178: The Origin of Orcs

"What? Do you still have something to ask me for?"

Meng Yanxing stared at Lu Ze.

Lu Ze took out his Storage Bracelet, its specific Spiritual Qi runes already crushed, no longer able to lock onto a specific Spiritual Qi switch.

"Deputy Director Meng, you broke my item. Shouldn't you replace it? Also, as soon as I returned, I was cornered. There's the compensation for emotional distress, and that..."

"Alright, alright."

Meng Yanxing waved his hand impatiently, took a belt-like object from his Storage Ring, and tossed it to Lu Ze, "This thing should last you for decades!"

Lu Ze took it, and the item in his hand was a leather belt adorned with seven gems.

The belt felt warm and smooth in his hand, and there was even a faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation, seemingly nourishing Lu Ze.

Each of the seven gems contained a hundred-square-meter storage space, suitable for various items.

What surprised Lu Ze most was that one of the green gem spaces was filled with soil. Myriad Things Grow also entered it along with Lu Ze's Spiritual Qi, immediately releasing its power to fill the entire space.

With the power of Myriad Things Grow, this place could serve as a temporary space for cultivating Spirit Medicine!

Such a Spiritual Artifact Storage Ring would be priceless on the market!

Lu Ze had only intended to make a small profit, but he hadn't expected to hit the jackpot!

Seeing Lu Ze's uncontrollable smile, Meng Yanxing waved his hand, "You two leave. I have official business to attend to!"

This time, Lu Ze obediently followed Cheng Ran out.

Just as they exited, with a 'thud,' the office door was slammed shut by Meng Yanxing.

Meng Yanxing had suffered the biggest loss today. Not only had he completely deviated from his original goal and wasted too much time on Lu Ze, but he had also lost a Spiritual Artifact Storage Ring.

Meng Yanxing sighed twice in his office, then began to ponder how to pry information from Qin Wan and Qin Xiaoxiao.

Outside the door, Cheng Ran gestured for Lu Ze to follow her.

Cheng Ran led Lu Ze back to her residence. After closing the door, she immediately activated a formation barrier, enclosing both of them within it.

"Teacher?"

Lu Ze was a little confused about what Cheng Ran intended to do.

Cheng Ran patted his shoulder, signaling him to remain calm.

Cheng Ran led Lu Ze to the sofa and sat down. After a moment, Cheng Ran finally said, "Alright, no one is watching now. We can talk."

Lu Ze was bewildered. No one watching?

Had Hidden Thunder not detected anyone nearby either?

"Let me ask you about what happened a few days ago."

Cheng Ran sat next to Lu Ze, placed her fingers on his wrist, and suppressed Lu Ze's own Spiritual Qi with her own, asking, "Whose hands is that ice coffin in now?"

Lu Ze immediately understood the meaning. This was to prevent Lu Ze from forcibly suppressing his heartbeat with Spiritual Qi.

If Lu Ze lied, his heartbeat might be unstable, showing subtle differences.

Lu Ze chuckled inwardly. If he only spoke the truth, it would be simple.

"It's in the hands of those gray-robed figures."

Lu Ze answered smoothly, his heartbeat showing no signs of irregularity.

Cheng Ran lowered her hand, slightly increasing the distance between them, and said, "Since it's not on you, then there's nothing to worry about."

Seeing Cheng Ran about to deactivate the barrier, Lu Ze couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, what do Deputy Director Meng and the others want with that thing? Why are so many people fighting over it?"

Cheng Ran hesitated slightly before saying, "Knowing these things won't do you any good. However, you might encounter them in the future, so I'll tell you now as a precaution. Do you know what a Beastman is?"

"Beastman?"

Lu Ze immediately shook his head.

The vast land of Huaxia stretched for tens of thousands of miles. On the surface, there were only Humans and Demons. Recently, Lu Ze had learned about Human Demons, and now there were Beastmen?

"Actually, Beastmen and Human Demons are essentially similar. It's just that Beastmen have their own thoughts and won't actively attack humans. However, they have been infected by the aura of Human Demons, and it's irreversible. So, humans gave them the identity of Beastmen."

"However, they are no longer normal humans after all. With such a label, living among humans, they don't receive normal treatment. Many arduous and difficult tasks are assigned to them, and their lives are even controlled by formations and runes."

"As for that ice coffin and corpse, if successfully brought back, they will be used to create more powerful Beastmen, allowing them to replace more dangerous and laborious work."

As these words fell, Lu Ze's brows furrowed tightly. After a long moment, he let out a sarcastic laugh, opened his mouth, and was about to say something, but Cheng Ran placed two fingers on Lu Ze's lips, stopping his words.

"I know what you want to say. It's just that this was a decision made by the headquarters back then. When it was first proposed, many people did object, but as many people have benefited from it now, Beastmen are increasingly separated from humans. Many people have also forgotten that Beastmen share the same ancestors as us Humans, and are, in fact, our compatriots."

Cheng Ran sighed. She had also submitted several reports regarding the abolition of the Beastman system, but they all came to nothing.

After her elders at home found out, they instead scolded Cheng Ran and warned her not to make such suggestions in the future.

This matter had been ongoing for decades and was essentially set in stone. It would be incredibly difficult to dismantle this system.

Lu Ze sneered, saying nothing more.

There was no point in saying anything about such matters.

He was quite curious as to which genius had proposed such a strategy.

There weren't many Humans to begin with, and they were so disunited internally, suppressing a portion of their own people as slaves.

Such unequal suppression would inevitably stir up unrest among the Beastmen.

When a critical external threat arose, the Beastmen would inevitably rise up, and at that time, the Human Race would surely decline.

After that, if any Humans survived, they would probably be reduced to slavery.

Throughout Huaxia's history, hadn't such events happened countless times?

Pushing the Beastmen to their opposite side, creating a formidable enemy for themselves—such a thing could actually be passed through various agreements.

Lu Ze laughed.

Cheng Ran sighed softly, withdrew her hand, and sensing the heavy atmosphere, changed the subject.

"In three days, Xiong Lu will return to Shennong City. You should also go with her to receive some rewards, and I will accompany you all."

Lu Ze nodded.

Xiong Lu still owed him a few extortions that Lu Ze hadn't collected yet.

Besides, there was also Hidden Thunder, which they had won in a competition between their two Municipal Demon Subduing Divisions. Lu Ze also needed to subdue it.

With Cheng Ran accompanying them, the extortion process would definitely be smoother.

Cheng Ran gave Lu Ze some instructions, then let him leave.

After leaving the hotel, Lu Ze looked at the sky; it was almost morning.

Just as he was about to go back for a shower, he saw a flashy red sports car not far away.

Beside the sports car, Fu Liang leaned coolly, wearing sunglasses, drawing frequent Look backs from passing women.

Lu Ze walked over, "Why are you here?"

Fu Liang took off his sunglasses, grinned, and said, "Naturally, I received news that Young Master Lu had returned, so I came here to wait for you!"

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to treat Young Master Lu to a meal."