First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 50: Strengthening Power—Visitors from Daheshan

Caojia Alley was one of the top antique trading hubs in Bao Fan District, and even in all of Yunhai.

Of course, that was just the public face of it.

Behind the scenes, its business covered everything from rare mountain goods to spirit artifacts—whatever you needed, they had it.

This was exactly why Cao Ying had made a name for himself in the Treasure Hunter trade.

Born into Caojia Alley, carrying the Cao surname, and holding a prominent place in the family registry—these were golden credentials. Add in his sharp mind and formidable skills, and he had built the strength and influence he possessed today.

This time, his return from the mountains had two main objectives:

First, to take back what was rightfully his.

Second, to expand Caojia Alley’s influence and secure greater, safer profits.

But either goal was easier said than done.

Years ago, he had chosen to leave Caojia Alley. From that moment on, while his name remained in the family records, the Cao family had long stopped acknowledging him as one of their own.

Now that he wanted to return, he needed to regain their recognition.

The biggest obstacle in his way?

The second branch of the Cao family—specifically, Cao Yuan, the current heir.

There was no way in hell Cao Yuan would let him set foot back into the ancestral hall to burn incense. That would be asking for trouble.

Originally, Cao Ying had planned to rally local forces in Bao Fan District or ally with other Cultivators of Qi in Yunhai. Combined with his own men, he would challenge Cao Yuan in an open contest of strength.

But after Lu Ding’s sudden rise—and after digging into the forces backing Cao Yuan—Cao Ying had a revelation.

Cao Yuan’s strength wasn’t really his own.

He was only as powerful as the people behind him.

One of them was a veteran 749 Bureau Investigator who had disappeared years ago, presumed dead—only to make a dominant return shortly after Cao Ying had left.

The other had spent over a decade abroad and had recently returned, bringing a foreign financial group into Yunhai.

These two figures supported Cao Yuan—one through raw power, the other through financial backing.

And what about Cao Ying?

He had nothing but himself.

A father who didn’t care for him.

A mother who was long dead.

He was originally from the main branch of the family, yet had been forced to flee to the mountains and become a Treasure Hunter just to survive.

Right now, he might not be able to match Cao Yuan in influence—

But in wealth?

Not for a second did he think he was at a disadvantage.

So what if Cao Yuan’s mother was rolling in money?

"Your brother’s got power? Fine. I’ll just find someone even more powerful than him!"

His eyes flickered, mind racing through possibilities.

If Lu Ding had known what he was thinking, he probably would’ve just shrugged and said—

"No need to say more. You provide the resources, I get the job done. Doesn’t matter if it’s his brother or his father—hell, even if the Jade Emperor himself shows up, as long as the treasures keep coming, I’ll handle it."

Of course, that was assuming Cao Yuan’s brother wasn’t ridiculously overpowered.

Nightfall—Lu Ding’s Time to Move

After returning from Wuzang Shengshe, Lu Ding had slept soundly until 9 PM.

Stretching lazily as he woke up, his entire body crackled with the sound of popping joints.

Out of habit, he picked up his phone and unlocked it—only to see a notification from the 749 Bureau app.

The post-mission cleanup at Dinghao Complex was complete.

Because of his efficiency in resolving the Yin Domain Overlap and preventing mass civilian casualties, the higher-ups had decided to reward him with 150 Contribution Points and 2 million yuan in cash.

For Lu Ding, this was fantastic news.

The money was nice, sure—but more importantly, the Contribution Points.

With this new 150 points added to his previous total, he now had over 200 Contribution Points—finally enough to redeem rare spiritual treasures.

With Ghost Festival approaching, he needed to power up as soon as possible to prepare for any unexpected dangers.

He opened the exchange menu in the 749 Bureau app.

A dazzling array of spiritual treasures filled the screen, making it hard to choose.

[Gut-Slicing Buddha Sprout]

Price: 80 Contribution Points per portion

Description: "A sacred plant born from spiritual stone Buddhas. Capable of nurturing vitality, used for Spirit Activation or for expanding the Linghai Realm."

Bought.

No hesitation. Gotta try it out.

[Falling Spirit Sand]

Price: 70 Contribution Points per portion

Description: "A rare material from the Feng Shui Cloud-Swallowing Formation. Can be used externally to strengthen the body or ingested to expand the Linghai Realm."

Bought.

Might as well see what it does.

[Full Moon Dew]

Price: 80 Contribution Points per portion

Description: "A sacred essence collected under a full moon using secret techniques. Purifies the soul, primarily used for expanding the Linghai Realm."

His balance was running low, but still enough.

Lu Ding clenched his teeth—what’s the point of hoarding points when you can spend them to get stronger?

Bought.

As soon as he confirmed the purchase, his balance instantly dropped to zero.

Pain.

Absolute pain.

This was all his hard-earned sweat and blood—gone in one go.

Between the 10 points from joining 749 Bureau, 20 from the Black Old Lady mission, 50 from the Fire-Shed Corpse, and 150 from the Yin Domain Overlap, he had racked up 230 points.

Now?

Zero.

"This better be worth it!"

Soon after, 749 Bureau sent a special courier to deliver a small cardboard box.

Inside were one box and two bottles. None were particularly large.

Opening the box, he found the Gut-Slicing Buddha Sprout.

A total of ten stalks, each about the size of bamboo leaf tea. They even looked similar, except for their dark golden hue.

No fragrance.

No glowing aura.

Just… incredibly plain.

As for the Full Moon Dew and Falling Spirit Sand—

One was a thick, silver-white liquid with a faint jasmine scent.

The other was pale yellow sand with the aroma of roasted chestnuts.

Combined, they amounted to barely 200 milliliters.

…

"This is it!?"

Lu Ding felt like he had just flushed 230 Contribution Points down the drain.

It was so little that he had no idea how he was even supposed to take it.

Looking around, he grabbed an unused teacup from his room.

First, he poured in the Full Moon Dew and Falling Spirit Sand.

Stirred.

Nothing happened.

It looked like… a construction worker’s cement mix.

But the moment he dropped in the Gut-Slicing Buddha Sprout—

Bubbles surged up, and white foam overflowed the cup.

Lu Ding frowned.

Without hesitation, he called 749 Bureau’s support line.

"Uh… Gut-Slicing Buddha Sprout, Falling Spirit Sand, and Full Moon Dew—can these three be taken together?"

The response came immediately.

"Yes. Unless a spiritual treasure has a specific warning label, all of them can be mixed and consumed together."

Even with that confirmation—

Lu Ding still felt a little uneasy as he stared at the foaming teacup.

…

Screw it.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Lu Ding downed the entire mixture in one gulp.

The moment the concoction entered his body, its overwhelming medicinal power erupted, surging through his limbs and bones before rushing straight to his Linghai Realm.

A deep rumbling echoed inside him as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drawn in, merging with the medicinal essence to aggressively remodel his Linghai Realm.

As the size of his Linghai expanded and the quality of his spiritual liquid improved, Lu Ding’s cultivation soared at an astonishing rate.

In the blink of an eye, an entire day passed.

Meanwhile—Visitors from Daheshan Arrive

At Sihai Group’s branch office, Xie Shunan sat in her office, wearing gloves as she toyed with a simple yet exceptionally refined jade gourd.

After the recent incident involving Ye Xuan and the old man surnamed Huang, she had been searching for a suitable gift to apologize to Lu Ding—a show of Sihai Group’s sincerity.

Finally, after relentless effort, she had obtained this Yin-Nurturing Gourd.

She had only just received it today.

Hadn’t even had the chance to examine its mystical properties yet.

Suddenly—

BANG!

The office doors slammed open.

Several aura-dominating figures burst into the room.

A young man smirked as he raised a hand.

A surge of powerful suction ripped the jade gourd from Xie Shunan’s grasp.

"Oh? A Yin-Nurturing Gourd? Didn’t expect to find something this nice here."

Xie Shunan’s expression darkened as she got to her feet.

"Dragon Claw Hand?"