As the spirit bodies dissolved into a torrent of memories washing over his sea of consciousness, Zhang Yuanqing watched fragments of imagery flick by, witnessing the brief lifetimes of the two Spirit Mediums. Well, the deeply etched events of their lifetimes. After a person died, their spirit body became incomplete, and their memory fragments were similarly fragmented, preserving only those moments that left a deep impression in life and those closest to the time of death.
One of the Spirit Mediums—the cockroach man—had actually been a fallen constable. In his youth, he had been full of passion and blood, swearing irreconcilable enmity against gambling and drugs, while maintaining an open-minded attitude toward prostitution.
Later, he discovered his superior was a protective umbrella for criminals and his colleagues were accomplices. Because he refused to wallow in the mire with them, he was framed and thrown into prison. In prison, he had a grand awakening, abandoning morality and conscience from then on to embrace the dark, becoming a Witch Doctor.
"So one must soften one's light and blend with the dust..." The words of Deacon Sun, the psychologist from Songhai Branch, suddenly flashed across Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
Extreme people were like that: once their faith collapsed, they blackened swiftly, falling more thoroughly than anyone else.
Those who blended their light with the dust were different. They had seen darkness and achieved clarity of mind; instead, they became firmer and more stable.
"Still, softening my light and blending with the dust doesn't suit my personality," Zhang Yuanqing muttered inwardly, continuing to absorb the spirit fragments.
A few seconds later, having fully absorbed the memory fragments, his face beamed with delight.
He had uncovered several crucial pieces of intelligence. First were the Spirit Society's strongholds—six in total, large and small. Excluding the large stronghold guarded by a Dominator, the remaining five strongholds gathered many of the criminal syndicates under the Spirit Society's control.
Second, there were indeed traces of Pluto.
A Transcendent from the Spirit Society had once reported to the rat man that an anomaly had occurred over at Xishan near a certain stronghold. Several criminals scouting the area entered deep into the mountains and lost contact. When found, they were fast asleep and near death.
—Due to several days of lack of food and water.
This meant Pluto had indeed appeared, and deep slumber was truly his weakness.
A newcomer to these lands, Pluto had chosen the deep mountain forests to neutralize his class trait and its backlash; his deep slumber was undeniably his weakness.
Regrettably, Pluto had likely already awakened and departed.
This memory dated back three days ago; because it was fairly recent, it hadn't dissipated upon death and was still retained by the remnant spirit.
"Pluto's next slumber period will be seven days from then. If another widespread sleeping phenomenon among living creatures occurs, it might be possible to locate him using military satellites. I could ask Fu Qingyang for help..."
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes brightened.
No wonder Pluto had been driven to desperation, forced to sneak into the mainland.
The spy satellites of the Free Confederation were the best in the world, capable of watching whatever they pleased. Pluto undoubtedly had to trek long distances to shift positions with every slumber; otherwise, he would definitely be detected by satellites.
"Uh, but in deep forests, even if animals fall asleep, the canopy could conceal it, and satellites might not be able to pinpoint him. Still, having a lead is better than nothing. At least I know where he was three days ago. Tomorrow I'll go check out Xishan. It'd be even better if the guy left behind some DNA."
He took out his phone and dialed Kou Beiyue.
After just two rings, the call connected, and Kou Beiyue's groggy voice came through the speaker: "What are you doing in the middle of the night?"
Evidently, he had been jolted awake by the ringing.
"Calling to ask you something," Zhang Yuanqing said. "Are you familiar with that Wanderer of the Mortal Realm?"
"Not familiar. I've been beaten by him before."
"You say that like there's anyone who hasn't beaten you."
"You—" Kou Beiyue gnashed his teeth, then obediently answered, "All I know is he's from Bagui Province, from some impoverished place. An orphan—well, seems like an orphan. Eccentric temperament, selfish, very unlikable."
"Cut the 'impoverished place' routine. You're just a local from a prefecture-level city—where do you get off feeling superior? Even I, a Songhai native who views everyone else in the country as mud-legged bumpkins, haven't spoken up," Zhang Yuanqing scolded in the tone of a father lecturing a son.
From Bagui Province? So this was that guy's hometown... Zhang Yuanqing mused for a moment. "Do you think he's reliable? Could he have secretly fallen? I remember during Master Wuhen's sermon assembly, his inner heart was extremely twisted and bloodthirsty."
Evil classes were evil classes after all. Even if one was dedicated to doing good, the probability of falling was much higher than that of an Orderly Walker. Given sufficient external provocation, they might fall at any moment.
A border region teeming with criminals like this was especially prone to corruption.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, I forbid you from insulting my friend!" Kou Beiyue flared in anger.
"Say that again?"
"Yuanshi Tianzun, I forbid you... Well, you might have a point, but I'd like to explain."
"Fine, I'll give you a chance to explain."
Kou Beiyue explained, "I don't know him well, but Master Wuhen's teachings can dissolve the resentment and obsessions in one's heart. Regardless of whether he had fallen before, he definitely won't now."
"Understood!" Zhang Yuanqing hung up.
"Ah, right, Xiao Yuan said you're crafting mechanist devices. Could I... um, could I test-drive them for you?" Kou Beiyue couldn't bring himself to plead outright, so he phrased it tactfully.
After speaking, he waited and waited without a reply from Yuanshi Tianzun. Looking closely at his phone screen, he blew his top with rage.
"He hung up?! Dammit, what does this guy take me for—use me and toss me aside?" Lying in bed, Kou Beiyue kicked his legs in furious frustration.
Just as Zhang Yuanqing hung up, footsteps echoed in the hallway.
The green-painted iron door of the dormitory pushed open, and Little Green Tea bounced in, dragging a suitcase behind her and looking around with lively interest.
"Wow, are we all staying here? Brother, are you staying here too?" Having seemingly never stayed in such a rudimentary dormitory, she appeared quite intrigued.
Behind her followed Queen and Annie.
Xie Lingxi nimbly snatched the bunk next to Zhang Yuanqing's. Sniffing the pillow and bedding, she furrowed her brow. "It hasn't been used in a long time; it smells musty."
"Make do with it, young miss!" Zhang Yuanqing said grumpily.
"Okey-dokey! Whatever Brother says goes." Xie Lingxi smiled sweetly.
"Just don't climb into Brother's bed in the middle of the night," Queen scoffed from the side. She had wanted that bunk too, but the girl had beaten her to it.
Annie, meanwhile, opened her suitcase and took out an array of skincare products, nightgowns, disposable towels, toiletries, and the like.
Women cared about sophistication, and the more beautiful the woman, the more meticulous she was.
Zhang Yuanqing lay in bed with his hands behind his head and said, "Go on, what did you find out?"
"A run-down little county seat with a terrible economy, but plenty of addicts," Queen took the lead in reporting. "We visited nightspots like bars and KTVs and found rampant drug use and petty theft. The security environment feels like the eighties or nineties."
"A border town—it's normal for things to be rougher," Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"There seem to be quite a few Transcendent-stage Spirit Realm Walkers. We toured six nightclubs, and three had Walkers stationed there," Xie Lingxi chimed in.
"Did you cause trouble?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. Transcendent-stage Spirit Realm Walkers weren't much different from ordinary mortals when not displaying their skills—at least not distinguishable to the naked eye.
"No need to make trouble. With our looks, just walking through a club brings swarms of butterflies and bees. Only a certain blind fool turns a blind eye to us." Queen gestured over her curvy, tall figure and gave a pair of huffs.
"The blind fool could pretend to be asleep and let you take advantage of him, but you couldn't seize the chance yourselves," Zhang Yuanqing retorted. "Anything else?"
"The number of civilian Walkers in Nanming City exceeds that of the branch," Annie said in a serious tone. "The people in this branch are in great danger. When commuting to and from work, it's very easy for them to be tailed back to their homes."
Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "That's why most of them choose to live in the dormitories, not daring to go home for ten years."
In the dormitories, there were many teammates and firearms, along with plenty of ordinary constables. Even evil classes had to weigh whether they had enough strength—or enough Morality Points.
When weak, using ordinary people's lives to make enemies hesitate out of fear of collateral damage was both wise and helpless.
Xie Lingxi frowned. "The more chaotic a place is, the weaker the official presence; yet the more prosperous a place, the more experts gather!"
"If you were an expert, you wouldn't want to stay in the backwaters either," Queen pointed out.
"Think I don't know that?" Little Green Tea pouted. "Brother, when we capture Plu—the fugitive, can we clean this place up along the way?"
Annie furrowed her brows. "No. Capture the fugitive first—that's our main objective for this trip."
"That's your main objective," Xie Lingxi said sharply despite her young age. "Whether we capture the fugitive doesn't affect us much, but purging criminals from the border has far more meaning for us. Of course you don't care about border security—it's not your country."
"Enough. Both hands must grasp, and both hands must be steady," Zhang Yuanqing chanted a slogan, breaking up their bickering. "I've already found a lead on the fugitive."
Annie's expression lit up with delight. She hadn't expected Mr. Yuanshi to be so efficient, bolstering her confidence in the operation to capture Pluto.
Zhang Yuanqing related what he had learned through spirit interrogation to the three girls, then asked, "If we strike while he's asleep, is success guaranteed?"
Annie shook her head slightly. "Within his domain, any living organism of a lower level will fall asleep, and even those of the same level will be overcome with intense drowsiness. Unless we can launch long-range attacks... But he isn't completely defenseless in his slumber; the domain will automatically detect danger and wake him. After being forcibly awakened, he enters a brief weakened state. Let me think... For Level 6, the weakened state lasts ten minutes."
"Ten minutes should be enough for me to slaughter him—oh wait, capture him alive..." Zhang Yuanqing suddenly went silent, because he had caught a signal transmitted back by Yi Chuanmei.
In the underground parking garage of a residential complex adjacent to the Constabulary.
Having just concluded the memorial service not long ago, Poison Chaser walked down the gentle slope into the garage with a somber expression.
It was late into the night. The parking garage was silent and deserted, snow-white lights illuminating the wide space.
Poison Chaser halted in a secluded corner, looking around as he said in a deep voice, "You're late. Because of that, the branch lost many brothers. They shouldn't have died."
A voice came from behind a pillar, raspy and low: "An unexpected mishap occurred on the way."
"Because of your mishap, how many families lost their pillars of support?" Poison Chaser snapped in fury. "Can you take responsibility for that?"
"Heh, I only care about whether you live or die. What do the lives of others have to do with me?" The voice behind the pillar sneered. "I came to tell you that the Fire Specialist who saved you isn't simple."
"Of course he isn't simple. A Level 6 Saint, not a Fire Specialist, calls himself Sanqing Daozu, but Songhai Branch has no record of such a person." Poison Chaser had already checked; he said flatly, "He came to execute a secret mission. I can't confirm yet whether it's related to you. Don't contact me for the next few days."
Pausing, he probed, "During the days you were away, you didn't cause trouble, did you?"
"What? Afraid I'll drag you down?" The voice behind the pillar chuckled coldly.
Poison Chaser's expression turned stern. "I'm afraid I won't be able to save you."
The voice behind the pillar fell silent for a moment before softening. "Don't worry, I didn't cause trouble outside. I came to find you today to warn you: there is a very powerful resentful spirit by that Fire Specialist's side, one that even I am wary of."
Poison Chaser was astonished. "A resentful spirit stronger than you?"
He wasn't surprised that a Fire Specialist could manipulate a resentful spirit; Night Walkers weren't the only ones who could control them—items could do the same.
What astonished him was that the other party hadn't even shown his full strength last night.
What the person concealed in the shadows said next astonished Poison Chaser once more.
"It found me."
"This..." Poison Chaser's pupils contracted slightly.
"Relax, it only spotted me. It will most likely take me for someone from the Spirit Society. Without rhyme or reason, he won't link me to you," the person said. "Of course, you'd better pray he really is a Fire Specialist. If he's a Scout, he might already have noticed something off about you."
"Understood." Poison Chaser pondered. "If he isn't here for you, what purpose does he have in NN City?"
"I don't know. If there's nothing else, I'll—" The voice behind the pillar suddenly shifted sharply: "You were followed."
With those words, a shrill howl erupted from behind the pillar, so piercing it seemed ready to puncture eardrums.
Mental Strike.
Yet in the very next second, an even more powerful, even sharper mental force swept through. It was a Mental Strike unleashed by the resentful spirit, instantly overpowering the former's assault.
Tinnitus rang in Poison Chaser's ears immediately, his head splitting with agonizing pain as warm blood gushed from his nostrils.
Yet the iron will of a Swordsman allowed him to suppress the agony of the mental tearing. He instantly summoned his longsword and assumed a combat stance.
"That's it—the resentful spirit beside that Fire Specialist," the voice behind the pillar sounded again, laced with pain.
Poison Chaser's face drained of color, bordering on despair.
His collusion with an evil class had been exposed—discovered by that senior deacon from Songhai Branch.
He had only two choices: first, join forces with his companion to silence the witness through murder; second, confess his crimes, step down from his current post, and submit to punishment from headquarters.
Chapter 571