CHAPTER 161: CHAPTER 161: PACKAGE

Support was earned... never given freely.

Every station had to fight for its own resources, neutralize criminals, and prove its worth.

The more criminals a station captured, the higher its ranking and the closer it came to being recruited into the City Lord’s personal security force.

Monica had once been close.

She had handed over dozens of criminals alongside her boyfriend.

They had shared victories, dreams, and the hope of rising together.

Then he betrayed her. Sold her out. Left her humiliated before the city lord.

To ruin her chances of ever standing back, he even went as far as framing her.

Maybe it wouldn’t have hurt if the betrayal hadn’t come from her own loved ones!

She pressed her hand to her chest, willing the old wound to fade.

"Not again. I’ll rise without depending on anyone."

With renewed focus, Monica turned to the investigation.

The results matched Oliver’s prediction.

A ghost portal... an E-class portal... had opened near the mountain. The E-class was low in ranking but still deadly enough to kill dozens.

They were lucky. Truly, devastatingly lucky. The distance between their bus and the portal was wide, and they had talismans; otherwise... god knows what would have happened.

If the portal had opened fully while Naina’s bus had entered too deeply into the mountains, they would all have been corpses... or puppets controlled by vengeful spirits.

What horrified Monica further was the truth about the priest Naina’s company had hired.

He wasn’t a priest at all.

He was a fraud... an unlicensed imposter.

And when the ghosts descended on the bus, he tried to flee.

One spirit caught him, and the imposter priest had become a shriveled corpse within seconds.

As for the talk about him being the martyr and saving others? It was complete bullsh*t. The person responsible for hiring that priest was coincidentally on the bus too, and he was the one who had set that narrative to escape responsibility.

He had, after all, pocketed half of the money. In the end, he was sentenced to jail anyway.

Monica clicked her pen, trying to steady the trembling in her fingers. ’This could have turned into a massacre.’

When the report was complete, she handed Naina her documents and allowed her to leave.

Naina stepped out of the interrogation room, only then noticing that her hands shook violently.

Only now... after everything was over... did the magnitude hit her.

’If I had been just a little slower... if I had stepped outside the bus alone... and bumped into a ghost with a hundred years of cultivation... or worse, a thousand-year specter... I would have died. Or worse, I would have become a calamity that could destroy the entire city.’

Her stomach twisted painfully.

’How reckless was I...? How stupid? Why did I rush like that?’

Her heart squeezed with guilt, fear, and self-blame.

But then she felt someone behind her.

Oliver.

He stood quietly, hands clasped behind his back, watching her with an unreadable expression.

.........

Far from the police station, Lana was unaware of everything.

She walked through her university gates with a bright smile, humming softly. The crisp scent of morning grass filled the air, and sunlight warmed her cheeks.

After finishing her cultivation sessions, she decided to focus on advancing.

"I should upgrade to Yellow Rank. Higher missions pay better. Maybe 100 credits per mission... I need that."

Her steps were light with excitement.

She greeted her teacher politely, then exchanged her hard-earned credits for the Yellow Rank herb package.

She only had 1000 credits, and the yellow rank package was worth almost 10,000 credits. Hence, Lana had to take a special permission slip from Axel to convert her $90 million into 9,000 credits and then exchange it for the resource.

Axel even reminded her that she couldn’t continue this type of conversion, and he only allowed it this one time because he couldn’t bear to see a talent like her toil around for the resources.

The moment the sealed box was placed on her desk, a faint herbal fragrance seeped through, cool, minty, earthy, and sweet all at once.

Lana’s eyes sparkled. "Finally! My precious herbs!"

She opened the package eagerly, and inside lay ten rare herbs:

Moon Blossom, Amber Leaf, Frost Petal, Dawn Root, Ether Moss, Shadow Bloom, Mist Fern, Blood Sage, Lumethron, and Sky Reeds

The vibrant colors almost glowed... icy blues, molten golds, deep greens, and soft violets.

Lana grinned.

’They cost so many credits... I should have stopped being a miser sooner. I could have reached Yellow Rank ages ago.’

She turned to Mr. Crow. "Should I take an herbal bath or eat them directly?"

Mr. Crow, perched on her shoulder, shook his feathered head.

"Herbal baths waste potential. Consuming them gives maximum efficiency."

Lana shivered slightly, remembering the books she had read.

"But I heard the pain can make people faint. Some even died!"

Mr. Crow flicked his wing.

"People choose herbal baths because they fear pain. But consuming them builds a stronger foundation and ensures the herbs’ effects remain pure."

Lana puffed her cheeks, half terrified.

"So you suggest taking it directly?"

"Nope." Mr. Crow shook his head and explained, "I am telling you the true theory. As for consumption... I think you should go with the herbal bath method."

See Lana in pain? Absolutely not!

While they discussed, her classmates Betty, Layla, Faye, Wade, and even Richard entered the room and froze.

Then they burst out laughing and whistling.

"Lana finally bought the Yellow Rank package!"

"How many missions did you complete? Don’t lie!"

Lana chuckled softly.

"It’s my talent. I awakened a cultivation root halfway through the semester, so the university gave me bonus credits."

Betty’s eyes widened.

"You awakened your root midway? And the school rewarded you?"

Lana nodded. Her friends shared jealous looks.

Students who awakened naturally from birth never received such bonuses. But Lana had awakened through effort and hardship... and the university valued that immensely.

They crowded around Lana’s desk, their eyes fixed on the shimmering herbs.