Bai Zhou, Why Are You Here?

So this is a Blood Worship Cultist?

...What a weak Blood Worship Cultist.

Bai Zhou watched the Doctor rolling on the ground, feeling a bit puzzled.

Besides, for a heinous, sinister, and cunning Blood Worship Cultist, why did this guy fight so... uprightly?

Bai Zhou had clearly prepared himself for all sorts of underhanded tricks from the opponent.

Before entering, he had used his Ring to turn invisible and spent ten minutes specifically layering every Small Ritual he had recently learned onto himself.

Purification, Mental Clarity, Strength Enhancement, Luck Blessing...

--And along the way, he had incidentally picked up a bench leg and a handful of quicklime.

But in the end, during the struggle, Bai Zhou only heard an unusual cicada chirp.

In that instant, his Spirituality became abnormally active, warning him of the lethal, dangerous crisis hidden behind that sound.

Fortunately, a handful of lime made the cicada chirp come to an Abrupt Stop.

So...

Was the one being sinister not the "Extraordinary," but himself?

His clear eyes blinked twice, and Bai Zhou shook his head repeatedly.

How could that be?

It was all the fault of the Ruins Civilization!

"You, you, you, you... are you going to bully me too!"

The Doctor roared and wailed, his twisted face filled with extreme resentment.

But soon, his expression turned desolate:

"Don't kill me, I'm still useful, capturing me is of great use to the Authorities!"

"I know a very important piece of secret intelligence, it's... about the Special Management Department!"

He kept muttering and chanting to distract Bai Zhou, while his hand quietly moved...

Heh.

To actually attempt a sneak attack—he really is more agile than the average Special Management Department Commissioner.

But, that's about it.

Seeing my miserable state now, you must be very smug, right?

Enjoying the fruits of your victory, aren't you? Just like a Bully looking down on others.

Look, this kid is standing still, looking dazed...

He must think my eyes have been blinded by the lime and that I've lost the ability to resist.

Wet behind the ears, self-important, just like those cockroaches from the Special Management Department.

Someone like this... deserves to be taught a lesson.

--What a real, cruel battle is!

He cursed and expressed hatred with his mouth, as if it were merely the wailing of a defeated dog.

But in reality, he had already quietly opened his bloodshot, half-blind eyes, looking at the Youth before him, whose blurry figure came into view.

Suddenly—

A few cold glints Suddenly Appeared.

The Doctor followed closely behind, his figure erupting into motion.

"Go to hell!"

Facing the Doctor's sudden attack, Bai Zhou revealed a look of realization.

But the Doctor felt it didn't matter how Bai Zhou realized it.

Because the Doctor's movements were as swift as a tiger; at such a short distance, no one could escape!

"This is also within my calculations!"

The Doctor had already revealed a ferocious grin.

But the Next Second, "Clang, clang, clang—"

The throwing knives stuck into the wall.

The Doctor lunged into empty air.

He widened his eyes, his hands grabbing at "Bai Zhou," but it was as if he had passed through thin air.

Yet the expression on Bai Zhou's face was clearly still shifting, like a blurred figure, appearing extremely eerie.

Following this, five paces to the right, an identical Bai Zhou slowly appeared.

The Ring on his wrist glowed faintly.

Optical Camouflage plus an advanced version of Optical Camouflage: Strong Light Projection.

However, both required a high-intensity light environment, otherwise, the oddity of the projection would be spotted at a glance.

That was why Bai Zhou had smashed the window and torn the curtains beforehand to enter.

Even with strong light, the color of a projection often differed from the surrounding environment, making it easy to detect.

But who told the Doctor that his eyes had been half-blinded by lime?

Sufficiently cautious preparation allowed him to perfectly evade the Doctor's sneak attack.

Then, he drew his blade—or rather, drew the Bench Leg.

He imagined a swallow flying before him, just as he had in thousands of past training sessions.

With a strike as swift as instinct, the wind whistled, and like a Slash against a swallow, he struck down the Doctor who had swept across the air.

The Doctor turned his hand to block, his arms going numb, but he managed to parry the Bench Leg.

However, in the next instant, A poison-tipped needle flew silently from the Ring.

"--There's more?!"

The Doctor only had time to cry out in disbelief.

The black, poison-tipped needle plunged straight into his forehead.

The Doctor collapsed on cue.

Staring with scarlet eyes scorched by lime, with the pitch-black needle stuck in his forehead, he crawled around on the ground while coughing up blood.

The traits of an "Envoy" had never been unleashed, and not even a single secret technique had been fully executed.

He was unwilling to accept this!

He was a Level 2 "Envoy," how could he die in such a stifling way?

This kid... what exactly was going on with him?

He knew how to finish off an opponent, how to sneak attack, and had all sorts of underhanded tricks?

That wasn't right, was it? Was the Special Management Department's style like this?

"Special Management Department... hehe!"

Those eyes, crawling with black and red blood vessels, widened and lifted.

His mouth, full of black blood, split open, revealing a terrifying and chilling sense of hidden meaning.

"You are also a cockroach..."

Before he could finish his sentence, His head tilted to the side, and he ceased to breathe.

"..."

Bai Zhou stood silently in place.

He had truly won; it could be called easy, yet it had also required his absolute best effort.

A sense of accomplishment from defeating a Blood Worship Cultist welled up, and he suddenly realized...

After these days of incredibly arduous training, He was truly no longer that ordinary person.

Unlike the desperate, drawn-out battles he had imagined, a real life-or-death struggle happened in an instant.

Hesitation meant death.

For that reason, he would spare no effort, even if it meant using underhanded tactics.

Knowing the opponent existed, he had made preparations in advance.

From the surprise attack to the scattering of lime, and finally the Slash of a blow honed through thousands of repetitions...

Behind what appeared simple lay Bai Zhou's meticulous combat strategy.

Fortunately, the result matched his expectations.

But... he had killed a man.

The first time he had killed someone.

The nausea and fear he had imagined were nowhere to be found.

Looking at the tragic corpse lying in a winding pool of blood with eyes wide open in death, Bai Zhou instead felt a sense of near-indifference.

Only his active brain, under the influence of adrenaline, felt nearly exhilarated.

Blood accelerated through his veins, his heart thumping wildly.

After a long while, the stimulating sensation of mobilizing his entire being began to slowly recede.

Replacing it was an indescribably subtle feeling.

It was...

As if struck by a sudden flash of inspiration, he felt he was on the verge of "advancement."

He was only one final step away from completing the preliminary practice of the secret technique, stepping onto the true starting point of an Extraordinary, and becoming a Level 1 Adventurer.

...Suddenly sensing something, Bai Zhou turned his head to look back.

He saw Teacher Xiao Yuan staring at him without blinking.

Her shoulders seemed to have stopped hurting as well; she remained silent, her dazed gaze shifting with a kaleidoscope of strange colors.

"Shh..."

Bai Zhou raised an index finger to his lips and whispered to the teacher, "You must keep this a secret for me."

The moment his words fell, Teacher Xiao Yuan saw a small glowing symbol appear on Bai Zhou's finger.

Ritual triggered.

With a "snap,"

It was like a camera shutter clicking.

A White Light flashed before Teacher Xiao Yuan's eyes.

Her expression turned hazy, and she slowly went limp, collapsing onto the floor.

"Whew..."

Bai Zhou let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, drawing a ritual on his hand that was ready to be triggered.

The ritual to seal the memories of ordinary people was a mandatory lesson for any Extraordinary.

--The above were the exact words of Teacher Ya.

As for Liu Huahua, there was no need to worry; she had been under the Doctor's control the entire time and had fallen unconscious when the Doctor went down.

And so...

He turned his head to look at the Corpses at his feet and blinked.

It was time for the "harvest."

However, before checking the Doctor's corpse—

"Do as I say."

Raven appeared at the entrance of the infirmary at some point and spoke softly.

Looking at the chaotic scene and Bai Zhou standing there unscathed, Raven relaxed slightly, a glimmer of relief flashing in his eyes:

"Before Section Chief Liu arrives, we must disguise the scene."

After working for a long time, Bai Zhou suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

"What is this?"

On the Doctor's body, Bai Zhou had found a letter.

Raven was also somewhat surprised and stepped closer: "What era is this, still writing letters?"

But upon seeing the appearance of the envelope, the expressions of both Raven and Bai Zhou turned grave.

It was a pale envelope, seemingly made from some kind of special leather, covered in tiny, pore-like bumps, possessing the warmth and elasticity of a living organism.

The handwriting on it was a dark, brownish-red, like congealed blood, reading:

To my nephew.

Opening the envelope and unfolding the letter, a pungent, rust-like odor wafted out, and the same scarlet handwriting appeared before Bai Zhou.

[Three days from now, gather at the Sacred Chalice Grotto to discuss the specific details of the destructive invasion of the Special Management Department's Branch 36 at midnight four days from now.

The Blood Moon Society guides the way; bring your Envoy, and do not be late.

The difficult days are almost over; the Raven sings of the silent hour, the day the Blood Moon descends upon the earth once more!]

Flipping it over to check, the date on the envelope was... today!

Bai Zhou was struck with horror.

The Blood Worship Cult had actually chosen the Branch 36 Base as their target for invasion!

A destructive invasion!

Four days later! Midnight!

So soon?!

That Doctor was not wrong at all; he truly possessed vital intelligence regarding the Special Management Department...

...At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps rose and fell outside.

Section Chief Liu and his team, arriving fashionably late, looked disheveled and utterly wretched.

After all, among the group, although they were fully equipped, the only one who could truly be considered an Extraordinary was Section Chief Liu himself...

With a loud "bang,"

the door to the infirmary was kicked open by Section Chief Liu.

The chaotic scene before them came into view.

"Huahua?!"

Section Chief Liu's eyes turned bloodshot instantly, and he lunged toward the fallen Liu Huahua.

The Silver White briefcase clicked and whirred, ready to attach to his arm at any moment.

Behind him, pistols were cocked in unison.

But as they all pushed past the curtain and took in the situation inside the ward, they were left bewildered.

Teacher Xiao Yuan lay unconscious on the floor, while the Doctor's corpse lay sprawled on its back, face twisted in a hideous expression.

A conspicuous, large Poison Needle was embedded in his forehead.

And there, leaning against the hospital bed reading a letter, was...

"Bai Zhou?!"

Section Chief Liu's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in shock:

"How are you here?"