Time ticked away second by second until the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon. Yue Shi was still browsing the Supernatural Forum.
Besides the standard S, A, B, C, and D ranks, there was another special category for supernatural entities: Class X—those that were unclassifiable, mysterious, unknown, or had a hazard level that was difficult to define.
For example, the Supernatural Forum itself.
That’s right; the Supernatural Forum was a supernatural entity in its own right.
It had no physical form and existed solely on the internet. It possessed a "secret-keeping" property; unless a user chose to reveal their identity or address, the forum ensured every user's privacy and account security. There was absolutely no risk of being traced through the network or having personal information stolen.
In a sense, it was more like an unconventional supernatural item.
The problem was that it could not be controlled. It was impossible to judge whether it posed unknown risks or if it might undergo a malignant mutation in the future. Consequently, the Investigation Bureau classified it as a special type of supernatural entity.
“This thing seems harmless, but if even the authorities can’t find any information on its users, it’s definitely not conducive to the Bureau's management and regulation of transcendents. Especially for those involved in criminal activities, the forum's features offer far too many advantages.”
Yue Shi fell into deep thought. The Supernatural Forum seemed to be invisibly exacerbating social chaos, and it faintly stood above the Investigation Bureau...
Using it was perhaps a result of a forced compromise.
“That’s about all the useful information I can find without putting in too much effort to filter. The next goal is clear.”
Yue Shi recalled the posts he had just seen about training supernatural power. Since every transcendent's ability was different, there was no universal training method.
His ability to grow stronger by hunting supernatural creatures was a relatively easy way to enhance his strength.
Aside from that, owning a supernatural item could more directly improve one's overall power.
Supernatural items were tools imbued with supernatural, mystical power. They could be weapons, inconspicuous items like cups or coins, or even the remains of transcendents or supernatural creatures.
Their functions could be powerful and beneficial to the user, or they could only bring negative side effects. They could even be useless white elephants.
But even a useless supernatural item was still expensive.
Furthermore, some supernatural items required a price to be paid after use, especially those originating from supernatural creatures.
When Yue Shi read the introduction to supernatural items, the first thing he thought of was the gem Zhong Mo had used against the Parasitic Mushroom.
As the Parasitic Mushroom was desperately fighting back in its final moments, Zhong Mo had thrown that gem, which erupted in a burst of white light, leaving the mushroom on the verge of death instantly.
It was likely a one-time-use supernatural item.
Next, Yue Shi began searching for information regarding the Su family and the old bastard who had used him as an experimental subject years ago.
He knew very little about the Su family, only that they were a massive clan with interests in various industries.
He typed "Su family" into the search bar, and countless results popped up a second later.
However, after a few glances, Yue Shi realized that most of the posts looked like generic PR pieces from marketing accounts. They were filled with the stench of internet water armies, praising the Su family to the heavens.
He could barely extract a few scraps of useful information from the mountain of junk posts. Someone had posted that the Su family was secretly involved in many black-market industries, but the comment section was heavily moderated. Countless people accused the poster of being a hater sent by the Su family's rivals.
Initially, the poster was willing to explain calmly, claiming they had personally experienced illegal human experimentation at a Su family research institute and had barely escaped with their life.
That experience was somewhat similar to Yue Shi's.
Scrolling further down, the post devolved into a shouting match between the two sides. The poster was fighting off a crowd of critics, and the exchange was full of vitriol and profanity.
This was where the Supernatural Forum's advantages became clear. Even with the Su family's immense influence, they could only hire water armies to try and sway public opinion; they couldn't delete the post, silence the user, or dox them.
Yue Shi silently noted the poster's nickname: Legal Vanguard.
After a moment of thought, he posted a bounty in the forum's bounty section:
【Seeking information regarding an illegal live-subject research facility. This facility abducts transcendents for human experimentation and is suspected to involve the Su family. Approximately six months ago, an incident occurred at the facility, and several subjects escaped. A significant additional reward will be given for information on the facility's high-level management.】
He scrolled down and entered 100,000 in the bounty amount field.
This amount of money likely wouldn't do much. Given the Su family's vast power, simply spending money probably wouldn't unearth any useful leads.
Yue Shi treated it like fishing; there wasn't much to lose by trying.
After the bounty post was published, there were no immediate replies.
He looked out the window. It was broad daylight now; it was time to sleep.
Logging out of the forum, he closed his eyes and let himself fall into a deep, endless slumber.
This sleep was long and heavy, as if he were drifting through a rift in time.
It wasn't until the afternoon, when the dim yellow sunlight squeezed through the curtains and spilled onto Yue Shi's face, that a sharp ringtone from his phone pierced the silence of the room, waking him along with a pang of hunger.
He rubbed his bleary eyes and looked at the caller ID—Zhong Mo.
Sliding his finger across the screen to answer, Yue Shi asked directly, “What is it?”
Zhong Mo’s calm voice came through the receiver. “Back at the middle school, almost all the company's colleagues were attacked by the venomous bees. But Zhao Lin’s injuries were relatively light. After being treated at the hospital, he’s now conscious. Do you want to go visit him with me?”
Yue Shi was silent for a moment before responding, “Alright.”
The two agreed to meet at the hospital entrance. Yue Shi got up quickly, splashed his face with cold water, and headed out.
When he arrived at the hospital, Zhong Mo was standing by the roadside in a gray overcoat, holding gifts. Seeing Yue Shi, he immediately grumbled, “You came empty-handed?”
Yue Shi asked back in surprise, “Are you really just here to visit a patient?”
Zhong Mo replied, “It’s common courtesy!”
Ignoring the admiring and curious gazes from those around them, the two walked into the hospital side by side. The air was thick with the scent of disinfectant.
They asked the medical staff for Zhao Lin's ward number. The moment they pushed open the door, an unpleasant odor hit them.
Zhao Lin was lying on the hospital bed. His wounds were red and swollen with slight ulceration. His face was as pale as paper, written with terror and unease.
“Xiao Zhao, are you alright?” Zhong Mo asked with a face full of concern.
Zhao Lin didn't react at all, seemingly suffering from severe psychological trauma. Only the occasional movement of his eyes proved he had heard.
Zhong Mo offered a few more words of concern. Seeing that Zhao Lin remained numb, his concern gradually faded, and he turned to signal Yue Shi with a look.
Yue Shi stepped forward and gave Zhao Lin a blunt command. “Recount the details of the attack the day before yesterday. Did you see why Pei Yue was able to remain completely unharmed in the chaos?”
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