Chapter 32: Malignant Grade, Disfiguring Hairpin

Chapter 32: Evil-Tier, The Disfiguring Hairpin

The Ghost Officer’s cap exerted a formidable deterrent effect on low-level spirits. No sooner had the words left Duan Ming’s mouth than the group of wandering souls and malevolent ghosts raised their hands in unison, trembling with terror.

Duan Ming did not fully grasp the weight of the cap, but these minor ghosts were all too aware of the horrific nature of the Ghost Realm’s violent law enforcement agencies. Each one was struck with panic, frantically reflecting on their own misdeeds.

Ghost A: "No way, the Internal Affairs division has tracked us down? Could it be that my blackmail of Dr. Qian regarding his affair with the cleaning lady has been exposed?"

Ghost B: "It can't be that someone saw me raping the old sow and reported me, right? Damn it, who has such twisted tastes? They even bothered to spy on that?!!"

The Flat-Top Ghost’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help but touch his jacket pocket; a while ago, while delivering food to the inpatient department, he had taken the opportunity to swipe a treasure from the head nurse’s office when no one was around.

Seeing the reaction of the spirits, Duan Ming was delighted. He had intended to be clever for a moment, but he hadn't expected such an unexpected harvest—it turned out that even Evil-tier ghosts fell into the category of "low-level spirits."

Having fully indulged his fantasy of being an officer, he put on a show and said casually, "Nobody move. Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist."

"Officer, I confess! I confess!" Ghost A immediately surrendered. "This is the 500 million ghost coins I obtained from blackmail. I haven't touched a cent. I hope you will be lenient, Officer." As he spoke, he handed over five stacks of banknotes.

Duan Ming: "???"

Before he could even process that, Ghost B followed suit: "Officer, I was forced into it at the time! Piggy was seducing me, but I know I was wrong. I’ll apologize to her tomorrow—no, wait, I’ll go propose as soon as I get off work!!!"

"Piggy? What on earth are you talking about?"

Following that, one ghost after another began to wail and confess, handing over their illicit gains. Even those with clear consciences felt compelled to contribute some "tribute money" to follow the trend.

Duan Ming watched with a face full of confusion as his arms were gradually filled. After tallying it up, most of it was currency—around 800 million in total—but there were also two small items.

One was an exquisite doll.

[Brain-Eating Doll]
[Wandering Soul Tier (Upgradeable)]
[Description: An evil doll that feeds exclusively on brains. It possesses a lethal rule; there is no need to exhaust the target's ghost energy to kill them. Once the brain is empty, the target dies on the spot.]

A ghost item with a lethal rule—aside from the toilet paper, he finally had a conventional means to eliminate spirits. Although it was only at the Wandering Soul tier for now, the "Upgradeable" tag gave Duan Ming a great deal of confidence.

As for finding the experience points for upgrading, he wasn't afraid of a challenge. He was so taken with the exquisite doll that he even kissed it twice, causing the watching ghosts to call him a pervert.

After tucking the doll into his Realm Stone space, he turned his attention to the final item, which had been handed over by the Flat-Top Ghost.

This was a hairpin, somewhat old, with tiny, dark-red bloodstains on the tip. It looked entirely unremarkable.

Having already been surprised by the Brain-Eating Doll, Duan Ming didn't harbor much hope for this ordinary-looking object. He picked it up casually, and his entire body jolted.

[Disfiguring Hairpin]
[Evil Tier]
[Description: Someone once used this to destroy a face of exquisite beauty. When it was used, the holder was filled with overwhelming resentment.]
[As an Evil-tier item, it can easily pierce the defenses of ordinary spirits, but perhaps stabbing it into a face is also a good choice.]

What shocked Duan Ming the most was not the Evil-tier rank, but the message that popped into his mind:

[Hidden Quest Triggered: Irreparable Guilt (2/5)]
[The whole affair started because of this face. Since that is the case, I shall destroy it!]

This hairpin was actually the second clue!!!

Duan Ming held the hairpin up to his eyes, deep in thought. "Did you say you got this in the head nurse’s office?" he asked the Flat-Top Ghost.

The sudden gravity in his expression made the Flat-Top Ghost shudder. He replied honestly, "R-report, Officer, y-yes."

Duan Ming frowned. So this second clue was purely accidental. There must be other clues in the cafeteria. He scanned the scene; the group of minor ghosts was trembling, but they seemed like nothing more than small-fry.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. "Where is your boss?"

The fat ghost he had seen at the beginning was not among them. The underlings looked at each other, and Ghost B, the one who had raped the sow, gathered his courage. "Officer, are you talking about Supervisor Fang? He went out for supplies. Could there be a problem with him? If so, I have some evidence I can provide. Can I turn state's witness? I promise to tell you everything."

Ghost A suddenly lunged forward and shoved Ghost B aside. "The officer is asking about the Big Boss, you idiot! What are you talking about Supervisor Fang for?" He then fawningly stepped forward. "Report, Officer! Our Big Boss is never in the cafeteria. But he certainly did a lot of beastly things while he was alive; I know all about it. If you want to investigate him, you can ask me. I can also turn state's witness, hehe."

A flash of insight crossed Duan Ming’s mind. The Big Boss behind the scenes? Never in the cafeteria? Did he do beastly things while he was alive? He felt like he had grasped something, but it remained as elusive as mist.

He pointed at Ghost A. "You, come with me."

"Yes, sir!"

Ghost A gave a hilariously sloppy salute, shot a smug, wicked grin at the other underlings, and followed Duan Ming with an air of authority.

As the man and the ghost walked through the office corridor at the back of the cafeteria, Duan Ming didn't even have to speak; the sycophant eagerly led him to an office door.

"Report, sir! This is the Big Boss’s office. But he hasn't appeared for a long time, and the door has always been locked. It won't o—"

Before he could finish, Duan Ming kicked the door open, entering with simple, brutal force.

The violent enforcement style of the agency was truly ruthless. They were clearly going after their Big Boss. Ghost A’s resolve to betray his boss only hardened. He scurried in behind him, chattering away. "Officer, you have no idea! Our Big Boss was never human. Relying on his filthy money, what kind of beastly things didn't he do while he was alive?"

"The worst part is that he had a penchant for it. So many young girls fell victim to his cruelty; he was a devil! Now that he’s dead and turned into a spirit, he’s vanished. He must have been struck by divine retribution."

Duan Ming stopped to look around. "Were you with your Big Boss while you were alive?"

Ghost A replied immediately, "Not just me, the entire cafeteria staff were together back then."

"Oh? Is that so? Was your cafeteria wiped out?"

"Pretty much. Spirits invaded, and no one in the cafeteria survived. And not only that..." Ghost A pointed toward the inpatient building outside the window. "The inpatient department was also covered by the spirit invasion. Everyone in that building moved over here."