Chapter Five: The Requirements for Skill Upgrades

Staring at the portable fax machine in his hand, Li Jue-tian frowned. “That’s strange. This thing isn’t broken, so what’s going on?” By all rights, after so much time, the message should have come through by now.

“Damn it! It must be that idiot deputy director. He doesn’t know a thing—probably doesn’t even take the two of us seriously!” Sun Shihe said angrily.

After hearing Sun Shihe’s words, Li Jue-tian felt that was very likely. After all, the deputy director had left a poor impression on all their operatives.

“That damned deputy director—his incompetence is going to mess everything up!” Li Jue-tian gritted his teeth, equally incensed.

“So, what do we do now?”

“What else can we do? We keep searching. If we let that thing develop, we—the operatives—are the ones who’ll suffer for it!”

Just then, the fax machine finally made a noise. Excited, Li Jue-tian pulled out the paper—only to be stunned by what he saw.

“All operatives of E-rank and above, return immediately!”

“What is the bureau thinking? Damn it!” Li Jue-tian was furious.

They were in the middle of tracking a potentially dangerous entity with a forbidden domain, and now headquarters had issued this order. How could he not be angry?

“Don’t worry, Brother Li. Only E-rank and above are being recalled. I’m just E-rank—I don’t need to go back. Besides, the entity we’re after is only F-rank. It won’t develop for a while yet. As long as I stay out of its forbidden domain, I can take care of it myself. Leave it to me!” Sun Shihe patted his chest confidently.

Seeing his demeanor, Li Jue-tian nodded. “Fine, but you must remember two things. First, under no circumstances should you enter its forbidden domain. Second, if its strength reaches your level, don’t get bogged down in a fight—cease the investigation immediately. Do you understand?”

Sun Shihe nodded firmly. “Don’t worry. After working alongside you for so long, I can handle things on my own.”

“Alright. I have no idea what’s going on at headquarters, but it probably won’t keep me long. I’ll be back in a few days, and we’ll see what happens then.”

With that, he got into his car and set off for the Tianjing City Bureau of Paranormal Investigation.

Watching Li Jue-tian’s car disappear from sight, Sun Shihe nearly leaped with joy.

“Hahaha! Finally, I can do things my way for once! This is great!”

Neither of them could have known that this parting would be the last.

At that moment, the police chief, who had remained silent all along, spoke up. “Actually, there was one girl at the scene who wasn’t killed by that thing…”

Hearing this, Sun Shihe grew agitated. “What did you say? How is that possible? That entity needs souls to nourish its domain—how could it possibly leave someone alive?”

“I’m not sure myself. Maybe you should go check it out personally…”

...

Inside Tianjing City First Central Hospital, Ruan Qing was lying in bed, her face pale as snow.

Her mother hovered by her side, tending to her with care.

“How could something like this happen out of nowhere? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“I’m fine. It’s just my neck feels a bit strange. It doesn’t seem like they did anything to me…”

“Don’t say any more. No matter what, you’ll always be my good daughter. Here, have a peach.”

“Mmm, so cool and sweet!”

Her memory was stuck at the point where her three companions had all run off, leaving her alone and bewildered in the wind.

According to the other girls, a few local thugs showed up afterward, so the hospital had come up with a theory: the thugs must have drugged Ruan Qing, causing her to lose a chunk of her memory.

Anyway, the word was that the thugs had been dealt with on the spot by the police. As for whether they’d done anything to her, they’d have to wait for the examination results.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

“Hello, I’m a special agent from the Special Department. My name is Sun Shihe. Here’s my identification. I need to speak with Miss Ruan Qing alone.”

Seeing the man in the black trench coat, both Ruan Qing and her mother assumed he was here to investigate the incident and let him in.

“This concerns some state secrets, so I must ask you to step out for a moment,” Sun Shihe said to Ruan Qing’s mother.

Her mother shot a worried glance at Ruan Qing, but Ruan Qing replied calmly, “Mom, I’m fine. Please go outside for a bit.”

Once her mother had left, Sun Shihe’s demeanor shifted instantly.

“Did you really think you could hide from me by possessing this little girl’s body?”

Ruan Qing looked utterly baffled. “What? Hide from you? What are you talking about?”

“Hmph, you’re quite the actor. What have you done to this girl?”

“What are you saying? What do you mean, ‘actor’?” Ruan Qing remained thoroughly confused.

But Sun Shihe, convinced she was the entity, grabbed her wrist. “What did you do to this girl?”

She only looked at him in bewilderment.

Realizing his mistake, Sun Shihe’s expression softened once more. He had just probed her with his own energy and found no trace of a paranormal entity.

The entity wasn’t inside Ruan Qing.

“My apologies for disturbing you,” he said awkwardly, and quickly left.

He had no idea why the forbidden domain entity had spared her, but there was nothing more he could do. People in his line of work couldn’t interfere with ordinary citizens any more than necessary.

Even now, the existence of paranormal entities remained a closely guarded secret from most of the public.

These creatures fed on terror; if fear were allowed to spread unchecked, their strength would grow uncontrollable.

After Sun Shihe left, a presence within Ruan Qing—Xiao Zi—finally breathed a silent sigh of relief.

He could sense a presence within Sun Shihe much like his own, though wrapped tightly and sealed away. He was almost certain it was one of his own kind.

But Sun Shihe’s aura enveloped it like a seal. This could only mean people like Sun Shihe were designed to hunt his kind, gaining power by sealing similar entities within themselves to fight.

This man was far above his level—if he’d been found out, it would have been over for him.

Fortunately, he’d hidden himself well enough to avoid detection.

Since he was parasitic, he’d fused seamlessly with Ruan Qing’s soul; under ordinary circumstances, there was no way he’d be discovered.

He’d gradually come to understand this world.

First, while this world bore certain similarities to his previous one, the resemblance was only skin-deep. The history, the paths of development, and even the world map were all vastly different.

This world boasted thousands of nations, and its landmass was many times larger than in his last life.

Then, there were beings like himself—paranormal entities.

He’d also noticed that his abilities could be leveled up.

[Soul Parasite LV1 upgrade requirements: Heart x15, Terror Value 1000]

[Soul Wind Blade LV1 upgrade requirements: Soul x15, Terror Value 1000]

[Phantom Step LV1 upgrade requirements: Human leg x30, Terror Value 1000]

[Hellish Wail LV1 upgrade requirements: Pre-death wail x15, Terror Value 1000]

Looking at these requirements made Xiao Zi’s soul ache—one thousand Terror Value wasn’t even enough; he’d need all sorts of bizarre materials on top of that.

In any case, he could only bide his time now and wait for a chance to grow truly strong.