Number Two pressed his palms together and said, "Amitabha, it's a temporary tattoo!"

I froze for a moment and then asked, "So! What is this temporary tattoo for?"

Number Two frowned, as if questioning my intelligence, and replied, "Of course, it's for sticking on, aren't you Number Ten? If the mark isn't printed on your body, in case you die, get dismembered, or become unrecognizable, how would we identify your corpse?"

I spat indignantly, "Pah! You'll be the one dismembered, you'll be the one unrecognizable. I get what you mean; I don't mind a tattoo, but a paper-sticker tattoo is too childish! It'll wash off with a little water, won't it? Then my body still won't be identifiable! Pah! Although I won't turn into a corpse."

Number Two sighed and said, "This certainly isn't an ordinary sticker! Rub this paper in your hand and you'll know!"

I was momentarily stunned, my mind racing: "Rub it?"

What on earth was going to happen?

I had no choice but to do as Number Two suggested, gently * the paper in my hand, and then I was astounded to see that the paper... was actually glowing!

My face went from pale to green, and I ground out through clenched teeth, "I really have the organization to thank; this glow-in-the-dark tattoo sticker is pretty cool! If I bought it at a street stall, it would probably cost me two big silver coins, right?"

Number Two was momentarily speechless and said no more, only stating, "Stop the nonsense, put it on quickly. It needs to be placed somewhere hidden, like on your backside or lower back."

I held out one hand and stated firmly, "No! Absolutely not! I will never put on such a childish, glow-in-the-dark sticker!"

Number Two seemed utterly out of options. He slowly unrolled the sleeve of his own shirt and then pulled at his collar, inviting me to look at his chest, where a faintly glowing green '2' was visible! The design was a serpent with horns sprouting from its head.

I was taken aback and asked, "When did you put that on? Don't tell me it was in the car last night?"

Number Two buttoned his collar and said, "I got this when I joined the Ninth Division at age twelve. I was ranked ninth back then. The higher-ups corrected it for me twice, but the color has never faded."

I looked at the tattoo paper in my hand and asked, "You mean this won't fade?"

Number Two nodded and replied, "Of course. This is a special chemical compound manufactured by the Ninth Division. Once it touches human skin, it forms pigment beneath the dermis. Unless you shed your skin, it will never fade. Also, look at this tattoo paper—although it has color now, it's actually colorless when applied to the skin. It only lights up when you use your superpower."

When I heard about such a cool function, I was instantly intrigued.

At the time, I never considered why it would light up when my ability was used. Later, I learned that the luminous substance would dissipate, allowing the higher-ups to collect it, facilitating the tracking of our movements.

The reason it wouldn't fade was to ensure that we, the righteous workers, would never betray them.

Having no other choice, since I had already joined this organization, I reluctantly stuck the temporary tattoo paper on.

I chose the spot just to the right of my navel because I thought it would look cooler if it lit up there; Number Two's spot probably looked similar to Iron Man when illuminated.

After applying the tattoo, I took out the suit from the trunk.

The suit was pure black, extremely light and thin, and very comfortable to wear. The cuffs of the jacket were edged with silver, and the back was embroidered with a circular dragon crest using matching black thread. The dragon's shape wound into the Arabic numeral '9'. It was invisible normally, but when shone upon with a flashlight, the '9' reflected a faint white light.

This '9' must be the insignia of the Ninth Division; it looked incredibly imposing.

Rummaging through the trunk again, I discovered the special shirt and tie.

My shirt was light blue, and the tie, like the cuffs, was made of a reflective silver material.

After putting these on, Number Two commented from the side, "You kid really look the part no matter what you wear."

I was about to reply with a confident "Naturally," when I suddenly saw him wearing a long, black robe.

Although the cut was similar to the suit I was wearing, the feeling it evoked—entirely reminiscent of a Western fantasy film—made me feel sophisticated.

So, I said to him, "Two, aren't you a monk? Why are you dressed like a sorceress?"

He didn't catch the sarcasm in my tone at all and replied, "When you advance to the top nine, you'll get specialized uniforms. For instance, Number One has a tailcoat, and Number Three has a black vest. Cool, right?"

Having no choice but to save face for him, I nodded and said, "It is quite nice!"

With the work uniform on, it was time for the real business.

So, we packed up the other items in the trunk and continued toward Li Xiaoquan's house.

The deserted main road of the village was swept only by a cold wind. The two of us—one of us looking sharp in a black suit, the other in a black robe, and crucially, the latter carrying a basket on his back—had an indescribable sense of oddity.

The path to Li Xiaoquan's house wasn't long. I glanced back toward where Number Twelve was located while following Number Two, and soon we arrived at the other end of the village.

According to Boss Bai, Li Xiaoquan's house was in the woods ahead of us.

Looking forward, there was a dense, dark forest. In the distance, several earth mounds towering forty meters high stood stark against the darkness. The moon peeked out between two of these mounds, looking as large as a bronze gong hung on a rack.

We paused in front of the woods to observe. We didn't see any lights; it seemed Li Xiaoquan must be asleep.

I wondered if he was truly asleep, how would we pay him a visit? Were we supposed to drag him out of bed?

Just as I was thinking this, a rustling sound came from the layer of dead leaves under the forest floor, as if something was running toward us from the dark depths.

I immediately became vigilant, clutching a pearl produced by the Shèn in my hand, ready to switch to psionic mode at any moment.

At that moment, Number Two reached out and stopped me, whispering, "It's fine..."

Just then, the small dark shape darted out of the woods, stopped when it saw us, sat on the ground, and squeaked twice.

Focusing my eyes, I realized it was Number Two's little monkey, A'Gui, who was playfully waving its limbs at us.

Number Two beckoned, and the creature hopped onto his shoulder, chattering rapidly into his ear.

Number Two listened intently, then frowned and asked, "Really? Which direction?"

A'Gui squeaked twice more, jumped off his shoulder, and then started running ahead.

"Hurry up and follow! Li Xiaoquan might be in trouble!" Number Two urged me forward while explaining.

I asked, "What's going on? Has someone gotten there ahead of us?"

Number Two shook his head and said, "I don't know. A'Gui just said there's something that isn't human loitering by Li Xiaoquan's gate, preparing to climb over the wall."

"Something not human? You mean like one of those early humans?" I muttered to myself.

Although A'Gui was small, it ran incredibly fast. We both struggled to keep up, but thankfully, we didn't run far before we spotted an old green-brick wall nearby.

The wall looked ancient, covered in moss and other creeping plants on its bricks.

This wall enclosed a large courtyard. From our vantage point, we could see at least four structures inside—a standard siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard).

The four sides of the courtyard were concealed by dense woods. If we hadn't known someone lived inside, we would have assumed it was an abandoned haunted house.

The monkey A'Gui, which had been running ahead, immediately stopped upon seeing the wall. It sat on the ground, squeaking agitatedly at the structure.

Number Two walked over, and the monkey instantly turned, leaped onto his shoulder, and clung tightly to his neck, trembling slightly.

Number Two turned to me and said, "That thing is already inside the courtyard. It must be quite formidable. A'Gui is a little scared, so we need to be careful."

As Number Two explained, the non-human entity must have climbed over the wall to enter. Since we couldn't vault the wall like a monster, we went around to the main courtyard gate and knocked.

The door was wooden, and it seemed to be locked from the inside, as the chains rattled loudly when we knocked.

While knocking, I shouted, "Is anyone home? Open up!"

With such a commotion, a kerosene lamp soon lit up inside the courtyard, and a frail, old voice asked, "Who is it? So late!"

I peered through the crack in the door and saw a small, old man draped in a heavy coat, holding a kerosene lamp, slowly approaching the main door.

The old man was tiny and frail, with long, mostly white hair. He looked quite unkempt and slovenly.

He walked toward the door, hunched over and coughing intermittently.

As he drew nearer, I suddenly realized there was something very wrong with this old man.

A'Gui also seemed to sense it; it covered its eyes with its hands like a human and trembled violently.

Number Two asked me, "Why is A'Gui so terrified? What is happening inside?"

I didn't answer Number Two because what I was seeing had stunned me. I silently popped the Shèn-produced pearl into my mouth and instinctively reached into the trunk for the self-defense crossbow bolts.

Then, I pulled my face away from the door crack and told Number Two, "When the door opens, you tackle the old man down. I'll shoot the thing following behind him with the crossbow bolts. Good heavens, it's a Hēixiāzi [Black Bear]! It's bigger than an ox and walks upright. It must have achieved sentience!"

I used the term Hēixiāzi because I knew Number Two was from the North; this term is used because bears have very poor eyesight, making them almost blind, hence 'Black Blind One.' However, only particularly large, aggressive, and combative bears are qualified to be called Hēixiāzi—one swipe from which could crush a man's skull!