19: Gu Yanci, you really are haunting me

"Warning: The disaster and resentment fluctuations you unleashed during your mission have attracted the high attention of the local supernatural organization, the Soul Suppression Bureau."

"Newbie protection period has ended."

"Wishing you... a pleasant hunt."

The cold system prompt instantly pulled Su Ke Ke back to reality from her frenzy of revenge.

The brief respite she had just gained hadn't even warmed up.

A larger, more terrifying shadow had already enveloped her—the Soul Suppression Bureau.

Just hearing the name, she felt an undeniable oppressive force from the authorities.

She understood that she had transformed from a bullied weakling into an "anomaly" hunted by the authorities.

A strong will to survive suppressed all other emotions.

Without hesitation, she immediately opened the shimmering "Beginner's Gift Pack."

"Congratulations! You have received: E-rank skill 'Presence Concealment,' one-time item 'Spatial Distortion Talisman.'"

"Presence Concealment: Can greatly reduce one's energy fluctuations and sense of presence. In a non-combat state, it is difficult for beings of the same rank or lower to perceive you."

"Spatial Distortion Talisman: Upon activation, allows for one random teleportation within 100 meters. A life-saving trump card."

Su Ke Ke immediately chose to learn the skill.

A cool stream of information flowed into her mind.

She instinctively followed that sensation to calm her mind.

The faint aura of disaster around her vanished instantly without a trace.

Her entire being seemed to merge into the night, becoming inconspicuous.

She dared not return to that so-called "home"; it would be the first place to be investigated.

She wandered the late-night streets like a homeless stray cat, contemplating her next move.

Just then, a familiar and pleasantly surprised voice came from behind her.

"Su Ke Ke? It's so late, why are you still here?"

Turning around, it was Zhang Wei, the only girl in her class who had ever spoken up for her and given her a bandage.

Zhang Wei looked at Su Ke Ke's pale face and somewhat disheveled appearance, her eyes full of worry:

"Were they bullying you again? Can't you go home? How about... you stay at my place for the night! My parents are very kind!"

In the cold despair, this kindness seemed so warm and so tempting.

Su Ke Ke looked at Zhang Wei's sincere eyes, and the vigilance in her heart melted away by a hint of longing.

She desperately needed a place to temporarily settle down.

She nodded.

Zhang Wei's home was in a seemingly ordinary high-end residential area.

The house was decorated simply and solemnly, and the air was filled with a sense of iron-willed discipline.

Upon entering, Su Ke Ke saw a tall, stern-faced middle-aged man sitting on the living room sofa.

He was wearing a dark special uniform, his epaulets reflecting a cold, hard light under the lamp.

"Dad, I brought a classmate home to stay for the night," Zhang Wei whispered.

The man merely nodded slightly.

His attention was entirely on the communicator in his hand, his voice low and powerful: "...The on-site investigation results are out? Speak."

Su Ke Ke's heart instantly leaped into her throat.

"...The energy fluctuations are confirmed as a 'Disaster' type precursor, but they are very faint, almost untraceable."

"No effective biological traces were left at the scene; even the aura was completely wiped clean."

"The target possesses an extremely strong anti-reconnaissance awareness..."

"Good. Name this anomalous event 'Nightingale.' The danger level is tentatively set at 'Class C-upper.' Immediately report the case file to headquarters."

Every word the man spoke was like a heavy hammer, striking Su Ke Ke's heart.

She subconsciously pushed her Presence Concealment to its limit.

She kept her head down, trying to make herself look like nothing more than an ordinary girl.

Meanwhile, in the Sea of Concepts, Gu Jianghan watched this drama with interest.

The lamb ran into the butcher's home, seeking refuge—this script was truly amusing.

His gaze casually fell on the man.

However, when his will truly focused on that face, even his calm, unruffled existence rippled slightly.

"Hmm...?"

That face was all too familiar to him.

It was the Last Human Emperor - Gu Yanci, who, in another world, bore the wrath of eighty billion human souls, ultimately ascended to the Ninth Rank in despair, and transformed into a battle ghost!

"No, it's not him."

Gu Jianghan's thoughts instantly pierced through the River of Karma, discerning the truth.

So that was it.

Back then, Gu Yanci forcibly ascended to godhood on Blue Star as a mortal.

The 'cause' and 'effect' of his existence were too vast.

At the moment of his ascension, the foundation of his causality was shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the Multiverse.

A hint of playfulness flashed through his will.

A fragment carrying the obsession to 'protect humanity' actually landed in this 'Cradle of Original Sin' and became the guardian of order here.

To have a soul fragment burdened with endless hatred judge another soul that had just ignited the flames of revenge?

Haha... this truly was the ultimate irony.

In the living room, the man—Gu Tiancheng, the chief commander of the Soul Suppression Bureau's Jiangcheng branch—hung up the communication.

His sharp eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts, slowly turned to Su Ke Ke, who had her head bowed.

"Wei Wei, is this your classmate?"

Gu Tiancheng's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

"Why do I feel... a familiar scent on her."

Gu Tiancheng's phrase "familiar scent" struck Su Ke Ke's head like a bolt of lightning, chilling her to the bone.

She almost lost control of her Presence Concealment.

Just as she thought she was about to be exposed, the kind and guileless Zhang Wei misunderstood.

She thought her father was using his interrogator's demeanor to scare her classmate.

She quickly spread her arms like a protective hen, blocking Su Ke Ke, and grumbled discontentedly:

"Dad! What are you doing! This is my classmate, not a bad person!"

Saying that, she pulled Gu Tiancheng to a corner and whispered:

"Dad, let me tell you, Ke Ke... she's an orphan, grew up in an orphanage, and is always bullied at school. She's really pitiful. Don't look at her like that; you'll scare her."

"An orphan?"

Gu Tiancheng was stunned.

His battle-hardened heart, long as firm as a rock, softened imperceptibly for a moment when he heard that word.

As a karmic fragment of Gu Yanci, he inherited the Human Emperor's deepest protective obsession for "human younglings."

The scrutiny and sharpness in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a complex pity.

He waved his hand, his tone much gentler: "It's Dad's fault. Wei Wei, take your classmate to the guest room. Let her settle in comfortably."

Su Ke Ke's taut nerves finally relaxed.

The immense contrast left her with a sense of exhaustion, like surviving a catastrophe.

She decided to stay only one night. She would leave at dawn; this place was too dangerous.

However, in the Sea of Concepts, Gu Jianghan found this tender scene a bit dull.

"Too boring."

His will fluctuated.

The prey hid in the hunter's lair, but it wasn't to stage a thrilling disguise?

This didn't fit the script of the Cradle of Original Sin.

With a thought, an invisible command descended into Su Ke Ke's mind through the "System."

"Ding! Long-term quest triggered: Under the Lamplight."

"Quest Description: The most dangerous place is the safest place. Under the surveillance of Gu Tiancheng, the commander of the Soul Suppression Bureau's Jiangcheng branch, perfectly impersonate a harmless ordinary high school student and live there for 15 days without exposing your identity."

"Quest Reward: Skill 'Disguise (D-rank),' Disaster Authority Primary Fragment x1."

"Hint: Collect ten primary fragments to upgrade your 'Disaster' Authority to an intermediate 'Disaster' Authority."

"Current progress (1/10). Host, please redouble your efforts!"

Su Ke Ke's heart, which had just settled, was once again thrown into turmoil by this sudden quest.

Live for 15 days under the nose of the law enforcement officer who is hunting her, without being exposed?!

This was practically asking her to dance on the tip of a knife!

But the reward of "completing the authority" was like the devil's whisper, full of fatal temptation.

She had no choice.

This play instantly became interesting.