Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Chapter 84 Haunted?

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, stubbornly casting a dappled pattern on the floor.

The dark green cheongsam that had performed so well last night was now lying pitifully crumpled on the carpet, with a black high heel and a few broken buttons scattered around it.

The battle was fierce.

When Zhang Yan woke up, he felt a heavy weight on his waist.

Nie Qingcheng clung to him like a koala, one leg pressing down on his stomach with an extremely domineering air. Her breathing was even and long, and a few strands of hair clung to her rosy cheeks. Her usual ruthless and decisive queenly aura had vanished, leaving only a lazy and charming demeanor.

Zhang Yan carefully moved her legs away, and just as he was about to get off the bed, a hand pulled him back down.

"Where to?"

Nie Qingcheng closed her eyes, her voice hoarse and still nasal from sleep, and rubbed her head against his chest, "Stay with me a little longer."

"It's ten o'clock, Mr. Nie."

Zhang Yan casually toyed with her long hair scattered on the pillow. "Even though I'm a kept man and don't have to clock in, are you going to ignore this business worth hundreds of billions?"

"in spite of."

Nie Qingcheng hummed softly, her eyelashes trembled, and she finally opened her eyes.

Her foxy eyes still held a hint of misty moisture. She stared at Zhang Yan for two seconds, then suddenly leaned in and bit his chin.

"You did well last night."

A playful smile played on her lips as she traced circles on his abs with her finger. "Looks like all those squats I made you do weren't for nothing."

Zhang Yan helplessly grabbed her mischievous hand: "If you keep practicing like this, I'm afraid my back will have to retire early."

"What are you afraid of? If it breaks, I'll pay for a titanium alloy one for you."

The two were cuddling when the phone on the bedside table suddenly vibrated, like an obnoxious electric drill, instantly shattering the pink atmosphere.

Nie Qingcheng frowned, reached for her phone, glanced at the caller ID, and her previously languid expression instantly turned cold.

"Feed".

After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Nie Qingcheng's expression grew increasingly grim. Finally, she sat up abruptly, the blanket slipping off to reveal a large expanse of her snow-white skin.

"Haunted? You actually believe that kind of nonsense?"

"Let's settle this with the highest standard for workers' compensation, and shut them up for now."

"Tell Old Chen, if you can't keep things under control, pack your bags and get out!"

After hanging up the phone, Nie Qingcheng tossed her phone onto the bed and rubbed her temples in frustration.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Yan got up and took a silk robe from the wardrobe and draped it over her shoulders.

"The project in the south of the city."

Nie Qingcheng sighed and fastened her belt. "The project manager just called to say there's been another accident at the construction site."

"The excavator suddenly stalled. Two workers said they saw something dirty and were so frightened that they fell off the scaffolding and broke their legs."

"Now all the workers on the construction site are threatening to strike, saying that the feng shui there is bad, that it's an... ominous place."

Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow.

That piece of land in the south of the city is the same piece mentioned in yesterday's system task.

"The competitors haven't been idle either, have they?"

Zhang Yan asked.

"Yes, the Zhao family has been spreading rumors that there's a mass grave under that land, and anyone who touches it will be in trouble."

Nie Qingcheng sneered, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, "These bastards just want to drive down the land price so they can take over the land themselves."

"Since that's the case..."

Zhang Yan picked up the fallen cheongsam from the ground and casually tossed it into the laundry basket. "Let's go take a look."

"you?"

Nie Qingcheng was taken aback. "What are you going there for? That place is a mess, full of mud and dust."

"I studied mechanical engineering, so dealing with excavator stalling is something that's directly related to my major."

Zhang Yan smiled, his eyes revealing a sense of certainty. "Besides, if there really is a ghost, my strong yang energy will be able to suppress it."

……

An hour later, the black Maybach drove into the South City Development Zone.

This place was originally an abandoned old factory, overgrown with weeds and filled with broken walls and ruins.

Because of recent rumors, the entire construction site was lifeless, with several excavators sitting in the mud, looking like a pile of scrap metal.

As soon as I got off the bus, a cold, damp wind carrying sand and dust hit me in the face.

Project manager Lao Chen, wearing a hard hat and covered in sweat, ran over, his fat face trembling.

"President Nie! You've finally arrived!"

Old Chen wiped his sweat. "This job is unbearable! Just now, two more workers said they heard crying underground, and they were so scared they wet their pants on the spot. Now they're all making a scene in the work shed, demanding their wages and leaving!"

Nie Qingcheng, wearing high heels, stood at the edge of the muddy ground, her brows furrowed: "Crying? Where did the crying come from in broad daylight?"

"Really! I heard it too!"

Old Chen lowered his voice and mumbled incoherently, "It sounds like...like fingernails scratching a coffin lid, a screeching sound that sends chills down your spine!"

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.

A group of workers were gathered around a makeshift altar, where a "master" dressed in a yellow Taoist robe and holding a peach wood sword was performing a ritual.

The master was chanting incantations, his compass spinning like a fan, and every now and then he would scatter a handful of paper money into the sky.

"Who is that?"

Nie Qingcheng's face darkened.

"That's...that's Master Ma, whom the workers pooled their money to hire."

Old Chen shrank his neck. "They say if we don't perform a ritual, the wronged spirits underground will come out and demand our lives."

Nie Qingcheng snorted coldly and raised her foot to overturn this charlatan's stall.

Zhang Yan reached out and stopped her.

"Don't rush."

Zhang Yan squinted at the compass in Master Ma's hand, "Let's see what tricks he can pull out."

The two approached the crowd.

Suddenly, Master Ma shuddered as if electrocuted, slammed his peach wood sword into the ground, and roared, "You beast! Get out of here at once!"

The surrounding workers were so frightened they didn't dare breathe.

Master Ma wiped the sweat from his brow, turned around, and said to the crowd with a solemn expression, "Everyone, the evil energy in this place is too heavy! There is a ferocious dragon pressing down underneath! I just spent ten years of my cultivation to barely suppress it."

"but……"

Master Ma changed the subject, his eyes darting around, "To completely resolve this, we need to add another grand ritual that lasts forty-nine days, otherwise this project might not be able to proceed."

"Can't be touched?"

A clear voice suddenly broke in.

Zhang Yan, with his hands in his pockets, slowly walked out of the crowd and stood in front of Master Ma.

He glanced at the compass that was still spinning wildly, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Master, your compass spins quite fast, is it powered by batteries?"

Master Ma was taken aback, then his eyes widened in anger: "You brat! Stop talking nonsense! This is sensing the evil energy underground!"

"A malevolent aura?"

Zhang Yan squatted down, extended a finger, and gently pressed it into the soil next to the peach wood sword.

In his mind, the [Eye of Treasure Appraisal] and the [Thousand Machine Box Blueprint] obtained from the antique bottle instantly resonated in a strange way.

The terrain, the soil, and even the faint vibrations in the air all formed a huge underground three-dimensional model in his mind.

That's not some ferocious dragon.

It's not some kind of vengeful spirit.

It was an ancient mechanical structure so massive it was astonishing!

"Master, if I'm not mistaken..."

Zhang Yan stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and said, "The 'fingernails scratching a coffin' sound you just heard had a frequency of about 20 Hz."

"This is called infrasound."

"Under the interference of sound waves at this frequency, the vestibular system of a person's inner ear will be stimulated, producing symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and even auditory hallucinations."

Zhang Yan pointed to the excavator next to him that had stalled: "The reason the machine stalled is because of an abnormal underground magnetic field, which interfered with the ECU signal of the electronic fuel injection system."

Simply put, this is a physical phenomenon.

Master Ma's face flushed red and then paled, but he forced himself to say, "Nonsense! What infrasound, what magnetic field? This is clearly the power of ghosts and gods!"

"spirits?"

Zhang Yan smiled.

He suddenly turned around and picked up a shovel from the side.

"Mr. Nie, can I borrow your strength?"

Although Nie Qingcheng didn't know what he was going to do, she still cooperated unconditionally and waved to the bodyguard behind her.

Zhang Yan carried a shovel and walked to an open space about five meters to the left of the excavator.

The area was overgrown with waist-high weeds and looked quite ordinary.

"Right here."

Zhang Yan planted the shovel in the ground and looked back at Master Ma, who was already somewhat flustered.

"Master, since you have opened your third eye, could you please predict what I'll dig up with this shovel?"

Master Ma swallowed hard. "What...what did you dig up? At most, a few rotten bones!"

"Rotten bones?"

Zhang Yan shook his head.

He took a deep breath, tensed his arm muscles, and exerted force.

"Bang!"

The shovel didn't dig very deep into the soil; instead, it seemed to hit some metal object, producing a dull, heavy echo.

This sound could never be made by stone or bone.

That's metal!

Moreover, it's a large, hollow piece of metal!

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Even the workers who had been clamoring to strike were now craning their necks.

Zhang Yan threw away the shovel, squatted down, and used his hands to remove the topsoil.

A bronze plate with intricate patterns is exposed to the sunlight.

Although it is rusty, the cloud and thunder patterns carved on it are still clearly visible, and in the center of the bronze plate, there is a "Tiangong" mark that is exactly the same as the one on the previous Qianji Box!

"This is……"

Nie Qingcheng walked over, looked at the mark, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

"This is an exhaust vent."

Zhang Yan pointed to several inconspicuous small holes on the bronze plate, "The air from underground is expelled through here, and when the wind speed reaches a certain level, it will produce that so-called 'ghostly wailing' sound."

He stood up, looked at Master Ma who was completely dumbfounded, and calmly added insult to injury.

"Master, your ferocious dragon looks like an exhaust fan."

The surrounding workers burst into laughter.

Master Ma, his face flushed, grabbed his compass and peach wood sword and slunk away into the crowd.

"Everyone, go home. There's nothing strange about it, it's just a ventilation shaft." Seeing this, Old Chen quickly shouted for the workers to go back to work, finally feeling relieved.

Once everyone had dispersed, Nie Qingcheng tugged at Zhang Yan's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is this thing? Is it just a simple vent?"

She knows Zhang Yan too well.

If it were just an ordinary underground structure, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Zhang Yan looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before leaning close to Nie Qingcheng's ear, his voice tinged with barely suppressed excitement.

"Honey, this time we might really strike it rich."

"This is no ordinary ancient tomb."

"This is a 'heavenly armory'."

Zhang Yan pointed to the ground beneath his feet, then to the wasteland in the distance that even his rival, the Zhao family, looked down upon.

"Based on the blueprints I received, this vent is just the tip of the iceberg."

"The real core area is over there."

Zhang Yan pointed his finger to the muddy pond overgrown with reeds at the edge of the construction site.

"That is the 'hub' of the entire underground structure."

"If I'm not mistaken, what lies buried beneath this is a complete set of mechanical manufacturing blueprints left by the Ming Dynasty Mohist school of craftsmanship, and perhaps even... tons of gold."

gold?

Nie Qingcheng's breath hitched.

Although she was wealthy, she still felt an instinctive awe at the sight of such a legendary treasure.

"You mean...?"

"Buy it."

Zhang Yan interrupted her, his eyes burning, "While the Zhao family is still spreading rumors that this land is a haunted house, buy all two hundred acres of wasteland around it."

"This is not a haunted house at all."

Zhang Yan stomped his foot on the ground, a confident smile curving his lips.

"This is clearly a treasure trove."

"Once this layer of dirt is removed, whether it's the Zhao family or that damned Master Ma, they'll all have to kneel down and call him 'daddy'."

Nie Qingcheng looked at the man in front of her.

The sunlight shone on his handsome profile, giving him a golden glow.

Just moments ago he was whining and complaining about his back pain, but now he's like a general in command, casually pointing and bringing immense wealth.

She suddenly felt her heart beating faster.

It's not because of that so-called gold.

It's not that it's because the feeling of being carried by him is just...so exhilarating.

"it is good."

Without any hesitation, Nie Qingcheng took out her phone and dialed her secretary's number.

"Hey you, hasn't the Zhao family been trying to drive down the price?"

Tell them they don't need to press anymore.

"I, Nie Qingcheng, want that muddy swamp in the south of the city, along with the surrounding wasteland."

"A 10% premium, sign the contract now!"

After hanging up the phone, Nie Qingcheng turned her head to look at Zhang Yan, her red lips parted slightly, her tone domineering yet doting.

"I bought the land."

"If you don't find any treasure, you'll be kneeling on a washboard when you get home tonight."

Zhang Yan chuckled and reached out to put his arm around her slender waist.

"Don't worry, honey."

"If we don't find any treasure, I'll give myself to you, repaying you with my body for the rest of my life, okay?"