Chapter 22: Night Patrol
During the afternoon recess, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou left the school and went to Qilin's branch office next to the Public Security Bureau. They stepped inside Jin Sheng's temporary office.
Jin Sheng was hunched over his desk, eating fast food. Seeing them arrive, he quickly wolfed down a couple of bites, closed his lunchbox, and wiped his mouth. "Take a seat. There's something I need to tell you."
Once both of them were seated, he looked at them. "I have to return to the capital tonight to report on my work, so I have a mission to hand over to the two of you."
He explained the mission in detail. Lately, Silver City had never truly been peaceful after nightfall. Various supernatural animals lurked in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike, while the devilish heretics took advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble.
However, thanks to Jin Sheng’s ruthless crackdown some time prior, the vast majority of high-ranking supernatural animals and devilish heretics had already been dealt with. The only ones left were small fries at the Ant or Insect ranks. These small fries weren't particularly strong, but there were an overwhelming number of them, and they remained highly dangerous to ordinary humans.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou's mission was to patrol the city at night during Jin Sheng's absence and eliminate all of these small fries. Such missions used to be the responsibility of the Public Security Bureau. Officers of the Combat Police unit assigned to the night shift would patrol the entire city at night.
It was just that during the recent campaign to wipe out the Aberrant Parasites, the Combat Police unit had suffered casualties and was currently short-staffed. Therefore, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou would join the operation as supplementary forces.
Zhang Shou was excited. "I like this mission. As the little prince of staying up late, I finally have a legitimate reason for it."
Yu Xian smiled without saying a word. Ever since he became a vampire, he had only slept once to this day. He didn't mind this mission. After all, he had nothing to do at night; this mission came at just the right time.
Jin Sheng smiled. "This mission does award merit points. Killing unranked supernatural animals earns you one merit point. Insect-rank animals are worth five points and Ant-rank animals ten points. Take it easy and don't push yourselves too hard just for the sake of merit points."
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou nodded. Zhang Shou even patted his chest. "Don’t worry, Captain. Salted Fish and I won’t let anything go wrong."
Jin Sheng said, "By the way, with my return to the capital, the Aberrant Parasites incident can be considered to have drawn to a close. Headquarters will definitely bestow merit points on both of you, but you may also exchange them for other things. If there is anything you want, you can tell me, and I will try to fight for them on your behalf when the time comes."
Zhang Shou was pleasantly surprised. "Captain, I also get a share?"
Jin Sheng nodded. "All the students who participated in the rescue will get something, though they will probably be rewarded with prize money, honors, and bonus points for the college entrance examination. You and Salted Fish are one of us, so your rewards will definitely be converted into merit points."
Zhang Shou quickly replied, "I want a spatial ring. Captain, can my reward be a spatial ring?"
He had checked the prices of spatial equipment in the Merit Shop. Even a spatial pouch with only one cubic meter of space cost around fifty thousand merit points. No matter how generous headquarters was, there was no way they would reward him with fifty thousand merit points. Therefore, if he could exchange his reward for spatial equipment, he would be making a huge profit.
Jin Sheng nodded. "I'll ask about it for you. It shouldn't be a problem."
He then looked at Yu Xian.
Yu Xian was silent for a moment. "Spatial equipment, silver, and the Blood of Pangu. Can I have them all?"
Jin Sheng scoffed. "You must be dreaming."
After joining Qilin, Jin Sheng had saved up merit points for five years and had also borrowed a lot more from Jin Dajun before finally managing to exchange them for the Blood of Pangu. Even now, he was still paying off his "loan" to Jin Dajun, and he didn't own a piece of spatial equipment himself.
Yu Xian smiled. "Captain, don't be so quick to refuse. It doesn't hurt to ask. If it really won't work out, I can drop the silver, and if it still won't work, I can do without the spatial equipment."
Jin Sheng sighed helplessly. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. I reckon the Blood of Pangu shouldn't be much of an issue, but the remaining two items are a bit of a long shot."
Following that, he sent them a document filled with students' names through his phone. "By the way, these are all students of the Supernatural Academy. Keep an eye on them while you're at school, but don't let them find out."
Yu Xian went through the list. "Is there something wrong with them?"
Looking at the list on his own phone, Jin Sheng answered, "They themselves might not have any problems, but their parents are a different story. Quite a few of them operate in the grey areas. I'm worried they might take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble."
These parents were supernatural beings operating in the grey zone. In the past, Silver City’s social order was stable, so they probably did not have the courage. But now that everything was in chaos, there was a chance they were having other thoughts.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou reviewed the full list and subsequently stood up to return to school.
On the way back, Zhang Shou asked, "Salted Fish, do you think we should patrol with others, or is it better to act independently?"
Yu Xian looked at him. "Don't you have a driver's license? It just so happens that I still haven't sold my dad's car. Let's go with just the two of us!"
He had been taking care of his father, who suffered from ALS, for many years, so he hadn't gotten the time to take a driving test. On the contrary, Zhang Shou had gotten his driver's license right after getting his ID card at the age of sixteen. Many laws were different now compared to the past, the minimum age for getting a driver's license being one of them.
The two returned to school with half an hour left before class started. They stood in the corridor to observe the students downstairs. The school uniforms of the Supernatural Academy were different from those of ordinary schools, so it was very easy to distinguish which students belonged to the Supernatural Academy.
The blue uniforms and black uniforms now each occupied one side, the boundary between them clear and distinct, like an unbridgeable gulf.
Staring at a student walking below, Zhang Shou whispered, "Do you think that student with horns is from the Dragon Race, or does he come from the Deer Demon lineage?"
Yu Xian replied flatly, "Most members of the Dragon Race live along the coast. What do you think?"
Looking at the two groups of students downstairs, which were as distinct as water and oil, he felt as if he were looking at a miniature epitome of society.
Supernatural beings and ordinary humans had always stayed in their own lanes. Most supernatural beings lived in the east of the city, while most ordinary humans lived in the south. It was precisely because they had no intersections with each other that the Aberrant Parasites had been able to silently infiltrate Silver City without being detected until Yu Xian came along.
Of course, the parasites had also learned from their previous failure in Hibiscus City. This time, they had been extremely cautious. They completely avoided areas where supernatural beings were active and even bypassed the homes of ordinary humans working for supernatural beings. This was also why they had left the Supernatural Academy untouched.
Zhang Shou whispered, "Look, Yu Meiren."
Yu Meiren was a supernatural being. As a child, she had dreamed of the divine beast, Bai Ze, awakening the ability of "Commanding Beasts by Name." Many of the supernatural animals in the school were actually her tamed beasts.[1]
Yu Meiren raised her head to meet their gaze, then nodded in acknowledgment with a slight smile before walking into the academic building.
Chen Ling appeared quietly from behind the two of them. "It's said that President Yu oversees the entire school. Those claims might not be unfounded."
Startled, Zhang Shou shifted to the side. "Chen Ling, are you a human or a ghost? How do you walk without making a sound?"
At this time, Yu Xian noticed a gloomy-looking female student. Even on a scorching hot day, she was wearing a scarf that covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of dead, lifeless eyes.
Yu Xian's eyes fell upon the book in her hands. It gave off a faint bloody scent, the scent of human blood.
1. Bai Ze (白泽) is a mythical Chinese beast said to possess vast knowledge of all spirits, demons, and supernatural creatures. In legend, it is able to identify and explain the nature, forms, and weaknesses of countless supernatural beings. ☜