What do you mean I'm a ghost story?

Chapter 56 Tales of the Strange
Where can I find an enemy general who meets the requirements?
Xia Qing's thoughts shifted, and her gaze immediately fell on Ling Shuang in front of her.

According to Ling Shuang and Viper, the Strange Tales Walkers primarily use modern military tactics employing firearms, making it highly unlikely that they would meet the requirements of the Overlord Halberd Technique.

The only thing that could possibly meet this requirement is a sufficiently powerful nightmare, preferably one that is also skilled in melee combat.

The Mirror Demon was arguably the perfect opponent, a perfect 50/50 match, and there was no one more suitable.

Who would have thought that this good-for-nothing could copy even the extraordinary power of the Nightmare Artifact, yet couldn't copy the technique of exerting force?

A set of martial arts skills was used in a way that turned into flashy but ineffective moves that relied on brute force, making the opponent not even qualified to be a match.

Since that's the case, then we can only look for other nightmares.

And when it comes to information about nightmares, who can be more well-informed than the relevant departments backed by the entire government?

Perfect timing! Besides finding opponents, he also needs to encounter more nightmares to awaken other martial arts skills.

Judging from the current situation, neither the Bewitchment nor the Mirror Demon has awakened one martial art for him.

Therefore, whether based on each type of nightmare or each individual nightmare, the martial arts skills that can be awakened are clearly limited.

This means that if he wants to learn more martial arts, he must come into contact with as many nightmares as possible.

"Why...why are you looking at me like that? You're not thinking of fighting back, are you?"

Ling Shuang had just punched Xia Qing at his request when he stared at her intently, causing her to tense up.

The power of this guy's fist has already been demonstrated by the Mirror Demon just now, and the Viper earlier.

I don't want to experience what it feels like myself.

Are you... still hiring?

Xia Qing spoke.

"Well, generally we select from within the team."

Upon hearing this, Ling Shuang was slightly taken aback at first, and then hesitated.

The fighting style of the Ghost Walkers is still based on modern warfare, so well-trained military and police personnel are obviously more suitable.

Moreover, the discipline and quality of the folk ghost story troupe are also a problem.

Therefore, even if they want to recruit more members, they will transfer them from the existing team.

Of course, it's impossible to not recruit at all.

However, these are things that a D-level trainee, who isn't even an intern, can't decide.

and……

Previously, the situation was too critical to think deeply, but now, upon closer reflection, there are quite a few mysteries and doubts surrounding Xia Qing.

In this day and age, mystery is often synonymous with eeriness.

"Okay, let's change the question."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qing could only regretfully abandon her idea of ​​getting a government job. When asked about her own purpose, she asked, "Could you give me some information about other nightmares?"

"You want to hunt down supernatural tales to obtain more of the Origin?"

Ling Shuang wasn't particularly surprised by Xia Qing's request.

After all, the Ghost Story Walker needs to hunt down other ghost stories to improve his strength.

Many individuals or organizations even deliberately raise them to grow stronger before harvesting them.

However, it is precisely because of this that these folk tale enthusiasts often cause a lot of trouble due to greed, making the situation even worse.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, relevant departments would certainly not easily provide intelligence or engage in any cooperation with folk ghost story enthusiasts.

"Since your people have all entered the Nightmare Domain, you must be quite short-handed, right? I'll help you solve some of the problems; it's a win-win situation, and it will save more people at the same time."

Xia Qing did not deny it, but spoke again.

With just a casual remark, he broke through Ling Shuang's psychological defenses.

Currently, relevant departments in Xingcheng are indeed nearing a standstill. Even with personnel being gradually transferred over, they are mostly deployed to the Nightmare Domain, with only a small number tasked with addressing the most serious hidden dangers. If Xia Qing could help resolve some of these issues, it would indeed alleviate the pressure on the situation.

Of course, it's impossible for her to access internal intelligence data; she doesn't have that authority.

However, some of the information she collected through her own investigation was fine—after all, theoretically she wasn't even officially on the job yet.

"Any kind of ghost story will do?"

After a moment of contemplation, Ling Shuang spoke, her words clearly indicating a relenting of her stance.

"No, I need someone who is good at close combat, preferably with melee weapons."

Xia Qing stated her requirements, then added, "It must be stronger than what the Mirror Demon just showed."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you when I get back."

Ling Shuang nodded and agreed.

"Thank you very much."

Xia Qing thanked him, then thought for a moment and asked a question that had been bothering her: "By the way, there's another question. Why was it useless when I called the police before? You've even blocked the news internally to this extent?"

"Do you know why, before Professor Mo's latest theory came out, no, even now, we are more accustomed to calling those things ghost stories?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Shuang sighed and uttered a rhetorical question.

But before Xia Qing could speak, she answered her own question:

"Because they are born from the fear of dreams, just like those bizarre legends, they not only become stronger by eating, but also become stronger the more people know about them, and even breed more and more terrifying beings due to collective fear."

"...Then you still dare to keep the internet running?"

Xia Qing admitted that he was somewhat frightened by Ling Shuang's words.

Originating from human fears in dreams, the more it is known and spreads, the stronger it becomes, and the more it will breed.

The fact that the authorities still dare to keep this online is incredibly audacious.

"Otherwise what? Modern society would come to a standstill without the internet, and such a large-scale movement would actually breed more fear and turmoil. Losing information channels would also make people more likely to be ignorant and influence each other, and that would be the real chaos."

Ling Shuang also had a complicated expression.

However, she quickly put on a relaxed expression and comforted Xia Qing: "Of course, it's not as exaggerated as you think. For example, if you uploaded a paranormal video now, what do you think the reaction would be online?"

What was the reaction?
Having just entered this mysterious world, Xia Qing, who was just an ordinary person half a month ago, naturally knew about it.

It might be different in other countries, but at least in Xia Country, it's basically just used as special effects or artificial clips to fool people, and people will even complain about the poor picture quality and fake special effects.

“We are materialists, not to mention that we still have information cocoons, and recently we have made a large-scale public release of AI technology.”

Ling Shuang smiled.

"...So, all these recent AI models were deliberately released by you?"

After hearing this, Xia Qing was both surprised and amused.

Information cocoons, simply put, refer to the fact that modern people only have a few channels for obtaining information, such as television and the internet, or the apps commonly used on their mobile phones.

Basically, it's just browsers, short video apps, and news apps.

All of these are pushed out using intelligent algorithms.

With just a little intervention, these companies or officials can ensure that everyone only sees what they want you to see.

Needless to say, AI technology is made public.

Recently, large AI models have emerged one after another, including chatbots, drawing tools, video synthesizers, and audio synthesizers. With just a little understanding, anyone can easily create all kinds of videos and images.

In this environment, even if you release solid video evidence, no one will believe you; instead, you'll only be ridiculed.

If any major incident occurs, a little manipulation by online trolls or by causing another scandal in the entertainment industry can solve the problem.

　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)