Upon hearing the terms "spirit coins" and "spirit incense," Fang Xiu's heart stirred. He had only seen images of these two items on the eerie forum, but had never seen the actual objects.
Spirit Coins are the primary currency used among Spirit Masters, but few Spirit Masters treat them as money. More accurately, Spirit Coins are a type of spiritual material—a special kind of steel known as "Spiritual Steel."
This steel was developed by the Investigation Bureau headquarters as a material capable of conducting spiritual energy.
This steel is extremely rare and possesses the ability to conduct spiritual energy, meaning Spirit Masters can use Spirit Coins to craft weapons, armor, and other items.
Ordinary weapons and armor are ineffective against the supernatural, but equipment crafted from Mind Steel can counter the supernatural when infused with spiritual energy.
Never underestimate the role of weapons and armor; humans have risen above animals largely due to their reliance on such tools.
When ordinary weapons and armor prove useless against the supernatural, equipment crafted from Mind Steel becomes indispensable.
As for Spirit Incense, it is a highly valuable resource developed by the Investigation Bureau headquarters.
Spirit Incense can alleviate a Spirit Tamer's mental breakdown.
Mental breakdown is a challenge every Spirit Tamer must face. As their power grows, mental corruption becomes more severe, leading to mental breakdown. However, Spirit Incense can suppress mental corruption, making it a lifesaving elixir for every Spirit Tamer.
Wang Dehai kept making calls, mobilizing a large amount of manpower and resources. The investigative bureau's capabilities were fully revealed at this moment.
All other functional departments were at his disposal.
After finishing his call, he noticed Fang Xiu beside him and addressed the young man: "Xiao Wang, take Mr. Fang to the restroom to rest. Xiao Shen, convene an emergency meeting!"
After speaking, Wang Dehai left with Shen Lingxue, while the young man known as Xiao Wang escorted Fang Xiu to the restroom.
In the restroom, Fang Xiu sipped tea calmly, but his mind was racing.
The first spirit master of Green Vine City had died so easily?
Killed by two mysterious hands.
These two mysterious hands must be of a higher level, but this also highlights the fragility of humanity.
Human flesh and blood, even with spiritual power, are naturally at a disadvantage when facing the mysterious.
The simplest example is the female doctor at Qing Shan Mental Hospital.
The female doctor was not an overly powerful strange entity, but her skin was as hard as steel, and such a steel-like body could not be penetrated by ordinary firearms.
In contrast, even if a spirit master activates their spiritual essence and can mobilize most of their muscles to unleash strength beyond that of ordinary humans, if they are hit by a bullet, they will still be injured, or even killed.
That is the difference.
Ultimately, it comes down to the Spirit Master's low margin for error. Even if you possess powerful abilities, your body is still flesh and blood. A single mistake could lead to your death at the hands of a supernatural entity— Bai Qi is a prime example, killed in a surprise attack.
Supernatural entities, however, possess powerful abilities and a high margin for error. Spirit Masters rarely achieve a one-hit kill against them.
It's like this: I can make countless mistakes, but you can only make one. How can you fight that?
However, Fang Xiu doesn't care about the natural disadvantage Spirit Masters face against the mysterious beings.
Because it's the Spirit Masters who are weak, not him, Fang Xiu.
When facing the mysterious beings, he is different from ordinary people. He is like this: I can die countless times, but you can only die once.
Fang Xiu sat quietly in the break room, looking out the window at the many staff members in work uniforms bustling about. Clearly, Bai Qi's death was a major event, one that could shake the entire city of Green Vine.
Soon, it was afternoon.
Fang Xiu estimated that the matter should have been resolved for now, and it was time to act.
He had no intention of sitting idly here all day.
He then glanced at the young man sitting beside him. The young man's face had remained pale all morning, showing no signs of recovery.
Whether it was because he was concerned about Bai Qi's death or because he felt his intelligence work had been negligent and feared being held accountable afterward,
Fang Xiu slowly stood up and walked over to the young man's side.
The young man finally reacted.
"You..."
Before he could finish speaking, a swift blow from a knife hand struck the back of his neck.
The young man lost consciousness instantly and fainted.
After knocking the young man unconscious, Fang Xiu quickly stripped off his work uniform, put it on himself, and left the break room.
He planned to disguise himself as a staff member to gather intelligence. Under normal circumstances, this would never work, but now the entire Investigation Bureau was in chaos due to Bai Qi's death—the perfect opportunity.
Holding the documents in his hand, he mimicked the people around him, pretending to be in a hurry, and moved freely throughout the Investigation Bureau.
His spiritual senses were heightened, and his senses were amplified. The sounds of conversations and phone calls in the offices and corridors entered his ears.
"Although Deputy Captain Bai was cold and aloof in everyday life, his abilities were undeniable. He was the strongest in all of Green Vine City. Who would have thought that such a powerful spirit master would die like this?"
"Yeah, who would have thought? In my opinion, this death could have been avoided. It's all because Yang Captain and Deputy Captain Bai couldn't get along. They were always competing to see who was better. If the two of them had worked together, Deputy Captain Bai wouldn't have been ambushed and killed."
"Li Ge, I've only been at the Investigation Bureau for a short time. Could you explain in detail what the conflict between Yang Captain and Deputy Captain Bai was?"
"What kind of conflict could there be? It's purely a matter of pride. Deputy Captain Bai is widely recognized as the strongest, but when it came to selecting the captain position, it was Captain Yang Ming who won. Deputy Captain Bai has never accepted that."
"But if Deputy Captain Bai is the strongest in Green Vine City, why did he lose to Captain Yang?"
"Well, it's naturally because of Captain Yang's abilities. Do you know what Captain Yang's abilities are?"
"I heard that Captain Yang's abilities are supposedly about luck."
"That's right. Captain Yang's abilities are about luck, which is a passive ability. Besides bringing people good luck, it's not very useful. That's why Captain Yang is often called the weakest captain by spirit masters from other cities."
"Wait, how did Captain Yang win the captaincy competition? Deputy Captain Bai is supposedly the unbeatable existence among second-tier Spirit Masters."
"How else could he win? Of course, it was all about luck. On the day of their battle, no one knows what Deputy Captain Bai ate the day before, but as soon as they started fighting, he got an upset stomach and started having diarrhea.
During the fight, Deputy Captain Bai dared not use any force, afraid that he might have an accident, and thus lost. Although Captain Yang isn't very capable, he's still a second-tier spirit master. Facing an opponent who dared not use his full strength, he naturally won easily."
"Wait, why didn't he pause the match?"
"Are you kidding? Don't you know what kind of person Deputy Captain Bai is? He's the typical aloof, pretentious type. Asking him to pause the match in public to go to the bathroom would be worse than killing him. So he had to pretend nothing was wrong and keep fighting."
Poor Deputy Captain Bai thought no one noticed his diarrhea, but there were many Spirit Masters present, all sharp-eyed and quick-witted, and they had already caught the scent."