ââ¦â¦â Li Hao was more resigned than ever. So that hadnât been Chen Jianâs full strength? And I thought Iâve gotten way stronger!
Liu Long ran some quick calculations. âJudging from the looks of you and your ascension to Slayer yesterday, youâve likely digested both cubes of mysterious power. I agreed to give you two more in a few days, but looks like this is the day!â
âChief!â The rest of the team looked sharply at Liu Long. Another two cubes?
The teamâs store of mysterious power didnât belong to Liu Long alone. Although everyone thought that Li Hao was very capable, theyâd gathered this energy by jointly risking their lives. This decision wasnât very fair.
âLi Hao will be allotted less if we all survive this mission!â Liu Long smiled. âIf he dies, weâll split his share. If we all die, then none of this matters!â
The group settled back down. That made more sense.
The captain looked at Li Hao with a soft sigh. âYou might not understand, Li Hao, but I still want to emphasize how precious mysterious power is. Killing one Starlight typically yields five to ten cubes of mysterious power.
âA Darkmoon yields twenty to forty. I donât know about those ranked higher because weâve never killed one.
âThe Demon Hunters have gathered one hundred and twenty cubes from five demonic supernaturals. Weâve absorbed most of itâsome having been absorbed by those who are now dead. These twelve cubes are all thatâs left of more than a dozen lives!â
He thought for a moment before laughing at himself. âTwenty-two brothers, to be exact. That translates to roughly six cubes per lifeâand they were all Inspectorate elites! Youâll have taken a life if you absorb another two more!â
Li Hao suddenly found a weighty heft to the energy. Twenty-two people dead in exchange for one hundred and twenty cubes of energy! The price was too high!
âChief⦠is it worth it?â he suddenly asked.
Liu Long threw his head back with manic laughter.
âYes! Because⦠we are justice!â
Upholders of justice who defended Silver City!
Li Hao turned over the sentence in his mouth. He used to find the declaration laughable, but mirth was the last thing on his mind in this moment. It didnât seem that funny anymore. Justice?
Perhaps!
He wasnât too familiar with Liu Long or any of the Demon Hunters. Li Hao had rarely come in contact with the law enforcement team during his year at the agency. After a couple days in their company, however, his impression changed again and again. The first time that Liu Long spoke of defending justice, Li Haoâs only reaction was heh!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Hypocrite!
How is killing and looting under the guise of justice anything close to the side of good? Thatâs just talk to comfort and convince yourself!
But somehow, these fools treated it as gospel. Of course Li Hao couldnât express his true sentiments. It wasnât a bad thing to play along, in any case.
Liu Longâs second mention of justice sent some doubts swirling. Was the safeguarding he spoke of truly protection, or was it executing villainous supernaturals in order to obtain greater strength? Was that still justice?
Li Hao was also curious about one pointâwhy did the various Demon Hunters pursue the supernatural domain? What were their goals? Did they want to grow stronger?
Being supernatural seemed very dangerous. Mundanes sometimes lived just as well, if not better, than their otherworldly counterparts. If it wasnât for the scarlet shadow targeting him, Li Hao might not pursue this field.
His teacher once mentioned supernatural organizations. The Night Watchers were oneâLi Hao knew of them, just not their name. He hadnât thought much at the time, feeling that they and him were of two different worlds. Now he was forced to dive headfirst into this realm.
Li Hao voiced none of his myriad of thoughts. He liked staying silent, but sometimes chattered with other intentions. Heâd put on a mask a year ago and customarily wore a false smile.
â¦â¦
Li Hao followed the team captain on a repeat visit to the treasury; the entire team trailed behind. Liu Yan gushed with affection and wrapped her arm around the young man.
âYouâre really something, Little Hao Hao!â The woman was wreathed in smiles. âYou joined us only a few days ago, but this is your second time absorbing energy. When big sis here joined the team, three full months separated my first two times!â
Li Hao slightly shrugged his shoulders. Yo, sis, can you not be so friendly? Youâre basically clinging onto me, thatâs enough of that!
âWhy are you shrugging your shoulders? Are they sore? Shall big sis rub them for you tonight?â
ââ¦â¦â Li Hao had nothing to say. She was⦠impossible to establish boundaries with.
Up ahead, Liu Long didnât even blink at Liu Yanâs antics. He couldnât be bothered. Of the five remaining Demon Hunters, each came with their own stories and thoughts. Twenty-two comrades-in-arms had died since the teamâs founding and the survivors were full of various motivations and desires. Liu Long knew, he knew everything, but sometimes wasnât willing to say anything.
Who knew if there was a tomorrow in store for them?
Creak!
The treasury door swung open. Mysterious power was stored in the third room; Li Hao hadnât known what the first two rooms contained on his previous visit. Liu Yan took on the role of enthusiastic tour guide this time.
âThere are three rooms here, mysterious power is stored in the third. Do you know whatâs in the first two?â
âHot weapons?â
âNope, how are those things worthy of being stored in the treasury?â Liu Yan chuckled. âSupernatural objects such as weapons, books, diaries, and others are held in the first room. Apart from the ones weâve killed, weâve also collected some from other sources. Itâs a bunch of knickknacks, but they should be worth something. We just find it difficult to categorize them!â
Li Hao nodded with understanding. âWhat about the second room?â
âThe second room?â Liu Yan remained merry, but a sidelong glance from Li Hao found her smile⦠not exactly typical. âThe second roomâs interesting! Regular people canât enter itâitâs the teamâs most important area, even more so than the room with mysterious power! But a word of warning from your big sis, best stay out of it!â
Is it treasure? What kind of treasure canât even be looked at?
Liu Long abruptly bestowed a cold look at the woman. âHave you had enough fun yet?â
Liu Yan tittered and let go of Li Haoâs neck. âDonât be so rough, chief,â she simpered. âSo Iâve been neglecting you, hmm? Are you jealous?â
An unmoved Liu Long didnât grow angry. He simply glanced at the second door, fell silent, and continued to the third room.
Li Hao looked at the second room as well, truly curious now. The quiet team captain showed irritation only when Liu Yan mentioned the second secret chamber. What could possibly be inside?
There was no time to ponder as Yun Yao had already opened the door to the third room. The female team doctor was a taciturn individual, but she nodded smilingly every time Li Hao looked at her. She didnât seem as standoffish as Liu Yan had saidâshe seemed very welcoming.
Mysterious power of various colors was visible within the ice crystal cover. Ten cubes were placed under different covers.
âThese ten are all attributed,â Yun Yao introduced. âThey come from three different supernaturals!â
âThis is fire attribute energy.â She pointed at flaming-red power on the left. âIts supernatural was decent at peak Starlight. In martial master terms, he was a peak Slayer of Tens.
âDonât underestimate a peak Starlight! Big brother Liu was already a Sunderer during that mission and strictly speaking, stronger than our opponent. Despite that, we still sacrificed a few people before killing the supernatural. His power of flame was very strong. A light graze envelops the bodyâthose who died were burned to ashes!â
The portly Chen Jian suddenly lifted his shirt to show his chest. A massive scar occupied his skin instead of chest hair.
âBe careful of this guy, Li Hao!â he laughed brightly. âThis is the mark he left on me. The tiniest bit of flame almost burned me to death!â
The young man was well aware of how strong Chen Jian was, particularly in terms of defense. However, that was pure physical defense. The barest graze of fire from mysterious power had almost burned the team tank to death!
Thatâs terrifying! Li Hao nodded with solemnity.
âThere was a massive fire in the southern outskirts of the city in 1727. 128 people died and investigation after the fact found that a short circuit resulted in the immolation of the factory. However, eyewitness reports say that a tendril of fire descended from the skies that day and reduced the factory to ashâ¦â
A surprised Liu Long glanced at Li Hao before inclining his head. âYouâre well read, that case is closed! This fellow was behind it. He was a temp at the factory before he became supernatural, but he had sticky fingers. He was fired for it and socially ostracized because of his personality. After he crossed over, he returned to Silver City for vengeance!
âHow is someone like that worthy of such powers?â snorted the man. âThe heavens are blind! Which one of the Demon Hunters isnât stronger than that bastard? Fuck the Heaven Favored! Heaven Favored is more like Heaven Blind As A Bat!â
He was both resentful and contemptuous that people like these could become supernatural. Heaven Favored? Bullshit!
Li Hao kept silentâso it really was this dead supernatural behind it. Heâd paid more attention to that case due to the connection with a conflagration. Survivors all spoke of arson and not a short circuit, but the case was ultimately closed based on a short circuit burning the factory down.
He thought it was an unsettled case, but it turned out that the killer was already dead!
Yun Yao pointed at the second crystal cover. âThe energy of lightning is inside! A newly ascended Darkmoon wielded it. This kind of energy is so strong that many people died to itâit took both Brother Liu and Liu Yan to kill that supernatural!â
Beaming brightly, Liu Yan raised her eyebrow with pride. âI made the final blow!â
Li Hao stuck his thumb up, now that was impressive!