First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 72: I Don’t Have Time for a Standoff—Sign the Life-and-Death Pact, Fight to the Death

……

749 Bureau, 19:21.

Lu Ding walked out of the interrogation room, followed by the two staff members who had been questioning him.

One of them called out, "Investigator Lu, next time you make a move, could you… you know, be a little gentler? Try to leave them alive if possible. Take this vampire, for example—he had immense research value and could’ve earned you a lot of contribution points."

"If you had left him alive, you wouldn’t have to run so many missions, right?"

"Same with the last Yin Domain overlap. You’re just two missions away from being promoted to a formal investigator. If you had kept those monsters alive, you’d probably be promoted already."

"I’d like to, but every time I see a monster, I just can’t help wanting to kill it."

Leave them alive?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible for any monster to survive in Lu Ding’s hands—unless it was one of those weaklings that only dropped Colorless Crystal Shards when killed.

Suddenly, he thought about the last Yin Domain overlap. "Didn’t I leave a few alive last time? Don’t they count?"

"Well, yeah, technically you did. They were breathing, sure—but barely. You left them with just their heads hanging on to their last breath. And they were all nobodies, just small fries. If we counted those toward your promotion, you’d really be making things difficult for us."

That… did seem to be the case.

The ones still breathing were the ones he didn’t even bother with. He hadn’t dissected them properly.

It made sense that the Bureau wouldn’t care about weaklings like that.

"Just keep it in mind. The Bureau doesn’t have strict rules about it, but it would help your promotion and earn you more contribution points. I’ll be off now—good luck with your missions."

As the man walked ahead, the young woman behind him discreetly raised a fist in an encouraging gesture toward Lu Ding. "Go for it, Investigator Lu!"

"Got it. You too, keep at it."

Lu Ding returned the gesture.

Just as he turned to leave—

In the plaza below the steps, a figure walked toward him with an imposing presence.

A man, exuding an intense aura, carrying a pair of twin-bladed fishhook weapons, his eyes locked firmly onto Lu Ding.

Looking at the face he’d seen in the reports before, Lu Ding exhaled.

"Phew… Man, you guys really don’t let me rest, huh? I’ve been running non-stop for over twenty hours now, fought multiple battles, and I’m only nineteen. Are you seriously trying to wear me out with old-man tactics?"

He wasn’t exactly exhausted, but he wasn’t used to staying up for more than twenty hours straight.

For Lu Ding, sleep wasn’t a necessity—but it was a luxury, a physiological habit he had cultivated for decades.

Without sleep, he always felt like something was missing.

"Cao Zi’ang, regarding the matter with Cao Family Alley and Xingteng Capital, I want an explanation from you," Cao Zi’ang demanded.

Hearing this, Lu Ding couldn’t help but scoff.

He really didn’t understand what this guy was thinking.

"You want? Just because you want an explanation, I have to give you one? Who do you think you are? My boss? Am I supposed to report to you? Or do you think waving around a couple of cheap hooks is enough to scare me?"

Lu Ding’s words instantly shut Cao Zi’ang up.

Officially or personally, he had no right to interrogate Lu Ding.

But if he did nothing, he would be letting down his family, his deceased brother’s spirit, and the parents who had raised him.

He raised his hooks, aiming directly at Lu Ding—

But before he could even speak, Lu Ding cut off this pointless conversation.

"Enough. I don’t have time to act out some cliché novel standoff with you. Our Bureau has a Life-and-Death Duel Stage and Life-and-Death Pact. Sign it now, step onto the stage. If you win, you get whatever you want—I’ll answer all your questions.

But if you lose, you die.

Simple. That way, I don’t have to worry about getting locked up or punished for killing you."

"I don’t want to hear another word. Right now—immediately—are we fighting or not!?"

What was the point of all this useless talk?

This wasn’t some childish debate about who was right or wrong.

Lu Ding had already been thinking about how to deal with Cao Zi’ang—now he didn’t have to think anymore. The guy delivered himself on a silver platter.

Fine.

Sign the Life-and-Death Pact, step onto the stage.

Life and death are determined by fate, wealth and status by the heavens.

They were both Cultivators of Qi.

Their abilities weren’t for show—they were for use.

Right or wrong?

Strength decides.

Cao Zi’ang, who had come with so many words to say, suddenly found himself speechless.

Before this, he had never considered fighting a Life-and-Death Duel with Lu Ding.

The Life-and-Death Duel Stage was a place the Bureau reserved for investigators to settle deadly grudges.

All he wanted was an explanation—an answer.

But why the hell would Lu Ding humor him?

Why should Lu Ding give him any explanation?

The situation had gone beyond Cao Zi’ang’s expectations.

At the same time, he couldn’t understand—

Did Lu Ding not see the gap between them?

Did he really think that, as a rookie investigator who had barely started cultivating, just because he had a bit of talent and had killed a few Linghai Realm enemies, he could act with no fear?

How could he be this arrogant!?

The official report had said Cao Yutang died, but it never detailed how he died.

So, Cao Zi’ang had no idea that Lu Ding had killed Cao Yutang himself.

Given the chaos at the time, he hadn’t had the mind or time to think about the details.

At this moment, Wen Ruchu, who had followed them all the way here, spoke up.

"Lu Ding, right? I think there might be a misunderstanding between you and Zi’ang. Maybe we should just talk it out? It's always better to resolve things peacefully rather than escalate them. You should be a little more understanding—this case involves his family, and he's—"

"Alright, shut up. Who the hell do you think you are?" Lu Ding interrupted coldly.

"You don't know anything, yet you jump in pretending to be some peacemaker. You’re not a good person either. In fact, I’ll let you both sign the Life-and-Death Pact together.

I’ll take both of you on—one versus two.

Fight or not!?"

Lu Ding found people like Wen Ruchu absolutely disgusting.

They knew nothing but still insisted, "You’re wrong. He’s wrong too. You shouldn’t have done this. You shouldn’t have done that."

Do you even know the facts?

Who gave you the right to play judge?

There was only one way to deal with people like this—beat the sh*t out of them.

If Wen Ruchu agreed to sign the pact and step onto the stage, great—Lu Ding would kill him right there.

If he didn’t sign?

No problem.

Lu Ding would still break his damn mouth after the fight to teach him a lesson about meddling.

As for who Wen Ruchu was? What his full name was?

Lu Ding didn’t care.

If you dare to step in, be ready to face the consequences.

Wen Ruchu hadn't expected this to turn on him.

He took a step back, still smiling, but internally, he was cursing Lu Ding to hell and back.

Cao Zi’ang growled, "Sign! Right now! Sign it and fight!!"

He didn’t care anymore.

Since Lu Ding was this arrogant, this was the perfect chance to avenge his brother.

A strong physique?

Lu Ding was about to learn that the gap between them wasn’t something a mere tough body could bridge.

As word spread—

Soon, the entire 749 Bureau knew.

Lu Ding vs. Cao Zi’ang—Life-and-Death Duel.