Aint Translations

IMT Chapter 101 - 110

Full chapters link: https://aint-translations.itch.io/immortal/patreon-access

HUN Chapter 141 - 150

Full chapters link: https://aint-translations.itch.io/hunter/patreon-access

WIZ Chapter 141 - 150

Full chapters link: https://aint-translations.itch.io/wizard/patreon-access

Important Update. v2

(Sorry for the inconvenience! Please read this again as I’ve simplified the process. Instead of using a password, you will now just need to connect your Patreon account.)

Hi everyone, I want to share a small but important change in how I’ll be releasing chapters.

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📅 August 25 (UTC +8) - Chapter Releases

For Pledged Members:
Necromancer, What the Hell Is A Type 055 Summon? — Chapters 135 to 140
Wasteland Border Inspector — Chapters 121 to 130
My Father Is Superman, But I'm Just An NPC? — Chapters 105 to 108

For Free Members:
Necromancer, What the Hell Is A Type 055 Summon? — Chapters 87 & 88
Wasteland Border Inspector — Chapters 85 & 86

My Father Is Superman, But I'm Just An NPC? — Chapters 77 & 78
Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems — Chapters 77 & 78
American Hunting: Starting From Alone In The Wilderness — Chapters 77 & 78

We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? — Chapters 53 & 54
God's Imitator — Chapters 53 & 54

Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable — Chapters 39 & 40
I Run A Prison In America — Chapters 39 & 40

SUP Chapter 108: Crazy Leveling Up! Saving the Dream God! (Part Three)

Trees couldn't escape either. Under this black fog's erosion, their branches and leaves became twisted and bizarre, branches like withered arms reaching toward the sky, as if begging for something. The leaves' colors became extremely vivid yet unnaturally eerie.

Red, purple, blue leaves intertwined together, colorful yet monstrously evil. Ian even saw some leaves had opened eyes.

Yes.

They grew eyes!

And not just one eye each!

"What the hell is this thing?"

Ian's golden pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoint size. Feeling his sanity dropping madly, his eyes burst forth with sun-like brilliant golden light, searing beams shooting directly at that twisted soul.

The black fog writhed like a living thing, actually completely absorbing the light beams, as if treating them as nutrients, they definitely weren't the type that feared light and sunshine.

Even darker and more sinister.

"My backup body! I want! I want! Damn it! Originally prepared for after ascending to godhood!" The soul twisted into a monster let out piercing shrieks.

It locked onto a direction.

Flying toward Madison below, who was staying in the deep pit, not moving an inch, like she was being made to stand in punishment. It was clear Madison's ability to stay conscious during this disaster was for another reason.

The old witch had designs on her.

Seeing a rolling black fog flying at her, Madison was so scared she raised the demon head in her hands.

"Ahh~~~"

The demon head wasn't panicked, it even wanted to be a glutton.

"Eating raw and cold food? This thing shouldn't be eaten. After eating it, your head would probably grow little feet," Ian didn't want his trash can to become some twisted monster.

He directly used teleportation within visual range, appearing first in front of Madison.

"Good thing I'm always well-prepared and learned the skills I should learn," Ian used [Blood of Fury] to ignite his own blood, directly blasting toward the approaching monster soul.

His skin suddenly became bright red.

Dense blood vessels spread across his body surface like burning fuses.

"Hiss——!"

The moment his fist contacted the black fog soul, it made a sound like red-hot iron entering water. The monster soul let out inhuman screams and began frantically fleeing.

"Want to run?" Ian at this moment had become a living torch, every drop of blood burning. He used his flight ability to chase the black fog with frenzied attacks.

Each punch brought a dissipating piece of soul.

Ian was getting thinner, while that eerie soul was getting smaller. This was a life-for-life fighting style, but fortunately Ian didn't have much blood, yet his life was really tough.

He couldn't die at all.

"This is what a Super Saiyan looks like," having hammered the opponent's soul to pieces, Ian had only become dehydrated to skeleton level, but the Berserker's passive made his strength even more powerful.

This was the benefit of multiple classes working together.

"Pathetic. Even after becoming a monster, still this weak. Now you know what percentage true damage shock feels like?" Ian's percentage true damage was added based on his blood loss percentage.

So he actually only consumed about one-third of his blood, gaining the [Severe Blood Loss] negative status, but the Supreme Witch's soul had already been hammered by him to just a small piece.

It was still writhing but was no bigger than a palm.

Just as Ian was hesitating whether to break his vow.

Suddenly, the world fell into stasis.

This was a state Ian hadn't experienced in a long time.

He was used to it by now.

And had definite suspicions in his heart.

"Another pollution from the outer world like before?" Ian held the remnant soul in his hand, offering it to Lady Death who had appeared beside him at some unknown time.

"Correct," Lady Death nodded, then handed over a cup of bubbling coffee. Ian drank it all in one gulp, his withered body rapidly recovering like an inflatable doll.

"Is there also a love bento?"

He nervously checked the system interface, fortunately, the countdown for [Entropy Annihilation Lord] still hadn't reset, perhaps because Ian's stomach was still very hungry.

"This isn't right."

Lady Death was used to ignoring Ian's nonsense. She extinguished the black fog on the soul fragments, frowning, "There are no universe fragments or any complete information."

"This is just a trace of pollution."

Her tone carried some uncertainty.

"Where's your omniscience?"

Ian leaned closer to observe. Lady Death smelled so good, but it was the food kind of fragrance. Damn hunger was already making Ian want to nibble on anything he saw.

Could this be considered retracing Galactus's path?

"Most of the time, the omniscience we speak of is actually omniscience only within coverage of this universe. After parsing other lower universes, we can also obtain all information from those universes."

"However, this time it's obviously not a lower universe, and they're also very cunning," Lady Death's fingertips glowed, showing Ian her analysis results.

Nothing at all.

"Morpheus might have fallen to this universe. And it seems some pollution he suffered was even absorbed by this stupid witch as power."

Lady Death's voice carried some melancholy.

"Witches are like that."

Ian blinked, not making much judgment.

"Regardless, you need to find Morpheus and ask clearly what exactly happened," Lady Death crushed the Supreme Witch's last soul remnant with her fingers.

She killed the person.

It had nothing to do with Ian at all.

"He should be over there. You could go ask yourself," Ian pointed toward the direction the dream power was flowing. They were still moving in this frozen world.

"I can't go."

Death answered decisively but didn't explain why.

"Mm?"

Ian looked at Lady Death suspiciously.

Facing Ian's strange gaze, she sighed lightly, "Just consider this your story. Every superhero has their own story, and in that story they are always the most special."

"Isn't that right?"

Lady Death's voice carried a profound feeling.

"So you're admitting I'm a superhero?" Ian's focus was elsewhere. His eyes lit up, not giving Lady Death any chance to argue.

"This is official recognition. If you had praised me as a superhero earlier, I definitely would have worked much harder, even harder than just now. After all, I would naturally protect my beloved Metropolis!"

His tone was firm and powerful, with a toothy smile, clearly putting on an act.

"..."

Lady Death felt that wasn't what she meant, and felt Ian's words had other meanings.

She hesitated to speak, but seeing Ian's passionate expression, she weighed things and ultimately remained silent, not correcting Ian in time.

"Find Morpheus."

Lady Death left these parting words.

Her whole person disappeared.

The world resumed flowing.

...

The great battle was over.

The sky was no longer a twisted vortex but had returned to its original appearance, azure blue, vast, as if never tainted by dream power. Clouds drifted slowly, sunlight spilling into every corner of the city.

Illuminating streets once swallowed by darkness.

The earth had also returned to position.

Disordered space was gently corrected by an invisible hand. Collapsed buildings slowly rose, shattered glass healed itself, broken trees regrew branches and leaves.

As if a nightmare was gradually awakening. Perhaps the master of dream power still had consciousness, before withdrawing, they almost completely repaired the damaged things.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Those plants polluted and mutated by black fog still retained their hideous forms like inappropriate works of art.

Grotesque and bizarre, yet carrying evil and terror.

As they say, either don't do good deeds, or do them completely.

Ian floated in mid-air.

His eyes shot precise golden beams.

He individually ignited and burned those twisted vegetation. The burning mutated trees made eerie whimpering sounds, then were incinerated by him one by one into cosmic dust and ash.

Since the influence wasn't deep.

No black fog was seen steaming up.

Along the way, people gradually awakened from unconsciousness, faces showing confusion and bewilderment.

"What was I just doing?"

"I dreamed I became a butterfly..."

"Didn't you always want to be a butterfly?"

...

In the restless crowd.

A hurt child sat on the ground crying.

With snot and tears streaming, obviously having experienced something terrible in the dream. Ian passed by, forcibly exchanging five dollars with another confused child for a lollipop.

He knew how to comfort injured children.

"Crunch~"

Ian first took a bite himself, comforted the most severely injured child from before, found it quite good and satisfactory, then gave the remaining half lollipop to the crybaby. Just then a well-dressed professional woman hurriedly ran over. Ian recognized her as the real estate agent who had "discussed contracts" with clients in the elevator.

Now she was exquisitely made up, her business suit impeccable, searching everywhere for her child, Ian grabbed the kid who was playing Salted Egg Superman with the eggshells he'd given him and stuffed him into the woman's hands.

"Thank you."

The woman quickly thanked him.

Ian turned and left.

He continued clearing those twisted tree spirits scattered throughout the city center's various locations. Not far away, the gay couple who had enjoyed their two-person world in the [Husband Island] dream had also awakened.

"I knew it was you! Cameron! You flirted with that muscle man!"

"You were the one staring at that surfing instructor first! Mitchell, don't think I didn't notice!"

The two were arguing fiercely.

After seeing Ian passing by, using heat vision to burn those strange trees, they immediately stopped arguing and exclaimed in unison with matching tones that it was so cool.

"Move along, move along, don't interfere with me repairing my city."

Ian continued burning mutated plants without looking back. He respected diversity, but that didn't mean he endorsed diversity. Ancestors could scold people staring at them if they wanted to scold people staring at them.

"Keep staring at me and I'll let you experience the sun's heat too."

Ian's threat was very effective, his eyes' glow also very frightening. The two men were greatly alarmed and quickly turned to flee, clearly scared by Ian's threat.

As sirens approached from far and near, Ian knew the main event was coming. He quickly pulled out backup stockings from his pants pocket and put them over his head, ready when the first police cars arrived.

"I did my best."

Military helicopters, police, and various Monday morning quarterbacks all came. Ian had been waiting for this moment. He admitted to the cameras that the entire incident was his doing.

He had stopped the evil witch's conspiracy.

A writer's ability to embellish facts was described by him vividly. His talent was no longer limited to novels, in reality, he had found a direction to display his talents.

"It was a dark and stormy night," Ian began with a low, magnetic voice, even though it was currently sunny, "No, I should say it was a twilight where dreams and reality intertwined! The Supreme Witch, an old hag who lived eight hundred years, trying to defile our pure dreams with her wrinkled fingers!"

"Could I agree? Of course not! Superman might have surrendered, but I, Stocking Superman, the new age Superman, absolutely will not allow any evil force to defile Metropolis!"

"She tried to tempt me, promising to make me the new world's president, but I firmly told her that I, Stocking Superman, absolutely will not collude with any evil elements!"

...

His forceful speech.

Was Ian's embellishment of reality during interviews.

Things like punching someone fifty thousand meters away, along with descriptions of his punch triggering nine-heaven thunder, and within a thousand li radius, all birds fell and all vegetation bowed, such mystical descriptions came naturally to him.

"When my punch fell, heaven and earth shook, spatial cracks appeared, as if ancient gods and demons were whispering," the reporters had never heard anything like this, each one stunned and dumbfounded.

They didn't quite understand but felt from the heart that it was amazing.

In the distance.

General Lane crossed his arms, already mentally exhausted, not knowing how many waves of forces wanting to arrest people he had intercepted. He felt like a heartless person-blocking machine.

"That's right, I did it all! I mean, I solved it all! I single-handedly dealt with that crazy witch. She carried terrible power and almost plunged the entire world into eternal damnation," Ian also knew to boost his opponent a bit, applying the Scarlet Witch template to the useless Supreme Witch.

"Please follow [Superhero Popularity Center] and like for me," Ian worked so hard promoting for a reason. He could feel his somewhat ethereal magic power increasing.

Perhaps, dimensional demons were like this?

He had anyway found a method to cultivate magic power independently. After all, the [Leader LV1 [1/10]] class, he still hadn't found a second qualified Pal.

Little delinquent was good but little delinquent and Morpheus were both thrown in the Hellcat by him, after the Supreme Witch died, little delinquent directly fell unconscious, her body burning hot as if evolving.

As for Morpheus, that was the man Ian found following the flow of dream power in some ruins. Should be Morpheus, he had the same enticing fragrance as Lady Death.

"Damn [Entropy Annihilation Lord], when starving is it making me awaken some strange things?" Ian cursed internally, but still accepted interviews with sunny positivity on the surface.

His smile under the stocking mask was somewhat frightening.

"Boom~"

Suddenly, landing sounds came from behind.

The reporters were exclaiming.

Ian pretended not to hear what they were exclaiming and only felt a shadow covering him.

He didn't turn around.

He shot directly into the sky trying to escape.

No matter how clever, speed still couldn't match his old father's, Ian was directly grabbed by the ankle by Superman, pulled down from mid-air and made to stand in place for punishment.

"So much for Sky Tyrant."

Ian had been completely deceived by the system.

He looked at Superman before him with a serious gaze.

His brain raced.

"Where is that person? The green one," fortunately Superman didn't directly pull out the Seven Wolves. He only questioned Ian, his tone carrying a feeling of not wanting to ask directly.

"Over there, he flew that way."

Ian honestly pointed toward the direction of one of Luthor's factories. He actually hadn't seen where zombie Superman finally went, but this didn't affect his honesty.

Anyway, if you investigated ten of Luthor's factories, eleven might have problems.

"Tell me everything you did here when we get back."

Superman looked deeply at Ian, then shot into the sky again. His figure had completely disappeared from Ian's sight before Ian could even blink.

"Strange, couldn't he hear that fake Superman's movements?" Ian was confused, but facing the cameras, he still adjusted his mood and smiled again.

"As you can see, Superman has been driven away by me. Let's continue," his statement once again stunned the reporters. They felt Ian was treating them like deaf people.

Some reporters probably guessed what was going on.

They didn't speak up. These reporters who had retreated dozens of steps due to Superman's appearance looked at each other for a moment, then quickly surrounded him again to continue the interview.

American news, after all.

Truth wasn't important.

After all, in this information age, who would go against traffic? Being a reporter meant you couldn't tell the truth, news cared about ratings, bosses looked at profits.

Truth-seeking journalists couldn't make a living, except for that lucky Kent who always encountered big news yet hadn't been killed, and lucky Kent's wife.

...

Unexpectedly, [Savage Tyrant] didn't bring the ability to level up just by gaining attention. Instead, the [Dimensional Demon] identity let Ian enjoy the strength increase from being worshipped.

Magic was also his strength.

He just didn't know how to use it yet.

Time quickly came to evening.

Ian could handle it, but those reporters' cameras and their flesh-and-blood bodies seemed unable to handle it, so today's magic cultivation could probably only end here.

"Thank you all for your support!"

He even gave each reporter five hundred dollars in hard work fees. He truly understood human relations. The originally somewhat resentful reporters immediately beamed after receiving red envelopes.

Their drafts about [Stocking Superman] were already brewing in their hearts. Having interviewed superheroes for so many years, who had seen a superhero who gave money at the drop of a hat!

If they didn't praise this, who would they praise?

Ian and the reporters all left satisfied.

"Today was so fulfilling," Ian got into the Hellcat's driver's seat, casually throwing his deflated wallet into the cabin. Madison in the passenger seat was burning hot all over, her skin flushed unnaturally, magic power fluctuations surging through her body like an unleashed flood. Ian poked her cheek, scalding hot.

"I should go buy an egg to test."

Ian confirmed Madison wouldn't die. He turned to look at the back seat where Sandman Morpheus was slumped like a drunk on the leather seat. This Dream Lord currently had no dignity whatsoever.

Pale skin with a sickly gray, black hair messily stuck to his forehead, long limbs twisted bizarrely, exactly like a life-sized doll broken by naughty children.

"Actually, it was broken by the old witch," Ian didn't know how to wake Morpheus. He was pondering whether to send a prayer to Lady Death.

Suddenly, a farting sound occurred.

"Poof~"

It was the leather seat being compressed.

Then, Morpheus suddenly shot up like he was playing dead.

"That diary... they... they sent a diary..." Sandman's eyes were unfocused, muttering like sleep-talking, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping.

"I was ambushed."

He seemed to be in great pain, clutching his head hard, but didn't burst out with any terrifying power to blast Metropolis along with Ian into space.

"Boss! Wake up! You're fine now!" Ian quickly stuffed a can of mustard into Morpheus's mouth, trying to use the bitter taste to help Morpheus gain clarity.

This trick probably wouldn't work on supreme beings.

Sometimes small probability events occurred, like now.

"Hiss~"

Morpheus's face twisted and contorted.

He was awake.

His eyes were extremely clear.

"I should be the one going 'hiss hiss hiss~' Boss is really in critical condition," most of Ian's actions had meaning. His test also gave him information.

"Who are you?" Morpheus shakily accepted the water Ian handed over. Probably no one would believe this person gulping water was a top-tier being in the universe.

Endless Family.

DC Universe's supreme concept.

First generation master of the Dream World.

"And who am I?"

At this moment, such a being asked Ian a question that left him stunned.

"Amnesia? How classic?"

Ian was completely bewildered.

"What did you say you were just now?"

Morpheus was confused, asking again.

Ian, who had originally just planned to use kindness for extortion, immediately became determined.

"I am your father."

Ian's voice was also very certain.

He thought of his previous agreement with Lady Death.

Being human, one must boldly seize opportunities.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 108: Crazy Leveling Up! Saving the Dream God! (Part Two)

Crazy prompts echoed in his ears.

It wasn't just system feedback, but also the wailing of his internal organs. His body, dozens of times stronger than ordinary people, was overwhelmed under the aircraft carrier's weight.

It wasn't completely shattered. But there was a trend toward half his body becoming a meat patty, fortunately [Perfect Divine Body] was strong enough, it was the relatively thick, chewy type of meat patty.

[Berserker LV5 [16/160]]

[Strength: 44→46]

[Constitution: 60→61.5]

[Intelligence: 4.2→4.3]

[Spirit: 31→31.2]

This directly leveled Ian up from being smashed, showing how serious the injuries were. Finally reaching [Berserker] level five, Ian immediately learned the skill he had been longing for.

[Blood of Fury: You can control burning the blood in your body, adding soul-destroying power to your attacks. Each 1% of blood carries 1% true damage.]

As a noble Berserker should have noble percentage damage, Ian had abandoned other early trash skills just to wait until level five to gain another truly divine skill.

It was currently only at initial level, entry-level proficiency, but Ian still had two [Berserker] class skill points, so he could directly upgrade it in a new round.

"Let's not talk about this for now, I need to save myself first," Ian was half-pressed under the aircraft carrier. His strength wasn't enough to directly lift the carrier for self-rescue.

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +9]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +6]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +4]

...

"Maybe I'm not that urgent," Ian lay flat. Even with an aircraft carrier on his stomach, he didn't want to call for help, just using [Healing Frenzy] to maintain his conscious awareness.

He definitely had to get out, after all the Supreme Witch's problem hadn't been solved yet, but Ian wasn't willing to abandon his lower body and crawl out to regrow another one.

Normal people knew.

Body parts were best when original.

"Why are you so happy?" The demon head that was almost crushed into cookie crumbs had been thrown aside by Ian earlier. It rolled back to Ian's side with a confused expression.

"That woman is strong, but fortunately, I'm obviously more skilled," Ian looked up at the sky. The old witch was floating in mid-air again, seemingly continuing to absorb the Sandman's power, the old witch's body was almost becoming ceramic shards. Ian firmly believed the opponent definitely didn't have his ability to get stronger from injuries.

"..."

The demon head looked at Ian pressed under the aircraft carrier with probably half his body gone, falling into long silence, completely unable to understand what kind of superior skill this was.

"Praise God Ian."

The demon head had also learned to be smart.

When it didn't understand, it would give Ian emotional value.

"Stop praising and come let me nibble on you a bit..." Ian needed to keep using healing abilities to maintain balance, but his body's stored energy was ultimately limited.

Seeing even the fat in the part pressed under the aircraft carrier being used up.

The experience gained was naturally getting less and less.

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +3]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +1]

...

Ian had long known this. Physical damage after recovery could generate experience, but experience from already sustained physical damage wouldn't last too long.

Seeing he couldn't keep up with healing ability, Ian also wanted to drink some 666 fuel, he was so hungry his eyes were turning red. Just as the demon head was about to sacrifice itself to save its master.

"Is that Ian down there?"

A crisp female voice came from above the crater.

Ian looked up.

"Little delinquent, you're actually not dreaming?" He was quite surprised. Madison was wearing a tracksuit with a backpack, squatting at the crater's edge looking down.

"I knew it was you! Only you like randomly biting things!" Madison's expression was somewhat joyful when she heard this. She jumped down, her body slowly descending to the ground.

Obviously using miraculous magic.

"My God! Are you okay?" Madison liked to spin when landing, she should probably wear a mask and play Batman. When she saw Ian, her expression was immediately stunned.

How could someone be pressed under an aircraft carrier and still be smiling!

"You really should go to Hollywood. Do I look okay to you?" Ian stared at Madison and swallowed.

His words made Madison very embarrassed.

But the little delinquent still looked at Ian with concern, "What happened to you? This is an inland city, right? How could there be an aircraft carrier pressing you down?"

Even though her geography wasn't great, Madison was sure aircraft carriers shouldn't appear here, she wasn't wrong, but Ian was ashamed to mention being ambushed by an old witch.

"Disaster came, I stepped forward, but justice couldn't overcome evil, and now I'm probably dying," Ian swallowed again, lowering his voice with slight melancholy.

"Tell my mom and dad I love them," Ian even smeared some mud on his face, mainly because he really didn't have excess blood to waste.

His small movements went unnoticed.

Madison's tears flowed down with a "whoosh."

Her tear ducts were indeed well-developed.

"It's okay, I can save you," Madison knelt in the pool of blood, her hands glowing with healing white light. Obviously, she had gained some initial mastery of her abilities.

At this moment.

Ian immediately felt warm all over, new muscle tissue stretching like spring buds. However, due to the Five Finger Mountain-like aircraft carrier, he couldn't recover to roundness.

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +5]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +6]

...

The experience points continued to increase again.

"Little delinquent, you really are the healer I appointed. I'm going to pay you!" Ian was extremely happy. He could feel Madison's ability was slightly stronger than his unupgraded [Healing Frenzy].

Madison was also speechless hearing this. While maintaining treatment, she asked, "What exactly happened? My mom and dad were both locked in a bubble."

About her own experience.

Madison only felt it was very magical.

"Of course it's that old hag in the sky causing trouble and harming the whole city," Ian nodded toward the sky. His hand tried to grab Madison's backpack but failed.

After all, he wasn't a long-armed ape.

"I actually guessed that too, but I still wanted to confirm with you, since you are Superman after all," Madison still seemed to firmly believe in Ian's Superman identity.

"Yes, yes, but Superman can't get it up right now because my magic resistance is a bit low," Ian nodded satisfactorily, continuing to enjoy the pleasure of rapidly increasing experience.

Being attacked by "reality bender" methods.

How was this not considered suffering magic damage?

As time flew by.

[Berserker LV6 [3/320]]

[Strength: 46→48]

[Constitution: 61.5→63.4]

[Intelligence: 4.3→4.4]

[Spirit: 31.2→31.5]

Ian leveled up again under Madison's "life support." This also meant Ian had a new escape method, he actually always had backup plans.

Otherwise he wouldn't have seemed so calm all along.

"I can't do it anymore."

Madison had persisted for several minutes. Her frail magic power was ultimately exhausted. Her face grew paler and paler, finally swaying backward and collapsing to sit on the ground.

"Really not a single drop left?" Ian asked tentatively.

"Mm, not a bit of magic power left."

The blonde girl panted heavily, her head dizzy.

"Sorry, I probably can't save you..." Her voice was full of guilt, blaming herself for insufficient ability. Sometimes people's sense of powerlessness could really crush a person's heart.

"Indeed can't be saved. Without finding a way to move this big chunk, you saving me would be seeing ghosts," Ian expressed his understanding in a gentle tone.

"..."

Madison's expression instantly froze.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" She angrily rushed forward, actually trying to stretch out her little claws, wanting to move an aircraft carrier many times bigger than her house.

Unfortunately, witches were just witches.

Her frail body certainly couldn't shake such a steel behemoth.

"Don't worry about why I didn't say earlier. Anyway, I'm dying, so I need to tell you something," Ian suddenly switched to a 'dying words are kind' tone.

"What is it?" Madison kicked the aircraft carrier, swelling her own toes, then grimaced and came back around, looking at Ian with teary eyes.

"Come closer."

Ian beckoned to Madison.

"Mm."

Madison quickly came closer.

"Actually, you were deceived by me that day. That orange I picked up from the ground really did have mold on it, not fruit powder," Ian's hand reached for Madison's backpack again.

"Come even closer, I'll tell you another secret." He said.

Madison was quite bewildered by Ian's "last words."

"Wait, at a time like this, you're still talking about oranges?" Though Madison couldn't help complaining, after hearing Ian's words she still moved a few points closer.

"What secret?" Madison asked.

And at this time, Ian finally grabbed her backpack.

"The secret is... I actually did buy you oranges, but because they were too delicious, I accidentally ate them all myself," he grabbed Madison's backpack and pulled it toward himself.

Opening it, it was packed full of food.

"The countdown only requires me to maintain a hungry state. It doesn't say I can't eat a little something. Indeed, only when starving do I possess true insight."

Ian stuffed food into his mouth frantically, sandwiches, sure enough, just like when he had drunk cola before, the countdown for unlocking the new class [Entropy Annihilation Lord] still hadn't reset.

No need to stuff food directly into his stomach.

"?????"

Madison was completely stunned by Ian's operation.

"I think you need to take your medicine again."

She was silent for a moment.

Then spoke her heartfelt feelings.

"Too bad you don't have medicine. How come even when fleeing for your life, you still bring cosmetics..." Ian drank something he shouldn't have eaten, it tasted terrible.

Madison's makeup remover was mistaken by him for mineral water but better than nothing.

[Savage Tyrant experience +1]

At least it gave that much experience.

"I came out seeking rescue, of course I had to dress beautifully. Haven't you seen zombie movies? Only the prettiest woman can successfully survive to the end."

Madison explained but Ian didn't agree with her statement.

Of course, Ian didn't argue, because the truth was actually that zombie movies would turn into island nation movies, and such plot development was inappropriate for minors. He felt he should consider his deskmate's psychological health.

"What's this?"

In Madison's backpack, Ian found familiar items, more than thirty bottles of blue potions labeled [Does Not Contain Kryptonian Genes], almost filling the entire bottom layer of Madison's backpack.

They were perhaps the newest version, as the bottles had become more refined.

"Zombie virus antidote?"

Madison said uncertainly.

"I picked them up on the road, they were just floating in mid-air."

She explained the origin of these potions.

"You really are my lucky star! Little delinquent, believe in my divine religion, I'll make you the Pope!" Ian's heartfelt praise made the confused Madison somewhat embarrassed.

"Glug glug glug~"

Ian started drinking directly.

Seeing this, Madison was immediately startled.

"It could also be the original zombie virus."

She was perhaps really deeply influenced by movie and TV culture.

"It's fine, I don't have the passive ability to turn into a zombie after death."

Ian drank all the enhancement potions in one go.

[Savage Tyrant experience +6]

[Savage Tyrant experience +7]

...

[Savage Tyrant lv4 [16/80]]

...

[Savage Tyrant lv5 [34/160]]

...

This was truly an exhilarating leveling session. Indeed, danger and opportunity always coexisted. Ian gradually understood the meaning of being an [Independent NPC].

To say little delinquent appearing here was just coincidence, he didn't believe it from the bottom of his heart. Metropolis was so big, how could such a coincidental thing happen?

Leveling up twice in a row.

His base attributes combined with [Perfect Divine Body]'s autonomous quality improvement brought Ian's attributes to a new height. He felt his uncompressed upper body was full of power.

His muscles trembled, not from fatigue, but from being strengthened and reshaped. Every fiber was rearranging, as if some ancient gene hidden within was awakening. His heartbeat quickened, but was no longer urgent and panicked, instead like war drums thundering with unprecedented rhythm and power.

[Strength: 48→62]

[Constitution: 63.4→80]

[Intelligence: 4.4→4.8]

[Spirit: 31.5→36]

Absolutely an excellent improvement.

The biggest benefit came from [Perfect Divine Body]'s automatic quality upgrade.

"Indeed, I still need to find a way to unlock the Berserker's subsequent advanced classes," Ian's vision was now incredibly clear, even dust floating in the air became slow and distinguishable.

His hearing also became more acute. The sounds of distant collapsing buildings, the low hum of dream power flowing, even every breath's vibration were amplified several times and transmitted to his mind.

Most importantly, he could finally learn that skill!

[Absolute Flight: You will gain a biological force field for flight. Above the sky, you are the tyrant who dominates everything, looking down on all beings is your birthright.]

He learned it without hesitation.

Ian immediately felt new changes in his body.

It was an ambiguous sensation.

"Biological force field, but only usable for flight... perhaps upgrading could make it more complete?" Ian could sense this biological force field flowing slowly along his skin's surface like liquid mercury.

In a dormant state.

"For the Savage Tyrant class, I still have two skill points, I can use one more and save one," Ian locked onto a certain position in the [Savage Tyrant] skill tree.

[Contemptuous Leap: Can perform instant teleportation within visual range. During the flash, you can leave a 'Tyrant Afterimage' behind you, which can be detonated at any time to severely wound your enemies.]

Still full of game flavor as always.

However, Ian loved it.

He had long had his eye on this skill, just hadn't reached the level where he could learn it.

"Praise my new Pope," Ian activated the skill without leaving an afterimage, his body instantly escaping the oppression and appearing behind the caught-off-guard Madison.

He then activated [Healing Frenzy], his withered lower body regenerating at visible speed, making Madison retreat several steps with a dumbfounded expression.

"It can work like this?"

She was greatly shocked.

Her worldview was refreshed again.

"Why can't it work like this?"

Ian moved his body that had reached new peaks again. His stomach was increasingly hungry, but he didn't drink the 666 fuel oil. Instead, he picked up the demon head that was playing dead.

"I knew it, the great God Ian was just testing all living beings," the demon bull head quickly offered its flattery, but Ian wasn't planning to punish it.

"Weren't you supposed to die? I mourned for you for so long!" Madison stared with wide round eyes, still unable to recover from the sudden change in atmosphere.

"I was indeed about to die just now, but I silently recited up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A in my heart, and came back to life," Ian was still good at talking nonsense seriously.

"Is that so? Magic?"

Madison was still fond of pretending to understand when she didn't. She forced composure, suddenly realizing, again performing her act of being very smart and gradually understanding what had happened.

Her acting was indeed good.

"Right, right, right, magic. I have lots of magic. After joining the religion, I'll teach them all to you. You don't even have to wait for me to die, you can directly become the Supreme Pope of the Ian Divine Cult."

Ian began his persuasion.

"Uh..."

Madison felt Ian's words were far-fetched but she didn't know why she was somewhat tempted.

"This is the power of temptation."

The demon head being carried by Ian explained for Madison. It was directly slapped twice by Ian, then obediently shut its mouth.

"There are no oranges today, so you hold onto this. Don't move from here, I'll go and come back," Ian handed the demon bull head to Madison.

Mainly because Madison was too weak and needed some protective measures.

After all, she was a super great healer, and also really not too smart. Such a qualified minion definitely needed good protection, this was a scarce resource at any time.

"Again?"

Madison looked suspicious but saw Ian directly shooting into the sky.

"Do you know your pants are completely torn?" She shouted at Ian.

Someone pretended not to hear, won't say who.

"I need to give the old witch a big percentage shock!" Ian grabbed some pants and put them on, also changed his clothes, his whole person shooting toward the old witch like a cannonball.

A ring of sonic boom clouds exploded behind him.

"Whoosh~"

A red and blue figure streaked across the sky.

Faster than Ian.

The commotion it caused was like Ian had charged five million more in special effects.

"Ah? Dad? No wait!"

A surprised voice rang out, followed by confusion.

It was Superman, but didn't seem like the real Superman. Ian hadn't even started being happy when he noticed something wrong. The Superman flying toward the Supreme Witch looked deathly pale.

And had many black blood vessels seemingly flowing with green liquid.

His super vision captured it accurately.

"My dad's speed isn't this slow!" Ian quickly looked ahead, only to see the bootleg dad with a zombie-like complexion charging straight at the Supreme Witch.

"Die!"

His voice was extremely hoarse.

Like it was squeezed out from his throat.

"Rumble!"

Having been ambushed by Ian before, the Supreme Witch was very alert. She released mental control at the zombie Superman, instantly making this Superman, who was oozing thick liquid all over, look pained.

This move had no effect on Ian but seemed extremely effective against zombie Superman.

"Ahhhhh!"

Zombie Superman let out painful howls, his eyes lighting up with sickly green light.

"Damn! Fel energy! Clone? Parallel universe?" Ian recognized the energy fluctuation. Under his incredulous gaze as he stopped in mid-air.

"Zzzzzz~"

Zombie Superman shot fel energy beams from his eyes, directly at the Supreme Witch. However, the beams that lit up half the city were easily blocked by dozens of layers of dream barriers controlled by the Supreme Witch.

When not facing Ian, all her abilities worked very well.

"You annoying bugs!" The Supreme Witch roared angrily, waving her hand to use magic to blast zombie Superman away, then released dream power to envelop him.

Crashing through buildings, zombie Superman had just charged out.

His eyes fell into a daze, falling like a broken puppet, his whole person wrapped in dreamy foam, this weakened Superman was indeed not Ian's dad.

Weaker by more than just a notch.

"Now it's my turn again. Supreme Witch, you have failed this city again!" Ian charged quickly, his voice seeming to give the Supreme Witch a stress reaction.

"Impossible! How are you still alive!"

She apparently hadn't even noticed Ian just now.

This made Ian furious.

"Imagination-lacking old thing, you don't understand a damn thing about impossible. You being able to kill me, that's what's impossible!" Ian teleported directly in front of the Supreme Witch. He didn't give her a chance to use the same trick, grabbing the Supreme Witch's mouth and directly stuffing a handful of pills into her stomach.

The turbulent dream power didn't hinder Ian at all, as if someone was secretly interfering.

"What did you make me eat!"

The Supreme Witch thrown onto a floating stone slab by Ian looked terrified. She frantically clawed at her throat, but saw Ian float up and directly nail her hands with steel bars.

"Sleeping pills. Be grateful for free America, it lets you eat a full two thousand pills, super-sized sleeping pills," he grabbed the Supreme Witch's chin.

Directly stuffing the entire bottle of two thousand sleeping pills into her stomach.

"Why! Why do this to me!" The Supreme Witch's face was twisted, spider web-like cracks covering her skin, dream power seeping out from the increasingly large cracks.

Like countless tiny light snakes swimming in the air. She still wanted to cast magic, but Ian directly pulled out her tongue and crushed her throat.

"Lord Ian has never suffered such serious injuries in his life. I can break my own legs, but you cannot," Ian smoothly removed the Supreme Witch's jawbone.

"I don't kill people, but Morpheus might not," Ian just watched as the Supreme Witch couldn't withstand the drug effects and began foaming at the mouth, rolling her eyes back. Her already broken body became even more unbearable. This old witch wasn't even sleepy, let alone sleeping, but the intense pain seemed to be the last straw that broke her.

"Huff huff huff~"

The Supreme Witch's crushed throat made wind-breaking sounds. The cracks on her skin kept expanding, making her look like porcelain about to shatter.

Seeing this, Ian immediately teleported backward without hesitation.

"BOOM——!!"

The next moment, the Supreme Witch exploded.

She was detonated by the uncontrollable dream power within her.

Countless dream powers surged out like a tide, no longer controlled, but flowing madly in a certain direction. Those dream bubbles that had originally shrouded the city also began to dissipate.

The imprisoned people gradually broke free from dreams, though they didn't immediately wake up. Looking into the distance, Ian had just wanted to chase after the direction of the dream power flow.

"Ahhhhh!"

The Supreme Witch's wail unexpectedly rang out.

"More resilient than me?"

Ian was extremely surprised. He turned around to see a twisted black fog-like substance floating out from the Supreme Witch's exploded corpse. That thing kept changing forms in mid-air, sometimes extending tentacles, sometimes showing human faces, even the surrounding residual dream power was stained a murky purple-black.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 108: Crazy Leveling Up! Saving the Dream God! (Part One)

Lady Death wanted to stir up Ian's guilt.

However, this was simply impossible.

"I don't feel guilty. Dream God Morpheus was caught because he likes being caught, and it definitely has nothing to do with me," Ian's logic was serious and rigorous.

"Besides, that witch caught Dream God Morpheus and made Morpheus fill himself up, no, fill himself to bursting, the one who should feel guilty about this should be Lucifer, right?" He had heard from someone that throwing all the bad things in the world onto the head of the Lord of Hell was never wrong. Lucifer had been professionally taking the blame in DC for many, many years.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lady Death didn't seem surprised by Ian's attitude at all.

"Of course, I have many identities, but obviously I'm not a scapegoat," Ian blinked his eyes. Facing Lady Death, he still insisted on his clear-headed perspective on the world.

To this, Lady Death just chuckled lightly and nodded.

"I admit what you say has some merit. Perhaps we can even blame the occurrence of such things directly on the world's first riddler, [Destiny]."

She even drew inferences, her words mixed with personal agenda. To be honest, Lady Death appearing in Hannibal's office probably meant that Lady Death should also see a psychologist, in Ian's view. Resolving family conflicts was the main source of income for psychologists, and also their specialty.

"Do you still remember what I asked you to investigate properly?" The outside world was encountering a huge accident, but Lady Death didn't seem too anxious about it.

She wasn't in a hurry.

Ian couldn't get anxious either, because the atmosphere clearly wasn't right yet.

"I don't remember."

Ian began using today's quota of lies.

He still had plenty of lies left to drag things out with Lady Death for a whole day.

Perhaps he wouldn't need to use that many.

"..."

Lady Death had already fallen into silence.

Outside, the old witch's absorption of the Sandman's power continued to spiral out of control. Waves of chaotic dream power kept impacting the surroundings like boiling lava surging into the room.

A violent tremor occurred, unrelated to geography, the entire space was swaying. The oil paintings on the wall tilted askew, as if the whole world was becoming crooked.

"Oh! It's coming out!"

Hannibal's collection of human body models began to distort, with talking rabbit dolls drilling out of plaster skulls.

"Help! I escaped from 'Alice Sleeps Through Wonderland'!" It was asking Ian for help. Ian turned a deaf ear, unwilling to admit that such dream projections were related to him. If dream projections caused such phenomena, the reason was either that Lady Death was very, very bad, or it could only be that Hannibal had impure thoughts.

"Morpheus's power is running wild. You need to deal with that foolish witch."

Lady Death glanced at the rabbit that had crawled out, and instantly, the rabbit projected by the dream withered and melted into a puddle of mush, returning to the plaster model skull.

"Don't let her disturb my rest."

The lady was still a lady.

Her tone and temperament were perfectly controlled.

"Roger that."

Ian readily agreed, taking out his phone to call for backup. However, when he pressed the dial key to call his old man, the phone turned into a pink worm in his ear.

This worm twisted its body shyly.

"Ptui!"

Ian bit off half the worm's body without hesitation, chewed twice, it tasted no different from a phone, as if the thing had turned back into plastic and metal after entering his mouth.

"Logically, my dad should have noticed something was wrong by now," Ian spat out the electronic components in his mouth and crawled to the window with completely shattered glass to look outside.

Night had not yet fallen, but the sky seemed to have fallen into some eerie twilight state, not a transition between day and night, but a blur between reality and dreams.

The sky and earth now seemed completely connected.

Things that had once been clearly distinct with definite boundaries were now being kneaded together crazily by invisible giant hands.

Everyone seemed to have fallen into dreams.

Those unconscious people floated in mid-air, wrapped in translucent bubbles. The real estate lady he had seen before had bubbles around her body that even touched the people nearby.

"Having a party without inviting my second brother?" Ian felt sorry for Jordan. His golden eyes looked at those bubbles, where flickering images seemed to be the beautiful dreams each person was sinking into.

Reluctant memories.

Anticipated futures and cherished hopes buried in their hearts.

The bubbles displayed beauty that made people unwilling to wake up.

"Are my dad and the others in this state now too?" Ian turned back to look at Lady Death behind him. The woman had conjured a cup of coffee from somewhere and was tasting it.

"Don't underestimate Superman's magic resistance, but don't overestimate it either, he's ultimately different from us," Lady Death gave a very clear response.

"Us?"

Ian keenly caught the key word.

Still saying she wasn't secretly in love.

This was already blatantly fantasizing about the future!

Of course, Ian knew he couldn't get involved in this situation. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, father-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, they weren't even together yet, but Lady Death's tone when mentioning Clark was already too sharp.

"Mm?"

Lady Death, who was drinking coffee, felt Ian's strange gaze. She raised her hand to flick his forehead, but stopped halfway, as if worried Ian would get too excited from it.

Throwing caution to the wind.

Perhaps this was somewhat concrete at this moment.

"Little newborn, being a pillar isn't that easy to do... this is your responsibility," Lady Death sighed lightly. She could naturally detect the constant changes appearing on Ian.

However, Lady Death was neither confused nor surprised anymore.

She clearly had her own view of Ian in her heart. A new concept was rising, and Lady Death sincerely hoped it wouldn't be an entity representing [Abstraction].

The woman had just had such a thought in her heart.

"Have you heard of non-stick pans?"

Ian asked carefully.

"?????"

Lady Death's expression stiffened slightly, her mouth twitching.

"Looking at your expression, you probably haven't heard of them. But you're really lucky, today you finally get to see one in person. I am the legendary non-stick pan."

Ian drained the cola in his hand, not caring how many tentacles were writhing in the drink he swallowed. He directly threw away the cup and prepared to go home to carry his family and run away.

Really no joke.

What level was he?

A crisis caused by the Sandman, letting a fourteen-year-old boy solve it? This wasn't a children's cartoon. For things with no benefit, Ian just wanted to take his family and temporarily avoid Los Angeles.

There were tall people there who could handle it.

"There's also Plan B, my old man seems to have a spaceship, not sure if it still works," Ian muttered quietly, unhesitatingly climbing out the window that had no glass.

He ultimately hadn't inherited Clark's saintly heart.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Lady Death couldn't sit still anymore.

She threw away the coffee cup in her hand.

"Haven't you seen such a clear-headed person in all your years?" Ian jumped down from the window, rolled on landing, and found Lady Death still standing beside him.

"You took benefits from me, remember?" Lady Death crossed her arms, her voice eerily saying, "If I remember correctly, you said you would do anything."

"You also said you liked working for me."

Indeed, Women were always like this, loving to bring up old accounts.

Goddesses were the same.

"But it's after work hours now," Ian blinked his eyes. He realized he had been entangled by the dirty goddess, so he sighed and chose to face reality.

"So you're showing your true colors now."

Lady Death's sigh was even louder.

"All workers are like this."

Ian responded quietly but his tone was very righteous.

"Do you think if you save Morpheus's life, you'll be short on benefits?" Lady Death had completely seen through Ian's scheme, at least she thought Ian was playing hard to get.

After all, those not smart enough found it hard to understand just how wise a choice running away could be.

"Hiss, what you say does make sense."

After hearing this, Ian was first stunned, then immediately put down the luggage he had raised over his head, it was his beloved Hellcat, which due to dream influence had now become a cat-faced car.

Its cat face looked just like the slutty cat from Tom and Jerry, meowing "meow meow" while sticking out a pink tongue from the hood, and even the equally pink exhaust pipe was blowing little bubbles.

Even a demon car.

Obviously hadn't escaped the influence of dream power.

"Morpheus knows how to repay kindness."

Lady Death seriously reminded him.

She had indeed grasped part of Ian's psychology.

"Is that so!"

Ian had an epiphany.

"So I can even use kindness to extort, making him acknowledge me as his father?" Ian knew that favors would eventually be repaid, but family ties could probably let him cling to the big shot for life.

Helping others raise sons wasn't acceptable but picking up a very powerful son was very acceptable.

"???????????????" Lady Death's face showed an unprecedented sea of question marks. She felt Ian was even taking advantage of her and she already had solid evidence.

"Acknowledging me as an adoptive father is also fine. I'm not picky at all, I wasn't even picky about food when I was little," Ian also had his emotionally intelligent side. He realized his oversight, so he immediately made a compromise and changed his words. This time, at least Lady Death's pretty face looked much better than before.

Facing Ian's unreasonable demands.

Lady Death rolled her eyes helplessly.

"If you can convince Morpheus, that's your ability," she gave an ambiguous response, but it still made Ian's eyes light up directly.

"It's a deal! My work soul is burning up. Quick, quick, let me work. What should I do?" Ian was eager to try, looking toward the chaotic scene in the distance.

The world seemed to have been turned upside down by a giant hand.

Houses no longer stood firmly on the ground.

They could even hang inverted in the air. In mid-air, everywhere were people affected and unconscious. They were wrapped in crystal-clear bubbles one after another.

Some people lay quietly with peaceful expressions, as if having beautiful dreams. Others held their heads with furrowed brows, seeming to encounter something terrifying in their dreams.

Still others had bodies twisted into bizarre shapes, as if forcibly distorted by dream power. Their bodies swayed gently in the bubbles, rising and falling rhythmically with the fluctuations of dream power.

This group was increasing.

"You need to save Morpheus and figure out what exactly happened to him," top-tier NPC Lady Death began issuing quests. She raised her slender, pale finger pointing into the distance.

"But first, you need to kill that woman," Lady Death's voice suddenly became somewhat cold, not directed at Ian, but a kind of anger at mortals attempting to taint divine power.

"I promised my dad I wouldn't kill people temporarily. I'll only bring bad people to justice and put them in prison," Ian pulled out his prison from the Hellcat and held it up in front of the Death Goddess.

"Gurgle Gurgle Gurgle~"

The demon bull head was also affected by the dream and was sleeping soundly.

"Demons are weak, surrender and ascend, tremble, fear, I am the Trash King!" It was even talking in its sleep. Demons were just a bit stronger than humans.

"This really shows what kind of person raises what kind of pet."

The Death Goddess understood Ian's meaning. She reached out and lightly touched, and the demon bull head suddenly woke up from its dream. In its panic, it didn't know it had gained a little favorability from Ian through dreaming.

"Oh... mama, what did I see?" Perhaps because it had been "enlightened" by Lady Death, the demon bull head could finally see that figure it couldn't see before.

It even suspected it was still dreaming now.

"Very good. If my prison chews on itself, that's its problem," Ian hung the bull head on his butt and warned it not to lick his behind.

"Twist that woman's neck and you can stop the effects she's causing," Lady Death heard Ian's "discipline" of the bull head, twitched her eye corner, then gave a hint.

"Once you kill her, the dream power will return to its true owner," Lady Death said, then her figure disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

She wouldn't act herself.

She made Ian go save people instead.

There must be a reason for this.

It's just that Ian temporarily didn't have time to think about it.

"Sigh, this might be what they call 'proximity to death makes one dark.' My bottom line is being forced lower bit by bit... Indeed, mom was right to tell me not to play with bad women."

Ian was fully armed, stuffing the demon book into his crotch again. Vital parts needed key protection, he had no intention of practicing his [Fourth Dimensional Appendix Modification Technique].

"You're also not allowed to stick your tongue out. Turn your mouth into bulletproof steel plates," after seriously instructing the demon book, Ian also pushed off with both legs like a cannonball shooting into the sky.

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

Super Jump.

Activated!

...

Airflow whistled past his ears.

Floating building debris swept past Ian's sides, glass curtain walls reflecting his blurred afterimage. He leaped and turned between broken buildings, each step shattering concrete.

"If I remember correctly, this guy is called the Supreme Witch?" Ian's target was naturally floating in mid-air, sometimes borrowing force from walls, sometimes rolling to avoid collapsing building fragments.

The distance between him and Supreme Witch Fiona was constantly shortening.

Ten kilometers.

Eight kilometers.

Two kilometers.

The old woman with countless dream powers twisting around her body was still letting out painful wails, but perhaps because she had been in pain for so long, her voice began to carry a tone of pleasure.

"What a masochist."

Ian was getting closer and closer to the Supreme Witch.

Around him, countless people wrapped in bubbles were sinking into them.

They slowly rose, trying to merge with that chaotic sky. After hitting obstacles, they bounced away, making light collision sounds. Occasionally, two bubbles would collide with each other, making a crisp sound, then quickly embrace each other, with dreams merging and brewing more complex dreams.

"Oh, great God Ian, I seem to have underestimated You too much... so You are such a great existence," the demon bull head hanging behind Ian's butt praised loudly.

It seemed to have just recovered from the shock of seeing death earlier.

Although due to its low level it didn't understand the Endless Family, being a former minion of a Hell Archdemon, its knowledge was still somewhat more than ordinary demons.

This obviously mistook Ian for a member of the Endless Family.

"Shut up." Ian scolded.

He also saw floating in mid-air, equally affected by dream power, was a Grim Reaper. These Reapers had strange dreams, some even hoped to be demoted to mortals so they could have a romance. This was really being disloyal to the organization. But it was understandable, human nature was after all the most infectious thing God had created.

"Poor high-level wage workers."

Ian stepped on the Reapers all the way up. Those Reapers were completely controlled by dreams and didn't react much, letting Ian step on their bodies as he climbed toward the old woman above.

Very close now, only about ten meters away.

"Great opportunity!" Just as Ian clenched his fist and was about to get close, the old woman suddenly opened her eyes, which flashed with a ghostly light that didn't belong to humans.

"No one can take this power away! Don't disturb me! I want to ascend to godhood... Mortal, accept this reality!" Supreme Witch Fiona was in pain and pleasure. Her tone was extremely firm and persistent. Then, countless people sinking in dreams were controlled by the old woman and smashed toward Ian.

These people were wrapped in crystal-clear bubbles one after another.

Like huge balloons, they themselves posed no threat, but the dream power attached to their bodies had the dangerous ability to drag Ian into sinking dreams.

Ian head-on collided with the woman he had encountered in the elevator before.

Everything around quickly changed.

He found himself in a pink room with soft lighting, many toys on the table, and a group of wild men surrounding a uniformed lady having a Tokyo-style party.

"Get excited! You get one set! He gets one set! Can't sell them all! I can't sell all my houses!" The woman was immersed in joy, even inviting Ian.

"Come on, sir, come inspect a house too!" The woman crawled toward Ian, as if trying to drag Ian into depravity together, but was kicked by Ian and sent flying into the wall.

"Damn! Looking this handsome, do I need to buy my own house?" Ian felt insulted. He ran around the room wildly, noticing a new negative status in his bottom right corner.

[Polluted Dream]

Since there was a negative status display, everything was easy to handle. This trash status didn't deserve to hang on Ian, so he could only use his backup hidden skill points.

"System! Quick, help little old me recall the skills I'll definitely master proficiently in the future!" Even at such a moment, Ian could still make clear judgments.

Since changing to the [Berserker] class, Ian deeply understood the principle of being prepared. Seeing himself affected by dreams, he quickly opened his skill tree for targeted learning.

[Faith Redemption: With firm self-belief, directly strip specified negative statuses from yourself, purify trauma, and restore life equal to the purification effect.]

Late-game professional skills were just this powerfully simple and unpretentious.

Ian selected the skill and activated it. The next moment, he found everything in front of him changed, that world full of [Love and Plum] disappeared before his eyes.

The second bubble attacked.

Meaningless.

The suit-wearing elites opening champagne inside screamed and dissipated. Ian then punched through Husband Island in the third bubble, and two muscular men sunbathing also disappeared.

"These petty tricks can't stop Lord Ian. I want foreigners... uh, I want you dead!" Ian was glowing green, that was the overflow effect of health recovery.

His increasingly energetic state attracted the Supreme Witch's attention.

However, this attention came a bit too late.

"Bang!"

Ian punched the Supreme Witch in the face. Her still frail, impure witch body had her nose bridge break on impact, her entire face caving in like a crushed soda can.

Actually already stronger than most people's physical constitution.

Just not enough.

"Supreme Witch! You have failed this city."

Using someone else's lines was indeed more useful. Ian displayed his fine habit of stealing lines. He raised his fist again, aiming at the Supreme Witch's jawbone.

"Bang!"

Another heavy second punch sent the Supreme Witch crashing into a floating stone slab. Ian immediately jumped over, grabbed the Supreme Witch's head and lifted her shattered face.

"Why haven't you sunk into depravity!"

The Supreme Witch was like a radiation source, her body still continuously releasing dream power outward, but this pure power seemed unable to affect Ian at all.

It couldn't even affect Ian like the dream power that had already affected others.

"Because ancestors don't need to dream. The reality of doing whatever they want is ancestors' favorite beautiful dream," Ian's tone was light, not revealing his real information.

After all, he still knew plenty of cases where villains died from self-exposure.

"Now, who should accept reality?" Ian pulled out his prison from behind his butt. The bull head demon also cooperatively opened its bloody maw.

Its mouth unreasonably became a mouth bigger than a washbasin, covered with sharp teeth.

"Mere mortal! And filthy demon!"

Sensing danger, the Supreme Witch, seeing her head about to be bitten off, endured the violent power within her body and mobilized the magic power that originally belonged to her.

"Ahh~"

She opened her throat and screamed. The powerful sound waves were like substance, directly blasting away Ian, who was prepared but apparently not prepared enough.

"Rumble~"

Ian directly smashed through several buildings.

Falling rapidly toward the ground.

"Die!"

Having been humiliated by Ian, even though her body was already cracking due to dream power, the Supreme Witch still stood up and stretched out her hand, forcibly driving this power that didn't belong to her.

The dream power instantly materialized a huge aircraft carrier. The carrier was enormous, with all facilities on the deck clearly visible. It crashed toward Ian like a huge monster.

"Damn, a reality bender!"

Ian only felt a behemoth appear before his eyes.

His eyes gathered brilliant golden light, like two blazing suns, bursting with terrifying temperature and powerful energy, shooting directly at the bow of the approaching aircraft carrier.

"Rumble~"

Another terrifying roar.

The overloaded aircraft carrier was directly cut in half on the spot, with raging fires igniting at the break, metal tearing like paper, and deafening explosions.

"Nothing special. Such poor imagination, what a waste of the supreme power in your body."

Ian stood on a floating stone slab, surrounded by falling aircraft carrier debris like a steel rainstorm. His golden pupils were full of danger in the chaotic, twisted light.

"Heh."

With the Supreme Witch's cold laugh after repairing her face, Ian saw more than ten aircraft carriers appear around him in all directions.

They were all pressing down on him.

"Old hag doesn't play fair!" Ian had never been this frantic before. In this desperate situation, his eyes turned left and right respectively.

Two clearly divided beams shot out, fiercely hitting the hulls of two aircraft carriers. The super-strong alloy armor couldn't withstand the high temperature of the beams again.

Metal fragments flew everywhere.

This was definitely a cool operation, the kind even Superman couldn't do.

However, human eyes had limits after all. Ian, who wished he could grow eyes all over his body, ultimately couldn't escape being hit head-on by other aircraft carriers and sent flying.

Seeing that mystical methods couldn't eliminate Ian, the Supreme Witch adopted physical means. The effect was significant, Ian was directly pressed toward the twisted ground by the aircraft carrier.

The earth shattered, dust filled the sky.

With a deafening crash, Ian along with that huge aircraft carrier fell like a meteor, directly smashing a huge crater in the twisted street.

The powerful impact made the ground shake continuously.

Countless rocks and dust frantically splashed up from the impact point like a huge, gray mushroom cloud, instantly completely enveloping Ian and the aircraft carrier.

"Cough cough, this has more kick than the Great Fortune Celestial," Ian was glad he was no longer the boy he used to be, otherwise this hit would probably send him to another world again.

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +6]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +7]

[Received overload damage, Berserker experience +8]

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 107: Joker Recording, Dream Outbreak

The roar of the Hellcat's engine was particularly eye-catching on the streets of Metropolis.

Who wouldn't love a dramatically styled muscle car? Especially when there was a handsome boy sitting on its roof, which could attract quite a few gazes from passersby.

Ian wasn't pleased about this, he was focused intently on watching a tutorial video on his phone. Of course, watching the video didn't prevent him from keeping an eye out for opportunities to do good deeds in Metropolis.

One eye watching the video.

One eye observing in all directions.

Any normal person who understood organ management could do this. Ian's sharp right eye quickly caught sight of a "daily mission", he saw a pair of shy people gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

There was that feeling of wanting to kiss but being too shy.

Not daring to break through that final barrier.

"This is the moment when a superhero's help is needed." Ian threw a donut at the back of the boy's head, which was originally a gift he had prepared for Dr. Hannibal.

For a gourmet who ate quite a lot of meat.

Vegetarian food was definitely the most thoughtful gift.

"Splat~"

This time, Ian's throwing skills remained as stable as ever. He didn't manage to help the boy and girl, but instead scared them both, though his donut ultimately wasn't thrown in vain.

This was ultimately a fortunate accident.

The donut hit two good brothers who were shopping together, making the boy whose clothes got hit think he had been shot, instinctively diving straight into his good brother's arms.

"Cameron, I'm scared, quick, help me see if I've been hit by a bullet, I saw red." The thinner boy was really trembling with fear.

After all, this was the land of the free, America.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mitchell, it's just a troublemaker throwing cow dung—no wait, this seems to be a donut, and it's a high-end donut from [John's Kitchen]."

The chubby good brother's expression was first shocked, then stunned, then relieved. He only needed two seconds to react before hugging the boy in his arms and softly comforting him.

"You actually dare to taste it, you're so brave."

The bearded man called Mitchell expressed his heartfelt admiration.

The two completely embraced each other.

Obviously, they had broken through the shackles of morality and prejudice. Boys and boys could also give birth to girls, through adoption, so how could this not count as Lord Ian doing a good deed? This was exactly the time management skills a superhero should have, not forgetting to do some good deeds on the way to see a psychologist.

"Anyway, I win again, merit +1." Ian continued watching the horseback riding tutorial video while sitting on the car roof. He chose to sit on the car roof for a reason, of course. This was all for the sake of the world, if Ian didn't sit on top of the car, how would people know he was riding a miraculous divine machine beneath his buttocks, racing like the wind?

A car that could kill people and escape by itself.

Not everyone had one.

Occasionally showing off was very beneficial for physical and mental health.

Besides, a Hellcat was also a cat.

Cats were animals.

So a Hellcat should be called a mount. It was precisely because he understood such a simple truth that Ian realized he shouldn't be sitting in the car, but should be sitting on top of it.

If not for the fact that there were no videos of riding cats online, only videos of being eaten by cats, Ian definitely wouldn't have chosen to watch horseback riding tutorials, where the equestrian instructor was equipped with massive amounts of silicone in her buttocks that were too distracting.

"Riding a horse and riding a cat have commonalities, which is sitting in the area where I'm sitting now..." Ian adjusted his position, and the Hellcat continued driving forward.

He knew he was sitting in the correct position, because the familiar traffic officer he encountered no longer stopped him. This officer who he had met for the third time was targeting truly lawbreaking drivers.

He was issuing a ticket to a car suspected of dangerous driving.

"Look at that boy! That boy isn't even sitting in the driver's seat while driving, so what's wrong with me and my girlfriend, three people sitting in the driver's seat together?"

The drunk driver pointed at the passing Hellcat, dissatisfied.

The traffic officer just looked back.

Their eyes met.

He pretended not to see Ian.

"Precisely because he's not sitting in the driver's seat, how dare you define him as driving? I'm well-versed in the law and know that a car running on the street by itself doesn't count as breaking the law."

The traffic officer might be going bald a bit early, but his intelligence had obviously been catching up with his baldness recently. Such rigorous logic left the driver speechless.

"The officer makes sense, I saw it, there's no one in the driver's seat, he definitely doesn't count as driving." The heavily made-up girl even chose to side with the police.

"Yeah, yeah, you've been drinking, you might not have seen clearly, that car really is running by itself." Another girl chimed in, and the two girls together might not have finished elementary school.

They thought it was reasonable.

The police also thought it was reasonable.

The drunk driver, afraid of being excluded and with childhood shadows of not fitting in starting to surface, immediately began to feel that perhaps such things really were reasonable.

"I was wrong."

The driver shamefully lowered his head.

The scene was harmonious.

Ian gently passed by.

Without waving his sleeves or taking away any clouds. However, the people of Metropolis had obviously begun to possess superior thinking methods in localized areas under his positive influence.

"Vroom vroom vroom~"

The Hellcat flicked its tail.

And stopped directly in front of the office building where Dr. Hannibal was located. Most capable psychologists in America actually had their own clinics and would rent entire floors like Hannibal did.

Of course, not every psychologist had the capital to rent floors in Metropolis's bustling commercial district, after all, the rent was expensive. Only truly wealthy doctors could afford the burden.

Hannibal was indeed excellent enough.

"The city is full of people, elites everywhere."

Ian felt that Dr. Hannibal had also mastered the knack of win-win situations. There were many white-collar workers in the central area under great mental pressure, and he could make money while also having richer food choices.

For a cannibal, what could be better than this hunting ground?

"Nothing."

Ian answered for Hannibal, then nimbly jumped down from the Hellcat's roof.

"Go find a free parking space yourself, good boy." After briefly instructing his mount, Ian entered the building. When he got into the elevator, there was already a lady in a business suit inside.

She was holding a five or six-year-old boy with one hand and a phone with the other.

"Listen, I need to go to my parents' house for dinner, yes, they're sick." The woman said to her husband on the phone, "So, I might need to trouble you to pick up the child."

She gently finished the call with her husband, then dialed another number, her voice immediately becoming much sweeter, "Mr. Allen, I've prepared the contract."

"Yes, I'll take you to see the house again later. As long as we have a good discussion in your future new home, I believe you'll be able to feel the charm of that house."

The woman was obviously a real estate agent.

She was using special house-selling techniques.

"Oh oh, I brought the popping candy."

"Perhaps you could prepare an iced cola for me?"

While the woman was flirting.

Ian felt this wasn't something a child should learn, so he secretly covered the child's ears, then remembered he was also a child and covered his own ears too.

It was useless but he could pretend it was useful, at least the sense of ritual was maxed out.

"Hmm? What are you looking at?" Seeing the child keep staring at him, Ian glanced at the woman who had her back to him and reached out to wipe the child's eyelids.

Unexpectedly, the move that even Superman had difficulty dealing with, which was usually invincible, actually failed on this little brat. After Ian removed his hand, the child opened his eyes again and stared at Ian.

"Heh."

Feeling challenged, Ian brought out his real skills.

"Ding~"

When the elevator door opened.

Ian walked out, and the woman who had just finished her call turned around to find that her child was somehow wearing "glasses" made from shoelaces and eggshells on his face.

It looked ridiculous but the child, who couldn't see anything, was very happy.

Meanwhile, Ian, who had hidden his accomplishments and fame, had already arrived at the reception desk. At the reception desk, the young front desk lady showed Ian a genuinely warm smile.

"Mr. Kent, there are still twenty minutes until your appointment with Dr. Hannibal. You can rest in the waiting area." The front desk lady made a welcoming gesture to Ian.

"Alright."

Ian had no resistance this time, after all, as a wise man, he came at a calculated time for a reason. Just like the law that home flowers aren't as fragrant as wild flowers.

Men were the same from childhood to adulthood.

So the most fun things would always be other people's toys.

Ian was still thinking about his unfinished work, but when he stepped into the waiting area, he felt helpless. The Gundam he hadn't finished assembling last time had been dismantled by some kid who came for treatment.

"Hell is specially prepared for such people." Ian was secretly annoyed. He could only pour out a box of Lego blocks again and start a new round of building. This time Ian wasn't planning to build a Gundam, he wanted to build Tiger King, the animated character that could crawl out of TV screens whose special move was Storm Nebula Split.

"I still love cats so much."

Just as Ian was concentrating.

"Little friend, did you come by yourself?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice struck up a conversation beside him. Ian turned his head and saw that the man who had been dozing next to him seemed to have woken up and was taking off his glasses to wipe the fogged lenses. This person had light brown curly hair and tired but gentle blue eyes, wearing a slightly wrinkled but very clean checkered shirt.

"Will Graham?"

Ian tentatively asked.

His gaze fell on the book "Criminal Psychology" placed on the man's knees.

"Good observation skills."

The man was surprised for a moment, looking down at the instructor nameplate on his chest that he hadn't taken off yet. He probably thought Ian had seen this and read out his name.

"It really is you."

Ian was somewhat astonished. He had watched the TV series and even movies of "Hannibal" and knew that Will was the person who had a love-hate relationship with Hannibal, the cannibal. This was a character with [empathy] abilities who could put himself in the victim's perspective and reconstruct death scenes. He wondered if this counted as a superpower in this world.

"Hmm? Have you heard of me?"

The man named Will was even more surprised.

He was a criminal profiler who occasionally provided criminal analysis teaching for FBI recruits. By all accounts, a little boy shouldn't show such familiarity toward him.

To this, Ian gave no response.

"If I told you I came with my good friend, would you think I have a mental illness?" He just answered Will's original question.

Will was stunned for a moment.

Then he showed a gentle smile, as if he could empathize with such things, "No, because everyone has their own imaginary friends when they're young."

This remark made Ian put down the Lego blocks in his hands.

"Did you have imaginary friends when you were young too?"

He seemed suddenly interested, staring straight at Will.

"Uh..." Will scratched his head.

"Of course."

He gave an affirmative response.

This should have been an extremely heartwarming response.

"Then it seems you really do have a mental illness." After thinking for a moment, Ian delivered a definitive verbal blow, which made Will, who was about to drink water, choke badly.

Ian was still staring at him.

Feeling the atmosphere was quite awkward, Will hurriedly changed the subject, "Actually, I just wanted to know how your parents treat you, because I smell blood on you."

"I'm quite certain that's not animal blood."

His nostrils twitched slightly.

Looking exactly like a police dog sniffing for evidence.

"What a dog nose." Ian looked down at the dark red stain on his sleeve cuff, which was 666-grade fuel that had dripped when he accidentally held the demon head in his hands while playing with it this morning.

"What if I said I'm having my period, would you believe me?"

Ian gave another rhetorical question.

"Ah? That can't be right?"

Will's expression froze instantly. He couldn't help but examine Ian's overly delicate features, beginning to suspect whether he had mistaken a girl for a boy.

Seeing Will's expression full of doubt and uncertainty.

"Heh."

Ian simply chuckled.

"I have a mental illness, and you believe what I say? Your condition is definitely not light."

He certainly knew he didn't have a mental illness, but saying he had a mental illness was really useful at times like this, silencing Will with one sentence.

The air was somewhat silent.

Fortunately, the sweet voice of the reception desk lady saved Will, who was extremely speechless.

"Mr. Kent, Dr. Hannibal is ready to see you now." The reception desk lady wanted to take Ian's hand, but Ian didn't let her take advantage of him.

"Alright, thank you."

Ian remained polite.

He stood up and washed his hands with disinfectant first.

"Oh, by the way."

Ian looked at Will again. He had kept Will in a state of shocked open-mouthed expression not out of boredom, "You have a curly hair stuck in your teeth."

"I'm also certain that's not animal hair." The boy grinned, showing two rows of neat white teeth. After leaving behind a chilling remark, he turned and walked toward Hannibal's office.

"..."

Will sat in his chair.

His gaze toward Ian's retreating figure flickered constantly.

As the office door opened and closed, Ian also walked into the treatment room. Dr. Hannibal's office was very tidy, looking like a carefully composed still life painting.

Dark brown solid wood bookshelves occupied an entire wall, neatly lined with professional works with gold-embossed spines. Two leather armchairs faced each other with a small coffee table in between, on which sat an exquisite tea set. Soft wall lamps illuminated the room warmly without being harsh, and there was even an antique gramophone in the corner.

At this moment it was playing an extremely peaceful piece.

"Welcome back, Ian." Hannibal sat in a leather office chair with his legs crossed, holding a notebook in his hands, his expression composed and carrying a kind of aristocratic elegance.

He looked up and showed a slight smile.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Lecter." Ian looked back at the door. His mood wasn't actually calm, he wanted to mention Will but didn't know how to bring it up for the moment.

Go straight?

Ian had initially thought this, but now he was somewhat uncertain.

Just as Ian was weighing the potential consequences if he "fought crime" and made a mistake.

"What would you like to drink?"

Hannibal stood up and walked toward the refrigerator.

"Cola is fine."

Ian said while also taking out his gift, a delicate small box containing a peeled egg. Having lost his donut, he had bought a new gift.

"For me?"

Hannibal's expression remained unchanged as he walked back with a bottle of cola and a glass.

"That's right. I originally prepared a donut, but I used it to save a love story." Ian began telling one of his few remaining truths for the day.

"That's very nice."

Hannibal poured the cola into the ice-filled glass and handed it to Ian.

"So what about this eggshell? Was that also used for good deeds?" He asked Ian while casually placing the remaining cola bottle on the table.

"No, I just used it to benefit myself."

Ian took the cola and sat down on the sofa across from Hannibal. He temporarily modified his original statement, after all, he needed to be a great leader that neither men nor women could figure out.

[Leader LV1 (1/10)]

The system panel could prove Ian had that qualification.

"You can take off your colored contacts." Hannibal also sat back in his chair, picked up his pen, and turned to Ian's page in his patient record notebook.

"I can't take them off."

Ian sighed helplessly.

He also missed his azure eyes, but obviously couldn't change them back now.

"Mm."

Hannibal didn't continue asking, just began recording information in his notebook. The scratching sound of the pen on paper strangely merged with the music from the gramophone.

"I've been in contact with your parents." He suddenly continued, "Your mother thinks you've become much more cheerful, while Clark believes you need more treatment."

Hannibal looked up.

"I'm very curious, what changes happened to you after the last treatment?" His tone carried some curiosity, as if Ian's condition was somewhat unexpected to him.

"I became a sunny, cheerful big boy, completely transformed." Ian remembered to be sufficiently honest with psychologists, so he even began advancing tomorrow's truth.

"I think I've completely recovered, with no signs of anxiety disorder whatsoever." This was also the truth for Ian, however, Hannibal just stared at him with deep eyes.

"You're saying what you think is the truth, but it's not true." Hannibal's gaze was as sharp as a scalpel, his treatment process still loved going straight to the point.

Hearing this, Ian hurriedly drank some cola to calm himself.

"Alright, I admit it, I think I'm beyond help. You know what? My cousin gave me penguin cola to drink, that's Gotham sewage, I must have been infected with the Joker virus."

If there was anything else that might cause anxiety, Ian could only think of this after much contemplation, even though he had already confirmed he wasn't infected with any Joker virus.

But who could say for sure about such things.

"Joker virus? Interesting way to put it." Hannibal imperceptibly turned the cola can on the coffee table to hide the "Penguin Cola" lettering printed on it.

This was to prevent Ian's anxiety from worsening.

Penguin Cola.

Hannibal occasionally drank it too.

He didn't believe there were any viruses added to it.

[Persecution Complex]

The pen moved across the paper.

Hannibal circled Ian's previously exhibited symptoms again.

"I don't think this is interesting at all. Of course, if you like building your happiness on my pain, that's another matter." Ian was secretly observing Hannibal's expression.

He gulped down several more sips of the iced cola in his hand.

"When I said interesting, I wasn't mocking you, but I thought of something." Hannibal's voice was rich and powerful, "One of your elders came to see me not long ago."

His words made Ian freeze.

"Perhaps because of my professional capabilities, that elder of yours asked me to help him analyze a recording... and I heard similar statements to yours in it."

Hannibal lowered his voice.

"Bruce Wayne?"

This was the name Ian locked onto after thinking it over.

"Yes, that wealthy man. I didn't expect your family had this connection." Hannibal nodded to confirm Ian's guess, but this made Ian even more confused.

The boy's eyes shook somewhat.

It was strange enough that Superman hadn't discovered Hannibal's problem.

Now even Batman had let this cannibal go?

This was too unreasonable.

Even Ian's own twisted logic could hardly explain it.

"What are you thinking?"

Hannibal stared at Ian and asked.

"Can I hear the recording?"

Ian just made a request without stating his thoughts. His words made Hannibal's lips curl up, obviously having anticipated Ian's request.

"In principle, I wouldn't do that, but... rules sometimes need to be broken." Hannibal got up and walked toward the back, searching through filing cabinets.

"After all, although I think that elder of yours is quite ill, he's not my patient, and he didn't ask me to keep this recording of unknown origin confidential."

Hannibal walked back with a tape recorder.

He emphasized that he still very much observed patient confidentiality agreements.

Rather unnecessarily because Ian didn't care about confidentiality at all.

"Yes, he's the one who's really mentally ill. You're truly a capable psychologist." Ian couldn't help but praise Hannibal, whose words resonated strongly with him.

Bruce Wayne deserved to be harshly criticized.

The news he learned at noon today made Ian angrier the more he thought about it. He hadn't even prepared to start from scratch, yet Batman had directly crushed his dream of getting rich.

Anyone would curse Bruce Wayne to death over this.

"It seems you have quite an opinion of this elder of yours." Hannibal looked thoughtful as he activated the tape recorder in his hand, and the machine made a slight humming sound.

As Hannibal pressed play, the tape began turning.

He only played a small portion of the recording content, but even this small portion was enough to leave Ian dumbfounded.

A man's anxious voice came from the recording, "Oh, doctor, save me, you must save me, you have to save me, I feel like I've gotten sick recently."

"A very serious illness! I'm done for!"

The man's voice was filled with despair.

Then, a psychologist's voice responded.

"What illness do you think you have?"

This female doctor's voice sounded very gentle.

"Huff huff huff~"

There was the sound of a patient sniffling.

"Like I said, I'm infected with a virus, a very terrible virus. Um, yes, the Ian virus. You probably haven't heard of it, but that doesn't affect how terrible it is."

"The Ian virus has completely infected me, making me restless almost every night recently... As long as I can't see 'Batman's Tragic Romance,' I want to kill people."

The man's helpless voice trembled.

"Have you read this book? You haven't? Then I'll burn it for you to see. 'Batman's Tragic Romance' brings me peace, perhaps it can also let you rest in peace."

Suddenly, the roar of a chainsaw was deafening.

"Damn! Where did this chainsaw come from! No! You can't do this! I can give you money! I have lots of money!" The psychologist's terrified screams were hysterical.

"Don't be afraid, doctor, I'm just proving to you that I'm not lying." The man's voice suddenly became calm, followed by a series of bone-chilling screams.

Soon, the screams turned to silence.

"Where did you put your anesthetics? Why aren't you talking? If you don't talk, I'll assume you're cured... Next patient, please..." It seemed someone had put on the doctor's clothes.

He spoke in a deliberately deep voice.

Just then, Hannibal gently turned off the tape recorder.

The room was left with only Bach's melody from the gramophone.

"..."

Ian was struck silent.

The chainsaw sounds from the recording seemed to still echo in his ears.

He unconsciously swallowed.

"Your expression tells me you know this person." Hannibal's dark brown pupils were incredibly deep, and he wasn't using a question but a statement.

"Hmm?"

Ian's fingers unconsciously rubbed the condensation on his glass.

The cold touch helped him calm down a bit.

"He's just my crazy obsessed fan who wrote me letters, but I'm actually not familiar with him." Ian knew he had to painfully cut ties with his fan.

This after all involved a suspected massacre incident.

"Is that so." Hannibal's pen paused on the paper, ink bleeding into an dark blue flower on the expensive parchment. His gaze strangely looked Ian up and down for a moment.

"I'm surprised you don't feel inner guilt and torment because of this." Hannibal's voice was rich and powerful, carrying a thoughtful flavor.

"Why should I feel guilty? Batman should be the one feeling guilty, he failed to catch and imprison this nemesis of his." Ian's expression showed unprecedented seriousness.

His thinking wasn't led astray by Hannibal's inquiry.

"You heard it too, right? This person said he wants to kill when he can't see my book, which proves that when he's reading my book, he doesn't want to kill. God must know how many people have escaped danger because of this." Ian's tone had a rare seriousness, this time he truly believed his merit was immeasurable.

"Perhaps that's so."

Hannibal nodded lightly.

He didn't refute.

He didn't even make many notes in his notebook.

The Joker was Batman's responsibility.

Even non-Gotham residents knew this common knowledge.

"However, you should also maintain sufficient vigilance."

Hannibal unexpectedly reminded Ian, "Have you thought about the possibility that in order to see your stories every day, this fan of yours might eventually kidnap you?"

This was a worry only someone from an ordinary person's perspective would have.

Ian nodded but didn't respond.

"Actually, there's another possibility, that your wealthy elder can't protect you either. In order to appease that man long-term, Batman might very well capture you..."

Hannibal was about to share some of his speculation.

"BOOM!!!"

Suddenly, with a violent explosion.

The entire building shook violently.

"Missile attack?"

Hannibal's collection of crystal glasses clinked together, producing clear laments. Hardcover books from the bookshelf crashed down with a clatter, and even this doctor was knocked to the ground by the tremor.

"Whoosh~"

Ian almost instinctively rushed to the window, his palm slapping against the cold glass with a "smack."

"It's not a missile."

He gave a negative response.

His pupils shook extremely violently at this moment.

"It's a supernatural disaster..."

Ian's voice carried undisguisable shock.

His pupils reflected light.

The distant street seemed to be experiencing a collapse beyond the level of reality. Street lamps bent into impossible angles. Countless concrete fragments defied gravity, floating in mid-air like an explosion scene with the pause button pressed. At the center of the storm, a white-haired old woman floated in agony in mid-air, struggling continuously.

Around her body, space twisted and deformed like crumpled tin foil.

No flames, no smoke, all changes spread outward from the old woman as center, like a drop of ink slowly spreading in clear water. This was a terrifying outbreak caused by loss of power control!

"Dream power! Could it be that Morpheus has had another problem?" Ian's mind raced, his expression management nearly losing control. He could see dream ripples devouring the street, surging toward his building like a tide. The moment several pedestrians were affected, their bodies instantly became translucent, with flickering stardust appearing under their skin, as if being absorbed by terrifying power!

"Ahhhhh!"

Painful wails echoed and fluctuated.

That white-haired old woman floated hundreds of meters above ground, her body twisting.

Layer upon layer of translucent ripples spread outward from her as center, like ripples on water. Each time the waves spread outward, reality's distortion would spread along with them.

"Little one, 'another' problem... you even know about such things. Is there anything you don't know?"

A voice sounded behind him. Ian whipped around, only to see that where Hannibal should have been sitting in his armchair, there now sat an elegantly dressed woman in black.

Ian was dumbfounded.

Outside the window, from within the old woman's body, layers upon layers of dream power continued spreading outward.

"Tsk tsk, some people, if they didn't have such thick skin, should be starting to feel guilty right about now."

The woman who had taken over the magpie's nest folded her pale hands on her knees, turned the chair to face Ian, her eyes completely black, her tone carrying some wistful amusement.

She was…

Death.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 106: New Class Obtained! Superman Awakens! (Part Two)

"Where's the trash can?"

Castle quickly scanned the living room, looking for traces of the trash can. Just then, an orange cat seemed to wake up at this moment, crawling out from under the sofa and stretching on the carpet.

"Hey, little guy," Castle revealed a flattering smile, carefully using a fork to pick up a piece of "curry" and offering it to the orange cat, "Want to try some?"

He attempted to feed the dark cuisine to this family's little cat.

The orange cat lifted its head.

Those cat eyes flashed with an eerie red light, like warning lights on a midnight highway.

"Hiss..."

Castle was frightened and quickly stepped back several steps, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, the fork "clanging" as it fell to the ground, unable to believe what he had seen.

A cat.

Its eyes were glowing!

Just like Superman!

Just as Castle felt his spine go cold, and the cat's eyes became redder and redder, thud thud thud sounds came again, and with Ian coming downstairs, the red light in the orange cat's eyes quickly disappeared.

It acted as if nothing had happened, lying on the carpet and licking its paws. However, that scene just now still left Castle feeling shaken.

"Your family's cat? It..." Castle saw Ian return to the living room, he bit his knuckles, wanting to say something but hesitating, wanting to speak but feeling he'd be taken for mentally ill.

Who would believe a cat's eyes could glow?

"My cat is very well-behaved. I took out a loan from the cat mom to buy it, agreeing that it would come find me punctually for debt collection in its next life," Ian placed stacks of manuscripts on the table.

He hadn't seen the cat mom when he found the kitten, but he still hoped the cat mom could really reincarnate and come knocking. This way the Kent family could raise another cat without spending money.

It had to reincarnate first.

Otherwise an old cat's lifespan was too short.

Low returns.

"No, that's not what I meant," Castle rubbed his eyes hard. When he looked at the orange cat again, its eyes had returned to the warm amber color of ordinary house cats.

The red light from before seemed like just his illusion.

"These are my works. Although Mr. Wayne screwed me over, I won't blame it on you," Ian paid no attention to this older apprentice's reaction.

He spread the manuscripts in front of the other party, then smoothly used his foot to slide into the orange cat's belly, using skills that many soccer players didn't have to lift the orange cat directly onto his hands with his foot.

"..."

Seeing this, Castle could only suppress his suspicious and uncertain mood, forcibly attributing what he saw to having played too much with that girl he met at the hotel last night. After some psychological construction and convincing himself, he picked up the manuscript, adjusted his sitting position, and began reading seriously.

Toward writing, Castle had always been serious.

However, as his reading deepened, his expression became more and more strange. His right hand kept moving away from his mouth and then pinching it again, as if forcibly preventing himself from saying something inappropriate.

But he ultimately couldn't hold back.

"Who taught you to write like this?"

Castle used as normal a tone as possible.

"Self-taught, purely by talent."

Ian opened a bottle of Coke for himself and poured Castle another cup of old tea. The orange cat in his other arm was purring contentedly in his embrace.

Ian let the orange cat have a sip.

The orange cat drank happily. Ian let this pet have the rest of the Coke, since anyone who knew understood that people who drank Coke only drank the first sip.

"Self-taught?"

Castle's expression was quite spectacular. He stared at the manuscript in his hand, his mouth repeatedly opening and closing, his whole expression twisted like he had prematurely entered his fifties.

"Isn't it well written?"

Ian began to doubt the other party's level of appreciation. Rookie authors were all like this, thinking that masters' writing wasn't good, only believing that they themselves had platinum potential.

Such rookies were truly very difficult to mentor.

"Um..."

Castle started biting his fingers again, swallowing, "Actually it's not bad either. Your prose is quite good, it's just that this writing method is indeed somewhat... novel."

He was indeed a writer, his words were pleasant to hear. Ian regained his favorable impression of this older man with writing dreams, feeling that the other party might still have some prospects on the writing path.

"Being able to see my avant-garde literature, you're very talented," Ian walked forward and patted Castle's shoulder, like rewarding an excellent student.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Castle began organizing his language, "I can see that you're writing a story about Superman and his romance, but why, when you already have Superman as an absolute power, do you focus your writing on having the female lead learn... Ian Divine Arts, making her become a mage?"

"This is somewhat redundant, after all this is a romance story, the female lead doesn't need to gain power," It had to be said that in analyzing works, Castle was indeed professional enough.

He had done research.

He knew the boy in front of him was called Ian.

What that Ian Divine Cult inside was about was already obvious. Honestly speaking, in the section where the female lead entered the faith and began praising Ian, Castle felt he truly saw the talent of the boy in front of him. The richness and magnificence of the word usage there reached a level that made him feel deeply ashamed of himself.

How narcissistic did a person have to be.

To write so many different praise songs and praise words in English.

Castle was simply stunned.

"Heh."

Ian saw Castle's expression of admiration, knowing that the other party had already been conquered by his talent, so he also had some patience for such a devout apprentice.

"Because urban novels all have to be like this in the later stages, otherwise how would you make money? When we finish writing the romance story, then we have to start writing the protagonist's growth story."

"Like how I divided mages into nine levels, each level I can write a million words for. Finally when they upgrade to the point they can't upgrade anymore, we can introduce enemies from outer space."

"This upgrades our world view. Things like demon invasions, God descending, new cultivation levels can be brought out again. Smoothly transitioning from romance novels to fantasy novels."

"This writing method, if used in conjunction with long-term contracts with publishers, trust me, it's enough to feed you for a lifetime," Ian was indeed teaching everything he knew.

He wasn't afraid of competitors.

He was just afraid of having no appreciators.

Moreover, this kind of skill was like martial arts secrets, not everyone who practiced them would turn out the same.

"This..."

Castle's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

He was greatly shocked.

His mouth was open wide enough to fit an orange.

"Did you learn it?"

Ian asked in a deep voice.

"Learned it... I suppose?" Castle subconsciously answered, although he completely wasn't sure what he had learned, this didn't prevent him from making a tonal shift at the end.

Defending his dignity as a traditional writer.

"Good that you learned it. Remember to tell Mr. Wayne to send money... Also, within three days, I want to see my shares, otherwise I'll go to Gotham and corrupt his son."

"Make his son addicted to puppy love, unable to extricate himself, and I know several people who are, you know, LGBT," Ian believed his threat would definitely carry more weight than the Joker's.

"I don't have his contact information," Castle was somewhat helpless. He was also deeply shocked by Ian's threat, the way this boy threatened people was simply unheard of but also terrifyingly effective.

"Do you have your phone with you?"

Ian packed up his manuscripts.

"Yes."

Castle took out his latest model phone.

"Then there's no problem."

Ian's response left Castle completely puzzled.

Before this bestselling author could figure out what this had to do with Ian asking him to pass along a message, he saw Ian check the time on the wall and began pushing him toward the door.

Could also be seen as chasing him out?

This kid was really strong.

"Time's getting late, I should go see the psychologist," Ian casually grabbed his jacket. Although his tolerance for hot and cold was already very strong, when going out, he still needed to make everyone think he was an ordinary person.

This was how superheroes hid themselves.

"What are you going to see a psychologist for?" Castle was pushed to the front door, then pushed outside the courtyard, unknowingly finding himself standing on the street.

"Being able to ask that question, I think you should also go see a psychologist," Ian closed the outermost wooden fence, making a very polite goodbye gesture to Castle.

"Study well, practice well, believe in yourself."

His encouragement carried a touch of gentleness.

"..."

Castle didn't know how to respond.

His head was buzzing.

Standing on the street.

This usually quite lively writer was somewhat silent. Due to his thinking being mysteriously contaminated, he didn't even notice the Hellcat driving out from the side iron gate.

"I probably don't know how to write books anymore," Castle was still struggling with writing techniques. He stared at the house ahead, his mind seeming to constantly echo with Ian's whispers.

At this moment, the street was very quiet.

"Bang~"

But perhaps it wasn't absolutely quiet either. The sound of something suddenly exploding rang out, startling Castle, finally bringing him back from his life-doubting thoughts.

"Did something explode?" His expression was suspicious and uncertain, looking like a startled large animal, but looking left and right he couldn't find the explosion source.

"Snap~"

Something dangled in front of Castle.

Along with bricks and wood chips.

"This family's roof exploded through!" Castle then discovered where the explosion had occurred, it was actually right in front of him in the house, a big hole had directly blasted through the roof.

"That's..."

Castle saw a pink object shoot up into the clouds, immediately followed by what seemed like someone from the damaged house also rushing into the sky at a dazzling speed.

It was a boy.

His hand was raised high.

His expression anxious.

As if he was trying to save that... toy that had already exploded into crispy sausage?

"What the hell! What's wrong with this family!?" Castle rubbed his eyes hard, confirming he wasn't crazy nor had he been secretly drugged with some hallucinogen by that bed partner last night.

"Ring ring ring~"

Suddenly, the ringing of his phone pulled Castle back to reality from his daze.

Caller ID.

Bruce Wayne.

Castle clearly had never stored this name's phone number, but it just displayed like that. However, Castle, who was already too shocked to be shocked anymore, had become numb to such things.

"Hello?"

He answered the phone.

"You need to forget what you just saw," A rather magnetic voice came from the other end of the phone, the distinctive voice that could often be heard on television.

"Are you really Bruce Wayne?"

Castle swallowed.

"I am."

The other party gave a brief affirmative response.

"Did you talk to that boy?"

Bruce asked the question he was most concerned about.

"I did, but right now I just want to know what's the deal with this family, and also... why did you choose me," Castle covered the phone and jogged away from this eerie neighborhood.

"Because you're the most convenient to use, and also, tell that boy that his father said he'd become bad if he had money, so I put his share in his trust fund!"

"Damn brat, he blocked me!"

Bruce's voice carried annoyance.

Castle didn't listen carefully.

Because he was melancholy that he wasn't the kind of man who was looked upon favorably, whom even the super rich considered very capable.

And just as this uncle who liked to fantasize like a little kid was feeling gloomy.

Immediately after, Bruce's voice rang out again, "You don't need to care about this family's situation, you just need to mind your own mouth. I know your new book hasn't written a single word yet. If you don't want to pay breach of contract fees, then complete the commission I gave you, if things go smoothly, I guarantee your net worth will double again."

Typical carrot and stick.

The threats and promises of those with money power both carried weight.

"I understand," Castle stopped walking and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "But I still need to go back and think about it, properly sort through what I saw today."

His words aroused Bruce's vigilance.

"What do you need to sort through about the stuff he wrote?" Bruce's voice had no fluctuation, but that questioning feeling was still expressed very clearly.

"Um..."

Castle's expression became tangled, "Actually some of that boy's content is really not bad," For example, one plot was Superman holding up Metropolis with one hand, but he could still kiss the female lead and make domineering declarations. This kind of romance actually had quite an audience in certain markets.

He couldn't quite accept it but that didn't mean he couldn't distinguish the market.

Castle believed that a business giant like Bruce Wayne must also have discernment.

"I wanted you to look at a different book!"

Bruce's tone was calm, but he was actually grinding his teeth to pieces.

"Right, there's another one, the story about Batman. That book is indeed more absurd, but I think the plot where the Joker gets hit by a car and Batman threatens the doctor that if he can't save both the child and the Joker, he'll make all of Gotham pay with their lives should win quite a few fans in Gotham's specific market."

Castle's professional ability was incredibly strong.

Although he didn't know why Bruce had recently set his sights on the novel market, which wasn't very profitable, he felt that Bruce, as a capitalist, would definitely believe in publishing whatever made money.

Such market-core judgment.

Castle didn't receive Bruce Wayne's evaluation.

He only heard heavy breathing.

Then, the other end of the phone suddenly fell into deathly silence.

...

The Hellcat sped along the road, its wheels crushing a stone on the ground.

The vehicle shot past, and the stone fragments splashed up hit the outer wall of a church, then rolled into the church's main door.

Even in broad daylight, the dim candlelight still burned continuously inside the church.

It illuminated the tall cross and the solemn sacred images all around.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows into the empty church, stretching Jonathan Kent's shadow very long. He sat quietly on the long bench, looking up at the suspended cross.

The Kent family's eldest son had maintained this posture for nearly six hours.

"The Lord watches over everyone."

The priest slowly walked from behind the altar, noticing Jonathan's presence, and asked softly, "Young man, is there something troubling you? I saw you sitting here almost all day today."

The priest's concern was very genuine. Jonathan didn't answer immediately, he seemed immersed in his own thoughts. After a moment, he raised his head, his gaze unfocused as he looked at the priest.

"I'm thinking about a question."

Jonathan's voice carried some hesitation.

"What question?"

The priest spoke gently.

Trying to understand this young man's inner struggle.

"God can save all of us, right?" Jonathan's voice carried a trace of uncertainty, yet was filled with a desire to receive a definitive answer.

The priest nodded slightly, giving an affirmative reply, "Yes, God's love is boundless, He is willing to accept every soul that truly repents."

Hearing this, a flash of joy passed through Jonathan's eyes.

"Mm, that's wonderful then." He made a move that surprised the priest, Jonathan stuffed the black diary in his hands into the church's donation box.

The book made a muffled "thunk" sound as it fell to the bottom of the box.

However, the priest seemed unable to see anything.

"It belongs to God now."

With that, under the priest's confused gaze.

Jonathan left without looking back.

"Ian is the smartest among us, thinking like him can't be wrong," the big boy murmured with certainty, his words echoing softly in the somewhat empty church.

"Does this boy have problems?"

The priest was puzzled.

In his invisible field of vision, a black angel silently appeared.

Constantine's acquaintance.

The angel Manny.

"What kind of thing is this."

The angel tilted his head slightly, golden eyes gazing toward that ordinary plastic donation box. Some indescribable sense of wrongness emanated from the box.

Like something that shouldn't exist but did exist there.

"Is this something from outside the universe?"

He extended his pure black hand.

Accurately grasping the edge of that black diary.

The next moment, hidden within the black notebook, that unknown deep evil essence seemed to find a more suitable host, silently attaching itself.

"Hmm?"

The angel's pure golden eyes began showing signs of being stained black.

However, he seemed completely unaware of this.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 106: New Class Obtained! Superman Awakens! (Part One)

DC Universe.

[Leader LV1 (1/10)]

Along with a new ordinary profession quietly appearing on his personal panel.

Ian lifted his head from "Ian's Genesis God Book," his expression joyful. He had personally verified it, so there was no need to ask something like the American version of Zhihu, Quora.

There was no need to ask God OAA either.

This super bootlicker demon book indeed had the power to create something from nothing. Golden light flowed like living creatures between the pages, and rows of patterns and symbols that didn't belong to any known writing system had already appeared on them.

"Perhaps it should be called Ian Script," Ian knew that angels had their angelic language, and demons had their demonic language, so naturally he should have his own language too.

Mages from various worlds were all worth learning Ian Script.

After all, Ian had indeed created his own unique magical system.

He had even just laid the foundation stone of his own system, though due to insufficient magical power, this newborn magical source only managed to attempt experimental magical creation.

[Four-Dimensional Appendix Modification Technique]

Never mind how ridiculous this spell's name sounded, but being able to transform the useless appendix into a practical wallet, anyone who truly understood magic should realize how cool this spell was.

"And it's very practical too," Ian knew the safest place was inside one's own body. What anti-theft measure in the world could be safer than storing all your wealth inside your own body?

You had to know, not everyone in this world had a Fortress of Solitude like him.

Ian still had to consider more for his future "believers." He didn't want others to think he was the kind of high-and-mighty Lord Ian with a "let them eat meat" mentality.

Getting deep into the grassroots.

Considering the hardships of mages.

This was the true Lord Ian.

"I believe the believers will feel my goodwill," Ian felt very good about himself. He already had the virtues a superior should have, with his mind full of creative ideas for the "people."

However, those creative ideas couldn't be implemented yet.

How to put this feeling? It was like a newly enthroned emperor with grand ambitions, the lack of magical power was the most important factor limiting his performance.

"Damn it, my super brain is clearly nurturing many magical spells," Ian's current feeling was like having his brain juice sucked out with a straw.

Inside his skull, it was as dry as a sponge that had been sun-dried for three days.

He had that waterlogged brain feeling of magical power fullness, but now it had become the empty feeling of a dehydrated brain. This was probably a manifestation of excessive magical power consumption.

Using the demon book relied heavily on magical power.

No wonder the previous Hell Prince performed like a weakling.

"Mature magic books should know to provide magical power for their masters," Ian's PUA was everywhere, but the book on the desktop only grew a small mouth on its cover.

Making aggrieved "ying ying ying" sounds.

"All you know is crying, you'll never get to eat three demons in this lifetime," Ian sighed helplessly. At this moment, the demon head placed in the cabinet seemed to sense the keywords and opened its eyes.

"If it won't eat, I will."

This guy had already tasted the beauty of getting something for nothing.

True depravity was nothing more than this.

"Fine, wait. Tonight I'll use my poop to make you some egg tarts... Grass, you think I'm rewarding you?" Ian grabbed a black cloth and directly covered the demon's expectant face.

He almost forgot, biologically speaking, dogs weren't the only ones with "coprophagic behavior."

Cows were the same.

"Looks like I'm the only normal one in this room," Ian was slightly unwilling, but he could only take the long view. Accumulating magical power wasn't something that could be completed overnight.

Fortunately, he had already anchored himself as another form of capitalist.

How much magical power Ian could have.

All depended on how hard his believers worked.

The growth of the Ian Divine Cult would undoubtedly be rapid, this was beyond doubt. After all, he had just created his own magical system and already had a guinea pig who couldn't wait to become his believer.

This was proof of a bright future.

"I wonder who this lucky person will be, to have such sharp investment vision," Ian had guesses in his heart, but he wouldn't say them, because not saying meant he would never guess wrong.

The flexible application of equations and inequalities was just this simple and unpretentious.

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1] ...

Magical power actually wasn't consumed, but rather its activity was used up and needed time to recover. So taking advantage of this time, Ian also began simultaneous creation of literature and comics.

His two hands were reasonably divided in labor, one hand drawing comics, one hand writing novels. This was the benefit of having a super brain. Ian felt he would eventually be able to develop the ability to use hands and feet together.

When that time came, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting could all be done simultaneously. As for growing a few extra hands, that wasn't under consideration. Normal people should only have two hands and two feet.

"So hungry."

Ian's creative inspiration coexisted with hunger. His stomach had already made many loud "gurgling" sounds, but he knew that if he wanted to complete his class change, he couldn't even bite his pen cap.

Being careful and cautious was never wrong.

Ian believed in his willpower.

But he didn't trust his hungry mouth. Respecting the thoughts of various body parts too much, this was the consequence of being spoiled. Ian frantically used writing and drawing to divert his attention.

The pen was really smoking from being wielded so much and just as he was immersed in creation.

"Ring ring ring~"

Ian's black phone rang.

"Hello, this is Ian."

Ian simultaneously stopped writing for a mid-field rest. He answered the phone. The caller ID showed nothing, but he remembered it was his old man's phone number. Perhaps Batman had informed his father about this phone's information.

"Ian, remember to go see the psychologist at three o'clock sharp this afternoon. For the sake of your studies, Dr. Hannibal specially made time for you on the weekend," Clark's voice came through the phone. The background noise was the characteristic bustle of a newspaper office, with keyboard typing and paper rustling sounds rising and falling.

"What about the patient who was originally supposed to have weekend treatment?" Ian clamped the phone between his ear and shoulder. He remembered that his psychologist had always been in an overbooked state.

"Apparently he fell in love and no longer needs to see a psychologist," Clark was working while talking on the phone, and seemed to suspiciously use some super speed for cheating.

Hearing this, Ian's eyes narrowed.

"Did that patient fall in love with star anise, or fall in love with bay leaves?" Ian continued probing his father, but Clark seemed only confused by his words.

"What are you talking about?"

Clark would rather suspect his hearing or the phone was malfunctioning than doubt Dr. Hannibal. This performance was somewhat unexpected to Ian.

"Nothing, I just feel like Dr. Hannibal has the aura of someone whose cooking would taste very good," Ian responded thoughtfully. He didn't believe Clark hadn't done a background check on Hannibal.

Therefore, for this situation to occur.

There must be something fishy behind it.

As for telling his old man directly?

Laughable.

In the superhero track, even between father and son, there was still competition. The merit belonged to Lord Ian. Tonight he wanted to see his ancestor make the front page news.

Clark didn't notice Ian's little schemes.

"Anyway, remember to go."

Clark continued, with the sound of a broken printer in the background, "Have Jordan accompany you. I need to interview a real estate tycoon this afternoon."

"I'll fix your workshop when I come back tonight, don't tell your mom, she'll be back even later." He instructed Ian while repairing the printer.

"Where's Mom?" Ian perked up his ears to listen to the movement in the next room, understanding the situation. He didn't think his second brother, who had been tired for half the day, would still have the energy to accompany him to see the doctor.

"Your mom is going to interview astronauts. NASA seems to have discovered aliens, she's very excited," Clark spoke while seemingly repairing the printer.

"..."

Ian opened his mouth.

He didn't quite understand why his mom was so interested in aliens.

There were clearly some at home and not just one.

"Remember, come straight home after seeing the doctor, don't wander around," Clark warned somewhat vigilantly. Only after getting Ian's definite promise did he hang up the phone.

"The one who made the promise was Ian, it has nothing to do with me, Ancestor," Ian grabbed his stockings, looked at the time, and prepared to drive his little car out to level up on the way.

Twelve noon.

There was still quite some time until three o'clock.

Metropolis should welcome a new hero guardian, otherwise, with Clark only in his forties, when would Ian have to wait to become Metropolis's new sky?

Thirty-year crown princes were common but Ian, a reserve superhero who had been preparing for twelve and a half years, didn't want to be one at all.

He had rebellious bones.

The kind that had to rebel now!

"Perhaps the people's adoration could also help me grow," Ian certainly wasn't going through a rebellious phase. His rebellious bones only appeared when there was profit to be made.

[Leader LV1 (1/10)]

Mainly it was the appearance of this new profession that gave Ian a tiny bit of an idea. Who said people from the DC Universe had to suffer discrimination and couldn't become Lord Ian's believers?

What the Marvel Universe had.

Ian wouldn't allow the DC Universe to lack! Even if Jesus came... Jesus better not come. With unfledged wings, Ian didn't want to be labeled as a heretical god spreading alternative doctrines.

He just wanted to find some excellent Pals to cultivate magical power for him. Of course he wasn't wrong, but secular views would always be influenced by various factors.

For example, Ian looked at his demon collection and demon book.

"It's all your fault for making me look like an evil god," Ian demonstrated his exceptionally excellent scapegoating skills again under the somewhat bewildered gazes of the demon head and demon book.

"Aren't you an evil..."

Just as the demon head opened its mouth, wanting to speak but stopping.

"Ding dong~"

The doorbell rang from downstairs.

Ian didn't bother Jordan and chose to go downstairs and open the door himself.

He was eager and hopeful, hoping it was a super villain coming to abduct children. However, he discovered it was a man in an expensive suit outside. This kind of man wouldn't reveal his true nature without sending out demons to bewitch and seduce him.

"Who are you looking for?"

Ian slightly regretted not hanging the demon head on his butt.

"Oh, so someone is home. I thought everyone had gone out," A well-dressed middle-aged man stood outside the door, his hair meticulously combed and a confident smile hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Richard Castle."

The man introduced himself, even flirtatiously raising an eyebrow, "I'm a bestselling mystery novelist, a regular on the New York Times bestseller list, hailed as one of the most charming men of our time."

"If you're a fashionable boy, then you must have read my works," Castle held a bunch of things in his hands, all seemingly high-end but useless detective props.

"Oh, it's you, that fool on the plane..." Ian's upbringing made him swallow back his moment of realization, "So it's the famous bestselling author!"

He switched to flattering words.

"That's right, it's me. Want an autograph?"

Castle really thought Ian was a fan of his readers.

He obviously didn't recognize Ian as that boy who drove the sports car. Since Ian's Hellcat was covered with quilts, this writer hadn't had time to explore Ian's small courtyard out of curiosity.

"No thanks," Ian wasn't interested in mystery novels, and besides, even "Holmes" had become his believer. How could he lower himself to collect other people's autographs?

That would be disrespectful to his believers!

Wait.

He seemed to have secretly said that guess in his heart that he would absolutely never say out loud. Still not cautious enough. Fortunately, no one could hear his thoughts.

Ian patted his steel chest in relief.

Castle looked at him strangely but didn't comment further. He took out a letter from his suit, "I found this place based on some scattered clues."

"Someone wants me to meet a certain mysterious author," Castle looked at Ian, "I think the person who stole my new book's promotional resources is you... your father."

His gaze shifted to the inner room behind Ian.

"I get it, you're someone Mr. Wayne sent to learn, you must have lost him quite a bit of money," Ian suddenly understood, realizing the visitor was a bragging rookie author.

He often bragged too.

He understood this feeling.

Ian revealed a knowing look.

Castle touched his nose.

He felt Ian's gaze made him feel like he was sunbathing.

"Actually, your colored contacts look really nice... In fact, I think he wants me to mentor an author. Did I guess wrong? Not your father, but your mother?"

Castle first stared at Ian's eyes for a moment, then tactfully corrected Ian's incorrect statement. He couldn't very well feel angry because of a child's misunderstanding.

Castle was a mystery novelist.

After eliminating several possibilities, he also understood that the person in front of him was the author someone wanted him to mentor and guide. A teenage child indeed needed a sufficiently excellent mentor.

Castle felt narcissistic in his heart.

"That's just what he wants you to think. You don't understand Mr. Wayne's wisdom," Ian invited Castle into the house and even poured him a cup of yesterday's old tea.

He had always been well-mannered.

"Um... Earth Exploration Publishing is indeed a publishing house under Wayne Group... Wait, you mean the person who commissioned me to come here is Bruce Wayne?"

"The Bruce Wayne everyone knows? He's your family's relative!?" Castle, who had taken a sip of tea, seemed to finally realize this belatedly, his eyes widening.

Seeing Ian nod, he had the feeling that he would never get his promotional resources back in this lifetime.

"Actually not a relative, but my dad owes him some money, while he owes my dad several lives," Ian solemnly corrected Castle's statement. He was sizing up this writing apprentice that Bruce Wayne had sent over, wondering if there was also an opportunity to make him a member of his Ian Divine Cult.

Was there such a character in the DC Universe?

Ian couldn't be sure.

"Isn't this an even closer relationship than relatives..." Castle's intelligence might not be low. He figured out the character relationships and immediately felt the extraordinary nature of this family.

Owing so many favors.

No wonder they would have someone come to mentor their family's child in writing.

"Do you like writing very much?"

Castle asked tentatively.

"I don't like writing very much, I'm very good at writing... eat something," Ian enthusiastically started making lunch for Castle. He had to endure hunger but he could let others eat their fill.

This was Lord Ian's magnanimity.

"You don't need to be so polite."

Castle, who had sat down in the living room, quickly waved his hands.

"No, this is etiquette," Ian's voice came from the kitchen, accompanied by the clashing sounds of pots and pans. He directly boiled a large pot of water in the kitchen.

"Alright then, thanks. I actually haven't had lunch yet either. Do you need me to help?"

Castle thought perhaps people in Metropolis were all this hospitable.

He didn't want to refuse the child's kindness.

"My cooking skills are very good, trust me, I've read many cookbooks," Ian drove Castle out of the kitchen and even closed the door. Then he began putting all the parts he didn't like from the ingredients his mom had stockpiled in the refrigerator into one pot, which was all the broccoli, and that evil imported kangaroo meat.

As long as Castle ate it all, he wouldn't have to eat it. Ian's abacus was rattling loudly. American household stoves all had very low firepower, so Ian decided to let the family's kitchen utensils taste something good.

Looking back, the boy's eyes burst with golden light.

When the radiance gushed out from within, Ian reduced the power of the rays somewhat. For some reason the color didn't change, only the brightness decreased but Castle outside the kitchen door still sensed something abnormal.

"Is something burning?"

Castle saw eerie golden light leaking through the kitchen door cracks.

He became somewhat uneasy.

The scene of his own daughter stubbornly trying to cook for him began to surface.

"No, I'm making Chinese Master Chef cuisine, glowing is normal," Ian's calm answer was reasonable, but Castle became even more anxious.

His rich imagination made him start considering whether Ian was playing with alchemy inside.

"Damn! I should have done more detailed background checks," This was a world where supernatural phenomena truly existed, so Castle's suspicion that he had entered some evil wizard's lair was also reasonable. After all, he was a writer with sufficient imagination who had always been interested in the supernatural.

"Actually I'm not that hungry."

Castle wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Actually I'm not from your local area. I heard that Metropolis's specialty dishes are very good. I saw quite a few specialty dishes on the [Food Hunter] app."

"This is also a newly launched app from Wayne Group. I'm sure you've heard of it... so, how about we go out to eat? Or using the delivery function on this Food Hunter app would be good too."

"Wayne Group is integrating the national delivery industry, the delivery speed is really fast," Castle attempted to use somewhat unnatural, even problematic language organization to stop Ian's cooking.

His long speech only earned Ian's silence.

"..."

The golden light in the kitchen suddenly shook violently twice.

No one spoke.

"Um, are you still there?"

Castle carefully knocked on the door.

He suspected the boy had poisoned himself to death in the kitchen.

"Here, I've always been here~"

Ian's voice was very calm, however, separated by just a door, his expression had already become gradually twisted, his whole person as stiff as if struck by lightning.

This familiar app.

Cunning Batman!

Despicable Bruce!

That man was indeed a qualified capitalist!

The kind who should be hung from streetlamps for an extra dozen days!

"Is this the difference between a super capitalist and an ordinary capitalist like me," Ian understood. He felt he was about to turn dark. Tonight he was going to put Batman on gay dating websites overnight.

Post him a thousand times!

He would use New Tony Teacher's black technology box to lock Batman's information onto dating websites worldwide! The entire kitchen seemed to be filled with Ian's deep resentment.

Castle outside the door was completely unaware.

"Really won't try the new delivery service?"

He was still trying to persuade Ian.

"Wayne Company plagiarized a sage's creativity. I don't eat things they recommend," Ian looked down at the dish that had turned into a black mess due to his emotional fluctuations.

Wasting food was shameful.

This couldn't stump him.

After all, he had really read cookbooks.

"The countermeasure for this situation is very simple..." Ian organized his emotions and began to use a little trick, taking out several curry blocks and dumping them into the pot.

Thus, turning decay into magic.

The pitch-black cuisine became perfectly reasonable in appearance.

"Click~"

The kitchen door opened.

"Please enjoy."

When Ian came out carrying the "cuisine," he had already returned to his polite and courteous appearance. Looking at the food on the plate, Castle wasn't horrified but rather surprised.

"My God, this is the most authentic curry I've ever seen!" He exclaimed in admiration, feeling guilty for doubting the boy's cooking skills. He didn't expect the other party to really be an excellent chef.

Castle, full of anticipation, quickly picked up a spoon and took a bite.

The next moment, his joyful expression instantly froze.

His expression changed repeatedly, holding back for a long time.

"It at least looks very authentic."

The excellent writer used truly excellent descriptive words.

"Thank you."

Ian stared at Castle.

"..."

Castle clutched his spoon, not daring to take another bite, as a multimillionaire, he was really afraid of dying here, then having his daughter and old mom inherit his wealth and enjoy a life of extravagant spending in his place.

Quick thinking came into play.

"Gurgle~"

Castle stared at the plate of still slightly bubbling black substance.

His Adam's apple rolled up and down several times. At this moment, this bestselling author suddenly felt that compared to continuing this dangerous lunch, discussing literary creation seemed like a safer choice.

"Um, little guy, how about we talk about your work? I'm very interested in young authors' creations," Castle's way of changing the subject wasn't too abrupt.

After all, this was originally his purpose for coming here.

Hearing this, Ian was first stunned.

"Of course no problem, I've always been happy to share my work and teach those who seek knowledge," Ian's newly written manuscripts also needed someone to appreciate them.

With that, he rushed upstairs like a gust of wind, the wooden stairs creaking "thud thud thud" under his feet.

"Phew~ escaped the fate of death," Castle breathed a long sigh of relief. He knew this was his chance, finally having an opportunity to dispose of that terrible "cuisine."

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 105: The Great Source! Ian's Magic! (Part Two)

Breakfast was oatmeal with bacon sandwiches.

Whether it tasted good or not, Ian couldn't eat any.

"I can still evolve, but I need to be hungry for a while..." Ian had told so many truths this early morning, which was very rare. He reluctantly refused the sandwich his mom handed him.

"Why isn't Lady Death coming to find me?"

Ian looked around, not finding a target to feed. He was somewhat helpless, looking toward the second floor, "Jordan isn't eating breakfast because he's testing his room's soundproofing system."

"What about Jonathan?" Ian didn't see his big brother's figure and was somewhat confused, since according to convention, big brother Jonathan should have gotten up by now to start mixing his protein powder.

"He went out at six in the morning, said he was going to visit the church." Clark knew his son's whereabouts like the back of his hand. After a moment of silence, he added another sentence.

"He's indeed at the church right now."

This was obviously confirmation using his abilities. Ian really pitied his second brother, though he was also lucky, at least he still didn't know how perverted their old father's hearing was.

"Both of us need to work overtime today. You'd better not run out again and bring back strange things." Clark made serious instructions.

"Mm."

Ian nodded. He didn't refute his father's idea.

"Hey! How can you say Ian's car is a strange thing? She's so cool!" Lois directly refuted while pushing Clark's shoulder.

Clark went along with it, lying on the table to provide emotional value for Lois.

"Beep beep~"

The Hellcat's horn sounded outside.

"It's going to rain tonight, so you'd better take time to come back and help Ian's car build a room in the yard. Don't let that merciless rain drench my son's beloved little car."

Lois, having drunk alcohol, had quite a strong personality.

"Mm."

Clark nodded while lying on the table.

"Thank you, Dad."

Ian quickly expressed his thanks.

"No problem, just a car shed. I can put it up easily."

Clark tried to change the concept.

"It's a room! She's also a member of our family now, isn't she? She's also a girl. She told me personally last night... using her car radio."

Lois corrected Clark's statement.

"I knew my car was a female cat! I sensed it on the first day!" Ian was very happy. He once again proved he indeed possessed discernment abilities beyond ordinary people.

"Okay, a room. I understand."

Clark nodded helplessly.

"So, can I take you to work now? We're about to be late." He looked at the time, then picked up Lois, who was still holding a glass of red wine, and disappeared from the room.

Ian, who already considered himself incredibly powerful, didn't even notice the door opening and closing.

"..."

After a moment of silence.

"They must have gone through the window."

Ian could only comfort himself this way. Otherwise, what else could he do? He'd thought he was starting to close the gap with his old father, but somehow he now had the illusion that the gap was getting bigger.

"Clang~"

God definitely had a grudge against Ian.

Otherwise, why would Ian just mention windows and immediately hear something hitting the window? Any coincidence in the world could definitely be blamed on God.

"I wonder what Jonathan is doing at church. Dating a Catholic girl?" Ian secretly speculated while walking toward the source of the noise.

He saw the window was tightly closed, with spider web-like cracks in the window glass. In the center of the cracks, a black fly was stuck there, its six legs constantly twitching.

"This head is almost as big as my little finger. What does it eat to grow so fat?" Carefully pinching the fly's back, he extracted it from the glass crack.

"A fly clan monk exhausted all his strength in one strike to fight the upper realm, but unfortunately fell victim to an immortal's poisonous hand." Ian stared at the fly in his hand. The fly was still alive with no intention of dying.

This guy even struggled twice in his fingertips, its wings buzzing. It had the feeling of a genius fly clan.

"Huh, quite energetic?" Ian raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He carefully examined the black fly in his hand, feeling it was different from ordinary flies. This fly's shell had a weird metallic luster in the sunlight, and its compound eyes were more blood-red than usual flies.

"This is when we need to call in a professional." Ian still remembered that the appearance of demons could always be connected with flies, so he believed there must be a very special bond between the two.

Thump thump thump up the stairs.

Ian pulled the demon skull out of the cabinet.

"Taste this for me. Is there a demon attached to it?" Ian made a reasonable guess, but things seemed different from what he imagined.

Before the demon skull could react, Ian stuffed a live fly into its mouth. It instinctively chewed twice, then suddenly contracted its cloudy pupils.

"Mmm——!"

It made a sound between pain and pleasure, then swallowed. After a long while, it spoke with shock in its voice, "Really energetic. This is definitely not an ordinary fly."

The demon bull head was confidently spouting nonsense again.

"No demonic scent?"

Ian pressed for an answer.

"No." The demon skull honestly gave its answer. It savored the taste, its expression becoming increasingly amazed. It even felt its strength had slightly improved.

That was the feeling of digesting some kind of soul.

"It must be a Kryptonian fly."

The demon's tone was extremely certain.

"I have a relative who ate a Kryptonian soul. My relative described exactly this taste." It did have some authority, but didn't seem too authoritative.

Similar to the "I heard from a friend" type.

"You mean this fly grew up eating my dad's super Oreos and drinking my dad's super iced tea, becoming a super fly bit by bit?"

Ian furrowed his brow with an expression of disbelief.

The air suddenly went quiet.

"..."

The demon bull head was very silent.

A few seconds later, it carefully spoke.

"Great Ian God, I think things shouldn't be like that. A reasonable guess would be that it's a mutated fly that escaped from some laboratory."

"Perhaps your scientists, who are more insane than demons, used Kryptonian blood to cultivate this kind of fly, causing it to develop a soul it shouldn't possess."

The demon skull made a cautious analysis.

"Blood is also bodily fluid."

Ian stroked his chin and thought for a while, feeling this guy's meaning was about the same as what he'd expressed. For this kind of plagiarism of creative ideas, he directly gave it a slam dunk to the forehead.

The demon skull dared to be angry but not speak.

It had no idea what it had said wrong.

Indeed, being with a ruler was like being with a tiger.

The more it made the demon feel uneasy, the more it had that kingly unpredictability of a true hell sovereign. Thinking this way, the demon skull saw Ian run out of the room again and start searching throughout the house.

"Are there other flies?"

Ian wanted to find a second mutated fly.

Especially the bathroom. Ian turned it upside down.

However, after busying himself for half a day and even searching outside the house, he couldn't find a second fly inside the home.

He'd also searched outside, not only finding no mutated flies but not even discovering any suspicious vehicles.

"Can you spit it out? I think there must be evil people behind it." Ian returned to his room somewhat helplessly, picked up the demon skull, and softened his tone.

However, this made the demon skull tremble even more.

"Great Ian God..."

It was on the verge of tears.

"Do you think I'm that capable?"

The demon skull's voice was filled with timid and slight fear.

It was afraid this was Ian's new way of tormenting it, but it obviously underestimated Ian's personal qualities. Ian wasn't being unreasonable, just sighed and scratched his head.

"Still too inexperienced. When encountering this kind of weird thing, I should have first let my Uncle Batman taste it." Ian was truly reflecting on his handling method.

The demon bull head didn't dare respond, just wanted to change the subject.

"Can you make your second brother stop?" It sighed heavily. Obviously, the soundproofing cotton set Jordan had bought from who knows where hadn't even defended against its ears.

"Just awakened, unlocked new gameplay. It's all like this." Ian was quite understanding of his second brother, because he knew his second brother truly had depression accompanied by social anxiety disorder.

Jordan had even gone to see a psychologist earlier than he had. Jordan had always pretended he'd never seen a psychologist. There was a reason he knew Ian's medication could be sold at school.

"Sigh."

The demon skull sighed again.

"But it's been three hours."

It mainly felt trembling listening to this sound, since Ian would at most hit and torment it, but the little devil in the other room had much more terrifying intentions toward it.

"Have you seen the comic I drew last night? Captain America can fight Iron Man for a whole day. After my second brother awakens, of course he can also fight himself for a whole day."

"Give him time to adapt."

Ian didn't continue paying attention to the bull head's hesitation. He just silently put on headphones and took out the other demon from the cabinet that had changed back into "Ian's Genesis God Book."

"Done reflecting? Time to evolve after reflecting." Ian still needed to continue starving anyway. Since he was just sitting around, he naturally had to conduct reasonable research on the resources in his hands.

With a slight application of thinking ability, Ian immediately understood that language wasn't the product carrying thought, brain matter was. So he lowered his head and pressed his forehead firmly against "Ian's Genesis God Book."

Definitely not a lucky accident. Pure wisdom was at work.

Golden radiance seeped out from between the book pages like countless tiny light snakes swimming across the paper surface. Ian's consciousness began to merge with this collection from the Demon King.

...

At the same time, in the Marvel universe at Kamar-Taj.

Doctor Strange sat cross-legged at a low table in the library, with magic tomes spread before him emanating the faint scent of parchment. He was meditating with closed eyes when suddenly, an unusual magical fluctuation made him snap his eyes open.

"What is this...?"

His gaze locked onto "Ian's Magic Book" at the corner of the table. It was glowing, golden light pulsing like breathing, pages turning without wind, rustling as if calling to him.

"Magic is being born..."

Doctor Strange frowned, cautiously reaching for the book. The moment his fingertips touched it, the light on the pages suddenly blazed, and an unfamiliar magical power instantly surged into his body through his fingertips!

"This is bad!"

He instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but found he couldn't move. Some invisible contract was rapidly forming, magical power flowing through his body, ultimately carving a brand deep in his soul.

"This... is this what that guy meant by establishing a connection with a dimensional demon god?!"

Doctor Strange's face changed drastically. He tried to sever the magical connection, but the contract was already complete, like an invisible net firmly binding his soul.

"Damn it!"

Doctor Strange was shocked and horrified. He'd never encountered such a situation. As the Sorcerer Supreme, magic had always been under his control, not controlling him.

The Ancient One was lying again!

"I need to save myself. No, there's no way to save myself now. But perhaps this isn't a bad thing. After all, that guy said before that this was how mages used to practice magic."

Doctor Strange forced himself to calm down and carefully sense the contract's content. It was better not to sense it. Once he did, the thirty-something man just wanted to cry frantically.

He was thunderstruck into rigidity.

"What do you mean if I try to violate the contract, I have to forcibly surrender half my magic power?! And the magic power I accumulate in daily practice needs to pay thirty percent tribute? What kind of ghost contract says this is called magic power income tax?!" Doctor Strange's pupils contracted violently, his fingers trembling slightly. The contemporary Sorcerer Supreme experienced what it meant to be thoroughly vicious for the first time.

The risks of dealing with dimensional demon gods were known to the world for the first time.

"Such a huge cost?!" Doctor Strange completely panicked, frantically flipping through pages, "What about the benefits? Didn't they say I could borrow power and receive magical gifts?!"

The pages rustled as they turned. On the blank pages, golden text slowly appeared.

Indeed, there was a display of unique magical power from the dimensional demon god.

"This..."

Doctor Strange stared fixedly at the page.

His brain crashed.

"Evil demon! It really is an evil demon!" Doctor Strange directly cried, truly cried, wailing loudly. His face was as white as an inexperienced sheet of paper.

There was magic, but did he dare learn it?

"No way! Is this magic meant for humans to learn?"

Doctor Strange's mentality completely exploded. He felt he'd been deeply schemed against. Everything was a trap. How could such magic exist in this world?

Look! Look at what was recorded in this magic book! The first magic that dimensional demon god recorded in the book was actually trying to teach people how to turn the appendix in their body into a storage bag!

Dimensional demon god, was his mind really normal?

Or did non-human creatures all think using appendixes as storage bags was useful and fashionable?

...

New York's night wind carried a slightly cool dampness, shuttling between high-rises with low moans. Gwen Stacy sat on her family apartment's windowsill, legs dangling in the air. Hundreds of meters below her feet was the brilliantly lit city spread out beneath her like a fallen galaxy.

She didn't look down, just sat quietly, fingers lightly tapping the window frame in a scattered rhythm, like some unconscious habit.

The night wind brushed through the girl's blonde hair, the strands shimmering silver-white in the moonlight.

"Ian... Tony... Spider-Man..." She whispered these names softly, her voice so light it was almost scattered by the wind, her mind still a chaotic mess of fragmented memories.

"Is this how it is."

In her soft murmur, she reached behind her back.

"Thwip!"

A thin strand of webbing shot from her wrist, precisely sticking to the corner closet door. However, when the closet door opened, it didn't contain what should have been there according to her fragmented memories.

"What's wrong with me."

Gwen covered her wrist, somewhat confused.

"Why am I so familiar with the name Spider-Man, and that boy." She stood up on the balcony, completely unafraid of the high altitude beneath her feet.

"Whew..."

Gwen took a deep breath, lightly pushed off with her toes, performing an action she'd done many times in this city, relying on abilities of unknown origin to wander aimlessly.

Like most people with special abilities, she had adapted to high altitudes early on. This morning, when Ian had taken her "flying," this girl's fearless reaction to heights was naturally because she was already accustomed to high places.

Her body instantly left the windowsill, gravity pulling her toward the ground. Wind howled in her ears, but her eyes remained unusually calm. As she fell to mid-air, Gwen's wrist suddenly flicked, webbing shooting out to stick to a distant building's exterior wall. Her body suddenly stopped, then swung out using the momentum.

"Perhaps I really should do something for this city."

Gwen was like a streak of black and white lightning cutting through New York's night sky.

...

In an old apartment building in Queens.

Peter Parker slammed the door shut heavily, blocking out the outside noise. His breathing was labored, his fingers unconsciously clenched, nails digging deep into his palms.

"Damn it! Someone actually dared mock me!"

His voice was low and hoarse, like some beast's growl. Without turning on the lights, Peter Parker went straight to the bathroom and slammed his fist into the mirror above the sink.

"Crack——!"

The glass instantly shattered, spider web-like cracks spreading from the impact point. Blood dripped from his knuckles, but he felt no pain.

The boy slowly raised his head, staring at his shattered reflection in the mirror.

He saw crimson eyes flickering in the darkness, his mouth corners twisting as if something sharp was trying to pierce through his skin and emerge from between his lips. Sharp pain shot through his mouth, the piercing sensation making the dancing boy bend over, his hands gripping the sink edge tightly.

"Agh——!"

Very painful.

"What is... this?" Peter's voice trembled as he reached up to touch his face, his fingertips clearly feeling some abnormal writhing beneath his skin.

Those were fangs.

...

Evil might not have existed when the world was first born, but it would always be conceived.

Of course, justice was the same.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

SUP Chapter 105: The Great Source! Ian's Magic! (Part One)

Gotham's night was always so deep and somber.

Batman was the eternal flower language of this city. Ian, listening to the howls of Gotham's freaks on the other end of the phone, couldn't help but furrow his brow and speak softly to Batman.

"Is this Gotham-style father-son bonding time... You Gotham people are really weird." His superhuman hearing had already detected the suspicious nature hidden within the chaotic background noise from the other end of the phone.

This might also be related to the excellent sound quality restoration of the phone Batman had given him.

"Hmm?" Batman didn't stop his actions, but his voice still came through the phone, "The help you've received, can it also let you monitor me through the phone?"

What a suspicious Gotham weirdo.

Ian heard the sound of Batman dismantling his phone for inspection.

"I'm simply using my super hearing to distinguish things. Even if I don't often hit people, I can still tell the difference between two hands hitting people and four hands hitting people."

Ian believed Batman wouldn't grow four hands overnight, after all, Batman wasn't a Pokémon and wouldn't evolve into Gotham Machamp just from drinking two extra sips of Gotham's toxic water.

"..."

There was no response from the other end of the phone, only more intense fighting sounds. Ian could even imagine Batman striking mercilessly while a child beside him followed suit.

The most authentic Gotham underworld perhaps needed to be cultivated from childhood.

"There aren't many people who can provide you with help. I'll find out who it is." Batman seemed to be taking a break mid-fight, holding the phone and making a "promise" to Ian in his deep voice.

"I don't think you'll find them."

Ian was very honest but Batman had never really liked his honesty.

"We'll see."

Batman spoke with confidence, then immediately hung up the call with Ian, only to discover he couldn't hang up. He fell into another bout of heavy breathing silence.

People who used too much technology breathed like that.

Ian wasn't surprised and Batman could only vent his anger on the villain who thought the "game" was already over.

We still don't know who this poor villain actually was.

"Liar, all liars, the sky clearly doesn't rain cherry blossoms when you're angry!"

"The Joker deceived me!"

...

Before Batman removed the battery and crushed the phone, Ian could only hear this unnamed villain gentleman crying out to Batman in a voice that sounded like shattered dreams.

"I was wondering why Gotham people don't make a sound when they're beaten, turns out crying only happens when dreams are shattered." Ian had an epiphany and once again reinforced his stereotypical impression of Gotham.

"It's clearly iris petals falling, obviously didn't read my book carefully. Such fans are simply inferior fans." Ian put away the magical black box that the new Teacher Tony had given him.

Moonlight streamed through the window curtain gaps, carving a silver line across the floor.

He stared at that ray of light for a while, not continuing to work on his manuscript. After all, he'd already obtained the ability, so naturally he became lazy, just like some online authors who disappear for a day or two after receiving their manuscript fees.

Of course, Ian wasn't that kind of lowly author but slight laziness was still an occupational fate he couldn't escape.

"Speaking of occupations, I remember I should still have a new profession to unlock." Ian pressed down on the alcohol bottle, squeezing out some disinfectant to wipe his hands and face.

This was to avoid bad luck and encountering terrible job transfer conditions.

From today onwards, he would give mysticism a little trust. Of course, he had to believe in science too, so there was no bathing and changing clothes ritual. Wiping his entire body with alcohol was much purer than bathing and changing clothes.

After doing all this, Ian then set fire... well, actually there was no fire. He simply opened his personal panel and switched to the profession selection interface.

[New Profession Unlocked]

[Currently Available Professions: 1]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord: When the cloak stirs spacetime folds and the scepter shatters dimensional barriers, the entire world will become a footnote to its power in the dirge of entropy annihilation.]

The only unlock icon kept flashing. The name of this unlockable profession [Entropy Annihilation Lord] was very conspicuous, and the system's profession description always looked so passionate.

"Actually, this kind of description would be better if we set a grand goal, like making Galactus become a knockoff Ian." Ian tried to persuade his system to change the profession description.

That way, when the moment came that Superman was called a knockoff Ian, he could throw all the blame on the system.

It was a good plan but unfortunately, the system didn't fall for it.

It maintained its consistently aloof attitude, giving no response to any of Ian's words.

"Boring."

Ian sighed and selected the [Entropy Annihilation Lord] option and bound the profession. Like the [Savage Tyrant] profession, it set no third profession entry threshold for Ian.

There was only an on-site activation job transfer task. With Ian's confirmation, instantly, lines of text appeared, exceptionally clear in a field of vision only he could see.

[Job Transfer Condition: Maintain hunger state for 48 hours, then consume any planetary metal minerals.]

Such job transfer conditions seemed harsh, and indeed they were very harsh. The metal minerals part was manageable, since Earth should be one of the "any planets."

However, the forty-eight hours of starvation was definitely the most troublesome job transfer task Ian had ever encountered. He could already feel the deep malice from the Planetary Starver.

"The bad news has been seen, so the good news..." Ian looked at the countdown in the lower left corner of his vision, where the [43:32] countdown was obviously the good news.

The law of luck conservation was still consistently correct.

The time he spent in the Marvel universe would also be counted in this hunger countdown. Of course, even so, Ian, who had always been gluttonous, felt this ordeal would definitely be the greatest challenge he'd faced in his lifetime.

"Simply trying to starve Lord Ian to death." Ian would occasionally try to converse with the system, not out of loneliness, but because he was always dedicated to gaslighting his own system.

Moreover, he had quite a few speculations about this system in his heart.

"You must be the Pangu car system installed on that Great Fortune Celestial that hit me!" The probe received no response. Ian, who had originally planned to go to the kitchen to eat something, could only lie back on his bed.

"Abyssal Magic Bucket, it's your turn to guest star as an abyssal speaker..." Ian couldn't sleep, so he called the demon skull to sing him a lullaby, but this damn thing's broken gong voice sang even worse than his own.

"Ah ah ah~"

The demon skull began singing with full emotion.

"Baby shatter my dear little sacrifice~~"

It began howling with a voice comparable to a rusty door hinge.

"Damn it! I wanted a lullaby!" Ian didn't dare use his socks to stuff the demon skull's mouth, since the demon skull that had awakened some strange attributes might think that was a reward.

"This is what lullabies in hell sound like."

After hearing Ian's scolding, the demon skull's wrinkled bull face was completely filled with grievance. It was hard to imagine it had grown up listening to this kind of thing.

"Shut up, shut up."

Ian didn't dare continue listening and just at that moment.

"Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop~"

Outside the window, the Hellcat's car stereo suddenly started playing the classic American traditional lullaby "Rock-a-Bye Baby." It had probably been eavesdropping on the movements in Ian's room all along.

The sound quality was great, comparable to vinyl records.

Competition between demons was just so plain and simple.

"Now that's more like it."

Ian didn't blame the Hellcat for eavesdropping. He was very empathetic and knew how difficult it was for hardworking bootlickers. He'd never been a bootlicker himself, but he had several at school.

At least the Hellcat didn't want to sleep with him, so he was very willing to empathize with it.

"Great Ian God, I have already felt your divine power. It can definitely grant me perfect singing ability." The demon skull was obviously unwilling to have its attention stolen.

It wanted to get a second chance and Ian's blessing.

"Is that so?"

Ian was still tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He couldn't help but wonder whether Teacher Tony had truly become a thing of the past. Would there really never again be a man who would call him Iron Man?

They hadn't known each other long, so there certainly weren't many feelings involved.

It was simply because this wasn't the Marvel universe Ian had hoped to see.

So the boy was somewhat troubled.

"I felt it... your magical power belonging to a demon god... although not much is emanating, this must be you testing my observational skills regarding details." The demon skull opened those cloudy eyes, which it thought contained wisdom, its voice hoarse and reverent.

"Magic power?"

Ian thought of what Tony had said about him becoming the [source] of a new emerging force. He sprang up from bed with a carp leap, instantly energized.

"So, what does it feel like to possess magic power?"

Since returning to DC, Ian had actually already noticed changes in himself, but couldn't describe what kind of changes. It was just like his head was filled with water, feeling cool and breezy.

"Uh, the feeling of having magic power?" The demon skull fell silent for a while, seemingly racking its brains to figure out how to explain an ultra-dimensional experience to a human.

Finally, it answered dryly, "Probably... having sufficient magic power feels full, lacking it feels hungry?"

The bull-headed demon's words were like saying nothing at all.

"I really should install a horse's mouth on you." Getting out of bed barefoot, stepping on the cold floor, he came to his desk and turned on his desk lamp again.

The warm yellow halo carved out a small territory in the darkness.

"If I remember correctly, this book supposedly can create things that don't exist?" Ian still remembered what the hell prince had said before becoming a "Spicy Prince" snack.

He pulled out that "Ian's Genesis God Book" from behind his butt. The cover was still that chaotic design, but now had a tiny bit of golden radiance.

"A more great source?"

Ian picked up his pen to draw, but as soon as the pen tip touched the paper, the ink was wiped away by some invisible force and quickly dissipated. Ian frowned and tried again.

The result was the same.

At this moment, perhaps sensing Ian's dissatisfaction, a line of bold text suddenly appeared on the page:

"Ian's Incorrectly Used Genesis God Book"

The self-aware book even enlarged the font specifically, afraid Ian couldn't see it and would angrily throw it in his mouth and chew it. At least in this book's view, this was truly possible.

"Heh? I'm using it incorrectly? The only thing incorrect is how you look!" After Ian finished speaking, he saw the name "Ian's Incorrectly Used Genesis God Book" change again to "Ian's Book of Self-Reflection."

It had to be said, it surrendered the fastest.

It didn't even try to be stubborn for even a moment.

"..."

Ian felt no sense of achievement.

"You deserve to sit at the same table as this head."

He snapped the book shut with a "clap" and turned to stuff it into the cabinet where the demon skull was located, "If you dare give birth to a litter of demon babies, I guarantee very bad things will happen."

This was preventive measures, since humans had never known demons' reproduction methods.

"????"

Under the watchful eyes of the demon skull and the book that had grown a round, bulging little eye, Ian walked back to his bedside. He'd just lain down for two seconds when he threw off the covers and ran back to the desk.

He didn't touch that broken book, just pulled out an ordinary piece of drawing paper, spread it out, and flattened it.

"Won't know unless I try." The paintbrush spun once at his fingertips. Ian stared at the blank paper surface, remained silent for a while, then began to put pen to paper.

Stroke by stroke. The pen tip lightly touched the paper surface.

When the first line fell, it seemed to awaken some long-dormant memory.

"At least, I tried my best."

Ian kept switching between different colored paintbrushes. The outline of red-gold armor gradually emerged, with the arc reactor's blue light spreading across the paper. The desk lamp's light reflected on the drawing paper, coating the lines of mortal and steel with a layer of soft warm color, as if they might leap from the paper surface at any moment.

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

[You are creating, Writer experience +1]

...

This was Iron Man's story.

The night outside was deep, with occasional wind blowing through the treetops, rustling softly. Ian didn't stop drawing, continuing to sketch as if the lines and shadows could find their own direction to extend.

Drawing worlds with a pen. Every stroke was a memory. Every line was also a different kind of connection.

The boy stayed up all night.

Outside the window, the first ray of morning light penetrated the clouds, landing right on those drawings. In the interplay of light and shadow, Ian's Writer profession also welcomed another upgrade at this moment.

[Writer LV3 (1/40)]

"No one knows how hard it is to suppress my world-shocking talent... don't disappoint me too much." Ian stopped drawing and put away his pen. After checking the time, he grabbed a hard drive from the desk.

This was something he'd brought back from the Marvel world.

The new Teacher Tony's knowledge base wasn't as good as Teacher Tony's. The technical data he provided was almost entirely military products. Stark Industries without Tony Stark was a thoroughly military enterprise.

Before the time was ripe, Ian didn't think he had the conditions to manufacture military equipment.

It wasn't that he lacked the relevant background, but if he dared say he wanted to start a company manufacturing weapons of mass destruction right now, his old father would definitely let him know what real weapons of mass destruction were.

That's how it was before coming of age. After coming of age, what else would he want to build?

"The invincible Ian Spin Super Invincible Thunderbolt Missile can only see the light of day and illuminate people's faces after I trick Jonathan into being my company's legal representative."

Ian knew where such precious things should be stored.

"Knock knock knock~"

He knocked on his parents' bedroom door. After getting a response, he opened the door and, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, stepped inside and went straight under his parents' bed.

"Ian, what are you doing? Did you forget to say good morning?" Lois's head hung down from the bed, her long hair dragging to the floor in a messy state.

She looked like Sadako, staring at Ian under the bed.

"No, do you know how tiring it is to lay flooring?" The second head to peek down belonged to Clark, whose expression was equally full of confusion.

The two just watched as Ian pried up the floorboard and stuffed a black hard drive inside. Subsequently, the well-prepared boy began repairing the floor under the bed.

"I hope that's not a bomb."

Lois felt around the bedside but couldn't find her "reasonable potion."

"I just stored some knowledge in there."

Ian honestly gave a response. His "floor laying" work proceeded very quickly, and he even put on special sealing tape to prevent Clark from inspecting it after he left.

[Whoever peeks will step on kryptonite every day when going out, plus pig shit.] This was actually just a declarative act. At least in this family, parents generally respected children's emphasis on privacy.

"..."

"..."

Clark and Lois both turned their heads, hanging upside down as they gazed at each other, seeming to communicate through eye contact. Clark spoke on Lois's behalf.

"The knowledge you mentioned, is it the kind of knowledge we all understand, or the knowledge that Jonathan 'passed down' to you?" Clark used extremely euphemistic vocabulary, speaking carefully.

"Probably the kind that can irradiate the world, making everyone as radiant as the East Sea and live as long as epiphyllum flowers." Ian crawled out from under the bed bit by bit.

His American idioms weren't standard, so neither of the highly educated parents could figure out what he meant.

"What is he saying?"

"If you could use super speed to help me get a bottle of wine, I'd definitely understand." Lois and Clark just watched as Ian stood up and scampered out of the room.

"Batman couldn't steal my hard drive." Ian firmly believed this, because Dad's private money was also hidden in a corner of the room, so Clark would definitely monitor 24/7.

This was the safest place in the world.

Everyone in the Kent family was good at finding their own Fortress of Solitude. Not just the youngest son, when Ian left his parents' room, he heard the sound of his second brother Jordan renovating his room.

Foolish Jordan actually thought whole-house soundproofing cotton could deal with Superman's super hearing. What was this called? This was called ignorance. Not studying physics properly led to this when grown up.

The advertisements claimed it could defend against Superman, and Jordan actually believed it.

"Only bullying superheroes who don't dare come forward to sue them." Ian sighed at the capitalists' cunning. He hadn't even walked back to his room when he found his dad standing in front of him.

"Why didn't my super vision activate..."

Ian really hadn't reacted at all, feeling Clark's speed was even faster than before. This wasn't scientific at all, and even talking about mysticism, he felt it was somewhat inexplicable.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

Clark had long noticed Ian's abnormality. Lois said Ian was playing with colored contacts, but only he could see clearly that there were no foreign objects in Ian's eyes at all.

Those golden, brilliant eyes were Ian's own eyes.

"I've awakened again."

Ian began telling today's share of truth.

Upon hearing this, Clark immediately became alert.

"What awakened?" Not only did his expression change, but even his facial features changed. The poor old man had only been in bed for less than two hours.

He didn't want to cause another misunderstanding.

Without even turning around, Clark could already sense Lois leaning against the door frame.

The old father stared at Ian frantically, truly frantically, the kind of eye-squinting and eyebrow-wiggling that could spend two days at Arkham.

"What I awakened was my potential as a Super Saiyan. Do you know about Super Saiyans? If you don't know, I'll take time to draw them for you tomorrow. As warriors who maintain cosmic peace, the Saiyans of the M78 Nebula usually project their bloodline onto Earthlings with considerable aptitude for various reasons."

"Of course, accepting this bloodline means that in the future I'll also have to deal with various little monsters invading Earth." Ian received the hint signals from his dad that could be received by Pluto.

"Is that so?"

Lois was stunned by Ian's serious explanation.

"Of course it is!"

Clark's tone was firm and powerful. He didn't care about Saiyans or not-Saiyans. As long as it wasn't Kryptonians, that was cause for celebration. Not understanding didn't mean he wouldn't firmly stand on Ian's side.

"Just fighting monsters, not becoming monsters. It doesn't sound so worrying?" Lois stared at Ian's golden eyes but didn't detect any bad signs.

"Yeah, my mutation is very environmentally friendly. If you don't believe me, I can go downstairs and help you boil some water."

Ian nodded. He was still very considerate. He'd become a Super Saiyan, Dad was at ease, Mom was happy, and everyone had a beautiful future.

The whole family wins together.

"Forget it, forget it. Let me go boil the water. You two get dressed and don't wander around in your pajamas." Lois put on a robe and scurried downstairs.

Ian didn't know if the refrigerator door had opened, but both he and Clark heard the liquor cabinet door open.

"Oh, I see. I understand again."

Lois seemed to finally completely understand Ian's explanation.

Very reasonable. After all, the Reasonable Hero had grasped her loyal alcohol.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 130: Transcendent Talent, Terrifying Panel!

Taking the nutritional paste handed over by Snake, Cheng Ye sipped it in small mouthfuls, the warm liquid sliding down his throat, slowly suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

Strangely, those shocking images experienced in the intelligence space, the life-level oppression brought by the Flame Eagle, the eeriness of the Corrupt Vine corroding flesh and blood, the ferocity of Liu Kun's maniacal roars...

All the images quickly faded after emerging, like having had a dream where you could clearly remember what happened in the dream but couldn't recall specific details, leaving only blurred outlines.

Especially the Flame Eagle. When he carefully recalled it now, he inexplicably felt like it wasn't particularly special, as if it were just a somewhat unique mutant creature.

"This is actually good. Otherwise, if the mental imprint left behind was too deep, it would inevitably show in expressions or actions, letting people see through the deception."

Cheng Ye finished one packet, then took another from the box Snake handed over and continued sucking, while silently calculating everything he had seen in the intelligence space and the key points revealed in Liu Kun's roars.

At this point, he was ninety-nine percent certain that Liu Kun's transcendent obsession, even if it was something deeper, was definitely deeply bound to the word "rules."

So when he conducted inspections according to the standards in the duty manual, Liu Kun's compatibility steadily increased.

Those meticulous registrations and patient, gentle inquiries exactly hit Liu Kun's basic expectations for "order."

But precisely because of this, the reason the compatibility was stuck at 80% became increasingly clear.

Cheng Ye's mind flashed through the densely packed list of editors on the last few pages of the manual. Although he hadn't counted specifically how many people there were before, the list filled four full pages, densely packed with at least close to two hundred names.

Many were information provided by inspectors from other sanctuary cities, with additional excerpts from suggestions by many outsiders with consultant titles, clearly a product compiled through collective effort.

Moreover, the layout was special, not sorted by contribution level but arranged in alphabetical order by first letter.

This made it very difficult for him to precisely judge which parts were personally written by Liu Kun and which came from others.

If the clauses he was strictly following happened to be redundant rules that Liu Kun looked down upon, or even content he had vehemently opposed when writing back then, the compatibility naturally couldn't break through the upper limit.

And there was an even more crucial matter. Even if his luck was extremely good and he perfectly hit all the rules Liu Kun had written, at most it would only satisfy him, never reaching 100% compatibility.

Because compliance is passive, like a student reciting standard answers from a textbook. The teacher might nod in approval but would never cooperate with the student as an equal because of it.

Full compatibility required recognition, acknowledgment from the heart of his rule logic, even being able to walk further along his line of thinking and propose extended solutions that even he himself hadn't fully articulated.

Just like what he had proposed to Ding Yishan, needing to open a skylight for the other party.

This meant the relationship between the two had to undergo subtle transformation, at least standing on similar levels.

He couldn't let Liu Kun think from the bottom of his heart that he was just a small fry, an ordinary inspector who only knew how to follow the manual. That would never yield 100% compatibility.

"That requires me to precisely identify the parts he wrote and extend from those parts."

"Or..."

Cheng Ye continued his deduction, his mind beginning to simulate conversation scenarios with Liu Kun.

If he only worked from the rules in the manual, in such a short time, even with the intelligence space extending analysis time, it would be very difficult to truly exceed Liu Kun's expectations.

Forcing extensions might backfire, making Liu Kun notice deliberate pandering, triggering wariness, causing compatibility to drop instead of rise.

He had to be clever about it.

And coincidentally, the intelligence he obtained from the intelligence space, besides Liu Kun's ultimate recognition of rules, had another even more important aspect.

Liu Kun extremely craved power, individual power!

This might sound like nonsense. Which transcendent wouldn't crave becoming stronger?

But Liu Kun was different. His obsession with power seemed to have reached a maniacal degree, actually daring to inject infection sources directly into his body for fusion testing.

This obsession definitely far exceeded other transcendents and had already affected his judgment about rules.

Thinking this, Cheng Ye paused, his thoughts becoming clear like untied knots.

Then, time to try!

Draining the second packet of nutritional paste in one gulp, Cheng Ye hesitated no more. He was never one to be indecisive.

Rather than standing in place speculating about ten thousand possibilities, better to take the first step.

And if this opportunity was lost, there would be a next time, many more times.

As long as Liu Kun remained in Happiness City, within this inspection station's sphere of influence, sooner or later he would search out the opponent's abilities completely.

Whatever Flame Eagle, whatever transcendent power, sooner or later, they would all become possessions in his bag.

And now, attempting to break through Liu Kun's compatibility was the most important link.

Do this link well, and future searches would only become smoother and smoother!

The ten-plus minutes of heating nutritional paste coincided with peak crowd flow. Several dozen more people poured into Quarantine Zone B. Nearly a hundred scavengers stood under the passage sheltering from rain, their purple-cold hands tucked into each other's sleeves, the white breath they exhaled instantly dissipating in the cold wind.

"Snake."

"Sir."

"For those who queued first, distribute according to the two-packet quota. For those who came later, one packet each. Don't heat too many, let them distribute themselves."

"Understood."

Snake nodded in acknowledgment. Actually, according to inspection station rules, those who came later didn't need to receive nutritional paste because nutritional paste was prepared for those queuing for inspection, considered compensation for taking up their time.

But Inspector Cheng's "kindheartedness" had become familiar to all duty personnel at South Station over the past two days since Cheng Ye distributed the beef leg.

Snake wasn't surprised by this instruction.

Soon, staff heated nutritional paste according to headcount, placed it in insulated boxes, and Snake delivered it through the window under the isolation net.

"Everyone follow the rules! Those who queued first take two packets, latecomers take one packet! Inspector Cheng considers you've been freezing hard enough. Don't fight, don't damage the boxes, or you'll compensate me at full price!"

The crowd erupted in suppressed cheers, like a frozen river suddenly opening a gap.

Some rubbed their hands and crowded forward, others stood on tiptoes counting the heads in front of them.

Initially, there was some order, but today's weather was really too cold. Everyone wanted to get warm nutritional paste into their arms early, and the queue gradually twisted into a knot.

"Stop pushing, you bastard! Don't you know how to queue?"

"Damn, who stepped on my foot!"

"Which son of a bitch poked me? Want to die?"

As soon as the cursing started, Cheng Ye suddenly stood up, waved at Snake, and turned toward the inspection area behind, looking like he was going to relieve himself.

At this, the last bit of restraint in the crowd completely collapsed.

"Damn, giving you face!"

Someone shouted, and the previously maintained formation instantly scattered.

Some spread their arms to push others aside, some directly lunged at the insulated box to grab what they could, and a few particularly sturdy ones charged forward like knocking down scarecrows.

Those who came later should have only taken one packet each, but a bearded burly man directly grabbed two packets in his hands, elbowed backward to knock a skinny young man staggering, then squeezed out of the crowd with the packets, leaning against the wall to tear open the packaging while grinning at the chaotic crowd, revealing yellowed and blackened teeth.

Even worse, some who already had two packets stuffed in their arms grabbed a third one during the chaos and hid it in their waistband, shrinking their necks and slinking away from the crowd.

The insulated box quickly emptied.

Liu Kun had been standing at the edge of the crowd, his hat brim pulled very low. Only when the shoving around him slowed down did he move forward two steps.

But when he reached the window, the box was already empty. He had been among the first batch to queue and should have received two packets according to rules, but now he hadn't even gotten dregs.

Not far away, several scavengers who had also queued earliest were cursing with red eyes, "I queued for half an hour and didn't get a single packet!"

"Those bad seeds took three packets! Where are the rules!"

The curses were full of resentment, but no one dared to actually confront them.

Those burly men who had taken extra were leaning against the wall roots drinking their paste, hearing the curses only lazily lifting their eyes to glance, some even showing slight smiles as if they had heard praise.

This was reality, this was the wasteland.

Without crossing the isolation net, without passing inspection to step back into Happiness City's territory, this place still belonged to the wasteland.

The law of the jungle wouldn't disappear due to an inspector's mercy, but would become even more real because if they were robbed in the wasteland, they wouldn't even dare fart, only slink away.

It was only standing here that they could stretch their necks and curse a few times.

"Huh?"

"The compatibility didn't drop, it actually increased?"

Cheng Ye shook water droplets from his hands as he emerged from the back area, glancing at the chaos outside without needing to look closely to know what had happened.

He said nothing, just pulled out the chair behind the inspection desk and sat down, his expression slightly grim.

However, surprisingly, Liu Kun's compatibility jumped up again slightly, increasing by 0.7% to reach 81.4%, completely unaffected by the external chaos.

Could it be that he felt the outside chaos had nothing to do with him as an inspector?

That was indeed the case.

Liu Kun's gaze was indifferent, completely unconcerned with the farce that had just occurred.

He had led teams to even more chaotic areas, seen too many scavengers who would draw knives over a bite of food, and personally experienced even more brutal bloody killings. Realities a hundred times more cruel than this hadn't moved him, so what did this little scramble amount to?

From his perspective, if Cheng Ye, this trainee inspector, could easily handle the outside chaos, that would be the bad thing.

Newcomers who hadn't seen life and death needed to witness more of the outside chaos to see what the true color of this world was, to understand how fragile rules were when control was lost.

Only then would they understand the necessity of maintaining rules.

And when Cheng Ye had just returned, he hadn't turned a blind eye to the outside chaos. That flash of solemnity across his face was already very good.

Many slacker inspectors in the station wouldn't care about such things at all, not even thinking there was anything wrong with breaking rules. But when one day higher-ups broke rules and he became the victim...

Heh, who would stand up for him then?

"Snake, did you record the chaos outside just now?"

"Huh?" Snake was stunned, clearly not expecting Cheng Ye to suddenly ask this.

"If not, go check the surveillance, find the people who violated rules for me, and also..."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, "Find out who didn't get any too."

"Yes!"

Snake didn't understand but as long as it was an order from Cheng Ye, the duty inspector, they had to execute it meticulously.

Less than three minutes later, surveillance review was complete, and several circled photos were delivered.

In the photos, people marked with red circles represented rule breakers, eight in total, all sturdy and strong, exactly those burly men who had grabbed nutritional paste and were still smug about it.

People marked with green circles represented those who hadn't received nutritional paste, six in total, with Liu Kun prominently among them.

"Call them all in at once to receive inspection."

Cheng Ye pressed his lips together and issued the command.

Snake immediately complied, stretching his voice to call in each person from the photos one by one.

Several burly men who were called showed slight changes in expression, with traces of unease and resistance in their eyes, but under Snake's cold gaze, they still lowered their heads and shuffled in reluctantly.

When pointed out by Snake, Liu Kun's expression also changed, his eyes slightly darkening. This was something he hadn't anticipated. If he had known, he would have taken one packet to save himself the trouble of being called in by Cheng Ye.

But beyond this thought, he was also somewhat curious, wanting to know what Cheng Ye would do next.

Was he going to use authority to punish those violators and protect those whose interests had been damaged?

Thinking this, Liu Kun deliberately slowed his steps when moving, following behind the other called scavengers into the inspection area.

He didn't stand at the back of the queue but positioned himself second, neither standing out nor arousing suspicion, his face showing just the right amount of bewilderment.

"All stand properly, form a line for inspection."

Cheng Ye pointed to the open space in front, his tone serious.

The isolation gate slammed shut with a "clang," encircling the fourteen people in the inspection area.

The scavengers outside immediately crowded against the net, craning their necks to peer inside.

They naturally knew those burly men had broken rules, and Liu Kun's group of six were the unlucky victims, but bringing both groups in together...

What did this Inspector Cheng want to do?

"Snake, collect weapons, begin basic data inspection."

"Yes!"

If this were North Station, this step would require the inspector to personally handle or supervise the scavengers themselves.

At South Station it was much more convenient. Cheng Ye only sat behind the desk, his gaze sweeping across those fourteen people in turn.

Liu Kun's acting was indeed flawless. Each time Cheng Ye's gaze swept over him, his face would show just the right amount of panic, eyes dodging downward, blending seamlessly among the cowering scavengers without a trace of flaw.

"Sir, data is normal."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, raising his hand to point at the goods the group had brought in, "Open them yourselves."

The rain shelter was already narrow, cramming fourteen people made it cramped, let alone spreading out all the goods.

Those eight burly men almost instinctively stepped forward, elbowing outward to occupy the driest area under the shelter like staking territory.

Their waterproof cloth was spread quickly and steadily, electronic components, dried mutant plants, and tanned leather arranged neatly, not even the corners touching a drop of moisture.

The six scavengers who hadn't received nutritional paste were pushed back half a step, right to the edge of the rain shelter.

The drizzle that had been falling suddenly intensified, slanting down in sheets.

Some hastily pulled their supplies closer to their chests, others frantically looked for corners to avoid rain, their movements clearly showing visible unease.

Especially Liu Kun, who was half a beat slower.

When he bent down to place his sack at the edge of the waterproof cloth, the outermost burly man casually lifted his foot, stepping right on the cloth corner.

He paused, said nothing, just released his grip, letting the waterproof bag fall onto the muddy ground wetted by rain, shaking out the contents piece by piece.

Scrap metal dug up from who knows where, several damaged electrical appliances from the old era, instantly coated with a layer of wet, cold grime from splashing mud water.

Cheng Ye sat behind the desk, his gaze sweeping over this silent exclusion.

The burly men's goods were mostly well-organized, clearly indicating they were veterans who had made a living in the wasteland for years.

The supplies brought by the disadvantaged scavengers showed their hardship, all bottom-tier scraps dug from city ruins, the lowest grade of scavenging spoils.

Cheng Ye said nothing, lifting his chin to signal everyone back to the inspection area.

After everyone stood in position, his gaze fell on Liu Kun, his voice neither high nor low, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Your goods got wet, is that okay?"

Liu Kun raised his head, showing appropriate panic on his face while stammering without daring to speak loudly, "It's, it's fine, worthless stuff..."

"What about you?" Cheng Ye turned to another scavenger.

The two beast pelts that man had brought were soaked, their fur color immediately becoming dull, their grade visibly dropping.

When questioned, the man's face went pale, hastily lowering his head, "Sir, I... I'm also fine."

Poor in wealth, short in ambition, thin horses with sparse manes.

Without real strength, even in the inspection area, even in a place with rules, they still didn't dare use those rules.

Cheng Ye's gaze swept across the panel in the upper right corner. Sure enough, the moment the man finished speaking, Liu Kun's compatibility jumped dramatically.

No longer tiny increases of decimal points, but a hard jump of over 5%.

At this moment, Cheng Ye could almost guess that Liu Kun's heart must be expecting him to strike hard.

Use authority, use fists to severely punish those burly men, maintaining the authority of rules.

Cheng Ye also believed that if he really did this, compatibility would definitely rise above 90% but wanting to reach 100% and trigger hidden benefits would be absolutely impossible because defining rules based solely on his preferences absolutely couldn't gain recognition from all fourteen people present, including Liu Kun.

This was a dead end. To find a way out, he had to... risk blazing a new trail!

"You, what's your name?"

Cheng Ye's gaze precisely fell on the first burly man on the left, then swept to the first cowering scavenger on the right.

"Niu Dacai." The burly man answered in a muffled voice, showing little fear.

The scavenger's voice was somewhat trembling, his head buried even lower, "Wang... Wang Sheng."

"You two come out, stand to my left, facing everyone."

Cheng Ye's voice wasn't high but carried undeniable weight.

After the two moved into position, he pointed to the second burly man and Liu Kun mixed among the scavengers.

"Niu Xiaocai." Apparently Niu Dacai's brother, respectful in expression but defiant in gaze.

"Liu Shen." Liu Kun omitted half his name's radical.

Under Cheng Ye's direction, the two stood on the right side.

The remaining people were also paired by Cheng Ye in "burly man + scavenger" order.

The last two extra burly men formed a group by themselves.

Fourteen people divided into seven groups, standing face to face under the rain shelter, the damp, cold air suddenly carrying more tension.

"The purpose of having you stand like this isn't hard to guess."

Cheng Ye's gaze swept across the scene, "When distributing nutritional paste just now, some people took more than their share, some didn't even get a warm sip. You all know this in your hearts, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly men's faces visibly tightened, flashes of panic in their eyes.

The disadvantaged scavengers quietly straightened their previously hunched shoulders, their eyes actually showing some excitement.

Was this Inspector Cheng going to stand up for them?

"Don't think about making excuses." Cheng Ye lifted his chin toward Snake, "Show them the photos."

Snake immediately walked around holding printed surveillance screenshots, the images of grabbing paste packets in red circles painfully clear.

The burly men's faces instantly turned ashen, while the scavengers' breathing quickened several beats.

However, everyone soon calmed down. Over two packets of nutritional paste, was it worth making such a big fuss over accounting?

Cheng Ye's peripheral vision caught the panel in the upper right corner, compatibility dropping unexpectedly by 3%.

Clearly, Liu Kun was already somewhat dissatisfied with his somewhat "weak" approach.

"Don't be nervous, I don't want to punish anyone, and it's not worth using authority to pressure people. What I want is fairness."

"Some people drank more, some drank less, so this account needs to be balanced."

"This is a rule I, as an inspector, have set, and it's the rule the inspection station should have. But how to balance it, how to compensate, this needs to be decided by yourselves."

"Listen clearly."

Cheng Ye's voice suddenly rose half a pitch, "Each group, I'm giving you one minute to discuss. After discussing, raise your hands and write your discussed results on paper."

What song was this?

Liu Kun's brow furrowed imperceptibly, compatibility directly dropping below the 80% mark, sliding all the way down to 75%.

But before he could think further, Niu Xiaocai beside him had already turned around, his face carrying a trace of barely detectable fierceness, "Brother, you wouldn't really want me to compensate something over two packets of nutritional paste, would you? How about this, I'll give you two happiness coins and we'll call it even. How's that?"

"That's... acceptable..."

Liu Kun was somewhat speechless but still pretended to hesitate for a moment, putting on a timid appearance as he agreed.

However, the moment he accepted, he also imperceptibly clenched his fists, an inexplicable fire suddenly surging in his heart.

This scene was too familiar to him.

People with hard fists could indeed trample rules at will, without truly following anything.

And the weak could only be forced to accept, obediently fulfilling this unfair oppression.

Snap.

Compatibility plummeted again cliff-like, actually dropping below 50% and heading straight toward 30%.

Cheng Ye's expression remained calm, but his heart quietly surged with joy.

The dramatic changes in compatibility precisely showed he was on the right path.

Although the numbers were dropping, as long as he could precisely stir Liu Kun's emotions like this, he wasn't far from his goal.

"Finished writing?"

Cheng Ye turned his head, and Snake immediately stepped forward to collect the paper slips with everyone's written results.

After receiving them and glancing over, the results were as expected.

All compensation in happiness coins, the generous ones giving ten coins, the stingy ones only giving two.

The last two burly men grouped together gave the most generous terms, besides 10 happiness coins, they also added two packets of nutritional paste, clearly afraid of trouble.

"Who wants to see the results you submitted?"

Cheng Ye called out loudly. The scene was dead silent, the scavengers' expressions dark, clearly holding no expectations.

So what if they saw? Could they make additional demands?

Even if the other party agreed, once they entered the buffer zone later, there would be no shortage of trouble.

"Perfect that no one wants to look."

Cheng Ye pulled out a meaningful smile, "Snake, take these slips over there and let the queuing scavengers come vote."

He paused, adding, "There should be over a hundred people queuing now. If each result can get 10 votes, it passes, and I won't pursue the matter further."

"Yes!"

As his words fell, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically, including Liu Kun who had been coldly observing. The continuously dropping compatibility suddenly braked, freezing at 36% without movement.

Snake took the slips to outside the isolation net, briefly explaining each group's compensation terms to the queuing scavengers.

The crowd first showed slight surprise, then erupted in low murmuring.

For this kind of exciting drama, no one wanted to miss out...

But just at first glance, many directly marked × on the slips, and some who feared the world wasn't chaotic enough, even if they thought the compensation was reasonable, unhesitatingly filled in ×.

When the seven voting results were collected, Cheng Ye spread them out and couldn't find a single √.

"Let them see."

Snake followed instructions, taking slip after slip and slowly waving them before the seven groups' eyes.

The papers full of × marks of various sizes hurt to look at, especially for Liu Kun. The fire in his heart seemed doused by a basin of cold water, actually bringing a trace of long-lost calm, replaced by complete puzzlement.

What did he want to do?

What exactly was this trainee inspector trying to accomplish?

"Alright, I'll give you another chance to discuss compensation. After discussing, fill the results on paper."

Cheng Ye clapped his hands, crumpling those × -marked papers into a ball and casually tossing them into the nearby trash bin, signaling Snake to give each person a new slip.

"Pay attention, if the discussed results still can't get 10 votes this time, I'll hand the compensation terms over to the people outside for voting. Whatever they say goes."

What? Hand compensation terms over to outside people for voting?

The burly men's faces instantly changed dramatically, pupils constricting one by one. With their understanding of human nature from struggling in the wasteland, if they really let those outside spectators vote, ninety-nine percent probability they would award all their supplies to these scavengers.

This was human nature's evil, unable to stand seeing others do well, especially unable to stand seeing those who had bullied them or their kind do well.

They even considered the reverse situation, if they were voting, they would probably be delighted to see such results.

The six scavengers, including Liu Kun, fell into stupor, their minds unable to process because the burly men paired with them had actually restrained all their arrogant attitude, no longer threatening or intimidating, but honestly turning around to sincerely discuss compensation with them.

"Brother, how about this, I'll give you several more happiness coins, plus share one of the beast pelts I just collected?"

Niu Xiaocai's face no longer showed half a trace of defiance, only sincerity.

Just a moment ago he had carried bullying arrogance, but now he was like a child who had done wrong, even speaking with careful probing.

Why would these people follow rules?

Boom.

Something seemed to explode in Liu Kun's mind, countless chaotic thoughts flashing rapidly through his brain.

He instinctively nodded, and before he could think further, saw Niu Xiaocai's face tighten sharply, his posture becoming even lower, almost humbly leaning forward half a step, "If you're not satisfied, two pelts, how about two pelts!"

"Two pelts?!"

Liu Kun was completely stunned because Niu Xiaocai had collected only three beast pelts total, but now he was willing to use two as compensation. This wasn't concession at all, but going all out.

But why would he have such a transformation?

Normally, given Liu Kun's position, he wouldn't think about things at this level.

But today's disguised identity, switching to a scavenger's perspective, let him see a different world.

A world more real than sitting in meeting rooms listening to high-level officials bickering.

Screech!

The Flame Eagle circling in the air cried out sharply, and Liu Kun's head cleared a bit.

But just then, his right arm wound transmitted an unprecedented surge of obsessive emotion, rapidly expanding in his chest cavity, burning through his entire body like wildfire.

Those once vague thoughts suddenly became crystal clear, making his eyes suddenly brighten.

It was because of this Inspector Cheng sitting behind the inspection desk.

He was like a scale, bringing the strong and weak back to the same level.

It was because he was strong enough, strong enough that without roaring, without throwing punches, he could make those accustomed to speaking with force restrain their claws and fangs.

Even without obvious rules displayed, he could use his own deterrent force to make the strong learn to respect the weak, to let the weak no longer live in fear.

This kind of power was the best rule.

This kind of balance was the future he wanted!

Crash.

His thoughts had never flowed so smoothly.

Before this, he had been confused for a moment, somewhat unsure whether his path was correct but now, all hesitation, uncertainty, and self-doubt had vanished into smoke.

The path forward seemed to have no more obstacles, only smooth passage.

Wasn't this exactly what he wanted?

To let rules constrain everyone, instead of transcendents having extra privileges, being able to trample the lives, dignity, and everything of the weak at will.

Even Yuan Gang had to lower his attitude, put away his arrogance, no longer relying on power to crush others arbitrarily.

Let them know that doing wrong required paying a price, not just laughing it off.

Even needing to bow their heads and beg forgiveness from the weak they once despised.

This was exactly the world he wanted!

?

The compatibility in the upper right corner of the panel was madly soaring at a visibly perceptible rate, jumping upward by 10% increments every second.

Cheng Ye watched in stunned amazement.

This... this wasn't right, was it?

The carefully planned scheme he had arranged, the core logic he had hidden, hadn't even had time to be displayed.

He had originally wanted Liu Kun to witness firsthand how collective supervision systems, opposed to individual force supervision systems, clearly defined everyone's behavioral boundaries and ensured rules were truly followed.

To demonstrate that after malicious incidents occurred, solving problems couldn't rely solely on force, but had to depend on collective supervision.

Systems collectively executed to fairly determine right from wrong.

To let everyone understand that today's dramatically changed burly men could be tomorrow's version of themselves, and could also be tomorrow's judges standing outside.

This was meant to make Liu Kun think, to make Liu Kun feel he had different considerations about rules, to bring the two to the same level.

But Liu Kun's reaction...

What had he thought of?

Cheng Ye was somewhat dazed, but a name in the upper right corner suddenly burst with brilliant gold.

Success?

Indescribable joy instantly exploded in his mind. He almost instinctively clicked on the search menu.

[Liu Kun, 100%, searchable range: Intelligence (quality fixed increase 0.5), Items (probability: guaranteed hit*1), Skill Lv1 (probability: 15%), Skill Lv2 (probability: 1%), Skill Lv3 (not selectable; please continue improving rank)]

"Two guaranteed hits?"

Cheng Ye's breathing hitched slightly.

If it were probabilities with percentages, he might still weigh and hesitate...

But now, he had no hesitation at all, his intent steadily falling on the "Skill Lv1" option.

The thing of his dreams had happened, arriving in such an unexpected way.

The panel flickered.

[Search Successful!]

Countless tiny flames poured out from the panel's depths, like scattered sparks swirling and gathering in the air, gradually condensing into clearly visible lines of text.

Cheng Ye's heart raced wildly. Even though he had made full mental preparation, he still felt dizzy.

[Liu Kun (Transcendent Symbiotic State)]

[Lv1 Skills]:

Super·Talent: Body-Consuming Fire** (Transcendent, gain power to manipulate external flames; probability: 75%)

Super·Talent: Heart-Protecting Fire** (Transcendent, gain a special flame that protects oneself; probability: 100%)

Super·Talent: Soul-Extinguishing Fire** (Transcendent, gain power to attack another plane; probability: 45%)

Skill: Flame Eagle Repulsion* (Perfect, can gain short-term fire resistance ability)

Skill: Flame Eagle Guidance* (Perfect, can gain short-term ability to guide flame direction)

Skill: Flame Eagle Devouring* (Perfect, can slightly devour flames to recover from injuries)

Skill: (27 ordinary skills hidden)

[Note]: Detection shows searcher affected by special power, skills undergoing mutation. Collector has issued * note warnings and will follow these rules:

1. Single '*' noted skills: If collector lacks corresponding special power, skill rating will significantly decrease (Perfect→Rare)

2. Double '**' noted skills: If collector lacks corresponding special power, will automatically gain that special power (this special power is only embryonic form, supplying normal skill operation, cannot match searcher's current level)

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 129: Unfathomable! Unapproachable! Invincible!

Liu Kun kept his head down as he mingled with the crowd, wearing a wide raincoat that covered his entire body. The brim of his hat was pulled low, hiding most of his face in shadow, revealing only a section of his jaw wet from the rain.

As he slowly shuffled forward with the flow of people, he deliberately made his steps unsteady, carrying a bulging burlap sack in his hand and occasionally coughing twice. He looked no different from the other scavengers who had just returned from making a living in the ruins.

But with just that fleeting glance, though he couldn't see clearly, Cheng Ye's heartbeat inexplicably quickened by half a beat, and it beat faster and faster, like a drumstick pounding chaotically in his chest.

Too strange.

By all logic, since Liu Kun was deliberately hiding his tracks, he would certainly restrain his transcendent aura to the extreme.

Even if there was a possibility of being sensed by other transcendents, he absolutely wouldn't let an ordinary person like him feel anything.

But that feeling just now was very special. The moment their eyes met, something seemed to grip his heart, stirring waves of indescribable palpitations.

Definitely not Liu Kun!

Cheng Ye almost instantly reached this conclusion.

He vaguely sensed that the "thing" that had made eye contact with him seemed to exist on another plane, like looking through a layer of transparent frosted glass, blurred yet real.

Moreover, this thing was very bold, almost brazenly scrutinizing him without any attempt to hide.

Does it think that as an ordinary person, I simply can't detect this kind of surveillance?

Cheng Ye became secretly alert. If he hadn't repeatedly equipped Iron Body and Wild Grass Physique, he would indeed have difficulty sensing this kind of suppression from a higher life level.

But now, he was all too familiar with this feeling.

And the last time he searched Zhang Can, for just an instant, the Collector had amplified this sensation.

Cheng Ye remembered it very clearly, exactly the same as now.

"Could this be a transcendent's special ability?"

Facing a true transcendent for the first time, he indeed had no experience, but his curiosity in his heart overcame that hidden palpitation.

The panel opened.

The Collector's scanning range was about a hundred meters, able to display the compatibility of everyone in his field of vision.

But normally, if he had no particular thoughts, it wouldn't display everything.

At this moment, as Cheng Ye focused his mind, dense question mark names floated up, and Liu Kun was immediately scanned out.

Perhaps due to the inspection station scenario bonus, this compatibility was somewhat surprising to Cheng Ye.

[Liu Kun, 7%, Search Range Available: None]

"Not 0% after all, quite unexpected."

"Good, this means he has no resistance to inspection. Now I just need to find a way to increase the compatibility!"

Cheng Ye took several deep breaths, forming a plan in his mind.

Since he had confirmed that Liu Kun had chosen the passage where he was stationed, there was no need to rush.

To search a transcendent, he had already prepared extensively, from analyzing Liu Kun's behavior patterns to simulating possible conversation scenarios, every detail had been rehearsed repeatedly.

Regardless of success or failure, this would be a bold attempt with precious significance for future searches.

Of course, it would be best if he could succeed once.

Cheng Ye wasn't greedy at all.

Whether it was an item or skill, regardless of the specific level, anything searched from a transcendent would certainly not be ordinary goods and would bring enormous help to his current situation!

"Next."

He sent away another scavenger.

Cheng Ye's voice remained steady as usual, revealing no trace of disturbance.

He knew Liu Kun was in the queue, watching his every move through the crowd, but he showed no abnormality on his face, still following his usual habits to conduct inspections meticulously, as if he had completely forgotten about the upcoming search of a transcendent.

And this composed appearance, falling into the eyes of Liu Kun in the crowd, made him nod approvingly despite himself, the furrow under his hat brim slightly relaxing.

As an inspector who had climbed up from the bottom step by step, Liu Kun was naturally not unfamiliar with the past events of the Cheng family.

Even his father Liu Yuan had been one of the batch of inspectors taken away by Cheng Wu back then.

But he never hated Cheng Wu, nor did he think the Cheng family had done anything wrong to the inspection station. Instead, he was grateful from the bottom of his heart for what Cheng Wu had done, and even more admired that almost stubborn adherence to original principles.

Because his father had seven children in total, four boys and three girls.

And he was the fourth, the youngest son.

At that time, his three older brothers were already over thirty, physically strong, and had been struggling in Happiness City's system for many years, having long established deep roots.

But he had just come of age not long ago, could only be considered an insignificant newcomer in the team, doing menial tasks like registering supplies and keeping records every day, without even the qualification to learn patrol duties.

If it really came to seniority for inheriting Liu Yuan's inspector position, it wouldn't be his turn.

When any benefits were distributed, it was always his brothers who got first pick.

He had once thought that this was probably how his life would be, mixing in the shadows of his brothers for basic sustenance, honestly following Liu Yuan's arrangements to be an ordinary clerk, until someday dying in some infection source outbreak.

But after Cheng Wu left with all the core inspectors, everything changed!

None of his three brothers stayed, all following their father Liu Yuan away, leaving only three sisters behind.

The opportunity to inherit the inspector position fell on his head like a pie from heaven with a "smack."

However, just like the troubles Cheng Ye was encountering now, the days of climbing up from the bottom were exceptionally difficult for him as well.

From a bottom-tier trainee inspector to a first-term inspector capable of handling things independently, he had endured countless all-nighters, fought face-to-face with infected entities, and had followed pioneer corps deep into ruins thousands of kilometers away to establish bases.

But compared to Cheng Ye's current situation, he was considered lucky.

Because the Idealist faction was in power then, he didn't need to be swayed by factional struggles, didn't need to take sides, only needed to focus on work without having to maneuver between various forces or guess at superiors' hidden meanings.

Moreover, the Idealist faction's "crazy" reforms made him one of the first batch of inspectors to catch the favorable wind.

Abolishing seniority systems, emphasizing actual performance over background.

Requiring all patrol experience to be documented on paper, forming standardized operation and training manuals rather than relying on veterans' oral transmission.

This perfectly matched Liu Kun's strengths, his clerical foundation bringing enormous help.

In just three years, he climbed from first-term to third-term, so fast that even he felt dazed.

At the same time, his rapidly rising status brought unrestrained expansion of power.

He had once been addicted to this feeling, enjoying treatment that even Liu Yuan had never enjoyed.

A private office, priority access to supplies, residents' instinctive respect, deference from other system members in the buffer zone, even direct contact with Happiness City's upper echelons.

Until the disaster-level infection tide that swept through that winter completely shattered his dreams.

That night.

He witnessed with his own eyes colleagues who used to chat and laugh being torn apart like paper by fusion entities' claws.

He watched the happiness defense line in the buffer zone being breached by infected entities, screams and explosions mixing together into a death march.

For the first time, he truly realized:

People can die.

Even inspectors elevated to high positions die just as easily as ordinary scavengers.

If the Elder hadn't personally intervened at the end, he probably wouldn't have survived to now.

Liu Kun still remembered the scene when the Elder took action. That bulletproof, rocket-launcher-resistant high-level unicorn beetle fusion entity was turned into a pool of stinking flesh with just a light touch from the Elder.

Those infection tides capable of overwhelming multiple sanctuary cities were instantly frozen into crystalline ice sculptures with just the Elder's gentle pass, melting and shattering into ice fragments.

From that day on, a seed took root in his heart.

He wanted transcendence!

Not for more stable power, not for others' respect, but for that kind of life-and-death authority, that kind of strength that would let him always stand in safety, never threatened by anyone.

For this, he could work patrol duty for seventy-two hours straight without sleep, could endure the humiliation brought by factional struggles, could spend countless nights struggling with those obscure transcendent manuals until his head split with pain and his eyes bled.

At this moment, watching Cheng Ye diligently conducting inspections under the rain shelter, Liu Kun suddenly saw a trace of his former self.

What a good kid.

Even facing scavengers covered in mud and water, reeking of sour stench, when even the assisting person couldn't help but frown, Cheng Ye showed no discrimination, still meticulously advancing the inspection process.

When encountering scavengers who spoke incoherently and couldn't even state their names clearly, when the assistant could barely restrain himself from scolding, Cheng Ye didn't lose his temper either, but patiently helped organize their language, bit by bit helping the scavengers piece together information.

When writing the new version of the inspector manual, 40% of the content was personally written by Liu Kun.

Every clause and procedure in it condensed his understanding of the word "standard."

At this moment, he could naturally see at a glance how standard Cheng Ye's performance was. From tone to actions, from attitude to expression, everything perfectly matched the optimal cases in the manual.

So much better than his father Cheng Long!

Liu Kun silently emphasized in his heart, his gaze under the hat brim sweeping over Cheng Ye's focused profile, carrying a trace of barely perceptible approval.

Cheng Long's excellence lay in his bravery during field missions, in his skill when dealing with outsiders but that was confidence accumulated from fighting alongside Pioneer Corps and struggling through that era, carrying the sharp edge of wildness.

But when it came to steadiness and patience within the inspection station, to reverence and adherence to rules, Cheng Long was probably inferior to the current Cheng Ye by a wide margin, hardly qualifying as a "complete" inspector.

"Old Ding could focus on cultivating this kid, might produce another person who does real work."

Liu Kun made a mental note, planning to mention it to Ding Yishan when he returned.

Under the Walker's influence, after going out once, he keenly sensed that the external situation was beginning to become chaotic.

The activity range of mutant beasts was expanding, infected entities' aggression was ridiculously strong, even internal conflicts within the Hundred Ghosts Gang were being amplified, with confrontations and gang wars between ghost leaders becoming increasingly frequent.

When those hundreds of thousands of migrants surged over, the inspection station would inevitably become the first target of impact.

Such good seedlings couldn't be allowed to die in this kind of low-level chaos.

The inspection station had to protect him, waiting for when the situation became truly complex in the future, when he would truly be needed.

As for the debts left by Cheng Long...

Liu Kun's gaze swept toward Quarantine Zone D. Ordinary people couldn't see the situation there clearly from this distance but he was different. Flame Eagle had already soared into the sky, circling above Zone D.

After sharing vision, he could see the sentry carrying the Corrupt Vine core had just finished the inspection process and was quickly walking toward the isolation warehouse.

Everything was going so smoothly that he couldn't help but show a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Although discovering that Corrupt Vine could enhance ability limits was an accident, he was a principled person.

Essentially, it was Cheng Ye who had first discovered this unknown infection source, leading to his breakthrough today.

This favor had to be acknowledged.

"I won't stop those kids below transcendent level, but for transcendent level and above, anyone wanting to move against good seedlings from my inspection station has to get past Brother Kun first."

Thinking this, he exhaled a breath of moist white air, collected his thoughts, and continued moving forward with the crowd, the expression under his hat brim returning to ancient well-like calm.

But little did he know that Cheng Ye, sitting behind the inspection desk at this moment, already had towering waves surging in his heart.

The panel in the upper right corner of his vision had never been closed from the beginning.

Initially, he just wanted to keep track of Liu Kun's movements, but unexpectedly discovered that each time he finished inspecting a scavenger, Liu Kun's compatibility would slightly increase.

From the initial 7%, it increased by 1%-3% with almost every person.

Moreover, Cheng Ye had deliberately tested that the more seriously he worked, the more he adhered to the standards in the inspector manual, the faster this compatibility rose.

Up to now, having only inspected 17 people, with at least 40 people still ahead of Liu Kun in line.

The compatibility on the panel had jumped up like it was on stimulants, directly reaching:

[Liu Kun, 41%, Search Range Available: Intelligence (quality fixed reduction 0.5), Items (probability: 15%), Skill Lv1 (probability: 5%)]

"41%?"

Cheng Ye felt somewhat dazed, instinctively blinking his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong but no matter how he refreshed the panel, that number remained rock-steady without the slightest fluctuation.

Only continued steady increases.

"Could it be that Liu Kun appreciates my inspection attitude?"

After reaching this conclusion, Cheng Ye was slightly amazed, but upon reflection, this should be a variation of the recognition pattern.

This morning, his situation analysis gained Ding Yishan's recognition, and compatibility increased.

Now his rule-abiding conduct gained Liu Kun's recognition, and compatibility similarly increased.

In summary, besides intimidation, whether through words or actions gaining the other party's recognition could increase compatibility.

"Not bad, this is actually simpler than I imagined."

Cheng Ye paused, his gaze falling on the parentheses after intelligence and items. As he had guessed, his current rank made searching transcendents quite strenuous.

Intelligence quality was hard-capped at 50% reduction, item search probability also dropped by 10% success rate, and more importantly for skills, it was even lower than when searching Zhang Can, with only a 5% success rate.

But overall, it was still within an acceptable range, not without possibility of success.

There were still over forty people.

If each could increase by 1%, compatibility could rise to at least 80% or above.

This was much simpler than his previous expectation of starting from single digits and slowly grinding after the two made contact.

"Keep working hard!"

Cheng Ye collected his thoughts and focused on inspecting scavengers, but he didn't deliberately perform exceptionally well, just executing procedures as usual.

But even so, purely in terms of strict adherence to the 'Inspector Duty Manual,' he had already surpassed 99% of the people in the inspection station.

He had none of the bad habits of acting on experience, being a standard "academy" graduate but heaven didn't comply with human wishes. Just when Liu Kun's compatibility had risen to 80%, the increase rate suddenly stagnated.

Inspecting the remaining scavengers only caused the value to fluctuate slightly by 0.1, clearly this method of increasing compatibility through standard conduct had reached its limit.

And there were only about ten people left ahead of Liu Kun, no longer enough samples for Cheng Ye to experiment with other methods.

"Should I, search once?"

Cheng Ye's fingertips lightly rubbed under the table. After thinking, he took advantage of the gap after finishing inspection of the previous scavenger to gesture to Snake.

According to convention, it should be lunch time now.

"Sorry everyone!"

Snake immediately understood, calling out loudly to the queuing crowd, "It's already one o'clock, Inspector Cheng hasn't had lunch yet. Please wait 10 minutes. We'll heat up two packets of nutritional paste for each person present. Thank you for your patience!"

As his words fell, the scavengers crowded at the isolation gate immediately cheered.

On such a cold, rainy day, having hot nutritional paste to drink was simply too comfortable. Some even deliberately shouted toward Cheng Ye's direction, "Thank you, Inspector Cheng!"

With this thanks, the panel in Cheng Ye's vision lightly jumped, Liu Kun's compatibility floated up another 0.2, settling at 80.7%.

[Liu Kun, 80.7%, Search Range Available: Intelligence (quality fixed reduction 0.3), Items (probability: 22%), Skill Lv1 (probability: 11%), Skill Lv2 (probability: 0.1%)]

Taking advantage of Snake arranging people to distribute nutritional paste, Cheng Ye quietly pondered.

Compared to the beginning, this reduction had finally weakened considerably.

Especially the item search success rate had risen from 15% to 22%, nearly returning to normal levels.

If he invested all of the Collector's charge values into item search, the success rate would reach 72%.

Not low at all. With his recent luck, he would probably hit the target in one shot but the key was, Cheng Ye didn't have much confidence this time.

He vaguely had a premonition that if he clicked "search items" now, it definitely wouldn't go as smoothly as when he searched transcendent objects from Zhang Can last time.

If he searched out some ordinary item, that would be too much of a loss. Better to throw all four attempts at Lv1 skills and gamble.

The 11% probability seemed slim, but it precisely demonstrated the special nature of transcendent skills.

The rarer something was, the more worth pursuing.

Even just a Lv1 skill might bring him a completely different transformation like the Dragon Force Embryonic Form had.

"So... it seems I need to display quick wit again."

Cheng Ye took a deep breath, moving his gaze from the Skill Lv1 option to search intelligence.

Since recognition gained through behavior had reached its limit, and he couldn't subject Liu Kun, a transcendent, to any special punishment or intimidation, the next focus naturally had to shift toward ideological recognition.

Using words to leverage Liu Kun's recognition, making compatibility climb another level.

Moreover, whether from curiosity about Liu Kun personally or exploration of the transcendent world, he was somewhat curious about what Liu Kun actually cared about.

Of course, with experience from two previous searches, the moment he pressed search intelligence, what he silently recited wasn't something concrete.

Like what Liu Kun most valued in inspectors, or what Liu Kun wanted to see in inspectors.

But rather:

"Search for Liu Kun's secret he least wants others to know."

A very vague request.

The moment the command was issued, the Collector panel suddenly began flashing, countless garbled characters flying and reorganizing like out-of-control fireflies in his vision, more violently than any previous search.

Moreover, the flashing text in the past had always been ink black, but this time, Cheng Ye couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

The edges of that garbled code were actually faintly tinged with dazzling fire red, radiating restless energy.

"Worthy of being a transcendent, everything about them is special."

Cheng Ye sighed inwardly. Before his words finished, his vision began rapidly losing color like spilled ink. Everything around him, the crowd outside the isolation gate, Snake's back, the forms on the table...

Everything shattered like glass, dissolving into countless points of light.

Buzz.

The reorganized intelligence space took shape in the blink of an eye.

Looks familiar?

Cheng Ye instinctively pressed pause, not rushing to examine the core content, but controlling his view to fly around and explore within the space.

The layout here looked familiar, very much like the underground room beneath Uncle Dong's shop.

There were spiral staircases leading down, bright wall lamps hanging on the walls.

The difference was that this one was much larger, estimated at least eighty square meters.

Moreover, there was a silver-gray medical bed in the center with metal restraint straps embedded at the edges. Next to it stood a large cabinet sealed to the top, with frosted glass doors through which one could vaguely see rows of syringes and reagent bottles inside.

In the corner were also piled several medical monitoring devices that Cheng Ye had only seen in movies, with dark screens and data cables coiled around the machines like snakes.

This place... looked like a miniature medical room, yet carried the cold atmosphere of a villain's laboratory.

Was it within the buffer zone, or in the ruins?

Cheng Ye tried to break through the underground room's boundaries, but as soon as his view explored beyond the stairway entrance, it hit a vast void where nothing could be seen, clearly already exceeding the intelligence search range.

He retracted his view, returning to the underground room, took a deep breath, and clicked play.

Heavy footsteps immediately echoed in the space. The stairway door overhead was pushed open with a "creak," and Liu Kun walked down with a grim expression.

He took off the wide raincoat, revealing tight combat clothing underneath.

Cheng Ye immediately switched perspective, wanting to zoom in for observation but the next second, he instinctively held his breath, his brain feeling like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, buzzing with noise.

It's it, that's it!

That gaze from "another plane" that he had sensed before had finally taken concrete form.

It was perched on Liu Kun's shoulder.

It was a giant eagle.

Its entire body was covered with feathers like flowing flames, each one trembling slightly, flowing with golden-red light like countless sparks trapped within the quills.

When its wings were folded, they were still half a meter wide, but when spread, they almost occupied half the underground room.

Its golden beak and talons gleamed with cold, hard light, as if they could easily tear through steel. But most terrifying were its eyes, not the pupils of ordinary birds, but two pools of burning magma, currently locked dead onto the camera's direction over Liu Kun's shoulder.

Even though this was just virtual eye contact within the intelligence space, even though reason told him he was absolutely safe at this moment, Cheng Ye still felt fear from the bottom of his life.

It was like a seedling that had finally broken through the soil's blockade looking up to see a thousand-year giant pine standing proud in snow, its courage to grow frozen solid.

It was like a traveler crawling on the earth looking up at Mount Everest, feeling only his own insignificance and smallness before absolute majesty.

It was like humans looking up at the night sky, suddenly realizing the vastness of the universe, only to be shocked into recognizing themselves as mere glimmers in the dust.

His current meeting with this flame giant eagle's eyes was exactly this feeling.

As if all the blood in his body had instantly frozen, even his thinking became sluggish!

"What... what is this?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but press pause, forcibly restraining the fear, confusion, and various indescribable emotions in his heart.

He tried to zoom in the camera, wanting to observe this mysterious giant eagle more carefully.

But what pained him was that once he pulled the view within three meters range, even in the intelligence space, he felt like his brain was about to explode, his temples throbbing, eyes going black in waves.

That was a rejection from the depths of his soul, as if warning him:

Unfathomable!

Unapproachable!

Invincible!

Cheng Ye abruptly pulled back the perspective until he retreated five or six meters away, and that tearing sensation gradually subsided.

He wanted to breathe heavily to relieve the tension, but unfortunately, there was no complete physical form within the intelligence space. He could only stare blankly at Liu Kun with the giant eagle perched on his shoulder in the image, digesting all the sensations alone.

Was it the manifestation of Liu Kun's transcendent ability? Or a transcendent creature in symbiosis with Liu Kun?

Cheng Ye's heart beat like drums, but it wasn't fear, it was excitement!

An existence of this level, and the Collector could actually capture traces of it, even construct intelligence imagery.

Simply incredibly powerful beyond imagination!

After calming down for over ten seconds, he clicked play again, deliberately pulling his view back to over seven meters away.

This distance allowed him to see details clearly while not triggering that tearing rejection.

In the image, Liu Kun walked straight to the center of the underground room, stopping before that sealed large cabinet.

He raised his hand to press the fingerprint lock on the side of the cabinet door. After a soft "beep," the frosted glass door slowly slid open.

Cheng Ye frowned slightly, clicking pause again to examine carefully.

Unlike the instinctive fear when seeing the flame giant eagle, he was much more familiar with the contents of the cabinet.

On layer upon layer of metal shelves, dozens of transparent isolation boxes were neatly arranged, each containing different forms of infection sources.

Many he had seen, including quite a few Deathwhisper Tentacles that he had personally eliminated but his gaze quickly focused with Liu Kun's movements.

"Corrupt Vine?"

Inside the glass containment box, a mass of dark green vines covered with fine thorns, even in the solution, could be seen slightly writhing.

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment, not expecting the unknown infection source he had previously discovered to appear here.

Liu Kun placed the containment box on the nearby operating table, then took out several sets of reagents labeled with tags from the lower drawer.

He returned to the pile of instruments, connecting pipelines and adjusting parameters with practiced movements, his fingertips dancing on panels full of buttons at dizzying speed.

Having never encountered such equipment, Cheng Ye could only understand partially, vaguely guessing that Liu Kun was conducting some kind of test.

Complex waveform patterns jumped on the instrument screens. As sets of transparent, light green, and deep purple reagents were injected into the containment box, the mass of Corrupt Vine seemed to have its life force drained, gradually stopping its writhing, its color fading from dark green to gray-brown.

Seeing this, a flash of barely concealed joy crossed Liu Kun's face.

He pulled off the upper half of his combat suit and lay directly on that cold medical bed.

The flame giant eagle that had been perched on his shoulder let out a low cry. As its wings flapped, the sharp claws at the tips of its feathers lightly scratched Liu Kun's right arm, opening a wound about twenty centimeters long.

But blood didn't gush out. Instead, as if guided by some force, it formed tiny blood beads on the skin's surface.

Liu Kun grunted, cold sweat seeping from his forehead, but immediately reached for a transparent tube beside the medical bed, pressing one end firmly against the wound.

What amazed Cheng Ye was that the other end of the tube was actually connected to the containment box with the Corrupt Vine!

As Liu Kun pressed the valve on the tube, the solution mixed with the Corrupt Vine itself in the containment box was slowly drawn out. Streams of gray-brown vines writhed along the tube walls, seemingly gaining autonomous consciousness as they burrowed into the wound, merging with his flesh and blood.

The moment of contact produced a "sizzling" burning sound from the wound, white smoke rising, the air seemingly filled with a scorched, fishy smell.

Eerie blue-black patterns spread from the wound across his entire body at visible speed, crawling over his neck, wrapping around his cheeks, even drilling into the corners of his eyes.

Liu Kun's body began trembling violently, his face contorted with pain, his lips bitten bloody, yet those eyes burned with an almost insane satisfaction.

"Almost... almost there..."

Liu Kun muttered in a low voice, his tone hoarse as if ground by sandpaper, each word carrying suppressed obsession to the extreme, "Once my strength advances further, no one will be able to manipulate me anymore, no one will be able to order me around, no one will be able to... ignore me!"

The flame giant eagle standing on the operating table gently nuzzled his cheek with its beak, as if comforting him, but the light in those eyes burning with magma blazed even brighter, even casting a golden-red glow throughout the entire underground room.

Cheng Ye stared blankly at this scene, his brain somewhat crashed, unable to process it for a moment.

Liu Kun was actually actively fusing with infection sources to enhance his own strength?

Did all transcendents do this, or was this... a new path Liu Kun had developed himself?

Cheng Ye couldn't quite figure it out, but just from current observation, he instinctively sensed something was wrong.

After fusing with the Corrupt Vine, Liu Kun's gaze began to scatter, his originally steady face twisting into an almost maniacal expression, his mouth intermittently erupting with crazed roars:

"Fake, it's all fake, all the respect is fake!"

"Strength, only strength is real. I want to use my fists to tell everyone what rules mean!"

"Those who don't understand how to follow my rules must die! Even if they're transcendents, even if it's Yuan Gang!"

"Yuan Gang, I want you dead, I want you kneeling before me, following my rules!!!"

Yuan Gang?!

Wasn't that one of Happiness City's deputy city lords?

Happiness City had two deputy city lords in total. Yuan Gang was the executive city lord, responsible for Happiness City's management, and aside from the Elder, appeared most frequently before residents among the high-ranking officials.

The other was named Duke Morrison, responsible for energy and armaments in the industrial zone, stationed year-round in the industrial area, rarely appearing in public view.

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment. He could even dredge up the face corresponding to this name from deep in his memory.

Every year on Happiness City's Founding Day, Yuan Gang would wear a crisp white uniform, standing on the high platform in Inner City Plaza addressing residents with a gentle smile and steady tone, like a loving patriarch.

His predecessor, due to outstanding performance in poetry and literature, basically attended Founding Day activities and had seen Yuan Gang up close more than once, even receiving encouragement with Yuan Gang patting his shoulder.

Liu Kun had a grudge against Yuan Gang?

And judging by this tone, it wasn't just a grudge, it was bone-deep hatred, even shouting things like "kneel before me."

Cheng Ye was pondering when the intelligence space in front of him suddenly began shaking violently, rapidly splitting into countless flashing points of light.

It was over.

[Intelligence Target: Liu Kun]

[Specified Direction: Secret he least wants others to know]

[Intelligence Quality: 0.7 level (fixed reduction 0.3, specified target unreduced)]

[Current Replay Count Available: 4]

25% charge value, absolutely worth every penny spent.

Not only did it let him see Liu Kun's transcendent power manifestation, it also let him know the secrets in Liu Kun's heart.

Following rules?

Cheng Ye was thoughtful. After suppressing all curiosity about transcendents, he already somewhat understood how to increase compatibility next.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 128: Hundred Ghosts Gang, Exaggerated Spoils of War!

Everyone has different feelings about their first pot of gold.

Some marvel at fate's wonders, others feel gratified that their efforts finally paid off, or when looking back years later, they simply see it as minor hardships on life's journey. Or perhaps on some restless night, when suddenly remembering it, their heart still flutters with indescribable excitement.

But regardless of the taste, this initial gain always leaves a deep mark in memory.

Like a wedge nailed to a certain trajectory in life, no matter how far one travels afterward, looking back always reveals that original mark clearly.

The Dragon Force embryo found on Chu Yunfeng was, for Cheng Ye, the most precious first pot of gold.

The explosive increase in physical attributes it brought directly boosted his survival rate at North Station exponentially, and later showed great power during the Substitute Starfish disaster.

So much so that every time he accumulated enough charging value afterward, Cheng Ye would inevitably think of Chu Yunfeng.

And now, they were meeting again.

In just over half a month, the two people standing at opposite ends of the rain curtain gave Cheng Ye a momentary sense of how things had changed.

Dozens of sunrises and sunsets ago, neither of them had been able to establish themselves in Happiness City but now, it seemed both had taken a big step forward.

"Sir?" Snake saw Cheng Ye standing at the edge of the rain shelter, his brow furrowing and relaxing, his expression changing several times. He quickly stepped over, nervously lowering his voice to ask.

At the same time, he instinctively reached for his sidearm, thinking Cheng Ye had determined that scavenger was a high-risk infected individual and was preparing to act at any moment.

"It's fine, follow normal procedures. He's an acquaintance."

"An acquaintance?"

Snake was stunned, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

When inspectors were on duty, even when encountering people they knew, they rarely spoke so directly about it.

Those who could be openly acknowledged usually meant the relationship was indeed quite good.

Snake immediately understood, and the wariness and coldness on his face when facing solitary scavengers faded somewhat, replaced by a relatively kind smile.

When Chu Yunfeng walked through the passage and came to the window in front of the quarantine area, he immediately stepped forward, "Hello, since you're entering the city alone, according to regulations, please first pass in your resident identification."

While gesturing toward the inspection window, Snake's tone was gentler than usual, though the seriousness in his eyes hadn't diminished at all.

Solitary scavengers had always been key targets for screening, requiring identity verification first to prevent unregistered newcomers from mixing into the buffer zone and adding chaos to the already tense epidemic prevention work.

"Alright, sir, this is my identification," Chu Yunfeng set down the waterproof bags from his shoulders, his movements somewhat clumsy as he reached inside his raincoat through the collar opening, fumbling around his chest for quite a while before pulling out a somewhat wrinkled paper identification document.

Unlike Xinghuo residents, who all had metal badges as identity markers, ordinary residents of Happiness City had to stay for a full year before qualifying to receive badges.

Newcomers like Chu Yunfeng only had this paper certificate.

The document's exterior was carefully laminated, with colorful yarn woven into a crooked protective cover around the edges. One could see it was usually protected with extreme care.

When Snake received the document, his fingertips touched the protruding yarn ball on the woven cover. Looking down, he glimpsed a pattern of three family members holding hands printed on the front, and his expression became even more gentle.

Someone who would knit a protective cover for their identification couldn't be any kind of vicious criminal.

"Please wait, we need to verify this in the system."

"Thank you for your trouble," Chu Yunfeng opened his mouth as if wanting to ask something, his gaze turning half a circle on Cheng Ye's face before swallowing his words back.

He actually didn't know Cheng Ye's name. When they had entered the city at Central Station, Cheng Ye had worn a mask the entire time. He had only remembered this figure through a warrior's keen senses, never seeing his face.

At this moment, he inconspicuously looked at Cheng Ye a few more times, secretly startled in his heart.

What a young inspector!

Looking at his age, he seemed even younger than those idle troublemakers in the shantytowns, yet that stability radiating from within was more solid than many veterans he had encountered.

"Chu Yunfeng, 34, currently registered residence at: E17 Shantytown, requesting rapid identity verification," Snake reported the information into the defense communicator hanging on his chest. As soon as he finished speaking, a response came from the clerical staff on the other side of the quarantine area.

"Received, verifying now!"

Data was being typed, and information scrolled rapidly across the screen.

In just over ten seconds, a clear response came through, "Data correct, match successful, confirmed as registered resident of E17 Shantytown. Note: This resident's registration is less than one month old."

Less than one month?

That made him a complete newcomer!

Snake was stunned. How could a newcomer be Inspector Cheng's acquaintance?

But then his mind suddenly clicked, wasn't Inspector Cheng also a newcomer?

However, in this quarantine area, few people would associate the words "newcomer" with Cheng Ye.

"Sir, no problems."

"Good."

Cheng Ye nodded and pressed the red button on the table.

The isolation door's hydraulic cylinder made a soft "hiss," and the heavy isolation doors slowly opened to both sides, revealing a passage wide enough for four people to enter side by side, much narrower than Zones A and C, guarding against scavengers forcing their way through.

Chu Yunfeng lowered his head, carrying a waterproof bag in each hand as he walked in, guided by Snake to stand within the white marking lines in the center of the rain shelter.

"Mr. Chu Yunfeng, please open your raincoat and place any weapons you're carrying on this table first," Snake gestured with his hand.

Chu Yunfeng nodded without any hesitation.

He reached behind his back, grasped the zipper of the one-piece raincoat, and slowly pulled it down.

This type of one-piece raincoat was most practical in the wasteland. When the zipper was pulled all the way down, it could wrap around the entire body, never allowing rainwater to seep through and wet the inner clothing.

But soon, Snake's expression changed slightly.

When the raincoat was pulled down to chest level, it revealed black leather straps crossing Chu Yunfeng's front.

Every few inches on the straps, there was a holstered pistol. They all appeared to be standard Happiness City guard pistols.

At least seven or eight of them, densely hanging across his entire chest, like some primitive tribal warrior who hung captured bone teeth all over his body as trophies.

"This..." Snake's Adam's apple moved forcefully.

Happiness City scavengers basically all carried one or two guns for self-defense, which wasn't strange.

Even having someone carry three to five guns, both long and short, was understandable but someone who hung pistols in a circle around their chest, in his nearly four years of duty, this was the first time he'd seen it.

However, as the raincoat continued to be pulled down, Snake's expression completely changed, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Chu Yunfeng's waist, abdomen, and even the outer sides of his thighs were all wrapped with layer upon layer of leather straps, so many layers that his original body shape was nearly unrecognizable.

Besides more guns of various models, there were also four cold weapons of different lengths and styles.

Judging by the gleaming edges on their surfaces, these were obviously not ordinary goods, but special weapons mixed with transcendent ore materials.

Most conspicuous was the entire circle of hand grenades at his waist.

The black warheads were round and full, their safety pin rings connected by thin chains that swayed lightly with his movements, each one silently declaring its threatening nature.

Holy shit.

Only these two words remained in Snake's mind, he even forgot to breathe.

This wasn't a scavenger at all, but clearly a walking human armory!

He almost reflexively reached for his sidearm, his field reaction to "great terror" making him forget this was Cheng Ye's acquaintance but the next second, a hand gently pressed on his shoulder.

It was Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye had somehow already walked over, his fingers slightly cool, but the pressure on his shoulder was steady, instantly suppressing all of the latter's impulses.

Snake turned his head, wanting to find a trace of the same shock on Cheng Ye's face, but discovered that Cheng Ye wasn't even looking at him.

Instead, his gaze was firmly locked on Chu Yunfeng, or more precisely, on all the weapons covering his body.

There wasn't much surprise in his eyes, but rather like seeing some interesting objects, filled with intrigued exploration.

Snake could only turn back, and the two of them just quietly watched as Chu Yunfeng completely removed his raincoat, revealing the pure black combat suit underneath that was stretched tight by the leather straps.

The combat suit was covered with dark red stains, some places clotted into chunks, obviously dried blood scabs.

Most striking was the brand on his chest, a fanged ghost head with cheeks that seemed stuffed with something, bulging outward.

Only after Chu Yunfeng had removed all the weapons from his body, spreading them densely across the entire inspection table, did Cheng Ye finally speak, his tone as flat as asking if someone had eaten, "Is there more?"

"Mm," Chu Yunfeng paused, then honestly nodded, "There's more!"

???

Snake was completely dumbfounded, his eyes wide as copper bells.

More?

This was practically a weapons store moved here, where else could more come from? Surely not grenades hidden in his crotch?

The next second, he saw Chu Yunfeng bend down and untie the rope knots on his right-hand waterproof bag.

The zipper made a "ripping" sound as it opened, and he reached inside, pulling out gun after gun.

Good lord, other people's waterproof bags contained items scavenged from city ruins.

Which weapons shop did you raid?

Inside were all brand-new guard rifles, their barrels still gleaming with cold metallic luster and reeking of gun oil, obviously barely used new goods.

One, two, three...

Twenty-two rifles were arranged in a row in the rain shelter, taking up nearly half the space, their muzzles all pointing toward where the two men stood, like a silent steel forest.

"Is there more?" Cheng Ye's voice sounded again, without the slightest ripple.

"There's more!"

More?!

Snake felt his worldview was about to be overturned.

Chu Yunfeng opened the waterproof bag on his left hand, which also contained mainly guard rifles, but Cheng Ye sharp-eyed spotted two longer guns pressed at the bottom.

The barrels were etched with spiral grooves, the stocks wrapped in anti-slip leather, topped with forearm-length scopes.

Actually sniper rifles?

These required permits to purchase, with extreme power, classified as controlled items.

Interesting.

Which weapons depot did he raid?

Connecting this to the ghost head insignia on Chu Yunfeng's chest, he thoughtfully asked, "Are you injured?"

"No."

"Very good, put the items down, let's start the inspection according to procedure."

Cheng Ye turned and walked back behind the table, pulling out a chair to sit, as if what he had just seen wasn't a pile of weapons enough to arm three squads, but just ordinary goods.

Before truly stepping into the martial arts threshold, he could only vaguely sense Chu Yunfeng's extraordinary nature but now, even though both Chu Yunfeng and Master Tian had Lv4 skills, he inexplicably felt Chu Yunfeng's presence was even more formidable.

How could such a fierce person be content to be an ordinary, law-abiding citizen in Happiness City, struggling to maintain life like those refugees who survived on manual labor?

Not to mention he had a wife and child.

As long as he was determined to put down roots in Happiness City, he would inevitably face layer upon layer of economic pressure.

And going out to "scavenge" was obviously the fastest way to make money.

Snake was still in a daze until Cheng Ye coughed, snapping him back to reality. He hurriedly picked up the detector.

After confirming the readings were stable within safe parameters, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Sir, the data shows no problems."

"Good, come over for questioning."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on Chu Yunfeng as he walked neither obsequiously nor defiantly to the yellow square in front of the isolation table.

He didn't rush to speak, his fingertips lightly tapping on the table surface, his gaze looking him up and down several times before saying, "You recognize me?"

"..." Chu Yunfeng was obviously stunned, as if he hadn't expected him to be so direct.

After four or five seconds of silence, he nodded with difficulty, his voice low, "Yes, sir. We met at Central Station. At that time... at that time my family was being hassled by that inspector, and you stepped in to help us."

"I'm called Cheng Ye. When you saw me, I was still a trainee inspector for this Happiness City," Cheng Ye smiled, "Of course, I still am now."

Cheng Ye...

Chu Yunfeng silently repeated this name several times in his heart, firmly remembering it before looking up again.

"Tell me, where did these weapons come from?" Cheng Ye put away his smile, leaning slightly forward with his elbows on the table and fingers interlaced, "These things aren't something you can just dig up from ruins."

"If they were robbed from other scavengers or survivors, you should understand Happiness City's rules. All supplies will be confiscated, and you'll be fined an equivalent amount. If the situation is extremely severe, such as maliciously causing multiple casualties, it will be directly viewed as challenging Happiness City's order, treated as a hostile force, and subject to judgment under Happiness City law."

Actually, Cheng Ye was clear in his heart that since Chu Yunfeng dared to bring these things openly to the inspection station, even removing the weapons without any concealment, it was enough to prove these items' origins were explainable.

But his reason for reminding him was mainly because the final determination of these rules wasn't in the inspectors' hands.

But rather with the purchasing point, where there were specialized appraisers who would conduct a series of detailed examinations through traces like wear patterns on weapons, fingerprint residue, serial number records, and so forth.

Even if Chu Yunfeng could fabricate a self-consistent story, as long as the appraisal results determined these weapons were robbed from ordinary survivors, the consequences would be exactly what he had just described.

"They were taken from the Hundred Ghosts Gang."

"Oh?"

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. This name had been quite unfamiliar before, but now it was very familiar.

The first time he'd heard it was when inspecting the four brothers, discovering that Li Kuang had fought the Hundred Ghosts Gang.

These past two days on duty in Zone B, he'd often heard this name from scavengers' mouths.

The so-called "Hundred Ghosts Gang" referred to the largest scavenger faction in Chuan City ruins, bar none.

Of course, this "largest" didn't refer to how strict their organizational hierarchy was, or how many capable fighters they had under them.

The essence of the Hundred Ghosts Gang was more like a loose alliance, a platform for surrounding settlements of scavengers to communicate.

Simply put, it was a wasteland version of an "adventurers' guild."

Any scavenger organization with more than fifty people could go to the core area of Chuan City ruins to find the Hundred Ghosts Gang's leader "Ghost King," submit their activity range and supply lists, register and file, and they'd be considered members.

After joining, the biggest benefit was being able to barter at the seven outposts the Hundred Ghosts Gang had scattered throughout the ruins.

Scarce medicines, weapons and ammunition, food resources, even "safe route maps" of the surrounding areas.

Their prices were basically the same as Happiness City's buying and selling prices, sometimes even more affordable.

Cheng Ye had a vague guess that behind the Hundred Ghosts Gang should be Happiness City's secret support.

It was even possible that the inspection stations making first-line contact with city ruins were the masterminds.

After all, order in Chuan City ruins couldn't be chaotic. As Happiness City's first filter, the Hundred Ghosts Gang's existence served as a perfect buffer.

Not only could it provide early warning for Happiness City and assist the Blood Dragon Corps in maintaining order among surrounding settlements, avoiding most infection source threats.

It could also directly manage scavengers and settlements, defining various organizations' activity ranges through trade and registration, equivalent to adding an invisible fence to the chaotic wasteland but this fence only managed the big picture.

Whether the small organizations that joined below committed evil, robbed solo scavengers' supplies, or killed people, the Hundred Ghosts Gang never interfered.

For example, Big Head Ghost mentioned by the four brothers was an organization that specialized in "honey traps."

The Hundred Ghosts Gang couldn't possibly kick out this group just because of what they did. After all, scavengers living in the wasteland didn't have much moral bottom line to speak of, and their principles were flexible.

Never mind Big Head Ghost who specialized in evil, even those scavengers who usually seemed honest and made their living picking up scrap materials wouldn't mind robbing when encountering naive fat sheep.

Once they established a "prohibition on evil" rule, it would be equivalent to setting themselves up as a moral standard, turning the Hundred Ghosts Gang into an organization with a clear stance, which would instead make them enemies of the scavengers.

"Which ghost head?"

"Glutton Ghost," Chu Yunfeng raised his hand, his fingertip lightly tapping the fanged ghost head pattern on his chest.

"They specifically target migrants," Chu Yunfeng's voice grew heavy, "A while back, large numbers of people left Happiness City wanting to try their luck elsewhere. Glutton Ghost set up seven or eight checkpoints in the surrounding areas, specifically robbing those solitary migrants."

"They don't kill people, just rob them and let them go, but without supplies and weapons, migrants can't last three days in the wasteland. They either starve to death or get targeted by infection sources, no different from killing them directly."

"Many people, with no other choice and not wanting to return to Happiness City to start over as newcomers, simply joined Glutton Ghost's mortal enemy, Red Hair Ghost's side."

"The two sides have been fighting in the ruins recently, seven or eight battles, from the department store in the east city to the refinery in the west city, never stopping. I also joined Red Hair Ghost, and these..." He pointed at the pile of weapons on the ground, his tone matter-of-fact, "are my spoils of war."

Good lord, spoils of war?

Chu Yunfeng spoke so seriously that Cheng Ye listened somewhat astonished, almost unable to keep his expression straight.

"What banner does Red Hair Ghost fight under?"

He suppressed his surprise, deliberately drawing out his tone with a hint of curious interest.

"Protection fees," Chu Yunfeng didn't notice the change in Cheng Ye's tone and continued seriously, "Red Hair Ghost isn't exactly good people either, but at least they don't rob randomly. Their rule is to provide manpower to clear infected entities around settlements, designate a safe zone, then collect supplies monthly from settlements as protection fees. Usually it's construction waste that scavengers don't want, not worth much in trade, but Red Hair Ghost has specialized ways to handle it."

"They control a small building materials factory in the south city, can produce rebar and prefab panels, and bought some small equipment from Happiness City that can operate normally. Usually they provide both materials and labor, helping settlements that need it build walls and construct watchtowers."

"Of course, taking orders occasionally issued by Happiness City is the main business, repairing some damaged facilities outside the city, like roads and bridges. That stone bridge on the west side of Linjiang that was washed away last month, they led people to repair it. This is the main source of income."

Interesting.

Cheng Ye listened with great interest. Compared to the scattered, emotionally charged complaints from other scavengers' mouths, Chu Yunfeng's description was obviously closer to reality, neither deliberately beautifying nor deliberately smearing, just matter-of-factly describing a faction's survival method.

This was the real wasteland ecology.

No absolute good or evil, only struggling to find ways to survive on the edge of rules.

Glutton Ghost made money by robbing migrants, Red Hair Ghost established themselves through protection fees and construction orders. Everyone had their own way of living.

"So how did Red Hair Ghost end up fighting with Glutton Ghost?"

"Initially it was just a small conflict. Glutton Ghost's people robbed a batch of building materials, but this batch had already been reserved by Red Hair Ghost. As a result, Glutton Ghost intercepted it, and the two sides had a fight over this. Everyone thought that was the end of it."

"But Glutton Ghost didn't swallow this insult. Later, when Red Hair Ghost was helping East Village Settlement build watchtowers, they spent three days setting up the rebar framework, but Glutton Ghost sent people to sneak over at night and secretly dug out the soil from the tower foundation. It almost collapsed, equivalent to ruining Red Hair Ghost's reputation. After being discovered, they became mortal enemies and have been fighting recently."

"I see..."

Cheng Ye thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

This explanation wasn't complex, and although he had no way to verify its truth, the purchasing point presumably had ways to verify it.

"These weapons are what I got from raiding one of Glutton Ghost's hideouts with others," Chu Yunfeng said, pulling two pieces of white paper folded and stored in waterproof bags from his pocket, "This shows the specific location of the hideout. I also recorded the combat process on the back. Red Hair Ghost's side can testify."

Cheng Ye took them and glanced at the testimony, which basically matched what Chu Yunfeng had said. What wasn't mentioned were just some combat details and distribution processes.

Flipping to the back, Red Hair Ghost's boss 'Red Hair' had personally written a paragraph and stamped it with his seal, roughly praising Chu Yunfeng for being very brave during combat and earnestly requesting the inspector's fair judgment.

Tsk, they had this whole thing organized quite systematically.

"This Tiger Brother?"

Chu Yunfeng hesitated, his ears slightly reddening, as if mustering great courage before speaking, "My alias with Red Hair Ghost is Tiger Feng."

When saying this, his eyes were somewhat evasive.

When using this alias in the ruins, he only felt it was fierce and intimidating enough, but standing under the inspection station's rain shelter and saying it to Cheng Ye, he inexplicably felt somewhat ashamed.

Cheng Ye couldn't help but smile slightly, not exposing his embarrassment, just nodding, "Alright, no problems."

Opening his panel for a glance, the honest man's cooperation level had already risen to 75%.

He felt that if he intimidated him a bit more, reaching over 90% shouldn't be a problem, but to reach 100%, he'd have to wait for a more suitable opportunity.

It was just that Liu Kun might return at any time today, so he needed to save his charging value. Cheng Ye wasn't in a hurry to search right now.

The last time at Central Station, the two hadn't had a chance to get acquainted, including later at the shopping center where communication wasn't convenient.

Now was different, finally having a chance to get closer and get to know each other.

Cheng Ye closed the panel, his voice becoming gentler, "This is a special period. You can take ordinary supplies directly to the purchasing point, where you'll only need to pay 5% tax, but these guns, especially those grenades and two sniper rifles, are all controlled items that individuals can't bring into the buffer zone at will according to regulations."

Hearing this, Chu Yunfeng's face showed a trace of nervousness, this was exactly what he was most worried about.

Seeing this, Cheng Ye continued, "Here's what we'll do. I'll temporarily store the items in the inspection station's warehouse and have someone from the purchasing point come tonight to inventory and register them. If you're not in a hurry for money, after the investigation is complete, the money will be directly transferred to your account in a few days. If you're in a hurry..."

He thought for a moment and added, "Tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock, come wait for me early at the South Station entrance. I'll have someone calculate everything clearly for you on the spot."

Chu Yunfeng nodded repeatedly, his anxious heart settling by more than half. Finally, he rubbed his hands together, appearing somewhat hesitant.

"What's wrong? Is there something else?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Inspector Cheng, could I... could I ask you for a favor?"

Chu Yunfeng's voice was extremely low, almost drowned out by the rain.

His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. According to the experience that boss 'Red Hair' had taught him before returning to the city, in this situation, he should immediately put on a grateful appearance.

Best would be to seize the right moment and kneel directly, kowtowing while describing how difficult it was in the ruins, how many cuts he took to grab these weapons, how there were children at home waiting for life-saving money...

Red Hair had patted his chest guaranteeing that as long as the performance was realistic, eight or nine out of ten inspectors would soften and reduce the secret commission from 50% to around 40%.

Why not the 5% that ordinary scavengers should have?

Nonsense, that small commission was set for those honest people who dug ruins and searched for materials, not for people like them who licked blood from knife edges in the ruins and fought with other factions.

Happiness City didn't encourage private fighting on the surface, but secretly restricted things earned through "killing" even more tightly.

If you dared to treat other people as prey, you had to be prepared to have half taken away. This was an unwritten rule with no room for accommodation.

Even taking things to Ghost King for exchange, explaining their origin, the commission would only be higher, at least 60% starting, and you'd still have to look at their mood.

The only way was to sell retail to scavengers and individuals, but this was too troublesome. Everyone lacked bullets, few people would lack guns, and even if they bought, they'd go to Ghost King's place where the source was legitimate, convenient for future exchanges or emergency use.

This batch of weapons had a total value exceeding 2000 Happiness Coins, not counting the contribution points the grenades and sniper rifles could exchange for.

10% less commission would still net over two hundred, enough for an ordinary worker to toil for nearly half a month.

Only now, standing in front of Cheng Ye, Chu Yunfeng's knees felt filled with lead, unable to bend no matter what.

Those prepared crying tones and pitiful scenes all turned into dry silence when they reached his mouth because he instinctively felt that Cheng Ye wasn't the kind of inspector Red Hair had described, nor would he like him doing this.

Especially remembering the look in Cheng Ye's eyes when watching him remove the weapons one by one, without greed or disdain, only an appreciation that surprised him.

This appreciation inexplicably made Chu Yunfeng feel that honest speaking would actually be more reliable than fake emotional performance.

"Speak."

Seeing Chu Yunfeng remain motionless for a long time, even showing some constraint on his face, Cheng Ye found it somewhat strange and could only soften his tone, "As long as it doesn't violate regulations, I'll help if I can."

This sentence was like a reassuring pill. Chu Yunfeng took a deep breath and finally looked up, "Inspector Cheng, I'm a bit short on money. I know the rules require a 50% cut, but I urgently need money to change housing. The shack I was assigned before has been leaking, with water seeping through the wall cracks. I've patched it several times and kept repairing it, but nothing works."

He spoke haltingly, but his eyes carried a determined honesty.

Success or failure rested on this one sentence, absolutely no tricks.

Cheng Ye was stunned, then smiled. He thought Chu Yunfeng was going to pull some big stunt, but it turned out to be this.

"I'll calculate it at 40% for you. Also... contribution points probably aren't useful to you. For those few items' income, I'll have the purchasing office convert them to Happiness Coins at a 1 to 10 ratio. How about that?"

He paused and added, "Also, I'm personally very interested in information about the Hundred Ghosts Gang. Just write down what you know about those factions' movements outside the city, hideout distributions, and rumors about the ghost heads you know, and give it to me. Consider it payment for this favor I'm doing you."

Chu Yunfeng suddenly looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.

He originally thought being able to negotiate down to 40% would be thanking heaven and earth, never expecting to also get the highest exchange rate for Happiness Coins, and even have the "payment" arranged for him.

Finally, he was startled again, that surprise turning into deep complexity, stuck in his throat. After a long while, he could only squeeze out, "Thank... thank you, Inspector Cheng."

"Alright, 7 o'clock tomorrow morning, wait for me at the South Station entrance," Cheng Ye waved his hand and pressed the button on the table, "Your luck is pretty good... if you'd come back a day later, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so easy."

Chu Yunfeng didn't understand this sentence, but he detected a trace of gravity in Cheng Ye's tone.

"Yes!"

He nodded firmly, grabbed the raincoat from nearby and put it on, his movements much lighter than when he'd arrived.

No unnecessary pleasantries, no looking back, he strode through the isolation door, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the passage.

Snake watched from the side in amazement, only coming back to his senses after Chu Yunfeng had gone far.

"Snake."

"Yeah."

"Go check these weapons, see if there are any abnormal traces, pick them out in advance if there are."

"Yes!"

Just a small matter.

As long as it was within his authority, it was just a matter of saying a few words.

Thinking about connecting with Chu Yunfeng again, Cheng Ye couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. After all, Miao Yang's highest skill was only Lv3. To go further, he still needed to work on Chu Yunfeng.

Moreover, Chu Yunfeng obviously wasn't an ordinary person. Maybe like Jiang Chuan, he was hiding special physical talents?

Just as he was pondering this, more scavengers began walking through the passage.

Opening his defense communicator to glance at the time, it was already 11:30. The next wave of incoming foot traffic was about to peak.

Cheng Ye collected his thoughts and refocused his attention on inspections, but until Wang Kang came to take over his shift, he still hadn't seen any sign of Liu Kun.

Was he planning to wait until afternoon, or evening?

But by then there would be fewer and fewer scavengers, how would it be convenient to hide his identity?

"Brother Cheng, you go rest. I'll handle this," Wang Kang had just finished washing his hands, shaking off water drops, already assuming the posture of taking over the duty but just as Cheng Ye stood up, planning to hand over the duty post to Wang Kang, the corner of his eye caught sight of another flow of people surging from the distant passage entrance.

Taking a look, his eyes narrowed and his heart began racing uncontrollably.

"Xiao Kang."

"Hm?"

"You go rest in back for a while. Today's situation is different, I'll work a longer shift!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 127: Inspection Difficulties, Meeting an Old Friend Again!

It was raining.

South Station.

Fine raindrops were swept by the wind, breaking through the rain shelter from the side and beating against Cheng Ye's raincoat.

Taking advantage of the temporary clearing of the previous batch of people, four staff members rushed in with mops, quickly cleaning up the mud that had been tracked inside.

Today was the third day since the inspection station had reopened. Although the Void Mist still lingered and the rain continued endlessly, there had been no large-scale eruptions from the fog passages. Overall, things were relatively stable, and the number of scavengers coming and going had seen a modest increase.

From the start of his shift, Cheng Ye had been busy for over two hours straight until ten o'clock, finally getting a chance to sit down and catch his breath.

Based on past experience, the next wave of foot traffic would peak around noon at twelve, corresponding to those who had set out after seven in the morning when daylight broke.

"Snake, have someone bring me a pen, bring several more, and get me a new notebook too. This one's finished," Cheng Ye said, squeezing the inkless ballpoint pen. The pen barrel spun half a turn between his fingers as he leaned back in his chair and called out.

"Yes, sir!" Snake grabbed the defense communicator hanging on his chest, quickly gave a few instructions into the microphone, then continued helping the staff clean up the muddy water.

This job was truly troublesome.

The mud mixed with gravel and grass roots couldn't be poured directly into the drainage system. If it got clogged, they would have to wait until after the inspection station closed to clear it overnight.

But the inspection station was explosively dangerous at night, no one dared go out, even the guards had to huddle in their posts.

So they could only solve the problem at its source, using filters to strain it several times, carrying away the large chunks of mud for disposal, and only then daring to drain the remaining dirty water through the pipes.

Cheng Ye watched for a while, and when someone brought him the pen and notebook, he couldn't help shaking his head as he took them.

All things considered, Quarantine Zone B should be the area with the lowest danger, moderate trouble, and the heaviest workload.

For people with real capability, the "cost-effectiveness" ranked last among the four zones, not even as good as Zone D but for someone determined to play it safe, like Lee Matteo, this was paradise!

Based on the information he'd gathered from chatting with scavengers over the past few days, he had already summarized quite a bit of high-value intelligence.

Most people, after leaving the buffer zone, wouldn't venture beyond a hundred kilometers around Happiness City.

Those who dared venture deeper into the wasteland were either highly skilled small teams or desperate gamblers betting everything on making it big.

The former had extremely low infection probability, even lower than the convoys from neighboring Zone A.

Because these teams, in order to safely seek profit in the wasteland, had established rules so strict they were almost harsh. Many of these rules made even Cheng Ye click his tongue when he heard them.

As for the desperate gamblers, there was no need to say more. Out of ten who went out, maybe two or three would return, if that.

Even worse, these lucky two or three who made it back had basically a one hundred percent infection rate.

When encountering such people, he would directly send them to isolation, guaranteed to be correct.

Setting aside these two situations, within the hundred-kilometer scavenging circle, the busiest place was undoubtedly the ruins of Chuan City, which was right nearby.

As a mega-city from the old era with nearly ten million people, even though Happiness City had been scavenging it for decades, the concrete jungle still hid inexhaustible treasures.

Not to mention other things, just carrying back a bag of rebar was worth more than a day's labor.

Other items like gold bars and gold jewelry were common finds, with people bringing some back from time to time.

More importantly, Chuan City ruins were watched by the Blood Dragon Corps. Even if there were infected sources lurking around, they couldn't stir up much trouble, making the safety factor very high.

Beyond Chuan City ruins, within a hundred kilometers there were also four county towns, thirty-four townships, and hundreds of scattered villages.

These places, while more dangerous, hid another kind of "treasure."

Like the young man who had just left, he had dug up four stalks of thick-leaved, vigorously growing White Water Grass from Dapo Town, sixty kilometers south of the buffer zone.

This was one of the few mutated plants in Shi Province that grew in the ground but wasn't affected by transcendent curses.

According to the manual, its effects were quite remarkable. After crushing the leaves and adding a special solvent, centrifugal separation could extract a transparent liquid.

When this liquid was applied to protective suits, shields, or weapons, it would immediately glow with a pale purple fluorescence upon contact with infection sources or abnormal environments, blocking considerable infection risks. In the wasteland, it was a life-saver.

The purchasing point in the buffer zone offered this grass at 50 contribution points per stalk after a 5% commission, so four stalks meant 200 points.

Even at the official exchange rate of 1 to 7 for Happiness Coins, that was a full 1400 coins.

Running off to repair pipes, working yourself to death for half a year could barely save up that amount, proving just how high the returns from scavenging could be.

"Zhang Xiaofan, 24, 9:41, inspection process as follows: confirmed no infection risk, harvest: four stalks of White Water Grass, self-reported destination: around Dapo Town."

Cheng Ye muttered as he recorded the recent inspection process, his pen tip scratching across the paper.

This was the most burdensome work for Zone B inspectors, taking up nearly 70% of their workload.

Although the records didn't need to be complex, just recording names, ages, entry times, brief inspection processes, and most importantly, harvests and destinations for filing to facilitate future tracing, Zone B simply had too many people. Calculating six hundred people recorded per day, there was basically no time to rest.

And after he finished recording, the clerical staff in Zone B couldn't idle either. They had to collect all the information in the evening and type it word by word into the buffer zone's servers for storage.

Through the resident system, these records would correspond with each person's basic information. With a click, you could clearly see someone's entry and exit frequency over the past six months, what they brought back each time, and their common activity locations.

Using this miscellaneous data for analysis was actually the prototype of modern big data.

Through big data changes, they could immediately analyze threat changes around Happiness City and analyze a person's risk level from the source.

For example, people who went out to distant places daily would undergo more complex inspection processes than others.

Or if someone frequently went to the same place, they needed to analyze whether there were any problems.

They could even see resource distribution from harvest changes and analyze the reasons behind such distribution.

Of course, these ideas were currently just a vague framework, not even counting as a feasible plan.

Why?

Cheng Ye finished writing the last character, threw his pen on the table, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh because the inspection station was just too damn poor!

Even if Ding Yishan understood the benefits of big data and informatization from the materials and sent people to try moving in this direction, gradually analyzing the benefits and wanting to improve the current situation step by step, the inspection station's training system had long determined that this system could never be fully implemented.

Not a single inspector had the opportunity to properly learn data management or genuinely experience the benefits that big data could bring.

Nor would any inspector be interested in sitting in front of a computer typing code.

Just like Li Changfeng, the Level 4 inspector from Xinghuo Sanctuary City, who only had a superficial understanding of items that used source guidance technology.

This was enough to prove that inspectors everywhere, no matter where they were, had no time to learn such peripheral knowledge.

Naturally, the inspection station could only dump these "detailed tasks" on the clerks.

But the problem was, even if the clerks understood, they had no authority to submit budget applications upward.

Cheng Ye had specifically gone to look at the computers the clerks used, and sure enough, they were the "big butts" he had imagined.

The entire inspection station's four zones combined had only eight computers.

Two per zone, one for inputting information and one for backing up data.

For processing basic records, the speed was passable, but for learning and researching from scratch, even Cheng Ye felt dizzy after sitting and watching for a while.

Because the computer system wasn't the familiar Windows he knew, but a server-specific system purchased from Xinghuo. All data operations were implemented through command lines, with everything focused on simplicity and practicality.

Even if you pulled out old-era programming books and wanted to research something on this system, well, let's talk about something more practical.

Just inputting basic information kept them busy until midnight every day. Where would they find energy to study?

As for more advanced algorithm models and real-time warning systems, those were even more impossible pipe dreams.

In the modern world, even selecting and training from billions of people might not produce many talents.

Expecting these ordinary people in Happiness City to do research was less realistic than waiting for Xinghuo to develop finished products for purchase.

Of course, this brought us back to the original problem.

No money.

The inspection station had no money. Even if there were occasional surpluses, they should be used where they mattered most.

"This wave of great migration is an excellent opportunity. If the inspection station could get some funding, life would be comfortable," Cheng Ye wiped the water stains splashed on the table edge with a rag, silently pondering.

The risky confrontations and probing between him and Ding Yishan had basically confirmed one thing for him.

This inspection station was worth staying at.

This Station Chief Ding was someone he could work with!

If he really planned to make something of this place rather than just muddle through, collect some benefits, and run, the key point was whether the inspection station actually had upward potential and whether Ding Yishan had enough courage to tear open the current situation.

If the upper levels were stagnant water and the people below only cared about forming cliques and taking sides, no matter how many ideas he had, he wouldn't find anywhere to apply his strength.

But if Ding Yishan could use this great migration as an opportunity to secure some real authority for the inspectors from above, it wouldn't need to be much. Even just a little would be enough for the inspection station to upgrade its equipment and fix the broken Central Station first.

As for the future...

"I'm not even a station chief yet, but I'm already worrying like one, thinking about the inspection station," Cheng Ye deliberately drew out his tone, imitating the way many scavengers spoke when leaving, praising himself, "Anyone who knew would have to say, 'Inspector Cheng, how great!'"

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help grinning first. After laughing, he felt somewhat cold.

Probably from sitting too long, his blood circulation was getting sluggish again, and the rain's chill was seeping through the gaps in his raincoat.

He stood up, planning to move around a bit.

The mud on the ground had been mostly cleaned up by Snake and his team, leaving only a few shallow water traces. A quick mop would restore the usual cleanliness.

Looking into the distant curtain of rain, it seemed like a few more scavengers carrying sacks were walking this way, their figures swaying in the rain but when these people got closer, they were diverted to the surrounding areas and didn't come to Gate B.

A good thing?

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. With fewer people coming, he could rest a bit longer.

This thought had barely emerged when Zone C suddenly erupted with a crackling burst of gunfire, popping like frying beans, sharp and clear in the rain.

The smile on Cheng Ye's face instantly faded. Looks like he wouldn't be hearing six bell chimes today.

He quickly walked to the isolation fence between Zone B and Zone C, looking over.

Dong Xing had already holstered his pistol and was standing in a pool of blood that hadn't yet been washed away by the rain, looking down at the four corpses at his feet with complex emotions.

The exposed skin of the four people was covered with a thin yellow membrane, like insect flesh membrane, which could definitively confirm they had been infected.

Were they "geniuses" from the surrounding small settlements of the past?

Or were they "migrants" influenced by the Walker who had already started arriving one after another?

These two thoughts flashed through Cheng Ye's mind.

Dong Xing noticed his gaze, looked up through the rain, and shook his head, his lips moving.

From the lip movement, it was Footpower Worm.

A special infection source that could make people forget fatigue and keep moving forward.

Calling it malignant would be inaccurate.

Because the method to remove Footpower Worm was very simple. As long as the infected person maintained the thought that they must keep moving forward for over half a month, the infection source would die from exhaustion due to the constant energy supply.

Because of this characteristic, many bold migrants would actively seek out Footpower Worm infection when crossing thousands of miles of wasteland, because collapsing from exhaustion on the road posed obviously greater risks than losing control after infection.

But its fatal aspect lay in "relaxation."

If they were delayed by something and stopped midway, or suddenly had the thought that they were finally close and could breathe easy, the lurking worm source would explode instantly.

Just like these four corpses looked now. If they hadn't been killed, they would have indiscriminately attacked living beings until they died of exhaustion.

After the cleanup team arrived to begin containment, Dong Xing walked over and said in a low voice through the isolation fence, "What a pity. They should have been migrants wanting to settle in our Happiness City, but their luck was bad and they got infected by Footpower Worm."

"They were just queuing in Zone C..." Dong Xing's voice carried fatigue and self-blame, "Sigh, it's my fault. I saw them all about to collapse from exhaustion, so I spoke out of turn and said, 'Now that you've reached Happiness City, you can relax completely. Don't worry about anything, just go to the settlement point and rest well for a few days, don't think about anything.'"

Before he finished speaking, he angrily punched the isolation fence.

"It's not your fault, don't overthink it," Cheng Ye paused, trying to keep his voice steady, "Even if the infection hadn't been exposed, asking about their travel route and timeline would have revealed the abnormality. They would have been sent to isolation for observation anyway. The outcome might not have been much better."

"Inspector Cheng, you don't need to comfort me. I was confused," Dong Xing forced a smile that looked worse than crying, "People infected with Footpower Worm can actually be saved if kept in isolation rooms. As long as we constantly remind them they haven't reached their destination yet and keep them thinking about moving forward, even if it's just walking back and forth in the room, they can survive half a month and get through it."

He paused, his voice slightly hoarse, "After identifying Footpower Worm, inspectors should actually help these people. But I just saw them about to collapse and only thought about comforting them, forgetting the most crucial step."

Cheng Ye fell silent.

This was the most grinding aspect of inspection work, both the difficulty and the essence.

Not only did they have to act like sieves, identifying infection sources one by one and blocking risks firmly outside the inspection station to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands in the buffer zone.

They also had to find a way out for those entangled by special infection sources who still had a thread of hope but this was too difficult.

The bizarre rules of special infection sources relied entirely on inspectors' experience to judge and guide.

Very few people could be comprehensive. Even Cheng Ye didn't dare say he could have done better than Dong Xing in that situation just now because he knew about the Walker, he would be more alert to such situations and might have shot directly.

"We still need a set of modern analysis and detection tools like Xinghuo has, scientific procedures," Cheng Ye quietly watched the containment team put the four people in body bags, place them on stretchers, and carry them away, thinking heavily.

"Otherwise, relying purely on inspectors' experience, we might screen out not just infected bodies, but also those who could have lived."

Just like those four migrants earlier, if there had been recording machines to let them upload their movements, with backend data automatically analyzing their tracks and providing judgment opinions, inspectors would handle things much more calmly.

Suddenly, Dong Xing's voice came from the other side of the isolation fence, "Inspector Cheng, someone's coming to your area."

"Oh, okay."

Cheng Ye turned around and saw that indeed, in the rain curtain at Zone B's entrance, a figure wearing a knee-length black raincoat with two bulging waterproof bags on each shoulder was walking this way, stepping deep then shallow through the mud.

The rain hood was pulled very low, almost covering the entire face. Only the hem of the raincoat could be seen swaying with each step, splashing up strings of muddy water.

Returning to sit behind the inspection table, Cheng Ye squinted slightly, his vision instantly piercing through the rain curtain.

Generally speaking, solitary scavengers had an infection rate of basically over 80% when inspected.

Moreover, the infection sources they carried were often not common mainland varieties but would frequently produce "surprises" that caught people off guard.

If not for Dong Xing's regret just now, Cheng Ye would have already placed his hand on his gun when facing such a person.

But now, his gaze deepened, and he didn't rush to act, only continuously observing and analyzing.

Hmm?

Cheng Ye's eyebrows suddenly furrowed.

Why did this feel somewhat familiar?

His memory had always been exceptional. He could often remember the general content of many documents after just one reading.

After coming to this wasteland world, perhaps due to changing bodies, his memory had inexplicably strengthened further, which was why he had recognized the backpack at first glance yesterday.

And now, this figure's way of walking was very familiar, as if...

"Damn, why does this look so much like how I walk?"

As soon as this thought emerged, even Cheng Ye was stunned.

He stood up with a whoosh, walked several steps to the edge of the rain shelter, and carefully examined the figure through the fine rain curtain.

Just then, the scavenger had reached the passage entrance and seemed to sense his gaze, pausing slightly. Then he slowly raised his head, reached up to lift the rain hood that had been pulled low, revealing the face hidden beneath.

Almost instantly, both people froze simultaneously.

Ah?

It was Chu Yunfeng?

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 126: Unity of Man and Heaven, Transcendent Admission Ticket!

The sound of rain outside seemed isolated in another world.

Fine raindrops tapped against the glass, drifting diagonally through the two holes in the wall, seeping into dark patches on the floor, yet unable to penetrate the stagnant air inside the meeting room.

Only the ticking of the wall clock remained, each sound like a heavy hammer striking the heart.

Making everyone slow their breathing, trying to minimize their presence in the meeting room as much as possible.

Lan Ni and Zhao Kai, who had just been arguing red-faced over proposals, now seemed deflated, both shrinking into their chairs with slightly hunched shoulders, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Hou Rui and Carlo Dickinson, who had thrown heavy punches, also restrained all their sharpness.

Hou Rui had somehow gotten a new pair of gold-rimmed glasses, pulling out a tissue from his pocket to seriously clean the gleaming lenses.

Carlo Dickinson lowered his head slightly, flipping through his folder, his fingers aimlessly drawing circles on the paper.

Only their tightly pressed lips and tense jawlines betrayed the turmoil in their hearts.

Once upon a time, Happiness City had a three-way balance of power.

Technology, Transcendent, and the Inspection Station.

Controlling development, external affairs, and internal security respectively.

By rights, the placement and screening of migrants and refugees had always been the Inspection Station's specialty.

But after so many years of development, everyone had forgotten this fact.

Not until now, when Ding Yishan stood up and laid the word "responsibility" bare on the table, did everyone suddenly realize a forgotten truth:

Among all of Happiness City's departments, it seemed... only the Inspection Station had no qualification to make excuses?

The Works Department could complain about Human Resources sending stupid, clumsy workers. Human Resources could blame training budgets being too tight and requirements too high.

The Industrial Department could push problems onto old equipment and insufficient production capacity, even turning around to blame the Resource Department for poor supply.

Various departments could always find reasons to explain away good or bad task completion, ranging from buck-passing to blame-shifting, each having their own survival philosophy.

But the Inspection Station couldn't.

But inspectors couldn't!

Because if they didn't take responsibility, infection sources would spread like weeds, growing wildly through cracks in the buffer zone, breaking through defenses overnight.

Because if they passed the buck, all of Happiness City would lose its foundation for survival in the wasteland.

After all, if they couldn't even protect basic safety, what was there to discuss about development or external affairs?

But why had no one realized this before?

Not until Ding Yishan suddenly "hardened up" now did everyone belatedly awaken.

Seeing no one speaking for a long time, Yuan Gang's gaze darkened, slowly sweeping across the entire room.

From front to back, from left to right.

His gaze was unhurried yet carried invisible pressure, as if it could penetrate flesh and reach the deepest parts of people's hearts.

Those who had been struggling to flip through documents and pretend to think were all pressed down by invisible hands at their necks, unanimously lowering their heads.

As if this gaze also carried transcendent power.

It was somewhat ridiculous.

A group of figures who commanded wind and rain in their respective departments, discussing and analyzing, yet when someone truly stepped forward to shoulder all consequences, not even one dared to lift their head.

Why?

Because no matter how well these houses were built or how comfortably the migrants lived, the credit wouldn't fall to them.

Under normal circumstances, this would just be a routine task of "executing according to plan."

Plans were formulated, subordinates proceeded according to process. If anything went wrong, they could blame construction workers or complain about bad weather, insufficient materials, or uncooperative migrants.

As long as they wanted to find excuses, they could always find ten thousand reasons to shirk responsibility but if they truly stepped forward to accept this responsibility, it would be like nailing themselves to a fire pit.

Who could guarantee no accidents during the process?

This wasn't playing a game where clicking "execute plan" would yield rows of neat houses.

Monsters emerging from the Void Mist, infection source outbreaks, or internal conflicts among migrants.

Any possibility could bring the entire construction plan to a halt at any moment.

So who dared shoulder this responsibility?

Who dared pat their chest and guarantee they could properly settle the hundreds of thousands of incoming migrants without freezing, starving, or causing chaos?

Who dared say that even if problems arose in the end, even if they had to face Yuan Gang's accountability, various transcendents' anger, and migrants' resentment, they would absolutely not shift blame or pass the buck?

No one dared.

"Since everyone has concerns and doesn't want to wade into these muddy waters to contribute to our Happiness City, it seems I need to designate a working group and group leader to solve this matter."

Yuan Gang spoke again, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.

Then his gaze precisely fell on Ding Yishan, "Station Chief Ding, would there be any problem with you leading the housing construction working group?"

"There would be a problem!"

The rebuttal rang out almost the instant Yuan Gang finished speaking, like a thunderbolt striking the silent meeting room.

Holy shit?

Everyone was stunned. This direct?

What stimulus had Ding Yishan received today to dare directly confront the deputy city lord?

Even Carlo Dickinson, who usually enjoyed jabbing at Ding Yishan, raised his eyebrows and glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

Although everyone knew Yuan Gang absolutely had double standards for transcendents and ordinary people.

If any transcendent dared rely on power to act arrogantly here, he would definitely slap them flying to clear their heads but for ordinary people's dissenting opinions, he often forgot he was a transcendent.

Restraining his edge, listening patiently.

But this didn't mean Yuan Gang was a temperless robot. Continuing a series of direct confrontations would inevitably lead to determining a winner.

By then, Ding Yishan, an ordinary person without transcendent power, would likely not fare well.

Seeing the atmosphere in the meeting room growing increasingly tense.

Ding Yishan's expression was serious, hands flat on the table, knuckles slightly tense, eyes staring directly at Yuan Gang without any evasion:

"Deputy City Lord Yuan, I am the Inspection Station chief, responsible for buffer zone protection work. I can become the group leader without problem, but who will take over the Inspection Station's burden? If real chaos breaks out, who will bear this responsibility?"

Responsibility again!

Again this kind of naked questioning laid bare on the table!

If people hadn't quite reacted to the previous question, with this statement, how could these shrewd individuals not taste the implications?

This was planning to use this opportunity to immediately move on the power division of the outer city?

But was it really this direct?

Forget whether these seated people were willing, would Yuan Gang, this deputy city lord, agree?

"If you leave, can't Harlin manage in your stead?"

Yuan Gang continued questioning, his tone revealing no emotion.

"Harlin can manage temporarily, but who will take over the North and South rapid stations monitoring under his authority?"

Ding Yishan yielded no ground, his tone suddenly sharpening, "The migrant numbers are too large. Central Station alone can't handle it. North and South stations must immediately start diversion, with daily traffic over ten thousand being normal. If these two stations have any oversights and infection sources spread, the risk would be ten times greater than outer city construction."

"Deputy City Lord Yuan, I wonder who will bear this risk?"

"Interesting."

Yuan Gang suddenly smiled. The smile was shallow but like a crack that loosened the tense air for an instant.

After thinking, just like when he questioned Yu Hong last time, he again chose the most direct approach.

"Station Chief Ding, feel free to speak directly. At yesterday's migration meeting, I said that outer city construction requires the entire city's strength. No department can avoid it."

"Anyone with opinions or ideas should speak up. If anything goes wrong, I'll bear it. I guarantee no one will dare settle scores afterward."

"Deputy City Lord Yuan, I have no special ideas."

Ding Yishan's gaze slowly swept around once, finally returning to Yuan Gang, "I just feel that continuing to discuss this way is purely a waste of time, providing no substantial help for our upcoming migrant settlement work."

"Good, well said." Yuan Gang actually stood up and began clapping.

Combined with his simple, practical washed long shirt and wide-leg hemp pants, it seemed less like a meeting room deciding the fate of hundreds of thousands and more like a classroom where a teacher heard students solve a difficult problem, that satisfaction coming naturally and purely.

However, this applause, falling in the currently dead silent meeting room, ultimately seemed somewhat jarring.

Under normal circumstances, perhaps everyone present would immediately stand up and applaud as well, using the momentum to elevate Ding Yishan, forcing him to say something concrete today, preferably having him take on all responsibilities.

But today, no one dared move.

Why?

Because Ding Yishan's performance was too abnormal.

That Inspection Station chief who usually followed behind Director Liu, speaking gently and even somewhat timidly, seemed like a different person, making people momentarily think Happiness City had returned to the three-way balance of former years.

Daring to mention Cheng Wu, daring to directly confront the deputy city lord, daring to publicly expose everyone's buck-passing.

The uncompromising edge radiating from his entire being almost clearly told everyone: try it if you dare.

Because the mess of hundreds of thousands, nearly a million migrants was too exaggerated.

According to morning reports, after the Walker reached Yueye Sanctuary City, he still hadn't stopped, continuing toward Shi Province's border, apparently heading to neighboring Hai Province but the people affected by his passage kept increasing, with predicted numbers rising again and again.

From the initial 500,000 minimum to 700,000, 800,000, nearly a million!

The increase in numbers wasn't a small matter of building a few buildings or paving a few roads.

It meant forcibly creating living space for a group with nothing in the rain, mud, and unknown risks.

If any link went wrong, it could trigger a chain reaction. No one dared guarantee they could emerge unscathed.

Because even a tiny portion of these troubles falling on them would become a mountain crushing people.

More because... after Yuan Gang said this, Ding Yishan had the legitimate ability to drag any person or department down with him.

Whoever dared to provoke would damn well die together!

"Waste of time... well said!"

Yuan Gang stopped applauding, exhaling a breath of stale air, his face full of satisfaction, "I haven't heard anyone say these four words in here for a long time."

Before his words ended, the meeting room suddenly rippled with slight air currents.

No one saw clearly what Yuan Gang did.

It wasn't like Hou Rui's energy wave eruption, nor did it have Carlo Dickinson's extraordinary display.

Just in a breath, everyone in Ding Yishan's row felt their bodies slightly sway, as if a thin veil covered their vision.

When that dizziness dissipated, people were startled to discover that the left side seats and tables had all switched positions.

Carlo Dickinson had originally sat in the rightmost front position. Now looking up and turning around, he found someone sitting to his right.

The Transcendent faction members beside him, including Zhao Kai, had all moved back accordingly.

The originally neat formation seemed pushed by invisible hands, leaving only the front row position empty.

And Ding Yishan sat steadily in that front position!

This...

Many people's faces changed dramatically, their pen-holding fingers suddenly tightening.

While seating changes might not completely equate to outer city power distribution, in this meeting room symbolizing Happiness City's decision-making core, position order represented the weight of upcoming words and the degree of importance.

How many years had it been?

Since Cheng Wu left, the Inspection Station's position had retreated again and again.

From front to back, from back to center, back and forth, never entering the top five seats.

Even during the years when the Idealist faction was in charge, with three elders backing them, the Inspection Station only obediently sat in today's Idealist faction positions, never meddling in Happiness City's power vortex, only guarding their own small territory.

But today, Ding Yishan had changed, and the Inspection Station had changed.

Yu Hong at the table's end twitched his eye corner, showing a flash of interest. He rested his elbow on the table, crossed his hands, and curved his lips in a barely perceptible arc.

Today's Ding Yishan was the Ding Yishan of yesteryear.

That Ding Yishan who, even when the Idealist faction was in power, dared carry the Original Intent faction banner and resist.

Others might not have seen Ding Yishan's edge, only thinking him a conscientious "good person."

But he was different. He had seen it, witnessed it firsthand.

"Station Chief Ding, sitting here should match what you're about to say."

Yuan Gang sat down with a gentle expression, the hem of his long shirt lightly falling. He turned to look at Ding Yishan in the front position, his eyes carrying just the right amount of expectation:

"Please tell everyone present what we should do now to avoid wasting time and discuss the fastest practical result?"

The dizziness from position switching was still continuing.

Ding Yishan shook his head, fingertips lightly supporting against the smooth table surface to steady himself.

Old.

Among all the department heads present, his current strength wasn't the weakest but was among the bottom tier.

A fifty-year-old man who couldn't even withstand wind and rain was indeed approaching retirement age.

He didn't immediately speak but slowly raised his eyes again, his gaze like a general surveying a battlefield, inch by inch sweeping over every person present.

Sitting in the front position felt truly different.

Unlike sitting in the middle section before, where looking at anyone seemed like looking up to seek opinions, even speech required careful consideration.

Now looking down from above, even the overhead lighting seemed more favorable toward his side, illuminating every person's subtle expressions clearly.

He rarely experienced this weight of life and death decisions, this tremor of holding great power.

When his gaze focused on them, even the usually arrogant Hou Rui instinctively adjusted his glasses, as if avoiding that invisible edge.

Several department heads who used to cause trouble for the Inspection Station quietly lowered their heads, fingertips randomly marking documents, not daring to meet his eyes.

Power?

Ding Yishan's Adam's apple rolled lightly. It truly was a wonderful thing.

Even Director Liu, that transcendent, had never had such authority in the meeting room on any day but precisely because of this, it made him better remember where this power truly came from.

Not because of his station chief title, and certainly not because of any transcendent strength.

It was the Inspection Station behind him, those inspectors, those ordinary residents who needed protection, those outsiders who knew of Happiness City Inspection Station's reputation.

It was the foundation accumulated bit by bit over thirty-plus years of struggling in the buffer zone, starting from Cheng Wu's generation.

It was the respect earned through the lives of inspector after inspector sacrificing at their posts.

This right to speak wasn't given by Yuan Gang, nor yielded by Hou Rui and Carlo Dickinson.

Before Cheng Ye reminded him, before the Walker influenced him, he had never truly realized this point.

But now he felt it, clear as pushing open a glass window and feeling wind and rain with his body.

But now he realized it, his heart burning with hot blood wildly throbbing, making his face flush red.

The seating change, everyone's wariness, Yuan Gang's tacit consent were all silently proving...

Change!

Whoosh.

That power belonging to the Walker surged forth again.

No longer vague throbbing, but clear heat flowing from his dantian upward, striking his chest with stuffiness. When it reached his throat, it carried burning itch, as if it would break through his teeth the next second.

But when he truly opened his mouth, that power became like a spring of clear, cool water, rushing to his brow and pouring down, spreading along his spine to all four limbs.

Years of accumulated fatigue, hesitation, and self-doubt were all cleansed away in this clear spring.

Yuan Gang sat upright in the main seat. His originally slightly raised eyebrows furrowed lightly, surprise flashing in his eyes.

He slightly extended his hand, pressing forward in the air. The entire meeting room completely quieted, even breathing sounds were isolated.

He calmly watched Ding Yishan, his gaze still as a deep pool, like observing drought-stricken vegetation, watching how curled leaves slowly unfurled in sweet rain.

But some people below dramatically changed expressions, especially several department heads stuck at the fourth step for over ten years. They now widened their eyes, showing alarm, realization, and finally freezing in disbelief.

What?

This... how was this possible?

But it was happening right before their eyes!

Under everyone's gaze, in less than half a minute, Ding Yishan slowly exhaled deeply.

His appearance hadn't changed at all, the wrinkles at his eye corners hadn't faded, but the spirit between his brows seemed infused with new vitality.

The cloudy depths of his eyes rekindled with sharp light, his slack shoulders straightened, as if he had suddenly become twenty years younger.

He... achieved Unity of Man and Heaven?

For outside martial artists, Unity of Man and Heaven merely represented entering the final realm of new martial arts, meaning strength and technique had reached their peak.

But for everyone present, Unity of Man and Heaven had more important meaning. It meant the ideology held in one's heart had completely solidified, no longer wavering.

Ding Yishan had officially obtained an admission ticket to transcendence.

And even the weakest ticket had a thirty percent probability of resisting transcendent pollution.

Far higher than his previous success rate of less than half a percent, multiple times over!

"Excellent. The migrants are an opportunity that will bring change to Happiness City and to everyone present. It depends on whether you can seize this chance."

Yuan Gang slowly withdrew his hand, and breathing sounds resumed flowing in the meeting room.

His gaze swept over those department heads still not recovered from shock, finally falling on Ding Yishan, his tone carrying a trace of approval, "Station Chief Ding, please speak."

"Good!"

Ding Yishan responded immediately, unaware of the shock he had caused.

He only felt that burning power in his chest had finally found its home, transforming into a steady warm current that made every breath solid.

"Now, to avoid wasting time, we need to set a deadline."

Ding Yishan said in a deep voice, "From this moment, I hope everyone's statements will only focus on their own departments, telling others what kind of help they can provide for the upcoming migration wave."

"I hope that before each department head speaks, they must consider one thing: whether they can be responsible for what they say and bear the consequences."

He paused, actually standing directly up, "Alright, let me start."

"For the upcoming migration wave, the Inspection Station can provide thirty to sixty inspectors, each responsible for at least eight thousand people's settlement work, guaranteeing construction progress, guaranteeing no large-scale chaos, guaranteeing thorough basic inspection of all entering personnel, guaranteeing..."

He spoke over ten guarantees in succession, over ten weighty responsibilities.

After finishing, he leaned forward slightly, his eyes flashing with light brighter than the overhead lamp:

"I'm finished. Who agrees, who objects!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 125: Infrastructure Meeting, Fists Do the Talking!

This venue, which had stood here since the founding of Happiness City, was now over thirty years old.

Ding Yishan walked inside, his leather shoes clicking against the terrazzo floor, mentally calculating how many times he had come here for meetings.

Perhaps a hundred times, or maybe two hundred?

He couldn't remember clearly.

He only recalled that during the "Great Expansion Period" in previous years, meetings had been as frequent as daily meals.

Back then, both the chief and deputy station chiefs attended meetings together. He was the deputy chief, with Reagan Carl as the chief.

The two of them had to rush here almost daily. The ashtrays in the meeting room were always full, maps were covered with little red flags representing new outposts, and everyone's voices seemed perpetually hoarse in his memory.

But when he took over the inspection station, the wasteland happened to enter a "recovery period." The blade was sheathed, and meeting frequency gradually decreased.

Especially in the past two years, often only monthly routine meetings required his personal attendance, with other matters handled through defense communications.

Yesterday's first migration meeting had been a rare major event, with department heads from all sectors required to attend, arguing for over four hours.

The agenda spread like a fishing net, trying to catch everything.

Today's 9 AM first session finally began to focus, centering on infrastructure.

Material allocation, area division, production planning, transforming from various impractical ideas into concrete issues that all had to be implemented.

Originally, Ding Yishan hadn't planned to attend.

Director Liu's secret departure from the city was one reason, but more importantly, the inspection station had never directly involved itself in infrastructure affairs, always playing a peripheral listening role.

He had intended to stay put and wait until the 4 PM second plenary meeting to present his proposal and settle everything with one decisive move.

But now, his thinking had changed.

Since he was determined to seize control of the outer city construction initiative, he couldn't miss any discussion meeting.

The wall clock already pointed to 9:07 AM, and the meeting had long begun.

When he pushed open the heavy meeting room door, the inside instantly fell silent for half a second.

Many people looked up following the sound, and when they saw only Ding Yishan walking in alone, obvious surprise flashed in their eyes.

In recent years, Ding Yishan and Director Liu had appeared almost as a pair but today's Ding Yishan was completely alone, with mud spots still on the hem of his windbreaker, clearly having arrived in haste.

He didn't make his usual rounds of greetings, instead walking straight to the inspection station's seat.

Looking up, his gaze calmly met each participant's eyes one by one.

Most people showed no expression, with no excess emotion in their eyes, including Carlo Dickinson, the big bald head from the Transcendent faction who had previously targeted the inspection station. He was now looking down at documents, only glancing up briefly with an indifferent look.

The Transcendent faction targeted Director Liu, the transcendent who operated outside their control, not the inspection station itself.

As long as Director Liu wasn't present, Ding Yishan represented the rule-abiding, trouble-free inspection station that had no fundamental conflict with them.

However, several members of the Idealist faction reacted noticeably differently than usual.

Especially Yu Hong, whose eyes flashed with surprise when he looked up, and he even nodded slightly when meeting Ding Yishan's gaze.

"Alright, let's continue with the next topic, housing format selection."

Deputy City Lord Yuan Gang was not attending the first infrastructure meeting.

Hou Rui, who was chairing the meeting, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses sweeping across the room.

As the faction with the greatest voice in current Happiness City, the Technology faction actually often argued internally over technical routes until faces turned red:

Some advocated prioritizing the restoration of old-era production technologies to solidify the foundation.

Some proposed learning from super sanctuary cities like Xinghuo and Natural, focusing on source guidance technology research.

Others suggested trying source guidance technology, since Happiness City had transcendents and opportunities to capture mother sources for experiments but these disagreements never appeared in the meeting hall. Once they entered this meeting room, the Technology faction had only one voice:

All decisions must be based on scientific theory, and any "experiential talk" lacking data support didn't deserve to appear on the agenda!

This was a very important consensus because even though the transition from old to new eras hadn't completely severed humanity's old-era technological systems.

There were still quite a number of settlements, even sanctuary cities, that had long deviated from the proper path.

Even today, they were still promoting theology, transcendental studies, potion studies, ritual studies, and other things that normal people found difficult to understand.

Previously, someone had tried to promote potion studies in Happiness City, adding mutation crystals and using living people for experiments.

Since the Technology faction took charge, such things were never heard of again.

It was also from then that Happiness City truly began developing toward an industrial sanctuary city and established its foothold.

The projector flickered, displaying a chart.

Hou Rui opened the folder in front of him, his fingertip sliding across the pages as he said in a deep voice, "Currently there are three plans to choose from: Plan A uses traditional brick-concrete structure. The advantage is local material availability, the cement and bricks currently in warehouses are sufficient to build housing for 200,000 people. But the disadvantage is obvious: continuous rainfall will cause concrete strength to plummet. As long as it keeps raining, construction will be very difficult to expand."

"Plan B uses lightweight steel frames as the skeleton with waterproof panels on the exterior. This structure is fast, a residential area can be erected in three days, very suitable for current rainy weather. But the problem is material consumption. Even if we pull out all warehouse inventory, it can only meet the needs of 100,000 people. Even if we run factories at full capacity, we can supply at most 50,000 to 100,000 people per week. To accommodate all migrants would require at least two to three months. More critically, this temporary construction can't withstand winter cold. We'd have to tear it down and rebuild with concrete structure, or continue investing in insulation layers, with costs only increasing. In the end, it's like throwing materials and manpower into water."

"Plan C..." Before Hou Rui finished speaking, someone in the audience had already raised their hand.

It was Deputy Director Lan Ni from the Works Department, one of the few women in the meeting.

"Deputy Director Lan, please speak."

"It's like this," Lan Ni stood up, "regarding Plan B's light steel framework, our Works Department just completed overnight verification calculations. It won't work."

"We calculated that to build light steel residential areas for 500,000 people within two months would require at least 80 heavy pile drivers to ensure underground pipeline installation. But the Works Department currently only has 28 that can operate normally, not even half of what's needed."

Lan Ni continued, flipping through her folder, "More critically, after the Stand-In Starfish incident ended, skilled workers capable of laying underground pipelines have been reduced by seventy percent through deaths and departures. The remaining thirty percent couldn't handle the workload even working around the clock, unless we could recruit workers from the migrants. But pipeline work..."

Before she finished, the meeting room erupted in small disturbances.

Many people looked down at their materials, clearly not having anticipated such large gaps in machinery and manpower.

Machinery could still be managed by having people work in shifts to barely maintain operations. but the manpower shortage was a real weakness. Pipeline laying was inherently hard and exhausting work, involving kneeling in mud to connect pipes and crawling through sewage.

Previously, they could recruit workers because Happiness City's economic model supported it. This work paid well, allowing families to exchange for adequate nutrition paste and save supplies for winter.

But now, with hundreds of thousands, nearly a million migrants flooding in, Happiness City's entire economic system needed restructuring.

Should nutrition paste be charged for? How much?

Should housing be charged for?

What could migrants' earnings buy? What changes could it bring to their lives?

Without these upper-level rules settled, lower-level production methods couldn't be implemented at all.

"Director Hou, with all due respect, it's not that we don't cooperate with the Technology faction's plans, but realistic conditions simply don't allow it. Light steel frameworks look fast, but most areas designated for the outer city are sandy soil. Once saturated with rainwater, foundations can't be properly secured. When winter comes and the frozen ground freezes and thaws, houses will inevitably collapse. By then, forget emergency response, we'll face even bigger chaos!"

"Fine, I'll record this."

Hou Rui took a deep breath, his chest rising slightly as he heavily marked a star with his pen tip, noting the machinery and manpower shortages raised by the Works Department.

Different fields were like different mountains. They could handle technology iteration research, but construction work outside was completely unfamiliar.

Since the Works Department had spoken this definitively, they had to find ways to solve the problems.

"Continuing, there's also a Plan C using brick-stone structure. The four large brick factories in the industrial zone have been shut down for years, but kilns, brick molds, and other equipment are still there. After inspection and maintenance, they should be able to restart."

"Based on the old production capacity of the brick factories, each production line's daily output is around 250,000 bricks. Under extreme capacity compression, it should reach 300,000 to 400,000. With all four brick factories operating, theoretically we could gather materials for approximately 100,000 people's housing per week. Has the Works Department verified this data?"

"Verified, no problems at all. This is what I wanted to say, brick arch with earth covering and waterproofing structure is actually the current optimal solution. Using the natural load-bearing capacity of brick arch structures, combined with exterior earth covering for waterproofing, we can completely eliminate dependence on cement and steel frames, extremely suitable for current rainy weather."

Hou Rui adjusted his glasses, hope appearing in his eyes behind the lenses, "Elaborate."

"Excellent!"

Lan Ni switched to the Works Department's storage device, displaying prepared images.

Using a laser pointer on a cross-section diagram, she said, "First is the masonry technique. Brick arches use dry laying methods, without concrete mortar joints, relying entirely on brick interlocking for structural support. This way, rainwater at most moistens brick surfaces without affecting masonry stability. Light rain is even better, we can use clay mortar for joints, and rainwater helps clay solidify faster, making gaps tighter."

"Second is construction rhythm. Earth covering can be done after rain when soil is slightly moist, when clay adhesion is best. Covering at this time prevents cracking and saves manual watering steps. In other words, continuous rainfall is not only not an obstacle but actually saves us half the maintenance work."

"There's also practicality."

Everyone's eyes brightened as they quietly listened to Lan Ni explain, "The earth covering itself is a natural insulation and sound barrier. In winter it blocks cold wind, in summer it blocks heat. It's much more comfortable to live in than light steel houses. Moreover, this structure's waterproofing actually exceeds ordinary brick-concrete. Rainwater flows away along the earth covering's slope and can't penetrate the arch roof."

At this point, she changed tone, her voice becoming more earnest, "The only shortcoming is indeed slow construction speed. Dry-laid brick arches require skilled craftsmen to control curvature and interlocking precision, unlike light steel's mechanical assembly line operations. But as long as we can provide proper training and standardize arch forms, we should be able to meet the schedule."

"Proper training?"

Zhao Kai, head of Human Resources, sitting in the back row, suddenly shook his head, "Deputy Director Lan, as far as I know, brick arch masonry requires extremely high craftsman experience, right? I've seen in materials that skilled arch masons can only advance one to two meters of arch length per day. Do you think 'proper training' is just lip service?"

The Works Department only handled plan formulation. When it came to actual training implementation, the burden would fall on Human Resources.

Modern construction had long been dominated by reinforced concrete. The "arch mason" profession had nearly lost its lineage, with training costs higher than training a hundred ordinary construction workers.

"The city has no one who knows the technique you're talking about." Zhao Kai didn't even bother opening his folder, directly stating, "Even if we have materials, we'd need to organize people to struggle with materials until they understand, then teach others, while risking various problems from inadequate learning during construction projects. Do you think this suits the current situation?"

"This is already the optimal solution the Works Department has developed."

Lan Ni slammed the table, "If you won't even organize people for learning, then what? Want me, this Works Department deputy director, to lead by example and lay bricks for you?"

"Heh, I'm just explaining to everyone what your so-called shortcoming actually means." Zhao Kai calmly adjusted his cuffs, "Getting worked up?"

"Me, worked up?" Lan Ni smirked, "Since last year, which batch of workers you've reported has actually met our requirements? How many times have we discussed this in meetings? You could muddle through before, but bringing it up now really hits your sore spot?"

"Meet requirements?" Zhao Kai also got angry, suddenly standing up, "What kind of impossible requirements does your Works Department give? Requiring age under 25 while also demanding 5-10 years of skilled experience, do your workers start practicing crafts in the womb? Also, workers over 35 have equally solid skills, so why do they earn ten percent less than younger workers? Every time conflicts arise over this ridiculous issue, who has to clean up the mess?"

"Bullshit!" Lan Ni's face instantly flushed red, "Those old workers you send over talk better than they sing, but their actual work is worse than each other. These past weeks when buffer zone pipelines burst and we need them for midnight emergency repairs, I as department head have to personally visit their doors to request help. You say I pay them high wages to show the Works Department is generous with money?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Kai left his table and stepped forward half a step, "Many people can't even guarantee 6 hours of rest per day, and you want them to work overtime at midnight. Are you trying to work these people to death?"

The meeting room instantly exploded.

They were arguing again!

Usually, the Works Department complained that Human Resources recruited people either too green or too slick, while Human Resources resented the Works Department's unrealistic demands. Add in old conflicts over wage systems and evaluation standards, and it was like piled dry kindling, just needing a spark.

This outer city construction happened to be the spark that ignited everything.

"Enough!" Hou Rui slammed the table hard, his gold-rimmed glasses sliding to his nose tip, "Is this the time for such arguments? We need plans, solutions, not blame-shifting here!"

But Zhao Kai and Lan Ni completely ignored his words.

Especially Zhao Kai, who suddenly turned his head, veins bulging on his neck, "Go to hell, I've long been sick of your wishy-washy attitude! Without clarifying things, can plans be implemented? Who the hell is blame-shifting here?"

"Then what's your solution?"

Hou Rui's voice suddenly rose, his body actually lifting slightly off the ground, feet hovering half an inch above the floor. Pale white radiance surged around him, and intimidating presence spread like invisible waves.

But the next second, a low voice dropped like a boulder into the waves, instantly suppressing all agitation:

"Hou Rui, calm down."

Looking over, they saw Carlo Dickinson from the Transcendent faction had somehow stood up.

On that shiny bald head, mysterious blue-gold patterns were slowly crawling across the skin surface, as if living things flowed beneath.

His originally cloudy pupils now glowed with faint light, and wherever his gaze swept, even the air seemed to stagnate.

Human Resources was a subordinate faction of the Transcendents. He naturally wouldn't allow Hou Rui to resolve problems by force.

If he really let the Technology faction use violence here, where would the Transcendent faction put their face?

"What, trying to teach me how to do things?"

Hou Rui slowly turned his body, his gaze colliding hard with Carlo Dickinson's.

Invisible pressure rapidly accumulated between the two men, like two thunderclouds compressed to the limit.

All the anger suppressed from yesterday's meeting, all dissatisfaction from ideological conflicts, plus the special obsessive influence of transcendents...

No one called start, and no one set rules.

Boom.

A sharp explosive sound suddenly tore through the air. The two figures had already disappeared from the meeting hall like residual images.

The originally thick gray brick wall collapsed with a crash, instantly showing two irregular large holes. Broken bricks and cement chunks poured down like waterfalls, a scene far more dramatic than when Director Liu had flown out last time.

Immediately after, a thunderous roar exploded outside the meeting hall, shaking all the meeting room windows with buzzing vibrations.

Almost simultaneously, a translucent light blue protective barrier rose sharply from the ground, completely enveloping the entire venue.

This source guidance barrier imported from Xinghuo both isolated external observation and firmly contained all impacts and sounds within the barrier, preventing harm to ordinary people in the inner city.

The meeting attendees were first stunned, then rushed to the holes and windows, gripping the edges and nervously peering outside.

They saw two figures on the open ground outside the meeting hall colliding and crossing at speeds barely visible to the naked eye.

Hou Rui was wrapped in silver-white energy flows, each punch accompanied by the sharp whistle of tearing air.

The moment his fists collided with Carlo, they could even see ring-shaped shock waves formed by energy impacts.

Carlo had a completely different style. Without external energy release, his body could twist like liquid metal. Several times when Hou Rui's fists had clearly approached his face, they slid past from impossibly twisted angles.

Bang.

Another hard collision, both men sliding back several meters.

"Brute who only knows how to solve problems with fists, die."

"Idiot whose brain was ruined by technology, get lost!"

The two roared and charged at each other again but as soon as their words fell, under everyone's gaze, the ground outside the meeting hall suddenly split into two human-shaped furrows, perfectly covering their shadows.

Thud!

Terrifying pressure descended from above like an invisible giant palm slapping the ground hard.

The two men were pressed to the ground without any resistance, forming "big" character shapes, foreheads against the cold cement ground, unable even to resist lifting their heads.

An indifferent voice came from somewhere unknown yet clearly reached everyone's ears:

"Enough."

It was... Yuan Gang!

Everyone looked up to see the scholarly-dressed Yuan Gang descending from the sky, his entire body seeming unaffected by gravity, floating lightly in mid-air.

No energy flows, no abnormal radiance, not even violent movement of his robes, like a leaf ready to fall at any moment but Hou Rui and Carlo on the ground were crushed until their bones creaked under that invisible pressure.

They could only lie humiliatingly flat, glaring at each other from the corners of their eyes, unable to move even a finger.

Yuan Gang slowly descended to the ground, his cloth shoes not splashing a single drop when they touched the water.

His gaze swept over both men in turn, "Any more problems?"

Hou Rui gritted his teeth, forcing out a muffled groan from his throat, while Carlo turned his head away, clenching his fists tightly but both ultimately shook their heads.

The invisible pressure instantly disappeared.

The two men crawled up awkwardly. Under Yuan Gang's indifferent gaze, neither spoke again, walking back toward the meeting hall entrance with lowered heads.

Soon, the meeting room door was pushed open.

Yuan Gang walked in the middle with Hou Rui and Carlo following on either side with heads down, like two children who had done something wrong.

The people who had just been peering through holes and windows at the excitement had already returned to their chairs with lightning speed, sitting straight-backed with serious expressions, as if nothing had happened.

Yuan Gang sat in the empty seat beside the main position, not looking at anyone, only saying flatly, "Continue the meeting."

No one dared respond.

Including Lan Ni and Zhao Kai, who now acted like obedient chickens, even managing slight smiles when seeing each other.

"Continue discussing architectural structure."

Hou Rui took a deep breath, his voice somewhat stiff as he said word by word, "Three plans have been presented. Everyone... let's vote."

"Plan A, traditional brick-concrete structure. Those in favor, raise your hands!"

Dead silence in the meeting hall, no one raised their hands.

"Plan B..."

Still no one raised their hands.

Raising hands for already-rejected plans might result in being assigned the mess by Hou Rui, which would be troublesome.

"What about Plan C?"

The same situation continued. Even Lan Ni, who had proposed the plan, didn't dare raise her hand to take responsibility.

Because what Zhao Kai said was correct, brick arches were indeed very difficult. Training skilled craftsmen was very hard for Happiness City's current capabilities!

Moreover, this wasn't child's play, but responsibility for the livelihoods of 500,000 to one million people.

If something went wrong, they weren't transcendents who could fly away and survive.

"Can't even determine housing styles?"

Yuan Gang suddenly spoke, looking at Hou Rui, "When the buffer zone first had quite a few people, how was it built from nothing?"

"Yes..." Hou Rui suddenly froze, instinctively wanting to speak, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward Ding Yishan.

"Ding Yishan, you speak." Yuan Gang's gaze turned over.

Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on him, filled with complexity.

In their view, Ding Yishan should be very regretful. He could have hidden at the inspection station and waited for the afternoon plenary meeting to appear, but instead came to join this infrastructure meeting commotion.

Now Yuan Gang had personally called his name, and without Director Liu to help smooth things over, if he said something wrong and touched the deputy city lord's nerves, he'd be in serious trouble.

But no one expected that Ding Yishan's face showed no tension whatsoever. Instead, he slowly developed a slight smile, a smile they hadn't seen in this place for a long time.

"The buffer zone was built brick by brick by Station Chief Cheng Wu, leading by example."

His voice wasn't loud but clearly reached throughout the meeting room, "Back then there were no machines, no blueprints, not even adequate tools or materials. Most inherited old-era buildings were already dilapidated. Station Chief Cheng led residents using stone rollers to compress foundations, using yellow clay mixed with plant ash as cement to build and repair, collecting materials from city ruins. Even though the shantytown looked terrible by today's standards, even though underground pipelines needed maintenance regularly, the main structures are still in normal use today."

Cheng Wu...

Someone in the meeting couldn't help but gasp.

Just as the name Cheng Long was taboo within the inspection station, the name Cheng Wu was taboo in the inner city.

No one ever dared mention it actively, because Cheng Wu's departure had brought enormous trouble to Happiness City.

It took the deaths of several transcendents to fill that mess.

Yuan Gang's expression didn't change as he nodded slightly, "Previously Cheng Wu led people to build it. Now you're the inspection station chief, so you tell me, which style should we choose?"

"I don't know." Ding Yishan answered straightforwardly.

"Don't know?"

Yuan Gang repeated this, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, seemingly very dissatisfied with this answer but soon, as Ding Yishan spoke again, his expression changed slightly.

"Yes, I don't know who can take responsibility for the plans."

Ding Yishan stood up slightly, his gaze coldly looking at Hou Rui, "Director Hou, if we choose Plan B, can your Industrial Department take responsibility?"

Hou Rui paused, his expression calm, saying nothing.

Responsibility?

Light steel framework's material shortages, maintenance, winter cold resistance modifications, material expenses, any problem could pressure the entire Industrial Department's operations. How could he dare commit?

Ding Yishan stopped looking at him and turned to Lan Ni and Zhao Kai, his voice carrying no warmth, "Deputy Director Lan, Director Zhao, if we choose Plan C, can your Works Department and Human Resources Department take responsibility?"

Both simultaneously lowered their heads as if they hadn't heard anything.

Craftsman training, brick supply, schedule delays, any one of these could strip them of their positions. No one dared touch this hot potato now.

Ding Yishan slowly sat down, the chair making a dull groan.

He looked up at Yuan Gang in the main seat, his tone carrying somewhat mocking calmness, "Deputy City Lord, since from beginning to end no one intends to take responsibility, what's the point of discussing plans here?"

"Is it for peace of mind, or... does it not matter if all the migrants outside die?"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 124: Baring Fangs, Great Change in Dynamics!

The military green pickup truck bearing the inspection station's logo slowly drove out of South Station from the other side of the gate.

The truck turned at the intersection, heading straight toward Happiness Gate.

Affected by Liu Kun leaving the city, those wanting to attend the inner city meeting had to drive themselves.

Therefore, this time the driver's seat had changed occupants, with Jiang Chuan gripping the steering wheel with both hands.

Ding Yishan sat in the passenger seat, gazing at the scenery flying past outside the window, his expression calm.

Under normal circumstances, the inspection station's vehicle would certainly be stopped by guards and unable to enter the inner city but at this moment, neither man was in the mood to ponder such matters, or rather, didn't consider it something requiring thought.

From yesterday to today, they hadn't closed their eyes for 26 hours.

Even as a half-step transcendent, Jiang Chuan was struggling to cope, relying on special stimulants this morning to stay alert.

Strangely though, Ding Yishan sitting in the passenger seat showed no fatigue whatsoever, instead feeling invigorated.

An invisible force rose from his tailbone, winding up along his spine, supporting his shoulder blades, pushing at his temples, even his breathing carried an unprecedented smoothness.

He could even clearly feel this force surging in his chest cavity, like a beast ready to strike, urging him to do that thing he'd thought about for years but never dared take the first step toward.

Ding Yishan understood clearly that this special force was called "Walker."

But he didn't care.

Or rather, he'd been waiting for this day far too long.

The "opportunity" he'd mentioned to Jiang Chuan earlier wasn't actually referring to those hundreds of thousands of migrants outside, but this transcendent power that had suddenly surged into his consciousness!

Because ever since sitting in the inspection station chief position, given his age and temperament, given his years of experience and knowledge immersed in power dynamics, trying to push through sweeping changes with his own strength had long become a fantasy.

The rationality honed by decades in power games was like invisible shackles, always pulling him back at crucial moments to calculate risks, weigh pros and cons, consider higher-ups' attitudes, worry about various opinions.

Even if the sky fell, his remaining rationality would force him to choose the safest path, following old tracks day after day in "service" to Happiness City until ground to dust by the wheels of time.

But now things were different.

Cheng Ye's words were like a key that opened the door to his personality, releasing all the wildness hidden deep within.

Under transcendent power, this awakened wildness continuously amplified, letting him clearly see the benefits of change while making those risks that once made him hesitate seem insignificant.

Only at this moment, only borrowing this sudden external force, only relying on the nearly domineering mental impact of the Wish-Guarding Transcendent.

Could he tear open those chains and smash these shackles.

Like a trapped beast breaking free from restraints, tearing apart all enemies before him!

"Achuan."

"Yes, sir."

"When you said before that Cheng Ye was very much like me, was that false or true?"

"Of course it was true. Achuan would never speak a false word to you, sir, not before, not ever."

Jiang Chuan gripped the steering wheel, his gaze falling on the rain-soaked road ahead, his tone carrying some solemnity, "The first time I saw him, that feeling was exactly like when you were young!"

He paused, gently turning the steering wheel to avoid puddles by the roadside, earning a thumbs up from pedestrians:

"Including when he spoke with you just now, that stubborn persistence regardless of consequences was just like you in your youth, only..."

"Only what?"

Jiang Chuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he carefully chose his words: "Sir, Inspector Cheng is a very intelligent person. I can feel he has a tenacity different from ordinary people, and his mind works quickly, but he's ultimately still a young man. What he said just now carried some of that youthful arrogance. Please don't take it to heart."

After all these years, forget about trainee inspectors, even third-term Eastern inspectors had to speak properly and respectfully when meeting Ding Yishan.

Only fourth-term inspectors had the qualification to communicate equally with Ding Yishan, discussing station matters large and small.

Going further back, even when Cheng Long was young, he would deliberately maintain proper measure in front of Ding Yishan.

Unlike Cheng Ye just now, who actually dared to boldly make Ding Yishan remove his clothes and stand by the window in the cold wind.

Was this something a trainee should do?

He hadn't reacted at the time, but thinking about it now made him increasingly alarmed.

If Cheng Ye had gone even further and angered Ding Yishan, he caught in the middle couldn't even think of words to smooth things over.

After all, listening to these two intelligent people communicate left him confused and embarrassed.

"Ha, Achuan, do you think I'd care about that?"

Ding Yishan chuckled, his fingertips lightly tapping on his knee, "When Cheng Wu was still station chief, forget about inspectors, even station guards could directly burst into his office and point at his nose saying which rules were unreasonable. Especially during the biannual opinion days, he could receive three to five hundred people in one day, getting cursed bloody while a circle of people stood outside watching the show. Did you ever see him lose his temper once?"

"Sir, that was then, now is different."

Jiang Chuan anxiously defended, "Besides, Inspector Cheng can't become transcendent, so he dares to be so unrestrained. If you learned from him..."

"Now is the same, no different." Ding Yishan interrupted him, his eyes carrying unquestionable seriousness, "If the price of becoming transcendent is giving up the right to hear these voices, I'd rather remain an ordinary person forever."

"But you've tried too. Do you think this will affect anything?"

Jiang Chuan fell silent for a moment, adjusting the windshield wipers, which made rhythmic sounds.

Only after the wipers stopped did he say, "The more concepts you accept, the harder it becomes to achieve unity of knowledge and action. If you still want to break through to transcendent, you shouldn't listen to these miscellaneous words. Like Station Chief Harlin, only keeping people whose thoughts align with yours, clearing out all who don't, only then can you focus without distraction."

"He went wrong!"

Ding Yishan shook his head decisively, his tone carrying disdain, "He didn't even take the first step correctly, same nature as that old bastard Downs. Concepts that can resist pollution need tempering through thousands of trials, need the ability to shatter other distracting thoughts, not achieved by covering your ears and pretending not to hear."

"But this path..." Jiang Chuan sighed, "Besides the founding elders, no one has been able to walk this path since."

"Wasn't Cheng Long one?"

Ding Yishan chuckled twice, his laughter carrying indescribable complexity, "If he hadn't single-mindedly drilled into the Wish-Guarding path, he would have become transcendent long ago. Such a pity..."

"Inspector Cheng is different from others. Since the City Lord didn't pursue further, perhaps..."

"Meaningless. Don't mention that name again, and don't let Cheng Ye know anything about it. Just consider him dead."

Ding Yishan's expression suddenly darkened, "Ten thousand transcendent beings couldn't achieve one Wish-Guardian. All these Wish-Guardians are calamities, disasters more troublesome than curses. If Cheng Long could achieve Wish-Guardian status, he'd be humanity's public enemy!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Chuan quickly responded, not daring to say another word.

Cheng Long's departure was a thorn embedded in Ding Yishan's heart that couldn't be pulled out.

Normally, no one dared mention it. Only when Ding Yishan brought it up himself could others add a sentence.

Anyone who rashly brought it up would definitely face Ding Yishan's immediate fury.

While speaking, the pickup truck had already entered the urban area. Though the buffer zone had lost hundreds of thousands of people and should have seemed empty and desolate, under Walker's influence, even with rain still falling outside, quite a few pedestrians could be seen on the streets.

Workers clearing sewers worked enthusiastically, no one complaining about the rain, no one slacking off. Everyone's eyes shone with light, the air itself carrying long-missed vitality.

This was Walker's terrifying aspect. It didn't even need to deliberately do anything, just passing through was like a shot of adrenaline, bringing the lifeless buffer zone back to life but precisely because of this, people felt terror toward the power of Wish-Guarding Transcendents.

Being able to easily stir hearts and instantly change order, such power was simply too frightening!

Ding Yishan stared out the window for a moment, then suddenly said again, "According to information from Xinghuo, we can now confirm that Walker is definitely a transcendent from the previous era. This damn thing has been hiding for decades, only daring to show itself after confirming that the last transcendent artifact in Xinghuo's hands was exhausted. Really don't know what his wish could be to let him endure for so long."

"Sir, could transcendent artifacts from the previous era really kill those immortal Wish-Guarding Transcendents?"

Jiang Chuan couldn't help asking. He'd seen that recorded video.

Walker's running speed in the wasteland was at least two hundred miles per hour, like a cannonball charging straight through. When encountering infected entities and mutant beasts, it didn't detour at all, directly ramming through and instantly pulverizing them into blood mist.

It did the same when hitting abandoned buildings, steel and concrete as fragile as crackers before it.

That scene was simply beyond description in its horror.

Fortunately, such monsters had no interest in human sanctuary cities, otherwise just thinking about it sent chills down one's spine.

"Don't know."

Ding Yishan shook his head, "Perhaps they can only cause severe damage, perhaps they can directly tear apart their wish foundations and make them lose their characteristics. Anyway, when the major super sanctuary cities still possessed transcendent artifacts, we never saw Wish-Guarding Transcendents dare show themselves so brazenly. Only in these ten-plus years, with transcendent artifacts completely exhausted, have these things emerged like bamboo shoots after rain."

As his words fell, the cabin suddenly fell into complete silence.

Reaching the urban area, neither man was in the mood for idle chat, each withdrawing their thoughts.

Soon, they arrived at Happiness Gate.

Jiang Chuan's last entry qualification for this year had been used yesterday, it wouldn't be replenished until next year.

Guards directly blocked them, signaling the vehicle to stop.

The passenger window opened, and the guard captain from before walked up, scanning the cabin.

"Station Chief Ding, your guard this year can no longer enter..."

"Scram."

Ding Yishan's voice carried no warmth, indifferent eyes projecting from the window, "Have Chu Hong come see me."

"Huh?"

The guard captain was suddenly stunned, his professional fake smile instantly freezing.

Under normal circumstances, even encountering such situations, Ding Yishan would at least get out and say a few polite words, either finding other channels to accommodate or simply having Jiang Chuan stay behind.

But today's look, this tone, actually made the hair on his neck stand up.

The word "rules" that reached his lips stuck in his throat, the guard captain ultimately not daring to speak.

His expression ugly, he stepped back, squeezing out a smile more unsightly than crying, hastily picking up his defense communicator, "Chu, Captain Chu, Station Chief Ding is at the gate, wants you to come personally."

"Is that so?"

A deep male voice came through the communicator, carrying casual indifference, "I'm busy here. Whatever it is, have him speak to me directly?"

"Station Chief Ding, Captain Chu's call..."

The guard captain steeled himself and stepped forward, pressing the speaker button.

"Old Ding, what's so urgent that..."

"Ha, who gave you the right to call me Old Ding?"

Ding Yishan chuckled coldly, directly interrupting, "Chu Hong, I'm giving you three minutes. Get your ass over here to see me."

He paused, his tone carrying unquestionable oppressive force, "If I hear that form of address from your mouth again, you won't need to stay in Happiness City. Pack up and go to the wasteland to keep the Hundred Ghosts Gang company."

?

In the office behind the high wall, the tall man holding a teacup suddenly frowned and stood up, his composure instantly shattering.

Did he eat gunpowder? When had Ding Yishan ever spoken to him in this tone?

Chu Hong's grip on the communicator tightened, his chest rising and falling twice, but ultimately he didn't dare talk back.

Having power but not using it, and lacking power but pretending, were two different things.

And Ding Yishan was clearly the former.

Don't look at how the inspection station was now in decline, if he really spoke up, forget about throwing him out, throwing out everyone in the office would be no problem.

"Understood." Chu Hong's voice deepened, carrying suppressed anger, "Station Chief Ding, I'll be right there!"

After hanging up, the guard captain stood by the car, his palms sweating.

He secretly glanced up at Ding Yishan in the window. This usually amiable Station Chief Ding maintained the same posture as before, eyes calmly looking ahead, but that invisible pressure made him even lighten his breathing.

Under the city gate, Chu Hong jogged over, a sturdy middle-aged man.

Jiang Chuan sat in the driver's seat, removing his hands from the steering wheel, his gaze sharp.

Able to shoulder the responsibility of guarding the gate, though Chu Hong wasn't a transcendent, he wasn't ordinary either.

Like him, he was someone who couldn't withstand transcendent pollution but managed to preserve his life through luck, retaining some special abilities as a half-step transcendent.

"Station Chief Ding..." Chu Hong had just opened his mouth when Ding Yishan interrupted.

"Give Jiang Chuan unlimited entry privileges, and this vehicle too."

Ding Yishan's gaze didn't look at him, still falling on the city road beyond the gate, "I may need to frequently enter the inner city for meetings recently. Don't go through this routine every time."

"This..." Chu Hong's expression changed several times, veins at his temples jumping, "According to rules, unlimited privileges require at least the Deputy City Lord's..."

"I'm giving you one chance to make a phone call." Ding Yishan said flatly, his tone allowing no room for negotiation.

"..." Chu Hong's expression changed, staring at Ding Yishan's calm profile, mentally going through every curse he knew but ultimately holding back.

Walking aside, he pulled out his defense communicator and made a call.

The call connected quickly. Chu Hong lowered his voice and spoke briefly, the content as short as a weather report but after hanging up and turning back, his face already bore a smile that could be called fawning, "Yes, Station Chief Ding! Rest assured, I'll immediately arrange for Jiang Chuan's privileges to be opened, and register your vehicle for inspection-free passage. If you have any needs in the future, just call me directly and I guarantee everything will be handled perfectly!"

"Drive."

Ding Yishan continued staring ahead, not even lifting an eyelid at this fawning display.

Jiang Chuan took a deep breath and pressed the gas pedal.

The pickup truck slowly glided through the gate tunnel. Only after it completely disappeared did the smile on Chu Hong's face instantly fade, his expression dark enough to drip water.

With one phone call, he hadn't received any information, only four words: comply completely.

This was interesting. Was Happiness City's power structure about to change?

Or perhaps...

He unconsciously looked toward the direction outside the city, where the outlines of ruins could vaguely be seen in the gray misty rain.

Though he didn't yet know about Walker and those hundreds of thousands of migrants, Chu Hong felt an inexplicable chill at the back of his neck, vaguely sensing something.

Storm clouds were gathering!

The pickup truck drove into the square meeting hall.

As soon as Jiang Chuan parked the car and was preparing to get out and escort Ding Yishan into the meeting hall, his shoulder was pressed by a warm hand.

"Achuan, go buy me some things later, some fruit. They're still quite rare now."

As he spoke, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch, as if remembering something: "Also go to the research institute and find Old Zhang. He's hiding quite a few books about Wish-Guarding Transcendents and source rail technology. Give my name and borrow everything you can, bring it all out for Cheng Ye."

"Sir..." Jiang Chuan's eyes suddenly brightened.

"Don't overthink it."

Ding Yishan saw through his thoughts, smiling and shaking his head, "The inspection station's trials were never targeted at anyone. When I first came in, I was in much worse shape than he is now. To carry the flag, one must walk through these checkpoints step by step with solid footing before truly standing firm."

Speaking, he pushed open the car door, his foot landing on the wet cement ground, his voice coming through the half-open window, "As for the grudges Cheng Long left behind, starting today, he's settled them!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Chuan's heart shook, quickly straightening his spine, showing a respectful expression on his face.

After being influenced by Walker's power, Ding Yishan seemed to have returned overnight to over ten years ago.

That decisiveness, that toughness, even his speaking tone had recovered its former sharpness.

Both familiar and strange.

Only after Ding Yishan's figure disappeared behind the meeting hall doors did Jiang Chuan finally let out a long sigh.

Too fast.

Since Liu Bi's departure, just over half a month had passed, yet Cheng Ye had already proven his worth through strength.

Admittedly, it was a series of events, especially Walker, that brought this perfect opportunity but without real skills, how many trainee inspectors could seize such a chance?

Restarting the vehicle, the pickup truck slowly drove out of the meeting hall.

In the rearview mirror, that square building grew smaller and smaller.

Jiang Chuan's grip on the steering wheel suddenly tightened, feeling momentarily dizzy as a strange thought emerged in his mind.

Perhaps after today's meeting, many things in Happiness City would never be the same again!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 123: Order and Rules, Ding Yishan's Awakening!

What was the biggest problem with this proposal?

Actually, it wasn't the dispute between contracted and subcontracted models, nor was it those restrictive clauses binding the inspectors.

The real fatal flaw was that between the lines, it was too obsessed with the division and allocation of power, yet completely failed to list a clear objective.

More precisely, it lacked phased objectives that could show people a path forward.

Reading through the entire document, it reeked of an urgent "it has to be me" mentality, almost openly declaring that if you don't give me this job, anyone else will definitely mess it up but when the job was actually handed over, the proposal didn't contain a single actionable goal, just KPIs.

To use a more trendy term, it was "labor dispatch."

When Ding Yishan wrote this proposal, he should have been considering it from the perspective of contracting parties but now, the proposal had three distinct entities: Happiness City, the inspection station, and the inspectors.

Happiness City would only issue tasks, the inspection station would only receive and assign tasks, and finally dump all the actual burden on the inspectors.

Didn't do well? That's because individual inspectors lacked ability, nothing to do with the inspection station as the middleman.

Did well? The credit would naturally go to the inspection station for their successful training.

If this proposal was actually submitted and approved, the inspectors would be in for it.

Doing the most dangerous work, carrying the heaviest responsibilities, yet without even a clear goal to strive for, and having to take the blame when things went wrong.

When that time came, forget about voluntarily contracting the outer zones, probably no one would even want to take on the core zone contracts.

And after his subtle reminder just now, Ding Yishan obviously immediately realized this problem.

"Jiang Chuan might not have heard clearly part of what I said last night."

Cheng Ye's lips curved in a faint smile as he shifted his gaze back to Ding Yishan's face, "Station Chief Ding, why don't I supplement it now, and you can listen to see if it's appropriate?"

"Good!"

Ding Yishan unconsciously straightened his back, his expression becoming serious, "Inspector Cheng, regarding the resettlement of migrants, the various departments already held a coordination meeting yesterday. I was planning to bring this proposal to today's meeting for the department heads to review, firstly to let everyone pick out flaws, and secondly to expand some thinking."

"If you have better suggestions," Ding Yishan paused slightly, turning his gaze to Jiang Chuan, "go get paper and pen. Every single word Inspector Cheng says next, record it clearly for me."

"Yes, Station Chief!"

Jiang Chuan hurriedly turned around, pulled out paper and pen from the backpack by the door, sat down by Lei Hu's desk, and assumed a ready-for-battle recording posture.

From the initial "kid," to later "Cheng Ye," to now "Inspector Cheng."

The progressive change in address carried Ding Yishan's subtle hints.

Falling on Cheng Ye's ears, it made his heart skip a beat.

As expected, he had bet correctly!

Since Ding Yishan could bring this proposal for him to see and ask for his opinions, it meant he didn't care about the so-called "trainee inspector" status at all.

Especially the final "Inspector Cheng" address clearly indicated that all previous grievances wouldn't be discussed now, purely considering the problem from the inspection station's standpoint.

Understanding this point, Cheng Ye picked up his teacup and took a light sip, holding the cup wall as he slowly began to speak:

"The number of migrants is simply too large. Even if the inspection station operates at full capacity, it's impossible to accommodate everyone in the buffer zone. Moreover, even if they entered the buffer zone, that doesn't mean Happiness City could rest easy. We must ensure these people have shelter and work to support themselves to stabilize morale, this is the primary prerequisite."

Ding Yishan remained silent, only nodding slightly to show agreement.

"With this prerequisite, having everyone enter the buffer zone is definitely impossible. But if we implement the outer city plan and settle the migrants outside the buffer zone, we must first establish rules. However, no matter how the rules are set, they will ultimately revolve around one core issue, who will back up these rules?"

"Migrants aren't parts on an assembly line. Even if they were influenced by Walker, making everyone unanimously believe that Happiness City is the only place to survive, Walker didn't deprive them of their thinking ability. After arriving at Happiness City, they still have selfish desires, fears, the instinct to band together, and even more so, the ability to resist!"

Cheng Ye deliberately slowed his speech, articulating clearly.

At key points, he naturally carried a power that could make people follow along in thought: "Designating areas for them, distributing supplies, even helping them build shelters and providing work, none of these are difficult, because when making these plans, each person is just a quantifiable number."

"The real difficulty lies in implementing this plan. When people have conflicts over unequal resource distribution, when people fight over territory, who can step forward to stop them?"

"When construction is in full swing and infected entities suddenly infiltrate, or infection sources spread among the crowd, who can step forward to clean up?"

"When migrants can't endure the hardships of construction and want to enter the buffer zone seeking change, who can step forward to block these people?"

"Even when someone steps forward to openly question Happiness City, questioning these rules and plans we've established, who will calm this popular resentment, who can handle this mess?"

Stop, clean up, block, handle.

Cheng Ye deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of these four words.

The greater the responsibility, the greater the authority must be but one must never ignore that coexisting with responsibility are problems, risks, ever-present pressure, unbearable compromises and sacrifices.

In all of Happiness City, who could shoulder this responsibility?

"So the core isn't how to distribute, we must first clarify who will manage, who will be responsible for these messes."

Cheng Ye turned to look over, pretending to instruct Jiang Chuan, "Perhaps Jiang Chuan didn't hear this meaning clearly, which is why he confused the order. If we discuss distribution first, others will inevitably subconsciously ignore the difficulties of management, focusing entirely on competing for distribution rights. But if we first put the difficulties of management on the table, those wanting to distribute must present capabilities that match it."

Ding Yishan's fingertips lightly tapped on the sofa armrest, not immediately responding.

After a moment.

He suddenly spoke, "Over ten years ago, the buffer zone established a police bureau. Later, when Director Liu took office, he proposed ultimately abolishing the bureau system, but the buffer zone still retains the foundation for rebuilding. Yesterday, a department head proposed restoring the police bureau to handle security management and order maintenance in the outer city. What does Inspector Cheng think?"

As his words fell.

Jiang Chuan's pen-holding hand suddenly paused, glanced up at Cheng Ye, then quickly lowered his head to continue recording.

The police bureau had multiple armed conflicts with the inspection station over power disputes back then.

If it weren't for Liu Kun's timely promotion to transcendent, according to the higher-ups' intention, they probably would have merged the inspection station as a department under the police bureau, rather than allowing it to exist independently as it does today.

Now did the higher-ups again have ideas about restoring the police bureau to replace the inspection station?

"Restore the police bureau?"

Cheng Ye was slightly stunned, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

So Ding Yishan was worried about the police bureau?

After reading that plan, his biggest confusion finally had an answer.

No wonder Ding Yishan was eager to put reins on the inspection station, showing compliance to the higher-ups between the lines, it was because the higher-ups already had an alternative plan?

The inspection station wanted to prevail in this potential power struggle, so it needed unique competitive capabilities.

And in Ding Yishan's view, the inspection station's advantage over the police bureau was actually, obedience?

A bit absurd, but seemed to make some sense.

After all, compared to the police bureau that hadn't been restored and where everything was still unknown, the continuously operating, internally stable inspection station was obviously easier to set KPIs for and easier for the higher-ups to control.

But then again, perhaps too worried about the police bureau seizing power, or perhaps what he'd just said was too subtle, even at this point, Ding Yishan still hadn't realized what the real core of the problem was.

The core wasn't "who can shoulder the responsibility," but "to what extent can things be done."

Simply put, the key to victory wasn't which one could do it, but which one could do it well.

To be even more transparent, it was bidding!

Was there a problem with restoring the police bureau?

No problem at all. Even if the higher-ups wanted to start from scratch and establish a specialized outer city bureau to manage everything, there would be no problem but establishing these bureaus, could they pat their chests and guarantee that the rules they made could be perfectly implemented and the outer city could operate smoothly?

Could the police bureau chief pat the table and say he'd shoulder all the troubles in the outer city, taking responsibility for any problems that arose?

If not, what was the difference between the police bureau and the inspection station, just for the simple purpose of sharing power?

Cheng Ye suddenly felt his previous circumlocution was somewhat unnecessary.

Ding Yishan obviously still focused his thoughts on direct power competition, trying to beat opponents on the same track.

Rather than thinking from the foundation about what unique advantages the inspection station really had that other competitors didn't.

"Restoring the police bureau is a good idea. The outer city indeed needs a violent institution to execute orders."

After saying this, Cheng Ye changed his tone, "But what does maintaining order have to do with the police bureau?"

"Oh?"

Ding Yishan leaned forward slightly, "After rules are established, the police bureau is responsible for supervising rule implementation. How could there be no relationship?"

"Wrong." Cheng Ye shook his head slightly.

"What's wrong?" Ding Yishan was stunned, asking curiously.

"The first sentence, after rules are established."

Cheng Ye feigned confusion, "Why does Station Chief Ding think we have the ability to establish rules that constrain hundreds of thousands of outsiders?"

After saying this, he turned to Jiang Chuan, "Jiang Chuan, please help open all the windows in the room."

Jiang Chuan was stunned, instinctively getting up but hesitating.

Although Ding Yishan didn't understand why, he still sternly said, "Do as Inspector Cheng says."

The office had windows on four sides. Except for the floor-to-ceiling window by the desk that couldn't be opened, the other three could be pushed open.

As soon as Jiang Chuan pulled open the window latches, cold rain mixed with frigid wind slashed in diagonally, bringing bone-piercing coldness that made people shiver involuntarily.

"Station Chief Ding, my apologies for the offense."

Cheng Ye said this while efficiently stripping off his hoodie, exposing his muscular upper body, "Could you please do the same as me and remove your upper garments?"

Ding Yishan's expression darkened, but he didn't object.

Under Jiang Chuan's dumbfounded gaze, he actually removed his sweater and shirt layer by layer, revealing his still solid upper body.

However, that skin surface was far from as smooth and fine as Cheng Ye's, crisscrossed with scars large and small, new and old overlapping like a silent battle tapestry.

"Please come to the window."

Cheng Ye pointed at the window sill, taking position first.

Ding Yishan frowned but followed.

The moment cold wind mixed with rain droplets hit their faces, both men couldn't help but shiver.

Whether it was the second step or fourth step, these were just distinctions of new martial realm levels.

They didn't bring humans stronger physical qualities, nor made them immune to temperature effects.

Additionally, after becoming station chief, as age increased, Ding Yishan hadn't fought for many years. Even with occasional exercise and no worries about food and drink, his physical condition was only slightly better than ordinary people.

After standing for just over ten seconds, Ding Yishan's brow furrowed tightly, obviously having difficulty withstanding this coldness.

Half a minute, one minute passed. Rain hit their exposed upper bodies, and their skin gradually reddened.

However, Cheng Ye never spoke, just faced the window with his spine straight, like an unmovable stone statue.

Achoo!

Another colder gust of wind mixed with rain droplets rushed in, and Ding Yishan couldn't help but sneeze, his nose tip instantly turning completely red.

"This..."

Jiang Chuan standing nearby was dumbfounded, anxious like an ant on a hot pan, wanting to persuade the two to quickly put on clothes to avoid catching cold but as words reached his lips, he saw Ding Yishan's tightly furrowed brow slowly relax, the confusion in his eyes gradually dispersing, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"Station Chief Ding, how is this weather?"

Cheng Ye finally spoke, his voice carrying a crisp coldness.

Ding Yishan hunched his shoulders, honestly saying, "Indeed quite cold, especially standing by this window, the cold wind is bone-piercing."

"If you were to establish rules, what should migrants do in this weather?"

"Take shelter from rain, keep warm, wait for clear weather." Ding Yishan barely thought before the words slipped from his lips.

"Hundreds of thousands of people all taking shelter?" Cheng Ye pursed his lips, "This is the rainy season. If it continues like this for half a month, with people arriving continuously every day, should we let them all huddle together?"

Ding Yishan fell slightly silent, his brow furrowing again: "Then let the old, weak, women and children take shelter, others work in shifts on construction. If we wait until everyone's crowded together before acting, it'll be too late."

"Is this part of the rules?"

"Yes."

"What if there are sick people among the others?"

"Let them rest."

"What if someone pretends to be sick to slack off?"

"Examine them." Ding Yishan answered increasingly decisively, "If truly sick, treat them. If no problems are found, work as usual."

"If after examination, they still don't want to work?"

"Everyone else is enduring in the rain, just he wants to hide?" Ding Yishan's voice deepened, "Establish punishment measures, or cancel priority resettlement qualifications."

"So you mean these migrants who traveled thousands of miles to reach Happiness City, even in this hellish weather, can't pretend to be sick and rest for a day, must be forced by rules like slaves to participate in outer city construction?"

Boom!

Cheng Ye's voice wasn't loud, but it exploded like thunder.

Ding Yishan's heart suddenly lurched, his throat feeling blocked, unable to utter a word for a long time.

He was suddenly stunned, his gaze uncontrollably drifting toward the window, looking at the distant guards on duty, at scavengers wearing raincoats walking toward the wasteland. Those thoughts sealed by power surged out like floodgates being pried open.

Right, how could he forget?

These migrants were influenced by Walker, dragging half their lives to escape to Happiness City seeking survival, not to become laborers adding bricks and mortar to the outer city.

The original intention of building the outer city was clearly to protect these people's safety, for Happiness City's long-term development but in practice, how had it become naturally forcing these people to work in the cold rain?

How had he thought to use harsh rules to bind them, where even wanting to rest a day in the cold rain would be punished?

But, why had he forgotten?

Subconsciously thinking that drawing enough boxes and restrictions could make everyone obediently follow his ideas, completing his desired goals?

"Establishing rules is to protect everyone's interests, only then will they be recognized and followed by all."

"Only when everyone recognizes them will they trust you, be willing to work for you, even building in cold rain."

"But without everyone's support, holding the attitude that building the outer city is for your own good, for everyone to have a beautiful tomorrow."

"Station Chief Ding."

Cheng Ye smiled, reaching up to close the window, the glass instantly blocking out wind and rain, "I can follow your orders to build, but what about others? They might not necessarily be willing."

People.

After struggling too long in the quagmire of power, they forget who granted them that power.

They also forget that after gaining this power, whose shelter they should use it to provide.

Only by standing in this wind and rain and getting cold can they wake up and know what they're really doing.

"Station Chief Ding, look how many people are queuing at Quarantine Zone B."

Cheng Ye walked to the cabinet and picked up the towel from before, wiping the water droplets on his body, "I need to hurry over for duty, otherwise they'll have to wait for me, this inspector, in the rain."

"Well said."

Ding Yishan sighed deeply, extending his hand to the side.

Jiang Chuan quickly handed over a dry towel.

"Inspector Cheng is still in the trainee stage, yet can keep his responsibilities firmly in mind. I, as station chief, am somewhat ashamed." He laughed self-mockingly, "Even forgetting when duty time arrived."

"The station chief handles myriad affairs daily. If you had to consider everything thoroughly, how exhausting would that be?"

Cheng Ye put on his hoodie, grinning with a show of sharp, youthful spirit, "It's a bit cold outside. We young people can handle it, but you should quickly put on clothes and don't catch cold."

After saying this, under Jiang Chuan's dumbfounded gaze, Cheng Ye pushed open the door, bringing a gust of wind, his figure quickly disappearing at the corridor's end.

Wait.

How did this just end?

What about the plan, the process? Why couldn't I understand a single word?

Jiang Chuan's mind was in complete chaos, even forgetting he was still holding the pen used for recording.

"Achuan."

"Ah!" Jiang Chuan startled, hurriedly responding.

"Why aren't you closing the windows yet?"

Ding Yishan's voice carried a slight shiver but was much clearer than before.

"Oh, oh." Jiang Chuan suddenly realized, moving quickly, hastily closing the remaining two windows.

When he turned around, he saw Ding Yishan had already dried the water droplets on his body and returned to sit on the sofa.

He didn't immediately put on clothes, just stared intensely at the proposal on the table.

After a pause, he reached out, picked up the proposal, folded it, folded it again, then tore it forcefully.

Tear.

The sound of paper ripping was particularly clear in the quiet office.

The torn paper pieces were crumpled into a ball and accurately thrown into the trash can in the corner.

"Sir, this..." Jiang Chuan watched with alarm. This was something Ding Yishan had stayed up all night to write.

Just, torn up like that?

"Sigh."

Ding Yishan let out a long sigh, his voice carrying a sense of relief from laying down a burden, heavily weighted with indescribable complexity, "After all these years, I never thought I'd also been assimilated by those twists and turns."

He picked up the shirt from the sofa, slowly putting it on.

Finally, he slowly put on the sweater, his entire body sinking into the sofa, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he looked at the rain outside the window.

"Achuan, do you think the inspectors' power struggles over the years have something to do with me as station chief?"

The sudden question was like a stone thrown into water.

"Uh," Jiang Chuan was suddenly stunned, instinctively stuttering, "How could it be related to you? It's all because they themselves fought for power..."

Halfway through, he couldn't continue.

As station chief, Ding Yishan had tacitly allowed inspectors to form cliques over the years, even deliberately turning a blind eye when both sides were fighting fiercely. How could he possibly escape responsibility?

"You also had no choice," Jiang Chuan tried to smooth things over, but his voice grew smaller and smaller.

"Wrong!"

Ding Yishan suddenly exhaled forcefully, his chest rising and falling dramatically, "I always had options. I could set rules, dismantle small groups, take back power and redistribute it. But I worried, worried that one move would cause chaos, afraid the higher-ups would think the inspection station was unstable, afraid they'd use the opportunity to reclaim these powers, so I just dragged it out, waiting for the next opportunity to appear!"

"But when such an opportunity finally appeared before me, I actually forgot that some powers aren't given by the higher-ups at all. They, can't give them!"

"We need to fight for them ourselves!"

As he spoke, he stood up.

Looking toward the crowd queuing for inspection, looking at several large vans waiting at the entrance.

There seemed to be merchant caravans, seemed to be from surrounding settlements.

And that figure already wearing a raincoat, walking in the rain.

"Let's go. The nine o'clock meeting, time to attend."

"But didn't you say before that without Director Liu, this meeting would..."

"He has his business, I have mine."

Ding Yishan took the windbreaker hanging on the coat rack, putting it on efficiently, "Said it wrong again. This time it's not just my business, it's all the inspectors' business!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 122: Sitting and Discussing the Dao, Chess Pieces and Chess Players!

Rain in the rainy season always comes without warning.

Cheng Ye hadn't even reached the end of the entrance tunnel when cold raindrops began falling behind him. At first just scattered drops, in the blink of an eye they connected into streams.

The scavengers waiting to go out all shrank their necks, yet not one person moved their feet.

Everyone gazed at the misty wasteland outside the checkpoint, their eyes hiding an almost obsessive anticipation, as if something life-saving was hidden out there.

"Even though the Walker has already left, the influence continues, and it seems to be getting worse."

Cheng Ye paused to observe, his brow slightly furrowed.

Compared to yesterday, these people's behavior today was increasingly abnormal. Everyone's eyes seemed to burn with a flame.

The flame blazed fiercely, a desire for "change."

After being amplified by the Walker's ability, it grew like wild grass, gradually reaching the point of losing control.

Fortunately, the numbers hadn't increased dramatically compared to yesterday, which was somewhat relieving.

After observing for a while, Cheng Ye took out his badge, preparing to swipe open the isolation door. But the door slid open from inside before he could.

Unexpectedly, it was Lei Hu who emerged, surrounded by more than ten guards.

"Inspector Cheng, good morning."

Lei Hu seemed to be in excellent spirits. The moment he saw him, his face broke into a smile, radiating maximum affinity.

"Station Chief Lei, morning!"

"You're not late today, haha."

Lei Hu laughed heartily, "Just joking. Station Chief Ding is waiting for you in my office. I was going to have a guard wait at the entrance to bring you up when you arrived, but this works out perfectly, you can go directly."

"Yes."

Cheng Ye stepped aside to clear the path, his gaze sweeping over the increasingly heavy rain outside, "Station Chief Lei, there are quite a few scavengers outside. The Walker... well, you'd better be careful not to be affected."

"Don't worry!"

Lei Hu laughed even more heartily, patting the gun at his waist, "I've been a checkpoint inspector for over ten years after all. I still have this much resolve, I'm not so easily knocked down."

After speaking, he paused, pursing his lips while his eyes showed a hint of gravity, "The influence is definitely there, but it hasn't reached the point of losing control. The situation outside is complex, and these scavengers are ultimately old residents of Happiness City. We help when we can, at least give them better odds of survival."

"Station Chief Lei works hard."

Cheng Ye nodded and said no more but his heart stirred slightly, his gaze sweeping toward the long queue of scavengers.

Lei Hu being considerate of scavengers?

Under normal circumstances, there might be some possibility, but in the current situation, unless...

From beginning to end, his gaze suddenly fixed on a short, fat figure who had just come through the rain curtain, gasping for breath.

As expected, he had come!

Cheng Ye's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly for an instant, then he withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened, walking hurriedly through the isolation door without sparing another glance in that direction.

The transcendent creatures of this world were too bizarre. Whether mother source or Wish-Guarding Transcendents, their abilities far exceeded imagination.

Those transcendent beings who had entered symbiotic states, who knew if they might have even more abnormal perceptual abilities?

Buzz.

The isolation door slowly closed behind him, cutting off both rain curtain and crowd.

Just then, Liu Kun, who had been keeping his head down in the crowd, frowned slightly and looked up thoughtfully toward the isolation door.

At an angle invisible to everyone else, a creature resembling an eagle perched quietly on his shoulder.

Its entire body was covered in fire-red feathers, like a burning flame. Though it clearly existed in another dimension and was completely unobservable to the naked eye, it emanated a sense of reality that could affect the physical world.

The moment Cheng Ye's glance had fallen their way, the flame eagle had suddenly turned its head, staring back just as sharply.

If Cheng Ye's gaze had lingered even half an instant longer, the stares of man and eagle would have met directly but Cheng Ye was ultimately too cautious. He had only glanced once before immediately looking away, without the slightest pause.

The flame eagle stared for a moment, unable to capture any subsequent abnormalities. Its fire-red feathers stirred restlessly, seeming somewhat impatient, about to spread its wings and take flight.

However, just then, a loud shout came from the front of the queue:

"Everyone pay attention! Form proper lines!"

A guard pushed through the crowd and stood out, holding a megaphone, "Station Chief Lei sympathizes with everyone's hardships and knows going outside is dangerous. He specially applied for a batch of outdoor assistance supplies, everyone present gets a share!"

"Those who want them, get your lines straight! No cutting in line, no shouting!"

"Otherwise get out of here!"

The guard spoke rudely, but the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.

The oppressive atmosphere from the rain and waiting was swept away by wild joy. Everyone's face flushed red with excitement. Many even stood on tiptoe to look forward, making garbled sounds of gratitude.

Influenced by this commotion, the contemplation in Liu Kun's eyes instantly faded.

The next second, he immediately put on a smile indistinguishable from the surrounding scavengers, even waving his arms more vigorously than others, shouting along with the crowd, perfectly blending into the fervent emotions.

Seeing this, the flame eagle's restless feathers gradually calmed, and it buried its head back under its wings.

"Hey, old brother, did your arm wound seem to be glowing just now?"

Just as Liu Kun was waving and cheering with the crowd, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him.

The middle-aged man standing behind him craned his neck, curiosity in his eyes. When Liu Kun had raised his arm and his sleeve slipped down, he had vaguely glimpsed an unhealed wound on the back of the man's arm.

Having a wound wasn't strange, but what was strange was the wound's edges.

They seemed to gleam with a bizarre dark green color, as if alive, flickering on and off.

"Hm?"

Liu Kun's movements paused. He feigned confusion while pulling up his sleeve, exposing his entire arm, "Is there a wound?"

"Did I see wrong?"

The middle-aged man was startled and leaned closer to examine carefully. The rough skin was covered with old scars, but indeed there was no wound.

He immediately felt embarrassed and quickly put on an apologetic smile, "Sorry, old brother, maybe the rain was too heavy and dazzled my eyes. Really sorry about that."

"It's fine, we're all family here. Being careful is understandable."

Liu Kun smiled, his tone revealing no abnormality whatsoever. He turned back to face forward as if the small incident had never happened but at an angle ordinary people couldn't see, the flame eagle on his shoulder had already changed appearance.

The originally burning fire-red feathers had somehow faded to a bizarre dark green, like ghostly fire soaked in poison, emanating a chilling coldness.

As Liu Kun lowered his arm, that dark green color flowed along the feathers like a living snake, silently crawling back to the rear side of his arm.

In an instant, the flame eagle's feathers blazed red again, the dancing firelight completely covering the previous dark green.

Only in the depths of the firelight, if one looked carefully, could one always find a trace of lingering darkness.

Like ink dropped into flame, though it should have been burned away, it stubbornly condensed there, swaying gently with the flame's movement, emanating an indescribable eeriness.

Inside the checkpoint, Cheng Ye clocked in as usual, then planned to borrow an umbrella from the duty room.

When he left this morning it wasn't raining, and in his haste, he had completely forgotten about bringing a raincoat.

However, the duty room only had ill-fitting backup raincoats and no umbrellas as he had imagined.

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment before realizing that in the vast Happiness City, it seemed only inner city residents were worthy of using umbrellas, not having to hurry through the city wearing raincoats.

Since coming to the outer city, he indeed hadn't seen a single person carrying an umbrella.

"Alright then."

Cheng Ye nodded, not wanting to say more. He simply pulled up his collar and jogged toward the station building in the rain.

Cold raindrops hit his face, mixed with damp, cold air that drilled into his bones like countless fine needles.

He estimated the wind chill was already approaching sub-zero temperatures.

If the migrants arrived while the weather remained like this, the cold alone could cause plenty of trouble.

"Inspector Cheng, the General Station Chief is waiting for you in the fifth-floor office."

The guard at the station building entrance hurried over when he saw him running through the rain.

The checkpoint's forms of address were quite particular. For Lei Hu, guards would add his surname, calling him Station Chief Lei.

For Harlin, they wouldn't say Deputy Station Chief, but would directly say Station Chief.

Only for Ding Yishan would everyone unanimously use the three words "General Station Chief" to signify his status.

"Please help me find a raincoat, I forgot to bring one today."

Cheng Ye nodded while climbing the stairs, giving the casual instruction.

"Right away, I'll bring one to you," the guard replied.

At the corner between the fourth and fifth floors, Cheng Ye unconsciously stopped.

He took several deep breaths of the cold, humid air until his body completely relaxed and his mood returned to calm, then walked upstairs with steady steps.

Half a month ago, right after Liu Bi left, he would inevitably have felt anxious.

But now was different. The growth in his strength had quietly changed his mindset long ago.

Everything felt so natural, without the slightest trepidation about rashly stepping into the checkpoint's power vortex.

After all, compared to what Ding Yishan wanted to get from him, what he wanted to dig out from this station chief would only be more.

Bang.

The moment Cheng Ye's hand touched the door panel, it was pulled open from inside.

He instinctively thought it was Jiang Chuan, but unexpectedly it was Ding Yishan himself opening the door, revealing a familiar warm smile.

That expression was almost identical to the memory of his predecessor's first day leaving the inner city, when Ding Yishan had pulled him aside with concern.

"Come in quickly. The rain is so heavy outside, and you didn't even wear a raincoat. In the current situation, if you get sick, there won't be time for you to rest."

Seeing the water droplets on Cheng Ye's hair, Ding Yishan quickly instructed, "Achuan, quickly bring out a clean towel."

Only then did Jiang Chuan emerge from the inner room, holding a clean white towel.

To Cheng Ye's surprise, Ding Yishan didn't have Jiang Chuan hand him the towel, but truly acted like an elder, taking it and reaching up to dry his hair.

Hm?

Learning from Cao Cao receiving Xu You barefoot?

Cheng Ye felt somewhat strange inside but showed appropriate surprise and gratitude on his face.

After Ding Yishan wiped twice, he quickly took the towel, saying politely, "Station Chief Ding, let me do it myself. How could I trouble you?"

"You boy, why be formal with me?"

Ding Yishan laughed and didn't insist. He naturally withdrew his hand and turned toward the reception area where he had previously talked with Lei Hu, "Sit down. I called you here to chat about those plans Jiang Chuan gave me last night. Mm, very good. Even I, as station chief, was quite moved after reading them."

Unexpectedly direct.

Cheng Ye's heart paused. He hung the towel on the cabinet by the entrance and sat in the single armchair opposite Ding Yishan.

It was the same position as last time, but the conversation partner had changed, and the atmosphere was completely different.

Jiang Chuan stood like a door guard at the outer hall entrance, four or five meters away.

Cheng Ye instinctively opened his panel and glanced at their cooperation levels.

Jiang Chuan was still at 55%, the same as Miao Yang, maintaining around this level after becoming familiar but Ding Yishan, as expected, had a cooperation level of... 0%.

After Chu Xuan and Harlin, this was the third person he'd encountered with zero cooperation.

"Is it pure distrust, or does he simply have no intention of any substantive information exchange with me?"

Cheng Ye pondered.

Actually, quite a lot could be read from cooperation levels alone.

For instance, this current 0% almost explicitly stated that in the upcoming conversation, any questions he actively asked would likely receive no answers from Ding Yishan.

It also meant this conversation was currently one-way, he only had the role of answering, while Ding Yishan apparently came with a belly full of questions.

"Cheng Ye," Ding Yishan picked up the teapot and poured a cup of hot tea, placing it before him. His tone was as casual as family chat, "How long have you been at the inspection station?"

"Over three months now."

"Over three months..." Ding Yishan nodded and set down the teapot, "Not long, but quite capable. I looked at your previous inner city files, they don't mention that you understood these things."

"The files... also don't mention that I had the ability to take down high-level fusion bodies."

Cheng Ye smiled slightly. Since he couldn't explain, he'd answer with something even more extraordinary, "Since joining the checkpoint, one should have self-learning ability. What should be understood must be proactively learned."

"Well said, self-learning ability is very important!"

Ding Yishan nodded emphatically, as expected not dwelling on the "files," "How many veteran inspectors we have at the checkpoint just don't understand this principle. They always want to coast by through internal factional alignment and clique formation. If they all had your awareness, I, as station chief, would have it much easier!"

Factional alignment and clique formation, just stated so bluntly?

Cheng Ye remained impassive, glancing at the still 0% cooperation level and pondering without responding.

Ding Yishan seemed to not expect a response either, changing topics, "Regarding those ideas you proposed, I had Achuan reorganize them. Would you like to see the reorganized results?"

"Sure." Cheng Ye picked up his tea cup and took a sip, his tone modest, "What I said last night was scattered, I don't know if the reorganization might have omissions."

Ding Yishan showed a smile of approval and pulled out a stack of bound papers from the drawer under the coffee table.

Clearly prepared in advance.

"Opinion Paper on Inspectors Contracting Outer City Construction?"

Cheng Ye's gaze fell on the cover.

He raised an eyebrow and repeated the title, showing confusion on his face, "Station Chief Ding, I didn't say last night that we inspectors should go out and contract work."

"Oh, that..."

Ding Yishan picked up his own tea cup, his tone as bland as discussing a trivial matter, "Achuan might have misheard and added it himself. Don't mind the title, just look at the content. There might be quite a bit that's expanded based on your thoughts from last night."

Expanded?

Cheng Ye looked toward the outer hall. Jiang Chuan showed an embarrassed but polite smile, saying, "Inspector Cheng, you spoke too quickly last night. I couldn't keep up with writing, so I added some of my own thoughts afterward. There might be errors or... unreasonable parts. Just speak up directly if there are problems."

Jiang Chuan spoke somewhat haltingly in the latter half.

Cheng Ye inwardly found it amusing, knowing this should be Ding Yishan's own "masterpiece."

But since he was unwilling to be direct...

Was he really hoping to hear some agreeable approval, or did he genuinely plan to listen to constructive opinions?

Picking up the plan document, Cheng Ye focused intently and read line by line.

This plan was roughly sixty to seventy percent similar to the framework he'd casually mentioned last night, only with some sweeping changes in specific implementation.

For instance, changing his suggested distribution of team resource packages to resource vouchers requiring contribution exchanges.

Also changing his envisioned area-focused construction, that Xinghou system where each area specialized in one direction with multiple areas coordinating production, to requiring each area to be fully self-sufficient.

Of course, the key point was still inspector contracting.

Cheng Ye hadn't mentioned contracting implementation methods at all last night, yet the plan document had complete contracting details.

From page seven to thirteen, six full pages of detailed rules covering everything from district division to responsibility scope, even coordination with other departmental units clearly spelled out.

"Station Chief Ding, this won't work." Cheng Ye pretended to frown thoughtfully while his gaze remained locked on the panel.

If the cooperation level showed no change, he'd casually mention some small problem to get by.

If there was change...

"Oh?" Ding Yishan's hand holding the tea cup paused, "What won't work? Tell me, I'm listening."

As his words fell, to Cheng Ye's surprise, the cooperation level on the panel actually moved!

It jumped slightly from 0% to 5%, then immediately dropped back to 2%.

Well, well, he really did come to hear my "criticism"?

Cheng Ye was somewhat astonished, then immediately suppressed these thoughts, speaking steadily, "If we have inspectors go out and contract, that becomes a contractor responsibility system, completely changing the core nature."

"Contractor responsibility?" Ding Yishan frowned, thoughtfully repeating the term.

"My understanding of 'contracting' should be resident-centered."

Cheng Ye leaned slightly forward, his tone carrying confidence, "Let them choose a place to settle and treat that area as their new home to build. Throughout the process, Happiness City only provides necessary material assistance while establishing strict reward-punishment and individual responsibility systems to ensure orderly construction progress. This way residents have a sense of belonging and motivation to work."

"But if we change to a contractor responsibility system, it becomes us inspectors hiring this batch of residents to help expand the outer city. One is doing your own household work, the other is taking wages to work for others. The enthusiasm and sense of responsibility are worlds apart, completely different things."

Cheng Ye cleared his throat and casually pointed to one of the detailed rules, "Look here, inspectors submit material requirements, and Happiness City matches the needs. Without restrictions, inevitably some will waste extravagantly to meet progress goals, over-reporting and over-requesting. But if we add layers of restrictive rules, it becomes binding hand and foot. When emergency situations arise and materials need adjusting, it becomes difficult and actually delays things."

"And this requirement for inspectors to randomly draw contracting areas, it seems fair but is actually unreasonable. Our inspector team isn't uniform either. If someone excels at construction planning, they should be given a stable area rather than randomly assigned to outer zones to bear risks and slow construction progress."

"Or each person understands areas differently. What others might see as a relatively poor area might suit their vision perfectly, knowing how to develop it."

"And this core assessment indicator based on district construction speed also has problems. Migrants just arrived and lack security and basic guarantees most. If we blindly rush expansion, how can inspectors ensure these people will willingly cooperate?"

No plan in the world could be perfect.

No matter how detailed or reasonable, if one wanted to find flaws, loopholes could always be found.

After Cheng Ye pointed out several obvious problems in one breath, he stopped and picked up his tea cup for a drink.

His peripheral vision swept across the panel in the upper right corner, cooperation level had quietly climbed to 12%, just crossing the threshold for searching intelligence.

Ding Yishan was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "From what you're saying, you're not opposed to inspector contracting, but opposed to this contractor-style contracting?"

"Station Chief Ding, why do you think the two methods can't run parallel?"

Cheng Ye set down his tea cup, his tone as calm as discussing an ordinary matter.

"Parallel?"

Ding Yishan's brow visibly jumped, his expression slightly changing.

Though he quickly concealed it, Cheng Ye still caught that flash of shock.

Reflected on the panel, cooperation level almost instantly surged, directly jumping to 27%.

Well, well.

Had this hit Ding Yishan's sweet spot?

"You mean contracting and contractor systems can advance simultaneously?"

"Yes, contractor systems also have their merits. The two systems don't actually conflict." Cheng Ye nodded gently, gradually revealing part of what he'd pondered last night, "According to this plan's layout, safe areas can accommodate at most around 200,000 people. The remaining outer areas all have considerable risks..."

"For the safe core areas, implementing resident contracting shouldn't face much resistance. Everyone has a sense of belonging and naturally wants to contribute. But for the dangerous outer areas, certainly no one would voluntarily go."

"At times like this, if we inspectors are willing to step forward proactively and lead teams to contract these dangerous areas, that's a demonstration of responsibility, minimizing Happiness City's losses while contributing to its development through personal action. It's a sacrificial act that unites people's hearts!"

Cheng Ye slightly raised his volume, showing appropriate youthful incomprehension.

"This kind of behavior should clearly have massive support systems plus unlimited reward clauses to make inspectors feel that actively going to dangerous places is worthwhile and will be seen and rewarded! Only then will people be willing to step forward and become the high wall protecting residents, adding bricks and mortar to Happiness City's future!"

He paused, picking up the plan document and flipping two pages, growing more confused:

"But this plan Jiang Chuan wrote gives the impression throughout that... we inspectors are rushing eagerly to go out and lead contractor construction, as if afraid of not getting the chance. Strange, inspectors are clearly making sacrificial contributions, yet still have to be bound by layers of restrictive indicators, facing punishment for poor performance? Isn't this thankless work?"

Hiss.

Cheng Ye had pondered this final statement for a long time before speaking.

Ding Yishan's face indeed showed no ripples, even nodding slightly in a "you're right" attitude of agreement but the cooperation level on the panel couldn't lie, instantly surging an exaggerated 21%, nearly breaking through the 50 barrier!

"This is getting interesting."

Cheng Ye's heart burned with excitement, finally grasping another path to increasing cooperation levels.

Besides intimidation and interrogation, making the other party feel recognition and accept one's viewpoints could apparently also count as cooperation!

After pondering briefly, Ding Yishan suddenly turned toward the outer hall, calling out, "Jiang Chuan, come over and explain your thinking."

"Uh..." Jiang Chuan at the entrance clearly hadn't expected to be called upon, jumping with a start and walking over stammering, "Station Chief, I... I was thinking, thinking..."

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't get out a single sentence.

Seeing Jiang Chuan about to enter crash mode, Ding Yishan timely raised his hand, "Enough. Did you hear what Inspector Cheng just said?"

"I heard, I heard!"

"What do you think should be done?"

"Me?"

Jiang Chuan was stunned again, but this time didn't answer. Instead, he immediately turned to look at Cheng Ye, his eyes full of plea for help.

Hm?

Was Ding Yishan unwilling to break this tacit understanding between the two?

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, thoughts sparking like lightning in his mind.

If Ding Yishan asked him directly, that would acknowledge letting him participate in this power distribution, becoming a chess piece no longer confined to trainee inspector status but now asking through Jiang Chuan's voice meant either what he'd proposed wasn't weighty enough, or...

Wait, could it be that Ding Yishan never intended to execute this plan but was making a bold test?

No way.

The plan document was so detailed, detailed enough to specify power distribution.

Dozens of trucks had been brought over, tons of supplies were being allocated, it looked like burning bridges with determination to succeed.

Surely it couldn't be that after we've taken off our pants, you tell me it's actually a feint?

Cheng Ye was suddenly dumbfounded. If this was a test, he'd exposed far too much just now.

That ambition was practically overflowing!

But then, an even stranger thought crashed into Cheng Ye's mind, making him unable to resist calling up the panel and directly clicking on intelligence about checking the Red Mountain Caravan for contemplation.

Entering the intelligence space, time flow suddenly slowed, giving him sufficient thinking time.

From the two men's conversation developing step by step to now, a bold idea suddenly flashed through Cheng Ye's mind.

Could it be... that Ding Yishan hadn't realized the drawbacks of inspectors proactively contracting in this plan document at all?

After he pointed them out, had Ding Yishan suddenly lost his previous confidence?

This notion seemed absurd even to Cheng Ye himself, but considering the surging cooperation level and Jiang Chuan's seemingly genuine expression...

Cheng Ye's eyelid twitched, his heart shaking wildly.

Well, well, if it really was as he guessed, this would be quite the spectacle.

Seeking details through Jiang Chuan's voice while not making explicit their current mutual understanding, Ding Yishan's attitude was already crystal clear.

He had obviously changed how he positioned Cheng Ye, no longer treating him as a chess piece.

Yes, seeking solutions was fine, after all, whether yesterday's submitted plan or today's remarks had more or less demonstrated some ability to resolve this matter but the problem was, if he laid out specific feasible operational plans, even power distribution details, wouldn't that make him...

In an instant, thoughts flowed through Cheng Ye's mind.

Advance, if Ding Yishan was willing to adopt his suggestions, he would directly become the chess player setting the rules of this game.

Never mind anything else, the power in his hands alone would be comparable to an executive station chief.

The only trouble was that if others learned of this, his situation would become extremely difficult.

He might even face direct mortal danger from prematurely exposing his ambition and abilities.

Retreat, there were ways to play dumb and muddle through but having reached this point, retreating now, if Ding Yishan chose to get to the bottom of things or even abandon their mutual understanding...

The benefits and risks would be completely disproportionate, truly not worth it!

"If knowing my abilities makes someone want to eliminate me, they're definitely my enemy, and I'll have to deal with them sooner or later anyway."

"Even in the worst-case scenario, with Stand-In Starfish available, whoever dares show their face can be directly suppressed!"

With this thought settled, Cheng Ye let out a long breath.

The intelligence space shattered with a thunderous crash.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

INS Chapter 121: War Supplies, Expanding Power!

"The inspector assessment in Xinghou Sanctuary City actually doesn't require human participation in the evaluation?"

His gaze swept across the text on the screen again, and Cheng Ye's heartbeat inexplicably quickened by half a beat as he realized the value of the four-piece set.

This was simply a pie falling from the sky.

Compared to Happiness City's trainee promotion process that required layers of practical assessment tests, Xinghou's assessment was ridiculously simple.

It was like a math problem, right was right, wrong was wrong, with the answer written plainly on the surface.

Unlike Happiness City, where beyond meeting professional competency standards, one also had to learn to pick sides, navigate interpersonal relationships, and even "repay debts" for their parents' generation.

"Hmm, looking at it this way, after advancing in Xinghou's job ranks, it probably leans more toward the permissions I want rather than being directly tied to real power."

Cheng Ye rubbed his chin, quietly contemplating the pros and cons of this system.

The easier something was to quantify and meet standards for, the more ordinary its value typically was.

Even Happiness City was extremely cautious about delegating power.

Given Xinghou Sanctuary City's scale and system, it certainly wouldn't tolerate such simple expansion of power.

To put it bluntly, this assessment standard for inspectors was almost no different from the assessment of ordinary departmental positions within Happiness City.

It was more like training employees who followed procedures rather than decision-makers who could handle things independently.

"If they're only screening employees, the conditions naturally wouldn't be too harsh. Like these three current ones, each one simpler than the last."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Energy response greater than 35?

When he boarded the flying wing earlier, Li Changfeng had mentioned his energy response was 35, so he should meet the standard.

5,000 certification photos? Pure time accumulation, taking 500 per day, it could be completed in ten days!

The only somewhat challenging one was memorizing the trainee materials, but this was exactly what Cheng Ye was most interested in.

Under different systems, Xinghou's requirements for inspectors were definitely different, and the information hidden in the materials was precisely the capital needed to survive in the wasteland.

"I feel like I can complete the trainee assessment in at most half a month!"

Cheng Ye was secretly excited.

He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

No need to waste effort on cracking codes, just complete the tasks to unlock permissions. This saved him enormous trouble.

As for whether there would be human assessment during later upgrades?

Cross that bridge when he came to it. First, advance to the highest possible level.

Thinking this, he picked up the "scale-like" detector and began operating according to the phone's instructions.

Although the patch cables were densely packed, each patch was labeled with numbers corresponding to body parts marked on the phone, wrists, chest, thigh roots. They felt cool and comfortable when applied.

After attaching them, Cheng Ye tapped "Start Detection" on his phone. A tingling electric current suddenly flowed from the patches into his body, like countless tiny ants crawling.

He instinctively tensed his muscles to resist, and the numbers on the screen immediately began jumping:

[21]

"Not enough."

Cheng Ye gritted his teeth and suddenly surged the power within his body. The blood vessels on his arms instantly bulged like blue earthworms swimming under his skin.

The numbers on the screen frantically climbed:

24, 27, 30, 35... finally stopping at 37. No matter how much more force he exerted, he couldn't advance another step.

"Success!"

As he relaxed with relief, his tense muscles suddenly loosened, and the tingling electric current disappeared without a trace.

However, before he could remove the patches, those clinging to his skin suddenly began heating up, especially the few attached to important areas. The temperature grew higher and higher, hot enough to make his brow furrow.

[Talent Detection in Progress]

A prompt appeared on the screen.

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow but didn't rush to remove them.

This level of heat was still within tolerable range. He wanted to see what other tricks Xinghou's detector had.

Unlike energy detection that emphasized efficiency, after all, users might need frequent testing, so speed was essential, talent detection was obviously different. A person might only test once or twice in their lifetime, so naturally it was made extra detailed and slow.

After a full ten-plus minutes, the heated patches finally began cooling down. But before Cheng Ye could relax, another batch of patches started heating up.

This time the heat was more concentrated, almost entirely focused on his chest area.

What made his expression change was that as the heat intensified, the wild grass totem on his chest actually appeared without warning. Light green patterns swam across his skin like living things, gently writhing.

The next second, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his body's surface, as if stimulated by some force, producing a strong stress response.

[Body Constitution Talent Detected, Calculating Talent Level]

Impressive!

Xinghou actually had this kind of detection method. Cheng Ye was somewhat startled but allowed the detector to continue working.

Another ten-plus minutes passed. When the last patch finally cooled down, the screen finally displayed detailed data:

[Body Constitution Talent: Excellent]

[Response Intensity: 7]

[Estimated Maximum Improvement: 11]

[Improvement Method: Locked (Please unlock Level 2 or higher permissions to view)]

[Estimated Evolution Directions: Locked (Please unlock Level 4 or higher permissions to view)]

"Talent can actually be actively improved and evolved?"

Cheng Ye was stunned.

He had always assumed that the talents humans awakened in the wasteland era were innate, like Dai Zun's Iron Body talent, the result of genetic "lottery."

Including many related books that described it this way, the aftershocks of the previous transcendent era had stirred the gene pool, allowing humanity to complete a leaping transformation within eighty years. Only this could explain the vast difference between wasteland people and those of the old era.

Without this, three short generations could never have catalyzed such dramatic evolution.

However, the information he was getting now seemed to point in another direction.

Human talents in the wasteland weren't entirely predetermined by birth, there were also opportunities for postnatal change?

This was worth deep thought.

Cheng Ye pondered while removing the patches from his body.

With the detector, he could more conveniently know the strength changes each skill brought in the future.

Much more intuitive than using nutrition paste as a measure before.

"Hmm, it was 35 before. Camel Endurance should have provided me with 2 points, pretty good effect."

During the beef jerky incident, he had already equipped this Level 1 talent he'd obtained through search.

At the time he only felt more energetic, not expecting the specific numerical value to increase so much.

2 points of energy response translated to nearly a 5% improvement, quite considerable for a Level 1 skill because searching now only required 20% charge value with no failure probability, it was practically guaranteed profit.

If he could charge freely every day and search freely, his strength could double in four days.

Of course, this was an idealized result.

Simply piling up high numbers would definitely become harder the further he went, and would only slow down the accumulation of information density.

To achieve qualitative leaps and advance job ranks as quickly as possible, he had to search for high-level skills and transcendent abilities!

"Time to sleep. Once the migrants arrive, I might not be able to sleep comfortably for ten days to half a month."

Cheng Ye shook his head, temporarily setting these thoughts aside and diving into the covers.

His nostrils were surrounded by the scent of cotton and faint mustiness mixed together, yet it strangely brought peace of mind.

He didn't know if those proposals would actually be useful, but if they were truly adopted, there should be news tomorrow because the refugees would arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest, leaving no extra time for Happiness City to deliberate.

During this process, whether the checkpoint could get any benefits would depend on Station Chief Ding Yishan's maneuvering.

The inspectors below, ultimately, only had the role of doing the work without qualifications to compete for power.

The night passed without incident.

Since the end of the Stand-In Starfish operation, Happiness City had fallen into long-lost tranquility.

After shedding its usual tension and clamor, it actually had the appearance of a peaceful frontier town, detached from worldly concerns.

At 5:30 AM, the alarm rang.

Normally, with work starting at seven, there was no need to get up this early but the collector had used 20% yesterday, and without a charging station to supplement it, only 8% had recovered over the day.

There was still a 12% gap that needed to be filled at the Works Department parking lot, which would take about half an hour.

Cheng Ye let out a long yawn, turned over and got up, first checking the download progress of Xinghou Connect.

Over the past 7+ hours, only 4% had downloaded, slow as a snail.

"At this speed, it looks like it'll take more than 144 hours."

He clicked his tongue, yanked out the charging cable, stuffed the phone into his backpack, and shuffled to wash up.

The temperature seemed even lower.

The water pipes were frozen, leaving only a small stream flowing from the faucet.

The moment cold water splashed on his face, all remaining sleepiness was driven away.

Cheng Ye stood by the window and stretched languidly. The cool morning light rushed over, momentarily making him feel refreshed all over.

Going downstairs and leaving the residential complex, Master Zhang was already waiting at the entrance with the bus.

The headlights glowed amber in the morning mist. The street was empty, with only the whistling cold wind making the roadside trees rustle.

"To the Works Department parking lot."

"Right away."

Master Zhang responded and turned the key to start the vehicle.

When they arrived at the parking lot, nine overnight vehicles were already parked inside with six empty spaces remaining.

Cheng Ye casually pointed to a spot further inside, directing Master Zhang to back in and park. He skillfully took the charging card and got out.

After Master Zhang went to the rest area to wash up, Cheng Ye plugged in the gun, swiped the card, and confirmed charging, a smooth sequence of actions.

However, even if Master Zhang didn't see it, he could discover the anomaly just by looking at the battery level when he returned but this kind of thing would seem strange no matter how he explained it.

Cheng Ye simply omitted all explanations. As long as he didn't speak up, there would never be a need for "explanation."

On the contrary, voluntarily offering explanations would be more likely to backfire and invite more questions.

Time passed 6:20.

The panel popped up, battery full. The glowing green progress bar steadily stopped at 100%, and the full charge value looked reassuringly solid.

Looking at the Xinghou Connect, Cheng Ye suddenly had a strong premonition that if Liu Kun hadn't changed his mind yet, he would definitely try to leave and enter the city today.

After all, once the migrants arrived, checkpoint pressure would surge dramatically, and inspections would only become stricter.

At that time, trying to hide his identity and enter without being discovered would definitely become much more difficult.

Moreover, Liu Kun was a member of Happiness City's upper echelon and would surely become busier in the future, leaving him no time to leave Happiness City for external activities.

"Let's go to the checkpoint."

Cheng Ye removed the charging gun. The bus left the parking lot and arrived promptly at the checkpoint entrance at 6:40.

Compared to yesterday's tardiness, today he was a full twenty minutes early but as soon as he got off the bus, Cheng Ye was startled by the scene before him. More than twenty 6.8-meter medium trucks were neatly parked in front of South Station.

Workers in Works Department uniforms were unloading cargo together with guards. Boxes upon boxes of items were carried down and piled in the open area like a small mountain.

"What's this?"

He couldn't help walking over, his gaze falling on the opened boxes.

The boxes contained nutrition paste, but the packaging was completely different from the common transparent bags on the market, there were yellow, blue, and black varieties.

In all his time in Happiness City, this was Cheng Ye's first time seeing nutrition paste in colored packaging.

"Good morning, Inspector Cheng!"

A familiar guard saw him approaching and explained with a smile, "These are all military-grade nutrition pastes. The station chief ordered last night that all three checkpoints need to stockpile sufficient quantities."

He pointed to bags of different colors, "The yellow bags are for rapid physical strength recovery, they take effect immediately after drinking. The blue bags supplement mental energy, useful when you've been outside for a long time. The black bags are the most powerful, they can temporarily enhance physical performance, but they're strong and can have side effects after drinking."

"There's such a thing?"

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and picked up a yellow nutrition paste bag to weigh it.

The bag was much more substantial than ordinary nutrition paste, feeling hard when squeezed, like a well-sealed compressed biscuit.

He shook the bag, the paste inside barely moved, obviously quite concentrated.

"Can I drink a bag to taste it?"

"You can drink as much as you want!" The guard smiled even more warmly, "Starting today, each inspector has a daily quota of 100 bags of these three types of nutrition paste. If you need any, just tell the station staff and they'll deliver them directly to your designated location."

Well, well.

Before troops move, provisions go first.

Cheng Ye's heart stirred. It seemed yesterday's suggestions he'd offered might not all have fallen on deaf ears.

Ding Yishan's reaction speed suggested he was really going to take action?

Tearing open the yellow bag's seal, a light sweet fragrance immediately wafted out. The paste inside was thick as melted toffee, nothing like ordinary nutrition paste's watery consistency.

It even had a sweet osmanthus flavor when chewed, sweet but not cloying. He could finish a whole bag without feeling harsh on the throat.

After the paste went down, within half a minute, a gentle warm current spread from his stomach, immediately dispelling the morning chill.

Not bad, good stuff!

Cheng Ye's eyes lit up. What he lacked most now was something for rapid physical recovery.

Not just for duty needs, but because if he managed to search transcendent skills from Liu Kun, who knew how much energy it might consume.

Having these yellow-bag nutrition pastes would be excellent, greatly reducing dependence on ordinary nutrition paste.

"Besides nutrition paste, is there other stuff?"

"Yes!"

The guard immediately pulled out a printed list from a nearby box and handed it over, "Everything recorded on this list can be claimed by each inspector according to their quota. Please take a look."

Cheng Ye took it and flipped through it, immediately stunned.

Just the first page listed fifty items, from reinforced protective gloves, stab-resistant boots, multi-function helmets, to portable detectors, emergency lighting sticks, medical kits, and even compressed biscuits, energy bars, sleeping bags, water purification tablets, and so on.

After flipping through three pages, there were nearly 150 items total, covering almost all equipment needed for field duty.

"This is... emptying out the checkpoint's entire reserves?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but be amazed.

Regarding the contracting matter, he had thought about seeking benefits for the checkpoint and getting inspectors some share of power but as soon as this thought emerged, he had suppressed it.

Why?

Because his identity was simply too awkward. A trainee inspector who had just started not long ago being able to see the problems with migrant diversion and propose optimization plans was already outstanding enough.

But if he also jumped out to worry about the checkpoint's big picture, scheming how to fight for power and benefits for the entire department... that would be too strange.

These matters were things the station chief level should consider. If not them, it would at least be the turn of fifth-term, fourth-term veteran inspectors to ponder.

They hoped for promotion and eyed the station chief position, so naturally they would rack their brains seeking benefits for the checkpoint to accumulate their own capital but as a small trainee, taking care of his own post without problems, mindful of Happiness City's overall situation, this was already excellent enough for full marks.

Being too aggressive would risk bringing fire upon himself but now it seemed Ding Yishan had obviously made his choice, planning to use the migrant opportunity to expand the checkpoint's power outward.

He just didn't know if Happiness City's upper echelons would agree to his choice.

After all, once inspectors got involved in contracting and gained actual administrative power over districts, combined with public opinion brought by the migrants, their power would expand like a snowball.

Easy to give, but if the upper levels wanted to take it back later, it would be difficult.

"Inspector Cheng?" Seeing him motionless for a long time, staring blankly at the list, the nearby guard proactively suggested, "If you can't decide what you need, I'll have someone send one of everything according to minimum quota to your quarantine area first. You can see which ones are useful, then give instructions later, how about that?"

"Alright, thank you for the trouble."

Cheng Ye snapped back to attention and nodded lightly.

If inspectors really were going to get involved in the contracting matter, these supplies would probably have to wait ten days to half a month, until migrant settlement got on track, before truly coming in handy.

For now, there was no rush.

He handed the list back to the guard and turned toward the checkpoint office building.

However, after just a few steps, when his peripheral vision swept toward the station chief building, a direct stare suddenly collided with his.

On the fifth floor corridor, a figure stood quietly there, gaze falling directly on him.

Cheng Ye instinctively looked up.

The moment their eyes met, the smile on his face imperceptibly contracted for an instant.

How curious.

No one had expected this face, firmly imprinted in his predecessor's memory, to reappear under such circumstances.

And facing his gaze, the face's owner actually nodded slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Hey, still smiling!

Cheng Ye's steps paused for half a second, then the smile on his face bloomed again, even richer than before.

Since Ding Yishan was willing to show himself, it meant he had completely accepted the door-opener offered last night.

This was planning a face-to-face probe?

Cheng Ye was slightly intrigued. His steps moved unhurriedly toward the office building while his mind began frantically calculating again.

Under normal circumstances, facing an old fox like Ding Yishan, he would definitely choose to retreat and advance, waiting for Ding Yishan to make the first move but now was different.

If the checkpoint really was going to interfere with the migration tide, the upcoming conversation might directly determine his position in this chaotic situation!

Whether to continue as a marginal trainee inspector or gain some power beyond trainee level.

"Using this opportunity to test my ambition?"

"But what you've exposed has precisely revealed your own ambition first."

Walking to the inner side of the entrance, just avoiding Ding Yishan's line of sight, Cheng Ye put away his smile, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

He had to admit, compared to the "straightforward" Harlin, he was beginning to quite like Ding Yishan.

Revealing his own choice openly, coming with answers to ask questions, as long as one could realize this point, it was almost a free answer question but it was precisely this kind of free answer that seemed more difficult and tested the upcoming response more.

However, honestly speaking, dealing with this kind of old fox who followed rules really gave one the excited feeling of meeting a worthy opponent!

Moreover, only with this kind of person sitting in the station chief position could those below truly have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

If Harlin were in charge instead, the current situation would probably be completely different.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 140: The Starry Continent's First Brilliant Flash

October 12th, clear skies, no wind, high and bright with scattered clouds.

It was a good day. Lord Chen Mo had specifically checked the traditional calendar.

Auspicious for groundbreaking, sacrificial ceremonies, prayers, consecration, fasting and purification rituals...

The lord had a high platform erected over a hundred kilometers west of Vast Sea City, and today brought the territory's civil and military officials and distinguished guests from the temple to the platform early, where everyone took their seats.

The lord and High Priest Farrell sat in the front row, the best viewing positions.

Service staff brought various refreshments, seasonal fruits, and frozen desserts just taken from ice boxes, filling half the table space in front of each guest.

It was truly extravagant.

Farrell discreetly observed this lord, somewhat speechless.

This lord was always so strange. His personal life was quite modest, he was often seen eating with the territory's soldiers, finishing simple meals of rice with a few dishes quickly.

But in hospitality, Vast Sea Territory was famously generous. Fresh fruits and vegetables were transported north from the south with ice protection all the way, then preserved with special equipment upon reaching the territory. Not to mention anything else, ninety-nine point nine percent of people on the continent couldn't enjoy such treatment.

Yet whenever guests came to Vast Sea, even ordinary merchant guild executives, the lord was never stingy.

Farrell slowly put a cold fruit in his mouth, then curiously picked up the thin, long cigarette the lord had placed on the table, examining it from all angles.

Such an exquisite little thing.

Though Lord Chen Mo was currently puffing away, Farrell still didn't dare imitate him.

What if there was something blasphemous inside?

In earlier years, some people had secretly skinned and deboned dwarves, stewed them into meat, and tricked temple personnel into consuming it, those were bloody lessons indeed.

Although this lord's temperament didn't seem like he would deliberately harm anyone, it was better to be careful when away from home. Lords could be deceived by others too.

"Well, not smoking is good! Smoking is harmful to health."

Chen Mo occasionally chatted with Farrell, "I don't usually smoke either, but when something comes up, I can't help it. It's a way to calm my emotions."

"Not like that old fellow, he's already losing control."

Chen Mo was referring to Master Downs.

"Old Blade loves wine, Long Staff loves smoke", these mages indeed loved such things that supposedly helped focus and calm the mind.

Ever since getting filtered cigarettes from Chen Mo, the old man had completely fallen in love with these little things.

To prevent this teacher from dying of lung cancer or related diseases, East Xia had even arranged special technical research to reduce nicotine, tar, and other components in tobacco while maintaining the original taste.

They also created tobacco companions to use with cigarettes, minimizing lung damage as much as possible.

The cost of just one cigarette was over two thousand Xia yuan, completely without brand premium or tax additions. If taxed according to East Xia's industry standards, each cigarette would cost over ten thousand.

Everyone chatted and laughed, and soon it was time for the scheduled "fireworks" viewing.

Participating in this performance was a conventional tactical-level hydrogen bomb with a ten-kiloton yield, right at the upper limit for conventional tactical nuclear weapons.

Although East Xia was fully capable of providing higher-yield weapons, after careful deliberation, the staff departments believed maintaining appropriate scale was very important.

First, this was a performance.

One point East Xia repeatedly emphasized in their correspondence was that even if Lady Frost met with misfortune, nuclear weapons, which could result in destructive divine punishment strikes and mutual destruction, should not be used. Instead, development should continue, expanding strength for the future.

Actually, without family persuasion, Chen Mo understood this. At least so far, Frost's core role was as East Xia's strategic-level pharmaceutical supplier. Moreover, since the little girl had never made demands, this wasn't just trade, significant emotional factors were involved.

Therefore, East Xia took the little girl's safety very seriously, but compared to Chen Mo's safety, they were on completely different levels.

So no matter how many nuclear bombs Chen Mo possessed or what yields they had, without confirming absolutely safe release conditions, they wouldn't be used for retaliatory strikes.

Even on Blue Star it was the same, superweapons were most powerful when not dropped on the enemy's head.

This made the performance particularly important, because you had to make the other side believe you had such things to put them on the negotiating table as bargaining chips.

On Blue Star, such performances mainly involved bombing empty land or oceans. Of course, some dropped them in cities to kill livestock, all with good demonstrative effects.

In the Starry Continent, only empty land could be bombed. To ensure no problems, Chen Mo had even arranged for sand people to sweep this blank area several times in advance, driving out even lizards and sand cats.

An exclusion zone was established with a radius of eleven kilometers based on the theoretical maximum impact range.

To fully demonstrate the effect, this used low-altitude airburst. Of course, missile launches or drone drops wouldn't be used, too wasteful of transport capacity. So Chen Mo arranged for professional teams to erect simple detonation facilities in the desert: earth mounds below, wooden tower structures above.

Around the detonation point, from far to near, simple city walls, wooden houses, armor mounted on poles, and other reference objects were arranged.

Of course, cameras were essential.

On both sides of the high viewing platform were two large display screens specially transported from Blue Star, connected to dozens of different-angle cameras on site. Additionally, old Downs led a mage group from the former Night Edge, ready to cast Detection Eyes at various distances.

The goal was comprehensive, all-angle viewing for everyone.

Such elaborate preparations built considerable anticipation among the guests.

As time passed minute by minute, Field Army Commander, the centaur Kaga, galloped up and stopped below the platform, straightening his upper body and delivering a perfect military salute, then shouting loudly, "Report to the lord! Weapon 'Burning Stone' is ready. Requesting ignition, release, and execution of attack on target area!"

"Attack approved!"

"Received!" Kaga roared, guards on both sides waved red flags, then distant sand dunes responded with red flag waves. One small centaur, looking like Ma Baoguo, raised a heavy sniper rifle and fired a shot toward the distance.

Of course, this entire sequence was part of the performance.

No release was needed, the nuclear bomb was just sitting there. No ignition was needed, and the gunshot was pure deception.

To ensure detonation safety and stability, the detonation device was simply timed.

Time was up, that's all.

"Burning Stone? Does this name have any significance?"

Facing Farrell's curiosity, Chen Mo calmly stubbed out his cigarette, "I heard there's a particularly hard stone in the stars called zircon. I wanted to see if a more powerful weapon could make it burn."

Farrell didn't want to chat anymore.

Always with the sarcastic remarks...

Just then, a bright light appeared at the corner of the high priest's vision!

The fruit High Priest Farrell had been biting stuck in his mouth. As a third-tier high priest, mid-level divine official, an instinctive, bone-chilling warning instantly seized him!

He immediately activated Holy Light Protection.

But this faint white light was like fireflies under the blazing sun compared to the pure, tyrannically domineering light screen in the distance.

The massive screens on both sides of the high platform suddenly burst with blinding white light. In an immeasurably short billionth of a second, the screens briefly "overexposed" into pure white.

Immediately after, the white light center suddenly contracted, then expanded outward with even more violent force! Colors shifted from white to orange, then deep red. A huge fireball slowly formed on screen.

Its core was blinding platinum, edges churning with hellish lava-like orange-red. The fireball greedily devoured the earth mound and wooden tower below, those fragile structures vanished like paper thrown into a furnace, instantly vaporized and decomposed without leaving even a wisp of smoke!

The mages' Detection Eyes provided clearer perspectives, showing Farrell and the divine officials more details.

Energy boiled and roared. The earth seemed torn open in an instant, revealing a deep crater. Sand grains seemed desperate to flee this damned hell, shooting outward frantically while behind them lay ground surface that had been vitrified and crystallized by high-temperature smelting.

Accompanying light and heat was a surging shockwave.

As that burning sun slowly rose in the center of vision, the ground below was being ruthlessly plowed by a visible, rapidly expanding Ring of Destruction mixed with sand and flames, the shockwave's vanguard!

Simple walls placed along the path were instantly completely flattened and pulverized! Wooden houses directly disintegrated into flying ash. Heavy armor was blown high like paper, deforming, twisting, and tearing in the air.

If there had been a person inside, they certainly wouldn't be comfortable right now.

All non-professionals, like Herlan, had put on dark protective lenses early, so their perception of light wasn't as direct as the professionals present, nor was their sense of this surging impact as profound.

But metal plate armor being easily shredded into fragments was power they could understand.

They couldn't imagine what living being could survive such world-destroying attacks.

Before their brains could process this, sound arrived.

Taking about thirty-eight seconds, sound waves crossed over ten kilometers to finally slam into the viewing platform area.

The tremendous rumbling gave the impression that these sounds were substantial, rushing forward like mountains and seas. Though the shockwave had dissipated and sand couldn't reach this high platform, just hearing the sound generated an instinctive fear urging immediate escape.

This was the majestic heavenly might of a top-tier weapon from another world.

In the distance, the slowly dimming great fireball continued raising sandstorm fog dozens of meters high, spreading continuously in all directions. It seemed to constantly grab everything it could from ground and air, spiraling upward along the powerful central suction, rotating, converging, forming a massive smoke column connecting heaven and earth!

The column's top slowly bloomed into a charming mushroom-shaped cloud.

High Priest Farrell had somehow stood up, his lips trembling slightly.

He had never seen forbidden curses, but he believed this weapon called "Burning Stone" definitely met all forbidden curse conditions.

Farrell personally cast a Mage's Eye.

The towering giant fireball continued rising, colors shifting from blinding platinum to local orange-red and dark red. Below the fireball, the completely destroyed and melted earth formed a huge crater that seemed bottomlessly deep.

Behind Farrell, several young divine officials had unconsciously knelt, murmuring prayers. Chen Mo wasn't familiar with Divine Court funeral rites and didn't know what they were saying to their gods.

As for the territory's civil and military officials, they already knew their lord's greatness. Now, beyond greatness, another layer was added: power.

Grace inspires gratitude, power commands awe!

This is our lord!

This is the Wrath of Vast Sea that can reduce all enemies to ash!

The most shocked person present was the old mage Downs.

He had personally witnessed forbidden curses, small-scale forbidden curses that could move mountains and fill lakes, levels he once thought he could never even aspire to in his lifetime.

Then yesterday, Mage Downs had personally lifted that big thing into place with Mage Hand.

This mage who had wasted half his life tremblingly tried to construct a new Detection Eye spell model with his hands, but it was already chaotic beyond recognition.

Old Downs looked at his lord somewhat dazedly.

That young man was the most composed person on site at this moment, the cigarette in his hand emitting a wisp of blue smoke, wreathing his calm expression and slightly narrowed eyes.

He seemed... somewhat unsatisfied!

Indeed, Chen Mo was unsatisfied. For safety, they were too far away, he hadn't felt even a trace of shockwave aftereffects.

If there had been some ground shaking, cups clinking, all these miscellaneous things on the table swept to the ground in disorder, breaking a few items.

A strong wind hitting his face on site, billowing his robes loudly, that would match Chen Mo's perfect imagination.

Unfortunately, now he was a precious son who shouldn't sit where tiles might fall. Such impressive scenes could probably never be staged again.

For this performance, Chen Mo consumed a quarter of October's transport capacity. The entire performance process was planned by East Xia's technical departments working tirelessly for days. Even the rehearsal troops had created a 1:1 replica of the simulated Guli Desert test zone at East Xia's firing range, specifically experimenting with same-yield nuclear bombs several times.

Because the airburst position wasn't high, test data showed the absolute safe distance was 9.2 kilometers, the kind where even light fallout couldn't reach them.

But that still wasn't enough. What if there was wind?

What if radiation locally exceeded standards?

What if splashing burning materials flew far?

Retreat further!

With one retreat after another, they ended up thirteen kilometers away. Of course, headquarters wouldn't tell Chen Mo these details, the given safety boundary was thirteen kilometers.

This gave Chen Mo the regret of having set it off but not feeling much.

But the demonstrative effect was sufficient!

Although Chen Mo repeatedly hinted that the forbidden curse area might have residual effects like "Breath of Death," divine officials still attempted to send sacred white deer toward the explosion site over an hour later.

The white deer indeed refused to enter.

Though it was a clean nuclear bomb with rapid airburst attenuation, there were still limits to how fast it could decay.

White deer, creatures used by the Divine Court for "Evil Detection," obviously sensed radiation, stopping about seven kilometers away and beginning to circle the perimeter.

The next day, they only advanced to the three-kilometer position before absolutely refusing to go further.

The Divine Court could only use Detection Eyes to examine the scene thoroughly from every angle.

Farrell provided the final assessment: within 500 to 700 meters from the center of this quasi-forbidden curse item attack, professionals below third-tier were considered unable to survive.

Within 1.2 to 1.5 kilometers, high-level warriors and Sacred Shield Guardians might survive but could be severely injured.

Within 3.2 kilometers, unprotected ordinary people would have difficulty surviving.

Within five kilometers, personnel might suffer varying degrees of harm.

Within seven kilometers, continuous damage effects similar to "Cursed Land" would form, with specific damage mechanisms and degrees yet undeterminable.

At the end of this assessment, Farrell specifically noted:

"The Lord of Vast Sea indicated that invoking such transcendent weapons from another world cost him tremendously."

"His willingness to demonstrate to the Divine Court stems from good personal relations with local high priests and bishops, as well as ongoing cooperation, hoping to seek peaceful resolution to the Cloudmist Domain incident."

"However, the Lord of Vast Sea simultaneously expressed that if the situation further deteriorates, he can bear greater costs to obtain more powerful super-forbidden curse-level weapons capable of erasing large cities."

"Based on subordinate observations, this claim has high probability of truth."

"Therefore, if our Divine Court doesn't intervene, Vast Sea's targets are only Greenspine Kingdom, particularly hostile forces like Greenspine Zircon Family."

"If the Divine Court insists on intervening, it may attract the Vast Sea lord's hatred as a target. Subordinate believes this would absolutely not be wise!"

"Please consider carefully, Bishop and High Priest superiors."

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 139: Questions That Gods Cannot Answer

As a high priest often responsible for external affairs of the Divine Court, Farrell had traveled to many places and cities.

He had touched majestic city walls carved by a thousand years of wind and frost, strolled through super plazas that could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, gazed up at the world's greatest magic tower built with the entire strength of the Silver Kingdom, and had spent his entire childhood in the Divine Court's capital, that holy city filled with a thousand temples, ten thousand divine statues, and air permeated with the atmosphere of fanatical faith...

Even those unremarkable small towns had their own elegance and unique scenery.

In comparison, Vast Sea Territory, this city literally "carved out" from endless yellow sand, had a population of merely a few thousand to this day. According to Farrell's understanding, if this place didn't rank last, he really couldn't think of any other territory that would be worse.

However, every time he came to Vast Sea, he would involuntarily recall what Scholar Elliott had said, "They, have such spirit!"

Indeed, they had too much spirit.

Farrell had come here many times, and moreover, the Divine Court had established a branch here, so he understood Vast Sea's situation fairly well.

During the day it was a bustling construction site, and after dinner, the rest time for Vast Sea Territory's workers became a vivid world of "people."

Bronze-skinned men gathered in twos and threes, discussing the day's gains with each other, occasionally counting on their rough fingers how many work points they still needed to become provisional citizens!

The women huddled in windshieltered corners, chattering in low voices filled with the warmth of daily life, whose child had received another commendation, how beautiful the new floral fabric at the collective sales cooperative was, whether the extra work points saved were enough to exchange for material to make their daughters new clothes.

Little ones looked enviously at those older children wearing Youth Corps badges, puffing out their tender chests higher than the cafeteria aunties', strutting proudly across the square doing goose steps. Occasionally, bold little ones would clumsily follow behind, awkwardly trying to learn a few steps, sometimes panicking into moving the same arm and leg together, drawing good-natured laughter from watching adults.

And recently, the territory had even dug two large pools in the public areas, filled them with water, and made them into public bathhouses.

The water was cold, of course, but it was disinfected daily, and most importantly, it was free, saving washing water in their own dugout homes.

Workers who had labored all day would go in for a rinse and come out refreshed, their faces unable to contain their smiles.

This was a desert, a desert where water was incredibly precious.

Only those who had stayed in beastman slave camps knew how hard-won their current lives were.

So in this desolate, lonely desert wasteland where barely any green could be seen, the wild, vigorous vitality bursting from these people made Farrell seem to glimpse shadows of those fanatic believers in the Divine Court's capital.

Local Bishop Avery stood beside High Priest Farrell with an ashen face.

He had just developed his thirtieth believer locally and been promoted to first-level bishop based on performance, but both he and Farrell knew these achievements were all arranged for them by Lord Chen Mo.

On this land, the Lord of Vast Sea was the only deity.

If the lord was unhappy, any god's representative here wouldn't survive until evening, even with divine protection, it would be difficult.

This was the main reason Farrell had personally come here to earnestly advise Chen Mo. He was beginning to like this magical land.

He sincerely hoped to develop this lord into a believer of the gods.

The trouble Chen Mo was facing now was quite a good opportunity.

Farrell even had a feeling that if Chen Mo, this miracle lord, joined the Divine Court, he might create the fastest promotion legend in Divine Court history.

He himself would also be recorded in Divine Court annals because of this!

All these beautiful aspirations vanished when he met Chen Mo again the next day.

Chen Mo seemed to have completely recovered from yesterday's distress, his expression neither sad nor happy, calm and unperturbed.

With territorial officials sitting on one side and Divine Court representatives on the other, under Farrell's expectant gaze, Chen Mo slowly opened the thick stack of papers before him.

"Before resolving the Cloudmist Domain matter," Chen Mo's voice was steady and clear, "I want to clarify several technical issues with the Divine Court first."

"Regarding the use of forbidden curse-level attack spells and items that damage continental laws and incur divine punishment, I completely trust High Priest Farrell's advice. However, I think we need to discuss the specific standards involved."

"Does this damage to continental laws mainly refer to the slaughter of life, or environmental destruction?"

Farrell took a deep breath. This stubborn fellow still needed patient persuasion.

"The nature of the Starry Continent does not fear destruction. Gods can always reverse mountains and rivers and reshape the earth."

"However, the death of life is irreversible. Even gods cannot resurrect the dead in their original form."

"Therefore, using forbidden curse-level spells to destroy life is the greatest malice toward the world and will face merciless punishment from the gods!"

This was still the Divine Court's orthodox explanation. Chen Mo nodded and immediately followed with a second question, "Then what about large-scale wars where thousands or tens of thousands die? Including beastmen in the northern White Deer Plains who have repeatedly slaughtered humans, isn't this also trampling on life? They might even kill more people than a single forbidden curse. Why don't they face divine punishment?"

Farrell took a deep breath.

This question involved quite complex issues, touching on "unwritten rules" the Divine Court preferred not to discuss deeply.

Farrell had to use an analogical approach to attempt a vague explanation.

"Lord Chen Mo, let me put it this way. If we consider the Starry Continent as a living being, its body would have two parts: the dead, armor, and the living, flesh and blood!"

"Mountains and earth are like the world's spiritual energy armor. Damaging them isn't a big problem because they can be repaired."

"Minor injuries to the flesh, a cut here, a bump there, also don't matter. The body will heal itself, and these injured parts are sometimes absorbed and transformed into new nourishment."

"But if a large chunk of flesh is suddenly gouged out, or a limb is severed, this is unacceptable to the body. Such damage cannot recover, or the cost of recovery is enormous!"

Chen Mo pondered for a moment. You could say there was an explanation, but you could also say it wasn't clear at all.

These interpretations from the "gods' perspective" were obviously concealing many things. He decided to send this information back to Blue Star to see if they could make reasonable interpretations from a more pragmatic angle.

No point wasting time, there was still much to discuss.

"High Priest Farrell, I'd like to ask a more quantified question. Does this mechanism of large-scale forbidden curses destroying life and triggering divine punishment have a specific numerical limit? For example, killing ten thousand people, or twenty thousand?"

Chen Mo leaned forward slightly, "Suppose divine punishment activates when at least ten thousand people are killed at once. Then would killing nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people not trigger it?"

Farrell's expression became somewhat stiff.

"Rustle", Chen Mo turned a page, looked at Farrell, and continued asking, "Let's use ten thousand people as the standard. Among these ten thousand life forms, are we calculating pure humans only, or including beastmen and elves?"

"Are different races calculated together or separately?"

"Are half-beasts and fish-people included in the statistics? What about undead creatures?"

"What about livestock? For example, camels, do these numbers count? Going smaller, do swift owls count? Do mosquitoes count? If calculated this way, casually setting a fire in the mountains would probably count as mass slaughter."

Seeing Farrell's vacant stare, Chen Mo simply continued asking without waiting for answers.

"Are unborn children in pregnant women's bellies counted separately?"

"If counted, is it from the moment of conception, or when the fetus grows to a certain stage?"

"What if the fetus has congenital defects and is destined to die young, shouldn't that not count? Can gods accurately distinguish and judge this?"

The Divine Court scribe taking notes began trembling uncontrollably, his quill dripping ink onto expensive parchment, spreading alarming stains.

He occasionally looked up helplessly, casting pleading glances at Farrell and Avery. The two high-ranking priests could only maintain stern faces, pretending not to see.

"Rustle!"

Chen Mo turned another page.

"Oh yes! There's also the question of time."

Farrell covered his forehead in pain.

"Let's still assume the standard is destroying ten thousand lives. Is there a relatively precise measure for this time span?"

"A forbidden curse instantly killing ten thousand lives counts as triggering. But what about taking an hour to complete the destruction of ten thousand lives?"

"What about two hours? A day? There should be some standard. The calculation time can't be infinitely extended, right?"

"Let me give a specific example. Suppose a mage casts a plague spell affecting ten thousand people, but many don't die until years or decades later. How is this calculated?"

"If it's all attributed to the mage who cast the forbidden curse, does divine punishment come immediately after casting, or after all victims are dead and all damage is tallied?"

"If divine punishment comes when the spell is cast, but these people are later saved and don't die, then what?"

"What if, hypothetically, someone afflicted by the spell should die in ten days, but the next day another person kills the victim early? How is this calculated?"

"Rustle", another page turn, making Farrell's heart tremble.

"You just said casting forbidden curses on mountains and earth doesn't incur divine punishment. But what if the forbidden curse causes river dikes to burst, and lives are lost to flooding, do these count toward the caster?"

"Deaths not immediately caused by natural disaster but by plague resulting from flooding, are these calculated?"

"Or deaths in the second or third year from starvation due to flood-destroyed farmland, are such lives included in statistics?"

"..."

"Rustle",

"If a forbidden curse was originally aimed at a confirmed uninhabited blank area, but during or after casting, a group of reckless people actively entered the destruction zone and died as a result, how is responsibility calculated?"

"Though this area had life present, if we issued clear warnings beforehand and gave them sufficient evacuation time, but some stubbornly refused to leave, can this serve as grounds for exempting divine punishment?"

"..."

"Rustle",

"What if it's not a self-cast forbidden curse spell, but a pre-made forbidden curse-level item? Does divine punishment target the item's creator, distributor, or user?"

"If I'm the item's owner and someone steals it from me, causing life destruction, how would gods handle this? Who bears primary responsibility? Is there joint liability?"

"..."

"Rustle," "rustle," "rustle"...

High Priest Farrell pressed his head firmly against the table surface, sweat streaming down his forehead like a river, soaking the gold-threaded embroidered collar of his divine robes.

He had realized that trying to explain the "reasoning" behind divine punishment to this logically monstrous lord was digging an bottomless pit for himself, even for the entire Divine Court!

It might even create unspeakable troubles for the gods.

Would this require gods to produce an "Implementation Guidelines for Divine Punishment Usage" or "Sentencing Standards"?

A full two hours.

Vast Sea officials kept their eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts, silent as cicadas in winter.

Divine Court representatives all looked ashen, sitting on pins and needles.

Only this lord would sip tea, ask a few questions, sip more tea, ask more questions.

Oh, and he went to the bathroom twice in between.

Not drinking made his mouth dry, drinking too much made his belly swell.

"Regarding divine punishment, these are all the questions I can think of for now. If I have more doubts later, I'll supplement them anytime!"

"My personal opinion is that the Divine Court should provide quantified, timed, and qualified responses to this. Divine punishment represents the gods' majesty and justice, it shouldn't be so vague! Isn't this damaging the sacred image of the gods? Right?"

"This will trouble High Priest Farrell. I believe that until we reach consensus on this issue, it would be very inappropriate for the Divine Court to intervene in Cloudmist Domain's affairs!"

Finally, Chen Mo turned the last page and pushed the paper roll aside.

Farrell breathed a slight sigh of relief. He struggled to lift his head slightly, wiped the sweat blocking his eyes with his sleeve, and was about to say something following this opening...

Then he saw Chen Mo pick up another paper roll.

The high priest's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

"Next, we need to discuss another issue."

"Regarding war rights in Cloudmist Domain."

"Until now, I still believe Greenspine Kingdom's war against Cloudmist Domain is an outright war of aggression. It's just that currently, no one on the Starry Continent upholds justice."

"Since Greenspine initiated war and Mistmoon Divine Court didn't intervene, why does Mistmoon Divine Court intervene when Cloudmist Domain's Lady Frost fights back?"

Farrell finally caught his breath and quickly unstuck his lips that had been pressed together, responding, "Lord Chen Mo, please don't misunderstand. The Divine Court has no intention of interfering with Lady Frost's personal war actions."

"The core issue is that she's using the unicorn entrusted to her by Mistmoon Divine Court. This is Mistmoon's symbol and sacred vessel. Using it as a war weapon is inappropriate and shouldn't be allowed!"

"If the Divine Court takes action, it's merely arranging for beast tamers to reclaim the unicorn that belongs to Mistmoon, preventing the Divine Court's sacred beast from being involved in secular wars..."

Unicorns, being transcendent-level creatures, were somewhat overpowered in this kind of territorial warfare, equivalent to towns fighting each other with one side deploying intercontinental missiles.

And for such overpowered creatures, even if the Divine Court gave them away, they had their own control methods.

The little girl could command the unicorn through the Divine Court's pendant, but once the Divine Court's beast tamers arrived, such lower-level control methods would be easily nullified by the Divine Court.

Well, you spent a fortune to use powerful weapons, but the Divine Court still held the keys, this operation seemed somewhat familiar.

Chen Mo snorted and interrupted rudely, "Since Mistmoon's war weapons are 'unsuitable' for intervening in other nations' disputes, what about dwarf merchant guilds investing in Greenspine Kingdom early, providing war funding, supplies, and possibly 'technical advisors' and 'spy intelligence', doesn't this count as war intervention?"

"Why haven't I seen Mistmoon Divine Court 'drag' those dwarves back for punishment? Hmm?"

Farrell smiled bitterly, "The Divine Court can't control dwarf affairs!"

"Tsk tsk, can't control dwarves, so you can only control the dwarves' enemies, right?"

"I've always suspected your Divine Court has some leverage held by dwarves, which is why you let these fellows run wild like this!"

"I'm also making one thing very clear to you!"

Chen Mo slowly stood up, looking directly at Farrell.

"I have no interest in Cloudmist Domain's territory. Dwarves can have whatever mines, gambling houses, or money changers they want."

"Dwarves sponsored Greenspine's attack on Cloudmist Domain, Cloudmist Domain lost, even the earl died in battle, these are all acts of war, and I have nothing to say about them."

"However, dwarves have what they want, and I have what I want!"

"Lady Frost's safety is my only bottom line."

"If something happens to her in Greenspine's hands, I'll find Greenspine. If something happens to her because of your Divine Court's interference, then I'll come after your Divine Court too!"

Farrell wasn't surprised by this stance. He forced a smile and spoke gently, "Then you should persuade Lady Frost. Whether she retreats to the Emerald Duchy, comes to our Divine Court, or we arrange for escorts to bring her to your Vast Sea Territory, all are possible. These are the safest options for her."

"Why let a weak woman struggle desperately in a hopeless situation?"

Chen Mo yielded no ground, "Then why don't you persuade Greenspine to get lost and go home? Why don't you persuade the dwarves to mind their own business? Why must I be the one to persuade Frost?"

Farrell was forced to pause by these rapid questions, his smile finally faltering, his voice taking on a harder edge, "Reality is what it is! Greenspine Kingdom is stronger than Cloudmist Domain! Dwarf merchant guilds are stronger than your Vast Sea Territory! Isn't it natural law for the weak to make appropriate compromises to the strong?!"

"Exactly!" Chen Mo clapped his hands, "Why didn't you just say this from the start? Going around in such big circles, talking about rules, protection, inappropriateness, shouldn't do this or that, you should have just said you have bigger fists!"

"But don't take me for a fool either."

"Vast Sea has its own intelligence sources."

"Cloudmist Domain is such a small place with just over a hundred thousand people. The dwarves trying to extract profits there are just a few 'lower-class scum' who can't make it to the main stage! I've found out all their names."

"Can they represent the entire dwarf race? Ridiculous!"

"Similarly, I don't believe your claim about recalling Frost's unicorn is a decision from the Divine Court's highest levels."

"At most, this is just a decision made by a few Divine Court internal parasites who are in cahoots with that small group of dwarf flies, falsely using the Divine Court's name! They cannot represent the righteous Divine Court's decisions, can they?"

"So yes, you're right that dwarves are stronger than me, and the Divine Court is stronger than me!"

"But specifically in this situation, whether this small group of dwarves and a few priests are stronger than me is really uncertain!"

"How about we test it?"

Without waiting for an answer, Chen Mo waved his hand with decisive finality.

"Day after tomorrow at dawn, in the northwest desert, I cordially invite the respected High Priest Farrell, Bishop Avery, and all Divine Court guests to enjoy a 'fireworks' display carefully prepared by Vast Sea Territory."

"Perhaps after watching, you'll change your minds."

"Instead of me persuading Frost, maybe you'll go back and persuade the relevant parties!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 138: Chen Mo's Schemes, Divine Court's Pressure

Under the leadership of the great and wise Lord Chen Mo, Vast Sea Territory finally had its own eyes, the Vast Sea Territory Security Bureau.

With this foundation, even separated by the vast desert, Vast Sea maintained clear understanding of the wars raging across the continent.

Lynn, as the head of the city defense forces, brought Lin Zhong, the director of the Vast Sea Security Bureau, to report the latest external war developments to the lord almost every day.

Nominally, Chen Mo's Vast Sea was a subordinate territory of Cloudmist Domain, and also a frontier territory of the Emerald Duchy. Although separated from the battlefield by a desert, it could barely be called "adjacent to the front lines," requiring close attention.

Lin Zhong was Lynn's nephew, his own nephew.

But in Vast Sea Territory, you really couldn't say Lynn was practicing nepotism.

The reason was simple: there were too few people here who had received proper education and possessed qualified work capabilities.

Lin Zhong, despite his young age, had already reached the position of Second Deputy Officer of the Mission Intelligence Department at a major city's mercenary guild in the southern Crescent Moon Federation through his own abilities, this was almost the ceiling ordinary people could reach.

Chen Mo had also traveled through the Crescent Moon Federation, spending a fortune to buy qualification for studying at a magic tower, and deeply understood the corrupt situation of officialdom there.

According to the traditions of the Crescent Moon Federation, the top position went to relatives of important people, the second position went to local powerbrokers of the guild, and only the Second Deputy Officer was the one who actually did the work.

Being able to reach this position showed that Lin Zhong indeed had some capabilities but having ability alone wasn't enough.

Lynn had no sons, and his elder brother died early. Lin Zhong was essentially raised by Lynn, and it could be said that the middle-aged mercenary had spent all his life's savings on this nephew.

At several key promotion junctures, Lynn even borrowed at high interest rates to grease palms and smooth the way, finally pushing Lin Zhong to his current position.

Before this, Lynn had sighed more than once, "Our family has finally produced someone in official circles. You hold this position well, and you won't have to do those life-threatening jobs like your old uncle."

But recently, his uncle had written asking him to come to that newly established frontier territory in the north.

Lin Zhong was a perceptive person. He believed his uncle wouldn't harm him, or rather, his uncle must have encountered serious trouble.

Faced with his uncle's summons, Lin Zhong didn't hesitate for a moment. He decisively abandoned the wealth and comfort of the southern paradise and traveled day and night, plunging headfirst into this desolate Vast Sea desert.

After arriving, the ridiculously young lord simply asked a few questions about his background, waved his hand casually, and Lin Zhong directly took office as the head of the territory's external intelligence agency.

Lin Zhong was also a determined person. He tirelessly toured the territory for several days without rest, then returned, shook the sand off his body and declared, "Uncle! I need to change my name!"

The official reason was that intelligence agencies were secretive organizations, and since he had worked in "enemy countries," changing his name would be more appropriate.

Privately, Lin Zhong spoke frankly to Lynn, "Uncle, I think your success and this name were chosen particularly well. Lynn, Lynn, this 'En' represents the lord's vast grace, doesn't it?"

"The first half of my life was wasted because I never met a lord whose grace was truly as high as heaven. Now that I have, shouldn't I soar to great heights!"

"So from now on, I'll be called Lin Zhong, loyal to the lord! Loyal to Vast Sea! Loyal to the city defense forces!"

After taking office, Lin Zhong skillfully established a basic intelligence system covering the southern kingdoms.

Vast Sea Territory was wealthy, the mercenary system was particularly suitable for infiltration, and most importantly, Lin Zhong only needed basic intelligence, he didn't require people to do any life-threatening espionage work.

So very quickly, the Vast Sea intelligence system began providing the territory with continuous information about neighboring countries' movements. Chen Mo even knew about Greenspine Kingdom's definite plans to attack before most people did.

The Vast Sea intelligence agency was often ordered to collect seemingly insignificant information that was publicly available in the markets.

At first, Lin Zhong didn't know why the lord wanted to collect this market information, but since there were orders, he just carried them out.

The method was simple: find a few underlings to walk along the merchant routes, record prices, observe stock levels, and collect information about bulk transactions, then the intelligence was in hand.

This year, to conceal their war intentions, Greenspine Kingdom strictly ordered all trading companies to control grain prices, making everything appear normal. But there was still transaction information.

In previous years before harvest season, major grain merchants would release old grain from storage months in advance to prepare for buying large quantities of new grain at low prices. Otherwise, old grain would spoil over time and occupy storage space.

But this year was different. Although grain prices appeared stable on the surface and old grain was indeed being sold, the buyers were rarely individual customers, almost all were major players, specifically front companies for powerful nobles within the kingdom.

This meant the nobles were hoarding grain!

Well, war was coming.

At the lord's side, Lin Zhong learned this comparative analysis method and was amazed.

What impressed Lin Zhong even more was the lord's composure.

"Report to the lord, latest intelligence: Greenspine has conscripted reserve troops from five territories and they've already moved north."

"Hah, as expected!" The lord nodded nonchalantly, "The count must have sent word, he knows? Fine, no need to worry about it!"

"Report to the lord, urgent news from the front: great victory for Cloudmist Domain!"

The lord smiled slightly, "I knew that old fellow had skills! Well, he is my superior after all, send a letter of congratulations."

"Report to the lord, Greenspine and Cloudmist Domain fought a decisive battle at Purple Rose City. Cloudmist suffered a crushing defeat, and there are rumors that Earl Liuyun has already fallen..."

The lord showed slight regret, "That old fellow, so fragile? He wouldn't really be dead, would he? Great, another Everchant Essence wasted!"

After that, whether it was the heir's escape, Liuchuan's succession, Cloudmist's civil war, or the loss of territorial control, the lord remained calm and composed, at most occasionally sighing softly.

Each time Lin Zhong returned, he felt moved, this was truly remaining calm in great events, unchanging even if mountains collapsed before him!

Until that day, a letter from Crescent Moon City, with slightly hurried handwriting, was presented to Chen Mo's desk.

The letter was written by Frost.

[Father is dead. I'm a little sad, but not very sad.

A few days ago he still wrote asking me to meet some child from a noble family he fancied. So annoying!

He said you like acting impulsively, but I don't feel that at all...

But he's dead now. Never mind, I won't blame him anymore.

I don't want to waste away in Crescent Moon. The people here all look down on me, and now that Cloudmist Domain is gone, they look down on me even more!

I'm planning to go home.

Well, I'm very strong now, and I have all those things you gave me. I want to go back and fight.

Even if I have to die, I want to die beside my mother.

You should also be careful. Who knows, when the year is up, those bad guys might come attack you too. You must be careful!

I'll tell you a little secret: that elf badge I gave you, if you place it on the elf altar in Red Tree Highlands and let the full moon's moonlight shine on it for a while, a secret phrase will be projected to the center of the altar.

With it, you can enter the elf forest! It's very safe there. If you encounter danger, just hide there.

You absolutely! Absolutely! Cannot tell anyone else!

Oh no, is my handwriting very ugly?

I've been practicing swordsmanship lately and my hands are full of calluses. I can barely hold a pen anymore. So ugly!

You won't laugh at me, will you?

I miss you a little, Chen Mo.

You should... sometimes think of me too, right?

I won't write anymore. If I keep writing I'll want to cry again.

I'm sleepy.

Goodbye!]

Chen Mo's clenched fist slammed hard on the hardwood table, producing a loud thud. It was the first time Lin Zhong had seen something called ferocity on the face of his usually graceful and elegant lord.

"Damn!"

"Call that priest over here!"

More than ten minutes later, the territory's resident bishop Avery hurried in, facing the lord with an ashen face, completely bewildered.

"If, I mean if, I were to use forbidden curse-level weapons, what price would it take for the Divine Court to eliminate the divine punishment for this?"

As soon as the words fell, everyone around immediately dropped to their knees.

The lord was going mad! He didn't want to live anymore!

In the legends of the Starry Continent, those super mages who had grown to the third-tier realm and could mobilize the power of heaven and earth could indeed unleash world-destroying forbidden curses like Meteor Fall and Doomsday Judgment.

However, all the great powers recorded in history had, without exception, suffered devastating strikes from so-called "divine punishment."

In terms of the Starry Continent's divine historical view, the gods protected this world, and any enemy attempting to destroy the Starry Continent would face supreme divine punishment, this also matched most people's understanding of the world.

Of course, after Chen Mo sent large amounts of local legends, information, and intelligence to Blue Star, through quantum computer batch analysis and comparison and archaeologists' careful investigation, after collating and interpreting every word and phrase, a completely different understanding emerged.

In the definition of East Xia's expert group, the spiritual energy-filled Starry Continent was like a computer with abundant processing power, using spiritual energy as basic energy to maintain the operation of this extraordinary world.

And those so-called gods were not guardians at all. On the contrary, they were like a group of parasitic trojan programs, attempting to steal the processing power of this central computer through various means to strengthen themselves.

The "central computer" itself seemed to lack active cleaning consciousness, and its core processing power was strong enough that for the small-scale theft by trojans, as long as it didn't significantly interfere with system operation, the system itself wouldn't bother to intervene.

However, if these "gods" deeply affected the normal operation of the world itself, then these trojans might be purged from the system.

This was the so-called: if gods destroyed the world, they too would face divine punishment.

Even the Seven-Eyed God, currently one of the top major deities, could dig channels if you asked, but wouldn't dare destroy a city.

This had led to unwritten rules among the gods, all divine miracles displayed lacked significant offensive power.

At most they could bend the rules slightly, like adding divine effects to weapons, but actually taking action was not allowed!

Otherwise, if gods could freely intervene in worldly wars, the Mistmoon Federation, with the strongest divine authority, would have unified the continent long ago.

By the same logic, whether it was new forces from outside or great powers grown within this world, once they possessed world-destroying capabilities, they would be considered serious viruses disrupting the "central computer's" system operation.

Viruses were a greater threat than trojans.

So if the system couldn't handle them itself, it would relax control over trojans and let the trojans eliminate these viruses.

The trojans were happy to do this, after all, they existed to steal processing power to strengthen themselves, not to crash the system. But viruses were different.

If these things actually crashed the system, what would the trojans feed on?

To some extent, both sides formed a peculiar symbiotic relationship.

When East Xia's expert group interpreted gods from this angle, Chen Mo suddenly understood one thing: why gods didn't particularly care about ordinary believers, only valuing high-level believers.

Because ordinary believers' level couldn't provide support for gods to steal processing power.

Only priests, high priests, and others who could draw spiritual energy from the stars for cultivation could transmit the "processing power" gods needed through various prayers, sacrificial rituals, and ceremonies.

Taking Chen Mo himself as an example, East Xia was equivalent to the god behind him, and Chen Mo was the god's high priest in this locality.

By transporting special medicines, magic crystals, and other things East Xia needed from the local area, Chen Mo received the god's favor, various divine gifts flowed in continuously.

In this process, because these things were truly insignificant, the Starry Continent's central processor couldn't be bothered to glance at them.

But if Chen Mo really brought over a big nuclear bomb and set it off in this world...

Sorry, if you wanted to smash everyone's rice bowl, everyone would smash your head first.

As for the effect, just look at whether any third-tier mages could still be found on the continent.

Third-tier mages, known as "those closest to gods," had legends of being feared by gods, but actually, most of their deaths were due to "possessing powerful weapons, killing intent arising spontaneously!"

After all, if you gave a Blue Star internet user a nuclear bomb that couldn't be exchanged for money, they'd just finished arguing with someone online and the nuke would already be detonating.

Don't ask why, the sweet party must die, heretics cannot remain.

When Lord Chen Mo asked the Mistmoon Divine Court's resident bishop this question, Avery, who had just been promoted from zero to first level, was scared silly.

"It can't be used! Really can't be used!"

Avery couldn't care about the Divine Court's dignity anymore and directly knelt down, hugging Chen Mo's legs.

"Lord, I am utterly loyal to you! Even hiring a guard for the temple requires approval from the council! I would never deceive you!"

"Divine punishment cannot be stopped!"

Everyone around desperately tried to persuade him, finally getting Chen Mo to calm down temporarily.

But it didn't matter what happened to Cloudmist Domain, the little girl couldn't be ignored.

If the family back home learned something happened to Frost, Chen Mo felt that even if he had hope of returning to Blue Star in this lifetime, he'd have no face to meet his family.

When those old academicians came to give him a piece of their mind, he'd probably die of shame on the spot.

"Lynn, is there any way to stop Frost!"

Lynn furrowed his brow tightly, his expression grave, "This letter didn't come through mercenary guild express mail, so it was delayed considerably on the road. Given our territory's special distance, calculating the time, Lady Frost might have already... already reached Cloudmist!"

"Then what can we do? Can we mobilize troops to somehow extract Frost?"

Lynn gritted his teeth and replied, "Lord, please forgive me! It's not that we subordinates are greedy for life and afraid of death, but the distance is truly too great. Even if the entire territory mobilized, we'd only have a few thousand new soldiers, far inferior to Greenspine Kingdom's large army."

"Even with the heavy weapons you've acquired, lord, if we encounter mage legions, or if the enemy army surrounds us from all sides, or besieges without attacking while waiting for opportunities to ambush, then..."

Chen Mo slowly sat down.

Actually, he understood all the reasoning.

A territory born just over half a year ago, sparsely populated, not yet fully emerged from slavery, wanting to challenge an established continental power was truly overestimating itself.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so furious as to consider using nuclear weapons, Blue Star's forbidden curses.

After accepting reality, Chen Mo gradually calmed down, lit a long-absent cigarette, took a few puffs, and issued a series of commands.

"Intelligence department, comprehensively increase surveillance on Cloudmist. Deploy more undercover agents. Find Frost somehow and tell her to retreat first, come to Vast Sea here, and we'll figure out how to recover the territory together!"

"Have the field army establish a forward base on the Cloudmist Domain border to monitor enemy movements. If Lady Frost approaches this border, we can actively engage to provide support if necessary."

"In the name of the Lord of Vast Sea Territory and subordinate lord of Cloudmist Domain, immediately draft diplomatic documents! Send them to Greenspine Kingdom and the Crescent Moon Federation! The language must be strong! Condemn Greenspine Kingdom's invasion of our sovereign Cloudmist Domain!"

"Emphasize that if Earl Liuyun's direct descendants are unfortunately captured, please treat them according to the Continental Noble Treatment Protocols! Our Vast Sea Territory is willing to pay the price! As long as they're safe!"

"Understood! My lord!"

"Avery!"

The still-shaken bishop immediately bowed, "Lord, please command!"

"Use all your Divine Court connections! Ask High Priest Farrell, or even higher-level cardinal bishops to mediate! Pressure Greenspine Kingdom! Protecting Frost means protecting the friendship between our Vast Sea Territory and Mistmoon Divine Court!"

"As long as Frost is safe and sound, I, Chen Mo, will reward handsomely!"

"Also, continue directing human and mineral resources toward military industry. Prepare for major battles if necessary!"

When Chen Mo was making these targeted deployments, the little girl had already begun her killing spree in Cloudmist Domain.

Good news kept coming, leaving Chen Mo both happy and worried.

He was happy that with various powerful equipment, especially super-tier mounts, Lady Frost seemed to be in an invincible state of mobile warfare. Small groups of professionals couldn't defeat her, small-scale cavalry couldn't stop her, large army corps couldn't catch her, and within Cloudmist Domain, plenty of people were willing to conceal her tracks and interfere with pursuit.

She could even occasionally rally old subordinates to attack enemy strongpoints, distribute food and weapons, and cultivate resistance forces in the mountains and forests.

Thinking of that once naive little girl who had now become a legendary warrior goddess of the southern frontier, Chen Mo felt a strange sense that fate played tricks on people.

He was worried because enemies couldn't possibly let her run rampant forever. The longer it went on, the greater the possibility she'd be targeted.

Enemies began implementing scorched earth tactics, and Frost's achievable results declined sharply. Greenspine also went straight to the core, sending a protest letter to Mistmoon Divine Court, expressing strong dissatisfaction that Mistmoon had provided super-tier creatures like unicorns to aid their enemies.

Mistmoon Divine Court didn't particularly care about Greenspine Kingdom but the dwarves' dissatisfaction put enormous pressure on the Divine Court.

High Priest Farrell personally rushed to Vast Sea to explain to Chen Mo face to face.

"For this battle, Greenspine Kingdom promised the dwarves all of Cloudmist Domain's mineral exploration and mining rights, gambling establishment licenses, and lending house operations."

"If Cloudmist can't be held, they can't continue attacking the Emerald Duchy. If the Emerald Duchy doesn't sue for peace, the war can't stop."

"If the war doesn't end, dwarf merchant associations can't do business in Cloudmist."

"The Divine Court has now issued a divine oracle that if this matter still cannot be resolved, the Divine Court's beast tamers will go to Cloudmist!"

High Priest Farrell's voice wasn't loud, but every word was distinct and extremely jarring.

"If the unicorn is truly recalled from the battlefield, I fear... I fear that young lord will be in mortal danger!"

"You... should try to persuade her!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 137: Gunpowder Resolve, The First Bloom of Frost Thunder

The autumn of Sky Empire Year 1427 was the prelude to a magnificent era of great changes.

If the war at the end of last year could still be considered merely local friction between a territory or two, then starting this year, the continental situation that had been peaceful for too long welcomed a new reshuffling.

However, at this moment, as the protagonist who would later be praised by traveling bards, young Lady Frost raised her spear and saluted the nearly frenzied domain folk with a resolute expression.

Gently smoothing her hair, the young girl's ears, slightly more pointed than ordinary humans, swept back, then she indicated she needed to clean the blood from her body and withdrew to a blind spot at the mountain's base.

Old General Charles, who had been the first to charge down the mountain determined to protect his lord, had displayed amazing combat power throughout the battle.

The old man had captured a warhorse on the battlefield, following the young girl in charges left and right, pursuing Greenspine's fleeing soldiers, staying close to Frost's side throughout.

Now, the old general dutifully stood guard outside, facing the nearly frenzied Cloudmist soldiers and domain folk, providing security for the young girl. Then he heard retching sounds from the mountain hollow behind him.

Charles's smile was somewhat stiff, and somewhat heartbreaking.

He firmly gestured for the crowd to retreat, "Her Ladyship needs to rest briefly, do not disturb!"

"There are supplies in the enemy camp, go retrieve them, replenish food and water, and await orders!"

Having led the group this far, Charles held extremely high prestige in the unit. Under his continuous direction, the frenzied crowd split up under several deputy commanders' leadership to clean and organize the battlefield.

After a while, he heard a low voice from behind him.

"Uncle Charles, thank you!"

The old general's body shuddered violently as tears suddenly rolled down his face.

He staggered around and fell to his knees, his voice choked, "Lady... no! My Lady!"

Frost had dismounted from the unicorn, her small face somewhat pale, lips pressed tight, struggling to suppress the churning blood and energy in her chest.

Though Frost had personally killed some enemies when following Chen Mo out of the wilderness, those had been distant gunshot executions, far less bloody than today's charging battlefield.

Severed limbs and bones everywhere, deep red blood, any scene that would require heavy pixelation in any Blue Star footage.

When enemies were still present on the battlefield, the young girl's mind was entirely focused on defeating opponents, her sympathetic nervous system's extreme excitement leaving Frost no attention for other matters.

But once she calmed down, the direct impact exceeded the young girl's tolerance limit.

Being able to endure without collapsing on the spot was already the young girl's exceptional performance.

"Uncle Charles, please rise. The domain... how is the domain now?"

This question dragged Charles back to reality from his earlier excitement. His forehead pressed to the ground as he wailed, "The old lord... is gone!"

"Cloudmist City is also lost!"

"The eldest son fled to Resting Moon, the second son fled to Emerald, the third son... betrayed us. That traitor now calls himself lord and sits in Cloudmist's city hall..."

"I know all this!" Frost shook her somewhat weakened arms and pulled the old general up from the ground with one hand.

"Uncle Charles, I don't understand warfare. How many people do we still have, how many soldiers?"

"What should we do?"

What to do, old Charles had no ideas either.

Though theoretically, with a responsible heir's return, the domain had its backbone and soul again, the situation they faced was still too dire.

A few hundred remaining soldiers, a few thousand weak civilians, this was all the strength Frost could currently command.

What they would face was over twenty thousand regular troops from Greenspine Kingdom, plus unknown numbers of enemies still continuously advancing into Cloudmist Domain.

No matter how he calculated, old Charles couldn't find a path to restore the domain.

He didn't know if the old Lord Liuyun, were he to come back to life, would have any solution facing this situation.

While the military leaders were frowning with worry, Frost seemed to have no concerns instead.

"If we can't think of good methods, we won't think about it!"

"Send the civilians behind the pass. Warriors willing to fight can follow me into battle."

"When we encounter few enemies we'll kill them, when we encounter many enemies we'll run!"

"Killing ten per day would take..." The young girl counted on her fingers, realized time might be insufficient, so changed her words, "Um, killing one hundred enemies per day, twenty thousand enemies would take just over two hundred days, that's... that's..."

The nearby guard captain couldn't help but remind her quietly, "Seven months."

"Right! Seven months!"

Frost raised her head, lifted her pointed chin high, and surveyed the battlefield, "We killed many hundreds today! We completed many days' worth of missions ahead of schedule and can save considerable time!"

Several deputy commanders all smiled wryly. Battlefield warfare was hardly such simple arithmetic.

Besides, the young girl's talk of ten per day or one hundred per day was probably just for neat numbers that were easy to calculate.

Only old Charles stared blankly at Lady Frost's still childish face.

The old man had experienced the entire war and knew the current situation best. If Resting Moon didn't send troops and the duchy provided no rescue, even if the young girl won ten or a hundred more battles like this, it might still be impossible to save Cloudmist's fate.

Perhaps, in this situation, there really were no brilliant strategies or masterful tactics.

It was simply killing one by one, until either the enemies were all dead or they failed, that was the best correct answer.

The domain's old scribe approached and reminded the military officers, "The duchy's border city probably won't let us enter!"

"It's fine, I've already negotiated with them. I'll pay!"

Well, this was using force to break through situations.

The pass guards dared not come out to provide rescue, first because enemies were close at hand and they worried about affecting border defense, and second because there was no necessity for rescue.

Now that enemies had already scattered, the surrounding environment was safe, and a "generous" lord was willing to bear all refugee expenses plus pay high "temporary residence fees" for the domain folk, opening the gates and allocating some space wasn't a big deal.

However, before that, one more problem needed solving.

"There are definitely Mistmoon Divine Court spies in our ranks!"

"If we can't root them out, whether warriors remaining outside the pass or civilians entering within will face trouble!"

Emerald Duchy had suffered from this problem more than once or twice.

From East Ridge to South Border Territory, and now Cloudmist Domain, Mistmoon Divine Court's shadow could be vaguely seen behind each incident.

Openly, Mistmoon Divine Court used "not interfering in disputes between nations" as an excuse, restraining Resting Moon Dynasty so neither major power could send troops, but actually used the earthly divine kingdom's name to recruit traitors from various countries everywhere.

Combined with the gnome merchant guild's widespread channels and money, they could always conveniently bribe many informants and secret agents.

In short, they spoke human words on the surface but did inhuman deeds behind the scenes.

Earl Liuyun's death might also be connected to them.

Surface spies were easy to handle. After all, through this pursuit with no water or food, displaced and wandering, most spies had eliminated themselves.

But from how enemies could always track their movements and had even laid siege circles at the border early, at least one, possibly multiple experienced and determined elite spies still lurked in the ranks.

Charles had no ability to root out these "venomous snakes" capable of surviving in desperate situations.

Even the most experienced old scribe was somewhat at a loss facing this problem.

However, the young girl didn't take it seriously.

"My teacher taught me a method we can try."

"Ah? Didn't you go to study swordsmanship?"

Frost rarely showed embarrassment, "Um, I have a teacher who knows a bit of everything!"

"You see, having me disguise Big White as a horse and specially paint him black so enemies would never think of it, that was his teaching."

Paint black?

Charles looked at the unicorn that had become somewhat mottled from blood stains and rubbing against things, feeling intense curiosity.

This trick was truly devious.

Not only would others not think of it, the unicorn itself couldn't have imagined it. Look at its uncomfortable appearance, it had already knocked down several large trees from rubbing.

As Mistmoon Divine Court's signature creature, those the Divine Court displayed publicly were all pure white unicorns.

Like "Big White's" gray-white coloring was already considered impure, which was why it was assigned to high priests as a mount.

There were also rumors that the Divine Court's multicolored unicorns had to be whitened before public appearances, so whenever people thought of unicorns, they associated them with pure white, sacred, and noble qualities.

Many people knew the young girl had a white unicorn, but with head and body disguise plus full black painting, the probability of opponents making the connection was greatly reduced.

It had indeed fooled the opposing grand knight, creating tremendous intimidation through the opening decapitation.

Otherwise, if the enemy had formed defensive arrays from the start, this battle would never have been won so "easily."

The question was, which academy teacher taught such underhanded tricks?

Both Charles and the old scribe were somewhat expectant.

Sure enough, the girl provided another indescribable devious method.

All personnel, military and civilian alike, were quickly divided into groups of ten and brought in batches to temporarily designated isolation areas.

Under the cold steel of guards' strict watch, facing magic crystals capable of recording images, they had to loudly recite the text on paper:

"The Seven-Eyed God is trash, all gnomes are bastards!"

This was truly vicious!

At a glance, one could clearly see some people's forehead veins bulging.

Without ten years of mutual street cursing with Mistmoon's divine sticks, one could never think of such damaging tricks, and even if someone thought of it, they wouldn't dare use it.

Blaspheming gods, in this world where gods truly existed, was an insurmountable wall in believers' hearts.

But the Divine Court wasn't all faithful believers, some were there for profit, so the second sentence was even more malicious.

The gnome race's pettiness and vengeful nature was infamous across the entire continent.

For example, "A gnome dies, tenfold compensation!"

Well, compensation with life or money both worked, but compensation was required!

Another example, as gnome influence within Mistmoon had gradually expanded in recent years, the Divine Court now had public codes.

Not to mention openly insulting gnomes, even implications, innuendo, or being perceived as insulting gnomes in your mind were grave crimes.

Even thinking about it was forbidden!

So the more loyal the Mistmoon spy, the better they understood these two sentences' weight.

Not speaking meant a blade at the neck, physical death.

Speaking meant permanent social death in Mistmoon Divine Court for life, and once caught would still escalate to physical death.

Even family members couldn't escape.

What were people becoming spies for?

This was too difficult!

Of course, facing guards' weapons, some guys would rather die later than die now.

So "Baldy Big Horse" had the young girl leave these people a humane path.

As long as you confessed your identity and provided appropriate compensation for self-redemption, they wouldn't kill you and would let you go.

No money? Then provide intelligence. You work as spies, you can't lack valuable intelligence or lists of contacts and superiors.

When three options of "immediate execution," "cursed death," and "self-redemption for survival" were presented, the last option's cost-effectiveness appeared quite high.

Charles was somewhat puzzled, quietly asking the young girl, "What if they provide false intelligence?"

"It's fine, I have another slip of paper."

"Have them recite it!"

Same recipe again, swearing on the spot by the Seven-Eyed God's divinity and the gnome race's safety. If the provided intelligence was true, nothing would happen, but if the intelligence was false, they would have placed a malicious curse on gods and gnomes.

Never mind if the method was crude, as long as it worked.

This screening method was frighteningly efficient. In just about an hour, everyone was screened.

Civilians, wounded soldiers, and battlefield captured supplies were sent within the pass walls, handed over to the old scribe's group for management.

After brief rest, Lady Frost took the thick intelligence reports and once again embarked on her campaign.

September 21st, Greenspine Kingdom's Twelfth Infantry Regiment flank.

The earth trembled under hoofbeats as a somewhat comically painted black and white figure suddenly tore through the evening's tranquility.

Frost charged ahead, "Big White" raising its head to emit a clear neigh, the horn atop its head suddenly erupting with blinding blue-white lightning!

Crack, BOOM!!!

Violent thunder like divine punishment lashed down at Greenspine soldiers hastily forming ranks ahead! Instantly, the smell of charred human flesh spread as screams were drowned in deafening thunder.

"Cloudmist Domain! Charge!" Frost cried sharply, her long spear becoming a silver trajectory of death, leading the cavalry behind her like a blade piercing the chaotic enemy formation.

Wherever they passed, devastation followed.

Unicorn lightning wasn't unlimited. As high-tier magical beasts, they possessed certain spellcasting abilities, but this casting range was far below trained mages, reaching at most several dozen meters ahead.

Moreover, each lightning discharge required long rest periods, or... feeding high-energy mana crystals with lightning attributes.

Most mana crystals were attribute-less. Only high-level lair creatures, with special material inputs, could possibly catalyze these special-attribute mana crystals.

While not legendary divine objects, they obviously weren't cheap either, given the rarity of both special materials and special domains.

The Divine Court-sponsored Northern Magic Academy expended great effort on long-term research in Thunder Wasteland, including paying enormous costs to purchase electrical equipment from Vast Sea Territory, all to attempt expanding acquisition channels for lightning-attribute mana crystals.

After all, unicorns were the Divine Court's exclusive favorites.

Since this stuff was so precious, Chen Mo had only provided Lady Frost with a hundred pieces.

Well, if used morning and afternoon battles daily, it wouldn't even last two months.

But Frost obviously lacked concepts of "careful calculation." In enemy territory fighting alone, each day was earned! Living day by day without guarantees, where was the luxury of such concerns?

Killing people, setting fires, demolishing buildings, taking valuable supplies, well, these were originally Cloudmist family property anyway. The young girl took them with a clear conscience.

The cavalry vanished into the vast wilderness, leaving behind legends of "Lightning Judgment!"

Greenspine Kingdom's army fell into a troublesome predicament. Through repeated battlefield assessments, this juvenile unicorn was at least a sixth-tier creature, while Frost had reached fourth-tier Goldscale level. Greenspine's domain knights could hardly withstand such combination attacks.

Cavalry mobility was too high, often discovery meant immediate battle, and battle meant decisive combat.

There was also intelligence issues.

Though the kingdom currently controlled the situation in Cloudmist Domain's occupied areas with strong forces, essentially this wasn't the kingdom's home ground.

Most domain folk, upon seeing that Cloudmist Flowing Pattern Spiral banner, would still fall to their knees with tears streaming.

Worse still, Greenspine didn't know Lady Frost held a Mistmoon spy network list.

Well, all confessed by those moles forced into desperation.

Equivalent to the young girl now sharing some of Greenspine Kingdom's intelligence and activities from Mistmoon's spy network, but these spies dared not report being forced to confess by the young girl.

One side had unilateral transparency, the other saw flowers through fog.

September 24th, the young girl again found Greenspine's organized "puppet army" forces, single-spearing former South Border Territory Grand Knight, now Zircon Family's Eighth Knight Connor, completing a double-kill of both main culprits from that day's wilderness hunt of Paven.

She also took away a batch of original domain soldiers who switched sides, leaving behind the title "Cloudmist Sacred Spear."

Just one day later, Frost appeared ghostlike beside New Amber River, setting fire near the floating bridge transporting supplies.

Fire borrowed wind's force, instantly devouring the wooden floating bridge and supplies atop it. Towering flames reddened the river water and the horrified faces of witnesses across the river.

"Falling Star's Fury" spread along New Amber River's flow.

On September's final day, after Greenspine's three major lords threw out multiple baits that Frost bit and devoured one by one, they finally followed this trail to catch the squad's traces and launched a siege against Frost.

Because Frost was extremely vigilant, immediately retreating upon encountering larger-scale troops, Greenspine Kingdom had to adopt small-scale, high-tier warrior rapid assault tactics.

This battle was quite brutal, like the siege of Earl Liuyun that day, six grand knights with magic protection scroll ambushes faced an injured, berserk unicorn and Frost's unrestrrained use of firearms.

Ultimately Frost escaped wounded with her cavalry squadron suffering over half casualties, but one grand knight died with three wounded, and the entire camp was bombed to ruins.

Still failed to keep that little girl.

Above the ruins, the titles "Cloudmist's Fury" and "Unyielding Goddess," accompanied by blood and gunpowder, were deeply branded into every survivor's heart.

Greenspine Kingdom was becoming frantic.

Entering October, Frost became more cautious.

She no longer directly confronted company-level enemies, instead often fighting solo, appearing and vanishing mysteriously, specifically attacking Greenspine patrol squads and transport teams, destroying bridges and watchtowers, rescuing scattered controlled domain folk, burning stored grain and supplies...

She was like a delicate dagger, continuously creating small but persistently bleeding wounds on Greenspine's massive body.

The numerous titles she earned through her campaigns gradually became people's recognition and respect for this young leader's persistent resistance.

From Emerald to Cloudmist, people began respectfully calling Frost: Frost Thunder Lord!

Emerald Duchy was also stimulated into restlessness, sortied for one unsuccessful battle before shrinking back, but obviously greatly intensified reconnaissance efforts toward Cloudmist.

In stark ironic contrast, Liuchuan, hiding behind Cloudmist City's high walls and existing through a Greenspine appointment paper, had almost nothing except a traitor's infamy.

Early October, Greenspine Kingdom, harassed and suffering heavy losses yet unable to catch that wisp of "Frost Thunder," finally bowed their proud heads in helplessness.

Continuing like this, her title collection would soon be longer than purebred orc names.

Greenspine's massive army contracted entirely into solid cities and several core strongholds, temporarily abandoning control over Cloudmist Domain's vast plains.

Simultaneously, a pressure document was sent to Vast Sea in the great desert.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 136: Single Cavalry Breaking the Formation, Unicorn Female War Goddess

The complete fall of Cloudmist Domain was already destined from the moment Earl Liuyun died in battle.

A strong leader could bind those around him tightly together through personal charisma and ability.

But the same leader's dramatic collapse would leave the entire team stripped of its backbone, instantly falling apart.

Moreover, this situation was complicated by war among the heirs.

Upon receiving news of his father's death in battle and the fall of Purple Rose City fortress, the eldest son, the domain's first heir, immediately withdrew from Cloudmist City with his personal guards.

His reasoning was simple: "If even father couldn't stop the enemy, how could I possibly stop them?"

The second son, far away in Emerald Capital, hastily issued a proclamation. While mourning his father, he also angrily denounced his eldest brother's flight without fighting, believing the first heir no longer qualified to serve as domain lord.

Heirs could inherit not just domains, but also titles!

Even if the domain ceased to exist, an earl's title could at worst be reduced to a viscount's title, at least ensuring continued membership in noble circles.

Perhaps one day, when returning to Cloudmist, this title would prove crucial.

As for the third son, after Earl Liuyun died under siege, Liuchuan wept bitterly while holding his father's corpse, angrily demanding, "Didn't you promise me you wouldn't kill him?"

"Wake up, child!"

"You saw it yourself, we tried to persuade surrender so many times, but Earl Liuyun was stubbornly obstinate!"

"Without our support, you would never have any chance of becoming Lord of Cloudmist!"

"Do you want your father, or do you want your lordship?"

"You can't choose both!"

They were right. Actually, from the moment he decided to kneel before his opponents, Liuchuan had no path back. His fate was no longer in his own hands.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be his father for being too shrewd, apparently having long suspected his different thoughts, not only stripping away his military command but also cutting off his external communications, leaving him no way to end this war through gentler means.

His father simply didn't know how deeply the Divine Court had infiltrated Cloudmist.

He was merely the highest-positioned inside agent.

When Greenspine's failure on the frontal battlefield forced these nobles to further concede power to the Divine Court, gaining deeper support from them, the war's outcome was already predetermined.

Whether he betrayed or not, the result would be the same.

Yes, surrendering early would at least keep Cloudmist Domain in family bloodline hands.

Of course, when his father led the team to survey terrain, facing an ambush by six enemy grand knights and hundreds of professionals, he had secretly replaced his father's only [Everchant Essence] with poison that burned blood energy, ultimately playing a decisive role.

He was rewarded for this!

Liuchuan worked hard to build up his psychological defenses, wiped away his tears, turned around and accepted Greenspine Kingdom's appointment, declaring himself heir to Earl Liuyun's position as the domain's highest-ranking remaining successor, becoming Lord of Cloudmist Domain.

This was what he had yearned for during his twenty-plus years but could never obtain.

The only difference was that instead of being directly administered by Emerald Duchy, it now became a subordinate domain under Greenspine Kingdom's Zircon Family.

Zircon Family was a marquis domain, Cloudmist Domain an earl domain. Even the title didn't need reduction to fit perfectly.

Of course, the new Cloudmist Domain's existence depended on Greenspine's army completely eliminating all resisters and holding this victory.

From the current situation, this seemed unquestionable. Emerald Duchy hadn't even mounted a decent counterattack, retreating across the board and allowing Cloudmist's corruption.

Cloudmist Domain's other heirs, several had died in the main camp, several more died in Cloudmist City. The others had either gone to Emerald Capital or Resting Moon Dynasty. It didn't matter, none of the blind ones remained in this dead land of Cloudmist.

Sometimes Liuchuan couldn't help but sigh that perhaps it was precisely because father was too strong that he raised such a group of worthless people.

Including himself.

With most of the domain's elite forces buried in enemy sieges and the capital captured by Greenspine's army, those scattered troops fleeing across the plains were merely a matter of time before annihilation.

In the third week of September, Zircon Family's Fifth Knight led forces to surround the last resistance army in the mountainous region of Cloudmist's far northeast.

This was formerly Cloudmist Domain's strongest military force, the [White Goose Legion]. As Earl Liuyun's personal guard unit, when the earl died at enemy hands, other units could surrender, but this unit had no room for surrender whatsoever.

They could only fight to the death.

Then die in battle!

Under Purple Rose City, facing the earl's corpse hung high by enemies ahead and their own fortress gates sealed shut behind, this unit fought with desperate courage and bloodied determination, performing at an extraordinarily high level.

But ultimately outnumbered, the force of over four thousand suffered over half casualties. The final remnants scattered to break through, with less than one-fifth escaping.

What completely surprised Greenspine's generals was that this unit, with overall casualties exceeding eighty percent and thoroughly scattered in the decisive battle, somehow managed to reassemble in Cloudmist City.

Under the leadership of their highest remaining officer, Deputy General Old Charles, they organized the city's bewildered defenders and launched a beautiful ambush against Greenspine Kingdom.

At this moment, Greenspine's army faced an excellent situation: the enemy leader dead, main forces scattered, high-ranking heirs fled, dead, or surrendered.

Cities throughout Cloudmist Domain surrendered almost at the first proclamation. The vanguard troops, full of confidence, marched leisurely as if on vacation toward Cloudmist Domain's capital, Cloudmist City. Then, sixty kilometers from the city, they were caught and cut in half by the reorganized [White Goose Legion].

Greenspine forces were routed, corpses littering the battlefield.

Taking advantage of his army's soaring morale, Charles resolutely organized Cloudmist City's defensive battle without a lord.

Cloudmist City was a standard large city with towering walls, heavy ballistas mounted on the walls, and above-standard protective magical arrays personally constructed by Emerald Duchy's court mages. If determined to defend, it couldn't be easily taken without dozens of times the casualties.

After several probing attacks that resulted in bloody defeats, Greenspine's army received their backbone, Marquis Valen, Lord of Zircon Family.

This crafty old noble directly brought out heir Liuchuan and began shouting to Cloudmist City.

The psychological warfare was very effective. For most ordinary soldiers, the old lord's son becoming the new lord was just family business. What were they resisting?

Facing the former third son, now new lord's surrender demands, plus temptations of high positions, wealth, and beautiful women, turncoats quickly appeared.

Though Charles promptly suppressed the rebellion, the already weakened [White Goose Legion] inevitably couldn't maintain control of the entire city long-term.

In this precarious desperate situation, this veteran general of over thirty years' service again led his army to break out, abandoning the city to head north, hoping to escape into Emerald Duchy territory, find the eldest or second son hiding outside, and raise Cloudmist Domain's banner once more.

However, they could no longer escape.

This unit's members weren't just soldiers, but also numerous domain officials and their families, professionals unwilling or unable to surrender due to concerns and bonds within the duchy, and craftsmen and civilians who, though not understanding much, couldn't accept rule by enemies who had killed their lord...

They had just helped the [White Goose Legion] defend Cloudmist City. Now they followed behind the legion, stumbling and crying as they fled.

What could Charles do? Kill them all?

The smart soldiers had long since fled. Those remaining were all fools.

They could only bring these equally foolish burdens, stumbling through running battles while heading north.

Finally, they were completely surrounded on this low mountain.

"Fifth day, water source cut off, killing horses for blood, thirst worsened, many soldiers vomiting."

"Fewer than five hundred combat-ready troops, my unit has nowhere to turn."

"The border is mere kilometers away, visible in the distance, but not one person or horse has come from the duchy to aid us."

"The time has come for Cloudmist to disperse. Charles bows again to his lord on this nameless mountain!"

Having finished this final letter, Charles, his eye sockets already sunken deep, held the letter in his hands, but no longer had a swift owl to deliver it, nor knew to whom this letter should be sent.

Looking around, a desolate scene met his eyes.

Scorched earth and yellowed grass, the air thick with the stench of blood, sweat, and decay. Slaughtered thin horses lay roadside as soldiers held helmets, sharing drops of horse urine or horse blood, occasionally retching violently.

The wounded leaned against rocks, their wounds festering in autumn's lingering heat, attracting buzzing flies.

Women and children huddled together, children letting out weak, intermittent cries that mothers could only futilely soothe.

People stared numbly at the mountain's base, at the distance, their eyes ashen gray.

Mountain winds swept by like mournful weeping, faintly carrying shouts from above and below.

"General Charles, the lord respects your character and is willing to spare your lives. As long as you surrender, the lord promises amnesty and important positions!"

"Earl Liuyun's remains still hang from Cloudmist City's walls. Don't you want to give the old lord a proper burial?"

"The third son is still Cloudmist Domain's bloodline. Surrender was unavoidable, to preserve Cloudmist Domain's hundreds of thousands of subjects. Why must you drag these people to their deaths here?"

"So many innocent women and children on the mountain, the longer you resist, the more of them die. Why persist?"

Admittedly, the enemy's surrender negotiations were truly skilled, not mere bribery but incorporating many appeals that struck the heart.

Raising his hand toward the capital's direction, for an instant Charles seemed to truly see the old lord's corpse swaying on Cloudmist City's walls, waiting for him to collect the remains.

"General! You can't trust them..."

Charles waved his hand, struggled to his feet, and roared across the distance at the mountain's base with his remaining strength.

"Your new lord can watch his own father's corpse hanging inverted, exposed to sun and rain. Would I, Charles, an outsider, care about such things?"

"Save your breath, lest you lack strength when I start chopping!"

The mountain base fell silent for a moment, and the surrender calls disappeared.

Of course, not attacking until now wasn't because the enemy was merciful or valued him enough to insist on surrender.

They were waiting for the mages' arrival.

Mage legions served as Starry Continent's "artillery clusters," often needed for decisive siege battles, but like Blue Star's artillery, they had poor mobility.

Most mages, from prolonged meditation and model construction, had bodies weaker than modern programmers and overworked employees, only able to slowly advance behind main forces.

Now that they had trapped this group here, the enemy could leisurely await the magic brigade's arrival for several rounds of magical bombardment to cleanly finish the battle.

By any calculation, his people probably had only a few days left.

Suddenly, commotion arose from behind as the northward-facing lookout shouted hoarsely, drawing everyone's attention.

From this mountaintop, with unobstructed flat plains between, Emerald Duchy's border walls were clearly visible.

Nine-meter-high thick fortifications with Emerald's banners flying above, small black dots moving on the walls, seemingly on high alert.

Though cavalry could cover this distance in twenty minutes at full charge, Emerald's gates remained sealed without even a single reconnaissance mission.

Charles even suspected enemies had deliberately trapped his group so close to the border to slowly kill them.

If Emerald didn't come to rescue, his people would collapse further in despair, perhaps even joining the enemy out of resentment.

If Emerald came to aid, Greenspine had probably prepared accordingly, potentially seizing this border pass and smashing another barrier to Emerald Duchy's heartland.

So Charles understood Emerald's generals perfectly. After all, rescuing his people would only be a minor merit, but losing the border pass would mean death!

However, at this moment, those perpetually sealed gates opened.

Charles shot to his feet, hurrying several steps closer to see more clearly.

A small cavalry squad emerged from within the pass!

Immediately after, the gates quickly closed, everything returning to its previous state, only those few riders galloping across the official road, raising clouds of dust.

Greenspine's forces waiting in formation below saw the approaching numbers and burst into earth-shaking laughter.

But Charles already had tears in his eyes, his hands trembling.

Though still distant, he could already see the several banners held by the knights, fluttering in the wind.

The Emerald Vine and Sword banner.

The Cloudmist Flowing Pattern Spiral banner.

And a Flying Feather and Long Arrow heraldic banner.

This last banner rarely appeared, but as a domain veteran, Charles recognized it immediately.

This banner with strong elven styling belonged to only one name.

Cloudmist Frost!

Realizing this, Charles effortlessly spotted the young girl in the cavalry formation.

That knight's build was too small, nearly missed at first glance.

Lady Frost's petite frame rode a black horse clearly mismatched with her size, charging at the formation's front. Her left hand controlled the reins while her right held a lance almost three times her body length, swaying up and down with the horse's motion.

The massive lance's swaying made one worry it might catapult the girl's slender body into the air at any moment.

"Quick! It's Lady Frost! Lady Frost has returned!"

"Charge down, charge down!"

Charles shouted incoherently. He understood why only these few riders had emerged. Emerald Duchy still offered no rescue, but they couldn't prevent this squad that originally belonged to Cloudmist Domain from departing.

When Frost went north to study, she had brought exactly this many guards. Now she rode her horse and held her lance, leading these few lonely companions in a charge toward Greenspine's formation below.

Charles felt that charging down now to die beside the domain's last lord capable of fighting would be his greatest fortune in life.

Led by the old general's desperate, stumbling mad dash downward, the mountain's remaining soldiers and desperate domain folk, as if injected with a powerful stimulant, struggled to rise and burst forth with final strength, crying and supporting each other like a flood bursting through a dam, surging toward Greenspine's formation below!

Responsible for blocking the north was Greenspine's central formation, led by a familiar figure: Zircon's Fifth Knight, who had previously ambushed Captain Paven at southern border.

He also recognized this girl who had repeatedly shamed him, joy and embarrassment simultaneously flooding the Fifth Knight's entire being.

"Heaven offers you a path yet you refuse it!"

The knight commander sneered, mounted his horse, and hefted his heavy lance.

"Cavalry unit! Crush them!"

With this command, over two hundred elite cavalry quickly formed a sharp wedge formation, hoofbeats like thunder, advancing toward that enemy squad flying toward destruction like moths to flame.

In terms of numbers, over ten times the difference, with Greenspine having large forces still uncommitted behind.

In terms of general combat power, the apparent fifth-tier versus third-tier difference meant that no matter how much Frost had improved in Twilight City, she couldn't reach heaven in one step. The rank difference was enough to crush her completely.

In terms of experience, technique, strength, from every aspect, this was an absolute crushing victory.

The only visible advantage the opposing girl had was her mount's somewhat large size.

At three hundred meters distance, the Fifth Knight had leveled his lance, the tip angled outward.

He didn't plan to kill Frost here, somewhat reluctant to harm that magnificent warhorse. He intended to sweep the girl off with one strike and capture both horse and rider, keeping the horse for himself and presenting the girl to the marquis.

Charles on the mountain continued his desperate sprint, his lungs burning like fire, each breath carrying a bloody taste.

With all warhorses slaughtered, how could two legs match cavalry charge speed? He could only futilely emit meaningless "aah" roars, eyes blazing as he watched that unequal collision about to occur!

Two hundred meters!

One hundred meters!

The Fifth Knight slightly lowered his body and tensed his muscles. Cavalry generals' frontal charges often decided victory in a single round.

Then he saw the opposing girl make an incomprehensible move.

Frost pulled hard, lifting the "horse's head" to reveal a thick white horn crackling with dangerous arcs of light.

Before the Fifth Knight could react, blinding lightning flashed toward him like a crescent moon arc, carrying the intense smell of burning air, striking directly along the connection line of man and horse's faces.

The warhorse's front hooves buckled, momentum carrying the Fifth Knight forward off its back, straight into Frost's four-meter lance.

Indeed, it was decided in one round.

Indeed, it was rank crushing.

An adult seventh-tier superior unicorn, even in juvenile form, had no problem overwhelming a fifth-tier knight.

The two sides crossed, the Fifth Knight's horse tumbling down while the knight himself was lifted high into the air on a lance, blood spraying a long crimson mist that seemed to form rainbow colors in the sunlight.

Then came the second lightning bolt, the third lightning bolt.

The mighty unicorn crashed into the cavalry formation like a tank hitting toy cars, its horn's constantly flickering electric arcs and hundreds of tons of charging force carving a bloody furrow through Zircon Family's cavalry, leaving fallen riders on both sides like blooming lotus petals.

Frost didn't look back, charging again toward the infantry formation behind.

"Loose arrows! Loose arrows!"

Infantry commanders screamed frantically as dense arrow flights began arcing toward Frost.

A gentle breeze seemed to pass through the air as the flying arrows scattered like wind-blown leaves.

[Wind Walker Light Feather Armor]!

But that wasn't all. Frost's left hand swept out, sending five or six dark round objects flying into the infantry formation.

Defensive hand grenades, as Chen Mo had written in his letter, these worked best when thrown into crowds.

When Charles finally reached the mountain's base, he saw Greenspine forces in complete chaos, cavalry, infantry, and supply troops all fleeing desperately from that massive figure rampaging through the battlefield's center like escaping death itself.

The final scene Cloudmist's people witnessed was Lady Frost, having failed to catch fleeing enemies, angrily raising her lance and hurling the Fifth Knight, whom she'd been carrying for over half an hour, far into the distance.

The mighty unicorn, the lance raised high, covered in enemy blood, and those gleaming amber eyes.

From this day forward, the southern continent gained this legend of the Unicorn Female War Goddess.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

NEC Chapter 135: The Fall of Cloudmist Domain, Lady Frost's Rampage

The Royal Central Spiritual Energy Academy of Resting Moon Dynasty had never heard of such a thing as summer vacation.

News from the southern war had long become the hottest topic on campus. Every so often, various official and unofficial, formal and informal battlefield intelligence would become heated discussion material among the students.

Occasionally mixed in were some messages of dubious authenticity from unknown sources, stirring the nerves of these hot-blooded young men and women.

For instance, yesterday's intelligence about Resting Moon's Third Heavy Cavalry Regiment "Silver Spears" heading south to join the war instantly ignited the entire academy.

The young students' faces flushed red as they confirmed information with each other, slapping their not-yet-sturdy frames with resounding smacks. Some excited children even jumped onto the instructors' podiums, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Kill those southern bastards!"

The crowd below erupted in waves of frenzied shrieks and roars.

Only a few direct heirs from truly great noble families with high succession rankings stood far outside the crowd.

They exchanged views in low, calm, rational voices, using the "comprehensive perspective" they had absorbed from their elders' influence to look down with a trace of pity on these "naive and ignorant children," as they called them.

Sure enough, by evening, accurate news arrived: the Third Heavy Cavalry Regiment had only sent a battlefield observation group, totaling less than a hundred people.

Feeling toyed with, the students angrily overturned dining hall tables, loudly cursing those "weak thieves" and "traitorous parasites"!

Days passed like this, and during this period, Frost received two letters from her domain.

One was an official document bearing the domain's seal. Though it contained only a few lines of text, its implications left the young girl momentarily at a loss.

This was the domain's formal notification, also an authorization document, declaring that Frost, holder of this authorization and twenty-second in line of succession to Cloudmist Domain, would automatically inherit the lordship if the current lord died and all twenty-one higher-ranking heirs were unable to fulfill their duties.

The domain was already preparing for the worst.

However, her father's personal letter soon followed.

In the letter, Earl Liuyun was full of confidence, telling Frost not to worry. He had been preparing since the end of the last war and had even borrowed an elite cavalry unit from Emerald Duchy in advance.

The first battle had already achieved great victory, the enemy was now defensively cowering, temporarily lacking offensive capability, and the domain was safe and secure.

At the end of the letter, Earl Liuyun revealed the true intent of his correspondence.

"I previously arranged a good marriage for you. The other party is the heir of a landed noble from Sky Empire. Though only an ordinary successor, he's guaranteed at least a viscount title in the future."

"I've met the person too, seems honest enough. I don't think he'd bully you."

"I've mentioned this several times before, but they remained noncommittal, probably looking down on us. However, recently an elder from their family passed through Cloudmist and brought up this old matter."

"I estimate they probably heard about you having a unicorn. Who would have thought our little girl now has a bigger reputation outside than her father."

"Though they have some profit considerations, which noble family doesn't? Regardless, Sky Empire is much safer than Cloudmist or Emerald."

"As for that boy Chen Mo, I can't see through him, but I always feel he's too soft-hearted and acts on impulse. Besides, he's in that drought-stricken place with unrest both north and south, making him an unsuitable marriage prospect."

"In any case, I think regarding this arranged marriage, you could meet them first. If you don't find them disagreeable and can settle this matter, it would also help your father gain some support from Sky Empire."

"Of course, if you're truly unwilling, we'll drop the matter."

The young girl didn't read a single word of Earl Liuyun's subsequent rambling.

If not for that final phrase "we'll drop the matter," Frost would probably have torn up the letter.

However, Earl Liuyun's impressive military achievements did bring Lady Frost considerable popularity at the academy. Many classmates who heard of the "Iron Wall of Cloudmist's" reputation would often come chat with Frost during their free time.

Through one battle report after another, the moment of truth finally arrived.

The academy's curriculum typically alternated between theory and practical combat classes. Since the history general education course had been distorted beyond recognition by Resting Moon Dynasty in the young girl's opinion, she had long stopped attending that class.

Thus, she missed the latest battle report from the south.

Even when the second practical combat class began and Frost punctually entered the training ground to don her protective gear, she still hadn't noticed the strange looks and whispered conversations behind her.

After finishing her equipment preparation, she faced an unexpected opponent.

Lucia.

That disgusting girl who had once bullied her terribly because Frost had punched her brother, wanting to ruin her hair in ground combat and injure her horse in mounted combat.

Until she got her new mount and took fierce revenge.

This annoying girl had then disappeared from her sight, not only avoiding her in mounted combat and ground combat but even slipping away silently whenever Frost appeared somewhere.

Frost had almost forgotten this person's existence.

Though a trace of puzzlement crossed her mind, Frost maintained basic etiquette and performed a standard sword salute to her opponent.

She gripped her training sword with both hands and had just assumed a textbook starting stance when she saw Lucia across from her slowly lift her face guard, revealing a half-smiling expression.

"I really underestimated you, little girl. Your country's already fallen and your family destroyed, yet instead of mourning your father, you still have the mood to practice swordplay here?"

Frost paused slightly, responding coldly, "Shut your foul mouth! Cloudmist Domain is fine, and my father is fine too! Keep spouting nonsense, and even without protective gear, I'll tear you apart!"

Lucia looked momentarily stunned, examined Frost carefully for a few moments, then suddenly laughed.

"So you don't know yet!"

"Cloudmist Domain is finished! Today's fresh battle report, official news, Cloudmist City has fallen, and the Lord of Cloudmist Domain, your father, is gone!"

"Poor little girl, don't you have many good friends at the academy? Didn't any of them tell you?"

The training ground suddenly fell quiet.

Frost looked up at those classmates, and their pitying gazes made her suddenly realize this might not be a malicious joke.

Finally, Frost cast a hopeful look toward the instructor.

This was a middle-aged swordsman who, because of his long face and nearly bald head, had been privately nicknamed "Baldy Big Horse" by the students.

Though this instructor had skilled combat techniques and taught quite seriously, he was timid and somewhat obsequious toward noble families.

When Lucia had bullied Frost repeatedly before, he had only dared to mutter quietly from the sidelines, "Between classmates... mind the boundaries..."

Seeing Frost's questioning gaze, "Baldy Big Horse" frantically avoided eye contact. His Adam's apple bobbed several times as he squeezed out a few words in a dry, trembling voice:

"Military... military battle report, Cloudmist... Cloudmist City... has indeed fallen, the Lord of Cloudmist Domain... died in battle..."

Frost felt her head spinning, everything around her suddenly seeming very far away.

The world seemed to lose weight and distort in an instant. The noisy sounds of the training ground, the metallic clashing of armor, even the instructor's stuttering words all came through as if filtered through thick water, blurred, intermittent, distorted.

As if she were submerged in seawater, with figures and sounds on shore slightly twisted by the waves, indistinct and hazy.

"Hey, hey!"

Several shouts close at hand pulled Frost back from her daze.

"Little girl, seeing your pitiful state, I don't feel like teaching you a lesson today. Just surrender!"

"Your old man's gone, but don't you still have that little lover boy? Wonder how long his broken territory will last..."

"Shut up!" Frost suddenly roared, interrupting Lucia's seemingly pitying mockery.

"Come fight!"

"Fight!"

Lucia sneered, pushed down her mask, and provocatively beckoned with her finger.

Unsurprisingly, Frost pounced like an enraged little lioness.

Seeing Frost's now completely chaotic sword work, Lucia executed a nimble sidestep, her training sword delivering a vicious horizontal slash directly toward Frost's wide-open abdomen.

Frost's figure suddenly vanished!

No, not vanished! It was an extremely fast explosive movement! Like a long-accumulated volcano finally finding an outlet for release!

"Bang!"

A muffled sound!

Lucia's sword swung empty as Frost had somehow crouched and charged forward, her shoulder guard striking Lucia's chest like a battering ram! Lucia felt a tremendous force transmitted through, her vision darkening as she staggered backward uncontrollably, nearly dropping her training sword!

Before she could steady herself, Frost's attacks descended like a violent storm!

Training swords were blunt instruments without sharpened edges, but now Frost wielded hers as the most primitive of weapons! Chopping, hacking, smashing, sweeping! No fancy moves, only the most direct, most violent release of power!

Each strike carried heavy striking sounds, blow after blow landing on Lucia's protective gear, helmet, breastplate, arm guards, the collision sounds rising and falling in succession.

The protective gear slightly deformed, emitting groans of strain!

Lucia was completely stunned! Her prized techniques were fragile as paper toys before absolute speed and violent force! She could only futilely parry and retreat, each collision numbing her arms and shaking her internal organs!

"Clang!"

A cunningly swift upward strike hit Lucia's hastily swinging arm. The intense pain made her unable to grip her sword hilt any longer, and the training sword spun through the air.

According to regulations, victory was decided!

But Frost's movements showed no pause! She reversed her grip, using the hard pommel of her sword like a heavy hammer to viciously strike Lucia's chest!

"Cough!" Lucia let out a short cry of pain, her body curling like a shrimp.

Frost closed in again like a hunting cheetah! This time she didn't use her sword but directly smashed her left fist toward her opponent's chin below the neck guard, an uppercut that sent her opponent flying.

Lucia's piercing scream rang out as she flew up and crashed down, hitting the cold hard floor like a broken sack, rolling several times before stopping.

Ignoring the students' cries and the instructor's terrified expression, Frost stepped forward and planted one foot on her opponent's chest.

"I practice sword every day!"

"While you were playing and frolicking I was practicing, while you were learning those hypocritical lies I was practicing, while you were flirting with little boys I was practicing sword, and while you trash were mocking me, I was still practicing sword!"

"What! Do you have! To compete with me?!!"

Accompanied by this low roar, Frost hooked her right foot, kicking Lucia's body halfway up from the ground, then followed with a fierce whip kick that sent Lucia flying horizontally again.

"I've seen people more hardworking than me. He led me out of enemy battle formations. His territory, I believe, will definitely stand firm, lasting longer than your broken dynasty!"

"Frost, stop!"

The instructor on scene shouted repeatedly, trying to use words to stop the berserk young girl. According to the academy's practical combat regulations, once one party dropped their sword, attacks must cease.

But this "Baldy Big Horse" couldn't stop Lucia before, and naturally couldn't stop Frost now.

Frost turned a deaf ear. She strode forward, grabbed Lucia by the neck guard, and hauled her up from the ground like picking up a chicken! Then, a knee strike concentrating her full body strength struck like a cannonball at her opponent's ribs!

"Ugh, !"

Lucia's wailing abruptly stopped. Her eyes rolled back, her body convulsed violently once, then went limp.

This storm-like beating made all the students involuntarily step back several paces, holding their breath in silence, not daring to make a sound.

Frost bent down, grabbed Lucia by the neck and shook her, confirming she was truly unresponsive before casually releasing her grip.

Lucia's head heavily struck the ground again with a crisp "thunk."

The students shrank further into the corners.

Too vicious!

This was beating a dead horse!

"Baldy Big Horse" watched as Frost calmly removed her protective gear and properly placed her training sword back on the weapon rack before tiptoeing over to Lucia's side to check on her.

Fortunately, she seemed to still be breathing.

A few minutes later, Frost walked out of the training hall doors, and the healer who had been crouching in the corner quickly rushed forward.

Instructor "Baldy Big Horse" immediately followed in pursuit, jogging a few steps along the tree-lined academy path to catch up with Frost.

He bent slightly at the waist, rubbing his hands with anxiety and unease on his face as he softly admonished:

"That, Liu... Frost, continuing to attack after your opponent lost fighting ability was definitely against regulations. The academy might have... might have punishment!"

"But the Vice Principal knows you well, so it should be fine. I'll testify for you then, saying... saying Lucia provoked you with news about your father, you momentarily lost emotional control... a momentary slip..."

"No need, teacher!"

Frost wrinkled her nose, "You misunderstand, I wasn't slipping up momentarily. I wanted to beat her!"

"Before, I wanted to learn more at the academy. Now, I've decided to leave. If I don't give her a good beating now, when else would I?"

The instructor was stunned, "You... where are you going?"

"Home!" Frost looked up toward the south.

"Actually, with father dead, I'm... not particularly sad."

The girl's voice was very light, like slowly falling feathers, floating and swaying.

"He wasn't very good to me. Um... not good to my mother either."

"He only remembered his sons and his subjects. Before my elf aunt found me, he couldn't even remember my name."

Two figures, one tall and one short, slowly walked along the academy's tree-lined path as sunset filtered through dense branches, casting dappled light and shadow.

Perhaps because she had decided to leave, Frost had resolved her inner conflicts and chatted casually with this instructor who, though somewhat opportunistic, had indeed taught her many things.

"My mother treated me best, but she died."

"My father didn't treat me well before, then got a little better, and now he's dead too."

"There used to be Aunt Linda and Uncle Paven who were very good to me, but they're all dead now."

Frost stopped walking and gazed south for a long time, her eyes sparkling with a completely different light than before.

"But I still have to go back."

"When I left, Uncle Paven's brother had just joined the guard, Grandpa Locke's granddaughter was just learning to read, Aunt Annie said she'd made new shoes for me, and Little Mushroom and the others promised to help tend mother's grave..."

"They're all people I need to take care of."

The balding instructor softly advised, "Cloudmist Domain has already been captured, it's enemy occupied territory now. Going back is too dangerous!"

"Don't you know a very wealthy lord who takes good care of you? Why not find him and ask him to help locate people, or ransom back those you're looking for..."

Frost fingered her newly ear-length hair, "Mm, he does treat me well, but he's not from Cloudmist Domain."

She looked up at the instructor and said seriously, "Cloudmist Domain is my home, not his. How could I drag him into this?"

She resumed walking, her tone carrying an almost naive resoluteness.

"I'll go look myself first. After studying sword for so long, if I don't use it when enemies attack my home, when would I ever use it?"

After walking a few more steps, seeing they were about to reach the girls' dormitory area, the balding instructor stopped.

"Going back... be careful. You hit too hard today, those people... those people might retaliate. I'll go find the Vice Principal shortly and have him send a female teacher to stay with you. Don't go out alone these few days without an instructor!"

Only then did Frost realize that this usually submissive, obsequious instructor had uncharacteristically followed her for such a long stretch because he was worried she might be targeted for revenge by those noble children.

"I'm leaving right away, going back to get my things then leaving. In the future... I probably won't come back. Don't worry, I won't run into those people."

"Thank you!"

Frost bowed, said farewell, and turned to leave when "Baldy Big Horse" suddenly called out to her.

"Frost!"

Frost turned back in confusion.

"Mm?"

The balding instructor slowly interlaced his hands, his face showing unprecedented solemnity. He took a deep breath as if making some kind of resolution and slowly began:

"Though I've taught you many classes, those were all academy... regulation sword technique classes."

"I... still have some 'little techniques' learned through battlefield experience. They're not honorable things, and the academy doesn't allow teaching them. But since you're going back to such a dangerous place, perhaps... perhaps they might be useful."

"Want to learn them?"

Frost's eyes flickered as she bowed deeply to the instructor.

"Please instruct me!"

[NEXT CHAPTER]

📅 August 23 (UTC +8) - Chapter Releases

(Just a quick note, I’ll be taking my first day off tomorrow for an important appointment. Thank you so much for your understanding and support!)

For Pledged Members:
God's Imitator — Chapters 81 to 90
Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable — Chapters 61 to 64
I Run A Prison In America — Chapters 51 to 60

For Free Members:
Necromancer, What the Hell Is A Type 055 Summon? — Chapters 83 & 84
Wasteland Border Inspector — Chapters 81 & 82

My Father Is Superman, But I'm Just An NPC? — Chapters 73 & 74
Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems — Chapters 73 & 74
American Hunting: Starting From Alone In The Wilderness — Chapters 73 & 74

We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? — Chapters 49 & 50
God's Imitator — Chapters 49 & 50

Daily Divination: From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable — Chapters 35 & 36
I Run A Prison In America — Chapters 35 & 36