"Last night..." Xie Lingxi sat down on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, took her phone, and asked, "Was it related to the Xiahou Family?"
The female assistant shook her head. "It was related to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable."
Xie Lingxi's interest piqued. "What happened?" she urged.
"I heard from an Official Walker that the Kangyang District's official team was ambushed while pursuing a Spiritual Energy Association wanted criminal. The enemy reportedly consisted of four Level 3 Evil Class practitioners, putting the pursuit team in grave danger. In the end, your friend, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, single-handedly annihilated the Spiritual Energy Association's Witchcraft Masters."
"He killed four Level 3 Witchcraft Masters? Really?" Xie Lingxi's mouth dropped slightly, her small face frozen in disbelief.
Is Brother Primordial really that powerful?
"I can't confirm the truth. I heard the Centurion of Kangyang District ordered everyone not to disclose the details of last night's incident," the assistant said, shaking her head.
She had learned this from a female Walker friend. Though not a secret, the story had spread among small groups of female Walkers.
The female assistant couldn't verify the accuracy of the information, as even lower-ranking Official Walkers might not know the truth. Moreover, it wasn't critical intelligence requiring deep investigation, so she simply relayed it to Miss Xie Lingxi to keep her informed about the Five Elements Alliance and her friend's activities.
His strength can't possibly be this great! No, he cleared an S-rank spirit realm with the highest score, so it's entirely possible he obtained some powerful consumable item or artifact. Artifacts are part of one's overall strength. Brother Primordial has immense potential; I must introduce him to Dad Xie Lingxi at the first opportunity. Xie Lingxi's thoughts raced as a sweet smile bloomed on her face.
"Hmph, compared to him, Xiahou Tianyuan is just a treacherous rat. You may leave now. I need to call and comfort Brother Primordial—after all, he was bullied by Xiahou Tianyun."
The female assistant looked bewildered. "I doubt Xiahou Tianyuan could bully him."
"What do you know?" Xie Lingxi rolled her eyes.
At 8:30 AM, Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the office with his backpack.
Li Dongze, his shoulder heavily bandaged and supported by a cane, watched Zhang Yuanqing climb the stairs and couldn't resist asking,
"You come to the office every day. Don't you have school?"
Zhang Yuanqing replied with righteous indignation:
"How could I let my studies interfere with my dedication to the organization? But since you brought it up, Chief, I wanted to ask: human energy is limited, so I'm thinking of dropping out. Does the Five Elements Alliance have a way for me to get a diploma without actually attending classes?"
Guan Ya, sitting at her desk eating a simple breakfast, chimed in:
"Of course! By then, everyone will know the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is a student at Songhai University."
Li Dongze patted his subordinate's shoulder, his voice filled with approval:
"Your dedication to the organization is commendable, but don't neglect your studies. After all, you're not a Fire Master. Heh, even if they abandoned their brains, they could still clear Instances."
Chief, you're insulting Fire Masters again! Zhang Yuanqing chimed in, "Alright, Chief, you make a good point. Scouts truly are the most badass profession."
Li Dongze beamed, patting his trusted subordinate's shoulder:
"I'll have a case of cola ready for you. Just grab some from my office whenever you want. Now, let's get down to business."
His gaze swept over Guan Ya and Wang Tai as he announced, "I'll be recuperating for a while. During my absence, someone will take over. Guan Ya, Primordial, assist the acting Chief in hunting down the Black guard of Impermanence. They'll report for duty the day after tomorrow."
Huh? The Chief is leaving? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.
He quickly realized that Li Dongze's shoulder had been pierced clean through by the Spider Woman's attack, and without the Life Elixir to heal him, the Scout had no healing abilities, unlike the Nightwalkers' self-healing.
Such a severe injury would indeed require a period of recovery.
"Chief, who's the new Chief?" Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.
"Acting Chief, acting!" Li Dongze emphasized. He offered no further explanation, simply saying, "You'll find out when you meet them. I hope you get along well."
Then, leaning on his cane with one hand, he left the second floor.
As soon as Li Dongze was gone, Zhang Yuanqing pulled up a chair and sat beside Guan Ya, gazing at her exquisite profile. He whispered conspiratorially, "Is the new Chief one of those team members we haven't seen yet?"
She wore an expensive perfume, its fragrance rich and potent yet not overpowering.
Guan Ya hummed in agreement, smiling knowingly.
"Last night's battle left many needing bed rest, causing a manpower shortage. Fu Qingyang plans to bring back those two Second Team members who've been on inactive duty."
"Chief doesn't seem to like them very much?" Zhang Yuanqing finally asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.
"If you were leading a group of disobedient subordinates you couldn't beat in a fight and couldn't even scold, you wouldn't like them either."
"Is Chief really that weak?"
Guan Ya shot him a sideways glance, the corners of her lipsticked lips curling upward. "What gave you the impression Chief was strong? He's always been the second-weakest in the Second Team, with Wang Tai being the weakest. In martial arts, I could crush him, let alone those two guys. Even after you joined, he's still second-weakest."
Zhang Yuanqing was speechless, feeling a pang of sympathy for Li Dongze.
After teasing Li Dongze, Guan Ya turned serious. "I need to warn you about these two. One's a Fire Master, fiercely righteous, impulsive, and intolerant of any misconduct. You can't keep staring at my butt like that, or you'll get your ass kicked."
"Sister Guan Ya, don't accuse me falsely! I wasn't staring at your butt like that."
"Oh, really?"
"I was clearly looking at your chest."
Guan Ya rolled her eyes at him and continued, "The other one is Water Ghost. He has a very strange temper and is difficult to get along with. The Chief has been so infuriated by him that he's coughed up blood several times—a figure of speech, of course. But he's very upright and likes people with integrity."
"Most importantly, both of them have extraordinary backgrounds. Building a good relationship with them would be beneficial for you."
Zhang Yuanqing adopted an attentive posture, eager to hear more.
"One is the son of a high-ranking member of the Crimson Fire Gang, a Level 3 Fire Master. The other doesn't have a powerful background, but he's a Level 4 Saint Stage cultivator," Guan Ya recited as if listing treasured possessions. She pulled open a drawer, retrieved a notepad, turned her back, and checked it again, nodding to herself. "I haven't forgotten anything. That's about it."
Zhang Yuanqing quickly glanced at the notepad and vaguely saw:
Primordial Heavenly Venerable, Scorpio Man, Zodiac Sign: Dark-hearted, vengeful, high sex drive. Note: Extremely susceptible to seduction by women from other organizations.
That damn woman! he thought, gritting his teeth.
Just then, his phone rang in his pocket.
Zhang Yuanqing pulled it out and saw Xie Lingxi's name. He quietly slipped into the bathroom.
On the outskirts of Songhai City, Wang Qian, wearing a baseball cap and mask, walked briskly down the uneven sidewalk, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
Compared to the city center, the suburban infrastructure was in a state of disrepair. Sunken roadways tilted precariously to either side, while the sidewalks were riddled with potholes and cracked tiles.
With no room left for demolition in the city center, real estate developers had flocked to the suburbs, buying up land and erecting buildings. Construction sites dotted the landscape, adding to the chaos.
But for Wang Qian, the more chaotic the environment, the easier it was to blend in.
He walked along the dilapidated sidewalk, skirted a construction site, and arrived at a low, run-down bungalow.
Knock, knock, knock.
He rapped on the door with a distinctive rhythm and whispered, "It's me, Wang Qian."
The door creaked open, revealing a middle-aged man with a beer belly, an afro, and a tattered overcoat. After glancing around cautiously, he pulled Wang Qian inside.
The room was a mess, littered with beer cans, dirty clothes, and takeout containers. Besides the rotund man, two other people were present.
A sultry woman in jeans and a black crop top sat before the television, a cigarette dangling from her lips as she played video games.
A pale-faced young man lay sprawled on the sofa, headphones clamped over his ears as he listened to music.
"What are you doing here?" The rotund man scratched his unwashed, frizzy hair and growled, "These are dangerous times. Don't wander around. What's wrong?"
He suddenly noticed something was off. Wang Qian's eyes were bloodshot, his face ashen, and a fierce anger burned in his expression.
"Boss," Wang Qian gritted out, "my sister's been kidnapped."
The gamer girl dropped her controller, and the young man on the sofa opened his eyes.
The Infatuated Great Sage frowned. "How do you know?"
Wang Qian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I wanted to check on my family today, so I deliberately went to a public phone in the next district. My mom told me my sister had been kidnapped. It has to be the Xiahou Family. Who else would kidnap her for no reason?"
"You'll be tracked if you do that!" the Infatuated Great Sage roared.
"But if I hadn't contacted them, I wouldn't even know what happened to her!" Wang Qian shouted, his eyes red-rimmed.
The gamer girl slammed her controller down, cursing, "Fuck! The Xiahou Family plays dirty. I've had enough! Let the Palace Master rally the brothers. We'll burn everything to the ground if we have to!"
The young man with headphones sneered.
"Foolish! Why should we destroy ourselves with them? If they dare target Wang Qian's family, our families are also in danger. Then let's just abandon our families and focus on slaughtering the Xiahou Family until their name and lineage are wiped out. Who's afraid of whom?"
The Infatuated Great Sage glared. "Heaven and Earth are heartless. Your 'orphan strategy' is flawed—too extreme."
"Stopping slaughter with slaughter, ending war with war—that's the very principle of the Palace of Ceasing Slaughter," the young man retorted.
The Infatuated Great Sage fell silent, finally sighing in resignation. "The Palace Master has her reasons. If she wants us to lie low, we'll lie low and not interfere with her plans. Things haven't reached that point yet. Let me think of another way."
Silence descended upon the room. After a dozen seconds, the Infatuated Great Sage's eyes lit up.
"This isn't something we should handle ourselves. The Xiahou Family kidnapped ordinary people—that's a violation of the rules. We should contact the Official Organization."
The hot-tempered woman cursed again. "Who? Who's going to help Wang Qian? The Five Elements Alliance clearly favors the Xiahou Family—no, many of them are Xiahou Family members. Contacting the Officials would be less useful than talking to a dog."
The Infatuated Great Sage turned to Wang Qian. "Didn't you know the Primordial Heavenly Venerable from Kangyang District Second Team? Try contacting him."