As Chen Chuan crossed the train station plaza, he stopped by a phone booth to call Cheng Zitong. He let it ring three times, then hung up.

The call didn’t need to be answered. Cheng Zitong would get the message.

’This time, the assessment for the Defense Certificate, including travel time, took only about six days from start to finish. The time should be... acceptable, right?’

’The professor should be able to accept it.’

Just as he had on his way there, he casually bought a few newspapers and story collections in the station plaza. He had timed his arrival well, so he didn’t have to wait long before an announcement reported the train’s arrival. He passed smoothly through the ticket gate and boarded the train directly.

As usual, his return ticket was for a seat. He placed his belongings on the luggage rack, but as he did so, he heard a faint rustling sound from inside his suitcase.

This was because the Combat Spider was also inside.

To use this device, the owner had to feed it their own blood, completing a one-time blood verification.

During his three days at the inn, he had already fed it according to Old Feng’s instructions. From now on, to use it, he just needed to awaken it with a special technique.

To prevent this combat weapon from indiscriminately slaughtering everyone besides its master, there was also a control method involving hand gestures and vocal commands. After a demonstration, the spider would remember them and follow instructions. However, the Boxing Lion crew clearly lacked the patience for that and had never provided it with any such guidance.

But he believed that an uncontrolled weapon wasn’t a true weapon. So, after confirming his ownership, he had spent those three days making the Combat Spider understand the gestures and commands it needed to remember. He had even thrown in a can of High-Energy Nutrients afterward.

However, with no enemies around, there was no good way to have the spider demonstrate its combat functions. This meant the energy it consumed hadn’t been depleted, so it was bound to be a bit active even while dormant.

He reached out and patted the suitcase gently, and the movement inside stopped.

Then he sat down and began to think about his next steps.

’I got the Unlimited Defense Certificate this time, and the whole process was incredibly fast—in less than ten days. After I get back, no one will find out for a while.’

’According to conventional wisdom, I shouldn’t have even had the time to take the exam. After all, a C Certificate takes at least a month, and a B Certificate can take several. Just like this time, if I had arrived a little later and the Boxing Lion crew had gone deeper into the Land of Chaos, I would have had no choice but to follow them in. That would have been a huge hassle.’

’Just finding people there takes a lot of effort, and I might have had to deal with the local factions. Even after eliminating the target, I’d still have to figure out how to get out. The whole thing could have easily taken several months.’

The way things turned out now provided him with excellent cover.

Although the departmental evaluation would only conceal it for a year at most, even if someone saw it, as long as he didn’t publicize it himself, no one would know for the time being. After all, the local dignitaries in Yangzhi City had limited influence; they weren’t powerful enough to check the national review board’s archives.

Even if they discovered the evaluation later and became wary of him, they would still try to suppress him as if he were someone without a Defense Certificate. That would give him a lot more room to maneuver.

He considered his situation. ’I only just reached the Second Limit, so my strength is still in a period of rapid growth. At this stage, I’m improving every day. If I can secure more time to grow, my preparations will be that much more thorough.’

’It’s almost June, and in another month, the holidays will begin. After the summer break, new students will be enrolling. By the time I’m a second-year, my strength should be on another level. With the power I had to earn a Class B Defense Certificate in my first year, I’ll be able to compete for a spot to go to Central City.’

He always remembered what Cheng Zitong, He Xiaoxing, and Director Lei had told him: only in Central City could one truly understand the entirety of this world.

He gazed out the window, watching the scenery fly by.

’I have to go there.’

Taking a deep breath, he pulled two tubes of Nutrition Paste from his pocket, ate them, and then began to slowly guide his breathing.

As the train traveled on and time passed, the sky outside gradually darkened. Amidst the rhythmic grinding of the wheels against the tracks, he closed his eyes to rest.

A long time seemed to pass before he opened his eyes. In the direction the train was traveling, the Sun was rising from the edge of the horizon, casting a warm, golden light upon him.

He stared at it. On his way there, the sunlight had been at his back, seeing him off. Now, on his return, he was chasing the Sun.

Around noon, the train arrived at Shangbu Station. As he walked out of the station, he took a moment to look around the city. He hadn’t had time to stop here before because of the assessment.

This was a junction for both land and water travel, and he’d heard the food was good. So he made a trip into the city, sampled the local cuisine, and bought some local specialties to bring back for Cheng Zitong. After looking around, he finally boarded a long-distance bus back to Yangzhi.

Over five hours later, at around 8:30 in the evening, he finally returned to Yangzhi City.

When he stepped off the bus and set foot on solid ground, he felt a sense of peace, of coming home, even though he had only been gone for a few days.

However, when he reached the pre-arranged meeting spot, Cheng Zitong wasn’t there. He figured the professor was probably still on his way back.

’I probably finished the exam too quickly.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He thought for a moment. If he went back to the academy now without getting his story straight with Cheng Zitong, there would inevitably be holes in it. Going home wasn’t a good idea either, so he decided to find a place to wait.

This was South City, which was relatively close to Ren Shu’s company, so he decided to head there first.

Besides, he remembered Ren Shu mentioning last time that due to the company’s improved rating, some old files from the Administrative Affairs Hall had been made available to them. A good portion of them were already archived at the company, and he hadn’t had a chance to look at them yet. This was the perfect time to browse through them.

Since completing the commission related to the Flying Head Sect, the company had moved out of its original venue and found a new building.

It was a five-story building, newly constructed. Apparently, it belonged to a company member’s family, who had offered it up for Ren Shu to use for the business.

When Chen Chuan arrived, scattered lights were still on inside the building.

However, this was the time of night when gangs started to get active. Gang members on two-wheeled motor vehicles would roar down the street from time to time, sometimes dragging flaming cans and fireworks behind them, screaming and shouting. The noise was immense. Some were drunk, others high on drugs, all looking extremely agitated.

The South City area was the Blood Mark Gang’s turf, so these were all their members. Seeing Chen Chuan walking alone on the side of the road, a few of them looked like they wanted to start trouble. As they called out, more and more people started to gather around him. They weren’t in a hurry to attack, wanting to toy with him first.

Chen Chuan just kept walking with a calm expression, seemingly oblivious to the commotion around him.

But just then, a team of uniformed security guards rushed out of the company building, taking out Crossbow Arrows and light Shields and aiming them at the gang members.

These security guards paid tribute to the Patrol Bureau and were granted temporary authorization to carry weapons. Who would win in a fight was another question, but if a conflict broke out, the Patrol Bureau would immediately deploy, and the situation would escalate.

Even if the grunts weren’t thinking straight, their leaders knew the stakes. Someone immediately came forward to stop them. After spitting a few times in the direction of the company security, they roared off.

The security captain ran up to Chen Chuan with his men and asked with concern, "Expert Chen, are you all right?"

A duty manager beside him said, "Who do you think Expert Chen is? He can handle aberrations, and he’s a top student from Wuyi. It’s only because Expert Chen can’t be bothered with these gangbangers that they’re still standing. Otherwise, every last one of them would be on the ground."

The security captain nodded in agreement.

Chen Chuan glanced at the departing gang members and asked, "Is it like this every day?"

The security captain replied, "Not usually. It’s only been like this for the past week or so. I heard some of the Blood Mark Gang’s leaders got taken out—more than one, apparently—but they can’t find the killer. So how could they not be going crazy? They’re looking to pick a fight with everyone they see."

Chen Chuan nodded. "You’ve all worked hard," he said. Then he turned to the manager. "Buy everyone some late-night snacks. Put it on my tab."

"Yes, Expert Chen."

"Thanks, Expert Chen!"

As Chen Chuan entered the company building, led by the manager, two security guards whispered behind him:

"Expert Chen is always with the boss when he comes and goes. I thought he’d be really arrogant, but he’s actually pretty easy to talk to."

"Heh, you don’t get it. That’s how people with real skill act. It’s the ones with no talent who have to put on a show."

"A person like that is what I call truly living."

"You can’t be envious. The guy’s a student at Wuyi and already an expert at the company at such a young age. How can you compare? What were you doing twenty years ago?"

"I can’t, but my son can! When I save up enough money, I’ll send my son to take the Wuyi entrance exam. He’ll marry your daughter, they’ll have a big, healthy boy, and my life will be complete."

"What was that you just said?"

"...I’ll go see if the late-night snacks have arrived..."

After entering the company, Chen Chuan headed for the archives. Ren Shu and the others weren’t there at this hour, but he had a key, so he let himself in.

After he had been looking for a while, the manager came in and placed a hot drink on the desk. "Expert Chen, we’ve prepared some hot water and a room for you."

"Thank you," Chen Chuan said.

The manager quickly said it was no trouble. Seeing Chen Chuan focused on the files again, he backed out of the room, trying not to make a sound as he carefully closed the door.

While looking through the old archives, Chen Chuan also casually browsed the recent commissions sent to the company. That’s when he noticed an unconfirmed commission letter. It requested the retrieval of a specific item from a certain Cult.

’Isn’t this the matter that Senior Min Lan mentioned before?’ he thought.

’So this commission was sent to our company too? It seems the client didn’t just hire one company.’

’However, our company mainly deals with aberrations, which are different from Cults. But clients usually can’t tell the difference. Actually, based on what I heard from Min Lan, the other companies can’t distinguish between them either.’

He gave it a cursory glance and set it aside. But the next commission caught his attention, because this one genuinely involved an aberration—and a very famous one in Yangzhi City at that: the Skull Splitting Demon.

Stories of the Skull Splitting Demon were widespread in Yangzhi City because its victims could be anyone, regardless of status. Not even the rich and powerful were safe, which was why the common folk loved to talk about it.

As for the latest victims of the Skull Splitting Demon, he actually already knew who they were: several leaders of the Blood Mark Gang. But it wasn’t two of them—it was three.

Three high-ranking leaders dead in less than ten days. It seemed like they were being deliberately targeted. No wonder the members of the Blood Mark Gang were acting so erratically.

After reading it, he thought for a moment, placed the commission letter aside, and continued looking through the other requests.

...

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