Chapter 56: Obtaining the Divine Technique

The previous supernatural incidents had only spread within a small radius, and since there were not many bystanders involved, it was naturally easy to sweep them under the rug.

However, this time over a dozen people died at the Fan Group Building, including Fan Zhancai, the president of the Fan Group, and several of his senior executives. Even irrelevant people from outside were dragged into the mess.

Obviously, it was no longer possible to cover things up as before.

The political climate in Hong Kong was bound to change.

In the past, the cops could hypnotize themselves and outsiders with the saying, "There are no ghosts in this world."

Now that the situation had blown up, they could no longer use that excuse to shirk responsibility, and they even had to prepare themselves for past actions to come back and haunt them.

Before Lin Bei could leave, he was met by the DCP of the Hong Kong Police Force, who was also the frontrunner to take over the position of Commissioner—Cai Yuanqi.

As the DCP in charge of operations for the police force, his personal presence signified the high importance the force attached to this matter.

Stepping out of the car, Cai Yuanqi wore a dark expression, clearly in a foul mood.

Even when shaking hands with Lin Bei, he only managed a forced smile, one that looked far worse than crying.

When he saw the corpse of the security guard possessed by the cat demon, his face turned as dark as charcoal.

Had his self-control not been reasonably decent, Cai Yuanqi would have reacted just like the subordinates behind him, scared into stepping back repeatedly.

Hearing about it from others and seeing it with one's own eyes were two entirely different things. Before coming over, Cai Yuanqi had only been half-skeptical, but now he believed it completely.

In his heart, he had already come to agree with Li Shutang's proposal to establish a specialized department dedicated to handling supernatural incidents.

Cai Yuanqi looked at Lin Bei and said, "Mr. Lin, would it be convenient for us to have a brief chat?"

Lin Bei raised an eyebrow and replied, "Sure!"

With that, the two of them walked away from the others and headed toward a secluded corner.

First, Cai Yuanqi switched off the walkie-talkie in his hand, and then said to Lin Bei, "Mr. Lin, before I came here, the Commissioner mentioned to me that he plans to propose to the higher-ups the establishment of a new department specifically to deal with these supernatural incidents. He asked me to gauge your opinion."

Hearing this, Lin Bei smiled and said, "That would certainly be a good thing. If funding is needed, I can sponsor one million."

Seeing that Lin Bei seemed intent on playing dumb, Cai Yuanqi decided to lay his cards on the table directly. "Mr. Lin, I'll be blunt. Currently, the police force lacks such specialized talent, so we are considering recruiting from the private sector. Based on our understanding, the most outstanding talents in Hong Kong in this field are all gathered around you. So, what do you think?"

Lin Bei let out a sneer and said, "They are human beings, not objects, and who knows if you higher-ups will suddenly have a brain fade and assign them suicide missions? You can forget about having designs on my people, but I can give you a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"Pick a team of elite and capable officers, and have my people train them. In addition, I have already arranged for research and development into weapons capable of dealing with those anomalous entities. If successful, I can give you priority in using them."

Upon hearing this, Cai Yuanqi actually began to consider the proposal seriously.

Compared to finding complete strangers who had never received formal training to handle supernatural occurrences, it was undoubtedly more reliable to use subordinates whose backgrounds were known. He believed that even Li Shutang would choose the latter. But belief aside, he was merely a deputy; he could not make unilateral decisions for his superior.

Assuming a hesitant expression, Cai Yuanqi said, "I need to report this matter to the Commissioner first. Once a conclusion is reached, I will contact you, Mr. Lin."

Lin Bei shrugged indifferently and said, "As you like. But don't say I didn't warn you—today's incident will certainly not be an isolated case. Similar events will only become more frequent. Also, let me remind you all: there is a kind of zombie in this world that not only looks identical to ordinary people, but can also move about in broad daylight. Until they bare their fangs, it is extremely difficult to discover their true identity."

Hearing Lin Bei's words, Cai Yuanqi shivered instinctively.

Just imagining a subordinate by his side, or even the person sleeping right beside him in bed, suddenly baring a pair of zombie fangs was enough to scare someone to death before they were even bitten.

Recovering his composure, Cai Yuanqi immediately flashed a flattering smile at Lin Bei and said, "Mr. Lin, I heard from some of the men below that you were the one who personally shot and killed that cat demon. Is there any way to guard against these anomalies?"

Putting on an expression of great difficulty, Lin Bei finally sighed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out two talismans. "These are protective talismans consecrated by an exorcist master. If any demons or ghosts come close, they will automatically ignite. When that happens, run as far as you can."

Hearing this, Cai Yuanqi eagerly took the talismans handed over by Lin Bei and carefully tucked them into his pocket.

This was a life-saving item, after all; he could not afford to be anything less than careful.

When he finished stowing them away and looked up, he discovered that Lin Bei had already left.

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Within the mysterious realm, the various iterations of Lin Bei scattered across the heavens and myriad worlds gathered once again.

As soon as the Hong Kong Comprehensive World's Lin Bei entered, he saw everyone crowded around the Martial Arts World's Lin Bei.

At that moment, the Martial Arts World's Lin Bei exuded an air of high spirits, looking precisely like someone who had just won the jackpot in a lottery.

Curious, the Hong Kong Comprehensive World's Lin Bei reached out and placed a hand on one of the others. Instantly, the memories of the Martial Arts World's Lin Bei from this past period flooded into his mind.

After digesting the influx of information, the Hong Kong Comprehensive World's Lin Bei widened his eyes, his gaze toward the Martial Arts World's Lin Bei filled with intense envy.

After returning last time, this fellow had truly applied himself.

Since the ministers in the imperial court refused to let him meddle in specific state affairs, he simply chose to slack off completely.

Every day consisted solely of eating, practicing martial arts, and sleeping with Jiang Yuyan.

Due to the differing time dilation between the various worlds, while only a few days had passed in the Hong Kong Comprehensive world, a whole month had already gone by in the martial arts world.

Through unremitting efforts, Lin Bei had finally succeeded in getting Jiang Yuyan pregnant.

As the saying goes, familiarity breeds affection, and a woman's personality naturally shifts somewhat after she becomes pregnant.

Previously, Jiang Yuyan had merely wanted to become Empress and exact a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye against those who had wronged her.

In her eyes, Lin Bei was nothing more than a tool; once she bore the imperial seed and secured her position as Empress, she would find a way to take control of him.

At that point, she might well have been able to replicate the path of Empress Lü and rule the realm as a woman.

However, human hearts are made of flesh. Jiang Yuyan had witnessed all of Lin Bei's kindness toward her, and naturally, her resolve had softened.

After becoming pregnant, she even began to feel that being a good Empress and helping Lin Bei properly manage the inner court was not an unacceptable path.

Of course, the vengeance that needed to be reaped must still be exacted. The two princesses of the Yihua Palace, as well as Tie Xilan and Xiaoyu'er, had all been placed on her hit list.

Once she mastered the Art of Grafting Wood to perfection, she would undoubtedly ensure those people were killed without a second thought.

It was precisely by taking advantage of Jiang Yuyan's pregnancy and her softening attitude that the Martial Arts World's Lin Bei had successfully extracted the ninth and ultimate level of the Wedding Dress Divine Art—the Art of Grafting Wood—from her.

In the setting of the martial arts world, the supreme technique of the Yihua Palace was not limited to the Bright Jade Divine Art; it also included the Wedding Dress Divine Art.

It was simply that the ninth level of the Wedding Dress Divine Art had been lost for ages, and the process of practicing it was extraordinarily agonizing.

Consequently, successive generations of Yihua Palace successors had all chosen to cultivate the Bright Jade Divine Art, a divine technique with a complete and unbroken lineage.