First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

Lu Ding found it quite entertaining.

This meeting felt more like listening to a comedy performance.

As the music grew more intense, the stage lighting synchronized with the speaker’s words.

”Through Wenqiu District, Anhong District, Bao Fan District, Taishi District, all the way to Fengyang District—stopping right here!”

The lights swept across the seats of the patrol officers in each respective district.

”To say Wenqiu was unaware is understandable; to say Anhong did not notice is forgivable; but for Bao Fan’s report to reach the heavens—”

Yan Feifan leaned in quietly, ”Brother Lu, you find this interesting?”

Lu Ding nodded, ”Yeah, a little.”

”I’ll tell you something even more interesting.””What?”

”The one storytelling up there? That’s our bureau’s Deputy Director Chu.”

Lu Ding: ?????

Well damn…

Life is hard—even the deputy director has to take up performing arts.

”Taishi gathers its forces—Fengyang goes to war!!”

”Spiritual energy surging, Yin energy swirling—speaking of the Bao Fan patrol officer, surname Lu, given name Ding, born with good looks, skilled in great arts—at a mere wave of his hand, clouds gather; at the stomp of his foot, the earth quakes!”

”To retreat means keeping Bao Fan District peaceful, ghost-free in the silent night; to advance means slaying Shi Gandang, claiming first merit, and spreading one’s name across Yunhai!!”

”Good!!!!”

Yan Feifan boldly shouted out.

They were already hyping up Brother Lu—if he didn’t go all-in today, it’d be an insult to how much Brother Lu had looked out for him.

Applause followed.

On stage, Deputy Director Chu glanced over, nodding in appreciation.

Now that’s a good audience member.

With someone taking the lead, and the deputy director subtly encouraging the energy, the others quickly caught on.

The moment gained momentum, and the atmosphere became lively.

”And by Lu Ding’s side, a trusted friend—surname Bai, given name Hemen—master of the Sea of Corpses technique, yet walking the righteous path! Befriending heroes, slaying demons, and eradicating monsters!!”

”So now—let’s welcome the two stars of the Ghost Festival—Lu Ding and Bai Hemen!!!!”

The spotlight fell on them.

Thunderous applause erupted.

Yan Feifan was clapping so hard his hands were nearly red.

Lu Ding and Bai Hemen stood up.

Dressed in tailored suits, their presence was striking—handsome in two distinct ways.

Lu Ding’s features were like a classical sculpture, with a jade-like face and an air of nobility.

Bai Hemen had sharp features—high nose, thin lips, bright eyes, and sword-like brows reaching his temples.

Lu Ding walked ahead, Bai Hemen following behind.

As they stepped onto the stage—

Boom!

Golden paper scattered, transforming into a rain of gold under the stage lights.

Illuminated within the shimmering downpour, they truly had the aura of men who had achieved greatness.

Originally, Lu Ding had expected this meeting to be stiff and boring.

But to his surprise, it turned out to be rather unique.

The deputy director walked over, handing them microphones.

”Our two top performers—how about saying a few words?”

Lu Ding took the mic.

Seeing his serious expression, the audience assumed he was about to say something profound.

Instead, he opened with—

”I went all-in with this one.”

Laughter and applause erupted.

As the noise gradually settled, he continued—

”If it weren’t for Deputy Director Chu’s storytelling skills, I wouldn’t have realized just how f***ing amazing I am.”

Laughter surged again.

It wasn’t even that funny—

But the fact that Lu Ding casually threw in a curse word made it ten times funnier.

Yan Feifan felt like Brother Lu was doing stand-up comedy on stage.

Just opening his mouth instantly closed the distance with the audience.

Then it was Bai Hemen’s turn.

After a moment of contemplation, most people assumed, given his usually reserved personality, he wouldn’t say much.

But it was both expected and unexpected.

”I don’t know,” Bai Hemen said flatly. ”I figured if he showed up, I’d show up too.”

The delivery—combined with his expressionless face—was somehow incredibly dumb in the best way possible.

Instant comedic effect, maxed out.

Deputy Director Chu followed up immediately, ”You two really should go into stand-up.”

Suddenly, someone from the audience shouted—

”Lu Ding! We all know you’re badass, I totally respect that—but I didn’t expect you could write poetry too! That’s kinda overkill, don’t you think?”

Lu Ding responded, ”That wasn’t my original work, I just copied it. Maybe I’m not as amazing as you think.”

”Then copy another one! Don’t make me get on my knees and beg—I’ll do it without hesitation!!”

”Yeah, we all want to hear it! We’ve never seen this side of the ‘Corpse-Shattering Taishui’ before. You should’ve worn your literary and martial sleeves today to really show off your dual talents!”

Deputy Director Chu, seeing their enthusiasm, backed them up, ”Yunhai 749 has produced many formidable figures, but a true master of both the pen and the sword? Never before. Lu Ding, this one’s on you.”

There was no resisting such a passionate invitation.

”Alright, I’ll say this first—it might not be particularly fitting, but I really like it.”

”Just go for it—they’ll fill in the gaps with their own imagination,” Deputy Director Chu quipped.

Lu Ding stepped forward.

”This poem was written by a great man I admire, and I think it fits my situation quite well.”

His expression grew solemn.

’A child sets out, leaving his home behind,

Vowing not to return unless he succeeds.

Why should my bones rest in my homeland?

For anywhere under the heavens is a worthy resting place.’

Thunderous applause.

The moment Lu Ding finished, many in the audience stood up and clapped.

No excessive embellishments.

No complex words.

The meaning was simple yet profound, and the depth of emotion resonated differently with everyone.

Each person connected with it in their own way.

As for Lu Ding—he had crossed over into this world. Wasn’t that also a departure from home?

From the moment he realized he had a Golden Finger, he had accepted the inevitability of death.

Because he had to face monsters.

Where he died, where he was buried—it didn’t matter.

Even if it was inside a monster’s stomach, every place was a resting place.

There was no need to dwell on it.

The same went for the other investigators.

Most of them had once been ordinary people, granted an opportunity to become Cultivators of Qi.

They had left behind the mundane world.

Joining 749 to battle monsters—some sought to be true heroes, while others simply wanted a wider world to explore.

But whether hero or seeker—

Monsters didn’t care.

They killed indiscriminately. They devoured without exception.

So who knew where they would die, or where they would be buried?

They might be laughing today, only to be swallowed by a monster tomorrow.

As Lu Ding stepped down with his rewards—

The rest of the ceremony proceeded, with other investigators from Yunhai and nearby city-level branches coming up to receive their honors.

However—

Unlike Yunhai, the other regions hadn’t faced anything major.

After all, the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts wasn’t some common cabbage you could find everywhere.

Front row, among the seated big shots—

”Those two kids really stole the show… but hasn’t this completely messed up the rankings? Who’d dare compete with them for first and second place?”

”If I ran into them, I’d just surrender immediately. Back when I was young, if I saw these two, I wouldn’t even bother fighting—I’d just save myself the beating.”

”A Linghai cultivator assisting in taking down a Si Ming? Forget duels—even if we threw all the rookies from this year at them together, they still might not stand a chance.”

”I heard Old Wang’s branch has a few strong ones too. How about we set up a match?”

”Sure, why not? Our Year-One Combat Trials are basically pointless this year—those two would just crush everyone.”

”I’ll notify them later. Between our two branches, we’ll have twenty reward slots. The top six get advanced training. Looks like this year’s going to be fun.”