Star Gate

Liu Yan ignored the chortling young man. “Chief, we need at least ten people according to our configuration. There’s only six of us now. Even if they send another deputy director, will they be assigning more supernaturals to us?”

“It’s hard to say!” Liu Long shook his head after some contemplation. “They might, they might not. If they don\'t send more people, we’ll have to wait a while for rookies to cross over. White Moon is hosting their induction ceremony soon for the new recruits from various cities. We might get a few of them—Starlight.”

The team curled their lips with dismissal. What good were Starlight for? Darkmoon was far more useful.

“What if we recruit our own?” Li Hao recovered from his exuberant state.

“There are limited numbers of supernaturals. Those who can be recruited have long been spoken for.”

“I mean martial masters!” Li Hao explained. “Recruit martial masters! Silver City has some competent martial masters, no? If not, what about other locations? Although martial masters are weaker than supernaturals, they’ll be willing to work for us if we give them chances to become supernatural. Once a martial master crosses over, a Slayer is converted to Darkmoon. They\'ll come with the benefit of experience, making them much better than newbies.

“We’re situated on the fringe of Silver Moon and may encounter danger any time. Rookies are actually very unsuited for us…”

You’re a newbie yourself, look at you thinking less of others! Liu Long wanted to say. But what kind of rookie killed a Sunderer and Darkmoon as soon as they joined? Never mind.

Li Hao did have the right to look down on them!

“Let’s give it a try!” Liu Long didn’t refuse the young man’s proposal. While it was possible that no martial master was willing to join them, this cohort was more open-minded to serving a larger organization.

Of course, this had been true in the past. Liu Long would no longer be a mere captain of the Demon Hunters after the new branch was established. He would be a right and proper branch director of the Night Watchers! This was a supernatural organization endorsed by the government; he would wield much more authority. They would also be allotted monthly caches of mysterious power. It was a much better situation compared to hunting and killing dangerous prey for their power.

A tittering Liu Yan patted Li Hao’s head, making the young man uncomfortable again. What now? Why are you touching me? This old woman loves to take advantage of me!

“Little Hao Hao’s got such good brains,” Liu Yan breathed merrily. “If it wasn’t for you being too weak, you could even be the branch director!”

Liu Long flicked a sharp glance at her. What gives?

“I don’t mean anything by it. Don\'t misunderstand, chief! I’m just curious—Little Hao Hao absorbed mysterious power very quickly before. How many of your thirty-two cubes have you taken now? Where are you in Slayer of Tens? I’ve ascended to Sunderer and Yun Yao over there has become a Darkmoon. Wu Chao and Chen Jian are delayed by their wounds and only started two days axgo. You weren’t hurt, so what’s your status?”

Even Liu Long found his interest piqued. Everyone could tell that the young man hadn’t made the crossover. Had he further improved on the path of martial dao? Mysterious power was very helpful when it came to increasing one’s strength.

“I’m the same as before and haven’t improved much,” Li Hao said bashfully. “I wasted a bit of mysterious power when I absorbed it.”

It’s not like you guys will believe me if I say I’m a Sunderer. If you do, you\'ll be saddened because it\'s only been a few days since I became a Slayer.

Liu Long didn’t press the young man for details since Li Hao didn’t wish to talk about it. Improvements? Perhaps he’d taken a step forward in the Slayer level. Mid Slayer? Late Slayer? Late Slayer at most!

The captain didn’t consider the possibility of Sunderer, that was almost impossible.

“Alright then, everyone should rest up. We’ll know what the specifics are when official documentation comes in two days. I’ll raise the matter of Li Hao becoming a deputy director.” Liu Long sighed with emotion when he mentioned this point. “Li Hao, it’s a pity that you don\'t hold a civil post.”

All the kid cared about were promotions. He seemed far more suited for civil service—the future would be brighter for him there.

“This is all thanks to you, chief!” Li Hao quickly protested. “Where else would I have this kind of opportunity? Not to mention, credit goes to my big brothers and sisters. You guys know I’m young and poor, so you gave me this chance for a raise. I visited my house yesterday—it was where the explosives hit that night. My floor has almost caved in and I\'ve been thinking about where to find a new place to live!”

While his home hadn’t fully collapsed, it was pretty much the same. It had been one of Red Moon’s targets during that operation. The multiple explosions in Silver City had been to lure Liu Long away. No one was injured, but the explosions caused the old building to sink in. The uncle and auntie downstairs had fallen off their bed with shock and broken their legs. Their son and daughter had taken them away for rest and recovery.

Li Hao would disturb no one if he trained at home now, but his house wasn’t suitable for further residence. He was thinking of finding a new place since his teacher’s wasn’t a long term solution. A night or two was fine, but as the days dragged on, even a sneeze elicited a “young men should pace their needs”. His teacher came and went like a wraith—Li Hao was at his wit’s end.

“Come live with big sis!” Liu Yan threw a comely arm around his shoulders. “Big sis has a big bed!”

“That’s alright, I’m afraid I’ll disturb you, sis,” Li Hao replied stiltedly.

“Never!” Liu Yan giggled and pinched Li Hao’s cheek. “You’re so cute, you would never disturb me.”

Li Hao looked at the others for help, but they studiously avoided his gaze in favor of watching a good show.

“Alright, all of you are dismissed!” Liu Long ignored their antics. “Exercise more care in your actions. You too, Li Hao. Don\'t find a place too far from city center or you won\'t even have a chance to be rescued!”

“Understood!” The team filed out of the office and bumped into Mu Sen in the hallway. They greeted the inspector general, but didn’t engage in conversation.

Mu Sen was the type to bring his own cheerfulness. He directed his attention to Liu Yan after greeting everyone. “Congratulations to Vice Captain Liu, or should I say, Director Liu!”

“Not at all.” Liu Yan beamed. “You are a chief commissioner, inspector general. Not to mention, I will not be the director!”

She left with Li Hao. Mu Sen was undoubtedly here for this matter. I wonder what his reaction will be when he hears that Li Hao is being submitted as the deputy director? Her smile faded away when they were a certain distance from the inspector general.

“There\'s much more to that fatty than meets the eye, don\'t be bewitched by his smile! We think he became a Sunderer before chief! Who knows what plans he had in mind when he accepted the post to Silver City? But apparently his family has some foundations in White Moon, so don’t offend him if you can help it. Don\'t get too close either though.”

Li Hao nodded. “Is the inspector general a peak Sunderer?” he asked curiously.

“We\'re not sure, he might be. People say that he hacked through the flying supernatural with one stroke. That puts him at late Sunderer at least!”

The young man asked no further upon understanding.

……

At the same time.

White Moon City.

The Night Watcher Silver Moon headquarters.

Wang Ming gaped with shock and took a while before asking, “I’m… going to be the deputy director?”

Silver City again?? I don’t want to go! I already made a fool of myself there, won\'t people laugh at me even more with my return? It was also so remote that he didn\'t understand why upstairs wanted him to go. He was a Fullmoon, the equivalent of late Sunderer. He was a genius at headquarters, so was it really appropriate for him to be assigned to this post?

“It’s a joint director decision.” Huang Yun smiled. “Number one, as Yuan Shuo’s honorary disciple, it will be easier for you to find your footing. Number two, Liu Long will be more open to accepting you since you fought by his side once. Number three, keep an eye on Li Hao’s movements!

“Li Hao is the only heir to the eight great families! Although no one’s mentioning that anymore, it doesn’t mean we’re disregarding that! You two are familiar with each other—it’ll be easier for you to be in contact with him and possibly even his bodyguard! Red Moon won’t give up this easily! Although we have all of their powerhouses under surveillance, the organization is so big that we can\'t possibly keep an eye on everyone!

“Wang Ming, you go with an important mission! Don’t worry about resources, reach out to me at any time!”

The handsome young man couldn\'t find the tears to cry with! This sounded simple, but Silver City was so far away that it was possible lines of contact might fail at times. He was done for! Was he being exiled?

“Then what about Hu Hao and Li Meng?” he couldn’t help but ask. These two couldn’t be luckier than him, could they?

“Them? They’re going too.” Huang Yun’s smile broadened. “The Silver City Night Watcher branch isn’t strong enough, it’s staffed by too few. Three Darkmoons is a perfect addition to flesh out the framework. You’ll be a deputy director and the other two can be arranged as Silver City sees fit. You’re stronger than them!”

That’s true. Wang Ming comforted himself for a bit. I just… really don’t want to go, especially because I’ll have to face Li Hao and Liu Long! It’s going to be so uncomfortable! But he had no room to refuse since those at the top had decided.

“Can I come back whenever the situation there stabilizes?” he asked earnestly.

“Of course!”

“That’s good,” Wang Ming sighed with relief. Hopefully he could come back as soon as possible. Silver City was so small and the scene of his heartbreak.

Huang Yun’s smile deepened after he sent the young man away. “Finally got rid of him…” he murmured. “You can come back when Silver City is migrated!”

Upstairs had decided to commence with the migration plan, Silver City was included. It was just a matter of when and how.