Thump, thump, thump~!
The door of a room in an inn was knocked.
A man in a black trench coat, the brim of his hat pulled low, his entire body wrapped up tightly, stood before the door and knocked.
“Why would he stay in a place like this?”
The man glanced around. The environment could not be called merely terrible—it was practically unfit for human habitation.
The corridor was dim, with no sunlight, and the old lightbulbs flickered on and off.
This place was about the same as the setting in an eighties ghost story.
“Who is it?”
At last, some movement came from inside the room.
The man relaxed a little. As long as someone was there, that was at least a good thing.
Click~!
The door opened, and a pale-faced young man covered in cold sweat revealed half his face as he looked at the man.
The man narrowed his eyes slightly. Beneath the brim of his hat, a trace of surprise appeared in his gaze.
What was going on with this weak, qi-deficient look?
And there was also this cold, sinister feeling.
Had the ghost inside him just been restless?
“My name is Wu Xun. I’m from Black Eight Club, and I’m a ghost controller.”
The man raised his head and revealed a friendly smile.
But when that smile appeared on his face, it did not seem very friendly. Instead, it gave off a chilling feeling.
A ghost controller?
Lin Qian frowned. Why would a ghost controller come looking for him?
Black Eight Club?
What kind of club was that?
A ghost controller organization?
“No need to wonder how I found you. This is the age of information networks.”
“Every move you make can be captured by surveillance cameras.”
“You don’t need to be nervous. I bear you no ill will.”
Hearing this, Lin Qian understood.
In an era of advanced networks, surveillance cameras were everywhere.
After he had forced his way through the toll station, it would have been impossible not to attract attention.
Lin Qian was very curious about the other party’s purpose in coming here.
Was it just to say these things?
“You’d better explain why you’re here.”
Lin Qian really did not want to waste words with him right now.
What Wu Xun had just guessed was completely correct. Lin Qian had only just finished enduring the restlessness of the ghost, and he was now recovering.
After experiencing the agony of a ghost going out of control, all Lin Qian wanted at this moment was to rest quietly by himself and soothe his nerves.
Wu Xun did not mind Lin Qian’s rudeness at all. Back then, he had been the same.
“I’m here to invite you to join Black Eight Club.”
Wu Xun said with a smile.
Lin Qian was slightly stunned, and he looked Wu Xun up and down.
“Invite me to join Black Eight Club?”
Wu Xun nodded. “That’s right.”
“How about we go inside to talk? It feels a little strange talking outside the door,” Wu Xun asked.
Lin Qian hesitated for a while, then opened the door and let him in.
As soon as the other party entered the room, he began looking around.
It was a tiny, old, run-down room. Aside from the bedsheets looking clean, nothing else gave the impression of being clean.
An extremely poor environment.
“You’re staying in a place like this?”
Wu Xun suddenly did not know where to put his feet.
He abruptly felt that chatting in the corridor might actually have been quite nice.
Lin Qian closed the door.
His expression was calm.
Without an ID card, being able to stay in a place like this was already quite good.
It was not as if he could go sleep under a bridge.
Besides, given his current situation, he did not dare to be too conspicuous.
Seeing that Lin Qian did not speak, Wu Xun did not mind.
He went to the window, lifted it open, and took a look. The view was actually quite good; it was just the environment that was no good.
“What benefits are there to joining your Black Eight Club?”
Lin Qian knew the other party was waiting for him to speak, but it did not matter.
He did not necessarily have to join this Black Eight Club.
“Benefits?”
Wu Xun rubbed his chin. “You get money. If something happens, the club will help you smooth it over. There are channels to move goods.”
“Normally, members help one another out.”
Lin Qian listened and waited for a while, then asked in some confusion, “That’s it?”
Wu Xun shrugged. “What else did you expect?”
“After joining the club, the president will directly give you ten million as an entry benefit. Also, the price our club pays for goods is twenty percent higher than the market price.”
“Oh, right. You might not know what I mean by goods.”
“Do you know? Ghosts can be sold for money too.”
Lin Qian narrowed his eyes slightly, making himself appear very surprised.
Wu Xun was very satisfied with Lin Qian’s expression. He nodded. “That’s right. Terrifying things like ghosts can all be sold for money, and they sell for quite a lot.”
“At present, the price of one malevolent ghost overseas is one hundred million. You heard that right—one hundred million. And as time passes, the price of ghosts will only get higher and higher.”
“In the current market, demand for ghosts far exceeds supply.”
“As short-lived wretches, we should enjoy ourselves a little. And what do you need to enjoy yourself? Money, of course.”
“But where does money come from? We can’t exactly go robbing people.”
“If you rob people, the authorities will keep an eye on you. The authorities have always paid extremely close attention to ghost controllers.”
“So…”
Lin Qian looked at Wu Xun. “So, catch ghosts and sell them for money?”
Snap.
Wu Xun snapped his fingers. “Exactly. People who control malevolent ghosts can’t live too long anyway, and no one knows how to keep the ghosts from reviving.”
“Since we’re going to die in the end no matter what, why not enjoy ourselves?”
“A man can’t go his whole life without even driving a Maybach, right?”
“Brother, before we controlled ghosts, we were trading our lives for money, and in the end, we still couldn’t earn much. Time was gone, money was scarce, and we never got to enjoy ourselves.”
“Now, you’ve controlled a malevolent ghost. The time you can live has become shorter, but your ability to make money has increased.”
“Catch one ghost, sell it, and you can live in style until the day you die. With money, you have everything, and you don’t even have to worry about others being jealous, because we are ghost controllers. They’re afraid of us.”
Lin Qian’s expression changed. He looked somewhat tempted.
A trace of amusement flashed through Wu Xun’s eyes.
“Looks like you already understand.”
“Then let’s talk about the key issue.”
“You can catch ghosts and sell them for money, but have you ever thought about this? After you catch a ghost, how do you sell it? Who do you sell it to?”
“Even if you find a buyer, aren’t you afraid of being double-crossed?”
“To prevent something like that from happening, you need a channel. You need a backing. A backing that can help you move goods and won’t double-cross you.”
“And as it happens, our Black Eight Club can do exactly that.”
“If you join us, we won’t need you to do anything, nor will we arrange anything for you to do. The only requirement is that when you catch a malevolent ghost, you have to sell it to our Black Eight Club.”
“Other than that, there is nothing else.”
After Wu Xun finished speaking, he looked at Lin Qian and waited for his answer.
Lin Qian was indeed thinking, but he was not thinking about whether to join Black Eight Club.
“It sounds very tempting. I can join Black Eight Club, but I have a few questions I need you to answer.”
Lin Qian raised his eyes, his gaze falling on Wu Xun.
“Oh? What questions? I’ll answer whatever I know.”
Questions were only normal. When he had joined back then, he had also had many questions. But as time passed, those questions ceased to be questions.
He was very satisfied with his current life. He did not need to clock in, did not need to work, did not need to worry about making a living. Food, drink, and daily expenses were basically all covered by the club.
All he needed to do was focus on enjoying himself. He had already caught one ghost and sold it.
He did not lack money now.
He was a rich man too.
“Is your club president also a ghost controller?”
“Of course.” Wu Xun nodded. “If he weren’t a ghost controller, how could he convince the masses?”
It was impossible for an ordinary person to manage ghost controllers.
“I see.” Lin Qian nodded.
“How many people do you have right now?”
“I mean ghost controllers, not ordinary people.”
“Are you weighing our club’s strength?” Wu Xun narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lin Qian, his expression scrutinizing.
Lin Qian’s expression did not change as he met his gaze.
Suddenly, Wu Xun laughed.
“You’re basically the same as I was back then.”
“Our club has only been established for less than three months, but we already have five ghost controllers. Of course, that includes the president.”
“With you added in now, it will be six.”
“Do you think that’s very few?”
Wu Xun leaned against the window, arms crossed.
“Although the club only has five members, in the entirety of Dajiang City, our Black Eight Club is the leading organization.”
“In all of Dajiang City, we’re the only ghost controller organization. Of course, the authorities don’t count.”
“Our strength is beyond question, and the same goes for our network and resources.”
“In short, in Dajiang City, if others can handle something, we can handle it too. If others can’t handle it, we can still handle it.”
“Now you understand how valuable our Black Eight Club is, right?”
Lin Qian looked at Wu Xun. The smugness in the other party’s eyes could not be hidden, and the other party clearly had no intention of hiding it.
“A leading organization, is it?”
Lin Qian was thoughtful.
“One last question. Has your president controlled only one ghost?”
Hearing this question, Wu Xun’s expression immediately changed. He looked at Lin Qian as though he were looking at an idiot.
“Nonsense. If not one ghost, could he have controlled two?”
“You kid, you don’t have even the slightest common sense. But no wonder. After all, you’ve only just become a ghost controller, so it’s normal that you don’t know. You’ll understand later.”
Lin Qian had heard the answer he wanted.
“I’ll join Black Eight Club.”
Hearing this, Wu Xun immediately laughed, no longer caring about Lin Qian’s final question.
“You made the right choice.”
Wu Xun smiled and walked to Lin Qian’s side, patting him on the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you to the club.”
Lin Qian nodded without speaking. He picked up his phone and followed Wu Xun out of the small inn.