Chapter 93 - 92: Extra Payment, Secret Investigation (10,000 words, asking for first subscription)

Before long, Li Jing arrived at the North City Patrol Branch, flying on his sword.

As soon as he touched down, he spotted Chen Jing and Yang Qiu-ci talking at the entrance of the branch office courtyard.

One was the head of the department, the other the head of a division.

Both were waiting by the gate.

Honestly, Li Jing was a bit surprised by the attention.

Upon seeing Li Jing arrive, Chen Jing gave a friendly smile.

The meaning behind it made Li Jing feel a chill down his spine.

Seeing him, Yang Qiu-ci gave him a warm and radiant smile.

Compared to Chen Jing, her pure and beautiful smile could only be described in four words—breathtakingly beautiful.

But after being "backstabbed" the previous night, Li Jing was no longer fooled by appearances.

What’s that saying again?

’Birds of a feather flock together’?

Chen Yuran acted differently at work than she did in private, and Yang Qiu-ci was no different.

She just played the part of a serious division head in public, but her true nature was another matter entirely.

Then again, this pair of sister-in-laws both had a way of seeming innocent but being anything but.

The slight difference between them was that...

Chen Yuran occasionally showed a hint of malice, but wouldn’t set a trap for people.

Yang Qiu-ci, on the other hand, kept a low profile and when she did strike, it was like stabbing someone in the back, without even blinking an eye.

At least, that’s how Li Jing saw it.

Approaching Chen Jing and Yang Qiu-ci, Li Jing greeted them both.

"Uncle Chen, Sister Qiu-ci."

"Hmm."

Chen Jing slightly nodded his head and asked,

"Did you run into any reporters on your way here?"

"No."

Li Jing replied.

"Good, that’s good."

Chen Jing said, glancing at an adjacent street, he continued,

"It’s inconvenient to talk here, let’s go to the Forensics Department."

So saying, he turned around and led them into the Patrol gate.

Seeing this, Yang Qiu-ci turned and followed, shooting Li Jing a teasing wink over her shoulder.

Li Jing chose to ignore this.

Yang Qiu-ci’s trustworthy image as a big sister had long ago collapsed in his eyes.

Now it was just collapsing further. There was nothing he felt was worth paying attention to.

...

It wasn’t long before the three of them arrived at the Forensics Department.

The Forensics Department was a rather prestigious civil job in the patrol system.

Benefits and conditions were better than regular patrol and the day-to-day work was relatively relaxed.

Unless there was a special need, usually the Forensics Department staff clocked out on time, leaving only a few on duty overnight.

It was already past seven in the evening, and there were few people in the Forensics Department’s office.

It was clear that Chen Jing and Yang Qiu-ci had already made arrangements. A few people from the Forensics Department came over, all wearing gloves and masks, and one pulled out an examination bed.

Seeing her subordinates fully prepared to commence work, Yang Qiu-ci stopped and looked at Li Jing.

"Take out the corpse and the parasite. You and Uncle Chen can talk in my office. I’ll let you know as soon as the results come in."

"Okay."

Li Jing responded, and took out two arms from his storage space and placed them on the examination bed in front of him, then took out the Soul Devouring Crystal.

Seeing this, Yang Qiu-ci’s eyes flashed a few times, she asked,

"Is this all you have?"

Chen Jing, who saw only two severed arms and a Soul Devouring Crystal, also frowned.

"Ahem."

Li Jing cleared his throat and said,

"At first, I didn’t know that the parasite was at play, I just happened to notice something was off about the corpse. It suddenly came back to life and scared me, so I accidentally used a bit too much force."

As he spoke, he took out a small device and showed Yang Qiu-ci the photos he had taken of the deceased beforehand.

"I took pictures of the corpse as soon as I got it, Sister Qiu-ci, will they be of any use?"

With that, Yang Qiu-ci took out her phone to look at it, saying,

"It could be somewhat useful, at least to the family of the deceased."

Then she picked up the Soul Devouring Crystal from the examination bed and handed it over,

"You keep this. We don’t need it here. What we urgently need is a complete sample of the Parasite Insect."

?

Li Jing slowly typed out a question mark.

The Parasite Insect is a known creature in the world, with clear ecological habits. What does the Forensics Department want with a complete sample?

Just when he was completely puzzled, Chen Jing patted him on the shoulder.

"Leave the forensics to Qiu-ci and her team, and let’s talk in her office."

"Okay."

Li Jing unconsciously responded.

...

Soon, the two arrived in Yang Qiu-ci’s department head office.

Upon entering the office and settling down, Chen Jing started the conversation.

"Regarding the matter of the Parasite Insect, I’m sure you have many questions, but let’s not rush into that."

With that said, he looked directly at him.

"I need a few trustworthy and capable people to do something. I already have many candidates in mind and have made arrangements, but I’m not sure who will be able to accomplish it. This matter is quite sensitive, the success or failure of it will affect many lives. Since you got involved, I’m considering letting you participate."

"Well, this..."

Li Jing blinked, unsure of how to respond.

Chen Jing’s words made him somewhat bewildered.

He could barely infer from "since you got involved" that it had something to do with the Secret Realm and the Parasite Insect.

So, what is it that makes Chen Jing so cautious?

Before he could figure it out, Chen Jing said,

"You are very skilled in conducting investigations, and your strength is not weak either, perhaps you could bring me a pleasant surprise. If the task is accomplished..."

Chen Jing paused, thought for a moment, and raised his third finger.

"A reward of 30 million."

!!!

Li Jing’s eyes widened.

A reward of 30 million!?

Are you serious?

Looking at Li Jing’s changing expression, Chen Jing gave a meaningful smile.

"Whether you want to participate or not, it’s up to you."

"I..."

Li Jing hesitated.

With a reward as high as 30 million, it’s impossible for him to say he’s not tempted.

But he also knew.

The thing that makes Chen Jing offer such a high price and be so cautious must not be simple.

Perhaps, this matter is more dangerous than the case of the Evil Cultivators that Dai Hong enticed him to participate in with a reward of a million.

After hesitating for a while, Li Jing asked,

"Uncle, can I ask what this is about?"

"No."

Chen Jing shook his head, his hand that was holding up three fingers opened to five.

"50 million, that’s the highest price."

!!!

Li Jing.

Chen Jing unexpectedly raised the price insensitively, catching him off guard.

million!

That’s equivalent to all his belongings!

The Yin Qi Crystal, worth 30 million.

The Flying Sword Blue Edge, which has been promoted to level eight Precious Items, could sell for more than ten million if he wanted.

In addition, his bank savings of 9.76 million and the newly acquired Soul-devouring Crystal worth over 5 million, amounts to just over 50 million in total.

Li Jing was very moved.

At present, he doesn’t lack money.

But as his realm improves, the money he needs to spend will only increase, and he needs to plan for the future.

Take for instance the Flying Sword Blue Edge, when it is promoted to Spirit Weapon, he will need to use expensive Spiritual Objects like the Yin Qi Crystal to nurture and enhance the attributes of the Spirit Weapon.

The Yin Qi Crystal he currently possesses can at most enhance the attribute focus of the Spirit Weapon.

To cultivate a Spirit Weapon to the extreme of a specific attribute and bring out the real advantage of the item, a large amount of similar resources is needed.

The combination of Yin and Yang properties and the Five Elements has a direct connection to how much power a Spirit Weapon can exert under specific conditions.

Like Chen Jing’s Qianyang, it has a particularly strong attribute of Yang and Fire.

Whether it has reached its limit, Li Jing didn’t know.

But he knows that even if a Ghoul, a dark entity, had a health bar in the tens of thousands reaching the Seventh Realm, it would melt instantly upon touch - there was no need for Chen Jing to personally take action.

Fire attribute of positive nature, Li Jing was extremely jealous.

He wasn’t that interested in conflicts with others.

But to be able to have a spirit weapon that can easily reap beings like these dark entities, if he encountered a death trap surrounded by such Ghouls in the future, wouldn’t he just take off then?

However, nurturing a spirit weapon to favor certain attributes was a money pit.

With his current financial situation, there was no way he could afford it.

Indeed, money may not necessarily buy you things like a crystallization of dark energy. Most times, it was a matter of barter trade based on each person’s needs.

But if you didn’t even have money, how much could you possibly hold on to?

Taking a deep breath, Li Jing spoke righteously.

"Money is besides the point. Uncle, you just mentioned that the outcome of the matter concerns many lives. Just because of it, I must get involved. I am to become a patrol officer in the future; how could I turn a blind eye to other people’s concerns about their lives? I’m grateful that you think so highly of me..."

Before he could finish his sentences, Chen Jing waved his hand in annoyance.

"That’s enough, stop beating around the bush. There’s nothing wrong in pursuing wealth. Isn’t that the reason why everyone wants to become a patrol officer hasn’t it with wealth and resources? I’m no exception. We are all the same."

"..."

Li Jing laughed awkwardly, swallowing his unfinished words.

What Chen Jing said, was very true.

People become patrol officers for the wealth and resources.

But are some things still best left unsaid to avoid shame?

Straightening up, Li Jing asked.

"So, what is it that you want me to get involved with, Uncle?"

"It’s a little complicated. Explaining the details will be too troublesome."

Chen Jing said a sentence and took out a sealed file bag marked confidential from his storage space.

"Read this file first, and we’ll discuss the rest later."

"Okay."

Li Jing responded and took the file bag.

He glanced at the bag’s top red confidential characters, opened the bag, and took out a thick pile of documents...

As soon as he picked it up for review, he furrowed his brows.

The document records the details of the Disaster Management Bureau’s unsuccessful exploration of the Secret Realm.

According to the documents, after completing the personnel preparation, the Disaster Management Bureau began to exterminate Ghouls while deploying an elite squad for ten hours of external exploration.

Just as the elite squad was about to complete ten hours of exploration and prepare to wrap up, they discovered a ruin that was suspected of being left behind by a highly intelligent humanoid creature.

The ruins were very well preserved. Judging from the holographic scan, the time of the ruins’ construction should not exceed three hundred years—it belonged to a recent civilization.

The Disaster Management Bureau and the Research Institute took this matter very seriously.

They deployed a hundred-man squad with considerable overall strength to escort more than a dozen scholars from the Research Institute to the ruins for an on-site inspection.

As soon as the people arrived, an unexpected incident occurred.

All personnel who arrived at the ruins lost contact.

The Disaster Management Bureau detected the anomaly and immediately dispatched a large number of troops to the site.

When the team arrived, the hundred-man team and more than a dozen scholars from the Research Institute all disappeared without a trace.

Because of the strange nature of the event, the Bureau’s troops immediately began a thorough search of the surrounding area.

Just as everyone was concerned about the missing personnel, the elite squad that originally found the ruins quietly left the base and went deep into the Secret Realm, then lost all contact.

The Disaster Management Bureau immediately suspended the exploration and ordered all exploration personnel outside to return to the base.

Just as the orders were issued, a member of the Disaster Management Bureau who was patrolling the base’s outskirts suddenly ran into the depths of the Secret Realm like a madman. His companions found it unusual and tried to intercept him. A fight ensued, resulting in the discovery of the Parasite Insect.

The insect escaped.

Only a corpse was left behind.

Following the discovery of the Parasite Insect, the Disaster Management Bureau immediately checked the entire camp. They found no other people were parasitized but discovered that two members of the Management Bureau and two scholars from the Research Institute had left the Secret Realm before this.

These four people, including Jiang Guanwen, were among the four being secretly hunted.

After investigations, it was concluded that the four did not land after leaving the Secret Realm.

The Disaster Management Bureau immediately determined that the four were parasitized by the Parasite Insect and notified the Patrol Branch.

Upon getting to this part, Li Jing furrowed his brows.

The event was slightly different than what he had speculated.

Although the Disaster Management Bureau was a little late to react, they did not block the Parasite Insect’s parasitic targets at all.

The only one they saw escaped.

The fact that Jiang Guanwen and the other four people being secretly hunted made it to the present era matches with what he had figured

Continuing to read.

In the few hours after the discovery of the Parasite Insect, several Disaster Management Bureau officers quietly left the base and disappeared into the Secret Realm.

Upon investigation, the last batch of Management Bureau officers who disappeared showed some unusual behavior before leaving, leading to the conclusion that they had been parasitized by the Parasite Insects.

The content of the file ends here.

After reading the files, Li Jing’s face was strange.

All the explorers were stationed at the Secret Realm’s entrance, and they were alert. Yet, someone was parasitized unknowingly?

This...

Seems unreasonable.

Looking up at Chen Jing, Li Jing said.

"I’ve gotten a general understanding of the situation, but the files only contain some information, which overall isn’t very valuable, it only indicates how bizarre the incident is."

As he spoke, he expressed his puzzlement.

"By right, no matter how bizarre the incident is, it should be handled by the Disaster Management Bureau, and it shouldn’t fall on the Patrol Branch. Uncle, the sensitive incident you want me to be involved in is...?"

"I need you to temporarily join the Disaster Management Bureau, go into the Secret Realm and secretly investigate all stationed personnel."

Chen Jing whispered.

???

Li Jing reacted with three question marks.

Secretly investigate all stationed personnel?

Why?

Seeing Li Jing’s puzzled look, Chen Jing calmly asked.

"How much do you know about the Parasite Insect?"

"After hearing the term ’Parasite Insect’ from you, I searched the internet and roughly understood its ecological habits."

Li Jing responded truthfully.

"Alright, listen to what I have to say next."

Chen Jing began, after organizing his words briefly, he said.

"First, you must understand that the Parasite Insect is a living organism. They have the ability to cause entire species populations to go extinct, but after doing so, they will also die out due to a lack of food sources."

"The area the Disaster Management Bureau has explored so far is vast, the areas they have explored are completely lifeless. There are many spiritual objects and Yin objects unique to these dead lands, but there’s nothing that can be considered a living creature."

"In the deeper parts of the Secret Realm, there might exist other organisms. If there are, the Parasite Insects capable of causing the entire Disaster Management Bureau’s hundreds of personnel to mysteriously disappear won’t stay in the dead lands. If there aren’t, then too many Parasite Insects won’t be able to survive."

Having said these three points, Chen Jing paused for a bit, squinting his eyes.

"Living organisms have the characteristic of evolution. For the Parasite Insects in the Secret Realm to survive, they probably mutated into a subspecies. They successfully adapted to the environment that lacks food and managed to survive by hibernating or other means."

Li Jing listened to Chen Jing’s words and nodded silently.

He hadn’t considered that Parasite Insects, being living organisms, would need food to survive.

No wonder Yang Qiu-ci previously stressed the need for samples, because they suspected that a subspecies had evolved.

Li Jing waited silently for Chen Jing to continue without making any remark.

Merely the mutation of Parasite Insects into a subspecies still didn’t sufficiently link to the sensitive incident Chen Jing mentioned.

Seeing that Li Jing had not spoken, Chen Jing continued.

"The parasitism ability of the Parasite Insects is very peculiar, after invading a human body they can read the host’s memories, control him to act like a normal person, and can even use the host’s storage space in the same way he did, but they can’t use overly complex magic skills. The Parasite Insects’ predation instinct can’t be changed, once they detach from their host, they no longer have any disguise. In their natural state, the Parasite Insects can’t disappear without a trace, during their hunting process they always shriek and stun their prey before forcefully invading them."

"The shriek of the Parasite Insects is quite loud, anyone who isn’t deaf would hear it. Unless during the time of parasitism their prey is already deeply unconscious, only then would the Parasite Insects be able to parasitise quietly."

Arriving at this point, Chen Jing expelled a heavy sigh.

"Based on these two points, what can you infer?"

Upon hearing these words, Li Jing blinked, lowering his gaze to the files in his hands and fell into deep thought.

As Chen Jing had stated.

The Parasite Insects are peculiar, but not so much.

The abnormalities in the incident, even if the Parasite Insects had mutated, wouldn’t have reached this extent.

After the Disaster Management Bureau discovered the defenses of the Parasite Insects, there were still people that were unknowingly parasitised and disappeared from their stationed area.

Looking back.

Apart from the four parasitised individuals like Jiang Guanwen who came to the living world, all other parasitised individuals disappeared within the Secret Realm with no trace to follow.

This doesn’t conform to the Parasite Insects’ ecological habit of trying to camouflage within the corresponding species group of their prey after parasitisation.

Mutating into a subspecies wouldn’t change their ecological habits.

One is about adapting due to a lack of food, the other is about rejecting a large amount of readily available food. These are two completely contrasting conditions.

If they have adapted to a food-scarce environment and barely survived, why would they reject a large amount of visible food?

There’s bound to be something suspicious when things deviate from the norm.

The Parasite Insects in the Secret Realm are not right.

Taking into account that Chen Jing asked him to temporarily join the Disaster Management Bureau and secretly investigate all personnel within the stationed area, Li Jing looked up in astonishment.

"Are the Parasite Insects in the Secret Realm an artificially bred species, being controlled by someone behind the scenes?"

Upon receiving this response, Chen Jing gave him an approving look.

"Half right, half wrong."

As he spoke, he leaned back on the sofa.

"You’re basically correct in saying that the Parasite Insects in the Secret Realm are bred species and are controlled. But the ruler of them may not necessarily be human."

"Not necessarily human?"

Li Jing blinked, then thought of the traces of the ancient wisdom civilization found by the Disaster Management Bureau, and asked in surprise.

"Uncle, do you mean..."

"With our current technological level, we can perhaps play around with Spirit Infusion Technology and nurture Spirit Infused beings, but to intentionally breed mutation organisms, we currently do not have that technology."

As Chen Jing spoke, he continued.

"As for control, it might be achievable by the means of the evil cultivators. But, the Parasite Insect, a dangerous alien species that eats once it’s hungry, could turn the evil cultivator into its food if anything goes awry. Moreover, a single Parasite Insect isn’t weak. Handling one or two is manageable, but a swarm of them leaves no room for mistakes. This kind of creature, even the daredevils among the evil cultivators wouldn’t want to raise a flock."

After sharing this information, Chen Jing sighed.

"The ancient wisdom civilization that once existed in the secret realm should still exist somewhere in there. It’s not unprecedented. Countries all over the world have found remnants of such civilizations within secret realms. But such information is considered top-level secrets and has never been disclosed to the public."

"..."

Li Jing.

Non-human wisdom civilizations found in secret realms isn’t an unprecedented discovery, and such findings occurred in various countries around the world?

Wow!

This is a lot of information...

So, here’s the question.

Do these non-human wisdom civilizations have health bars over their heads?

Chen Jing, unaware of Li Jing’s thoughts, noticed his shining eyes, assuming he was very interested in the alien civilizations.

"You just need to understand and not make a fuss about it, and don’t think about delving deeper. The reason I brought it up is to make the subsequent arrangements easier."

Having said that casually, Chen Jing added,

"The wisdom civilization we’ve encountered this time isn’t very friendly. What’s more, they’ve been trying to probe humans and spy on our world through the Parasite Insects. The four infected individuals like Jiang Guanwen are just the vanguard. The whereabouts of the other infected individuals are unknown; they’ve most likely been taken away by the hidden wisdom civilization as ’samples’ to study humans or for other purposes."

As he spoke, he shifted the topic.

"While dealing with wisdom civilization is outside the jurisdiction of the Patrol Bureau, the Disaster Management Bureau will handle it. But they are currently facing a predicament and need our Patrol Bureau to step in. The hidden wisdom civilization attacked the exploration team using Parasite Insects but didn’t directly act against the base, suggesting that they lack the means to take it down. The Parasite Insects, elusive as they are, don’t pose a major threat to the base, but they limit the further actions of the Disaster Management Bureau. They can’t mobilize a large force without resolving the casualty issue first."

"Regardless of whether this is a conspiracy of the wisdom civilization, there must be a traitor in the base who has made contact with them and reached a certain deal. Otherwise, the base wouldn’t have continued casualties, and the attacks wouldn’t have ceased despite the Management Bureau being prepared."

"The Management Bureau isn’t useless, but when it comes to investigating, they are no match for our Patrol Bureau. The task I want you to undertake is to infiltrate as a member of the Disaster Management Bureau and find the traitor undercover."

A traitor?

Li Jing furrowed his brows.

At the moment, it felt like his head was starting to ache.

He had been given too much information to absorb all at once; it was too overwhelming.

However, one thing was for sure.

What Chen Jing said was not nonsense or hasty speculation.

It was a conclusion drawn after the Patrol Bureau and the Disaster Management Bureau had a mutual exchange and jointly analyzed the cause and effect of the incident in depth,

After a brief pause, Li Jing nodded to indicate that he understood.

Seeing this, Chen Jing smiled and said,

"The reward I promised you will be granted immediately upon completion of the task, provided you deliver the result. Remember, you are not the only one involved in this; several other active duty inspectors whom I have an eye on are also participating. If someone else gets there first, we don’t need to talk about the reward."

"..."

Li Jing was left speechless.

He was not the kind of person to talk about rewards without delivering results.

Money should be earned rightly.

Not wanting to have the conversation centered on the reward, Li Jing asked,

"Do I need to know the other inspectors involved in this?"

"No need."

Chen Jing shook his head, saying,

"The investigation is to be conducted secretly; you will each act independently and discreetly. Everyone in the base within the secret realm is unaware of this. Currently, they are all stuck within the secret realm, so remember not to draw attention to your actions."

As he spoke, he added,

"There’s a traitor in the base, whose actions have led to hundreds of casualties. Once this gets out, it would inevitably lead to a breakdown of trust among colleagues. It’s one thing if this happens outside the secret realm, but inside the secret realm, the potential outcome is unpredictable. Trust between people isn’t easily built, and even if the truth is revealed later, the resentment won’t be easily repaired."

"Right."

Li Jing nodded.

He understood this rationale.

The current situation inside the base in the secret realm is indeed very sensitive.

Before they are informed, everyone is on guard against these elusive Parasite Insects.

If they became aware of the situation, it would turn into a real-life game of ’Werewolf’.

Before the ’wolf’ is found, everyone in the base would be suspicious of each other.

Chaos would ensue by then.

As Li Jing was pondering, Chen Jing looked him up and down and then took out a disaster management bureau uniform in a plastic package from his storage space along with a small turquoise booklet.

"This is the Disaster Management Bureau uniform and a blank ID. Write a fake name in the ID. The name itself doesn’t matter. The Management Bureau personnel guarding the perimeter of the bathing beach will let you in after they scan the chip in your ID."

As he spoke, Chen Jing took out a piece of talisman paper.

"This is a second-stage disguise talisman, it can temporarily change your appearance for three days. There are quite a few researchers in the secret realm who have seen you, so for safety, use it before you enter the secret realm. If you can’t find the result within three days, find an opportunity to withdraw."

"Understood."

Li Jing accepted the uniform, ID, and disguise talisman, and put them into his storage space.

"Uncle, do you have any other instructions?"

"No, I trust you will take care of yourself."

Chen Jing replied,

"The entrance to the secret realm is currently open to enter but not exit, and the Disaster Management Bureau is continually transferring elite staff from various areas to deal with the unknown wisdom civilization. People are constantly arriving, and you can go straight in when you reach. The others involved in this matter should already be in the secret realm. If there’s nothing else, you can depart now."

"Cheng, I’m on my way."

Li Jing stands up.

Just as he reaches the doorway to his office, Yang Autumn suddenly walks through the door.

The two meet face to face and are taken aback.

Then, Yang Autumn chuckles lightly.

"Leaving so soon? Not having a prolonged chat with Uncle Chen?"

"..."

Li Jing is at a loss for words.

He was about to speak, when Chen Jing behind him tsks in an instructive tone.

"Autumn, quit messing around. I’ve arranged for Li Jing to get some actual work done. You can misbehave later."

After the lecture, Yang Autumn reluctantly steps aside to let Li Jing pass.

Li Jing quickly departs.

He doesn’t get far when he hears Yang Autumn from the office announcing.

"Uncle Chen, the biological forensics report is in. The severed arm belongs to Wang Zhi, from the Disaster Management Bureau."

Li Jing pauses, looks back, and quietly leaves.

The infected person he had encountered was one of the four people wanted for anomalous activities.

He predicted this in advance.

Confirming Wang Zhi’s identity at this moment is not unexpected.

...

Leaving the Patrol Department.

Li Jing finds a secluded public bathroom to change out of his uniform, writing the name Lu Yangcheng on the blank ID card.

This isn’t to trick his friend.

He is just too lazy to think of a fake name.

He takes out the appearance-changing talisman and activates it with his spiritual power. As the talisman disintegrates, his appearance changes into a clean-cut young man.

Li Jing admires his altered appearance in the bathroom mirror, touching his cheek to confirm the changes. He takes out his compact phone and lightly calls, "Little Ai."

Little Ai does not answer, but the phone screen lights up.

Sighing at this, Li Jing doesn’t say anything else.

Earlier in the office, Little Ai had overheard Chen Jing.

Little Ai is very smart.

The fact that Jiang Guanwen is more likely to be dead than alive is something she probably already understands by now.

Shaking his head, Li Jing checks Liu Sisi’s Immortal Message, and editorializes a message.

"Sis Sisi, I might get busy for the next three days and won’t be able to come to the shop."

Liu Sisi’s response is fast as always.

Within a few dozen seconds of his message sending, she responds.

"Yet another busy matter? From Assistant Inspection? Your job seems to be really tough. If you become a patrol officer, won’t you be even busier? Well, it’s fine. The shop will have one less freeloader!"

After viewing the message, Li Jing scratches his head helplessly.

Liu Sisi’s resentment seems quite significant.

While thinking this, a photo suddenly pops up in the chat.

Looking at it, she has sent a selfie of her making a funny face.

Then, another message arrives.

"Use this as your screensaver. It’ll remind you of me."

"..."

Li Jing.

He feels like he has been overthinking things.

After reluctantly saving the selfie, Li Jing puts Little Ai into the storage space.

Without internet inside the secret realm, Little Ai is not much use. There’s no need to carry her with him. Giving her some time to herself may be for the best.

Leaving the public restroom, Li Jing summons his panel.

Host: Li Jing

Experience Points: 1732/4332

Level: 19

Skill Points: 2

Spiritual Power Intensity: 380

Equipment: Blue Edge (Precious eight-level items 0%)

Passive Skills: Momentary Space, Clothing Protection Spirit (5/5), Vanishing Skill (5/5), Spirit Control Skill (5/5), Returning to Origin Skill (2/5)

Active Skills: Palm Thunder (5/5), Spirit Strike (5/5), Sky Sword Skill (5/5), Nine Heavens God Thunder (4/5)

Having quickly reviewed the panel data, Li Jing added the two skill points he gained from killing the Parasite Insect to the Returning to Origin Skill.

He trusted Chen Jing.

Now with the strength of the Three Realm, he also gained a lot of confidence.

However, the trip to the Secret Realm was unpredictable, it was always safer to add the skill points first.

Compared to the Nine Heavens God Thunder that was just short of reaching Great Perfection, choosing Returning to Origin Skill was more appropriate.

After all, the Returning to Origin Skill has the effect of speeding up the flow of spiritual power in his body and enhancing the effectiveness of magic skills, it can enhance the intensity of the magic skills in his hands from all directions.

The Returning to Origin Skill didn’t disappoint him.

When the skill points reached grandmaster level, the flow speed of the spiritual power in his body increased by more than double, which was much stronger than small success.

Under the influence of the accelerated flow of spiritual power, the effectiveness of both the Clothing Protection Spirit and the Vanishing Skill increased by one and a half times.

The overall effect of the Returning to Origin Skill on his magic brought an increase of twenty percent to the effectiveness of his magic.

In addition, impacted by the grandmaster level of the Returning to Origin Skill, the solidity of his Primordial Spirit increased by almost fifty percent, making his perception of the Primordial Spirit clearer.

Feeling this, Li Jing couldn’t help but praise himself secretly.

Choosing the Returning to Origin Skill earlier was indeed a wise decision.

He would have to study the auxiliary magic skills more in the future, the passive skills that are always active, learning a few more of them wouldn’t be a loss, and there might even be an unexpected gain in improving the effectiveness of magic skills.

Gathering his thoughts, Li Jing looked up at the bright moonlight, and summoned his Flying Sword Blue Edge to rise.

...

The Blue Edge which had been promoted to the eighth-grade Precious Items and had its defects patched, was quite useful.

Simply on the basis of the Sword Controlling Skill at Great Perfection, the sword light was nearly twice as fast as before the promotion.

When used with all his strength, the speed was truly amazing!

As for what it felt like, Li Jing had a profound understanding of it when he came to the North City Patrol Branch.

If it was just Sword Controlling, he had nothing to worry about.

Having used the appearance changing Talisman, he also had nothing to worry about.

The sword light cut through the night at high speed.

In no time, Li Jing arrived near the Blue Sky Sea Bathing Area and landed at the main gate of the bath.

The outskirts of the bathing area were now fully controlled by the Disaster Management Bureau.

Guards were stationed every three steps and posts every five steps.

At first glance, there were at least a thousand members of the Management Bureau standing quietly under the night sky, stationed in front of the cordon around the bathing area.

At the entrance to the bath, there were more than ten people guarding the gate.

Seeing Li Jing land with his sword, a member of the Management Bureau approached him.

"Colleague, may I see your ID please?"

"Here."

Li Jing handed over his ID.

The Management Bureau staff member took the ID and checked it, then scanned it with a scanner with a display, looked at the information displayed on the scanner, then nodded his head and handed the ID back to him.

Having passed smoothly, Li Jing entered the Sea Bathing Area.

The Sea Bathing Area tonight was completely different from last night.

Many field tents had been erected all around the beach.

Management Bureau staff were constantly coming and going, busy with various tasks.

On the seashore, there were a large number of Management Bureau personnel forming small teams patrolling and stationing along the shoreline.

A rough estimate showed at least three thousand Management Bureau personnel on the beach.

It had to be said, the Management Bureau was really well-staffed.

Including the more than a thousand people guarding the outside, there were almost five thousand people.

If there was such a large guard outside the entrance to the Secret Realm, how many people would be inside?

Walking slowly to the edge of the beach, Li Jing looked at the location of the entrance to the Secret Realm.

The thousands of drones that lit up the entrance to the Secret Realm last night were gone, replaced by four large research ships illuminating the sea with searchlights.

Looking around, there were more than a hundred people in Management Bureau uniforms levitating cross-legged in mid-air, forming an odd array around the entrance to the Secret Realm, covering nearly ten thousand meters of the sea area around the entrance.

It was Zhou Tian’s Great Formation.

Chen Jing hadn’t mentioned it, but Lu Yangcheng had mentioned it to Li Jing.

Curiously, he gazed at the positions of the more than a hundred people involved in setting up the formation, but Li Jing couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Zhou Tian’s Great Formation was obviously running at the moment.

But it had not been triggered.

So as not to arouse suspicion, Li Jing didn’t linger on the beach and flew up to the entrance of the Secret Realm.

As Chen Jing had said, the Secret Realm was allowing entry but not exit.

Going in, there were no restrictions.

Without much thought, Li Jing summoned the Clothing Protection Spirit out of his body, called his Flying Sword Blue Edge to break through the sea surface, and went straight down.

In what felt like the time of a breath, he successfully broke into a position three hundred meters below the sea surface and passed through the entrance to the Secret Realm.

The jump through space was completed in an instant.

The next second, Li Jing was inside the Secret Realm.

The sword hovered as Li Jing looked down.

Inside the defense range of twenty thousand meters of the Pure Yang Array, there were densely packed tents, more than those stretched across the beach, forming a massive campsite.

The camp was bustling with people.

The total number was probably....

At least above ten thousand?

Before he entered, Li Jing somewhat expected this.

To explore a secret realm, the Management Bureau would surely send a lot of people.

But this scale, honestly, was a bit big.

How many patrollers were there in the entire North City Patrol Branch combined?

Including the Assistant Inspector Department, which had many staff, it was probably less than ten thousand.

Chen Jing’s "valued" fifty million task seemed not easy to handle.

This round of ’Werewolf’, was rather challenging.

Finding the ’Werewolf’ was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

If they were to investigate properly, they probably wouldn’t be able to.

With more than ten thousand people acting in secret, how long would it take to investigate one by one?

However, Li Jing had a plan.

When in doubt, look for the Health Bar first!

He had no clue who the mole was.

But since Chen Jing was sure the mole had contact with the unknown Wisdom Civilization, there might be some ’strange’ things around him for communication.

If they could find the Health Bar, everything would be simple.

Using the sword to float high in the sky, Li Jing looked down over the whole campsite, scanning every inch of the ground carefully.

During this search, he indeed found a Health Bar.

In the southeast direction of the campsite, a Management Bureau staff member, who was about to enter a tent, had a long Health Bar on his head, marked with the value 4396.

Seeing the Health Bar from afar, Li Jing was stunned.

Having a target gave him confidence.

But finding a clue this easily felt somewhat unreal.

After that, the Health Bar on that person’s head didn’t quite match his expectations.

A Health Bar on the head.

Compared to the "valued" fifty million mole, it was more likely to be someone who had been parasitized unknowingly.

Would the mole be willing to be parasitized?

Of course not.

If this person was truly parasitized and left in the camp, there is no way he wouldn’t be discovered.

Given the heavy casualties of the Disaster Management Bureau, they wouldn’t possibly slack off in their search for Parasite Insects within the campsite.

So...

What happened to this person?

Li Jing was puzzled.

During his pondering, the Management Bureau staff with the Health Bar on his head went into a tent and disappeared from sight.

Seeing the Health Bar disappear, Li Jing chose to land and walk over.

No matter what, it was necessary to get a closer look at this person.

As he was walking, a familiar figure suddenly crawled out of a tent in front.

Seeing this person all of a sudden, Li Jing abruptly stopped, his face revealing astonishment.

He didn’t know who the other operatives arranged by Chen Jing were.

He thought there would be no one he knew.

He didn’t know many people in the Patrol Branch to begin with.

Yet at this moment, he realized his mistake.

In front of him, he encountered someone he happened to know.

A third-level patrol officer from the Major Crime Unit Six, Li Qidao.

On the other side, Li Qidao, who had just crawled out of the tent, was very alert.

There was no need to mention how professional the patrols from the Major Crime Unit were.

Catching a glimpse of Li Jing abruptly stopping, Li Qidao immediately shifted his attention to him.

Their eyes met, Li Qidao did not recognize Li Jing, who had changed his appearance.

But Li Jing’s anomaly was enough to make him realize that the person in front of him wasn’t right.

"Brother, it’s routine, let’s check your body."

Li Qidao came up and said, pulling out a large handheld thermal imaging scanner from behind his waist.

"..."

Li Jing.