âHas no one⦠ever succeeded?â Li Hao asked, thinking of the water from his sword. Was that starry energy what they meant by mysterious power? Heâd drunk quite a few mouthfuls earlier tonight, but remained as ordinary as ever. Or had he been inducting the occult into himself and failing over and over again?
âThere have been successes!â Liu Long nodded, then laughed at himself. âEach year, the Night Watchers recruit at least ten thousand people from the various major cities to participate in experiments. Only one percent of them succeed, which means everyone else other than the roughly one hundred finalists fail! Setting aside how few Silver Cityâs spots are, do you think youâll be part of the one percent if youâre selected, Li Hao?â
The boy remained silent.
âTherefore, we can only rely on ourselves!â Liu Long rumbled. âWe kill them ourselves! We use mortal techniques to kill supernaturals! Kill them, strip them of their powers, and find which ones are a match for us. If one isnât enough, then two, or three! Success will eventually be at hand!â
Li Hao took a deep breath, looking not at Deputy Chief Liu Long, but a lunatic called Liu Long. Here was a mortal who wandered the boundary of death in a bid to become extraordinary. He killed supernaturals to set foot in their domain!
This is so insane I donât know what to think.
It was crazy enough that the young man had these thoughts. The person in front of him, however, not only nursed these thoughts, but acted on them.
âChief⦠you think Iâll catch their eye?â
âFor sure!â By now, Liu Long kept nothing close to his heart. âDonât deny itâI sensed a bit of mysterious power the first time I saw you. You must have encountered supernaturals or their treasures recently. People like you definitely have something to do with their world!â
Li Hao didnât know if that was due to the jade swordâs influence or him drinking the swordâs water. Regardless, this team captain had seen something in him.
What a scary guy!
Killing the superhuman when he himself was mundane in order to gain magical powers⦠Li Hao didnât know how strong they were, but they must be quite fearsome as the scarlet shadow killed people in terrifying ways. This man was mad!
âThink about it, youâre welcome anytime!â Liu Long suddenly jumped down from the tower. His voice traveled back up. âDonât count on your teacher, he wonât be able to help you make the crossover. He canât do it himself and the Night Watchers donât wish for him or his students to do so. That wonât play into their interests!â
Teacher canât either?
â¦â¦
Up on the water tower.
Liu Long landed on the ground, leaving Li Hao behind.
âBaitâ¦â Li Hao murmured to himself, fully understanding what Liu Long meant. The deputy chief may look like a dumb brute, but he was quite shrewd and meticulous. His speech was frank and on the level, the absolute height of sincerity.
There was also a certain connotation to his words apart from what he said. He, Liu Long, was also loyal! He would not burn a bridge after crossing it!
Indeed, this was readily apparent from Liu Longâs insistence that he was unwilling to investigate who the moles were. He wasnât willing to hurt those whoâd betrayed him, and he would never forget the favor if Li Hao helped him.
This was the mark of a true expert!
It was a soundless permeation of meaning that was evident as soon as one spent a little time thinking about it. Not even traitors were enough for Liu Long to set aside their relationship.
Does he really care about brotherhood that much?
Li Hao didnât think so; all of these guys were too crafty. Thereâd been so many tricks in that conversationâbravado, feints, threats, coercion, and persuasion. Who knew how many brain cells the man had exhausted in just a few minutes?
âKilling those who command preternatural arts and stealing their powers⦠If one time isnât a match, then a second, a third time⦠Is that really the way to become supernatural myself?â Li Hao was suddenly quite disappointed. The world of the mystic didnât seem all that peaceful. If an ordinary person like Liu Long sought to kill them for their power, then what of the supernaturals themselves?
They were probably more brutal toward their own kind! No wonder they kept such a low profile and refused to show themselves. That likely forestalled a lot of unnecessary trouble.
âWhile it looked like Liu Long told me a lot, he always stopped after mentioning things and didnât go into detail. He probably canât tell me much unless I join the enforcement team.â
The deputy chief spoke nothing of how exactly supernaturals trained, how they conducted mysterious power into themselves, how strong they were, what kind of abilities they wieldedâ¦
âAnd is it true that I have mysterious power on me? Or did he throw that out there to nudge me off balance, so that I would admit I took something from the Zhangs?â It seemed highly probable to Li Hao. Additionally, Liu Long didnât know that the young man could see mysterious power. That was a talent out of reach for ordinary people. The starry energy was most probably mysterious power.
Li Hao could see that there was no starry energy outside his body. Otherwise, whether it was the scarlet shadow or its handler, one of the two wouldâve reacted.
Liu Long was lying to him!
In contrast, Li Hao had glimpsed a hint of something on the man. There was a very faint starry hue around his physiqueâvery weak and very possibly mysterious energy.
âLiu Long has killed supernaturals and absorbed their powers before. They didnât metamorphose into anything else, so there are remnants of that power inside his body. In that case, he might actually stand a chance of setting foot in that domain.â
Indeed, Li Hao could see the energy, just like he could the scarlet shadow when no one else could!
Apart from Liu Long, the team members next to him might also possess a bit of arcane power. The âusâ he spoke of was likely the flirtatious woman, super tracker Wu Chao, and two others. Counting Liu Long, that made for five people and was far from including the entire law enforcement team.
It looked like there was a clique among the law enforcers, one that hunted down supernaturals.
âDo they use powerful weapons or other means?â
Their prey was certainly not weak or they wouldnât be a goal for Liu Long. Since theyâd successfully hunted their quarry before, that meant this little team was quite formidable. The advantages of terrain and timing were all with the Inspectorate. It was the agencyâs prerogative to use heavy weaponry and the enforcement team could easily come up with excuses after the fact. Thus, it wasnât impossible that careless supernaturals could die to these guys.
Li Hao was bold enough to set his sights on them with just a third gen vortex gun, to say nothing of Liu Longâs team. Strictly speaking, he was the head honcho of the agency of force in Silver City.
The inspector general sat in his office and never attended the front linesâthat was left to the enforcers. Liu Long was the true boss.
â¦â¦
Li Hao rummaged through his thoughts as he walked down from the tower. What were the consequences if he declined? Would Liu Long retaliate? Would he leak information to the scarlet shadow or even tell them that the young man carried the blade of the Zhangs and sword of the Lis?
Maybe heâd just outright kill Li Hao from the shadows!
âHe looks like an open and honest man⦠but heâs actually a ruthless guy!â Li Hao would never consider him a bumbling brute anymore. The enforcement teamâs shabby state might even be part of his schemes, a plot to lull outsiders and supernaturals into a false sense of security.
The weak could overcome the strong if the enforcers were viewed as just for show!
âMoles⦠heh, donât tell me he nurtured those himself? Even if he didnât, theyâre the result of his lax oversight. This guy definitely knows whoâs a traitor and purposefully hasnât cleaned house!â Li Hao suddenly saw many things clearly as his mind spun rapidly.
Liu Long of the law enforcement team was a person of note! Heâd most likely created the current confusion in the team. Heâs so sinister that itâs no wonder his name shares the same pronunciation as oozing pus!
After a hearty round of mental curses, Li Hao turned his thoughts to what decision would be most beneficial to him.
âIf I join them, Iâll have help against the scarlet shadow because Liu Longâs goal is the supernaturals! Iâm not familiar with the Night Watchers and donât know their situation. I donât even know if theyâre connected to the shadow. If Liu Long and his, honestly, weak team are able to cross over, theyâll be more gungho than the Night Watchers.
âGranted, they have certain confidence and knowledge because theyâve killed supernaturals before.â
Li Hao was the shadowâs next target and after tonightâs uproar, they were preparing to move against him, werenât they?
âThereâs just one issueâ¦â The young manâs thoughts churned with conflict as he walked down the street.
One issue?
The issue that Liu Long and the scarlet shadow were possibly in cahoots, that would be real danger then!
It wasnât impossible.
If thatâs the case, Iâm done for!
Li Hao had to consider the possibility as if it was true, then heâd already exposed nearly everything about himself.
âHoo!â
Heart heavy, he wasnât too satisfied with how tonight had played out. Some unexpected twists and turns had come up. It was fine enough if Liu Long could handle the scarlet shadow. If not, Li Hao was in greater danger compared to before.
â¦â¦
Rumble!
A large tractor bulldozed the Zhang family home in a massive cloud of smoke and dust. Li Hao silently watched it go down, seeming to see Zhang Yuan in front of him.
Little Yuan, your house is gone.
Youâre gone and your house is gone. The final traces of you in this world are almost no more. What else can I do other than get revenge and bring your killerâs head to your grave?
Nothing.
The beguiling female member from before soundlessly crept up to Li Hao, faint perfume grazing past his nose.
âLittle Hao, come find me tomorrow if you want to join us!â She chuckled in his ear. âMy name is Liu Yan and Iâm the vice captain of the enforcement team. You can come to me anytime!â
Liu Yan!
Li Hao didnât know who she was before she gave her name. After the introduction, he found that he was acquainted with her. While there were plenty of people heâd yet to meet after a year in Classified Affairs, he knew of them and their associated gossip.
Liu Yan was a name that often appeared in conversation.
Rumor had it that she was Liu Longâs bed partner. Of course, that was just gossip from Classified Affairs. Li Hao had no idea whether it was true or not. But judging from the situation he saw today, perhaps it wasnât strictly empty talk.
The Classified Affairs aunties often discussed Liu Yan with contempt, saying that sheâd used her pretty face to climb to the position of vice captain of the law enforcement team.
One had to know, the vice captain should be at least a first rank inspector. After inspector came commissioner inspector, which was Liu Longâs actual rank. Only at this rank did one wield true authority. It was slotted just beneath the inspector general in the hierarchy of power. There were some assistant inspector generals who didnât command as much power as Liu Long did.
âAlright!â Li Hao nodded decisively.
A wise man goes with the flow! This wasnât the time to decline, nor could he decline. He had to accept!
âNicely done!â Liu Yan smiled alluringly. âYou wonât regret this!â
She was already gone.