In the early morning, Yue Shi was eating breakfast.
Ghost poked his head out from the wall.
"What was all that noise coming from your room last night?"
"Nothing, just a nightmare," Yue Shi said, popping a piece of freshly grilled squid into his mouth.
"You have nightmares?"
Ghost found this absolutely hard to believe.
Yue Shi didn't respond, but his expression was a bit grim.
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong!
His body hadn't undergone any abnormal changes.
However, an inexplicable feeling continued to linger in his heart.
It was especially strong after seeing his future self last night.
"Why have you been eating seafood every day lately?" Ghost changed the subject.
"I have a lot in stock," Yue Shi replied dismissively.
He took out his phone to check the time.
It wasn't even 9:00 AM yet.
There were new news notifications on his phone; the violent incidents in Cuifeng City were escalating.
Though the higher-ups were suppressed the information, so it didn't seem like much on the surface, the discourse in the shadows was intensifying.
With information channels like the Supernatural Forum that weren't controlled by officials, this world had, in a sense, achieved true freedom of speech.
It was just a bit too free, to the point that the entire Supernatural Forum exuded a chaotic dance of demons and a sense of absurdity.
There were discussions about the recent events in Cuifeng City on the forum, but the heat wasn't particularly high.
This was because many cities had been experiencing strange occurrences lately.
The frequency of supernatural disasters was becoming higher.
In comparison, the increase in man-made homicides in Cuifeng City wasn't considered a major issue.
The Bureau headquarters was currently selecting new captains, which was the hottest topic on the Supernatural Forum.
Many netizens were mocking or ridiculing the captains, saying the headquarters' captains were good-looking but useless, nothing more than embroidered pillows.
Originally, the prestige of being a captain at headquarters was very high.
But ever since Yue Shi had killed four of them in succession, while they hadn't exactly become dogs on the street, their authority had indeed been greatly diminished.
The time reached 9:05 AM.
Yue Shi put down his phone, opened the extra-dimensional space entrance, and called out to Ghost.
"Get into the extra-dimensional space and get ready."
"What are you doing now?" Ghost asked in confusion, though he instinctively drifted toward the entrance anyway.
"A monster is about to appear."
Yue Shi's expression was solemn.
‘You’re the biggest monster here!’ Ghost complained internally.
Once the room was cleared of bystanders, Yue Shi summoned several Shadow Soldier ravens from the shadows.
The ravens stood in different positions, providing a 360-degree view with no blind spots to ensure not a single detail was missed.
The time gradually approached 9:08 AM.
At a certain moment.
An extremely faint, abnormal fluctuation appeared by Yue Shi's right hand.
If one weren't paying attention, it would be easily overlooked.
Fortunately, he was prepared.
At the exact moment the invitation appeared, in the split second the abnormal fluctuation flickered...
Yue Shi suddenly tore open space.
...
Bureau headquarters.
The selection for the new captains had entered the finals today.
"Where is Hehuan? Why don't I see him?" Avatar asked.
Mary Sue flipped her long hair, which constantly shifted colors.
"You don't know him? He’s probably feeling the heat again and went off to find someone for dual cultivation."
"Heh, he really is hungry. He dares to be absent on an occasion like this?"
"Yesterday, when he saw those contestants, his eyes lit up. He probably wanted to get lost in the throes of passion right then and there, oblivious to the world."
"The fact that he held out until now is already quite impressive for him."
"Originally, people at headquarters wouldn't easily fall for his tricks and have their essence plucked."
"But now, since headquarters has absorbed so many newcomers, he can certainly have his fill."
"You all know Hehuan can stomach anything."
"I heard he once got with an ostrich and gained an ability called Self-Deception."
"Really? That’s a bit too much, isn't it?"
The captains chattered amongst themselves, one after another.
The judges' table was filled with a merry atmosphere.
They all knew that whoever was absent would become the center of the conversation.
Somewhere in an unknown space at headquarters.
A woman wearing a hood was constantly writing and drawing in a notebook.
A strange yellow light glowed in her eyes as she muttered to herself.
"So hard to draw."
"I can't even find a single string of fate."
"Not even an ill-fated string!"
"Could it be that not a single person likes him!"
"Good heavens, why does a virgin have progeny?"
"Wait? There’s another faint, erased dashed line... another child?!"
The woman's expression turned from shock to gossip.
Having children is a good thing!
Her hands didn't stop, and her strokes were particularly heavy.
Strangely, the marks the pen tip left on the notebook were extremely faint.
One could only vaguely see a manga character with very long hair.
The woman seemed to be in the middle of creating a manga.
She continuously wrote text, trying to give this character more interesting settings.
But no matter how many times she wrote, the words would quickly vanish.
"Hmph, I won't give up."
"There isn't a single person in this world I can't ship!"
Just as the woman was in a burst of inspiration, passionately creating...
"You're doing those undignified things again."
An aged voice sounded behind her.
Without even turning her head, the woman retorted sarcastically.
"How can I compare to you, Minister? You’re always so dignified~"
"But then again, no matter how undignified I am, doesn't headquarters still have to rely on me?"
"Those rebels from the independent organizations all found their true loves at headquarters, which is why they’re willing to serve us."
"Otherwise, who else at headquarters has a better way of handling these people?"
The Minister was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Your idea is quite good and deserves praise."
"But can't you change the method? Just give those people normal romantic pairings."
"Why must you always do such... unsightly things?"
"Headquarters is practically turning into a den of vice."
Hearing this, the woman stopped her pen, stood up, and shoved her creation fiercely in front of the Minister.
"Who are you calling unsightly?"
"This is clearly just sweet fluff!"
"You're just an old fogey who can't keep up with the times, and yet you have the nerve to criticize me?"
The Minister saw two pairs of lychees stacked together, painfully closed his eyes, and waved his hand.
"Forget it, as long as you're happy."
"That's more like it."
The woman sat back down and resumed her drawing.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention something."
"Earlier, I secretly drew Black Guanyin into my manga. But after I finished, she found out and destroyed my hard work."
"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"
The Minister's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What did you say!"
"How... how could you dare?"
The woman said indifferently, "I'm already Rank 5, and you're Rank 5 now too. Could we possibly be afraid of her?"
"The peak of the real world used to be Rank 4. No matter how brilliant Black Guanyin is, at most she's only just broken through now."
"We’ll soon have even more Rank 5s on our side. In a many-against-one fight, we’ll definitely win."
Hearing such grand talk, the Minister looked like he had lost all will to live.
Seeing that the woman completely failed to realize the severity of the situation, the Minister couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
"The peak of the real world used to be Rank 4, but was Black Guanyin in the real world back then?"
"She's been venturing into forbidden zones alone for how many years now!"
"Do you really think she’s so kind-hearted that she’d willingly be a watchdog?"
"Blocking the intrusion of supernatural creatures from forbidden zones is just something she does in passing."
"Think with the end of your colon for a second. Would she do something that has absolutely no benefit for her?"
Clatter.
The pen slipped from the woman's hand as she turned her head in shock.
"But didn't you say before that that madwoman was piling up Rank 5s by any means necessary?"
The Minister sighed deeply. "Before, we were only Rank 4; our level wasn't high enough."
"It was only after my breakthrough that I finally understood the intent behind some of Ms. Tang's strange actions."
"I'm afraid many things were just smoke screens she released to deliberately mislead others."
The woman was dumbfounded. "Then what exactly does she want to do?"
Minister: "How would I know what a madwoman is thinking?"
Rate on N.U.
