Chapter 88: Chapter 81: The Strangeness of the Magic Power Crystal

A prompt appeared on the panel.

A peculiar glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes as he looked at the red crystal in his hand.

This was the only thing left behind after the masked man’s body exploded. He had pocketed it before the Patrol Department arrived.

’I put in a ton of effort... It’s only fair I keep one piece of the spoils, right?’

Lu Chao thought to himself as he gently stroked the red crystal.

It was slightly cool to the touch and felt solid.

’Elementary-grade...’

His gaze lingered on the panel’s information. This was the first time he had ever seen a resource of this quality.

Even the Ink Python Beast’s Snake Gallbladder and the Bone-Strengthening and Qi-Replenishing Ointment were only listed as Inferior-grade, with an Excellence rating.

’Even though it’s incomplete and not at its peak efficacy, it should still be stronger than an Inferior-grade item, right?’

With a gleam in his eye, Lu Chao looked at the panel again.

After awakening [Adrenaline Rush], his Potential Progress had reset to zero, making it much harder to accumulate energy again.

And yet, the thought of the portent of potential he’d seen in his mental space filled him with anticipation.

Unlocking the intermediate stage naturally meant unlocking an intermediate-level talent.

But before that, he still had to awaken another Basic Talent in the Spirit Transformation category.

In other words, he desperately needed this thing.

He needed it to increase his power, accelerate his potential accumulation, and awaken a new talent as soon as possible.

However, Lu Chao’s gaze shifted back to the red crystal.

Under the light, its surface appeared eerily translucent. But upon closer inspection, a faint black trace was visible inside, like some kind of impurity.

’So this is the special spiritual contamination.’

’If I just consume it like this, I’ll probably end up like that masked man, with some kind of ’lure of depravity’ planted inside me, becoming someone’s puppet.’

A chill ran down Lu Chao’s spine as he recalled how the masked man had died.

He suspected the man hadn’t died willingly. It was more like he’d been about to reveal a secret and suffered a special backlash from some taboo.

That was why he hesitated as he stared at the object in his hand.

’Forget it, I’ll wait.’

’Besides, there’s a way to remove the contamination. No need to be hasty.’

After a moment of thought, his eyes scanned the special materials required to cleanse the contamination. Memorizing their names, Lu Chao took a deep breath and steadied his breathing.

And soon, after he had calmed down, his brow furrowed. He suddenly felt that he had been a bit too eager just now.

That wasn’t his usual style.

’Could it be...’

Lu Chao’s gaze sharpened. He suddenly looked at the red crystal, at the black flaw within that symbolized the contamination.

’Am I... being influenced by it?’

...

...

「Early the next morning.」

Lu Chao got up early and opened the curtains.

The morning light spilled in, illuminating the world.

Buildings dotted the landscape under a gray sky, and bare ginkgo trees, stripped of their leaves, stood starkly by the roadside.

The nearby Second Division building of the Patrol Department stood like an anchor for the entire district. In the distance, he could see the river that ringed the city and the sky-piercing tower that stood within the inner circle.

’The inner city...’

His mood inexplicably lightened. Lu Chao stood in silence for a few breaths, his thoughts drifting back to the previous night.

He wondered if the masked man had any accomplices.

He wondered if there were other members of the God-Worshiping Church lurking in the shadows.

’Oh well. The agents at the Superpower Bureau are the best of the best. They’ll probably find some leads.’

Finding no answers, he shook his head and took a moment to assess his physical condition.

His stamina was mostly restored, and his strength had recovered enough to return to the Professional-level.

The negative side effects from using [Adrenaline Rush] weren’t too severe anymore.

’It’s a good thing I have the boost from [Basic Resilience].’

’Burning through my stamina reserves like that... any other Professional would probably need a week to recover. But I should be back at my peak by tomorrow,’ Lu Chao noted, nodding to himself.

This battle had given him a more comprehensive understanding of the Frenzy State—not just its explosive power, but also the profound weakness that followed.

However, a thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Chao looked toward the cabinet by his desk in the corner.

He walked over, bent down slightly, and pulled it open.

A black metal briefcase came into view. The Magic Power crystal he had obtained the previous night was inside.

Lu Chao had experimented and confirmed that the case could block the special spiritual contamination.

’This thing may be sinister, but it’s a valuable resource. I can’t just give up on it.’

Lu Chao considered the matter with a calm gaze.

The so-called High-Dimensional Demon God sounded infinitely powerful, but if it could truly control others so easily, why would it need to act through believers? It would have conquered the world long ago.

He figured the contamination was likely just a minuscule fraction of the entity’s overflowing power. As long as he followed his intuition on how to handle and purify it, then the Magic Power crystal could be turned into a pure resource for his own use.

With that in mind, Lu Chao no longer hesitated.

A moment later, he tapped his watch screen and accessed the internal network.

’I need five materials for the purification.’

’The Patrol Department’s internal network has three of them. Together, they only cost a few thousand yuan.’

His eyes swept over the list of resources. After confirming everything, Lu Chao clicked to reserve them for exchange, then started planning his next steps.

’As for the other two, Spirit Spring Water and Cyan Spirit Grass, I can check the public market.’

’If that doesn’t work, I can ask Brother Hao to help me find them on the black market.’

His thinking was clear. Because of his last experience there, Lu Chao was cautious and didn’t want to go to the black market himself for now.

Having made his decision, he quickly got ready and pulled open the door to his room.

"Huh?"

The scene before him was not what he had expected.