My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Xia Zuo sat in the car, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Captain, should we warn our families to be careful? What if the blood mage lurking in the shadows retaliates..."

"In our line of work, there are no limits to the people we offend, so it's always better to be careful."

Dunke patted the other man on the shoulder. "I remember your employment file mentioned your fiancée. She's a certified mage who works at the Energy Research Institute. You two were both students of Lady Starry Night, right?"

Xia Zuo nodded.

Leonard punched Xia Zuo on the shoulder, "You're really something, finding such a great fiancée. The benefits at the Energy Research Institute are so much better than here."

"Cough cough." Deng Ke coughed a few times.

"Oh oh oh."

Leonard slapped his forehead, realizing he had misspoke, and quickly corrected himself, saying:

“I mean, you don’t need to worry about her. The researchers at the Energy Research Institute are under the close protection of the resident mage corps; they are all very valuable. Besides, you two are both students of Lady Starry Night, and Poseidon City is her territory.”

"That's good." Xia Zuo smiled, his brows unfurrowing.

“Captain.” Lisa, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced back at the handsome, capable, and highly skilled alchemist Shazo, then said to Dunk:

"Manager Vickers wants you to come to his office."

“Okay, tell him I’ll go find him as soon as I get to the Posing Building.”

Dunk scanned each of his team members and praised them:

"You all did a great job. Xia Zuo's teamwork was excellent, especially considering it was his first time participating in an operation. Our efficiency will only increase in the future. Go home and rest now. We'll talk again tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Captain," the others replied.

Xia Zuo reviewed the information about the cheat system in his mind.

The experience bonus from the "Outstanding Team Member" status is decent, 60 points, which is exactly a fraction of the experience gained from killing the Converters.

Oh, right, there's still one question I haven't answered.

The Transformer has clearly been eliminated, so why is it still excreting blood?

Xia Zuo thought for a moment, but it seemed he didn't have a good excuse to ask the question, so he had to suppress the thought for the time being.

Chapter 48 The Gaze in the Dark

6:30pm.

Xia Zuo walked into the St. York community.

He had arranged with Anruer when he left home that morning that she would stop by the market on her way back to buy some fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, and flour. She should be home by now.

Xia Zuo walked into the house and noticed the light from the stove in the kitchen window, so he quickened his pace.

Can this girl cook?

Xia Zuo took out his key and opened the door, but did not smell the burning smell he had expected.

He hung up his trench coat and hat, put down his briefcase, hugged Anru'er's delicate body from behind, and looked at the vegetable soup in the pot.

"I didn't expect you to know this skill. It smells delicious. Next time I come home late, you can cook for me."

"whee"

Anru turned her head and kissed the other person on the cheek.

"No problem. I can cook dinner every day. You just need to wash the dishes and cutlery for me. If I have to wash the dishes after cooking, then I lose most of the fun in cooking."

"Okay, I'll do the dishes." Xia Zuo walked to the sink to wash his hands. "How was your first day at work? Are you getting used to it?"

"Yeah, I think it's pretty good."

Anru stirred the soup pot, sprinkling in chopped scallions and spices. "But I can't tell you the details; the research institute requires confidentiality. What about you? Are you out on a field mission?"

"Uh...yes."

Xia Zuo looked down at his shirt, vest, trousers, and leather shoes. He had clearly changed into a new set in the alchemy room, so how did he still get caught?

"Hmph, look at the newspaper on the table."

Xia Zuo picked up the newspaper, which was called the "Poseidon Evening Post".

The headline was about Papa John's Turkey restaurant using prohibited spices, which attracted demons.

In the news illustration, police officers are seen setting up barricades and standing guard outside the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, you can see the backs of the team members as they spray disinfectant mist using airbags.

Xia Zuo's figure is in an inconspicuous corner of the photo, standing with his back to the camera in the corner.

If someone who knows him carefully observes him, they will be able to recognize him.

Moreover, Anruer was completely honest with him.

"You guys are really busy, going out on fieldwork on your first day of work!"

Anruer placed the steaming pot of soup on the table, leaned on her lover's shoulder, and her voice softened.

"You need to be careful. I don't want to be at work at the research institute one day and get a call telling me to visit you in the hospital..."

"Don't worry, that day will never come," Xia Zuo said, gently patting the other person's hand to comfort them.

After enjoying the vegetable soup, pork chops, and sweet toast, Xia Zuo cleaned the dishes and the kitchen, called out to Anruer who was reading on the sofa, and then went to sit down in his study.

A blank notebook and a fountain pen filled with ink sit on the table.

Xia Zuo gently rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then activated [Bloodline Sense] to see if there was any new information.

“Uzimers…”

A strange voice, a mixture of more than a dozen different sounds, rang in his ears. The tone was flat, utterly cold and indifferent.

"Have you finished expelling the blood? Heh... Did you find that Utoley's blood is very stubborn and cannot be expelled? Heh... We've changed our minds. Lie in the iron box, and soon fresh blood will descend, and you will gain eternal life."

Xia Zuo sat quietly for a few minutes, and when no more voices came, he turned off [Bloodline Sensing].

The Blood Mage was cunning, cruel, and fickle. He had agreed to keep only one portion of the blood, but then changed his mind and used an unknown method to keep Utopia's blood.

Blood mages can communicate with each other through blood ties.

Even if the Converter is burned to ashes, they can still receive the Blood Demon's bloodline information.

If it weren't for the fact that Transformers leave behind dark bloodstains after consuming living beings...

This disaster, a remnant of the previous era, is truly difficult to track and deal with.

As an eavesdropper, Xia Zuo found the information conveyed by the unfamiliar voice to be elusive and confusing.

The only thing we can be more than 80% certain of right now is:

The Blood Mage with an unfamiliar voice plans to rescue Blood Demon #13.

What Xia Zuo wants to do most right now is to find other Transformers, kill them, and acquire new blood magic perks.

Perhaps we can obtain knowledge related to the transformation ritual.

But where can we get information about the Transformers...? How can we kill them legitimately...?

Xia Zuo scratched his hair.

"Oh, right. I remember now, Captain Dunk said there were unsolved cases..."

The 17th Action Team is only responsible for blood magic disasters at the level of formal mages, so all those unsolved cases are related to blood addicts and transmuters.

Xia Zuo found a clear direction, rubbed his hands together excitedly, calmed himself down, picked up his pen and wrote lines of text in his notebook to organize his thoughts.

...

The next morning.

Xia Zuo arrived at the Bosing Building in a public carriage, and a secret communication ring in his pocket vibrated.

He took it out and looked at the secret message on it.

The head of Vickers informed us that there had been changes to the research group's work and distributed a new research schedule, reminding all researchers to check it.

Xia Zuo put away his ring, took out his pocket watch. There were still 20 minutes before his work start time. He then picked up his briefcase and headed towards the elevator leading to the action team.

"Good morning, Freya." Shazo pushed open the door.

The girl with long flaxen hair was kneading the spirit pig, then looked up and smiled, "Good morning, Xia Zuo..."

Xia Zuo stepped in with a smile and pushed open the glass door.

Lanlot put his legs up on his desk and started reading a book.

He learned from the spirit pig that Xia Zuo had arrived, and with a kick of his leg, the chair under his buttocks spun half a circle to face the door.

"Good morning, Xia Zuo. Are you here to see the captain?"

“No.” Xia Zuo shook his head. “I’m going to get some unsolved poison cases and do a precise analysis when I have some free time today.”

He glanced at the two empty seats in the room and asked:

"Has Lisa gone out again? Does she have a new mission?"

"No. It was an employee of that restaurant who tested positive for filth residue yesterday."

"Lisa is in the isolation room at the 15th Avenue Police Department, overseeing the decontamination work to prevent any accidents. I'll be filling in this afternoon."

Lanlot stood up as he spoke.

He put the book on the table. "Let me tell you about the unsolved poison cases."

The two walked past the gym, and Leonard, who was lifting weights with great effort, grinned.

Lanlot opened the door opposite the captain's office.

There is a thick curtain behind the door to prevent odors from escaping from the room.

Lift the curtain and light the alchemical lamps.

Rows of metal shelves came into view.

The room faces north, has no windows, is somewhat cold and damp, has poor air circulation, and smells strangely sour.