Outside Help

Gu Jianlin glanced at the woman and formed a rough first impression. She was the sort of woman who thought she was beautiful.

She also seemed to have considerable influence. The people standing outside appeared to be protecting her.

He could even hear the sounds of weapons and scuffling.

Gu Jianlin had no doubt that if he tried anything, those people would rush in and riddle him with bullets.

Lin Wanqiu radiated the allure of a mature, sophisticated woman. She gave him a reserved, elegant smile, her lipstick-red lips as rich as roses. Her voice was soft and alluring. "Don't be nervous. Just relax. This is only a routine physical examination. The people outside are my bodyguards. They're here to keep me safe."

She sat beside the hospital bed and casually swept her long hair aside, revealing her fair neck and delicate collarbones.

"For a new Ascender at the zero rank to kill a second-rank Fallen with the power to mutate in such a desperate situation is extremely rare in the history of the Association."

"You did very well," she said. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you," Gu Jianlin replied politely.

Lin Wanqiu studied him with curiosity, a flicker of surprise in her beautiful eyes.

As expected of Professor Gu's son.

Professor Gu had eventually been corrupted by the Ancient God's spiritual pollution, turning into an extremely dangerous Fallen and causing the Blood Moon Massacre. But there was no denying his undeniable talent before that.

And now, his son had shown remarkable potential of his own.

Regardless of anything else, his composure was rare.

Lin Wanqiu was indeed beautiful, and she knew exactly how to present herself. Most teenage boys who saw her for the first time could hardly keep their eyes off her, especially her chest, waist, hips, and legs.

As a doctor, she understood. Boys aged seventeen or eighteen were in the prime of their youth, with their minds full of sex. It was only natural.

But this boy had only glanced at her once before looking away.

Of course, perhaps he was just shy, or trying to play hard to get.

"You may have already realized that your rookie assessment was much more difficult than the usual one. Of course, it was both a trial and a reward for a genius. You proved yourself and earned an honor of your own."

Lin Wanqiu smiled as she asked, "Are the two Mythic Armaments Joker stole with you?"

"What Mythic Armaments?" Gu Jianlin replied calmly.

Lin Wanqiu didn't seem bothered. "Don't worry. They're your spoils of war. The Tribunal has already issued the paperwork officially awarding you the two Mythic Armaments."

Gu Jianlin wondered what she meant by "awarding." He'd taken them fair and square. They were his.

"However, every Mythic Armament has its own traits. If it isn't compatible with you, trying to contain it by force could put a tremendous strain on your body. Joker is a living example."

Lin Wanqiu went on, "Those two Mythic Armaments probably weren't suited for combat, and they put a tremendous strain on Joker's body. If not for that, you might not have been able to kill him."

"So?" Gu Jianlin asked.

"Many people like Joker get greedy at the lower ranks and try to wield Mythic Armaments before they're ready. In the end, they ruin themselves. So if those two Mythic Armaments aren't compatible with you, I can put in a request to exchange them for other rewards of equal value."

Gu Jianlin thought, So that's what this is about.

"Does the son of a Fallen get this kind of treatment, too?"

"Of course. Mythic Armaments are rare, but their value to you isn't that great. You could exchange them for an enormous amount of merit. At the Transcendent level—that is, from the zero to third rank—resources matter most."

Lin Wanqiu paused. "You haven't joined a team yet, have you? I can request a transfer for you to the Medical Division and have you join my team. The Priest Path is a good fit, too. I'm a fourth-rank Priest, and my deputy is a second-rank Alchemist. Do you know what that means? Among all the rookies in the Feng City branch, you'd have an unparalleled adva—"

"No, thank you," Gu Jianlin said seriously.

"All right, then..."

Lin Wanqiu stopped mid-sentence, then realized what he'd said. "Wait. What?"

She stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe he'd turned her down.

Seriously, were all rookies this stubborn these days?

He was actually rejecting a team with a Priest and an Alchemist!

"I said no, thank you. I'm the son of a Fallen. I wouldn't want to drag you into this."

Gu Jianlin repeated, "I'm joining Lu Zicheng's team."

Lu Zicheng and Chen Qing had treated him well. He wasn't going to consider anyone else.

"I know you may have some reservations about how this mission was arranged, but now's not the time to act on impulse. Do you understand what a Priest and an Alchemist bring to a team?"

Lin Wanqiu's expression settled into calm. "The Priest Path has the strongest healing abilities. And with a Priest's guidance, even the notoriously difficult Divine Priest Path is unlikely to cause you to lose control."

"There's no need to explain the importance of an Alchemist. Since the CMJ-113 Spirit Potion went out of production, potions for the Transcendent ranks have become extremely scarce. Few types are stable and free of side effects."

She emphasized each word. "Our Alchemist can make exactly that kind of potion."

Gu Jianlin said nothing.

"The Lu Family may be powerful, but I don't think they have an Alchemist who can make potions for the Transcendent ranks."

Lin Wanqiu lifted her chin. "In the world of Ascenders, resources and logistical support matter most."

"Thanks, but no," Gu Jianlin replied without hesitation.

Silence.

Lin Wanqiu took a deep breath and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her full chest rising and falling slightly.

If the boy didn't know what was good for him, she wouldn't say anything more.

"Fine. I respect your choice."

Lin Wanqiu said coolly, "Now I'll give you a physical examination."

She stood. Suddenly, a clear golden light shone in her eyes.

Before Gu Jianlin's eyes, the woman's appearance changed completely.

Golden sacred radiance enveloped her. She wore a moon-white priestly robe and a golden cross at her chest, with her hands clasped before her. Holy light filled her eyes, as if she could see through everything.

The Priest Path.

Fourth rank, Holy Mother.

Outside the hospital room, four bodyguards in black trench coats stood silently by the door.

Since the Priest Path didn't offer much in the way of combat ability, Priests usually needed bodyguards.

Even though investigators from the Ether Association had locked down the hospital, high-ranking Priests were so rare that four third-rank practitioners of Ancient Martial Arts still guarded the door, just in case.

After all, the person behind Joker hadn't been found, and Feng City wasn't safe.

The Ancient Martial Arts Path granted its practitioners a special energy called qi.

First rank: Qigong Master. Second rank: Qi Refiner. Third rank: Qi Controller.

The next rank was the Mad King.

Third-rank Qi Controllers could already control their qi perfectly and use it to sense their surroundings.

The aura released by all four Qi Controllers together meant they would sense even a mosquito approaching.

Each bodyguard also held a tablet displaying the hospital's live security footage.

The Eye of Horus satellite watched over the hospital building at all times.

They felt completely safe.

Suddenly, a cool night breeze drifted down the corridor, stirring dust in the white light.

A sharp click broke the silence.

It was the sound of leather soles tapping against the floor.

The four Qi Controllers looked up in surprise, their pupils contracting.

A man had appeared in the shadows beyond the lights, like a ghost.

He wore a suit and a red tie. A steaming latte rested in his right hand, while his left was tucked into his trouser pocket. His feet were clad in polished black shoes.

At first glance, he looked like an elegant English gentleman, or a classical nobleman from the Middle Ages.

"Good evening," the man said with a smile.

The four Qi Controllers were alarmed when the tablets in their hands began to crackle with static. The security footage had turned to blurry snow, as if the signal had been disrupted.

The lights overhead flickered, spitting out sparks. The corridor alternated between light and darkness.

Terrified, they instinctively reached for their guns, nearly shouting.

The man raised a finger and ordered, "Quiet."

At those words, the four Qi Controllers actually stopped moving. Their expressions froze, too.

"Stand still. You won't remember anything, and you never saw me."

The man smiled. "Thank you for cooperating."

He strolled elegantly past the four bodyguards and pushed open the hospital room door.

The moment golden holy light filled Lin Wanqiu's eyes, someone gently knocked on the door.

She furrowed her brow in annoyance, thinking she'd already told them not to disturb her unless it was important.

But the next moment, someone pushed the door open.

Lin Wanqiu turned in surprise. A well-dressed man leaned against the doorway, smiling broadly.

"Hello, beautiful lady."

The man glanced at the gold watch on his wrist, then looked up and said gently, "It's getting late. You shouldn't be in a young man's hospital room for so long. You should go home."

His eyes were mysterious and unfathomable, like an abyss, yet his command was impossible to resist.

In an instant, the golden light vanished from Lin Wanqiu's eyes. She turned around in a daze and left.

As they passed one another, the man spoke again.

"You came here tonight, but you didn't see me."

He paused. "Gu Jianlin is in perfectly good health."

Clarity gradually returned to Lin Wanqiu's eyes. She murmured to herself, "I came here. That rude boy is in perfectly good health. There's nothing I can hold against him. He's beyond reproach."

The man nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. Good. Report it just like that. Goodbye."

Lin Wanqiu put her hands in the pockets of her white coat and left the room.

Only the sound of her heels tapping the floor echoed through the silence.

The four bodyguards followed behind her as if nothing had happened.

Silence.

In the night, all that could be heard was the wind outside the window and the sound of cars passing by.

Gu Jianlin lay on the hospital bed, staring in stunned disbelief.

"We meet again."

Jing Ci gently shut the door, took a sip of his hot latte, and smiled.

Gu Jianlin was utterly shocked. "What kind of ability is that? Hypnosis? Illusion?"

"More precisely, it's a modification of perception. What's there to be so surprised about?"

"Sorry, I really don't know much. I've only seen anything like a power as ridiculous as yours in the adult hypnosis anime on my roommate's hard drive. I honestly can only be shocked."

There was a reason Gu Jianlin was so stunned.

The bizarre scene he'd just witnessed had reminded him of a certain kind of hypnotic adult anime from Japan.

That's all for today. I'm not feeling well. I'll make it up tomorrow!