The higher-ups

Outside the Veil, rain poured down over Chiba Prefecture.

Assistant Manager Yamada sat in the driver's seat, staring fixedly at the second hand on his watch.

Tick, tock.

Less than three minutes had passed since the mysterious new "Semi-Grade 1," Mr. Yang, had entered the Veil.

What could anyone do in three minutes?

Even instant noodles wouldn't have softened yet! Inside was a terrifying cursed spirit nest, suspected to be special grade, that had left the local police helpless and claimed a Grade 2 Sorcerer!

Trembling, Yamada took out his phone and pulled up his contact at Jujutsu Headquarters.

His thumb hovered over the call button as cold sweat mingled with the rain.

The higher-ups had already given their orders: if this newcomer named Yang was at risk of becoming a casualty, there was to be no rescue. Seal the records immediately.

The call connected.

"Beeeep-"

Yamada swallowed and was about to speak.

"Knock, knock."

Someone suddenly tapped on the car window.

Yamada jolted all over. His phone clattered down beside the gearshift, and he whipped his head around.

Outside the window, Yang Jian stood beneath a transparent plastic umbrella he had picked up somewhere, looking down at him.

His eyes betrayed not a ripple in the pitch-black, rainy night, holding a calm that made Yamada's skin crawl.

Yamada fumbled to lower the window, ignoring the urgent "Hello? Hello?" from the phone as he hung up.

"M-Mr. Yang? Why are you out here? Is the cursed spirit inside too difficult to handle? Do you need backup?" He hurriedly pushed open the door, forgetting even his umbrella. "It's all right. I'll contact-"

"Open the trunk," Yang Jian interrupted coldly.

"Huh?"

"Put him in there. He's filthy. Don't get my seats dirty."

Yang Jian shifted slightly to one side.

Yamada sucked in a breath.

Only then did he see that Yang Jian was dragging a bloodied, mangled man with his left hand as though hauling a dead dog!

The man's Jujutsu High uniform had been torn into strips, and his entire body was coated in foul-smelling, rotten slime. His chest rose and fell so faintly it was barely perceptible.

It was Kijima, the Grade 2 Sorcerer who had been missing for days.

"M-Mr. Kijima?!" Horrified, Yamada lunged forward to check his carotid artery.

There was still a pulse!

Yang Jian casually stepped forward and dumped the man into Yamada's arms, then walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat down.

He tossed the transparent umbrella onto the floor mat, and a nauseating stench immediately filled the car.

"Wh-what about the cursed spirit?" Yamada stammered, his tongue practically tying itself in knots.

"Dead."

"D-dead?" His voice shot up like a rubber chicken being strangled.

It had been suspected to be special grade!

Yang Jian leaned against the seatback, pulled the unfinished cola from his pocket, and opened it one-handed.

"It couldn't take a hit. I hadn't even finished warming up."

He tipped his head back for a gulp, then glanced at Yamada, who stood frozen like a statue. "What are you standing around for? Waiting for it to come back from the dead and hand you a case report?"

Yamada felt as though lightning had struck him.

Scrambling, he stuffed Kijima into the back seat-he wouldn't have dared actually put him in the trunk even with ten times the courage.

Then he stumbled through the raging wind and rain toward the edge of the mall's police cordon.

The pitch-black Veil had not yet been lifted.

But as the one who had cast it, Yamada could clearly sense-

The vast, chilling source of special grade cursed energy that had lingered inside the Veil for three weeks had vanished completely.

Without a trace.

Not even a speck of cursed residue remained!

Three minutes.

He had hauled a critically injured man out of a special grade cursed spirit's belly with his bare hands and wiped out its nest along the way!

Yamada swallowed hard, oblivious to the rain soaking him through.

Now he finally understood what Satoru Gojo had been laughing about yesterday when he went to the higher-ups to receive the assignment.

This hadn't been a fucking mission!

It had been a stroll!

At four in the afternoon, in Jujutsu High's underground Infirmary.

The emergency bed clattered as it was wheeled in.

Shoko Ieiri wore a white coat, an unlit cigarette between her lips.

She lifted Kijima's eyelid to inspect it, then pressed both hands directly against his ruined chest.

Reverse Cursed Technique.

Gentle, pure positive energy flowed into Kijima's body.

Before their eyes, new flesh began growing in the wounds that ran deep enough to expose bone, rapidly scabbing over and healing.

Yang Jian stood beside a nearby medicine cabinet with his hands in his pockets, watching.

Though this wasn't his first time seeing it, an ability akin to bringing back the dead and restoring flesh to bare bones truly was top-tier support.

In less than ten minutes, Kijima's breathing had completely stabilized.

Shoko let out a long breath, stripped off her bloodstained medical gloves, and tossed them into the trash.

"Extensive rupturing of internal organs, cursed energy nearly exhausted, severe mental contamination. Ten minutes later, and he'd have gone straight to the cremator."

She pulled over a swivel chair and sat down, took out a lighter, and lit her cigarette. Her gaze was searching as she looked Yang Jian up and down. "And you didn't even lose a hair."

"I don't do business at a loss," Yang Jian said evenly.

"Special grade, you know." Shoko exhaled a wisp of smoke. "Jujutsu Headquarters' final assessment put it above a hypothetical Semi-Special Grade. Apparently, when Yamada submitted the case report, the liaison spilled hot coffee all over a colleague's crotch."

Yang Jian's lips twitched with a hint of mockery. "They really don't trust me."

"It's not distrust. It's fear."

The Infirmary door opened, and Suguru Geto walked slowly inside carrying two hot drinks.

"Geto? What brings you here? Where's Satoru?" Shoko asked.

"He went to a meeting upstairs. More precisely, he went to make life difficult for those old fossils." Suguru Geto handed Shoko a hot drink.

Yang Jian didn't take the other one, instead pulling out another can of cola.

Suguru Geto didn't mind. He popped the tab himself, took a sip, and looked at Kijima on the bed. "Nicely done. You completely wrecked the higher-ups' plans."

"Plans?"

"They originally intended to tie you down with this difficult mission. Ideally, you'd suffer some lingering injury, and then they could bring you back under their thumb on the grounds of 'failing your strength assessment.'" Suguru Geto spoke calmly, with a faint edge of sarcasm. "Instead, you brought him back without a scratch on yourself, and did it all in three minutes."

"If there hadn't been so much small fry in there, I could've been out in one minute." Time had never been Yang Jian's concern. Points were.

Suguru Geto shook his head helplessly. "If the sorcerers out there risking their lives heard that, they'd die of frustration. But it also proves your undeniable value."

"Value?" Yang Jian looked straight at him.

"Your ability completely counters cursed spirits. Neither Satoru nor I can suppress them the way you do." Suguru Geto folded his arms, his gaze darkening slightly. "But that also means the higher-ups will watch you even more closely, and may even see you as a thorn in their side."

Yang Jian smiled.

To Shoko, that smile looked exactly like a scalpel freshly pulled from ice water.

"Watch me closely? Those old bastards had better prepare a few extra pairs of eyes." Yang Jian tightened his grip, instantly crushing the empty cola can into a flat scrap of metal.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway.

Bang! The door was shoved open roughly.

Satoru Gojo strode in on long legs, a wildly brazen grin on his face.

"Yo, you're back! Do you have any idea how hilarious those old fossils' faces look right now? They look worse than if they'd eaten expired bitter melon!"

"What did you do this time?" Shoko rubbed her brow.

"I just slapped the Chiba Prefecture field report in their faces." Satoru Gojo leaned toward Yang Jian and lowered one side of his sunglasses, his azure Six Eyes gleaming with intense fascination. "The report said: the Innate Domain was instantly vaporized by an unidentified red light, leaving not a single trace behind! Now they suspect you're hiding some prohibited weapon of mass destruction."

"I only kill cursed spirits. I don't tear down buildings."

"Ha! Doesn't matter!" Satoru Gojo waved a hand. "Anyway, they definitely won't have the guts to openly give you trouble again anytime soon."

"They won't dare do it openly, but their underhanded tricks certainly won't stop," Suguru Geto pointed out.

"Doesn't matter."

Yang Jian lowered his eyelids halfway, a red light flashing deep within his eyes.

"I happen to have a brilliant idea. If they dare stick their hands where they don't belong again..." Yang Jian's voice was as cold and eerie as though it came from hell. "Then I'll give those ignorant old men at the top an early taste of... true despair."