Chapter 1 After One Day

Qinghe District.

On the cross-regional long-distance train heading to Dateng City.

Due to a heavy snowfall, the train windows were covered with a layer of frost, but even through the blurry mist, one could still see the train crossing the Qinghe River, which ran through Dongzhou. The river was not frozen; it flowed tirelessly from north to south, maintaining its vitality even in the coldest season.

Inside the carriage, light symphonic music played, and the heating was on.

A peaceful atmosphere.

A young waitress in a puffy skirt pushed a dining cart, passing by the passengers one by one.

"Sir, Madam... Complimentary drinks."

The waitress, beaming with smiles, walked past each passenger, stopping beside a young "couple." She sized up the young man and woman with some surprise.

Her gaze mainly focused on the woman.

It was the first time she had seen such a beautiful girl. She must have just finished attending a Cosplay event or something, as she was still wearing an old-fashioned red and white shrine maiden outfit, like a goddess straight out of a picture book. The girl was focused on looking out the window, her gaze seemingly piercing through the distant mist, ethereally landing on the surface of the Qinghe River.

Even just her profile was breathtakingly beautiful.

She shook her head lightly, focused her mind, and as she leaned down to offer the drinks, she said softly with a smile, "Excuse me, would you mind if I discussed something with you? In ten minutes, there will be a free upgrade to a higher-class carriage, I was wondering..."

Gu Shen glanced at the name tag on the woman's chest.

Ling Wei.

He said blandly, "There's no need to invite me to the VIP carriage. You can just say whatever you need to say over the intercom channel."

After saying that, as he took the drink, he gently extended his palm.

Without any visible movement.

The earpiece that Ling Wei wore fell into Gu Shen's palm.

"Hello."

Gu Shen spoke softly, saying, "This is sequence number v340011250001, my surname is Gu."

The voice on the other end of the intercom channel was silent for a moment.

Clearly somewhat surprised.

"Thank you, Mr. Gu!"

A grateful voice came from the channel, a passionate and energetic young man: "Although I don't know your identity, the [Deep Sea] provided information that there are three transcendents on this train. We may need your help."

Gu Shen smiled.

He looked up at Ling Wei, signaling her that she could leave. She straightened her clothes, pretended nothing had happened, and continued forward, playing the role of a "train waitress."

The voice on the intercom channel sounded somewhat familiar.

Currently, his identity file was indeed "highly confidential." In Changye City, apart from the Five Great Clans' Elders Council, which could access a portion of his file information, everyone else was completely unaware.

Which meant.

Gu Shen's trip this time, to a certain region in Dongzhou, was only known to a very few people.

And the internal personnel of the Three Bureaus who had [Deep Sea] access, could at most only know... that a transcendent within the system had arrived here. The reason why the coordinates were still displayed was actually to deal with urgent emergencies.

In recent years, the containment tasks that the Three Bureaus had to face were increasing.

Perhaps it was because the cases of "disorderly collapse" were also increasing... The probability of requesting help for out-of-control incidents was also increasing.

At this time, it was actually a good thing for [Deep Sea] to detect a system member with an unknown file.

In most cases, this was a "high-level transcendent."

"Mr. Gu..."

The voice on the intercom channel was somewhat worried, "We've encountered an urgent sudden mission, the [Deep Sea] assessment level might have reached B-. I don't know if you can lend a hand?"

Gu Shen's voice was too young.

This was really worrying. Whether the "high-level transcendent coordinates" displayed on the [Deep Sea] map, was a misunderstanding. Because not only high-level transcendents would have hidden files, some technical personnel who had made great contributions to the Federal Government would also enjoy this treatment.

"Tell me about it, maybe I can help."

Gu Shen said with a smile, he glanced at the time: "In three minutes, the train will be stopping at the station."

The voice on the other end of the channel quickly sped up.

"[Deep Water Zone] file number C038712, you can check this file yourself. This is a containment mission for an out-of-control sealed item. It was originally completed, the prison's special commissioner responsible for the containment is named 'Zhou Xiao', just ten minutes ago, [Deep Sea] issued a warning, alerting us that 'Zhou Xiao' may have gone out of control."

The internal file numbering rules of the Three Bureaus were very simple. If the starting number was C, it meant that the mission's risk rating was C.

It was very likely that this out-of-control sealed item had been underestimated, or that the containment commissioner had made a mistake, leading to the loss of his own mental control.

So... the risk factor had increased, from C level to B-?

Gu Shen raised his head slightly, looking at Ling Wei who was still smiling in the distance, but whose posture was tense. The mental strength level of this woman was probably around the third level of the Deep Water Zone, still in the first stage.

There were also two other transcendents on the train, but they were both at the same level as Ling Wei.

With this kind of strength, it was indeed not enough to deal with experienced combat personnel. Receiving the emergency notice from [Deep Sea], it was normal for them to be nervous.

"The name of that sealed item is 'Ghost Gauze Mask'."

Chu Ling, who had been sitting by the window, looking at the river view, said softly, "The wearer's mental strength will be greatly enhanced, but at the same time, it will also increase the probability of losing control. According to the rules of the containment mission, it only needs to be suppressed with a strong logical material to be considered the completion of the task."

Gu Shen sighed softly.

He roughly understood the reason for the mission upgrade.

That mission commissioner must have worn the mask, violating the mission manual, leading to his own mental breakdown... but the [Deep Water Zone] detected the anomaly immediately.

"Hiss... Hiss..."

As the train steadily arrived at the station, the sound in the earpiece became noisy and incomprehensible.

Gu Shen took off the earpiece.

He slowly turned his head... his gaze pierced through this carriage, looking at a boarding entrance two carriages away.

A tall man in a black suit was lowering his hat, boarding this train. After he approached the train, a strange force spread, interrupting the stable connection of the [Deep Sea] here.

Many passengers were surprised to find... that the network connection signal had become very poor.

……

……

"Hello... Hello?!"

Dateng City, command center.

Wei Shu's expression was grim, his hands pressed on the control console.

The [Deep Sea] link was interrupted... This sudden incident might be more serious than he had imagined. With Zhou Xiao's recorded strength, it was impossible for him to affect the [Deep Sea] link. This was at least the power that a third-stage transcendent could possess.

This was... the power of a domain.

The few transcendent commissioners who were originally responsible for handing over the task on the train were all first-stage transcendents. If Zhou Xiao really possessed a "domain," then they were not Zhou Xiao's opponents at all...

"Mr. Wei Shu, Lord Yan Li of the eighth level of the Deep Water Zone is already rushing to the station..."

A command commissioner beside Wei Shu said with surprise: "With Lord Yan Li present, a B-level out-of-control mission will definitely be no problem!"

"Yan Li was actually able to spare the time? But... I'm worried he won't make it in time."

This was indeed an unexpected surprise, but Wei Shu's expression was not relaxed. He stared at the screen, gritting his teeth and said: "I have urgently requested help from a 'high-level transcendent' on the train... that Mr. Gu, is a strong person within the Three Bureaus system. Now we can only hope for him."

"Gu?"

The command commissioner said in surprise: "That's a big surname..."

The number one family in Jiangbei Changye.

However, he then gave a wry smile, having the surname Gu didn't mean anything.

There were too many people with the surname Gu throughout Dongzhou, not everyone was related to the Gu family, and even if they were... how could someone from the Gu family come to a place like Qinghe District Dateng City?

"Don't have unrealistic expectations, he's probably not from the Gu family."

Wei Shu said calmly: "I now just hope that he's not a technical person, and can at least contribute to the upcoming battle, and hold out until Yan Li arrives..."

Having said that, he paused.

Wei Shu frowned and murmured: "It's just, I don't know why, I always feel that this guy's voice sounds a little familiar."

……

……

Zhou Xiao brushed the water off his backpack.

He put away his umbrella, boarded the train, and then walked straight towards the rear of the train.

He didn't look back along the way.

He didn't need to look back... he could also know that behind him, there were three young transcendents from the prison, following him.

Just like that... Zhou Xiao walked all the way to the last carriage of the train. The carriage was empty, without anyone. This was the originally planned "handover carriage." The handover mission for the C-level sealed item "Ghost Face Gauze" would be carried out here.

And at this moment.

Zhou Xiao slowly sat down, leaning against the rear wall of the train.

He calmly looked at the three people who opened the carriage door, crossed his legs, and said with a friendly smile: "Are all three of you colleagues from the Dateng City prison? First time meeting, very unfamiliar, first time carrying out a mission?"

Three young people, two men and one woman... the aura on them.

Hmm.

Very weak, third level, second level, third level.

Almost negligible.

"Actually, this is the second time..."

Ling Wei took the lead and stepped forward, saying with a smile.

"Commissioner Zhou Xiao, we are responsible for the 'Ghost Face Gauze' docking mission. I don't know if the containment mission was successful?"

They had already received the [Deep Sea] warning in advance, and knew that the Zhou Xiao in front of them was a high-risk element.

The three young people all had good psychological qualities. They didn't panic at all at this juncture, but maintained a dialogue with Zhou Xiao. For them, the most important task at the moment was to delay time... There was a high-level transcendent on the train, and the strong person dispatched by the Dateng City headquarters should also be on the way.

"Still... not bad?"

Zhou Xiao also smiled.

He tilted his head slightly, looked at Ling Wei, and narrowed his eyes.

Ling Wei felt uncomfortable being stared at by this gaze.

She always felt... that this gaze seemed to condense into substance, this guy's eyes were sharper than a knife, even being stared at, there was a sharp stinging sensation!

She subconsciously took a step back.

And this retreat—

"Hiss!"

A tearing sound like a blade actually sounded in the air. The dress strap on Ling Wei's shoulder suddenly broke, turning into two pieces, and a long bloody gash was pulled out on her snow-white shoulder.

This scene... made the three young prison commissioners shrink their pupils.

"Don't move..."

"Absolutely don't move."

Zhou Xiao said with a light smile: "Otherwise, I can't guarantee... your survival."

The train entered the tunnel.

The lights suddenly dimmed, and that strange force surged again. The last carriage fell into darkness, and it was precisely being in the darkness that allowed Ling Wei to see... the carriage was filled with densely packed, slender threads at some point.

"This...?!"

Ling Wei subconsciously wanted to turn her head, but her cheek was cut open.

A string of blood beads was frozen on the long line, trembling and suspended in the air.

Her expression was shocked, and she didn't dare to move a single bit anymore.

Zhou Xiao, who was crossing his legs and sitting at the end of the carriage, smiled and stretched out his palm.

He gently moved his fingers, and the few blood beads on Ling Wei's cheeks slowly swept down along the overhead threads in the carriage... and finally came to his fingertips.

Zhou Xiao gently stretched out the tip of his tongue, tasting the blood.

He showed an expression of enjoyment.

Hmm... sweet virgin blood, the next moment, he moved his fingers again, and a silver light flashed in the dim carriage, and the thread once again wiped across one side of Ling Wei's cheek, and a few more drops of blood came to his fingertips along the thread.

At the moment when the thread flashed past, an elegant sound like playing the piano sounded in the carriage.

And Zhou Xiao, this musician who played the Sonata of Blood, licked the scarlet virgin blood with relish, and sighed comfortably in ecstasy.

"I advise you, don't come in."

Zhou Xiao took off his suit hat, and suddenly spoke.

There was no one else in this carriage. The three commissioners felt a great sense of oppression.

They didn't know, who Zhou Xiao was saying this to.

At the junction of the carriage, the automatic sensor door was tightly closed.

Ling Wei didn't look back, but vaguely felt... that someone was standing behind her. In the shadows of the tunnel, the person behind her seemed to be a figure darker than darkness.

Just like, a shadow.

She even suspected that she was hallucinating. Did the "high-level transcendent" on the carriage make a move?

Judging from the current situation, the [Deep Sea]'s description of Zhou Xiao was incorrect. This was a transcendent with "domain abilities," and his true strength might have reached the third stage... Could that young man on the carriage really cope?

"If you come in, I will kill these three..."

Zhou Xiao licked his fingers casually, and said lightly: "In an instant, believe me, I have the strength."

The inside of the carriage was dead silent.

After Zhou Xiao finished licking his fingers, he nodded in satisfaction. Contrary to Ling Wei's expectations, Zhou Xiao did not look at his back, but looked at the top of his head, and smiled softly: "It seems that you care a lot about the lives of these three young people."

Above the carriage, came a low, young man's voice.

"What do you want, we can talk about it."

Zhou Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"I want a lot."

Before he could finish speaking.

The young man on the carriage said calmly: "I can satisfy you."

After hearing this, Zhou Xiao's expression became very cold, and he said annoyedly: "Who are you? Why should I believe you?"

"My surname is Yan, given name is Li."

Yan Li's name, falling into the ears of the three people in the carriage, was great news!

This was one of the strongest transcendents in Dateng City.

The three young transcendents trapped in the thread domain were almost moved to tears.

Ling Wei felt... that with Lord Yan Li's personal arrival, the three of them had been saved.

A smile also appeared on Zhou Xiao's face.

He spread his arms, looked up at the ceiling, and said softly with a smile: "So you are the son of the Qinghe District Chief Judge, then we... can indeed talk."

－－－－－－Outside topic－－－－－－

These days, I've been experiencing severe writer's block.

I revised the outline of the end of the volume.

I'm going to slightly extend the ending of this volume~ it's not to pad out the plot~