Chapter 217: Chapter 217 – Silent Conversation
“We have already sent people to investigate at the location where the incident took place, but the target could not be found. The monsters these days are all very smart and will relocate after every strike. Don’t worry, we will definitely find a way to catch these monsters that specifically target Practitioners.”
“Remember to submit the report of this incident in the name of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. You may rest assured that you would be rewarded duly in the intranet and also receive monetary rewards. Has Brother Yu here ever lied to you?”
“Thank you, Ren Suo, it was truly the right decision to send you to the Institution. I will treat you to a meal next time,” Yu Kuangtu said.
Ren Suo replied, “Sure, I heard that the Australian lobster sold in that five-star hotel in the city area is quite delicious…”
Yu Kuangtu interrupted and said, “Ah, I am still busy with other work. If you need anything, just look for Li Dan!”
Listening to Yu Kuangtu hang up the call, Ren Suo pulled the corners of his lips. He muttered, “It’s already 9 p.m., and you are still busy with other work…?”
This time around, it was a significant discovery, and there were both witnesses and physical evidence. As Ren Suo wrote his report paper to upload onto the intranet, he also contacted the Countermeasure Division, and Yu Kuangtu was extremely quick to respond. However, such monsters that thrived in a city of humans would definitely not be so easy to catch, so the Countermeasure Division certainly had quite a task.
Nevertheless, Ren Suo was not worried that they could not catch the new breed of monsters—it could be as simple as ‘fishing’ the monsters out.
Moreover, the monsters only injured people and did not kill. The Countermeasure System already notified the hospitals throughout the city, and the moment victims with similar injuries were found, the Countermeasure System would immediately investigate the surrounding area.
Humans already had a comprehensive and complete system for investigating monsters. After all, the government could not allow citizens to live in an environment where they could be killed at any moment; otherwise, the resulting panic could well become another cause for the city to collapse.
More Extraordinaire Institutions were progressively being established, and the number of Awakeners was also rising by the day. In a time when the Reiki is being rejuvenated around the world due to the emergence of Naisser Ren’s widely-known videos, the formation of Extraordinaire departments in countries around the world naturally followed. It was something which even needed to be publicized widely, as if to promote the fact that the respective nations also had their own Extraordinaires who protected the rights of people. In that way, people could go about their lives in peace and not worry about mysterious, extraordinary events occurring!
Although Ren Suo’s report paper was still in the process of being reviewed, it would certainly be passed and verified as true, since it was written based on a real occurrence and supported by the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division.
In addition, the paper reported such a significant finding that it fulfilled much of Ren Suo’s monthly work requirements. It would not matter if Ren Suo did not submit another report paper for the rest of the month.
After treating the four students, the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] also acquired some energy. Although it was not much, Ren Suo was still unwilling to waste it—he turned on the Reiki accumulation device and began Practicing.
However, even before he could start performing the “Secret Records of Glorious Xuan”, he received a call from Dong Chengling.
She said, “Suo, did you just perform treatment for Xiao Yan and her friends?”
Ren Suo replied, “Yeah, I did. Don’t worry, they are fine now. The doctor said that they would only need to remain in the hospital for further observation for a short while. As long as everything is confirmed to be fine, they should be discharged in the next few days.”
“Mmm, I went to the school hospital just now to visit Xiao Yan. The doctor said that they had low blood sugar, but it was only because they recovered too quickly. If everything goes well, they would be discharged tomorrow,” Dong Chengling said.
Ren Suo was slightly puzzled. He asked, “Why did you call me when you have already checked on Gu Yueyan?”
“…” Dong Chengling was speechless.
She remained silent for a while, then asked suddenly, “Have you ended your isolated Practice session?”
“Yes, but I am just preparing to Practice,” Ren Suo said.
Another long silence followed. Ren Suo felt that it was slightly awkward, so he took the initiative to ask, “By the way, why did you call me Suo just now?”
“… Do you not like that?” Dong Chengling asked.
“Umm, well, only very few people will call me with just one word of my name. They either call me by my full name, or otherwise they would call me Xiao Suo, Little Suo, Young Suo, Noodles Suo…” Ren Suo said.
Dong Chengling replied, “You called me by my name, so I decided to just call you by your name too. If you mind that…”
Ren Suo said, “No, it’s alright, you may call me whatever you are comfortable with using. Names are meant to be called by people anyway, it just felt rather new to hear someone call me only by my name.”
Yet another long silence followed. Ren Suo asked, “Is there anything else?”
“No,” Dong Chengling said.
After another moment of silence, Dong Chengling asked, “What did you eat for dinner?”
“I bought a takeaway from the dining hall and ate while working. While treating Gu Yueyan and her friends, I discovered something new, so I was in a hurry to come back to report it to the Countermeasure System,” Ren Suo replied.
At that juncture, even someone like Ren Suo could feel that he seemed to be forgetting something. He put on his hat and said in his heart to equip [Hat of Cultivation and Practice].
In addition to the effect of ‘speaking too straightforwardly’, the Hat also gave him +10% understanding—what was meant by understanding seemed very abstract, but it actually included aspects like memory ability, comprehension skills, and thinking skills. At the least, it ensured that Ren Suo would not be forgetful.
“… Ah, by the way, can I still go over to your house to eat tomorrow?” Ren Suo asked.
“Sure,” Dong Chengling replied. Her voice was very calm.
Ren Suo thought hard and felt that he had not forgotten to say anything else. He said, “I’ll hang up now?”
“Okay,” Dong Chengling said.
Ren Suo felt that he had not called Dong Chengling frequently enough such that the dynamic of their conversation was slightly strange…
After Ren Suo finished Practicing, it was already 12 a.m. Most of the lights in the rooms of the faculty dormitory were off and almost everyone was already asleep.
“It’s already late…”
Ren Suo sighed, then sat on the couch and started playing.
There were less than ten days left before the 23rd, and he had two more checkpoints left to clear—Ren Suo felt that he needed to hasten his pace in completing the game.
If everything went smoothly, the 23rd of the month would be the day when the Forbidden Fruit descended to Earth.
At present, Ren Suo was still on his first savegame. If Ren Suo was willing to stay up every night and give up on his Practice time, it should not be a problem for him to begin a new savegame and try again with the remaining time he had.
However, Ren Suo had already put in too much effort in the current savegame. He was too lazy to start another savegame if he could clear the game in the current one—it was extremely exhausting to have to act one more round!
Moreover, even if he restarted the game with a new savegame, the [Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo] would not be activated again when he defeated the bosses. As such, the prospect of starting a new savegame felt even more uninteresting to Ren Suo.
It was just like when Ren Suo was buying soda as a kid. Initially, there was a lucky pick event where the lids of the soda bottles would either have the phrase [Thank you for your purchase] or [Exchange for a free bottle] on them. However, when it suddenly ceased, Ren Suo found that he would no longer buy that brand of soda even if he used to like them. Instead, he would rather buy another brand of soda with the same taste—it felt as if he was at the losing end if he continued buying the same brand of soda.
Even more so was the fact that Ren Suo had already spent over 40 merit points in the current savegame, which were all used to treat the aftereffects the mage experienced after casting the Forbidden Spells.
Embarking on the sixth checkpoint, Ren Suo thought about it and decided to reuse the silver-haired mage character.
After all, he was not ‘dead’ yet.
The checkpoint this time was set in a vast ice field. The silver-haired mage and the five female mages descended at the same time.
However, when they arrived, they were greeted by a peculiar sight–
A large group of Extraordinaires were trying to break apart a block of ice on the ice field. Some of them were using entrenching tools, some were using their hands, and some were even using their abilities.
When the mages arrived, the Extraordinaires were instantly overjoyed. They exclaimed: [Sir Mage is finally here!]
The silver-haired mage questioned: [‘Finally’?]
The Extraordinaire from Fanying Nation whose name was ‘Nozomi Natsukawa’ said: [Our higher-ups said that you would appear in the other unpurified mystery realms in less than a day, so we came here first to scout and wait for you. We will assist the World Tree in purifying this mystery realm to the best of our abilities!]
The silver-haired mage asked: [What are you doing now then?]
Nozomi Natsukawa pointed happily to the ice block that they were trying to break apart and said: [We discovered that one of your companions is frozen and we are trying to save her!]
Click- clack-
Suddenly, cracks appeared on the ice block and the next moment, it exploded into countless fragments.
As the stunned Extraordinaires looked on, a female mage who wore a white robe and had white hair emerged from the block of ice. She was icy cold and her lips were blue. Teleporting in front of the silver-haired mage, she introduced herself: [I am the Magic Wrist Mage, Freya.]
“Did she have to make her appearance in such a cool way…”
Ren Suo controlled Mage to shoot a few recovery rays of Holy Light to treat the Extraordinaires who were injured by the ice shards. Ren Suo noticed the shocked look on the face of Nozomi Natsukawa, who was standing at the side. He controlled the silver-haired mage to explain:
[Aye, you all disturbed her in her sleep, so she woke up slightly more irritated.]
Nozomi Natsukawa was bewildered. He remarked: [Am I to blame?]