Archaeological Selection

The six-armed man nodded in satisfaction.

These nine were experts he had spent years painstakingly training.

Every one of them was willing to die for him.

They would never botch a job.

After all—

The boy was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

The six-armed man reached out and tugged the long thread suspended in the air. He sprang up, following it into the sky and swiftly passing through the clouds.

He flew among the clouds.

At his speed, he reached the docks in the eastern part of the city in no time.

By the time he landed, the four arms on his back had vanished.

To all appearances,

he was just a burly sailor.

The "sailor" walked straight into the ramshackle Sailor Bar in a corner of the docks.

There was only one man in the entire bar, sitting at the counter with a drink.

"Xia Yin, the 'Medium.' It's been a while."

The "sailor" sat down beside him, his tone teasing.

"You killed Xu Chengan's son?" the man called Xia Yin asked bluntly.

"How could I? I just had my men draw lots to see who'd get the chance to receive a few pointers from him."

The six-armed man spoke.

"Hmph. There's nothing to gain from killing a child, yet you'd still do it?" Xia Yin asked.

"How is there nothing to gain? Just thinking of how Xu Chengan will suffer makes all hundred thousand pores on my body feel wonderful." The six-armed man laughed.

They raised their glasses and clinked them together.

"Xu Chengan will die, and so will his son. Their line will be cut off, and they'll never perform Netherworld Passage again," Xia Yin said.

"Then everything along this line will be ours to decide," the six-armed man said bluntly.

"Good idea." Xia Yin smiled.

At the hospital.

After the six-armed man left,

his nine subordinates gathered to discuss the mission.

"'Netherworld Passage' has really taken a nasty tumble this time. Not only is he trapped in those ruins, but his son is about to die too,"

one subordinate said.

"He should've known his place. Let's decide who's doing the job. The sooner we kill him, the sooner it's over."

"Exactly."

They were still discussing it when they all fell silent at once and whipped around.

Two figures appeared on the railing at the same time.

They were two utterly ordinary-looking men, the sort no one would glance at twice in a crowd.

Their expressions were indifferent. They said nothing, merely watching from a distance.

"Who are you?"

One of the six-armed man's subordinates shouted.

The two still said nothing. They simply exchanged gestures.

The man on the left pressed his fingers together, held his hand upright, then chopped downward.

The man on the right extended a hand and raised his thumb.

Decision made.

Both men vanished at once.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Two afterimages drifted lightly back and landed where they had stood, their expressions still indifferent.

They took opposite sides, each guarding one.

For the rest of the time, they stood on the rooftop, keeping a vigilant watch on everything happening throughout the hospital.

The nine corpses lay neatly arranged on the ground.

There was not even any blood.

There was no telling how they had died.

A quarter of an hour later,

a gecko climbed up the wall onto the rooftop and transformed midair into a Talisman. A voice devoid of emotion came from it:

"Report."

Only then did one of the men reply respectfully:

"Internal Guard Seventeen reporting."

"Everything has been dealt with. All is normal. We are ready to receive the Commandery Princess."

"How strong were these people? Where did they come from?" the Talisman asked.

"They were as weak as ants, below the threshold for investigating their origins," Internal Guard Seventeen said.

"Make arrangements to receive her at once. And look into these people anyway. Keep your work thorough, understood?" the Talisman said.

"Yes!" the two men answered in unison.

A few minutes later,

Xu Yuan ran swiftly down the street.

Perhaps the Truth Emblem's "Agility +2" was taking effect—

as he ran, he felt as light as a swallow, nimbler and quicker than usual.

His movements were faster, more precise, and more efficient.

If only I could reach the Qi Refining Third Layer. Then I could gain another point of Agility.

Before long,

he reached the hospital.

Xu Yuan froze for a moment when he entered the ward.

It was a six-bed ward.

When he had come that morning, the patients in the other beds had still been sleeping.

But now—

the other beds were empty.

Apart from his mother, there was only a girl in a hospital gown, sitting in a wheelchair with her back to him as she arranged flowers in a vase on the windowsill.

When Xu Yuan came in, her hand paused briefly over the flowers. Then she slipped one lightly into the vase.

"Xiao Yuan's here,"

his mother, Zhao Shulan, said.

"The ward's suddenly so empty. Where are the other patients?" Xu Yuan asked, glancing at the girl.

The clouds outside the window parted.

The deep-blue sky, tinged with the evening glow, was reflected in the windowpane. Light fell across the girl's back, and together with the flowers before her, she formed a lonely, beautiful picture.

But—

she was in a wheelchair.

Another poor soul.

Xu Yuan sighed inwardly and looked away.

"Those other patients? One was discharged, and one was scheduled for surgery. I never spoke to the others, so I'm not sure," Zhao Shulan said.

"Let's eat first. You said you weren't hungry, so I came a little late."

Xu Yuan opened the food containers and laid out the dishes and rice, then raised Zhao Shulan's bed for her.

The dishes were from the cafeteria.

Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, sweet-and-sour pork ribs, and shredded pork with green peppers and wood-ear mushrooms.

The rice was steamed spirit rice.

There was also seaweed and egg soup, still steaming hot.

The school's food was cheap and came in generous portions, perfect for the Xu household's current finances.

"How did the exam go this morning?" Zhao Shulan asked as she ate.

"Pretty well. I was in a group with Yang Xiaobing and the others. We hardly made any mistakes," Xu Yuan said.

"You still have a written exam tomorrow?"

"Right."

"Come to think of it, your father graduated from Jade Balance University. Should we ask him to pull some strings?"

Xu Yuan paused.

He still could not get through to his father's phone.

That was how it went with archaeological work in ruins. Barriers or restrictions usually blocked the signal.

And he could not tell his mother about Jade Balance University.

She was ill. He could not burden her with worry.

"Mom, with your son's abilities, do I need to resort to that?" he said with a smile.

"That's true. My son does me proud."

Mother and son chatted on.

Xu Yuan felt a little emotional too.

Mothers everywhere were the same.

If her son achieved even the tiniest thing, she would be proud of him.

And when he thought of the memories left by the person he had once been, the past rose vividly before his eyes.

He now felt that he was Xu Yuan.

Or perhaps—

he was the wish Xu Yuan had made.

"The weather's changing these next couple of days. Are you cold, Mom? I can bring you some warmer clothes."

"No need. The heating's so strong in here that I feel hot. Sometimes I can't even sleep at night," Zhao Shulan complained.

By then, Xu Yuan had finished eating too.

He sat cross-legged on a chair, holding a cup of hot tea and chatting idly with Zhao Shulan.

The easy, unhurried feeling was soothing.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Xu Yuan said.

A middle-aged man and woman entered.

Sitting up in her hospital bed, Zhao Shulan exclaimed in surprise:

"Old Li? Sister Zhang? What brings you here?"

"We came to see you on behalf of the bureau," the man called Old Li said with a smile.

"Yes, it's been a while since we visited. And we happened to have good news to tell you," Sister Zhang said, smiling too.

Their gazes fell on Xu Yuan.

"Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie," Xu Yuan greeted them quickly.

"Xiao Yuan, you've grown up. You're getting more handsome, and taller too. What a fine young man," Sister Zhang said, patting his shoulder.

"Heh." Xu Yuan scratched his head.

They were his parents' colleagues, old family friends he had seen many times since childhood.

"What good news? Has my husband finished his assignment and come back?"

Zhao Shulan asked.

"No. It's something else," Old Li said.

"The bureau issued a notice. The Archaeology General Bureau is selecting reserve talent, and anyone chosen will receive a sum of money," Sister Zhang said.

"Reserve talent?" Zhao Shulan asked.

"Yes. It's open to employees' children. Anyone with a special skill, or who has already reached Path Entry, can take part. If they're selected, the employee gets a reward," Old Li said.

All three looked at Xu Yuan.

"Mom, I'll do it," Xu Yuan said excitedly.

That isn't some illusory shop currency. It's real money!

It could improve our lives!

"But Xu Yuan is already in his final year of high school. If he starts doing something else now, I'm afraid it'll affect his studies," Zhao Shulan said hesitantly.

"It won't. The selection is quick. It takes less than half an hour," Old Li said.

"Only half an hour? Mom, let me go make some money!"

Xu Yuan rubbed his hands together eagerly.

That's right.

I remember now.

I made the Nightmare-Level Competition get postponed once before. I need to do it again this time.

"Your performance tonight will delay the Nightmare-Level Competition, whether by a little or a lot."

He had a mission to carry out.

I need to do my best!

If he succeeded, he would even get paid.

With terms this good, of course he had to give it a shot.

The others saw how eager he was and laughed.

Ms. Zhang took Zhao Shulan's hand and said quietly:

"I went through the documents carefully. There's nothing wrong with them. Let your son give it a try. This is a real opportunity, and it might even ease your financial burden."

Zhao Shulan looked at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan gave her a thumbs-up to show he was fine with it.

"All right."

Zhao Shulan relented.

Once Ms. Zhang had her agreement, she took out her phone and quickly entered some information.

"Within the next three days, go to Room 301 on the third floor of the Xingyao Building on Zhoushan Road. You'll fill out a form and take part in the selection process."

"It won't take long."

"Auntie Zhang, what will the selection involve?" Xu Yuan asked.

"They may set the questions according to each applicant's circumstances. You'll have to go there to find out the details," Ms. Zhang said.

"Relax. It'll be fine. These policies are there to help employees' children," Uncle Li added.

"Okay. Thank you, Uncle Li and Auntie Zhang."

Xu Yuan looked over the website link and documents they had sent him.

The documents looked rigorous, with several official seals at the end.

It was probably a policy from his parents' workplace to support employees' children.

Everything checked out.

Looks like a job that'll put money straight into my pocket.

Good.

Xu Yuan gradually relaxed.

What he failed to notice was—

The girl in the wheelchair was still gazing at the view outside the window. She hadn't turned around at all.

But the corners of her mouth slowly curved into a smile.