Rod’s biggest worry was that, in the end, the investigation would reveal that he himself was the murderer.
To avoid the tragedy of having killed himself, he must first ascertain the truth.
Only then would he possibly survive this crisis.
That was why the First Level "Goldenworth Star" award was a must-have.
Only by leaving the academy would he be able to conduct his investigation, verify the clues he’d obtained, find more backers, and plunder more souls.
The academy’s combat courses had deadlines; once they were over, the source of souls would be cut off again.
When the supply of souls was interrupted, the stars would gradually extinguish, his strength would decline, his value would decrease, and a chain reaction would ensue, ending either in being interrogated and soul-extracted as a discard or dying from an invasion in the dream realm.
Therefore, he not only needed to seize enough souls during this chance but also to understand the chanism of the Obelisk and the secrets within the dream realm.
Rod pocketed the fifty True Silver Bullets he had just commissioned the green-haired person to buy, as well as three packs of Red Powder that had just been distributed—these were the potions he deed most useful after actual combat.
Tonight, he definitely had to kill more monsters to gain more souls.
"I also need to figure out what the deal is with that ex-girlfriend," he said.
On the double-decker Spirit Car bus, Rod silently made up his mind.
Just like the previous night, the Spirit Car once again ca to a stop at Iron Cross Street Square, and under the driver’s lead, Rod entered the Defense Departnt building in the Iron Cross Street area.
The room was bustling with people, all students coming to hand over their earlier half-night duties or waiting to be assigned their tasks for the latter half of the night.
The difference between the early and late-night students was quite evident; the latter seed much more experienced, while the forr mostly dressed as students and were led by instructors.
The Defense Head, with a large scar across his face, and several clerks were busy to the extre.
Rod found Reslin and his two companions, who had arrived on another Spirit Car, arguing vigorously about a topic:
"For grass tuber jam, is it better with honey or with salt?"
Rod listened in silence for a while and realized it was a debate about the sweet and savory sides of the "tofu brain," a delicacy from another world analogous to tofu pudding.
The topic was incredibly dull; what’s tofu pudding without sugar?
Rod coughed and joined their debate, bridging any awkwardness that had grown during the day without a word.
By the ti they were assigned their tasks, their atmosphere was no different from the day before.
The patrol area the Defense Head assigned to them hadn’t changed, still spanning White Flower Street, Stone Street, all the way to Fifth Square. He stuffed the Spirit Whistle and signal flares into Rod’s hands but added a special admonition:
"Tonight is Dark Moon Night. You must be careful. At any sign of abnormality, please imdiately use the signal flare or Spirit Whistle. Guardian Viri will swiftly co to support you."
Rod caught sight of the Guardian wearing a half iron mask.
He stood to the side, his expression cold and silent.
After Mo’er’s lesson that day, Rod had learned that Guardians were Combatants of at least Seventh Level, while Reslin and his crew had just officially beco Combatants, which is Ninth Level.
As for himself, he was still in the reserves of the Combatants, without a level.
Rod activated his Spiritual Vision and Eye of the Soul and saw the Guardian’s soul.
It was a light-colored shadow, quivering like ripples of water, and vibrating like the low tones of a tuba.
But human soul waveforms are complex, and spiritual energy isn’t active all the ti, so he couldn’t imdiately tell how strong he really was.
He turned to look at the Defense Chief, whose soul waveform was pacing and roaring like a majestic lion.
The Defense Chief noticed his gaze, lifted his hands, and struck a muscle-flexing pose.
"So, what do you think? Impressive, isn’t it?"
Rod felt a bit awkward as he turned off the Spiritual Vision and the Eye of the Soul and praised untruthfully, "Of course, no one is more impressive than you."
The Defense Chief laughed heartily:
"You’re right, the female teachers at the academy must love a man like this. You’re a special student; you must’ve t a lot of teachers. Introduce one to when you’re free."
He clapped Rod on the shoulder.
"Go on your mission, and don’t be late. Rember to be careful on patrol, and use a signal flare imdiately if you encounter any danger."
Rod agreed repeatedly and hurriedly boarded the horseless carriage to the patrol area with Reslin.
On the way, Karamon whispered, "Rod, you don’t like n, right? I must say I’m not into that."
Rod pulled out a crystal ball: "Do I look like that kind of person to you?"
All three laughed together, as Reslin patted Karamon’s shoulder: "Your girlfriend is really a good person."
Karamon sneered, "You talk as if you’ve seen her. Apart from Brother Rod, who hasn’t just heard about her from his own mouth?"
Egger sat on the bench, swinging his legs back and forth: "But, Brother Rod’s description makes her seem as if she’s right before our eyes, heh heh, your girlfriend is really very generous."
Rod’s interest was piqued, and he took the chance to ask, "Could you tell a bit about your girlfriend? I’m really curious."
Reslin hooked his arm around Rod’s neck and laughed, "What are you up to? You’ve got your eye on Donna? Although she’s indeed pretty, I don’t think she’s suitable for you."
"Exactly!" Karamon said through gritted teeth, "That strumpet is only fit to hang a sign at Red Workshop Street, the kind that costs nothing."
Rod hurriedly explained, "No, no, I’m just curious. I feel like it’s hard for an ordinary woman to do such a thing."
Reslin stroked his chin, "Co to think of it, why did she do that? If she didn’t want to be with Karamon, she could’ve just kicked him to the curb. Why bother giving a crystal ball?"
"Right!" Egger shouted, "Could it be she’s mocking you for being small, short, and quick, unable to satisfy her?"
Karamon’s entire face turned as red as if it had been boiled, and he shouted angrily, "If you keep mocking like this, I’ll get mad! I haven’t even touched her hand!"
Egger clapped his hands, "Exactly! She must be mocking you for being all bark and no bite! Not even touching her hand, what a joke!"
Karamon yelled, "Shut up, you little runt!"
Egger instantly jumped up, landing a punch right in Karamon’s belly button.
"I’m worth Seventh Level!"
Rod quickly intervened to steer the conversation back on track, "Tell us about her. Maybe we can analyze the reason. Even though it’s over, at least you should know why."
Karamon fell silent for a mont and, after a long sigh, he said:
"The day I t her, a misty rain swirled beneath the Holy White Tree, the lake shimred with sparkling waves, and she, like a goddess, erged from a lotus leaf boat..."
"Her tender body shuddered violently..." Reslin directly quoted a part of Rod’s earlier words, shattering Karamon’s mood completely.
A cry of rage and frustration echoed in the carriage.
"You all bully ! I won’t talk anymore!"
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