The unexpected discovery left Jiang Lu both shocked and somewhat agitated.
He didn't understand why the remnants of his body before transmigration appeared in such a way.
Although he had long suspected that the resurgence of the supernatural in this world might be related to the Netherworld, he hadn't anticipated that the connection would be so close.
Even the projections of his body fragments had become items in the prize pool.
But since only his bovine form was original, and his memories were relatively fragmented, he knew nothing about the connection between the two worlds.
Fortunately, now he had not only his original bovine form but also an extra hand. As long as he started working on the Future Warrior Project again from now on, a fully original body was within reach!
The only thing he needed to worry about now was—how to get the other parts?
Not to mention whether they were all in the lucky bag prize pool, and not even considering how to consistently obtain lucky bags, just the fact that he could draw a golden legendary item every time was a major issue.
"I'm weak when alone..."
Jiang Lu sighed and pondered aloud,
"Maybe I should wait for others to get them and then go stockpiling?"
...
Meanwhile, the director of the orphanage was driving on a rough road, stomping on the gas pedal and angrily slapping the steering wheel.
"You're really something, aren't you! Riding such a lousy bike and you managed to go this far!"
At this moment, he was incredibly anxious.
He had already contacted an acquaintance from the Exorcist Guild on the way.
He originally thought that a mere mention of an A-level Spirit Realm was already dangerous enough.
But he never imagined that the complexity within would far exceed his expectations.
To deal with this Spirit Realm, the guild had conservatively estimated that more than five people had been sacrificed.
Even though the director had semi-retired from the guild and had not entered a Spirit Realm for a long time, it didn't mean he didn't follow the guild's affairs.
Such numbers had not been seen for several years.
It was said the higher-ups were meeting about this issue, and those allowed to attend were at least level twenty veteran Exorcists.
Owing to his status as the orphanage director, he was regarded highly among Exorcists, but even so, if he were to attend that meeting, he would only be able to listen in.
One could imagine how seriously the guild was taking this matter.
Under such circumstances, Jiang Lu, just an ordinary person, running into that place was practically a death wish.
With this in mind, the director wished he could press the accelerator through the floor, knowing that arriving a second earlier might reduce Jiang Lu's risk a little bit.
Finally, after blazing through over sixty kilometers, the director arrived at the marked location of the Spirit Realm.
He pulled off his seatbelt, pushed open the door, and stepped out of the car, anxiously beginning to search for Jiang Lu's whereabouts.
"Where...where is it?" the director summoned the panel, trying to control his increasingly erratic breathing, "Huff... it's in... huh?"
His gaze suddenly rested on the now-gray Spirit Realm page and the announcement that had popped up next to it.
[Spirit Realm "Family Portrait" successfully solved]
[Descent terminated]
[Evaluation: Unreplicable Perfection]
[Solver: The solver has chosen not to disclose]
"Solved?"
The director was stunned, finally exhaling a sigh of relief.
But then, something occurred to him.
He had been trying to call Jiang Lu continuously after their earlier conversation abruptly disconnected, but all attempts had failed, with alerts that the other party was out of the service area, leading him to guess Jiang Lu might have wandered into the Spirit Realm.
Exorcists could check the solving information through the panel when entering a Spirit Realm, but an ordinary person who strays into one was no better than a headless fly.
Based on past experiences, not even one in a hundred such people would likely make it out alive.
Now all he could do was pray that Jiang Lu was still alive when the Spirit Realm was solved, so he might still stand a chance to be rescued.
With that thought, the director shakily took out his phone and called Jiang Lu.
Beep—beep—
"It's ringing!" the director brightened up.
But as time ticked by, second by second, no one answered the call.
With each ring, the director's heart hung a bit higher.
Until the indifferent mechanical voice came through, and the director finally despaired.
The director, who was well into his sixties, had thought he'd grown indifferent to life and death over the years, but when faced with it, he found everything so heavy, so hard to accept.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Told you to stay in the safe zone, but you just wouldn't listen, you bastard! Bastard!"
He roared hysterically, his slightly corpulent figure trembling, appearing rather comical, yet nobody could laugh at the scene.
Just then, his phone rang.
The director looked at it, and his expression changed dramatically.
He answered the call in an instant.
"Hello?" he asked tentatively.
"Dad, why the hell are you calling me so much? I just saw that I had like a dozen missed calls."
Listening to the familiar voice, the director finally let out a sigh of relief, softly rubbing his slightly reddened eyes, holding back his sobs, "Where are you now?"
"Actually... I went out with some friends last night and just now, for some reason, my phone lost signal all of a sudden, I'm on my way back."
"I'll deal with you when you get back!"
After saying these harsh words, the director hung up the phone.
Jiang Lu, hiding in a tree, clearly saw that the moment the director hung up the phone, he leaned against the car as if a great burden had been lifted, slid down and slumped to the ground, taking a long time to recover.
It wasn't until the car drove off that Jiang Lu climbed down from the tree.
He always knew the director cared about him, but he hadn't expected the director to care this much.
"Dad... wasn't really the wrong term to use."
Jiang Lu felt somewhat guilty at this moment.
But he had no other choice.
The director had always treated him like an ordinary child, even his own flesh and blood. If he found out about Jiang Lu's abnormality, should he come clean or, to avoid trouble, cut off this relationship to keep the secret?
The former was impossible, no matter what. Having been betrayed once before, with such serious consequences, had left him with a psychological scar.
The latter, to be honest, he did not want to face either, having lived together for over a decade, to say there were no feelings would be a lie.
After all consideration, what he was doing now was the best solution.
The director would never find out about his affairs, and so they could maintain this sincere relationship forever.
...
When Jiang Lu rode back to the orphanage on his beloved vehicle, an hour had passed.
The enhancement provided by the lady's robe had been fully realized.
Though the speed of his cycling had not changed much from usual, thanks to his nearly doubled stamina, he maintained high-speed cycling throughout the journey, greatly shortening the time.
And because of this, the director easily believed that he hadn't been to the northern suburbs.
After all, cycling sixty kilometers in an hour might not be difficult for an Exorcist, but in the director's eyes, Jiang Lu was still a normal person. Among ordinary people, this was already the level of a top athlete, clearly beyond what Jiang Lu's physical condition could achieve.
Seeing Jiang Lu gasping for breath, the director couldn't help but get angry, "Do you remember that you are a caretaker?!"
"What else is there to do?" Jiang Lu brazenly asked, "By this time, those little brats should have finished eating, right?"
"So you only remember about arranging meals?" the director's anger intensified, "What about tidying up the rooms? Taking care of sick kids? Has that got nothing to do with you?"
Jiang Lu looked as if he was hearing about this for the first time, utterly shocked, "Ah? That kind of thing is also my job?"
"What do you think?" the director bared his ghastly white teeth in a threatening manner, "I'm very angry today, so you better do everything meticulously!"
The director's anger wasn't feigned, but it wasn't because Jiang Lu had sneaked out in the middle of the night; it was because he always liked to do risky things, which worried him.
Luckily, this time he hadn't wandered into the Spirit Realm, but what about next time?
Even so, the director still didn't tell Jiang Lu about his concern over him going to the northern suburbs.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Jiang Lu didn't argue, only cautiously saying, "I don't know how to treat sicknesses. If I end up killing a sick kid, I won't be held responsible, right?"
"Take care! I'm talking about taking care!" the director could no longer restrain the beast within, "Who told you to treat anyone?!"
Jiang Lu gave an awkward smile, "See, you're getting anxious again."