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The source is efficient and accurate. The results were returned in just over ten seconds:
[Scan complete. Three targets matching the criteria detected:]
1. Coordinates: Northwest direction, approximately 1.2 kilometers in a straight line.
Location Description: Abandoned section of the old 'Rusty Canal' sewer network. Approximately 27 people. Their extraordinary aura levels are generally low, showing no obvious threat.
It is speculated that this may be a mutual aid or small trading group composed of lower-level superhumans, such as unorthodox pharmacists, mediocre mediums, and superhumans with incomplete abilities.
2. Coordinates: Due north, approximately 3.8 kilometers in a straight line.
Location Description: Behind the third foundry of the 'Black Iron Forge', in the middle of an abandoned cooling tower. Relatively concentrated and active. Primarily characterized by stable, ordered psionic energy (similar to a weak divine blessing) and metallic resonance fluctuations, interspersed with a clear, well-trained mental field. Number of People: Approximately 6. Medium energy level, relatively well-organized.
Speculation: A small peripheral group or task force suspected of being affiliated with the Church of the "God of Forging and Machinery" (Cult of the Machine God). The atmosphere is relatively "formal".
3. Coordinates: Northeast direction, straight-line distance approximately 8.5 kilometers.
Location description: The underground crypt of the abandoned 'Moonlit Cemetery' (on the edge of the Upper Town).
Energy Characteristics: Profound, cold, and restrained. A powerful negative energy field (not malicious, but closer to the tranquility of death itself), pure spiritual power (perception, communication tendencies), and… an extremely subtle, moonlight-like purifying fluctuation. Number of People: Only 3. Energy Levels: One strong and two medium. The core possesses pure energy and excellent control.
Speculation: It is highly likely related to the Church of the Goddess of Death and Rest (the Church of Requiem), possibly involving clergy handling special matters. The atmosphere is mysterious and solemn.
"Wow!" Zhang Su couldn't help but mutter to himself after reviewing the information Yuan Shu had listed in his mind. "Migai City is truly a 'land of outstanding people and resources'! There are three gathering points for superhumans within ten kilometers. Sewers, dilapidated factories, cemeteries, churches... every single one of them is a great place to throw a party. Tsk tsk, the official organizations on duty in this godforsaken place must be working 007 overtime every day until their souls leave their bodies, right?"
He cast aside pointless sentimentality, his goal clear: to be the first one to check.
He dared not easily provoke the members of the other two official supernatural organizations.
"Source Hub, plan the optimal route and navigate to the nearest target point: the intersection of the old 'Rusty Water Canal' sewers. Activate real-time environmental awareness and threat warning," Zhang Su said.
[Route planning complete. Real-time navigation initiated.] Yuan Shu's voice is like the most accurate navigator:
Turn left at the next intersection onto the auxiliary road of the 'Cast Iron Corridor'. Proceed straight for approximately 300 meters, carefully avoiding the large steam pipe leak on your right (high temperature, sulfur-containing gas). Then turn right into the 'Cinder Alley'. At the end of the alley, there is a collapsed fence entrance, which is the access point to the target area. Current environmental threat: Low. No active malicious targeting detected. It is recommended to remain concealed.
"Received." Zhang Su's eyes narrowed slightly, and his figure seemed to blend into the boundary between the dim streetlights and the heavy shadows, his steps light and silent as he quietly left.
With five clear recruitment criteria in mind, he entered a fog-shrouded jungle like a hunter, embarking on his first formal talent search as "director".
……
The intersection of abandoned sewers in the city of Migai.
The source's guidance was accurate and without error.
Zhang Su moved along the shadowy side of the narrow, slippery old sewer wall, which reeked of mildew and rust, and soon arrived at his target area—a relatively spacious area formed by the confluence of huge, long-dried circular pipes.
Surprisingly, deep within this abandoned and filthy place, several simple but sheltered huts were cleverly constructed using rough stones and discarded metal plates, relying on the pipe walls.
Dim, yellowish lights powered by cheap grease or gas shone through cracks in the doors and through the makeshift windows, bringing a faint sense of life to this underground space.
'The target is inside the largest stone house. The psionic fluctuations inside match the previous detection; five people have gathered.' Yuan Shu prompted in his mind.
Zhang Su walked to the door reinforced with thick wooden planks and iron bars, raised his hand, and knocked three times, neither too hard nor too soft.
After a brief silence, a small flap on the door, about eye level, was suddenly pulled open, revealing a pair of wary and cloudy eyes that quickly scanned Zhang Su in the dim light. A deliberately lowered, hoarse voice rang out:
"How much for three glasses of rye at the old 'Cinder Bucket' tavern?"
Zhang Su's heart skipped a beat: a code! He immediately cried out in his mind, "Yuan Shu! Quickly search for the code!"
[Searching for commonly used low-level coded language in local gatherings of extraordinary individuals... Matching...] Yuan Shu's efficiency was extremely high, responding almost instantly:
[Correct response: 'Three coal nuggets, plus half a piece of moldy cheese.']
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Su responded in the same low and steady tone: "Three coal nuggets, plus half a piece of moldy cheese."
The eyes behind the door narrowed for a moment, as if to confirm, and then with a soft "click," the bolt was pulled open.
The door opened inwards just enough for one person to pass through.
Behind the door stood a person completely shrouded in a large, coarse black robe, with gloves of the same material on their hands. Only their eyes were visible, and their gaze held a hint of respect and caution towards a powerful stranger.
"Welcome, new extraordinary being." The man in black robes bowed slightly, his voice softer than before. "Please come in. Have you come here seeking a transaction, or to exchange insights?"
As Zhang Su stepped inside, a stench of cheap tobacco, sweat, damp soil, and a faint smell of burning herbs wafted towards him.
He glanced around the simple but fairly clean front hall, where a few worn-out tables and chairs were casually placed. He answered directly, "Both."
"Understood, sir." The man in black closed the door and bolted it again. "Then please participate in the auction first. It's the rule; free time for discussion only comes after the transactions are completed. What do you think?"
"Okay." Zhang Su nodded.
“Alright.” The man in black robes walked to a similarly dilapidated wooden cabinet in the corner, opened the cabinet door, and said, “To protect the participants’ identities, we provide simple disguises. Would you like a mask or the same black robe? A mask won’t affect movement, but a black robe will provide better concealment. It’s up to you.”
“A mask will suffice,” Zhang Su said without hesitation. Although the black robe could block out auras, it was indeed inconvenient for movement, and in this kind of gathering at the bottom, he believed that Yuan Shu was enough to shield against those faint aura probes.
"Okay." The man in black took something out of the cabinet and handed it to Zhang Su.
It was a plain white mask made of some kind of hardened leather, covering only the upper half of the face. It had no patterns, revealing only the eyes and chin. The material was ordinary, but it seemed to be coated with an ointment that could block weak spiritual probes, and it gave off a faint herbal scent.
"Rest assured, sir. This gathering is based on integrity and will maintain strict confidentiality. We will never disclose the identity information of any participant," the man in black robes added.
Zhang Su took the mask and put it on, feeling its cool touch against his skin.
He nodded, "Understood."
But in his heart he thought: 'Keep it a secret? Doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm already on the official whitelist; if they really want to investigate, they won't find me.'
"Please follow me." The man in black robes gestured, leading Zhang Su through the front hall and pushing open a door covered with a thick cloth curtain. Behind the door was a narrower, shorter corridor lit by a few small oil lamps, which connected to another, larger room.
Upon entering, the view suddenly opened up before me.
This is a circular stone chamber twice the size of the foyer, which clearly utilizes the domed space at the junction of the sewers.
A dozen or so old chairs, benches, and even wooden crates of various kinds were arranged around a small open space in the center, where more than twenty people were sitting.
Like the black-robed man leading the way, everyone had made simple disguises: some wore masks, some wrapped their mouths and noses in dark headscarves or scarves, and some simply huddled in the shadow of their oversized coats.
The interior was dimly lit, with only a slightly bright lantern in the central open space providing the main illumination.
Zhang Su's entry only attracted the brief glances of one or two people near the door, who then looked away as if it were just a passing breeze.
No one spoke, and no one showed any particular interest.
This indifference and complacency were exactly what Zhang Su wanted—to observe discreetly and avoid attracting attention.
He casually found an empty, seemingly sturdy wooden stool at the back and sat down. He had barely settled in and hadn't even had a chance to take a good look at everyone present when a slightly excited voice rang out from the center of the room, attracting everyone's attention.
The speaker was a man sitting on a small stool beside the central lantern. He wore a dirty leather vest and a wooden bird-beak mask that only covered his nose and above. His voice sounded somewhat muffled through the mask, but it couldn't hide his excitement:
"Ladies and gentlemen! Please be quiet! It's my turn! What I'm selling is absolutely top-notch! A unique ability!"
He paused deliberately, as if trying to create some suspense.
However, most of the people present merely raised their eyelids, appearing uninterested.
In these gatherings, "extraordinary characteristics" are not uncommon, but most of them are fake or weak "crippled" characteristics.
The man in the bird-beak mask seemed somewhat dissatisfied with everyone's lukewarm response, and raised his voice, almost shouting:
"Not a crippled path! It's a characteristic of the complete path! Life Path - Sequence 10 - 'Vigorous One'! Completely intact!"
This statement is like throwing a boulder into a calm lake!
"what?!"
"Complete pathway characteristics?!"
"'Vigorous Ones'? Life Pathways?! (This appears to be a nonsensical string of characters and symbols, possibly a corrupted file or a result of OCR errors.)"
The room, which had been deathly silent or filled with hushed whispers just moments before, suddenly erupted into chaos!
Apart from Zhang Su, who wore a plain white mask and exuded a calm aura, everyone else suddenly straightened up, their gazes all focused on the man in the bird-beak mask, filled with disbelief, shock, greed, and... suspicion and vigilance!
"Bullshit! The characteristics of the complete pathway? Are you dreaming?" A burly man wrapped in a thick scarf, with only his eyes showing, suddenly stood up. His voice was rough and hoarse, filled with undisguised skepticism. "This kind of thing can end up in a gathering in the sewers like ours? Do you think the 'healers' of the Church of Life are just sitting around doing nothing?!"
"Exactly! The extraordinary traits of the 'Vigorous Ones' are almost all controlled by the Church of Life! Where did you get them?" A woman wearing half an iron mask asked sharply, her voice filled with intense questioning. "Could it be... could it be that you, a brat, were so audacious as to kill some novice priest or 'devout believer' of the Church of Life and peel them off from their corpse?!"
"Whoosh—!" These words were like igniting a powder keg!
"Damn it! Are you insane?! You dare to mess with people from the Church of Life?!"
"The 'Healers' group may look gentle, and their names aren't fierce, but they can be deadly when it comes to protecting their own! They have plenty of ways to find the killer!"
"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you! This thing is a hot potato! Whoever gets involved is doomed!"
"Speak up! How did you get here? Don't even think about leaving this room today!"
Intense condemnation, questioning, and fear instantly overwhelmed the man with the bird-beak mask.
But he had clearly anticipated such a strong reaction. Despite the stares and rebukes from the crowd, he remained calm, his eyes behind the bird-beak mask still steady and smug, as if everyone's attacks were praise to him.
Zhang Su sat quietly on a wooden stool in the corner, a plain white mask concealing all his expressions, only a pair of eyes watching them in the dim light.
He listened silently to this vivid display of the ecosystem of the lower-level superhumans triggered by a Sequence 10 characteristic—a mixture of greed and fear, with the desire for power being suppressed by the fear of powerful organizations.
The influence of the Church of Life, and the rarity and sensitivity of the "complete pathway characteristic" at the grassroots level, are self-evident.
The information he needs is being gleaned from these heated arguments.
Volume 2: Chapter 8: The Dragon-Slaying Saber, the First Elite Family
Faced with a tidal wave of doubts, fears, and accusations, the man in the bird-beak mask did not panic. Instead, he straightened his back and even let out a short, contemptuous snort from under the mask.
"Quiet! All of you, quiet down!" He raised his voice, drowning out the noise, his tone carrying a smugness that seemed to come from nowhere. "I know! The characteristics of the complete pathway, the 'Vibrant One' of Sequence 10, appearing in a place like this is like a piece of gold popping out of coal dust! It's perfectly normal for you to suspect me of murder and robbery, of stealing things from the Church of Life! If I were in your shoes, I would think the same thing!"
He spread his hands and looked around at the pairs of eyes that were filled with surprise, greed, or fear.
“But I, ‘Grey Sparrow,’ swear on my life today! I swear on my wretched life and the possibility of future advancement! This characteristic was absolutely not stripped from the Church of Life, or any believer of the true God!” His voice was resolute. “It is ownerless! It is a gift from fate to me! It is a pure accident! I guarantee that buying it will not attract the attention of the ‘Healers’! There is absolutely no risk!”
These words calmed the uproar a little, but the skeptical gazes did not diminish.
A person wrapped in a tattered cloak shrieked, "Empty words! Who would believe you?!"
"Good question!" the bird-beaked masked man, "Grey Sparrow," exclaimed. "Gentlemen! If you don't even believe me, do you believe the 'notarization' of the organizer, Lord Quartz?! He has certified it as genuine. If anyone successfully completes a transaction with me later, they will have to go back to Lord Quartz for another verification."
"What?! Lord Quartz has notarized it?!"
"quartz"
"Oh my god... then... then where does this characteristic come from..."
Another gasp erupted from the crowd, even more shocked than before, mixed with awe.
Clearly, the "notarization" of "quartz y/ue/yi-shou/fa" carries extremely high, almost absolute, authority in this grassroots gathering.
Zhang Su's heart skipped a beat: "Notarization? It seems that the organizer, 'Quartz,' possesses some kind of extraordinary ability to distinguish authenticity and even trace the causal relationship between items? Interesting. However... is the ability real or fake? Or, is this 'notarization' comprehensive enough to ensure absolute certainty? It's also possible that the two of them are working together to set a trap."
He did not jump to conclusions and continued to sit quietly, like a complete bystander.
Seeing that everyone was intimidated by the name "Quartz," "Grey Sparrow" became even more smug: "How about it? Lord 'Quartz' personally verified that this 'Vibrant One' trait has a clean origin and no causal connection with the Church of Life or its associates! The information is 100% true! Now, does anyone still have any doubts?"
A brief silence fell over the crowd, followed by intense eye contact. Suspicion was largely suppressed by the authoritative "notarization," but a new thought emerged: Could it be a scheme orchestrated by "Grey Sparrow" and "Quartz"? After all, "Quartz" was the one who did the "notarization," so could he really claim it was clean? But no one dared to voice this doubt directly, as no one was willing to bear the consequences of offending the organizers.
"Alright! I've said everything! Believe it or not!" "Grey Sparrow" seemed too lazy to argue any further. It abruptly stood up, its voice rising with a do-or-die spirit: "Now, the auction begins! One complete Sequence 10 'Vibrant One' with all its extraordinary traits! Starting price—"
He took a deep breath and uttered a number that instantly plunged the entire stone chamber into a deathly silence:
The bell-shaped tumor on the wife of the woman named "Ba|Ba"—one hundred and twenty gold pounds!
"hiss--!"
One hundred and twenty pounds?!
"My God of Light..."
"This...this is more than ten times more expensive than the enchanted knife that 'Iron Hook' sold last time!"
"Crazy! It's crazy!"
"This is absolutely the highest auction price in the history of the Rust Canal Gathering!"
Gasps of astonishment rose and fell, followed by suppressed murmurs of shock and disbelief.
One hundred and twenty gold pounds! At this gathering of the lowest-level superhumans struggling to survive, this is undoubtedly an astronomical figure! Enough to make most people instantly give up on the idea.
Zhang Su's brow, hidden beneath his mask, twitched suddenly, and his heart instinctively tightened. One hundred and twenty gold pounds?! Even with over nine hundred gold pounds in his pocket, he felt a pang of pain upon hearing this price—nearly one-eighth of his total assets!
Based on the prices in this world, that's enough to buy a pretty nice small apartment or open a small shop in the middle-class area of the city of Miga! The purchasing power is astonishing.
"The price of low-sequence traits fluctuates greatly on the black market, but for complete pathways, especially relatively mild and practical life pathways, the price, while painful, seems... not particularly outrageous considering the scarcity and the 'security premium' brought by 'notarization'?"
Zhang Su quickly calculated in his mind.
"Should we acquire it? Or should we wait and see? This thing isn't very useful to my own purposes, but it's valuable whether as a bargaining chip for attracting talent in the future or for studying the extraordinary systems of this world."