Light Fortress
Chapter 120 - 108: Farewell

Chapter 120: Chapter 108: Farewell

"A rabbit doll?"

Tang Qingquan frowned, not understanding why Gu Shen would suddenly bring this up.

"I saw a very important piece of information in Zhou Yexin’s dream, a rabbit doll named ’Dora’... If I’m not mistaken, Zhou Yu died while searching for Dora," Gu Shen slowly said. "Was this rabbit doll found at the scene?"

"No."

"In fact, the explosion was so powerful that no clues were left at the scene... That’s why the Judgement Institute concluded that the accident was unrelated to Transcendents. As for the rabbit doll... you should know that dreams are just reflections of the subconscious. Items that appear in dreams may not necessarily exist in reality."

The Grand Judge shook his head.

"In the case file for this incident, there is no mention of Dora or a rabbit doll."

He was somewhat puzzled. "And you said you saw this in Zhou Yexin’s dream? After Zhou Yu’s death, we immediately sent an officer to hypnotize Zhou Yexin and read her dream... But in the end, her dream was completely empty. We had hoped to obtain some information from her, but we got nothing."

It appeared again.

The same hypnosis...

The Spiritual Transcendents from the Judgement Institute gained nothing.

Yet, he saw something different in Zhou Yexin’s dream.

Gu Shen fell into thought. Was it because of the unique nature of his Blood Fire? Or was it that Zhou Yexin’s pocket watch locked secrets away from others but opened up to him?

According to Tang Qingquan’s description, at the time of the explosion, the young Zhou Yexin was not at the scene. However, in the dream, he saw a scene where a girl holding a rabbit doll stood alone at the edge of a villa’s engulfed by flames, watching the crowd.

He was also unsure of what Dora and the rabbit doll truly meant.

But one thing he could be sure of, every item in the dream... could not have appeared out of nowhere — everything has a cause and effect. If Zhou Yexin had no clue about the case, why would she so firmly choose to pursue the study of dreams?

"Let’s get back to the matter of the heavy fog incident on Yuan Dan Street..."

Cui Zhongcheng knocked on the table.

"The samples of the fog from the old city district have been tested and confirmed to contain Extraordinary Elements that erode the spirit... If the fog spreads, half of the old city district will be affected. In terms of danger level, this has been rated as a Class B high-risk mission."

Cui Zhongcheng smiled at Gu Shen, saying, "As expected of the Judgement Institute’s ’S-class’ and the future hope of East Continent... You’ve only awakened your Extraordinary Ability for a month and have already completed a Class B mission on your own."

Gu Shen slowly shook his head seriously, "This mission wasn’t completed by me alone... Hu Danian also played a large part."

He knew very well.

The danger level of a Class B mission was determined by the extent of harm... The fog posed a great threat to ordinary people, but for Transcendents, especially those of the "Spiritual" type like himself, the harm was too slow, merely eerie.

As for the only obstacle in the mission.

Shi Li.

He was most likely bait thrown by the Compass’s owner, a piece arranged just to gift the Compass to him... If he couldn’t get past Shi Li, dying on Yuan Dan Street, then he naturally didn’t deserve to continue in the game of the Master of Blood and Fire.

"Regardless... you saved many people."

"The only regret is that those survivors from the old city district won’t know there was ever a fog, snuffed out in its cradle, and that you are their hero," since the Awakening Decree was issued before the incident.

Having heard Gu Shen’s description of the Compass owner, Cui Zhongcheng instinctively used words like "hero" and "saving."

As he spoke these words, a faint smile played on his face, "Congratulations, Gu Shen, for truly passing the Judgement Institute’s S-class assessment task."

Gu Shen was stunned.

"We’ve decided to grant you the position of Judgement Envoy."

Cui Zhongcheng adjusted his monocle and spoke softly, "Da Du has three Judges and eighteen Judgement Envoys. Considering your special status... we will follow Zhou Jiren’s suggestion, and you will not be called upon to participate in tasks outside of special operations groups."

If he remembered correctly, after joining the Judgement Institute and going through a review period, one would be an Intern Judge.

Senior Sister Luo had told him that the tasks for an Intern Judge were mostly patrolling and dealing with a very few Extraordinary events. Unless one was extremely unlucky, one would hardly encounter events above Class D.

Events of this sort could be handled by someone with the strength of the Deep Sea Third Level or below.

How long one remained in the role depended on the individual. Unless there were fundamental mistakes, Intern Judges could become official.

He... had he just skipped the internship phase?

"Wait a moment... what is the special operations group?" Gu Shen asked.

"The judicial system of the East Continent Council has three pillars: ’Judgement Institute,’ ’Prison Institute,’ ’Command Institute’... Routine patrols are assigned to the Transcendents from the three institutes by Deep Sea. However, in the case of certain special emergencies, a ’special operations group’ will be formed specifically to address them."

The Grand Judge explained, "Since they are tasked with solving special missions, there are no weaklings in the special operations group. They are essentially the young elites who possess both strength and talent from within the three institutes. The entry rating when joining the institutes would not be below Class B."

Gu Shen suddenly had an ominous premonition.

The era of Deep Sea big data.

Was he now to follow Deep Sea’s arrangements for executing Extraordinary tasks and teaming up?

"Must I... follow the arrangements?"

Gu Shen felt somewhat troubled and asked, "If there is a special event, do I have to join... this so-called special operations group?"

"You seem to like going it alone a lot."

The Grand Judge glanced at Gu Shen and smiled, "The truth is, every Transcendent has their own way of executing tasks... Some uniquely talented individuals don’t like working in teams. However, the reason you are assigned to the special operations group for your next Extraordinary task is Zhou Jiren’s proposal."

This old guy... what kind of game is he playing?

He should know that he has the "Truth Ruler" in his possession and it wouldn’t be convenient to expose it.

"Don’t worry, you are S-Class, any teammate that matches you would be at least A-Class. There are only a handful of A-Class that can be found in Da Du, and I fear the missions that could trouble you wouldn’t come twice a year."

Tang Qingquan said indifferently, "Haven’t you figured it out? Zhou Jiren is finding ways to have you dedicated to cultivation in the Judgement Institute... The review of the missions has already finished, from today onwards, you don’t need to go to the Sleeptalkers anymore. There is a Cultivation Field prepared for three Transcendents under the Huazhi Building, and after the S-Class evaluation unlocks, the permissions that Deep Sea has restricted you from will also be unlocked one by one."

Is this the old guy’s idea?

Gu Shen still had some doubts in his heart.

Given his understanding of Zhou Jiren... this proposal wouldn’t be that simple.

However, for the moment, this proposal did seem to align with his own wishes.

...

...

"Xiao Gu, you’re finally here, come help~~"

Zhou Yexin, carrying a large basket of paper materials, rushed out from the narrow staircase and bumped right into Gu Shen.

Gu Shen was slightly startled.

He had come to the Sleeptalkers to say goodbye.

But today, it seemed like the Sleeptalkers was not open for business. Several strong men in home attire were moving back and forth, carrying sofas and office equipment, and a medium-sized van was parked not far away.

"Is this... a relocation?" he asked subconsciously.

Zhou Yexin, her face covered in sweat, yet with a smile at the corner of her mouth, replied, "Yes, yes, our business is getting better and better... We can move to a bigger place."

"A bigger place?"

"The new store is right... there!"

Zhou Yexin placed the large basket of materials in the van, stretched out her hand, and pointed triumphantly to the corner of Lipu Street, saying animatedly, "We don’t have to squeeze into a tiny gap anymore, we have our own storefront, a main room for entertaining guests, and several soundproof compartments with superb effects. I’ve even prepared a small, private office for you."

Gu Shen opened his mouth but found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

He had come to say goodbye to Sister Xiao Xin.

He looked towards the street corner not far off, where Judge Tang was silently smoking by a lamppost. Didn’t Mr. Tang tell Sister Xiao Xin about him leaving the Sleeptalkers?

The relocation took roughly twenty minutes to complete.

Finally, Gu Shen placed the display screen carefully in the corner of the van, ensuring that nothing was left behind in the tiny shop at No. 18 Lipu Street.

He eventually spoke up.

"Sister Xiao Xin... I came here today to say goodbye."

This time, it was Zhou Yexin who handed out the wet towel to Gu Shen to wipe his sweat and was taken aback.

Without waiting for Gu Shen to continue.

She murmured sentimentally, "The internship... it went by so fast. Initially, Mr. Tang told me it’d probably be about half a year."

Zhou Yexin also noticed, from a distance, Tang Qingquan silently waiting.

She was a bit slow on the uptake, failing to realize that Xiao Gu had come to bid her farewell. Allowing the other party to bring up such a topic must have been difficult.

"Dr. Xiao Gu, don’t feel awkward about anything..."

She took a deep breath and sincerely added, "Congratulations to you, go on to your next destination. You should aim for higher and farther places... I’m genuinely happy for you."

Thinking back to the time Gu Shen spent at the Sleeptalkers.

Zhou Yexin felt amazed... The small clinic had undergone earth-shattering changes in the short time since his arrival.

Here was a young man with boundless potential.

A young man who deserved to stand at greater heights.

"But..."

She said, and then she smiled.

"I’ll keep that office free for you at all times; I’ve kept all the banners you received. I even made a personalized work badge for you."

Zhou Yexin took out a badge.

Gu Shen, with two words behind it: Doctor.

When he received the badge, a chord in Gu Shen’s heart was gently plucked.

Judge Tang had told Zhou Yexin.

He was just an intern.

"In my heart, you’re no longer just an intern..."

Sister Xiao Xin smiled and said, "You’re amazing, truly amazing."