Chapter 32: Heituo, Cult Of The Strange God
“Teacher, Captain Hu Xiang can testify to that. Not only that, he also found Zhou Xian’s inside man in the City Patrol Guard, who is now under strict custody.” Su Chen recounted.
Yuan Chenyang gave him a deep look. He had been looking for the thief’s inside man, and now it was delivered right to his door?
Hu Xiang suddenly woke up as if from a dream and couldn’t help but sigh. Little Brother Su was truly generous; even at a time like this, he didn’t forget to share the merit with him.
He immediately said, “That’s right. Tang Chen has already been imprisoned by me. It was him who rummaged through the other’s corpse on the night Zhou Zong died.”
“Oh.” Zhang Hongbo’s tone was ambiguous. “Bring the person here.”
“Frame-up! This is bloody slander!” Zhou Xian roared angrily.
Hu Xiang trotted all the way, escorting Tang Chen over. He was tied up tightly, with his mouth stuffed. Seeing this group of big shots, his eyes were full of terror.
“Ci, City Lord…”
As the metal gag was removed, Tang Chen’s legs went soft, and he wailed, “You must seek justice for me! I don’t know why either, Captain Hu Xiang…”
Before his words were finished, he saw Zhang Hongbo walk up, his palm landing on Tang Chen’s head.
Tang Chen’s eyes rolled back, and his expression became dazed.
“Did you rummage through Zhou Zong’s corpse?” Zhang Hongbo asked.
“Yes.” Tang Chen’s voice was devoid of any fluctuation.
Su Chen felt a chill. What profession was this? So perverse.
“Who instigated you?”
“It was…” As Tang Chen was about to speak, his face suddenly became ferocious. Black patterns emerged on his cheeks one by one, his hair fused like snow, and on his bald scalp, a black vertical pupil unexpectedly appeared.
“Heituo!”
Zhang Hongbo’s expression changed, and he abruptly retreated.
Bang! Tang Chen’s head exploded, red and white matter splattering everywhere. Cries of alarm came from all around.
“Cult of the Strange God…” Zhang Hongbo said gravely, his back to the crowd.
Heituo Follower… Yuan Chenyang’s gaze was gloomy as it fell on Zhou Xian.
Zhou Xian’s face was unsightly, and he hurriedly explained, “Frame-up, it must be a frame-up. Zhou Zong himself definitely didn’t know, otherwise he would have handed over the things on him to that guy long ago. How could he wait until after death for someone to strip the corpse?”
“Indeed, Zhou Zong himself probably didn’t know.” Yuan Chenyang nodded, then added pointedly, “But others might have known.”
Yuan Chenyang’s voice was icy cold. “Hu Xiang, how was Zhou Zong able to bring the things out? Didn’t you check him when you left the school that day?”
Hu Xiang was drenched in cold sweat, now realizing he had fallen into some big trap.
He cautiously said, “That day, Inspector Guards were going to check, but we had been standing right under their noses. I thought it was targeted at…”
“What about these students?” Yuan Chenyang frowned. The entanglements and grudges between the three major agencies were longstanding, vaguely involving Zhang Hongbo as well. This matter wasn’t easy to probe deeply.
“Later, Director Zhou came and persuaded from both sides, so the Inspector Guards’ inspection just went through the motions.”
“Ah…” Yuan Chenyang suddenly understood.
“I was just normally appeasing them. Who knew… who knew Zhou Zong would have that thing on him.” Zhou Xian solemnly refuted.
Yuan Chenyang roared, “Who knew? You knew!”
The theft of the Holy Word Stone had left him utterly exhausted, and he wished he could dismember the culprit a thousand times.
“Let’s investigate this matter thoroughly first.” Zhang Hongbo didn’t pursue it further and instead dropped it there.
“Additionally, your team should head back as soon as possible.” Zhang Hongbo pondered briefly. “We’ll go back together.”
Someone among the Exploration Guards at his side asked, “What about the ruins…”
Zhang Hongbo waved his hand. “I’ll bring a new batch out myself. It won’t delay more than a few days. That’s settled.”
The many students were still somewhat dazed, unclear about what exactly had happened, but someone still mustered courage and said, “Pri, Principal, then our City Patrol this time…”
Zhang Hongbo’s attitude toward these students was unusually good. “You’ve experienced two attacks, with intensity far exceeding other batches. That counts as completion for you.”
Everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and thanked him profusely.
Time to head back!
All in all, they had been out for less than three days.
No one mentioned the matter of the Holy Word Stone or Zhou Zong’s death afterward.
Zhou Xian opened the body bag with a face full of grief, his hand trembling as he stroked the ice-cold corpse. When he saw that pair of unrecognizable shoes, his cheeks trembled even more violently.
Tears welled up even more, and his wailing could be heard throughout the camp, moving listeners to sadness and tears.
“Started playacting misery. Truly an old fox, even using his own son’s corpse.”
In the tent, Yuan Chenyang listened to the sounds and said disdainfully.
His gaze then turned to the young man in front of him, his expression unkind.
“You…” He wanted to speak, only then realizing he didn’t even know his name. They had talked so much outside, yet no one had mentioned it.
“What’s your name?” he asked irritably.
“Su Chen.” Su Chen answered honestly.
“Su Chen?” Yuan Chenyang was stunned. “You’re Su Chen.”
He looked at Bai Fengxi beside him again. “He’s Su Chen?”
“Mm.” Bai Fengxi nodded.
Yuan Chenyang hadn’t expected his entanglement with this kid to have started long ago.
“Truly…” He found it hard to describe, but frowned again, with scrutiny and wariness. “You… aren’t you a refugee? How did you know Zhou Xian had the Holy Word Stone? And you’re a professional too…”
“This matter is quite complicated…” Su Chen had long prepared an excuse. “Actually, I’ve been deep-minded since childhood…”
“…The profession is【Void Ripper Warrior】, left to me by my parents. Over the years, I’ve been carefully advancing toward the conditions…”
“…Not long ago, I was just one step away from the door. I could only connect with Jiang He to seek resources… Who knew…”
Su Chen said a lot, very detailed, pushing his profession onto parents he had never met. He was a migrant anyway, hard to verify.
He recounted his dealings with Jiang He, including the assassination that night, in minute detail.
“……”
“You even fought that thief?” Yuan Chenyang was incredulously shocked. “You discovered the Holy Word Stone back then?”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
Su Chen shook his head. “No evidence, and even if the thief was badly injured, he could probably still deal with me. I could only leave that thing behind, but without it, how was I supposed to explain?”
“Indeed…” Yuan Chenyang couldn’t help but nod, though his gaze on Su Chen still carried scrutiny.
“You really want to be my student?” At this, he glanced at Bai Fengxi, a strange look flashing across his face.
“Mm.” Su Chen nodded solemnly. This whole operation was just to latch onto this big leg.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll accept you as my student.” Yuan Chenyang had already agreed outside and wouldn’t go back on it now. He pondered and said:
“For you to job appoint so quickly, though it’s from years of effort, your physical talent shouldn’t be bad either. I’ll test it when we get back—probably Bronze, maybe even Brilliant Silver.”
“Right, what level is that【Void Ripper Warrior】 of yours?” he asked casually.
“First Order Top-tier.” Su Chen replied.
Yuan Chenyang’s smile froze on his face, and Bai Fengxi couldn’t help but look over, astonishment flashing by.
“First Order, Top-tier?” Yuan Chenyang swallowed, suspicion thickening in his eyes again.
“Mm, do you need it? I can tell you.” Su Chen seemed fully prepared. After the profession devouring was complete back then, he had known the job appointment requirements.
Yuan Chenyang looked at Su Chen with a complicated expression and hesitated. “That’s your parents’ after all…”
“My parents would be delighted too.” Su Chen said without hesitation, his expression sincere.
Yuan Chenyang was slightly stunned and laughed scoldingly, “Good kid.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take your things for nothing.” He then said solemnly, “Remember, don’t reveal this to outsiders anymore. If absolutely necessary, say the profession was given by me.”
He knew Su Chen wasn’t telling the full truth. Was a First Order Top-tier Profession something you could just casually come across? But for now, he wasn’t planning to dig deeper.
Su Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed this first hurdle. He had originally planned to get back to the city normally before getting involved with Yuan Chenyang.
In this sudden situation, even with Old Bai’s guarantee, it was hard to dispel the other’s scrutiny and suspicion. The【Void Ripper Warrior】 at least served as a visible interest, establishing a foundation of mutual trust.
The only surprise was that the value of a First Order Top-tier Profession was much higher than he had imagined, greatly improving Yuan Chenyang’s attitude.
At this moment, shadows flickered outside the tent. The three simultaneously fell silent, and an Exploration Guard outside called loudly:
“Minister Yuan, to avoid hidden body injuries, the City Lord wants to conduct detailed body checks on all City Patrol Guards and students.”
“Physical exam?” Yuan Chenyang was slightly surprised. “Now?”
The Exploration Guard outside responded, “Mm, Director Zhou’s proposal.”
