Chapter 1088: Unable to Gather Intelligence
Yao Guozhi's arrival meant Yang Haoran now had a professional to manage his territory in Gu Mo City. Yang Haoran trusted Zhu Rong's judgment, so he believed Yao Guozhi would be able to handle his designated area in Gu Mo City effectively.
He didn't interfere with how Yao Guozhi managed things, instead allowing him free rein. To ensure Yao Guozhi could fully utilize his abilities, Yang Haoran granted him extensive authority. Whatever Yao Guozhi needed, Yang Haoran would provide—be it assistants or resources—as long as he possessed them. Furthermore, all his other subordinates were instructed to fully cooperate with Yao Guozhi's work.
This was no simple task, and satisfactory results naturally wouldn't be visible in a short time. Yang Haoran was well aware of this, so he didn't rush Yao Guozhi. As long as Yao Guozhi could achieve results that satisfied him before his patience ran out, that would suffice. That was the outcome he desired.
While Yao Guozhi was busy managing Yang Haoran's territory in Gu Mo City, Lu Wu and Shui Ling also successively entered secluded cultivation. Both were eager to open their Heaven Souls, and this was also a task Yang Haoran had assigned them.
Although both were in seclusion, they each had their trusted confidantes. Before their retreat, they had given clear instructions to their subordinates and appointed responsible individuals to manage affairs in their stead. Consequently, the Night Watcher operations continued to run normally, unhindered by the captains' secluded cultivation.
Yang Haoran already had a plan in mind. Once Lu Wu and Shui Ling emerged from seclusion, having successfully opened their Heaven Souls and acquired their Soul Armaments, his offensive against Gu Mo City's Spirit Mediums would gradually commence, unlike the current hands-off approach.
In the blink of an eye, several more days passed. Within the Gu Mo City Underworld Office's territory, Yang Haoran walked with his hands in his pockets, seemingly strolling aimlessly, but in reality, he was observing whether his domain had undergone any changes under Yao Guozhi's management.
The result was somewhat unexpected. Their Underworld Office territory hadn't changed much since Shui Ling had handed it over to Yao Guozhi.
Despite his doubts, he had no intention of calling Yao Guozhi over for an explanation. On one hand, he felt that Yao Guozhi surely had his own ideas; on the other, Yao Guozhi had only taken over the area a few days ago. To demand results in such a short time would indeed be difficult for anyone, especially considering it was a complete mess.
What he hadn't expected was that, even as he decided not to summon Yao Guozhi for clarification, Yao Guozhi instead took the initiative to seek him out.
A spatial rift appeared not far in front of him. Huang Sha stepped out of the rift, followed closely by Yao Guozhi, who also came into view. Yang Haoran was slightly surprised, but his expression betrayed no hint of doubt. Instead, he smiled and nodded at the two, acknowledging their presence.
"Boss, he has something he wishes to see you about, so I've brought him," Huang Sha said respectfully to Yang Haoran.
Huang Sha spoke to Yang Haoran with a respectful expression. If it had been anyone else wanting to see Yang Haoran, Huang Sha certainly wouldn't have immediately brought them over as requested. But Yao Guozhi was different. Yang Haoran had long ago issued an order: whatever Yao Guozhi requested, his subordinates were to do their utmost to fulfill it. If they couldn't, they were to come to Yang Haoran, and he would find a way to satisfy Yao Guozhi.
It was precisely for this reason that when Yao Guozhi sought to meet Yang Haoran and found Huang Sha, Huang Sha immediately brought Yao Guozhi to the location, not even bothering to ask why Yao Guozhi wished to see Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran nodded with a smile, then turned his gaze to Yao Guozhi.
"Have you encountered some irresolvable trouble that requires my intervention?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Guozhi responded respectfully.
"This subordinate has indeed encountered some trouble that requires the Boss's personal attention."
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged as he said with a smile,
"Speak freely about any trouble you have. Whether I can resolve it or not, I will do my utmost to help you."
Yao Guozhi didn't stand on ceremony and immediately stated the trouble he was currently facing.
"This subordinate wishes to tour the areas managed by other factions in Gu Mo City. However, this subordinate is merely an ordinary person, and entering areas controlled by other forces might cause trouble. Therefore, this subordinate hopes the Boss will grant approval for Huang Sha to accompany me."
Roaming into territories controlled by other factions was hardly a safe endeavor in the chaotic Gu Mo City; one could easily lose their life doing so. Yang Haoran couldn't be certain why Yao Guozhi made such a request or what his true purpose was, but he didn't refuse Yao Guozhi's plea. After a moment's thought, he agreed.
"No problem. However, I'm not entirely at ease with Huang Sha accompanying you, and besides, Huang Sha has his own tasks. As it happens, I'm free right now, so I can accompany you myself."
Yao Guozhi was somewhat surprised by Yang Haoran's decision. He hadn't expected Yang Haoran to personally accompany him on this trip. Naturally, this was a good thing for him; with Yang Haoran personally leading the way, the journey would be far safer.
Yao Guozhi did not refuse. He then followed Yang Haoran to the areas managed by other factions in Gu Mo City.
Yang Haoran had initially thought Yao Guozhi merely wanted to stroll around Gu Mo City, but the reality was completely different from what he'd imagined. Yao Guozhi didn't just circle Gu Mo City; he also toured the areas outside the city managed by other factions.谷
Yang Haoran had a certain degree of confidence in his own strength, but for safety's sake and to avoid unnecessary trouble, he proceeded with extreme caution throughout the entire process, never drawing attention to himself.
It took him a full five days to achieve Yao Guozhi's objective. The reason for such a long duration was that Gu Mo City was vast, and its surrounding territories were even more extensive. For Yao Guozhi to traverse every corner of Gu Mo City was naturally not something that could be accomplished in a day or two. If Yang Haoran hadn't possessed the ability to tear through space, it would have taken far longer than five days.
Yang Haoran didn't ask what Yao Guozhi intended to do, nor did Yao Guozhi volunteer any explanation. After returning to the Death God Temple, Yao Guozhi immediately plunged back into his work, while Yang Haoran summoned Huang Sha to the meeting room.
Before Shui Ling entered seclusion, she had been responsible for intelligence gathering. After her retreat, Yang Haoran assigned this task to Huang Sha.
The reason for having Huang Sha take over was that Huang Sha was a demon, not a human. He possessed transformation abilities that humans did not. In Yang Haoran's view, with such abilities, intelligence gathering might be somewhat simpler for Huang Sha.
Unfortunately, Huang Sha was far from professional in this regard. Even with his transformation abilities, his intelligence gathering efforts couldn't compare to Shui Ling's.
Yang Haoran had no intention of blaming Huang Sha for this. After all, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses; it wasn't his style to ignore a subordinate's strengths while fixating on their shortcomings. It was just that the inability to gather useful intelligence immediately still gave him a bit of a headache.
"Boss, all the intelligence I've gathered today is here. Please take a look."
Huang Sha presented a stack of intelligence with both hands to Yang Haoran. Although his expression was respectful, he clearly lacked some confidence as he spoke.
Huang Sha was actually well aware that his abilities in intelligence gathering were somewhat lacking, and the information he'd compiled would certainly struggle to satisfy his boss, Yang Haoran. Hence, he appeared quite unconfident at that moment.
Yang Haoran took the intelligence from Huang Sha with a smile and began to examine it carefully.
A moment later, Yang Haoran put down the intelligence. As he had expected, the information Huang Sha had gathered truly contained nothing that warranted his particular attention.
Of course, it wasn't to say that the intelligence Huang Sha collected was entirely useless; it did have its uses. It simply hadn't met the standards he had hoped for.
"From the intelligence you've gathered, it seems the Spirit Mediums of Gu Mo City are still making no moves. How likely do you think that is?"
Yang Haoran asked with a smile. Upon hearing this, Huang Sha looked mortified, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
When Yang Haoran had first arrived in Gu Mo City, the Spirit Mediums not only learned of his presence but also eagerly moved against them. Now, Yang Haoran had emerged from the shadows into the open, even successfully rebuilding Gu Mo City's largest Death God Temple. Logically, it was impossible for the Spirit Mediums to remain completely inactive.
Huang Sha understood this point in his heart, but mere understanding was useless. The crucial thing was to know what the Spirit Mediums were doing so that a targeted approach could be taken. Yet, he simply couldn't gather any useful intelligence; all he could acquire was superficial information. That was why, upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, he felt awkward and didn't even know how best to reply.
Yang Haoran smiled, lit a cigarette for himself, and continued,
"Heh, you don't need to be ashamed. This isn't your fault; if anything, it's mine. Besides, the intelligence you've gathered isn't entirely useless. At the very least, it confirms that the Spirit Mediums are certainly planning something big, otherwise, there'd be no need for them to be so cautious."
The shame on Huang Sha's face didn't lessen because of Yang Haoran's words. He respectfully bowed to Yang Haoran and then spoke.
"Boss, I'm sorry. This subordinate has disappointed you."
Yang Haoran smiled and waved his hand, signaling Huang Sha not to be so.
"I truly don't blame you; don't put this psychological pressure on yourself. By my estimation, even if Lu Wu and Shui Ling are slow, they should be emerging from seclusion soon. Once Shui Ling comes out, you won't have to headache over this anymore. I'll have Shui Ling take over this matter again, as she's quite capable in this area."
Yang Haoran's words had barely faded, and Huang Sha hadn't even had time to respond, when both men suddenly sensed a considerable power fluctuation. This energy wasn't coming from within the Death God Temple, but from outside it.
"Heh, it seems we have guests. I just wonder if they're friends or foes."
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