Chapter 89

Although it was only around four or five in the morning, such important information had to be reported to the superior immediately. Delay would lead to unforeseen changes, and the longer the delay, the more unpredictable the situation would become.

Speaking of which, Captain Fu's search for the Black Wuchang had been stuck for a long time.

"Beep beep beep~"

The ringing continued for a full minute before it was finally answered, and Fu Qingyang's cold and indifferent voice came through:

"Calling me at this hour, there must be something important, right?"

Feeling that he was suppressing his anger, Zhang Yuanqing said, "Captain, I just met the Palace Master of Zhishe Palace."

Fu Qingyang was taken aback, "Did she request it?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yuanqing replied, "She invited me to meet and talked about some matters concerning the Xiahou family."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Yuanqing heard the subtle sound of the other side abruptly throwing off the covers and sitting up, followed by Fu Qingyang's serious tone:

"The reason she almost killed Xiahou Tianwen?"

Indeed, Fu Qingyang had also sensed something unusual. After all, Guan Ya could feel it, and as a fellow scout, Fu Qingyang would be even more perceptive...

Zhang Yuanqing didn't keep him in suspense and said:

"The Palace Master of Zhishe Palace said that the Xiahou Chi lineage is a member of the Dark Rose."

There was silence on the other end of the line. After about five or six seconds, Fu Qingyang spoke, this time with an unusually solemn voice:

"Are you sure?"

Zhang Yuanqing then recounted the situation as described by the Palace Master of Zhishe Palace to Fu Qingyang.

"She said this, but I can't determine if it's true, so I'm reporting it to you."

Fu Qingyang slowly said:

"Behind the fall of the Chu family, there was indeed the shadow of the Dark Rose. During that turmoil, the target of the Warlord Sect was a rule-class artifact for the Musician profession. In that battle, the official response was a step too slow, and someone interfered with the transmission of information. The only ones capable of doing this were high-ranking members within the Five Elements Alliance."

After discovering the private contact between the Black Wuchang and the Dark Rose, Fu Qingyang called the Fu family elders to understand the outline of the events from back then.

After the fall of the Chu family, the Five Elements Alliance noticed the existence of the Dark Rose and conducted a secret purge within the organization.

However, to avoid damaging the official reputation, this matter was kept secret and discussion was forbidden. Twenty-one years have passed, and the new generation of official walkers is largely unaware of this past event.

"From this, it seems that the Dark Rose not only has ties with the Black Wuchang but also worked with the Warlord Sect to bring down the Chu family." Zhang Yuanqing frowned, "This organization has grand ambitions."

To be able to infiltrate members into spirit realm families and official organizations, the power of the "Dark Rose" is evident.

With such formidable strength, yet remaining hidden, their goals must be unimaginable.

Fu Qingyang hummed in agreement, acknowledging his subordinate's assessment, and said in a solemn tone:

"Who else have you told besides me?"

"I reported to you as soon as I received the information," Zhang Yuanqing replied.

Fu Qingyang immediately said, "This matter must not be leaked."

From his tone, it seemed he was very satisfied with Zhang Yuanqing's response.

"I understand!" Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Captain, what do you plan to do with the Xiahou Chi lineage?"

Fu Qingyang gave a cold laugh, "If you were a high-ranking member of the Dark Rose and learned that Xiahou Tianyuan was imprisoned, what would you do?"

"Keep a close watch, and if there's a risk of exposure, find a way to eliminate the threat," Zhang Yuanqing thought and said.

"I will charge Xiahou Tianyuan with endangering public safety and keep him under control, then use a long line to catch the big fish. Before that, I won't alarm them." At this point, the captain's tone lost its coldness and became gentle:

"Don't worry, as long as I have Xiahou Tianyuan in my hands, Xiahou Chi and Xiahou Xin won't dare to retaliate against you. By the time I close the net, they won't have the chance to retaliate."

Phew! Zhang Yuanqing exhaled, with this, the matter with the Xiahou family was temporarily resolved.

Fu Qingyang said, "We won't rush to close the net. In a few days, there will be a major inspection, and I plan to conduct a preliminary screening to see the reaction of the official walkers."

"Major inspection?"

Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank, recalling what the Demon Lord had said: "I won't pass the major inspection!"

Fu Qingyang explained:

"The major inspection is a benefit and a supervision by the higher-ups for organization members. The former can check and treat physical issues, while the latter can detect mental state and character. For the fallen, it's a mirror that exposes them, leaving them nowhere to hide.

"Those with guilty consciences will show signs."

I hope we don't end up catching a Demon Lord's successor instead of a Dark Rose member... Zhang Yuanqing's mind was filled with a thousand galloping horses.

He subconsciously thought: It's your turn again, little clown!!

But then he wondered, is the major inspection really that easy to avoid?

Deciding to probe Guan Ya about the major inspection, Zhang Yuanqing asked:

"Captain, are there any large-scale slaughter dungeons opening up recently?"

Fu Qingyang shook his head, "Large-scale slaughter dungeons are concentrated in mid-year and year-end, and none will appear in the near future."

Strange, how did the Palace Master of Zhishe Palace advance to the Overlord rank? She had no reason to lie to me. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a few seconds and said, "Captain, I have no more questions."

"Go back and rest!"

Young Master Fu rarely showed concern for his subordinates.

The next morning, at the large villa.

Three bunny girls were busy setting the breakfast table. Ling Jun, yawning, took his seat and greeted Fu Qingyang across the table:

"Good morning~"

His gaze swept over Fu Qingyang's stern face and returned, scrutinizing him, "You look in a good mood."

Fu Qingyang's lips curled slightly, "Because I found that leading by example is more convincing than just giving raises."

On the same morning, in the presidential suite, the female assistant woke up on time, freshened up, and neatly dressed before turning the handle of the master bedroom door to wake the young lady.

"Click!"

The moment the lock clicked open, she sensed that she had broken some kind of barrier, and an invisible wind stirred in the room.

As the door opened, the scene in the master bedroom came into view.

Her young lady was hanging from a crystal chandelier by a faint red thread, wearing only a girl's underwear and a small bra, her white and tender body was quite eye-catching.

At that moment, she was looking at the female assistant with teary eyes.

The female assistant's face changed dramatically, and she exclaimed, "Miss..."

She rushed forward and untied the thin red thread.

"Who did this? Who did this?" the female assistant was furious.

Xie Lingxi, with teary eyes, cried, "Sister Palace Master came, and Brother Yuanshi harmed me, waa~"

From her intermittent sobs, the female assistant understood that at dawn, the Palace Master of Zhishe Palace had come here and, apparently because the young lady had leaked her identity to outsiders, had hung and beaten her.

The female assistant thought, at least it was just a beating.

When she first saw the young lady stripped naked, she thought a rapist had infiltrated the hotel and taken the young lady's virginity. If the family held her accountable,

she would have to commit seppuku to atone.

At the Good Music Hotel.

Wang Qian looked down at his three companions from a high vantage point and said in a deep voice, "This angle really suits you guys."

The three companions looked at him with pity.

Wang Qian was silent for a moment and tentatively asked, "The Palace Master is gone, can you let me down now?"

The companions looked up at him and shook their heads, "We think this angle suits you too."

After returning home, Zhang Yuanqing took a short nap until he was woken by his grandmother's knocking.

He put on his shoes and went to the living room, where he saw his listless cousin and aunt, both night shift workers, sitting at the dining table, hungry and waiting for food.

Chen Yuanjun pinched his temples, looking at his listless cousin, and shook his head:

"Staying up all night playing games again, I can't sleep when I want to, and you can sleep but choose not to."

No, I also want to sleep but can't, the sun is shining brightly, it's the perfect time to sleep. Zhang Yuanqing sighed, he was a night elf but was forced to be active during the day.

His aunt took the opportunity to tattle, cooing, "Mom, your grandson stayed up all night playing games, come and beat him."

You bitch, what did I do to you! Zhang Yuanqing shouted, "Mom, your daughter said she'll play games with me all night tonight."

His grandmother ignored them.

After breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room, summoned the little clown, and let him crawl around.

"The matter with the Xiahou family is temporarily resolved, but the major inspection is making me anxious.

"Also, it's time to cultivate the little clown. Spirit servants and zombies are important means for a Night Walker to defeat enemies in the later stages. I can't yet create zombies with the spirit talismans I control, so I'll enhance the little clown first."

He believed it was necessary to cultivate the little clown, both to improve the spirit servant's intelligence and to boost its power.

Before the third dungeon, the ways to enhance his strength were limited. Devouring spirit bodies was no longer effective in gaining experience, and hunting evil professions for leveling up was clearly impractical.

So, he could only enhance his strength by cultivating the spirit servant.

Looking at the infant spirit crawling around the game console, Zhang Yuanqing was a bit at a loss: "The problem is, I don't have the materials to cultivate a spirit servant..."

Simply nurturing the spirit body with Yin energy would result in slow growth and no change in quality.

Therefore, materials were needed. Different profession materials would grant the spirit body different characteristics, and the purpose of the spirit talisman was to extract the spirituality from the materials and imbue it into the spirit body.

However, not any material could be used to cultivate a spirit servant. There were two restrictions: one, the material must be Yin, and two, it must be compatible with the spirit body.

The former was easy to identify, but the latter could only be determined by the spirit body itself.

The little clown was influenced by a Musician profession artifact to become a spirit servant, so logically, its subsequent cultivation direction might lean towards this profession.

"I don't know what materials the little clown's 'constitution' is compatible with or what abilities it will gain. If it's the type with unlimited potential, the little clown could eventually take my place in battles."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but feel excited.

But the problem was, he had no materials and didn't know where to get them.

"I should go to Guan Ya, she knows a lot."

After becoming an official walker, Zhang Yuanqing had developed the habit of turning to Guan Ya for help when he had problems and to Lao Siji for advice when he didn't. Guan Ya had always played the role of a "teacher,"

teaching him how to write reports, explaining the basics of the spirit realm, and so on.

So far, except for refusing to teach him squats and demonstrating the Chicken Binding Technique, Guan Ya had been a competent teacher.

He put on a mask and a baseball cap, slipped out quietly, and took a taxi to the Kangyang District Security Bureau, bypassing the administrative building, and arrived at the two-story glass building at the back.

True Eye Squad Leader was recuperating at home, and only Guan Ya and Wang Tai were on the second floor.

Zhang Yuanqing greeted Wang Tai enthusiastically, then pulled over an office chair and sat next to Guan Ya.

Guan Ya, seeing his posture, knew something was up, turned her body to face him, and smiled:

"Move your gaze from my chest, and tell me, what's up?"

"They say big-chested women have no brains, I want to know how you manage to have both." Zhang Yuanqing used Lao Siji's favorite opening line.

"How do you know they're not fake?" Guan Ya chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Then you're in trouble!"

"Hmm?"

"When your child is born, he'll angrily say: Mom, is there such a thing as a reliable breast?"

"Hahaha." Guan Ya laughed, her chest bouncing.

Satisfying Lao Siji's fetish, Zhang Yuanqing got to the point:

"I heard there's a major inspection coming up in a few days? I haven't experienced this before, what are the items involved? Don't tell me it's a full-body check, let's talk business."

He believed that, considering the potential issues among official walkers, at least half of the personnel had problems if they were simply divided into good and bad.

Guan Ya said:

"There are two main categories: one is a physical check, and the other is a mental check.

"The former can detect physical illnesses and whether someone is under control. The latter is more complex, and if broken down, it first checks for mental health and any mental disorders, which is done by an artifact.

"Second is a lie detector test, the content of which varies. Sometimes it asks about moral values and reputation, and sometimes it directly asks if there has been any betrayal of the organization.

"Finally, there's a Q&A session, conducted by a high-level soldier, who will ask questions face-to-face and analyze you based on your responses."

I should be able to pass the lie detector test, and the mental check should be fine since I'm not mentally ill. The high-level scout is a bit concerning, I don't know if it will be a steward or an elder. Zhang Yuanqing asked:

"After I level up, I want to gather some Yin materials for experiments, but I don't know how to obtain them."

Guan Ya didn't hesitate and gave the answer:

"There are two ways: one is to submit an application to the organization and select from the organization's inventory. Depending on your merits and position, you can get a discount, which is very cost-effective.

"The second way is to go to the black market. In Songhai, there are several black markets run by civilian organizations and wild spirit realm walkers, and sometimes official walkers go there too."

"Do our branch offices allow black markets?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"Not officially, but they are tacitly permitted. Markets will always exist as long as there is trade, and prohibition won't stop them, like drugs and human trafficking." Guan Ya said:

"So the branch office tacitly permits the existence of black markets but only allows those with certain official background or connections to run them, keeping them under control. The 'Boxing King' captain in our Kangyang District is the head of the black market here."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, thought it over, and decided to check out the black market.

Getting materials from the branch office inventory would be cheaper with a discount, but the materials would be registered upon release.

If someone knowledgeable saw the materials he chose, they would know he was cultivating a spirit servant, and Zhang Yuanqing didn't want others to know he had a spirit servant, especially since it had only been a little over a month since Yuan Ting's interrogation.

"I'll go to the black market."

"Then I'll take you after work," Guan Ya said.

Lao Siji is so nice. Zhang Yuanqing nodded, then heard Guan Ya cough and say seriously:

"Later, the acting squad leader and another colleague will be coming over."

"So soon?" Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback, "Didn't the squad leader say it would be tomorrow?"

Guan Ya smiled slyly, "They heard about your bravery in rescuing the hostage despite offending the Xiahou family and admire you, so they decided to come early."

PS: Typos will be corrected later.