Chapter 180: The Haggard Zhao Dasheng

"The bank certainly didn't make a mistake with your payroll." Katerina smiled, her expression as warm as that of a kind-hearted neighbor.

"Those twenty thousand credits are a bonus issued to you by the bureau. Over the past month, you've been sent out on quite a few missions, and every single one of them was a success."

"A... a bonus?" Upon realizing that the money truly belonged to him, Chang Yu immediately beamed with joy.

"That's right, a bonus!" Katerina repeated what she had just said. "Didn't I mention the bonus system to you before you came on board?"

"Every time a mission is completed, the bureau issues a certain amount of prize money corresponding to the mission's difficulty rank, which is then distributed on a monthly basis."

"You couldn't possibly have thought the bureau only pays us a fixed salary of five thousand a month, could you?"

"Knowing it is one thing." Chang Yu scratched his head, grinning like an absolute fool. "I just never imagined the bonus would be this large."

That was a full twenty thousand credits!

Even many white-collar workers who prided themselves on being social elites didn't make that much money in a single month, did they?

"Of course, we don't always have such good luck every time. Sometimes we go half a year without a single mission, and we have to make do with just the base salary."

"I don't know what got into things this time. Ever since you joined the Disaster Investigation Bureau, you've run into calamities one after another in just a single month. It really is quite rare."

"Could it be that you're actually a magnet for misfortune, drawing all those disasters right to your doorstep?"

Katerina said the last sentence in a joking tone.

Chang Yu let out a hearty laugh, knowing she was just teasing.

"Do you have plans today?" Chang Yu shifted the topic after the laughter subsided.

"No," Katerina replied.

"How about we head to the shooting range for some practice?" Chang Yu suddenly felt inspired. "It's been a while since I handled a firearm, and my trigger finger is itching a bit."

"Alright," Katerina pondered for a moment. "It just so happens that your marksmanship training should be moving on to the next phase anyway."

"Give me a moment to tidy up a bit, and I'll head out with you."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Chang Yu's phone rang quite inconveniently.

"What a strange coincidence!" Chang Yu couldn't help but exclaim. "My phone usually never rings when I want it to, so why does it always start ringing the moment things get critical?"

"Let's hope it's nothing too important..." Chang Yu glanced at the caller ID on his phone and saw it was Zhao Dasheng.

"You should answer the call first and see if Boss Zhao has anything urgent," Katerina advised.

"Hello, Boss Zhao," Chang Yu answered the call decisively.

"Benefactor, are you free?" Zhao Dasheng's voice carried a hint of anxiety and nervousness.

"I am. Did something happen over at Boss Zhao's end?" Chang Yu's expression turned serious instantly.

Anything that could make someone of Zhao Dasheng's standing worry to this extent must be a major issue.

Since Zhao Dasheng was a major stakeholder in their hotel, Chang Yu felt obliged to check on his situation.

"For the past few days, I don't know what's wrong, but I've been plagued by nightmares repeatedly. I can't even get a single night of peaceful sleep." Zhao Dasheng spoke in a panic.

"Day after day, I find myself trapped in the exact same nightmare, and every single morning I wake up terrified by it."

"Right now, I have no appetite for food or drink, my mental state is exhausted to the absolute limit, and I've lost over ten pounds."

"At this rate, in less than a month, I'll be completely ruined!"

"Benefactor, my benefactor! I know you are a man of extraordinary abilities. You must be able to tell what's going on with my condition."

"If it were about anything else, I might not be of much help, but when it comes to dreams, I am an absolute professional!" Chang Yu didn't hesitate at all upon hearing Zhao Dasheng's request.

Although he admitted that he didn't particularly care for Zhao Dasheng as a person, the moment he heard that someone needed his help, he agreed without a second thought.

The world of martial arts and society was never just about violence and killing; it was about human relationships and favors!

Since someone had come asking for help at his doorstep, it wouldn't be polite to refuse.

Even for the sake of Fatty Wang, he had to give Zhao Dasheng a hand, didn't he?

"Tell me where you are right now, and I'll come over to see what the problem is," Chang Yu said.

"Then I thank my benefactor in advance!" Zhao Dasheng's voice suddenly grew much lighter.

In his eyes, this young benefactor of his was an extraordinary individual. As long as he was willing to step in, nothing could possibly be too difficult for him to handle.

"I'm at home right now. You can just come straight over. My address is Building XX, Fuli Riverfront..."

Chang Yu checked the time and replied, "I'll be at your place in twenty minutes."

Hanging up the phone, Chang Yu apologetically said to Katerina, "Something's come up unexpectedly. I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the shooting range with you."

Katerina said, "It's fine. I heard everything. I'd like to go with you to Boss Zhao's house to see what's going on with him."

Chang Yu drove to Zhao Dasheng's residence, accompanied by Katerina.

Our national entrepreneur, Mr. Zhao Dasheng, looked utterly terrible at the moment.

His complexion was pale, his lips devoid of any color, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and a dark shadow hung between his eyebrows. He had clearly lost a substantial amount of weight all over.

"Benefactor, old Zhao has finally waited for you." Zhao Dasheng's voice was weak, and his entire body trembled slightly.

Chang Yu still remembered what Zhao Dasheng had looked like the last time they met—he had just consumed the "Thousand-Year Poria Mud" gifted to him by Chang Yu.

Not only was his complexion rosy and his breath full, but his physical fitness had also improved to a certain extent. He could walk all the way up to the seventh floor without his waist aching or his back hurting.

Yet the Zhao Dasheng that Chang Yu saw today was completely different from the man he remembered.

Present now was a sickly-looking figure who resembled a consumptive ghost.

Well... the nourishment from the Poria Mud he ate previously had all gone to waste.

Even though Chang Yu had heard about Zhao Dasheng's condition over the phone, actually laying eyes on him still gave him quite a shock.

Zhao Dasheng's condition was far more severe than he had imagined. It was hard to believe that in just a few days, a healthy adult could deteriorate into such a half-dead state.

Chang Yu concluded that even if Zhao Dasheng went without food or water for three straight days, he wouldn't wreck himself to this miserable degree. Therefore, there had to be another reason for him turning out like this.

"When did this condition of yours first start appearing?" Chang Yu asked with a solemn expression.

"About a week ago!" Zhao Dasheng recalled the optical disc he and the woman in the cheongsam had watched, accurately pinpointing a date.

"All this suffering started from a single disc. That day, I was heading home from work as usual when I ran into someone halfway..."

Zhao Dasheng recounted the events of that day in front of Chang Yu and Fatty Wang. In his mind, if he had to pinpoint a single eerie event, it was definitely that disc from that day.

After listening to Zhao Dasheng's narrative, Chang Yu couldn't help but cough. "You're saying that disc... cough, I mean, that optical disc, the content inside looked a bit like a cult organization performing some kind of mysterious ritual?"

"That's right!" Zhao Dasheng told Chang Yu with absolute certainty. "I thought it was just a prank at the time, so I didn't take it to heart. But who would have thought..."

"Could you describe in detail what the ritual performed by that cult organization looked like?" At that moment, Katerina, who had remained silent until then, suddenly spoke up.

Since both Fatty Wang and Zhao Dasheng had met Katerina before and knew she shared some undefined, profound connection with Chang Yu, they weren't surprised to see her appear alongside him here.

Thus, Zhao Dasheng calmly explained to Katerina, "The people performing the ritual were wearing black robes, and judging by their voices, they sounded quite young. They were holding a golden cup in their hands, and all the followers were kowtowing to that cup."

"Right after that, I saw those followers pull daggers from their waists one by one and slash right into their own elbows. That scene, tsk tsk... was extremely bloody."

"And then?" Katerina continued to ask.

"Then... then I couldn't bear to watch anymore, so I don't know what happened afterward." Zhao Dasheng lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong.

"Where is that optical disc now? Can we take a look at it?" Chang Yu was beginning to develop an interest in the evil religious ritual Zhao Dasheng had described.

In recent years, with the state's crackdown on cult organizations becoming increasingly fierce and the public's education level rising sharply, it had become rare for cults to come out and scam people.

In an era where cult organizations were terrified of exposure and went to great lengths to hide, this was the first time Chang Yu had heard of a cult rearing its head, so his curiosity was inevitably piqued.

"Sigh!" Zhao Dasheng let out a heavy sigh.

"It's all my fault," he said. "That disc was shattered into pieces by me and thrown away."

"Can we still find the pieces?" Katerina hesitated for a moment before asking.

"There's no way to find them now. Early the next morning, the cleaning lady threw them out as trash," Zhao Dasheng said with a troubled look.

"Had I known things would turn out like this, I wouldn't have thrown it away. Did I make it harder for you to investigate clues?"

"We can't jump to conclusions just yet," Katerina replied with a serious expression, using a particularly professional tone.

Well, Katerina truly was the most professional, especially when it came to investigating and handling cases—she could well be considered the backbone of the Disaster Investigation Bureau.

"Please excuse me for a moment." Katerina took out her phone from her bag and looked as though she was about to dial a number.

With that, she turned and walked toward the balcony.

"Benefactor, what is she..." Fatty Wang didn't quite understand Katerina's intention and looked at Chang Yu.

"Pay her no mind; she's going to call in reinforcements," Chang Yu stated.

Knowing Katerina as he did, she was undoubtedly calling that kid Zhen Youcai right now.

If they wanted to track down the origins of the cult organization Zhao Dasheng had mentioned, Katerina would have to rely on modern technological means to find the answers.

And Zhen Youcai, that tech nerd, was undoubtedly the best candidate for the job.

"Then... Benefactor, do you think old Zhao still has a chance of survival?"

"I have these nightmares every single night, and every day I wake up terrified out of my sleep. That feeling is truly worse than death."

"Do you think I've been cursed by evil spirits or provoked something unclean? I've looked for Taoist priests to perform exorcisms, monks to chant scriptures, and shamans to dance away the spirits, but none of it worked at all."

"That nightmare keeps playing out in my sleep over and over again, leaving me with absolutely no way out."

"Benefactor, if you can help old Zhao get through this ordeal, consider us friends for life."

"As long as you can help me with this favor, I will definitely offer a reward that satisfies you as compensation for your rescue."

"Not only that, from now on, whatever trouble you might have in H City, you can just bring it up directly with me. I'm not boasting, but in H City, there is nothing old Zhao cannot settle!"

As he spoke, a heroic aura unexpectedly surfaced on Zhao Dasheng's face. For a fleeting second, Chang Yu was genuinely infected by his imposing manner.

Speaking of which, Zhao Dasheng was no ordinary person.

To rise from an impoverished young man to the major capitalist he was today—someone who could alter countless fates with a single stomp of his foot—Zhao Dasheng undoubtedly possessed extraordinary capabilities.

"Boss Zhao is being too polite." Chang Yu smiled shyly, looking like a grown-up boy.

"Since you're Brother Wang's friend, you're Chang's friend as well. If I can help you, I'll definitely do my best."

"Then I thank you so much!" Receiving Chang Yu's affirmative reply, Zhao Dasheng instantly looked ecstatic, his complexion flushing.

He was like a drowning man clutching at his final straw, gazing at Chang Yu with eyes full of hope, brimming with a desperate longing and tenacity for survival.

He knew very well that the eerie things happening to him could only be resolved by a master of Chang Yu's caliber.

Ever since the day Chang Yu had single-handedly rescued a boatload of a dozen people right before his eyes, Zhao Dasheng had regarded him as one of those reclusive masters hidden away among the common folk.

He had also sought out traditional Chinese medicine doctors and Western medical doctors—all of them prestigious medical authorities in H Province.

Yet whether it was traditional or Western medicine, the final medical examinations all indicated that Zhao Dasheng's body was completely fine.

Thus, he finally came to a realization.

His ailment was definitely not caused by any physical illness.

Rather... he had run into something that science simply could not explain.

You could call it metaphysics, or you could call it feudal superstition.

"How about this? When night falls, I will stay with you as you sleep," Chang Yu pondered for a moment and offered a reasonable solution.

"I will try to enter your dreamscape and see what the nightmare that keeps plaguing you is really like."

"Perhaps if our luck holds, we can even find out the root cause of why you keep having these nightmares."