Chapter 67: Seed, Heart Poison, 【essence Of Cong Yuan Huo】
Without making a sound to disturb the two in the hospital room, Shangshan Che silently walked into the empty Safety Passage.
There’s no need for them to know about this.
Zhou Zhenyu’s and Xingye Mengzi’s lives have been too bitter, so Shangshan Che really couldn’t bear to shatter this moment of Joy at least.
He took out his mobile phone and dialed Nanjo Emi’s number.
This time, it didn’t require Shangshan Che to call multiple times; it was answered the instant the call screen popped up.
Nanjo Emi’s cold and restrained work voice came through: “I’m at work, make it quick.”
Shangshan Che: “I encountered a ‘Seed’ sown by Ai Bieli, well, that’s probably the best way to put it.”
After a startled cry from Shizuma Mafuyu on the other end of the line, there was a long silence.
Shangshan Che waited patiently.
“Shangshan Jun, you really know how to surprise me.”
Nanjo Emi’s voice was no different from before, demonstrating the excellent emotions management of a mature Corporate Slave.
But Shangshan Che could detect a hint of unexpected delight in it.
He was somewhat puzzled; he’d originally thought Nanjo Emi would just toss the news straight to her superiors and wash her hands of it.
—Now it seemed the situation wasn’t like that?
Nanjo Emi: “Tell me in detail about this ‘Seed’ you’re talking about.”
Shangshan Che quietly listened to the footsteps pacing back and forth outside the Safety Passage doorway, thought for a moment, and said: “Hold on.”
He rubbed his brow, feeling he’d been a bit careless.
Since Ai Bieli could use someone as an emotional petri dish right under the Special Affairs Office’s nose without them knowing, it meant she had ways to deploy these methods while perfectly evading detection.
So what basis did he have for assuming there wasn’t an Ai Bieli Clone among those footsteps pacing in the corridor?
The worst case was that everything he’d just said to Nanjo Emi had already been overheard by Ai Bieli.
Arriving alone at the locked rooftop door of the hospital, Shangshan Che took out the crowbar and lightly tapped it against the door lock.
Click.
After the dull sound, the rusted iron chain and door lock were smashed into a lump of Scrap Iron together.
“Sin, sin.”
Muttering that to himself twice, Shangshan Che walked onto the abandoned hospital rooftop, confirmed no one was following behind him, and then continued speaking,
“What I mean by ‘Seed’ is that Ai Bieli selects someone, first draws out various Negative Emotions to torment them to the brink of death, then instantly converts those extreme Negative Emotions into extreme positive ones.”
Shangshan Che speculated: “As long as it’s extreme Emotions produced by a person, whether positive or negative, Ai Bieli needs them all.”
After he finished speaking, Shangshan Che could hear the rustling on the other end of the phone stop as well.
“This matter is indeed recorded in ancient Documents,” Nanjo Emi said. “In the Heian Period a thousand years ago, the Ai Bieli from at least two generations prior did the same thing.”
“【Heart Poison】.”
Nanjo Emi’s tone was uncharacteristically grave: “The records referred to Ai Bieli’s ability this way, but aside from noting its enormous harm, there are no more detailed accounts.”
“However, what Ai Bieli needs isn’t so-called extreme Emotions.”
Nanjo Emi: “It’s the process of Emotions transformation.”
“—From the bitterness of parting to the Joy of reunion, glimpsing the hope of life in absolute death, falling into meaningless void just before redemption arrives.”
“The more intense, rapid, and extreme the amplitude of this process, the stronger the state of mind and Spirit of the induced person, allowing Ai Bieli to draw more Power from it, plant more Heart Poison, and so on in a cycle.”
Shangshan Che was silent for a long time.
“So, what was the outcome a thousand years ago?” he asked.
Nanjo Emi sighed helplessly: “The records for that part were lost long ago—if anything, it’s a miracle that even a small fragment of the Documents from a thousand years ago survived to now.”
Just as Shangshan Che was about to hang up, Nanjo Emi’s voice came through again—
“Besides that, there’s a Two-Star Exorcism Commission. Shangshan Jun, you in or not?”
Exorcism Commission?
Now?
For a moment, Shangshan Che couldn’t follow Nanjo Emi’s train of thought; the shift from the Ai Bieli incident was too abrupt.
He wasn’t even an employee of the Special Affairs Office—why should he do their work?
But Sister Nanjo wouldn’t waste words during work hours, nor would she do anything illogical; those two things were certain.
A dozen seconds later, Shangshan Che suddenly got it.
—The same Disaster rearing its head again after a thousand years; if there were usable living forces at hand, Nanjo Emi would definitely utilize them all.
And the definition of “living forces”? It couldn’t be sending a bunch of Normal people to throw away their lives against Ai Bieli, just boosting her Strength for nothing.
Nanjo Emi’s definition for this was—Two-Star combat power.
“So as long as you can solo-complete a Two-Star Exorcism Commission, that’s fine. How it’s done or whether your Strength actually reaches Two-Star doesn’t matter.”
Shangshan Che grumbled: “The Leader’s intentions are so hard to guess.”
“You’ve got it figured out, kid.” Nanjo Emi laughed unusually. “I was just about to explain.”
She continued: “But I also respect personal choice. If you don’t want to get involved, pretend I never said anything.”
“We’ll talk participation later.” Shangshan Che rubbed his hands near the phone mic. “For now, how about we discuss the Commission’s reward?”
“Heh.”
Nanjo Emi sneered coldly: “Shangshan Jun, you think catching me off guard with a reward demand will make me hesitate?—Don’t be naive; I saw it coming.”
“【Essence of Cong Yuan Huo】.”
Nanjo Emi explained: “Didn’t you have that replica Kaga Kiyomitsu? This Thing pairs perfectly with it. You’ve heard of enchanting in games, right? Use this, and you’ll get fiery slashes every strike.”
A concept well-known to everyone—how could someone like Shangshan Che, a Strength enthusiast, not be familiar with it.
“If you take the Commission, I’ll have Shizuma pick you up later; she’ll bring the reward and hand it over when she picks you up…”
“What time?”
Shangshan Che interrupted her: “I’m at Rich Rice Hospital right now. When do we start?”
“Half an hour from now. Shizuma will fill you in on the Commission details.”
With a click, Nanjo Emi hung up, crisp and decisive.
Shangshan Che expressionlessly pocketed his phone, returned from the rooftop to the hospital’s sixth floor, and then saw Zhou Zhenyu standing at the room doorway.
He was slightly taken aback, vaguely sensing something.
Shangshan Che hurried over, but before he could speak, Zhou Zhenyu—who was silently streaming tears—turned to look at him,
“Mengzi has already passed away…”
With that, Zhou Zhenyu harshly wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve: “But she left with a smile, telling me lots about the Future.”
“Since that’s the case, I have to live on carrying Mengzi’s hopes, climbing step by step to make something of myself!”
At this point, the deep Sadness on Zhou Zhenyu’s face had completely vanished; instead, in just a few seconds, he showed a twisted, fanatical expression,
“Actually, I should thank Mengzi for dying in my arms. Without her waking me up, I might’ve sunk even longer…”
“Old Zhou!”
Shangshan Che couldn’t listen anymore and smashed a hard fist into Zhou Zhenyu’s face.
