Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Lin's consciousness returned to his body.

As soon as he came back, he felt something was wrong. The resonant screams and murmurs that tormented him had not diminished. In the divine realm, he had to imagine tightening himself to counteract the pollution that threatened to burst out of him at any moment. But now, back in his body, his physical form firmly restrained the pollution. Although Lin didn't completely relax, he did feel much cleaner.

However, not only could the pollution not penetrate his seemingly fragile skin, but neither could magic.

Lin wanted to use the same trick and draw the invisible mental blade, but when he raised his hand to press against his chest, counting his heartbeat, he could touch the intangible emotions that had solidified into a tangible form, yet he couldn't pull it out.

It wasn't entirely impossible.

But Lin's intuitive sense told him that pulling it out would require considerable effort.

Why bother then?

The advantage of the mental blade was its convenience—easier to access than any weapon carried on one's person, and undetectable even in places where weapons were prohibited.

If it took a lot of effort to draw, and drawing it required a noticeable gesture... Unlike Bai Li, Lin had a firearms permit for the city. Why not just shoot?

The only remaining advantage of the mental blade was its invisibility, which made it excellent for assassinations.

Oh, and it was also an enchanted weapon, capable of directly attacking incorporeal beings like ghosts.

But Lin could apply for enchanted bullets too!

What was going on? Was there a difference between the constitution of transmigrants and the people of this world? Did their affinity for magic differ?

If it was just difficult to use magic, Lin would be quite annoyed, but if the pollution was also restrained, he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally polluting someone in daily life. That might not be so bad.

After all, Lin couldn't use magic to begin with.

It was a bit disappointing, though. He had been looking forward to it, even evaluating the talents and spells he had synchronized from Bai Li.

Not long ago, Lin's power was limited to mirrors and dreams, making him vulnerable to the Black Sun's shadow field. However, among the spells in the Mind Blade spell list was one called Mass Mental Shock.

This spell described releasing a conical wave of mental impact in a specific direction, causing all sentient beings within range to experience dizziness and nausea for several seconds to several minutes, depending on their willpower.

As a ranged spell, it worked even in darkness, affecting those in the dark just as well.

However, most of the spells in Bai Li's spell list required seeing the target's head or some other organ responsible for mental activity.

This included seeing the reflection in a mirror.

It was somewhat magical, but viewing mirrors as conduits for mental power seemed understandable.

Yes, and the enemy had to be within Bai Li's casting range, which was the distance she could clearly see.

Too bad, dog people had mild myopia, although they had good dynamic vision... Would bird people have a racial advantage as Mind Blades?

It didn't seem so; the visual advantages of bird people didn't translate to the use of mental blades, and half of the Mind Blade's abilities still relied on the mental blade.

This profession was clearly suited for gathering intelligence and performing assassinations in crowded areas.

...Join the Judicature Intelligence Department?

Lin lowered his hand from his chest and couldn't help but laugh.

If Bai Li were to join the Judicature Intelligence Department, he would probably need to strive to become a Pillar God.

Not polluting Bai Li was a step forward, but striving to become a Pillar God...

Lin's smile suddenly faded, and he tilted his head to listen to the sounds outside the door. Amidst the screams and murmurs of pollution, he heard Little Black Spot doing homework while chatting with Short Tail, who was much more serious, occasionally responding.

To strive to become a Pillar God...

To go home...

Knock knock.

The knocking sound suddenly interrupted Lin's thoughts. He heard Little Black Spot running to open the door and got up to open his own door, standing behind it with one hand in his pocket, gripping the gun issued by the Judicator.

The location of the Peppermint Oil Apartments was too close to the city wall and the fungal forest, making this floor much more chaotic compared to the lower levels.

In three years, Lin had encountered two home invasions, even with Snow Claws' formidable combat strength making them well-known in the area.

Since Lin became a Judicator, they hadn't experienced such incidents again, but he still habitually remained alert, turning off the safety on his gun.

...Then, along with Little Black Spot, he stared wide-eyed at the figure at the door.

Short Tail's pen rolled onto her homework.

She gasped, "Chief Judicator?"

Little Black Spot, who usually couldn't stop talking during homework, was speechless at this moment. Although Luo An had mentioned that the Chief Judicator had helped Lin bring them home last night, Little Black Spot had already been asleep and hadn't felt anything, unlike the shock of seeing the Chief Judicator at their doorstep now.

Despite having greeted the Chief Judicator shyly yesterday with Lin, he instinctively covered his nose to hide the black spot that often drew ridicule.

After a few stiff seconds, he cast a pleading look at Lin, who was equally surprised.

Lin: "..."

Lin calmly turned off the safety on his gun, stepped out to greet the visitor, and called out, "Chief Judicator."

"Lin," the Chief Judicator nodded at him. His smile became more evident upon seeing Lin, but what puzzled Lin was that the Chief Judicator's gaze quickly but meticulously scanned his entire body.

Before Lin could react, the scrutinizing gaze retreated.

A question mark slowly formed in Lin's mind.

He didn’t show it, walking over to little Black Spot, patting his head, and sending him back to the dining table, taking the child’s place by the door and asking curiously, "What’s wrong? Is the Ceremony Department short-staffed tonight, so you personally called me back for overtime?"

It was a joke; calling someone in for overtime hardly required the Chief Judge to do it.

However, while the Menthol Oil Apartments had a communal phone, Luo An said that when he, Blue Phosphorus Ash, and Short Tail moved in, the phone was already broken. If there were any emergencies requiring overtime, the Ceremony Department would have to send someone to find Lin in person.

"How could that be? Although everyone is working overtime, the recent workload of the Ceremony Department isn’t that heavy," Hui Cui, understanding Lin’s joke, smiled with the corners of his eyes curved. "This is an impromptu visit. Before the memorial service and the commendation ceremony, I will visit every family of those who have sacrificed or made contributions... Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all," Short Tail immediately replied, her blue eyes sparkling.

Little Black Spot, who had sat back down beside her, also shook his head quickly. Lin thought for a moment about how to say 'honored by your presence' in the common language of this world but, unsure if such a saying existed here, decided to remain silent.

He had indeed spent less than half a year improving his reading and writing skills to pass the School of the Court’s exams, and after two years of training at school, no one would think that the common language wasn’t his native tongue. However, his grasp of the language was very uneven. Now, he could read complex papers fluently but hadn’t read many literary classics or popular novels from this world.

Not knowing what to say to welcome a distinguished guest, Lin finally chose to bring the Chief Judge a chair.

The plastic chair had obvious cracks, clearly a second-hand item picked up from somewhere. Many people would have been put off, but Hui Cui sat down quite naturally.

His attitude relaxed the somewhat nervous little Black Spot, the chubby Cat Person moving closer to Hui Cui.

Short Tail picked up her pen again, sitting upright and looking very serious, though her big ears were still turned toward Hui Cui, which might have made her seem less focused.

Lin had also felt nervous at first, considering what he had done earlier in Tieliu City. But under Hui Cui’s gaze, he felt the invisible beam that steadied him brighten even more, as if the pollution had receded, and his mood became cheerful, making it hard for him to feel anxious.

He poured a cup of hot water for the Chief Judge and said frankly, "I’m sorry, this is all I can offer you."

Hui Cui took the cup and smiled, "It’s enough."

Lin sat down opposite him and listened as Hui Cui started a casual conversation.

Sure enough, they began with yesterday’s submarine tour. Short Tail, wanting to appear like a diligent student, immediately gave herself away, joining Little Black Spot in excitedly describing the underwater scenery, the delicious kelp, and the disappointment of not winning a prize.

Then the topic somehow shifted to Lin’s health. The newly lively Little Black Spot directly exposed Lin’s weaknesses, saying that although Lin now accepted most foods, he wouldn’t say a single word related to 'delicious' about them.

"You always look so troubled when you eat in the cafeteria," Hui Cui added.

"Not really," Lin thought for a moment, "I don’t look that bad, do I?"

He didn’t deny that he found most foods unpalatable. This childish trait always made Hui Cui find him endearing. Like yesterday, when he saw the steady and talented ritualist secretly playing with water on the riverbank.

Speaking of yesterday’s tour, Hui Cui smoothly steered the conversation to Lin’s nightmare about the submarine.

The two children, unaware that the gift tickets included this part, looked curiously at Lin, who could only say:

"The submarine in my dream was nothing like the tour boat. Looking back, the structure of the boat in my dream was completely wrong. Only in a dream would I believe I was going to suffocate and die."

"So, you haven’t had that nightmare again?" Hui Cui asked.

"Now I dream more about eating kelp," Lin lied casually.

"Kelp is so delicious~" Little Black Spot cupped his face.

"Very delicious," Short Tail echoed.

Why would eating kelp cause breathing difficulties in dreams?

Hui Cui was puzzled. Could it be because he ate too fast?

But as long as there were no nightmares, it was fine.

Hui Cui, who indeed had the task of visiting the families of those who had sacrificed or made contributions, smiled, checked the time, and stood up to take his leave.

He didn’t mention visiting Lin’s other seriously ill family member. Since the patient was in the next room, awake and able to hear his voice, but didn’t speak, she probably didn’t want to be seen by a stranger in her sick state.

Lin didn’t bring it up either, just standing up to follow.

He knew the Chief Judge was busy and didn’t try to detain him, sending Hui Cui downstairs straightforwardly.

The light in the stairwell flickered on and then quickly went out.

Without night vision, Lin held onto the railing as he turned the corner, suddenly hearing the Chief Judge say, "When your little friend opened the door just now, you came out with a gun."

"?" Lin didn’t quite understand what he meant by bringing this up, recalling the 'Judge’s Gun Usage Regulations' as he looked for Hui Cui’s voice.

"This area isn’t safe enough for minors, and once the cause of Sulu Bengu’s death is known, the Aberrant Cult might target your family," Hui Cui turned his face, meeting Lin’s gaze in the dim light, and suggested earnestly, "Have you considered moving? You’ve earned several commendations, and I think special approval can be granted. There are empty dormitories in the third-floor residential division."