85: Chapter 85: Humans as Goods, Exchanged for Spiritual Money

"Actually, you don't need to be so afraid. Use your smart brains and think: have we ever really harmed you? Before getting on the bus, weren't you all reminded to follow the ride regulations? Before this, haven't we helped you fulfill a wish without asking for anything in return?"

The middle-aged man grinned and said, "So, being obedient is the most important thing. As long as you listen and behave, no one wants to harm you."

The crowd dared not speak, still trembling uncontrollably, but many people felt a flicker of hope for survival rekindled by the middle-aged man's words.

But this was nothing more than a desperate fantasy held by the helpless crowd.

Chu Xuan knew clearly that the final stop of the bus was Shouguo Temple at West Mountain, where a Dark Rift existed, and even worse, there was a Specter Great Buddha about to ascend to A-rank. The entire village, including Shouguo Temple, likely had major problems.

Just as they were speaking, the bus arrived at another stop. Chu Xuan looked at the scenery outside the window and realized they seemed to have reached the vicinity of the International Trade Center's commercial street.

He checked the time; it was only 3:40. Only ten minutes had passed since Chu Xuan boarded the bus, yet this place was at least forty minutes away from the South Railway Station by normal driving.

At this moment, as the bus came to a stop, the doors slowly opened.

A lean man wearing a tank top, covered in Dragon and tiger tattoos, and sporting several bandages, boarded the bus while berating a group of thugs.

Chu Xuan noticed that the tattooed man took a stack of silver coins and dropped them into the fare box.

Is this spirit money?

Judging by the sound, Chu Xuan estimated there were about ten coins.

And there were exactly ten people who had boarded.

If his guess was correct, that meant a total of 100 spirit money had been paid.

It seemed that everyone who boarded the bus had been paid for with spirit money as the price of admission. If there wasn't some special gain, who would be willing to be a sucker for no reason?

Suddenly, Chu Xuan thought of a possibility.

These ordinary people, brought onto the bus through deception, coercion, or other means—could they all be treated as cargo?

The spirit money paid on the bus was equivalent to a shipping fee; they were transported to Shouguo Temple to be sold, thereby earning even more spirit money...

Thinking of this, Chu Xuan immediately understood why the alluring woman in the tight-fitting skirt had said that him boarding alone was a waste.

Because he was only one person and hadn't brought any cargo, it was literally a loss of one person's fare.

While Chu Xuan was lost in thought, the middle-aged man in the wool suit spoke again with a hoarse voice:

"Another new face. Brother, who is your guide?"

"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to ask like that?" The lean, tattooed man chuckled, directed the group of thugs to find seats, and reminded them to follow the ride regulations.

"Since you brought people onto this bus, it means we are all on the same path, all poor wretches forced to huddle together for warmth just to survive. Getting to know each other won't do any harm."

The middle-aged man smiled and pointed at himself:

"My surname is Wu, you can call me Old Wu. You can call that slut Fox, you can just call the quiet bald guy Baldy, and the short guy with glasses goes by the nickname Xiao Zei. The four of us are old friends who have collaborated several times; we know each other's backgrounds, so it's impossible for any of us to be undercover agents sent by the authorities."

The tattooed man raised an eyebrow, pointed at Chu Xuan, who was still holding a submachine gun, and asked, "Holding an official-issue submachine gun like that—isn't that a bit too arrogant?"

"You can say anyone is with the authorities, but this young man is definitely not."

The middle-aged man gave a strange laugh: "He just killed over a dozen members of the Investigation Team, and even their captain, Tao Jiajia, had her head stomped to pieces on the spot."

"Brother Wu, stop flattering him. Anyone who didn't know better would think he killed a Night Watcher!"

The short man nicknamed Xiao Zei sneered, "That bitch—I've had at least ten chances to kill her. If I hadn't wanted to keep her around to continue causing trouble for the Night Watchers, would she still be alive today?"

Fox laughed, "Cackle! Stop bragging! When you hadn't defected from the Night Watchers yet, didn't that young woman give you a hard time? I remember you would grit your teeth every time you mentioned her. If you really caught the chance, would you not take revenge?"

"I just didn't want to go too far with the authorities."

Xiao Zei snorted coldly, "After all, my former captain was not someone to be trifled with."

At this point, Xiao Zei seemed to recall something unpleasant and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Always telling us to endure! Endure! Endure! A group of people with supernatural abilities actually being bossed around by ordinary people, having to worry about this and that before doing anything—it's absolutely outrageous!"

"Hehe! Xiao Zei, you don't understand this, do you?" Old Wu laughed.

Xiao Zei glanced sideways and sneered, "You understand?"

"How long has the Night Watchers department been established? Just a year! The official organization is called the [Bureau of Abnormal Human Research and Investigation]. Before this, the Investigation Team had absolute authority. Back then, Strange Creaturess were very rare and extremely weak. It was basically a golden, cushy job—you could mobilize armed combat personnel at will. Catching one and sending it to the Research Department was a huge achievement, and you'd get all sorts of resources and potions until your hands were soft. But what about now?"

Old Wu let out a strange laugh:

"With the frequent occurrence of supernatural events, the higher-ups ordered the establishment of the new Night Watchers department, aiming to uniformly manage everyone who had gained supernatural abilities and tilt resources towards them, striving to exterminate Strange Creaturess to the greatest extent.

The idea was correct, but how could it be that simple when implemented layer by layer?

Among those who gained supernatural abilities, who hasn't experienced a supernatural event?

These people come from all walks of life; most were originally just the most unremarkable little people at the bottom. Suddenly, there's a huge leap in social status. How do you think those Young Masters, Young Misses, and big shots feel? Can they be content with that?

But if you really let them participate in supernatural events in person, would they dare? Even if a very small number of personnel accidentally participated in supernatural events and were lucky enough to gain supernatural abilities, that is the extreme minority.

I'm not too sure about other cities, but here in Haicheng, you ask Tao Jiajia, that arrogant Young Miss who looks down on everyone, to do investigative work and provide support for a bunch of peasants she usually despises most—it would be strange if she could accept such a discrepancy in status!"

After all, the number of Night Watchers is still a small minority, and this society is currently still a society of ordinary people. Those who truly hold power are still ordinary people without supernatural abilities. To some, in a certain sense, the threat of the Night Watchers might be far greater than that of Strange Creaturess. Perhaps they are already preparing the scene of 'discarding the bow once the birds are gone'."

Listening to Old Wu speaking slowly, Xiao Zei couldn't help but sneer repeatedly:

"Supernatural events are becoming more frequent, and more and more people are being eaten. I don't even dare to go out at night anymore, let alone go to places with few people, for fear of accidentally violating the killing rules of some Strange Creatures. Yet these people are still messing with their own kind—it's just laughable."

"After all, it's not their own family members dying. Only when the pain truly hits them will they completely wake up. Hasn't it always been like this since ancient times?" Old Wu chuckled:

"Didn't the authorities recently launch a program called 'Stepping Out of Mystery'? It aims to debunk rumors and popularize science for the masses, to put an end to ghost stories, just to whitewash the peace. But this won't last long... When the time comes, and Specter events can no longer be suppressed, people will be in a panic, the world will be in chaos, and internal conflicts will inevitably transform into external conflicts. The authority of the Night Watchers will likely become so great you can't imagine. When there are no more checks and balances, you, Xiao Zei, might just become one of the first objects to be used as a sacrifice by the Night Watchers."

Xiao Zei rolled his eyes, extremely disdainful: "Tch! If you think so highly of the authorities, why aren't you being a proper associate professor at the Research Department instead of doing these dirty deeds like me?"

"There's no choice! Who told me to have a Strange Creatures inside me? Only by increasing my Charm attribute can I effectively suppress it. But where would the spirituality value come from? Do you want me to risk my life to hunt down a Specter? I have no choice; I can only be like you all and start with ordinary people."

Old Wu sighed repeatedly: "There's no choice, I really have no choice..."