Chapter 184: Materials

"Add me on WeChat, and it will be much more convenient to get in touch later. We won't have to keep making phone calls, which is such a hassle."

Seeing that Katerina still hadn't replied, Chang Yu tried to persuade her further.

"Besides, our team should really set up a chat group. That way, before going on a mission, we only need to drop a notice in the chat."

"That's true." Katerina was ultimately persuaded by Chang Yu's smooth talk.

She pulled up her QR code, and the two added each other on WeChat.

Katerina's WeChat name was quite straightforward as well... "Little Fairy Who Loves Wellness~"

Who would have thought that Katerina still possessed such a girlish heart.

After adding each other on WeChat, Katerina casually created a chat group.

The current members of the group... were just the two of them, her and Chang Yu.

Since Katerina didn't have the WeChat contacts of Feng Sanpao and Shi Chengjin, she would just have to add them to the group whenever the opportunity arose later.

At Zhao Dasheng's warm invitation, everyone heartily enjoyed a breakfast delivered by a five-star hotel.

Right at that moment, Zhen Youcai, who had been out of touch for so long, finally sent a message.

The message went like this:

"Sis, I spent the whole night searching through historical records of all the cult organizations around the world, and I finally found only one cult that matches the clues you provided earlier."

"'The Chinese Zodiac' is a cult with a long history and deep roots. Its existence can be traced as far back as our country's Ming Dynasty."

"The core members of this organization generally number twelve, corresponding to the twelve animals of the zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig."

"For hundreds of years, this cult has been developing in secret, rarely stepping out to make trouble."

"However, there is one thing to note: they seem to be able to summon disasters, much like the Onmyoji in games who can summon shikigami."

If Chang Yu hadn't happened to run into them this time, he probably wouldn't have known that such a behemoth was lurking in City H...

Along with this text message, Katerina's phone received several photos, all depicting scenes of some kind of ritual being held.

These photos looked very old, all in black-and-white, resembling vintage photographs taken in the last century.

In the photos, a man presiding over the ritual wore a black hooded robe, holding a golden goblet high as he faced a crowd of kneeling believers.

They were in a room with a strong sense of age, and the surrounding furniture and decorations had the distinct characteristics of the Republic of China era.

As for the believers kneeling on the ground, every single one of them was dressed in long gowns and jackets, wearing Western-style hats, and holding walking sticks.

It gave the feeling of... stepping onto a movie set filming a period drama about the Republic of China.

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what it looks like!"

At a single glance, Zhao Dasheng recognized that this ritual was identical to the recording he had seen on the disc that day.

"Are you sure?" Katerina asked.

"I'm quite sure!" Zhao Dasheng answered firmly. "Look closely, is there some kind of pattern on the cuff of the man presiding over the ritual?"

Chang Yu and Katerina leaned in close to the picture and indeed discovered that a lifelike little snake was embroidered on the man's cuff.

"I see it, it's a snake," Chang Yu said with certainty.

"The person I saw in the recording that day also had a snake embroidered on his cuff," Zhao Dasheng asserted.

"Could this person be one of the core members of their organization?" Chang Yu pointed to the man presiding over the ritual in the photo.

"Something as important as holding a religious ritual certainly wouldn't be left to just anybody. This person must hold some status within their organization."

"Look at the embroidery on his cuff again; it clearly corresponds to the snake from the twelve zodiac signs. Could this really just be a coincidence?"

"You mean..." Katerina instantly understood Chang Yu's implication. "This guy is Si Snake from 'The Chinese Zodiac'?"

"It's possible," Chang Yu guessed boldly.

Katerina nodded, taking it as agreement with his thought, and then turned her gaze back to Zhao Dasheng.

"Take another close look at these photos and see if you can spot anything else."

Zhao Dasheng's expression turned quite peculiar for a moment. He stammered to Katerina, "I did make a discovery, but I dare not say it, because it sounds too absurd."

"Tell us what you've got first," Katerina said in a calm tone, yet one that carried an undeniable weight.

Zhao Dasheng quietly swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said with a pale face, "I think the man presiding over the ritual looks a bit familiar. Whenever I see him, I have an inexplicable sense of familiarity."

"The man presiding over the ritual in the video and the man in this photo are extremely close in both height and build, and even their facial features are remarkably similar. Could the two of them be the same person?"

At this point, Zhao Dasheng seemed to think of something that terrified him, and he couldn't help trembling slightly.

"Surely not?" Chang Yu felt that Zhao Dasheng was exaggerating to scare people.

"This photo was obviously taken during the Republic of China era, at least a hundred years ago. How could the person in this photo still be alive today?"

"Unless they've found some method to achieve immortality, but that kind of thing usually only happens in movies and can't be encountered in real life."

Chang Yu scoffed at Zhao Dasheng's guess. How could there be a method for eternal life in this world?

If that were true, Emperor Shi Huang would have achieved immortality long ago!

At this moment, Katerina lowered her eyelids and fell deep into thought.

She called Chang Yu over, cast a cautious glance at Zhao Dasheng, and lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear:

"I don't think Zhao Dasheng looks like he's lying. He genuinely seems to feel that the person in the photo and the person seen in the video are the same person."

"How is that possible?" Chang Yu laughed on the spot. "How could someone photographed during the Republic of China era still be alive today?"

Katerina steadied herself. "Regardless of whether the person in the photo and the person in the video are the same person, our top priority right now is to figure out their purpose."

"Their surfacing this time definitely isn't just targeting Zhao Dasheng. I suspect the campus incident last time is also inseparable from them."

"You mean... the mastermind behind Hao Qifu is this cult organization called 'The Chinese Zodiac'?" Chang Yu's mind stirred as he replied in a low voice.

"According to the information provided by Zhen Youcai, this 'Chinese Zodiac' seems to possess some method capable of summoning disasters." Katerina's suspicion was not without reason.

"During the campus incident last time, that group of sudden mosquito-like disasters disrupted our footing, and the one manipulating that swarm was precisely a pseudo-disaster artifact that appeared out of nowhere."

"Being able to use a pseudo-disaster artifact to give an utterly talentless ordinary person the power to command a swarm of mosquitoes—such capability is not something an ordinary Awakened organization can pull off."

"I understand. If we can find the traces of this cult organization, we can pick up the trail that was broken at Hao Qifu," Chang Yu whispered, pressing his lips close to Katerina's delicate ear.

Wisps of warm breath tickled the curve of her ear, causing a blush to instantly creep up Katerina's fair and slender neck.

The ear was a sensitive spot for a girl, and Chang Yu's inadvertent action gave Katerina the illusion that they were flirting.

"Um... may I interrupt you two?"

Zhao Dasheng, standing nearby, originally didn't want to interrupt the two young people.

Because these two young people were whispering to each other while glancing at him with guarded eyes.

Under such circumstances, even a fool would understand that the two were sharing some little secrets they didn't want him to know.

Zhao Dasheng had no intention of prying into the privacy of two youths, but there was one matter he had to bring up.

Seeing that Chang Yu and Katerina had ended their conversation and turned their gazes toward him, Zhao Dasheng spoke in a pleading tone:

"Brother Chang, you also know that people from this cult organization have started targeting me."

"If things go on like this, I'm worried my safety in the real world can't be guaranteed."

"I know you are a person of extraordinary talents who can casually toss a hundred-and-something-pound life raft over ten meters away."

"I wonder if you could stay by my side to protect me for a while, to prevent me from being persecuted by that group of people."

"This..." Chang Yu instantly fell silent.

This wasn't the first time Zhao Dasheng had made a similar request. As early as when Chang Yu successfully saved Zhao Dasheng's life on the Songjiang River, Zhao Dasheng had already brought this up with him.

Chang Yu couldn't agree to it back then because he was already an investigator belonging to the Disaster Investigation Bureau, and the bureau would never allow its investigators to moonlight as bodyguards for a capitalist.

Therefore, when Zhao Dasheng brought this up again, Chang Yu's first reaction was that the organization would certainly not allow him to neglect his official duties to take on private freelance work.

Yet, to Chang Yu's utter astonishment, Katerina suddenly said to him, "Agree to it."

It was this casual remark that left Chang Yu bewildered.

"Didn't you tell me originally that I couldn't do other work that conflicted with my official duties in terms of time?"

"If it weren't for those words of yours back then, I would have taken on a part-time job long ago." A trace of grievance laced Chang Yu's voice.

"Specific situations call for specific analysis." Katerina's words instantly made Zhao Dasheng beam with joy, as if he had found the direction of his life.

She leaned close to Chang Yu's ear and whispered, "Protecting Zhao Dasheng is the only way to make contact with that organization."

"Besides, Zhao Dasheng's affair is already tied to the existence of a pseudo-disaster artifact, which fits the operational nature of the Disaster Investigation Bureau."

"These past few days, feel free to stay by Zhao Dasheng's side. I'll handle the communication with the Disaster Investigation Bureau on your end, so there won't be any issues."

"Then what about Yangyang?" Chang Yu was displeased. "I still have to send him to school."

Chang Yu wasn't stupid; Katerina was clearly treating him like a tool, and he was naturally unhappy about that.

"I'll take care of Yangyang," Katerina said with a serious expression. "I've been wanting to get closer to that child for a while now."

"For some reason, I always feel like the kid is avoiding me. This happens to be a good opportunity to improve our relationship."

Chang Yu covered his face in resignation.

He thought to himself, your relationship with him can never be smoothed over.

Ever since you chopped up that poor little Poria cocos on the cutting board right in front of Yangyang that day, and even boiled it into a wellness herbal drink in a health pot, your relationship with him could never get better.

Besides... don't you have the slightest self-awareness as to why Yangyang is avoiding you?

Isn't it because he's afraid that one day you'll lose your mind and chop him up with a knife?

The mere thought of letting Yangyang live in trembling fear under Katerina's "tyranny" for several days made Chang Yu feel somewhat guilty toward Yangyang.

"Better not," Chang Yu said very bluntly. "I'm afraid that when I return home, I'll find a lively Yangyang turned into medicinal herbs soaking in a wine jar."

Katerina: ......

"I'm not that kind of person." Katerina's defense carried a somewhat pale and feeble note.

"No, you totally are!" Chang Yu retorted.

"I promise you, when you come back, Yangyang will still be the same old Yangyang, and he definitely won't be missing any arms or legs," Katerina swore with absolute certainty.

"Really?" Chang Yu asked, half-doubting.

"Really!" Katerina reemphasized.

"Alright then, I'll safely leave matters at home in your hands," Chang Yu entrusted.

"So you're agreeing?" A serene smile curled the corners of Katerina's lips.

"Yes, I agree." Chang Yu first nodded, and then cast his gaze toward Zhao Dasheng, who was waiting nearby for Chang Yu and Katerina to reach a conclusion.

"I accept your request," he said to Zhao Dasheng. "I will stay by your side twenty-four hours a day, without leaving a single step, until those fellows make a move against you again."

"That's simply wonderful!" Zhao Dasheng's weathered face bloomed into a smile like a chrysanthemum. "With you by my side, I can finally rest easy."