Thoroughly Drained

Xiao Ran closed his eyes, absorbing all memories related to Blade Draw Slash.

A moment later, Xiao Ran opened his eyes again, but a look of disappointment appeared on his face.

Blade Draw Slash's power was indeed not bad. The first time he and Xue Hongling clashed, he took a hit from Blade Draw Slash. That strike was both fast and fierce. If he hadn't had the curse [Calmness] protecting him, he probably would have lost his combat ability on the spot.

But it was only "not bad." This move required a certain amount of charging time, and if the first strike missed, there was no follow-up.

It wasn't even as good as Tiger Fist's three-strike combo.

After all this effort, to only get this one ability... wasn't he at a loss!

The more Xiao Ran thought about it, the more he felt he was at a loss. He glanced sideways at Xue Hongling's corpse, his brows slightly raised. "Sorry!"

Saying that, he reached out and picked up the axe beside him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Soon, the sound of chopping meat echoed from the room...

Luo City, the central building of that courier company.

Upon entering the building, one could see the conspicuous bright yellow logo.

Despite being a courier company, the lobby's luxury was no less than that of international renowned hotels.

The 68-story office building wasn't exceptionally tall, but in the Central Plains region, a flat area like this, it was quite rare.

At this moment, in the audit room on the 17th floor, Xiao Ran's file was placed on the desk, along with Xue Hongling's file.

"So Zhong Yi classified this as a matter of grudges between martial artists, meaning the company has no reason to intervene, right?"

"Yes, Zhong Yi seems quite fond of that kid."

The middle-aged man sitting at the desk said with a smile.

"Then let it be. Handle Xue Hongling's aftermath properly." The man at the audit desk picked up the official seal and glanced up at the middle-aged man. "Tell Zhong Yi, the company doesn't oppose this kind of special treatment, but we don't encourage it either. If it causes trouble, she'll be the first to take responsibility."

"Understood, understood."

The middle-aged man nodded in understanding. Seeing this, the man raised the official seal and heavily stamped the words [Account Closed] on Xue Hongling's file.

"Your repair of Xue Hongling's corpse is rated B-class, earning you 10 energy points."

"Calamity Suppressing Token's Spirit Seizing successful, you have obtained Xue Hongling's ability [Beginner Maze Steps]."

"Your repair of Xue Hongling's corpse is rated D-class, earning you 5 energy points."

"Calamity Suppressing Token's Spirit Seizing successful, you have obtained Xue Hongling's ability [Introduction to Physiognomy]."

"Your repair of Xue Hongling's corpse is rated E-class, earning you 0 energy points."

"Calamity Suppressing Token's Spirit Seizing successful, you have obtained Xue Hongling's ability [Basic Swordsmanship]."

"Your repair of Xue Hongling's corpse is rated below F-class, earning you 0 energy points."

"Calamity Suppressing Token's Spirit Seizing failed..."

In the room, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood, dripping from the tabletop onto the floor.

"Gulp gulp..."

Xiao Ran was holding a bowl of instant noodles, eating with relish.

On the table in front of him, Xue Hongling's corpse had been sewn and re-sewn by Xiao Ran, covered in bloodstains. Perhaps it was due to too many repairs, but even with Xiao Ran's skill, the final result was getting worse and worse.

"It's rotten after only three times??"

Xiao Ran pondered the information he had extracted from Xue Hongling's memories while eating his noodles.

The gains were undeniably substantial.

Setting aside the abilities he gained, he had obtained 45 energy points just from Xue Hongling. Adding the 10 points from Li Shang and the 5 points from Guo Pengfei, he was now only 40 points away from 100 energy points to upgrade the [Calamity Suppressing Token].

Secondly, he had read a lot of information from Xue Hongling's other three memory fragments.

Those who completed the trial in Miyuan City were referred to as "Initiates" by the masses.

Initiates would not easily reveal their identities to each other. Xue Hongling had inadvertently learned about an organization called the Changchun Association. By calling a specific number at a specific time, one could obtain certain services from the Changchun Association.

Of course, these services were not free and came at a high price.

For every price, there was a service. Through the Changchun Association, Initiates could conduct mutual transactions at specific times, purchasing corresponding Curse Marks and information channels. With the Changchun Association as an intermediary, the safety of transactions could be guaranteed.

Interestingly, in another memory scene, Xiao Ran saw Xue Hongling and several masked individuals working together to kill a middle-aged man. While they were taking action, several people in courier uniforms stood by and watched silently.

Through the dialogue in the memory, these people were all from the company.

The company not only did not stop them but also helped them block surrounding signals and evacuated nearby residents under the pretext of a gas leak danger.

Furthermore, the company was responsible for collecting the corpse and handling the aftermath.

"It seems the Company's stance isn't actually opposed to the Changchun Association."

With limited information, Xiao Ran couldn't analyze much.

However, one sentence left a deep impression on him: "If you have difficulties, find the Company; if you have needs, find the Changchun Association."

"It's a shame I have no more memories of Miyuan City."

Xiao Ran shoveled a mouthful of instant noodles into his mouth, feeling a pang of regret. Miyuan City was the information he most wanted to learn about through Xue Hongling, but for the third time, he hadn't seen any memories related to Miyuan City from Xue Hongling's mind.

He wondered if it was because the Calamity Suppressing Token wasn't high enough in rank, or if some special power was preventing him from accessing information about Miyuan City.

In any case, Xue Hongling, lying on the bed board, had completely lost her utility, like a sugarcane that had been repeatedly squeezed dry, leaving only the pulp.

"No, there's still some use for her!"

Xiao Ran thought. After all, the corpse of a beginner like Xue Hongling was quite rare. He could use the special privilege of the Black Swan Brooch·Corpse Stitcher to make her his servant. At a critical moment, she could take a hit for him, which wouldn't be bad.

With that thought, Xiao Ran put down his noodles and picked up the axe beside him, getting back to work.

After a while, the side door was pulled open.

Xiao Ran walked into the courtyard with a look of satisfaction, took off his blood-stained clothes, turned on the faucet in the yard, and took a cold shower under the sun.

It was fortunate that this was his own yard, and the houses on either side weren't tall, otherwise, it wouldn't be so comfortable.

After cleaning himself up, Xiao Ran took out Xue Hongling's two Cursed Objects to study.

He tried activating them with the Corpse Stitcher and Trainee. After a simple comparison, Xiao Ran had a grasp of both items.

The Ghost Cloak wasn't suitable for fusion with the Corpse Stitcher.

This Cursed Object was only F-class, and its abilities leaned towards defense. Even after fusing with the Corpse Stitcher, its abilities would be very ordinary.

The privilege was merely to reduce the possibility of the corpse reanimating when he stitched bodies.

Another privilege was even more useless: when he was stitching a corpse and was attacked, he could enter a defensive stance.

However, the effect after fusing with the Trainee was decent.

F-class Cursed Object Ghost Cloak·Trainee

A must-have for night walkers. Wearing it grants the following privileges.

Privilege 1: Night Walker At night, one can enter a semi-invisible state. When standing still, one enters a fully invisible state, but it cannot block factors like breathing, scent, or sound.

Privilege 2: Iron Armor Upon activation, the cloak's strength increases by 200%, providing excellent defense against physical damage, but significantly slowing down the user's movement.

Duration: 2 minutes Cooldown: 20 minutes.

The item was quite good. It could serve as a life-saving shield at a crucial moment.

The other item was the ring.

The dark black ring band was forged from some unknown metal, inlaid with a black gem.

Upon closer inspection, something seemed to be moving inside the gem. Even holding it in his hand felt exceptionally cold.

E-class Cursed Object Mourning Ring·Corpse Stitcher

The holder can summon a ring spirit.

Corpse Stitcher Privilege 1: Nourishment When stitching corpses, the user can extract the soul of the corpse as nourishment to nurture the ring spirit.

The more nourishment the ring spirit absorbs, the stronger it becomes. However, be careful: if the ring spirit perceives you as too weak, it might retaliate against you.

Privilege 2: Painful Lash The ring spirit can be subjected to a painful lash, granting it a significant increase in strength for a short period.

However, each use increases the ring spirit's dissatisfaction with you.

"This ring is pretty good. It can fill the Corpse Stitcher's shortcomings in offense."

Xiao Ran happily put the ring away. As for retaliation? That was a minor issue. If it dared to retaliate, he'd just toss the ring into the latrine.

After a flurry of activity, the morning passed.

In the afternoon, Xiao Ran took a nap.

When night fell, Xiao Ran had a late-night snack and rode his bike straight to the farmer's market.

After experiencing the benefits of talisman augmentation the previous night, Xiao Ran realized that the more, the better. Zhou Shen had already contacted them for him. Upon arrival, he found the slaughterhouse.

As soon as he entered the slaughterhouse, a pungent, fishy stench filled the air. Herds of pigs and sheep, after passing quarantine checks, were sent into the slaughterhouse for processing.

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's name, the manager greeted him with a smile and led him into the storage room, pointing to a row of freshly slaughtered corpses on the left.

"These were just killed. Help yourself, brother."

The manager, surnamed Fang, offered Xiao Ran a cigarette as he spoke.

"You're too kind, I don't smoke."

"Of course, of course. Just say the word if you need anything."

Manager Fang's tone shifted as he asked, "And Mr. Zhou, what's your relationship with him…?"

"He's my uncle."

Xiao Ran said, his face not flushing, his heart not skipping a beat.

Upon hearing they were related, Manager Fang's smile widened. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Xiao Ran, he wisely took his leave, closing the door behind him.

Xiao Ran looked at the corpse hanging from the iron hook before him, his brow slightly raised. He selected a freshly killed yellow bull from among the bodies and began to stitch it.

Before long, Xiao Ran heard a prompt.

"[Calamity Suppressing Token · Trainee] Privilege 2: Borrowing Activated. You have obtained a Talisman of Strength."

"[Mourning Ring · Corpse Stitcher] Privilege 1: Sustenance Activated. Your ring spirit has received sustenance…"