Soon.
Su Zhan reached the top of the chimney.
He raised the telescope to his eyes.
The abandoned chemical factory five kilometers away had been reduced to ruins.
Amidst billowing smoke and dust.
Several blurred figures darted and weaved at astonishing speeds.
Their collisions triggered violent explosions.
Shockwaves continuously sent surrounding debris flying in all directions.
A pure white spiritual energy streaked through like flowing fire.
Then another completely different colored spiritual energy appeared.
An eerie blue spiritual energy that distorted the air wherever it passed.
Though Su Zhan didn't understand its function.
And now, their opponent.
Was an aberration that appeared humanoid, yet still hadn't fallen under such coordinated attacks.
Its body was tall and thin, with grayish-white corpse-like skin, several writhing meaty tentacles extending from its neck, each covered in fine, sharp teeth.
Pale gray mist swirled around its body, flowing as if possessing life of its own.
Whenever the two attackers closed in.
The mist would suddenly churn, blocking their assaults.
"Boom—!"
Another violent collision.
The aberration's body jerked to a sudden halt.
And in that instant.
Wang Mingyuan's white spiritual energy pierced through its chest like a spear, tearing a gap through the gray mist by sheer force.
Yet the aberration abruptly raised its arm the next second, meaty tentacles whipping toward Wang Mingyuan like lashes, forcing him back several steps.
Its recovery speed was astonishingly fast—the chest wound rapidly healing under the gray mist's envelopment.
Su Zhan's eyes narrowed.
This aberration could actually withstand combined attacks from two powerful experts?
But clearly, he was overthinking things.
Soon.
Through Su Zhan's telescope.
Qin Bai raised his hand and made a grasping motion.
"Hum!"
An eerie blue light trace suddenly materialized in the air, condensing like aurora borealis, ultimately forming a slender whip, crystalline throughout as if forged from pure northern lights.
Ancient, mysterious runes flowed along the whip's surface.
Qin Bai flicked his wrist.
"Crack!"
The whip shadow flashed like lightning, tearing through the air instantly.
Striking the aberration's body.
No bloody splatter, not even leaving a visible wound.
But in that moment.
The aberration's body stiffened violently, pale gray mist churning fiercely as if suffering some invisible impact.
It howled in agony, the meaty tentacles on its neck convulsing wildly.
Seeming to lose control, they flailed chaotically against the ground.
A mental attack!
That whip strike directly targeted its soul!
Su Zhan immediately understood the significance of this attack.
Qin Bai didn't pause, following up with a second whip strike.
"Crack!"
This time.
The aberration's eyes suddenly lost focus.
Visual deprivation!
The third whip fell.
"Crack!"
The aberration's roars cut off abruptly, dark green blood seeping from its ears, body swaying as if unable to maintain balance.
Auditory deprivation!
Fourth whip, fifth whip...
Qin Bai's movements were elegant, his attacks relentless.
The aberration's body began to collapse, the pale gray mist boiling violently yet suppressed by the aurora whip, unable to disperse.
Its movements slowed increasingly until finally freezing completely in place, like a puppet with its soul emptied.
But the next second.
For some unknown reason, it seemed to suddenly break free from restraint.
The meaty tentacles convulsed wildly, beginning to swell.
"Trying to self-destruct?"
Qin Bai sneered coldly, his left hand already holding five silver needles at some point.
Exactly the Aberrant Purge Division's specially crafted Heart-Interrogation Needles.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..."
Five silver needles shot through the air, accurately piercing predetermined acupuncture points.
The monster's swelling body suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon.
The boiling gray mist around it instantly solidified.
"Urgh—!"
The aberration let out a piercing shriek, yet couldn't move even a single finger.
The Heart-Interrogation Needles had sealed its self-destruction points.
Locking its consciousness firmly in a lucid state.
Qin Bai retracted the light whip: "Now, we can have a proper chat. Starting with your arrangements at the crematorium, how about that?"
The aberration's pupils contracted violently, yet it couldn't even bite its tongue to commit suicide.
On the distant chimney.
Su Zhan slowly lowered the telescope.
Qin Bai didn't just want you dead—he wanted you to understand before dying that death was the simplest thing in this world.
Seeing the situation settled.
Su Zhan reversed his grip on the twin blades, scraping sparks along the chimney's outer wall.
His figure agilely slid downward, landing steadily on the ground.
"Big bro!"
Lin Yu immediately approached: "What's the situation over there? Tell me quickly!"
"Victory."
Su Zhan slapped the telescope back into his arms, glancing toward the assembling Aberrant Purge Division vehicle convoy in the distance: "Commander Qin's strength is formidable."
Lin Yu wanted to press further.
But saw Su Zhan already striding toward the Aberrant Purge Division members who were wrapping up operations.
He didn't want deep connections with anyone right now.
Especially not people from the Aberrant Purge Division.
The young team member opened his mouth, but ultimately just lowered his head to wipe the telescope, jogging to catch up.
The Aberrant Purge Division team members were checking equipment, occasionally looking toward the chemical factory direction.
Su Zhan stood silently at the end of the formation.
"Fall in!"
Qin Bai had already escorted that aberration over, commanding.
At his order.
Everyone boarded the armored vehicles in orderly fashion.
Su Zhan followed Wang Mingyuan, getting into the same vehicle.
Leaning against the window, watching the gradually receding crematorium.
No one spoke in the vehicle compartment.
Only occasional static from communicators breaking the silence.
Su Zhan closed his eyes to rest.
Recalling that eerie blue whip shadow.
So effortlessly.
It had shattered all resistance from an aberration.
Thinking like this.
Soon, the vehicle stopped.
Su Zhan followed Wang Mingyuan out of the vehicle.
"Um, big bro!"
Lin Yu jogged up to catch them, voice tense: "Can we exchange contact info? I'd like to consult you about cultivation or combat techniques later."
Su Zhan's footsteps paused slightly.
The admiration in this young man's eyes was too obvious.
Just like those juniors at Number Three High School who chased him for autographs.
More importantly, he had saved this person's life.
But right now, just maintaining his daily disguise was exhausting enough.
Qin Bai's terrifying methods against aberrations, and his excellent identification abilities.
Wang Mingyuan's meaningful gazes, and his own identity as an aberrant that could be exposed at any moment.
These weights pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe.
He didn't want deep connections now.
Especially not with Aberrant Purge Division people.
That Doberman guy already made him sick to his stomach.
Even if Lin Yu joining the Aberrant Purge Division at 18 commanded his respect.
But that was separate from this.
"Not convenient."
Su Zhan said flatly.
He saw the light in Lin Yu's eyes instantly dim at these words.
"Ah... understood!"
Lin Yu forced a smile, clumsily stuffing his phone back into his pocket: "Then, I'll return to my team now."
Su Zhan felt no ripples in his heart, silently nodding.
He didn't even bother adding that your instructor would definitely be more experienced than me.
Didn't use that line to pretend to explain his rejection reason.
Just directly said not convenient.
"Let's go."
Wang Mingyuan patted Su Zhan's shoulder, laughing: "Quite a few young admirers, huh? If that Cyan-Blue Awakening Serum hadn't proposed those impossible conditions, having you endorse it would definitely make the Awakening Serum sell like crazy."
"Teacher jokes."
Su Zhan forced a slight smile, watching until the Aberrant Purge Division convoy completely left before saying quietly:
"Teacher, I saw Commander Qin captured another aberration. Since you two operated together, its identity must be special, right? Can I know about this matter?"
Before Wang Mingyuan, it was better to ask directly—excessive hiding would only expose his nervousness.
Hence adding "Can I know about this matter?"
"No."
Wang Mingyuan shook his head, meeting Su Zhan's gaze: "You'll naturally know when you should know about such things."
"Oh."
Su Zhan nodded.
Wang Mingyuan looked at Su Zhan's slightly disappointed expression and chuckled: "This matter definitely can't be discussed with you, but I can tell you some things about Qin Bai. What would you like to know?"