"So we’re just going to leave him hanging?"
Zhou Chen quickly finished his baozi, wiped his hands with a napkin from the table, and said indistinctly, "Even if it’s a gentle refusal, Fu Qing will probably start taking precautions, right? If he gets ruthless and erases the evidence, it’ll be much harder to make a move against him later."
"That will depend on you," Jiang Che said.
"Huh?" Zhou Chen was taken aback. ’What does that have to do with ?’
Jiang Che sipped her soy milk and said calmly, "The sooner you infiltrate the Eternal Fire, the sooner we can close the net. While eradicating the Eternal Fire, we can also capture smugglers like Birdman and Snow White.
As their backer, Fu Qing won’t be able to escape his involvent. At that point, we’ll pin the cri of colluding with the Abyssal Sect on him. No matter how many different identities he has, he won’t get away."
"I see..." Zhou Chen understood now. Colluding with the Abyssal Sect was a major cri. Even soone as high-ranking as Fu Qing couldn’t escape the judgnt and sanction of the Star Association.
Whether Fu Qing actually knew that Birdman was a Fanatic of the Eternal Fire, or if he had collaborated with him, was unknown. It didn’t matter, either, because "colluding with the Abyssal Sect" was just a pretext. Even without that charge, there would be another one.
If Jiang Che was dead set on killing Fu Qing, she could probably co up with over a dozen charges to pin on him.
As for Jiang Che’s motives, Zhou Chen could more or less guess so of them. It was either related to past revenge or her current situation—a major figure controlling nearly all import and export business in the Jinzhu Region was engaged in all sorts of dirty dealings behind the scenes. If he accidentally caused so huge scandal, her promotion assessnt would be affected.
Just then, a dialog box suddenly popped up on the computer screen, displaying an urgent ssage from a Special Operations Team field operative.
"They’ve caught Iron Python and Lady Grey." Jiang Che raised an eyebrow slightly. This was actually good news.
"Caught them?" Zhou Chen was surprised. He hadn’t expected the Star Association to move so fast; it had only been a little over a day. He rembered Birdman saying that Iron Python would soon be a corpse, which ant soone had already tried to kill him. ’From the sound of it, they were captured alive?’
He stood beside Jiang Che and looked at the latest ssage on the screen:
"While attempting to flee, Iron Python was intercepted and nearly killed. Several Special Operations Team Operators arrived just in ti to save him. The assailants imdiately detonated Curses implanted in their bodies, committing suicide without leaving even a trace of their Souls...
Lady Grey sensed sothing was wrong and tried to flee in secret. She was attacked midway by dozens of masked individuals. Hearing the sounds of a gunfight, nearby Special Operations Team Operators rushed to the scene and captured Lady Grey and her most trusted subordinates. Those masked assailants also detonated Curses to commit suicide.
Based on the Operators’ recollections, it has been confird that all attackers were ordinary people; no Ascenders were present."
Zhou Chen frowned. "All these attackers had Curses implanted in them?"
"Most likely Death Warriors trained by certain people to carry out assassinations and silence witnesses."
Jiang Che sighed softly, as if seeing the massive workload ahead. She turned to Zhou Chen. "You’ll keep working, right?"
"..."
Stared at by that unnervingly calm gaze, Zhou Chen could only nod obediently, screaming to the heavens in his mind.
’What have I done to deserve this? Why didn’t I run sooner!’
·
He thought he would be swamped with work, but Zhou Chen found he didn’t actually have that much to do. He was just handling various approval tasks, granting investigation permissions, and organizing relevant files in Jiang Che’s stead.
As for on-site investigations and interrogations, Jiang Che went to oversee them all personally.
Normally, as Jiang Che’s "Secretary," he should have accompanied her. But he was currently on a special mission, and with a "mole" inside the Star Association, he couldn’t appear in places that didn’t fit his "identity," lest he arouse suspicion.
In the afternoon, Jiang Che suddenly called and told him to go ho and rest. After all, he had to et Birdman that night, which was the top priority.
Overjoyed to be getting off work early, Zhou Chen found Old Yang and asked him out for a al.
Yang Gang had just returned from a mission. Having not eaten for over ten hours, he was ravenous and agreed without a second thought.
"So... when you said you knew a great food stall, you ant the cafeteria?"
In a private room in the Special Operations Team’s cafeteria, Yang stared speechlessly at Zhou Chen across the table.
"Isn’t this spread big enough? A al like this would cost over a hundred at an outside restaurant. Look at this crawfish—it’s a hundred and twenty-eight a pound out there, but here in the cafeteria, you can eat all you want." Zhou Chen peeled the spicy crawfish, eating with great relish.
As a Star Association employee, the best perk was undoubtedly the food. The als were sumptuous, especially for a departnt like the Special Operations Team, which was full of Ascenders. The food was top-notch, far better than so-called high-end restaurants, and it was cheap. Extrely cheap.
"True..." Yang thought for a mont and had to admit he had a point.
"When you guys captured Iron Python and Lady Grey, what were those Death Warriors like?" Zhou Chen asked curiously.
"They carried guns, wore masks, and every one of them was strictly trained. Their physiques and combat experience were comparable to special forces soldiers, but they were definitely no match for Ascenders." Yang recalled, "They fought ferociously, completely reckless, like they didn’t value their lives at all. They were probably brainwashed and controlled. There was no light in their eyes. When they finally detonated the Curses to kill themselves, they didn’t hesitate for a second.
The implant was likely a Soul-Dissolving Curse. As the na implies, it dissolves the Soul upon activation, leaving no trace behind, and thus no clues.
This whole thing is extrely serious. Jiang Che had a stone-cold expression on her face at the scene. She looked terrifying. You can imagine, right?"
"When sothing like this happens on your watch, you might even be held responsible. Anyone in her shoes would be in a bad mood," Zhou Chen said.
Yang looked around, and after confirming no one was near their private room, he leaned in closer and asked in a low, suggestive whisper, "By the way, I heard from the guys in the covert ops team that you two spent the night in the office yesterday... You’re not planning to get with the boss so you can live the easy life, are you?"
"!!"
Zhou Chen’s eyes widened in horror. He pointed to his own eyes and ears.
Realization dawned on Yang, and his face instantly turned pale. ’Holy shit, I forgot this kid is under surveillance!’
’I’m screwed, I’m screwed, I’m so screwed. My next mission is going to be my last, isn’t it... No, wait. Jiang Che is still dealing with the Iron Python and Lady Grey case. She doesn’t have ti to watch the surveillance feed. Besides, I’m not on a mission right now, so the chances of her specifically checking the playback are slim. Calm down, calm down. I’ll go bribe the covert ops team later...’
Yang cald down a little and quickly changed the subject. "Ahem, speaking of which, I’ve been planning my Advancent recently, but I’m a little short on cash... Could you lend so money?"
"Sure... wait, you’re advancing?" Zhou Chen feigned surprise.
"I’ve been at Tier One for so long. It’s about ti for an Advancent."
Yang said, "You know how it is. Besides natural Advancent, Ascenders can also use an Alchemy Ceremony to assist the process. I’m still a ways off from advancing on my own, and I can’t wait any longer, so I’ve decided to use a ceremony."
For a Tier One Ascender’s Advancent, what matters is their spiritual quality. Once it reaches a certain level, their Soul will ascend again, naturally entering the next stage: the Sea of Silver. When an Ascender is close but not quite there, they usually have two paths to choose from.
One is to continue to slowly improve through ditation. The other is to get assistance from an Alchemy Secret Ceremony.
Both thods are very stable, and each has its pros and cons. The forr is slow—it might take a year or two, or even longer, to et the standard for Advancent, but you don’t have to spend money. The latter is fast, but you have to pay up for the Alchemy Materials and the secret ceremony.
Most Ascenders grit their teeth and choose the latter to advance and gain Power as quickly as possible. After so many years of research by the Star Association and the Alchemy Association, the Advancent ceremony has long been free of any side effects. It can even provide an opportunity for Ascenders who have been stuck for a long ti. The only drawback is that it burns through an insane amount of money.
Besides the most basic version, the Advancent ceremony also has special, tailor-made versions. Not only do these increase the chance of success, but they also offer a certain probability of awakening Extraordinary Abilities, leading to the developnt of more new and unique Abilities.
Therefore, almost every Ascender who chooses an Alchemy Ceremony for their Advancent will spare no expense to have an Alchemist design a custom Advancent Secret Ceremony for them. No one can resist the lure of Power.
This just goes to show how in-demand Alchemists truly are.
"How much do you need?" Zhou Chen asked.
"I still need one and a half million," Yang sighed wistfully. "You know I’m already carrying a huge loan. The banks won’t lend to anymore. I wouldn’t be asking you if I had any other choice."
Zhou Chen pretended to think for a mont. "I can lend it to you. It’s not like I have a use for that much money right now anyway."
Yang quickly slapped his chest in assurance. "Don’t worry. After my Advancent, I’ll be able to take on High Level missions. I’ll pay you back in less than a month."
The transfer wasn’t complicated. A few minutes later, an extra one and a half million appeared in Yang’s account.
And in the Wish Bottle, the seventh starlet finished forming completely.
Zhou Chen was perfectly content and began to look forward to the night.
He planned to make a wish to restore his Soul while taking the Canaan Blue. That way, he could bla any issues on the Canaan Blue itself.
His Soul had already recovered to about 53%, and this ti he was guaranteed to restore at least another 5%...
Zhou Chen let out a breath and couldn’t help but smile. He could see a glimr of hope.
·
「Late at night.」
「Birdman’s club.」
Zhou Chen changed into his Killing Maniac getup. The mont he stepped out of the elevator, he heard Birdman’s whistle.
"Welco, our dear Mr. Killing Maniac."
Birdman, wearing his Golden Bird Mask and a sharp suit, placed a hand over his chest and gave Zhou Chen an elegant bow. His tone was cheerful. "Thanks to you, Iron Python and Lady Grey have both been eliminated. The Jinzhu underworld now has two fewer powerful competitors, and my slice of the pie has gotten even bigger."
"So—"
Birdman clapped his hands and said with a smile, "—I’ve prepared a grand gift for you."
An underling beside him respectfully brought over an alloy case and placed it on the table. There was a keyhole on the case, surrounded by an intricate inscription of an Alchemy Matrix. It could only be opened with the corresponding Alchemy Key.
Birdman took a Copper Key from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and twisted. With a CLICK, the case opened.
A fingernail-sized crystal of Canaan Blue lay quietly inside, radiating an azure glow that created the illusion of being imrsed in the ocean.
"And now, it’s yours."
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