Keep the person, leave the Gu.

"Hawk of the Mountain" stayed behind to talk to Yang Zirong about a few matters, though the conversation was less than pleasant. Unexpectedly, a "Grass Sorcerer" delivered himself right to their doorstep. With a cruel grin on his face, Hawk dragged "Guan Yu of the Jiang Family" down to the basement, locked his limbs in iron shackles, and hoisted him up with a churning chain. Guan Yu spread his arms and legs in the shape of the character "Big", his head drooping against his chest, hovering on the verge of death. Hawk tore off his upper garment, revealing a hairy chest, and his gaze fell upon the man's chest and abdomen. Frowning slightly, he pressed down with his hand and judged by the tactile feedback that the Gu worm had been severely battered and was half-dead; even if extracted, it would be utterly useless.

Yang Zirong led Sima into the basement, pulled the heavy iron door shut behind them, and after sizing up Guan Yu for a few moments, said, "Wake him up first and find out what's going on!"

Hawk retrieved a syringe from the iron cabinet, deftly snapped open an ampoule, drew half a tube of transparent liquid, and administered an injection into the captive's right arm. A few minutes later, Guan Yu's body convulsed a few times before he slowly regained consciousness. Raising his head, he struggled to open his eyes, which were as red as a rabbit's. Vaguely, he perceived three human figures. A sharp pain throbbed in the back of his head as if he had been struck by a heavy club. Hanging suspended in mid-air with his limbs locked in shackles, he finally felt a surge of terror. Hawk patted his cheek and began the interrogation. Offering no resistance, Guan Yu honestly confessed the whole sequence of events, laying bare even the deepest secrets of his Gu worm.

It was a wise and sensible choice. Hawk had plenty of methods at his disposal, but the captive proved so cooperative that none of them were needed. Guan Yu's real name was Jiang Li, and he hosted a "Mountain-Rending Gu," which was a relatively common type of "Human Gu." It comprehensively enhanced the host's physical constitution, granting a combat multiplier of around twenty, just barely touching the limits of human capability. Still, a mosquito's leg is meat nonetheless; an extra Mountain-Rending Gu meant an extra shred of combat strength. However, Gu masters share a bond of vital essence and blood with their Gu worms: keep the man and lose the Gu, or keep the Gu and lose the man. Forcibly extracting the Gu would inevitably cost Jiang Li his life. Besides, his Mountain-Rending Gu was of inferior quality and poorly developed, and had moreover been severely injured by Sima's "striking an ox across the mountain" technique. Extracting it now would serve no purpose, making it hardly worth making a fuss over.

Hawk looked toward Yang Zirong, silently asking how to deal with this Grass Sorcerer. After a brief hesitation, Yang Zirong decided to "keep the man and lose the Gu." Once the loose ends were tied up, the captive would be handed over to the public security organs to spend a few years behind bars and turn over a new leaf. Having sealed Jiang Li's fate in just a few words, Yang Zirong pulled open the iron door and instructed Sima to go back and rest first. Since Sima had captured a Grass Sorcerer from the dark world, he had indeed rendered a service. Normally, the probation period carried no performance points, but given the exceptional circumstances, Yang Zirong would speak with "White Dove" and ensure Sima was credited with one point.

Sima had no idea what a "performance point" was, but he could tell from Yang Zirong's tone that it was something good. He expressed his sincere gratitude. Before leaving the Second Division, he remembered to wash his arms in the restroom to avoid leaving too much blood behind and causing a public alarm, then hailed a taxi on the street to go home.

Back in his rented room, Sima stripped completely naked and carefully examined his body. He had taken a swinging punch to the shoulder from his opponent, resulting in severe swelling that made it almost impossible to lift his arm. His face and chest had also absorbed seven or eight heavy blows—all blunt force trauma. The skin on his fingers and palms had been abraded by the knuckle-dusters; while it looked terrifying, it was nothing serious. Walking around in the buff, he pondered for a moment before calling Lu Youyou. In a calm tone, he told her that his workplace had an emergency overtime situation and he wouldn't be able to come over tomorrow. Detecting nothing amiss, Lu Youyou chatted with him for a bit and they agreed to meet next week. After hanging up, Sima took a quick shower to wash away the sweat and residual blood stains, applied some ointment to his hands, and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.

Sima didn't go to the hospital. He rested at home for two days, recovering rapidly, and by Monday, almost no signs of injury remained. He went to work as usual, though with a heightened sense of caution—once bitten, twice shy—making sure to watch his step on the way, terrified that a second "Guan Yu" might leap out and catch him off guard.

Upon arriving at the General Affairs Office and taking his seat, Zhou Lingri poked her head out from behind her computer and softly asked what had happened. How had he managed to earn a performance point? Sima turned the question back on her, asking what performance points actually were. Zhou Lingri explained that performance points were equivalent to the internal contribution value within the Second Division, typically earned only through fieldwork. They could be exchanged for bonuses, with a single point valuing ten thousand, though naturally, no one would actually do that. A more important use for performance points was exchanging them for "customized recipes" to stimulate Gu worms to mature faster. If one accumulated enough, they could even exchange them for favored Gu worms from the "Gu Repository."

Without even realizing it, Zhou Lingri's casual remarks revealed a massive secret. Sima acutely perceived that, alongside the Second Division, the authorities also maintained a scientific research team conducting in-depth studies on Gu worms. They had already mastered the technology for cultivating and breeding Gu worms and had established a Gu Repository. In time, wild "Gu masters" would lose their value for "recruitment," and the new generation of Gu masters cultivated by the state would gradually replace them. For now, however, there was no rush. For a long time to come, the authorities would still need frontline operatives like Yang Zirong to hunt down and deliver Gu worms and accumulate data, with performance points serving as the ultimate proof of their labor.

Sima let out a couple of "heh-heh" chuckles, which sounded somewhat chilly. Zhou Lingri rubbed her arms and glared at him in disgust. Unable to suppress her curiosity a moment later, she stared at him and pressed for details. Sima recounted how "Little Spoon" had paid someone to harm him, and upon hearing that Jiang Li had raised a Mountain-Rending Gu inside his body, a strange light flashed in Zhou Lingri's eyes. She was deeply dissatisfied with her own "Flawless Gu," but lacking the performance points to trade for another, she was stuck serving as a clerk in the General Affairs Office. In truth, she too possessed a heart that yearned for battle...

After a brief daydream, Zhou Lingri regained her sanity. She told Sima that performance points could be transferred, and if he ever wanted to exchange his for cash bonuses, he must transfer them to her first, promising to "acquire them at a premium." Sima replied that if he had any such needs in the future, he would certainly give her priority. This answer left Zhou Lingri thoroughly unsatisfied. What did "priority" even mean? Was there going to be an auction where the highest bidder won? Seizing the opportunity, Sima asked her what other avenues existed to earn performance points besides fieldwork. Zhou Lingri thought for a moment, and an idea suddenly popped into her head. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, she blurted out, "Let's team up! We can look for ways to earn performance points together, what do you say?"

Performance points weren't that easy to come by. Thinking she was just joking, Sima replied, "Finding ways to earn performance points sounds great, of course. Tell me the specifics!"

Zhou Lingri glanced toward the door. Catching her drift, Sima got up, locked the door from the inside, and pulled a chair closer to her. Being a neat freak, Zhou Lingri frowned and told him to back away. Sima smiled and moved back half an inch just to humor her. Looking slightly helpless, Zhou Lingri lowered her voice and said, "Going on field missions to earn performance points is like 'licking blood off a blade'—the risks are way too high. Actually, there's a much safer way..."

"What way?" Sima's curiosity was instantly piqued.