Chapter 4: Detection-type Operative Lin Kule
After leaving the hot pot restaurant, Jiang Li and Lin Kule did not subdue the suspicious man immediately.
Considering that taking action in a crowded place could cause considerable damage and lead to a series of unnecessary troubles, the two decided to first contact other operatives from the Shancheng Siye Society for backup, and then follow the suspicious man, waiting for a less crowded area to act.
They deliberately walked slowly, ensuring that the suspicious man did not leave their line of sight, following from a distance to avoid startling him.
The moss-covered ancient stone path, dense old yellow cassia trees, mottled old stone walls, charmingly nostalgic old shops, the cable car crossing the river, the light rail weaving through dense buildings…
These scenes hidden among modern skyscrapers composed Shancheng’s nearly magical unique charm.
Of course, the complex terrain, vast population, and long urban history also gave rise to numerous urban legends.
During the pursuit of the suspicious man, Jiang Li’s spiritual perception vaguely sensed fluctuations of spirit energy stemming from urban legends more than once. She wanted to follow the direction of the spirit energy fluctuations, but was stopped by Lin Kule.
“Sister Li, don’t waste your effort; we won’t find it.”
“…” Jiang Li looked at Lin Kule without speaking, tilting her head, waiting for a reasonable explanation.
Lin Kule tiptoed to look ahead, confirming that the suspicious man was still in sight. She sighed silently and explained, “Looking at it like this, it’ll take quite a while to find a suitable opportunity to take action!”
“While we wait, I can tell you about it? Sister Li, you still have to stay here for a month; it’s good to understand the situation earlier…”
“To be honest, among our operatives in the Shancheng Siye Society, there is a principle when handling urban legend cases: only resolve one case at a time. Don’t rush to take action just because you sense abnormal spirit energy fluctuations nearby… Do you know why?”
Jiang Li thought for a moment and said, “I guess… probably because of the complex terrain, the numerous urban legends, and if we get distracted by unexpectedly encountered spirit energy fluctuations, not only might we fail to locate the source of those fluctuations, but we could also let our original target escape; thus, we have to make choices…”
“Like right now, if we follow the spirit energy fluctuations from the urban legends, not only might we not find the target legend, but we might also allow the suspected member of the Solar Eclipse Society we were tailing to escape, right?”
If Luxianbei were here, she might say that handling urban legend cases in Huacheng is like a side-scrolling game, while in Shancheng, it becomes a 3D open-world game… Jiang Li added in her mind.
“Moreover, I guess the number of operatives equipped by the Shancheng Siye Society far exceeds that of most cities, which might also be a reason.”
As she spoke, she had already imagined an operative from the Shancheng Siye Society, while chasing an urban legend, accidentally sensing nearby, in an undetermined direction, a similar urban legend engaging in hunting, but to avoid letting the original one escape, they had to choose to ignore it.
Upon hearing this, Lin Kule slightly parted her lips, looking at Jiang Li with wide eyes.
Seeing this, Jiang Li assessed Lin Kule and asked, “What’s wrong? Did I guess wrong?”
“No!” Lin Kule shook her head, “Completely correct, not only correct, but it also differs from what my master once said by just a few words…”
“Oh, by the way! My master was the one who guided me when I was still a preparatory operative, very nice; I will introduce you when we have the chance.”
“Uh, then let’s continue talking, besides the above principle, there’s still…”
“……”
As Lin Kule introduced Jiang Li to various situations regarding the Shancheng Siye Society, they continued to follow the suspicious man, unknowingly the number of people around them diminished.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the darkness deepened around them. The ground was uneven, covered in a layer of dust, and at the end of the path stood a factory shrouded in darkness, emanating a decrepit and rundown vibe, precarious and about to collapse.
“That’s a steel mill, it underwent reformation at the beginning of the century, but somehow went bankrupt, and the factory has been idle for nearly twenty years without management…” Lin Kule explained to Jiang Li, “Actually, there used to be two or three urban legends here, but they were all dealt with last year.”
“Uh-huh.” Jiang Li nodded, calmly saying, “So, this is a good place to take action?”
“But…” Lin Kule glanced at the pitch-black factory, resembling a monster waiting to devour its prey, quickly withdrew her gaze, shrank her neck, and said softly, “But, Sister Li, if they become desperate and want to attack us, this is also a good place!”
“How about we wait outside and guard until reinforcements arrive before going in?”
Just a moment before, the girl, who seemed as fiery as a red hot pot, now appeared as though frostbitten, wilted and timid, her momentum weakened considerably.
“…” Jiang Li looked at Lin Kule, silently sighing, “Lin Kule, your current state reminds me of someone.”
Someone cautious and timid to a pathological extent…
“How did you manage to complete tasks before, like this?”
“Who?!” Lin Kule pursed her lips in disdain, “No one can be compared to me, the unparalleled Lin Kule!”
After pausing, seemingly unconcerned about who Jiang Li was reminded of, Lin Kule shrugged, “Before, I was only responsible for pointing out suspected targets; there was no need for me to take action.”
Although her spirit energy level had reached B+, her spirit patterns and spell formula abilities weren’t skilled in combat, and her spell application level was quite mediocre.
At this level, she could handle regular urban legends, but it would be a different story if she faced members of the Solar Eclipse Society.
Additionally, her unique abilities, coupled with ongoing protection from other operatives of the Shancheng, were also factors contributing to her lack of experience handling urban legends and illegal spirit energy users.
From a certain perspective, her ability to become Jiang Li’s reviewer and follow Jiang Li on the mission was a sort of miracle.
“I’m a detection-type operative; everyone has their area of expertise! Does the Huacheng Siye Society not have divisions when dealing with urban legends?”
“……”
The Huacheng Siye Society did indeed have operatives initially trained as detection-types.
However…
He was probably the most competent one in the entire Huacheng Siye Society now, Jiang Li thought.
In fact, she also knew that in cities with relatively ample manpower, it was customary to divide labor based on the characteristics of spirit abilities.
After all, the vast majority of Siye Society operatives had spirit energy fluctuation levels at mid-tier; only by specializing in certain abilities and adopting a collaborative action model could they unleash stronger combat power to deal with various urban legend incidents.
Cities like Huacheng and Tangcheng, with manpower shortages, forced each operative to become versatile all-rounders, which was the exception.
Jiang Li looked at Lin Kule, contemplating, “Your concerns are not without reason…”
Things involving the Solar Eclipse Society could be big or small; it was always wise to prepare additional backup plans.
After pausing to weigh the current situation, she continued, “You wait outside, find a concealed spot, suppress your spirit energy fluctuations. I’ll go in first to see the situation, in case that guy flees. If the situation goes awry, I’ll retreat.”
She was fairly confident in her strength after evolving her spirit patterns, and if it was just tracking, she should go unnoticed.
Moreover, her special abilities granted from the spirit patterns told her this was the best course of action.
Judging right from wrong, true from false, was the capability of the Xiezhi, an instinctual special ability.
“……” Lin Kule hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Just be careful.”
“Mm!” Jiang Li responded, and then her thin lips parted slightly, softly chanting a description of her abilities, “In the Northeastern Wasteland, there is a beast, resembling a deer with a single horn, embodying kindness and righteousness, twisting in the matrix, when it sees a person fight, it does not strike, when it hears a person debate, it does not correct…”
As she whispered, an iron glow emanated from her body, the sound of faint steel friction resonated, and a low rumble echoed in the air.
The ancient armor gradually began to take shape, covering her body.
The dark armor resembled fish scales, with glimmers of deep blue light flickering in the seams of the armor plates, dark golden Xiezhi-shaped shoulder pads, arm guards, and knee guards enveloped her joints, while her face was obscured by a menacing mask that revealed only her piercing eyes.
【Mythological Species Spirit Pattern · Xiezhi】— a release completed!
Immediately, she lightly tapped the ground with her toes, her figure shot forward, as if merging into the night, vanishing from the spot…
