Chapter 274: The Clown Turned Out to Be Himself?

“Governor, I’ve already brought back the full details about this Monster Hunting Tournament. It’s going to be held at Taishan!”

In the conference hall, Lin Lingling wore a serious expression as she pinned the map onto a small whiteboard, holding a pointer stick in her right hand.

She called herself the Governor’s little assistant—and honestly, she kinda looked the part.

Only problem? She wasn’t even half as tall as the whiteboard.

Although only Chen Huaian would actually participate in the Monster Hunting Tournament, every single exorcist from the C Province Exorcist Division who didn’t have a mission showed up. Partly to catch a glimpse of the famous Governor of the C Province Exorcist Division, and partly to learn and broaden their horizons.

The C Province Exorcist Division was no longer the lifeless organization it used to be.

Ever since Chen Huaian fully shared the breathing technique, more and more Awakened actively joined the Exorcist Division. Not to mention, Chen Huaian was the hero who had slain the Corpse King Emperor Jiang. Many Awakened came because of his fame, only to discover that the benefits were unexpectedly generous.

Not only was the breathing technique freely taught, but resources were abundant.

Compared to the church’s holy water and the Onmyōji talismans available on the market, the Exorcist Division’s talismans and sword marbles were far more effective.

All you needed was to do missions and rack up merit points—you didn’t even have to shell out loads of cash.

Rumor had it that veteran exorcists even had access to the legendary Bone-Cleansing Pills, something neither other divisions nor aristocratic clans could get their hands on.

Some Awakened who only planned to temporarily stick around ended up never leaving.

The veterans stayed, the newcomers kept flooding in, and the C Province Exorcist Division grew stronger.

Tasks that used to go unclaimed were now fought over, leading to the implementation of an elite plan.

Regular Awakened weren’t even accepted anymore—they only took geniuses.

Even the early members now had to meet monthly quotas. Miss three months in a row and you were out.

Back then, most didn’t care if they got kicked out.

Now? Everyone worked their *sses off to meet and exceed targets. No one dared slack off.

Because honestly, the C Province Exorcist Division’s resources were just too tempting, and they had a monopoly. Who dared to break the rules?

And so, this was the scene: over a hundred people packed the conference hall.

Chen Huaian sat stiffly, looking all serious, but it wasn’t from nerves.

It was because dozens of hungry eyes were glued to him from behind.

They all belonged to female Awakened who had joined the Exorcist Division.

Some were university students, others office ladies, a few were internet celebrities, and even some married housewives.

You don’t mess with them—seriously.

Not even when facing the Corpse King Emperor Jiang did he feel this much pressure.

He still remembered how, just as he stepped out of the elevator, this group of fangirls almost smothered him with their... enthusiasm.

Thank god Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan had a terrifying reputation.

One word from them, and the girls backed off immediately.

On the whiteboard was a map of Taishan—not just the single mountain, but the entire surrounding mountain range, covering a vast area.

Taishan had now become a paradise for monsters and evil spirits.

In fact, most mountain areas were the same.

So, it wasn’t surprising that the Monster Hunting Tournament was held here. What Chen Huaian was more concerned about was that the dragon soul’s guidance also pointed him toward Taishan.

What exactly was hidden in Taishan?

Could it be connected to all this?

“Governor, are you even listening?” Lin Lingling tapped the whiteboard—she noticed Chen Huaian spacing out.

“I’m listening, keep going.” Chen Huaian blinked and refocused.

By now, Lin Lingling had already marked over a dozen peaks within the Taishan region.

“Governor, this here is the mountain where our C Province Exorcist Division will be stationed. You’ll set out from here.” Lin Lingling pointed at a small hill near the center of the mountain range. “We’ll have one exorcist stationed here to provide support.”

“I’ll go!” A female exorcist, looking like a college student, suddenly raised her hand, eyes shining with excitement.

The Monster Hunting Tournament lasted three days—this was basically a chance to be alone with the Governor for three whole days!

And honestly, following such a powerful exorcist like the Governor was bound to bring both opportunities and... romance.

“M-Me too!” another exorcist, with the face of a typical influencer, also raised her hand.

“I want to support the Governor too!”

“Count me in! I’m a healer—I can heal the Governor!”

“A healer? So what? I’m pure, are you?”

“So what? I’ve got experience. I even brought clothes...”

The conversation in the conference room quickly spiraled out of control.

Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan’s faces turned pitch-black.

“Shut up!” Lin Lingling roared.

Tiny body, T-Rex voice.

The entire room instantly fell silent.

“The exorcist assigned to support the Governor has already been chosen.”

Facing their pitiful, expectant gazes.

Lin Lingling pointed at herself. “That’s right. It’s me.”

The female exorcists: “...”

“The Governor is a critical resource of our C Province Exorcist Division. To prevent him from being ‘polluted,’ the most suitable candidate is, of course, a little girl like me,” Lin Lingling scanned the crowd, expressionless. “Any objections?”

Before anyone could respond, she slapped the table.

“Anyone who objects will be chickenslapped!”

“Ahem, Triple Zero, focus,” Zhao Ying sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Oh!” Lin Lingling nodded and continued, “The force behind this Monster Hunting Tournament is Qingfeng Sect, a subsidiary of Kunlun Immortal Palace.

According to their investigation, there is an extremely powerful monster within Taishan. Its strength might have already reached King-level!

Besides that, there are huge numbers of Soldier-level, General-level, and Marshal-level monsters and evil spirits.

Killing a Teacher-level earns you 1 point; Soldier-level, 10 points; General-level, 100 points, and so on.

Three days later, a big shot from Qingfeng Sect will descend upon the peak of Taishan and distribute rewards based on the rankings.”

Lin Lingling then looked straight at Chen Huaian. “Governor, any questions?”

“Yeah.” Chen Huaian furrowed his brows. “Since the monsters in Taishan are so strong and densely packed, wouldn’t it be suicide for the aristocratic families and exorcist participants to enter?”

“Oh, right. The aristocratic families and our Exorcist Division members are just extras. Basically NPCs.” Lin Lingling said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Huh?”

“Because the real protagonists of this Monster Hunting Tournament are the disciples of hidden sects. If someone from the aristocratic families or our Exorcist Division makes it onto the rankings, that would already be pretty impressive.”

“Hidden sect... disciples?!” Chen Huaian was dumbfounded.

He had clearly stayed in Containment Site No.0 for too long and been too obsessed with the game.

He hadn’t expected that just a short period of ignoring the real world would result in a ton of incomprehensible developments.

“Governor, do you remember the ancient martial arts craze that started around 2024 to 2025?”

Zhao Ying patiently explained, knowing that Chen Huaian hadn’t kept up with recent news. “Back then, you’d see people piercing soda cans with sewing needles, slicing watermelons with playing cards, even throwing knives to split ‘dragon spines’...

Most of us thought it was just special effects or props, like playing cards made of metal or something.

But it was all real.

Since that time, hidden sects had already started infiltrating our daily lives, even promoting themselves on short video platforms. We just took it as entertainment back then.”

Chen Huaian froze, his expression screaming: You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me.

Back then, he even laughed at all that “splitting dragon spines,” “five-hit lightning combos” nonsense. Wasn’t that just clown behavior?

Throwing darts, cards, or needles to shatter glass?

Come on, anyone could see it was fake!

Eggs smashing rocks? Please.

Even if it were real, the problem would have to be with the cards!

He had stood firm in that belief.

And now, ten years later, the boomerang had come right back to smack him in the face.

The clown... turned out to be himself?!

...