["My head hurts."]
I didn't know how long had passed.
This thought surfaced in Gu Shen's mind.
["My head really hurts."]
Even though there was complete silence around him, his mind seemed to be caught in a tsunami... a silent roaring boil. Gu Shen felt like a fallen leaf, vaguely aware that his limbs were lying steady, but at the same time as if he had been thrown into a tumbling drum, the world spinning around him.
He struggled to open his eyes, and a Blazing Light lamp shone on his face.
"Hiss..."
His entire body was enveloped in a fine pain; it was difficult to even move a finger.
"You're awake."
A familiar, cold female voice.
Gu Shen tried hard to move his head, a simple action that nearly drained all his strength.
A rather spacious and pristine hospital room was now very quiet, with only the slow ticking of the wall clock.
Nan Jin, holding a long and short knife, sat by the bed, her coat slightly open, revealing the alluring curves outlined by her black bodysuit. In Gu Shen's eyes, her figure wobbled and gradually overlapped into three or four images.
Because she was so distinctive, even among the multiple images, he recognized her.
"Have you been taking care of me all this time..." Gu Shen said with a touch of warmth in his smile, sincerely adding, "Thank you, Sister Nan Jin."
As soon as the word "Sister" left his lips, there was a subtle crackling sound from the scabbard in Nan Jin's arms.
"Don't misunderstand, I was merely following teacher's orders,"
She replied coldly, "And the ones who took care of you were the doctors and nurses from Da Teng Hospital... I didn't do anything, I was just waiting here."
"My apologies, my apologies."
Gu Shen thought otherwise.
The recent fire disaster and assassination attempt, he had resorted to using "Truth Ruler" and exhausted his spirit to barely save his life... Looking back, if he had stayed in the Judgement Institute overnight, would there have been so many troubles?
Those two guys, who were quite terrifying to him, wouldn't stand a chance in front of this woman, right?
With this "Sister" by his side, he was surely safe.
He took a long, leisurely breath. Gu Shen felt both a sense of dread and relief, glad that he had managed to make that phone call in the end...
But then, Gu Shen's eyelids twitched.
He was now wearing a hospital gown, and his fingers felt around, finding the pockets on both sides empty... He was already poor, so money didn't matter.
But the Truth Ruler was gone!
"Sister Nan..." Gu Shen started carefully, observing her reaction and changing his address, "Brother Nan Jin, how long have I been lying here?"
This time, the scabbard didn't burst with coldness.
Nan Jin glanced at the clock and said irritably, "From the moment the call ended to being brought here, a total of twenty-eight hours has passed. The doctor checked and said there was nothing wrong with your body, that you just needed a good sleep... Are you a pig? Can you sleep this long?"
To have slept so long... Gu Shen felt a bit embarrassed himself.
He scratched his head and asked, "So... how was I brought here?"
"You don't remember?"
Nan Jin frowned, and she turned on the room's projector. A news report came into view... a sudden fire broke out in the northern residential area of Da Teng City.
"The people who tried to kill you caused that fire, thinking you were just an ordinary person without any power... but they didn't expect that, at the crucial moment, you 'awoke' as a 'Transcendent,' and with an extremely high-ranking power at that."
As Nan Jin spoke, she noticed that Gu Shen's expression was off.
"You... What's wrong, do you not feel well?" she asked with concern.
"No... it's nothing." Gu Shen rubbed his temples.
What was going on... From the sound of Nan Jin's voice, it seemed they had assumed he was a possessor of that kind of power, a Transcendent. But that made sense, considering the bloody scene on the rooftop couldn't be explained away by any other excuse.
But from the information just now, the Truth Ruler hadn't been exposed.
It must have been taken by Da Ju... That was good news.
Gu Shen calmed himself down, and suddenly heard Nan Jin ask, "What does it feel like to 'awaken' as a Transcendent?"
"..." Gu Shen struggled to pretend he was recalling the pain, "It was agonizing. It felt like all my strength was being drained away... and I don't have a drop of it left now."
Nan Jin consoled, "The greater the power of a Transcendent, the heavier the burden. I've seen what happened on the rooftop... It's normal for such a strong awakening power to overspend itself, don't worry."
Gu Shen was a bit worried, "About those two people... I won't have to take any responsibility, will I?"
"Don't worry. Those who do such things are hiding underground, away from the light," Nan Jin said with an unusually gentle demeanor, "Besides, you are now with the Judgement Institute. From now on, nobody will dare to bully you... After all, even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner."
"That's a relief..." Gu Shen sighed with relief, and then bolted upright, astonishment on his face, "Wait—"
"What did you just say, I am with what Institute?!"
"Judgement, Institute," she reiterated.
"Judgement what?"
"Judgement, Institute," she repeated once more.
Flipping her usual demeanor, Nan Jin patiently taught Gu Shen how to pronounce these three words and, with a hint of mockery, pulled out a paper contract, "Here... the agreement you signed before you were hospitalized. Your teacher signed it on your behalf."
The densely packed characters on the contract made Gu Shen feel dizzy, like he was looking at a death warrant. Eventually, he saw his own crooked signature in the bottom right corner, along with a red thumbprint seal in cinnabar ink.
"What era is it that we are still signing with thumbprints?!"
Gu Shen spat with disdain and tore up the contract, "You're kidnapping an innocent young man by force, I won't stay in this hospital anymore!"
"The teacher anticipated this reaction from you, that was just a photocopy..."
Nan Jin shrugged nonchalantly, sliding back into her chair, watching as shreds of paper fluttered down between them, she calmly said, "If you want to check out, you can. If I remember correctly, the hospital bill is 138,000 yuan. Please settle it yourself."
Gu Shen: "???"
"The teacher specifically instructed to use the most expensive medical equipment, and by the way, you were given a full-body examination. Here's the report, would you like to have a look? You seem to be in quite good shape." Nan Jin produced another report.
Gu Shen was stunned.
"By the way, we checked your bank account last night. The total balance is about 5,000 yuan," Nan Jin asked leisurely, "Even without that fire, you'd probably struggle to pay next month's rent, right?"
Seeing the young man's distraught expression, Nan Jin pressed her advantage, "And you seem to be unaware of what will happen next... if you don't join the Judgement Institute, because you are involved in A-009 and the major fire, two Transcendent incidents, you will be taken back for interrogation. This time, the interrogation will not be so straightforward. The guys from prison are watching you closely; you could end up on the 'out-of-control' list. At best, you will be under strict surveillance; at worst, you could be directly imprisoned."
Nan Jin put away the report, and a victorious smile appeared on her usually impassive face, saying, "Have a think about it. If you comply, not only will the hospital bills be paid, but the damages from the fire could be reimbursed. And during the upcoming interrogation, your teacher will personally intervene to bail you out from prison."
What a wicked woman!
Gu Shen clenched his teeth and glared at Nan Jin's pretty face. It was rare to see her smile, and he hadn't expected it to be so distasteful! Her beautiful face seemed to sneer with contemptible shamelessness, "Why don't you just give in to us."
After a long silence,
"Do I even have a choice?"
Resigned, Gu Shen sighed heavily and held his forehead, "If I follow you guys, I won't be able to avoid doing things like murder and arson, right... Can big brother take extra care of me?"
"Of course!"
Sorted.
Pleased, Nan Jin patted her new underling on the shoulder, then from under her trench coat's lapel, she produced a silver badge and handed it to Gu Shen, saying, "We are the messengers of justice, you know, nothing to do with murder and arson... Do you see the inscription on the badge?"
Gu Shen caressed the badge – it was about half the size of a palm and made of an unknown material with a fine texture. On the front of the badge were two crossed swords, intricately crafted, with clear swirling patterns.
Below the swords were two characters.
"Judgement," Gu Shen murmured softly, almost in a trance.
"Ding—"
Nan Jin lightly flicked the top of the badge with her fingers, producing a crisp, ringing sound.
Only then did Gu Shen notice that above the crossed swords was a crown, inside which were two carelessly engraved script letters, situated subtly above the swords, quite concealed.
Gu Shen didn't say another word, simply rubbing the badge with his fingers, a complex look in his eyes.
"Actually, we're not as bad as you think. The bill has already been settled, and a physical examination after coming into contact with a Transcendent is a necessary procedure... Some unlucky ones uncontrollably turn into monsters and can only be buried on the spot. But you're quite lucky, it seems there is nothing wrong with you," Nan Jin suddenly laughed.
Gu Shen shivered at the sound.
Nan Jin glanced at the clock and sat up straight, "Considering the time, those guys from prison should be here soon. The person in charge of your interrogation should still be Wei Shu. Now let me tell you how to deal with the upcoming interrogation."