[Return of the Saint]!

How could it be him? A chill ran down Bai Zhou's spine. This distinguished guest could have been an important member of the Zijing Group, a Master Painter titan from the Fine Arts Society, or some high-ranking official from the Special Control Bureau colluding with the Major for mutual profit... He could have been anyone. Yet he was the last person who should have been here—Deputy Director Liu, the hero who had drawn his bow against the demon and turned the tide! Although he himself had ultimately failed to stem the raging tide, the Thunderous Heavenly Bow he had left behind had played a pivotal role... Furthermore, for a long stretch of the battle, he had been the peak of combat strength and the backbone of everyone present, an indisputable archenemy standing opposed to the demon—or so it should have been. If there was some deep collusion between him and the Major... Then it meant that from start to finish, the vast majority of the situation—at least before Bai Zhou had stepped onto the stage holding the Thunderous Heavenly Bow—had been steered and orchestrated by the Major, every single person counted within his calculations! The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. —So, had the demon truly "died"? Or rather, was the demon's ultimate end truly outside the Major's expectations? Thinking back now, Deputy Director Liu's appearance from the Anomaly Investigation Bureau at a scene cordoned off by the FZDC was inherently somewhat abrupt and uninvited... Bai Zhou could not help shuddering. A tempest churned in his mind, countless thoughts surging all at once. He genuinely could not comprehend it: Deputy Director Liu held a lofty position in the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, a paramount figure beyond Rank 6 whom even the entire Zijing Group had to treat with deference—what reason could a man like that have to do the bidding of a mere Major Luo? Did this Major Luo truly possess that much personal charisma? Granted, Major Luo had quite a handsome face, but it wasn't as though he could sell his ass to Deputy Director Liu... Bai Zhou muttered inwardly. Yet in the end, these tumbling thoughts came to an abrupt halt with a loud *bang* of a slamming door. The voice of big-mouthed Luo Jiu gradually faded into the distance. Time was pressing; Bai Zhou knew he did not have much to spare. Perhaps, within those piles of "scrap paper," he would find the answers. "..." Through the humming ventilation ducts, after confirming there was no surveillance in the office, Bai Zhou cautiously traced characters on his palm to ask Crow whether there were any ritual alarms inside. Baffled by Bai Zhou's stealthy palm-writing, Crow nevertheless quickly confirmed that there were no traces of a ritual in the office: "This is their deepest den. Nine powerful freaks hole up in this tiny place every day, surrounded by their own people... Would you set up a ritual in a place like this, inside your own office? "Besides, don't underestimate the abilities granted to you by the forbidden tome! "The black cat's concealment capability is extraordinary. Even if someone looked right at you, they wouldn't recognize that you're a human in disguise. "And if they don't see you, as Extraordinaries they won't even be able to perceive your presence!" Schrödinger's cat. If observed, it exists; if unobserved, it does not. Though fundamentally different in nature, to a certain degree, this even bore some resemblance to Crow's own existential traits. "Still, this level of vigilance and caution is worthy of praise." The black ribbon atop the black cat's head swayed gently, and Crow's voice sounded in Bai Zhou's mind once more: "The lessons others have to learn in the mystical world through painful, bloody experience seem to have been second nature to you all along... It's hard to imagine what kind of environment could forge a personality like yours." What kind of environment? Bai Zhou was speechless. He had heard of human nature being inherently evil or inherently good, but never of human nature being inherently craven and cautious. Prudence and caution weren't innate; they were forced upon him by life. If anyone had to scrape by begging for food by reading people's expressions from childhood, risking being dragged onto a cross and burned alive at the slightest taboo; then suddenly learned one day that everything they had experienced was an artificial lie; and was promptly hauled off to a heavily guarded base to undergo blood-sucking tests with squirming, ominous blood vessels; and then was hunted down by a cunning, swollen white fatty, pursued by a scimitar-wielding skeleton, and hunted across the entirety of Tinghai... —Then congratulations to that person: they were already a Destined Adventurer of the highest caliber! After being hunted enough times, one naturally learned caution; after being swindled enough times, one naturally learned how to swindle others. Just like after the swollen giant pulled out a third arm in front of him, Bai Zhou drew analogies and learned to stab the feigning-dead white fatty in the ass with a spear... That was why Bai Zhou had always felt that human beings were like water-absorbing sponges, or sheets of white paper. Every hair-raising, deeply instructive moment of crisis was a stern teacher, gradually reshaping a person's mold. Naturally, Bai Zhou preferred to describe this with another word— For instance: growth. Having received Crow's confirmation, the black cat that Bai Zhou had transformed into flipped down decisively. He stood up on his hind legs soundlessly, burying himself intently in the mountain of documents and papers. Flipping through swiftly, ten lines at a glance, he discarded useless files immediately and forced himself to memorize incomprehensible ones with an extra look or two. With his Fate Principle hanging high at a gifted height of five feet nine inches continuously in play, the eidetic Bai Zhou read at blinding speed—like a humanoid scanning app, each blink of his eyes like the click of a shutter. "Not what I'm looking for..." "Not this one, not this one either..." Files were pulled out and returned to their original places one after another. The purification ritual inscribed on his paws was actively working, ensuring he left behind no traces whatsoever. Neither fingerprints nor cat fur. The tiny black cat was expressionless, intently leafing through each document, his minuscule figure appearing thoroughly insignificant before the two-meter-high mountain of paper. *Buzz...* The ribbon bow atop the black cat's head wavered twice and loosened on its own. Crow's figure materialized in midair, catching the translucent black ribbon in one hand and tucking it into her robes. Watching the tiny black cat buried in the piles of documents, busy and absorbed, Crow pursed her lips without making a sound, though lingering astonishment remained in her heart. The words she had spoken earlier were by no means aimless praise... The general stereotype of black cats was that they were mysterious and adept at stealth, and the Life-Stealing Spirit Cat Bai Zhou transformed into seemed to possess this virtue in spades. When in the form of the black cat, though his secret techniques were inconvenient to unleash and completely failed to demonstrate the strength befitting a Rank 4 Destined Adventurer, nonetheless—as the saying went—this black cat was exceptionally skilled at concealment! His life aura was virtually nonexistent. Even from Crow's perceptive perspective, if she closed her eyes, she wouldn't be able to sense a living creature here at all. That was truly extraordinary. Only Crow understood what this implied, and how tremendously useful it would be even well into the future. If this held true even for her, let alone for those Extraordinaries still within the first major realm who barely touched upon aura perception... *As expected of the Thousand-Faced Moon from a forbidden tome...* Crow marveled inwardly, sighing at Bai Zhou's fortune. There was a good reason a scroll-grade forbidden tome was called a scroll-grade forbidden tome. In its millennium of heritage, the entire Blood Worship Cult possessed only three forbidden tomes, and among them, the *Dead Sea Secret Scrolls* was the most enigmatic—unopenable for countless years, venerated from afar on high. In the end, Bai Zhou had reaped the benefits... Yet Crow soon shook her head again. As far as she knew, even for a forbidden tome, it wouldn't easily bestow a secret technique of this caliber in its very first chapter. The Thousand-Faced Moon was merely the foundation; to be able to transform into the Life-Stealing Spirit Cat, Bai Zhou must have had other encounters and experiences. In the mystical world, almost no lucky soul received unearned gifts. Crow felt a tinge of worry, but far more of an elder's deep gratification—a fond sense that her boy had finally grown up. *The Genius Training Camp?* Crow's eyes flickered as she looked at Bai Zhou, subtle thoughts passing through her mind. *The stage of Tinghai is still too small.* *When will my Bai Zhou make his grand debut before the entire Eastern Federation?* *And give those aloof yet short-sighted giant babies in the greenhouse a proper shock!* Just then, Bai Zhou seemed to have made a discovery; his eyes blinked twice. *This is...* Without uttering a word, his spirits lifted as he looked at the file in his paws. [Shepherd Project] He had finally uncovered a familiar name! Opening the dossier, the contents met Bai Zhou's eyes. [Project Number]: 000003 [Project Classification]: Top Secret I. [Description]: 1. Win over cadres of the Special Control Bureau to form a community of shared interest, who will designate "sheep" for cultivation. 2. Once the "sheep" have matured, process them into Human Material. The core is used to nurture the Nine Directors of the Luo family; leftover offal is supplied to "Father" for another project; lower-grade offal is used to manufacture Black Warriors. 3. Even lower-grade offal is brewed into potions to fuel the advancement of Special Control Bureau cadres; the lowest-grade offal is used to brew Intellect Awakening Potions to foster new sheep. 4. By feeding sheep with sheep, establish perpetual resource recycling. II. Excerpts from Experimental Records: 1. [DATA EXPUNGED] [■■■] 2. [DATA EXPUNGED] [■■■] 3. [DATA EXPUNGED] [■■■] 4. [...] III. [Appendix]: "There is a bold hypothesis: humanity's most natural social interactions, intellectual currents, and cultural shifts may all be steered from below by unseen human intervention. The Shepherd Project, conceived upon this hypothesis, strives to turn people into domesticated, corralled sheep, establishing a sheepfold utopia. To this end, every vested interest must be united as accomplices in herding and consuming sheep, establishing a pasture utopia that maximizes the latent value of every person and every sheep—rigid in hierarchy yet preserving avenues of upward mobility, ensuring that talent finds purpose, with each fulfilling their duties and finding their place. —Yet even as we protect the flock from external 'wolves' and erect this utopia, we must also lead the flock to believe that their path toward the pasture is a choice of their own making. Everyone, including myself, may be a 'sheep' not yet chosen by Father..." [Note 1]: The above is a photocopied archival record; electronic originals have been deleted. [Note 2]: If the project proceeds smoothly, Phase One—[Sheep Rearing]—will conclude on September 9. [Note 3]: If the project proceeds smoothly, Phase Two—[Tinghai Utopia]—will commence at 00:00 on September 10! "..." Bai Zhou swiftly flipped through the hundred-odd pages of documentation. Silent, holding his breath, a brainstorm raged in his mind. Dozens of pages of experimental records in the file were entirely covered in doodle-like black bars... but none of that mattered. The Shepherd Project, a crucial undertaking whose name Bai Zhou had known for so long, had finally unveiled its true face before him! It was far more terrifying and far more meticulous than Bai Zhou had imagined; the Major's ambitions were laid bare without reservation. Bai Zhou had originally thought that mid-to-high-ranking officials at Base 36 of the Special Control Bureau, including Adjutant Han, selecting subordinates to nurture constituted the Shepherd Project... He had never expected that to be merely the tip of the iceberg. —What did [Tinghai Utopia] mean? And why were September 9 and September 10 chosen as the two pivotal milestones? Did they relate to the "Ascension to Sainthood" spoken of by those nine freaks? What was so special about this timing? —One had to realize that today was already September 8! Thoughts flashed through his brain in an instant. Bai Zhou felt an overwhelming sense of urgency, yet he didn't allow his contemplation to stall his hands. Putting the file back in its place, he continued browsing new documents. Time was limited; right now was for "gathering," not for reflecting and deducing... Before long, Bai Zhou came across Project Number 000010, the [Industrial Park Development Project]. This was another familiar phrase; Bai Zhou had seen the name in Adjutant Han's encrypted ledger as well. Unfortunately, this project file was far too fragmented, the bulk of its contents missing. Judging by the yellowing of the paper, Bai Zhou deduced that this was an early key plan... but it had been declared complete once this underground base was established. That was why its records had been deleted once long ago, leaving behind only an inconsequential outline. *...Are there any more?* *I need more actionable intel!* *Ascension to Sainthood!* *Or some other vital project I don't know about...* Hiding in the office, constantly dreading Luo Jiu's return, Bai Zhou felt like a home-wrecker having an illicit affair while the husband was away; a faint countdown ticked away ceaselessly in his heart. He urgently wanted to unearth more useful information from the dense mountain of scrap paper before him. —A thirst for knowledge could feel no more acute than this. Just then, Crow's voice, carrying a touch of solemnity and gravity, sounded softly beside Bai Zhou's ear: "Look what I've found." "This... is perhaps something you should see." "What is it?" Blinking his eyes, the bewildered Bai Zhou remained quiet and turned to look. Without him noticing, Crow had also joined the task of sifting through the archives, shouldering some of the burden for him. Right now, she wore an uncharacteristically grim expression, holding a thick dossier in her hands. On the cover of the folder was a name: [Ascension to Sainthood Project]! [Project Number]: 000001! [Project Classification]: Top Secret+++!! "..." Bai Zhou's eyes widened slowly. If he had not been keeping strict control over his body to stay concealed, tuning his heartbeat to its slowest and faintest tempo... Bai Zhou's heart would likely be pounding wildly right now. *Found you!* The Ascension to Sainthood Project— Suspected to be the momentous affair the Major had been orchestrating recently, the foremost event mentioned repeatedly by those nine freakish directors—and the very thing Bai Zhou most desperately needed to understand! Taking the file at once, Bai Zhou flipped open the folder. Yet to Bai Zhou's disappointment—though not entirely beyond expectation... What greeted his eyes, apart from those three lines of header, were dense black redaction bars—[■]—and jarring notices of [DATA EXPUNGED] everywhere. Evidently, before this document had ever been printed as a hard-copy backup, the digital original on the devices had already been comprehensively scrubbed and encrypted. Perhaps only the Major himself and a select few had ever seen the original draft... *Rustle.* Quickly flipping through to the penultimate page, even the remarks were nothing but black boxes and [DATA EXPUNGED]. Thus far, Bai Zhou had not seen a single other word in this document. As expected, the final page would likely be the same... Yet this also demonstrated that the [Ascension to Sainthood Project], Project Number 000001, was the Major's most central and most sensitive secret! While even the Shepherd Project had reams of documentation on paper, this [Ascension to Sainthood Project] alone was kept under unmasked, impenetrable secrecy. With these thoughts in mind, Bai Zhou didn't stop his hands, continuing to turn the page. Then, his movements abruptly froze. His paw hung suspended mid-turn. The result was utterly unexpected— Turning to the final page, not only were there no [■] or [DATA EXPUNGED], the paper was instead *almost* entirely blank! Pristine white paper, pure as a clear sky with blue heavens and white clouds, giving Bai Zhou—who had grown used to dense black boxes and encrypted deletions—a sudden sensation of clarity. Yet the reason it was described as "almost" was that on this page, a sparse few characters did in fact exist. In fact, the entire page of blank paper seemed intentionally left empty, simply because no other data or records were deemed worthy to stand alongside those two lines of text. "This is...?" The moment he made out the contents, Bai Zhou's pupils constricted uncontrollably, the office falling terrifyingly silent. He suddenly understood why Crow had looked so grim. Upon that pristine white paper was a strange glyph stamped with a crooked seal. Only after careful inspection did Bai Zhou barely decipher it: it looked like the glyph for "而," overlaid atop a distorted character for "Luo"! And beneath this bizarre glyph hung eight simple, bold characters: [Project Objective] [Return of the Saint]