First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 18: A Palm Like a Blade, Half a Skull Sent Flying

……

Lu Ding had thought today would be another fruitful day—just like when he captured the Stubborn Stone of Nanshan, scoring a double reward, a metaphorical “double-yolk egg.”

But now, looking at the situation, it turned out to be a person—not some demon or ghost.

His hopes of earning a reward instantly crumbled.

After running all this way, Lu Ding felt a bit frustrated.

If you’re human, why the hell did you provoke me?!

Why did it have to be a person?

A ghost would have been fine. A monster would have been better. But a human? Seriously?

Hearing his words, Ling Gu, despite her pain, was utterly bewildered.

She was a living, breathing human, yet he wasn’t satisfied? If that wasn’t insanity, what was?

Was she really going to die at the hands of this madman today?

Suddenly, an aged male voice echoed from all directions within the dense forest.

“Young one, at such a tender age, you shouldn't harbor such murderous intent. Give me, Thousand Gold Elder, some face—let Ling Gu go. Leave some room for future encounters.”

Lu Ding didn’t move. He propped his head up with one hand and quietly stared at Ling Gu.

“Well? Cheer up. Someone’s here to save you.”

Hope flashed in Ling Gu’s eyes.

Then, in the next moment, her body, along with the tree she was leaning against, collapsed to the ground.

Her round head rolled across the dirt.

Only then did Lu Ding slowly rise to his feet.

Spreading his arms toward the empty forest, he said with mock sincerity:

“Apologies, Senior. I’ve never heard of any Thousand Gold Elder before. I accidentally trampled on your dignity—I feel truly remorseful. As an apology, I am willing to accept any punishment you see fit. Please, come out and punish me. I’m absolutely terrified.”

“You little brat, you’re courting death!!!”

The old man’s enraged voice rang out.

Lu Ding merely went along with it.

“Yes, yes, I’m courting death. Hurry up and come kill me.”

But after waiting for a moment, no one appeared.

No attack came either.

Lu Ding clicked his tongue.

This isn’t how it works in novels.

In this kind of situation, wasn’t someone supposed to jump out and strike?

He had been waiting here, yet after all that big talk, there was no sign of the guy—not even a single strand of hair.

“Hehehe, didn’t manage to scare you, huh? As expected, the younger generation surpasses the old. I can’t outplay you, kid. Forget it, I’ll be on my way. The mountains are vast, the roads long—if fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

“Leaving? Too late.”

Lu Ding had been stalling for time precisely to track the man’s hiding spot using Flying Bear Slaughtering Art.

If the old man had left earlier, Lu Ding might have actually lost him.

But now?

Too late.

Lu Ding’s outstretched arms suddenly clapped together. A violent gust of wind exploded outward, carrying hundreds of Slash Attacks, sweeping across an entire fan-shaped area.

Bushes, trees, grass, soil, rocks—everything in sight was instantly shredded into fragments.

A muffled grunt echoed, blood filled the air, and a dark figure shot into the sky.

“Found you, Senior.”

Lu Ding swung his arm, launching a devastating Slash Attack straight at the airborne figure.

Lu Ding’s Path of Jinche had two aspects—quality and quantity. The fewer the slashes, the greater the power, but the attack range would be smaller. The more slashes, the weaker the impact, but the coverage area would be much larger.

The earlier attack was merely a search strike.

This one—was a killing blow.

In midair, Thousand Gold Elder had no time to maneuver. He could only throw out a treasure resembling a large golden ingot, which expanded against the wind to block the attack.

A deep slash mark appeared on the golden ingot.

Lu Ding remained calm.

“Artifacts do have their uses. But once an artifact is severely damaged, the owner must feel the backlash too, right?”

Thousand Gold Elder was sitting on the ground, panting heavily.

The term “Senior” was supposed to be a mark of respect. But in this moment, it carried only mockery.

Forcing a smile, Thousand Gold Elder said:

“Young one, let’s not be so hasty. Look, I didn’t actually do anything to you. We just had a little verbal disagreement—just a tiny bit of unpleasantness. I apologize for that. I shouldn’t have relied on my seniority to put on airs. If that’s not enough, I’ll even kneel and kowtow.”

“In fact, I’ll trade a treasure for my life. What do you think?”

Whether it was Chu Hao’s Vine Armor earlier or Thousand Gold Elder’s golden ingot now, both had been crucial for survival.

Without them, either one of those two—heck, even both combined—wouldn’t have survived a single move from Lu Ding.

This just reinforced the importance of artifacts.

So when Thousand Gold Elder mentioned a treasure, Lu Ding’s interest was piqued.

“Let me check it first.”

The old man forced a smile, revealing a mouth full of gold teeth.

“Heh… it’s not on me.”

Lu Ding’s expression darkened as he stepped forward.

The old man flinched.

“Don’t rush! Don’t rush! It’s not far from here. It’s the Wind-Fixing Pearl! The treasure is the Wind-Fixing Pearl! It stabilizes wind currents and allows for flight—it’s a rare artifact!”

“Wind-Fixing Pearl?”

Lu Ding’s eyes gleamed in thought.

If one mentioned the Wind-Fixing Pearl, one had to mention the Flying Centipede—one of the supernatural beasts.

According to folklore, the Flying Centipede had the ability to soar through the skies and phase through the ground. It preyed on snake brains, making it a natural predator of serpents.

Its appearance resembled a massive dobsonfly, but its ferocity and size were a thousand times greater.

The Wind-Fixing Pearl was its inner core—but only a half-finished version.

To transform it into a true Wind-Fixing Pearl, it required human refinement.

Suddenly, Lu Ding thought of Second Miss Ji.

Now he understood why that woman had targeted her.

So it was all for the Wind-Fixing Pearl.

The Flying Centipede preferred to eat the brains of beautiful serpent women—a hybrid of human and serpent demon.

Naturally occurring ones were incredibly rare—almost nonexistent in modern times.

Unless one resorted to sinister practices like Beast Cultivation Arts, forcibly maturing a subject, then extracting the brain at the right moment to feed the Flying Centipede, accelerating the formation of its core.

Everything was connected.

Hearing about the Wind-Fixing Pearl, Lu Ding immediately grasped these people’s intentions.

He was interested in the Wind-Fixing Pearl.

And even more so in the Flying Centipede.

After all, it was a notoriously vicious supernatural beast. If he managed to kill it, his golden finger should grant him an impressive reward.

Thinking this, the stern expression on Lu Ding’s face eased.

Seeing his reaction, Thousand Gold Elder let out a long breath of relief.

Good, this little reaper recognizes value.

Whose faction raised this guy? He’s so full of life, yet clearly under twenty.

With such power at such a young age, why the hell is he interning at the 749 Bureau?

What a waste of talent.

“Where’s the Flying Centipede?”

Heh! A real connoisseur!

The old man quickly scrambled up.

“The Tianli Cult is keeping it in that mountain hollow over there.” He nodded toward the valley.

“Oh, and that woman you just killed? She was a Tianli Cult follower—her name was Ling Gu. She was responsible for all the atrocities.”

“And you?” Lu Ding asked pointedly.

“Me? Uh… I… I just did odd jobs.”

Lu Ding raised his hand.

A palm like a blade—half a skull sent flying.

“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. Scum attracts scum. You’re no better.”

Was Lu Ding a good person?

He wasn’t sure himself.

His moral compass was too flexible to qualify as a true good guy.

But he also hadn’t done anything particularly evil.

He just despised things that didn’t sit right with him.