I Can See Experience Points

The awkwardness of Liu Rui’s stare prompted Zheng Peng and his two companions to raise their teacups and take a sip of water, hoping to ease the atmosphere.

"PFFT!"

Hearing the bizarrely catchy background music and lyrics, the trio of slackers instantly sprayed out the tea in their mouths.

And Lei Yang’s group, sitting opposite them, bore the brunt of it.

"Heh heh, my apologies. My son set this ringtone for me. It’s a bit strange, I know, but it’s got personality." Captain Su gave an embarrassed smile, then pulled out his phone. The caller ID read ’Deputy Minister.’ Without a word, he handed the phone to Lei Yang.

Captain Lei, expressionless, wiped the tea from his face with an air of resignation. He took the phone and answered the call.

"South fifty, empty nest. I spent fifty Spiritual Energy Crystals on those four words of prophecy. If you still can’t solve this Mirror Spirit problem, believe me, I’ll be confiscating your cultivation supplies for at least the next six months.

And another thing, not only will you be patrolling the streets in trainee uniforms, but you’ll also be responsible for all cleaning duties for the entire operations team. And, just so we’re clear, that includes scrubbing the toilets!"

"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP..."

The Deputy Minister hung up the second he finished speaking, giving them no time to respond.

"I didn’t even get to ask what ’South fifty, empty nest’ means!"

Lei Yang was so furious he could have spat blood. If it hadn’t been the Deputy Minister on the other end of the line, he would have stormed back to Cleaner headquarters and zapped him with a dozen lightning bolts.

As his words faded, Zhou Yun timidly raised her hand.

"You know what it means?"

"Fifty li due south, there’s a place called Zhou family Village. All the young people left to find work, so of the three hundred-plus households there, almost everyone is either elderly or a child. Its nickname is ’Empty Nest Village.’"

"I’m impressed, Xiaozhou. You’re quite well-informed," Lei Yang praised her, clearly satisfied.

But Zhou Yun just cautiously held up her tablet and said, "Captain Lei, didn’t you know you can search the mainframe database on the portable detectors?"

"PFFT!"

Huang Tao and Li Zheng couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

The corner of Liu Rui’s eye twitched. He couldn’t help but think,

’Are these people really reliable?’

Then his eyes swept over to the trio of slackers. ’Well, at least Captain Lei’s group seems more reliable than them.’

Zheng Peng, Zhao Lei, and Zhou Yun: "..."

’Hey, that’s enough. We see you looking at us.’

’Believe it or not, we’ll smash these teacups over your head!’

"So, are we heading to that Empty Nest Village now?" He Xiaotian couldn’t hide a trace of excitement in his voice. ’This is all Experience Points!’ he thought. A single Dream Eye had given him a full 10,000 Experience Points, and a Mirror Spirit was worth another 8,000.

’As long as I don’t run into some unbeatable entity in that Empty Nest Village, can’t I just mow things down with my hammer in both hands, just like reaping wheat?’

"That’s right. We actually suspect collusion between some humans and the Mirror Spirits. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten out of the heavily guarded med—"

"Ahem, ahem..."

Before Lei Yang could finish, Captain Su, who was beside him, cut him off with a cough.

Although this information wasn’t classified within the organization, He Xiaotian was a civilian maverick. There were some things they couldn’t tell him.

’Who knew if this mysterious X had a big mouth?’

’If he accidentally let it slip, all hell would break loose.’

"Let me correct you. *We* are going to the Empty Nest Village, not you. Dealing with malevolent entities is our duty. You may be powerful, but in the eyes of the law, you’re still a citizen in need of protection. Unless you join us, it’s out of the question."

Lei Yang, likely recalling this, changed the subject.

"By the way, our minister once said he thinks very highly of you. If you’re willing to join our organization, he’ll make you a squad leader. If you agree, you’ll automatically be granted the rank of a First-Class Police Supervisor, which is a section-level chief position."

He Xiaotian: "?!"

Surprised as he was, he still shook his head and refused outright.

’He had no desire to be in a position where people could chew him out and he couldn’t talk back.’

’Besides, he was naturally free-spirited and couldn’t stand being tied down by rules.’

’Joining an official agency would inevitably mean being buried in red tape.’

"I was hired by Mr. Liu, and on behalf of my employer, I’d like to voice some doubts. I previously fought alongside these three in Z County. Or perhaps, ’fought alongside’ isn’t the right phrase."

"It was more like the three of them were slacking off on the sidelines while I fought alone. My employer’s daughter’s soul is on the line, so there’s no room for carelessness. I believe Mr. Liu feels the same, don’t you?"

With that, He Xiaotian looked at Liu Rui.

’As long as the tycoon isn’t an idiot, he’ll agree.’

’Unless, of course, he doesn’t actually care for his daughter, Liu Nan.’

"It is as X says. I have my doubts about your team’s capabilities. The entity attacked before you and Captain Lei arrived. I only witnessed X killing it. As for Captain Zheng’s team, aside from the lady, the other two were... hugging my butler."

The faces of Zheng Peng and his companions instantly darkened. ’That’s a low blow! You don’t expose someone’s most embarrassing moments!’

’X, you’ve gone too far!’

’We wanted to fight back, but what could we do against a Dream Eye?!’

’That thing went on a killing spree right inside the Cleaners’ own residential complex!’

Of course, despite their indignation, the trio of slackers was more than happy to have He Xiaotian come along.

This guy was a total beast who could break free of the Dream Eye Illusion Skill all by himself!

Bringing him along was practically another layer of insurance.

At a critical moment, he might just save their lives.

"Captain Lei, before you guys got here, X broke free of the Dream Eye’s illusion," Zheng Peng whispered, leaning close to Lei Yang.

"Hm?" The way Lei Yang looked at He Xiaotian instantly changed. "Fine. Since he was hired by Mr. Liu, our task force can’t very well refuse. But let me be clear: if you die out there, you can’t blame us."

His previous refusal was just an excuse, of course.

The real reason was that they didn’t have enough of the white potion.

They had only managed to bring three vials with them from the energy research lab this time.

Even if Zheng Peng’s team came along, they would only be responsible for standing guard on the perimeter.

Otherwise, why wouldn’t Lei Yang try to recruit He Xiaotian, knowing full well how powerful he was?

Did anyone really think he was some old stick-in-the-mud who followed the rules to the letter?

If He Xiaotian fell under the illusion, he would become a massive threat to Lei Yang’s own team.

He would never forget the man at the bottom of the Pu River who had smashed a giant crocodile’s skull with a big hammer.

Now that Zheng Peng had reminded him that He Xiaotian wasn’t affected by the Dream Eye Illusion Skill, he naturally agreed.

"Don’t worry, I won’t. Besides, dead men tell no tales."

It was as if He Xiaotian could see a sea of Experience Points waving at him.

He paid no mind to Lei Yang’s warning.

’If I can’t win the fight, can’t I just run away?’

’What about my pride?’

’Heh heh, I’m wearing a mask. Who’s going to know who I am?’

’No matter how embarrassing it is, it’s X who loses face.’

’Not He Xiaotian!’

’Just as I thought, using an alt is the only way to go. A guy’s gotta make a living.’