[Appraisal successful] [Nightingale Lantern: While held, it can conceal the user's aura, scent, and information. Infusing it with Nether Mist allows it to evolve into a Wraith Lantern. → Read М]
In the restroom, Zhang Ping used Appraisal on the lantern glowing green. Along with seeing its attributes, he also saw how the hidden lantern had been made.
The lantern had been made from the bones of a Corpse-Eating Hound, while the flame inside came from a Mutated Beast known as a "Carrion Nightingale."
When Carrion Nightingales reached adulthood, a special organ formed in their chests to contain ghostfire. This ghostfire required Corpse Oil as fuel and could evade predators' detection.
Generally speaking, the more corpses there were in a place, the more Carrion Nightingales there would be.
After reading through the production process, Zhang Ping's expression improved slightly.
He had actually prepared himself to see some gruesome scenes during the Appraisal.
Fortunately, this time he had only seen how to process a Mutated Beast. Following the steps shown in the images, he felt that he could make a Nightingale Lantern himself.
"Infusing it with Nether Mist allows it to evolve?"
Zhang Ping thought for a moment, then infused the Nightingale Lantern with Nether Mist.
He discovered that the Nether Mist produced some strange chemical reaction with the ghostfire inside the lantern. The Nether Mist became a new fuel, and the flames quickly changed from green to gray.
The entire restroom suddenly lost its color, as if it had become a black-and-white film.
Had it evolved?
Zhang Ping hurriedly used Appraisal Technique on the lantern.
[Appraisal successful] [Wraith Lantern: While the owner is within the area covered by its light, it can sever the owner's presence and block most detection and Appraisal abilities. Effective against targets below King-Level.]
What a good item!
In other words, as long as he held the Wraith Lantern, even Situ Shibai would be unable to Appraise his attributes. Severing his presence also meant invisibility, and this was a higher-grade form of stealth than the Assassination Ring or the Nethermist Nightwalker.
Moreover, these three abilities did not conflict with one another. With their effects stacked, he could probably walk around outside at night without even Prince Yue noticing him.
However, the Wraith Lantern's fuel had changed from Corpse Oil to Nether Mist. That also meant his Nether Mist now had another major drain on it.
"It would be great if I could open a haunted house."
Zhang Ping carefully sensed how much Nether Mist the Wraith Lantern consumed, then let out a long sigh.
The Wraith Lantern's consumption was not actually that great. The problem was that he had accumulated too little Nether Mist. The masked man had summoned lightning the previous night, and Zhang Ping had consumed some Nether Mist to withstand the impact. Although he had later absorbed some back from the red-haired man, he still felt that he did not have enough.
After calculating how long a mass of Nether Mist could burn, he placed the Wraith Lantern into the Golden Treasury, then took out the bronze ring.
He first washed the bloodstains from the bronze ring with water, then used Appraisal Technique on it.
[Appraisal failed] [Appraisal failed +1] [Appraisal failed +10] [Appraisal failed +100] [Appraisal successful] [Crown of Sin: The wearer will sink into sin and become immune to mental abilities such as Purity and Purification.]
The next moment, Zhang Ping saw little girls being forced to drink green liquid one after another. They then died in agony, only to be dismembered by an old man whose face was covered in sores using cruel methods...
Zhang Ping could not bear to watch. He clenched his teeth so hard he wished he could charge into the scene, kill the old man on the spot, and tear him to pieces.
But the scene continued...
After it ended, Zhang Ping's gaze dimmed as he stared at the bronze ring for a long time.
In his previous life, he had always saved people. Even at the moment of his death, he had never regretted that decision. In this life, the people he wanted to save could no longer be saved, but there were still many things he could do.
"Beast Taming... the Zhu Family, the Heavenly Fox..."
Zhang Ping muttered to himself, then placed the bronze ring in the Golden Treasury. After that, he took out another ring.
This ring had come from the psychokinetic man.
Zhang Ping steeled himself and used Appraisal Technique again.
[Appraisal successful] [Forceful Thought Ring: The wearer's Mental Strength will be amplified. The amplification is 50% for Novice Awakened, 35% for Intermediate Awakened, 25% for High-Level Awakened, and 10% for Top-Tier Awakened.]
The scene slowly unfolded.
In a huge plaza, countless people in black used an item to inject their Mental Strength into a young girl's body. The veins all over her body bulged as she let out agonized screams.
But no one cared about her pain. Instead, they continued transmitting their Mental Strength.
Blood flowed from the girl's seven orifices. Just as she was about to die, a long sword pierced through her brow. The gemstone set into the sword immediately radiated brilliant light, and the girl's extremely unstable spirit body was sucked directly into the gemstone.
"Was that a soul?"
Zhang Ping's expression was unpleasant after watching it, but what concerned him even more was the spirit body he had seen at the end.
If souls truly existed in this world, then had everyone who died already reincarnated?
"If reincarnation really exists... then that would be wonderful."
Zhang Ping looked at the gemstone on the Forceful Thought Ring with complicated emotions. A tragic soul was sealed inside it, but he had no idea how to release her.
He put the ring away and thought that perhaps he could ask Situ Shibai the next time he saw him.
"Zhang Ping, are you laying diamonds in there? Why is it taking so long?" Qiu Qiang's voice came from outside the restroom.
Zhang Ping hurriedly answered, "Wait a moment. I'm almost done."
As he spoke, he got up and opened the door.
Cleanup Team headquarters, conference room.
Situ Shibai glanced at the dispirited Jin Bo and said indifferently, "Sisi will temporarily serve as leader of the Combat Group. After your injuries heal, you'll honestly work as a combatant for a while. Your annual salary will be cut in half this year, and all benefits will be reduced by fifty percent. Any objections?"
"None," Jin Bo said miserably.
His own injuries meant nothing, but he had caused two team members to die in battle. He could not escape the blame.
In truth, that was what tormented him most.
"Captain, I'm afraid I'm not capable enough to serve as leader of the Combat Group." Liu Sishan sat to Jin Bo's left and spoke up.
Situ Shibai smiled. "Sisi, you've always been steady by nature. Mingzhu City is treacherous and unpredictable right now. Only with you leading the Combat Group can I feel at ease."
"All right. Next, let's discuss what happened last night. Sisi, you participated in it, so tell us what happened first." He did not give Liu Sishan a chance to refuse and smoothly changed the subject.
Liu Sishan knew that Situ Shibai had already made up his mind, so she did not refuse the position again. She composed herself and began, "At the beginning, I received contact from Zhang Ping while I was outside the city. He had discovered someone skulking around Chen Xueli's residence. I then contacted Manny, but Manny and the others hadn't spotted anyone. That was when I realized this matter wasn't simple."
"It really wasn't simple. They clearly had an item specifically targeting our Barrier Team. This means that someone in the Cleanup Team..." Chen Ming began.
Situ Shibai smiled. "It doesn't necessarily mean there's a mole. The Illusory Light Curtain isn't perfect."
Every ability had a means of countering it. There was no absolutely invincible ability. No matter how powerful the Illusory Light Curtain was, it still had flaws.
Liu Sishan continued speaking. In truth, she did not have much information either. When she reached the part about being sent into the Black Chamber by Manny, she stopped and said, "That's all I know."
"What relation did the girl who was abducted have to Chen Xueli?" Chen Ming asked with a frown after listening.
Liu Sishan replied, "Judging by her age, she should be his granddaughter."
"Huang An."
Situ Shibai looked toward the unremarkable man beside Chen Ming.
The man was neither fat nor thin, with an ordinary hairstyle and a square face. His features were perfectly average, without anything distinctive about them. As long as he did not speak, his presence was extremely faint, and other people easily overlooked him.
Only then did Chen Ming remember Huang An. He turned to him and asked, "Huang An, does Chen Xueli have a granddaughter?"
"He has one granddaughter, but the origins of this granddaughter are somewhat strange. According to the investigation, Chen Xueli's son, Chen Haowen, had no wife. Furthermore, not only did he have no intention of inheriting Vast Sea Academy, he was instead deeply interested in the profession of adventurer. About fourteen years ago, Chen Haowen brought back an infant from outside the city and announced that she was his daughter. Two years later, he died, and the infant was raised by Chen Xueli from then on." Huang An spoke unhurriedly.
Chen Ming frowned. "In other words, there may be something wrong with the infant's origins. She might not share the Chen Family's blood."
"The question is, why did those people abduct her?" Manny asked with a yawn, puzzled.
Liu Sishan said indifferently, "Zhang Ping should know more. I'll go find him tonight."
"No. Mingzhu City is extremely dangerous right now. If you recklessly enter Mingzhu City and the Heavenly Fox sets its sights on you, no one except the captain will be able to save you." Chen Ming objected.
Situ Shibai smiled. "Although last night's incident wasn't perfect, Zhang Ping's contribution cannot be ignored. How about this, Sisi? Go to the equipment room and choose two pieces of equipment. One is for your own use, and the other is to reward Zhang Ping."
"Understood."
Liu Sishan immediately understood what Situ Shibai meant.
Clearly, Situ Shibai supported her going to find Zhang Ping that night.
Chen Ming looked at Situ Shibai and was just about to advise against it when Situ Shibai smiled and said, "I'll personally provide cover for Sisi this time."
All right.
With things put that way, Chen Ming had nothing left to say.
Although they all knew that Zhang Ping had a badge that could be used to contact him, no one mentioned contacting him through the badge. The main reason was that they did not know what state Zhang Ping was currently in or whether it was convenient for him to be contacted.
If Zhang Ping happened to be in an inconvenient situation, an untimely contact might instead leave him in danger.
City Lord's Manor.
Zhu Zeming emerged from the study and easily made his way through the corridor. He happened to see a Heavenly Fox eating a person not far away.
He walked over, patted it, and said with a smile, "Still eating?"
"Huang Zeming, what do you want?" The Heavenly Fox spat out a finger bone, then asked hoarsely.
Zhu Zeming smiled. "Actually, there's someone I really dislike. Could you do me a favor and eat him?"
"It's very dangerous outside right now. His Highness said we aren't allowed to go out," the Heavenly Fox said.
Zhu Zeming chuckled. "His Highness is monitoring the entire city now. How dangerous could it be to act right under his nose?"
"True enough. It's not impossible for me to help you, but what's in it for me?" The Heavenly Fox's eyes shifted as it haggled.
Zhu Zeming took out a tooth. "Is this enough?"
"Sure. I'll do it tonight!"
The Heavenly Fox reached out, grabbed the tooth from Zhu Zeming's hand, and agreed immediately.
It was a canine tooth from a Moonfang Wolf. It was useless to humans, but it could increase a Mutated Beast's "might."
A Mutated Beast's might was equivalent to a human's imposing aura.
Humans could raise their imposing aura by encouraging themselves and strengthening their convictions. But Mutated Beasts were ultimately animals. Once they sensed that their opponent was stronger than they were, their aura would decline, and they might even lose their courage and flee with their tails between their legs.
Just like an ordinary Heavenly Fox facing Prince Yue, it would always lower its ears and tail subconsciously, and would not even dare meet his gaze.
Therefore, besides fighting and eating meat to raise their Level, Mutated Beasts also needed to increase their might through various means.
This single tooth from a Moonfang Wolf was enough to make the Heavenly Fox take the risk.