Chapter 79: Physical Body Attains Sainthood

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Physical Body Attains Sainthood

"I’ve never liked anime, not since I was a kid. I’ve never seen any magical girl shows."

Jiang Wanqiao snapped out of her thoughts and quickly denied it.

Gu Qing could tell at a glance that she was feeling guilty. The flustered little expression on her face had already given her away.

’I just asked her offhandedly, and this girl with the glasses is already this flustered?’

’Could she really be a Magical Girl?’

’Is it possible she’s incredibly strong, hiding her identity at the Night Court Base as a mere receptionist, and no one has seen through her disguise?’

’Like one of those janitor monks from wuxia novels?’

Gu Qing mused to himself.

"By the way, why did you suddenly ask me that?"

Jiang Wanqiao asked tentatively, trying to see if Gu Qing had actually seen her live stream.

"No reason, I just asked offhandedly."

As he said this, Gu Qing glanced again at the [Magical Girl] tag above Jiang Wanqiao’s head.

’Speaking of which, what do I have to do with this pretty girl in glasses to farm Attributes from her tag?’

’Do I have to roleplay as a Magical Girl with her and go out to destroy monsters every day?’

’And then I’ll get the Magic Power Attribute, magic techniques, and the ability to transform into a Magical Girl?’

Gu Qing was lost in thought.

Just then, a black sedan sped over and stopped hastily in a parking spot up ahead.

Gu Qing looked up at the car.

He saw Lin Tianyang scramble out of the driver’s seat, rush to the back, open the door, and carry out a balding, middle-aged man with a severed leg.

Gu Qing’s eyes followed Lin Tianyang until he rushed into the medical building on the side, carrying the injured man on his back.

"That man’s leg is severed?"

"How terrifying. What on earth happened to him?"

"He must have gotten injured on a mission. He lost a whole leg. I’m afraid he’s done for."

"Are missions for the Night Court really this dangerous?"

"I’m starting to get scared..."

A wave of discussion rose from the surrounding crowd.

Hearing this, Jiang Wanqiao saw that a few of the girls were getting scared and quickly spoke up to reassure them:

"An injury like that is a small problem. In our Night Court’s medical building, we have several top-tier medics who have Awakened healing abilities. No matter how serious the injury, as long as they’re still breathing, they can be saved."

’Just saved?’

’In other words...’

’The leg that man just lost won’t grow back?’

Gu Qing thought, raising an eyebrow.

"You guys keep talking. I know one of those two. I’m going to go in and check on him."

Tossing out this quick remark, Gu Qing strode into the medical building, curious about what had happened to Lin Tianyang and how someone could be so injured they lost a leg.

...

「Inside the medical building.」

After handing the injured man over to the medical staff, Lin Tianyang sat waiting in the hallway outside, his expression grim.

He hadn’t been sitting for more than a few seconds before Gu Qing appeared.

Lin Tianyang caught sight of him from the corner of his eye. He knew Gu Qing had followed him to find out what had happened.

So, he began to speak first:

"That man from just now is my partner."

"Two hours ago, we were out on a mission together and got into a fight with a Ratman."

"That Ratman was tough to deal with. In the middle of the fight, my partner unfortunately had his leg bitten off."

"If it had been an arm, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But he lost a whole leg. He’ll probably have to retire on the spot."

He paused, then looked up at Gu Qing and said:

"Night Court missions are dangerous. Accidents and serious injuries can happen at any time. But you don’t need to worry too much. Incidents like this are rare, after all. The probability of something going wrong is about the same as a regular Security Officer getting hurt on a call."

"..."

Gu Qing walked over to Lin Tianyang, sat down beside him, and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Then, his expression grew serious as he asked, "What exactly is a Ratman?"

Lin Tianyang composed himself and explained patiently:

"Ratmen are mutated monsters, completely transformed and corrupted by the power of plague."

"Those Assassins you took care of before were on the path to Ratman transformation."

"But their transformation was minimal. They were just the lowest-level Rat Slaves, not very strong."

"The Ratman that bit my partner, however, could fully transform. It had the head of a rat on a human body and could release a deadly rat toxin at will."

At this point, Lin Tianyang’s expression became solemn, and he gave a serious warning:

"I know your Physical Strength is immense, and at this stage, you’re practically unrivaled among your peers."

"But there’s a world of difference in strength between a core Ratman believer and a low-level Rat Slave."

"If you ever run into one of these core Ratman believers in the future, retreat if you can. Don’t be reckless and try to be a hero."

’Rat toxin?’

A thought struck Gu Qing, and he immediately made the connection to Zhou Yuan.

He asked:

"My senior, the PhD student Zhou Yuan... the universal anti-toxin vaccine he was researching, could it be effective against this rat toxin?"

"Was he targeted by the Ratman faction because of this research and then recruited by the Night Court for protection?"

"..."

"That’s right."

Lin Tianyang nodded. "That rat toxin is very aggressive and corrosive. With the Night Court’s current stockpile of medicine, we can’t completely neutralize it. We can only suppress and slow it down for now."

"In order to better counter the rat toxin, we have to develop that universal anti-toxin vaccine."

As he spoke, he frowned and sighed. "Sigh... I really didn’t expect that the Ratman today deliberately set a trap to lure my partner and me in. It wanted to hunt and devour us both."

’Setting traps to hunt Extraordinary Beings?’

’Are these Ratmen that arrogant?’

Gu Qing was surprised.

Lin Tianyang took a deep breath, not wanting to continue the heavy topic. He changed the subject, asking:

"I almost forgot to ask, how did you do on the final comprehensive test? Did you get first place?"

"Yeah, I got first."

Gu Qing’s tone was calm, without a hint of showing off.

Lin Tianyang wasn’t surprised. "That’s to be expected. With your ridiculously insane Physical Strength, it would be strange if you didn’t get first."

Then his tone softened as he offered some kind advice:

"But I’d advise you not to get a big head just because you took first. Don’t set your expectations too high, or the fall will be hard to accept later on."

"We Extraordinary Contactors have a very low ceiling."

"But Extraordinary Awakened are different. They also possess powerful physiques, and they come with all sorts of Superpowers."

"After a period of steady development, their strength will leave Extraordinary Contactors in the dust."

At this, he gave Gu Qing some practical advice. "While the gap is still small at the beginning, you should try to build a good relationship with those two Extraordinary Awakened. You’re all rookies from the same batch. If you build a friendship now, it’ll be a real connection for you in the Night Court later on."

Gu Qing nodded in agreement. "True."

The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly remembered the man with the slicked-back hair and the [Traitor] tag above his head. He asked Lin Tianyang:

"Oh right, Brother Yang, who was that guy in sunglasses standing in the hallway with you earlier? He had the air of a big-shot leader."

"Hah, a big-shot leader my ass. He’s just a Deputy Captain who loves to put on airs."

Lin Tianyang said with a sneer.

’Seems like Brother Yang doesn’t get along with that sunglasses guy?’

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow but didn’t pay it much mind. He then asked about his former high school English teacher:

"Brother Yang, Liu Zhiyi... is she a Captain or a Deputy Captain in the Night Court?"

The moment he said it, the expression on Lin Tianyang’s face changed drastically.

He quickly lowered his voice and said:

"Shh, keep your voice down! She’s a real Captain of the Night Court. You must never address her by her full name!"

"Captain Liu is very particular about rules and she’s a serious person. Calling her by her name is just asking for trouble."

"If someone with ill intentions hears you and snitches on you to her, you’ll be in for it."

Then, Lin Tianyang asked curiously, "Speaking of which, how do you know Captain Liu?"

Gu Qing replied, "You might not believe this, but Captain Liu used to be my high school English teacher."

"You two actually have a history as teacher and student?"

Lin Tianyang was surprised, then immediately suggested, "Since you have that past connection, you should try to interact with Captain Liu more in private. Try to build on that relationship and see if you can latch onto her coattails."

"Let me tell you, among all the Captains in Hai City, Captain Liu’s strength is firmly in the top ranks. She’s always a contender for first, and guaranteed second at worst."

"If you can get on her good side, you’re guaranteed a smooth ride in the Night Court from now on."

He lowered his voice and added, "Among all the Captains in the Night Court, there’s only one Mad Woman who has achieved physical sainthood who can stand up to Captain Liu."

Gu Qing was surprised.

’Sister Zhiyi is actually that strong?’

’I’ve definitely got to latch onto those coattails!’

’In the early stages, I’ll ride Sister Zhiyi’s coattails, eat well, drink well, and grow steadily. Once my own power has fully risen, I’ll turn things around and let her latch onto *my* coattails and get a taste of my success!’

His mind made up.

Gu Qing suppressed these thoughts and grew intensely curious about the expert who had "achieved physical sainthood" that Lin Tianyang mentioned.

He seized the opportunity to ask, "Brother Yang, that mad—uh, I mean, that Captain you mentioned who can rival Captain Liu, what’s her story?"

Lin Tianyang explained, "When that Mad Woman first joined the Night Court, she was just like you, an Extraordinary Contactor with extremely high Physical Strength."

"But later on, she suddenly Awakened and became one of the lofty Extraordinary Awakened."

"The price was that her entire left arm became extremely deformed and twisted, its skin scarlet red, a grotesque and terrifying sight. But because of it, she gained terrifying power. Her physical body grew stronger by the day, as if she had achieved physical sainthood, and her strength far surpassed the other Extraordinary Awakened of her time."

"Because her arm is so frighteningly deformed, people in our circles call her Ghost Hand."

"There’s also another group of people who call her Mad Woman in private because of how insane she acts in a fight."

’Physical sainthood?’

’Ghost Hand?’

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow, filled with curiosity about this expert known as Ghost Hand. He wondered what kind of Extraordinary tag would be floating above her head.

"Oh, right."

Lin Tianyang suddenly said, "That Mad Woman has a rookie under her. She’s also a student from your Hai City University. I heard her name is something like Bai... Yu. I don’t know if you know her."

Gu Qing froze for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Is her name Bai Ningyu?"

...

PS: Holding out my bowl, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!