The Silver City Night Watchers Branch was about to be established.
On July 28, Silver Moon Province issued an official dispatch, and the formal directive came down to begin preparations for the Silver City Branch.
The moment the news broke, other cities were filled with envy and jealousy.
Across the thirty-two cities of Silver Moon Province, only nine currently possessed Night Watchers branches.
Silver City would become the tenth.
The Night Watchers were limited in number and mostly concentrated in major cities. White Moon City boasted a population of thirty million, while Yaoguang City had surpassed ten million. Other cities had previously required a population threshold of five million before a branch could even be considered.
Population was a crucial benchmark.
Without meeting it, a Night Watchers branch was rarely established, lest supernatural forces be spread too thin and picked off one by one by hostile organizations.
Setting up a branch in Silver City was truly unprecedented.
Yet considering the presence of Yuan Shuo and the somewhat mysterious background of the Silver City Eight Great Families, the branch was finally approved.
Not only that, but White Moon City had clearly attached great importance to this development, dispatching three supernaturals.
And none of them were novices!
All three were at the Lunar Nether level, and one was even rumored to be a Lunar Nether Full Moon powerhouse.
……
July 28.
The directive came down from above, but Li Hao paid it no mind.
At that moment, he was wandering through a traditional quadrangle courtyard residence. It was a sprawling estate with over four hundred square meters of interior floor space, but more importantly, it featured a courtyard spanning over a thousand square meters.
A completely detached, private compound!
Li Hao inhaled sharply as he looked around.
He couldn't resist turning to Liu Yan. "Sis, aren't you overestimating me?"
Liu Yan had enthusiastically insisted on finding him a place to live.
Unable to dissuade her, Li Hao had no choice but to let her help.
Good grief!
He had only asked for a simple two-bedroom apartment, preferably on the ground floor—or if not on the ground floor, somewhere with decent soundproofing.
Instead, first thing this morning, Liu Yan had brought him here.
This was located in Silver City's East District, widely regarded as the wealthy quarter.
Almost all of Silver City's affluent residents lived in this area.
Even on the way over, Li Hao had felt something was amiss. Property prices here were steep. While the average price across Silver City hovered around three thousand star coins per square meter, here it had already climbed to five thousand.
Back when Li Hao was a Third-Class Inspector in the Inspectorate, his monthly salary had been two thousand star coins.
In Silver City, that wasn't terrible.
By pinching pennies, one could save twenty to thirty thousand a year. Since it was a government post, many expenses could be reimbursed, and with bonuses added in, saving twenty to thirty thousand a year was quite feasible.
Even so, buying a hundred-square-meter apartment would usually cost upwards of three hundred thousand star coins. Working ten years without a promotion would just about cover it.
Of course, now that Li Hao had been promoted, things would be much easier.
Yet a detached courtyard compound in a place like this had to cost four to five million star coins at the very least!
Li Hao didn't dare overestimate it!
It had to be at least that much!
He had no money to spare. As for selling mysterious energy, selling it to other supernaturals was illegal, while selling it to their own people... well, they didn't have that kind of money either.
Liu Yan was also looking around left and right, beaming with a nonchalant smile. "Overestimating what? You're about to become the Deputy Director of the Night Watchers Branch! You're a prominent figure in Silver City now. Did you expect to be shoved into some cramped tenement block? As for the house... you're an Inspecting Commissioner. What makes you think you'd lack a place to stay?"
Hearing that, Li Hao clicked his tongue in disbelief. "Embezzlement?"
"Pfft!"
Liu Yan shot him a contemptuous look. "Is that all your brain can think of? Embezzle what? These are spoils of war! Understood? According to Night Watchers regulations, war spoils are handed over and then distributed according to protocol! This property is our loot from last time!"
Spoils of war?
Li Hao froze.
"Did you forget about that Zhou He?"
"Oh, right, right! I remember!"
Li Hao remembered him—the first martial master he had beaten to death... no, the one beaten to death during interrogation by the captain and the others.
"He's the one who bought this place!"
Liu Yan gave a bright laugh. "Oh, and there's a car, too—the one you saw before. It's parked in the Inspectorate garage right now, so you can drive it off whenever you like! You were the one who captured Zhou He, and since you've been promoted, you might as well take his house and car for now!"
Only then did Li Hao realize the property's origins.
He couldn't help asking, "That Zhou He was just a Ten-Slayer realm martial master. Was he really that rich?"
"Nonsense. He was a martial master and ran his operations for years. How could he not scrounge up a few million? Think about it—if you were willing to sell off the mysterious energy from our spoils, you'd be a multi-millionaire in a heartbeat!"
For people like them, making money was actually quite easy.
Yet what use was ordinary wealth?
The truly valuable things couldn't be bought with mere money.
Take Zhou He, for instance. He could produce three to five million star coins without breaking a sweat, but could that money buy him three to five cubic measures of mysterious energy?
Hardly!
And even if he bought and absorbed it, it wouldn't necessarily grant him any tremendous advantage.
Liu Yan was thoroughly exasperated by Li Hao's narrow perspective. Though she didn't have much money herself, she certainly never stressed over it—unlike Li Hao, who obsessed over salary raises from morning till night!
If word got out, people would laugh themselves sick.
His sole reason for wanting a promotion earlier had been to get a raise, which was already an absurd joke in itself.
Li Hao gave a sheepish chuckle. He truly hadn't seen the world. From childhood to adulthood, the wealthiest he had ever been was when he drew his salary from the Inspectorate. Last month he had checked his savings and found he had accumulated twelve thousand star coins!
In the end... the less said about that, the better.
He took another look at the sprawling courtyard, then walked inside to explore. The exterior carried an antique design, but the interior was luxuriously furnished with every modern convenience.
It was two stories high and even featured an underground garage.
This was only the front courtyard; the back courtyard even had a swimming pool. It was no different from a luxury villa, and the traditional garden layout suited Li Hao's taste far better.
"It's huge!" Li Hao murmured.
Liu Yan happened to turn around at that moment. Seeing him staring in her direction, she broke into a sudden grin. "Finally opened your eyes?"
With that, she puffed out her chest.
*He actually knows how to compliment someone!*
*Not a bad eye at all!*
Snapping back to reality, Li Hao felt utterly speechless. Shifting his gaze away, he looked toward other corners of the estate, feeling tempted. "Sis, this... don't the others need a place? Is it really fine to just hand it over to me?"
"Doesn't matter in the slightest!"
Liu Yan genuinely didn't care. "In fact, most of the time we just sleep at the Inspectorate! You're still young and haven't been with the squad long, so you still have the habit of commuting back and forth. We're different. We've been with the squad for years, and more often than not, whenever we have free time, we just stay over at the Inspectorate."
They rarely went home... and even if they did, the place would be empty.
What was a home?
Just a house!
A true home had long ceased to exist.
Liu Long had once mentioned that every member of the Demon Hunting Squad had their own past. None of them had ever been heard speaking of family, spouses, or children...
Wu Chao and Chen Jian seemed to live permanently in the basement.
Yun Yao was the same; every time Li Hao saw her, she was down there.
The captain disappeared on occasion... though whether he went home or elsewhere was anyone's guess. Perhaps he didn't even have a home and was merely wandering around outside.
Liu Yan was cut from the same cloth!
These people had already come to treat the squad as their home.
Li Hao said nothing more. Truthfully, it didn't matter much to him either, but he needed to absorb mysterious energy and practice his martial arts. Certain secret arts taught by his teacher could not be revealed to outsiders unless his teacher gave permission.
Otherwise, practicing martial arts and breathing techniques in the basement might lead to accidental leaks.
That was strictly unacceptable!
Li Hao stepped through the front door without another word and continued inspecting the premises.
The ground floor housed a living and dining room, guest bedrooms, bathrooms, and a gym. The second floor contained the master bedroom, a study, a nursery, and similar rooms.
Most of these spaces were entirely unnecessary for Li Hao.
The interior decor wasn't brand-new, suggesting someone had lived here before. That suited Li Hao even better, as it spared him any extra effort. He certainly didn't have the funds for renovations anyway.
Everything essential was already in place. All Li Hao needed to do was bring a few changes of clothes.
The more he looked, the more pleased he became.
He had not yet reached the state of detachment that Liu Yan and the others displayed; he still had material desires. Back in his previous apartment complex, practicing a single routine of fist techniques drew complaints from the neighbors, which had been thoroughly frustrating.
Now, all of that was solved!
The front and back courtyards were astonishingly vast, easily over a thousand square meters. He could train however wildly he pleased!
By this point, Liu Yan had already sprawled out across the living room sofa on the ground floor. Watching Li Hao come down the stairs, she gave a teasing smile. "Little Hao-hao, the house is so big and empty at night. Won't you be scared living here alone? How about your big sister keeps you company?"
"..."
Li Hao maintained a calm expression, glancing around nonchalantly. "Sis, do you think I should host a banquet or something to celebrate moving in?"
"Suit yourself!"
Liu Yan pouted in displeasure. *This little brat... completely ignoring me?*
Delighted with the house, Li Hao chose not to banter about such nonsense and continued, "Sis, higher-ups said three Night Watchers would be dispatched this time, all at the Lunar Nether level. Adding that up, our squad will have six Hundred-Breakers and Lunar Nether experts!"
Not counting himself.
Counting himself, that made seven.
To be frank, that level of strength was by no means weak.
Counting Silver City, Silver Moon Province currently had ten branches. Aside from lacking a Solar Radiance expert, Silver City possessed seven Hundred-Breaker-tier combatants, which was on par with branches in several other cities.
"Yeah, not bad!"
Liu Yan felt no pressure. She had broken through to Hundred-Breaker; otherwise, she might have felt somewhat intimidated.
"Counting us, that makes nine people. Recruiting one more will just about satisfy the minimum requirement."
Liu Yan continued, "The boss's idea is for me to serve as the action team leader. As for the three arriving from above, aside from the one taking the deputy director post, the other two will join the action team. Without Hundred-Breaker strength, I really wouldn't be able to keep them in line!"
"On the action team's side, the boss wants to form a five-person unit. Wu Chao and Chen Jian—one scout, one shield defender—while I'll serve as the primary vanguard. As for those two supernaturals, we'll assign their roles once we see their abilities."
A five-person squad would meet their basic operational needs.
Any more people would demand stronger command capability, which Liu Yan couldn't easily manage.
Li Hao asked in confusion, "What about me then?"
"You guys are officials!"
Liu Yan chuckled. "One director, two deputies. The three of you will be drinking tea, reading newspapers, and listening to reports! What, do you expect officials like you to fight on the front lines?"
Li Hao was speechless. Liu Long had been the captain before, after all.
Seeing his silence, Liu Yan quickly laughed and said, "Just kidding. Usually, you won't need to join us on routine missions, but when real danger strikes, of course we'll fight together! The boss's plan is to have you handle basic clerical and administrative work first. Now that the squad has grown and a formal framework is being established, we need someone to process and archive documents... including gathering and managing intelligence, most of which will fall to you."
"There's also tracking merits, distributions, resource reserves, and warehouse inventory—all of which need your oversight. It's going to keep you plenty busy!"
Logistics and administration were far from simple.
They just carried relatively lower risk.
Previously, everyone had been close comrades, so merit distribution was handled directly by Liu Long. But once they joined the Night Watchers, sticking to that informal system might leave outsiders dissatisfied, so Li Hao's role would be indispensable.
Hearing this, Li Hao had no objections. Logistics was fine by him; he didn't particularly mind.
Over the past few days, Li Hao had already been doing archival work... Yuan Shuo's version of archival, which resembled a wordless sacred text crammed directly into his brain, leaving his mind feeling completely numb.
His teacher forced him to memorize an immense amount of material every day, and he had no choice but to commit it all to memory by sheer force of will.
If he had to carry out field assignments right now, Li Hao wouldn't have been able to handle the strain anyway.
At that moment, Liu Yan stood up. "Since you've seen it all, let's head back! The directive arrived this morning, and the Night Watchers are fairly efficient. Those fellows might arrive this afternoon, so we still need to welcome them. Your formal appointment should arrive this afternoon as well."
Li Hao nodded, and the two walked out together.
Li Hao didn't have a car. Although Zhou He's vehicle had supposedly been allocated to him, it was still parked at the Inspectorate.
Liu Yan did have a car... belonging to the Inspectorate.
Whether she owned one personally, Li Hao didn't know.
Outside, the vehicle was parked right in front of the courtyard gate rather than driven inside, though the gate was wide enough to accommodate it.
The surroundings in this district were very pleasant. This wasn't the only private residence nearby; several other detached compounds dotted the area. However, they were spaced quite far apart—even the closest was two to three hundred meters away—granting every household maximum privacy.
Just as Li Hao and Liu Yan were about to get in the car, a black sedan pulled up in front of them.
The window rolled down, and a man poked his head out, offering a polite smile. "Captain Liu! What a coincidence, running into you here."
It was a man who looked to be in his thirties, refined and scholarly, with pleasant features.
Li Hao didn't recognize him and glanced at Liu Yan.
Liu Yan smiled in return. Li Hao was startled—that smile was exceptionally radiant.
Before Li Hao could ask anything, Liu Yan strode over, her brilliant smile never wavering. Li Hao had no choice but to follow, though he felt a faint twinge of discomfort inside. Why was she acting so warm?
It wasn't that he harbored any improper designs on Liu Yan; it was simply that typical male psychology—being nice to me is fine, but being nice to another man... well, that felt a little sour.
While he was still brooding, Liu Yan drew something from behind her back. The next instant, a pair of handcuffs snapped directly onto the man's outstretched wrist, the smile on her face vanishing in a flash. "You're stalking me!"
"Liu Yan, you..."
The man grew irritated. "I live right here! We just happened to run into each other. What are you doing?"
"You're stalking me!"
Liu Yan's face was frosty. "Such a coincidence, running into each other just like that? I now suspect you have ties to illegal organizations. Come with me to the Inspectorate! Furthermore, given your status, you might already know that the Night Watchers branch is about to be established. Therefore, I have every reason to suspect you are probing the Night Watchers' movements. Daring to pry into the whereabouts of the Night Watchers—you're dead meat this time!"
"Liu Yan, you're framing me!"
The man flew into a rage. "Don't pull this garbage on me! Liu Yan, that's enough. I told you, it was purely a chance encounter..."
Liu Yan snorted coldly. "Whether it was or not, you can explain that once you're inside the Night Watchers! If you can walk out alive, then you can say whatever you like! Li Hao, get over here and escort the criminal suspect to the Night Watchers for interrogation!"
Li Hao was baffled, his earlier petty thoughts completely evaporating.
Only one thought remained in his mind: *Is this really necessary?*
Scaring him a bit was one thing. It felt like this man had been pursuing Liu Yan and she refused to accept him. But actually dragging him to the Inspectorate seemed a bit excessive, didn't it?
Even so, he stepped forward swiftly, grasped the handcuffs, and said in a low voice, "Step out of the car!"
"How dare you!"
The man glared furiously at Li Hao, his earlier composure entirely shattered.
If Liu Yan truly slapped him with the charge of prying into the Night Watchers' movements, he would end up stripped of his skin even if he managed to survive.
"Liu Yan, don't push it too far..."
"Say one more defiant word and see what happens!"
Liu Yan's expression was icy. "One more word, and I'll treat it as resisting law enforcement and execute you on the spot!"
The man shut his mouth instantly. A wise man did not fight against impossible odds. Swallowing his rage, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, my mistake! Liu Yan, I wasn't spying on you. I was merely passing by. My house is just ahead! You know that. Besides, the Night Watchers branch hasn't even been established yet. What could I possibly pry into?"
"See? The official dispatch was only issued this morning, yet you already know about it. If that isn't spying, what is?"
The man clamped his mouth shut, refusing to utter another syllable.
Saying anything more was pointless.
Liu Yan sneered and said coolly, "Li Hao, unlock his handcuffs. Keep a close eye on this fellow. The moment he steps out of line in the future, execute him on the spot!"
"Yes!"
Li Hao complied and unlocked the cuffs. Soon after, he boarded the Inspectorate car alongside Liu Yan. Looking through the rearview mirror, he could see the man glaring at them with a face contorted in fury.
……
Inside the car.
Li Hao asked out of curiosity, "Sis, who was that guy just now?"
"Qiao Peng!"
Steering the car, Liu Yan replied calmly, "He lives in the compound right ahead of yours. Keep a tight watch on him! He has another identity: vice president of Qiao's Mining. His father is the boss!"
Qiao's Mining!
Li Hao remembered instantly, feeling rather surprised. "A prominent Silver City entrepreneur, extraordinarily wealthy... Rumor has it Qiao's Mining has assets worth billions... Is that true?"
Moreover, how had this guy crossed paths with Liu Yan?
"Qiao's Mining is no simple business!"
Liu Yan said somberly, "On the surface, they're a mining company, but in reality, they secretly excavate ancient civilization ruins! Qiao's Mining has a professional mining team... or rather, a team dedicated to plundering ancient civilization ruins. Naturally, ancient ruins aren't that easy to excavate. My main suspicion is that they're linked to a supernatural organization... quite possibly Red Moon!"
Li Hao frowned. "Why do you say that?"
If that were confirmed, the enterprise should have been uprooted long ago.
"Qiao's Mining was established many years ago, and right here in Silver City. As you know, Silver City lacks just about everything. They claimed there was an ore mountain outside the city... Bullshit! Over all these years, they haven't mined anything of real value! Yet the Qiao enterprise has lingered here without leaving. I didn't think much of it before, but ever since Red Moon attacked and the existence of the Silver City Eight Great Families came to light, I've suspected these bastards have ties to a supernatural organization!"
Pausing briefly, Liu Yan added, "It might not be Red Moon. It could be Yama!"
*Why did it change again?*
Li Hao felt a bit bewildered.
Liu Yan sneered. "Nine times out of ten, anyway! I don't have proof, just speculation. The boss might have mentioned my past to you. Let's put it this way: your brother-in-law back then was an engineer at Qiao's Mining, handling various routine tasks. One day, he came home and told me they seemed to have dug up something unusual in the mountains, possibly an ancient ruin... Back then, things were different from now. There were no known ruins in Silver City, so I didn't pay it much mind..."
"Not long after, your brother-in-law was murdered!"
"The man who killed him was a security captain at Qiao's Mining. Supposedly, they had a quarrel and clashed at the construction site, and in a fit of rage, that bastard bludgeoned your brother-in-law to death with a rock!"
"The moment I got word, I led a team to arrest him. During the pursuit, he fled. Not long after, news came that he had joined Yama, absorbed enough mysterious energy, and broken through to become a Lunar Nether expert in one fell swoop!"
Listening to this, Li Hao frowned slightly. "Sis, are you saying Qiao's Mining is connected to Yama, that they might be Yama's stronghold in Silver City, and that their purpose here is to excavate ancient ruins? And that when they found something, your husband stumbled upon it and was silenced?"
"Nine times out of ten!"
"Then... why not report this to the Night Watchers?"
Li Hao brought it up anyway. While the Night Watchers seemed somewhat ineffectual at times, they were still the sole official supernatural organization.
"We've just offended Red Moon. Do you think the Night Watchers can afford to offend Yama right now?"
Liu Yan saw things far more clearly than he did. "The Night Watchers' overall strength might not match any of the three major organizations. They've already torn all pretense of cordiality with Red Moon. If they break ties with Yama as well, do you think they can withstand the fallout? If we report it up and the information leaks out to Yama, it will only bring more trouble upon ourselves."
Li Hao nodded. After some consideration, he agreed it might indeed be unwise to report it.
Still, he asked, "Then by treating that guy so harshly today, aren't you afraid he'll suspect you know something...?"
"You don't understand!"
Liu Yan broke into a sudden smile. "If I acted completely indifferent toward him, he'd be the one wondering whether I'd caught wind of something. As it stands, I'm about to join the Night Watchers, so suddenly throwing my weight around against him will actually put his mind at ease. At the very least, it proves I don't know any real secrets. Otherwise, I would have forced myself to endure it."
"Li Hao, blind tolerance and restraint aren't always a good thing. Sometimes, they only invite suspicion."
After offering a few words of guidance, Liu Yan added, "Furthermore, the Silver City Eight Great Families... You are the sole surviving descendant of the Eight Great Families now. I checked—the other seven lineages have been completely wiped out! Those who left for other cities all died in various accidents."
"Therefore, Silver City must harbor some secret. I suspect there are ruins belonging to the Eight Great Families right here in Silver City. Li Hao, if that's the case, what they're currently excavating might very well be your ancestral graves!"
Li Hao was utterly speechless.
Ancestral graves... That sounded genuinely bizarre.
Liu Yan continued, "Red Moon caused such a massive disturbance this time that even those who previously knew nothing about the Eight Great Families know about them now. That includes Yama and Feitian—I suspect they might have known all along—as well as various small and mid-sized organizations, and the Night Watchers."
"It looks calm on the surface right now, but that's an illusion."
"All eyes are likely fixed on you at this very moment. Your remaining in Silver City inherently draws danger. The only reason it hasn't erupted yet is that Old Yuan is here. Once he leaves Silver City, just watch—this place will inevitably become the most chaotic battleground in all of Silver Moon Province!"
Chaos!
It was inevitable. Liu Yan was by no means foolish; she had anticipated this long ago. The current tranquility existed solely because a powerhouse capable of slaying a Three Sols expert resided here. But once that person departed, mark her words, the city would plunge into total turmoil.
Li Hao fell silent.
After a moment, he spoke up. "Sis, if you know chaos is coming, why don't you leave?"
"Leave?"
Liu Yan laughed. "Go where? Besides, why should I leave? Chaos is good! Wealth and honor are sought amidst peril! As a martial master who hasn't stepped into the supernatural realm, I am intensely hungry for vast amounts of mysterious energy! Once the Night Watchers branch is established, slaying hostile supernaturals brings rewards. Combined with the regular salary and the mysterious energy harvested from killing enemy supernaturals, this is my true opportunity."
"Otherwise, having just stepped into the Hundred-Breaker realm, I might never enter the supernatural realm in my entire life."
She knew this place was perilous, but so what?
She wasn't afraid!
Her gamble was precisely on the danger here, for only danger brought opportunity. Otherwise, who knew how many years it would take for her to step into that realm from the Hundred-Breaker stage?
At this point, she suddenly remarked, "My ability to break through to Hundred-Breaker is thanks to you."
Her expression of gratitude carried a profound undertone, difficult to tell whether it was delight or helplessness.
Indeed, Li Hao had played an indispensable role in her breakthrough.
This kid had channeled a massive quantity of that special energy into her. Upon returning, she discovered her constitution had been significantly bolstered, and her supernatural lock seemed far more stable. That was the true catalyst for her breakthrough to Hundred-Breaker.
She hadn't mentioned this before.
Li Hao was taken aback. *Me?*
*The sword energy!*
Understanding dawned, and Li Hao gave a sheepish smile. "I was only trying to heal your injuries at the time."
"It's fine."
Liu Yan kept driving, smiling. "Reaching Hundred-Breaker is good anyway; at least I have some capital to protect myself now. Otherwise, if I still couldn't advance to the supernatural realm, the Ten-Slayer realm would hardly be enough to survive under current circumstances."
Li Hao remained silent.
Other thoughts churned in his mind.
Had the Eight Great Families truly drawn attention after all?
He had known it would happen, but everyone had previously avoided discussing the matter, leading him to think they didn't care. As it turned out, they cared deeply.
Even though the Eight Great Families seemed like a legend from ancient times, with the resurgence of supernaturals, coupled with Li Hao producing the Li family sword and handing it to the Night Watchers, and Red Moon losing a Three Sols expert here...
In a single stroke, powerhouses not only from Silver Moon Province, but perhaps from other provinces as well, had turned their gaze toward this place.
For now, Yuan Shuo remained here, so no one dared make a move. But once his teacher left, exactly as Liu Yan had said, this place might quickly become the eye of the storm.
*All the better!* Li Hao muttered to himself.
This was also an opportunity.
Though he had just stepped into the Hundred-Breaker realm, his strength was continually advancing. His teacher had already retrieved the mysterious energy from the warehouse and promised to procure some five elements energy for him.
The energy in their possession was primarily metal energy—that Three Sols expert had been of the metal attribute—while the Solar Radiance expert had been of the lightning attribute.
While these could still assist Li Hao, they were not as comprehensively beneficial as a balanced five elements energy.
His teacher also needed time to trade with others for different types of five elements mysterious energy.
*These past few days, I feel my Triple Layered Force is close to mastery, which counts as another modest improvement.*
Through the rearview mirror, he watched Qiao Peng's figure gradually recede into the distance.
Qiao's Mining!
Quite possibly an outer organization of Yama. He made a mental note of that as well.
……
The Inspectorate.
Li Hao and Liu Yan acted as if nothing had happened.
In the grand conference room.
Mu Sen was present.
Li Hao also spotted several familiar faces, which caught him by surprise.
Wang Ming looked toward Li Hao, keeping his chin tilted up and remaining dead silent.
Before departing, he had told Li Hao that Silver City was too small, that he shouldn't linger here, and that he should move to White Moon City as early as possible.
And look at that—not long after, he had scampered right back.
How utterly humiliating!
Seeing Liu Yan and Li Hao return, Mu Sen smiled. "Everyone's here. Perfect. The documents and personnel from the Night Watchers have all arrived. Please take your seats, everyone, and I will announce the appointments!"
Everyone took their seats.
Wang Ming refused to speak to Li Hao, let alone greet him, feeling far too embarrassed. For now, he preferred if everyone simply acted as though he didn't exist.
"Following deliberations by higher authorities, the Silver City Night Watchers Branch is officially established!"
"Proposed appointment: Former Captain of the Silver City Law Enforcement Team, Liu Long, is promoted to City Inspecting Commissioner and assigned the post of Branch Director of the Silver City Branch!"
Liu Long rose, stepped forward, received his letter of appointment, and saluted.
Everyone broke into applause.
There weren't many people present—just the members of the squad and a few arriving Night Watchers. The Night Watchers remained classified; even though many people knew of their existence, secrecy was maintained wherever possible, and they avoided appearing before the public eye.
"Proposed appointment: Former Inspecting Commissioner of the White Moon City Night Watchers, Wang Ming, is assigned the post of Deputy Director of the Silver City Branch."
Wang Ming stepped forward and took the appointment letter without a hint of a smile.
Transferred all the way from White Moon City to this place to serve as some deputy director over this handful of people—and as an outsider to boot—what was there to be happy about?
He had already been an Inspecting Commissioner to begin with, so this assignment didn't even come with a rank promotion. It was utterly meaningless.
"Proposed appointment: Former First-Class Inspector of the Silver City Law Enforcement Team, Li Hao, is promoted to Inspecting Commissioner and assigned the post of Deputy Director of the Silver City Branch."
"..."
Wang Ming stared blankly at Li Hao, overwhelmed by intense shame.
*He's a deputy director too?*
He truly hadn't known about this.
Good grief, had he fallen so low that he was now on equal footing with Li Hao?
Below, Li Meng and Hu Hao exchanged glances, utterly dumbfounded and drowning in awkwardness.
Did this mean Li Hao would remain their superior moving forward?
Good heavens, had they known Li Hao would become a deputy director, they would never have agreed to come here even if beaten to death.
They had assumed the post would go to Liu Yan.
Liu Yan was older than them and had far more seniority; aside from failing to advance to supernatural status, her appointment as deputy director would have been palatable. Yet it had gone to Li Hao instead.
Unable to hold back, Wang Ming whispered, "Director Liu... this... Li Hao... hasn't he only just joined the Inspectorate? And he isn't even a supernatural..."
*Can they really do this?*
Liu Long replied calmly, "It's fine. Li Hao will primarily oversee logistical affairs. When real combat arises, we will still have to rely on Deputy Director Wang. Deputy Director Wang is a Full Moon level supernatural, the foremost powerhouse in Silver City..."
Wang Ming's face instantly flushed crimson.
This was an insult!
What did Liu Long mean by that?
Everyone had witnessed the previous battle. Liu Long had taken on three enemies at once, whereas Wang Ming couldn't even defeat a single opponent one-on-one. Not to mention there was still Yuan Shuo in the city. Calling him the foremost powerhouse—what was that if not mockery?
"Director Liu!"
Liu Long added placidly, "Ah, the foremost powerhouse among supernaturals!"
Hearing that, Wang Ming paused, then quieted down.
Put that way, the statement was technically accurate.
Forget it, no point bickering with this reckless brute.
"Proposed appointment: Liu Yan is assigned the post of Action Team Leader of the Silver City Branch..."
The appointments continued.
Across the entire nine-member branch, four of them—counting Liu Yan—held leadership titles.
Below them, Yun Yao, Wu Chao, and Chen Jian were indifferent. Hu Hao and Li Meng, however, looked around, suddenly feeling utterly destitute and forlorn.
Two Lunar Nether supernaturals had taken assignments in a tiny backwater like Silver City, only to end up as mere grunts.
They hadn't even snagged a team leader position.
For a moment, both nearly burst into tears. Had they known this would happen, they would rather have transferred to Yaoguang City. Even if they didn't get leadership roles in Yaoguang City, they wouldn't have been reduced to mere grunts; at the very least, there would be Starlight-level supernaturals beneath them whom they could boss around.
Now, look at their situation. Across the entire branch, aside from the two of them, only the two Ten-Slayer realm martial masters, Wu Chao and Chen Jian, were weaker. The problem was, those two were martial masters, walked a different path, and were Liu Long's die-hard confidants.
They had truly been reduced to the bottom of the pecking order!
Having concluded the announcements, Mu Sen offered a smile. "Congratulations, everyone! Especially to you, Li Hao—congratulations! I always said that students graduating from the Silver City Ancient Academy would eventually make a name for themselves, but I never expected you to become an Inspecting Commissioner so quickly."
He was somewhat surprised, yet not entirely so.
It was only natural for higher authorities to approve this; after all, they had to give Yuan Shuo face.
"The establishment of the Night Watchers is a momentous occasion for me and for the Inspectorate as well!"
Mu Sen chuckled warmly. "Moving forward, all cases within Silver City involving supernaturals and martial masters will be handed over to you to resolve, while the Inspectorate will only handle ordinary civilian cases. Of course, should you require assistance due to limited manpower, you are welcome to draw personnel from the Inspectorate at any time."
The Night Watchers simply had too few people.
Silver City would see no shortage of supernatural cases in the near future, so Mu Sen made the concession that they could request Inspectorate assistance whenever needed.
Liu Long paid little heed to that offer. After a moment of thought, he spoke up. "As far as I know, the Inspectorate holds the most comprehensive dossiers on Silver City's supernaturals and martial masters. You just need to provide me with a copy of those! That includes files on supernaturals and martial masters within major corporations, the Ancient Academy, and various institutions."
Mu Sen looked at him without answering.
Liu Long said evenly, "What, is that a problem? Chief Mu, by rank, you and I are now equals! The Night Watchers have the legal authority to demand that you hand over those dossiers."
"That's not it!" Mu Sen frowned. "Liu Long, what are you trying to do?"
"A new official lights three fires. I want to light a fire. Is there a problem with that?"
Mu Sen hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Previously, only he had clearance to view those dossiers, because they concerned every supernatural-tier entity in all of Silver City: Ten-Slayer martial masters, Starlight Masters, Hundred-Breakers, Lunar Nether Masters...
Did Silver City possess them?
Yes, though few in number, and mostly stationed within large corporations and powerful institutions. For example, the Silver City Ancient Academy actually had martial masters holding down the fort—not just Yuan Shuo, but others as well.
Seeing Liu Long's insistence, Mu Sen dropped the matter and nodded. "I'll have them sent to you later."
"Don't redact anything!"
Liu Long's tone remained calm. "None of those matters have anything to do with you. Rest assured, I'm not a villain. We are the guardians of Silver City and won't do anything irrational."
"Suit yourself!"
Mu Sen said no more, turning and walking away.
He intended to minimize contact with Liu Long going forward; that man was far from rational and would drag him down sooner or later.
Once Mu Sen was gone, a grin suddenly broke across Liu Long's face. "Finally, we can spread our wings and take action!"
For a moment, although the others didn't fully grasp his meaning, their spirits were roused. Wang Ming felt a brief surge of excitement as well, but quickly sensed something amiss—the look Liu Long was giving him seemed decidedly peculiar.
*Uh-oh!*
Wang Ming thought instinctively, *Why are you looking at me? I'm an outsider here—you're not thinking of roping me into something, are you?*
Chapter 51