Rewards

The next day, a military aircraft landed discreetly at the barracks outside Silver City.

Yu Xian and Zhang Shou received a message from Jin Sheng after school. They drove through two checkpoints and entered the barracks without incident.

"Captain!"

Yu Xian and Zhang Shou entered a building within the barracks and spoke in unison when they saw Jin Sheng.

Jin Sheng was the only one in the room. He looked as he always did, giving off the impression of facing the sun itself—blazing and majestic, like a lion among men.

He looked at the two of them and smiled. "I originally thought I'd be staying in Yanjing for half a year, but you two went and earned another major merit. However, the witnesses this time are rather complicated, so headquarters hurriedly sent me back to watch your backs."

"Watch our backs?" Yu Xian looked curious.

Jin Sheng nodded, his smile fading as he looked solemnly at Yu Xian. "The struggle between nations in the supernatural world has never ceased. You made quite a splash the day before yesterday. Don't think no one knows who you are just because you were wearing armor. Hostile foreign forces may already see you as a massive future threat and want nothing more than to eliminate you as soon as possible."

The simplest way for foreign forces to infiltrate the country was to grant supernatural powers to certain ordinary people, then use all manner of contracts and death curses to keep them firmly under control.

Many spies had actually fallen into the trap because of greed and had no choice but to work for the other side.

Besides gathering intelligence, such spies were generally also responsible for killing geniuses before they could rise to prominence. Yu Xian's battle with Zhou Tai had been so intense that, although Yu Xian had spent the entire time running and dodging, surviving at all was already remarkable.

That was enough to attract the attention of certain hostile foreign forces.

"Oh no, isn't Salty Fish in great danger then?" Zhang Shou asked worriedly after hearing Jin Sheng's words.

Jin Sheng said calmly, "That's why I came back early. Oh, right, the things you wanted are now... Attention!"

The two quickly stood at attention, chests out and heads high as they looked at Jin Sheng.

With a solemn expression, Jin Sheng took out a box and removed the medal inside. Looking seriously at Yu Xian, he said, "Following the review and assessment of Qilin Headquarters, Comrade Yu Xian played an important role in the Silver City incident, successfully disrupting the Aberrant Insect Infiltration Plan and making a major contribution during the Aberrant Insect uprising. On behalf of Qilin Headquarters, I hereby award you the First-Class Merit Medal in recognition of your outstanding contributions and exceptional achievements!"

At that moment, Yu Xian's eyes reddened slightly. As Jin Sheng pinned the medal to his chest, Yu Xian gave a crisp salute, and Jin Sheng immediately returned it.

Next, Zhang Shou also received a Second-Class Merit Medal.

After the medals were awarded, they each received a storage ring. Yu Xian also discovered that his ring contained one hundred jin of silver.

"The commendation ceremony was originally supposed to be held after the two of you went to headquarters, but you know the current situation. Research has confirmed that Zhou Tai has already mastered the ability to activate the bloodlines of supernatural creatures. We absolutely cannot give him any more time, so our schedule will be extremely tight from here on out," Jin Sheng told them.

Zhang Shou's eyes widened. "Could it be that you're the one responsible for eliminating Zhou Tai, Captain?"

Yu Xian and Zhang Shou were both slightly startled upon hearing that. This was definitely going to be a major operation.

"All right, Death Doctor, step outside for a moment. I have something to say to Salty Fish," Jin Sheng said, glancing at Zhang Shou.

Zhang Shou froze for a moment, then nodded and left.

"Captain, what is it that Old Zhang can't hear?" Yu Xian asked curiously as he watched Zhang Shou close the door.

Jin Sheng looked envious. "I don't know whether you're absurdly lucky or what, but headquarters actually agreed to your request."

As he spoke, he walked to the table and picked up the alloy briefcase on it. After entering a string of passwords and verifying his identity, the briefcase slowly opened, and the temperature in the entire room instantly dropped.

Yu Xian looked inside the briefcase. There was a pen-shaped injector.

"This is the Pangu's Blood you applied for. After comprehensive consideration, Qilin Headquarters decided to approve your application. Inject it here, right in front of me. Even the progenitor of the Blood Clan could never obtain such a top-tier treasure," Jin Sheng explained.

He truly was envious. To obtain a single drop of Pangu's Blood, he had not only spent all his savings but also taken on enormous debt. Yet Yu Xian had obtained it directly without even needing to go into debt.

"Um... Captain, can't I suck it out with my fangs?" Yu Xian asked somewhat sheepishly as he looked at the Pangu's Blood in the pen-shaped injector.

He was simply curious about what Pangu's Blood tasted like. He had no intention of injecting it.

Seeing Yu Xian's hungry expression, Jin Sheng felt his temples throbbing. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said irritably, "Do you know that injecting Pangu's Blood will most likely strengthen your bloodline abilities and may even reduce your weaknesses?"

If Yu Xian injected Pangu's Blood into his body, he would most likely transform from an ordinary vampire into a super vampire, gaining abilities other vampires did not possess.

Moreover, Yu Xian was still vulnerable to garlic, crosses, and holy energy.

After injecting Pangu's Blood, he would very likely lose one or even two of those weaknesses. By then, unless someone used overwhelming force to crush him, it would be difficult to harm him through clever tricks.

"But I still want to taste it. After all, I'm a vampire." Yu Xian did not change his mind after hearing Jin Sheng's words.

His talents awakened so quickly that he might awaken strange talents like "Garlic Blood," "Cross Eater," or "Holy Energy Absorber" at any time, so he did not care about those few minor weaknesses at all.

Besides, he knew very well that once this application succeeded, it would be difficult for him to apply again in the future. Jin Sheng's current circumstances made it clear just how difficult it was to obtain one through merit.

Opportunities like this would not come twice. He had to taste it and find out exactly how Pangu's Blood differed from ordinary blood.

Seeing that Yu Xian would not budge, Jin Sheng closed his eyes in frustration. After a long while, he sighed. "Fine. Pangu's Blood is a reward from headquarters, so how you use it is your business. As long as you don't leave this room, do whatever you want with it."

"Thank you, Captain!" Yu Xian said excitedly.

Seeing Yu Xian pick up the pen-shaped injector, Jin Sheng hesitated before saying, "Since you've made up your mind, don't regret it."

"Mm, I definitely won't regret it!" Yu Xian nodded.

He pressed the pen-shaped injector against his fangs. With a slight push, blood surged out, and he immediately instinctively sucked in the flowing blood.

After absorbing Pangu's Blood, he began to grow intoxicated on blood, while his normally still heart began pounding violently.