Chapter 243: Incorporation

Jiang Yuan didn't sleep all night.

He stood by the window, watching the sky shift from ink‑blue to fish‑belly white, his mind a chaotic porridge.

The seven‑ or eight‑centimeter tear in Mo Shu's protective suit, like a snarling scar, was etched in his memory and could not be erased.

At that moment, the Communicator on the desk rang, its red light flashing, emitting rapid beeps.

It was a communication request of Highest Priority Order.

It came from the Director's Office.

Jiang Yuan shook his head, forcibly suppressing those tangled thoughts, and answered the Communicator.

"Jiang Yuan." Wei Gong's steady voice came, devoid of any emotion, "Come to my office at once."

"Understood."

His attention was temporarily shifted to the mission.

Half an hour later, Jiang Yuan followed behind Wei Gong into a dedicated elevator.

The elevator had no upward button, only a downward arrow.

As the doors closed, a sense of weightlessness arrived.

The floor numbers on the display raced—B1, B5, B10…—finally stopping at B33.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open, a blast of cold air tinged with disinfectant and metallic rust hitting his face.

Ahead stretched an endless alloy Corridor, its walls and ceiling fused into a cold metallic sheen; every ten meters stood a massive isolation gate as heavy as a vault door.

This was almost the deepest part of the Investigation Bureau.

"Do you know what this place is?" Wei Gong walked ahead, his footsteps echoing through the spacious Corridor.

"I don't," Jiang Yuan replied honestly.

"Those detained here are not Weird."

Wei Gong's tone was very flat.

"They are humans."

Jiang Yuan's pupils narrowed slightly.

"More precisely, they are people who have walked out alive from the Weird Domain and whose bodies have undergone certain… interesting changes."

Wei Gong stopped before an Observation Window, gesturing Jiang Yuan to look.

"—The one who subdues the weird."

Following his gaze, Jiang Yuan saw behind massive reinforced glass a spacious training arena.

A man in a black Windcoat, wearing Fingerless Gloves, his hair styled flamboyantly, stood with his back to them.

He held the hilt of a wooden sword, pointing it at the air, practicing draw and sheath motions in an extremely dashing yet slightly comical stance.

"Heh…"

The man suddenly let out an indecipherable low laugh, then intoned in a melodramatic recitative.

"Feel this endless darkness… my soul burns upon the blade…"

"…"

Jiang Yuan felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

This man… does he have a problem with his brain?

This over‑the‑top vibe is about to overflow the screen.

"Wei Gong!"

The flamboyant man seemed to notice the outside gaze, spun around sharply, and upon seeing Wei Gong, instantly plastered a radiant smile on his face, sprinted forward three steps in two, and slapped a bizarre salute.

"Director! How do you have time to watch me practice the Silent Annihilation Dimensional Slash?"

"Liang Wen," Wei Gong said without even looking at his over‑the‑top act, pointing at Jiang Yuan, "Meet Jiang Yuan, codename Shadow Lord, the Core of our Night Watcher project."

"Oh?"

Liang Wen's gaze fell on Jiang Yuan, scanning him up and down, his eyes brimming with vigorous curiosity.

"I've heard of you, I've heard of you; I'm Liang Wen, Captain of the Core Operations Unit, codename…"

He cleared his throat, leaned back slightly, striking a pose he thought was explosively cool.

"Dark-Blooded King!"

Jiang Yuan: "…"

He felt he couldn't quite respond.

Wei Gong, as if accustomed, added expressionlessly, "Ignore him; his mind may have issues, but his ability is strong."

He pointed toward the deeper part of the Corridor.

"The only one of the subduers of the weird currently contained here is the one he captured."

Jiang Yuan looked at Liang Wen with a hint of surprise.

This seemingly unreliable over‑the‑top youth was actually this strong?

Passing through several isolation gates, they arrived at the deepest part of the Corridor.

Here was only a single Interrogation Room.

Through one‑way glass, Jiang Yuan saw the interior scene.

The room was empty, containing only a metal table and a chair.

A gaunt young man curled in the corner, dressed in a gray‑white Patient Gown, his hair greasy and stuck to his forehead.

He hugged his knees, his eyes vacant as they stared at the floor, exuding a rotting aura.

The strangest part was the thin wisps of gray‑white mist continuously seeping from his skin, swirling around him; wherever the mist reached, even the air seemed to grow heavy.

"Li Qi," Wei Gong's voice rang in Jiang Yuan's ear, "the sole survivor of the 'Fog Mountain Sanatorium' Weird Domain."

"After he emerged, he turned into this. His mind is extremely unstable, and his body involuntarily emits a fog with strong corrosive properties."

"Our people have tried many methods, but none can communicate with him normally."

Wei Gong turned his head and looked at Jiang Yuan.

"As fellow Weird Manipulators, I would like to ask you to try."

Jiang Yuan did not hesitate and pushed open the Interrogation Room door.

The young man inside seemed startled by the door opening, his body jolted violently, like a frightened rabbit, and he buried his head even deeper.

Jiang Yuan softened his steps, walked slowly to the opposite side, crouched down, and tried to speak in the gentlest tone.

"Hello, I am Jiang Yuan, I…"

He hadn't finished speaking.

"Ah—!"

Li Qi suddenly lifted his head, revealing a face twisted to the extreme by fear!

He let out a mournful scream, and the gray‑white fog around him erupted instantly!

Chichichi—!

The dense fog, like highly concentrated aqua regia, instantly swept the entire room! Metal tables and chairs, the moment they touched the fog, emitted a harsh corrosive sound, their surfaces quickly becoming pitted and spewing plumes of black smoke!

Danger!

Jiang Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

At this hair‑breadth moment, he stepped forward.

He did not retreat; instead, he faced the lethal fog and boldly charged forward!

Hoo!

The shadow beneath his feet came alive in an instant!

A massive hand made of pure darkness surged out of the shadow, moving faster than the eye could track, arriving before it was seen, and seized Li Qi's throat, pressing his whole body hard against the wall behind him!

Boom!

The wall emitted a muffled thud.

All the fog, at this moment, sprang into existence.

Li Qi, with the black hand gripping his neck, trembled violently, his eyes filled with blood‑shot veins and madness.

Jiang Yuan stood before him, his gaze icy with no trace of warmth.

He said nothing, only stared at Li Qi coldly with those eyes as deep as an Abyss.

An indescribable terrifying killing aura poured from Jiang Yuan, like a tangible pressure, crushing the rampaging Anomalous Power within Li Qi.

It was the aura that had slaughtered the monsters of an entire city.

It was the king's oppressive pressure that dominates endless Shadows.

Before the absolute superior, the nascent Anomalous Power within Li Qi was like a candle in the wind, instantly suppressed and unable to move.

A few seconds later, the madness in Li Qi's eyes gradually faded, replaced by endless fear.

He regained his sanity.

Only then did Jiang Yuan release the Shadow Hand.

Li Qi, like a puddle of sludge, slid down the wall onto the floor, his body trembling incessantly like sifted husks, daring not even to glance at Jiang Yuan again.

At this moment, Wei Gong pushed the door and walked in.

He glanced at the wrecked room, then at Li Qi curled in the corner, his face showing no surprise.

He walked to Li Qi's side and handed over a File.

"Li Qi, I give you a choice."

"Join us, become a member of the Federal Weird Investigation Bureau 'Night Watcher' program. You will receive an official posting, generous benefits, and… the dignity of being human."

Li Qi trembled, but did not take it.

"Of course, you need to carry out a mission," Wei Gong said evenly, "Your first mission is to guide, together with Jiang Yuan, and return to the Fog Mountain Sanatorium."

"We need your assistance in the investigation, and to bring out those Anomalous Property Items inside, or the 'Unawakened Anomalous' that can turn people into Weird Manipulators."

"No… don't go…" Li Qi's voice was hoarse like a broken bellows, "I don't want to go back! I'd rather die than return to that damned place!"

He seemed to recall something extremely terrifying, and his emotions flared again.

Wei Gong ignored his hysteria.

"You may choose to refuse."

"Then you will be treated as a highly dangerous uncontrolled entity, permanently confined here, until we develop a method to completely eradicate the Anomalous Power in your body, or… until you die."

Two choices.

Either, return to hell.

Or, die old in a prison cage.

Despair was written all over Li Qi's face.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan spoke.

"I will protect your safety."

His voice was calm, yet carried a convincing power.

As he spoke, the shadow behind him began to writhe, countless grotesque faces emerging in the darkness—those were the myriad Anomalous he had devoured.

Dark Shadow Court!

"During the mission, I guarantee you will stay alive."

Jiang Yuan looked at Li Qi, speaking each word deliberately.

"This is a deal, and also your… only path."

Li Qi looked at the terrifying dark realm behind Jiang Yuan, feeling the force that could make all things submit; their trembling body finally slowed down.

"Fine…"