"When you're fully trained, I'll arrange for you to join the Public Security Bureau. You'll get a government salary. How about it? Tempted?"
Hearing Qingyi's offer, Zane didn't reject it. Instead, he actually gave it serious thought.
Qingyi's view of him wasn't wrong at all.
When it came to real combat experience, he was a complete mess.
His previous fights had all been a matter of overwhelming lower-ranked enemies—no skills involved, just brute force and throwing around abilities.
After all, before he became an Ethereal, he wasn't some boxing champion or martial artist.
If he were to face opponents of the same level, having real combat techniques and experience would definitely make things a lot easier.
At the very least, after watching how Qingyi fought the Ethereals, Zane could already think of several ways to defeat the Cretan Hollow's core Ethereal without taking any damage.
Besides, his Ethereal form was humanoid too—Qingyi's techniques were perfectly suited for him.
"Hey, feeling tempted?"
"Come on, call me Master."
Seeing Zane hesitate, Qingyi's eyes lit up, and she leaned in closer.
"Actually, isn't just calling you Senior enough...?" Zane still tried to struggle a little.
"How could it be? A Master is someone who teaches and guides. It's completely different from just being a senior."
"What, do you think someone like me isn't qualified to be your Master?"
Qingyi walked calmly ahead, her voice light and relaxed.
"Zane, if we're talking about age, I'm probably from the same generation as your ancestors, you know..."
Zane froze for a second and sighed. Qingyi wasn't being exactly polite, but what she said wasn't wrong. Still, for some reason, it felt like he was being insulted...
"Senior, why do you seem so invested in me?"
"Just so you know, I'm not worth much—you wouldn't get a good price selling me."
Feeling something a bit off about Qingyi's attitude toward him, Zane half-joked, half-seriously asked.
At his words, Qingyi pinched her chin thoughtfully, frowned slightly, then raised a hand, pointed at him, and smiled.
"I finally figured it out. Ever since I brought you back to the Public Security Bureau, you've felt familiar to me."
"And it's not a bad feeling. Even now, that feeling hasn't changed."
"I think we must have met before—after the Cretan Hollow collapsed but before you got bullied by the tomb raiders."
She sighed softly.
"Unfortunately, my memory module's been active for so long that it's overloaded. I can't easily pull up memories related to you."
"But since that's the case, getting closer isn't a bad idea. That's probably why I suddenly wanted to be friends with you."
"So..."
Qingyi turned to face Zane, suddenly stepping in close. Their faces were barely twenty centimeters apart. Her bright eyes locked onto his.
"Are you hiding any other secrets from me?"
Looking at Qingyi, Zane finally understood just how sharp the instincts of Public Security officers could be.
Especially members of the Criminal Investigation Special Task Force.
It wasn't logical intuition—it was a terrifying sixth sense.
Qingyi was genuinely kind and friendly toward him. That much was real, and Zane could feel it.
But hidden within that warmth, she had been probing him, analyzing little by little, closing in step by step.
Zane had no doubt that if they spent enough time together, Qingyi would eventually dig out every secret he had—if she really wanted to.
"Everyone has their secrets, right, Senior?"
Zane kept his tone light and casual. Of course, the secrets he meant were the serious ones, but the way he spoke made it sound otherwise.
"That's true."
Qingyi smiled, not pressing further. She straightened up and said cheerfully,
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."
"Let's go find your companion."
"If we run into any Ethereals on the way, I'll teach you a couple of moves."
With the little interlude over, the two of them continued moving through Dead End Hollow.
...
"Tai Chi Bagua, Grappling, Eight Extremes Fist, Tan Leg, Emei Fist, Six Harmonies Staff, Monkey Staff, Basic Three-Section Staff Techniques…"
"There are also some basic moves like White Crane Spreads Its Wings and Iron Mountain Lean that you can learn separately."
"All those moves I showed off against the Ethereals—you saw them, right? Which one catches your interest?"
Qingyi walked ahead, casually spinning her staff as she spoke.
"Of course, even if none of those interest you, it's fine. I also know a little swordplay, spearplay, and blade techniques."
"I even know Zhu Yuan's spear techniques."
Behind her, Zane listened as she rattled off the techniques like a treasure list. His scalp tingled.
She's a true martial arts master!
Clearly, all that time she had lived hadn't been wasted. The sheer accumulation of skill was terrifying.
He figured that even if he brought his Ethereal form to the same power level as Qingyi, with all these techniques stacked on top, he'd still have a hard time winning against her.
Just as Zane was still marveling at Qingyi's "all-powerful" greatness, she suddenly spoke up ahead.
"Zane, I found your companion."
Zane looked up and saw Nekomata—watching them with a mix of vigilance and fake delight.
Her gaze kept darting toward Qingyi, clearly confused as to why Zane hadn't ditched her yet.
They headed toward her, but suddenly, a shrill chainsaw noise tore through the Hollow's silence.
Screeech!
In a flash, a circular saw blade—spitting sparks—shot out from the train car next to Nekomata. Focused on Qingyi, she was caught off guard and jumped in shock, fur bristling.
The saw blade retracted, then lunged out again, sweeping sideways!
"Wahhh!"
Nekomata let out a cry of surprise and leapt back a few steps before landing flat on her butt.
Screech, screech, screech...
The crazed chainsaw sounded like a demon come to claim a life, even startling Belle, who was piloting Eous.
The two, equally terrified, quickly clung to each other. Nekomata hugged Eous tightly, trembling all over. Even her cat ears drooped flat.
Boom!
A cloud of dust rushed over as part of the train car's wall collapsed. Nekomata reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.
A few seconds later...
"Phew—! Good, I didn't mess up my apron."
Corin stabbed the massive, dangerous weapon into the ground, turned around, and gave herself a quick once-over before sighing in relief.
By then, Qingyi and Zane had already caught up. Qingyi looked completely calm—she hadn't sensed any real threat, so she knew there wasn't any danger.