Chapter 111

His gaze shifted between the boy and Ye Jiang. Ye Jiang noticed his unusual behavior and asked, "Do you two know each other?"

"I... I think we know each other." The Invisible Man stammered as he peeked at the boy, who didn't recognize his body and was deep in thought.

The Invisible Man couldn't help but remind him, "Wilderness, romance."

Dong Zhen blinked. "You're that big, dirty guy?"

The Invisible Man swayed, almost losing his human form once again.

After several days apart, this young man still speaks so venomously to the Polluted; I should have pretended not to know him.

"It's you. You've come to City A after all." Dong Zhen looked the Invisible Man up and down. "You look much cleaner."

The Invisible Man is very sad.

Ye Jiang could tell they genuinely knew each other. She had originally intended to introduce them, but now she didn't need to; they had their own destiny. She stopped interfering and let the two debate about whether something was dirty or not, while she picked up her phone and started playing a game.

Ye Jiang received a call from Xiao Pei, inviting her to a small restaurant for a meal. Ye Jiang didn't want to go out and was about to give up on taking advantage of her, but when Xiao Pei told her that this was their last get-together and that Xiao Pei was leaving City A the next day, Ye Jiang, before she could even process the sadness of parting, had already set off as the sun was setting.

Captain Xiao is from the General Bureau. He stayed in City A for the sake of the General Bureau in City M and for the monster case in City S. Now, the day has finally come for him to close the case and leave.

When Ye Jiang arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant, the captain of the Ability Control Bureau was already there, but she didn't see him. Hearing his voice coming from the restaurant's kitchen, Ye Jiang suspiciously approached the kitchen door and asked, "What are you doing?"

Captain Xiao, sleeves rolled up as if ready to get to work, took a moment to reply, "Nothing much. I was just bored waiting for you, so I came to give our boss some pointers on how to cook."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiang, who had previously felt a strange heaviness in her heart, now only felt a heaviness in her stomach.

She said sullenly, "Why do I need guidance?"

Xiao Pei turned around and grinned at her. "You're used to my cooking, I'm afraid you won't like other people's food."

Ye Jiang: "..."

She thought she could get used to it.

Seeing Ye Jiang's expression, Xiao Pei burst into laughter, rolled up her sleeves, and left the kitchen. Her laughter completely ruined the farewell atmosphere, and Ye Jiang wondered if it was intentional. Afterwards, the two sat down at the table for a meal, and the atmosphere remained ordinary, no different from any other meal they ate together. Near the end, Xiao Pei apologized to Ye Jiang.

"Ye Jiang, you said before that you were looking for a friend. Is the friend you're looking for the Invisible Man?"

However, the Invisible Man died, partly because of Xiao Pei.

Xiao Pei said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry."

Ye Jiang didn't want to say outright that the Invisible Man was still alive, so when she heard this, she kept her head down and fiddled with her cup with her fingers. Her silence led Captain Xiao to misunderstand, and he sighed deeply as he looked at her.

Xiao Pei left City A the next day, as did Ye Jiang.

While browsing the task hall of Part-Time Cat, Ye Jiang stumbled upon a missing person task. There weren't many missing person tasks posted on Part-Time Cat, and with her experience in finding missing people, she accepted the task without much hesitation.

Mission objective: Locate Mei Ti, a resident of Shuiling Town who has gone missing in the town. No ability level is required.

Task posted by: Resident A of Shuiling Town.

Bounty: 100 boxes of medicine (36 pills per box, for treating Pollution).

A box of medicine used to treat Pollution costs around 200 yuan, so 100 boxes would be worth over 20,000 yuan. Presumably because the reward for this missing person search was in kind and the offer wasn't high, the task remained unclaimed and ended up with Ye Jiang. Ye Jiang accepted the task for a simple reason: she wasn't short of money and just wanted to find a quiet place to hide. The map the task poster sent her via private message indicated that Shuiling Town was an extremely remote town, perfectly matching her expectations.

So she told Yu Qingyi that she was about to go out on a mission, and asked Dong Zhen and the Invisible Man who was helping her look after the house to assist her. The next day, she went to the A-S Wilderness Zone alone and found the only B-Rank Polluted, the Eagleman, in the wilderness.

The eagle-man hadn't seen a human who could beat it up in a long time. Dominating the wilderness had emboldened it. It spotted Ye Jiang first and prepared to ambush her, but instead got humiliated and beaten to a pulp. The B-Rank aerial overlord was instantly reduced to a pathetic chicken. Ye Jiang showed no mercy to its pride as an aerial overlord and stepped on its back.

Having found a suitable means of transportation, Ye Jiang finally set off.

Unlike the missing person quest in City S, this time Ye Jiang didn't have a quest giver to guide her; she could only rely on her phone's navigation. Shuiling Town was truly remote; even with a high-level mount like the Eagleman, it took Ye Jiang almost a day to fly to the vicinity before she got lost.

Okay, this wasn't the first time she'd gotten lost; she'd gotten lost several times on her way from City A. So she wasn't in a hurry, expertly surveying the ground before selecting her target.

A dilapidated car was parked on the country road. A Polluted lay dead by the roadside, his head blown off. A man, covered in blood, was fighting another Polluted, a Polluted with unusually long and twisted limbs and hooked fingernails. With each swing of his arm, red and white blood splattered between his nails. The man was clearly outmatched; he fought and retreated, his body covered in wounds.

We can't back down any further!

The man hardened his resolve. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a throng of people inside the car behind him. The dilapidated SUV was packed with people, all peering anxiously through the windows. A wave of despair washed over him.

This group of people were all related, having come from a nearby town to move to the city. They never expected to encounter two Polluted so soon after leaving town. The man was among them.

The only superhuman, and of a high level, was someone I thought would have a difficult journey but would still be able to arrive safely. Who would have thought that I would perish here so soon after leaving the house!

The man was desperate and anxious, at this moment--

"Jie--"

A sharp screech came from the sky. The man looked up alertly, and the next second his eyes widened in horror as a B-Rank eagle-man swooped down on them!

The long-armed Polluted weren't dealt with, and now there's an eagle-man!

Heaven will not tolerate him!

In despair, the man roared and launched a fireball at the eagle-man, but the eagle-man's sharp claws extinguished the fireball instantly. At the same time, a wicked glint flashed in the eyes of the long-armed Polluted, who swung his arm toward the man's head. The man's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze fixed on the scene, determined to remember it forever and die with hatred in his heart.

Call!

The eagle-man's giant wings whipped up a whirlwind, and with a swift swipe of its talons, it carried the long-armed Polluted away, disappearing from the spot in a flash, leaving only a dark shadow in the man's eyes.

The wind stopped, but death did not come.

The man mechanically turned his head. In the distance, the eagle-man landed on the ground, one foot stepping on the shattered remains of the long-armed Polluted, the other foot raised to scratch his head, leisurely grooming his hair.

What... is going on?

The man froze.

A slender figure leaped down from the eagle-man's broad back and walked towards the man.

people?

The man's eyes immediately lit up with wariness, but he lowered his guard only when the figure drew closer and he could clearly see the other person's face. This place was too close to that town; he had initially assumed it was someone from there...

He abandoned his impolite thoughts and respectfully greeted the approaching person, "Hello. Did you save me?"

As they spoke, their gazes couldn't help but drift towards the eagle-woman, their faces momentarily blank. Who was this person? Was she using a B-Rank Polluted as a mount? This was unheard of...

Shock made them even more respectful.

Seeing that the danger had passed, the people inside the car gradually emerged, crowding together and cautiously scrutinizing the newcomers.

Ye Jiang, who had just dismounted from the eagle-man, glanced at the group and, without mincing words, asked directly, "I need to get to Shuiling Town. How do I get there?"

Her words caused everyone's expression to change.

"Are you going to Shuiling Town?" the man asked after the silence.

Ye Jiang nodded.

The man, lost in thought, pointed in a direction. "That's Shuiling Town."

In the direction the man pointed, a tall wall tightly enclosed a small town. The wall was mottled and looked quite different from the surrounding towns. Such a defensive structure was not much different from that of a large city, but it seemed a bit out of place in this remote town.

Ye Jiang had spotted this unique town from the air, but she never imagined it would be her destination.

As Ye Jiang was pondering this, the man spoke again, hesitatingly saying, "Shuiling Town hasn't been peaceful lately. I sensed an unusual Pollution in that direction a couple of days ago. My benefactor, you'd better not go there, besides, that place..."

The man didn't say what he meant next, and Ye Jiang didn't ask; she was thinking about the Pollution.

The Pollution was real. The man sensed the Pollution, which is why he decided after much deliberation to risk taking his relatives and friends into the city. Their town was too close to Shuiling Town, and if something happened, they could easily be affected.

The man tried to persuade Ye Jiang Ye Jiang, but she wasn't deterred. Instead, she pondered whether the disappearance of her mission target was related to the Pollution. However, she wasn't good at thinking, so she gave up after a short while and decided to go directly into the town to investigate. Seeing her intention, the man didn't try to persuade her further. He thanked Ye Jiang for saving him and then left with his friends and family. The road to the town was still long, and he didn't want to linger there too long, so he had to travel at night.

The car drove away, and the group of townspeople drove off. Ye Jiang stood there, gazing at the walled Shuiling Town. A gentle breeze carried a faint scent of pine. Ye Jiang stirred, turning her head slightly. A figure came into view in her deep eyes. A young man stood there, serene and aloof, his sculpted face exuding an inhuman coldness and distance. He had appeared silently; it was unclear whether he had been standing among the townspeople all along or had just arrived.

"They're all gone," Ye Jiang said.

The young man said, "I'm not going with them."

Ye Jiang said "Oh," and turned back to look at the distant Shuiling Town. The young man glanced at her, then turned and left.