Qi Chuan's records were clean. His parents had died in the Mist Murder Incident over thirty years ago. The only thing he had over Su Chen was the lack of a refugee label.
Jiang He certainly wouldn't be lifting a finger for him. Going forward, whoever moved to help Qi Chuan would reveal the thread to pull on.
'Black Buddha, Evil Gods, Zhou Xian...'
'I just killed your son and took some stuff — is that really worth this relentless pursuit?'
As he walked, Su Chen grumbled to himself.
............
Through hazy mist, violet-blue serpents of lightning tore open the darkness. Coiling arcs of light danced between cloudbanks and the ground.
What followed was a shriek violent enough to rattle one's lungs — as though some colossal creature had its chest split open alive, its scream warping the fog with its sheer force.
Boom!
Something enormous crashed to earth, throwing up massive clouds of dust.
Whoosh!
A slender silver-grey aircraft shot out from the mist.
"A 3rd-tier mutant — the Crimson Eagle Demon..." At the open hatch, gale-force winds howled. A black coat snapped and whipped. Beneath white hair, a face of cold severity gazed outward.
"You took your sweet time..." A disgruntled voice drifted from the corner. An old man sat there, head bowed, flicking through a virtual display without looking up.
"Chief Inquisitor..." The white-haired man's stoic facade crumbled in an instant, replaced by helpless resignation.
"Take a look at this." The old man flicked a projection carelessly, sending it floating over to the white-haired man.
"News from Nanfeng..." The white-haired man scanned it, his brows rising in surprise. "The Saint Word Stone has been recovered?"
"...Yuan Chenyang sent his own student undercover? And not only recovered the Saint Word Stone, but even uncovered a follower of Black Buddha?"
"Impressive. I thought he was done for this time." The white-haired man couldn't help but remark.
"He spooked the quarry..." The old man let out a cold snort, his tone unfriendly. "The rest of them will likely go to ground now. My trip will have been for nothing."
"You can't blame them for that," the white-haired man countered. "They had no way of knowing about your plan."
"The Saint Word Stone was found, but the Spatial Crystal wasn't," the old man continued, as if talking to himself. "Now that Black Buddha's people are alarmed, the remaining cultists will burrow deep."
"Elder Xia, the Spatial Crystal was stolen from Yunlan, not Nanfeng City. It's not their responsibility," said the long-haired woman seated on the other side.
"But there is a lead, isn't there? Zhou Xian's son was used as a mule. He's highly suspicious," the white-haired man pointed out.
"Indeed..." Elder Xia's expression shifted between light and shadow. His withered frame looked like it might topple in a breeze. "The head of Internal Affairs, one of Nanfeng City's top officials, corrupted. Can any of their leadership be trusted? Maybe I should just kill them all. A few innocents might get caught up in it, but I'm sure they'd understand."
The white-haired man broke into a cold sweat. "Wait — it's only suspicion! If you wipe out the entire leadership, there'll be hell to pay!"
"Coward!" The old man scoffed, strode to the open hatch, and jumped out without a moment's hesitation. The mist swallowed him whole. The white-haired man heard only his muffled voice:
"A 3rd-tier mutant shouldn't be anywhere near this flight corridor. I'm going to investigate. You go on ahead to Nanfeng City."
............
Su Chen returned to his room to find an unexpected visitor.
"Teacher?"
Su Chen approached the door cautiously. When he recognized the figure inside, surprise flickered across his face.
Old Sun hovered nearby, his face creased with an obsequious grin.
"Someone snuck into your room?" Yuan Chenyang got straight to the point.
"Yes." Su Chen nodded. "Checked the surveillance. Nothing."
Old Sun immediately chimed in, "I've reinforced security on this floor. Guards posted at both ends of the corridor, with patrols every half hour."
'Sharp reflexes, this Old Sun.' That explained the burly men Su Chen had noticed.
Su Chen silently commended the man's initiative. When the brass came asking questions, you couldn't show up with nothing but excuses.
Yuan Chenyang nodded in satisfaction. "You can step out."
"Right." Old Sun left, gently pulling the door shut behind him.
"You arrested Qi Chuan." Only then did Yuan Chenyang raise the subject.
Su Chen explained, "He previously colluded with Hu Xiang to try to move against me in secret."
"Hmm..." Yuan Chenyang nodded in understanding. "So that's the 'information' Hu Xiang mentioned giving you. Handle it however you see fit."
He emphasized again, "Play by the rules. Don't hand anyone ammunition."
"Understood."
"Also — this is the Engineering Apprentice. Have a look." He handed over a metal engraved printing plate.
Su Chen glanced at it:
[Discovered 1st-tier lower-level class: Engineering Apprentice. Upon completion of class requirements, induction will be possible.]
[Requirement 1: Complete repairs on one thousand ordinary items.]
[Requirement 2: Must already be a 1st-tier mental-type professional.]
"This..." Su Chen was puzzled. The class didn't look particularly impressive.
"Don't underestimate it. With a Perfect Advancement, it can awaken a class ability called Multi-Tasking."
Yuan Chenyang stressed, "Not the kind of multi-tasking you develop through practice. This is an ability on par with a machine's parallel processing."
"You're not the first person who wanted to be both a physical and mental dual-class professional. Tempering the body and then meditating separately wastes too much time."
"I see..." Su Chen's eyes lit up with understanding. Every class had its unique value — he'd need to keep that in mind going forward.
Some class abilities might seem unremarkable on their own, but with the right combination, they became game-changers.
Old Yuan added, "I'll have Old Sun assign you to the logistics division. Tinker around there every day, and you should be able to take the class within a few months."
"Thank you, teacher." Su Chen was genuinely grateful. Life here was incomparably better than in the Nanfeng Academy dormitory.
"Mm." Old Yuan didn't bother with false modesty. He held out a gold-embossed card. "One more thing. Zhang Yunqing — that's Zhang Hengyu's older sister — is hosting a banquet tonight. The invitation was sent to the house. Go."
"A banquet?" Su Chen took the card and examined the intricate patterns on its surface. He recalled Zhou Zong mentioning something like this before.
Yuan Chenyang's bald head gleamed under the light, his expression inscrutable. "It's just the city's young crowd. Plus, his sister spent time in Yingfeng and knows quite a bit. It wouldn't hurt to make contact."
"I see..." Su Chen pondered. The explanation felt incomplete, but he nodded anyway. "If you say so, teacher, I'll go."
Yuan Chenyang left. Only after the elevator doors closed did he mutter with a grin, "Sly little brat."
"A banquet, huh..." Su Chen turned the card over in his hands and sighed. "Being a refugee really is a pain."
He didn't even know what those refugee predecessors had done to earn such a bad reputation.
He checked the time. Still early.
Su Chen turned his attention back to the Engineering Apprentice. With the right resources, the induction shouldn't take long.
He sighed. "But with things this complicated right now, spending time on this seems—"
[Sensing the host's predicament, Void-Rending Warrior and Mystic Artificer had a friendly chat with Engineering Apprentice. Deeply moved by the host's struggles, Engineering Apprentice has decided to grant a direct Perfect Advancement. The host only needs to, after induction...]
'Huh?' Su Chen's cheek twitched. 'So Void-Rending Warrior and Mystic Artificer ganged up and bullied it?'
'Direct induction... well, fine. I wonder what the time limit is?'
One thousand ordinary items was no small number.
Yet Su Chen waited and waited, but the text after the ellipsis never appeared. Until, a moment later:
[Engineering Apprentice has decided that the host will not be required to complete the induction conditions within any time limit after class acquisition.]
'What?'
Su Chen thought he'd grown accustomed to the panel's eccentricities, but these lines still caught him off guard.
He couldn't explain why, but he could almost feel a sense of bitter indignation emanating from the text.
'Void-Rending Warrior, Mystic Artificer — what did you two do?'
'So this is what peak-tier class oppression of a lower-tier class looks like?'
With mixed emotions, Su Chen broke into a grin and gleefully accepted the induction.
A flood of memories — both familiar and foreign — surged into his mind. Different mechanical constructs materialized before his eyes: their details, their damage, the repair processes.
It was as if he'd actually repaired over a thousand broken items. The deluge made his skull throb, and it took him a long while to recover.
[Successfully inducted as Engineering Apprentice. Acquired class ability: Multi-Tasking.]
[Multi-Tasking: The mind can simultaneously process two tasks.]
"Phew..." Su Chen rubbed his temples. This kind of knowledge-based class had a truly peculiar onset.
He gave it a quick test and felt the difference immediately. His consciousness seemed to split in two, each half capable of thinking about different things independently.
Under certain circumstances, he'd been able to focus on multiple things before — even handle several at once — but only for a fleeting moment.
This, however, was like a computer with two task bars running side by side, neither interfering with the other.
"Unbelievable skill..." Su Chen's eyes gleamed. Both meditation methods and body-tempering methods were tremendously complex.
Under normal circumstances, even with extensive practice, true simultaneous execution was virtually impossible.
Yet a single ordinary class had solved the problem entirely.
He began experimenting right away — his body shifting into a training stance while he simultaneously entered meditation.
The Body Sharpening Forging Method activated. Muscles tensed throughout his body as stinging sensations gradually spread. Meanwhile, the Hellfire Meditation Method cycled through its loops, heating his brain.
The sensation was extraordinary. Like a child with a new toy, Su Chen practiced for over half an hour before reluctantly stopping.
'I've got somewhere to be tonight. Can't drain myself too much.' Su Chen savored the feeling. 'If I paired this with potions, it'd be absolute bliss. I really need to get my hands on some Black Flame Potions. Blood-Activating ones just aren't cutting it anymore.'
"Brother..." Old Sun knocked on the door. After Su Chen let him in, he opened it gently and shuffled inside with his trademark grin. "The logistics assignment is all set. You'll be specifically in charge of repairing damaged items. An experienced technician will show you the ropes."
Once again, Su Chen marveled at Old Sun's efficiency, but shook his head. "That can wait."
Old Sun blinked, but his smile didn't waver. "Sure thing, brother. Whenever you're ready, just say the word."
He was about to leave when Su Chen called him back. "Brother Sun, I need a favor. Could you help me sell something?"
"Oh?" Old Sun raised an eyebrow as Su Chen rummaged under his bed and produced a shadowy black garment.
"A Shadow Evasion Cloak?" His eyes widened. "You..."