I Can See Experience Points

’You damn anomalous item! Who taught you to be such a little brat?!’

’I called you here to answer my questions, and all you give me is one question mark after another.’

’So how come when someone else asks, you give a more detailed answer?’

’I... If it weren’t for department regulations, believe me, I’d snap you in two right now!’

Lei Yang was so furious he was practically steaming. ’I wasn’t the one who dealt with you before, so why are you always giving me such a hard time!’

The other two squad leaders saw his flushed face and look of uncontainable rage, and both turned their heads, pretending not to notice.

And that wasn’t all. By the time the Pen Immortal finished writing through Lei Yang’s hand, it wasn’t just him who wanted to snap the green pencil in two.

Even Liu Rui, an ordinary person, felt the urge to go up and stomp on it a few times.

’What the hell are you writing?!’

Elec—

’Elec-what? What is that supposed to mean?’

’You might as well have just given me another question mark!’

Everyone’s teeth were grinding in frustration at the Pen Immortal, which was both incredibly mischievous and frustratingly unreliable.

Lei Yang made up his mind. It didn’t matter whether they could solve the case or not.

He was definitely going to report this incident.

’It’s not that we’re incompetent, it’s that our ’ally’ is completely useless.’

Suppressing the volcanic rage in his heart, Lei Yang spoke again, "Pen Immortal, oh Pen Immortal, I’ve finished my questions. Please leave!"

He spoke through gritted teeth, making the onlookers wonder if his molars would survive the ordeal.

The sinister, cold aura gradually faded. Finally, Lei Yang’s right hand, which had been trembling as if he had Parkinson’s, returned to normal.

He immediately placed the green pencil back into its jade box, afraid that if he moved any slower, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from retaliating against the useless thing.

As he did, a faint crackle of lightning sparked in his hand, and he tore the white paper to shreds.

SLAM!

After that, he slammed the jade box down hard on the coffee table, making He Xiaotian wince.

’That box alone is worth tens of thousands, and that’s not even counting the intricate carvings. What a waste it would be if it shattered.’

"There’s no other way. We’ll have to ask the Vice Minister for help."

Lei Yang felt drained. He desperately wanted to retire and live out his golden years in the logistics department.

"Is that a good idea?"

"If it’s such a bad idea, then why are you pulling out your phone?!"

This squad leader really didn’t want to keep chasing the Mirror Spirit’s shadow. Getting an earful now was far better than failing the mission and getting thoroughly reamed out later.

"Vice Minister, it’s me, Su. Our Captain Lei has something to report. Uh-huh, I’ll hand him the phone now."

Captain Su handed the phone to Lei Yang.

Lei Yang: "..."

’You just wait!’

’Making me take the heat.’

Fuming, Lei Yang had no choice but to take the phone.

"Vice Minister, this is Lei Yang. The lead on the Mirror Spirit has gone completely cold. The Pen Immortal? Don’t even get me started. Other than writing question marks for me, it’s completely useless."

Then, everyone in the living room heard a furious roar from the other end of the line.

Lei Yang was the closest, and the sound made his eardrums ring.

"You three have completely failed my expectations! The Minister himself is keeping an eye on you, but you lot have done nothing but run around in circles, making zero contribution. Just wait. I’ll go find the Diviner."

BEEP BEEP BEEP...

The person on the other end finished speaking and hung up immediately.

It was clear just how furious he was.

Lei Yang picked at his ear, a look of helplessness on his face.

’What are we supposed to do? We’re desperate, too!’

"Brother Lei, it’s all sorted. With the famous Diviner on the case, we’ll definitely find the Mirror Spirit’s nest," said Captain Su, the one who’d passed the buck to Lei Yang, smiling as he took back his phone.

"Heh. This is going to cost the Cleaners a fortune. Just you wait. Even if this gets resolved, we’re still looking at a formal reprimand. And if we hire the Diviner and *still* can’t solve it... our fate might be worse than being forced to walk a beat in a rookie uniform," Lei Yang replied, his expression grim.

Diviners are members of the Daoist Alliance.

What is the Daoist Alliance?

Half a year ago, Netherworld rifts began appearing all across the country, unleashing tides of energy.

Some Daoists, who had been living simple lives focused on spiritual cultivation...

...suddenly discovered that they could cultivate using Spiritual Energy Crystals.

This caused a huge sensation for a while.

But only for a while. Before long, things quieted down again.

Why?

There were only so many Spiritual Energy Crystals to go around—not nearly enough for all the Gifted and Extraordinaries who needed them for cultivation.

Besides, to be frank, the abilities of these Daoists were weaker than even a newly-awakened Gifted.

And there was no comparison at all when measured against an Extraordinary.

So, it was obvious who should get priority for the limited resources.

Of course, every group has an exception or two.

The Diviner was one such exception.

His combat power was practically zero, but his divinations were incredibly accurate.

Appallingly accurate!

The only catch was his fee. It wasn’t cheap.

He only accepted payment in Spiritual Energy Crystals. No exceptions.

To quote the Minister himself: "I would rather die, I would rather jump off the Pearl Building, than ever ask that man for a divination."

One could imagine that not only was this going to be a huge expense for the department, but the Vice Minister would probably have to chip in from his own pocket.

If the mission ended successfully, things might be okay. But if it ended in failure...

Heh. Lei Yang figured he’d be better off just filing for early retirement.

"Let me ask something," He Xiaotian suddenly interjected. "Doesn’t your official organization have any technology for wide-area detection of malevolent entities?" He was thinking of the tablet-like device Zhou Yun had back in Z County, and the strange, wok-lid-shaped receiver on the SUV.

They both seemed capable of detecting these things.

"The world has been in upheaval for half a year. With Hua Country’s formidable scientific research capabilities, surely you’ve developed some sort of wide-area detector by now?"

"The research department hasn’t created one yet. When I encountered my first murder case involving a malevolent entity, do you know what my reaction was? Disbelief! But after one special case after another, and after I awakened as a Gifted myself, I had no choice but to believe."

"As for malevolent entities, you can think of them as a new field of scientific research. How could a project that’s only six months old, with no foundation whatsoever, develop at lightning speed? Science requires accumulation; it’s not something that happens overnight."

Lei Yang replied seriously. Although he often complained about the slow progress at the energy research lab, he had to admit they still played a crucial role.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to create the portable and vehicle-mounted detectors, which have been a major contribution to the city Cleaners and Department 037.

I hear they’re now researching weapons that would allow ordinary police officers to fight malevolent entities.

I’m not sure what the progress is, but if they succeed...

...it would go a long way toward alleviating the shortage of Gifted and Extraordinaries in the country.

Once we equip the army with it, what kind of Demons or monsters wouldn’t get pinned to the ground and utterly crushed?

He Xiaotian nodded and didn’t press the matter further.

Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Liu Rui didn’t dare press Lei Yang for more details either.

After all, that green pencil had already given an answer.

A pretty shitty one, of course.

’Elec-what? Couldn’t you just have written the whole word?!’

Then he glanced furtively at Zheng Peng and the other two. ’No wonder X’s first words upon seeing you guys were ’the slacker trio.’’

’You guys really are national-level swimmers.’

’Completely useless, other than standing around and staring the whole time.’