Chapter Sixty-Four: Shadows

Zhao Tianhe shook his head with a wry smile and followed Jeros out of the patrol team. However, as they passed a corridor, Zhao Tianhe paused and glanced at the nearby bulletin board.

On it were various awards and annual reports—some trivial information meant to be displayed openly.

"Hmm..." As he read the report detailing the steadily declining crime rates in Saint Rose Harbor, Zhao Tianhe suddenly realized he was somewhat out of touch with this world...

Although all intelligent races shared a common threat and enemy—the monsters in the dungeons—the existence of the Hero system had prevented any major disasters for over a thousand years. Peace fostered abundance, and abundance bred desire...

Contrary to his expectations, except for towns like Rogue, which were inland, peaceful, and low in desire, crime rates in other major cities remained high year-round. Otherwise, heroes like Jeff, who still retained considerable strength, wouldn’t have retired to become patrol captains.

As previously mentioned, felons in this world were especially dangerous. The widespread understanding of magical principles had produced more talent, but it also meant that many people, even without access to forbidden techniques, could experiment and devise powerful spells or craft dangerous magical artifacts on their own.

The entire Endless Sea region consisted of emerging cities, with a surge of inland youth and speculators flooding in. While this brought prosperity, it also bred crime.

The criminal who created the magical insect had a rather tragic motivation...

Both the owner of the cave-dwelling insectoid corpse and the insectoid from the previous press conference, after investigation, shared a common trait—they both had histories of child molestation!

And the criminal himself had suffered similar abuse as a child.

Though the exact motive could not be determined, nor could it explain why he attacked Braniel, this was the most likely reason.

‘Come to think of it, besides the Hero Academy and Rogue Town, I’ve hardly been anywhere else.’ Zhao Tianhe sighed, feeling fortunate. To him, this world was still a beautiful place where hunting monsters and earning money earned respect—like a game.

‘Though it’s dangerous…’ At Jeros’s urging, Zhao Tianhe left with him, but his doubts grew deeper. ‘And I feel it’s even more dangerous now…’

As he looked back at the Saint Rose Harbor Bureau of Public Security, anxiety mingled with a hint of unease on his face. He felt as if he’d uncovered something, yet wasn’t sure if he should investigate or intervene.

Captain Jeff watched as Zhao Tianhe and Jeros gradually departed, then lay back on the office sofa, donned a sleep mask, and soon drifted into slumber…

A hazy black shadow drifted across a sea formed from countless lights. Suddenly, a door made of black mist appeared beside it. It pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Within the door was a bustling market, where countless shadows of varying forms hurried back and forth, and doors of black mist appeared now and then.

The hazy shadow approached an ornate building resembling a nightclub and floated inside.

"Number Thirteen," it said to the horned shadow at the reception, who then led it to a certain room.

Inside was a vast grassland, with a group of people gathered around a barbecue.

This place was odd; although the building occupied a considerable area, it was far too small to contain such a grassland. Who knew if it was spatial technology or illusion magic.

"Is it a sea view? How’s the situation at Ruins Number Three?" A masked man waved to the shadow. "Also, you can drop the disguise—everyone here is one of us."

"No, this is fine," the hazy shadow replied. "Except for the 'God,' I don’t wish to reveal myself to anyone."

"Alright, have it your way," the masked man laughed. "But that’s still a disguise, isn’t it? Hahaha~~"

"Humanoid forms make habitual gestures—even if speech can be consciously controlled or minimized, that’s hard to avoid," the shadow insisted. "Besides, Ruins Number Three was a failure. That fellow was a fraud—I misjudged him. I’ll take full responsibility."

"I see… I always suspected he was unreliable, but didn’t expect he’d truly fail," the masked man sighed. "But don’t take it too hard; it was carried out only because the 'God' deemed it worthwhile. You merely provided a target."

"No need to say more. There’s another matter," the hazy shadow continued. "Zhao Tianhe is troublesome. I fear I can’t contact him for a while, or else the organization will be exposed."

"I see… I had hoped you could observe him, but if that’s the case, you should lie low for now. I’ll assign someone else to handle his affairs." The masked man nodded. "Also, I’ll send someone to take over the Ruins Number Three situation. Just because that failure couldn’t do it doesn’t mean others won’t be able to. I’ll notify you when the time comes. Even though I don’t know your true identity, I hope you’ll help cover for him as much as you can."

"No problem," the shadow replied. "Then, I’ll disappear for now."

"Not going to play? It’s really fun here! Hahaha~~" The masked man laughed wildly, but the shadow vanished without a word.

"Not even interested in the 'Black Net'? What a boring fellow. I’d love to see your true face…"

The next day, first layer of the Shipwreck Caverns.

"Hey, isn’t that enough? I need to get back and cook..." Zhao Tianhe lay on the ground, panting, with several monsters bound by Jeros’s magic watching him eagerly.

Jeros kept his word and brought Zhao Tianhe to sweep through the entire first layer, deliberately leaving a few minor monsters for him to practice combat.

"No. What happened yesterday can’t happen again," Jeros stood nearby, expressionless, shaking his head. "There’s danger even in normal society, but usually, that level of threat shouldn’t endanger a hero. Yet you… sigh~~"

"I got it—let’s continue!" Zhao Tianhe got up, raised his short sword, and adopted a fighting stance.

"Believe in yourself—you can do it!" Jeros smiled, releasing two of the small monsters.

"Damn!"

Thus, when Elle and Artoria arrived, they found Zhao Tianhe battered, shirtless, and with one leg of his pants missing.

‘Ah, really not saving me? If that water element’s high-pressure water shot had hit my head, it would’ve exploded!’ Zhao Tianhe thought, still feeling shaken as he touched his face.

Jeros’s training was far more intense than Artoria’s—it could only be described as ‘Ultra-Spartan’!