Was that a Blood Worship Cultist?
...What a weak Blood Worship Cultist.
Bai Zhou looked at the Doctor rolling on the floor, puzzled.
Moreover, as a vicious and cunning Blood Worship Cultist,
why was this person's fighting style so... upright?
Bai Zhou had clearly prepared himself for all kinds of dirty tricks.
Before coming in, he had used his wristband to turn invisible and spent ten whole minutes stacking every Small Ritual he had recently learned onto himself.
Purification, Mental Clarity, Strength Enhancement, Luck's Blessing...
--He had even picked up a Bench Leg and a handful of raw Lime on the way here.
Yet in the end, during his fight with the other man, Bai Zhou heard only one unusual cicada cry.
At that instant, his spirituality became abnormally active, warning him of the deadly danger hidden behind that cry.
Fortunately, a handful of Lime had brought the cicada cry to an abrupt halt.
So...
Was the truly devious one 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!
"Y-you-you... are you going to bully me too?!"
The Doctor roared and wailed, his hideous face filled with extreme resentment.
But his expression soon turned miserable:
"Don't kill me. I'm still useful. Capturing me would be a huge help to the Authorities!"
"I know an extremely important piece of intelligence. It's... about the Special Management Department!"
As he muttered on and on to draw Bai Zhou's attention, his hand quietly crept toward the side...
Heh.
He actually knew how to launch a sneak attack. He was indeed a little more flexible than ordinary Special Management Department Commissioners.
But that was all.
Seeing how miserable I look now, you must be feeling very pleased, right?
Enjoying the fruits of your victory, just like a bully looking down on someone else?
Look at him. That kid's just standing there, looking blank...
He must think the Lime blinded me and left me unable to resist.
Still wet behind the ears, arrogant and conceited—he was no different from those cockroaches in the Special Management Department.
Someone like this... deserved to be taught a lesson.
--What it meant to experience a truly cruel battle!
He cursed and ranted aloud, sounding like nothing more than the howls of a defeated dog.
But in truth, he had already quietly opened his bloodshot, half-blinded eye. He stared at the youth before him, and a blurred figure entered his vision.
Suddenly--
Several flashes of cold light appeared.
The Doctor followed close behind, his body suddenly surging forward.
"Go to hell!"
Facing the Doctor's sudden attack, Bai Zhou wore an expression of understanding.
But the Doctor felt that it no longer mattered how much Bai Zhou understood.
His movements were as swift as a tiger's. At such a short distance, no one could escape!
"This was all within my calculations!"
A ferocious smile spread across the Doctor's face.
But in the next second,
"Clang, clang, clang--"
The throwing knives stabbed into the wall.
The Doctor lunged at empty air.
He widened his eyes and reached out with both hands to grab "Bai Zhou," only to pass straight through him as if he were air.
Yet the expression on Bai Zhou's face was clearly still changing, like an illusory figure. It was incredibly strange.
--Then, five steps to the right, an identical Bai Zhou slowly appeared.
The wristband glowed faintly.
Optical Camouflage invisibility + an advanced version of Optical Camouflage: Strong Light Projection.
But both required a strong-light environment. Otherwise, the projection's abnormality would be obvious at a glance.
--That was why Bai Zhou had smashed the windows and torn apart the curtains before coming in.
Even under strong light, however, the projection's colors often differed from those of the surrounding environment, making it easy to notice.
--But who could blame the Doctor when his eyes had been half-blinded by Lime?
His sufficiently cautious preparations allowed him to perfectly evade the Doctor's sneak attack.
Then he drew his blade--or rather, his Bench Leg.
He imagined a swallow flying before him, just as he had done in countless training sessions.
He swung with near-instinctive speed. Amid the howling wind, he struck down the Doctor as he swept through the air, like slashing down a swallow.
The Doctor raised both hands to block. His arms went numb, but he managed to stop the Bench Leg.
However, in the next instant,
A poisoned needle silently shot out from the wristband.
"--There's more?!"
The Doctor only had time to shout in disbelief.
The poisoned black needle shot straight into his forehead.
The Doctor collapsed with a thud.
His scarlet eyes, burned by Lime, stared wide open. A pitch-black needle was embedded in his forehead as he crawled aimlessly across the floor, coughing blood.
The characteristics of the "Envoy" had never come into play. He had not even managed to use his Secret Technique properly.
He was unwilling to accept this!
--He was a Level 2 "Envoy." How could he die in such a humiliating manner?
What... exactly was wrong with this kid?
He knew how to finish people off, how to launch sneak attacks, and all kinds of dirty tricks?
That couldn't be right. Was this really the style of the Special Management Department?
"Special Management Department... heh-heh!"
His eyes, webbed with black and red blood vessels, widened as he raised his head.
His mouth, filled with black blood, split open, revealing a sinister and chillingly meaningful smile.
"You're a cockroach too..."
Before he could finish,
his head tilted to the side, and he fell silent.
"..."
Bai Zhou stood silently where he was.
He had really won. It had been easy, in one sense, yet he had truly gone all out.
The satisfaction of defeating a Blood Worship Cultist welled up inside him, and he suddenly realized...
After these days of incredibly arduous cultivation,
he really was no longer an ordinary person.
Unlike the desperate struggle he had imagined, a true fight to the death was decided in an instant.
Hesitation meant death.
For that reason, he would not hesitate to use a few unconventional tricks.
Knowing that his opponent existed, he had prepared in advance.
From the unexpected attack, to throwing the Lime, and finally to delivering that strike honed through countless repetitions...
What looked simple on the surface was actually the result of Bai Zhou's meticulous battle strategy.
Fortunately, the outcome matched his expectations.
But... he had killed someone.
It was his first time killing someone.
The disgust and fear he had imagined never appeared.
Looking at the gruesome corpse lying on a winding trail of blood, Bai Zhou instead felt almost indifferent.
Only his active mind was nearly euphoric under the effects of adrenaline.
His blood flowed faster, and his heart pounded.
After quite some time, that stimulating sensation, which had mobilized every part of his body, finally began to fade.
Replacing it was an extremely subtle feeling that was difficult to describe.
That was...
As if blessed by a sudden flash of insight, he felt that he was about to "advance."
He was only one final step away from completing the initial cultivation of his Secret Technique, stepping onto the true starting point of becoming an Extraordinary, and becoming a Level 1 "Adventurer"...
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Bai Zhou turned his head.
He saw Teacher Xiao Yuan staring at him without blinking.
Her shoulder seemed to have stopped hurting as well. She said nothing, her dazed gaze shifting now and then, filled with dazzling colors.
"Shh..."
Bai Zhou raised his index finger to his lips and whispered to Teacher Xiao Yuan,
"You have to keep this a secret for me."
The instant his voice fell, Teacher Xiao Yuan saw a small glowing symbol appear on Bai Zhou's finger.
The Ritual activated.
With a "smack,"
it was as if a camera shutter had been pressed.
A White Light flashed before Teacher Xiao Yuan's eyes.
Her gaze grew hazy, and she slowly slumped down, fainting on the floor.
"Phew..."
Bai Zhou let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and drawn a Ritual on his hand that could be triggered later.
A Ritual that sealed an ordinary person's memories was required coursework for an Extraordinary.
--Those were Teacher Ya's exact words.
As for Liu Huahua, there was no need to worry about her. She had remained under the Doctor's control the entire time, and when the Doctor fell, she had fainted as well.
Now then...
He turned his head toward the corpse at his feet and blinked.
It was time to "collect" his spoils.
However, before examining the Doctor's corpse--
"Do as I say."
Ya appeared at the infirmary door at some unknown point and spoke softly.
Looking at the chaotic scene and Bai Zhou standing there completely unharmed, Ya relaxed slightly. A trace of relief flashed through his eyes.
"Before Section Chief Liu arrives, we need to disguise the scene."
After working for quite some time, Bai Zhou suddenly let out a soft cry of surprise.
"What's this?"
Bai Zhou found a letter on the Doctor.
Ya was also a little surprised as he came closer. "What era is this? People still write letters?"
But after seeing the envelope's appearance, both Ya and Bai Zhou grew serious.
It was a pale envelope, seemingly made from some kind of special leather. It was covered in bumps resembling extremely fine pores, and possessed the warmth and elasticity of a living creature.
The writing on it was blackish brown, like congealed blood plasma. It read:
To My Nephew.
Bai Zhou opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. A sharp, rusty odor rushed toward him, and the same scarlet handwriting appeared before his eyes.
[In three days, gather at the Sacred Chalice Grotto to discuss the details of the destructive invasion of Branch 36 of the Special Management Department at midnight four days from now.
The Blood Moon Society will show you the way. Bring your Envoy, and do not be late.
The difficult days are about to pass. The Raven sings of the quiet hour, and the day the Blood Moon returns to the earth!]
When he turned it over, he saw that the date written on the envelope was... today!
Bai Zhou was shocked.
The Blood Worship Cult had actually chosen Branch 36 Base as the target of its invasion!
A destructive invasion!
Four days later! Midnight!
That fast?!
That Doctor had been completely right. He really did possess important intelligence about the Special Management Department...
--At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside, one after another.
Section Chief Liu and the others, who had arrived late, were all covered in dust and utterly disheveled.
After all, although everyone was fully equipped, Section Chief Liu was the only one among them who could truly be considered an Transcendent...
With a bang,
Section Chief Liu kicked open the medical room door.
The chaos inside came into their view.
"Huahua?!"
Section Chief Liu's eyes went bloodshot. In a single stride, he reached Liu Huahua, who had fallen to the floor.
The silver-white Briefcase clacked and rattled, ready to attach itself to his arm at any moment.
Behind him, one pistol after another was cocked.
But when they all lifted the curtain and saw the situation inside the ward clearly, they were left bewildered.
Teacher Xiao Yuan lay unconscious on the floor, while the Doctor's corpse lay on its back, staring skyward with a hideous expression.
A conspicuous Poison Needle was embedded in his forehead.
And leaning against the hospital bed, reading a letter, was...
"Bai Zhou?!"
Section Chief Liu's eyes widened. He cried out in shock:
"Why are you here?"
Before you continue