowing him to think normally. And his thoughts were clearer and more profound than at any previous time.

Without the influence of pain, fatigue, cold, hunger, or any other physical sensations, his thought process reached the best state of his life.

He was more lucid than ever.

However, this state was highly illogical because Yang Jian’s head was not only separated from his body, but also split in two. Under such circumstances, consciousness should be impossible; he should have been long dead.

Yet Yang Jian understood very clearly that he was still alive.

Despite his body’s condition being inadequate for survival, a terrible curse persisted in keeping his consciousness alive.

“Is it the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box that has allowed me to live? It seems that my earlier choice was correct. Although I admit there was an element of gambling, it appears I have gambled correctly,” Yang Jian thought very clearly.

He had forsaken the replacement doll and the lighting of the Ghost Candle, staking his life solely on the Eight-Tone Music Box.

It required immense courage.

Because Yang Jian did not understand the object, he was completely unaware of its true function and power, and was without confidence in it.

But the result was still fairly positive; he was alive and had not been eliminated.

“But my current state seems very bad.”

Although he was “alive,” he could no longer see clearly; everything was pitch-black. It seemed his eyes had necrotized, losing the ability to see.

Deprived of vision.

However, it seemed he could still hear.

A series of eerie bell tones formed a snippet of music that echoed incessantly, repeating and playing endlessly as if it would never cease.

To describe the sound more accurately, it was not so much resonating next to his ear but directly emerging within his mind.

Surrounding his consciousness.

Just like a strange piece of music inserted abruptly into the middle of a movie, it felt very out of place.

“However, now is not the time to be concerned with this. That strange previous assault seems to have stopped, and I should think about how to recover…” Yang Jian told himself with clear thinking that the crisis was not yet over.

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