Slyris and the others had always thought the higher-ups wanted them to make some big move, because in a place as stable as Center City, the target would either be Xu Chuyao or Shen Ning. But until this day, nothing had happened.
However, they finally met a high-level member of the School of Excellence, the person who replaced Wang Li to coordinate with them.
It was a man with an Asian appearance who looked a bit older than Wang Li. He held a bottle of Sniff-Master produced by the local Chen’s Food Company. He removed the nozzle from the packaging and placed the liquid contents directly under his nose, taking a deep, forceful sniff as if he were using snuff from the old era.
“Hah—”
Slyris and the others silently lowered their heads. It wasn’t a glorious scene, so it was better not to stare.
“Sniffing this… in the past, I often asked Wang Li to help me scramble to buy this. Others did too, treating her like a delivery girl because her personality was very strange… of course, the main reason was that she was quite weak back then. Who could have expected she would rise up so quickly in such a short time.”
The man casually threw away the Sniff-Master bottle, a hint of sorrow in his eyes: “And who could have expected that if you really seek death, you’ll actually end up dead.”
Slyris silently exchanged looks with the bald man, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Fortunately, the man took the initiative to speak at this time: “Let’s all get to know each other. My name is Zhuang Hu. The ‘Hu’ from ‘lake,’ the one with the water radical. There’s no deep meaning behind it. It was given to me by someone before I first started working. I hoped it wouldn’t be too common, so that people would feel I’d be someone important in the future… What a foolish thought. In fact, being common is everyone’s destiny, with only a few exceptions.”
“Lord Zhuang Hu is right…”
Slyris echoed flatteringly, but Zhuang Hu just continued to himself: “I once said the same to Wang Li, but unfortunately, she never listened. She always felt she would be that exception, until now, when she’s paid the most painful price.”
“Heh.”
This time, everyone could tell that the man was talking to himself and had no intention of paying attention to them.
Slyris exchanged glances with the bald man again. This time, even the bald man lost his momentum, standing there silently enduring the new Leader’s moodiness.
He finally understood that the high-level members of the Supreme Society were just a group of powerful mortals, and their mental state was even worse than that of an average passerby.
After Zhuang Hu finished his sentimental speech, he glanced at the petite woman behind everyone: “Jasmine, why are you hiding back there? Didn’t I tell you to bring them along?”
The woman’s face broke into a harmless smile: “I just wanted to be a bit closer to everyone.”
Under the gazes of everyone, whose scalps were tingling, Jasmine walked out from the crowd and stood beside Zhuang Hu. This represented that they were people of the same status.
“Actually, everyone is very nice. No one said anything bad about me to my face,” Jasmine said with a smile. “Let’s continue to complete the Mission.”
Slyris and the others were truly a bit numb.
Of the three high-level members of the Supreme Society they had seen so far, one was clearly an anti-social and anti-human personality whose greatest wish in life was to see a performance of Mutant Beasts tearing humans apart. One was a pessimistic nihilist who loved being a Teacher, usually enjoying educating others with his own pessimistic views. And the other… was not a normal person.
Would a normal person run into a group of enemies and specifically pretend to be weak, pitiful, and helpless? It was a classic “fishing” tactic.
Slyris went over their conversation from earlier in his mind as quickly as possible. Finding nothing problematic, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He hoped Lady Jasmine wouldn’t find an excuse to make a fuss… By the way, what did she just say? The Mission?
After arriving in Center City for half a month, the group finally had a formal Mission. Under the leadership of the two adults, they came to the outside of a tea house.
There wasn’t anything special to do, just being on alert and waiting to receive a person in a moment.
“It’s that one.” Zhuang Hu pointed toward the entrance of the tea house. “He’ll go inside to talk to someone, and then we’ll assist him in leaving.”
“Him?”
Everyone looked in that direction and saw a short figure quickly walking inside, but no one dared to ask too much about who he was.
When Slyris looked over, his ears caught a faint sibilant sound, a bit like a snake’s tongue flicking, which disappeared after a moment.
Am I having hallucinations today?
—
The tea house was located at a scenic spot within the city district. The transportation was convenient, the environment was quiet, and most importantly, the tea was excellent. However, the price was high. Usually, few people came here except for business negotiations; it wasn’t very cost-effective for just relaxing by oneself.
“This way, Mister Chu.” The waiter guided him. “Mister Wen is waiting in the Lake View Area No. 1.”
The hardworking waiter didn’t know his identity, nor the identity of the other person. He only knew that the tea house had two guests with unfamiliar faces today.
Mister Chu was short, looking like a teenager, but if you looked at his face, you would find many traces of time on it. The wrinkles hadn’t spared this person who presumably suffered from dwarfism.
He sat down at the table by the lake and waited until Wen Shengqing finished feeding the goldfish in his Hand before he spoke slowly: “According to your request, I went to check immediately. The thing let through from the Equator Defense Line was just that, and it was easily resolved. From that perspective, the mistake Minister Long made isn’t unpardonably wicked.”
After the Equator Defense Line was partially destroyed, the special Task Force established by Minister Long and the others immediately launched an investigation. They thought it took several days to reach a conclusion—that something dangerous from the sub-shores had come through.
But in fact, Mister Chu had gone to check immediately. The Mutant Beasts that died by mistake in the Black Land were led there by him. Subsequently, he discovered that only one aquatic Sea Monster had entered the coastal waters alive and brought back the news, which led to the subsequent Sea Monster expulsion operation.
Wen Shengqing walked back from the shore and sat in the chair opposite him, looking at this old friend of many years.
“She was killed by someone she held a grudge against. A private feud. She went to find trouble with the other party herself. Moreover, Wang Li’s thoughts were very dangerous. Those people haven’t changed their mindset in time; they are still stuck in the years when they were executing Missions.”
Mister Chu laughed, the wrinkles on his face twitching along with it.
“The power of those years was given by you. You won’t forget it, right—our Soul Spirit Contract. You turned them from humans into ghosts, and now you want them to turn from ghosts back into humans. It’s not that easy.”
Wen Shengqing remained silent.
After a long time, Mister Chu stood up: “Since you haven’t violated our alliance, let’s just consider it Minister Long’s own doing. I should leave.”
Wen Shengqing also stood up to see him off. When they reached the door, he suddenly asked: “The things that ran over from the Equator Defense Line—are there really no others?”
“None.”
A few minutes later, Wen Shengqing returned to the Lake View Area. After one person had left, the environment here became incomparably quiet, and that faint sibilant sound could no longer be heard.
He picked up his Mobile Phone and dialed Minister Long’s number.
“Hey, Marshal Wen! Hello, hello. I’m currently preparing for a Council speech. I definitely won’t be late…”
“Don’t be nervous. I’m not here to check on your work.” He showed a kind smile, just like that day at Shengling Academy. “I just wanted you to contact that young female Officer from your department again. She did a very good job with the last matter and has great potential. It just so happens I have a few more similar Missions I plan to give to her.”
“Oh, Marshal Wen, thank you for your cultivation. But she probably doesn’t have time recently. She’s getting married to that young friend, and the Wedding is today.”
Wen Shengqing’s brow furrowed slightly: “Married?”
“Yes. They’ve experienced too many life-and-death battles this past year and wanted to leave no regrets.” Minister Long spoke up for his beloved subordinate. “I heard they’re going on a honeymoon after the Wedding. This is a major life event…”
—
“As they say, things happened fast. After I solved the crisis, Minister Long charged out from the side and pulled out five water scrolls with one Hand, beating that Sea Monster until it fled in defeat. The Sea Monster expulsion battle ended just like that.”
At 9:10 AM, several large trucks set off from Shengling Academy, heading toward the Farmstay on the outskirts of the city, with a small car following behind.
Cheng was driving, Xiao Si Nuo was in the passenger seat, and Xu Chuyao and Yu Jing were in the back seat. Having nothing to do on the way, Director Long told them stories to pass the time, talking about the major events that had happened in the city not long ago.
“Speaking of this Sea Monster, it was named Harvey. But according to the records of the Conquest Department, this guy was neither a shark nor a whale. It was only at the Initial Stage of the Four Stages and only possessed one characteristic: the combined regeneration characteristic of a Jellyfish. If it had been just one small Rank higher or had a few more characteristics, at least thousands more people would have died at the coast, and Shen Ning wouldn’t have been able to save them.”
Yu Jing, who had recently promoted to the Four Stages, was a bit excited: “Do Mutant Beasts also have Four Stages characteristics?”
“They do, and they are very special, quite different from the Elemental Power series.” Xu Chuyao held her Mobile Phone and showed it to her. “A lot is recorded on the internal website of the Conquest Department. Some are recorded from actual existence, and others are based on their theoretical inferences.”
Yu Jing took it and flipped through it casually, including Jellyfish, Octopus, and more strange and bizarre things, such as tigers with wings, elephants with eight legs, and an Ouroboros with its tail in its mouth.
[Theories on that species (Ultimate Rank):
Reference Source: Physiological Structure, Feeding Method, Folklore
Snakes do not have the ability to chew or bite food; the moment they open their mouths, they are destined to swallow everything.
Inference Concept: Desire-related
The induction of Eden led Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, which actually evoked their own desires, letting them do what they originally wanted to do.]
Xiao Si Nuo in the front row yawned. The Four Stages and such were too distant for him. Compared to these things, he was more concerned about this strange Wedding today.
Why was it strange? First, Officer Long had Flower stay at the school, saying there was some special reason why it wasn’t convenient to take her along, and that he would bring back some wedding candy for her. Of course, Xiao Si Nuo and Flower had no objections, they just didn’t know what the special reason was.
Secondly, with so many trucks leading the way in front, what exactly was loaded inside? If it was equipment to be used at the Wedding scene, shouldn’t it have been transported there in advance?
Finally, and most importantly — where did the other bride go (Philosophy)?
When they approached the Farmstay, Xiao Si Nuo couldn’t help himself and asked this last question.
“She’s over at her parents’ side,” Xu Chuyao said casually. “I’ll go pick her up when we get to the Wedding scene, along with her family.”
“Oh.”