I slay evil in the Department of the Supernatural

"No need for such formalities."

Houtu Niangniang seemed very patient with Xu Lindong's polite refusal, speaking in a calm tone, "I've just been asleep for a long time and said a few more words."

You can ponder this carefully on your own. If you are truly interested, you can ask me for more detailed acting methods later... but deeper practice requires merit.

After she finished speaking, she fell silent.

The entire Tower of Babel returned to silence.

"This bait is... trying to lure me into asking for your guidance on merit later. I'm outta here."

Xu Lindong shook his head inwardly, deciding to slip away first.

He then cultivated in the Heavenly Dao Room for more than two hours, and his essence, energy, and spirit finally broke through the 80 mark.

But I felt little joy in my heart.

After all, if one doesn't even understand the Kitchen God's "reporting and bestowing blessings," even if one's energy and spirit reach 100, the Kitchen God's carbon in the body cannot be fully digested.

In the end, even if you exchange for the door god stickers, you still can't break through the door god's defenses.

He composed himself and decided to first verify the information and gradually confirm what Houtu Niangniang had said.

Understand how to ignite the fire in your heart, open the mirror of your heart, and then master the art of reporting and bestowing blessings.

"Perhaps... I should take some time to ask Lei Chong."

His consciousness gradually faded from the Tower of Babel, and he awoke from his bed.

The previously suspended state of rest, resembling a turtle in a state of suspended animation, was thus lifted.

Within the blood, the extraordinary power belonging to the zombie slowly receded into the corpse's heart, the chilling aura dissipated, and life surged back through its body.

He sat up, feeling refreshed and invigorated, as if he had undergone a transformation from death to life.

"The shift in breath... the alternation of life and death..."

Xu Lindong calmly experienced the changes in his body, including the subtle throbbing of his corpse heart.

"Heart fire" should refer to the fire of the mind, not the physical heart.

"One must observe the everyday life of people and ignite the fire in one's heart in order to open the heart's mirror stove... and then use this mirror to 'report' the good and evil of people, thereby invoking the power of the Kitchen God's authority..."

In just one afternoon, his understanding of the Way of Sequences seemed to have made a significant leap forward.

This is the benefit of having a "big shot" to guide you.

Aside from the fact that he was having a very formal and literary conversation with the other party, which made his tongue a little thick, everything else was fine, and there was no conflict between them.

However, the Goddess Houtu seemed to have long been accustomed to extraordinary individuals like him who cultivated both paths.

"Were there any powerful individuals in the past who successfully cultivated both paths?"

Xu Lindong pondered with suspicion.

Now, he has a clearer direction regarding the ability to decipher sequences.

He has already made some progress, especially in understanding the Kitchen God's core ability of "reporting and bestowing blessings".

He picked up his phone and checked the time, then saw several messages from Yi Qianxun and a missed call.

"Haha, Dongzi, you're finally back! Perfect timing, come pick me up from get off work, I have a big surprise for you!"

"Dongzi, I need to leave work early, hurry up and come pick me up!"

"..."

"You stinky Dongzi, what have you been up to again? No replies to messages, no answering the phone... Well, you go ahead and do your thing, remember to call me when you're done."

After reading the message, Xu Lindong couldn't help but smile, a sense of curiosity rising within him.

What big surprise can Sister Xun give him?

"Could it be... that he broke through?"

After much thought, it seems that only this can be considered a "big surprise".

But he remembered that before leaving the city, Yi Qianxun's energy and spirit were close to 20, but to be promoted to the "village head" level, it was not enough to just meet the energy and spirit standard.

Although the requirements for advancing to the tenth rank are much simpler than those for advancing to the ninth rank, usually all that is needed is to understand the relevant knowledge such as the authority and abilities of the corresponding rank, and to observe and engage with it more.

However, in order to be promoted to the rank of "village head", one needs to accumulate a certain amount of influence.

"Although Sister Xun had some suitors in the Command Office, that didn't count as having much influence. You need to have a certain level of fame in a small area to be considered to have some influence."

Xu Lindong pondered, "If her influence isn't strong enough, she probably won't recklessly attempt a breakthrough; otherwise, failing the advancement would be very dangerous."

He relaxed, sent a message to Yi Qianxun asking what surprise she had in store, and then said he would pick her up right away.

Yi Qianxun replied almost instantly, "Okay, come quick, I have a big surprise for you!"

Xu Lindong shook his head, put down his phone, got up, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

The water washed away the stench of the corpse from his body. He sprayed some perfume on himself, then leaned closer to smell it, and couldn't help but frown.

"The perfume masked the stench of the corpse, but mixed with the perfume, it became even more pungent, smelling like some foreigners from the Federation..."

Even he himself disliked the taste.

However, there's nothing else we can do for now; we can only wait for it to dissipate naturally in a couple of days.

In the future, as long as I seriously study the acting method, I can use habits such as faking death and lying still, and staying in cold and dark environments for a long time to fit the identity of a zombie and speed up the digestion of the zombie heart in my body.

So, aside from using zombie abilities, they should be able to avoid the stench of corpses and body mutation in normal times.

After quickly tidying up, he walked out of the lounge, nodded to several colleagues who greeted him with smiles, and then left the Department of Supernatural Affairs, taking a taxi straight to the Eastern District Command Office.

After the car started moving, he noticed that the three small group chats were already flooded with messages.

Li Yunfan's teammates were celebrating his appearance on the list of extraordinary figures and jokingly told him to treat them to a meal.

He'd heard similar messages before, but as soon as someone suggested going to the East Star Hotel, he felt a bit like a penniless person triggering a sequence of bad luck, so he simply pretended not to see them.

But now that Li Yunfan and Tang Lei know he's back, they're making a fuss in the group chat again.

"There's no escaping it this time... I'm going to bleed."

Xu Lindong sighed.

After thinking for a moment, he sent a message to Lin Xiao, asking if he had a VIP card for the Dongxing Hotel that could offer discounts.

He didn't intend for the other party to spend any money.

But you can still get a VIP card; it's worth it with the discount.

Lin Xiao quickly replied, "Brother Dong, you're back from the cleaning mission? Where are you? I'll send you the VIP card now."

"I'm going to the East District Command Post now," Xu Lindong replied with a message.

Then he saw that Lu Qian had replied to his message.

"We just participated in a joint operation involving several districts to track down the bicycle that came out of the sinkhole in the ancestral hall of the ancient town. The matter is not over yet."

The team has recruited three new members; let's meet up later.

You said the messengers of the Salvation Society attacked you?

You should be safe now. I'll tell you more details when I get back...

"So the captain and the others were dealing with the bicycle issue. No wonder there had been no movement."

Xu Lindong thought to himself, "And it seems like they're not done yet, they've even added new team members."

His team, Team 3, was a newly established team, and even the team leader, Lu Qian, was newly promoted, so they always had a small number of members.

Including Qi Yu, who sacrificed himself, and Xiao Qing, who was a substitute, there were only seven people in total, which was about the same size as the fourth team.

Keep in mind that both Team One and Team Two have more than twenty people each.

The addition of three new players is actually a good thing.

Xu Lindong replied briefly with "okay," then turned to look out the car window, his gaze unconsciously sweeping across the bustling street, searching for that special old-fashioned "28-inch" bicycle.

In the end, however, nothing was gained.

Although the bicycle was unique in style and extremely rare nowadays, and would definitely be eye-catching if it appeared, Jiangcheng is so big that it's not easy to run into it.

"Once that bicycle sets its sights on you, it will relentlessly pursue you, and you can't escape... Getting hit by it means certain death."

Xu Lindong shook his head inwardly; just thinking about it made him shudder.

However, he immediately remembered the conditions that the Goddess Houtu had mentioned before.

If he agrees to provide merit to ease the suppression of the Tower of Babel, the other party can help him suppress some low- to mid-level things and assist him in imprisoning them inside the tower.

"That bicycle is at best a mid-sequence evil artifact..."

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he quickly suppressed it.

The bait thrown out by the Goddess Houtu seems to have taken root in his mind, but it must not be allowed to grow unchecked.

This is none of his business.

The Jiangcheng Bureau of Mysteries has taken in quite a few mystical objects, and there may be more than a dozen mid-level experts. As long as we find that bicycle, there will always be a way to suppress it.

...

A dozen minutes later.

The taxi stopped on the street outside the Eastern District Governor's House.

Xu Lindong had already sent a message to Yi Qianxun.

After paying and getting out of the car, he was about to walk towards the Commander's Mansion when he caught sight of Yi Qianxun arguing with a young man at the entrance.

"Um?"

Xu Lindong frowned slightly, stepped closer, and vaguely heard Yi Qianxun telling the man to leave and stop bothering him.

"Qianxun, give me a chance."

Didn't you want to go to the Extraordinary Club social event?

I can get you admission tickets and introduce you to some important people, helping you build influence and get promoted to village head.

Don't you want a promotion?

A young man with a center-parted hairstyle was still blocking the way, smiling politely and inviting Yi Qianxun...