The Panic of the Professions [Weird God's Power]!

The first advancement requirement for [Gale Hunter] had been completed.

Qi Chuan died miserably, falling onto his back with nothing but two bloody holes where his eyes had been.

"A second-tier professional's mental resilience is still high." Su Chen rubbed his brow, feeling waves of throbbing pain.

Physical-type professionals did not specifically train their mental power, but advancing their profession likewise improved their mental resilience.

It was impossible for a low-tier mental professional to instantly kill a high-tier physical professional.

Only after confirming that he no longer showed any signs of life did Su Chen turn his gaze to several slender glass bottles scattered beside him. They had originally been stored in a metal box, but had spilled out during the battle.

"Targeted antidotes?"

Su Chen picked them up from the ground. Looking at the faint purple liquid swirling inside and the labels attached to them, he found two bottles remaining and stuffed them into his storage space.

"Hmm..." Carefully closing the door, Su Chen spread out his senses. Combined with [Spiritual Vision], he remained constantly alert to the situation outside.

Steel wires curled all around him. Thanks to [Multitasking], he could now control more than half of them at once.

Whoosh!

The steel wires snapped taut, darting back and forth through the walls with a continuous series of muffled thuds, like rapid drumbeats.

Clang!

The crisp collision made Su Chen look toward the wall on his left. "There really is something else..."

With a little force, he pried another metal box out of the wall. It was heavy and exquisitely made, blackish-yellow in color, with crisscrossing patterns embossed across its surface, woven into...

Su Chen examined it closely, trying hard to make it out. "It looks like... a vertical eye?"

Click!

The metal box opened on its own. A cross-shaped slit split open at its center and slid apart to either side, thick black smoke pouring out from within.

"What the hell is this?"

Su Chen jumped in fright and hurriedly retreated, but the black smoke moved faster than he had imagined. It had already wrapped around his body and burrowed into him.

"Delicious... soul..." A voice both real and unreal echoed beside his ears. Su Chen's gaze turned unfocused as he seemed to see a black-robed figure, dry and withered as dead wood, its bald head bearing only a single vertical eye. "I shall grant you my blessing. Become my most devout believer."

"What is this thing?" A cyan wind armor swirled around Su Chen, yet it could not stop the black smoke from pouring into him.

The panel abruptly popped up—

[An unknown external force has been detected. It is eroding the host's professions.]

Eroding his professions? Su Chen shuddered.

[Sky-Rending Warrior senses danger and rises to the challenge...]

[Mystic Artificer observes from the side...]

[Engineering Apprentice frets helplessly...]

[Gale Hunter joins the battle...]

[Space Storage User rushes over...]

[Scholar calls for help...]

A string of messages refreshed. It was the first time Su Chen had seen these guys so proactive.

[A crisis among the professions has been detected. Taming the external power...]

"You... why is your body like this..."

The real-yet-unreal voice by his ear suddenly became uncertain and alarmed. In the haze, Su Chen seemed to see the withered figure lift its head before gradually fading away.

"...I'll remember your scent..."

Clack!

The metal box fell to the ground and closed on its own.

[Taming successful. Obtained—Low-Tier Weird God's Power: Can be used on professions below tier three that have not yet taken a job, allowing them to undergo certain peculiar changes.]

Su Chen's heart pounded violently, and cold sweat covered his forehead. Just now, he had nearly been unable to move.

Fortunately, he had gotten through this crisis.

"A Weird God can actually erode professions..." Su Chen murmured, staring again at the so-called [Low-Tier Weird God's Power].

Since the panel had already tamed it, the hidden danger within it was probably gone.

After resting for a while, he looked at the yellow-black metal box on the ground, not daring to touch it lightly for the moment.

"No wonder they're called Weird Gods. They really are strange. Which means that Jiang He's murder, the theft of the Holy Word Stone, and all these inexplicable events were essentially the Weird God's covert actions?"

"This thing can definitely prove that there was something wrong with Qi Chuan. In that case, there's no need to hide this killing." Su Chen immediately took a wristband from his storage space. After opening it and scrolling up and down, he found Old Yuan.

Qi Chuan had bribed Hu Xiang and sent killers after him. He had to die, regardless of whether he was Zhou Xian's man or whether he had any connection to the Weird God.

The only difference was that if he had no connection to the Weird God, Su Chen would have to clean up the mess himself. But now, he could let someone else wipe his ass.

"Teacher, I found something. Please come over as soon as possible." He phrased it vaguely. Who knew whether Southwind City's data exchange center could intercept these conversations?

The signal here was poor. Su Chen had to lean out the window before he could send it. Lights had already come on in the floors below.

Old Yuan replied quickly: "...I can't get away right now. If it's nothing major, have Old Sun go over first."

"It's major."

Only after a moment did a reply come: "Understood. I'll get there as soon as possible. If you need help, find Old Sun."

After thinking for a moment, Su Chen opened another chat window. "Brother Sun, southern outskirts... bring people here immediately."

At the same time, somewhere in Southwind City, a figure draped in a black hooded robe suddenly raised its head. Its pupils were pitch-black, yet its face bore uncontrollable shock. "The holy artifact has disappeared!?"

Su Chen then searched the room inside and out. Only after confirming that nothing had been overlooked did Fatty Sun finally arrive with his men.

The old inspector, who was suspected to be a second-tier professional, pushed open the door while panting heavily, his head drenched in sweat.

His gaze swept over the corpse lying on the floor, but he immediately rushed toward Su Chen, who stood by the window, and asked with concern:

"Brother, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Several inspection guards filed in one after another behind him. They were familiar faces—his colleagues from the Seventeenth Patrol Squad.

"Han Da, Lily..." Zhao Xiong gestured to either side as everyone carefully moved around the corpse.

"Boss, this person seems to be... Qi Chuan?" Han Da merely glanced down before lifting his head in astonishment.

"Qi Chuan?" Fatty Sun, who had been listening closely, had a drastic change in expression. His face filled with agitation. "Oh, brother, why's your temper so explosive? How could you kill him?"

"Was it because of the woman who came last night? What did she say to you? Did you record it? Hurry, get out of here. We'll cover up the scene..."

Zhao Xiong and the others exchanged subtle looks, as though they had just stumbled onto some juicy gossip.

Su Chen gave a helpless smile. "Where could I possibly go? Even if you cover it up, can you hide it from my teacher?"

Fatty Sun's expression flickered. His fawning attitude toward Su Chen came from Yuan Chenyang. How could something like this possibly be concealed?

But he immediately skipped over the subject and asked in surprise, as though he had only just realized it, "Qi Chuan seems to be a second-tier professional, right? Brother, how did you kill him?"

"He went hungry for a few days at the Inspection Department, then I poisoned him a little..." Su Chen replied as if it were nothing.

That was vicious.

Fatty Sun's mouth twitched, but he also noticed that Su Chen was far calmer than expected, making him mutter to himself inwardly.

"Hey... Lily..." Su Chen suddenly called out. "Don't touch that thing."

Lily halted, looked at the object covered by the Shadow-Hiding Garment before her, shrugged, and turned to inspect something else.

"...Why does this wall look like it was raked by bullets? It's full of tiny holes..." Han Da leaned close to the wall.

"What happened here?" A deep voice came from outside the door, making Fatty Sun jolt.

Why had Inspector Yuan arrived so quickly? He had only just sent the message.

Zhao Xiong and the others instantly stood straight. Their throats bobbed, and none of them dared make a sound.

"This is Qi Chuan?" Yuan Chenyang walked in, frowning at the corpse on the floor. His gaze passed over Fatty Sun and landed on Su Chen. With a sigh, he said, "Go back. I'll handle this."

Su Chen was rather surprised. He had thought Old Yuan would ask him to explain himself or something.

"Teacher, over there." Su Chen pointed toward the place covered by the Shadow-Hiding Garment.

Yuan Chenyang's eyes shifted slightly. He walked over and lifted one corner of the Shadow-Hiding Garment. At just one fleeting glance, his pupils suddenly contracted.

This was... a weird artifact!