Volume 4, Chapter 26 – Dark Piece

Night fell and the lights went out, but nearly half of Zhennan was still brightly lit, because a great many construction sites were rushing to work through the night.

On one such site, a man in a suit and safety helmet stood on the roof of a newly finished shell of a building, quietly talking with a girl in a long white coat patterned in black.

The man’s name was Li Qian. He was a supervisor sent by the multinational company Guangchen Biotech, stationed in Zhennan Circuit to represent the company in cooperation talks. His status was by no means low.

Yet even so, he was extremely humble in front of the girl in the coat. His shoulders stayed hunched the whole time, not daring to show the slightest hint of offense or presumption.

This was all because of that white coat, densely embroidered with black Dao characters. In the outside world, it had another name: Dao-script Haori.

Pure white right-lapelled training clothes underneath, Dao-script Haori with close-packed black patterns on top. This was the exclusive mark of an inner disciple of the Shenming Sword Dao.

Without question, this status ranked above Li Qian’s so-called supervisor position. Forget Li Qian. Even an executive three levels above him would have to be unfailingly polite to the girl if present.

Because now everyone knew that Maozhou and Zhennan both counted as genuine Shenming dojos.

“Manager Li, how have you decided?” Hu Hu held a longsword in her left hand and looked at him calmly. “Do keep in mind, we are not asking your company for a favor.”

We are informing you.

Li Qian understood that unspoken line perfectly well, but did not dare show any dissatisfaction. Smiling in apology, he said, “Of course, of course. Since it is your Dao’s request, we will naturally comply in all things. All arrangements are now in place. We are just waiting for your Dao to organize the operation.”

His deferential tone was not only out of fear of force. What the Shenming Sword Dao was doing was, in fact, a benefit to Guangchen Biotech as well.

Starting a week ago, a peculiar Demon Pool had begun to spread on Guangchen Biotech’s construction site. Those affected were all people who, while alone, had encountered a strange roadside stall and bought some kind of nauseating, stomach-turning food. After eating it, they became completely abnormal.

They developed a taste for human flesh and a strong preference for human brains, yet in all other respects remained scrupulously proper, as if only a single piece of their cognition had been altered.

Rеαd oո КαtRеαⅾіոɡCαfe

At first, Li Qian had not taken it seriously. He was an experienced man who had previously overseen the establishment of the company’s base in Chilong Circuit and knew very well that if you wanted to do business in Great Yu, you could not avoid such demonic oddities.

The solution was simple enough. Just go to the Jobs Directorate and post a bounty.

Maozhou was a bit inconvenient in this respect, since its Jobs Directorate system had not yet been fully built. But Guangchen Biotech could still leverage its advantage on the external network, link to the Qizhou regional net, and post a bounty there to recruit all kinds of mercenaries and security to settle the problem.

Only, this Brain-Eater Demon Pool was too sinister. Two teams they hired had failed, and even gotten themselves dragged in.

Li Qian had been at his wits’ end over it, hesitating over whether to report it to headquarters, when the Shenming Sword Dao contacted him, saying they would help Guangchen Biotech resolve the matter.

How could Li Qian not be willing?

All it meant was lowering his posture and going through some procedures according to their requirements.

As long as they could help him solve the trouble and keep him from being dismissed by headquarters, never mind smiling apologetically. He would gladly kneel and knock his head on the ground.

After an hour of discussion, confirming and arranging the replacement personnel to move in, Hu Hu finally dismissed Li Qian. She remained alone on the rooftop, her gaze passing over the brightly lit scaffolding to the shadows at the far end of the street.

Suddenly, her pupils contracted. She watched as a flatbed cart piled high with goods was pushed out of the darkness and set up neatly at the mouth of an alley by the construction site’s side gate.

So the assessment had been right. The surveillance equipment would have its view warped by twisted light and shadow. Only the naked eyes of living people could catch it.

Without hesitating, she took out her phone and began sending messages in the group chat, spreading the situation here.

On the other side of the site, inside a factory building, among a group of workers who looked like they were assembling machines, a few people suddenly paused. Making excuses about needing the toilet, they hurried out together, one after another pulling out their phones to check.

Rеаd оո ΚαtReaԁiոgCαfе

“Work’s come in.” One of them lifted his safety helmet, revealing Xu Shu’s solemn face.

“At the north gate of the site…”

“You lot, whatever happens, do not rush in blindly.”

He gave the others a warning look. Under each safety helmet were the new disciples he had selected last time, including Liu Yong, Dongzi, and Zhu Sheng.

“Got it, Senior Brother!” Zhu Sheng was the most exuberant, thumping his chest. “We’ll follow your lead on everything!”

“Good.” Xu Shu nodded and began assigning tasks one by one.

According to the plan, Dongzi and Zhu Sheng were to go to other parts of the site to gather people, bringing along all the disciples who had slipped in under cover to get ready to support.

Xu Shu himself would go out the north gate with Liu Yong first. Their job was to pin down the “Head Shop” and buy time for the outer ring to tighten the net.

Along the way, some people gradually split off from the group, until only Liu Yong and Xu Shu were left walking together.

Whoosh…

Whoosh…

The cooling summer wind blew across his face. Liu Yong felt a surge of excitement and could no longer tell whether the sound in his ears was the wind or his own breathing.

“Are you afraid?” Xu Shu suddenly turned back to look at him.

Rеаd оn КatRеаԁіոgCαfе

“Not afraid!” Liu Yong shook his head.

“Oh? Why not?”

“I have nothing left to lose.” Liu Yong said quietly. “So long as I can train myself, kill monsters and Demon Pools, I’m willing to do anything.”

Xu Shu gave him another look. “This has to do with that Second Uncle Liu, doesn’t it.”

Liu Yong’s eyes widened. He could not find any words.

“You’re close with Zhang Donglai. I’ve heard Zhang Donglai had some ties with Second Uncle Liu’s daughter.”

Seeing Liu Yong’s stunned expression, Xu Shu only found it amusing. “Let me warn you first. Not every Demon Pool’s pollution can be cleared away just by killing the source.”

This senior brother really did live up to his reputation for subtle thought.

Liu Yong thought that, worthy indeed of being the Shenming Sword Dao’s chief swordsman among the disciples, Xu Shu not only had flawless swordsmanship, but also arranged matters and soothed people’s hearts without leaving a gap.

With someone like that, going alone to deal with the Demon Pool aberration ought to have been a safer bet, right?

He says he wants me on the side as backup, but will I really not become dead weight?

Thinking further, Liu Yong began to suspect Xu Shu had singled him out for another reason.

After that audience with the Dao Lord, he had left the main hall and only then heard from other disciples what level of luxurious reward a Grade B-Plus merit evaluation was.

Rеαd oո ΚаtRеadіnɡCαfе

The Shenming Merit Register was divided into four ranks. Normally, a new disciple doing patrol duty for several weeks would only accumulate a “Ding-Middle” merit, and it took several “Ding-Middle” merits to combine into a single “Ding-Upper,” which could be exchanged for access to scriptures or a chance for one-on-one instruction.

If even Ding-rank merits were that hard to earn, it was hard to imagine how he had somehow skipped past Ding and Bing and gone straight to a Grade B-Plus merit, all for merely speaking up and voicing his suspicions about Li Guangyuan at the right moment.

That alone could not possibly be enough.

Thinking it over and over, Liu Yong felt there could only be one explanation: they must have added in the merit from when he drove those two iron swords and slew demons before. What he had done that night might have been far more significant than he had thought.

Then there was his identity.

The Shenming Sword Dao was giving him extraordinary favor, and that did not seem to be only because he had warned them and slain demons. It was also because they were “accepting him on someone’s behalf” and placed special weight on his true master.

So Senior Brother picked me out alone to see what is special about me?

The Dao is curious why I was chosen by Master and is testing me on purpose?

Liu Yong was fairly quick on the uptake. He had already guessed that his master was almost certainly the owner of those two iron swords. Even so, he still felt uneasy, because he himself did not know why he had been chosen by the blades.

Of course it was “chosen,” because when Dongzi picked them up, there had been no reaction.

But I do not know why they responded when I held them… does that ability really count for anything?