It was utterly impossible to imagine what kind of method could have created such a scene of death.
"It seems the Insect Blood Society really provoked some unknown force. Our Shadow Bureau may truly have been used as hired guns."
"Using a borrowed knife to kill?" the deputy captain muttered to himself.
Horrific bloodstains formed a chaotic pattern across the walls. This person and the other victim had both been pressed back-to-back against the wall, making it hard not to suspect that this was some kind of strange ritual.
"So the one who declared war that day really wasn't the Insect Blood Society, but a complete conspiracy. But if the force behind it deliberately lured us here, why did it act first and wipe out this stronghold? Did it just want us to come collect the bodies?"
The deputy captain did not find that joke funny at all.
"They're hiding too deeply. We've investigated every streamer and donor who declared war on the Shadow Bureau in the name of the Insect Blood Society, yet we couldn't find any clues about the person behind it. Only one possibility remains: the person controlling everything from the shadows isn't in this world."
The moment the woman spoke, everyone at the scene felt their hearts skip a beat.
"Only the dead have no existence records. Of course, it's also possible that their intelligence-gathering or concealment abilities far exceed our imagination. Either way, it reminds us that the entity that fought the Insect Blood Society this time is far more dangerous than we thought."
"Mysterious and unknown?" the deputy captain murmured.
The trail ended with that shut-in. There was no further information to pursue, and even divination showed that no such person existed... It really was unsettling.
"We made a killing."
On the other side, Ye Xin brought the injured Battle Miss a long way before circling back home.
Of course, although the outcome of the battle had been highly profitable and satisfying, Battle Miss had indeed been seriously injured.
After drinking a small bottle of Water of Purification and resting for a while, she slowly began to recover.
"I actually got bitten by bugs. Good thing they didn't do anything like laying eggs or parasitizing me, like in horror movies." Battle Miss laughed helplessly.
The Insect Blood Society—there was no doubt about it. It had something to do with insects.
From their very first encounter, that organization had cast a huge shadow over her.
They disgusted Ye Qian, and Ye Qian found them equally disgusting.
The two sides could be considered mutually hateful.
"This operation was still a little risky. With the Shadow Bureau's capabilities, they might be able to find me from even the slightest trace."
But she had been absurdly careful this time. She wore a mask, hat, gloves, and even shoe covers throughout the entire operation. She had bled during the fight, but before leaving, she still used an Explosion Ring to burn away the traces with high heat.
In other words, the chances of any of her DNA remaining were very small. As for mysterious information... honestly, they were complete strangers with no prior connection. That made it much harder to investigate her with mysterious powers.
Ye Xin began examining her spoils.
They included:
Three kilograms of gold bars.
Five Purple Crystal Coins.
One hundred thousand yuan in cash.
A notebook recording a method of advancement, though judging from its contents, it seemed applicable only to the previous leader.
Three silver needles.
Iron Shooting Needle (White)
After spirit was released, the needle would shoot at the target at a speed of one hundred meters per second. Its maximum range depended on spiritual strength.
"Why does this feel a little poor?"
No, it was not poor at all. Three kilograms of gold bars were worth as much as 960,000 yuan at current market prices.
Adding the hundred thousand in cash, Ye Qian realized that selling off a Purple Crystal Coin before had been completely unnecessary.
"The Iron Shooting Needle can be used too. Ye Xin doesn't think much of this weapon's power, but it would be excellent for someone weaker, like Alice."
The tiny needles were extremely difficult to dodge. Even Ye Qian's true body at LV19 would probably be unable to evade one if a small needle suddenly shot toward her.
Of course, she could still predict it from farther away.
"Then, let's start reading the notebook."
After opening it, an unsealed letter came into view.
Its contents described the method of advancement.
"Dear Mr. Luo Jie,"
"I have received the payment you provided. Since your strength has already met the standard for advancement, and your three highest attributes are Constitution, Strength, and Resistance, I believe the ritual plan I possess should be suitable for you."
"I possess an advancement method centered on Resistance. Although Resistance is not your highest attribute, Constitution, after considering your situation, I still recommend that you choose the path of primary Resistance, secondary Constitution, and supplementary Strength."
"First, I need to explain the deeper meanings represented by the six attributes."
"Strength represents annihilation and destruction."
"Agility represents reincarnation and circulation."
"Constitution represents balance and stability."
"Intelligence represents origin and creation."
"Spirit represents soul and destiny."
"Resistance represents eternity and order."
"As you can see, each attribute contains more than the traits it represents on the surface. On a deeper level, each corresponds to a grander law. There are also intrinsic connections between different attributes, but you do not actually need to understand those specific relationships."
"Primary Resistance signifies the path of eternity and order. Eternity represents neither beginning nor end, while order reflects one's own state of stability. Of course, that is too philosophical. You only need to know that following this path means you will have strong tolerance for all extraordinary powers."
"With primary Resistance and secondary Constitution, you will become a World Caster."
"World Casters possess extremely strong resistance to all mysterious and spiritual invasions. This profession can create a stable 'domain' of its own to deal with attacks from Transcendent abilities. With supplementary Strength, your physical power will increase greatly, allowing you to restrain powerful spellcasters to a certain extent."
"The advancement ritual for this system is as follows:"
"Find a small room and use furnishings to construct a sacrificial site in a mildly polluted state. Strengthen your own status as a sacrifice, then place yourself in the position of the offering."
"Then, you must swallow a poison that physically carries a lethal possibility, and attempt to communicate with a truly Transcendent item. Treat that item as some Transcendent existence and sacrifice yourself to it, asking the item to inflict punishment upon you."
"Note that the more dangerous the item sacrificed, the more likely the ritual is to succeed."
"Throughout the entire process, you must not ask any person or item for help. You must take on all risks yourself."
"Once successful, you will become a Transcendent with primary Resistance and secondary Constitution. At that point, you will naturally understand how to choose your supplementary path."
The letter contained quite a lot.
After reading it all in one go, Ye Qian truly felt the sheer amount of information it contained.
"Strength, Constitution, Agility, Spirit, Intelligence, and Resistance. These six major attributes aren't as simple as I thought."
First of all, their functions themselves were easy to understand.
Strength reflected a person's physical power and physical attack strength.
Constitution reflected resistance to illness and poison, as well as vitality—one's health bar.
Agility reflected a person's reaction speed and flexibility.
Intelligence was similar to magical damage and corresponded to Strength.
Spirit referred to sensitivity to magical attacks, as well as the strength and endurance of one's consciousness.
Resistance was the ability to withstand magical damage and non-physical negative interference.
These attributes themselves were essentially like the six core stats in a game.
But after advancement, the meanings behind them would also be fully revealed.
The primary attribute was generally the main specialization. Naturally, one should choose the highest attribute; if that was not possible, the second-highest would do.
The secondary attribute naturally needed to be a high one as well.
Those two determined the direction of one's profession.
The supplementary specialization made up for weaknesses while determining the details of future development. Different supplementary specializations also had an enormous impact on one's strength.
"Primary Resistance and secondary Constitution make one a World Caster?"
Ye Qian felt somewhat regretful that she had not discovered her own path.
The most absurd part was that this advancement ritual looked rather dangerous.
"If I can't find the corresponding ritual, then only one path remains."
She could ask a god of the corresponding domain, or some existence beyond the present world, to help elevate her.
But doing that was undoubtedly far too dangerous.
And she did not know how to request the aid of those existences.
"I'll keep this information for now."
After copying down the important points, she silently destroyed the letter.
Based on the information currently available, the leader of the Insect Blood Society came from a prominent local family. On the surface, he was actually a respectable public figure.
"If I want to destroy this organization, it really won't be easy."
Likewise, she might have to obtain methods of advancement from these forces.
She could also try purchasing them at gatherings, but she felt that the kind of gathering she had encountered so far, where anyone could enter, had too low a threshold to possibly contain information of such high value.
For convenience, here is a simple summary of the currently proliferated bodies: 1. Ye Qian: LV19, true body, fifteen-year-old girl, long straight black hair, rather cute looks, a little pure and innocent. She looked like a girl who had only just grown out of the little-girl stage, without a hint of mature-sister charm. 2. Ye Xin, White, LV7, a girl with a very youthful air. Her temperament was more mature than the true body's. She usually wore a black zip-up jacket on top, along with a black skirt and black tights. Height: 1.65 meters. Ability: Spirit Thread (Green). 3. Alice, Green, LV4, a blonde loli with snow-white skin. The protagonist thought she was 1.4 meters tall, but her actual measured height was a little over 1.3 meters. Abilities: Empathy (Green), Sword Intuition (Universal, White). 4. Little Soul, White, LV1, a petite girl with long straight black hair and a younger-sister vibe. Height: 1.45 meters. Ability: Soul Projection (White). Current Soul Projection state: Shi Jing, LV7, Shadow Bureau member. 5. Ye Shan, White, LV8, her temperament resembled that of a pure female high school student with long green hair. A very beautiful girl with extremely fair skin, her appearance surpassed that of ordinary duplicates. Height: 1.6 meters. Abilities: Day Flash (White), Body Agility (White). 6. Battle Miss, White, LV4, long straight black hair, a 1.72-meter mature beauty with an excellent figure, curvy in all the right places. Ability: Flash Step (White). 7. Death List: Cannon Fodder No. 1, White, LV3, no abilities, black hair with slightly curled ends, and a very good figure. ... Bodies that have already been listed will not be recorded again. Levels and clothing are uncertain and may change.
Just as Ye Qian was thinking, someone suddenly knocked on her bedroom door again.
Knock, knock, knock!
She froze for a moment, then hurried to the peephole and took a look outside.
That familiar face—without a doubt... Lan Xinyu.
"Umm..."
What was this girl doing here again?
Before you continue