Chapter 156: Eating Dinner (I)
The birth of this content finds its genesis in Nøv€lß¡n★
“You guys need to keep in mind that a Solar is much stronger than a Sunflare!” Liu Long frowned. “Professor Yuan was the one who killed the Solar and we wouldn’t have so easily eliminated the rest of them if I didn’t progress to Dominator before the mission. It’s also thanks to a vast amount of intelligence from Li Hao that we were so well prepared today...”
He thought that Wang Ming was dissatisfied with the distribution, that the young man had his eye on the ruins. However, Wang Ming quickly shook his head.
“I’m not talking about the distribution, but... that... well... Director Liu, according to Night Watcher rules, we can decide ourselves how to allocate ordinary loot. But once ruins are involved, a report needs to be made...”
“So that’s what you’re talking about. I know the rules,” Liu Long replied calmly. “There’s another one that says the Night Watchers will try to stay out of struggles over ruins! You need to think carefully—those aren’t our war spoils. They belong to someone else. Therefore, are the Night Watchers going to imitate the three great organizations and seize it from another?”
“That’s not what I mean...” Wang Ming scratched his head awkwardly. As a Night Watcher and having already seen the ruins, he would suffer from a guilty conscience if he didn’t report it. He was being swayed by bad influences, wasn’t he!
Liu Long and his gang always seemed like they were breaking or bending the rules.
“Out with it, Wang Ming,” Liu Yan snorted. “Are you with us or are you going to be selfless and tell upstairs about this, and in the process ruin all relations with Professor Yuan?”
With them?
That phrasing sounded wrong to begin with. They were a legitimate, orthodox agency that was the government’s only supernatural organization. With them? Were these Silver City people all bandits?
A wry Wang Ming laughed with resignation. This wasn’t the kind of education he’d received in the Night Watchers, nor was this the kind of training he’d been subject to. According to the Night Watcher system, he needed to report this to his superiors at the first possible opportunity. Alright well, his superior was Liu Long.
The agency wasn’t in favor of bypassing one’s direct supervisor unless something was drastically wrong, such as betrayal. Otherwise, adhering to the rungs of hierarchy was the preference.
Wang Ming ran through numerous considerations before saying helplessly, “My professional code of conduct says that this cannot be ignored! Therefore, I’ve decided to...”
The group looked at him. Even Li Meng and Hu Hao turned their gaze to him.
“I’ve decided to report it to my superior!” He ignored a few sudden glares from a few people. He mumbled, “As my direct supervisor is Director Liu, I will be handing a report to you, sir. It’s nothing to do with me as to whether or not you actually pass it on!”
“......” The group looked at each other; the corners of Liu Long’s lips twitched.
Damn, kid. None of us made you take the fall, just listen to yourself. You’re a sharp one, huh? Nothing that occurred after today would have anything to do with Wang Ming. He’d already made his report to Liu Long. If things went awry, the blame lay with Liu Long suppressing the report. It had nothing to do with Wang Ming!
At the same time, the young man’s decision to not bypass Liu Long was also a declaration of his stance. The kid was a tricky one!
Wang Ming suddenly grinned mischievously. “So... um... director. How much are each of us being allocated?”
Liu Long raised an eyebrow. You’re an eager one. He glanced at Yun Yao—she was responsible for extracting mysterious power. She was kneeling on the ground and making her assessment. The team doctor looked up when she sensed the look.
“Two fire supernaturals and one earth supernatural!” She smiled. “The earth supernatural was unlucky and died as soon as he came out. He would’ve been impossible to deal with if he’d taken cover underground.
Wang Ming knew this, so while he was tempted by the ruins here, he also knew how limited his strength was. These ruins were out of his reach.
Li Meng and Hu Hao also shook their heads without a word.
Yuan Shuo abruptly jumped out of the hole at this time. He was frowning, but his forehead quickly relaxed. He punched the ground without saying a word, collapsing the rest of the opening with a rumble.
Liu Long looked on with confusion.
“It’s a thorny issue.” Yuan Shuo shook his head. “Let’s address other concerns. We should clean up the battlefield and arrange for two people as a lookout. They just need to prevent ordinary people from barging in. Nothing else is an issue.”
Chen Jian looked at Liu Long and offered in his simple way, “Chief, I’ll stay behind.”
Liu Long looked back at him and sized up available personnel. “Hu Hao, you’re not injured and you can fly. You can run away as soon as there’s danger. How about you stay here with Chen Jian?”
Hu Hao was rather surprised. He talked very little and was a quiet man. Logically speaking, since there was a huge secret here and he was stronger than Chen Jian, unexpected developments could very likely occur if they were the only ones left behind. What if some other thoughts occurred to him and he killed Chen Jian with his superior strength as a Darkmoon, then secretly took some treasures...
Liu Long wanted him to stand guard here?
What a surprise!
“Director, am I... am I suitable?” he asked lowly.
“There is no question of suitability,” Yuan Shuo said faintly before Liu Long could respond. “You three are my honorary disciples and these ruins are from your little senior brother’s family. You won’t be able to open them without him. Given how generous he is, he’ll share any treasures there are with you! If you want to take them for yourself... go for it. A Solar was unable to fully access the ruins and claim the goods. If you can do it, that’s a testament to your skill!”
The three from White Moon blinked. That was true. If the ruins were so easily cracked open, they would’ve been emptied long ago. There were obviously no more treasures inside the outer fringe, any that had been there were long claimed. If they wanted more, they would need to plumb its depths again.
Hu Hao nodded with understanding. “I see, please be at ease, Elder—teacher.”
Yuan Shuo didn’t mind the stuttering. They were just honorary disciples, it didn’t matter that they weren’t wholly devoted to him.
Liu Long and the rest of the Demon Hunters were surprised by this tidbit. Little senior brother? Honorary disciples? What was going on?
“Let’s go back, Liu Long. If we don’t, Hao Lianchuan’s probably going to lose his mind.” Blood trickled out of Yuan Shuo’s mouth when he smiled.
Everyone’s eyes widened with dismay. Was the professor injured?
“I’m fine!” Yuan Shuo waved them off and wiped off all of the blood. He looked around and said softly, “It’s just a small scratch! There’s no need to say anything to anyone.”
He was Silver City’s bedrock and pillar at the moment. Some things were bound to happen if it became public knowledge that he was gravely injured. As worried as the others were, they didn’t say anything.
Yun Yao quickly cleaned up the corpses. The bodies of Sunflares possessed an additional purpose of preserving mysterious power. The rest of the team quickly cleaned the battlefield. It was difficult to thoroughly clean it given how intense the fighting had been. All they could do was to erase clues about the Sunflares’ strength and identity.
They stowed everything and climbed into the car. Chen Jian and Hu Hao were left behind to stand guard.