On the yellowed wall, the plastic electronic clock imprinted with plum blossoms ticked to 01:47.
He didn’t know what methods this group had used, but the smell of bird droppings mixed with the stench of rotten flesh that had originally filled the living room was almost completely gone. There was even a hint of freshness in the air as he breathed.
Lu Yuan watched as a man in a skin-tight outfit with a buzz cut bent down to retrieve two objects from his feet.
These were the same tools that had just clamped onto him. After activation, they had dug deep into Lu Yuan’s flesh. Only now did he clearly see that they were several silver-gray, iron ring-like objects.
He reached out to touch the place on his arm where the iron rings had just clasped and was astounded to find no marks left behind. For original chapters go to novelꜰire.net
Lu Yuan did a full-body check, then lifted his head to look at the man who called himself Zhou Ling.
"I seem to have heard that term before."
"You certainly should have."
Zhou Ling gave a slight smile and said, "You’re the top student in your grade, with near-perfect scores in history. It’s impossible for you not to know that the totem of the ancient Sum Country was a winged yellow bear. In your history class, your teacher should have told you the story of ’Heaven sent a Flying Bear, and the Sum was established’..."
Lu Yuan nodded, his eyes fixed on the left chest of the tight-fitting garment beneath Zhou Ling’s sports jacket.
"But embroidered on your chest is a white bear, and it has no wings."
Lu Yuan had noticed this earlier.
The garment Zhou Ling wore underneath had a badge-like pattern printed on it.
And only his garment had it; none of the others did.
Zhou Ling just chuckled and made no attempt to explain. Instead, he pulled a chair over and sat down again in front of Lu Yuan.
He spoke casually, "Let’s talk about you first. What brings you here so late?"
"Shouldn’t you know everything already?" Lu Yuan replied calmly. He had completely relaxed by then.
These men were obviously not with the tank top man’s group. They must have come for the so-called Crow God Sect, just like him.
Lu Yuan naturally connected them with the "higher-ups" Lin Zhiquin had mentioned, and with the Magnetic Suspended Shuttle that had flown over his head several times.
So far, Zhou Ling and his men had demonstrated futuristic, high-tech capabilities to Lu Yuan: electronic shackles, metallic skeletal modification, brain transplants, and gleaming blue eyes (which likely included the ability to retrieve and query information anytime, anywhere). These methods intrigued him.
He was extremely curious. Just how advanced was the technology possessed by these people who called themselves the "Yellow Bear," claimed to be from the "Sum Country XX Bureau," or were referred to as the "higher-ups"?
In response to Lu Yuan’s counter-question, Zhou Ling’s eyes flickered slightly.
"You seem a bit dissatisfied?" Zhou Ling inquired.
"Not really," Lu Yuan shook his head. "It was just a misunderstanding. Now that it’s cleared up, we should be able to sit down and talk calmly. Besides, I’m the one who injured your man."
"Glad you understand."
Zhou Ling nodded. Looking at Lu Yuan, he remarked with some emotion, "No wonder Master Liudao Yuan, even at his age, wanted to take you as his final disciple. Talent is one thing, but your composure truly surpasses that of most people. Oh, right, you haven’t started Flesh Tempering yet, have you?"
Lu Yuan shook his head calmly, though inwardly, it felt as if thunderclaps were resounding in his mind.
Who is Master Liudao Yuan? The master of the Origin Martial Arts Hall? Lin Zhiquin’s teacher? The former Sect Master of the Crane Sect who was defeated in the Heaven Water Sect’s Snake-Crane conflict?
Is Flesh Tempering a cultivation stage after reaching the professional level in Martial Arts?
Countless thoughts and guesses flashed through Lu Yuan’s mind, but he showed no sign of it on his face.
"It’s normal that you haven’t," Zhou Ling seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Otherwise, for a newcomer like you who has only just begun practicing Martial Arts, even with the Crane Sect’s core teachings, stepping into Flesh Tempering in less than two months would be rather unbelievable. After all, the Heaven Water Sect’s Flowing Crane Faction isn’t exactly a top-tier lineage..."
Zhou Ling spoke casually, as if he was quite familiar with the Heaven Water Sect’s Flowing Crane Faction, an obscure faction that Lu Yuan could hardly find any useful information about online.
It would have been perfect if he’d hidden the blue light in his eyes,
As Zhou Ling spoke about the Heaven Water Sect’s Flowing Crane Faction, the blue light in his right eye flickered ceaselessly. This made Lu Yuan deeply suspect that the man was likely looking up information on the spot while trying to pose as an expert.
Zhou Ling probably realized this himself as well. He soon changed the topic. "All information about you was temporarily extracted from our internal database. In an old city like Burnt Rock, the information network is incomplete, so this data is only current up to three days ago."
Old city, Lu Yuan thought, capturing another keyword from Zhou Ling’s words.
Quietly keeping it in mind, Lu Yuan’s gaze moved to the corner of the living room.
Pointing at the wretched-looking Wang Zhichao, who was pinned beneath a pile of men at the bottom, he answered, "That man owes my dad money. My dad tracked him here, and I was worried, so I followed. You should be able to deduce the rest..."
There was no need for Lu Yuan to conceal this. After all, it wasn’t a secret.
Zhou Ling had no objections to Lu Yuan’s answer; it seemed to match his own deductions.
He pointed upstairs. "You just came down from there, so you must have found out something?"
"Are you referring to the Crow God Sect?"
Bloody and cruel images flashed through Lu Yuan’s mind again, and his expression darkened slightly.
"Cults that worship Ancient Evil Gods are always . You’ll get used to it..." Zhou Ling chuckled, then quickly added, "You encountered one of the Burrow Sect’s Mutant Believers not long ago, didn’t you? They’re all cut from the same cloth."
When Lu Yuan heard Zhou Ling mention it, he instantly perked up.
He couldn’t help but ask, "I didn’t kill it. Can you help me check on its current location? It shouldn’t be difficult for you, should it?"
As he spoke, Lu Yuan subconsciously looked at Zhou Ling’s right eye, gleaming with blue light.
The threat of the rat man was like a ticking time bomb buried beside Lu Yuan, leaving him unable to eat or sleep in peace, constantly on edge. If he could use Zhou Ling’s power to find the rat man’s whereabouts, it would be a huge help.
To his surprise, Zhou Ling told him, "Actually, you’ve already killed it."
"But the trouble still remains."
"Another Underground Monster took the cultist’s corpse and might indeed come back to cause you trouble. How about this..." Zhou Ling pondered for a moment, then continued, "Once we’re done here, I’ll help you take care of that too."