The underground council chamber at Jujutsu Headquarters.
Behind the dim paper doors, a few faint candle flames flickered.
Wood chips left by Satoru Gojo's kick were still tumbling across the floor.
This place held the highest decision-making authority in Japan's Jujutsu Society.
The elders, normally so lofty and untouchable, now faced a report stained with muddy water.
"Yamada's original report is right here." The old man seated in the center spoke hoarsely, his fingers trembling around the paper. "Abandoned commercial complex in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture. Estimated Special Grade cursed spirit nest.
"Exorcism time... three minutes and fourteen seconds. No cursed residue detected.
"The innate domain was subjected to an unknown judgment and evaporated outright."
A stifled cough came from behind a screen.
"Absurd! Three minutes and fourteen seconds? That isn't even a fraction of the time needed to set up a Veil!" The old man on the left slammed the table and rose. "Have we uncovered this Yang fellow's background? Just what cursed technique is he using?"
"We found nothing. All his medical examination results at Jujutsu High are normal. He's even healthier than an ordinary person. Shoko Ieiri's report is airtight. There's nothing to pick apart.
"More critically, the two Grade 1 inspectors we sent to test him had their necks snapped on the spot."
"He has no respect for his elders! He's defying Jujutsu Headquarters! We should issue an execution order!"
A scoff came from the right.
"An execution order? Who would carry it out? You? Or would you send Satoru Gojo?"
The council chamber fell into an awkward, deathly silence.
Satoru Gojo had only just left.
Not only had he thrown the field report in their faces, he had crushed the threshold underfoot before leaving them with one remark: "If Yang Jian loses so much as a hair, I'll tear this dump out by the roots. Want to guess whether I can do it?"
The oppressive presence of the Six Eyes still lingered in the air.
"Those students are all in this together now. Satoru Gojo has already mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, and his strength has reached Special Grade.
"Suguru Geto is also growing rapidly. Add Yang Jian, whose background remains unknown and who killed a Semi-Special Grade alone.
"The balance at Jujutsu High has been broken."
"This is the first sign of things slipping out of control. That Gojo Clan brat can't keep a monster like this in check. Sooner or later, it will turn on him."
"But we cannot touch him now," the old man in the center declared. "Satoru Gojo's threat was no joke. Moreover, Yang Jian possesses a means of mass destruction capable of unilaterally crushing an innate domain.
"Until we uncover the nature of that red light, withdraw all overt and covert observers. Suspend all surveillance and interference."
"So we're just letting this go?"
"We're merely shelving it." The old man's dentures clicked as he clenched his teeth. "Seal this report. Publicly announce that the Chiba Prefecture incident was resolved jointly by Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.
"Erase Yang Jian's achievements. Since he doesn't want fame, let him be a phantom with no record of his existence."
The air in the council chamber filled with reluctant compromise.
They had no other choice.
The Infirmary at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Gojo had just paid another visit to the higher-ups.
Shoko toyed with an empty cola can.
Yang Jian had just crushed it into a metal disc with one hand.
"What was that desperate proposal you mentioned?" Shoko looked up inquisitively.
Yang Jian leaned against the medicine cabinet partition, both hands in his pockets. "Cut the problem off at its source. Those shabby tatami rooms that don't even have the air conditioning on, for example.
"Stuff everyone inside into the Ghost Domain, then give each of their heads a different body. Leave them there with low-level cursed spirits for seven or eight hours.
"Of course, that's only if they keep making trouble."
Suguru Geto pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Simple and brutal, but it suits our current situation. Gojo has already gone over there and flipped the table, though.
"The higher-ups are old politicians who bully the weak and fear the strong. They won't dare make another move until they've figured out what you're holding in reserve."
Footsteps sounded outside.
Satoru Gojo pushed the door open, closed it behind him, then swung his long legs over the hospital bed and sat astride it.
"Done. Those rotten old geezers agreed to cancel your special investigation and classify you as a 'Free Associate.'"
Satoru Gojo raised a hand in a victory sign. "Basically, you can pick your own missions. They won't force assignments on you. Of course, missions will be settled under Jujutsu High's name and won't appear in your official Window record."
Suguru Geto caught the implication. "The higher-ups want to bury him? Cut off his path to Special Grade promotion and the larger stipends?"
"That's their idea of revenge. Childish and useless." Satoru Gojo shrugged.
Yang Jian didn't care.
He had no need for Jujutsu Society's ranks or salaries.
Yen and hollow prestige were far less tangible than the points ticking upward on his system panel.
"That's for the best." Yang Jian turned toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Shoko asked.
"Back to the dorm to sleep. And see if there are any stray dogs that need cleaning up."
By the time he left the Infirmary, the rain outside had stopped.
The damp stench of soil was heavy in the air.
Yang Jian glanced at the system panel floating near the upper edge of his vision, visible only to him.
[Current system points: 54,170]
Taking care of the Semi-Special Grade in Funabashi City had earned him nearly two thousand points altogether.
The total was growing slowly.
If he relied solely on killing cursed spirits of such low grades, it would take an extremely long time to gather the three hundred thousand needed to purchase Ghost Lake.
The main storyline would enter a lull after the Star Plasma Vessel Incident.
The matter of Toji Fushiguro selling Megumi Fushiguro to Satoru Gojo had been dealt with.
He pushed open the door of the small wooden dormitory building.
The lights were off in his room. Yang Jian sat on the edge of the bed.
A dark red eye surfaced on the back of his right hand, swiveling restlessly.
Four Ghost Eyes were dormant.
The risk of awakening caused by stacking the Ghost Eyes had been transferred and suppressed, but that balance depended on borrowing Ghost Shadow's power.
Repeatedly using higher-level Ghost Domains would double the rate at which that balance broke down.
Yang Jian raised his left hand and pressed it over the eye on his right.
A sizzling sound rose as flesh melded together.
The Ghost Eye closed again and sank beneath his skin.
"Earning points through routine cleanup missions is too slow. Since the higher-ups have decided to play dead, I'll switch to a different way of harvesting."
Yang Jian removed the Deceiving Ghost Necklace from his neck.
It was an exquisitely crafted gold necklace.
It could create solid objects containing no gold out of thin air.
Combined with the Ghost Newspaper's memory alteration, it offered plenty of possibilities.
He thought of the Curse User groups scattered across Japan.
And of the vast underground assets and extensive intelligence network left behind after the Time Vessel Association disbanded.
Toji Fushiguro had dealt with the Time Vessel Association's living members, but its network remained.
Jujutsu Headquarters' unwillingness to provoke Satoru Gojo did not mean it would relinquish control of the underground.
If he could turn those underground intelligence networks into his own point detectors, dedicated to locating the lairs of high-grade cursed spirits...
Yang Jian walked to the desk and opened a drawer.
Several photographs lay inside.
They were the list of underground black-market contacts he had previously asked Satoru Gojo to obtain.
Knock, knock.
Someone stopped outside the door.
Yang Jian's shadow stretched silently across the floor.
"It's me." Suguru Geto's voice sounded outside.
"The door's unlocked."
Suguru Geto pushed the door open and entered, carrying two cans of beer.
He walked over to Yang Jian's desk and set them down.
"Satoru went back. Shoko's still up writing medical records. I came to see if you needed any help." Suguru Geto surveyed Yang Jian's decidedly sparse room. Apart from a bed and a wardrobe, there were no personal belongings.
"You're looking at the black-market list." Suguru Geto spotted the photographs on the desk.
"Yeah. Headquarters' missions are too inefficient. I'm going to find cursed spirits to kill myself." Yang Jian pulled the tab on his beer.
Suguru Geto pulled up a chair. "If you need missions, you can team up with me. I'll break into Headquarters' intelligence database and intercept every mission rated Grade 1 or above."
"That won't work. You need to consume cursed spirits to increase your strength. My methods destroy them outright. Nothing is left.
"If you go with me, you'll starve."
Suguru Geto's hand paused around his beer can.
"Yang Jian." Suguru Geto raised his eyes. "Yamada said that Semi-Special Grade in Funabashi City took you only three minutes and fourteen seconds."
"To be precise, finding my way took two minutes. That thing was hidden pretty deep."
"What exactly are you pursuing?" Suguru Geto looked straight at him. "Satoru wants to be the strongest. Shoko wants a peaceful life. Even those higher-ups, rotten as they are, want power.
"You seem indifferent to life and death in this world. The way you work looks more like completing some tedious cleaning job."
Yang Jian took a mouthful of beer and set the room-temperature aluminum can on the corner of the desk.
"I'm trying to stay alive."
Suguru Geto said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Yang Jian turned halfway around. His shadow fell across the wall, its edges rippling in irregular, jagged waves.
"The power I use comes at a price. Every time I borrow it, it eats away a little more of my body.
"To suppress that erosion, I have to kill specific things and obtain a means of compensation.
"If I stop moving forward, that equivalent exchange will devour me, skin and bones."
It was an airtight lie, and the closest one to reality.
He could not explain the system points, but the rules governing a vengeful ghost's awakening could be applied directly.
Suguru Geto half closed his eyes.
No wonder Shoko remained silent about the abnormalities in Yang Jian's body.
And no wonder he always appeared so utterly cold-blooded, both inside and outside Jujutsu High.
A gamble of life for life.
"I see." Veins bulged on the back of Suguru Geto's hand. "No wonder you don't take the higher-ups seriously. Political struggles really are a joke when survival is at stake."
Yang Jian's gaze lingered on Suguru Geto's face.
After the Star Plasma Vessel Incident, Suguru Geto still held on to his beliefs, but they were no longer as rigid as before.
He had learned to examine the root of a problem. That was an excellent sign.
"If you want to bypass the higher-ups for intelligence, the black market can certainly help," Suguru Geto offered. "But a lot of underground intelligence is unreliable. I happen to know a broker whose information is extremely accurate."
"Shiu Kong?" Yang Jian named the target.
Suguru Geto agreed. "He's been lying low since the Time Vessel Association incident.
"He controls an information hub at the intersection between Curse Users and the Windows. Bring him into the fold, and your efficiency will double."
"Good idea. Where is he?"
"That'll take some digging." Suguru Geto stood. "I'll send cursed spirits to watch the underground gambling dens. If there's word of a clash where someone reveals their hidden hand, I'll let you know."
"Thanks." Yang Jian wasted no further words.
Suguru Geto turned to leave, then stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
"You said before that assimilation was a one-sided replacement."
"Yes."
"The things we're doing, and the things the higher-ups are doing-once we strip away the surface, how much substance is left?"
Yang Jian looked at Suguru Geto's broad back and cut straight to the heart of it.
"This rule system is riddled with holes, and its foundations are a mess of unresolved accounts. The people reciting the line about protecting the weak don't even care whether it makes sense. There's no need to carry a monument to your own virtue around.
"If you see someone you want to save, lend a hand. If you encounter something disgusting, smash the table and everything on it. Don't treat yourself as a savior."
Suguru Geto remained silent for a long time.
"Get some rest."
The door closed.
Yang Jian was left alone in the room.
The opened can still held half its beer.
He did not touch it.
His awareness seeped through every part of his body.
An icy aura of death covered him.
He still had a fair amount of time to prepare for the next paranormal invasion.
He needed to pull on the thread that was Shiu Kong, not just to farm points, but to anchor the roots of his intelligence network.
The higher-ups wanted him to be a phantom. Then he would use this shell, neither dead nor alive, to dig out every bargaining chip hidden beneath their table.
Yang Jian lowered his eyes.
The room's temperature dropped without warning. Shadows piled up in the corner and stretched into a pitch-black human silhouette with no facial features, standing rigidly beside the headboard.
The harvest was now on the agenda.
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