Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Nothing romantic came of the encounter.
Chen Jing only wanted Senior Qin to help her train her Talent.
She had discovered a serious psychological weakness in herself.
Echo Vision always gave her an information advantage, but the moment the ability failed, she became helplessly afraid.
If that happened while she faced a real anomaly in the future, the consequences could be fatal.
“I can help, but you’ll have to wait a couple of days…”
After exchanging contact information, Qin Lan did not refuse. Helping her would require almost no effort–all he needed to do was stand still.
Besides, entering the Four-School Joint Examination as an overpowered ringer had hardly been honorable. Helping with a small favor was only reasonable.
For now, Qin Lan had something far more important to do.
He needed to collect his enormous reward.
Just how advanced would a Curse Codex worth 5,000 Bureau points be?
Qin Lan could barely imagine it.
Replacing one Curse Codex with another did not mean starting his training over from the beginning. Different Curse Codices simply changed how curse energy was utilized.
For example, a lower-level Curse Codex might turn 1 point of curse energy into 1 point of bodily strength and 1 point of Talent enhancement.
A more advanced Curse Codex, however, might turn that same point of energy into 2 or even 4 points of bodily strength.
The difference in how much they enhanced Talents was similar.
In other words, even two Curse Codices that both focused on strengthening Talents could differ greatly in effectiveness.
Qin Lan’s 500-point Curse Codex had considerably increased the stats he gained from each death. It had even extended his rollback window to nearly three minutes.
What would a more advanced Curse Codex do?
With excitement surging through him, Qin Lan knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
Lu Xingshan was as relaxed as ever, leisurely enjoying his afternoon tea.
“Director, about that Curse Codex of mine…”
Qin Lan rubbed his hands together and gave him an honest smile.
Lu Xingshan paused. Then he turned and regarded Qin Lan with a half-smile.
“We’ll talk about the Curse Codex in a moment…”
“Don’t you want to explain that special class of yours first?”
Oh, no.
Qin Lan’s smile vanished.
This was a trap!
There was not even a banquet–just the trap!
No wonder Lu Xingshan had been willing to offer an item worth 5,000 Bureau points as a reward. He had planned from the beginning to use the fight as verification.
“Class? What class? I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”
Qin Lan tried to play dumb and bluff his way through.
Lu Xingshan chuckled. “Is that so? Then this is interesting.”
“Yesterday, a 4-Star Anomaly Hunter from the Anomaly Hunter Bureau headquarters suddenly came to me and asked about you. What a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“She gave me your name and even described your appearance.”
“She said she once had the good fortune to enter a 5-Star unsolvable instance with you, only for that instance to end inexplicably…”
“When she entered it a second time, she discovered that someone had already claimed the special class inside.”
Lu Xingshan clicked his tongue in amazement. “Isn’t that strange?”
Qin Lan’s face went pale.
“This 4-Star Anomaly Hunter wouldn’t happen to be–”
Lu Xingshan glanced at him. “Luan Zimo. Do you know her?”
Damn it.
It really was that woman!
Qin Lan had nothing left to say. He sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine. I’ll confess everything…”
“I really did enter that unsolvable instance… and I really was lucky enough to get some kind of special class…”
Since Luan Zimo had exposed him, Qin Lan could no longer hide it.
She was probably still furious and had been searching everywhere for information about him.
To escape that unsolvable instance, she had consumed a precious resurrection item and come away empty-handed.
Unwilling to accept the loss, she had steeled herself and entered again in hopes of obtaining the special class, only to discover that it was gone. Someone else had beaten her to it.
Only three people had been inside at the time: Luan Zimo herself, Han Chan, who already possessed a special class, and Qin Lan, who had looked absurdly weak yet somehow kept escaping Death again and again.
Who could possibly have obtained the special class?
What a difficult mystery.
“Oh, so you’re willing to talk now?” Lu Xingshan teased. “That young woman sent a message to the director of every Safe Zone, focusing her search on young Anomaly Hunters between 2-Star and 4-Star…”
“But your file still listed you as 1-Star at the time, so the search never led to you.”
Qin Lan looked at Lu Xingshan anxiously. “Then… Director, you didn’t sell me out, did you?”
Lu Xingshan leisurely took a sip of tea, exhaled in satisfaction, and smacked his lips.
“I barely know her. Why would I help her?”
“You, on the other hand, are anything but honest. You secretly accomplished something earth-shattering and even hid it from me…”
Hearing that Lu Xingshan had not exposed him, Qin Lan let out a long breath of relief.
Then he rubbed his nose in embarrassment.
“I’ve gotten used to being cautious…”
“You always need a trump card in reserve, or you’ll suffer for it sooner or later…”
Lu Xingshan scoffed. “Not stupid, are you? Fine. If something like this happens again, remember to tell me.”
“If I wanted to hurt you, you wouldn’t have survived this long.”
After taking another sip of tea, Lu Xingshan’s tone grew more serious.
“You also need to know your limits when exploring the Fallen Zone from now on. Understand?”
“You’re a 3-Star Anomaly Hunter with a special class from an unsolvable instance. In the future, you’ll inevitably become the pillar of a Safe Zone… perhaps even the protector of several Safe Zones.”
“If you die, it will be a tremendous loss to humanity.”
Qin Lan smiled bitterly.
It was over.
Lu Xingshan had put him on the protection list.
Qin Lan had grown quickly before, but not quickly enough for Lu Xingshan to go out of his way to protect him.
Lu Xingshan had always taken a hands-off approach and could barely be bothered to care whether Qin Lan lived or died.
Back in Fairytale Town, he probably would not even have appeared if the Abyss had not emerged at the end, threatening to cause a catastrophic disaster at the slightest mishap.
But things were different now.
Anyone with half a brain could tell how powerful a special class from an unsolvable instance would be.
Even an Anomaly Hunter with a C-rank Talent would have little difficulty reaching 4-Star with such a class.
It was an enormous asset.
In other words, Qin Lan’s life no longer belonged entirely to him. Part of it now belonged to the Anomaly Hunter Bureau and to humanity as a whole.
“How did things end up like this…?” Qin Lan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Anyone else would have been overwhelmed with joy. With an experienced 4-Star Anomaly Hunter constantly backing them, venturing into the Fallen Zone would be no more dangerous than strolling through a market.
But Qin Lan needed to get himself killed. That protection was a burden instead.
If he wanted an anomaly to kill him again…
He would have to evade Lu Xingshan’s watch.
Within several kilometers of the Safe Zone, Lu Xingshan could definitely arrive in time to save him.
“All right, that’s enough of that… You defeating Thunder Ember genuinely exceeded my expectations.”
Lu Xingshan looked gratified and clearly seemed very pleased with Qin Lan.
“Five thousand Bureau points is a great deal, but I can afford it.”
“Witnessing the rise of a future 4-Star Anomaly Hunter is a good thing.”
Lu Xingshan tapped several times on his communicator, and Qin Lan received an encrypted document.
“I won this Curse Codex in a bet with an old friend at headquarters. It’s probably worth a little more than 5,000 Bureau points…”
Memories surfaced in Lu Xingshan’s eyes, and a smile tugged at his lips.
“That old bastard only ever lost one bet, and he ended up losing this treasure to me…”
Qin Lan hurriedly opened the document.
One glance was enough to make his blood race.
[Curse Codex: Soul Tower]
[Description: This codex primarily cultivates Talents and secondarily cultivates the soul. It can greatly strengthen the practitioner’s mental will and soul, enabling them to withstand certain special, dangerous anomalies.]
[Note: I also compiled another codex, Body Tower, but it remains incomplete and has not been fully researched. Training in it is not recommended.]