"Don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person. Superpower Management Bureau, Chu Boyuan."
Seeing the confusion and fear on Li Qingzhou's face, the man hurriedly introduced himself, holding up an ID. On the upper left corner of the document was the man's photo, and on the right was his identification.
Chu Boyuan, Captain of the First Team of the Abyss Processing Center at the Supernatural Power Administration.
At the bottom of the certificate was the seal of the Supernatural Power Administration.
Li Qingzhou looked at him suspiciously but eventually nodded.
"Alright, I'll get to work now."
As Chu Boyuan spoke, he pulled out a pair of gloves from his clothes, slipped them on, and then retrieved a shimmering bag, clearly not an ordinary one. He carefully picked up the black bugs from the ground and placed them inside the bag.
Next, he took out a flashlight and pressed the button. A beam of white light illuminated the cracks in the wall. Under the pure white light, the dark cracks slowly faded until they completely disappeared.
Chu Boyuan hung the bag on the head of a mechanical bird, removed his gloves, and tossed them into the bag.
"All done," he said, clapping his hands.
Li Qingzhou had been silently watching the man work. He didn't fully understand what had happened but knew the cracks were gone, meaning the danger had passed.
"What exactly were those bugs and cracks?" Li Qingzhou asked curiously. The whole situation had been strange, and he wouldn't feel at ease until he knew more.
"The crack is called an Abyss Gap, a breach where the Abyss's power seeps through. Those black bugs are Dream Worms, creatures that live in the Abyss Gap. They're skilled in dream attacks, feeding on human blood to multiply and expand the Abyss Gap. When the Abyss expands enough, the corruption strengthens, allowing more monsters to enter our world."
Chu Boyuan explained, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "Mind if I smoke?"
Li Qingzhou nodded his approval.
Chu Boyuan lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, then blew out a smoke ring. Through the smoke, he gazed at the bustling city in the distance, with its glowing lights and passing cars.
"The world seems prosperous and stable, but there's a lot going on beneath the surface. You probably don't realize it, but you may have just saved the world," he said with a melancholic expression that didn't quite match his rugged appearance.
Li Qingzhou was puzzled. He had just wanted to save himself, not the world. He wasn't a superhero and certainly didn't have the ability to take on such a role.
"How did you do it?"
Chu Boyuan had noticed the red fox as soon as he arrived. It seemed impossible that a Level 8 Black Iron fox could defeat the Dream Worms. Despite the worms being limited in strength outside the Abyss, they were skilled at hiding and manipulating dreams. Killing them wasn't easy.
Li Qingzhou recounted what had happened.
"A red fox with psychic abilities? That's rare," Chu Boyuan commented, surprised.
Creatures from the Abyss mainly used mental abilities to influence the human world. To fight them, it was essential to possess comparable mental powers.
"What's your name?" Chu Boyuan asked.
"Li Qingzhou," he answered without hesitation.
"Here's my card. If you encounter anything like this again, don't try to handle it yourself. Call me."
Chu Boyuan handed over a business card. It had the same details as his ID but also included his contact information.
Waving goodbye, Chu Boyuan leapt onto the back of the mechanical bird. He found Li Qingzhou intriguing. Surviving in the presence of the Abyss's influence was rare enough, but to eliminate the Dream Worms on his own was unheard of. Even professional beast masters would struggle with such creatures.
When did Linyuan City's No. 1 Beast Control Academy produce such a talented student? He'd need to look into Li Qingzhou's background.
The man smiled faintly as the mechanical bird spread its wings and disappeared into the sky.
As Li Qingzhou left the alley, feeling utterly exhausted, Zhang Huai had already packed up the four stray cats and locked their cage. He and his beast, Man Niu, stood by the iron cage, looking toward the alley where Li Qingzhou had disappeared.
"Boss, did you catch the ghost cat?" Zhang Huai asked eagerly when he saw Li Qingzhou.
Li Qingzhou, moving as though he had just run a marathon, didn't have the Black Iron Level 5 ghost cat with him.
"Did Boss fail? That ghost cat must've been too quick to catch," Zhang Huai thought, though catching four cats was already impressive. He was about to offer some words of encouragement when he heard Li Qingzhou's response.
"The ghost cat is dead."
"Dead?" Zhang Huai was taken aback. He hadn't expected Li Qingzhou to kill the cat instead of capturing it, but that didn't matter—the task was complete.
The Walnut Block administrator sat at his desk, writing a new commission application. The two young beast masters sent by the association had been teenagers, clearly inexperienced and not up to the task.
The administrator considered increasing the reward for the mission, knowing a higher payout would attract more powerful beast masters to eliminate the troublesome stray cat issue for good.
He pondered whether to raise the reward to four thousand or five thousand yuan but sighed, realizing the decision would need to be discussed with the neighborhood representatives.
Just as he was lost in thought, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" he called out.
"We're from the Beast Masters Association. The stray cat mission has been completed. We're here to report."
The administrator was shocked. "The mission? Completed?"
He opened the door, and to his surprise, there were four stray cats in an iron cage outside.
"They really did it," the administrator muttered, smiling with wrinkled joy.
Li Qingzhou handed him the cage key. The administrator nodded gratefully and handed over the mission reward—three thousand yuan in cash.
Li Qingzhou took the money, thanked the man, and said goodbye to Zhang Huai.
Watching them leave, the administrator nodded in satisfaction, muttering, "Young people are truly remarkable. I knew they could do it."