Impossible, Absolutely Impossible!

At 7:30 p.m., the hospital room was brightly lit.

Gu Jianlin leaned against the head of the bed, took a sip of cola, and looked down at his phone.

On Deep Sky Network's official interface, Taixu spoke in a sultry voice. "The Ether Association has officially confirmed that you successfully hunted a second-tier Fallen, codename Joker. Your assessment mission is complete. Your personal information is being updated. Please wait."

With a ding, his information was updated.

Gu Jianlin's personal information appeared on the screen.

"Name: Gu Jianlin."

"Sex: Male."

"Blood type: O."

"Date of birth: August 13, 20xx."

"Talent classification: Self-Evolving."

"Legacy Path: Divine Priest."

"Rank: Zero."

"Merit: 3,100."

"Position: Grade D Investigator."

Only then did he finally relax.

Chen Qing inserted the needle into the back of his hand and carefully secured it with tape. She hesitated for a moment. "Why does this feel so familiar? The last time I treated your injuries was... well, last time."

The cool, mature beauty wore a helpless expression.

Gu Jianlin felt a little awkward. Ever since he'd entered the supernatural world, getting hurt seemed to have become part of his daily routine.

Chen Qing said softly, "I heard you found Joker yourself, and even fought him for a long time before the action team arrived. That was dangerous."

"I just didn't want to put my life and my family's safety in someone else's hands," Gu Jianlin said calmly. "Besides, don't I get a reward for killing Joker myself? I need those."

He looked down at his right hand.

A silver-white chain was wrapped around his wrist, with a black bell hanging from the end.

The Non-Existent Lock. The Soul-Pacifying Bell.

Two Mythic Armaments.

One was stolen, and the other was stolen too.

It felt strangely satisfying.

According to the information on Deep Sky Network, every Mythic Armament had a passive effect.

The Non-Existent Lock's passive effect allowed it to conceal the supernatural properties of any living being or object it touched.

The Soul-Pacifying Bell's passive effect was to warn its bearer in advance whenever they were targeted by spiritual perception or an attack.

After his spiritual energy had taken control of the two Mythic Armaments, he had naturally understood what they did.

The Non-Existent Lock, of course, went without saying.

As long as Gu Jianlin wished, he would seem like an ordinary person to anyone sensing him mentally, with no supernatural traits whatsoever.

People could see his two Mythic Armaments, but to them, they would look like nothing more than ordinary objects.

As for the Soul-Pacifying Bell, it could help him avoid many forms of assassination.

"Anyway, thanks for all your hard work. Did you get the answers you wanted from Joker?" Chen Qing asked seriously.

Gu Jianlin thought about it. "More or less."

At the very least, he'd gotten the Mythic Armaments.

And he could interrogate Joker's soul, too.

"That's good."

Chen Qing's cool expression took on a meaningful look. "For a zero-rank Divine Priest and a Grade D Investigator, you're quite wealthy now. You have over three thousand merit points, enough to exchange for plenty of resources. And those two Mythic Armaments are your spoils of war."

As she spoke, a hint of envy crept into her voice despite her efforts to hide it.

Gu Jianlin had indeed seen the merit exchange page on Deep Sky Network.

"Are Mythic Armaments really that rare?" he asked curiously.

Chen Qing gave him a strange look and explained, "What did you expect? Take the young master, for example. He's a fourth-rank Mad King on the Ancient Martial Arts Path, and the Lu Family is one of the major families in our country. Yet he still doesn't have a single Mythic Armament. They're not only rare, but also very difficult to contain."

Gu Jianlin furrowed his brow. When he'd seized control of the two Mythic Armaments, he hadn't run into any containment requirements.

The Qilin's power had probably given him a helping hand.

"Keep them safe and put them to good use. No matter who comes to you or what they offer, don't agree to anything. Now that you have Mythic Armaments that can conceal your presence, it'll be hard for ordinary people to target you."

Chen Qing spoke pointedly.

"Will anyone try to take them from me?" Gu Jianlin asked.

"Of course. They're Mythic Armaments—how could people not be tempted? The Yan Family and the Tribunal must be hurting right now, for instance."

Chen Qing said coolly, "But your talent and strength have already been recognized, so the Tribunal can't say much. Unless you decide those Mythic Armaments aren't right for you, in which case they'll probably offer you something else in exchange."

So that was it, Gu Jianlin thought. "What kind of department is the Tribunal?"

Chen Qing folded her arms over her chest, crossing her long legs in black stockings. "The Tribunal is currently the most powerful faction within the Ether Association. Your father caused the Blood Moon Massacre, which dealt a heavy blow to the Tribunal and several of Feng City's great families. That's why they'll target you."

"The Tribunal still believes your father's corruption was caused by the Ancient God's power. They've started suspecting you, too. The young master asked me to stay here and keep an eye on you. First, to treat your injuries. Second, the Tribunal asked the medical department to give you a physical examination."

She paused. "They claim it's to make sure you weren't exposed to any mind-controlling poison, so they need to test you again."

Gu Jianlin caught the key word. "Again?"

"I can tell you now." Chen Qing hesitated. "When we returned to the country, we heard that while you were unconscious in the hospital after your car accident, people from the Tribunal tested you three times. They interfered with your recovery, too. You should've been discharged a month earlier."

"Including the person who wanted to use you as bait for this mission."

She paused. "You know that person, actually."

Gu Jianlin was stunned. "Who?"

"Deacon Nie."

Chen Qing pulled a photo up on her phone. "Have you seen him before?"

Gu Jianlin stared at the familiar face in the photo, frozen.

It was his father's best friend back then, a man who'd often visited their home when Gu Jianlin was a child.

The man had a niece, too. She and Gu Jianlin had once attended the same tutoring class.

"There's nothing to be surprised about. A lot of friendships that look sincere in this world are worthless in the end."

Chen Qing frowned. "The person coming to examine you is Lin Wanqiu, the head of the medical department. She's a fourth-rank Priest Path practitioner and closely allied with the Tribunal. If there's anything wrong with your body, she'll find it."

She suddenly grew serious. "Honestly, no one knows how you killed Joker, especially with the entire action team wiped out. If there's something we don't know, you'd better tell us now."

Gu Jianlin fell silent. Using Ancient God Transformation had left him with severe aftereffects.

His body was practically drained, and he felt a tearing pain all over, as if every cell in him were splitting apart.

His mental state was extremely unstable, and even his spiritual energy was recovering at an abnormally slow pace.

He could tell he would recover after resting for a while.

But if the medical department discovered that something was wrong, it could cause trouble.

Then he remembered something and pulled a business card from his pocket.

Worry-Free Grocery Store.

Deep Sky Technology Building.

Lu Zijin hadn't found the person behind everything that night, and the hunt was already over. There was nothing left for her to do.

The department head had returned to her desk, ordered some milk tea, and was happily sipping it.

A photo was displayed on the computer screen in front of her desk.

In the rubble, a blood-soaked boy sat on a chair, a mangled corpse lying at his feet.

The lights were so bright, yet it seemed as if they shone only on him.

His dark eyes looked like a mist-covered lake, deep and hazy.

"Not bad at all."

Lu Zijin smiled. "Taixu, how did he find Joker?"

Taixu replied calmly, "If my assessment is correct, he used his profiling talent to identify Joker accurately, based on Joker's personal records and the traces he left behind while slaughtering animals near Fengcheng No. 2 High School."

Lu Zijin had guessed as much, but she still found it hard to believe. "How did he identify him so accurately?"

"You'll have to ask Gu Jianlin himself—or Professor Gu, who's already dead."

Taixu continued, "But my guess is that he used... process of elimination."

Lu Zijin fell silent for a moment. "So he compared every single person at the school?"

"Yes. He pieced together a personality profile from the clues and information, then compared it with everyone who'd appeared in and around the school. He already knew most of the teachers at Fengcheng No. 2 High School, and students are simple enough that they're not hard to read. Given enough time, even I could do it. Gu Jianlin is more perceptive than I am, so if an Ascender showed up at the school, it would be obvious to him."

Taixu added, "Then he compared that profile with Joker's, which let him confirm his target."

Lu Zijin understood. "I see."

"Gu Jianlin even found the fighters we'd stationed at the school. That's why he dared to face Joker alone. He knew reinforcements would come."

"But he didn't expect the reinforcements inside the school to be useless, did he? What a bunch of losers."

Lu Zijin stared at the boy in the photo for a long time and murmured, "That nerve, that courage, that intelligence..."

Truthfully, even if Gu Jianlin hadn't been able to kill Joker alone, nothing would have happened to him that night.

Because Lu Zicheng was there.

Because Thunder was there.

But who could have known that the boy would be so fierce?

It seemed she'd underestimated him.

Meanwhile, Deacon Nie sat behind his desk, hands clasped together, his expression grim.

His young female secretary held a report and spoke from beside him. "Report, sir. One of the fourteen action team specialists is still in critical condition and undergoing emergency treatment. The other thirteen are out of danger."

Deacon Nie's expression remained grim, though he said, "That's a relief. What else?"

The secretary said, "Miss Nie woke up ten minutes ago."

"Good. Let her get plenty of rest."

Deacon Nie gave a slight nod. "What else?"

The secretary continued, "The accident site has been cleaned up. All supernatural traces have been erased by the relevant personnel. We'll tell the public it was a gas explosion."

"That's not what I want to hear."

Deacon Nie took a deep breath. "Was Joker really killed by Gu Jianlin?"

He rapped his knuckles hard against the desk.

Watching his expression, the secretary looked uneasy. "Yes. The matter has already been reported to headquarters, and Deep Sky Network has confirmed his assessment mission. His rating has been raised, and he's been awarded the corresponding merit. In theory, the Tribunal should even commend him."

Silence stretched for a long time. Deacon Nie rose and went to the window, forcing a smile.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

He waved his hand. "How could a zero-rank Divine Priest kill Joker alone?"

"No, it's entirely possible," the secretary said quietly. "Deep Sky's readings of the life signals show that the action team had already lost the ability to fight two minutes after joining the battle. By the time we reached the scene, five minutes had passed. That means Gu Jianlin turned the tide all by himself in the most crucial five minutes and killed Joker."

Deacon Nie turned around and stared at her expressionlessly.

The secretary didn't notice his expression. She was looking down at her tablet. "Besides, according to the assessment department's report, the action team left very few traces during the hunt..."

Deacon Nie's expression darkened. "Did they find those two Mythic Armaments?"

The secretary blinked. "No. They're probably with Gu Jianlin."

Deacon Nie swayed, his blood pressure shooting up.

Lu Zijin raised her beautiful eyes and gave him a knowing smile. "Deacon Nie, what was it you said earlier? That this was a test to help a genius grow, right? You said yourself that if the boy really killed Joker, there'd be no harm in letting him keep the two Mythic Armaments as spoils of war. You're a deacon. Surely you won't go back on your word?"

Deacon Nie clenched his fists, his heart bleeding. "I..."

"You wouldn't want the Tribunal to lose all credibility, would you?"

Lu Zijin propped her chin on her hand, her expression innocent. "Sure, he's the son of a Fallen, but he still completed the mission."

"Hah. They're just two Mythic Armaments. I wouldn't take them even if they were free."

Deacon Nie scoffed and turned to leave.

But after only a couple of steps, his eyes rolled back and he stumbled.

As the secretary cried out in alarm, he collapsed to the ground.

Lu Zijin suddenly received a phone call. "Hello? What's wrong?"

Lu Zicheng spoke up abruptly. "Sis, something seems to have happened. The Tribunal divined the presence of an Ancient God at the cafeteria in Fengcheng No. 2 High School. It wasn't Joker's. It's probably an Evolutionist. Yan Wu's taking people to the hospital now. I've asked Chen Qing to stay there and keep watch, just in case they try anything."

Lu Zijin was silent for a moment. "All right. I understand."

There's more tonight~