第18章 孔雀蜘蛛

"No, it's not what you think!"

Seeing Jiang Qian force his way in, the young girl covered her delicate body and retreated repeatedly, backing all the way into her bedroom.

"Then what is it? Didn't you cry and beg me to save you? Why are you afraid of me?"

Jiang Qian followed her right in, making himself at home without the slightest hesitation regarding the fact that she was a young girl in the bloom of youth.

"You dragged me into that bizarre place and had the nerve to call it an 'invitation'. Do you really think I'd be grateful?"

"Brother Jiang, don't..."

With nowhere left to hide, the girl kicked off her slippers and curled up nimbly in the corner of the bed. She covered her fair, slender legs with her nightgown and looked at Jiang Qian with a pitiful expression, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Please, don't bully me..."

Jiang Qian licked the corner of his mouth, his expression blank.

He reached out and shut the bedroom door. "You shouldn't have said that. Now, brother wants to bully you even more."

As he spoke, he walked forward, clamped onto the girl's slender wrists, pulled her straight, and pressed her down onto the bed. Well, even Jiang Qian couldn't say why he chose that position.

"Ah~!"

The girl let out a startled cry, her chest heaving violently in fear, her cheeks flushed with a mix of red and pink.

Her voice carried a hint of a sob. "What... what do you want to do?"

Jiang Qian curled his lips. "Anything you can imagine."

The girl was shocked!

She twisted her delicate body, bit her lip, and unconsciously squeezed her legs together...

So that's what you're thinking of... Jiang Qian watched the girl "struggling" beneath him with cold eyes, his tone slightly gloomy. "Of course, if you cooperate well, I'll consider not being so rough with you."

"Mm~ I'll tell you everything you want to know!"

After only half a round, the girl had already softened.

Her eyes were unfocused, and she was trembling.

"You scared me, don't be like this..." Before she could finish her sentence, her wrists suddenly felt loose.

She felt the body hovering over her move away...

Just as she tried to open her eyes, a coat was thrown over her head!

It was a women's knit cardigan, her own, which had been hanging on the coat rack by the closet earlier.

The girl pulled at the coat covering her vision in a slight panic, hastily held it against her chest, and looked at the intruder with a mix of surprise and vigilance.

By this time, Jiang Qian had already sat down in the desk chair two meters away.

He said straightforwardly, "Let's talk. The Super-Species World, License Holders, and your purpose in dragging me into the game."

Jinping Public Security Bureau.

Special Affairs Center - Operations Department.

More than a dozen people gathered in a solemn long-table conference room. The man at the head of the table looked like a businessman, wearing a blue-striped suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and a meticulously groomed beard that added to his scholarly temperament.

He was Lan Junxian, the head of the East Sea "Peacock Spider Task Force."

Seated there were twelve "elite soldiers" borrowed from the Jinping Special Service Center.

They were a mix of men and women, and aside from the small red shoulder patches they all wore, they did not wear uniform attire. Yet, each of them looked highly capable and full of confidence.

"Xiao Jing, begin."

"Yes."

The British-style girl wearing a beret began to skillfully operate the projector.

On the large screen behind Lan Junxian, a set of bloody photos was immediately displayed...

Brutal hunts, exposed corpses, and terrorist attacks that were almost artistic...

This series of visual shocks was enough to move even the twelve elites sitting around the round table!

Of course, what chilled them was not just the modus operandi, but the fact that all the victims of this cruel persecution were male. Furthermore, several of the young men were "seed players" protected by the official Ten Clans.

From the Wild Bee Tribe and the Ant Clan Alliance to the larger Predator Family—and, of course, the Deep Sea Clan to which the task force leader Lan Junxian belonged.

This showed that the killer was not only brutal but also quite arrogant.

Lan Junxian coughed lightly, his gentle expression turning sharp. "It is regrettable that the human tragedies above were all the work of a Noble Card holder who calls herself the Saintess of the Sacred Mountain. Her identity card and codename are: Peacock Spider!"

The Noble Card is the designation for the identity card of a Super-Species player who is in the "mid-stage" of the Seven-State Evolution Ladder.

In the hierarchy of Super-Species evolution, the status, power limits, and scarcity of a Noble Card are unimaginable to holders of ordinary identity cards.

Of course, above the Noble Card, there is the Divine Card. The power of the Divine is near-godlike and has transcended human affairs.

Lan Junxian's gaze slowly swept across the long table, not seeing any obvious cowardice among these elite License Holders from the north.

He had often heard that northern License Holders were brave and skilled in battle, ruthless and concise. Although their local customs were a bit fierce, they excelled in their lack of fear toward strong enemies and their first-class execution.

This put Lan Junxian slightly at ease, and he continued:

"Yes, the opponent you are about to face is just such a bloodthirsty, ruthless character. Cunning, good at disguises, and a perfectionist. She rose in the eastern coastal region, but her trail of crimes spans the entire country. She is someone everyone wants to see brought to justice."

"Fortunately, my informant has already grasped the target's whereabouts, and a comprehensive net is about to be cast."

"This operation does not require capturing her alive; you may kill her directly if necessary! The following is the intelligence we have gathered so far."

The slide changed.

A giant picture of a Peacock Spider appeared before everyone.

As Lan Junxian began his "teaching mode" on the screen, someone below started muttering, "She's killed so many people, how is it that there isn't even a portrait?"

"I guess everyone who's seen her is dead," the person next to them whispered.

"Tch, such a dangerous person, and they only reveal the details to the north when things have come to a head..." someone complained in a low voice.

"Hey, brother, the danger is in our territory now, keep it down."

Hearing the whispering below, Lan Junxian stopped speaking, his deep gaze sweeping over the elites present.

"Colleagues, if you have any questions, feel free to speak plainly."

At the end of the day, he had no direct subordinate relationship with these borrowed colleagues, and their ways of thinking and working styles needed to be reconciled.

It was better to air disagreements before the operation and resolve them rationally than to hold conflicting opinions during the mission and cause internal friction.

Moreover, he was well aware of the underlying reasons for the "disagreements" raised by the questioners.

The East Sea Branch was responsible for the eastern coastal region and the eastern sea areas, and there was very limited information exchange with the Jinping Branch, which belonged to the northern region.

This situation was not determined by individuals but was caused by the official management system regarding "special public security."

With the capital as the coordinator, the four major branches managed "special public security" affairs in their respective jurisdictions:

The Jinping Branch, with Jinping City as its core, mainly coordinated and managed the northern region. The representative color of its shoulder patch was the red of a rising sun.

The East Sea Branch, with East Sea City as its core, coordinated and managed the eastern inland and coastal cities and sea areas. The representative color of its shoulder patch was the deep-sea azure.

The Shen-Guang Branch, with the cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou as its core, coordinated and managed the southern inland and coastal cities and sea areas. The representative color of its shoulder patch was the vibrant green of life.

The Chuan-Zang Branch, with the city of Chongqing as its core, coordinated and managed the vast region of western plains and mountains. The representative color of its shoulder patch was the gold of sunset glow.

Above the four major branches was the Special Public Security Headquarters, located in the capital.

The chain of command and responsibility was: Capital Headquarters - Regional Branch (Level 2) - City Branch (Level 3).

All cases requiring coordination between major regions—that is, between Level 2 branches—generally required unified coordination and arrangement by the Capital Headquarters to be implemented in an orderly manner based on a global perspective.

This was the system.

However, everything has two sides. While the system's global perspective was harmonious and stable, it lacked flexibility.

For instance, this time, Lan Junxian's work in traveling inland to track the Peacock Spider case was carried out under these conditions. He could not bring his own team directly; he could only continue to track the case through borrowed cooperation because this was not his jurisdiction.

At this moment, the conference room fell silent.

Everyone was a bit unsure of the temperament of this East Sea task force leader, so they hesitated to respond.

It wasn't until a colleague raised his hand in a friendly and well-meaning manner that the agonizing silence of the meeting was broken.

"Please, go ahead."

Lan Junxian adjusted his glasses, revealing a humble and easygoing smile.

By now, the questioner had already stood up. "I've heard that the Peacock Spider has always been active in the coastal areas. What is the reason for her moving north inland? The task force should have some judgment on this point, right?"

That was a tall, round-bodied middle-aged man with a potbelly.

He belonged to the Special Affairs Center - Operations Department Team 3 and was the current captain of Team 3.

Lan Junxian rarely showed an expression of appreciation, maintaining his smile. "Captain Xiong has hit the nail on the head! This is exactly what I was about to say. Indeed, we do have some immature inferences regarding the target's purpose for moving north this time..."

Experimental Middle School Staff Quarters.

Inside the girl's bedroom.

Jiang Qian sat astride the desk chair by the bed, his arms resting casually on the back of the chair, his deep gaze appraising the young girl kneeling on the bed.

"So, you dragged me into the Super-Species World to offset your 'debt' in the instance? Only if I clear the instance can you be safe?"

The girl wrapped the knit cardigan tighter around herself and nodded cautiously. "Yes."

According to the girl's description, she had failed in her last instance, and the cost was so high that it endangered her life. Therefore, she made a deal with the instance world to pay off her debt by sending out invitations...

According to her confession, this was a unique ability of her identity card; others did not possess it and were unaware of it.

Jiang Qian remained skeptical of this explanation.

However, he still believed this was a valuable piece of information: the uniqueness of identity cards.

He wondered if his ability to obtain "dual cards" was also based on some special talent.

He needed to learn more—systematic and comprehensive knowledge about identity cards and the Super-Species World.

Regardless, the girl before him was a good source of information.

"Why choose me?"

Jiang Qian weighed his words to advance the current communication.

At the same time, he calculated in his heart: since the girl could send out invitations to "recruit" Super-Species players, could she also decide which trial instance they were matched with?

It was necessary to clarify this point; he was very curious whether being matched with "Whispers of the Inner Demon" was due to his own bad luck or if the girl had done it intentionally.

To his surprise, upon hearing Jiang Qian's question, the girl froze, her eyes darting away for a split second.

Immediately, ripples began to form in the depths of her eyes.

She's going to start acting now, isn't she... Jiang Qian didn't give her the chance to perform and continued to ask, "If I hadn't cleared the instance, what would have happened to you?"

Jiang Qian stared at the girl calmly, not missing any of her subtle reactions.

"Would you have been buried with me, or would you have continued to pick the next scapegoat?"

The girl's eyes filled with tears, and her gaze revealed a great deal of struggle. She got off the bed, knelt on the floor with her bare legs, and looked up at Jiang Qian with a pitiful, pale face. "I don't want to die..."

This was a tacit admission.

Jiang Qian's gaze was cold. "You and I shouldn't have any grievances, right?"

"No, it's not a grievance!"

Tears fell one by one from the girl's eyelids. She was clearly trying hard to restrain herself, but she couldn't stop the surging mix of grievance and agitation in her heart. "I came to find Brother Jiang because... only you have this ability!"

"?"

The girl's shoulders twitched, her voice soft, but her words were clear. "An invitation from the Super-Species World could be a disaster for anyone. Only by handing it to someone capable of mastering it can they gain power and open up a new destiny!"

"Brother Jiang has a flexible mind, is wiser than others, and is very good at math and logic. I believe that if it were you, no matter how difficult the trial instance you were matched with, you would definitely be able to survive and obtain an identity card! That's why I begged my mother to take me to your house to see you..."

"You trust me so much, it makes me feel uneasy." Jiang Qian's lips twitched imperceptibly.

"It's true!"

The girl took the opportunity to move closer, her small hands resting on Jiang Qian's knees. "Brother Jiang is the smartest boy I've ever met! You have a better chance of touching the divine gift than most people I've seen. You are a natural player!"

"Stop, don't act." Jiang Qian stared at the small hands clinging to his leg.

But the girl's restless hands moved up along Jiang Qian's leg. Her eyes were infatuated, and she leaned forward.

The spring scenery within her open cardigan was enchanting, the contours of her cherries faintly visible.

While Jiang Qian was distracted, a pair of small hands had already climbed onto his arm. "Brother Jiang, what instance were you matched with?"