Check-in, Check-in

The man in the center felt his chest heave violently once more after hearing Yu Xiaozheng's defense.

He raised his right hand, covered in thick black hair, and a faint, sinister black aura churned within his palm.

"You still have the nerve to speak!"

The third man in black robes, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped forward.

He reached out and pressed down on the leader's wrist.

"Boss, calm your anger."

"Third Brother makes a valid point. This matter truly exceeded our expectations; if we really want to assign blame, the intelligence department is far more responsible for being a bunch of freeloaders."

The second man forcibly pushed the leader's hand down.

"According to the intelligence we spent a fortune to acquire, a Destiny Bureau branch in a third-tier city like Hai City would be equipped with at most one or two Tier 1 Warlocks."

"Furthermore, those Tier 1 Warlocks usually only handle the maintenance of the city's daily defensive arrays."

"Third Brother also didn't expect that a Tier 2 monster capable of using advanced Compass Surveying Techniques would be hiding here."

The leading man let out a cold snort and shook off the second man's hand with force.

"What is the use of this nonsense now?"

"The array is ruined, the people from the Destiny Bureau headquarters have arrived, and our entire plan is in shambles!"

The second man walked between the two, blocking the leader from Yu Xiaozheng.

He turned his head to look at a full map of the Hai City urban area hanging on the wall.

On the map, the locations of several middle schools were marked with bright red crosses, and First High School was prominently among them.

The leading man followed his gaze.

"The teleportation array has failed, and we have no way to transport the 'cargo' out without anyone noticing."

The second man nodded.

"They are investigating too strictly now. We can only lie low for the time being, wait for the heat to die down, and wait until they lower their guard before we make a move."

"Mmm~"

Gu Yuan stretched his body on the bed, opened his eyes, and picked up his phone to see it was already high noon.

Does practicing mental energy actually have sleep-inducing effects?

It had been a long time since he had slept this soundly. Yesterday, the moment his head hit the pillow, he had blacked out completely, not even dreaming, and slept until he woke up naturally.

He rubbed his chin. It seemed he had found a cure for insomnia; he wouldn't even need to buy sleeping pills, just practicing his cultivation would do, saving him another expense.

When he was short on cash in the future, he might even be able to open a "Mental Energy Hypnosis Clinic" specifically to treat insomnia for stressed-out rich people, charging by the hour—it would be an absolute goldmine.

"Time to get up and start my Destiny Bureau clock-in life."

Gu Yuan leaped out of bed and quickly put on his clothes.

The Destiny Bureau had maximum safety ratings and free perks to exploit; only a fool would stay at home.

Pushing the door open and stepping onto the street, the atmosphere was noticeably more lively with the college entrance exams approaching.

Utility poles, bus stop signs, and even the doors of public restrooms were plastered with colorful advertisements, while loudspeakers played brainwashing slogans on a loop.

"Invincible Vitality Pill! Want a high score on the college entrance exam? Get the Invincible Vitality Pill! For only 998, take home a surge in blood energy!"

"Final sprint for the college entrance exam! Qinghai Martial Examination Institute, one-on-one tutoring from master teachers, helping you easily get into your ideal university!"

"Still worried about not being able to afford pills? Still fretting over not being able to afford your favorite martial arts techniques? Martial Examination Student Loans, 12-month interest-free!!!"

Gu Yuan looked at the big screens and the people handing out flyers, curling his lip in disdain.

As a top-tier genius like him, why would he need to eat some vitality pill? He only needed to look at others twice to steal their traits.

Gu Yuan strolled to the entrance of the Destiny Bureau.

"Old man! Do I still need to register?"

He knocked on the window of the security booth, his eyes fixed intently on the security guard's bald patch.

The guard looked up, saw it was this kid again, and waved his hands repeatedly, signaling for Gu Yuan to get inside quickly and stop bothering him.

Gu Yuan withdrew his gaze with some regret. It was a pity; he had wanted to get a closer look at the old man, but the guard was too defensive and wouldn't give him the chance.

As soon as he walked into the Third Team's office area, he noticed the atmosphere today was off.

The entire Hai City Destiny Bureau was exceptionally busy; members were running back and forth with thick case files, and even the usual slackers were frantically pounding away at their keyboards.

He didn't crowd into the office, instead finding a chair with a good view in the hallway to sit down.

His gaze swept across the room and locked precisely onto Sun Miaomiao, who was drawing talismans in the corner.

She was scribbling rapidly on yellow paper while shoving energy bars into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster.

The compass on her desk was spinning erratically without any pattern, the needle pointing at the water dispenser one moment and the ceiling the next, looking extremely unreliable.

If this compass could actually find that Warlock, I'd do a handstand and eat...

Gu Yuan silently activated the Eye of Meridians.

His vision pierced through Sun Miaomiao's body, clearly tracing the flow of spiritual energy within her.

[Inspiration] (Purple)

[Acquisition Requirement: Use the Eye of Meridians to observe the holder circulating spiritual energy 10 times.]

[Current Progress: 2/10. Each completed observation will provide a slight nourishment and boost to your own spiritual energy.]

The progress bar flickered.

Gu Yuan felt a wave of coolness wash over his mind.

This feeling was incredible; getting something for nothing was satisfying, but getting a purple-tier trait for nothing was double the satisfaction.

"Why are you here again?"

A familiar voice came from behind, interrupting Gu Yuan's fantasies.

Gu Yuan looked up.

Shen Tingxue was dressed in a sharp, black combat uniform, arms crossed, looking down at him from above.

"Ahem."

Gu Yuan coughed twice, his face neither flushing nor skipping a beat.

"I just feel that the Destiny Bureau is safe, don't I? It's too dangerous outside, and a frail high school student like me needs protection."

Shen Tingxue raised an eyebrow and let out a cold laugh.

"Oh? So the great Young Master Gu knows how to be afraid now?"

She followed Gu Yuan's previous line of sight.

"Why have you been staring at Miaomiao? Don't get any ideas; the only thing in her head is food."

Hearing this, Gu Yuan immediately changed his expression.

"Cousin, you've misunderstood. I was just studying Miaomiao's technique, wasn't I? I feel like I have immense talent for sorcery, and I want to become a great Warlock."

Shen Tingxue slapped the back of Gu Yuan's head without mercy.

"Stop dreaming."

"The college entrance exam is in four months. If you don't focus on your martial arts, why are you distracted by this?"

"Hurry up and cultivate, and strive to reach the threshold of the peak Blood Tempering Realm before the exam!"

Gu Yuan rubbed the back of his head and curled his lip.

"Peak Blood Tempering Realm?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"Before the college entrance exam, I will definitely break through to a Tier 1 Martial Artist."

Shen Tingxue laughed in anger and reached out to press her hand against Gu Yuan's forehead.

"You don't have a fever, so why are you talking nonsense in broad daylight?"

For an eighteen-year-old high school student, reaching the peak of the third-level Blood Tempering Realm before the college entrance exam was already the mark of a genius capable of entering a top-tier martial arts university.

Gu Yuan was just about to retort.

Suddenly, the blood and qi within his body began to boil without warning.