Chapter 18

In the room.

Li Hao felt a sense of relief after a close call.

Twice!

For two consecutive days, the Red Shadow had approached him. Did this mean that the other party was about to make a move?

So, these past two days, the Red Shadow had been observing him.

It was like checking if the pig he raised was fat enough.

Could it be slaughtered?

How much meat would it yield if slaughtered?

Yes, at this moment, Li Hao felt exactly that way. Each time the Red Shadow observed him, it was as if admiring the crops he had grown, checking if they were ripe.

"Damn it!"

Li Hao muttered under his breath.

What do they think I am?

If it were before, Li Hao could only accept his fate, but now... he refused to accept it!

The Jade Sword was an extraordinary item, and he had learned his teacher's breathing technique. He had also touched the realm of superpowers and could absorb mysterious energy. Why should he accept his fate now?

"No matter how strong, it's not invincible!"

Li Hao gritted his teeth. If they were really so powerful that they had nothing to fear, why be so cautious?

They were afraid!

Afraid of whom?

Definitely afraid of the Night Patrol!

Among the Night Patrol, there must be someone even more powerful than the Red Shadow, which is why the Red Shadow didn't dare to make too much noise.

"Why scare myself?"

Li Hao comforted himself, looking at the black panther and couldn't help but mutter, "What a wimp, every time you see it, you act so scared."

The black panther's eyes were full of innocence.

I'm just a dog, very weak. If you're scared, I'm scared too!

Besides, the black panther thought, it was normal to be scared since he was still young.

The man and the dog were both sitting in the living room, not speaking for a long time.

After a while, Li Hao suddenly picked up the communicator and dialed a number.

This time, he wasn't calling his teacher.

After a moment, Liu Long's cold and proud voice came from the other end: "Speak!"

No preamble, just one word.

"I feel someone is watching me!"

"Hmm!"

Liu Long's reaction was calm, showing no particular concern.

Li Hao thought for a moment, perhaps this person thought he had discovered the Demon Hunting Squad's tracking?

However, the Red Shadow wasn't part of the Demon Hunting Squad.

Realizing Liu Long might have misunderstood, Li Hao paused and then said, "I don't know how to describe it. I was in the house, and suddenly I felt a chill. The stray dog we adopted suddenly barked and then lay down motionless. When I checked, it had peed!"

"Huh?"

Liu Long was taken aback.

Chill, dog barking, peeing?

He suddenly realized something, losing his composure. His cold voice came again, "Are you sure?"

Li Hao kicked the black panther, which seemed somewhat depressed. Peed?

You peed!

Your whole family peed!

Unfortunately, the black panther couldn't speak and could only accept it.

Li Hao lied without a hint of guilt, immediately saying, "Yes, I'm sure!"

"Understood!"

Liu Long's voice carried a hint of seriousness. After a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice, "Don't move, don't say anything more. I'll come over later, but I won't show myself! Starting tomorrow... I'll follow you secretly, don't show any signs."

He didn't tell Li Hao to stay at the Inspection Bureau.

Because he still needed Li Hao to be exposed to the public.

Li Hao didn't say anything, just responded and then asked, "Boss, should I do nothing now?"

"No need to do anything!"

Liu Long's voice was cold and stern, "Your task is simple. If you feel that sensation again, just pull the curtain!"

"I'm afraid I... won't have the chance to pull it."

Li Hao muttered.

Liu Long seemed to realize this point, thought for a moment, and then said, "Come to the Inspection Bureau tomorrow, come straight to me!"

"Okay!"

Li Hao agreed readily. With his intelligence, he could guess that Liu Long might have something good to offer, which would be the best.

If he could... cough, get some benefits.

A crying child gets the milk.

In the Demon Hunting Squad, if you don't speak up, you might get nothing. Liu Long seemed quite stingy. On the first day of joining, he didn't give anything. Even Liu Yan had said to take any thermal weapons.

"Phew!"

After hanging up, Li Hao sat on the ground and fell into deep thought again.

Soon, he glanced at the handprint on the wall, frowning slightly.

Red Shadow... did you observe?

Even if you did, it doesn't matter much. A pseudo-martial artist who can't even reach the tenth level, superpowered beings wouldn't care.

If they really think this is Li Hao's hidden strength, it would be a good thing.

The mysterious energy on the Jade Sword still exists, and Li Hao knows the breathing technique. In the next few days, he might improve every day. Judging his current strength, it would have a confusing effect on the opponent.

Even if he improves, it might not pose any threat to superpowered beings, but Li Hao wouldn't give up.

...

A peaceful night.

July 14th.

The sky was clear and the air was fresh.

Another night passed, and the appearance of the Red Shadow still didn't attract anyone's attention.

Li Hao had a good sleep. Before leaving, he reminded the black panther a few times and left some dog food. Then he rode his bicycle to work.

Li Hao didn't know if Liu Long came last night.

He couldn't ask, but he remembered he had to find Liu Long today to see if he could get some benefits, ideally some powerful superpowered items.

Of course, it was mostly wishful thinking.

...

The Confidential Room.

Li Hao was still working here.

As soon as he entered, Chen Na was already there, looking excited and waving him over.

Li Hao was a bit surprised. Why did she come so early?

Chen Na was the colleague he got to know best after joining the Inspection Bureau. They had a good relationship, closer than with others. The Confidential Room had the two of them as the youngest.

"Li Hao!"

Seeing Li Hao, Chen Na said excitedly, "Good news!"

"What is it?"

"The room is getting new members, you forgot? Every year at this time, we recruit new members. We're finally free, no more early mornings for cleaning and serving tea!"

Chen Na was quite excited.

Both she and Li Hao were new, though she had been there a bit longer, so Li Hao did more of the work. However, some tasks still fell to Chen Na, like organizing documents. Sometimes Li Hao was too busy to handle everything alone.

"Recruitment?"

Li Hao was slightly stunned, almost forgetting about it.

Besides, it wasn't a big deal.

He was about to leave the Confidential Room. Technically, he wasn't part of it anymore, but he hadn't been officially notified yet.

So, that's why!

Li Hao smiled, showing some joy, "That's great! I see why you came so early today. Are the new members starting today?"

Chen Na nodded, happily saying, "Yes! They were already selected, just trained recently, and are starting today!"

"Good, that's good!"

Li Hao also smiled, joining Chen Na's happiness.

It was a reason to be happy!

Otherwise, if he left and no new members came, Chen Na would have to take over all of Li Hao's tasks, which would be too much for her.

"How many new members?"

"Two... no, three!"

Chen Na was well-informed, smiling, "I heard there were only two, but then another was added, three in total! They're luckier than us. When I joined, I was the only new one. You were a transfer student, and I did all the work. Now they come in as a group, so they won't be as busy."

Li Hao nodded in agreement.

He didn't really care!

He had to check in with the room leader and then go to the Enforcement Team, where he had more important things to do. He didn't have time to worry about this.

But he was a good and honest person in the Confidential Room. Even if he was leaving, he couldn't ruin his reputation, so he had to join in the happiness.

As they talked, others started arriving one by one.

Li Hao got busy again, as usual, not slacking off just because he was leaving.

Around nine o'clock, Wang Jie arrived.

Not only him, but he was followed by three new members.

They were all young, two men and one woman.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

Wang Jie smiled, clapping his hands, and said loudly, "Put down your work for a moment..."

Well, actually, except for Chen Na and Li Hao, the others were just gossiping, not really working.

Wang Jie seemed not to notice, smiling, "Today, the Confidential Room is getting three new members, all elites! Their joining represents their strength and ability..."

After a round of praise, the three new members were introduced.

At this moment, Li Hao stopped his work and looked at the three new members, two men and one woman, all wearing inspection uniforms, looking quite spirited.

He didn't pay much attention to the woman but focused on the young man on the left.

He was very young, probably only eighteen or nineteen, though it was hard to tell the exact age.

Very handsome, very sunny!

Li Hao was often called the most handsome in the Confidential Room, though this was a bit exaggerated since most of the others were older. But Li Hao wasn't ugly. Compared to this guy, he was a bit less attractive, especially in terms of skin.

The young man had very fair skin, not pale, but more like a milky white, looking very tender.

Yu Da, who always wanted Li Hao as a son-in-law, was now looking at this guy with shining eyes, perhaps changing her mind.

Chen Na also glanced a few times and then looked at Li Hao, whispering, "Li Hao, did you see? Your biggest rival is here. His name is Wang Ming, right? He's even more handsome than you!"

Li Hao smiled, nodding slightly, "If Na-ge likes him, that's fine."

"Pfft! I don't like young boys!"

She said this but still glanced a few more times, then added, "His eyes are so bright!"

Yes, very bright!

He looked very energetic!

Eyes are the window to the soul. Even if someone is handsome, if their eyes are dull, they would seem weak. But this Wang Ming had very bright eyes.

"Hello everyone, seniors, I'm Wang Ming, from the Inspection Academy, a recent graduate..."

Wang Ming introduced himself.

Soon, Wang Jie led Wang Ming over to Li Hao and Chen Na, looking at them and smiling, "Li Hao, Chen Na, you're seniors now. Wang Ming, you should learn from Li Hao. Get familiar with the files he's handling. Chen Na and Li Hao, you two should teach him."

Having Wang Ming learn from them wasn't special treatment but because Li Hao was leaving, and Wang Jie knew this, though Chen Na didn't.

So, he needed someone to replace Li Hao.

Wang Ming was a good fit!

Chen Na smiled, "Sure, should we prepare a new desk?"

"No need!"

Wang Jie laughed, "Just bring a chair for now, we'll make do for a few days!"

Chen Na was a bit puzzled but didn't ask more, just agreed to make do for a few days.

Li Hao understood, smiling slightly, nodding, but his heart wasn't as calm as it seemed.

Wang Ming!

What's going on?

He paid attention to Wang Ming not because of his looks or bright eyes, but because he vaguely saw a faint starlight around him. Although this starlight wasn't as strong as Liu Long's, it gave Li Hao a different feeling... more brilliant!

Yes, the amount was small, very small.

But this starlight was extremely brilliant, so brilliant that Li Hao could feel its cold and dazzling light from a distance.

"Starlight Master!"

This term suddenly came to his mind.

Entering the superpowered realm, there were two types of extraordinary beings: the naturally gifted Divine Masters and the Starlight Masters who induced energy into their bodies. Both were extraordinary!

At this moment, Li Hao thought of the term "Starlight Master."

He kept his expression calm, as usual, but was deeply shocked inside.

Why did a Starlight Master suddenly appear?

Who sent him?

The Red Shadow?

The Night Patrol?

It had to be one of these two. So, was he from the Red Shadow or the Night Patrol?

Why did he come to the Confidential Room and end up right next to him?

A regular new member wouldn't be a superpowered being. Clearly, there was something wrong.

Others couldn't see the starlight on Wang Ming, but Li Hao saw it clearly.

"Can Liu Long and the others see it?"

He had forgotten to ask yesterday how to identify superpowered beings!

No, this couldn't be!

At this moment, Li Hao suddenly felt very cold. A superpowered being was right next to him.

Damn it!

Is it the Night Patrol?

If it's the Night Patrol, it's manageable. If it's from the Red Shadow, it's terrifying. Yincheng, the headquarters of the Inspection Bureau, would no longer be safe!

"Hao-ge..."

A faint voice interrupted Li Hao's thoughts.

Li Hao looked up, and Wang Ming was looking at him, smiling brightly, "Hao-ge, you're a senior, so you must be older. From now on, I'll call you Hao-ge, and you can call me Wang Ming."

Li Hao smiled, a bit forced, but no one noticed. He always smiled like that.

"Too kind!"

Li Hao said enviously, "I've been here a year longer, but I'm a half-baked one, a latecomer! You're different. You graduated from the Inspection Academy, more professional! By the way, which Inspection Academy did you graduate from? Yincheng's?"

Yincheng also had an Inspection Academy, which was essentially the reserve force of the Inspection Bureau. Most members of the Inspection Bureau came from the Inspection Academy.

"Not Yincheng."

Wang Ming smiled brightly, shaking his head, "I'm from Baiyue City! I graduated from the Baiyue Inspection Academy."

Beside him, Chen Na was surprised, "Baiyue Inspection Academy?"

Wang Ming nodded slightly, not saying more, seemingly not too interested in Chen Na.

Li Hao's heart stirred.

Baiyue City!

Near Yincheng, there were several cities of similar size, with populations just over a million.

But about three hundred miles from Yincheng was a large city, Baiyue City.

Baiyue City had a special status as the capital of Yinyue Province, which was named by combining the names of Yincheng and Baiyue City.

Yincheng came first!

However, this was many years ago. Over time, Yincheng's geographical location became less favorable, leading to population migration. Now, Yincheng was just one of the 32 cities in Yinyue Province.

It was rumored that the higher-ups were considering renaming Yinyue Province to Yueyao Province, with the second-largest city, Yueguang City, being more prosperous than Yincheng.

Of course, this hadn't been decided yet. Yincheng had refused multiple times, given its past glory.

These thoughts flashed through Li Hao's mind. He wondered, a graduate from the capital's Inspection Academy came here... Is this identity real? Is it to keep me from checking?

Chen Na was surprised and envious, "Wang Ming, why did you come here?"

Wang Ming smiled brightly, "Isn't