Chapter 33: Reward
The following day, a military aircraft discreetly landed at a military base outside Silver City.
The moment school let out, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou received a message from Jin Sheng. Driving through two separate security checkpoints, they smoothly entered the military base. They stepped inside a room and, upon seeing Jin Sheng, greeted him in unison. "Captain!"
Jin Sheng was alone. As always, he gave others the impression that they were standing directly in front of the sun, fiery and imposing, like a lion among men.
He looked at the two of them and smiled. "I originally thought I'd be stuck in Yanjing for half a year, but you two went ahead and scored another massive achievement. However, the background of the witnesses this time is quite complicated, so headquarters hurried me back to shield you and smooth things over."
Yu Xian became curious. "Shield us?"
Jin Sheng nodded. Putting away his smile, he looked at Yu Xian with a serious expression. "The struggle between nations over supernatural matters has never ceased. You made quite a splash the day before yesterday. Don't think that just because you were wearing armor, no one knows who you are. Foreign hostile forces might already view you as a massive future threat, and they'd love nothing more than to eliminate you before you can grow."
The simplest way for foreign factions to infiltrate a country was to bestow supernatural powers to selected ordinary people, then keep them under control through various contracts and death curses. Many spies had actually fallen into these traps out of sheer greed, which ultimately left them with no choice but to work with the enemy. Aside from gathering intelligence, these spies were typically tasked with assassinating promising talents before they could rise.
The battle between Yu Xian and Zhou Tai had been incredibly intense. Although Yu Xian had spent the entire fight running and dodging, the fact that he managed to survive was already quite extraordinary. That alone was enough to draw the attention of certain hostile foreign factions.
Zhang Shou got worried. "Holy crap! Doesn't that mean Salted Fish is in massive danger?"
"That’s why I came back ahead of schedule. By the way, the thing you wanted is now..." Suddenly, a serious expression crossed Jin Sheng's face, and his tone changed. "Attention!"
Zhang Shou and Yu Xian instantly snapped to attention, chests out and heads held high as they looked at Jin Sheng.
Jin Sheng took out a box, removed the medal inside, and looked at Yu Xian. "After reviewing and evaluating the Silver City incident and your roles in it, Qilin's headquarters concluded that Yu Xian played a vital role in the Silver City incident. He successfully disrupted the Aberrant Parasites' plan and made significant contributions during the parasite outbreak. On behalf of Qilin's headquarters, I hereby award you the First-Class Merit Medal in recognition of your outstanding contributions and exceptional achievements!"
Yu Xian's eyes welled with a hint of red. As Jin Sheng pinned the medal to his chest, he offered a heavy, solemn salute, which Jin Sheng immediately returned.
Next, Zhang Shou was awarded the Second-Class Merit Medal. After that, the two young men each received a spatial ring. Yu Xian discovered that his ring contained fifty kilograms of silver.
Jin Sheng looked at them. "The commendation ceremony was originally supposed to wait until the two of you traveled to headquarters. But you both know the current situation. According to the research department's findings, Zhou Tai has already mastered the ability to awaken the bloodlines of supernatural creatures, and we absolutely cannot give him any more time. Therefore, our schedule moving forward will be extremely tight."
Zhang Shou’s eyes widened. "Captain, are you the one who's going to be responsible for eliminating Zhou Tai?"
Jin Sheng shook his head. "No. This operation will be under the direct command of General Zhao Yi from headquarters. The military bases of Silver City, Hibiscus City, Fragrant City, River City, and Flower City will establish a complete blockade over an area of 7,000 kilometers centered on Gold Nugget Mountain.
"After that, all members of the Wickedness Purging Squad, along with the Evil Slaying Squad, Crime Eradication Squad, and Demon Slaying Squad, will assemble and enter the sealed-off zone from different directions to eliminate every last Aberrant Parasite and any suspicious creatures."
The details of the massive operation left both Yu Xian and Zhang Shou visibly startled.
Jin Sheng looked at Zhang Shou. "Alright. Death Medic, could you step outside? I need to speak with Salted Fish alone."
Zhang Shou blinked in surprise, then nodded and left the room.
As he watched Zhang Shou close the door, Yu Xian asked, "Captain, what is it that Zhang Shou can't hear?"
A look of envy flashed across Jin Sheng's face. "I don't know what kind of luck you have, but headquarters actually agreed to your request."
He walked over to the desk and picked up a metal briefcase. After he entered a long sequence of passwords and verified his identity, the briefcase slowly clicked open. The temperature inside the entire room instantly plummeted.
Yu Xian peered inside the briefcase and saw a pen injector.
Jin Sheng explained, "This is the Blood of Pangu you requested. After long consideration, headquarters decided to grant your application. You are to inject it right here in front of me. This is a top-tier treasure that even the progenitors of the Blood Race can't lay their hands on."
Jin Sheng was truly envious. For a single drop of the Blood of Pangu, he had not only spent all his merit points but also taken on a massive debt. Yet Yu Xian had obtained it directly like this.
Staring at the Blood of Pangu inside the injector pen, Yu Xian asked somewhat sheepishly, "Um... Captain, can't I just suck it out with my fangs?"
Yu Xian was simply curious about what the Blood of Pangu tasted like. He had no intention of actually injecting it.
Seeing Yu Xian’s mouth-watering expression, Jin Sheng felt his temples throb. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he said irritably, "Do you have any idea that injecting the Blood of Pangu has a high probability of strengthening your bloodline abilities and even eliminating some of your weaknesses?"
If Yu Xian injected the Blood of Pangu into his body, there was a high chance he would evolve from an ordinary vampire into an enhanced vampire, gaining numerous abilities that ordinary vampires lacked.
Currently, Yu Xian was still weak to garlic, crucifixes, and holy-attributed energy. Injecting the Blood of Pangu would very likely erase one or two of those weaknesses. At that point, unless an enemy was drastically stronger and relied on absolute, brutal force to crush him, it would be incredibly difficult to deal any trick damage to him.
Yu Xian was entirely unmoved by Jin Sheng's persuasion. "But I still want to taste what it's like. After all, I am a vampire."
With him awakening a new ability every ten heartbeats, there was no telling when he would just awaken a strange ability like Garlic Blood, Crucifix Eater, or Holy Energy Absorber. Thus, he didn't care about those weaknesses of his.
Moreover, he knew very well that after this, it would be incredibly difficult for him to ever apply for the Blood of Pangu again. From Jin Sheng’s current irritation alone, it was clear that obtaining such things purely through merit was simply too difficult.
The opportunity was ripe, and there was a chance it would never come again. He absolutely had to taste what kind of difference lay between the Blood of Pangu and ordinary blood.
Seeing that Yu Xian remained entirely unwavering, Jin Sheng closed his eyes in frustration, his headache worsening. Only after a long time did he let out a sigh. "Fine. After all, the Blood of Pangu is a reward for you. How you wish to use it is your business. As long as it doesn't leave this room, you may handle it however you please."
Yu Xian cheered. "Thank you, Captain!"
Watching Yu Xian pick up the injector pen, Jin Sheng hesitated before saying, "Since you've made your choice, make sure you don't regret it."
Yu Xian nodded. "Yes. Absolutely no regrets!"
He pressed the tip of the injector pen against his sharp fangs and pushed down with a bit of force. As the blood welled out, he instinctively sucked the blood.
The moment he fully absorbed the Blood of Pangu into his system, he began to feel as though he was drunk on blood, while his long-dormant, silent heart thudded violently against his chest.