Chapter 727: Rescuing the Data
"Any more? Let me see."
The young Taoist took out a wrinkled yellow talisman from his pocket, with vermilion runes painted on it. "It's for exorcising evil. I copied it from a book."
Wu Heng glanced at it and asked, "Can I have this?"
"You can, but it's not very effective against ghosts," the young man replied.
"Alright." Wu Heng nodded.
The two chatted.
Lü Changan and a few others walked out from the inner room.
Seeing Wu Heng had returned, he immediately came over. "Commander Wu, how did it go?"
"It's resolved. Let's head back now," Wu Heng said directly.
By now, night was falling, and Wu Heng wanted to return to Yangtong City before it got too late.
Lü Changan pulled Wu Heng aside and asked in a low voice, "Did the ghost escape or was it eliminated?"
"Eliminated."
"Really?"
"Really. Would I lie about something like this?" Wu Heng replied directly.
Lü Changan clearly let out a sigh of relief.
But he still confirmed again, "Commander Wu, even if it had escaped, we'd still pay. Just confirm it's dead."
The issue of ghosts had clearly become a mental burden.
"It's dead. It won't bother you again." Wu Heng nodded.
"That's good." Lü Changan smiled and announced to everyone, "Prepare to evacuate in ten minutes. Move the vehicles to the entrance."
"Yes." Everyone responded and started getting ready.
Lü Changan turned back to Wu Heng, about to speak—
Only to hear someone yell at the entrance, "Damn! I'm hallucinating."
"There's a monster!"
"Get ready! There's a monster at the entrance!"
Lü Changan tensed up and peeked out, spotting skeletal wyverns on the ground and rooftops.
He shouted, "Stop panicking! These are Commander Wu's abilities. Do your own jobs. Don't attack them and you'll be fine."
Everyone looked terrified.
Skeletal wyverns perched everywhere, peering down from rooftops.
Even more frightening than zombies.
They tiptoed out, sticking close to the walls, preparing the convoy as instructed.
Lü Changan returned and asked, "Commander Wu, will you be taking a car back?"
"I'll fly back on the wyvern. I'd like to return before midnight if I can."
"In such a hurry?"
"Got things to do at home," Wu Heng said with a smile.
He could handle most threats, but preferred not to linger in unfamiliar places.
Lü Changan nodded. "Alright. I'll arrange your payment in the next few days and have it delivered."
"Sounds good."
They exchanged a few final words.
The modified bus and two armored vehicles avoided the waiting wyverns.
They stopped some distance away.
Lü Changan boarded the bus with his team, while Wu Heng mounted the wyvern.
He shot into the sky, flying toward the airport.
...…
"Commander Lü, who did you hire exactly?"
Someone asked curiously in the returning vehicle.
Lü Changan opened the window a crack, blew out some smoke, and said, "King of Hell. Haven't heard of him?"
"Him?!"
Everyone exchanged looks, unsurprised.
The skeletal wyverns had already clued them in.
The King of Hell—Xinfu City base—his name carried serious weight.
In terms of rankings, even the Central Command couldn't claim superiority.
And now they'd managed to hire him.
"His abilities really suit the title, don't they?" Lü Changan added.
King of Hell—nobody over 20 would pick such a nickname.
It was like the cringey usernames from old-school QQ.
But it really did fit his abilities.
"It fits," someone replied.
"Too bad he's not one of ours. He could clean up the whole region." Lü Changan sighed again.
An older man in the back holding a briefcase said, "He's not helping for free, is he?"
"7 tier-three corpse cores, 5 armored vehicles."
"That's steep."
Lü Changan took a deep breath. "Given our past collaboration, he agreed. Otherwise, we'd have no chance."
He added, "And it's worth it, to get you all back safe."
...…
On the wyvern.
Glenda floated beside him. "He wasn't saving people—he was after that old man's documents."
Wu Heng frowned. "What did you find?"
"After we finished with the ghost, I overheard their conversation. They were discussing experiments and data, and confirming that file."
So the documents were really valuable.
No wonder they'd offer 7 corpse cores and 5 armored vehicles.
"What kind of data?"
"I skimmed it—disease samples, corpse core research."
Wu Heng raised an eyebrow. "Corpse core-related?"
"Seems like it."
"Once we're there, we'll try to take a look."
The wyvern picked up speed again, flying toward the airport.
Upon arrival, it descended from the sky.
Lü Changan's convoy hadn't returned yet. The airport guards stepped out from a nearby building.
A middle-aged man looked over. "Commander Wu, how did it go?"
"Handled. Commander Lü and the rest are returning by car. Should be here soon." Wu Heng dismounted.
"That's great news." The guards all looked relieved.
"I'll stay here for a bit, wait until Commander Lü arrives before I leave."
"This way, please. We've prepared a room for you."
One man led the way, and Wu Heng followed to a second-floor room.
About thirty minutes later, there was a knock.
"Commander Wu, Commander Lü invites you to dinner."
Wu Heng followed to the cafeteria.
Around the table sat several people, but none of those rescued.
"Commander Wu, it's just something simple—hope it's alright."
Wu Heng smiled. "It's more than enough."
He ate a few bites.
Lü Changan said, "Commander Wu, did you want to discuss something further?"
"Yes. Training arrangements. It came to mind just now."
"Go ahead."
"I'd like to send people for training in certain technical fields."
This was already agreed upon before the mission.
Lü Changan had no reason to refuse—especially since Wu Heng had proven more powerful than expected.
Maintaining good relations was best.
"Of course. What kind of training?"
"Shipbuilding. Large ship construction. Also modern architecture and construction."
Lü Changan gave him a look. "Will it be skeletons again?"
"A few humans too, along with the skeletons."
"That works. Next time we visit, we'll bring people for training."
"Great."
Wu Heng nodded and finished eating, then took his leave.
...…
Back in his room, he waited a bit.
Through the cracked window, a phone flew in. Glenda, Xiaoxiao, and Beni appeared.
"We got all the photos. Took a while—lots of pages," Glenda whispered.
"You weren't seen, right?"
Xiaoxiao said, "They were snoring. We put everything back just like before."
Wu Heng checked the photos—clear shots.
"Good job. Let's go home." Wu Heng packed everything and walked out.
He greeted Lü Changan and boarded the plane.
Left the area directly.
After returning to Yangtong City, he spent the night at the munitions factory. Next morning—
He followed the train back to Xinfu City.
...…
"It's over already?" Li Yanhong looked surprised.
"What, that strange? Xiaoxiao could've beaten that wild ghost solo," Wu Heng chuckled.
Xiaoxiao floated beside Li Yanhong. "Yeah, I could've beat it to death."
Li Yanhong said, "I believe you. Just surprised it was that fast."
Most of the time had been spent traveling.
Killing the ghost was just a bonus.
"Next time another base has ghost trouble, we'll take the job—clearly priced." Wu Heng said.
"Might want to phrase that carefully. Otherwise people will say we're profiting off disasters," Li Yanhong replied.
"Fair. My intentions were good."
Li Yanhong smiled. "I know. But not everyone thinks that way."
Their radio buzzed.
A voice came through, "Sister Hong, convoy is ready."
"I need to head out." Li Yanhong said.
"Go ahead. I'm going to rest. I'll find you later." Wu Heng stood and stretched.
Li Yanhong nodded and left. Wu Heng returned to his quarters.
...…
Stepping through the portal, Wu Heng returned to the otherworld.
The maids had already eaten. He went to the kitchen to have the skeletal chef prepare something.
Minnie ran over. "Master, Lady Wen Mansa sent an urgent message."
Wu Heng frowned.
Rentam City was still in conflict—could something have happened?
"I'll check upstairs." Wu Heng said, heading into the radio room.
He picked up the receiver. "Wen Mansa, are you there?"
The housekeeper answered first. "Please wait, I'll call the lady."
Soon, Wen Mansa's voice came through. "Master."
"Wen Mansa, what's the matter?"
"Steward Slater sent word. A spy from Gold-Silver Island in the Ekow Kingdom uncovered cult activity in Erjiro City. Several cults are gathering, planning something against the Ekow Kingdom."