No Money to Cultivate Immortality?

Fu Ji reminded him from the side, “Remember—you’ve never met Song Xu.”

“The surveillance inside the apartment was already broken. You and Bai Zhenzhen both disguised yourselves, so there shouldn’t be any street footage of your real faces either.”

“Plus, these Evil God cultists were terrified of ritual backlash. Their sense of secrecy was top-tier—they wouldn’t leave anything related to the Evil God among their personal belongings.”

“The Patrol Squad likely hasn’t uncovered any intel on the Evil God from them, which means they don’t know Song Xu and the others were targeting us.”

Zhang Yu had always been the cautious type. He prepared for everything in advance—just like how he always had containers and tissues ready before delivering seed orders. He wasn’t like those hotheaded rookies who scrambled last-minute.

He, Fu Ji, and Bai Zhenzhen had already discussed the kind of questioning they might face this time. So Fu Ji’s reminder wasn’t anything new.

Now, as he listened to Yun Ni’s questions, Zhang Yu wore a blank expression. “Song Xu? I know he’s one of White Dragon High School’s academic elites, but I don’t know him personally. Never even talked to him.”

Yun Ni nodded slightly at Zhang Yu’s reply. In her mind, data about Song Xu began surfacing.

Six Evil God cultists had died mid-ritual, the backlash unfolding in public view—witnessed and even recorded by multiple civilians.

The incident quickly caught the attention of the Patrol Squad and was flagged as a suspected Evil God case. During cross-referencing of various datasets, Song Xu was the first to be identified among the deceased. As one of White Dragon High’s top students, his information was detailed and readily available to the authorities.

Through his phone, computer, and other belongings, the squad had also uncovered the underground group he’d founded.

“A group of poor geniuses aiming to break their shackles and reach the second floor…”

“Tch. These scams are still trending?”

But Yun Ni didn’t care about that. In her experience, the poorer someone was in Kunxu, the easier they were to scam—just because the information gap was too wide. And anyway, fraud cases weren’t her department.

As the head of the Patrol Squad, what she truly cared about… was the Evil God.

But six people bursting into flames wasn’t enough to confirm Evil God involvement. There were plenty of ways to cause similar effects.

And none of the items the deceased left behind contained any clues tied to the Evil God.

As for the two who had originally lived in the apartment and were taken away by the company that day—Li Quan and the other—they were now doing company labor to repay their fines for pirated techniques.

Nothing suspicious related to the Evil God had turned up from them either.

So the whole thing looked more like a straightforward murder case. That meant Yun Ni couldn’t escalate her authority and use more forceful or mystical methods.

Still, from the broken-down building, the trashed scene, and the damaged surveillance, Yun Ni couldn’t help but sense a lingering Evil God stench.

She had questioned Zhang Yu only because he had shown up in the intel left behind by Song Xu.

“This guy was gathering info on Zhang Yu recently?”

“Was Zhang Yu their target?”

“Did Song Xu think Zhang Yu was also poor, and wanted to rope him in for a scam?”

“Maybe Zhang Yu knows something useful?”

While she was thinking, Yun Ni and Zhang Yu arrived at an empty classroom. A few other Patrol Squad members stood guard outside.

Each sat behind a desk. Yun Ni started, “Has Mo Tianyi ever contacted you?”

Zhang Yu paused slightly. Fu Ji reminded him, “No need to lie about that. You barely had any ties with the Alliance of the Resentful Poor, and the Patrol Squad isn’t part of the same system as Songyang’s local noble clans.”

“They don’t care about groups like the Alliance. Just be honest about your interactions with Mo Tianyi.”

“If you lie here, it might only raise suspicion.”

So Zhang Yu recounted his few interactions with Mo Tianyi truthfully.

After listening, Yun Ni’s eyes flashed with disappointment. “No useful intel at all.”

“Just like those other poor students—none of them know if Song Xu was backed by an Evil God.”

At that moment, Zhang Yu tilted his head, looking curious. “Did something happen to them?”

Yun Ni wasn’t surprised by his confused look, but didn’t reveal anything. She casually replied, “Mm… they were involved in a pirated technique case.”

“If you remember anything else about them, feel free to call me.”

At the same time, more details popped up in Yun Ni’s mind.

“A mess… anything valuable at the scene was destroyed.”

“Nearly all the apartment surveillance is compromised…”

“Nothing useful in the surrounding street footage either…”

“And that delivery guy who showed up at the scene… turns out the order was placed with a stolen phone, and the original owner’s got nothing to do with this…”

The deeper Yun Ni dug, the fewer leads she found. And not a single one connected directly to the Evil God.

But oddly enough, that only made her more certain: “If those six really died from ritual backlash, then it was likely orchestrated by an experienced, clean-handed Evil God cultist… or perhaps even a seasoned Evil God personally overseeing it.”

“That would make it an internal conflict between Evil Gods.”

“Could it be the same Evil God who once appeared at Songyang High?”

About a year ago, traces of an Evil God had turned up at Songyang High.

To investigate, the Patrol Squad had poured enormous manpower and resources into probing the group and families backing the school, maintaining long-term surveillance.

But that Evil God vanished like a ghost. Never reappeared. Many in the Patrol Squad now believed it had merely passed through.

“These roaches in the gutter… every one of them knows how to hide.”

Thoughts raced through her mind. Yun Ni gave Zhang Yu a faint smile. “Before Pianpian left, she asked me to keep an eye on you. But I’m broke, so don’t count on me for loans.”

“The only thing I can offer is a bit of clout in the Patrol Squad… Say, would you be interested in climbing higher with us?”

“For example, becoming a full-time agent? Better pay, full healthcare, daily meal and travel stipends, tax breaks. You’d get access to more sigils… and maybe even a way to contact Pianpian.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered with curiosity. “I’d be able to contact… Zhang Pianpian? But isn’t cross-floor contact forbidden in Kunxu?”

Yun Ni explained, “Ordinary people can’t easily communicate across levels. But the Eight Divine Ministries supervise all of Kunxu. If we couldn’t communicate across levels, how would coordination even work?”

“As long as you become an official employee under the Eight Divine Ministries, you can use their network to contact others across levels.”

Fu Ji chimed in, “The girl’s not wrong. If you and your sister both become official staff under the Divine Ministries, cross-floor contact becomes possible. There’s also cross-floor corporate trade—you could be on the communication list that way.”

“But becoming a Divine Ministry employee… way too many strings attached. With all your secrets, forget it.”

Even without Fu Ji’s warning, Zhang Yu remembered Zhang Pianpian’s own advice. He had no intention of becoming an official employee and declined on the spot.

Yun Ni smiled nonchalantly, just told him to reach out if he changed his mind.

Shortly after Zhang Yu left, one of the squad members entered.

A young man looked at Yun Ni and said, “Captain, I had someone check Zhang Yu’s data. That guy recently bought some antiques worth over a hundred thousand.”

“Antiques are a tough investment, kind of like archaeology… People try to uncover ancient cultivation secrets, gather info on extinct sects or fallen Evil Gods. Tons of individuals and companies are in that game every day.”

“And this high schooler thinks he can hang?”

“Also, he and Bai Zhenzhen left Songyang City twice in the past six months…”

Yun Ni shot him a glance. She knew more than enough about antiques and archaeology.

Especially since the Ten Major Sects and their affiliated companies were constantly hunting down lost sect lore and ancient knowledge. It was a massive industry—though irrelevant to most city folk.

She also knew that besides investment and archaeology, many antiques were used for deity worship.

Plenty of powerful figures on the divine path had their own personal altars—her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on… all had private god-shrines at home.

And of course, some of them weren’t for righteous gods… but for Evil Gods.

But Zhang Pianpian’s little brother, worshiping Evil Gods?

Yun Ni shook her head.

“Zhang Pianpian is under tight surveillance from the Righteous Gods. Her entire family’s under the microscope. No way they’d be tied to Evil Gods.”

Her thoughts flashed by like lightning. She didn’t explain—just looked at the man and said flatly, “Who told you to look him up?”

The man froze. “Didn’t you ask about his ties to Song Xu? I thought maybe you suspected he had connections to Evil God cultists too…”

Yun Ni snapped, “Did I say I suspected him? I was just trying to get some intel. Don’t make unauthorized decisions under my command.”

Although she scolded him, she didn’t take it further. She knew the guy came from seven generations of patrol agents.

To Yun Ni, the Patrol Squad was like a well-decorated house. It had a lot of walls, but only two or three were actually load-bearing. The rest just looked important. And while you could knock them down, remodeling came with a steep price.

She asked, “What were the two times he left Songyang?”

The man reported the dates. Yun Ni raised an eyebrow.

Those dates meant nothing to most people—but to her, a tenth-generation Patrol agent, they stood out.

“Those were the days of the Foundation Establishment exam?”

“Did they go take the exam?”

At first, she thought she might’ve been mistaken.

But then she remembered Zhang Pianpian. If she had coached her brother into taking the Foundation Establishment exam… well, it wasn’t impossible.

“That’s enough,” she told the man. “Zhang Yu is a fellow officer, technically speaking. Don’t dig into him without reason.”

“Especially about him leaving Songyang—anyone who tries to investigate that had better be ready to quit.”

She warned her subordinates gravely, “If you really dig something up, there might not be a soul in Songyang who can protect you.”

Yun Ni thought silently: “With how classified the Foundation Establishment exam is, if someone keeps poking into what Zhang Yu did on those days… they might stir up a hornet’s nest and drag down half the city with them…”

The other squad members looked stunned.

Just how deep did Zhang Yu’s background run?

How could just investigating him… cost you your job and all your protection?