Beginning

Heming had been traveling for four hours since departing from the Pitch Black headquarters. He stroked the Purple Mirror on his hand, lost in thought about what had just transpired.

His current strength had been bolstered by Pitch Black.

In other words, during the six months he was "dead," he had practiced the heart method every day during normal hours. Ming Jian had gone to Sichuan to prepare for the resurrection of Lu Bu, while he himself needed to return to Japan.

There were no specific arrangements; Ming Jian's only instruction was for him to report to his assigned squad in Japan first.

The ability of the Purple Mirror was to reduce daily physical exertion by thirty percent. Combined with his own natural stamina, Heming now only needed four hours of rest to remain full of energy.

The power of appraisal had been removed, and the energy within that Devil Race corpse was clearly unsuitable for him to use. According to Ming Jian, what Heming had obtained was a Necromancy Grimoire. While the Pitch Black Heart Method could naturally increase one's magical power, Heming, who knew nothing about magic or spiritual energy, was completely unable to cast death magic.

Laughter—Ming Jian was undoubtedly the one who had laughed the loudest back then. Naturally, Heming still hadn't grasped it; the vast majority of necromancy required a corpse or some strange object as a medium. Heming had actually tried to use necromancy without a medium and then inexplicably asked them why it didn't work.

Heming shook his head. Before departing, he had spent several days learning from a necromancer in the Pitch Black headquarters' special operations unit.

According to that necromancer, the Pitch Black Heart Method could naturally increase his magical power every day in the shadows, and the restrictions on using necromancy had changed. It wasn't like before; modern necromancy would no longer harm the user. As long as there was a medium, necromancy could be used anywhere. Necromancy was the only magic in the world without limitations.

When Heming left, he had spoken to Ming Jian about the matter of mediums. Ming Jian smiled and told him that when he returned to the Japan branch, someone would naturally provide him with the items containing the mediums.

It would still be a while before he arrived, so Heming shook his head and drifted off for a nap.

A sweet voice pulled Heming back to reality.

Heming realized he had arrived at the airport in Okinawa.

Clearing his head, Heming stepped off the plane. Waiting for him at the exit was a car dedicated to the branch office.

Once inside, Heming saw Qiming smiling at him.

"Hey, you should feel lucky. Not only did you crawl back from death, but you also received a special boost in power. Even luckier is that you actually managed to get close to Young Lady Yaming." Qiming went straight for the point, listing all of Heming's good fortune. Clearly, he hadn't noticed the item on Heming's hand.

"Team Leader, see what I'm wearing on my hand? This dropped from a Devil Race member. It's an artifact-grade piece of equipment." After saying this, Heming stroked the Purple Mirror.

When Qiming heard this, he was so angry he jumped up, but he had clearly forgotten he was inside a car.

With a heavy thud, he dented the roof of the car.

Back at the company, Qiming sat in his boss's chair and said to Heming, "We've received a letter from headquarters. You are now a necromancer. Heh heh, times have changed. Necromancers used to carry corpse bags everywhere, but you clearly don't have to. Go to the supply storage later and get a Necromancy Media Ring. This ring holds five corpses and some disgusting things like blood. When you use magic, you can use them directly; the medium will be automatically deducted from the ring. When you run out or need a refill, just go to the supply storage and swap it out."

This was the item Ming Jian had spoken of; Heming finally understood.

Qiming took a file from his desk and said, "This is your latest mission. The target might be a disobedient ghost, or it might be a demon. Regardless, your current abilities are enough to deal with them. Take this report and read it carefully. After you're done, go to the supply storage and pick up a Paranormal Tracking Necklace. Remember, if you can capture it, that's best. If you can't, finish it off. Don't let it go; these things tend to hold grudges."

Heming nodded, picked up the report, and stepped out.

The supply storage was on the fourth floor. On the way, Heming ran into Amei, whom he had met a few times a few months ago. Although they only chatted for a moment, Amei had always had a very good impression of Heming.

Mission: Two-Star
Warning: Please be extra careful when executing this mission.
Location: Qingshui Town, not far above Okinawa.
Details: The town has been attacked by ghosts and monsters multiple times recently, and three people have been killed.
Victims: All young people. One male died from excessive blood loss, yet no wounds could be found on his body.
Above is the intelligence. (Note: Please go to the supply storage to collect a Paranormal Tracking Necklace.)

Heming felt helpless; the intelligence was always like this.

After collecting his items, Heming set off.

Company regulations prohibited the use of company vehicles for solo missions. Heming had no choice but to call a taxi. Apparently, news of the town's situation had already reached Okinawa, and the taxi driver was very reluctant to drive to Qingshui Town.

Eight hours later, Heming arrived at Qingshui Town. Although it was daytime, he couldn't feel any vitality there at all. With a head full of questions, Heming found the mayor of Qingshui Town.

When he entered, there were already several people in the mayor's office. Heming stated his identity upon entering, and the mayor received him happily.

The other people present were the families of the victims.

Heming inquired in detail about the victims and then, per the mayor's arrangements, stayed at the home of one of the victims.

The three deceased were two men and one woman. The woman was killed during the day in the garden behind her house; the cause of death was suffocation, and she had died three days ago. The body had already been cremated.

The other two men were killed at the same time at night. One was killed in a warehouse and the other by a well. The one in the warehouse died from excessive blood loss, while the other died from suffocation. They had died three days ago, and their bodies had also been cremated.

Without a doubt, no one knew what had done it, and no one had seen anything strange.

Now, he could only rely on himself. Heming used necromancy, and the items within the ring summoned five Scout Bats that could share their vision. Their lifespan was three days; as long as Heming could provide them with magical power during those three days, they could observe everything in the town.

When he left, Heming had already understood his current strength. For him, the magical power required for the five Scout Bats was less than half of what he possessed. In an emergency, he could also use other means.

Now, all Heming had to do was practice the Pitch Black Heart Method here. If there were any discoveries, the bats would naturally inform him.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Heming noticed one of the bats reacting. Heming quickly swapped his vision with that bat.

The bat was located in the town's warehouse. At this moment, a strange fellow was standing at the warehouse entrance. Why strange? Because this guy was wearing the clothes of an ancient Japanese Shinto priest.

Just then, that ancient priest made some gestures toward the house to the right of the warehouse. A black mist emerged from his palms and enveloped the house. At that moment, Heming swapped his vision back, channeled the Pitch Black Heart Method, and ran toward the warehouse.