Chapter 5: Joining the Club

Nighttime, employee dormitory.

Having completed the onboarding process, Xia Shou lay on the single bed in his dormitory. Behind him, Alice’s ghostly form seemed to penetrate the bed frame, her hands still gently gripping his neck.

He pondered over Dr. Modis’s words from earlier that day, a growing headache pressing upon him.

“If not for the aid of sealed objects, the mortality rate for low-level transcendent individuals undertaking missions beyond their rank is nearly 100%. Therefore, the Control Bureau outfits you with numerous sealed artifacts to improve your survival chances.

“But compared to the number of low-level transcendent operatives, the Bureau’s stockpile of sealed objects is pitifully small. Those available are all commandeered, so only about 10% of low-level transcendent operatives get to go on missions. The remaining 90% spend their standby time caring for, testing, and patrolling within the Bureau’s containment units.

“If you want to be dispatched, it will take at least ten days, and most likely much longer. After all, you’re just a useless rookie.”

Xia Shou lay on the bed, lost in deep thought for a long while before finally making a decision.

“There’s no choice. Looks like I have to seek her out.”

With resolve, Xia Shou set his alarm and closed his eyes.

Fatigue from the day weighed on him, forcing him to rest for a while. He planned to sleep for an hour before finding Shangguan Yan.

The moment he closed his eyes, his body suddenly plunged into icy seawater.

The drowsiness vanished instantly, his mind clearing as if awakening from a long, restful slumber.

Opening his eyes, he found himself once again in that vision—the pitch-black, frigid sea, illuminated only by a deep green glow drifting with the waves.

He gazed into the surrounding waters, which were devoid of any impurities.

No fish swam about.

No algae floated.

Beneath him was an abyssal darkness, with faint green light probing in all directions, eventually vanishing into the boundless black.

Within the infinite darkness... something seemed to be “watching” him.

Though “watching” was a poor choice of words. Perhaps “lurking” was more apt, as this presence was not observing through eyes but something else entirely. He felt sensed, as if something could emerge from the surrounding waters at any moment.

The depth gauge beside him showed 1,195 meters, the number slowly rising.

“Click—!”

A strange, soft sound reached Xia Shou’s ears through the water, reminiscent of a door opening.

The next instant, the depth gauge’s numbers began to surge wildly!

The surrounding water pressure increased gradually, a suffocating sensation following. The deep sea was becoming palpably real!

Below him, a stark black door appeared, square and precise. A long, narrow beam of red light glowed at the doorframe’s center, like light leaking from a room through an open door.

His lungs felt filled with seawater, yet his body lacked the strength to struggle.

Oxygen levels in his blood breached dangerous limits; his brain began to suffocate, consciousness wavering and blurring.

His wildly pounding heart rattled his eardrums, while his limbs convulsed uncontrollably.

The door beneath him drew nearer, revealing a scene inside... an upside-down shoe cabinet affixed to the ceiling, an iron chandelier nailed to the floor like a hydrogen balloon, an inverted foyer.

Xia Shou summoned all his strength to glance at the depth gauge—it read 1,205 meters!

...

Suddenly, Xia Shou snapped awake. A terrifying force gripped his neck; he felt his cervical vertebrae nearing a snap!

At the instant of awakening, Alice’s iron-clamp-like hands abruptly loosened, returning to their usual gentle grip.

Gasping for breath, Xia Shou sat up on the bed, his chest heaving violently, sweat soaking his entire body.

His pounding heart confirmed the suffocation was no illusion, and the expired alarm on his phone showed he had overslept. He had been trapped in a hallucination; if not for Alice, he might have entered through that door.

“Thank you, Alice.”

Time was running out; he had to act quickly.

Xia Shou got out of bed, left the dormitory, and followed the route he had learned during the day to Shangguan Yan’s office.

The office light was still on, keyboard clicks coming from within.

Pushing the door open, Xia Shou found Shangguan Yan working late alone.

“Modis told me you’re eager to get on missions,” Shangguan Yan said, squinting at him with a subtle glint in her eyes, as if she’d long anticipated his arrival. “But I warned you—if you come to me now, it’ll cost extra.”

“What do you want me to do?” Xia Shou asked.

Shangguan Yan slid open a drawer and placed a bottle of blood as red as fresh gore on the desk.

“Work overtime for a whole month after you return. If you agree, this is yours.”

“Huh?” Xia Shou was stunned.

He expected some outrageous demand, but all she wanted was overtime?

“Of course, it’s unpaid. And don’t think it’ll be easy,” she added sternly, raising a finger.

“That’s fine,” Xia Shou said, picking up the red bottle. “What is this?”

“It’s special blood. Drinking it will elevate your anomaly level to Tier Two for about an hour.

“I happen to have a mission suited to you. Though its danger exceeds what a Tier Two transcendent can normally handle, it’s the only assignment available right now.”

Shangguan Yan pulled a stack of files from the drawer and pushed them across the desk.

“I know you’re in a hurry, so I prepared everything. Take this blood and you can leave right away. Of course, if you want to stay and work overtime with me, you’re very welcome.”

Xia Shou frowned.

“…No, I’m more interested in the mission.”

He silently took the file folder and turned to leave.

After the office door closed behind him, a moment passed. A deep purple rift tore open the air behind Shangguan Yan. From it stepped a devil clad in a black trench coat, its head a goat’s skull.

The goat-headed demon stopped behind her, a hoarse, wicked laugh emanating from the skull.

“Have you forgotten the price of our contract?” it asked.

“Why would you think I’d forget?” Shangguan Yan replied evenly, without a flicker of emotion.

“Heh, just a reminder.

“One: All your dealings with others must be founded on the concept of ‘transactions.’

“Two: You must not allow others to perceive your actions as selfless kindness.

“Three: If you develop feelings for someone, you must not let them detect it.

“These are the three taboos embedded in our contract,” the goat demon said.

“I know.”

“Then aren’t you afraid that your obvious help just now violated the contract?”

“I don’t think he’s perceptive enough.”

“But he’ll find out eventually how precious that blood is. And then, heh…”

The goat demon extended long, dagger-like black claws and sliced through the air, tearing a rift in the void like drawing back a curtain. It then turned and stepped into the swirling purple mist beyond...

End of page three.