194: Chapter 194 Issuing official positions to ancient ferocious creatures? This is called signing a legal labor cooperation agreement.

It was the second week since the giant cauldron had moved into the Donghai City Museum.

The office of the Bureau of Anomalies' Technical Department was silent.

Technician Xiao Wang stared at the large surveillance screen in front of him, which displayed an overhead view of Exhibition Hall No. 2 of the museum.

Within a fifty-meter radius centered on the bronze cauldron, irregular red dots of light had appeared.

Some of these dots lingered in corners, while others followed certain visitors.

Gu Changan pushed open the door and walked in.

Xiao Wang pointed at the screen and reported.

"The locations marked by the red dots, after on-site investigation, are all surveillance blind spots in the museum's security System."

"And those visitors marked with red dots, after leaving the exhibition hall, have without exception been found to have prior records of theft or were carrying contraband in their bags."

This bronze cauldron had forcefully raised the security level of Exhibition Hall No. 2 to a point where there were no blind spots.

Gu Changan held his thermos cup, watching the red dots on the screen.

He pulled up the backend data analysis of the Eye of True Appraisal.

The Taotie was an ancient great demon that fed on greed.

Now that it was restrained by the power of national destiny and order, it could no longer actively devour living people.

But it had lived for thousands of years; its perception of greed, malice, and hidden motives was ingrained in its instincts.

It was essentially an ancient and precise biological emotional radar.

Anyone who developed criminal motives within this range would be passively marked by the faint energy it emitted.

Gu Changan set down his thermos.

He turned and walked out of the Technical Department, driving straight to the museum.

Exhibition Hall No. 2 was closed for maintenance today.

In the empty hall, only the cauldron stood quietly inside its bulletproof glass case.

The pale golden light patterns on the cauldron's body flowed slowly in the darkness.

Gu Changan walked to the glass case and reached out to tap on the bulletproof glass.

The dull sound of the knocking echoed through the hall.

Black mist rolled within the cauldron, seemingly in response.

Gu Changan got straight to the point.

"Your perception ability is very strong right now."

"You can detect those who harbor malice and greed as soon as they get close."

"I have a proposal."

"Since you are now under state protection and enjoying climate-controlled conditions, you might as well do some work."

The black mist inside the cauldron paused for a moment.

"It's very simple."

Gu Changan pointed to the golden light patterns on the cauldron.

"Can you give me a signal when you detect serious anomalies?"

"You don't need to worry about petty theft."

"If it's major malice targeting state property, make the light pattern flash once."

"If it's an emergency that threatens human life, flash twice."

The giant cauldron fell completely silent.

For a full thirty seconds, the only sound in the hall was the faint hum of the air conditioning.

Then, the golden light pattern on the cauldron flickered very clearly.

Gu Changan nodded.

"Alright, the rules are set."

"Once means discovery, twice means emergency."

"Do well, and I'll apply for the highest-grade maintenance oil in the annual artifact maintenance budget for you."

Old Wei, who was standing guard in the back, swallowed hard as he listened.

He lowered his voice and leaned in.

"Director Gu, are you signing a labor contract with a Shang-Zhou bronze cauldron in the middle of the night?"

Gu Changan turned his head.

"It's not a labor contract; this is called a cooperation agreement."

"It is now a protected national treasure, and we are simply utilizing its perceptual characteristics reasonably to prevent problems before they occur."

On the afternoon of the third day after the agreement was established, Gu Changan was reviewing case files at the bureau.

The special encrypted phone on his desk suddenly vibrated.

This was the dedicated line connected to the surveillance of Exhibition Hall No. 2.

On the screen, the golden light patterns of the cauldron were flickering frantically at an unprecedented frequency.

Twice.

An emergency.

Gu Changan grabbed the car keys from the table and strode out of the office.

Old Wei and Chen Xiaobei followed closely behind.

Three black SUVs with sirens blaring sped toward the museum.

On the top floor of the museum, in the curator's office, the heavy mahogany door was tightly shut.

In front of the desk, a man wearing a high-end custom suit was casually flipping through the documents in his hand.

Curator Liu of the museum sat in his chair, his eyes unfocused, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The man in the suit pushed a thirty-page contract in front of Curator Liu.

The content of the contract was a "long-term overseas exhibition" agreement for the museum's three treasures.

Once signed, these three national treasures would be shipped overseas through legal procedures, never to return.

The man's voice was low, carrying a strange rhythm.

This sound burrowed into Curator Liu's ears like an insect, forcibly dismantling his will.

"Curator Liu, sign it."

"This is a mutually beneficial matter, and the higher-ups will agree to it."

"As soon as you sign, your account will have more money than you could spend in several lifetimes."

A faint purple halo flashed in the man's pupils.

This was a psychic-type ability.

It was specifically used to subtly alter others' perceptions and decisions.

Curator Liu tremblingly picked up the fountain pen on the desk, the nib slowly approaching the signature line.

Bang!

The mahogany door was kicked open with a massive force.

The door panel slammed hard against the wall, emitting a loud bang.

Gu Changan rushed in directly with the Special Police.

The man in the suit turned his head abruptly, his purple pupils instantly contracting.

Before he could speak, Gu Changan had already kicked the side of his knee.

A crisp sound of shattering bone echoed.

The man screamed and fell heavily to his knees.

Old Wei took the opportunity to step forward, and a pair of special spirit-suppressing handcuffs locked tightly around his wrists.

The psychic energy the man had gathered in his mind was instantly cut off.

Curator Liu shuddered, and the pen in his hand dropped onto the desk.

He looked as if he had just been fished out of water, gasping for air, staring in terror at the exhibition contract on the table.

"Director... Director Gu?"

Curator Liu's voice trembled.

"Just now, when this person was talking, I felt like my brain was completely out of my control."

"If you hadn't suddenly rushed in for an inspection, I would have become a sinner for all eternity!"

Gu Changan picked up the exhibition contract and flipped through it casually.

"It wasn't an inspection."

"Someone alerted me that there was a big rat here trying to steal things."

Gu Changan looked down at the man in the suit kneeling on the ground.

"Using psychic abilities to forcibly interfere with another's will, attempting to illegally transfer a national first-class cultural relic."

"Attempted fraud, endangering national security."

The man in the suit gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Gu Changan.

"How could you possibly have discovered me?"

"My mental shielding is perfect; even instruments can't detect it!"

Gu Changan coldly slammed the contract into the man's face.

"No matter how perfect your shielding is, it can't block the stench of greed emanating from your bones."

"Take him away. Notify the Legal Department; proceed directly to sentencing with zero testimony."

That night, in the Bureau of Anomalies' confidential archives room, a brand-new encrypted file was added.

The category column read: Special Collaborative Entity.

Number: 001.

Collaborative content: Regional Greed Perception.

Collaborative method: Light pattern signals.

Person in charge: Gu Changan.

Chen Xiaobei filed the document, looked at the words on it, and clicked his tongue.

"Director Gu, you have really recruited an ancient fierce beast."

"In the past, this thing ate people; now, it catches thieves."

Gu Changan stood in front of the window, watching the brilliant city night view outside.

"It's not recruitment; it's finding a way for it to exist that complies with modern social rules."

Late at night, in the museum's Exhibition Hall No. 2 after closing.

Gu Changan stood alone in front of the cauldron's glass case.

There was no one else around.

He looked at the ancient and complex patterns on the cauldron.

"You have stayed underground for thousands of years."

"Every time you woke up, it was to devour, and then you were suppressed again by various means."

"Now, try living a different way; no need to starve, no need to be burned by fire or struck by lightning."

Gu Changan paused.

"How does it feel?"

There was no echo in the empty exhibition hall.

Only the pale golden light pattern flowed slowly along the body of the cauldron.

The speed was much slower than usual, exuding a sense of laziness and tranquility after being well-fed.