Star Gate

Chapter 109: The Silver City Branch (I)

Yuan Shuo wasn’t going to stop Li Hao from practicing Birdshot, no matter how impossible it was for the young man to learn it. No sleep was forthcoming for the professor on this night; he didn’t like to sleep. Twinges of reluctance assailed him when he scanned the books on the third row of his bookshelves. Li Hao might take them all tomorrow!

After prolonged perusal, Yuan Shuo took out a yellowed book from the third row and hid it elsewhere. He breathed out more easily—the rest could go to his disciple! This book was one treasured since youth, he couldn’t bear to part with it.

……

Silver City.

Tranquility gradually returned to Silver City after Hao Lianchuan and his men departed upon the removal of Red Moon’s incursion. The battle of a few days ago seemed like a dream. No more was forthcoming from the supernatural organization and the Night Watchers fully retreated; Silver City was as it’d always been, other than the addition of an imperious martial master who’d killed a Solar!

The Night Watchers left with the sword that Yuan Shuo had given Li Hao and released word that it was in their possession. As for how they publicized it, or if they really had, Li Hao was unaware. He wasn’t part of this circle and as such, was ignorant of everything about it. But with his teacher keeping an eye on things, he could rest at ease that the Night Watchers wouldn’t pull any tricks.

The agency was yet to send over the promised benefits. They said they needed some time, time that Yuan Shuo told Li Hao to give. The Night Watchers either didn’t agree to something or followed through when they did. They were likely just delaying the actual handover.

The agency required large amounts of resources for the excavation at hand and were likely unwilling to invest too much in Li Hao for the time being. They would emerge from the exploration with a certain amount of gain, regardless of whether or not it was a success. Based on his teacher’s words, Li Hao may be able to select a few suitable treasures from the agency’s harvest.

The excavation was temporarily postponed due to Yuan Shuo’s breakthrough. Everyone needed time to digest the development, including the supernatural organizations. The previous professor hadn’t been worth mention, but if he was still part of the expedition, more strength needed to be added on all sides.

The various factions needed to deploy at least a Sunflare or two, or even a Solar, to withstand Yuan Shuo in his current form. However, these kinds of powerhouses weren’t mobilized at the drop of a hat.

……

It was July 25 in the blink of an eye. Li Hao spent the week acclimating to assorted increases in his abilities. There was nothing to do at work during the day as the team was recovering. Evenings were spent at his teacher’s and being regaled by stories grotesque in shape and gaudy in color.

Alright, he meant records from ancient tomes.

Yuan Shuo had uncovered many books over the years that he hadn’t given to anyone else or taken out of the ruins. Some weren’t easy to preserve, so he read them, swiftly committed them to memory, then destroyed them.

His actions didn’t denote him a good person, but they were also proof of his superhuman memory. Li Hao’s memory was decent as well, which was no wonder the professor had been willing to accept the young man as his student. A strong memory was one of the key traits that he looked for.

Li Hao’s mind was filled to bursting over the next couple of days. After saying that he would be preoccupied in the period to come, there was nothing Yuan Shuo wanted to do more than convey all of his knowledge to his student. The young man memorized at least a dozen books, and that was only a fraction of what Yuan Shuo knew.

The professor selected the most important material to pass on, not leaving any text or digital data behind. It would be Li Hao’s if the young man could remember it all; there would be no cheat sheet if he couldn’t.

……

The Inspectorate.

Law Enforcement.

The law enforcement team was much quieter these days given that no supernatural showed their face. They made their rounds and focused on the cases at hand. Liu Yan and the team moved out of the basement, returning to their offices. Li Hao clocked in and out as usual; he was now officially transferred to Law Enforcement.

When he entered the lobby on this day, the female inspector at reception smiled radiantly at him. “Li Hao, Captain Liu is looking for you and tells you to go see him as soon as you arrive!”

“Alright, thank you Sis Wu!” Li Hao was a sweet boy who’d grown familiar with the team after officially transferring in a few days ago. Everyone quite liked him—he was a refined boy from the Veteris Institute and always greeted people with a smile. An occasional bashful grin further endeared him to some of the female inspectors.

The law enforcement team was aware of Demon Hunter exploits, but everyone knew that Li Hao had been unwittingly dragged into them. He wasn’t the battle-happy type like their captain, so many pitied him for joining the perilous Demon Hunters.

The inspector at reception was part of the group that felt deep compassion for the young man. She called out when he walked upstairs, “Li Hao, the law enforcement team has lost a lot of people lately and many positions are empty. You can bring up an internal transfer to the captain. If there’s nothing that can be done, you can always sit at reception with me. It’s an easy job!”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to tell the captain. Thank you Sis Wu!” Li Hao turned back with a smile.

The female inspector called Sis Wu responded in kind. Biddable fresh meat—young men like Li Hao were her favorite!

……

A baffled Li Hao climbed the stairs with a smile on his face and headed for Liu Long’s office. The team was busy digesting their gains from battle, so what did the chief want with him? Was there another mission?

A strange expression crossed his face before he entered the office. There was a ball of light inside!

A supernatural!

Judging from its size and brightness, this should be a Darkmoon. Where was it from?

“Come in!” Liu Long’s voice sounded when he knocked on the door. Li Hao paused with surprise when he entered and assessed the situation inside. There were no outsiders here! Only Demon Hunters.

He further jerked with astonishment when he looked at—Yun Yao!

Yun Yao had made the crossover! The team doctor had ascended! The others didn’t show major signs of improvement; the bottlenecks that plagued them still stood in the way. After Liu Yan became a Sunderer, she was essentially out of the running to become supernatural.

Out of the three remaining, Chen Jian and Wu Chao didn’t dare absorb too much since they’d just recovered. Being in better shape, Yun Yao had long made a full recovery and took in a lot of energy over the past couple of days. Who would’ve thought that she’d really ascend!

“What you looking at?” A cross-legged Liu Yan said sourly when she saw Li Hao stare at Yun Yao as soon as he entered the office. “Is there a flower on her face?”

She wasn’t as wary of Yun Yao as before after breaking through to Sunderer.

Li Hao awkwardly found himself at a loss of how to respond. He saluted Liu Long instead. “Chief!”

“Mmhmm, this means the whole team’s here!” He smiled at the young man’s initial reaction. “It looks like your powers of perception are decent, even if your strength isn’t all that. Did you sense something a bit different?”

“Yes!” Li Hao nodded and looked at Yun Yao again. “Congratulations to Sis Yun!”

A half smile appeared on Yun Yao’s face and she inclined her head. “It was just luck. I happened to open my supernatural locks and ascend, but a pity…” She sighed.

“Making the crossover is good enough, what’s the point of demanding more?” Liu Long said calmly.

“Yun Yao has ascended,” explained a merry Liu Yan when she saw that Li Hao didn’t understand. “But her tiny bit of healing abilities has vanished. She’s a match for water! She’s suddenly turned from a doctor into a water supernatural!”

“This is normal!” Liu Long spoke up in defense of Yun Yao. “No one is certain what kind of abilities they’re suited for before they become supernatural. Not to mention, water abilities also have healing properties. Water supernaturals sometimes act as healers in certain supernatural organizations.”

Despite his words, there was still a difference between the two. Healers tended towards light or wood abilities. Water abilities were subpar compared to the previous two in terms of healing effect.

“It’s alright.” Yun Yao smiled more wholeheartedly. “It’s enough to just make the crossover compared to some people who never do.”

“Some people who never do?!” Liu Yan sneered. “Do you think Sunderers are just for show? Come on, let's go at it if you disagree!”

“Enough!” Liu Long interrupted their spat. There were only two females on the team, but they somehow never got along. Liu Yan was more reticent before her breakthrough. Now that she was a Sunderer, she gave tit for tat.

The captain turned to the young man with a smile. “I summoned you because I have good news to announce! There's been word from White Moon that the Silver City Night Watcher branch should be a go! Director Hao helped our cause when he returned, as did the Night Watchers that were deployed on this mission. Out of consideration for this, White Moon has agreed to a branch in Silver City!”

Shared joy bloomed in the office.

“Chief, does this mean we get raises again?” Li Hao asked excitedly.

“……” Liu Long looked wordlessly at him. Seriously, what’s in that brain of yours? How is that the most important?

“No shit!” he answered curtly. “After we become Night Watchers, our salary is no longer money, but mysterious power! How much is one cube of mysterious power worth? Can it be replaced by wages?”

Li Hao looked on sheepishly. I know that, but I'm not short on mysterious power. Teacher has a lot, while I really do lack money.

His teacher might have money as well, but while Li Hao could bring himself to ask for mysterious power, he really couldn't do the same when it came to money. Mysterious power was indeed more valuable, but it was meant for cultivation. Being the student, it was a trifling matter for his teacher to support him in that regard.

But without money, one could not eat, could not sleep, could not purchase a car. Was he supposed to ask his teacher for all of this as well? How embarrassing that a twenty year old could not keep himself alive!

etvolare's Thoughts

Sounds like Li Hao is getting a CPU dump straight into his brain. And WAHEY Yun Yao is a supernatural! That was pretty unexpected tbh.