Hongying had never imagined she would secure a promise for a Zanpakuto from Lu Ming so easily.
On her way back to the office, her head was practically spinning with joy.
“You’re back?
Everything taken care of?” Chen Muye asked Hongying, but his gaze kept drifting over to Lu Ming.
*What’s going on?
Why is the Captain looking at me like that?* Lu Ming felt a shift in the atmosphere the moment he stepped inside.
It had only been a short trip out, so why did the entire office suddenly feel different?
It wasn’t just Captain Chen Muye either; even Wu Xiangnan, sitting on the sofa nearby, was subtly watching him.
Although Wu Xiangnan’s glasses completely concealed his eyes, Lu Ming’s perception of spiritual power was so keen that no one could observe him undetected unless their strength far surpassed his own.
“Yes, Captain!
I helped Lu Ming complete his leave-of-absence paperwork.” “Also, Captain, Lu Ming and I sensed a mysterious aura at the school.
It seems someone is setting up a major scheme at Cangnan No.
2 High School.” Since Lu Ming had asked her not to reveal that he was the one who had discovered it, Hongying refrained from pointing out his role in the matter.
Hearing this, Chen Muye and Wu Xiangnan both turned grave.
“Even though the Calamity Crow didn’t issue an alert, a mysterious incident occurring inside a school is nothing to take lightly.” Chen Muye turned to Wu Xiangnan and said, “Notify Qi Mo and the others to focus their attention on Cangnan No.
2 High School first.
The Ghostface King was injured yesterday, so it shouldn’t return to Cangnan City so quickly.” Wu Xiangnan nodded, turned, and left.
“Captain, we can’t ignore the Ghostface King either.
Leave the search to me!” Hongying volunteered again, aware that the squad was currently short-staffed.
It was precisely because of her mistake during last night’s encirclement of the Face-Monsters that the Ghostface King had managed to escape.
However, Chen Muye shook his head.
“Hongying, don’t worry about that right now.
Recovering from your injuries takes top priority.” With that, he turned his gaze back to Lu Ming.
*He’s not about to dump a mission on me right out of the gate, is he?
This is my very first day on the job!* Sensing the mood, Lu Ming instinctively took a step back.
He wanted to slack off and had no intention of jumping into work mode so soon.
“Lu Ming…” Chen Muye started.
“Captain, I just remembered I have other things to do.
Forging those Zanpakuto yesterday took everything out of me.” Lu Ming wasn’t lying.
Forging two Zanpakuto in a single day had put a heavy mental toll on him.
If he didn’t rest up and replenish his spiritual power, it would take at least a week before he could open the furnace inside the Forge of Souls again.
Besides, he lacked tracking skills.
Even if he accepted the mission, he wouldn’t know where to look for the Ghostface King anyway.
He couldn’t very well crawl through the sewers, could he?
Chen Muye gave Lu Ming a speechless look.
The boy certainly hadn’t seemed this lazy when applying to join the Nightwatchers yesterday.
“Five corpses of mysterious creatures!” Lu Ming’s retreating foot halted in midair.
“Whether you find it or not, I will give you five corpses of mysterious creatures three days from now.
How about it?
If you actually find the Ghostface King, I’ll make it ten.” Chen Muye’s offer instantly rooted Lu Ming to the spot.
To the current Lu Ming, those corpses were the bedrock of his growth.
Corpse of a mysterious creature ≈ Zanpakuto forging material ≈ Zanpakuto ≈ EXP ≈ Strength ≈ Safety!
“Deal!” Lu Ming agreed without a second thought.
His spiritual power would naturally recover over time, but corpses of mysterious creatures were rare opportunities.
Without Chen Muye’s offer, his next forging material would have had to come from the Nanda Snake Demon.
“But Captain, I don’t want any species of corpses that were already in the morgue before.” Chen Muye’s eyes flickered, and he gave a slight nod.
“Fair enough!” *So Lu Ming’s Zanpakuto forging is related to the species of the mysterious creature?
I’ll need to keep that in mind going forward.* “Then I’m off to work, Captain!
Remember—ten corpses, split into two different species!” Lu Ming made sure to emphasize his requirement.
Now that he knew forging materials were tied to species type, he only needed five of each; anything extra would be a waste.
Chen Muye paused, marveling at how completely unfiltered Lu Ming was.
Did he not realize that if outsiders learned this, they could deduce a great deal about his Forbidden Realm?
*I don’t know whether to be happy about how much he trusts me or warn him about how careless he’s being.* *Oh well, let’s leave it at that for now.* Seeing Chen Muye nod in understanding, Lu Ming walked away satisfied.
Once Lu Ming had left, Chen Muye picked up the phone right in front of Hongying.
“Hello?
Yeah, about the mysterious creature corpses we discussed earlier…
Right, divide them into lots of five per species!
Yeah, no need for extras.
The Commander-in-Chief gave the order personally, so make sure you take this seriously!
Mm-hmm, if anything good comes out of this, I won’t forget you.
Just gather as many as you can—the more species, the better.” Listening to the conversation, Hongying realized that Chen Muye had forwarded Lu Ming’s request without a trace of guilt.
It seemed that whether Lu Ming accepted the task or not, the Captain had already arranged for the corpses to be delivered.
And had Lu Ming’s name really reached the ears of the Commander-in-Chief?
Hongying smiled softly to herself.
*Ah, Lu Ming, you got played by the Captain this time!
But if you want to join the Nightwatchers, slacking off isn’t an option.* After making a few more calls, the tension in Chen Muye’s expression gradually smoothed out.
He leaned back against his chair and lit a cigarette.
“Hongying, don’t tell Lu Ming about this yet.
That kid’s temperament needs a bit of tempering.
At the end of the day, he’s still just a student who probably doesn’t realize how brutal Nightwatcher missions can be…” Hongying nodded.
Even with the Commander-in-Chief’s orders, acquiring those corpses must have required a great deal of effort on the Captain’s part.
It was only right that he decided how to handle the situation.
Besides, she also hoped these actions would help Lu Ming integrate into Squad 136 faster.
Chen Muye took a deep drag from his cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and grew serious once more.
“Hongying, I have another task I want to assign to you…” *** Lu Ming had no clue where to start looking for the Ghostface King.
However, deep down, he was more than willing to accept the mission.
Eliminating the threat of the Ghostface King ahead of time would permanently prevent the clash between Zhao Kongcheng and the creature.
Although he had forged a Zanpakuto for Zhao Kongcheng, as long as Zhao Kongcheng couldn’t achieve Shikai, the Zanpakuto in his hands was nothing more than a sharper, sturdier Starblade.
Lu Ming didn’t know where the creature was right now, but he knew where it would eventually show up!
According to the original storyline, as long as he kept watch near Lin Qiye’s home, the Ghostface King would eventually walk right into his lap.
Instead of wasting time running around like a headless chicken, waiting for the enemy to come to him was the smartest play.
Still, Lu Ming didn’t plan on getting too close to Lin Qiye’s house.
After all, he wasn’t sure what state Yang Jin was currently in.
As the reincarnation of Erlang Shen, True Lord Erlang might possess formidable detection abilities…
So, Lu Ming checked into a hotel near Lin Qiye’s neighborhood on the public tab.
Given his heightened sensitivity to spiritual pressure, the moment the Ghostface King appeared, the spiritual pressure across the entire old city district would fluctuate wildly.
That would be plenty of time for him to make his entrance.
While Lu Ming was slacking off in his hotel room at squad expense, Hongying arrived at the quiet room where Zhao Kongcheng was meditating.
She had learned about Zhao Kongcheng’s current state from Chen Muye.
A whole morning of meditation hadn’t brought Zhao Kongcheng any progress; in fact, his mental state was only deteriorating.
The harder he tried to enter the state of Jinzen, the further away it seemed to slip.
Worried about Zhao Kongcheng, Chen Muye had asked Hongying to check on him.
After waiting quietly outside the door for a few minutes, Hongying only stepped inside after hearing a heavy sigh from within.
“Old Zhao, take a break.
I brought you some snacks.
Jinzen is important, but you shouldn’t meditate on an empty stomach!” Hongying walked over carrying a tray in one hand.
Seeing her enter, Zhao Kongcheng knew that bringing food wasn’t her real purpose—she was worried about his current state.
He lifted Katen Kyokotsu from his crossed knees and forced a biscuit into his mouth with a grimace.
“Ah…
thanks, Hongying.” “I’m fine, really.
Don’t worry about me.” Hongying sat down across from him, mimicking his posture, her expression turning dead serious.
“Old Zhao, you look terrible right now.
Tell me, have you established any resonance with Katen Kyokotsu yet?” Hongying remembered that early this morning, Zhao Kongcheng had claimed he felt a faint trace of Jinzen during his moment of absolute exhaustion last night.
Yet now, he looked completely lost…
Hearing her question, Zhao Kongcheng froze, falling silent.
Then, a look of deep pain washed over his pale face.
“I lied to you guys this morning!” he admitted, his voice agonizingly heavy.
“I didn’t manage to enter Jinzen at all last night.
Lu Ming said Katen Kyokotsu was the Zanpakuto most compatible with me…” “If I can’t communicate with Katen Kyokotsu, if I can’t enter Jinzen, Lu Ming is going to be so disappointed in me!
This is my only chance to acquire a Forbidden Realm, and I don’t want to blow it!” Zhao Kongcheng’s face was deathly pale, his mental state frayed from staying awake since last night.
As the very first person to receive a Zanpakuto from Lu Ming, he bore a crushing mental burden.
If he couldn’t master Shikai or win Katen Kyokotsu’s approval, he could already imagine the look of disappointment on Lu Ming’s face.
As the man who had guided Lu Ming into the Nightwatchers, the last thing he wanted was to see that disappointment.
He was terrified of letting Lu Ming down.
Especially when Lu Ming had cared so much to help him…