Plants

The serial murder case—or rather, monster murder case—that had tormented Messer University and the police department for seven days was solved by a high school student.

It sounded utterly unbelievable.

But both the real corpses and the many eyewitnesses were enough to prove it.

Once the dust had settled, and after the female Director received Tang Qi's assurance that "all the monsters are dead," she efficiently notified the higher authorities to collect the monster corpses. Before those officials even arrived, the female Director had already finished her report and submitted it on the spot.

Although Stana, the Police Chief, had played the main role at the scene.

When it came to political maneuvering and efficiency, the female Director had indeed worked very hard.

At the same time, because of the "mutations" of the female teaching assistant and the head security guard, Messer University had no choice but to conduct an internal investigation.

Reports on the various scenes and subsequent findings came out one after another.

In all those reports, Tang Qi, the high school student, was described as an exceptionally intelligent young genius with a vast wealth of knowledge.

As for Mystic Side abilities?

The answer was no.

Most of the credit for killing the monsters was attributed to Stana, the Police Chief.

Naturally, that was the result Tang Qi had deliberately arranged. He was not trying to shirk the credit.

He simply wanted to create a "persona" for himself: a genius teenager with little combat ability but formidable stores of knowledge and a sharp mind.

Such a persona might mean some limelight could not be claimed, and some credit could not be accepted.

But at critical moments, it could prove immensely useful.

Besides, while most of the credit had been shared out, Tang Qi had not come away empty-handed.

In fact, the real benefits had all gone into his pocket.

After killing the two monsters, Tang Qi had devoured the two resentful souls while explaining things to the bewildered crowd.

And that fake Letter of Appointment had been stamped by the female Director on the spot.

From that day onward, Tang Qi was considered a Special Consultant of the Messer Police Department. Not only did he have an official position, but he also received a generous salary.

Besides all that, when Tang Qi returned to Thorn High School with Stana, he had brought along several things from Professor Rick Cassel's office. Using his interest in history as an excuse, Tang Qi had moved all of Professor Cassel's notes into his own home.

Before leaving, Tang Qi offered a small piece of advice to the bounty hunter team he had lightly tricked—especially Ryan, their leader.

"If you don't want to get yourselves and the others killed in the near future, your best choice is to put that illustrated book away and only study the page about whispers. Perhaps you'll become an outstanding medium in the future. You have talent in that area."

After tossing out those words, Tang Qi got into the police car and left without caring what impact they might have.

Once a bloody case was solved, there would naturally be plenty of troublesome aftermaths, but none of that had anything to do with Tang Qi.

At that moment, he only wanted to return to his Brick House with his spoils.

Compared to the journey there, Stana drove much more slowly on the way back. Perhaps because of the fake Letter of Appointment, the Police Chief looked somewhat embarrassed. She drove in silence without speaking to Tang Qi, despite having a bellyful of questions.

But Stana was still the decisive Stana. She stayed silent for only half the journey. As they neared Messer City, the Police Chief finally could not help asking.

"The thing that made those two monsters reveal themselves...?"

That first question made Tang Qi, who was using magic to untangle the Mysterious Hair Knot, look up at her.

He had thought Stana's first question would be how those two people had become monsters.

He had not expected her powers of observation to be so sharp.

Tang Qi had no intention of hiding it and answered directly, "My blood. While none of you were paying attention, I mixed it into that basin of potion."

"I didn't deceive the man named Ryan. In their so-called team, apart from Ryan himself having some potential as a medium, the others are merely ordinary people. Without some special opportunity, they would be better off not entering the Supernatural Realm."

"Their potions and firearms are useless."

Stana nodded in understanding, then asked again, "What about those bullets? Were they from last time...?"

"That's right. They were new bullets I made from that bag of sea salt. They're called Sea Demon Bullets. Their effect is to break curses and dispel evil. They're less powerful than the two Furnace Bullets, but they pose a greater threat to curse-type monsters."

Seeing that Tang Qi did not mind the matter of the fake Letter of Appointment, Stana quickly regained the bearing of her Big Sister Police Chief and tried to use her advantage in age and status to suppress him.

Because the Police Chief had suddenly realized with alarm that when she was with Tang Qi, this high school student—

she was somehow the one at a disadvantage.

Faced with all the muscular men at the police academy and police department, as well as clever colleagues and cunning criminals, the Big Sister Police Chief had never admitted defeat. How could she let a high school student overpower her?

Especially now, Tang Qi sat in the passenger seat, casually untangling that strange hair knot, looking as though he were the boss while she, Stana—the renowned Police Chief of Mihuang State—was merely his driver. Stana found that unbearable.

Her past training and natural intelligence told her that when facing someone like Tang Qi, she should overwhelm him with an even colder and loftier attitude, rather than constantly asking questions like some curious child.

But Stana, who had only just stepped into the Mystic Side, truly found it difficult to restrain herself.

Tang Qi saw that as well. That was why, though he could have told her everything himself, he deliberately waited for Stana to ask.

That leisurely manner of his made Stana's teeth itch.

Only then did the Police Chief remember their first meeting. Back then, she had thought this little fellow was a kind and shy mystical genius.

Now it seemed she had been deceived. He was just a high school student with a nasty, scheming personality.

Stana saw Tang Qi's teasing intent. To avoid falling for it, she could only suppress the urge to question him again and again. At the same time, she pushed the car to maximum speed and once more raced at a terrifying pace through beautiful Messer Town, delivering Tang Qi back to Thorn High School before the first ray of dawn arrived.

As Tang Qi carried a pile of notes and manuscripts, with a pot of strange withered plants cradled in his arms, and was about to get out of the car, Stana behind him seemed to finally lose her patience. Her tone complicated, she asked, "Will those ghostly things become more and more common in the future?"

Tang Qi paused at that.

He did not turn around and simply walked toward his house.

His calm voice drifted into her ears.

"Not only will there be more and more of them, but they'll also grow stronger. Stronger than you can imagine."

"The world is going to change."

"Click."

Tang Qi casually shut the door behind him. He did not ask whether Miss Stana wanted to come in and sit for a while.

The timing was not right.

Besides, both of them—especially Stana—needed proper rest.

Today, she had once again felt the impact of an Extraordinary Monster. And this time, she had been responsible for the headshots. Apart from instantly killing the Spider Monster, the power of the two Sea Demon Bullets had also let Stana, their wielder, feel something special within them.

But with her temperament, even after returning home, she probably would not truly rest. After brooding for a while, she would likely just go practice shooting.

In truth, she still had some questions she had not asked.

But Tang Qi had guessed what her next questions would be, and even if she asked them, he did not intend to answer.

Tang Qi casually placed the pot of withered plants on the coffee table before the sofa. Then, treating them entirely differently, he carefully set the manuscripts and notes aside. He brewed himself a pot of coffee, brought over some snacks, pulled out one of Professor Cassel's notebooks on the study of a tribal ruin, and began reading.

Looking at him, he seemed prepared to read through the night.

Unfortunately, perhaps because he was too tired, he had barely finished less than half of the thick notebook in his hands before falling asleep against the sofa.

One minute!

Half an hour!

An hour passed, and he showed no signs of waking. It seemed he was truly sleeping deeply.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but at that moment, the plant Tang Qi had casually placed on the coffee table suddenly... moved?