Upon hearing the knocking, He Zhan was about to get up and open the door, but Minister Long, reviewing documents at the desk, merely lifted a finger, causing ripples in the surrounding space.
The next second, the person knocking appeared instantly in front of the sofa.
"Tsk tsk, spatial ability sure is convenient." Wu Liang quipped as he plopped onto the couch.
"Enough with the flattery, what did the Ghost Valley say to you before dying?" Minister Long didn’t raise his head, his brow furrowed as he continued reviewing the documents.
Seeing this, Wu Liang glanced puzzledly at He Zhan beside him.
There was something off about Minister Long today. Did he lose at mahjong or step in dog poop?
His temper seemed a bit off...
But He Zhan merely shook his head slightly, indicating he couldn’t say anything about it now.
Then Wu Liang’s gaze fell on another person in the office—Zodiac Sheep.
Sister Yang was cheerfully rocking in a chair at the other end of the desk, clearly released after the side effects of Symbiont had passed, and was back to normal mental state.
After taking a glance from Wu Liang, she sighed and stopped spinning the chair, then did something unexpected.
The crisp sound of a slap on the back of the head echoed in the office, causing Minister Long’s head to crash onto the desk. Standing behind him, Sister Yang said calmly, "Feeling better?"
"A little better, could you use a different method next time? Your ability doesn’t require physical contact, right?"
Minister Long teased helplessly, then raised his head, twisted his neck, and finally turned to Wu Liang with a familiar smile, saying, "Finally awake? Must be starving after sleeping for days."
Witnessing this, Wu Liang felt relieved.
The earlier icy aura from Minister Long was indeed unsettling.
"What’s the situation here...?"
He was about to ask what was going on when Sister Yang, settling back into the chair, said calmly, "His humanity has been affected by Dragonization, making him increasingly cold and ruthless. I’m here to adjust his mind."
Spiritual Domination—this is Sister Yang’s Symbiotic Ability.
Besides directly controlling targets, it can alter and distort their mental awareness state.
This is why when Minister Long moved from the Capital City to Chengyang City, Sister Yang followed him.
The two are each other’s stabilizing safety locks.
When Sister Yang’s mental state becomes abnormal periodically, Minister Long can use space to limit her contact with others. Similarly, when Minister Long overuses his Awakened Ability and becomes indifferent, she can gradually restore his humanity.
"That’s how things are. My mind will need a few days to adjust further. Let’s now discuss the Ghost Valley issue."
Minister Long stored the reviewed documents in a drawer and continued questioning Wu Liang.
During the battle with the Ghost Valley, Wu Liang was exhausted but still closer to the battleground than others, distinctly noticing that the fight stalled towards the end.
The most critical part—the Ghost Valley’s last life was taken by suicide!
"Well, here’s how it is..."
With things as they were, Wu Liang sighed.
He had already figured things out while having breakfast, reflecting on the issues while receiving warm concern from the second team’s members.
Now, apart from the Ghost Compendium’s existence needing to stay undisclosed to prevent another tragic incident of a vagrant turning into a Giant Ghost, other information wasn’t necessary to keep hidden.
The initial choice to conceal his relationship with the Promised Land was possibly more about psychological avoidance.
Always feeling that hiding his identity would allow him to discard "Wu Ming" and flee when anything happened.
But now, the matters involving his parents and the Promised Land were too significant, no longer a mere family melodrama!
They had endangered too many, and if he continued independently investigating, other cities might undergo Human Transformation into Fierce Ghosts before authorities could intervene.
After all, not every place has a Minister Long and capabilities like his City-Destroying Level.
Thus, Wu Liang detailed much of the information he knew about the Promised Land to the three present.
"Whoa, wait? Are you saying the founder of the Promised Land might be your parents, the Ghost Valley is your uncle, and the Pioneer is your senior?" He Zhan was shocked speechless.
Seeing Wu Xiaoyao at the Promised Land reservoir base had already been surprising enough.
He didn’t expect something bigger was yet to come.
"You really aren’t afraid of us treating you as a traitor?" Sister Yang couldn’t help but quip.
The shadow gave them the impression of an abandoned mafia heir trying to uphold justice as a cop, completely oblivious to his identity, making it hard not to laugh.
Despite the banter, the three present recognized the gravity of the situation.
Minister Long had already isolated the office with spatial ability to keep the conversation confidential.
"This is what I know, but much of what those three said does not align with reality; I haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on." Wu Liang shrugged.
Hearing this, the other two fell into contemplation. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel⸺fire.net
Especially He Zhan, who had extensively investigated Wu Xiaoyao’s case from five years ago; he knew various inconsistencies existed, even temporal issues.
But it was then Minister Long spoke.
With a calm yet authoritative voice, he said, "Take your time pondering the Promised Land issue. I want to ask—"
"Shadow, who are you exactly?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the office became intensely oppressive, as if the air was solidifying.
He Zhan and Sister Yang looked at Minister Long in confusion, failing to understand the meaning behind his words.
Shadow is just Shadow, who else could he be?
But only Wu Liang understood Minister Long’s words.
He bitterly smiled, placed a finger on the scar on his face, then gently wiped it away like mist.
His entire face became smooth as before, without the scar appearing more youthful and familiar...
"So, you already figured it out, Minister Long. Sorry for deceiving everyone for so long."
"I’m Wu Liang, the one and only Wu Liang."
This statement left the brains of He Zhan and Sister Yang frozen, as the implication was clear—there never was a Wu Ming; no brothers existed.
It had been nothing but Wu Liang alone directing his own story!
"But we’ve seen both of you simultaneously..."
"That’s an ability of the Mist Ghost Symbiont."
"During the Shouyi Ghost incident..."
"Yes, it was planned back then."
Regarding He Zhan and Sister Yang, still reeling from shock, Wu Liang patiently explained various questions, although related to his abilities he couldn’t disclose anything about the Ghost Compendium, directing it towards Mist Ghost instead.
Truthfully, Wu Liang was prepared to be expelled.
Yet seeing Minister Long lost in thought, Wu Liang’s mood grew increasingly somber.
After all, this was the expected outcome of exposing his identity.
Finally, once He Zhan and Sister Yang had somewhat accepted the bizarre reality, Minister Long finally spoke, rendering his ultimate judgment—
"Shadow, no, your code name should be Reporter now, remember to change it in the archive room later and explain clearly to the team members. I don’t have time to clean up these messes for you."
"Huh? Minister Long, you..."
Wu Liang never expected him to say such words, meaning he wasn’t planning to expel him or make stricter judgments!
He acknowledged his identity?!
Minister Long merely smiled at this, saying, "Ha, I can’t go and punish our Chengyang City’s hero, can I? That would be too heartless."