Deep Space Technology Building.

Chen Bojun sipped his goji-infused tea, his expression solemn: "Zijin, are you certain it's him? Is he truly still alive? If he really is a Nightmare Master, then he must be at least Superdimensional Level by now."

Lu Zijin stood with her back to him, staring out the window coldly: "When we surrounded the Joker back then, there was already a Gu Master who could use Death Spirit Gu showing up. I sensed something was off, dug around everywhere but found nothing. Xiao Gu also mentioned seeing large amounts of Gu Worms in the undersea underground palace. I started having suspicions then."

"When Zicheng went to capture the criminal, a mysterious man gave him key evidence. After identification, it was confirmed that it was the shed skin of a Parasitic Gu. The Gu Master inheritance path is rare to begin with, and we never found his corpse back then. This can only lead to one conclusion—he's still alive."

She paused: "I've been handling this case all along, and even requested assistance from the Nightwatch Department. But you know what? Six months ago, three Nightwatch agents who conducted an in-depth investigation disappeared entirely."

Chen Bojun narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "If he really is a Nightmare Master, then this makes sense. When the position of the Qilin Immortal Palace was first surveyed, he was part of the exploration team. This explains why he's targeting Gu Ci'an's son. A few days ago, outside the Immortal Palace, he was the one attempting a Blood Sacrifice."

Suddenly, this Holy Land Level Ascender's expression shifted drastically.

"Wait, could he be trying to create a Blood Demon Gu?"

He exclaimed, "At first, I thought he wanted to make an offering to whatever is inside the Immortal Palace!"

Lu Zijin replied darkly: "This man attempted to ascend years ago, and the only reason he survived was likely pure luck; he must've stumbled upon the Immortal Palace by accident and encountered whatever resides inside. Since then, he betrayed humanity and became a Divine Servant."

"Over the years, he's solidified his power. His current ambition may no longer be ascension but rather causing large-scale disaster using the Blood Demon Gu. We must stop him; otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Her tone grew heavy: "As for Lin Yuan's case, we've already interrogated him and secured the key evidence. Issue the command for battle now. It's clear we don't have much time left."

Conversations between big players are always tacitly understood.

As soon as Blood Demon Gu was mentioned, they realized a Blood Sacrifice was looming in Peak City.

"That explains why the Yan family was targeted."

Chen Bojun's eyes turned icy: "A Nightmare Master requires a catalyst to refine a Blood Demon Gu!"

Lu Zijin turned around and looked at him expressionlessly: "Give the order."

Chen Bojun hesitated for a moment: "What about Zicheng?"

Lu Zijin sighed lightly: "Let him go. If we stop him again, he won't forgive me for the rest of his life. It would be worse than death."

Chen Bojun took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and issued the command.

"Dawn Combat Sequence, Omega Combat Sequence, mobilize!"

·

·

Gu Jianlin glanced at the second floor.

Luckily, he landed in a trash bin; otherwise, falling from this height might have left him with a concussion.

A small boy was upside down in the trash bin, his clothes shredded apart, bruises and bloody wounds all over his body. His little face was plastered with dried nose blood, leaving him barely breathing.

Gu Jianlin instinctively raised his right hand, igniting the Divine Sacrificial Fire with the little remaining spirituality he had left.

Then he suddenly remembered that the Divine inheritance path's healing ability only worked on himself, not others.

He had no choice but to grab the kid's leg and pull him out of the trash heap.

With a thud.

A wrinkled, tightly-clenched red banknote fell out.

"Who beat you up again? Or did you steal someone's money?"

Gu Jianlin grabbed the boy by the collar and dragged him forward, speaking flatly: "Don't pretend to be dead. I know you're still conscious. My inheritance path is Divine; you can fool anyone but me."

The little boy's blood-stained face twitched slightly. He bit his lip and remained silent.

Yet as he was being dragged away, he reached out and grabbed the fallen one hundred yuan.

Gu Jianlin glanced down at the boy and furrowed his brow.

The boy's spiritual state was untainted, meaning he was completely normal inside and out—unless he'd committed some heinous crime, leading the association to hunt him. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to end up like this.

That said, what kind of crime could a little kid possibly commit?

Even in the worst case scenario, if he truly were guilty, the Ascender Alliance Treaty never handed out capital punishment, let alone lifelong imprisonment, for minors.

These were facts Gu Jianlin could easily confirm using his phone.

Although the Ether Association certainly had its dark sides, and the Judgement Court's methods were nauseating, they weren't entirely reckless—they stood as guardians of order.

At least they upheld order on the surface.

For example, while Gu Ci'an had been defined as a Fallen guilty of severe crimes, neither his son nor ex-wife were implicated beyond secret investigations. Nothing actually tied them down.

Except for the initial visit from Li Changzhi.

But Gu Jianlin knew one thing clearly—there had been a mysterious figure protecting him all along.

"Your name."

Gu Jianlin abruptly said: "If you don't tell me, I'll toss you into the sea."

The little boy coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam, stubbornly replying: "You wouldn't do that."

But after a brief pause, he suddenly said: "Fu Chaoyang."

Gu Jianlin cast him a glance: "Who beat you up?"

Fu Chaoyang coughed twice weakly: "Someone tried to rob me this morning."

Gu Jianlin raised a brow: "Were you just hiding from the group that just left?"

At this moment, Fu Chaoyang didn't reply, but his body tensed up completely, giving away the answer.

Gu Jianlin asked calmly, "Where do you live?"

Fu Chaoyang still held out stubbornly and refused to answer.

Gu Jianlin ran out of patience and said coldly: "There should be a Magician in the Black Spade Bar. I could find someone to hypnotize you. You know I won the Beast Fighting matches yesterday and got my hands on a Golden Card."

Fu Chaoyang's tensed body remained taut as he murmured weakly: "Exit this alley and you'll find a factory dormitory near the port. It's the room furthest inside on the top floor—here's the key…"

He fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a wad of tissues and advertisement cards. Among them was a key.

Gu Jianlin took the key, dragged the boy along, and followed the route he described to find a dilapidated dormitory building, climbing rusty iron stairs all the way to the top floor.

Passing through the corridor, he suddenly pried loose a piece of broken rubble and found another key hidden inside.

"The door has two locks and requires two keys."

Fu Chaoyang said.

Gu Jianlin stared at him briefly, surprised at the kid's caution.

At the corridor's deepest point, he found two locked rooms and used both keys to unlock them.

He pushed the door open, revealing a run-down interior. A mattress occupied most of the space, though its bedding was relatively tidy. Aside from an old wardrobe, an oil-stained stovetop in the kitchen, and a squat toilet in the bathroom, there were no other appliances—the electricity was even turned off.

After a quick inspection, Gu Jianlin noticed faint overlapping handprints on the wall.

"You live here?"

He asked flatly.

Fu Chaoyang replied, "Yes."

Without another word, Gu Jianlin walked toward the wall with handprints.

Fu Chaoyang's facial expression abruptly shifted as he struggled fiercely.

The kid was too battered to have any strength left, of course.

Even if he hadn't been beaten up, he wouldn't have been able to escape a teenager's grasp.

Gu Jianlin threw him onto the bed and pushed open part of the wall.

A dull grinding sound echoed as a hidden door in the stone wall slid backward, revealing a secret room.

The chamber had functional electricity and lit-up bulbs; a fan spun lazily, making the air less stifling. There was a desk paired with a bookshelf—countless files piled on the ground. Guns, ammo, daggers, and Miao Blades hung on the walls as cold weapons.

On the wall, a map of Peak City was displayed, covered with red lines, most of which marked areas out at sea.

On a bed lay a middle-aged man whose face was drenched in cold sweat, as though trapped in a nightmare.

His body was convulsing, seemingly in great fear.

"Who's this?"

Gu Jianlin asked coldly: "You have only one chance."

On the second bed, the barely-conscious Fu Chaoyang weakly replied, "My foster father."

That made everything clear.

Gu Jianlin understood; everything made sense now.

He stepped forward, glancing at the scattered files and noticing a particular draft paper catching his eye.

"August 7th, I realized the Gu affecting me is Soul Loss Gu. Although the boss warned us beforehand that the target's true identity was highly likely to be a Nightmare Master, so we took resistance medicine early, we still underestimated the Gu Poison's potency. My brain is already starting to malfunction; everything's becoming blurry…"

"I don't know what to do. I barely escaped from the Immortal Palace's outskirts and my first instinct was to contact my superiors. But for some reason, no response has come even after a whole day."

"Could it be my superiors were compromised too? I can't reach my comrades either; how could such a scenario happen in the Nightwatch Department? Everyone is Sixth Rank—it's impossible for them to just silently perish unless there's a traitor! For the sake of this covert operation, my identity in the real world has been wiped out. I can't trust anyone now—I have to hide in the Forbidden Zone."

"Right, Mu Feng. Mu Feng should still be hiding in Peak City—I suddenly know why he lost his memory! Soul Loss Gu, he must've been afflicted by Soul Loss Gu back then too! The mastermind is this Nightmare Master!"

"I must hold on; I have to find Mu Feng. Old Gu must be connected to him—they're the only ones I can trust…"

[PS: This book premieres on Qidian Reading App; the next chapter arrives at 11:30 PM!]