Chapter 50

A young boy of about six or seven stood outside, witnessing everything. As Yue Yin walked out to meet him, she folded her arms, gazing down at him.

The boy met Yue Yin’s scrutinizing stare without a hint of fear. Tilting his head, he offered with a smile, “Hi, big sister. If I told you I was lost, would you believe me?”

Yue Yin put her hands in her pockets, blinking as she replied, “Do I look like an idiot to you?”

The boy stood on his tiptoes, glancing at the terrified expressions of the malevolent creatures inside. Then he flashed Yue Yin a sweet smile. “A pretty sister like you definitely isn’t an idiot.”

Ignoring him, Yue Yin watched as he coughed awkwardly and continued, “Actually, I came specifically to find you. I’m Zhou Huai’an’s younger brother. He’s really into you, you know—he even dreams about you and mutters your name in his sleep…”

From the intel he’d gathered, he knew that when Yue Yin first returned to the Shen family, she had a secret crush on Zhou Huai’an and even wrote him a love letter. Unfortunately, her feelings were soon discovered by Shen Baozhu and others, leading to a harsh rejection from Zhou Huai’an.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jingsheng felt a pang of frustration.

Stupid Zhou Huai’an—thanks to him, the Metaphysical Society missed out on such a hidden gem. This time, he’d make sure Zhou Huai’an sacrifices himself for the cause!

As his thoughts wandered, Yue Yin suddenly snapped back, “Ah, so you’re that idiot Zhou Huai’an’s little brother, huh…”

A crescent-shaped blade materialized, firmly gripped in her hand.

Zhou Jingsheng’s face filled with terror as he realized that Yue Yin might just be holding a grudge.

Seeing the blade raised high above her head, he teleported a hundred meters away, shouting, “Spare me! I’m actually the president of the Metaphysical Society, and I came here with something to discuss!”

Relieved for a moment, he glanced back toward Yue Yin from a safe distance—only to find that she had vanished!

A bad feeling set in as he turned to see Yue Yin’s crescent blade floating above him, its tip aimed right at the center of his forehead, glowing softly in the moonlight.

Under the moon’s pale light, Yue Yin gazed at him with a faint smile.

Terrified, Zhou Jingsheng teleported again, phasing through walls and knocking down several trees in a desperate attempt to escape. But no matter where he fled, Yue Yin and her blade were always overhead.

Zhou Jingsheng: …damn.

For a brief moment, he finally understood why the malevolent creatures in the manor had looked so terrified. Although he was an S-rank ability-user, this oppressive feeling was like being in a horror movie, only this time, it was real!

Zhou Jingshen finally realized that bluffing Yue Yin wasn’t going to work and, shifting from a teasing tone, teleported even further each time, calling out, “Alright, I was wrong! I was wrong, alright?!”

Among the eight S-rank ability-users, Zhou Jingsheng’s overall strength was sixth, but he’d long held a top-three spot for his escape skills. Given his foul-mouthed personality, he would’ve been dead a hundred times over without his speed.

Yue Yin didn’t respond to his pleas, instead appearing behind him periodically, playing a cat-and-mouse game that kept him on edge.

After half an hour of running, Zhou Jingsheng accepted that Yue Yin’s new S-rank powers outclassed his.

It was truly a sad realization—being among the weakest of the S-rank, he had hoped that Yue Yin’s arrival would push him up a spot in the rankings.

Finally, when it seemed Yue Yin was ready to strike, Zhou Jingsheng shouted, “Wait, stop! I’m here to give you money!”

At that, Yue Yin hesitated. Sensing a chance, Zhou Jingsheng quickly explained, “The Vice Minister of the Paranormal Incident Management said your reward has been approved, but he’s busy, so he asked me to bring it to you.”

Yue Yin lowered her blade, blinking. “My reward?” She hadn’t forgotten about the money, but she’d assumed it would take longer to process. She was surprised to hear it was ready.

Zhou Jingsheng pulled out a card, saying, “It’s your bounty for cracking the cult’s kidnapping case and dismantling the fake god organization in City A. There’s two million in here.”

This, of course, was a lie.

The Vice Minister had explicitly warned him to steer clear of Yue Yin and would never have entrusted him with her reward.

But Zhou Jingsheng had his reasons for ignoring the Vice Minister’s orders. After all, Yue Yin was now an S-rank ability-user, and recruiting her to the Metaphysical Society would bring him countless benefits. Every organization aware of Yue Yin’s abilities was frantically trying to make contact, and the Metaphysical Society was no exception.

So, he’d snuck into the Vice Minister’s office to look for information on Yue Yin and found her reward approval form.

Though the money had been released a few days earlier, the Vice Minister hadn’t delivered it, likely because he hadn’t figured out how to entice Yue Yin into joining the Paranormal Incident Management.

But Zhou Jingsheng had outsmarted him and seized the opportunity first! Confident, he watched Yue Yin’s delighted expression as she accepted the money.

In reality, the reward had only been a few hundred thousand, but Zhou Jingsheng had added his own funds to round it up as a form of apology and to please the newly upgraded S-rank ability-user.

Yue Yin quickly sheathed her blade. “That was fast.”

Two million might not be an extraordinary amount for her, but who didn’t like money? Especially Yue Yin, a stingy “goddess of malice.”

Seeing her happily accept the money, Zhou Jingsheng’s eyes gleamed. Suddenly, he asked, “Miss Yue Yin, would you be interested in discussing a potential collaboration on a malevolent case related to an island?”

He elaborated, “The Surina Trench, which reaches depths of eight thousand meters, has been notorious for shipwrecks over centuries, swallowing thousands of vessels and earning the nickname ‘the Abyss of the Ocean.’”

“Recent investigations by ability-users revealed that a powerful S-rank deep-sea malevolent spirits lies dormant beneath the trench. Its presence distorts the magnetic field, causing the shipwrecks and spawning numerous A-rank malevolent spirits.”

Yue Yin perked up at a key word: “Surina Island?”

The octopus butler had mentioned that Jiang Sului had referenced this island before his mysterious disappearance, leading her to think he might have gone on vacation.

Zhou Jingsheng was surprised. “You’ve heard of Surina Island?”

Yue Yin rubbed her chin. “Now I have a better idea.” She was fairly sure where her one and only follower had disappeared to and why he’d gone silent.

Zhou Jingsheng, oblivious to the subtext, continued, “We’ve been monitoring this area closely and established a research facility on the island, staffed by scientists and ability-users.”

“But a month ago, a thick fog suddenly surrounded the island, preventing anyone from leaving and cutting off all communication. The International Ability-User Organization has formed a task force to investigate, and the Metaphysical Society is also sending a rescue team.”

He invited Yue Yin to accompany them to the area around Surina Island to assess the deep-sea malevolent spirits.

He smiled, saying, “Please rest assured, Miss Yue Yin. You won’t need to go ashore. You’d remain on a cruise near the mist as support, with a payment of one hundred million dollars. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll deposit it in your account before departure.”

Remaining in the support role without entering the mist to confront the deep-sea malice directly posed minimal danger—an almost guaranteed win for an ability-user.

With a reward of one hundred million dollars on the table, it was almost impossible to refuse. Confident in his plan, Zhou Jingsheng waited for Yue Yin’s answer. Of course, he wasn’t doing this out of charity, his real goal was to use this invitation to foster connections with Yue Yin, positioning the Metaphysical Society favorably over other organizations and increasing the chances of her joining them in the future.

In short, he was throwing money at the problem.

Zhou Jingsheng was brimming with confidence, flaunting his wealth and resources. Yue Yin quietly listened to his offer but showed little interest in the sizable reward he dangled before her.

She raised an eyebrow, lost in thought. “A monster in the deep sea, an island shrouded in mist that lets people in but never out…”

She had a hunch as to why Jiang Suliu went there.

Sigh. Why did her followers always seem to find trouble?

…

Yue Yin agreed without hesitation, even setting a departure date right away. Zhou Jingsheng, feeling quite pleased with himself, reveled in his success and the praise from his subordinates before falling asleep satisfied.

The next morning, Zhou Jingsheng was rudely awakened.

The vice minister burst into his room and, without a word, landed a slap across his head. “What did you do?!”

Half-awake and furious, Zhou Jingsheng clutched his head, snapping, “Have you lost it, you pompous prick?!”

The vice minister gritted his teeth, eyes blazing. “What did you say to Yue Yin last night?”

Zhou Jingsheng finally realized the vice minister’s outburst was about his actions the previous night. Smirking, he boasted, “You wouldn’t dare make a move, so of course, I took the initiative.”

By now, word about Yue Yin had spread among many ability-wielders, and every organization wanted her on their side. Why else would they keep her under constant surveillance, looking for any way to build a connection?

The vice minister, despite his shrewd calculations, hadn’t acted yet, but Zhou Jingsheng prided himself on his boldness. He decided to strike first!

Lounging against his headboard, he sneered, “You’re getting soft, old man. Your methods are way too gentle.”

“Soft?!” The vice minister’s forehead throbbed with rage, and for once, he couldn’t hold back. He punched Zhou Jingsheng and even cursed in rare frustration.

“You have no idea how much trouble you’ve just caused!” he shouted.