Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Honestly.”
“You two youngsters certainly know how to cause trouble.”
A warm, helpless voice sounded, instantly freezing the surrounding scene.
Lu Xingshan appeared from nowhere inside the carriage. One hand rested on the Conductor’s shoulder, the other on the shoulder of the woman wearing the bloodstained Embroidered Shoes.
“Director Lu…?”
Qin Lan froze. Lu Xingshan had never appeared during any of the previous twenty-five loops.
“In principle, as chief proctor, I am forbidden from interfering with the exam… but this is a special case.”
Lu Xingshan glanced at Qin Lan.
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come to save you two.”
“According to regulations, even if both of you died tragically inside the instance, I could only regretfully cross two names off the list.”
“But the cursed artifact he drew could seriously endanger the other examinees.”
Low sobbing echoed through the carriage.
Even with Lu Xingshan holding the woman’s shoulder, the surrounding cold continued to thicken.
“Cursed artifacts carry the risk of curse resurgence.”
“Without enough power to control one, the anomaly slumbering within can run wild and even break free of the instance’s restraints.”
Lu Xingshan barked softly. Brilliant azure light erupted from his palm.
An intricate, mysterious sigil appeared from thin air and imprinted itself on the woman.
“So this is… Director Lu’s Talent?”
Qin Lan watched the sigil rapidly expand in astonishment.
[Universal Curse Seal]
[Effect: The user may transform their energy into curse seals with different effects according to their will.]
Xue Chuan had previously explained Lu Xingshan’s Talent to Qin Lan.
It could create three basic types of curse seal — defense, attack, and confinement — and apparently derive many more specialized effects from those categories.
There were few records of Lu Xingshan taking action, but whenever he did, his victory rate was one hundred percent.
“Blue… That’s the confinement effect, isn’t it?”
“He can suppress even a 4-Star anomaly. Incredible…”
Such a battle was rarely witnessed. Qin Lan forced his eyes wide, afraid to miss a single detail.
The anomaly’s body trembled.
She tried to raise a hand and released an indistinct whimper, but she could not escape the blue curse seal.
Her blood-red, savage eyes burned with resentment behind her tangled black hair.
Merely meeting her gaze made Qin Lan feel incapable of moving.
“If I didn’t deal with her promptly and she escaped the instance, the other examinees would suffer a completely undeserved disaster.”
“You two pass the exam.”
“Now get lost.”
Without ceremony, Lu Xingshan kicked Qin Lan and Xue Chuan out of the carriage, one foot per person.
[Instance complete.]
[You survived.]
[Additional condition fulfilled: The Anger of the Wrongfully Accused.]
[Cursed artifact acquired: Public Opinion Mouthpiece (3-Star).]
The subway doors slowly closed. Carrying Lu Xingshan and the anomalies, the train vanished into the dark tunnel.
Their surroundings began to disintegrate like ash after a fire.
Within seconds, Qin Lan and Xue Chuan returned to the outside world.
“Uh… That’s it?”
Xue Chuan climbed to his feet and looked around in a daze. Then he checked the recorder on his wrist and cried out,
“Holy shit, it really says I passed!”
“Does this count as using connections?”
Qin Lan struggled upright. The wound on his thigh still hurt and left him weak.
Rather than checking his recorder, he studied the [Public Opinion Mouthpiece (3-Star)] in his hand.
The cursed artifact looked like an ordinary smartphone.
As its owner, however, Qin Lan instinctively knew its effects and method of use.
By turning on the phone and aiming its camera at a target, he could summon a host of evil spirits to attack.
And among those spirits were two particularly heavyweight enforcers.
There was no need to say who they were — subway security.
“Those two things… are now thugs I can summon whenever I want?”
Qin Lan’s mind went blank.
He knew the two hulking brutes’ combat power all too well. Their batons had killed him countless times without giving him the slightest chance to resist.
The guards did not meet the standard of 3-Star anomalies, but they surpassed ordinary 2-Star anomalies.
After all, the strongest anomaly in the instance was the Conductor, not the two security guards.
“This is… my first cursed artifact. A 3-Star cursed artifact!”
Qin Lan’s heartbeat quickened, and his grip tightened around the phone.
While Qin Lan rejoiced, Xue Chuan stared blankly for a long while before belatedly speaking.
“Wait. Did Director Lu sacrifice himself to save us?”
“He didn’t get off the train!”
Xue Chuan immediately began wailing.
“Director Lu! Poor Director Lu! Who would have thought that after our chance meeting, a man with black hair like mine would have to bury a white-haired elder like you?”
Under Qin Lan’s stunned gaze, Xue Chuan howled without tears and began digging at the earth.
“What are you doing?”
Xue Chuan patiently explained while scooping out a hole with his hands.
“Building Director Lu a grave.”
“When I return to the Safe Zone, I’ll have the media spread the tale of his righteous sacrifice so everyone learns of his glorious final moment.”
He patted the little mound he had raised and wrote the character for “Lu” on it.
With absolute sincerity, he bowed to the mound.
“Rest in peace, Director Lu. Leave your wife to me.”
“If you have a daughter, I’ll brave fire and water to take good care of her.”
“I don’t have many virtues, but I am filial and grateful…”
“Is that so?”
Before he finished, Lu Xingshan appeared behind him with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
He bent close to Xue Chuan’s ear and patted his shoulder in a friendly manner.
“Such a filial young man. Would you like me to send you to meet your father?”
“Don’t worry. I’m very gentle. I guarantee you won’t feel any pain on the way.”
Xue Chuan went rigid and slowly turned his head.
“Ha-ha, Director Lu. You’re not dead?”
“What a misunderstanding…”
Qin Lan’s mouth twitched. He silently moved two steps away to avoid collateral damage.
Director Lu kicked Xue Chuan in the backside and sent him rolling twice.
He snorted irritably.
“If I died that easily, could I be the director of the Anomaly Hunter Bureau?”
“Items drawn by your Talent last no more than fifteen minutes. I only needed to seal that thing until it dissipated.”
“All that remained was an anomaly from a 3-Star instance. You think it could trap me?”
He kicked Xue Chuan in the backside again, making him howl.
That one was purely personal.
“You two are coming back to the Safe Zone with me.”
Lu Xingshan looked at the phone in Qin Lan’s hand.
“And that object must go to the Bureau for appraisal first.”
“A 3-Star cursed artifact isn’t some cabbage from a roadside stall.”
Qin Lan nodded obediently.
He had expected as much.
Cursed artifacts were inevitably subject to strict Bureau oversight. There was no chance he could casually carry one into a Safe Zone.
If it lost control inside, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Merely imagining the subway guards slaughtering their way through a crowd made Qin Lan’s hair stand on end.
“What a shame.”
“I wanted to use this trip to clear several more instances and grind attributes. That will have to wait.”
Qin Lan felt some regret.
“Still, I obtained the most important thing. The trip wasn’t wasted.”
With a grin, he opened the Skill section of his status panel.
—
Skill: [Baton Secret Art: Three Strikes, Three Guards]
Type: Attack Skill
Rank: 2-Star
Requirement: Baton-type or long-handled weapon.
Effect: Consume stamina to execute three swift baton strikes based on Speed. Each deals base physical damage based on Strength and applies a special abnormal status. The first strike inflicts Stagger, the second Silence, and the third Stun.
Note: By consuming additional energy, this skill can damage nonphysical targets. The stronger the target, the weaker the abnormal status effects.
—
The skill Qin Lan had coveted for so long was finally fully replicated.