“The materials for those two special awakening crystals were extracted from a rare dungeon and refined through the fusion of many rare components and extensive engineering. You went to all that trouble… what are you trying to do?”

Fang Hanxin replied casually, “Why, experiments, of course. You know me—I’m a doctor, a man of science.”

Li Shoushi replied with a deadpan expression, “I’ve never heard of any so-called ‘serious doctor’ whose experiments involve blowing up an entire school. What are you up to—petitioning on behalf of the nation’s students?”

Fang Hanxin chuckled at that. Gazing at the video of the campus, now leveled to ruins, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

“My goal has always been the same: to eradicate all paranormal entities, and give humanity back its freedom. This experiment… is to prepare a terrifying trump card for humanity’s future.”

“Honestly, I’ve never seen a newcomer as dazzling as Family. Incomparable talent. A god-given skill. Natural-born abilities that are downright terrifying. Bai Wan has more potential than any Para-Hunter I’ve ever seen—his upper limit is beyond comprehension.”

Fang Hanxin stared at the video’s image of Bai Wan like he was admiring a raw, uncut jade.

“Of course, he’s not without weaknesses. One of them is simply that he’s too new. He’s only completed three dungeons. But that’s a small issue—at his growth rate, he’ll catch up to those veteran players in no time...”

“His biggest weakness… is that his talent is too strong.”

“Being too talented is a weakness?” Li Shoushi raised an eyebrow.

Fang Hanxin explained: “That terrifying Error Code domain is simply too powerful. It’s humanity’s sharpest sword against unsolvable paranormal threats. But because it’s so strong, Bai Wan can’t control it. If you hadn’t been there during the Longbei incident, he would’ve died alongside the city.”

“And this time, same thing. That terrifying furnace—if it had actually descended to the ground, Bai Wan would’ve been toast again. Fortunately, I gave him the straw doll, imbued with your temporal imprint. Your time-based ability can serve as a game saving checkpoint for him.”

“For the last damn time—my ability is Time Pocketwatch, not some game save function!!” Li Shoushi’s forehead twitched violently.

Fang Hanxin pretended not to hear him, continuing to speak as if to himself. “But your ‘save point’ comes at a heavy price. Especially when it’s used across dungeons… And even if the timeline is reversed, it might not always be enough.”

“So yes—Family’s bug domain is truly unsolvable. But for now, he can’t control it. He can’t be self-destructing every time. I’m not even asking him to avoid wiping out his teammates—at least don’t wipe himself out.”

“And that’s the whole point of my experiment.”

Fang Hanxin went on: “Right now, Bai Wan still needs time to collect the four Awakening Crystal Shards and fully comprehend his awakened skill. I’m hoping to use this window to figure out a way to let him safely and stably release his bug domain. If I succeed—then the moment he fully awakens will also mark the birth of the new S-rank team captain at headquarters.”

Bit by bit, Fang Hanxin’s expression grew more fervent.

He continued: “And perhaps… if we go even further—what if he could actively control the creation of bugs? If that’s possible… then in his own domain, he would be a god. At that point, humanity would gain unprecedented combat power. Even the so-called Paranormal Gods… would no longer be untouchable.”

A god…?

Li Shoushi couldn’t help thinking back to that moment—the heavenly furnace flames falling from the sky, burning everything in their path.

Yes.

If that kind of power could be unleashed at will, based on emotion alone… then how would that be any different from a god?

Fang Hanxin’s eyes gleamed as he continued: “I already have some leads. Family’s bug domain has been triggered twice. Once in the real world, once in the Paranormal Game. But the results were different. In the real world, it spiked to full power almost instantly. But in the game world, it seemed suppressed. It only reached peak power after a while.”

“That’s very interesting. Two different worlds. Two different bug responses. It seems like something inside the game world is suppressing Bai Wan’s bug domain. If I’m not mistaken, the chances of a bug outbreak in the real world are far higher than inside the Paranormal Game.”

“And if I can identify the thing that’s suppressing the bug domain…Then I can create something useful. Something to help Bai Wan control the bug domain.”

Fang Hanxin’s voice shook with excitement at the thought of his experiment. 

Even Li Shoushi’s eyes flickered with anticipation. If the Family could fully mature… that would be incredible. His workload would also become lighter. The current situation was dire—four S-rank captains simply weren’t enough.

“With how well he performed this time,” Li Shoushi said suddenly, “will Bai Wan be transferred to headquarters?”

Fang Hanxin shook his head. A strange glint flashed in his eyes.

“No. The commander’s decision is to let him form a squad of his own.”

“Form his own team? That kind of privilege is only granted to S-rank squads…” Li Shoushi was visibly surprised.

Normally, all Para-Hunter squads belong to branch cities. Only S-rank teams operate independently from any city and follow direct orders from HQ, roaming the country to handle top-level threats.

Li Shoushi had assumed Bai Wan would simply be transferred in.

Fang Hanxin’s tone darkened slightly. “The Commander wants to raise a brand-new S-rank team, and Bai Wan has already been chosen as the next captain candidate.”

“We’re facing a shortage of captain-level combatants. Just yesterday, Lil’ Tong was reassigned to guard Ping’an City.”

“Lil’ Tong… went to Ping’an City?!” Li Shoushi reacted strongly to this news.

Fang Hanxin nodded silently.

After a pause, Li Shoushi’s expression turned complicated. He muttered, “If there’s truly nothing paranormal there, then fine… But if something does appear—that’s not a place a single captain can handle.”

Ping’an City. Just like its name implied—a city of peace, it was the only city in the entire country that had never experienced a supernatural outbreak.

And that seeming “normalcy”… was its greatest anomaly.

Several years ago, officials had already noticed this outlier of a city. But after multiple investigations, they came up with nothing. Ping’an City was as peaceful as it claimed to be.

And yet—no one believed that result, because the city’s population was far too low. Given its economy and geography, that made no sense.

Lan City was just a small city, and it had over three million people. Ping’an City? Only 1.5 million. But based on its economy and location, its population should’ve easily exceeded five million…

And yet, year after year, official census data confirmed the number—just 1.5 million people.

However, the lack of paranormal events, coupled with the strangely low population, wasn’t even the most mysterious part of Ping’an City.

Li Shoushi slowly pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. He’d discovered it by accident during an investigation in Ping’an City six months ago.

The words written on it had been burned into his memory ever since.

It was a paranormal item. Scrawled on it were the words—

“I am Lin Xie, Para-Hunter of the Ping’an City Branch. Run. Don’t come here. Never come to Ping’an City... No one escapes… It’s not something humans can fight… it…”

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