Chapter 197: The Rise of the Knockoff
Chapter 197: The Rise of the Knockoff
Translator: I have checked the raw on qidian and c196 doesn’t exist.
“To put it bluntly, it’s just a knockoff. Nothing to be proud of. As Ling Laoda said, they’re just a bunch of rabble.”
Chen Ming angrily took a big bite of a chicken leg, wiped his mouth, looked down and said, “Who the hell made this chicken leg? It tastes like chicken butt. Did someone cook the chicken butt together with it?”
“Just eat it and stop your nonsense.” Qianruo gave him a fierce glare. “If you don’t want to eat it, put it down.”
Chen Ming’s face immediately paled while holding the chicken leg. He looked at Qianruo with lingering fear, then indeed threw the chicken leg aside and chugged a large mouthful of beer.
“Don’t ever eat my cooking again!” Qianruo’s face turned green with anger. “Is my cooking that bad?”
“It’s so much better… really, so much better.” Chen Ming said with a pained expression. “The first time I ate it, that was truly awful.”
Ghost Mother naturally didn’t need to save face for Qianruo. She brought out a plate of her own crystal braised pork knuckle. “Maybe he’s just gotten used to it.”
“Sister Luo’s cooking is the best!” Chen Ming didn’t hold back at all, picking up a piece and stuffing it into his mouth. “This is the model of a virtuous wife and loving mother.”
“That’s enough. You should be grateful you have something to eat.” Siyuan stepped on Chen Ming’s foot, signaling that Qianruo was about to explode. “I don’t think those people are just rabble. The person we saw earlier seemed quite powerful.”
“Different, it’s different.” Chen Ming shook his head disdainfully. “That so-called Special Affairs Division, very few of them cultivated their way up. Most are just practitioners of crooked paths, things like psychic powers, supernatural abilities, and the like. Not up to standard.”
Siyuan tilted his head and looked at Chen Ming. He knew Chen Ming’s mindset was very unbalanced now, so he didn’t say much. But he understood in his heart that whether it was psychic powers or supernatural abilities, they were all practical applications of energy. There was nothing to look down upon. Such people were actually born able to communicate with nature. Even without cultivation, their capabilities probably weren’t much worse than their own group’s.
Of course, these supernatural ability users didn’t always exist. Siyuan read in ancient texts that these people were almost all born after the Heaven’s Selection Revolution. They were byproducts of chaotic and declining spiritual power. They could hardly break through their own life limits like cultivators to gain long lifespans. But once they erupted in power, ordinary cultivators were far from being their match.
This was probably a kind of natural balance. But relatively speaking, because such people were born that way, they were rare. Generally, only one in a million had such talents. And if not properly trained and guided, their abilities would quickly disappear over time.
This Special Affairs Division gathered about one hundred and seventy people with different abilities. And Siyuan heard they even formed a committee and started selecting, even training special ability users from childhood. In Siyuan’s view, this wasn’t a bad thing. Because if such a team grew stronger, the pressure on their own side would naturally lessen. It was just that Chen Ming was very competitive… psychologically somewhat hard to accept.
“Chen Ming.” Siyuan looked at him and paused slightly. “I plan to completely open source our technology to the Special Affairs Division.”
“What!” Chen Ming jumped three feet high. “Are you fucking crazy? We researched that technology for so many years and you want to give it to those dickheads?”
Siyuan pressed his hands down. “Listen to me…”
“Go ahead, say it. Let’s see if you can produce flowers from your mouth. I just wonder, which side are you fucking on?”
“Of course I’m on our side.” Siyuan took a deep breath. “Our people all have some secret knowledge, right?”
“What do you mean ‘right’? Our people, compared to theirs, every single one is a master. Even your little disciple Ji Yanran has several young girls following her. Think about it.”
“Oh… I’ve become a grandmaster.” Siyuan chuckled secretly. “Alright, no joking. My idea is to share as many of the Special Cases Division’s resources as possible. Their supernatural abilities are strong, but most of them don’t know how to control them well. Although we don’t handle cases personally anymore, actually now we must take up the role of teachers. Don’t forget why we joined the Special Cases Division in the first place?”
Chen Ming was stunned. “To subdue demons and monsters, guard the peace of our land. But…”
He ‘but’-ed for a long time, but couldn’t produce a reason. He wasn’t unaware of what Siyuan meant, but he just couldn’t swallow his pride. So he couldn’t come up with any favorable arguments to refute Siyuan.
“I think, between us and the Special Affairs Division, it’s not replacement, but succession. The next step, even integration.” Siyuan leaned on the bed, stroking his chin. “Integrate our advantages together.”
“Hmph, then who gets to call the shots? Let me tell you this, besides Eldest Master and Second Master, I won’t fucking listen to anyone else!”
“You really are a donkey.” Qianruo had understood from the side. “Just how stupid are you?”
“What?” Chen Ming looked confusedly at the couple. “Why am I stupid?”
Qianruo patted his shoulder, pointing at the chicken leg he put aside. “Finish it and I’ll tell you.”
“Fine! I’ll eat it! At worst, I’ll die! In eighteen years, I’ll be a hero again!”
Watching him endure the disgust and eat that half chicken leg, Qianruo then asked smugly, “Let me ask you, if you were on a mission with your teacher, who would you listen to?”
“Isn’t that nonsense? If my two little disciples didn’t listen to me, I’d slap them… Fuck! Siyuan, you’re too fucking sneaky!”
“Why am I sneaky?”
“You mean… the Special Cases Division is now all switching to become instructors? Then guiding them during their missions, teaching them to use our magical instruments and arrays, and teaching them how to guide their own power?” Chen Ming wasn’t stupid, his brain just hadn’t turned the corner. “Then over time…”
“The two sides would merge.” Siyuan spread his hands, picking up the document signed by Wang Laoe. “Otherwise, with Second Master’s temperament, do you think he would sign this thing? He wants to…”
“Expand the operation! That old man!!!” Chen Ming’s face flushed excitedly. “We end up as the fathers, those kids are the sons!”
“Don’t say it so crudely. You’ll ruin a good thing with your words.” Siyuan smiled slightly. “So I plan to hand over all our technology. I’ll go handle the transfer tomorrow.”
Chen Ming thought for a while, then nodded heavily. “That idea isn’t bad. Those things can’t be activated without the mantras and energy channeling methods. Later, they’ll have to beg us.”
After saying this, Chen Ming suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked at Moran sleeping on the bed. “Should we recruit this girl too? She’s a real expert.”
“Don’t count on it.” Siyuan shook his head. “Right, Longyuan?”
Longyuan was sitting nearby with Little Mountain Deity and Mengling studying a Rubik’s cube. Hearing Siyuan’s words, she looked up somewhat dazedly. “Huh?”
“I mean, Moran definitely won’t join us, right.”
Longyuan nodded. “She won’t. We’re used to being free and unrestrained. And she…” Longyuan said this, glanced at Qianruo, then fell silent.
“Say it, why did you suddenly stop?” Qianruo suddenly laughed, shot Siyuan a glance, then said to Longyuan, “Is it because Moran has strange feelings towards Siyuan? She’d rather die than be with him?”
“You… how do you know?” Longyuan also found it amazing. “Can you read minds?”
“Something like that.” Qianruo sighed. “Adolescent girls, due to hormones, develop curiosity and affection for the opposite sex. But their solidified self-awareness makes them keep a distant attitude towards the opposite sex. It’s actually the same as how boys like to tease girls they like. So she’s particularly sensitive to Siyuan’s name, sensitive to the point of giving an illusion of disgust. But if the two of them were alone together somewhere far from crowds, it would be a different story.”
“Wow…” Chen Ming listened dumbfounded, silently patted Siyuan’s thigh. “Good thing I don’t have a girlfriend like that. Otherwise, I’d probably be chopped up and stored in a freezer.”
Siyuan sat nearby laughing happily. He walked over and teased Mengling, then suddenly turned his head, silent for a moment. “Wait, let’s use this opportunity to uncover our mole planted by Left Official, what do you think?”
Chen Ming grunted in agreement. “You have a plan?”
Siyuan chuckled, rubbing his head. “I don’t have that ability. Let’s call Little Dragon Maiden and the others to have a meeting together.”
While the Special Cases Division group was pooling their wisdom, over a thousand kilometers away in Demon Capital, a thrilling exorcism drama was unfolding. Although it was just dealing with some spirits in a house, the visual effects alone were worth the price of admission.
Shanyu was helping Officer Wei resolve his spirit possession issue. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. The walls around him shimmered with dazzling golden runes. In the room, a ferocious evil spirit was crashing back and forth between the walls. Ethereal roars continuously echoed in the room, extremely terrifying.
“Death is like a lamp extinguished, not extinguished is sin! You are sin, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Shanyu slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were filled with jumping golden runes. Runes also slid continuously on his face, making him look like a golden-bodied Buddha.
“Spirit runes! Activate!!!”
As soon as he spoke, the runes on the walls suddenly came alive like living things. The characters connected into chains in the air, firmly locking the evil spirit inside.
“Little master, you haven’t questioned it yet!”
Shanyu smiled slightly but didn’t answer. He just reached out and made a grasping motion. The evil spirit twisted into a bizarre shape like rubber, emitting painful moans and howls from its mouth.
“Heaven and earth have spirit, runes have spirit. All things return to origin, primordial spirit becomes one. Dark words are evil speech, bright words illuminate the heart. Rune break!”