Chapter 54: Mission

After soothing his mother and letting her return to her room to sleep, Lei Kedun himself couldn't fall asleep. To avoid worrying his mother, Lei Kedun had to turn off the light in his own room and then lie on the bed.

Since he couldn't sleep, Lei Kedun simply lay on the bed and meditated.

When in his mind he outlined golden sand particles forming gears, chains, the eyeless eye and a huge ring, Lei Kedun felt his spirit was like that massive ring, constantly drawing surrounding sand particles toward it, merging with him.

This time Lei Kedun did not pour his consciousness into that huge eyeless eye, but instead focused on the massive ring he had never noticed before.

Lei Kedun tried, as he had when he projected his consciousness into the eyeless eye, to crash his awareness into this gigantic ring made of countless gears and chains.

"Bzz~" Lei Kedun felt an illusory buzzing sound echo in his mind, bringing no real effect, but making him feel as if he saw light—untouchable light—and the meditation ended there.

"That huge ring doesn't seem to reject me; rather, my spirit cannot yet bear, cannot reach that boundless brilliance," Lei Kedun reflected on the experience in his mind.

"Perhaps only after becoming a Sequence 7 wizard can one contact that massive ring; it's also from Sequence 7 that this path gradually manifests the conversion of knowledge into power," Lei Kedun guessed based on his understanding of the Seeker of Secrets Path.

As for whether that huge ring has nothing to do with the Seeker of Secrets Path, Lei Kedun doesn't believe that possibility. It couldn't be that the Knowledge Wilderness deliberately placed it to make the massive eyeless eye less monotonous.

Pondering the matter of the visualization, Lei Kedun inadvertently fell asleep.

He slept soundly, and the next day his mother Yi Sha Bei Er woke Lei Kedun.

"It seems last night's gunshots didn't affect your sleep at all; Sean has already bought breakfast. Go wash up and come downstairs for breakfast," his mother Yi Sha Bei Er's voice always seemed warm and gentle.

"Alright!" Lei Kedun scratched his head in response.

Although she is his mother, Lei Kedun still hasn't fully gotten used to her concern. He can't completely place himself into the role of the other's son.

After his mother left, Lei Kedun finally got up from the bed, went to the washroom to freshen up, and then changed his clothes.

After hurriedly finishing breakfast, Lei Kedun took Tu Ba Ge out to join the Executor Squad. His mother had originally wanted Lei Kedun to leave Tu Ba Ge with her, but Tu Ba Ge still vividly remembered yesterday's bathing incident and refused to be alone with his mother, clinging to Lei Kedun's shoulder and not letting go.

Yi Sha Bei Er had originally planned to go to the Knowledge Church herself at noon to deliver lunch, but Lei Kedun declined, saying he wanted to eat lunch with his colleagues.

Yi Sha Bei Er wasn't disappointed; instead she smiled and praised Lei Kedun for growing up and knowing how to get along with his coworkers.

As the carriage passed the area where gunshots were heard last night, Lei Kedun saw two houses on the street already sealed off by the Public Security Bureau.

Upon arriving at the Executor Squad, Captain Yi Kang Dun told Lei Kedun that his magic elixir would be approved tomorrow; Ma Dan is missing a key ingredient, which must be transferred from Lun Bo, causing the delay.

Finally hearing the elixir news, Lei Kedun breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worrying that the Church would deny him the elixir.

Afterwards, the captain assigned Lei Kedun a new mission: accompany Mr. Ke Si to investigate the outskirts cemetery—the one previously set ablaze by Miss Xi Ya—where rumors of hauntings have surfaced recently.

After receiving the task, Lei Kedun set off together with Mr. Ke Si.

On the carriage heading to the cemetery, Lei Kedun asked curiously, "Mr. Ke Si, is that cemetery a feng shui treasure land? Why is it always haunted!"

"No, the bodies interred there have been baptized by the Church, so there shouldn't be corpse mutations or ghosts," Mr. Ke Si replied solemnly.

"So someone is dressing up as a ghost to scare people?" Lei Kedun said, offering his speculation.

After all, extraordinary events are rare when averaged across locations; as Qiao Xi previously noted, half of the incidents the Executor Squad handles are fabricated extraordinary events.

"That's possible, but a greater likelihood is that extraordinary beings are gathering nearby," Mr. Ke Si paused before continuing.

After a brief thought, he continued, "Witnesses in this area have seen monster-like creatures resembling werewolves; this is likely due to infection and control by werewolf toxin."

"Werewolf?" Lei Kedun felt a slight surprise and tension.

If it truly were a werewolf, Lei Kedun thought their pairing—him and Mr. Ke Si—was a bit like handing over a dish.

At the Sequence 7 level, in combat capability, werewolves are above average. Meanwhile, Keepers of the same sequence, without external aids, are not particularly strong in combat.

"Hmm, werewolves belong to a relatively rare Sequence 7 path and excel in combat," Mr. Ke Si nodded.

Lei Kedun wanted to say, "Are we here to deliver heads to the werewolf?" but felt that would be impolite to Mr. Ke Si.

"Heh~, no need to worry. These monsters infected with werewolf toxin appear not only here; several places in the city also have their presence," Mr. Ke Si seemed to notice Lei Kedun's worry and explained.

"So the captain wants us to split up and search different locations?" Lei Kedun asked curiously.

"Exactly, the two places most likely to host werewolves are overseen personally by Miss Xi Ya and the captain; our other tasks mainly involve clearing monsters infected with the werewolf virus," Mr. Ke Si explained.

"Got it." Lei Kedun nodded.

He added in his mind, "Now that's normal."

"Is the gunshot I heard last night related to this?" Lei Kedun asked curiously.

"I'm not sure; the Public Security Bureau hasn't reported this to us, and even if they did, they'd report it to the Earth Church first," Mr. Ke Si shook his head.

"Uh, I see." Lei Kedun nodded and let go of the issue.

During Lei Kedun and Mr. Ke Si's idle chat, the carriage soon arrived at the outskirts cemetery. As soon as they stepped off, the driver immediately turned the carriage around and left.

"We won't have a ride back, so we have to walk ourselves, right?" Lei Kedun realized the place was too remote, a cemetery, with hardly any people, let alone a carriage.

"Looks like it." Mr. Ke Si also looked a bit headache as he watched the fleeing carriage.

The morning cemetery appeared tranquil; this season even lacked bird calls and insect chirps. The morning sun shining on them made it feel less cold and gloomy.

Lei Kedun followed Mr. Ke Si into the cemetery, using the Seeker's Eye to covertly observe the surroundings; he indeed found traces of dark spells lingering in the cemetery, which were gradually fading under the sunlight.

"There are signs of a fight here, one side being a werewolf? Or its subordinate," Mr. Ke Si said while scanning the area.

"But it's odd—who is battling that werewolf? It seems these scattered infected werewolf monsters aren't just a distraction," Mr. Ke Si mused.

Lei Kedun stared blankly at Mr. Ke Si, thinking, "He just surveyed the surroundings for a while and drew a conclusion? Is that the Keeper's ability?"

Lei Kedun recalled the Keeper's description containing the line, "Can, using extraordinary means, analyze and reconstruct events that occurred within a certain area."

(End of chapter)