Chapter 144: So the Spirit‑Calling Department

One can be as humble as dust, but must not be twisted like maggots—

——In that case, it's also of no use to youths who dabble in darkness.

But certain Hei'an that flows beyond blood can still shake their hearts and minds.

Because they can bring blood.

And before that, they will give you room to submit.

The youths thus easily submitted, and what he could be glad about was that the terrifying monster ultimately just knocked him out and left it at that.

It was a blow to the back of the neck that looked neat and effective but was actually hard to gauge the angle and force of.

Back when he was studying, the training target was still Morrison, whose vampiric vitality was quite tenacious.

After over a hundred failures and that final crooked neck, it's hard to say no personal grudge was involved.

Whether or not it's filial, let's not mention that for now.

Before the opponent's companions could return, Aomo quickly took some photos, flipped through some documents, and then swiftly left.

The gangs of the otherworld are all low‑level street organizations, and this bears repeating.

Because they're low‑level, you can't expect them to have much ambition.

Also because they're low‑level, you can't expect them to shoulder great responsibilities.

Such people have many nicknames—lackeys, hooligans—and they gather together to make a living, then brandish their knives at those even lower than them.

Aside from oppressing those below, they usually run errands for those above.

And the upper layer isn't a bigger gang; it's simply an organization that can bring them satisfactory benefits.

It need not be limited to a company—think mid‑ to large‑sized mercenary bands, agencies, or even a wealthy upstart with self‑defense capabilities.

The reason to mention this possibility is that the superior who commissioned the ritual, which Aomo investigated, is neither some Outstanding Standard nor any other company, but a mercenary team called Speed Dream.

It's merely a mid‑sized mercenary team with no more than a hundred members, pulling in only a few hundred million from contracts— the latest data the mercenary station could find was still updated to last month.

It's a mercenary team whose online homepage comment section can be described as having 'mostly negative reviews'.

At the same time, it's a mercenary team whose commission records are completely unrelated to monsters.

Aomo judged that such an organization wouldn't do well and couldn't be the mastermind.

Know that the gangs of the otherworld are already in an awkward stage.

Going to the surface brings relief funds and a peaceful, simple life, but they remain in the inner side for various reasons or entanglements, doing deeds that people hate and dogs despise.

With many such people, there will always be some who want to make it big, yet lack preparation.

They also lack any chance to prepare; the otherworld has been operating for hundreds of years, and no gang has ever managed to grow big— regardless of how the environment changes, the widespread fact that everyone's tolerance for gangs is low has never changed.

So those with many thoughts can only suppress their impulses, thinking that staying alive is more important.

At times like this, the appearance of monsters easily gives people an illusion.

Especially when their numbers can be rallied, the illusion grows stronger.

The person behind this may not intend to strike at the order of the Boundary Gate Area; considering that negative‑energy monsters are unfinished products, Aomo speculates they might merely be using these gangs' usage data to perfect their research.

Like the Frontier Lighthouse Group that requires him to submit a Beta System Usage Report once a year.

The possibility that both sides have isn't nonexistent— just as the other side might also favor a 'win‑win'.

However, no matter what, that mercenary team's scale is insufficient unless there are still some unexpected variables within it.

For example, a new transmigrator bringing material support from another world and bolstering their courage.

Although he doesn't really expect this possibility, Aomo still got in touch with Ke Song.

【Gather information on monsters from all the otherworld's gangs, pay extra attention to the Speed Dream Mercenary Team… the mercenary teams around the otherworld all need to be monitored, except for Speed Dream】

Since the gangs have cast a wide net, the possibility of the mercenary teams doing the same isn't nonexistent— he thought that way, but also realized that if it really came true, the mastermind could only be found among the wealthy big families or big companies.

As for why Speed Dream in particular was excluded, it's also because a sudden thought popped into his mind:

It really does snowball…… If this were reported to the police, under what name would it be filed, and what would be needed for it to be accepted?

Given the professional manner of the Otherworld Police Bureau, if you give them some suspicious leads, surely some officers would not be able to resist going to investigate, right?

Then he had an idea.

Although the impression is poor, we must also acknowledge their abilities, and when force is needed, we shouldn't be picky about what power we can use.

Aomo has always been a pragmatist.

So, on the Otherworld Police Bureau's report page, he fluently drafted a complete report covering time, location, organization, personnel, and the suspected offense, and additionally attached photos of those Eastern‑style altars he had taken.

There were two copies.

Plus two identical monster photos taken from two different city districts.

Of course, he still remembered that this gang had previously gone through the motions with the police.

Long‑lived small organizations always have some tricks for dealing with law enforcers, but the usefulness of such things is also limited.

A sullen, self‑contained‑information report is enough.

Let's go check it out properly, officers.

Whether it's that gang or that mercenary team.

Before the otherworld network went down, he tapped send and finally got on the bus back to the surface.

In the slightly crowded carriage, Aomo put on his earphones and started the music.

The brief network switch didn't affect local music playback; on the contrary, after the switch, a continuous stream of new message notification tones made him open his eyes that he had just closed.

The opening log begins at four in the afternoon.

Bi Ze: 【Are you there? Are you there?! I heard from my senior brothers and sisters that the old dog died— you're in the otherworld, you should know more details, right？

Oh, it's hard to get in touch with the otherworld side…

If you see it, reply to me real quick.

??? You killed it?

Thanks, brother! When you come back, I'll treat you to a meal!

But if you could get that magic tome, how great would that be? I heard that after the staff was awakened by ai, its first words were still that she didn't want to move forward anymore—truly hilarious; that guy and the staff are totally not in sync, and he even gave a little girl an ai-generated magic name

Why haven't you come back yet? You wouldn't have stayed overnight in the foreign realm, would you?

Wow! Stepping into adulthood ahead of time!】

「…」

His feelings about the series of messages were complex; Aomo fell silent for a moment, not rushing to reply but instead flipping through the other unread messages on line.

It started at 12 noon, and this person is even more of a heavyweight.

Ailisuzhi: 【Guinea Pig! Have you finished your work?

Finished? Finished! Finished!

Was it you who had Chazuo bring me food? Not bad! But you shouldn't have forgotten tomorrow's trip, right? Don't let cerebrospinal fluid cause work difficulties again

Still not back?! You wouldn't have actually slept through the morning again, would you?】

Beautiful Bay Beside the Waves: 【master, I want to confirm tomorrow's travel arrangements once more

master？

master did not respond; calculating, confirming, waiting】

Kailifu: 【Little Snake, what have you been up to? Even Lightspeed Particle-chan came to ask if I've been in touch with you.

Little Snake？】

Yuehuanshe: 【Nothing, just a slight unexpected situation delayed me.

Aomo sighed silently, finally typed a reply.

What's this all about? Just went on a mission in the foreign realm, and ended up seeming like I lost contact.

Shouldn't he also be glad that Suzi didn't cause trouble for Miss JunChuan?

I don't know if Director Thus we output: Thus we output: Thus we output: Thus we output: QiuChuan will launch a massive search for a missing trainee.

I feel that if it were her, she would definitely do it.

That would be total chaos…… Even though he knows Suzi wouldn't be that reckless, the mere thought of that possibility makes him immediately prepare a reply to prove he's still alive.

【Recommendation: Wild Fruit Reading Tracker is really useful; you can download. yeguoyuedu here and give it a try.】

But then he heard the notification of a new reply.

Kailifu: 【Like that, remember to quickly comfort Particle-chan; she's quite anxious, it has a youthful story vibe.】

Yuehuanshe: 【Will there be youth on the lab bench? Next time you encounter this situation, just pull her aside and talk about monster research

Her life is too occupied by research; occasionally when she's not in research mode she feels empty and uneasy, with nothing to do, so just pull her back into research.

Kailifu: 【That really doesn't sound like something Little Snake would say.

Yuehuanshe: 【What should I say?

Aomo glanced at Ailisuzhi's chat box, thinking that if Kailifu's words were good he could just copy and paste.

Kailifu: 【Little Snake will say, we need to quickly find other hobbies and goals for Particle-chan, like letting me first take Particle-chan to play monster brawl!】

Alright, no reference value.

Yuehuanshe: 【You just want to bully newcomers.

It's because of people like you that newcomers to monster brawl keep dwindling! It's almost as bad as the neighboring Gundam situation.】

Kailifu: 【I also want to promote it eagerly, but how could a mere robot beat my monster!】

I think you haven't been beaten by the super system…… Aomo, too lazy to correct his old friend's mindset, already switched screens to reply to Suzi, Bofang, and Bi Ze.

The cyber horse girl is still so reassuring; her reply is just a confirmation and a farewell, then she stands by as if waiting after speaking.

Meanwhile, Suzi and Bi Ze obviously have a lot to talk about.

However, the time it takes to transfer from the station to the subway is enough to finish any conversation, after all Aomo didn't plan to really detail his experience to them.

Even if David, half a beat late, comes to ask 'Is the monster showdown in the western foreign region reported in the news you?', it's just a brief chat and then it's over.

The main event still has to be saved for last.

Aomo looked at the incoming 【Zhouri Ningjing】 call sign, helplessly glanced at the subway car he was in, and still opened the call.

「Hey? Miss Zhouri Ningjing, I'm on the subway now, the call connection isn't stable. 」

「You said——what? 」

Are you some kind of Ichigo Kurosaki?

One can pretty much guess it's due to subway communication interference, but hearing that sentence suddenly tugging at his memory still leaves him somewhat speechless.

Or maybe just end the message… He had just thought that, but the other party ended it first, and then……

The lights in the subway car suddenly dimmed, as if the power were unstable.

Aomo frowned, looking at the black hair protruding from the light screen, silently adjusting the terminal's slider and buttons.

First, make that light screen move away from himself.