Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 163: Cleaning Up
After the statue completely fell apart, Chen Chuan saw that the signs of the second me's violent disappearance were slowing down, so he withdrew his hand and gradually relaxed, with wisps of white gas emanating from his body.

He looked at the pile of dust under his feet. Since it had been dealt with, there was no need to go down the mountain overnight. He could wait until tomorrow. So he returned to the temple, changed a few torches, added some incense, and sat down again.

At this moment, he heard the sounds of various insects in his ears, as if a wall of isolation was broken and the world returned to its original liveliness.

He calmed himself down and began to guide the alienated tissue with breathing techniques. The invasion and stimulation just now was too strong, and even my second self was feeling unsteady. The alienated tissue almost couldn't maintain normal and orderly growth. Now he could calm down and concentrate on sorting it out.

The second half of the night was relatively peaceful, and the mountain temple welcomed the morning light amid the melodious sound of birds.

Chen Chuan opened his eyes and saw that the signs of emptiness on the second me had not weakened at all, which meant that the invisible invasion was still continuing. He didn't know how long it would accompany him this time.

This phenomenon is not a good thing for others, but it is a good thing for him.

The more widespread the impact of the strange stories I encountered in the past, the longer the subsequent invasion would last.

From this, we can understand why this strange story has been here for so long and no one has come to care about it, because this kind of thing is simply a losing business.

For ordinary people, what kind of weird stories are best to do?

It is undoubtedly the same as what happened in the cinema last time. Although it is harmful and lethal to a certain extent, it is relatively close to the upper class. Once it is dealt with, it solves the trouble for the upper class, increases one's influence, and gets paid more.

It was also because of this that he was called an expert after dealing with the last weird story in the cinema, even though those upper-class people could not tell the difference between one weird story and another.

Even if one goes through great pains to deal with strange stories in remote areas, all one can earn is some money that the villagers have worked hard to save and squeeze out of their teeth. This may not even be enough to buy equipment and transportation fees. One may even lose one's life if one is not careful. So who would be willing to do it?

Chen Chuan looked at the bright light coming in from outside and falling on the mottled wall. There were also a few birds that came from nowhere and landed on the wall, adding a bit of vitality to the originally gloomy temple.

He stood up from where he was, picked up the machete and walked outside the temple. The pile of dust was still there. He walked forward and poked it a few times with the blade of the machete, and saw a white object exposed underneath. He bent down and picked it up.

This is an upper jaw bone with sharp teeth, but it is obviously different from that of a human. I don’t know what it is.

At this moment, he seemed to see something out of the corner of his eye. He picked up the knife and poked around, and saw a yellowed piece of paper exposed in the pile of ash. He picked it up and examined it. He saw strange symbols drawn on it, composed of dots and long lines, as if it was drawn with cinnabar.

He thought about it. This thing looked a bit like the esoteric ritual props that Director Lei mentioned. He couldn't help but think of the esoteric cults that often appeared in the Sanshan legend. Could it be that they left it behind?
He didn't understand this, but every ritual would leave some traces of arrangements nearby, so he simply walked around the area. As expected, he discovered quite a few things.

A buried skeleton was found in eight locations on the top of the mountain. The skeleton was sitting cross-legged with the head placed on the abdomen.

It is worth noting that the head has been specially treated and has not turned into bones. Instead, it looks like the dry skin state it was in when the ghost story head was taken out just now.

From this he also figured out a clue. This strange story might be as the legend said. It is very likely that it was dealt with by the followers of this so-called esoteric religion in the early days. But the purpose might not be to get rid of the strange story, but to use it.

The severed head was most likely put into the stomach by these esoteric cult followers.

But this should be a thing of the old times. It happened so long ago that I no longer know the original intention. But I can go back and ask Director Lei, maybe I can find out something.

He had always been interested in things of a mysterious nature, and he had some ideas about the means of restraining and utilizing strange stories.

After thinking about it, he returned to the temple. He took out a camera from his bag, tried it and found it was still usable. So far, only the strange story in the theater has a corrosive effect on objects. Maybe the invasion of each strange story is different, but I have resisted most of the damage, so he doesn't know the difference.

After coming out again with the camera, he took a few photos of the temple, the skeleton that had just been dug out, and other noteworthy places.

The photos of the temple and the ash were taken back to prove that the commission had been completed, and the rest of the things were going to be taken to Director Lei for inquiry. Of course, he was too busy now, so he might have to wait until later.

After finishing everything, he packed up and made sure nothing was left behind, then came down the mountain and returned to the village where he had originally set out.

When the villagers heard that he was back, they gathered around him to ask about the situation.

Chen Chuan said to the old man, "Old man, I have dealt with that strange story. You don't have to hide far away at night anymore."

The villagers were a little skeptical, because this thing has been bothering them for decades. Now you go up the mountain and tell us that it’s gone. That’s impossible, right?
Although the old man was also skeptical, he still held on to hope and asked, "Young man, are you telling the truth?"

Driver Xiao Wei said nearby: "Expert Chen is not here to get rid of this strange story for money, so there is no need to deceive you."

But it would have been better if he hadn't said this. After he said this, some villagers became even more unconvinced. Why did you come here if you didn't want money? Anyway, in today's world, they don't believe that anyone would come to do good things for free.

Chen Chuan did not continue to persuade them. With just one word from him, it was impossible for others to give up their vigilance after decades of vigilance. He said, "If you are worried, you can do what you did before. I believe that you will be able to figure it out after a while."

After saying this, he said goodbye to the old man and patted the hunter who led him before leaving. This time, the hair on his wrist did not react. Under the villagers' half-believing and half-doubting eyes, he got on the car and returned to the city.

After returning, he first went to the company and handed the photos to the employees to be developed. He also wrote a commission record. Ren Shu was quite excited after reading it.

"Expert Chen, this commission has never been solved by anyone before, but now it has been solved by Expert Chen. Once it is confirmed, the company's evaluation will be improved again."

Chen Chuan said: "That's good, Mr. Ren, I may have something to do recently, maybe I need to go out, or I may not be able to do any commissions for a while. I apologize in advance."

Ren Shu was not surprised, but then he realized something and said seriously, "Expert Chen, although our company is not big, we still have some power. If there is anything, please let us know. The company will definitely help if it can."

Chen Chuan said: "If necessary, I will."

After leaving the company, he went directly to Cheng Zitong's private training gym, trying to make use of this power as much as possible before the signs of emptiness completely disappeared.

After arriving here, he also looked at the overlapping time while exercising, and the result did not disappoint him. This time it was increased by more than an hour, which was comparable to the gain from obtaining the unlimited defense certificate.

In fact, although the unlimited defense certificate test was very dangerous, he was still confident in advance. This time he did not have a plan to solve it completely, and he made a wrong judgment at one point. In the end, he took a risk. It can be said that he passed the test in a very thrilling way.

This brings the total time to more than five hours.

If this trend continues, the overlapping time limit of 24 hours a day will be reached sooner or later. He also vaguely feels that after reaching this limit, the second me may undergo further changes.

He stayed here for two days in a row. Although the signs of virtualization were still continuing, the holiday was approaching and the academy had some things to deal with, especially the money in the two gold notes that Cheng Zitong took out for him. This time the amount was larger, one gold note was 10,000 Jianyuan coins, and the other was 40,000.

He guessed that this was most likely the reward given by the Maka people to the Mitai team. For a country, this amount was not large, but for a wilderness team it was a very high amount.

Good news should be shared with others, so he invited all the team members who went to the wilderness that day to have dinner at the Duyi Hotel again.

Before the meal, according to the old rules, the money was distributed to everyone according to the previously agreed-upon shares. Everyone knew how much they would get, so there was no dispute.

When the dishes were served and they started to eat, Wei Changan said to Chen Chuanchu, "Junior, I will graduate this semester, but it's the same as in school. If you have any questions, just call me directly. The number on your name card will do. If you can't find me, you can call Lao Si."

Cai Si next to him said, "Yes, if you can't find Brother Wei, just find me."

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Brother Wei, I will definitely not forget you if something happens."

"Then it's settled."

The two laughed and clinked glasses.

Lin Xiaodi said over there: "Brother Chen, I have passed the entrance exam. After I pass the re-examination in two months, I can also enter Wuyi. We will be alumni next semester."

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Then I wish you good luck in your exams, Xiaodi."

Lin Xiaodi is He Nan's apprentice. She has been carefully trained since childhood. Although he has never seen her specific skills, she is nimble and agile in her walking movements and has a very good foundation. This girl usually looks very lively and knows a lot of techniques. She can be said to be smart and clever. It should not be difficult for her to pass the re-examination.

After finishing the meal, Chen Chuan said goodbye to everyone and went back to school with a few classmates. At this time, most students were already waiting for the holiday, and the campus was rarely tense and serious.

However, he knew that the test that awaited him had just begun and it was far from time to relax. While others were thinking about where to relax and have fun during the holidays, he was still honing himself over and over again in the private training room.

In the afternoon, the telephone rang in the living room. He stopped, walked over and picked up the receiver. Cheng Zitong's voice came from inside:

"Xiaochuan, Lao He sent a telegram. He agreed. The academy will be closed in two days. Please make arrangements for any matters at home. I will buy you a ticket after you set a time. This is an intensive training, so it shouldn't take too long. You should make the best use of every day. I will prepare the training drugs you need in advance."

Chen Chuan said calmly: "Thank you, teacher."

After hanging up the phone, he had a hunch that this might be the last chance to improve his strength before the Mutual Aid Association reacted, and he must seize it.

……

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(End of this chapter)