Azure Dragon Halberd

<Li Yèlái> was unaware of <Darkfire>'s conversation with the higher-ups at this moment.

He had just left the Black Prison. Before he could take a few steps, his arm was grabbed and he was pulled into a small room.

It was <Puppet>.

She was wearing her frog <Puppet> costume and looked somewhat dejected as she faced <Li Yèlái>.

She had been the handler stationed at the branch. When the Phantom Band incident occurred, she had immediately led her team to support the scene.

However, she hadn't expected that the Black Prison would riot half an hour after she left.

By the time she returned with her team after suppressing the out-of-control crowd, the Black Prison riot had already been quelled.

This made her feel extremely guilty. If she hadn't left the branch, perhaps she could have immediately supported Team One. Team One wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.

However, the teammates in Team One didn't dwell on it. Suppressing the Black Prison was their duty.

How could they ask <Puppet>, who had already gone to support the scene, to abandon so many civilians there?

Everyone was fulfilling their duties. They could only blame the enemy for being too cunning, not <Puppet> or any other handler.

But <Puppet> remained dejected. She held <Li Yèlái>'s arm with one hand and held up a sign with the other.

[I was late, are you okay? (_)]

Clearly, she was startled by the bandages covering <Li Yèlái>.

"It's nothing, just minor injuries. Speaking of which, I should thank you," <Li Yèlái> said in a low voice, "If it weren't for your hair, my teammates and I wouldn't have been able to successfully suppress <Mobius Ring Diagram>."

Without <Puppet>'s hair, Sand Grain Team One would absolutely not have been able to take down Mobius within the safe timeframe. The disaster would have been even more terrifying!

Just as Sand Grain and the others had said, <Puppet> was indeed a great contributor.

After confirming that <Li Yèlái>'s wounds were all superficial, <Puppet> quietly let go of his arm and continued to hold up her sign.

[I checked the family apartments, Xiao Yan is also fine, but she was scared too (_)]

<Li Yèlái> nodded slightly. He had already received the answer from the detective.

If <Li Yúnyān>, who was a Threshold User, heard the broadcasted song, she would either successfully become an esper and officially join the ranks of handlers, or she would lose control and become a victim.

That she was merely frightened was already the best possible outcome amidst misfortune.

[Hurry and go keep her company. Although she doesn't know what happened, she's sharp enough to sense you were in danger. ()(._.`)]

"Okay," <Li Yèlái> nodded. Then, seeing <Puppet> still looking a bit down, he hesitated before reaching out and patting her shoulder. "Thank you. Your teammates are all very grateful. Otherwise, the sacrifices later would have been even greater."

[Mm. (;′⌒`)]

Afterward, <Li Yèlái> bid farewell to <Puppet>, took a look at <Yáng Chén>, who was still asleep in the infirmary, and then left the branch.

The sky was already beginning to brighten. Even though a night had passed, the streets were still in disarray.

Cars were burned on the roads, shops were smashed, and violent incidents had occurred in many places.

The once bustling streets were now filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

It was unknown how long it would take to heal the pain of the people.

<Li Yèlái> sighed inwardly. Taking advantage of the empty streets, he and a few colleagues used the Skywalk ability and headed back to the family apartments together.

The family apartments were also in a sorry state. Many colleagues who lived there would not be returning.

When <Li Yèlái> opened the door to the family apartments, he saw <Li Yúnyān> watching the news on the television.

The television was broadcasting the events of the previous night.

[Phantom Band launched a terrorist attack, releasing hallucinogenic gas, causing numerous violent incidents and stampedes. The casualty count is currently being tallied.]

"Sigh," <Li Yúnyān> looked at <Li Yèlái> and sighed, "Every time I see news like this, my heart is in my throat. Because I know you must be fighting hard in places the public can't see."

Seeing the bandages under <Li Yèlái>'s clothes, <Li Yúnyān>'s eyes reddened slightly.

"These are just superficial injuries," <Li Yèlái> quickly reassured her, closing the door.

<Li Yúnyān> fell silent, quietly gazing at a photo on the coffee table.

In the photo, a beautiful woman was smiling gently.

That was their mother. After she passed away, <Li Yèlái> and <Li Yúnyān> became each other's only family.

After a long while, <Li Yúnyān> spoke softly, "Brother, let me become an esper too."

<Li Yèlái> was stunned.

<Li Yúnyān> continued, "You know, your original intention for joining the official organization was to find a way to suppress my curse. But you constantly face danger. And I'm a burden, distracting you. Why don't I become an esper too? That way, I'll have the ability to protect myself and can also help you."

<Li Yèlái> sighed inwardly. This was indeed a possible solution.

<Li Yúnyān>, already a Threshold User, was only one step away from becoming an esper.

If she experienced intense emotional fluctuations, she might very well become an esper directly.

Of course, a moment's carelessness could also turn one into a victim.

However, the official insurance measures for those on the verge of awakening should ensure there isn't too much risk in letting the authorities handle it.

Li Yélai hadn't stopped to consider this issue. He had originally thought that after joining the official organization, he would just go through the motions, taking missions when they came and working when they didn't, finding a way to suppress the curse and protect his sister.

But the current situation didn't seem to be like that.

Especially after this incident, the entire Giant City was affected, making it necessary for his sister to possess some strength. Even if not combat power, just having a psychic barrier would be good.

So, after some hesitation, Li Yélai could only sigh, "Alright, I'll ask my teammates for help. Don't act rashly on your own."

Li Yunyan nodded, then stepped forward to examine Li Yélai's injuries and asked, "We're blood siblings. If I become a psychic, will I also be on the Myriad Manifestations path like you? Will I gain the same abilities as you?"

Li Yélai pondered for a moment and shook his head, "The path is hard to say. My colleagues Starfire and Shadowflow are a pair of twin siblings. One is on the Zero Path, and the other is on the Nether Path."

"Is that so? Then were their parents psychics?" Li Yunyan inquired.

Li Yélai recalled, "Starfire mentioned that his father was on the verge of awakening, but he never managed to awaken."

"So, if parents are psychics or on the verge of awakening, their children are also likely to become psychics?" Li Yunyan looked at the woman in the photo, contemplating, "Then, with us siblings like this, does it mean our parents might have been psychics or on the verge of awakening?"

"What's the point of talking about that now?" Li Yélai shook his head, "They're already gone."

After his mother passed away from illness, Li Yélai believed he no longer had parents.

As for that father who ran away from home, vowing to make a fortune.

Li Yélai considered him dead outside!

If he dared to run back now and talk about compensation, Li Yélai would beat the shit out of him! A man who disappeared with just a letter while his wife was gravely ill was no longer worthy of being called a father.

Especially since his mother, in her weakened state the year before her death, had used sign language to tell Li Yélai that his father was on his way back, that she could feel it.

In the end, she died with regrets and reluctance, never waiting for that man.

Every time he thought of this, Li Yélai felt a surge of anger.

His mother was very intelligent and beautiful. She was reportedly a graduate of a key university. She must have had many suitors in her youth.

Unfortunately, despite all her good qualities, her eyesight wasn't good, and she chose that man.

Taking a few deep breaths, Li Yélai finally stabilized his emotions. He needed to focus on recovering from his injuries during this time and couldn't afford to get angry again.

There would be a lot to deal with in the coming period. Although no forbidden items had escaped from the Black Prison in the East City District, the North City branch's Black Prison wasn't so lucky, with some forbidden items escaping into Giant City.

Coupled with the recent incident, many "wild" psychics had appeared within Giant City. The official organization's operational tempo would significantly increase in the coming period.

Since Li Yélai had already taken a month's leave from the antique shop owner, and his team had withdrawn from the Black Prison early for rest, Li Yélai had a lot of free time. Apart from attending his colleagues' funerals, he spent the rest of his time honing his abilities at the branch or checking the investigation progress of the current incident on the [Forum].

As various Giant Cities had suffered blows from this incident, the handling departments of each Giant City were fiercely pursuing the culprits. It was rumored that they had unearthed many people who had previously contacted Qin Zhi and learned of the codename 'Ark'. It was said to be a deeply hidden mysterious organization, and Qin Zhi was a member. The rest, the forum didn't say, likely requiring higher clearance to know.

On the third day, Li Yélai received his contribution rewards for the current incident. The members of his team generally believed Li Yélai deserved the greatest credit. Especially his action of securing the Mobius Ring for suppression, which significantly reduced losses. Later, chasing the army of Zhe Lan had also drawn other forbidden items into the encirclement. Therefore, this time, Li Yélai received a total of 150 merit points. Adding his original 25 points, he had a total of 175 points. This was a fortune!

If it were before, Li Yélai would immediately have purchased an anti-psychic helmet. However, Yang Chen, after waking up, had successfully applied for a trial for him, and an anti-psychic helmet would be delivered within half a month at most. So, there was no rush for that.

Thus, Li Yélai, with his considerable fortune, once again headed to the equipment department of the branch, preparing to forge a new weapon.

First was the Crimson Long Saber. It was severely damaged, with nicks on the blade and damage to the hilt after numerous strikes that felled both man and horse.

The equipment department's suggestion was that instead of repairing it, it would be better to reforge it into something more suitable.

Psionic weapons were also graded, from highest to lowest: A, B, C, D, and reportedly even S-class. However, their branch didn't have any S-class ones.

All the captains used A-class gear.

The Crimson Long Saber, however, was D-class. While its abilities were decent, the other materials were subpar.

The equipment department's idea was to extract the mysterious substance during reforging and craft a new weapon with higher-grade materials.

This would upgrade the weapon to C-class, making it more durable and less prone to damage.

The only drawback was the price: thirty merit points for the materials. If Li Yèlái provided suitable materials himself, the price could be reduced.

It was quite expensive. Li Yèlái had only spent twenty merit points to buy a house.

Was this weapon more expensive than a house?

Li Yèlái asked Cheese. Cheese replied, "That price is normal. Usually, only triple-awakened psionics can afford C-class weapons. I just got a C-class weapon myself. If you have one, it'll last you a long time."

After much deliberation, Li Yèlái agreed to the reforging.

He paid thirty merit points.

As for the reforging, Li Yèlái thought about it and chose the Qinglong Ji (Azure Dragon Halberd), also known as a single-eared halberd.

Li Yèlái actually liked polearms.

As Yang Chén had said before, Li Yèlái had long limbs, long legs, and a slender waist, making him suitable for practicing with a saber.

Combined with Weakness Perception, Li Yèlái could cleave through both man and horse.

However, he had mastered the eighteen spear thrusts and his spear techniques were at minor completion.

Furthermore, both Xiang Yu and Huo Qubing were master spearmen.

If he continued to use a polearm, some of his techniques couldn't be fully utilized.

Therefore, for the sake of cost-effectiveness, Li Yèlái had to reluctantly give up on polearms.

Of course, the equipment department also offered some advice: if he really liked polearms, he could buy another psionic weapon! A C-class one would only cost sixty contribution points!

Li Yèlái ignored them.

Instead, he continued to select weapons. The psionic weapon was settled.

The jet axe also needed to be replaced.

He directly commissioned a heat-melt axe that could be wielded with one hand and was relatively easy to conceal.

Twenty merit points!

What a rip-off!

However, after witnessing the heat-melt axe easily cut through steel bars, Li Yèlái fell silent.

He obediently paid the points.

Just as Li Yèlái was about to head to the training grounds for some practice, Yang Chén sent him a message, asking him to come to his office.

Li Yèlái was a bit puzzled, as it seemed he was the only one invited.

Curiosity piqued, Li Yèlái walked into Yang Chén's office.

He found several other people inside: Captain Yīnhuǒ (Darkfire) from the second team, and an old man he had never seen before.

The old man was so frail, hunched on the sofa as if he could die at any moment.

Yet, this old man gave Li Yèlái the feeling of staring into the abyss.

Sitting in the main seat was Yang Chén.

Ever since the incident broke out, Yang Chén's condition had been poor, his eyes filled with gloom.

Especially after learning that Qin Zhi had escaped Giant City, Yang Chén's expression had never improved.

However, today, his expression was much better.

Upon seeing Li Yèlái enter, he even managed a smile.

"Sit down."

After Li Yèlái nodded and sat down, it was Yīnhuǒ (Darkfire) who spoke.

"General Ye, you should know about Ark, right?"

"Of course," Li Yèlái nodded. "It was mentioned on the forums as the main culprit behind this incident."

"That's right. They are very mysterious. Although we caught a big fish, we don't dare to alert them rashly because we can't determine their identities," Yīnhuǒ (Darkfire) replied. "Ark is actually a massive warship wandering the Void Realm. It's confirmed that Qin Zhi is a passenger on board."

"A great ship in the Void Realm?" Li Yèlái frowned. How could one attack such a thing? It wasn't in the physical world.

"Currently, Ark's abilities are known to be very strange. Psionics with a ship ticket can board Ark from anywhere and conduct transactions through it, whether it's potions or psionic weapons. Passengers from all over the world communicate and trade on Ark, which is why the major Giant Cities have no leads on them."

"Can we get a ship ticket?" Li Yèlái asked. "If we get a ticket, we can sneak in?"

"Theoretically, it's very difficult to sneak in because only the captain can grant tickets, and he has his own selection criteria," Yīnhuǒ (Darkfire) replied. "However, fortunately, some passengers don't want their identities revealed, so they often let their subordinates act as representatives, holding tickets to enter Ark for transactions."

"And we... happened to obtain a ship ticket. The representative of that ticket holder was a double-awakened psionic, and we've arrested them."

Li Yèlái's heart stirred. "An undercover agent?"