第20章 返校日

Gu Jianlin fell into deep thought as he felt the pale ghost fire burning on the five fingers of his right hand.

"The spiritual energy consumed remains the same, yet the output of my transcendent ability has doubled. Is this because I am human, yet possess the soul of an Ancient God?"

"The benefits brought by the Kirin likely don't end there, because I am currently in my human state, not like I was back in the ancient tomb..."

"There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Aside from my own advancement, I have to divert half of it to feed the Black Kirin. It's truly a death sentence."

He had no idea how many more resources this would burn through.

He had grown somewhat accustomed to the existence of the Black Kirin by now.

In reality, the Black Kirin was one with him.

The sensation was bizarre, as if another personality had split off within his body.

A personality as majestic and furious as a monarch.

Gu Jianlin was certain that this had no impact on his own self.

When he used profiling before, he could also see parts of other people's lives, experiencing them as if he were there himself.

The more he saw, the more he understood.

As the saying goes, the more one understands, the less happy one becomes.

This did indeed place some burden on his mental state.

Fortunately, his temperament was indifferent; he was not easily swayed by emotions and could regulate himself.

In the end, it only made him increasingly taciturn, making it difficult for him to find joy.

In other words, he was prone to depression.

When his father first taught him profiling, he had warned him that one must know when to stop.

However, whether it was in the ancient tomb or under the viaduct, whenever the Black Kirin in his consciousness awakened, there was a sense of split personality.

"Li Changzhi took me away because he wanted to get Old Gu's relics from me, but he didn't leave me anything before he died, except for that mysterious Kirin Mask. It turned me into what I am now."

Gu Jianlin felt his speculation was absurd, yet it wasn't without logic.

Now, whenever he used profiling on himself, he could basically see two images.

One was the image of the Divine Priest.

The other was the image of the Black Kirin.

Now that the Black Kirin was being nourished by spiritual energy, its state had improved significantly.

"If I encounter any danger, I wonder if I can emit those strange syllables again, just like in the ancient tomb..."

As long as he could use that power again, this assessment mission would be secure. He could eliminate those Fallen and ensure his safety.

He extinguished the ghost fire on his right hand and put on the test bracelet from the Deep Sky network.

The black bracelet lit up with a green light, emitted two beeps, and produced a human-like mechanical voice.

"Rank: Zero! Spiritual accumulation: 25%!"

Gu Jianlin thought as expected. He had been able to obtain three portions of Spirit Potion at once because of his status as an autonomous Ascender and the reward for hunting a First-Rank Fallen. Under normal circumstances, this would allow a person to complete half of their current stage's accumulation.

An ordinary newcomer would have at most one bottle.

Yet, because of the Black Kirin, he had used three whole bottles of potion and only completed a quarter of his spiritual accumulation.

The road ahead was long and arduous.

Gu Jianlin pulled out the safe from under his bed. The box was surprisingly high-tech, capable of eyeball recognition.

"Reserve Investigator, Gu Jianlin."

"Welcome to Deep Sky Technology!"

The safe opened automatically, and a golden Desert Eagle lay inside.

It was also equipped with a full hundred bullets that shone like gold.

"A Desert Eagle, the kind of thing that's everywhere in novels and movies, but..."

Gu Jianlin grabbed the Desert Eagle and carefully observed the patterns on the gun body.

He felt as if he could see the scorching fire, the molten iron, the complex and profound patterns, and hear the roar of machinery.

Hmm, this was mass-produced, but it was not a simple craft.

Alchemy!

Gu Jianlin was still a newcomer and knew nothing about alchemy.

But from what he had learned on the Deep Sky network, the most common equipment for Ascenders was Alchemy Armament.

Without exception, they were all products of alchemy.

As for the higher-tier Mythic Armament, that was something one could only hope for but never seek.

Gu Jianlin took the Desert Eagle and the box of bullets, grabbed a set of new clothes, and quickly pushed the door open to slip into the bathroom.

He took a shower, changed into a loose white short-sleeved shirt, tightened his belt, and put on his jeans.

Gu Jianlin took out the magazine of the Desert Eagle, loaded the bullets one by one, and reinserted it.

Seven bullets were in the magazine.

He put the other box of bullets into his pocket.

Finally, he tucked the Desert Eagle into his waistband and covered it with the hem of his shirt.

If he put on his school uniform, it would be completely invisible.

He felt a great sense of security.

He looked in the mirror again and brushed his bangs down, just enough to cover his forehead.

Without the bandages and gauze, his mother wouldn't be able to tell he was injured.

He could also manage to hide it from Youzhu.

Gu Jianlin returned to his room, put the empty reagent bottles into a delivery box, and planned to throw them out.

However, to be safe, he grabbed a lighter, ran to the roof, and burned them directly.

That way, there would be no traces left.

He was busy until 5:30 in the afternoon. Today was the day to return to school, and he would have to head back soon.

At dusk, Su Youzhu had already finished her makeup and come out wearing her school uniform.

As soon as the girl came out, she peered into the next room, looking left and right.

She looked at the clean, tidy, and odorless bedroom, especially the empty trash can, and fell into deep thought: "You cleaned up quite well."

Gu Jianlin was sitting at his computer desk browsing the Deep Sky network and asked blankly, "What?"

Su Youzhu didn't answer, but instead looked around expressionlessly and asked curiously, "Where did you hide your things?"

"Huh?"

Gu Jianlin's head was full of question marks.

About five minutes later, the sound of the door lock turning echoed; it must have been his mother and Uncle Su returning.

Gu Jianlin and Su Youzhu exchanged a glance and entered a state of combat readiness with great tacit understanding.

The door opened, and the couple walked in carrying large and small bags, mostly local specialties from their hometown in Jiaoxi.

His mother was forty-two this year, but she was well-maintained and looked like she was in her thirties. She dressed quite fashionably and was a pretty older woman.

She now ran a nail salon with a considerable income.

Uncle Su was a supervisor at a foreign company. It was said that he had been a soldier in his early years, and his personality was meticulous, serious, and earnest.

He was quite fond of Gu Jianlin.

After all, Gu Jianlin had good grades, no bad habits, lived a disciplined life every day, and could even work to support his studies.

Uncle Su, a former soldier, felt as if he saw his own shadow from back then.

As for the two sisters, it was different; both were troubled girls, and he had heard they had been spanked quite a bit growing up.

"Xiaolin, Zhuzhu! Come out, come out! I brought you some food from home. Remember to take it back to school. You won't be able to come home for another week, and the food in your school cafeteria is so bad that even a dog would shake its head at it," his mother said as she entered the door, hands on her hips.

Uncle Su went straight into the kitchen and came out holding a broom.

"Youzhu, come here! Bring me your homework and let me see it."

Su Youzhu obediently took out her homework, walked to the living room, and handed it over.

Gu Jianlin followed behind her, looking at the broom in Uncle Su's hand, and clicked his tongue inwardly.

"Hmm."

Uncle Su checked the homework and showed a satisfied expression. He turned his head and asked, "Xiaolin, you didn't let her copy yours, did you? I'm telling you, even though she's your sister, she's not your biological sister. You can't spoil her too much."

At this moment, Gu Jianlin noticed the look in the girl's eyes beside him and quickly said, "It would be a bit of a grievance to say she copied. She has been studying quite hard lately. I've been watching her do every single problem."

Su Youzhu remained expressionless, but she was clearly relieved.

At this moment, his mother smiled and took out a rolling pin, placing it on the table.

Gu Jianlin's body stiffened.

"Zhuzhu, tell me, your brother hasn't been running around these past two days, has he?"

His mother squinted, but her eyes were dangerous.

Su Youzhu glanced at her brother and said calmly, "No, he's been helping me with my homework these past two days."

His mother and Uncle Su nodded with satisfaction, feeling that their education of their children had been effective.

"Not bad, not bad. Go to school."

His mother weighed the rolling pin and gave the order.

Gu Jianlin: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, right, right, right."

"Youzhu, your brother's injury just healed, take care of him. Study hard at school and don't slack off."

Uncle Su said sternly, "Otherwise, I'll break your legs."

Su Youzhu: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, right, right, right."

The taxi drove on the viaduct, stuck in the surging traffic.

Gu Jianlin sat in the back seat, looking out at the coastline under the night sky.

On his phone screen was the personal information of the Joker.

"Name: John Berger."

"Rank: First-Rank Fallen, Magician Path."

"Identity information: Forty-six years old, Hispanic male, parents died early, lived in an orphanage since childhood. After being detected with Ascender aptitude, he attended Missours University, double master's degree in philosophy and ancient engineering. Half a year ago, he participated in the Kirin Immortal Palace Project, serving as a dimension inspector."

"Four months ago, his mind was corrupted. He murdered two colleagues, then got involved in the Blood Moon Massacre, was severely wounded by the rampaging Gu Ci'an, and fled the scene in critical condition. He used his identity credentials overnight to steal two Mythic Armaments that had not yet been shipped to the warehouse. He has since killed fifty-seven people and remains at large!"

"Relying on the effects of the Mythic Armament, this person likely possesses some form of concealment or disguise ability. There are currently no known means or abilities to accurately locate his position."

"Note: This person may possess gene mutation abilities; please be extremely careful."

The most critical part was the transcendent abilities possessed by a Magician!

Danger Prediction.

Card Blade.

Hypnosis.

Teleportation.

Death Illusion.

These were all the abilities of the Magician Path in the first three stages.

The Deep Sky network had already made them public.

Considering that the Joker became a Fallen four months ago, he might have already advanced by now.

His combat power would fluctuate, but it was unlikely to exceed the Third Rank.

Gu Jianlin didn't know how to deal with this person, or where to find teammates to participate in this mission.

Because Lu Zicheng basically hadn't told him anything else.

Considering the girl's safety, Gu Jianlin decided to stay with her.

He wanted to prevent the Ether Association from making a mistake that would lead to her being kidnapped and used to coerce him.

On the contrary, as long as he stayed close to her, there wouldn't be much need to target her.

After all, the opponent's target was him.

And they wanted to get the things his father had left behind from him.

Su Youzhu looked at him suspiciously and said quietly, "You're really pushing it, you even took off the bandages?"

Gu Jianlin coughed, fortunately, his bangs were long enough to cover his forehead, making it basically invisible.

"Do you need to go to the pharmacy later to buy some medicine and put it back on?"

Su Youzhu asked seriously.

Gu Jianlin said, "No need, I bought some in advance, I'll handle it myself when I get back."

Su Youzhu didn't say anything more and leaned against the car window, lost in thought.

Just then, her phone vibrated, and a call came in from an unsaved number.

She thought it was the delivery guy and answered out of habit: "Hello, hello."

Gu Jianlin, however, heard a pleasant, slightly hesitant female voice on the phone.

"You, Youzhu? How have you been lately? Mom is..."

The communication stopped abruptly.

Su Youzhu hung up the phone expressionlessly and then blocked the number.

Gu Jianlin's heart stirred: "Is that your biological mother?"

Su Youzhu glanced at him, her voice cold: "What biological mother? I only have one mother. That person just dialed the wrong number."

Gu Jianlin thought to himself that this was truly lying through her teeth; how could someone who dialed the wrong number call out your name?

However, everyone had their own worries.

He himself was the type of person whose heavy heart could be seen at a glance.

He had no right to point fingers at others.

Tonight was the last day of the Qingming holiday, and the road was jammed with cars.

By the time they arrived at Fengcheng No. 2 High School, it was already fifteen minutes past the return time.

Gu Jianlin and Su Youzhu grabbed their luggage and hurried off the car.

The rule at Fengcheng No. 2 High School was that classes were reorganized every year, so by their senior year, the two of them were in the same class.

Their homeroom teacher, Old Wang, was the school's dean of students, known for his legendary severity.

With his signature War Roar, he struck fear into the hearts of students across the entire city.

Anyone who fell into his hands was simply out of luck.

By the time the siblings returned to the dormitory to drop off their luggage and rushed over to the teaching building, everyone else in the class had already arrived.

However, at the classroom door, there was no sign of that familiar, short, stout, and furious figure.

There was no War Roar, either.

Instead, a strange young man wearing glasses stood at the entrance, watching them with a smile.

"Late?"

The man adjusted his glasses and chuckled, "I am the new teacher, Mr. Lu. Your Mr. Wang is on leave, and I am here to substitute for a few days. Young lady, you go in first. Young man, stay behind and tell me why you're late."

Su Youzhu was stunned. As a poor student who even dyed her hair a light cyan, she was the one who should have been singled out.

She turned her head to cast a sympathetic glance at her brother before heading into the classroom.

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second. For some reason, this voice sounded familiar, so he scrutinized the man in front of him.

"Heh, you're quite sharp, kid."

The man tugged at his own face, actually peeling off a piece of synthetic skin to reveal a familiar half-face.

"It's me, Lu Zicheng."

Gu Jianlin was shocked and speechless, "Why is it you? What about Old Wang?"

"I'm here to carry out a mission at your school."

Lu Zicheng smiled, "As for your original homeroom teacher, he is indeed on leave."

Gu Jianlin frowned and asked, "Really? Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"

Lu Zicheng shrugged, "Of course I'm the one who made him take the leave. I sent someone to coordinate with the school and gave him a week of paid leave with triple his salary, so he gladly agreed. Your homeroom teacher is quite interesting; before he left, he even asked if he should just eat a pile of shit, otherwise, he wouldn't feel right taking the money..."