Chapter 1098: Missing Night Watchers
"Divine Envoy, another one of my men disappeared today! We can't find the slightest trace; it's as if they evaporated from the face of the earth!"
Inside the meeting room, Lu Wu, his face etched with fury, reported to Yang Haoran. However, his anger wasn't directed at Yang Haoran, but at whoever was pulling strings in the shadows.
In just a few days, this wasn't the first time Lu Wu had encountered such a situation. Including today's disappearance, three of the Night Watchers under his command had gone missing in this short span.
Just as he reported to Yang Haoran, the three had vanished bizarrely, leaving behind not a single trace, as if they had suddenly evaporated from the face of the earth.
Although the Night Watchers under his command were all new recruits, he had long treated them as his own brothers. He couldn't accept even one going missing, let alone three.
He believed that this group of brothers under him would absolutely not disappear voluntarily. Their sudden vanishing surely meant they had met with misfortune, which was why he was showing such intense anger.
Yang Haoran took a drag from his cigarette. His expression was calm, but unlike usual, the habitual smile was absent from his face.
"Calm down," Yang Haoran said flatly. "Panicking won't change the outcome; it'll only make your mind a mess."
In recent days, under Yang Haoran's arrangements, Lu Wu had launched operations against the Spirit Mediums. However, these operations were conducted very discreetly and were mostly small skirmishes targeting certain Spirit Mediums. Because Lu Wu had successfully opened his Heaven Soul, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. As a result, the initial operations went very smoothly, and the lives of several Spirit Mediums came to an end at Lu Wu's hands, their essence harvested as resources and brought back to the Death God Temple.
Now that several Night Watchers under Lu Wu had successively disappeared, Lu Wu believed it was all the Spirit Mediums' doing, their way of retaliating against the Underworld Office.
Yang Haoran neither affirmed nor denied Lu Wu's assertion. He took a puff from his cigarette and turned his gaze to Shui Ling.
"How are things with your Second Division?"
Upon hearing this, Shui Ling immediately responded respectfully.
"Reporting, Divine Envoy, one person from our Second Division also went missing today."
Shui Ling's words displeased Lu Wu somewhat. Their First Division had already lost three men in the past few days, while Shui Ling's Second Division had only lost one today. The disparity was considerable, and he felt a bit embarrassed.
"Shui Ling, what do you mean by saying that in front of the Divine Envoy? Although three people from our First Division have gone missing, our First Division is in no way inferior to your Second Division."
When facing Yang Haoran, Lu Wu dared not be presumptuous, but with Shui Ling, he had no such reservations and spoke with bluntness.
Shui Ling frowned, ignoring Lu Wu. She had known Lu Wu for many years and understood his personality well. This fellow was sometimes single-minded, acting solely on impulse without using his brain at all. If she were to argue with Lu Wu now, he would only go on endlessly, perhaps even escalating, so she simply ignored him.
Shui Ling's silence didn't mean Lu Wu intended to shut up. At that moment, he was in a fit of pique, feeling stifled and eager to vent his inner rage on someone. Shui Ling naturally became his target.
Before Yang Haoran arrived in Gu Mo City, the two of them had always been at odds, their confrontations a common occurrence. However, by comparison, Shui Ling was far more rational than Lu Wu. In certain special situations, Shui Ling would suppress her anger, even if she felt it, but Lu Wu was quite the opposite.
Just as Lu Wu was about to speak, Yang Haoran's gaze stopped him. Yang Haoran's eyes were calm, yet after meeting that tranquil gaze, Lu Wu's heart became anything but calm.
"I told you to calm down. Why won't you listen? " Yang Haoran asked indifferently.
"My apologies, Divine Envoy. Your subordinate was too impulsive. " Lu Wu hastily stood up and apologized respectfully to Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran took a drag from his cigarette and gently waved his hand.
"Sit down."
Upon hearing this, Lu Wu obediently sat down. Though anger still simmered in his heart, he was much more subdued than before.
"Your First Division is primarily for offense, while Shui Ling's Second Division's main task is to gather various intelligence. It's more likely that your people would be targeted, as your forces are operating openly. So there's no need for you to dwell on this issue. Both of your divisions have their strengths, and the areas you're responsible for are different. There's no such thing as one being stronger or weaker than the other. As long as you handle matters within your respective domains well and satisfy me, you are all the strongest in my eyes. Do you understand what I mean? " Yang Haoran asked.
"Your subordinate understands!"
"Your subordinate understands!"
Lu Wu and Shui Ling dared not slacken, immediately responding with respectful deference.
Yang Haoran nodded, then turned his gaze back to Shui Ling.
"Regarding this matter, have you collected any useful information?"
Upon hearing this, Shui Ling immediately retrieved a stack of documents from her independent space, then stood up and presented them to Yang Haoran with both hands.
"After two days of effort by our Second Division, we have finally gathered some useful information. Please take a look, Divine Envoy."
Yang Haoran took the documents and began to peruse them carefully. Shui Ling respectfully stepped back, then retrieved several more sets of documents and handed them to Huang Sha and the others.
However, the documents she handed to Yang Haoran were noticeably thicker than those given to the others. This, of course, was done intentionally by her.
The reason Yang Haoran's set of documents was thicker was that it was more detailed and contained some relatively sensitive information. Shui Ling wasn't sure if Yang Haoran wanted others to know about this information, so she gave it only to Yang Haoran and not to the others.
Shui Ling's approach wasn't due to a lack of trust in Lu Wu and the others, but rather because there were some matters she dared not decide on her own. Disclosing important intelligence to others without Yang Haoran's explicit consent would, in her view, be a dereliction of duty. If Yang Haoran reviewed these documents and then chose to inform the others of their contents, that would naturally be a different matter entirely.
Some of the others present noticed this, while some did not. Regardless of whether they noticed or not, none of them took issue with it, as they didn't see anything wrong with Shui Ling's actions.
After receiving the documents from Shui Ling, the others also began to peruse them carefully.
A moment later, Yang Haoran set down the documents he held. Seeing that the others were still engrossed in their reading, he remained silent. He extinguished the finished cigarette in his hand, picked up the teacup before him, and quietly waited, sipping his tea.
Xiang Chuan was the first to put down his documents. His speed was faster than the others because he had merely glanced through them.
After Xiang Chuan came Lu Wu. While Xiang Chuan was too lazy to read carefully, Lu Wu was different; he wanted to read carefully, but he found it overwhelming, so he only read it very simply, barely processing anything.
In contrast, Huang Sha and Yao Guozhi read very meticulously. Yao Guozhi, in particular, was the most thorough reader. He would sometimes furrow his brow, sometimes wear a solemn expression, with all his attention absorbed by the documents in his hands.
It was precisely for this reason that it was a good while after Huang Sha had put down his documents that Yao Guozhi finally set his down, his brows still furrowed.
While Yao Guozhi was perusing the documents, no one disturbed him, nor did anyone make a sound, not even Yang Haoran.
When Yao Guozhi finally put down his documents, Yang Haoran likewise set down his teacup.
"You've all read the documents. Share your thoughts."
Xiang Chuan did not speak, nor did he intend to, because he hadn't thoroughly read the documents before him. Moreover, he didn't care much for the affairs of the Underworld Office. If it weren't for Yang Haoran, he wouldn't even have bothered to attend this meeting.
Although Lu Wu also hadn't carefully read the documents before him, he had no intention of remaining silent. On the contrary, he became the first among them to speak.
"Divine Envoy, I still believe the disappearance of our Night Watchers is the work of the Spirit Mediums!"
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