Chapter 134: Attributes Surpass 200,000!

After growing closer to Zhu Qing, the two spent the following days inseparable, which served as a welcome diversion in Yi Shen’s otherwise monotonous life. Later on, Zhu You joined them by chance, helping to relieve some of the pressure on Zhu Qing. As for the youngest, Zhu Ke, she did not spend much time at Yi Shen’s shop. Once classes resumed at the martial arts school, she moved back into the dormitory. She seemed to have become even more diligent in her training, harboring a desire to keep pace with Yi Shen, though whether she would succeed remained a matter of opinion.

Life drifted by slowly, and the turmoil in the Jingmen Safe Zone gradually subsided. People are always quick to forget, and the news from this area was soon overshadowed by events in other regions. Yi Shen, however, did not lose himself in comfort. As large quantities of materials were shipped into the Jingmen Safe Zone, he reconstructed a massive private warehouse area, carefully managing the flow of these materials to avoid attracting undue attention. Meanwhile, he opened three more branches of his "Small Town Story" shop.

Bai Hongjiang, the long-faced, overweight man from before, had also joined the fold as an external associate. Leveraging his connections with the Blood Slaughter guild, he coordinated with the Hanzhong Safe Zone to assist Yi Shen in continuing to collect special materials and skill books. Yi Shen’s five-dimensional attributes had all surpassed 150,000, with his intelligence reaching a staggering 200,000—and this was without any active buffs. If he were to unleash his full combat power, his strength had increased by at least 50% since his time in the secret realm.

However, by mid-June, Yi Shen suddenly found himself swamped. First, two incidents occurred within the Jingmen Safe Zone that required the attention of the Special Case Investigation Team. Second, the Bureau of Statistics and Coordination had released information on the latest batch of special secret realms and finalized the necessary tasks. Over a dozen investigations were assigned to Yi Shen, requiring him to complete all assessments within two months. Third, there were Yi Shen’s own personal pursuits: while researching body techniques, he had been searching for information on how mages could break through to the "Domain" stage.

Currently, most research on Domains focuses on melee combat and breaking through the physical limits of the human body. Yet, mages are also capable of such breakthroughs. In the top-tier forums of the Bureau of Statistics and Coordination, there were discussions regarding "Runes" and "Alchemy." As a mage possessing the Heart of the Mage God, Yi Shen was naturally deeply invested in this. Much of the information he had previously uncovered originated from abroad or the northern regions, areas he had no chance to explore, leaving him to communicate only through online forums.

This time, however, a unique mage-type monster had reportedly appeared near the border of the Hanzhong Safe Zone, not far from Jingmen. A secret realm filled with runes had been discovered there, and many top-tier mage explorers were already rushing to the scene. Since this was also one of the tasks assigned by the Bureau, Yi Shen had every reason, public or private, to investigate.

Beyond these duties, Yi Shen occasionally had to appear in his own capacity at Peach Blossom Dock. His real identity was still in use, and in the eyes of everyone there, he was the son of Yi Qinfei. The current president, Zhao Nanxing, was only a few years older than him, and rumors were already circulating that they would eventually be together, with their offspring destined to inherit the leadership of Peach Blossom Dock. Furthermore, he needed to personally handle the collection of various materials and skill books, especially when dealing with contacts whose clearance levels were too low for Zhu Qing to manage.

In short, a myriad of tasks piled up at once. Under these circumstances, Zhu You, having maintained close contact with Yi Shen, resumed her former role as his "little secretary." As she put it, she wasn't learning much at school anyway, and she preferred to assist Yi Shen privately so she could spend more time with him. Now, whenever the Special Case Investigation Team reported matters to Yi Shen, they were routed through Zhu You for preliminary processing, which significantly lightened Yi Shen’s workload.

Yi Shen was highly efficient. Once his tasks and route were determined, he took action immediately. First, within the Jingmen Safe Zone, the investigation team received word that a Lord-class monster had appeared in a Level 40 "Jungle" portal, approaching the exit and terrorizing nearby explorers. Yi Shen arrived, activated his Saint Descent state, and resolved the battle within two minutes. Although he remained at Level 46, he now possessed the strength to contend with Lord-class monsters.

Next, a few vampires appeared within the Blood Slaughter guild. The investigation into the vampires had been handed to Yi Shen. Upon arriving, he discovered several thralls and traced them back to Qian Ye of the Blood Slaughter guild, though no further leads were found.

Having resolved these two minor troubles in less than half a day, Yi Shen turned his attention to the Bureau’s affairs. Within two days, he completed the registration of two newly ascended Level 60 explorers and settled several disputes between factions. What was originally slated as a two-month workload had been handled by Yi Shen in just three days, leaving only three more distant matters to address. Fortunately, these three locations lay in a straight line, which Yi Shen had intended to traverse anyway.

The first was the "Xuping Town" settlement northeast of the Jingmen Safe Zone, where a "River God" was suspected to have appeared, causing periodic attacks on the settlement. It was a small, ancient town that had remained largely unscathed since the initial cataclysm and was often jokingly referred to as a "blessed land." However, two explorers over Level 50 had gone missing that week. Given that the town’s resources were limited and its highest-level residents were only Level 62, they had sent out a distress call, and the task eventually fell to Yi Shen.

The second matter concerned the rune-filled secret realm, which Yi Shen dubbed the "Land of Runes." This area had been under development for some time, and he could simply visit it to assess the situation.

The third was a "Graveyard" secret realm that had appeared in the north. Legend had it that it might have been constructed upon the fabled "Emperor’s Tomb." The energy fluctuations within this realm had reached their peak, and it was expected to open within the week. As the nearest inspector, Yi Shen was required to investigate, and Little Ge would likely accompany him.