The novice wooden sword had no sheath and wasn't included. Fang You could only pick up a piece of cloth from the ground and wrap it around the wooden sword, layer by layer.
Before that, he carefully experienced the smooth sensation of life energy flowing into and out of the wooden sword.
It was truly smooth.
Smoother than guiding life energy to circulate within his body, it was incredibly nourishing and made the life energy remarkably condensed and sharp.
Life energy, guided and unleashed by oneself, could only harm minor malevolent spirits. But with the novice wooden sword, facing this malevolent spirit, which was a notch stronger than a doorman, it would only take a few strikes.
Killing malevolent spirits became easier, safer, and consumed less energy than a palm strike.
Basic swordsmanship was epicly enhanced!
Was this the power of the novice wooden sword? He had underestimated it before.
Fang You looked at his status panel.
One Awakening! Proficient Swordsmanship, Proficient Palm Strike, and the Beliefs of Gui Yu and Burning Fire...
I, the Spark Mentor, am invincible!
…
"Damn it!"
Just as Fang You returned home and was about to do his daily routine of checking the Salvation Game, he noticed several new red markers on the detection map.
This was normally not a big problem. He cleared malevolent spirits in order of danger from high to low. Most malevolent spirits had their own behavioral logic and wouldn't wander randomly. As long as their birthplaces were in sparsely populated areas, their threat was relatively small.
They would all become his experience points and resources for getting stronger.
However, at this moment, Fang You's gaze fell on the graveyard in the south, in the southern suburbs. He had an impression of this place; it was one of the four areas he had been focusing on.
Because it had been sealed off by the Investigation Bureau and posed little threat, he had postponed clearing the malevolent spirits in this area, prioritizing his brother Hei Dao to eliminate the more likely to wander two-star malevolent spirits.
Before he could act, the mission for this area had disappeared.
This wasn't the first time he had seen this situation.
He could roughly guess that it was the Investigation Bureau. Some malevolent spirits were cleared by the investigators. Although their methods were a bit weak, their speed was quite fast. Seeing that the graveyard malevolent spirit had also been eliminated, he was a bit surprised.
The graveyard malevolent spirit was not weak.
From a human perspective, Fang You hoped the Investigation Bureau would be stronger. A bit of experience wouldn't matter.
Yet, at this moment, the mission marker for the southern suburban graveyard that had disappeared reappeared.
And this time, it was even redder.
"Urgent Mission: Gate of the Ghastly Realm"
"Status: Unstable, Estimated Opening Countdown 47:46:59."
This was a mission format he had never seen before, but judging by the red marking and the urgent prefix, the situation was not minor, much more serious than the Serpent Mother incident.
And the vague explanation and foreshadowing above...
"Gate of the Ghastly Realm? A considerable number of malevolent spirits will pour out from it?"
"The rating of the surging malevolent spirits is unknown. It's unlikely they will all be weak. Even at the doorman level, a large number can be terrifying."
Troublesome!
Fang You tapped his desk, his mind racing. The mission did not specify the magnitude of the disaster from the Gate of the Ghastly Realm, nor did it indicate how long the entire portal would last when it opened.
It could only be confirmed that it wouldn't exist permanently, but even if it was temporary, if the pouring malevolent spirits became numerous...
He simulated the situation.
"I can currently defeat ordinary one-star malevolent spirits, but only in a one-on-one situation."
"If it's one-on-two or one-on-three, the danger level increases significantly."
Thinking of the bird that was bitten by a malevolent spirit today and rotted instantly, Fang You roughly understood that the lethality of malevolent spirits was definitely not weak. Didn't his brother Hei Dao also never directly confront the attacks of malevolent spirits?
He could only dodge.
There was also the consumption of life energy. Even if they were all the weakest malevolent spirits, a large number could exhaust his brother Hei Dao to death, unless...
He remembered that during the Serpent Mother mission, the Investigation Bureau had used prayer beads and talismans to eliminate many weak malevolent spirits.
They had also eliminated some malevolent spirits on a daily basis.
A bold idea suddenly came to mind.
"Does the Investigation Bureau know that a Gate of the Ghastly Realm is about to appear?"
"How can I contact the Investigation Bureau without exposing my identity?"
Fang You fell into thought.
…
At this moment, the atmosphere at the Baijiang Investigation Bureau was tense.
People came and went, and there were many unfamiliar faces, all investigators from the provincial bureau of Baiyun Prefecture.
"Director, the third batch of equipment from the province has arrived, along with a batch of the latest developed equipment and weapons from the general bureau."
"Director, the southern suburban residents are being evacuated in batches."
"Director, no new malevolent spirits have appeared in the graveyard so far, but the gray mist above the Hell Gate has grown larger."
"Director,..."
Director Zhou pulled at his hair, and a few strands came out, black mixed with white. He seemed to be getting balder.
He asked, "How many special-class investigators from the province can come?"
"The confirmed ones so far are Master Ma and Cannon Tower. They are arriving soon, and a few others are on their way."
Director Zhou nodded slightly.
He had heard of these two. Their awakened abilities were quite strong, and they were much more effective against malevolent spirits than Bai Xue, who was also a special-class investigator.
Especially Master Ma, whose awakened ability was strong, and he himself was also strong.
With these two, there would be three special-class investigators. Moreover, they were all equipped with new weapons developed by the general bureau, along with a large number of prayer beads enhanced with Buddhist scriptures, opened talismans, and secret weapons just sent by the general bureau!
It could be considered quite luxurious. If it weren't for this disaster, how could he, a branch director, handle so many things.
But...
Was this enough? No! It wasn't enough!
Even though they were prepared, if malevolent spirits were to block the Hell Gate, it still wouldn't be enough.
Director Zhou couldn't feel at ease without making more preparations, but a clever woman can't cook without ingredients. He was also well aware of the pressure on other areas and wished he could split the special-class investigators into two.
There were too few special-class investigators!
As far as he knew, very few investigators were fortunate enough to trigger an awakening, and the awakening process was extremely dangerous. The number of people who could survive and gain abilities was even more minuscule.
It was like buying a lottery ticket!
If only they could find a way to awaken.
He heard that the general bureau was researching it. When would there be a breakthrough, and when would the personnel shortage be alleviated.
Director Zhou looked at the other members of the disaster response team. "The situation is unclear, and the degree of the disaster is unknown. To be safe, we must be prepared to evacuate all residents of Baijiang City, and sound the alarm to evacuate everyone if necessary!"
This was the worst-case scenario.
He hoped more to contain the source of the disaster... Director Zhou continued to brainstorm.
Because of this disaster, the general bureau had provided some new weapons, but now they had weapons but no people to use them.
They were short of people! Short of awakened individuals!
"Old Zhou, at critical moments, you still have to rely on me. I am the most reliable person in our Baijiang branch."
Jiang Tingqiu emerged, facing Director Zhou's annoyed gaze, and said, "Have you forgotten that mysterious organization? It's not undignified to cooperate with them for Baijiang City."
"Then tell me, where can I find them?"
"So, Old Zhou, remember to give me a great功."
Director Zhou looked at him in surprise, only to hear Jiang Tingqiu say, "I found out, that girl."