"At least it doesn't require me to sit through that eerie Trial of Whispers for ten or twenty minutes." Su Chen exhaled with relief. Evil God Power could actively trigger professional mutations, but the results remained unpredictable.
"One more mental-type 2nd-tier upper-tier profession... Sounds easier than killing three 2nd-tier professionals. But..." Su Chen shook his head.
Physical-type 2nd-tier upper-tier professions could be found through the City Patrol Department or the Exploration Department.
But on the mental side β Su Chen still hadn't heard of any 2nd-tier upper-tier mental professionals in all of Nanfeng City. He had no channels.
"One step at a time. If Nanfeng doesn't have it, Yingfeng will." Su Chen rubbed his chest. "That works out perfectly β by then, I'll have evolved to a 2nd-tier top-tier, which also satisfies the Spatial Storage Adept's requirements."
Two of its three requirements remained: traversing a spatial rift and possessing a 2nd-tier top-tier mental profession.
One cubic meter of Storage Space was rather cramped. A bit of miscellaneous gear, some potions, and it was practically full.
His condition wasn't suited for training today. He took the day off, headed to the cafeteria and had the duty chef stir-fry two dishes. A small indulgence.
The next morning, barely past dawn, Fatty Sun arrived in high spirits, a metal case in his right hand.
"Little bro, little bro..." He seized Su Chen's hand and didn't let go until they were safely in the room. His smile was so wide both eyes had vanished. He leaned in close. "Brother, I truly owe you one this time."
"That really was an Evil God cult hideout. Raided the whole thing β nabbed several people, including a 2nd-tier professional. Major credit."
"Nothing to do with me." Su Chen waved it off. "That's all you, Big Bro."
Fatty Sun's grin stretched even wider. "Understood, understood. I'm just here to share the joy."
He set the metal case on the desk and opened it β five vials of Mist Fiend Potion.
"You're the one I brought into the Supervision Department," Fatty Sun said warmly. "Nobody knows better than me how hard you work. The three vials per week the department allocates barely make a dent."
"Use these for now."
"Big Bro Sun, you're wasted in internal affairs. Truly." Su Chen said it from the heart.
Fatty Sun beamed, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Between us, little bro β I may look easygoing, but I've got ambitions too."
"But the internal affairs division doesn't do fieldwork. Without hard combat merits, a deputy director's seat is out of reach."
Su Chen understood. He said, almost off-handedly, "You know, I'll be leaving Nanfeng City eventually."
'Leaving eventually' meant the position and credit inside the Supervision Department were of no use to him. Only tangible benefits mattered.
Fatty Sun read between the lines immediately. "Nanfeng City could never cage a dragon like you."
After seeing him off, Su Chen looked at the potions on the desk and shook his head with a smirk. "So I'm double-dipping now?"
His chest still ached dully. The branch office kept wound salves on hand, but those were barely effective on 1st-tier professionals, let alone him.
He swallowed a dose of Spiritual Light Potion instead and entered the training room. His physical injuries didn't affect his meditation practice.
"The Mystic Artificer is nearly at 100% too. Once it breaks through, its abilities will transform, and my combat power takes another leap."
He meditated until mid-afternoon, when his head felt ready to split. He went to find Zhang Hengyu and drag him to the cafeteria.
The young man seemed to have been stewing. A dark cloud of pent-up frustration hung over him; the moment he stepped out of his room, words poured out in an unstoppable torrent.
"...I'm about to break through to 2nd-tier." Zhang Hengyu suddenly blurted.
Su Chen glanced up. "Congratulations," he offered with token enthusiasm.
Zhang Hengyu deflated. Su Chen continued, "If you really can't take it anymore, go outside. Get some air. If you snap from the pressure, your old man and your sister will come for my head."
"I can take it." Zhang Hengyu shot back reflexively. The training intensity here was unlike anything he'd experienced before.
Proper training required a balance of exertion and rest. Prolonged, monotonous grinding could inflict psychological damage β creating a vulnerability to mental attacks down the road.
He'd always followed a strict regimen, but coming here had shattered it.
Because Su Chen simply never left his room. All day, every day β training.
Zhang Hengyu couldn't bear the thought of resting while Su Chen was pushing himself to the limit.
"...Still..." Zhang Hengyu's tone shifted, carrying a hint of sheepish counsel. "Training should balance effort and recovery. Otherwise, you risk psychological problems."
He couldn't bring himself to slack off alone β but if they both agreed to take it easy? That felt different.
"If my mind were that fragile, it would've broken back when I was a refugee." Su Chen took a sip of soup and let out a satisfied sigh. The casual remark left Zhang Hengyu's face burning.
They hadn't even finished eating when Branch Director Hou Xu found them, looking mildly amazed. "Deputy Chief Su actually came out of his room today?"
"Stay cooped up any longer and I'll grow mold." Su Chen shifted in his seat, still clutching a glistening hunk of meat. "Care to join us, Director?"
"No, thank you." Hou Xu waved. "Just a heads-up β HQ is sending people over shortly. They want to ask you some questions."
"Headquarters?" Su Chen's mind stirred. Fatty Sun hadn't warned him.
'Old Sun doesn't know either?'
"What's this about? Pretty sudden." Su Chen's question sounded casual enough.
"..." Hou Xu hesitated, scanning the room. The cafeteria was empty at this hour. He sat beside Su Chen and glanced at Zhang Hengyu.
Zhang Hengyu blinked, looking vaguely confused.
Hou Xu was speechless. Su Chen cut in, "It's fine. Old Zhang is one of us."
Hou Xu leaned forward, head dipping low, voice barely above a whisper. "This one's unusual. The team includes the Patrol Division Chief, someone from the City Patrol Department, and one more person I don't recognize β but the other two are deferring to him. My guess is Exploration Department."
"A three-division joint inquiry. That's no small matter."
Su Chen's chopsticks paused. His mind raced through the possibilities. He'd been operating in the shadows on too many fronts β hard to pin down which one this was about.
Hou Xu said his piece and left it at that. Su Chen finished his meal deep in thought, then returned to his room.
"Three-division joint inquiry..." Su Chen muttered, firing off a message to Old Sun. No reply yet.
He sniffed himself β the sour tang of dried sweat. Might as well shower first.
Hummmβ
Cyan wind swirled around his body, drying the droplets. Su Chen faced the mirror and, as had become routine, switched to Believer of Black Buddha mode.
He'd been doing this once or twice daily to scan for threats.
Since the Artifact incident, nothing had pinged for days.
Today was different. The instant he switched, something registered.
"An Artifact?" Su Chen's pulse spiked. He shook his head. "No β the signal's too faint. More like the last time I sensed actual followers."
He focused. His expression shifted. His gaze dropped. "It's right HERE! A Believer of Black Buddha!"
"A hidden agent in the building? That doesn't track either β I've been here for days and this is the first ping."
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
The sudden rapping shattered Su Chen's concentration.
He opened the door. It was a female clerk from the branch office β short-haired, shoulder-length β whose eyes swept over Su Chen's bare torso without the slightest trace of embarrassment.
Meeting his questioning look, she explained, "Director Hou asked me to inform you β your visitors have arrived."
"The three-division inquiry?" Su Chen's pulse quickened. The pieces clicked. He kept his expression neutral. "Understood. I'll be right down."
'One of them is compromised...' Su Chen dressed quickly. 'The mutual sensing between followers only works at close range.'
'If I just detected him β he's almost certainly detected me too.'