By evening, Xu Dongyou’s roommate asked if he wanted to go downstairs for dinner. Xu Dongyou nodded, thinking it would be good to go out and clear his mind.
As soon as they stepped out of the dorm, something fell from the sky and landed directly on the ground in front of them—a twisted, blood-covered face staring straight at him.
Xu Dongyou was so frightened he almost transformed back into his original form, his legs nearly giving way.
His roommate reacted even more dramatically, sitting down on the ground with a yelp.
A female student who had just parted from her boyfriend let out a piercing scream.
Xu Dongyou was scared once again, almost transforming, his eyes wide and round, feeling an inexplicable urge to flap his wings and fly away.
Fortunately, he managed to suppress the urge.
A crowd quickly began to gather, drawn by the commotion. Someone shouted to call the police, and many looked anxious and fearful, some covering their mouths in shock.
Everyone seemed unsure of what to do.
One brave student stepped forward and checked the nose of the student who had jumped. Swallowing hard, he said, “Dead. He’s dead.”
The crowd seemed momentarily stunned, and an uneasy silence fell over the scene.
Seeing a life extinguished, even if it was a stranger, cast a heavy pall over all the students.
Xu Dongyou finally calmed down but still felt a sense of discomfort.
Just then, teachers and security personnel arrived, dispersing the gathered students.
His roommate, trembling, got up and pulled at Xu Dongyou, “Let’s go, quickly.”
Xu Dongyou felt like trembling too. But as a demon tasked with saving the world, how could he be as timid as a bird1Moonlit: You are one though…?
He stood his ground, mustering the courage to look at the corpse. But quickly averted his gaze after no more than a second.
It wasn’t an illusion.
Xu Dongyou kept giving himself psychological hints, shivering as he took a few steps forward. Indeed, that uncomfortable feeling grew stronger. But it was somewhat different from what he had felt with the resentful spirit last time.
However, Xu Dongyou couldn’t be completely sure.
Taking advantage of the fact that the aftereffects of his cold were almost gone, he focused all his attention, enhancing his five senses and his ability to sense danger.
When Xu Dongyou glanced at the corpse again, he indeed saw more.
He quickly averted his gaze, his heart pounding.
There was a red handprint on the corpse’s back, emitting black gas.
Xu Dongyou had only experienced one resentful spirit incident, so he couldn’t determine if this was related to a resentful spirit.
If it was indeed related to a resentful spirit, it would be even more troublesome.
Xu Dongyou tried to recall what Zhao Liu and Zhang Wu had said: to seal a resentful spirit, one must first seal the object associated with it. Otherwise, the resentful spirit would come back like a tide.
The more troublesome part was that Xu Dongyou had joined the Bureau less than two days ago and hadn’t learned how to seal resentful spirits yet.
The urgent task was to find out if any professionals were handling this resentful spirit incident. Xu Dongyou didn’t have time to sift through the “Tasks” on his spiritual energy watch to find anything related to this jumping incident.
Moreover, he couldn’t come into too much contact with resentful spirit-related things right now to avoid being tainted by too much evil energy and being unable to approach the ancient Zhulong.
After all, this was about saving the world.
Xu Dongyou first shut down his enhanced senses to avoid any side effects from prolonged use. He and his roommate, supporting each other, shakily left the scene.
Once his legs felt steadier, Xu Dongyou decisively left his roommate behind, explaining that he had something to do under his friend’s bewildered gaze. He then found a secluded spot to contact Tian Ze via his spiritual energy watch and briefly explained the situation.
Tian Ze immediately said he would check the system and replied to Xu Dongyou two minutes later.
【Tian Ze (4th Division, 8th Squad Leader)】: I just checked. There is no information about your school in the system.
【Tian Ze (4th Division, 8th Squad Leader)】: We can’t be sure what kind of incident this is yet. To be safe, you should stay away from the scene and avoid being tainted by evil energy. I’ll handle the rest.
【Li Dong (8th Squad)】: Understood.
Xu Dongyou sat on the steps, his mind filled with the image of the corpse, feeling uneasy and with a strong urge to hide in the bushes.
Could this be because his awakening demon blood had triggered some bird-like instincts?
Xu Dongyou pursed his lips, feeling increasingly sad that his true form was such a cute dumpling.
After about ten minutes, Xu Dongyou saw a police car arrive, followed by a familiar-looking van.
The driver was clearly Zhang Wu.
Xu Dongyou’s first instinct was to go and greet him. But then he remembered his pale, pitiful face and decided to quietly leave.
The two vehicles stopped one after the other. The school officials immediately approached the police to explain the situation and mentioned that the scene had been temporarily sealed off.
Two police officers nodded, indicating they needed to investigate the scene.
The school official noticed Tian Ze and his team getting out of the van. They didn’t quite look like ordinary people, nor did they seem like police, so he hesitantly asked the officers, “Are these people also police?”
Tian Ze showed his police credentials, “Please check who had contact with the deceased on that day. I need to investigate each one.”
The official complied.
Xu Dongyou followed Tian Ze and his team from a distance. Once they approached the location of the incident, he stayed back.
Around dusk, Tian Ze and the others, along with the police, left the school, taking the body with them.
Afternoon classes were canceled, allowing the students to rest for the day. The class groups, dormitory groups, and even the school forum were abuzz with discussions about the suicide.
Many witnesses had seen the deceased jump from the building.
One forum post mentioned someone who had met the deceased a few times, recalling that he was cheerful and talkative. Just a few days ago, he had been excitedly talking about his contract and impending debut with a company. It didn’t make sense for him to suddenly commit suicide.
Out of respect for the deceased, the forum only subtly touched on why he might have taken his own life, without delving into further details.
Xu Dongyou hid under his blanket, not minding the heat. He wrapped himself tightly as if in a bird’s nest, feeling safe and secure.
After reading the forum posts and finding no useful clues, he became increasingly worried that the resentful spirit might affect other students. After much hesitation, he contacted Tian Ze to inquire about the investigation.
Tian Ze quickly replied.
【Tian Ze (4th Division, 8th Squad Leader)】: It’s a supernatural incident. Do you want to come and learn how to handle this kind of situation?
Xu Dongyou readily agreed, asked for Tian Ze’s location, and took a taxi to the Fengnian Street Handling Bureau.
Zhang Wu was already waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Xu Dongyou, he asked, “How are you feeling? Why do you still look so pale?”
Xu Dongyou felt a moment of guilt, remembering how he almost transformed into his original form today. Trying to hide his embarrassment, he said, “I used my enhanced senses again today, so I’m feeling unwell. But since I’m a member of the bureau, I should work harder.”
Zhang Wu nodded approvingly and praised, “Your dedication is admirable!”
Xu Dongyou continued to endure his embarrassment, “Oh, it’s nothing. I still have a lot of room for improvement.”
After some small talk, Zhang Wu led Xu Dongyou to the end of the hall, explaining as they walked, “The door at the far end leads to the sealing array, and only the chief and higher-authority personnel can open it.”
Before entering the hall, Xu Dongyou quickly put on a hat to cover most of his face.
The people coming and going in the hall didn’t recognize Xu Dongyou, especially since not many knew what he looked like. Thus, no one noticed him as they walked through.
Zhang Wu stopped and pointed at a door, “This door leads to the storage room for items related to resentful spirits, and this storage room is directly above the entrance to the sealing array.”
Xu Dongyou showed a puzzled and curious expression, but since most of his face was covered by the hat, Zhang Wu couldn’t see it. So Xu Dongyou asked, “Was it intentional to build it in this location?”
Zhang Wu nodded, then said mysteriously, “But do you know why?”
Xu Dongyou shook his head, trying to guess, “I can only guess it has something to do with the sealing array, but I don’t know the specifics.”
Zhang Wu explained, “Because of the ancient Zhulong. Its aura is completely hidden by the sealing array. The storage room below is very close to the entrance of the array, so even a tiny bit of Zhulong’s aura can suppress anything inside it.”
“No wonder Zhulong hates the aura of resentful spirits, because they counteract each other?” Xu Dongyou guessed.
Zhang Wu rubbed his chin, “Makes sense. The chief said the same thing. He even said that if we could get inside the array and secretly chip off a piece of the innermost stone, especially one touched by Zhulong, it might become a powerful tool to deal with resentful spirits.”
Xu Dongyou’s eyes widened slightly.
Can you really do that?!!
Although it sounded a bit far-fetched at first, the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Just a small amount of pressure leaking from the sealing array could suppress resentful spirits, so anything touched by the ancient Zhulong would be even more effective.
“But obviously, the plan fell through because no one can get into the sealing array. The chief was disappointed for a long time,” Zhang Wu also felt disappointed, but then he perked up and said to Xu Dongyou, “So it’s up to you. If you can ever get inside, remember to chip off a piece of stone, and it’d be best to bring a small hammer.”
Xu Dongyou whispered, “I-I’ll try my best.”
Once inside, chipping off a piece of stone should be… manageable, right?
He could contribute to the organization and quickly solve the problem of resentful spirits.
Just… hopefully, Elder Chen would allow him to bring a small hammer into the sealing array.
As they talked, Zhang Wu started inputting the fingerprint lock, and the door opened instantly, “Let’s go in.”
The sealing chamber looked different from what Xu Dongyou had imagined. It had a very sci-fi feel, with white floors and walls made of unknown materials, and even the ceiling was made of the same material.
Each room was tightly closed, labeled with numbers, and required a password to enter.
Zhang Wu brought Xu Dongyou to a room marked with a certain number and then took out a spiritual energy watch, which instantly displayed a random password.
Zhang Wu entered the password while explaining to Xu Dongyou, “Most of those stored here are victims believed to have died due to evil forces. Perhaps they carry remnants of these forces on them and need to be kept here for suppression.”
Xu Dongyou diligently took notes on what Zhang Wu said.
The door quickly opened, and Tian Ze immediately looked up, nodding to Xu Dongyou. Standing beside him were two strangers, a man and a woman.
The man looked to be around twenty-five, with an ordinary appearance and wearing glasses. The woman seemed to be about twenty-eight, her long hair styled up, giving off a somewhat domineering vibe.
Xu Dongyou politely took off his hat. Tian Ze began the introductions: “This is our new team member. You know the code name—it’s Li Dong. His ability is heightened senses. There’s another ability, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet, so I won’t mention it for now.”
The two people stepped forward to shake hands with Xu Dongyou.
Tian Ze pointed to the female dominator. “Her code name is Kuang Zhannu, skilled in various forms of combat and quite strong.”
Kuang Zhannu smiled and teasingly said, “Seeing you in person is better than hearing about you. Everyone outside says you’re even better looking than a celebrity. Now that I see you, it’s not an exaggeration.”
Xu Dongyou felt a bit shy and smiled back. “Hello. I look forward to your guidance in the future.”
Tian Ze then pointed to the other man. “This is Yan Jingnan. He’s quite proficient with computer equipment and can record ghosts with his phone. When he hits pause, the ghost is also momentarily frozen. But like you, using it too much can have side effects.”
Xu Dongyou looked at Yan Jingnan with curiosity; this ability seemed quite unique.
Yan Jingnan adjusted his glasses and smiled, appearing not very talkative.
Xu Dongyou suddenly felt a strong curiosity about Zhao Liu and Zhang Wu. What were their abilities?
