80: Chapter 80 Aftermath

Municipal Building, conference room.

Old Leader sat at the head of the U-shaped conference table, with Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo on the left, the Bureau Chief on the right, and the secretary standing behind.

The few of them didn't say a word.

After all the workers who were changing the windows left, the secretary spoke: "The police reinforcements sent from the neighboring city have already been sent back."

"The construction teams for repairing the roads and houses have also been arranged, it's just that..."

Old Leader frowned: "Speak your mind."

"The citizens who were leaving the city and those on the way... didn't go home."

"Didn't go home?" The Bureau Chief was stunned. "Where did they go?"

"Immortal Xu disappeared in the mountains in the suburbs, and they all went into the mountains, saying they wanted to seek Immortal Fate."

The people present, of course, knew that you couldn't find Immortal Fate by searching like that.

"Let them be. If they can't find it after a long time, they will naturally return to the city," Old Leader waved his hand. "Just send people to look after them, and make sure they don't fall, that's all."

"Understood." The secretary nodded, turned, and left the room.

The door closed, and the Bureau Chief scratched his head: "Old Leader, now the whole city knows about the Cultivator. Many videos taken by Su City citizens are already circulating online. What should we do?"

He meant, should they let it be, or find a way to control it.

After thinking for a while, Old Leader said: "The Government Officials cannot endorse this for the time being. We must make full preparations first, otherwise, it will easily lead to chaos."

"What if some monsters and freaks appear, using the name of the Immortal to swindle people? Not only will it cause economic losses to the public, but what if Immortal Xu gets angry because of this?"

"Then I'll have people delete all the videos on the internet."

"Are you stupid?" Old Leader scolded. "If you delete them, aren't you just confirming it?"

"Tell the relevant technical staff to create more similar videos and post them on major internet platforms, and then you don't need to worry about it."

Although Old Leader was old, he hadn't been abandoned by the times.

He often used the internet and knew that people nowadays liked conspiracy theories.

The more you cover it up, the more half-hidden and half-revealed it is, the more they will firmly believe it.

Therefore, the best way to eliminate rumors is not to stop people from talking, but to have everyone talk about it, and come up with a few more versions.

The truth and falsehood are mixed together. Some say this, some say that. Those who believe and those who don't, holding their own opinions and views, argue crazily online.

After a few days, when the netizens have exhausted their enthusiasm and attention from the arguments, the heat of the matter will naturally subside.

Covering the truth under rumors is far more effective than trying to shut people's mouths.

The Bureau Chief shouted "Old Leader is wise" and hurried out of the room to handle the matter.

The door had just closed when it was pushed open again. Ye Ming walked into the room and sat in the seat below Zhao Qi.

"Your name is Ye Ming, right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Little Wang told me that Immortal Xu said you have Immortal Fate?"

"Uh..." Ye Ming scratched his face. "He did say that to me, but... apart from encountering a strange plant, nothing else has changed around me."

As he said this, he raised his left hand and patted his right arm: "My strength hasn't increased, and my thinking hasn't become any sharper."

"I'm just an ordinary person."

Old Leader smiled with squinted eyes: "Didn't Immortal Xu say the time hasn't come yet and to just wait? Then let's wait."

"Also." He looked at Zhao Qi. "The Special Investigation Bureau has three teams in total, right?"

Zhao Qi hurriedly replied: "Yes, but because it has always been... due to some irresistible factors, the Special Investigation Bureau currently only has one team operating.

The other two are just empty shells."

This was a polite way of putting it.

The Special Investigation Bureau had tricked quite a few people into joining over the years, but apart from the Bureau Chief, Zhao Qi, Yue Ruo, and a general team leader, there was no one else who could stay.

That was it.

Old Leader tapped the table with his right index finger: "In that case, hurry up and build those two teams. I will provide you with sufficient personnel and funding."

"Do you have any requirements?"

"Me?" Ye Ming looked confused as he saw Old Leader staring at him.

Looking around, he saw Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo also looking at him, so he turned back and said: "I don't really have any requirements, it's just that... when I was doing my PhD, I had an assistant, and I'm used to working with her. Is it possible to..."

"As long as she passes the political review, there is no problem."

Hearing this, Ye Ming relaxed and leaned back against the chair.

"Knock, knock—" Just as Zhao Qi was about to say something, the door was suddenly knocked.

"Come in." Old Leader looked over. When he saw who pushed the door, he laughed: "Yo, is this Shi Ming? I heard from Little Wang that you arrived in Su City a step earlier. Where have you been these past few days?"

Shi Ming was a man in his early thirties, not burly, but not thin either.

He walked upright, but always had no expression, his eyes had no waves, and he looked like he was hard to get along with.

He nodded to greet Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo, curiously sized up Ye Ming, and sat down in the Bureau Chief's original seat: "I have been screening suspicious locations in various areas of Su City."

"Did you find anything?"

"The barbecue at the snack street tastes good."

Realizing that the person asking him wasn't the Bureau Chief, Shi Ming's mouth twitched, and he changed the subject: "Old Leader, I am here to resign."

This statement stunned everyone except Ye Ming.

Zhao Qi, who had come back to his senses, was shocked: "Team Leader Shi, are you crazy?"

"The Special Investigation Bureau has been swallowing its pride for so many years, and now that it's about to turn things around, you're leaving?"

Shi Ming's expressionless face suddenly sank: "It's precisely because it's about to turn around that I'm leaving."

"It was hard enough to find such a leisurely place to work. I've only had a few good days!"

The table was slapped loudly by him.

Old Leader, sitting in the main seat, couldn't bear to look: "A person like your father, how did he produce a thing like you?"

After scolding, he gave a final verdict: "You are not allowed to resign."

Knowing that there was no room for resistance once Old Leader spoke, Shi Ming was extremely miserable, slumped on the table, and played dead.

Here, seeing that matters were roughly arranged, Zhao Qi stood up: "Old Leader, I have an urgent matter to attend to."

"En."

Zhao Qi strode out of the room excitedly. Thanks to Immortal Xu, I didn't die in Su City. That bastard Taoist and stinky bald donkey, Grandpa is coming for you!

"Seeking immortality?"

Returning home, he received greeting calls from Song Lan and Ye Ming respectively.

After dealing with them one by one, Zhang Mu sat on the sofa in the living room, swiping his finger across the phone screen, scrolling through the video of his Tribulation Transcendence.

It wasn't that he intended to look for it, but now, all kinds of software and portal websites were full of this video, and he couldn't hide from it even if he wanted to.

Just as he flipped through the comments section of one of the videos, he saw a comment from someone who was likely a local of Su City, saying that they were currently seeking immortality in the mountains in the suburbs.

Some strange ways of manifesting divinity suddenly popped into his mind.

But they were all fragmented images and clips, and it would take time to sort them out properly to become a complete plan.

Manifesting divinity cannot be just for the Government Officials; he must also find opportunities for close contact with the citizens.

Otherwise, as long as the Government Officials do not admit it, it will be difficult for the Cultivator to be recognized and known by the public.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Mu decided to put this matter aside. He had to go to the Special Investigation Bureau first to show his face.

One reason was to see how his Senior Brother was doing. Being able to work at the Special Investigation Bureau, plus his own support, his future could be considered stable.

Besides, if he didn't go to see them, they might think he had been struck to death by lightning.

Thinking this, he activated the Shadow Technique and the Transformation Technique, and hurried toward the Municipal Building.