"Beep, beep... Hello? Xiao Guan?"

"It's me, Sister Wang."

After Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian met and chatted, once he left the park he called Wang Yan.

When the call connected, he cut straight to the point and asked, "Sister Wang, I just returned to Pinglu these past two days. Xiaotian told me you and Xiao Na seem to have had a falling out?"

"Sigh..."

When Wang Yan heard Guan Tong bring it up, she sighed.

"Na Na... this child has lately been wanting to go out a lot."

"Go out?"

"She says she doesn't want to stay at the base anymore, says she wants to..."

Wang Yan hesitated for a moment.

"She said she wants to come help you."

"Help me?"

Guan Tong was a little surprised. He had not told Wang Yan and her daughter about founding the Trace Origin Travel Troupe; among his close friends only Shi Jingyi knew. What could Chen Na possibly want to help him with without knowing the details?

"Yes. She thinks Xiao Guan, you run all over the world and might encounter many dangers, so she wants to use her ability to help you. I told her you’re still young, it would be better to wait until she’s older to help Brother Guan, but the child got angry when I said that. Besides, this base is an official facility, you can't just leave whenever you want."

"...Sister Wang, you have a point."

Guan Tong knew he often walked into dangerous situations. The reason he could bring Uenoshi along was because Uenoshi herself was a mighty Ascendant with no worries about self-defense.

But Chen Na was different. Though her probing ability was strong, she had almost no defensive capacity; she would be very passive if she met a dangerous enemy.

"Xiao Guan, you think so too, right? She's just sulking with me." Wang Yan sounded helpless, "I think she's reached that age; the kid's entering her rebellious period."

"..."

Guan Tong thought about it and realized she was right.

When he first met the two of them during the Snow Disaster rule two years ago, Chen Na was in sixth grade.

Now almost two years had passed; if she progressed normally she'd be a first- or second-year middle schooler. Kids that age really have their own ideas.

"Sister Wang, I'll talk to Xiao Na later," Guan Tong said, "I'll persuade her properly."

"That's best! I actually wanted to contact you earlier, I just didn't know if you were busy, so I never called. Now that you're back in Pinglu, if you have time to help guide the child... she idolizes you the most, she'll definitely listen to you."

"Okay, Sister Wang, don't worry too much. Even if Xiao Na is sulking with you, she still cares about you."

"How would I not know that... Alright then, thanks, Xiao Guan."

After they hung up, Guan Tong wondered how best to talk to Chen Na.

Kids that age are terribly rebellious; if you handle it wrong it can backfire.

"...I'm not very good with kids."

At that moment, his phone vibrated.

Hmm?

He looked down; it was a special alert from the Ascendant Home website.

He only set special alerts for a few accounts—who could it be?

Guan Tong opened it and frowned.

...

"Meow!"

In the mountain valley outside Pinglu city, Coal Ball happily romped after returning to this familiar place.

Watching Coal Ball sprint toward the forest, Guan Tong thought he'd let it stay here from now on.

When he had taught at the academy, he lived in this valley for a few months; it was then Coal Ball ingested the Demon Monster Flesh and transformed from a tiny kitten into the current ferocious beast.

The valley's forest environment was familiar to it and suited its nature. Even though the shelter expanded once and grew much larger, compared to the wilderness it was still just a drop in the ocean.

Besides, this valley was in an uninhabited area. Except for major ecological disasters, ordinary Doomsday Rules usually wouldn't affect places like this.

Guan Tong decided to let Coal Ball live here and come check on it from time to time.

He entered the shelter and sat at the computer desk, feeling a bit unfamiliar.

Since he and Uenoshi formed a team and established the organization, and later went to Xisiya, it had been a long time since he'd used this shelter.

But its utility remained irreplaceable, and if it could be expanded further in the future, he might convert it toward being a mobile base.

Guan Tong turned on the computer, logged into Ascendant Home, and opened his private messages.

The special alert came from an account nicknamed "Primordial One."

Yes—the same Suroma Empire person who once handed him the two Kimos Star fragments.

Back then the Suroma king had placed a condition: use those two fragments in exchange for "Shadow's one assistance."

What that assistance would be for, the Suroma king never specified. After a few subsequent rules passed, there was no further contact.

When the Earth Dragon Rolls Over rule was released, Guan Tong thought the Suroma king would ask him to fulfill the promise, to help Suroma destroy the Geomantic Pillar and reduce earthquake damage... but the king never contacted him during that entire rule.

And now...

Primordial One: "Hi, long time no contact, you haven't forgotten me, have you? Just a reminder, our king intends to call in that 'one assistance' you promised."

Why suddenly insist on me fulfilling the promise now?

Guan Tong stared for a moment, then typed back: "What commission does your king plan to give me?"

Since he had made the promise back then, he wouldn't break it. As long as it wasn't something monstrous, he'd help.

Primordial One: "The commission is one sentence: 'Eliminate the leader of the Fire Thief Worship Cult.'"

Eliminate the cult leader?

That was already something Guan Tong and the Countermeasures Research Office planned to do.

Primordial One: "This time I'll also be assigned to Fahe; we'll finally meet face to face~"

Guan Tong: "..."

That guy had once mentioned deciding the ownership of the Kimos Star fragments through a one-on-one duel; at the time Guan Tong refused.

Guan Tong replied: "I accept this commission."

Primordial One: "Once the operation date is set, I'll contact you in advance to prepare."

Guan Tong: "No need. This operation will be a Human Consortium joint action; I'll be with the Beixing team."

Primordial One: "Oh? So you would have gone to Fahe anyway even without this commission. What a waste of this assistance opportunity, haha."

Primordial One: "Looking forward to our meeting then."

After closing the private message page, Guan Tong felt a weight lift from his chest.

"That's for the best; I won't have to keep thinking about that one."

If Suroma's king never mentioned the commission, it would keep gnawing at his mind.

But...

"With Suroma's national strength, is it really necessary to use this commission to get my help?"

Within the Suroma Empire the number of Ascendants ranked second only to Beixing; they had many strong fighters. Not counting Lucifer who died at Guan Tong's hand, the recent contest alone showed how many powerful Ascendants they had.

Whether they later determined a champion after that bombing incident, Guan Tong didn't know.

Besides those people, he also knew someone called Adam.

And he could almost be certain that the "Primordial One" who messaged him earlier was Adam.

That guy had once arranged a private duel in messages and openly claimed he could manipulate force fields. Adam—the renowned, unstoppable Ascendant on the frontlines of the joint force—also had a force field manipulation ability.

If those two weren't the same person, he'd be very slow on the uptake. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

With domestic strong fighters, advanced unmanned war machines, and elite Ascendant cooperation from other nations, calling in Guan Tong's help via a commission suggested Suroma's king either wanted absolute certainty or there were internal issues preventing the full use of force.

Guan Tong knew none of those internal affairs were his concern; he just had to do his part.

He picked up his phone intending to contact Chen Na directly, but changed his mind and called Silver Fox first.

"It's rare to get a call from the great god yourself." Silver Fox laughed as soon as she answered, "What can I do for you?"

"Silver Fox, can you take Chen Na out of the base for a bit? I want to talk to her."

Guan Tong felt the matter was best handled face to face; a phone call wouldn't be as effective.

"So Sister Yan already told you?"

"You knew?"

"Of course. I have a close relationship with Xiao Na; she tells me everything. Hmm... I'll submit an application. If they approve, I'll take her out."

"Okay, thank you."

"Hehe~ Thank you, no, I'm the one burdening you. When we go to Fahe, please look after the great god."

Guan Tong wasn't surprised. Zhang Minglu had told him earlier that Silver Fox would be part of this operation.

About half an hour later, he received Silver Fox's message—she would bring Chen Na out to meet him tomorrow morning.

Since that was settled, he decided to go see Suzuki with Shi Jingyi today, to test whether the Mind Network had any effect on spore addicts.

...

At dusk, after Shi Jingyi finished her lesson, she and Guan Tong went to the withdrawal center.

The front-desk nurse asked, "Which patient are you here to visit?"

"Suzuki." Guan Tong showed his visitation pass. Unexpectedly, the nurse didn't check it; her expression immediately turned grim.

Guan Tong noticed the nurse's look and felt a sudden bad premonition. "What is it?"

"The patient you... you want to visit... she... she committed suicide a few hours ago."

"!!!"

Both were stunned. Shi Jingyi looked at Guan Tong, whose expression shifted from shock to disbelief.

"That can't be. Someone visited her just yesterday; she didn't show any suicidal tendencies. Where is the body? I want to examine it myself!"

Uenoshi had visited Suzuki just yesterday and had called Guan Tong to say Suzuki would wait for him to come. How could she suddenly commit suicide?

Guan Tong refused to believe it.

"What happened?"

At that moment staff and security personnel from the center came over to investigate. Guan Tong asked the nurse, "Did you hear what I said? Since she committed suicide, where is the body?"

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and called Uenoshi.

Since arriving in Beixing many people wanted to see Guan Tong. Uenoshi had no urgent matters; besides visiting Suzuki she planned to wander Pinglu until Guan Tong finished his business, so the two were not together.

The nurse explained the situation to the gathered staff.

The call connected and Guan Tong asked directly, "Uenoshi, I'm at the withdrawal center now. The nurse says Suzuki... committed suicide. Did you notice anything yesterday?"

"Suicide?!" Uenoshi's voice on the line suddenly rose; it was enough to show she hadn't expected this either.

"Impossible. She clearly said she'd wait for your visit and mentioned going back to Sakura Prayer Country to meet her old Police Department colleague; she wouldn't suddenly commit suicide... I'm heading over now!"

"Yes, I also think it's wrong."

Guan Tong hung up. A doctor at the center had received the message and came over to them, saying, "You came to visit Miss Suzuki? It's unfortunate—she ended her own life."

Guan Tong said in a low voice, "I said I want to see the body and check the center's surveillance footage."

"This... this seems inappropriate for the deceased," the doctor stammered, "and honestly, you don't have the authority."

Shi Jingyi began, "I'll contact—"

"I'll handle it myself."

Guan Tong immediately called Zhang Minglu. He had arranged Suzuki's admission to the withdrawal center via the Countermeasures Research Office. With a suspected incident, he had to investigate.

When Zhang Minglu received the call and learned the situation, he said he'd help contact people.

Within minutes the head of the withdrawal center rushed over and respectfully told Guan Tong, "Sir... whoever you are, I've received orders from my superiors and will cooperate with your investigation."

"The patient Suzuki—the doctor and nurse said she committed suicide a few hours ago. If she did, there must be a body. Where is it?"

The head hesitated. "Suzuki, Miss Suzuki... she did commit suicide..."

Shi Jingyi pressed, "We're asking where the body is."

"Well, it's like this... Miss Suzuki was a spore addict. Such patients, after death, are sent to a special medical department. The doctors there perform... an autopsy on the brain for research into spore addiction and... what are you doing?"

Before the head finished, Guan Tong seized his collar.

Shi Jingyi held that hand down. "Guan Tong, don't be impulsive. Contact Zhang Minglu immediately and have him tell that medical department to stop the surgery; maybe it's not too late."

"..."

Guan Tong released the head and made the call.

Shi Jingyi looked at the shaken head. "We need to know how Miss Suzuki killed herself, whether anyone had contact with her beforehand, and the surveillance footage of her room and hallway."

"Okay, okay..."

The head glanced quickly at Guan Tong's darkening expression; his back was soaking wet.

Although he himself was an Ascendant with a fairly high Mind Power upper limit, he felt no courage to resist after being grabbed by this young man. It was terrifying.

Zhang Minglu quickly reported back to Guan Tong. Indeed, in the afternoon a spore addict's body had been sent to the special medical department, but it had not yet been dissected. He had already notified the relevant personnel and requested they temporarily preserve the body.

Guan Tong put down the phone, his heart sinking.

He did not want to hear that a spore addict's body had been sent in, but the facts were not in his favor.

Even though he and Suzuki were not close, without her profiling help he wouldn't have found Yuzawa Jun so quickly and stopped the latter from creating more of the Serpent Slave Army.

More importantly, she had voluntarily revealed her spore addiction and sought help; Guan Tong was the one who suggested she come to the withdrawal center. Now that something happened, he felt responsible.

An unnamed fury rose in him; everyone in the room felt the air grow difficult to breathe and wanted to leave.

"The one you care about is clear to see." Only Shi Jingyi remained unaffected; she gripped Guan Tong's arm and soothed the violent killing intent he had inadvertently sent out, "We'll investigate thoroughly."

Guan Tong nodded, tamping down the turmoil inside. He had to find out exactly what happened.