Chapter 90

Zhang Yuanqing once again recalled the backgrounds of the two colleagues in his mind. One was a Level 3 Fire Master, a direct descendant of a high-ranking official in the Red Fire Gang; the other was a Level 4 Saint Realm Water Ghost.

The latter, though lacking a background, was a Saint Realm practitioner. Once he accumulated enough merit, becoming a steward was a certainty.

A Saint Realm practitioner, one who could slaughter the extraordinary like slaughtering dogs.

He hoped they wouldn't be difficult colleagues to get along with. Zhang Yuanqing paddled his legs, riding the office chair back to his desk, and searched for "Soldier Lord Sect" in the official database.

After a careful read, he had a clearer understanding of the organization of evil professions.

In the forces composed of evil professions, there was a saying of "Three Associations, Two Sects, and One Asura." The so-called Three Associations referred to the three major branches of the Spirit Ability Association, composed of witch doctors.

They were the "Central Branch," "Eastern Branch," and "Southern Branch."

Each of the three branches had its own territory and rarely interacted. The position of the Eastern Branch's president had been vacant for a long time, with the two vice-presidents, the Weird Eye Judge and the Witch King, competing for the position for years.

The Two Sects referred to the Void Sect, composed of illusionists, divided into the Southern Sect and the Northern Sect based on region.

The One Asura referred to the Soldier Lord Sect, composed of bewitching demons, with the leader called Asura.

"Sister Guan Ya, why is it 'Three Associations, Two Sects, and One Asura' instead of 'One Soldier Lord'?" Zhang Yuanqing expressed his confusion to the old stewardess.

Guan Ya turned gracefully: "Are you looking at the forces of evil professions?"

Zhang Yuanqing said, "Isn't Black Wuchang from the Eastern Branch of the Spirit Ability Association? I participated in the manhunt and wanted to check out the evil organizations."

Guan Ya nodded, then fell into a daze, lost in memories:

"Asura, when I was little, my mother often used the Asura of the Soldier Lord Sect to scare me. And when my mother was little, her grandmother used to scare her with Asura too."

Good grief, Asura is a family tradition for scaring kids? Zhang Yuanqing made a joke.

"He is an invincible and terrifying existence among the Spirit Realm practitioners, like a demon god in mythology destined to destroy the world. Terrifying, invincible, but incredibly distant, that's my impression of him," Guan Ya said.

"How do the five alliance leaders compare to him?" Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.

Guan Ya thought for a moment and shook her head:

"How can I estimate the strength at that level? But in terms of reputation, the five alliance leaders are far inferior to Asura. From the saying 'Three Associations, Two Sects, and One Asura,' I think the five alliance leaders are not as strong as Asura. Well, that's just my opinion."

Wang Tai interjected, "If I had videos of their battles, I could analyze the data to determine who is stronger between the alliance leaders and Asura."

"How could you find videos of battles at that level?" Zhang Yuanqing shrugged. "Brother Wang Tai, why don't you analyze who would be stronger if I and Sister Guan Ya had a fistfight?"

Wang Tai said seriously:

"Without using props, two of you wouldn't be a match for her."

Guan Ya shook her head, what a boring man. At this moment, you should say, "Do I even need to ask? There's never a field that can't be plowed, only oxen that can be worked to death."

Yuanqing is more interesting.

...

As noon approached, Zhang Yuanqing heard a hearty laugh from the first floor:

"Ahahaha, you guys still remember me! Hello everyone, hello! I'll be coming to work more often, so feel free to find me, I'll take care of you all..."

Though the tone was bold, the voice was clear and young, and just by listening, Zhang Yuanqing could picture a young girl with her hands on her hips, laughing heartily.

A few seconds later, footsteps echoed on the steel stairs.

Zhang Yuanqing poked his head out and first saw a young girl, very short, probably in the second year of middle school, with delicate features that hadn't fully developed, and a head of fiery red hair.

She pinched her waist and climbed up with a step that ignored all relations, thumping up the stairs.

Behind the girl was a middle-aged man, wearing a white shirt and casual pants, with black-rimmed glasses, a gloomy demeanor, and messy hair, looking a bit like a darkened version of Wang Tai.

Wang Tai, is this your brother? Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but turn his head to look at Wang Tai.

Wang Tai kept his head down, not paying attention to the commotion around him.

Guan Ya smiled and stood up to welcome the returning colleagues.

"Hello, Sister Guan Ya, I'm back!" The red-haired girl raised her hand and greeted heartily. Her gaze fell on Zhang Yuanqing,

"Is this the new colleague? The one who single-handedly stormed the enemy camp and fought the claws of the Xiahou family for three days and nights, the Venerable Yuan Shitian?"

Huh? When did I fight the claws of the Xiahou family for three days and nights? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.

Guan Ya spread her palm toward the girl and introduced her to Zhang Yuanqing:

"Jiang Jingwei, a Level 3 Fire Master, 14 years old, still in middle school, um, you are still in school, right?"

"Not anymore. My dad says school is a waste of time, teaching nothing but nonsense," Jiang Jingwei walked over, tiptoed,

and slapped Zhang Yuanqing's shoulder heartily, laughing:

"Ahaha, indeed a talented person. Follow me from now on, I like young people with a sense of justice."

Zhang Yuanqing's shoulder ached from the slap, his head buzzing. He felt that the one slapping his shoulder wasn't a 14-year-old girl but a burly Lu Zhishen, who would clasp his hands and say:

Brother!

A girl's body, Lu Zhishen's soul?

At this moment, Jiang Jingwei noticed Wang Tai and was surprised:

"Eh, are you new too?"

Wang Tai: "No, we've met before."

Jiang Jingwei was even more surprised: "Impossible, why do I have no memory of you?"

Wang Tai: "..."

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing didn't know whether to comment on Wang Tai's extraordinary talent or Jiang Jingwei's thick nerves.

Guan Ya continued the introduction:

"This is Senior Teng Yuan, a Level 4 Water Ghost, temporarily serving as the squad leader."

Zhang Yuanqing refocused his attention and respectfully said: "Squad Leader Teng Yuan."

The middle-aged man had a blank look and a lifeless expression, pushing up his glasses and speaking in a hollow voice:

"Correction, the name for a Water Ghost after the first promotion is Plague God."

He turned to Zhang Yuanqing: "Not bad, young people are always full of energy and a sense of justice, I admire you. But I must remind you, this is just a job, always remember that your life is the most important. It's a sad thing to risk your life for work."

Huh? Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback; this wasn't the kind of praise and motivation he had imagined.

Teng Yuan continued:

"I formulated new regulations last night. During my temporary tenure as squad leader, everyone must strictly follow these rules. Anyone who violates them will be severely punished."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing perked up, thinking this was the new leader setting the tone and establishing rules.

Squad Leader Teng Yuan pushed up his glasses, with a negative demeanor and a hollow voice:

"First rule: No overtime!

"Second rule: Paid leave is allowed.

"Third rule: No need to clock in for work.

"Fourth rule: No need for my approval to take leave.

"Fifth rule: If you must work overtime, the overtime pay will be tripled.

"Sixth rule: Change weekends to three days off.

"Seventh rule..."

Zhang Yuanqing's mouth slowly opened, his expression stunned, his head buzzing with all sorts of thoughts:

Is this really a leader? Is there such a leader in the world? Can the True Eye Squad Leader be permanently reassigned?

As the sun set, a blue sports car drove into the underground parking garage of a hotel.

The black market was located in the three basement levels of this hotel, and besides the black market, the King of the Ring also hosted underground boxing matches.

Guan Ya parked the car and opened the door, saying, "We're here."

She put on a long trench coat to cover her impressive figure and changed her high heels to running shoes.

Guan Ya explained that while the Spirit Realm practitioners active in the black market were all prepared, wild practitioners were still scattered and unruly, not bound by rules. And with her beauty, she would surely attract the attention of lecherous men, causing trouble, so she needed to wear a coat.

Zhang Yuanqing thought this woman was as conceited as her cousin, but looking at her round, plump buttocks, her tall, impressive chest, and her delicate, charming face, he could only endure her boasting.

Under Guan Ya's lead, the two arrived at a freight elevator.

A tall, muscular man stood guard at the freight elevator entrance, his gaze fierce, scrutinizing the two as they approached.

Guan Ya took out a stack of cash from her trench coat pocket and handed it over. This was the "ticket" to enter the black market, one ten thousand per person.

The guard took it and pressed the down button.

The freight elevator door opened, and Guan Ya led Zhang Yuanqing into the elevator.

As the elevator descended, Guan Ya and Zhang Yuanqing put on masks and baseball caps.

The elevator door opened with a "ding," and a stifling atmosphere mixed with sweat and smoke, along with a cacophony of noise, rushed at them.

Zhang Yuanqing looked around and saw that the space outside the elevator was spacious. This black market was converted from an underground parking lot and divided into two main areas.

On the left was a huge arena where two muscular men, bare-chested, were fighting fiercely, with the audience cheering.

Around the arena were stalls selling drinks and food.

On the right side, the area was much quieter, with stalls neatly arranged. There weren't many people browsing and buying.

Zhang Yuanqing saw a familiar face at one of the stalls, the Big Sister Bai Long, who was leading two subordinates and leisurely browsing the stalls.

"Bai Long used to be the champion of the arena."

Guan Ya also noticed her and said with a smile, "She likes to buy things and then fight a few matches to earn back the money she spent. Spirit Realm practitioners are limited by their morality values, so earning money isn't hard, but getting rich quickly is difficult. Materials and items in the Spirit Realm are all sky-high prices."

Sky-high prices? Zhang Yuanqing started to worry about his wallet.

The two headed straight for the right area, where the stalls sold a variety of items, mostly materials, information, and strategies. There were hardly any items, and if there were, they were mostly useless.

Zhang Yuanqing stopped at a stall and pointed to a bottle containing "dark green paste," asking, "What is this?"

He sensed a powerful yin energy in the paste.

The stall owner said, "Zombie body fluid."

"How much?"

"50,000."

"Damn, so expensive?" Zhang Yuanqing was surprised and then pointed to a red crystal, asking, "What's this?"

"Explosive Stones, produced in the Fire Master副本, a consumable item," the stall owner said.

"How much?"

The stall owner glanced at him: "Two damns."

You're asking for a beating! Zhang Yuanqing: "..."

He scanned the various materials on the stall, pondered for a few seconds, and silently summoned Xiaodoubi.

Only the spirit servant knew which materials were the most suitable.

PS: Typos will be corrected later.