The next day.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou attended class as usual.
Because the formation in the cordoned-off zone isolated all noise and commotion, the vast majority of people in Silver City had no idea a massive battle had taken place yesterday.
However, some rumors still circulated within the Superpower Academy—wild tales claiming that a treasure had appeared outside the city, or that numerous Transcendents had engaged in an all-out brawl over a Forbidden Fruit. The stories grew increasingly fantastical with every retelling.
Chen Ling, the gossip queen herself, even pulled the two aside and shared the inside scoop she had gathered with an air of great secrecy. Zhang Shou and Yu Xian could only respond with polite smiles after listening to her.
Over the next three days, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou went to school and returned home just like any normal students.
The two kept a close eye on the latest updates on the Qilin app, especially regarding when Jin Sheng might be able to return to duty.
Yu Xian also added many new contacts, greatly expanding his network. Through introductions from friends in the Wickedness-Cleaving Squad, he got to know members from squads all across the country and was pulled into various mutual-aid group chats.
After chatting and becoming acquainted with the members of these groups, a young woman stationed in Yanjing delivered some grim news to Yu Xian: Jin Sheng's injuries were far more troublesome than initially estimated. It was unlikely he would recover enough to resume normal activity anytime soon.
Both Yu Xian and Zhang Shou felt a heavy weight on their hearts, wondering what the future held for the Evil-Slaying Squad.
On the fourth day.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou both received a text from Qingniao, asking them to head together to the Nancheng Public Security Bureau… or rather, right next door to it.
When the two arrived at the agency office, Qingniao was already waiting for them in the hallway. The three of them then walked into the temporary office that had previously belonged to Jin Sheng.
Inside the office, Gong Qian was sitting in Jin Sheng's chair. Because she wasn't tall enough, only her head peeked out from behind the desk.
Seeing this, all three of them felt an urge to laugh, but fortunately, they managed to hold it in.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Gong Qian spoke. "Since Captain Jin Sheng is temporarily unable to lead the Evil-Slaying Squad, Minister Yu Lie has appointed me as… vice-captain, to temporarily oversee all affairs of the Evil-Slaying Squad."
"Demoted, huh?" Zhang Shou quipped upon hearing that, unable to resist teasing her.
Gong Qian's face instantly darkened, and she glared daggers at Zhang Shou. Zhang Shou quickly looked away, guiltily whistling into the air, pretending that he hadn't been the one speaking just now.
Still, Gong Qian truly had been demoted.
Although she had played an immensely vital role in slaying Deimos and was guaranteed a First-Class Merit, the fact remained that the squad she led had been almost completely wiped out.
So many promising talents had perished before their time; headquarters felt the sting acutely as well.
Merit was merit, and fault was fault—there was no such thing as letting one cancel out the other.
Therefore, after deliberation, Qilin headquarters assigned her to the Evil-Slaying Squad as vice-captain. In addition, headquarters considered that her cooperation with Yu Xian could unleash even greater combat capability, which factored into the arrangement.
Headquarters had actually considered promoting Yu Xian to temporary captain and having Gong Qian support him. However, taking into account that Yu Xian had simply been with the Evil-Slaying Squad for too short a time, they ultimately abandoned the idea.
If Yu Xian had been with the Evil-Slaying Squad for over a year, the one sitting in Jin Sheng's chair right now would definitely be Yu Xian, not Gong Qian.
"So what is our squad's mission now?" Seeing Gong Qian still glaring at Zhang Shou, Yu Xian took the initiative to ask.
Gong Qian withdrew her gaze and replied, "There are no group missions for now. The minister's intention is for us to build teamwork first, and also get familiar with each other's abilities."
In truth, Yu Lie had also told her with earnest gravity to listen more to Yu Xian's opinions whenever matters arose, and never to act on impulse.
Although Yu Xian had not been with Qilin for long, his performance during this period had been remarkably stellar. His abilities were potent, and he possessed both courage and cunning. He never fumbled in critical moments; on the contrary, he was exceedingly dependable.
Once the memorial service concluded and merits were rewarded, Yu Xian's rank would not only rise, but he would also receive various rewards and benefits.
"Does the vice-captain have any plans, then?" Yu Xian asked, looking at Gong Qian.
Gong Qian shook her head. Yu Xian immediately smiled and said, "Since there are no plans, why don't we go catch some rats tonight?"
Catch rats?
Everyone present was taken aback, their gazes turning toward Yu Xian.
A bubble the size of a pinhole condensed at Yu Xian's fingertip. He explained, "You all know my ability. The spaces within my bubbles are interconnected, so in theory, sound can also travel between them.
"Over the past couple of days, with nothing else to do, I've placed quite a few of these bubbles in various corners of the city at night. Through them, I've overheard some interesting news.
"For instance, tonight, a gang of foolish thieves plans to hit a jewelry store specializing in silver. We could lie in wait and catch them all in one fell swoop."
As he spoke, Yu Xian brushed aside his hair to reveal a bubble tucked inside his ear like an earplug.
"You can use it like that too?!" Zhang Shou exclaimed in astonishment, staring at the bubble in Yu Xian's ear.
Yu Xian smiled faintly. This was barely the start. He didn't need to sleep at night, and over the past few days, he had been constantly pondering more applications for his bubbles, testing out a large number of intriguing techniques.
Moreover, by adjusting the size of the bubbles, his energy consumption remained extremely low.
The bubbles he sent out were normally kept at the size of a pinhole. When he needed to expand one, he could channel energy toward the tiny bubble using the principle of interconnected space, instantly swelling the pinhole-sized bubble into a massive sphere two meters in diameter.
In this way, every teleportation anchor was not only incredibly energy-efficient but also exceptionally discreet. When necessary, it could even serve as a channel to gather intelligence—killing multiple birds with one stone.
Furthermore, the bubbles no longer required him to constantly direct their movement with his mind. He could attach a bubble to a reference object; whenever that object moved, the bubble would be carried along with it.
The bubble in his ear worked on this exact principle. Otherwise, having to painstakingly guide the bubble in his ear with every step he took would be far too mentally draining.
Next, Yu Xian attached a bubble to the ears of the other three. This way, they could communicate anytime, anywhere.
"Can you hear me?"
Zhang Shou ran out of the agency office and asked in a low whisper.
Inside the room, all three of them could clearly hear Zhang Shou's words. Qingniao asked curiously, "Salty Fish, Dead Doctor's voice isn't loud at all, so why can we hear it so clearly?"
"Because the bubbles in our ears are elastic bubbles, meaning their internal space has a stronger resonance capacity," Yu Xian explained. "Once the sound outlet of the bubble is directed inward, the voices we hear become crisp and resonant."
In fact, he hadn't considered this issue at first.
His hearing was extraordinarily keen after being enhanced by Silver Blood; he could hear even the faintest sounds with crystal clarity.
It was only later at school, when Zhang Shou repeatedly failed to hear him clearly due to the noisy surroundings, that he realized not everyone possessed hearing as sharp as his. After looking into it, he made several adjustments.
Additionally, there was another point he hadn't mentioned: he could configure what sounds were permitted to enter the bubbles.
These bubbles were inherently designed for both offense and defense. Without his permission, other creatures wouldn't be able to enter even if they bashed themselves to death against the bubble's surface; even if they managed to shatter the bubble's barrier, it would only result in the bubble bursting.
By developing this function further, Yu Xian could specify whose voices were allowed into the bubble while shutting out all other noise, thereby obtaining pure sound free of interference.
Once Zhang Shou returned from outside, the four of them agreed on a gathering time for that night, and the meeting adjourned.
Yu Xian stepped out of the temporary office. A bubble appeared out of thin air before him, and the next second after stepping into it, he was back home. The bubble at the agency office rapidly shrank, sinking into a tiny depression on the ground, completely inconspicuous.
Abilities could be developed toward greater size.
Likewise, they could be developed toward smaller scales. Sometimes, smaller was not necessarily inferior to larger.
Particularly once one mastered micromanagement, skill alone could enable the weak to triumph over the strong, turning the tables in an instant.
As Yu Xian practiced continuously, his control over his internal energy grew increasingly adept, and his mastery over the bubbles became stronger and stronger. Through minuscule bubbles hidden within the grooves of his fingerprints, he could perform countless mind-boggling maneuvers, bringing out all sorts of effects with his spatial bubbles.
For example, if he placed a bubble in outer space, he could even exile an enemy directly into the void.
He had even thought of an underhanded tactic: placing a teleportation point at Qilin headquarters. If he encountered an enemy he couldn't defeat, he could send them straight to headquarters to enjoy a righteous beatdown from the crowd.
However, realizing that doing so would guarantee that the big shots who had dropped into Silver City would come settling scores with him, he promptly strangled that suicidal thought in the cradle.
Chapter 52