Codename: Thunder!

Feng City's outskirts were home to an old villa hidden in a mountain ravine, dark and quiet.

Deacon Nie stood outside the bedroom with his head bowed, speaking respectfully. "My lord, the Blood Moon Massacre is already being wrapped up. Joker is dead, and both Mythic Armaments have been recovered. However, we still haven't found the person behind Joker. We'll be launching a full-scale search and manhunt in Feng City soon."

The bedroom door was ajar, and a figure could vaguely be seen lying in the hospital bed.

"Who killed Joker?"

An aged, frail, and yet imposing voice rang out.

Deacon Nie fell silent.

"Gu Ci'an's son, right?"

The old man continued, "He also took those two Mythic Armaments."

Deacon Nie's expression darkened. He said quietly, "This subordinate failed in his duty."

The old man was fairly forgiving. "Since he's Gu Ci'an's son, it's only natural that he has some talent. Two consecutive kills across a tier gap. He's a promising young man. What a pity."

"Yes."

Deacon Nie agreed. "It is a pity."

In the extraordinary world, the Gu family had no shortage of talented descendants. Unfortunately, they were all cursed and had little time to live.

It was only when Gu Ci'an's generation came along

that something went wrong.

That was the Blood Moon Massacre.

Sigh.

"For someone like me, who doesn't have long to live, even the finest Mythic Armaments don't mean much. I won't hold it against you for losing them. Even if that boy is Gu Ci'an's son, we still have to follow the rules. Since the items are in his hands, we can find something else to trade for them later. It doesn't matter if we can't get them back."

The old man seemed to take a sip of tea. "But the question is, why did he join the Association?"

Deacon Nie said nothing.

"Today, I received a report from Minister Lu, a summary of the intelligence that boy obtained."

The old man spoke indifferently. "The boy claims that someone else was responsible for the Blood Moon Massacre. At the time, Gu Ci'an was trapped in the lowest level of the Kirin Immortal Palace. He says Joker told him so himself."

Deacon Nie scoffed at that. "He can say whatever he likes. Does he have any evidence?"

"He doesn't, but he'll look for evidence."

The old man said, "You have to understand: if certain factions within the Association learn about this, they might also start looking for this so-called evidence, in order to undermine the Tribunal faction. We can't bring this boy over to our side. He won't work for us."

Deacon Nie placed a hand over his chest and said solemnly, "Understood, my lord."

"Go. Find the person behind Joker, and do it quickly."

The old man continued, "Gu Ci'an's son is a minor concern. The Tribunal's interests come first."

Deacon Nie bowed deeply once more.

A young man in a white suit walked over, gently closed the door, and gestured for Deacon Nie to leave. He said coldly, "Deacon Nie, the Saint needs to rest."

Deacon Nie nodded slightly, then asked again, "Councilor Zhang, how much longer can the Saint hold on?"

In the Ether Association, the Tribunal was the core governing body.

As a deacon, Deacon Nie had only just managed to enter the circle of power.

Above the deacons were the councilors.

Above the councilors were the Saints.

And at the head of the Tribunal was one of the Ether Association's current vice presidents.

Rhine.

"At most, another three months," Councilor Zhang said coldly.

Deacon Nie froze, then sighed. "Understood."

With that, he turned to leave.

Councilor Zhang watched him go, then suddenly heard the old man's voice from inside the room.

"Shouheng."

The old man said, "As I recall, former Night Watcher Mu Feng and his subordinates are hiding in Black Cloud Stronghold, aren't they? Gu Ci'an had contact with them before he went on a rampage. During this operation in Black Cloud Stronghold, have your people bring them back for questioning."

Shouheng adjusted his glasses and asked, "What should we do with them after questioning?"

"Get rid of them, of course. They're a group of corrupted people. Do you want to leave them around until they go mad?"

·

·

It was a rare day of fine weather, with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky.

The bustling commercial district was packed with people. Office workers hurried through the streets during rush hour, and girls in short skirts occasionally strolled past. With the morning news playing on the screens of the buildings, everything seemed wonderful.

A black Land Rover tore through the streets like a savage beast, barreling along without restraint.

"Where are we going?" Gu Jianlin asked curiously.

After breakfast, they had brought him out. He was still wearing his hospital gown.

Lu Zicheng wore sunglasses and replied coolly, "Deep Sky Technology Building. I've already reported what you told me to my sister. She'll send it up to headquarters. But we don't have much evidence, so don't get your hopes up."

Just then, Chen Qing leaned over from the passenger seat and handed him a bag of clothes. "Put these on."

Gu Jianlin took the bag. Inside was a black shirt and a pair of fitted gray pants.

He held them up to check and saw that they were exactly his size.

"I measured you while you were asleep yesterday," Chen Qing said, glancing at him. Her lips curved in a rare smile. "You've got a nice build."

Gu Jianlin was silent for a moment. "Sister Chen Qing, I'm male."

"You're not quite a man yet. You're still three months away from turning eighteen. You're a minor."

Chen Qing turned around and said calmly, "What's there to be shy about? You're a kid. Go ahead and change."

Gu Jianlin said gloomily, "Could you move the rearview mirror, then?"

Lu Zicheng shrugged and reached to adjust it, but Chen Qing slapped his hand away.

"The young master didn't sleep well last night and can't focus. Adjusting the rearview mirror could be unsafe."

Chen Qing said coolly, "Just change as you are."

With no other choice, Gu Jianlin ducked down below the seat and changed.

He couldn't help adding, "Can people on the Ancient Martial Arts Path really have trouble sleeping?"

Among the oldest Paths, Ancient Martial Arts practitioners used qi. They could use it to fight, but also to regulate their bodies. As long as they were alive, they were in excellent health.

"Ahem!"

Lu Zicheng coughed loudly, as if trying to warn someone.

Chen Qing fell silent.

Just as Gu Jianlin was wondering what was going on, the green-feathered parrot in the birdcage beside him suddenly slipped free of its muzzle.

"Being with a female ghost feels so good!"

Gu Jianlin turned in surprise and met the green-feathered parrot's gaze.

Suddenly, the sharp squeal of brakes rang out.

·

·

At eight thirty in the morning, outside the Deep Sky Technology Building.

Wearing a black shirt and fitted gray pants, Gu Jianlin stood silently on the street below the building.

He'd heard of this company long ago because Uncle Su's foreign firm did business with them.

He hadn't expected it to be a company owned by the Ether Association.

"Are you ready?" Lu Zicheng asked coolly.

Chen Qing stood beside him, a scruffy, dejected-looking parrot perched on her shoulder.

"For what?" Gu Jianlin asked, turning to him.

"The mission ahead may be difficult and dangerous."

A faint smile played at the corner of Lu Zicheng's lips. "If you're afraid, it's not too late to back out. Go home and focus on school. Chen Qing and I will handle your father's business."

Gu Jianlin answered without hesitation, "I thought you were the kind of person who didn't waste time saying things like that."

Lu Zicheng shrugged, holding a tablet as he tapped it once.

Just then, Gu Jianlin's phone rang.

"Deep Sky Network notification: A-rank Investigator Lu Zicheng has invited you to join his team. Accept?"

Gu Jianlin confirmed without hesitation.

"Effective today, D-rank Investigator Gu Jianlin is officially assigned to the 13th District."

"Permissions upgraded. Mission section unlocked. District rankings unlocked."

Gu Jianlin looked at the team interface that had popped up on Deep Sky Network.

Team Leader: A-rank Investigator, Lu Zicheng.

Ancient Martial Arts Path: Fourth Tier, Mad King.

Deputy Team Leader: B-rank Investigator, Chen Qing.

Spirit Medium Path: Third Tier, Grand Shaman.

Team Member: D-rank Investigator, Gu Jianlin.

Divine Priest Path, Zero Tier.

Gu Jianlin paused when he saw that. He had advanced today, but Deep Sky Network hadn't recorded it.

When he'd first become a Zero-Tier Divine Priest, Deep Sky Network had recorded it immediately.

Later, when he took the Spirit Potion, his monitoring bracelet had recorded that right away, too.

But not this time.

Wait. He suddenly realized why.

The Non-Existent Lock!

He'd been wearing the monitoring bracelet when he advanced this time, but he'd also had the Non-Existent Lock on him.

This Mythic Armament didn't just erase his presence. It could even evade the monitoring bracelet.

He hesitated, then opened the district rankings.

The first section was the team rankings.

The second was the individual rankings.

It seemed that only young, newly recruited investigators were included in the individual rankings, with standings based on merit points.

Gu Jianlin was surprised to find that he ranked tenth with 3,100 merit points.

And that was in the top ten.

No, in the top hundred, he was the only Zero-Tier investigator.

Of course, he had successfully advanced by now.

"You killed Joker, who was a Second-Tier expert with highly mutated abilities. He even had two Mythic Armaments. Three thousand merit points is on the low side. You probably don't realize what an incredible feat you pulled off. Your actions should've caused a sensation throughout the district."

Lu Zicheng said coolly, "But for some reason, the news has been suppressed."

"What happened?" Gu Jianlin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The main reason is that we need to keep this operation confidential. The Kirin Immortal Palace is about to be explored, and its secrets and treasures are so valuable that people from all over the world will come to fight over them. The Ether Association, meanwhile, will gather investigators from across the district to deal with some criminal groups."

Lu Zicheng emphasized, "Most of them are Fallen causing trouble wherever they go."

Fallen!

Hearing the word no longer made Gu Jianlin shudder.

After last night's events, he knew that every living Fallen was a valuable resource for Ancient God Transformation.

As long as he could beat them, the more the merrier.

The more, the better.

His tier was still low.

But the power of Ancient God Transformation was intoxicating.

The only downside was that Ancient God Transformation had vicious side effects.

He still hadn't recovered. His whole body was aching faintly.

If it weren't for Jing Ci's potion, he'd still be lying in bed.

Lu Zicheng smiled. "By the way, among the top young investigators in the Feng City district, you have the lowest tier. The top nine are all exceptionally gifted monsters, especially the top three..."

Gu Jianlin looked down at the rankings on the screen.

At the very top, the most eye-catching entry was the only one.

NO.1:

Tang Ling, B-rank Investigator, Sword Sect Path.

Third Tier, Sword Fanatic.

Codename: Thunder!

My schedule's back to normal. From now on, I'll update once at six and once at ten in the evening!