Some Information

Ten minutes later.

Zhu Yan stared blankly at the hand-drawn schematic that the silver-haired man had shoved into his hands.

"That's all there is."

The silver-haired man carefully pulled a new crystal lens from his pocket and fitted it into his eye socket, then stepped back to admire his handiwork from a distance.

"Well? My drawing skills aren't half bad, are they?"

"You—" Zhu Yan was at a loss for words.

"You can call me Feining, or you can call me Mr. Dragonfly," the silver-haired man said. "Don't be rude."

The supposedly rude Zhu Yan gaped at what he was holding.

It was a thangka—more precisely, a line sketch of a thangka. Mr. Dragonfly's technique couldn't be called good; there was a childish sort of precision to it, like a freshman medical student sketching human organs. But the content of the thangka was grotesque—entrails, human skin, and skull cups wound around the deities.

"To make it easier for you to understand, I drew all three objects together."

Feining gestured proudly with a long stick, tapping at various points.

"See this. This is the Auspicious Heavenly Mother treading on human skin, this is the One-Braid Mother holding a corpse-staff, and this one is a Joyful Buddha. Oh—that one's also called a corpse-baton, the kind you chopped up a pile of outside the kitchen."

Zhu Yan remembered.

In his impression, these things had been almost indistinguishable from living people.

They were like rigid specimens made by soaking people directly in formaldehyde!

"This is what Ji Xiting's parents worshipped," Feining said. "More precisely, his father."

"The corpse-baton is the ritual implement of these things. The fact that Ji Xiting could get his hands on this many… the implications should be obvious."

Indeed, they were.

"So he's a believer of these things, which is where he gets his power?"

Feining smiled without answering, reaching out to pat Zhu Yan's shoulder.

"That's where it ends," it said. "I don't know more than that."

It pointed at the rolling door, signaling that Zhu Yan could leave.

"See you this afternoon. I'll keep this crack open."

...

While Feining was drawing, the gossip it had shared with Zhu Yan had been far too shocking.

So much so that even though Zhu Yan made it to the [Pulpit], his mind was still drifting elsewhere.

He actually found himself grateful that Ji Xiting wasn't smarter.

What do you mean, Ji Xiting's father had offered his mother up as a "mother" to those vajra lamas?

What do you mean, Ji Xiting had crossed the ocean with his father, gotten genuine fresh human bodies, and made them into Five-Flower Offerings?

What do you mean, after his son died, the father had himself made into a sacrificial offering to the Buddha?

If any of this had happened after the arrival of [Jubilee Paradise], Zhu Yan wouldn't have been the least bit surprised.

But the problem was that the things Mr. Dragonfly described happened a year ago.

A year ago, Zhu Yan was still an ordinary student sneaking around to study, determined to pass the college entrance exam!

"Hey."

A chill feminine voice snapped him back.

"You okay, Hunter?"

It was [Vine Cage Girl].

Zhu Yan instantly gathered himself and gave her an apologetic smile.

"...I'm fine."

"Then what would you like to drink?"

Vine Cage Girl's dusky purple face stared straight at him, her damp fingers stroking the calico cat lounging on the counter.

He had no idea when the cat had gotten there—by the time he noticed, it was already lying on the counter.

"A salted cheese latte," Zhu Yan said.

"Your cat seems to have picked up a new trick." Vine Cage Girl didn't rush off.

She tilted her head and said softly, "I didn't see it coming either, just now. That's nice, little cat."

Then she withdrew her damp fingers, raised her pale gray eyes to glance at the entrance, and pulled out a document in a plastic folder from under the counter.

"Your file."

"Also, there's one more thing."

Zhu Yan took the package and stored it in his ring.

"What is it?"

"There are new Hunters," Vine Cage Girl said. "Quite a few this time—over a dozen."

"Oh?" Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen them? What are they like?"

He knew new Hunters would come eventually.

He just hadn't expected to get the chance to see for himself within mere days.

"They'll be here soon," Vine Cage Girl said. "My work backend shows it's today. Want to take a look? I promised you, remember?"

She tapped the menu on the counter: "Second page of the menu."

Zhu Yan was curious.

But when it came to people like that, he was inclined to be cautious. He didn't want direct contact.

It was a high-risk profession, and Hunters weren't necessarily more capable than players from the [Human Alliance].

If his identity got exposed, it would all be over.

"Forget it," Zhu Yan declined, picking up the calico cat. "Thanks, but I'd better get going."

Getting going was out of the question.

He was curious. He could disguise himself as a level-14 [Demon] and hide not far away to eavesdrop.

...

A thousand miles away.

Guan En stood before the desk, head bowed with a deferential expression.

Behind the desk stood Director Jin, who had just returned from a meeting.

He took off his coat and asked Guan En again, seriously.

"You're certain the weapon on that kid is level 13?"

Level-13 weapons did exist, but they were rare.

At current stage, most level-9 and level-10 weapons had already been quietly carved up, let alone level-11 or level-12.

An item reaching level 11 was already considered high-tier reserved material.

After all, no [Lazy Man's Craft Shop] had ever materialized in Bailu City.

If players wanted to enchant or obtain new items, they basically had to gamble on dungeon runs—either finding a second-rate blacksmith or a horror creature that did handiwork, or snatching things from the jaws of monstrous beings, or relying on dungeon rewards.

And horror creatures? What a nightmare to deal with.

On top of that, the newly spawned high-tier weapon dungeons in Bailu City had extremely high mortality rates.

Very unforgiving!

"I've verified through multiple channels. He used that thing to save some students trapped in cages, and at least one of them could tell the cage was level 12."

"These universities really are something else."

Director Jin shook his head with a chuckle.

"Supposed to be a dungeon, but look at what they've secretly funneled in—all those goodies. If only our players could get in there."

Guan En smiled. "Indeed."

"But for a level-3 rookie to pick up a weapon like that—that's some real eye for talent, whoever recruited him into the [Human Alliance]."

Director Jin smiled knowingly, the corners of his eyes creasing slightly.

He poured himself a cup of hot tea and asked, "Does anyone else know about this?"

Director Jin meant the existence of the level-13 weapon, and Guan En knew that.

As for what Director Jin wanted to hear, Guan En had already planned it before arriving.

"You're my direct superior," Guan En said with a smile. "Matters like this should be reported to you first. It's the rule."

Director Jin burst into laughter and poured another cup of hot tea.

"Right, the rule. This is new da hong pao—have a taste."

Guan En didn't speak, nor did he take the cup.

He smiled and said, "Sir, you're selecting people recently, aren't you? I'd like to join Captain Jin Rongxu's unit."

Director Jin understood.

He kept the smile on his face, pondering for a moment.

"Indeed, Captain Jin Rongxu does have an opening for a vice-captain, one rank higher than your current position."

"Objectively speaking, you are quite suited for this role."

"Once Captain Jin Rongxu finishes this dungeon run and obtains the new gear, you'll go train under him."

The way he said it made it sound as if Jin Rongxu's new gear would simply drop from the dungeon.

"...I will not let down your guidance, sir!"