Fang Xiu, who was in the corridor, stopped listening when he heard this, because the rest of their conversation was all gossip.
These two were obviously clerks, so they had more free time at this point and could afford to chat about gossip.
He continued to move around the Investigation Bureau, constantly gathering information.
"Hurry up and go to the conference room; Director Wang is calling an emergency meeting."
Upon hearing the news of the meeting, Fang Xiu immediately blended into the crowd and followed them toward the conference room.
The conference room was filled with people sitting around a long conference table, both men and women, mostly young. Notably, few of them were wearing black work uniforms; most were dressed in eccentric attire, each with their own unique style.
On either side of the conference table stood over a dozen staff members wearing work uniforms.
Fang Xiu blended in among the staff, standing by the wall, discreetly observing the people around the conference table.
It was clear that these people were all Spirit Masters. As the main force in combating the supernatural, their status naturally surpassed that of ordinary people, granting them the privilege to attend the meeting.
At the head of the conference table sat Wang Dehai, his expression solemn.
Strangely, there were two empty seats on either side of Wang Dehai, with no one occupying them.
Two empty seats?
Fang Xiu speculated that these two seats must belong to Captain Yang Ming and Deputy Captain Bai Qi. Since Bai Qi was already dead, his seat being vacant made sense, but what about Yang Ming?
Was he still investigating the anomalies?
Just then, he suddenly caught a whiff of a pungent cigarette smell.
Smoking during an emergency meeting?
Fang Xiu followed the smell of smoke and saw a man with a dejected expression crouching on the ground smoking in the corner behind Wang Dehai.
The man was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, and a broad nose. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he looked energetic and upright.
However, his mental state was clearly not good at the moment. His eyes were lifeless, his chin was covered in stubble, and he stared blankly at the air in front of him. If it weren't for the occasional puff on his cigarette, he would have looked like a statue.
The other people in the meeting room chose to ignore the man, letting him sit there smoking.
Seeing this scene, Fang Xiu already had his suspicions.
The spirit masters present, though dressed in eccentric attire and boasting unique personalities, adhered to basic order during the meeting, sitting quietly in their seats.
Yet no one said a word about this man's behavior, not even Wang Dehai, which could only mean that he held a high position.
Combined with the empty seat, it was easy to deduce that the smoking man was Captain Yang Ming.
At this point, Wang Dehai began the meeting. In this emergency session, he did not waste any time on idle chatter but went straight to the point.
"Following the on-site investigation by the investigators, it has been confirmed that Deputy Captain Bai has died in the line of duty."
Wang Dehai's heavy voice echoed through the meeting hall.
The room fell silent. Some looked expressionless, others indifferent, and some wore sorrowful expressions, each with their own unique demeanor.
The man suspected to be Yang Ming still had vacant eyes, but his hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly.
After a moment of silence, Wang Dehai's deep voice rang out again.
"Deputy Captain Bai was killed by a mysterious entity that manipulates shadows."
As he spoke, a blurry photo appeared on the large screen in the room, showing a shadow—a human-shaped shadow.
However, unlike ordinary shadows, it was not flat but three-dimensional, as if a person were wearing a black bodysuit, with even their eyes, mouth, and nose covered.
Entirely black, it seemed as though the human shadow had come to life and materialized into a physical form.
"This mysterious entity, codenamed 'Shadow Demon,' currently possesses the ability to hide within shadows. During Deputy Captain Bai's battle against the 'Head Demon,' the Shadow Demon emerged from his own shadow, ambushing him and inflicting severe injuries, ultimately leading to his death at the hands of the Head Demon."
Everyone stared intently at the photo of the Shadow Demon, their expressions solemn.
Emerging suddenly from the shadows, this attack method is virtually impossible to defend against; one wrong move and you're hit.
Even someone as powerful as Bai Qi was ambushed and severely injured; the other spirit masters don't think they can match Bai Qi.
"Currently, the Shadow Demon's whereabouts are unknown, but the Head Demon has been dealt with by Yang Ming. Therefore, our next task is to thoroughly search for the Shadow Demon's whereabouts, find it, and resolve this bizarre incident once and for all.
And..."
Wang Dehai paused here, took a deep breath, and spoke slowly and solemnly, "To avenge Bai Qi."
The atmosphere in the room grew tense instantly.
Perhaps sensing the oppressive mood, Wang Dehai forced a faint smile and said, "In this unfortunate bizarre incident, I have some good news to share with everyone."
Good news?
Everyone was taken aback. Bai, the deputy captain, was dead—what good news could there be?
"That is, Yang Ming, the captain of the Green Vine City Investigation Bureau, has successfully advanced to the third-tier Spirit Master after resolving the Headless Spirit incident, entering the ranks of top-tier Spirit Masters!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in commotion, and all eyes immediately turned to the man smoking in the corner.
The man smoking was Yang Ming himself. He seemed unfazed, showing no emotion as he flicked away the cigarette butt, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and prepared to light another one.
By now, there were already several burnt-out cigarette butts at his feet.
Yang Ming opened the cigarette pack in his hand, only to find it empty. He crumpled it up and tossed it on the ground, then lifted his listless eyelids to look at the crowd.
"Hey, anyone got a cigarette?"
His voice was hoarse and tinged with fatigue.
The crowd fell silent, no one responding.
Wang Dehai witnessed this scene, a flash of pity crossing his eyes, but he still scolded, "Yang Ming, snap out of it. You're already a third-tier Spirit Tamer now. The safety of Green Vine City depends on you to protect it. And don't you want to avenge Bai Qi?"
Facing Wang Dehai's scolding, Yang Ming's expression remained unchanged, still looking half-dead. He slowly rose from the corner of the wall, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and muttered, "Then I'll go out and buy a pack myself."
Saying this, he actually started to leave the venue to buy cigarettes.
As he walked, he muttered under his breath, " Revenge? Will avenging Bai Qi bring him back to life?"
"Stop right there!" Wang Dehai roared angrily, but Yang Ming's footsteps didn't slow down at all, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Frustrated, Wang Dehai reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, shouting, "I have cigarettes here!"
Yang Ming immediately stopped, looking displeased. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Wang Dehai tossed the cigarettes to Yang Ming and turned to continue the meeting, clearly unwilling to say another word.
Yang Ming returned to the corner he had been in earlier, lighting a cigarette and muttering, "Wow, what kind of family does Director Wang have? He smokes Huazi every day."
Wang Dehai's face darkened, but he forced himself to continue the meeting.
Just then, the meeting room door burst open with a loud bang.
Wang Dehai's anger erupted instantly: "Discipline! Discipline! I've told you so many times, you..."
The staff member who entered didn't give him a chance to finish, instead saying frantically, "Director Wang, it's bad news! The person you asked me to take to the restroom is gone! He knocked me unconscious and ran off!"
"What!? You mean Fang Xiu ran away?" Wang Dehai was instantly filled with shock and anger.
Fang Xiu, who was among the crowd, sighed inwardly. His technique wasn't professional enough; he hadn't expected that knocking him unconscious would take so little time.
Although Fang Xiu had become a spirit master and could unleash power far greater than that of an ordinary person, he had never tried to knock someone unconscious before and had no idea how much force to use.
"Fang Xiu! You're here!" A woman's voice rang out from the venue.
It was Shen Lingxue.
Shen Lingxue suddenly stood up from her seat, her face filled with surprise as she pointed at Fang Xiu in the crowd.
For a moment, all eyes in the venue were fixed on Fang Xiu, except for Yang Ming, who continued to stare into space while smoking.