Black Kirin's Influence

"God, this is awful."

Gu Jianlin pressed a hand to his forehead, sighed as though resigning himself to fate, and walked out of the lounge.

Su Youzhu was already sitting outside waiting for him. She had probably rushed out in a hurry, her hair tied into a simple bun with several stray locks sticking up from the top of her head. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt and pink pajama pants.

A pair of pink pig slippers exposed her delicate little toes, painted with black nail polish.

She fiddled with her keys and phone. Even with a face mask on, it was obvious that she did not look well.

When Gu Jianlin came out, she turned her head, and their eyes met.

It was awkward. He knew he did not look good right now, covered in blood and dust.

He looked utterly miserable.

Su Youzhu stared at him. "What date is it today?"

Gu Jianlin did not understand what she meant. "April sixth."

Su Youzhu said with a straight face, "I keep feeling like I traveled back four months..."

It had still been winter then. Mom had suddenly received a phone call saying that her son had been in a car accident and was in critical condition. It had frightened her so badly that she had rushed out without even putting on shoes, hailed a cab, and headed straight to the hospital.

Su Youzhu and her father had no choice but to follow. At the hospital, they saw the boy being wheeled into the operating room.

Back then, he had looked exactly like this—too horrible to bear.

They had thought that after more than four months of recovery, he had finally been nursed back to health.

Who would have thought that in just one morning, he would end up in such a miserable state again?

Gu Jianlin did not know how to explain himself. Although this girl was his sister in name, she inexplicably made him feel as though he had acquired a second mother, especially when she looked at him with that icy expression.

"An accident happened."

That was the only stiff explanation he could offer.

Su Youzhu's gaze gradually turned cold. "An accident?"

She thought he looked like he had just crawled out of a trench.

Gu Jianlin emphasized, "It really was an accident."

At that moment, an agent in charge of recording case files passed by and helped explain what had happened.

It had to be said that everything Lu Zicheng had said was true. After the agents of the East Sea Road Police Station drank the Mind-Beguiling Tea, they had all been hypnotized and reached an absurd conclusion regarding the incident beneath the overpass.

In their understanding, it had been a deliberate act of retaliation by the criminal suspect's accomplices.

They had driven there, abducted the family members of public servants, and attempted to harm them, only to lose control during the struggle and overturn the car.

In the end, they had been rescued by two Interpol officers.

Perfectly reasonable.

There were no supernatural elements involved at all.

Because Professor Gu had solved the case, the criminals' accomplices had borne a grudge and come to retaliate against his family.

After listening quietly for a moment, Su Youzhu gave a small hum. "Thank you. I understand."

Then she turned back to the boy. "Do your wounds still hurt?"

Gu Jianlin shook his head. "They're fine. They've already been bandaged, and I can't really feel anything."

The Ether Association's medicine for external injuries was quite effective. Whether it could truly heal injuries that quickly was another matter, but it immediately numbed the pain after being applied, far more effectively than ordinary anesthetics.

"Next time, just ask me to go with you."

There was no emotion visible on Su Youzhu's face. She picked up her phone and stood, saying calmly, "Are there still statements or anything else to deal with? I'll call a cab outside first. We can talk when we get home."

Gu Jianlin watched her retreating figure and was rather glad he had not called her along today.

Otherwise, he would have dragged this innocent girl into it.

Yet hearing the word home stirred him again.

He did not know whether he should return to that new home.

It was a house Mom and Uncle Su had bought by pouring all their savings into it. It was also the family rebuilt by two people who had both gone through broken marriages. Though they had not been childhood sweethearts, they lived happily together and had two beautiful daughters.

Gu Jianlin had always felt that the home did not belong to him.

Merely staying there temporarily was already pushing it. He absolutely could not bring them any more trouble.

What unnerved him most was that Fallen could now come knocking at his door for him!

Who knew what would happen in the future?

At that moment, Lu Zicheng walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said unhurriedly, "Don't worry. As long as you become a member of the Ether Association, your family's safety will naturally be guaranteed. Under Deep Sky's protection network, people like Li Changzhi would be caught before they even came within five kilometers of your home."

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second. "Deep Sky?"

"Mm. It's a new technology excavated from an ancient tomb in Egypt fifteen years ago. Have you heard of the Emerald Tablet? In the field of alchemy, this world is composed of the four great elements—earth, air, water, and fire—as well as the fifth element, ether."

Ether represented humanity's spirit and consciousness, and they had applied it to the field of supercomputers.

Lu Zicheng explained, "Once you become a member of the Ether Association, you'll receive permission to access the Deep Web. The Deep Web will also use space satellites to closely monitor the ten-kilometer radius around your home. It has an independent algorithm that automatically identifies the permanent residents, transient personnel, outsiders, and so on within that area."

"It then automatically tags their identities, retrieves each person's records, and analyzes their threat level through factors such as gender, personality, age, occupation, and past experiences."

He spread his hands. "Doesn't that sound reassuring?"

Gu Jianlin had to admit it. "Are you selling me a fantasy?"

"More or less."

However, Lu Zicheng's next sentence left him dumbfounded. "Of course, none of that is much use. If an Ascender really wants to come after you, they have plenty of ways to evade the Deep Web."

Gu Jianlin: "..."

That was a nice fantasy. Don't sell it again next time.

"Deep Sky's surveillance may be tight, but it isn't omnipotent."

Lu Zicheng smiled. "Still, we'll send suitable people to protect your family."

Gu Jianlin understood. "They're all Ascenders?"

"More or less. In any case, joining the Ether Association is better than being an unaffiliated Ascender out there. First of all, even if you're a self-awakened Ascender and can obtain a Path inheritance on your own, what about your future advancement? What about the resources needed for Ascender promotion? Without an official identity, every action you take is dangerous."

Lu Zicheng shrugged. "And how are you supposed to protect your family?"

He raised a finger and pointed toward the graceful figure outside the police station entrance.

Gu Jianlin fell silent for a second. "All right. I'll join."

Lu Zicheng's smile grew even broader. "That's more like it. Would I ever harm you? Back then, I was one of your father's prized students. This time, I'll be the one guiding you. You could call it a kind of inheritance!"

Something stirred in Gu Jianlin's heart. "Were you close with my dad? What kind of person was he?"

Lu Zicheng froze. "Uh, I suppose so. As for what kind of person your dad was, don't you know?"

Gu Jianlin smiled soundlessly. "Actually, I don't think I understood him at all."

Lu Zicheng glanced at him and said meaningfully, "Don't think like that. Whether your father was an Ascender or a profiler at a police station, he was still your father, wasn't he? Maybe he had another side to him, but the side he showed you was real too. The divide between extraordinary people and ordinary people isn't as stark as you think."

Gu Jianlin savored those words carefully and fell into thought.

Then Detective Zhou came out of the office, cursing loudly. "Little Gu, do you need to go to the hospital and get checked again? Damn it, those bastards! Don't worry. Give me half a month, and I'll arrest every last one of those scumbags and make them spend the rest of their lives repenting behind bars!"

When he said this, he looked furious, his tone stern and his emotions agitated.

It was the first time Gu Jianlin had seen him like this, and he was a little stunned.

Detective Zhou usually had dark circles beneath his eyes, bloodshot eyes, and an exhausted expression.

But now, he was incredibly fired up, like a bull with nowhere to vent its energy.

"Besides hypnosis, the Mind-Beguiling Tea is also very nourishing for the mind. Detective Zhou looked a bit depleted, so I had Chen Qing add a little extra to his coffee. As a result, he's a little overexcited now."

Lu Zicheng lowered his voice behind him.

Gu Jianlin suddenly understood. This Mind-Beguiling Tea seemed quite effective.

At least Detective Zhou was full of vigor now, his eyes gleaming sharply without a trace of fatigue.

"You're hurt this badly, so there's no need to make another statement. Go sign the case report for your dad's case, then go home and get some proper rest. Little Gu, don't worry. Uncle Zhou will arrange dedicated agents for your neighborhood to protect you around the clock. Damn it, those bastards really dared to mess with me? They clearly don't take their grandpa seriously!"

Detective Zhou stood with his hands on his hips, looking imposing.

At two-thirty in the afternoon, Gu Jianlin returned home once more.

He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and collapsed onto the sofa, looking completely exhausted.

He truly was tired. The successive emergencies over the past few days had kept him in a state of constant vigilance, and in the end, he had desperately fought back and killed an out-of-control Fallen on the overpass.

It had been thrilling and dangerous.

Before this, let alone firing a gun or using a car to ram someone—

The only living things he had ever killed were mosquitoes.

But he had to admit that he was genuinely talented in this regard, and ruthless enough too.

Put an ordinary minor in his place, and they would probably have wet themselves on the spot.

Yet when Gu Jianlin recalled the scene again, only one thought remained in his mind.

I should have been more ruthless.

He did not know what was happening. It was as though the Black Kirin in his mind was influencing him.

Hunger and rage, those two intense feelings, were eroding him at every moment.

A rich fragrance drifted out from the kitchen, accompanied by the crisp crackling of sizzling oil.

Su Youzhu was making lunch.

Ever since they had taken a cab home, the girl had barely spoken to him. Up until now, she had only said three things.

"Get some rest."

"Are you hungry?"

"I'll make food."

Gu Jianlin felt inexplicably guilty around her, as though he had caused trouble at school as a child and been brought home by his mother.

He felt uneasy, afraid of being scolded.

Gu Jianlin shook his head, dispelling those unrealistic thoughts as he stared blankly out the window.

The problem now was that Old Gu had done something before his death and left behind a complete mess.

Four months later, an enemy had come looking for him.

And it was a Fallen.

"This Fallen should be like the five people who broke into the ancient tomb, but not as strong as them."

Gu Jianlin instinctively sensed danger, but he did not even have an inheritance Path yet, much less any combat ability.

No, that was not right.

He actually did.

If only he could return to the state he had been in inside that ancient tomb.

For now, though, aside from being able to see that black Qilin while profiling himself—

He had no other abnormalities, nor any supernatural abilities.

What should I do? I don't know whether I can return to that ancient tomb, and there are also the five people who entered the burial chamber.

Gu Jianlin rubbed his brow. Even if I became a Qilin, I didn't inherit Its full power. Instead, I have to level up bit by bit. I don't know whether I'll return to that ancient tomb. What if those five people come in separately next time? After what happened last time, they might not dare attack me. They may plan to use offerings to trade with me instead...

The black BMW sped beneath the dim yellow sunlight, faint pop music playing in the car.

Lu Zicheng had a cigarette between his lips, while a green-feathered Parrot stood on his shoulder. He stared ahead at the road expressionlessly, his gaze indifferent.

"Chen Qing, don't you think this is a little strange?"

He said flatly, "Even if Professor Gu did those things, his family should still be within our protection range. Feng City is under my sister's jurisdiction, so logically, she should be fully responsible for this. But I just checked that neighborhood, and the security detail has been withdrawn."

Chen Qing frowned and shook her head. "Withdrawn? That doesn't sound right."

"Given my sister's relationship with Professor Gu, it really doesn't make sense. There is only one exception."

Lu Zicheng said calmly, "Little Gu has an expert protecting him, so there is naturally no need for a security team."

Chen Qing was silent for a moment before saying doubtfully, "I didn't sense anyone."

She was on the Witch Path, an exceptionally capable support class.

"That person probably has some method of blocking perception. I only vaguely sensed that someone like that was there."

Lu Zicheng took a drag on his cigarette and waved a hand. "I'll ask my sister about it later."

Chen Qing gave a quiet hum and did not ask further.

"I'm more curious about which inheritance Path Little Gu will awaken after he observes the Kirin Immortal Palace tonight."

Lu Zicheng suddenly said, "What do you think?"

Chen Qing said calmly, "Based on the spiritual characteristics contained within the Kirin Immortal Palace, there can be no more than four ancient Paths: Ancient Martial Arts, Celestial Master, Divine Priest, and Overlord. It depends on his affinity, I suppose?"