MTLNOVEL Chapter 198 Hidden Buckle
Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire
Unexpectedly, the exorcist's meeting place did not provide blood, but sent Yan Junze to the blood center of the Third Hospital.
Of course, it wasn't just human blood stored there; they also had a section for animal blood, specifically reserved for exorcists. This made Yan Junze suspect that there were semi-spirits who also needed to drink blood, though probably in smaller quantities.
This suspicion deepened when he asked the old man in charge of the blood supply to pack more into his backpack, only to be told that they could only provide ten bags at a time.
Fortunately, these blood bags were large and contained a good volume of blood—all of it pig, chicken, and duck blood.
It wasn't too much of a hassle to return to the district center for blood now and then. Resignedly, Yan Junze packed the blood bags into his backpack and was about to leave when he heard the old man addressing him.
"Last night, our permanent exorcist at San Yi was also recalled. What do we do if there's paranormal activity in the hospital? Your exorcist team knows, hospitals are hotspots for strangenesses. It wouldn't do to be without you, especially around the morgue area."
Yan Junze turned around and said, "I follow the group's arrangements. It's probably not just your hospital experiencing this. It should improve in a couple of days. If something happens, you should call first, and whoever the group sends will handle it. It may not necessarily be me."
The old man nodded, said nothing more, and retreated back into the management room.
As Yan Junze left the hospital and just stepped outside the main gate, his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. He took it out and saw "47477," similar to the exorcist team's emergency number, but with an extra "7" at the end.
After answering, a friendly female voice came through, "Hello, Yan Junze, I am He Yun, your liaison in the team."
"Oh, hello," Yan Junze responded.
This He Yun sounded like she was in her early twenties but was clearly familiar with the incident team's procedures. She spoke confidently and wasn't overly courteous, even though Yan Junze was a semi-spirit.
"Xiaomo has transferred all your information to me, and from now on, I will be responsible for your communication with the group. If you need to contact me, just dial this number. The system will automatically connect you to me based on your phone number. If there are mission assignments, I will directly notify you."
"Alright," Yan Junze nodded, "If I need something, do I contact you as well?"
"May I ask what kind of need you are referring to?" He Yun asked.
Then Yan Junze felt embarrassed, paused, and said awkwardly, "Although I'm not sure if your 'kind of need' includes 'that kind,' what I meant was concerning material needs, like how many Hidden Buckles I can apply for."
"Let me explain those to you," He Yun said. "For exorcists below two-star, the group provides the 'Sweeper' Hidden Buckle, which can temporarily clear strangenesses. There's also the 'Chilling,' which can freeze strangenesses and capture them with a receiver.
And then there's the 'Incinerate' Hidden Buckle, which releases high-combustion phosphorus powder that burns strangenesses when combined with Dimensional Energy. Usually, we recommend using the 'Collapse' Hidden Buckle since it can directly dissolve the strangeness."
"Are there higher-level 'Collapse' Hidden Buckles?" Yan Junze recalled a powerful Hidden Buckle one-star exorcist Huang Chen used against Resentful Granny.
He Yun replied, "You're talking about the 'High-Energy Collapse' Hidden Buckle, which can dissipate higher-level strangenesses, such as advanced Wandering Spirits and affect Semi-Sculpting Spirits. Then there's the 'Super-Energy Burst,' but due to its immense power and difficulty to produce, it's provided in very limited amounts—two-star exorcists get one only about every half a year, if at all."
"Do I, as an external contractor, have the chance to get one?" Yan Junze inquired.
He Yun chuckled lightly, "Your current benefits are the same as those of a two-star exorcist, aside from a monthly salary..."
"Yeah, I know, it's piece-rate pay," Yan Junze added.
"I'll send you the address for material collection in a moment. You can go there monthly to collect your Hidden Buckles. And don't lose that bronze medal—it's very important," He Yun advised.
Not long after hanging up, Yan Junze received a message. He checked the address sent by He Yun, which was the same one Zhang Xiaomo had given him.
Following the address, Yan Junze made a trip to Tianmeng in the east of the city and took the last bus back to Tianmeng Science University as the sky darkened.
The bag not only contained ten bags of fresh blood, but he also collected ten Hidden Buckles, among which there were three Sweepers, one Incinerate, five Collapses, and one High-Energy Collapse.
Just as He Yun had said, Collapse Hidden Buckles were the most numerous, hence they made up half of the count, followed by Sweeper, then Incinerate and High-Energy Collapse.
There was actually another kind of Hidden Buckle called "Chilling", which was supposed to be used in conjunction with the stranges absorber, but Yan Junze felt there was no need for that; his own "Evil Spirit Solid Lock" could perfectly replace that function.
The main point was, he needed these Hidden Buckles only for emergency situations and not as the primary method of exorcism.
Since the objective was to light up all the temporal nodes on the Atlas, even after joining the exorcist team and having access to a variety of exorcism methods, Yan Junze still adhered to one principle during his missions: to primarily deal with Obsessions. Otherwise, without collecting enough Different Dimension Energy, lighting up the Atlas would remain an unattainable goal.
Hidden Buckles were not essential, but they were a means of emergency.
On the way back, he made a call to Ning Shanshan asking her to delay the clinic's closing time by half an hour, as he needed to store the newly-purchased bags of blood at the clinic.
Ning Shanshan felt somewhat moved by Yan Junze's trust in her; she agreed without hesitation and sat in the clinic waiting for him.
Ever since the supernatural events, her clinic at best stayed open a few minutes past eight before shutting down and heading home.
But this time, it was well past eight forty when Yan Junze arrived with a light jog.
"I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry, I can wait," though Ning Shanshan had clearly been waiting for quite a while.
Yan Junze took out the bags of blood and handed them to her, and she immediately placed them in the freezer space she had cleared earlier, then pointed to a steaming cup on the counter.
"Inside is a glucose solution I just mixed for you. Have it, your complexion always looks pale; you must not be in good health. Or at least not well cared for. You can come over for a drink anytime; I'll prepare it for you in advance."
Yan Junze lifted the mug and was greeted with a pleasantly fragrant scent. Without overthinking, he gulped it down.
Indeed it was slightly sweet and bitter, but he could tell for certain Ning Shanshan had added other vitamins to the cup.
"Thank you," Yan Junze put down the cup, "How much do I owe you?"
Ning Shanshan rolled her eyes at him: "What money? It's not worth much. Just come and drink in the future; the money is already included in the storage fee you pay me."
"Alright then," Yan Junze smiled, "It's getting late; let's go, I'll walk you home."
"It's perfect because I'm also scared," Ning Shanshan wouldn't refuse; as a girl, she was naturally fearful.
She pointed towards her house, and Yan Junze locked the clinic's door with her before escorting Ning Shanshan all the way home, only leaving after she safely closed her door.
Before he returned to the university, Yan Junze's phone rang. It was Guo Jintao from dorm 511 upstairs, reporting that the Peephole Strange Creature rumored to haunt Building 4 had reappeared that afternoon.
The creature had frightened a teacher who was conducting experiments, and they had reported the incident to the exorcist team. Unfortunately, they had to wait in line. As for the real situation, only Yan Junze, who had just joined the exorcists, knew the details.
Most importantly, the Peephole Strange Creature appeared and vanished unpredictably. An exorcist had once come to the university and spent three days guarding the lab building, but the creature never showed itself.