Cultivate Myself, Can't I?

"Of course. I'm one hundred percent sure."

"Why didn't you notify me?!" Kahn's eyes burned with anger. "Why didn't you notify me about something this important?"

The culprit behind the Central City murder case! If he caught him, getting transferred to the General Bureau for a promotion and raise would no longer be a dream!

"Chief, listen to yourself. It was an emergency." Ryan shrugged. "I was only planning to investigate a little, but who knew I'd actually run into him? If I'd come back to notify you then, the culprit would've already escaped. There wouldn't have been time."

"Did you ever consider what would've happened if the culprit had escaped because of you?" Kahn's tone shifted after he spoke. "Fortunately, he was caught. You must be tired. Go back and rest first. I'll talk to the Director."

Ryan shook his head. "No. I need to see this through myself."

"What, are you worried I'll steal your credit?" Kahn looked around and lowered his voice. "Don't worry. I'll tell the Director. The main credit will still be yours."

Ryan raised his voice, agitated. "What do you mean, the main credit? I caught this guy by myself from beginning to end! Chief, is someone trying to steal my credit?"

"Why are you shouting?!" Hearing the murmurs around them, Kahn's face darkened. He was about to say something when someone in the crowd shouted, "The Director's here!" The crowd immediately parted to both sides as a steady-looking man in a black uniform strode over.

"Where's the culprit?"

the man asked.

"Director." Before Ryan could speak, Kahn rushed to say, "He's right here. Our entire Patrol Department followed your orders to track down the murderer, and after much effort, we finally caught the perpetrator."

Jonathan, the Precinct Bureau Chief, glanced at Sam. His expression changed slightly as he asked, "Who caught him?"

"Director, I caught him." Ryan gave Kahn no chance to speak. "I caught him alone."

Kahn was about to speak, but Jonathan waved a hand. "Bring him to my office. You come too..." Then he looked at 'Lin Qi'. "Who is she?"

"This Nun discovered the culprit. She's a witness."

"Mm. Bring her along too."

Jonathan had two Police Officers haul Sam to his office, then told Ryan and 'Lin Qi' to follow.

Ignoring Kahn's murderous glare, Ryan followed Jonathan into the office.

He was actually a little confused. Normally, shouldn't interrogating a captured culprit be handled somewhere other than the Director's office?

"You two, leave first."

The Director waved the two Police Officers out, then walked to his desk, picked up a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Tell me, how did you catch him?" Jonathan asked.

"A gun." Ryan patted his waist. "Mostly by catching him off guard."

He recounted what had happened at the Coffee Shop.

"...When I saw black fur growing on his head, I got startled. I didn't think much and just fired. Director, what exactly is this thing? It can even transform."

Jonathan smoked as if pondering something. After a while, he looked at 'Lin Qi' and said, "Miss Nun, is what Ryan said true?"

'Lin Qi' nodded. "Yes. In the Name of Janus, I testify that Mr. Ryan is not lying."

"I understand."

A Nun from Janus Church—such an oath was absolutely trustworthy. Jonathan also saw no reason for Ryan to lie, considering that he was a Police Officer himself.

"Miss Nun, have you told anyone else about what happened last night?"

"No. This is my sin. This morning, I lied to that Police Officer."

"Very good. You were right not to tell anyone."

Jonathan crouched down to inspect Sam's injuries. Only then did Ryan notice that the wounds on his legs had already scabbed over on their own. The chest wound was probably more serious; otherwise, Sam likely would not have gone to the Black Clinic last night.

"Miss Nun, please step outside first. I need to speak with Ryan alone."

"Alright."

'Lin Qi' glanced at Ryan, then walked out of the office.

The door closed again. Jonathan stubbed out his cigarette and exhaled one final cloud of smoke.

"I have to say, kid, you're quite lucky. You encountered a Blood Cult Transcendent and didn't die. You even captured him alone."

"Blood Cult?" Ryan froze. So the Bureau of Investigation knew about Transcendents.

"You can think of them as a cult. They gain power beyond mortals through evil sacrificial acts... Have you heard of Transcendents?" Jonathan asked.

Ryan shook his head.

"That's normal. Most people haven't. Generally speaking, they're people with Transcendent Power. It's a complicated group. There are good people and bad people, just like in the ordinary world. Good people catch bad people, and bad people kill good people."

"Director, are you a Transcendent too?"

Jonathan did not deny it. He smiled faintly. "Weren't you afraid back then?"

Ryan spread his hands. "If being afraid helped, what would I need the gun in my hand for?"

"A pistol isn't all-powerful. Against some Transcendents, even hitting them won't do anything... Though if someone like that appeared, you probably wouldn't even get a chance to fire." Jonathan shook his head. "In any case, don't spread this around. He isn't some Werewolf. He's just an ordinary person. Understand?"

Ryan asked doubtfully, "Can something like this really be kept hidden? I mean, if there are a lot of Transcendents, word is bound to get out eventually, right?"

"That isn't something you need to worry about. In principle, information regarding Transcendents should not be revealed to ordinary people. But since you've encountered one, and to keep you from running around spreading rumors, I need to warn you first: anyone who leaks this sort of information will face severe punishment."

Ryan's mouth twitched. "Then you might as well not have told me in the first place."

"If I didn't tell you, could you suppress your curiosity? Rather than let you investigate recklessly, it's better to tell you first." Jonathan chuckled. "Of course, there's another reason I'm telling you. It's to help you prepare for your new job."

"A new job?"

"Yes. Ryan, from this moment on, you'll serve as a probationary Investigator for the church, doing work completely different from before." Jonathan extended his hand. "Allow me to introduce myself again. Jonathan Jade, Level 3 Investigator of the church."

League of Fire

The League of Fire, a secret church of the Augustus Empire.

Ryan had seen it in the Game Official materials, but when he played the game, he had been too immersed in the First-Person Shooter experience to learn much about this church.

After all, the Transcendent system had originally just been supplementary content. Empress Online was, at its core, still an erotic game, so players could clear the game without ever interacting with the church... The key was what the player considered a clear.

Simply clearing the Main Storyline or collecting character CGs was not particularly difficult.

But if someone wanted to uncover every Hidden Profession quest and plotline, there was a lot more content. Even more absurdly, Empress Online had actually been made with such an enormous amount of text. Yet from the game's release until Ryan transmigrated, no one had unlocked every achievement.

Ryan agreed to Jonathan's invitation without a moment's hesitation. Wasn't this exactly the promotion and raise he wanted?

And after joining the League of Fire, his "value" would skyrocket. The chance of him, as Lesser Camilla, dying miserably by the roadside would be greatly reduced, even if he was only a probationary member.

Still, his identity as an informant was a problem. Perhaps he should find a chance to kill everyone who knew who he was. Then he could completely clear his name.

"When you come to work tomorrow, just come find me directly. I'll notify Kahn."

After briefly introducing the League of Fire, Jonathan gestured for Ryan to leave first. Although he had invited Ryan to join the League of Fire, he still needed to further assess Ryan's abilities and loyalty before formally accepting him.

Of course, people who joined the Bureau of Investigation generally did not have any shady backgrounds, so Jonathan was quite reassured on that point.

Even if Ryan did have one, he was only a probationary Investigator. It would not matter much.

"Oh, right. Send that Nun in. I have some things to ask her as well."

Ryan walked out as 'Lin Qi' walked in.

As they passed each other, he slipped into the restroom around the corner and opened the game, switching to 'Lin Qi''s perspective.

Jonathan did not suspect anything. He merely repeatedly warned 'Lin Qi' not to leak the information, then asked where the revolver she had used to wound Sam last night had gone.

Ryan had no intention of handing over the pistol. 'Lin Qi''s Combat Power was still far too low. Forget being a Transcendent—even if she were one, after seeing what had happened to Sam, keeping a heavy weapon in hand still felt much safer.

No matter how skilled you were, you could still be cut down by a kitchen knife.

So he lied, saying that he had been too panicked at the time and had no idea where he had thrown the gun. Maybe someone had picked it up. Jonathan would definitely be suspicious, but it did not matter. Even if a Game Character died, she could be rebuilt. What was the point of having an account with no equipment to grind levels?

Honestly, the only reason Ryan had not taken control of 'Lin Qi' and sent her on a killing spree yet was because he had played too few Paradox games. If some hotheaded guy had been in his place, everything would have been turned upside down already.

"Ryan! Ryan!"

At 8:12 that evening, Ryan walked out of the precinct branch. Deke stood in an alley across the street, waving at him.

Anko Street was somewhat deserted at eight o'clock. Ryan looked around, made sure no one was watching, then quickly crossed over.

"It's eight! It's eight already!" Deke's face was full of anxiety. "Why are you still here?!"

"I couldn't help it, Deke. I just solved last night's Central City murder case and caught a suspect." Ryan spread his hands. "The Director spoke to me personally. He recruited me into some church called the League of Fire. Do you know about it?"

"The League of Fire?" Deke's voice nearly cracked. "You joined the League of Fire?!"

"Yeah. Why?"

"An Investigator?"

"Probationary. I can become official if I perform well, I guess."

Deke frowned in thought. Soon, his expression relaxed, and he said excitedly, "That's wonderful, Ryan! Perform well. You must perform well in the League of Fire! I'll tell Lord Adler immediately. He'll definitely be delighted!"

"Really?"

"Trust me, Ryan. You'll definitely become Adler's most capable helper. Keep it up!"

Yeah, right... Ryan asked, "Alright, then I'll make some preparations and head to Black Ding Street to get the thing."

"Oh, no. You don't need to go there anymore. Just focus on your own work."

"Why? Didn't you say there was something important?"

"I arranged for someone else to handle it... In any case, your task now is to infiltrate the League of Fire and climb as high as you can, understand?"

To avoid being noticed, Deke gave him a few more instructions before leaving quickly.

"This went smoothly." Ryan rubbed his chin. Learning about Transcendents had been an unexpected gain. It seemed he had chosen the right path. But it also meant Adler valued him more now. He had to quickly raise 'Lin Qi''s strength and eliminate the people who knew his identity as soon as possible.

The Class Transfer Mission was the key. A Hidden Profession would bring massive improvements, especially the leap from an ordinary person to a Transcendent. Once she officially became a Transcendent, she would be able to fight with magic.

"I wonder what kind of Hidden Profession it'll be. I just hope it isn't too bad."

Ryan tightened his collar, watched his surroundings, and vanished into the street under cover of night.

[You have taken over control of 'Lin Qi'.]

After returning home, Ryan immediately opened the game.

Empress Online, launch!

"Eight-thirty... There are still over forty minutes. It should be enough."

Ryan controlled 'Lin Qi', took out the black hooded clothes he had placed in the Backpack, put them on, and slipped into an alley as she headed toward Heiding Street.

Deke had told him the time was 9:14. Considering the possibility of being late, the Sacrificial Ritual should last at least a few minutes beyond that.

On the screen, 'Lin Qi' ran all the way. Game Characters had stamina bars. Normal walking did not consume stamina, but strenuous actions such as running and climbing continually depleted it. Once the bar emptied, she could only rest before acting again.

However, stamina recovered quickly, and the maximum also increased as she leveled up. With reasonable control, it generally would not leave her unable to move from exhaustion.

Near nine o'clock, 'Lin Qi' arrived at Heiding Street. It was near the slums of the East District, rather remote, without even streetlamps.

Black Ding Street No. 228.

'Lin Qi' hid in an alley and looked toward the distant location. It was a detached house with a front yard. From where she stood, she could vaguely see light glowing inside.

It was dim, and there was no sound. But Ryan soon noticed people entering the house from other directions.

"We made it just in time."

"There are five minutes left. Hurry, go inside."

"Mr. Deke, may I ask what I'm supposed to do once I'm inside?"

"Don't say anything, and don't ask anything. Someone will tell you what to do."

"This... Alright."

"All for Grand Duke Marganna."

It was Deke's voice.

'Lin Qi' peeked out from the alley and vaguely saw two figures. One was Deke, while she did not recognize the other.

"Looks like the number of people is fixed. Since I didn't go, Deke called someone else."

Ryan cursed inwardly. If this was not a cult ritual, he would eat shit standing on his head. That damned Deke had chosen him to go, clearly intending to use him as cannon fodder.

If he had not joined the League of Fire, he would have been the one coming tonight.