His expression flickered. He hadn't interacted much with Old Zhao. After a moment's thought, he asked, "What happened?"
Hu Xiang sighed and explained in detail, "It happened yesterday. His wife woke up in the morning and found Old Zhao had hanged himself."
"Hanged?" Su Chen repeated.
"It definitely wasn't suicide. Old Zhao had a happy life. He was close to becoming a professional — he had no reason to do it." Hu Xiang lowered his voice. "Our people dissected his cerebral cortex and found signs of damage. The suspicion is he was interrogated before he died."
"But he was just a low-ranking City Patrol soldier. He wouldn't know any secrets. Unless..."
Su Chen could see where Hu Xiang was going and picked up his train of thought, frowning. "You suspect it was because of me?"
Hu Xiang tried to play it down. "It's just a guess. Don't pressure yourself over it. After all, he was only with you briefly, exchanged a few words. Even if it is because of you..."
"It's possible." Su Chen's expression hardened as his thoughts turned to the Spatial Crystal.
Certain things that happened that day hadn't been fully explained — for instance, whether Su Chen had found anything besides the Saint Word Stone.
Hu Xiang was really the only one who might know, but as a 2nd-tier professional, he wasn't easy to handle. So whoever was looking had gone after anyone else connected.
Though he had his suspicions, Su Chen said, "Some fanatics might go after everyone even remotely connected to me, just for revenge."
"You're saying it's Zhou..." Hu Xiang's heart skipped a beat as a single syllable escaped his lips.
"Don't play dumb. You were thinking the same thing." Su Chen called him out.
"But was it really necessary? Old Zhao — he was nobody..." Hu Xiang sighed.
Su Chen fell silent. In all the intelligence he'd come across, he'd never seen any reference to a Spatial Crystal. Its value had to be immense.
The vendetta for a murdered son plus the recovery of a Spatial Crystal — the other side had more than enough motivation to act.
Su Chen's chest tightened. Zhou Xian was a 3rd-tier professional. If he struck personally, there was no way to withstand him.
But then again, the fact that Old Zhao had been targeted first meant Zhou Xian probably didn't dare move openly. The man was still under suspicion, and Old Yuan was watching him like a hawk.
Old Zhao's death was likely just intelligence gathering.
"Does the City Patrol have any compensation policy for situations like this?" he asked.
"Yes, it'll be treated as a line-of-duty death. His family will be taken care of — don't worry." Seeing that Su Chen still thought to ask about this, Hu Xiang's expression softened, though he couldn't help but warn, "Watch your back."
This visit had mainly been to tip Su Chen off — a gesture of goodwill.
The matter had already been suppressed internally within the City Patrol. No word would leak out.
Su Chen shot him a glance. "You should watch yours too."
"Me?" Hu Xiang was genuinely startled.
Su Chen cracked a grin — the kind that made Hu Xiang's skin crawl.
"Seems you've forgotten — aside from Old Zhao, there's one other person in the City Patrol who looks rather chummy with me."
Hu Xiang froze. His face drained of all color in an instant.
Su Chen gave a regretful sigh. "And here Old Zhao met with trouble, and the first thing you did was rush to warn me. That kind of devotion is truly touching."
"Stop." Hu Xiang's face turned the color of overcooked liver. He'd been too close to see it, but Su Chen's reminder snapped everything into focus.
"Your wife, she—" Su Chen began, only for Hu Xiang to turn and bolt out the door. But he doubled back almost immediately to exchange contact information.
"Stay in touch..." He hurried off.
"The Spatial Crystal..." Su Chen frowned. "I've already absorbed it. There's no way to cough it back up, and no way to explain it."
The convenience of the Storage Space was self-evident. "Right — there's also the Shadow Evasion Cloak I left at the academy."
That thing was at least a 1st-tier item. Selling it casually would net five thousand gold, easy. Leaving it under his bed wasn't exactly safe either.
'Better grab it while it's still daylight. Head back to the academy.'
Su Chen expertly plucked a strand of hair and wedged it in the door crack. After a word to Old Sun, he set off for Nanfeng Academy.
............
Whoosh—
Fierce wind howled across the wasteland. Overhead, black lightning writhed and tangled, its thunder echoing across the land.
"This is the mechanical branch..." Zhang Hongbo's collar snapped violently in the gale. Before him stood a ruined steel fortress, the portion exposed above the barren surface alone nearly a thousand meters tall.
Its surface was welded together from rust-pocked metal plates, etched with countless pits and gashes of varying depths. Dark red rust clung to it like dried blood.
The metal doors had long since vanished, leaving only a pitch-black entrance of unfathomable depth, radiating an unsettling aura of decay.
"Let's gather information first." Zhang Hongbo issued his orders. Behind him, scouts filed out in formation, carrying an array of instruments as they cautiously approached the fortress.
............
Emerging from the dormitory building, Su Chen glanced back. The Shadow Evasion Cloak was safely tucked into his Storage Space. There was nothing left here worth lingering for.
"Bro Su, it is you!" A voice rang out excitedly from nearby. Su Chen turned to see several young men with looks of eager admiration.
"You... you... you're... Liu Liang?"
Under the leading one's hopeful and anxious gaze, Su Chen finally dredged up his name.
Liu Liang exhaled in relief. His underlings were standing right there — if Su Chen actually hadn't remembered, that would've been mortifying.
"What is it?" Su Chen asked, puzzled.
Liu Liang hurried forward and, rather than trying to play buddy-buddy, spoke in a low voice. "Bro Su, someone's been asking around about you recently."
"Oh?" Su Chen's eyes narrowed at the words. "Who?"
"Uh... it's the Sister-in-Law's husband..." Liu Liang looked slightly uncomfortable saying it.
"Who?" Su Chen was baffled.
"You know — Teacher Jiang's husband..." Liu Liang clarified.
Su Chen's expression darkened. "Qi Chuan."
"Oh, so his name's Qi Chuan..." Liu Liang scratched his head. "Anyway, it's him. He's been sneaking around, pumping us for information about you."
"Everything from day one — down to what you ate. He asked about all of it."
"But don't worry, Bro Su. My lips are sealed." Liu Liang puffed out his chest proudly.
Su Chen looked him up and down, then shook his head. "No need for that. None of this is worth hiding. If he comes asking again, go ahead and charge him — the guy's rich and gullible."
"Huh?" Liu Liang stared blankly at Su Chen's retreating figure.
"What'd he say, boss?" His underlings crowded around. "Seemed like Bro Su was kind of annoyed?"
Liu Liang lifted his chin and scoffed. "What do you know? That's a sign of closeness. Would you give attitude to a stranger?"
Most of the Supervision guards had already withdrawn from the academy. Su Chen walked and pondered. 'Why is that guy still obsessing over that business? My strength has already been exposed — he still can't figure it out?'
'Wait — could Zhou Xian be behind him?' Su Chen's stride halted abruptly, his expression turning grim. 'It's not impossible.'
'Qi Chuan, Qi Chuan... you and I really are destined, aren't we?'
He returned to the Supervision Department by mid-afternoon, only to find Old Sun waiting for him at the entrance.
"Brother, you're finally back!" The rotund man greeted him with his usual warmth.
"Something up, Brother Sun?" Su Chen asked politely.
"Inspector Yuan asked me to deliver something to you..." Old Sun's beady eyes darted left and right, then he pointed toward the room.
"Sure." Su Chen opened the door, and his footsteps halted abruptly. He looked down at the floor by his feet, his expression clouding over.
"What's wrong, brother?" Old Sun called from behind.
"Nothing..." Su Chen walked in, his face betraying nothing. Once Old Sun was inside too, the man shut the door with practiced ease and said with a grin, "First-class Supervision Guard Su Chen, on behalf of the Supervision Department, I congratulate you."
"Congratulate me?" Su Chen was clueless.
"Indeed! Your 17th Patrol Squad raided a black market in the South City District this morning. The entire squad has been awarded a third-class merit."
"What?" Su Chen was even more bewildered, but then Old Sun continued, "In recognition of your outstanding contribution, you've been specially granted access to the Gale Hunter class data."
Su Chen suddenly understood. All that maneuvering — it was all to give him the Gale Hunter information.
"But I wasn't even there. Is that going to be a problem?" Su Chen asked.
"The key intel came from you in the first place. You weren't on scene because you needed rest." Old Sun frowned, looking mildly displeased. "This is a collective honor. You earned it."
Su Chen fell silent. They'd thrown together this whole awards ceremony just to wrap the vinegar — the real purpose — in a presentable dumpling.
With a collective honor attached, his never-met colleagues from the 17th Patrol Squad shouldn't have any objections either.
With that, Old Sun opened his silver wristband, pulling up a virtual display. Lines of text materialized in the air.
[Discovered 2nd-tier superior class: Gale Hunter. Upon completion of advancement conditions, advancement will be possible.]
[Advancement Condition 1: Covertly hunt and kill a 2nd-tier professional without being detected by anyone else.]
[Advancement Condition 2: Three F-grade body-tempering methods must reach Master level.]
'It actually requires hunting a 2nd-tier professional?'
Su Chen was taken aback. Even a lower-level 2nd-tier was still 2nd-tier.
The difficulty of advancing to a 2nd-tier class was a steep jump. Three F-grade body-tempering methods at Master level was also required — though for him, that part was actually the easier obstacle.
These were the surface requirements. There were also hidden prerequisites, like maxing out the class development to 100%. Ideally, the 1st-tier class should be Gale Walker.
At minimum, it needed to be a speed-oriented mid-1st-tier class, and the advancement process itself might encounter complications.
But if the foundational class was a related peak-tier one, compatibility would be far smoother.
'Hunt a 2nd-tier...' Su Chen mulled it over. And without anyone noticing, at that.
"It is a superior 2nd-tier class, after all. The requirements are no joke," Old Sun agreed.
"True..." Su Chen replied with an easy smile. "By the way, Brother Sun — please don't have anyone clean my room in the future."
"Clean your room?" Old Sun blinked, looking awkward. "We don't offer that service. This isn't a hotel."
He'd actually assumed Su Chen was requesting it.
"All the better." Su Chen escorted Old Sun out with perfect courtesy, and the moment the door clicked shut, his face went cold.
Someone had been in his room. The strand of hair wedged in the door crack had vanished. He'd confirmed its exact position with Spiritual Sight before leaving — there was no mistake.
'They have people in the Supervision Department too.' Su Chen felt a vast, invisible net closing around him, and his expression soured. 'Whoever slipped in unnoticed can't be low-ranking.'
"Wait — I almost forgot!" Su Chen shot to his feet, eyes gleaming. "I'm not alone anymore!"
"I'm a damn VIP now!"
"This is my teacher's turf! What am I cowering for?"
His new identity hadn't fully sunk in yet. The moment the realization hit, Su Chen bolted from his room and intercepted Old Sun at the elevator.
"Brother Sun, I need to check the surveillance footage. Someone entered my room!" Su Chen said bluntly.
The smile on Old Sun's face faltered, replaced by surprise. "Entered your room? How could that be? This floor has access restrictions..."
"I'm certain. I need to check the surveillance. Just this floor's footage — that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Su Chen pressed.
"Hmm..." Old Sun's expression shifted through several calculations. "No problem at all. Follow me."
The two went to the monitoring station. Old Sun had the footage from his room's corridor pulled up — from the moment he'd left to the moment Old Sun had knocked on his door. In the interim, only a handful of people had passed through. Not one had entered his room.
Old Sun pulled him into an empty room next door and whispered, "These cameras are standard models. Plenty of classes can fool them. If someone really did get in, it won't be easy to track down."
"I need to deal with someone." Su Chen wasn't surprised. If they'd dared to enter, they wouldn't be easy to catch on camera.
But discovering his new identity had given him a fresh idea.
"Who?" Old Sun jumped, startled. He'd thought this young lord was the composed type this morning; by afternoon, the true colors were showing?
"Qi Chuan." Su Chen spoke the name.
'Well, Qi Chuan my friend — the tables have turned.'
"Qi Chuan... hold on..." Old Sun flicked through his virtual display and quickly pulled up a file. "Qi Chuan, Level-1 Researcher at the Ruins Research Department... became a 2nd-tier professional four months ago..."
'A genuine 2nd-tier — he advanced even faster than Jiang He.' Su Chen speculated silently.
"Already married. Wife is... Jiang He?" Old Sun hadn't batted an eye at the 2nd-tier part, but now his expression shifted. "That Jiang He — isn't she the daughter of Ruins Research Department Chief Jiang Rong? Going after her husband..."
"They have no feelings left for each other," Su Chen explained, then gave a condensed version of how he'd gotten involved with Jiang He in order to gain entry to Nanfeng Academy.
He left out the critical details, saying only that Qi Chuan had been causing him trouble because of the affair.
"Gulp... brother, you really are something." Old Sun swallowed hard, the "envy" in his eyes practically shooting out like sparks.