The Blood Clan.
Or rather, vampires.
In truth, they were a race burdened with an astonishing number of weaknesses.
They feared sunlight, silver, garlic, and crucifixes. Moreover, their only sustenance was blood. If they went without feeding for too long, they would lapse into a deep slumber, their bodies gradually desiccating into mummies until one day blood fell upon them, offering a faint chance of revival.
If becoming a vampire were not one of the easiest paths to eternal life, the Blood Clan likely would not even qualify as a second-rate power—at best, third- or fourth-rate.
The Blood Clan enjoyed great renown among the common populace largely because they were wealthy—extraordinarily wealthy. As a result, the tycoons who turned into vampires continually paid internet shills and propagandists to boast of how powerful, terrifying, and mysterious the Blood Clan was.
This gave ordinary people the illusion that the Blood Clan was a top-tier faction, leading them to genuinely believe that offending them meant certain death.
In reality, all five major nations possessed the strength to effortlessly suppress the Blood Clan. Furthermore, several transcendent factions holding sway over numerous smaller countries had the power to crush them like insects.
The Blood Clan had endured to this day not because of their might, but because... they knew their place.
***
Yu Xian had originally assumed that joining Qilin would be arduous or require undergoing all sorts of trials.
Yet the very next day, Jin Sheng set credentials, a handgun, and a specialized cell phone before him.
Suppressing a chuckle, Jin Sheng regarded Yu Xian with solemn gravity. "Starting now, you are a member of the Evil-Slaying Squad under Qilin. Rank 6,330, code name Salty Fish."
Looking at the badge on the table, Yu Xian could not resist picking it up and turning it over in disbelief. "Is this... real?"
"Of course it's real. As long as you present these credentials, any Public Security Bureau across the country can verify their authenticity and will unconditionally cooperate with your actions," Jin Sheng said with a smile.
Stowing the badge away, Yu Xian asked, "How many people are in the Evil-Slaying Squad? And who is the captain?"
"I am the captain. Originally there were five of us; with you, that makes six. However, our squad doesn't usually deploy together. We each take on missions individually. Only for missions at Sparrow rank or above do we assemble as a unit," Jin Sheng explained.
He then briefed Yu Xian on the squad's specifics.
Squads under Qilin enjoyed an exceptional degree of freedom, primarily because most members who qualified to join were Transcendents possessing tremendous potential.
Since every Transcendent had unique circumstances, forcing them to always act together might hinder certain members' growth.
Under normal conditions, members were free to accept Insect-rank and Ant-rank missions on their own. Two or more members could team up to take on Bee-rank missions, while missions at Sparrow rank and above required the entire squad to accept together.
"What rank does Silver City count as right now?" Yu Xian asked curiously.
Jin Sheng answered, "The aberrant worm disaster is classified as Tiger rank. Not because of raw strength, but because of how hazardous it is. The mission is only considered complete once every aberrant worm is eradicated. However, this task is destined to be exceedingly difficult; after all, we aren't even certain how it spreads or how many there are at present."
"Actually, I have someone in mind. I suspect he might be an aberrant worm, but I haven't found any proof," Yu Xian said hesitantly, thinking of Yu Wei for some inexplicable reason.
Jin Sheng immediately turned serious. "Who do you suspect?"
"Teacher Yu Wei. Even though I watched him for half the day without finding a single flaw, when I saw him again this morning, I still had that feeling. There's definitely something wrong with him." Yu Xian furrowed his brows in thought.
Jin Sheng immediately turned toward the exit, saying as he walked, "Come on. Since you find him suspicious, we'll take him into custody first and check him out."
The two stepped out of the tent.
Jin Sheng ordered soldiers to detain Yu Wei and confine him to a tent guarded by several men.
Throughout the entire process, Yu Wei offered no resistance, looking merely bewildered and frightened. Watching from a distance, neither Jin Sheng nor Yu Xian could spot anything amiss.
"Do you still think there's something off about him?" Jin Sheng asked.
Yu Xian nodded. "Yes. He's definitely a problem. It's just that with my current abilities, I can't pinpoint it yet."
"Then let's take a closer look. Let's go." After a moment of thought, Jin Sheng still chose to place unconditional trust in Yu Xian.
The two entered the tent where Yu Wei was being held. Seeing them come in, Yu Wei hastily spoke up: "Officer, and Yu Xian... why have you brought me here? Did something happen?"
Neither Jin Sheng nor Yu Xian said a word.
The two circled Yu Wei. Jin Sheng's eyes suddenly flared golden, while a silver gleam flickered deep within Yu Xian's pupils.
"What are you doing? What... what's wrong with me?" Unnerved by their scrutiny, Yu Wei shrank back continuously.
The golden light in Jin Sheng's eyes gradually dimmed. He shook his head at Yu Xian, evidently unable to detect anything. The silver light deep within Yu Xian's pupils also faded back to normal; he had found nothing either.
"Are you sure?" Jin Sheng asked out of nowhere.
Yu Xian knew what he meant and nodded. "Very sure. Especially right now—he gives me an intensely discordant feeling."
He was not making things up. With barely twenty centimeters separating him from Yu Wei, looking at the man gave him an indescribable discomfort. No matter how he looked at him, something felt thoroughly out of place.
"Then do whatever you must. Even if you're wrong, I'll shoulder the blame!" Jin Sheng stayed silent for a brief moment before resolving to stand by Yu Xian. After all, Yu Xian was now a member of his squad, and backing his teammates was one of a captain's duties.
Qilin's archives recorded an incident where a member spotted an anomaly, but the captain refused to believe it, resulting in only two survivors from the entire team. From then on, every captain commanding a squad under Qilin made it a rule to stand firmly behind their teammates.
Yu Wei seemed to sense the danger, crying out in terror, "What are you trying to do?! Help! Help! Murder!"
"Shut up and be quiet!" Jin Sheng snapped with a sharp glare.
The next instant, a beam of golden light clamped over Yu Wei's mouth, leaving him able to produce only muffled whimpers.
"Begin. Do whatever you want—dissect him, hack him to pieces, anything goes," Jin Sheng told Yu Xian coldly.
Yu Xian nodded and cast a slightly reluctant glance at Yu Wei. "Teacher Yu, bear with it. I'll do my best not to hurt you."
A fine silver thread then coalesced at his fingertip. Guided by his control, the silver thread slowly burrowed into Yu Wei's neck, traveling through his body bit by bit.
Following the battle two days ago, his mastery over Silver Blood had reached a new level. To avoid injuring Yu Wei, he operated with immense care.
At the same time, his inspection was thorough—blood vessels, internal organs, bones, and nerves were all checked one by one. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed slightly. The silver thread seemed to graze an unnatural texture.
Before he could react, a sudden mutation occurred.
"Oh my, exposed again! Little big brother, you truly are the bugs' greatest enemy!"
In a flash, Yu Wei's head twisted ninety degrees, his entire face contorting into a wrinkled grimace. Zhou Tai's voice rang out from within his skull, followed immediately by a mass of nerve fibers bursting forth from his eye sockets, nostrils, and ears, thrusting swiftly toward Yu Xian.
At that moment, however, Jin Sheng's entire body radiated golden light. With one hand, he effortlessly parried Zhou Tai's strike and caught the aberrant worm—disguised as Yu Wei's nerve fibers—firmly in his grip.
"So that's how it is. No wonder I couldn't see any sign of it," Jin Sheng murmured to himself, staring at the aberrant worm in his grasp.
Yu Xian also realized the truth, frowning. "Infiltration to this degree... it's terrifying."
In fact, the aberrant worm had not fully taken control of Yu Wei; it had merely disguised itself as a specific segment of his nerve fibers.
Because Yu Wei remained alive, Yu Xian could not smell any foul odor. And because the aberrant worm mimicked nerve fibers, it was virtually impossible to detect unless the subject was dissected.
Yu Xian deduced that the reason he had sensed something wrong with Yu Wei was likely because Zhou Tai had been watching him through the teacher, triggering his instincts to perceive that subtle wrongness.
Without Zhou Tai's prying gaze, he probably would never have spotted any flaw in Yu Wei either.
If this was the case, even if the aberrant worms infiltrated the entire nation, perhaps no one would ever discover their presence. Their discovery today was unquestionably a monumental breakthrough.
Chapter 13