Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Advantages

Yang Xiao immediately extended his hand and clasped it together with Nalan Shuo’s, "Director Nalan, hello, I am Yang Xiao, former..."

"I heard everything just now." Nalan Shuo released his hand and his face turned slightly somber, "Captain Zhao said he discovered a very promising young man in the Nightmare World. He speaks highly of you, asking me to definitely take you under my command."

"I dare not take credit, Captain Zhao praised me too much, he helped me a lot during the mission." Yang Xiao politely replied, not having expected that Kuang Hongyi was not just a regular investigator, but a captain.

"Although Captain Zhao recommended you, I still believe in seeing is believing. To be honest, your performance just now was somewhat disappointing." Nalan Shuo got straight to the point, "Now I need to ask you a few questions and hope you answer truthfully."

Nalan Shuo’s sharp gaze surveyed Yang Xiao’s face, "Is this really your first time entering the Nightmare World?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever heard of the Patrol Defense Bureau before?"

"No, I only heard about it from Captain Zhao yesterday. I even looked up some information related to the Patrol Defense Bureau afterward." Yang Xiao dared not conceal anything.

"Oh? What approach did you use, and what did you find?"

"The official website was vague and I couldn’t make out much. I went to forums where I dredged up some old posts related to supernatural events. In there, I found some clues. Someone had taken photos of strangely dressed police officers at the scene of the incident, and also of police vehicles marked with ’Emergency Hazard.’ It was just like the one Captain Zhao drove yesterday."

Seeing that Director Nalan didn’t interrupt him, Yang Xiao continued, "I also noticed that no post ever captured the faces of those police officers. There were no close-up photos either. Some posts had jumbled comments that didn’t seem to follow the logic of a normal narrative, but rather..."

"Go on," Director Nalan said calmly.

"But rather, it seemed like they were harmonized by some force. If I’m not mistaken, it must be the work of the network control team under your command."

"Cleaning out potential leaks, deliberately leaving the far-fetched ones; it’s better to drain than to block. This tactic is not bad, as it makes the entire supernatural event seem like tabloid rumors clamoring for attention, and the approach is clumsy. This way, the situation will quickly calm down and reduce attention."

Nalan Shuo showed no reaction, his expression unchanged, "It seems you like to analyze things. Then tell me, what can you deduce about me from my appearance?"

Yang Xiao knew the critical moment had come and his expression became serious, his piercing gaze like a scalpel, as if dissecting Nalan Shuo. After a long pause, he slowly answered, "You are a refined, dignified, responsible, tasteful, competent, committed, kind yet staunch, gentle without losing authority, and a good leader with a commanding presence who also shows consideration for your subordinates."

After pausing, Yang Xiao moderated his tone and said earnestly, "Director Nalan, forgive my bluntness, but based on your temperament and appearance, you seem unsuited for this line of work. You’re too conspicuous."

Yang Xiao noticed the resolute corners of Nalan Shuo’s mouth briefly curl up, then quickly suppressed again. He felt greatly relieved, knowing today’s matter was settled. He thought to himself that, indeed, such flattery would be hard for anyone to resist.

"Tell me your reasons for wanting to join the Patrol Defense Bureau?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao straightened up, standing at attention, "To serve my country is an inescapable duty! If the state benefits from my life or death, would I avoid fortune or misfortune..."

Before Yang Xiao could finish demonstrating his loyalty, he saw Nalan Shuo gesture with his hand to interrupt, "That’s enough, that’s enough. It seems Captain Zhao wasn’t wrong, you truly are a talent."

"I am unworthy, I only wish to work as hard as a dog or horse under Director Nalan’s command."

Nalan Shuo gave a faint smile and sized up Yang Xiao, "Do you know what your greatest strength is?"

"Loyalty!"

"No."

"The ability to... perform well?" This made Yang Xiao blush a bit.

Nalan Shuo walked forward, patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "It’s that you can spout nonsense without batting an eye."

Yang Xiao: "..."

Nalan Shuo picked up the brown leather bag from the desk and turned to leave, "All right, come with me to the bureau first, we need to do a comprehensive physical examination before you officially start."

On the way, Nalan Shuo and Yang Xiao got along very well, and the atmosphere became much warmer, "Let me introduce myself again, Nalan Shuo, the current Director of the Lin’an District Patrol Office, at the full director level. I need to explain to you that Rongcheng is divided into seven districts, each with its own Patrol Office, so including myself, there are seven directors. But in terms of rank, only two directors are at the full director level; the other five are deputy directors. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yang Xiao nodded quickly, "I understand, deputies are also called directors. The seven of you have similar responsibilities, but you’re one level above the other five, with more prestige."

"Hahaha, as long as you understand, I don’t like to show off. Don’t go around talking about this; I’m only telling you once," Director Nalan couldn’t help but smile.

"Understood, despite holding a high position, the director remains humble. Truly a role model for us!"

"Right, Captain Zhao must have told you some things about our internal affairs. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask."

What first came to Yang Xiao’s mind was the drama robe inside his backpack, as that item was too dangerous, "Director, I came across a Resentful Eye Item, a Drama Robe, from..."

"Wait a moment," Director Nalan interrupted him, he looked around cautiously and said, "Remember, don’t talk about these things outside. There are too many prying eyes. After the check-up, come talk in my office."

"Okay." After a moment of thought, Yang Xiao spoke again, "What exactly is that ghost script?"

"I can’t answer that question for you because I’m not clear about it myself. We only know that those who receive the ghost script will be pulled into the Nightmare World after a while. The script roughly outlines the tasks and hints at some clues. If lucky, one might find the original location where the task occurred, and investigating on-site can provide a more comprehensive analysis of the task, giving them a head start."

"Of course, if a player doesn’t go to the original location of the task, it doesn’t really matter. They will be pulled into the Nightmare World when the time comes regardless, and it won’t delay the task’s start."

After a pause, Yang Xiao asked with a glimmer of hope, "Isn’t there any way to reject the ghost script?"

"As far as I know, no. The ghost script isn’t as simple as you think. Each time it appears differently, completely unpredictable."

"This time it might be a delivery box at your door, next time it could appear directly in your wardrobe, your drawer, your fridge, or even inside your blanket while you sleep. We’ve tried, after an Angel Envoy felt a calling, to lock him in an empty, specially designed room isolated from electromagnetic signals to see how the ghost script would appear."

"And the result?" Yang Xiao pursued. freewebnoveℓ.com

Director Nalan looked at him with a complex expression, "He died, and it was horrific. His body was twisted into a pretzel, and then it disappeared."