Chapter Thirty-Three: [Sealing the Void]

Chen Ning, with a bandage wrapped around his head, was driving the car at high speed through the city. In the back seat sat Lin Lei, eyes closed, as if meditating in deep concentration.

Only he could hear the incessant buzzing in his ears. Yet, there was not the slightest trace of worry in his heart. After he had “consumed” the Tranquility Pendant, not only had his source energy increased, but a stream of information had also surged in his mind—details about the power he had gained from “plundering” the Tranquility Pendant.

His guess had been correct—not only could he absorb the abilities of ghouls, but the powers within source artifacts were also his for the taking.

At the time, he had been locked in mortal combat with the ghoul, and the ringing in his ears did little to affect his fighting prowess; he neither had the time nor the inclination to investigate further. Only now, with a moment to spare, could he finally examine the change.

The Tranquility Pendant’s ability was called “Serenity.” He could transform his own source energy into a special form of “calming force.” The effect was simple: it restored emotional equilibrium. If he wished, he could even help others regain their composure.

Most crucially, there was no limit to how many times he could use it. As long as Lin Lei had sufficient source energy, he could recover endlessly.

For ordinary source-wielders, even their daily cultivation left them wishing for more energy; even if they had such a power, few would dare to use it at will. But Lin Lei, with his “Gluttony,” would never have to worry about that in the future.

“It consumes so much of my Gluttony energy—it’s only natural that it comes with few restrictions!” Lin Lei’s heart surged with excitement.

He speculated that the Tranquility Pendant itself was likely capable of recharging, but even its master, Dr. Zhou, had no idea how to replenish its source energy—or perhaps the cost of doing so was too steep, making it unworthy for a low-level artifact.

“After all, source artifacts weren’t created by humans, but discovered—and their abilities slowly explored…”

Once Lin Lei had acquired the “Serenity” power, he instinctively mastered the method to channel source energy into calming force. It was as natural to him as a baby crying out in pain or seeking food when hungry.

With a single thought, a portion of the source energy not yet fully merged with his body vanished. His mind buzzed, a cool sensation spreading through him, sweeping away most of the violent emotions that still lingered in his mind.

Of course, the Tranquility Pendant was, after all, only a low-level artifact, and he had only opened his first source quality. Such power could easily clear minor negative effects now, but in the future, when the influences grew stronger, this ability would hardly suffice.

In fact, the first time Lin Lei had used the Tranquility Pendant, his emotions had flared up again that very night—the effect of “Serenity” was limited.

Yet even a brief reprieve was of immense importance to Lin Lei.

At that moment, Li Xueshu, sitting beside him, suddenly spoke: “This is the place. Stop the car!”

Chen Ning brought the car to a halt. Lin Lei frowned, peering outside.

They had stopped in front of a villa district.

Lin Lei glanced at the energy radar in his hand. “There’s no abnormal fluctuation on the source energy radar…”

Chen Ning and Hong Qiuqiao also turned to Li Xueshu.

Chen Ning hesitated. “This is Green Bamboo Villas, one of the largest villa districts in Biyang City. Anyone living here is either wealthy or powerful. If we make a mistake, even the Bureau of Investigation would have a hard time justifying it… Perhaps you two should request a search warrant from the Bureau before we proceed?”

Lin Lei turned to look through the silver railings into the villa district. Though it was on the outskirts, the property prices here were astronomical; any single villa was worth over ten million. Anyone who could afford a home here was a person of considerable standing in Biyang City.

In truth, in a world where supernatural powers existed, the wealthy were never merely ordinary rich people…

The Bureau’s authority and influence were immense, but that didn’t mean they could ignore Biyang’s elite. If they got results, fine—but if they made a mistake, Lin Lei and Li Xueshu, both investigators, would have to bear the consequences.

But Li Xueshu shook her head and turned to Lin Lei. “Who knows when we’d get a search warrant? By then, it’ll be too late. That second-tier anomaly might not understand, but whoever’s behind it surely will. They’ll know I let the tiger return to the mountain on purpose. This mission is under your command—so you make the call.”

Lin Lei frowned deeply, considering for a moment. “Let’s go in!”

On the surface, it seemed Li Xueshu was foisting the responsibility onto Lin Lei, but he trusted her. Li Xueshu’s abilities were special—aside from her gift of ice and snow, she had other powers as well. Clearly, she knew what she was doing, and Lin Lei had faith in her judgment.

“Then let’s go,” Li Xueshu said, glancing at Lin Lei with satisfaction.

The four of them drove into the villa district, quickly homing in on a particular villa.

Chen Ning soon pulled up information on the owner from his laptop. The villa belonged to Gao Yi, a textile magnate of Biyang City, who had bought it as a gift for his daughter, Gao Yue.

Gao Yi was a billionaire, one of the few in Qinghe Prefecture. Gao Yue herself, twenty-five years old, was a graduate student at Biyang University’s School of Textiles—and, in fact, a senior to both Lin Lei and Li Xueshu.

From her photo, Gao Yue had a delicate, oval face and a pointed chin. Coupled with her affluent background, she was the very picture of a privileged heiress.

While Lin Lei was still hesitating about their next move, Li Xueshu strode straight up to the villa’s front door and produced a talisman from her coat.

A crimson glow flared from the paper, rising into the air and forming a massive blood-red barrier that completely enveloped the villa.

Lin Lei stared in shock at the hemisphere of crimson energy surrounding the villa. “What is that…?”

Li Xueshu put away the talisman. “This is called ‘Severance.’ You can think of it as a special sort of source artifact. It isolates everything inside its barrier from the outside world—nothing that happens inside can be detected from outside.”

Chen Ning and Hong Qiuqiao, following behind, looked on in amazement—they clearly had never seen this so-called Severance in action before.

Li Xueshu advanced to the villa, and with a single palm strike, the metal security door shattered into pieces.

Lin Lei’s mouth twitched. Even with all his strength, he doubted he could break down such a door in one blow, but for Li Xueshu, it was as easy as playing with a toy.

Li Xueshu was of the Elemental type—her physical strength grew passively, and the display was so exaggerated it could only mean her source level was extremely high.

She had, after all, once said she was a level-three investigator—a rank only attainable by reaching the Third Realm.

As the security door exploded inward, a piercing alarm sounded from within the villa—the security systems had been triggered.

No sooner had the alarm begun than several burly, black-clad men rushed out of the villa—clearly bodyguards.

“Who are you?!”

Each man was tall and muscular, all armed, and two of them had even drawn pistols.