When Meng Chao returned to the ward, Qin Hu was still letting his mind wander while he sat in the medical cabin with his legs crossed. He looked like an old monk meditating.
“Mr. Hu?” Meng Chao called out to him tentatively. “What are you thinking about? You seem really focused.”
When Qin Hu saw that he had returned, his eyes shone, and he jumped out of the medical cabin. He went forward to hold Meng Chao’s hand and shook it with everything he had.
“I was thinking about what you said just now. You’re right, normal people and superhumans are like fish and water, earth and shoots. Without water, there’s no fish, and without fertile soil, there’s no trees. A’chao, you’re right!”
“A’chao?” Meng Chao shuddered.
“That’s right, A’chao. I’ve thought things through, completely!” Qin Hu said with a strong sense of righteousness. “You only get to live that many years, and it’ll be boring if you work hard for the sake of profit and fame. If you want to live as a human, you need some dreams.
“Since you asked me so passionately to help you with your business and I’m a senior in the field, I don’t have the heart to refuse you. In the future, let’s work together and make Dragon City a brighter place. All the normal children will be able to live happily!”
“Hey, why did you change so much?” Meng Chao asked in puzzlement. “Is it because the doctor told you that your spirit energy has stagnated and there’s a possibility that you will not be able to cultivate anymore for the rest of your life?”
“No way.” Qin Hu laughed boisterously. “When you become a hunter in the wild, it means you’re stretching your neck out constantly, and you need to be prepared to die at any moment. This time, everyone but me in Frenzied Saber died. I’m already considered very lucky. No matter what price I have to pay, I can accept it.
“But I’ve really thought things through. I want to form a business with you, bring blessings to the people, and develop Dragon City together.”
“Ah… yeah, that works too.”
Meng Chao scratched his head. He did not regard Qin Hu with disdain because he was unable to fight at the level of someone at Heaven Realm for the time being.
After all, what he regarded with importance was Qin Hu’s rich experience in the world and his connections. These would not disappear just because his spirit energy stagnated.
Besides, Meng Chao felt like he could learn a lot of things from Qin Hu, such as his perfect acting skills, which allowed him to lie without ever changing his expression.
He set aside the matter of them forming a business for the time being and told Qin Hu about what he had learned from Lu Siya.
“The abnormal beast research department?” Qin Hu’s eyes lit up. He grabbed Meng Chao’s shoulders and said, “A’chao, I didn’t expect for that woman to be from the abnormal beast research department. This is an organization that has been really influential lately. Even though they have just been built, there are already a lot of rumors about them in the circle. I heard that they figured out a series of important cases and even stole the adjudicators’ limelight.
“There are even people who say that the top Deity Realm elites in Dragon City stand behind the abnormal beast research department. They have an endless supply of resources, martial arts, and secret information. They even have a certain degree of power that allows them to strike first before reporting to the authorities. They can do whatever they want in Dragon City!”
Meng Chao really wanted to tell Qin Hu that the “woman” he was talking about might be listening to them.
He opened his mouth, but did not know how to say it, so he just let it go.
Qin Hu was experienced. He knew that things with the White Spirit had not ended just yet, so since a powerful organization like the abnormal beast research department had taken over the case, he struck his chest and promised that he would definitely not talk about it to cause himself trouble.
Meng Chao knew the weight of the situation as well. Before the mystery of the White Spirit was uncovered, if he recklessly revealed such secrets, he would just end up alerting the enemy.
Then, should he accept Lu Siya’s invitation?
He had to think this question through.
Meng Chao immersed himself in medical fluid and rubbed his forehead.
Since the ending of the northern offense had completely changed, Dragon City should be in a much better condition compared to his previous life. At the very least, they should not run into enemies they could not hope to win against on the battlefield.
Now, their main problem was the Nine Great Supernatural Entities.
Unfortunately, in his previous life, during the Monster War, he was just a normal citizen. He did not pay much attention to the news and war reports about the Supernatural Entities. He only paid attention to the White Spirit because it was related to Qin Hu.
Meng Chao was immersed in his thoughts. ‘Even if I heard about them, I was not paying attention and forgot about it once some time passed. Perhaps I’ll be able to remember more things after the abnormal beast research department gathers more information.
‘Judging by the time, we’re only a few years before the Nine Great Supernatural Entities start causing trouble. They should be in a state of incubation and evolution, just like the White Spirit. It was only a Hell Beast when we met it.
‘If we kill the remaining eight of the Supernatural Entities, will we be able to completely win the Monster War?’
There was also the matter of the only clue that led to his younger sister’s corruption and transformation into the Dark Witch—the mysterious hospital in which his mother had once worked. Up till now, aside from that picture of the X-shaped eyes, he did not have any other discoveries.
And just what sort of secrets were held by Ghost Tribe, the black skeleton training camp he went to in his previous life? He might not be able to get any answers if he stayed in Agricultural University.
‘Will I get more information from the abnormal beast research department?’
Also, there was the matter of Kindling.
Meng Chao was beginning to find Kindling, the system that had awakened in him, to be really bizarre.
In the beginning, it judged Lin Chuan as a pseudo heroic citizen. Later, he was demoted to special citizen, and at the end, he was demoted to normal citizen. Could it be at least a little reliable with its ranking system?
Just what sort of system did Kindling use to judge the different ranks of citizens?
Could it be his subjective views?
When he treated Lin Chuan as his idol, he was a pseudo heroic citizen. When he began suspecting Lin Chuan, he turned into a special citizen. In the end, when Meng Chao trusted him again, he turned into a normal citizen.
Also, Meng Chao noticed that when it came to the skills Kindling gave him, they were either ones that he had learned in his previous life or those he had come into contact with in this life.
In other words, Kindling did not create something out of nothing and give him a brand new skill.
Similarly, the reward of repairing his main meridians was actually just the 1,024 branch meridians using spirit energy to constantly nourish his withered main meridians after they were completely cleared. They could be cleared and repaired bit by bit, and the reward just shortened the time.
It seemed like Kindling was not omniscient.
This made Meng Chao sigh a little.
He did not want to turn into an all-knowing, all-powerful puppet. Even if it was for the sake of a bright and just target, he refused to.
‘There is definitely some kind of scientific logic behind Kindling. It should be related to the mysterious explosion at the underground ruin under the Supernatural Tower.’
Meng Chao would definitely solve this mystery.
He wanted to learn more secrets that have been hiding in Dragon City over the past half a century.
He also wanted to learn the secrets of Dragon City from the dark, chaotic, and bloody era before the Supernatural Tower was built.
The abnormal beast research department seemed like a really good entrypoint.
In the end, Meng Chao told Lu Siya that he was still a student, so he had to prioritize his studies. It was impossible for him to become a full-time special service agent in the abnormal beast research department.
But if there was some kind of mission that required him to use his professional skills to fight against the evil abnormal beasts, he would naturally not refuse to carry out the duties of a good Dragon Citizen.
However, it was impossible for him to force himself to carry out a mission that was beyond his abilities and when he knew nothing about it.
Lu Siya told him to rest easy about it.
Since her fighting strength was not great in the past, her position in the abnormal beast research department was not high. Even if she strove to get the dangerous and important missions, it was difficult to get them for the time being.
“We’ve just completed a very dangerous mission, so we’ll definitely need time to recover. Let’s go at it slowly,” Lu Siya said. “As for your wages, don’t worry about them either. We won’t mistreat any of our heroes.”
“Hero?”
Meng Chao smiled. He said that he did not wish to be treated better than how people were awarded for contributing to the frontlines, but he hoped that he could read various documents from the abnormal beast research department, such as the data that they currently had about the abnormal beasts, the cases of abnormal beasts invading Dragon City, the process of how they captured these abnormal beasts, and other such information.
Also, he had a special request. He hoped that he could join the subsequent operations to uncover the mystery behind the White Spirit.
“I can request it, but I can’t give you any guarantees,” Lu Siya said. “Right now, aside from the three small holes on the White Spirit’s spine, we don’t have any clues, and we don’t know how to carry out any following operations, but I believe that as the person who went through this whole thing personally, you will be of great help if you join.”
Aside from that, Lu Siya also promised Meng Chao that she would use the name of the abnormal beast research department to apply for war achievements.
After all, most of the signs left under Raging Waves were burnt by the spirit energy tsunami, and it was very difficult for them to find any proof of a fight. If they waited for the government to slowly conduct their research and approve of it, it would take a lot of time.
But if the abnormal beast research department got involved, in a few days, he would be honored as he should and get the resources he deserved as reward.
The rewards from his war achievements, the wages from the agreement he signed when he joined the mine exploration, and the double refinement provided by the Red Radiance Jades and Blue Origin Crystals… It was just as Qin Hu had said.
Many of the superhumans might have gained a lot of amazing benefits from the battle, but even if the benefits of dozens of Meng Chao’s peers were added together, they would not be as high as his. He could be considered to be the greatest winner in the entire northern offense.
Just like that, half a day later, Meng Chao returned to the east lake base with his pockets full of rewards.
“Meng Chao!”
He had already contacted his tutor, coursemates, and his best friend while he was on the medical airship.
Everyone knew that he went to a mine exploration mission, and there was even a possibility that he went under Graveyard Forest. The crystal mine explosion a few days ago had been really fierce. They lost contact with a few of the mine exploration teams, and everyone thought that he had probably lost his life, which made them really anxious. They did not know how they should tell his family about it.
Once they learned that he was still alive, they were naturally delighted and went to the entrance of the base to wait for him.
Upon seeing him, Chu Feixiong was so excited that he leapt more than ten meters with just three steps and enveloped him in a bear hug. He squeezed him so tightly that Meng Chao saw stars.
“I just knew that you wouldn’t die so easily! You’re Ace Student Chao!”
Chu Feixiong laughed and spread his fingers to slap Meng Chao’s back so hard that Meng Chao was about to start coughing up blood. Then, he let go of him, though he did not seem to have had his fill of slapping Meng Chao’s back yet. He took a few bodybuilding poses, and his pectorals jumped.
“But you might not be able to compare to me, Ace Student Chao. You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you about it. Guess what I went through in Graveyard Forest? I practically ran into one of those legendary miracles!”