"I was abducted by traffickers before being registered and grew up in the countryside."
As if guessing what He Zhan was thinking, Wu Liang began speaking on his own about the fabricated story of his origin.
"I awakened during the great catastrophe, and upon learning about my origins, I came out to find my biological parents, only to discover they had already passed away. Not long ago, I found this younger brother who was still alive. What's wrong with me protecting him everywhere!?"
When he said this, Wu Liang's emotions were so intense that his tone carried a hint of anger, stirring a sense of sympathy among those around him.
But He Zhan, after pondering for a moment, still questioned skeptically, "Who can prove your identity?"
Yet unexpectedly, the other party mentioned a name that was quite unexpected—
"Yao Lili, my mother's older sister, also the aunt who has been taking care of Wu Liang. She knows about my abduction." Wu Liang's tone was unwavering.
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.
All present knew about Wu Liang's current living situation; his aunt's family looked down on him considerably.
If even she acknowledged it, then it's likely true.
Little did they know that all this was within Wu Liang's expectations.
Why did he let the Puppet Ghost transform into his form early in the morning, rather than doing it at the last moment before leaving?
Of course, it was to facilitate hiding in the shadows, using the Nightmare's ability to cause his aunt, who had been a full-time housewife at home without going out, to fall into a slumber, and implant a psychological suggestion in her mind of Wu Ming's existence!
Weaving a nonexistent person into someone's memory is essentially modifying memory.
Wu Liang indeed couldn't achieve that.
But he didn't need his aunt to know every detail about Wu Ming's existence, just a vague subconscious notion that "my sister seemed to have a child who was kidnapped" was sufficient.
So, quite naturally, a powerful, protective wild brother sprung into existence out of thin air!
"I don't want to show my face because during the great catastrophe I encountered a Fierce Ghost and accidentally had my face completely disfigured. Is Captain He satisfied?"
Wu Liang said coldly, as if someone had uncovered a scar, he was infuriated.
"Sorry, my words were too aggressive." He Zhan sighed, for once lowering his head to admit his mistake.
Because he planned to extend an official olive branch next; if a powerful Awakened could join as a teammate, handling paranormal events would surely help better protect the public!
But before he could open his mouth to offer the invitation,
the other party anticipated him yet again by saying, "Captain He wants to recruit me, right? I can agree, but I have one condition."
"Please, go ahead." He Zhan maintained an outward courteousness as stable as Mount Tai while negotiating with Wu Liang.
In reality, deep inside, he was already engulfed by turbulent waves, unexpectedly, the authority of conversation had always been in the opponent's hands since making contact.
No matter what he wanted to say, the opponent seemed able to guess it.
It was as if today's meeting had been anticipated, with every possibility premeditated.
This complete control over the situation made He Zhan somewhat uncomfortable, always feeling manipulated.
But what followed was yet another unexpected demand!
"I hope Wu Liang can also join the Paranormal Handling Department."
"Impossible! Ordinary people can't face Fierce Ghosts! You're sending him to his death!"
The words had scarcely landed before He Zhan immediately rejected the request.
While he hoped powerful Awakened individuals would join officially, Wu Liang was essentially just an ordinary person and could easily encounter trouble facing Fierce Ghosts.
If his younger brother got harmed, Wu Ming might go berserk, leading to another disaster.
However, after hearing his refusal, the other party slowly said, "I didn't say he needs to face the Fierce Ghosts head-on. You could just have him handle the preliminary investigations."
Upon this remark, everyone turned to look at the "Wu Liang" who was gleefully dazing.
Inside, everyone had only one thought—
Is this guy really your brother?
How is he eager to send you to the execution ground!
"Well, I may need a few days to give you an answer, I need to consult with the department leaders first." He Zhan hesitated a bit.
The proportion of Awakened individuals is exceptionally small, and even fewer are capable of officially joining forces; they're essentially tasked with directly resolving Fierce Ghosts.
And the Paranormal Handling Department now has the highest authority in social security management.
With such a large organization, it's certainly impossible for everyone to be Awakened, there are definitely personnel responsible for preliminary information investigations as well as handling affairs after the events.
These are basically ordinary people.
Recruiting Wu Liang, an ordinary person, to handle relatively safe tasks and get a powerful Awakened to help them fight Fierce Ghosts.
This deal... seems quite profitable!
Yet, this aligns perfectly with Wu Liang's plan.
Preliminary investigation? By the time I discover Fierce Ghosts, you Awakened won't even need to act! They're all food!
Wu Liang didn't want too much involvement with official departments; he just wanted to use official information channels to find more Fierce Ghosts to subdue or use as food.
After all, the second great catastrophe is just a year away!
"Then I'll wait for Captain He to give my brother an answer." With that, Wu Liang leaped into the air, the mist enveloped him again, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
If not for the ragged funeral robe lying on the ground, it would have been as if he had never appeared.
Upon seeing the other party vanish, He Zhan glanced at Lei Zhangming and said, "Burn it, then come back with me to the department to sign a confidentiality agreement about today's events."
Lei Zhangming shrugged; since the situation had reached this point, recruiting Wu Ming into the gang was probably hopeless.
He promptly approached the funeral robe, snapped his fingers, and it was engulfed in flames.
But as he watched the robe gradually turn to ash, he felt something was amiss.
"Has this robe shrunk a bit? It seemed quite large when it fell from the sky earlier." Lei Zhangming scratched his head in confusion.
No one noticed "Wu Liang," squatting by the roadside with his back turned to them, fiddling with something.
Upon closer inspection, he was surprisingly pulling out brightly colored strips of funeral robe fabric from his pocket and stuffing them into his mouth as though having an afternoon snack.
"Damn it! Stop eating!" A voice as thin as a mosquito buzzed sounded in the Puppet Ghost's ear, but when he looked up, he saw no one.
Clearly, the voice was from Wu Liang himself, in an invisible state.
He was feeling a bit headache from the Puppet Ghost's actions today; this guy seemed a bit mentally unstable, maybe due to being confined for too long!
But in the next second, the Puppet Ghost patted his pocket with the remaining strips of funeral robe fabric, chuckled, and said, "Alright, I'll save them for Xiaosan."
"Xiaosan?" Wu Liang was a bit stunned.
"Yes, boss, didn't you promise Xiaosan he could eat first next time? I'm just testing if these ripped strips are still useful."
"...You're really damn righteous."