Merit Vanishes

Dawn.

With the support of Huaxia ghost officials, during the third blood moon in Dust City, four districts made it through the peaceful night, while the remaining four districts suffered a total of 341 casualties.

The Huaxia ghost official squad supporting Dust City, the Wandering Theater Troupe, gathered in the sixth district.

Squad leader Chu Yang frowned while smoking, looking at his team members and asking, "Where's Wu Ya?"

A person wrapped in bandages like a mummy, with a few strands of messy hair showing, quickly replied, "I just buried him, Captain. Do you need him? Should I dig him up for you?"

Before Chu Yang could speak, a melodious and light tune came from afar.

Everyone looked over to see a young man in a black coat, with a sickly face bearing a devilishly brilliant smile and messy hair, approaching them with open arms while performing an elegant yet somewhat crazy tap dance.

"Wu Ya, stop fooling around. We're in a hurry now. A spatial gate has opened, and we need to get there," said Chu Yang. Although he found the sickly yet handsome young man's dancing beautiful, now wasn't the time to appreciate it.

Without warning, Wu Ya (Mo Ziang), who had been performing an elegant dance, suddenly collapsed to the ground as if dead.

Chu Yang grew impatient. "Shi Liang."

Huaxia ghost official Shi Liang walked over and grabbed his ankle. Mo Ziang was dragged face-down across the ground with a series of thumps. With a final thud, Mo Ziang turned over with a look of despair, his mouth full of dirt. He placed a finger on one side of his nose, blew hard, and with a pop, a small stone flew out and hit Shi Liang, who was dragging him, on the back of the head.

Su Ze's phone rang, and he, still drowsy, frowned and felt around the bedside. Suddenly sensing something soft in his hand, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see Uesugi Chiyue looking at him with innocent confusion. His gaze moved slightly downward, and he quietly withdrew his hand.

Hold back, hold back - three years minimum sentence, no maximum limit, release date far away, death penalty close at hand.

He suddenly felt confused - wait, he was following the sound, so how did...? He suddenly realized what had happened and looked at the red-haired girl beside him in shock.

Uesugi Akizuki seemed to understand what Su Ze wanted. She reached into the collar of her shrine maiden outfit, pulled out the phone and handed it to him, explaining why she had hidden it: "At night... bright."

"..." Su Ze was speechless. He flicked the girl's forehead. "You hid it in your chest just because the screen was bright at night? This move alone cost me at least ten years of karma."

Ignoring the girl's reproachful and aggrieved look, Su Ze answered the phone.

It was his superior calling.

"Another spatial gate has opened in Huaxia. The ghost officials' Wandering Theater Troupe has withdrawn - they need to go guard that spatial gate. How are your injuries? Can you fight again tonight?"

Huaxia truly is plagued with disasters.

Su Ze took a deep breath.

"I'm mostly recovered, but handling the fourth blood moon alone would be pushing it," Su Ze said.

"Given the time and your physical condition, you should be almost fully recovered now, right? You can't handle the fourth day?"

"Boss, you misunderstand. The fourth day is highly difficult and dangerous."

"I've bled for the organization, I've cried for the organization."

"I've served the organization tirelessly, devoted myself completely."

"But tonight's situation is particularly tricky, so..."

His superior frowned. "So what?"

"Need more money."

The other end was silent for a moment. "Since you've already thrown away your dignity, asking for more money isn't unreasonable. Fine."

Su Ze's face broke into a brilliant smile. "I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"By the way," his superior suddenly said, "Don't you have another fighter with you? She didn't participate in the last battle?"

Su Ze looked at Uesugi Akizuki, who was biting her finger and staring boredly at the ceiling. "Boss, are you suggesting she should kill the enemy with cuteness?"

Su Ze had reported Uesugi Akizuki's presence, so it wasn't strange that his superior knew about her.

However, he didn't understand why his superior thought Uesugi Akizuki had combat ability.

His superior seemed to have a revelation at this point.

"It seems you haven't checked the Forerunner Website. The girl you picked up is called Uesugi Akizuki. The girl who was fleeing with her was found by Meng Xingyao. That girl is called Uesugi Chigenki, Uesugi Akizuki's sister. They're both from the ghost clan, and there's some information that Uesugi Chigenki revealed that we can't disclose to you yet."

"Because Huaxia is still in crisis, we still need Uesugi Chigenki's power, so we haven't told her about Uesugi Akizuki's whereabouts. We're planning to wait until after the blood moon ends to tell her."

Looking at the unresponsive Uesugi Akizuki, Su Ze said, "She hasn't even unlocked her genetic lock. She's just an ordinary person."

His superior said, "Can't you help her unlock it? When Uesugi Chigenki was desperately describing her sister's appearance, she also mentioned that her sister's genetic lock showed signs of loosening."

Signs of loosening? It's already loose, basically just needs one final push.

It wasn't hard to guess that shortly after Uesugi Chigenki left her sister, she came into his care for a few days, and the genetic lock had loosened during this time.

After hanging up the phone with his superior.

The two of them lay on the bed holding hands, both staring blankly at the ceiling.

Su Ze was pondering - even if Uesugi Akizuki unlocked her genetic lock, she had no combat experience. How could she help?

It would be good enough if she didn't become a burden.

But at least, unlocking the genetic lock wouldn't hurt.

He turned to look at Uesugi Akizuki. "May I help you unlock your genetic lock?"

Uesugi Akizuki looked at him in confusion.

Su Ze explained what a genetic lock meant.

Uesugi Akizuki seemed lost in thought. She turned her head, shuffling closer to Su Ze. Looking at the girl's beautiful and innocent features up close, she whispered like she was sharing a secret, "Okay."

After speaking, she pursed her lips and spread herself out on the bed, appearing completely at his mercy.

"..." Su Ze was speechless again. Could someone explain what kind of behavior this was? Just unlocking a genetic lock, yet it made him feel like a criminal about to take advantage of a little girl.

Actually, Uesugi Akizuki didn't understand Su Ze's explanation at all. She only knew that Su Ze wanted to do something to her, and she naturally wouldn't refuse, choosing only to trust him. She simply lay down, ready to let Su Ze do as he pleased.

Su Ze pinched her cheek and teased, "Once I've raised you, I'll sell you off."

Uesugi Akizuki looked at him, pursing her lips in silence.

"What are you looking at? Keep staring and I'll sell you right now."

Uesugi Akizuki tightly closed her eyes, pursing her lips in silence.

"The process of unlocking the genetic lock will hurt a bit, but bear with it."

Su Ze stroked her small hand, slowly releasing spiritual power, penetrating the girl's meridians, coursing through her entire body. As the pain from breaking the genetic lock hit, Uesugi Akizuki clenched her teeth.

"Mm~ Mm~"

Breaking a genetic lock with external force wasn't simple.

Su Ze tried to infuse the spiritual power as gently as possible, slowing down when he saw the girl in too much pain, but under Su Ze's precise control, he quickly found the location of the genetic lock.

"Mm~ Mm~ It hurts..."

Uesugi Akizuki hugged Su Ze in pain, her face pale, unable to hold back weak moans.

Once this process started, it was difficult to stop.

Su Ze ignored Uesugi Akizuki's struggles, continuously infusing spiritual power, wave after wave like ocean tides reaching deep inside, filling her entire body with spiritual power.

It was easier than Su Ze had expected; breaking Uesugi Akizuki's genetic lock only took nine hours.

At sixteen hundred hours.

Uesugi Akizuki lay exhausted on the bed, her small mouth slowly exhaling warm breath as she stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

She looked completely broken.

Su Ze stood on the balcony, alternating between cigarettes and alcohol, his gaze melancholic as he stared at the distant horizon, hoping that tonight would bring the rise of a bright white moon rather than a crimson blood moon.