8: Chapter 8 Second Candidate

After Shen Qinghe exchanged for a spirit sight talisman, the Xinhuo Council finally ran its first complete workflow.

[Member: Shen Qinghe.]

[Authority: Apprentice.]

[Contribution Points: 20.]

[Exchanged: spirit sight talisman × 1.]

[Remaining Inventory: 2.]

[Current source essence: 3.]

Lu Chen sat in front of the computer in his rented room, sorting the data into tables for members, contribution points, source essence, inventory, and tasks.

The instant noodles were right at hand, already swollen from soaking, and he only remembered to eat them after finishing the last cell.

The first bite went down, the noodles barely needing to be chewed.

Lu Chen swallowed with a grimace, deciding not to think for the moment about why the founder of a supernatural organization couldn't even afford a decent late-night snack.

At least the accounts were correct.

Shen Qinghe now had twenty contribution points, there were two spirit sight talismans left, and the organization had three points of source essence.

Once there were more members in the future, missing a single entry could turn the exchange catalog into a mess of bad debts.

He had just saved the file when Zero popped up with Candidate information.

Zhao Ye, thirty-two years old, a military veteran, currently a field captain for a security company.

In a rescue video from the Fifth Construction Section of the Old City District, he had tackled an intruder out of the way, avoiding a piece of black rust rebar that had turned abnormally.

In the public video, Zhao Ye's performance was very decisive.

But Lu Chen did not equate "decisive" directly with "stable."

He had seen too many people be heroic on camera, only to turn their fear into alcohol, irritability, or harm to their families afterward.

Reality data showed that after saving the person, Zhao Ye had taken three days off, and when he returned, he had worn a wrist brace on his right hand the whole time.

He hadn't started a livestream, hadn't accepted interviews from clickbait accounts, and hadn't used the experience to ask for a bonus at the company.

This at least showed that he knew that incident was not suitable to be treated as a conversation piece.

[Candidate: Zhao Ye.]

[Recommended Test: Recover black rusty curved nail.]

[Risk Assessment: Medium.]

[Hint: Avoid using ordinary metal to directly touch the abnormal core.]

Lu Chen stared at "Medium" for a long time.

The current Xinhuo Council was truly, realistically poor.

With three points of source essence, if a real accident happened, the support he could provide wouldn't be much better than a decent fire extinguisher.

"Should I wait a bit longer?" he asked.

Zero gave no advice, only showing that the black rust pollution fluctuation was slowly increasing.

The result of waiting was likely not more safety, but rather letting ordinary people nearby stumble into it first.

Lu Chen pushed the instant noodles away and re-edited the mission.

[Candidate Test: Black Rust Construction Site.]

[Target: Recover black rusty curved nail.]

[Restriction: Must not use ordinary metal to touch the target directly.]

[Hint: black rust will chase sound and vibration.]

[Completion Reward: Apprentice qualification, contribution point settlement.]

[May refuse; if refused, the grey message will become invalid.]

He added one sentence at the end.

[Evacuating alive takes priority over completing the mission.]

This wasn't superfluous sentimentality.

If a member died, the mission would fail, and the source essence wouldn't be obtained either.

Whether from a human perspective or from the perspective of System operations, throwing one's life away was the worst plan.

At 9:16 PM, Zhao Ye returned to the security company dormitory, dragging a body smelling of sweat.

He had just finished dealing with a dispute at a shopping mall, a button on his uniform collar had been pulled loose, and he was still carrying a boxed meal he'd bought at a convenience store in his left hand.

After entering, he first placed the boxed meal on the table, then stopped completely.

In the very center of the table, there was now a grey letter.

Zhao Ye slowly closed the door again and locked it.

He first checked the windows, then looked under the bed, in the wardrobe, and in the bathroom, and finally moved the entire table away to confirm there were no hidden devices behind it.

Someone next door was playing games, cursing loudly after losing.

Listening to that familiar commotion, Zhao Ye actually felt a little more at ease.

At least reality was still there.

He put on work gloves and reached out to touch the letter.

Dark gold text appeared.

[Candidate: Zhao Ye.]

[You once encountered an anomaly at the Black Rust Construction Site.]

[If you want to know why that piece of rebar changed direction, go to the Fifth Construction Section of the Old City District at 11:30 PM tonight.]

Below that were the mission objectives and a few warnings.

After reading it, Zhao Ye's first sentence was: "Who wrote so much nonsense."

But he read it through again from the beginning, and in the end, he remembered two sentences most firmly.

Don't touch the target with ordinary metal.

Don't make too much noise.

After that rescue half a month ago, he had dreamed of the construction site for three consecutive nights.

In his dreams, that piece of rebar pulled itself out of the wall and chased him down the corridor as if it had eyes.

When he woke up, the area under his wrist brace was full of bloody marks he had scratched himself.

The company told him to rest, saying it was a stress reaction.

Zhao Ye didn't refute it, because he himself didn't know how to explain it either.

He lit a cigarette, and only halfway through did he remember that smoking was prohibited in the dormitory, so he got up and opened a crack in the window.

The night wind blew in, but the words on the grey message didn't move at all.

"Fine," he said to the letter, "I'll go."

There was no response.

"But you better really have an answer."

He began to pack his gear.

Flashlight, rope, cut-resistant clothing, rubber gloves, plastic clips, sealed bags, and a wooden-handled hammer.

The telescopic baton and folding knife he usually found most handy were taken out, then stuffed back into the cabinet.

Zhao Ye stared at the cabinet door for a while, feeling very uncomfortable.

Knowing full well he was going into a dangerous place, yet voluntarily leaving his weapons behind violated all his training habits.

Finally, he pulled a sturdy wooden stick from under the bed frame and swung it twice.

"Can't go completely empty-handed."

When he confirmed the mission, the edges of the grey message turned into a spark of light, landing on the inside of his right wrist.

[Temporary Candidate Mark generated.]

[Function: Mission warning, location confirmation, emergency communication.]

As soon as the fire-pattern appeared, Zhao Ye reflexively tried to rub it off with his hand, but it didn't come off.

"It even gives a direct tattoo?"

The mark faded into his skin, and his expression grew even worse.

At 10:20 PM, the dormitory door was suddenly knocked on.

Xiao Chen from the same team poked half his head in: "Captain, that car downstairs is reporting a fault again, if you have time—"

He stopped halfway through, seeing Zhao Ye's bed covered in ropes, gloves, and sealed bags, and immediately wore a very gossipy expression.

"Is this a date, or are you going to kidnap someone?"

"For car repairs, find the one on duty," Zhao Ye said, pushing him out, "And, don't mess with my table."

Xiao Chen was still shouting as he was pushed out the door: "If it's really a date, remember to wear something nice! That cut-resistant clothing of yours looks like a demolition crew's!"

After the door closed again, Zhao Ye looked down at the equipment he had chosen.

Normal people indeed wouldn't bring plastic clips and a wooden-handled hammer to a date.

He suddenly really wanted to burn the grey message and pretend nothing had happened tonight.

But the slight, faint heat on his wrist reminded him of the rebar at the construction site.

Escaping once didn't mean that thing would stay in place forever.

At 10:50 PM, Zhao Ye finished the cold boxed meal and left the dormitory with his gear on his back.

Before leaving, he sent a message to a colleague from his team.

"Going out for a bit, if I'm not back by two, call me."

The other party replied instantly: "A date?"

Zhao Ye thought for a moment and replied with two words.

"Ghost hunting."

The other party sent a string of mocking emojis.

Zhao Ye shoved his phone into his pocket, his face devoid of any smile.

He also wished this was just a joke.