Starting from the folklore forum, making up town objects

Chapter 302 Chen Xin: I'm possessed by a ghost!
Bai Hongtao blinked, then looked at his two friends who were looking at him with resentment.

"Hongtao, that's not fair of you."

"Old Bai, we've been friends for so many years, and you've found a good prospect but didn't even tell us. Are you keeping it a secret because you're afraid we'll steal him from your team or something?"

"Exactly, it's one thing if you don't tell others, but what, are we considered outsiders now?"

"Oh, I'm heartbroken, Lao Bai."

Watching his two friends sing in unison, Bai Hongtao would have already snapped at them under normal circumstances, but now, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Why was it the fat man who flew out after hitting Chen Xin?

He wanted to know the answer to that question too!
According to Chen Xin's uncle, although Chen Xin could be considered exceptionally talented, his talent lay not in combat, but in cultivation.

Chen Xin's talent lies in his ability to extract every bit of nutritional value from the food he ingests. This "food" includes, but is not limited to, everyday foods, such as Rehmannia pills, which can also be absorbed.

In this way, Chen Xin was able to develop physical fitness to a level that surpassed most of his peers, despite having little investment of resources before university.

This is also the main reason why Bai Hongtao recruited Chen Xin to Mubei City.

In his mind, Chen Xin's true role should not be played now, but rather five or ten years later after the training period is extended.

Only then will Chen Xin be able to stand out in the 'long-distance running competition'.

His trip to Zhenlong Temple was actually a means for him to win over Chen Xin, this genius.

Otherwise, after four years of university, when Chen Xin loses his student status, what reason will he have to stay in Mubei City?

Don't let the fruit be harvested by Lingyuan City in the end.

Bai Hongtao even plans to introduce Chen Xin to local women in the next few years!

But all of this was based on the premise that he already knew Chen Xin's talent.

Now, what's the situation?
Why did Chen Xin's performance just now rival that of those exceptionally talented individuals in the Heavenly Gang Bureau?
Bai Hongtao never considered the practice of Chen Xinqiang's exercises, because even if Chen Xinqiang's exercises had reached the fourth version, it was still impossible to do what he had just done.

So the only possibility is... Chen Xin's talent is flawed!
Either Chen Xin has more than one talent, or Chen Xin's talent has not been fully developed!
Talent is not static.

Take that white-haired girl from earlier, for example. She can now control seven flying knives, but she couldn't possibly control that many at the beginning, and she will definitely control more than seven in the future.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was of his guess, and Bai Hongtao's heart began to race.

In the entire Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends Formation, there were only about ten gifted individuals who appeared on the screen just now, and now, their Mubei City branch has one of them.

How could this not excite him?
"Hey Lao Bai, what are you thinking about all by yourself?"

"We can't be friends anymore?"

Upon hearing voices, Bai Hongtao turned to the side, his face beaming.

"Ha... cough cough, well, I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that, really, there's nothing to say about this kid's talent."

Bai Hongtao coughed twice, suppressing his laughter.

"Isn't there anything to say?"

Dong Ruibin from Shouyi City pointed at the screen with a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"

Just as Bai Hongtao was about to say something, he suddenly saw Zhu Gan, who was sitting two rows in front of him, turn around and stare intently at him.

As his thoughts raced, he gave a bitter smile and said:

"To be honest, I'm helpless. This kid's talent doesn't really help him with ghosts and spirits. Don't be fooled by his immovable appearance. When he encounters ghosts and spirits, he still has to rack his brains to deal with them... Look at him, he had to punch a fierce ghost seven or eight times before he killed it. What kind of extraordinary talent is that?"

Bai Hongtao's words stunned Dong Ruibin.

Yes, if someone is truly gifted, how could they be so slow at dealing with a vengeful ghost?

"Hehe, Lao Dong, don't be fooled by Lao Bai. I think Lao Bai is deliberately letting that kid hide his true abilities."

The director of Huaquan City, Lang, squinted and smiled.

"Hide your skills? It's ranked matches now, what's there to hide?"

Dong Ruibin looked at He Lang with a puzzled expression.

"Of course, look, we've achieved our goal, haven't we?"

Dong Ruibin followed He Lang's gaze to Zhu Gan's angry eyes, then looked at the fat man on the screen whose physical condition was being checked by the new recruit area inspectors, and suddenly realized.

Immediately, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Zhu Gan.

"I knew you were a cunning guy, Hongtao, but I didn't expect you to be this cunning. Zhu Gan is probably going to hate you to death this time."

They are both branch bureau chiefs, so even if there is a difference in their abilities, it's not by much.

So even though Dong Ruibin knew Zhu Gan was watching, he still didn't hold back his words.

For a moment, all three people chatting could hear the grinding sound of Zhu Gan's teeth clenching in front of them.

Who is Bai Hongtao?

How could we let things end here?

He shook his head and said, "Hey, how could I do such a thing? Didn't you see those two guys from our bureau working diligently to find the ghost killer after they entered? If that fat guy hadn't come knocking on our door, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"Didn't I just say that Chen Xin's talent is useless in dealing with ghosts and spirits? That's because his talent is in dealing with physical attacks."

"If that fat man had attracted three or four vengeful ghosts, that would have been one thing, but Chen Xin and the others might have ended up here. The strange thing is that the fat man actually ran into them himself."

"Don't you think it's a coincidence?"

This last sentence was addressed to Dong Ruibin and He Lang, as well as to Zhu Gan.

Upon hearing this, everyone understood what it meant.

None of this would have happened if the fat guy hadn't stirred things up.

Therefore, Zhu Gan not only had to suffer this loss, but also couldn't say a word!

Sure enough, upon hearing Bai Hongtao's words, Zhu Gan's eyes turned red with anger, and he immediately got up and walked out of the hall.

"Hey, Old Bamboo Pole, are you going to the toilet? It's only been a short while, and you can't hold it anymore?"

Zhu Gan ignored Bai Hongtao's sarcastic remarks.

"Oh, look at my memory. That kid from your department is probably going to be sent out by the supervisory commission. Well, you're busy, I still need to keep an eye on that kid in our department, so I won't talk to you anymore."

Zhu Gan's face turned ashen, and he quickened his pace.

Bai Hongtao was incredibly pleased to see that his old rival didn't dare to utter a single word.

Although Chen Xin's talent was all made up, that didn't stop me from watching Zhu Gan make a fool of himself!

As for Chen Xin, we must give him a proper assessment of his talent after the competition. If we don't nurture such a promising talent properly, he himself will be embarrassed if others find out!
Just as Bai Hongtao made up his mind, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head.

Turning his head, he saw a short, stout man with only a few neatly combed strands of hair on his head, three rows behind his seat, looking at him with a gaze that seemed to hold no less meaning than Zhu Gan's earlier.

While Bai Hongtao was still wondering when he had offended this person, he suddenly remembered who this person was.

Isn't this his neighbor, Bao Lingqing, the director of Lingyuan City?
Immediately, Bai Hongtao knew where that resentment came from.

He immediately returned a friendly smile and nodded to Bao Lingqing.

After looking back, Bai Hongtao added another item to his previous decision.

We must get Chen Xin registered in Mubei City!

……

Seeing the fat man being carried away by the inspector with one hand, Bai Bowen finally had to believe that he had not fallen into a ghost wall.

But if he hadn't fallen into a ghost wall, what had happened just now? Turning his head, he looked at Chen Xin, but before he could ask, Chen Xin said with a furrowed brow, "Bowen, I think I was possessed by a ghost just now. Let's go, it's not safe here!"

Ok?
Possessed by a ghost?

How could this be? This is the rookie competition area. What kind of ghost could possess them?

Aren't you afraid that your vital energy will burn them to death?
Bai Bowen thought Chen Xin was fooling him, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.

With a thud, he jumped two meters away and looked at the spot where he had just been standing.

Nothing unusual.

but……

Bai Bowen reached up and touched the back of his neck; it was wet.

He withdrew his hand, looked at the glistening substance on it, and slowly brought it close to his nose.

Sniff~
The moment he smelled the aroma, Bai Bowen froze.

"It's alcohol? How could there possibly be alcohol?"

Just then, Chen Xin walked up to him.

"It's alcohol, right?"

Bai Bowen's eyes widened in surprise, then he remembered what Chen Xin had just said.

So, Chen Xin was really possessed just now?
At that very moment, the fat man bumped into Chen Xin, and then the fat man flew away, and the ghost possessing Chen Xin was also knocked away?

After brainstorming, Bai Bowen didn't want to believe it, but... how to explain the alcohol on him?

Could it be that Chen Xin splashed it?
Just then, a cool sensation appeared in his slightly open mouth, and instinctively, his throat bobbed as he tried to swallow what was in his mouth.

But when the smell of alcohol hit his nose, he spat it out with a "pfft".

He was spraying water while shouting at Chen Xin, his brow beaded with sweat.

"Run! That ghost is coming again!"

At this moment, Bai Bowen had no time to care about anything else.

The wine could appear in his mouth silently, and it could appear in his mind silently as well!
If they wait for that ghost to recover, even if he and Chen Xin don't die, their competition will be over.

Once we escape from here, we must report this to the inspectors!
Suddenly, Bai Bowen remembered the inspector who had appeared and taken the fat man away earlier.

No, if it really was an accident, the inspector wouldn't have remained indifferent!
So, the ghost at their location was actually one of those bosses that the General Administration of Sport had placed in the novice competition area specifically for those with exceptional talent.

By the way, that must be the case!

He and Chen Xin accidentally entered the BOSS area, and the fat guy thought we were trying to steal the BOSS, so he immediately used his ultimate skill!
Little did he know that the BOSS was far more powerful than him. His attempt to steal a chicken backfired, and he ended up getting himself into trouble.

He and Chen Xin were rescued by the fat man by chance!

It’s all connected, everything’s connected!

After the brainstorming session, Bai Bowen suddenly exclaimed to Chen Xin, "Luck is also a part of strength. Instructor Wei's method of selecting us was flawless!"

"Both you and I are people blessed with good fortune!"

Just as Chen Xin was wondering if he had managed to fool Bai Bowen, he suddenly heard this nonsensical conversation, leaving him with a head full of questions.

However, Bai Bowen seems to have already moved on from what just happened.

Since that's the case, Chen Xin stopped trying to figure out what was going on in Bai Bowen's head.

With that thought, Chen Xin shifted his attention back to the cameraman crow in Gray District 76 and continued watching the live stream.

……

Gray District 76.

Kui Tianrong kept a close eye on the top team leaders who were trapped in the mirror maze through the paper spider. After seeing that they were alright for the time being, she then turned her attention to another inspector in the roller coaster area next to her.

"Why does it feel like the top team leaders in this competition aren't all that great?"

Kui Tianrong's words made Zhang Ran's face twitch.

"Why are you here instead of doing your own thing?"

"What are you all busy with? Those people in the mirror maze are all staring blankly at the mirrors. What am I supposed to look at?"

Kui Tianrong said casually.

The mirror maze hides only one ferocious beast, but this beast is special. Defeating it earns points, which rank it among the top three in the entire Gray 76 District amusement park project.

If we were to truly eliminate that ferocious beast in the mirror maze, the points would be comparable to those from eliminating five ferocious beasts.

However, this ferocious beast is also extremely difficult to deal with.

The mirror maze contains thousands of mirrors, and the true form of the evil spirit is located in the center of the maze.

Once you navigate the mirror maze and reach the ferocious beast, it will no longer attack anyone who enters the core area and will even offer a reward.

That's right, ghosts and spirits reward humans!
As for the reward, it is actually related to the ferocious beast's abilities.

Clearing the Mirror Maze is no easy feat. With the added power of the malevolent spirit, it's impossible to navigate it by brute force or simply by feeling around.

To pass, the only option is to 'break the mirror'.

This "breakage" doesn't mean smashing, but rather facing a mirror and getting caught up in the illusion created by it.

If you can defeat the thing created by that ferocious beast in the illusion, the mirror in front of you will disappear, making way for you.

If you cannot defeat the ferocious beast in the illusion, the mirror in front of you will also shatter, but the broken pieces of the mirror will pierce into the body of the person in front of you.

This type of attack is completed before the victim wakes up, and very few people can dodge it.

Those with strong willpower might be able to endure and continue moving forward.

But there are other mirrors blocking the way ahead, and everything that has happened before must be experienced again.

Are we going to be stabbed all the way through?
So far, no one has successfully navigated the mirror maze without getting pricked by a mirror.

Of those who were stabbed, only Yin Xiu, because the evil spirit within him possessed healing abilities, managed to carry the mirror shards through the maze.

As for the reward, it was actually just an illusion created by the mirror.

However, this time the illusion will be very beautiful, and it will be solved on its own within a certain period of time.

There are many capable individuals within the headquarters who, when physically and mentally exhausted, come to the Mirror Maze to enjoy the rewards bestowed by that ferocious beast.

Putting aside other aspects, in terms of treating mental health conditions, it is more effective than most psychologists.

Because of the mirror maze, Wei Tianrong's work became much easier.

He only needs to step in and guide those top team leaders when they can't hold on any longer but are still forcing themselves to stay in the line.

But there are very few top team leaders who are so lacking in self-awareness.

Therefore, Wei Tianrong was very free.

Have you heard about what happened at Zhenlong Temple?

Seeing that Zhang Ran didn't want to pay attention to her, Wei Tianrong started to seduce him with the gossip she knew.

"I heard that the sacred monk's relic on the head of the Buddha statue in the main hall of Zhenlong Temple has been stolen!"

……

(End of this chapter)