Wang Dama's investigation indeed found nothing.
This was not unexpected.
After all, they didn't know who those two people were. Jiang Yuan had only seen a silhouette. Trying to find someone based on that was no different from daydreaming.
In this world, the Redemption Organization was already at an absolute disadvantage.
Whether it was blocking or finding people, everything had to be done in secret.
there was no definite information, even though Wang Dama had deployed quite a few forces in that area and even applied to the branch for forces from other groups to act together, the result was still nothing.
After listening to Jiang Yuan's analysis, Wang Dama also said that although they couldn't be 100% sure there was a mastermind behind the scenes, even if there really was a mastermind, they would eventually reveal their true colors one day.
Now that Jiang Yuan's identity hadn't been exposed, it proved that the mastermind's goal hadn't been achieved.
Before achieving their goal, Jiang Yuan's identity information should be safe.
Jiang Yuan also agreed with this.
He no longer dwelled too much on this issue.
Additionally, with Xiong Yong dead, the all-round protection for Jiang Yuan would return to the normal protection state for disguise agents.
There would still be protection.
But it wouldn't be as tight as during this period.
Wang Dama wouldn't personally step in anymore. After all, there were other teams in Group Three, and there was also a disguise agent team. It was impossible to revolve around Jiang Yuan all day long.
However, Wang Dama said that the prevention and investigation of the mastermind would continue, and asked Jiang Yuan not to let this matter affect his training and studies anymore.
That night, at home.
He still quietly waited for today's reward settlement.
00:00!
Congratulations on successfully resolving a crisis, killing an Initial Rank Second Grade, and surviving for 24 hours.
Comprehensive calculation, reward survival points: 566
"566 points?"
Jiang Yuan stroked his chin.
He had thought that today's reward would be no less than yesterday's, if not higher.
Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
The survival point calculation method of Unbelief wasn't based on contribution to the kill.
Instead, it was directly calculated based on one's own kill. No matter how much contribution you made, even if the opponent was half-dead, as long as he was the one who finished them off, it counted as a complete kill for him!
If he guessed correctly, killing an Initial Rank First Grade should reward 1000 survival points.
Initial Rank Second Grade should be 500 survival points.
He didn't know about Initial Rank Third Grade, as he hadn't killed one.
The extra survival points beyond the kill reward should be regular rewards for surviving a full day, resolving danger, etc.
Kills were fixed values, while regular rewards fluctuated based on the degree of danger.
With these 566 survival points, plus the remaining 12 points, the total reached 578 points.
After experiencing the benefits of high soul strength, Jiang Yuan didn't hesitate at all and increased his soul strength to 60 points!
Consuming 260 survival points.
If he wanted to increase it further, it reached a terrifying ratio of 100:1.
That is, to increase soul strength by 1 point, it required 100 survival points!
After thinking about it, he didn't increase his strength, endurance, or speed this time.
He hadn't fully consolidated them yet, so there was no need to increase them.
He kept the remaining 318 survival points as an extra trump card.
Imagine, in the middle of a fight, Jiang Yuan suddenly transformed into Initial Rank Second Grade strength. The opponent, caught unprepared, would definitely be caught off guard.
He immediately checked his latest attributes.
Name: Jiang Yuan
Strength: 30
Endurance: 30
Speed: 30
Soul: 60
Divine Power: lv10
Strength: Initial Rank Third Grade
Survival: 318
With a satisfied smile, he fell asleep peacefully.
...
'Di di di du du du——'
A shrill phone ringtone woke Jiang Yuan from his sleep. He sat up reflexively and grabbed the straight knife by his bedside.
When he was fully awake, he realized it was just his phone ringing. He looked out the window in confusion, and the moon was still high in the sky.
Looking at the time on his phone, it was 2:26.
The caller was Wang Dama!
Jiang Yuan immediately became serious and answered the phone without a second thought.
It was 2:30 in the morning, and Wang Dama suddenly called. There must be something extremely important.
"Leave immediately! Quick! Quick! Quick!!!"
"Hu Zhengfeng and the others will contact you later. What you need to do now is leave immediately! The farther the better!!!"
After saying this, she hung up the phone without waiting for Jiang Yuan's response. She sounded extremely hurried.
Jiang Yuan's pupils contracted. Without thinking, he grabbed his clothes from the bedside, took his straight knife and phone, and ran outside.
He grabbed a pair of shoes at the door, didn't even bother taking the elevator, and ran down the safety stairs at full speed!
This scene seemed somewhat familiar.
While running, Jiang Yuan kept thinking about what had happened.
The most likely guess was that Xiong Yong had indeed leaked the news that he was an Awakened One, and someone had come to hunt him!
He ran all the way, out of the community, and continued running until he was far away. Only then did Jiang Yuan stop in a dark alley, slightly out of breath, warily observing his surroundings while putting on his clothes and shoes.
What puzzled him was that if someone had come to hunt him, why hadn't he encountered any obstacles along the way?
Just as he was wondering, his phone rang again. He quickly picked it up and saw it was Hu Zhengfeng calling.
Hu Zhengfeng was also out of breath on the other end, clearly having just been running as well.
"Hu... Xiaoyuan, did you run out? Is your current location safe?"
Hu Zhengfeng asked while gasping for breath.
Jiang Yuan looked around the alley again and whispered: "I should be fine here, no danger detected."
"Brother Zheng, what's going on? What happened?"
"Did Xiong Yong leak my information? Are hunters coming to kill me?"
Hu Zhengfeng's voice was somewhat heavy: "No, I just received the news too."
"Our Sushan Branch's Second Group... was just annihilated by several groups of fanatics!"
"Even the Second Group's leader and two deputy leaders were all killed and immediately sacrificed to the demon!"
"Only a few people survived. Now, not just us, but all Awakened Ones from the Sushan Branch are on the run. No one dares to go back until the situation becomes clear."
Jiang Yuan's eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief: "The entire Second Group???"
"Are you kidding me! I remember the Second Group's leader was stronger than Team Leader Wang, right? I heard he was a Middle Rank First Grade expert?"
"And there were so many people in the Second Group, different teams, and team members might not even know each other!"
"Our own people might not know who's in other teams... how did the fanatics know???
"Could it be... a mole?"
Jiang Yuan's first reaction upon hearing this news was a mole.
The demon camp's moles have started acting!
Otherwise, who else could lock onto these personnel's information so accurately besides a mole?
You know...
Even within the same group, except for the group leader, not even the deputy leaders necessarily know all the team information!
He had heard from Hu Zhengfeng and the others when they chatted before.
The Sushan Branch's Second Group had a total of five teams.
One group leader and two deputy leaders.
Needless to say, the group leader definitely knew everyone.
The two deputy leaders, one managed three teams and the other managed two teams. They knew nothing about each other's team situations and member information.
This management model was actually used throughout the entire Redemption Organization, from branches, provincial headquarters, regional headquarters, to even the Yanxia National Headquarters.
The purpose was to prevent deeply hidden moles from leaking information and wiping them all out in one fell swoop!
Even at the regional headquarters level, there would be two or more regional ministers of the same level and position, each managing their own personnel and areas, without interfering with or knowing about each other.
The Yanxia National Headquarters even had more than a dozen elders, each managing their own affairs. They made decisions together on major matters and discussed things together, but if you want to know who's under my command?
Sorry, dream on!
Whoever dares to investigate will die!
"I don't know. Let's wait for the higher-ups' investigation results."
Hu Zhengfeng said with a bitter smile: "In any case, it's always right for us to escape first."
"So, our Second Team will now split into two groups."
"You and Chi Zhongyue form one group, Wang Rou, Lin Le, and I form another group."
"We'll split up to hide, so we can look out for each other, but too many people isn't good either. Let's wait quietly for the situation to clear up."
"I'll ask Chi Zhongyue to contact you later. You two can discuss where to go. I won't ask or interfere. Just protect yourselves."
"If you encounter any danger, run immediately and contact us first."
Jiang Yuan had no objection: "Alright, I understand!"
Hu Zhengfeng quickly hung up the phone.
Then, less than half a minute later, Chi Zhongyue called. She asked immediately: "Where are you?"
Jiang Yuan said: "I don't know where I am right now. You name a place, and I'll go find you."
"Alright, let's go to Wangjia Road. There's a bar called Kiss there. Let's meet there."
"Okay!"
After agreeing on the location, Jiang Yuan immediately took a taxi and headed straight for the destination.
Was it a mole?
Or did the Second Group leader betray them?
And which demon's fanatics made the move?
All of this was unknown.
But there was one thing Jiang Yuan was certain of.
Starting today.
Sushan City would probably not be peaceful anymore.
Chapter 28: Explosive Growth in Strength
Midnight.
Ninth floor, Jiang Yuan's bedroom.
Jiang Yuan waited quietly for the survival point settlement at midnight.
He didn't know how many he would get, but he thought it shouldn't disappoint him.
23:59
00:00
Congratulations on successfully resolving a crisis, killing a First Grade Initial Rank, and surviving for 24 hours.
Comprehensive calculation, reward: 1088 survival points
...
"1088 points?!"
Jiang Yuan had thought there would be quite a few.
But this number still far exceeded his expectations!
Jiang Yuan was overjoyed. This was unprecedented wealth.
Based on the calculation that each level of divine power requires 100 survival points, wouldn't he be able to immediately advance to Second Grade Initial Rank?
He smiled. The temptation was indeed great.
But Jiang Yuan definitely wouldn't do that.
Theoretically, rapid advancement doesn't work. The body can't handle it, the soul can't bear it.
Even without these reasons, someone who advances quickly might not even be able to defeat someone a small realm lower.
A paper tiger, as they say.
Moreover, if he wanted to become stronger in the future and climb to higher realms, he had to be steady and solid, first consolidating his current realm before considering the next one.
Putting aside this tempting thought, Jiang Yuan planned how to use these survival points.
Adding the original 4 points, he had a total of 1092 survival points.
He definitely had to increase his soul first!
Immediately, he began frantically adding to his soul.
25...
26...
27...
Until he was about to increase from 30 to 31, he suddenly discovered that each additional point now required 20 survival points.
After thinking about it, he temporarily stopped adding.
With 1042 points remaining, he would improve his strength, endurance, and speed!
His strength was 10 points. Jiang Yuan increased it by 20 points at once, consuming a total of 200 survival points.
When he tried to increase it further, like with his soul, each point now required 20 survival points.
Jiang Yuan roughly understood the pattern.
He stacked his 11 points of endurance and 10 points of speed all the way up to 30!
This consumed a total of 390 survival points.
452 points remaining!
At this moment.
Jiang Yuan felt an earth-shattering change in himself.
It was even more significant than the change when he entered the rank!
In fact, each point increase in strength, endurance, and speed brings considerable changes.
Not to mention increasing them by 20 points at once.
The massive improvement was not just a multiple of the numbers.
To describe it...
Let's put it this way.
This afternoon, Jiang Yuan had a spar with Lin Le.
They both entered the rank on the same day, but Lin Le had trained earlier. No matter how lazy Lin Le was, Jiang Yuan couldn't beat him.
But now!
If they fought again now, not just one Lin Le, but three, five, or even more Lin Les wouldn't be his match!
Jiang Yuan's biggest shortcomings now were only combat skills and practical experience.
If we were to describe the current improvement in a more intuitive way...
The current Jiang Yuan was equivalent to a Second Grade Initial Rank with insufficient divine power!
In fact, some Second Grade Initial Rank might not even match Jiang Yuan in terms of strength, endurance, and speed!
This.
Is the importance of these three attributes and the necessity of improving them!
Too important.
A person's strength is not just reflected in their realm.
After being excited for a while, Jiang Yuan continued adding points.
With such a large improvement in the three attributes, he needed time to adapt, so there was no need to improve them further.
The same applied to divine power. It was best to improve divine power after fully adapting and consolidating his current strength.
As a disguise agent, the importance of soul strength is self-evident.
What's more, in more than ten days, he would have to go to the provincial capital to participate in the Faith Ceremony.
Immediately, he began frantically adding points to his soul again.
This time he directly increased it by 17 points, bringing the total to an astonishing 47 points, consuming a total of 340 survival points.
The remaining 112 survival points were kept as backup.
After all, now that he had discovered that his soul could recover, he definitely had to keep enough survival points for emergencies.
Opening his attribute panel again, all the data had undergone earth-shattering changes.
Name: Jiang Yuan
Strength: 30
Endurance: 30
Speed: 30
Soul: 47
Divine Power: lv4
Strength: Third Grade Initial Rank
Survival: 112
...
The Divine Power column had moved down, above the Strength column.
This was another small feature Jiang Yuan had discovered. He could freely adjust the display position of each attribute on the attribute panel.
This adjustment made it feel much more comfortable.
Compared to the shabby state at the beginning, the current attributes were much more impressive.
His strength was already incomparable to before.
Even if Xiong Yong launched a sudden attack on him now, Jiang Yuan didn't know if he could defeat the opponent, but it would be almost impossible for the opponent to kill him...
If he couldn't beat him, he could still run!
Unless Xiong Yong was a Second Grade Initial Rank with all three attributes at the peak of this realm!
Or even beyond the current realm!
But the possibility was really low. This required a lot of time, a lot of energy, and most importantly, talent.
Xiong Yong definitely had enough time, given his age.
Energy was unlikely. He had to work every day. Talent was even more impossible.
If he had such powerful talent, why would he be a security guard? He would have long held a position in the Zhengyong Demon Cult he believed in.
At least a Hunter position would be guaranteed.
Looking at his attributes with satisfaction, Jiang Yuan couldn't seem to get enough of them.
Especially his mind and even his senses had become more clear and acute than ever before.
"After my soul strength increased, even my perception became so acute?"
Jiang Yuan was very happy: "In that case... when fighting people with low soul strength, I have an even greater advantage!"
This was definitely another pleasant discovery.
Not only that.
His thinking had also become exceptionally agile.
This had nothing to do with intelligence; it just meant his brain reacted faster.
...
Early the next morning, Jiang Yuan went to the kitchen energetically to make a love breakfast.
Yesterday's love breakfast was ruined, so he would make it again today.
Life had to go on.
Disguise training naturally had to continue as well.
When he came back last night, he had bought a new lunch box at the supermarket, a cute pink one.
The breakfast was rich and carefully prepared.
Homemade sandwiches, heart-shaped ones, two pieces.
Seafood porridge cooked before going to bed last night.
Jiang Yuan had discovered that Chi Zhongyue quite liked seafood.
Taking the carefully prepared love breakfast, he strolled out the door.
As soon as he stepped out of the first-floor elevator and onto the outside of the building, Jiang Yuan suddenly felt something, his expression stiffened for a moment, then immediately returned to normal.
But he was extremely vigilant in his heart.
Just now, the moment he walked out of the building, that feeling of being watched that he had experienced before came again!
And there was more than one!
A total of seven pairs of watching eyes were on him!
Jiang Yuan was instantly terrified, his whole body cold.
He knew who five of those watching eyes belonged to.
Wang Dama, Hu Zhengfeng, Wang Rou, Chi Zhongyue, Lin Le!
But what about the other two?
Assuming one of them was from Xiong Yong, then... who did the other watching eye belong to???
Or maybe...
Like yesterday, were they gangsters or killers hired by Xiong Yong???
It was even possible that Hu Zhengfeng and the others weren't watching him the entire time.
Jiang Yuan was numb.
One wave had not subsided, another wave arose. Just one Xiong Yong had caused him and the second team so much trouble. If there was another hidden mastermind, Jiang Yuan would really be at a loss!
He had to find out!
Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan suddenly frowned, clutching his stomach, pretending to have a stomachache, and turned back into the building.
As soon as he entered, that feeling of being watched disappeared.
At the same time, Wang Rou's voice came through the hidden earpiece: "Jiang Yuan? What's wrong? Do you have a stomachache?"
Jiang Yuan exhaled, with a hint of gravity: "No, I might... have discovered Xiong Yong!"
There was an immediate silence in the hidden earpiece.
The next second, Wang Dama's slightly excited voice immediately sounded: "That old bastard finally showed up!"
"Where is he? Did you sense him???"
"Wait... Did your soul break through???"
There was no one in the elevator. Jiang Yuan whispered: "After entering the rank yesterday, my soul did have a significant breakthrough."
"But... I can't be sure if it's him. I just sensed someone watching me in secret."
"First tell me your locations, and then tell me if all your eyes were on me when I walked out of the elevator just now?"
There was another silence in the earpiece.
Wang Rou asked gravely: "Do you mean... you sensed more than just Xiong Yong and us?"
"Wait, you... you even sensed Team Leader Wang's presence???"
"Your soul strength..."
By the end, Wang Rou's tone was filled with incredulity.
She wasn't surprised that he could sense them.
Jiang Yuan was a disguise agent with super strong soul strength. If he couldn't do this, what kind of disguise agent would he be?
But the key point was, Wang Dama was a Middle Rank powerhouse!
And a Middle Rank Second Grade at that!
Wasn't this soul strength a bit too exaggerated!?!