Once they're gone, the room finally goes quiet. Jang Yu lets out a slow breath. Finally. Now nobody's in my way.
He raises one hand and calls out, "Shadow eye."
The floor ripples. A pitch black ring tears open in the silence. Countless dark tendrils surge from the ring and rush toward him. In moments they crawl up his face. One of his eyes shifts, becoming something wrong.
Jang Yu grins. Now then. Let's have some fun.
His presence shifts. Color drains from his eyes, replaced by a deep churning black that bleeds slowly across his vision. The living room dims. Darkness settles over everything.
He breathes one quiet word. "Shadow."
The shadow beneath his feet shoots upward, wrapping over his body. In an instant he becomes a formless mass of darkness, barely human in shape.
Jang Yu opens his eyes. Something feels off. This place should be saturated with corruption. So why do I feel completely fine? It's like someone who's spent years breathing factory air suddenly stepping out onto an endless open plain.
He checks himself over. The pain in his abdomen is gone. His HP bar has recovered well.
He drops forward into position. Hands planted at hip width, palms pressed firmly to the floor, core tight, back arched, arms extended. He begins a brutally difficult archer push-up, his shadow-covered form lowering in slow, controlled motion. His expression is priceless.
Ha. I feel like I could go forever.
Every rep is identical. Machine precise, relentlessly steady.
The panel flickers to life. When shadow form is active and you enter the shadow realm, your body feels completely unleashed, boundless, and free. As you train, shadow devour activates. You absorb dark energy from the shadow realm, gaining shadow points. Physical stats are slightly increasing.
In under thirty minutes, a thousand push-ups done with ease. The room suddenly feels too small.
He heads down to the open plaza at the center of the complex. He thinks of the old men who work out here every morning. If they could see me in the real world right now, they'd lose their minds.
For the first time in his life, Jang Yu understands why people get addicted to training. He decides to go for two thousand brutal grade crunches.
Inside Night Watch headquarters, the hallways are busy. People move fast, faces set with quiet urgency.
In a small conference room, a group of Night Watch agents sit around the table. Lu Nanfang is at the head, looking more tired than he'd like anyone to notice.
One agent delivers the report. "This shadow realm surge covers an abnormally wide area. Corruption readings have spiked sharply. The breach zones are extensive. Teams B3 and B72 have each reported signs of what may be abyss rifts in the North District, South District, and East District."
The secretary opens her own report. "The pattern is unusual. Based on the distribution map, the surge is concentrated in residential zones, not the scattered spread we've seen before."
Something in those words lands hard. Every face in the room tightens. Lu Nanfang's expression goes cold. The room turns heavy. No one speaks. Eyes drop to the table.
Lu Nanfang keeps his expression controlled, but his mind is already turning. The aberrants have been getting more active. Four incidents in the past two days. People dragged into the shadow realm. Four.
His gaze falls to the file on the table. The file belongs to Lin Mo, the Night Watch agent who died in the alley. He reads the scene report, brow creasing.
The numbers look small, but nobody knows if the next incident will be. And the abyss rifts are a different problem entirely. More dangerous. If the aberrants inside the shadow realm are like wild beasts, then the bloodborne that crawl out of the abyss rifts are something purer, deadlier.
The room hits freezing point.
Then a calm voice cuts through from the back. "All right, all right. Everyone, wake up."
The one-armed man in the corner speaks quietly. "It happened once. Don't act like the sky is falling." His eyes sharpen. "Besides, we've been ready for a fight, haven't we?"
That lands. The agents go quiet, but it's a different kind of quiet now. They exchange glances. Slow smiles break through. The room breathes again.
The one-armed man nods at the reporter. "Go ahead."
The agent gives a small nod and continues. "Next, a list of Night Watch agents lost in recent operations."
The meeting ends. Lu Nanfang stands alone before the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the sky has turned dark for no clear reason, like a warning of something coming.
He exhales slowly and reaches into his jacket, pulling out a small box. He pulls one out and puts it between his lips. He presses two fingers to his furrowed brow. Why does it always have to be right before the holiday? All this mess.
He bites down. His expression collapses. He pulls the thing out of his mouth and stares at it.
Why is this a cookie? That little troublemaker switched my cigarettes again.
A box comes flying at him from the doorway, fast enough to cut the air. He doesn't even flinch. One hand rises and catches it cleanly. He looks toward the door.
The one-armed man grins. "Stop looking so miserable. Use mine."
Lu Nanfang sets the box quietly on the desk. Then he bites into the cookie and chews. He shakes his head. "No thanks. I'm worried about lung cancer."
The one-armed man looks like he just heard the funniest thing all week. "You're scared of that?"
Lu Nanfang ignores the jab. "Stop stalling. You stayed behind for a reason. Talk."
The one-armed man takes a slow drag. His easy expression fades. "Another notice came down from above."
Lu Nanfang pauses. "What notice?"
The man lights up and takes a breath. "The combat exam has been moved up again."
Lu Nanfang's face shifts immediately. Moved up again. Something crosses his mind. He goes quiet, eyes dropping. He slaps a tired hand to his forehead. "That's reckless. Is it confirmed?"
The one-armed man tilts his head. "Check your computer. Should be in your inbox."
Lu Nanfang drops into his chair and pulls up his email.
The man asks casually, "Have you figured out what track to put her in? Combat faculty or liberal arts?"
Lu Nanfang rubs his temple. "Haven't decided. I'll wait until after her aptitude test." He turns it around. "What about your son?"
The mention alone makes the man's jaw tighten. "That kid is anything but well-behaved. Spirit arts, aberrant studies, awakened physiology." The one-armed man takes a long, slow breath, then he lets it out. "None of them. I'm not registering him for any of it."
Lu Nanfang blinks. "You mean awakened liberal arts?"
The man shakes his head. "No. Standard liberal arts. Regular track."
Lu Nanfang almost thinks he misheard. "You're joking. He hasn't been tested yet. What if he qualifies? You know, once aptitude clears, enrollment in the awakened track is mandatory."
The man smiles. "Then we don't test him."
He rises and heads for the door. Behind him, Lu Nanfang calls out, "Hey. Finish what you were saying."
The one-armed man just laughs and keeps walking. "Take your time with the paperwork. I'm going for a stroll."
The ease of it catches the secretary at the door off guard, and she finds herself smiling despite herself. She clears her throat lightly. "Sorry to interrupt."
Lu Nanfang straightens. "What is it?"