Chapter 38: Identities and the Ancient Lantern

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio When Big Zhou saw Xia Ping’an, he grinned and said, “I heard you killed a scumbag in Xinchuan City a few days ago with the Black Cobra?” “Uncle Zhou, you’re well-informed.” Xia Ping’an smiled and quickly added, “Oh, yeah. I have successfully merged with the divine being boundary bead this morning. I’m a summoner now!” “Well done. I have said that you have good prospects. Your compatibility with the Black Cobra is good evidence of my words.” Big Zhou approached Xia Ping’an as he took off his goggles and set his gloves aside. He reached underneath the counter and took out two briefcases, one black and one silver. He set them on the countertop and said, “All these are yours. Headquarters has just issued them to you. You’ll have use for them in the future. Take a look. If there’s no problem, sign the paper here.” As Big Zhou said this, he took out a form. Xia Ping’an opened the silver briefcase first. He was shocked by what he saw. There were two compartments in the silver briefcase. The top compartment contained more than 10 different types of permits while the bottom compartment contained more than 10 passports. Among the permits, the most eye-catching one was a small black booklet that was emblazoned with the emblem of the National Order Council. In the emblem, the dragon wielded a sword and a shield in each of its claws and was wrapped around an ancient set of scales. Xia Ping’an picked up the booklet and opened it. He saw his own anti-counterfeiting image and the striking emblem of the National Order Council. [Great Flame Republic National Order Council Work Permit] Name: Xia Ping’an Occupation: Summoner Serial number: A361718150 This tiny black booklet symbolized great authority. It was also a prop that regularly appeared in various television shows. In the shows, as soon as the characters flashed this booklet, they held the right of priority enforcement and could do as they pleased. They could freely access almost all the information and places that were not classified as national secrets. Moreover, all the organizations, civil departments, and citizens were required to cooperate with the summoners too. Was this his permit? Xia Ping’an felt somewhat emotional as he held it in his hand. This permit symbolized both authority and heavy responsibilities. From the moment he received this permit onwards, he had officially become a summoner of the National Order Council of the Great Flame Republic. He was one of the civil servants now. Big Zhou reminded him, “Hey, Kid, snap out of your daze. Actually, you will rarely come across a scenario where this permit is needed. You might only need to use it once every few years. This is your first-class working permit in the National Order Council. The scenes in the movies are only for show; they are not real. Look at the rest of the documents. You will use them more often.” Xia Ping’an smiled and put down the booklet. He picked up another dark blue booklet that had the words ‘firearms license’ written on the cover. When he opened it, he saw his own anti-counterfeiting image, the emblem of the Great Flame Republic, and the serial number of this license. This was his first-class firearms license. The most authoritative thing about this license was a statement written in the booklet: “The holder of this firearms license is certified to use handguns, automatic firearms, and all special firearms with a caliber of less than 12.7 millimeters.” Xia Ping’an read this line repeatedly. There were three classes of firearms licenses in the Great Flame Republic. The holders of third-class firearms licenses could possess specific types of handguns while the holders of second-class firearms licenses could possess automatic firearms. The holders of first-class firearms licenses had legal access to the most types of weapons, including all the light weapons with a caliber of less than 12.7 millimeters. Big Zhou said, “Remember the serial number of your firearms license. You don’t have to carry this license with you. In the future, if you carry your guns with you when you go out, you just need to remember the serial number. When checked by the police or other law enforcement authorities, you just need to tell them your serial number.” Xia Ping’an nodded. He put down the firearms license and picked up another permit. It was a reporter pass. The agency that issued it was the Great Flame Republic Guanggu News Agency. The Guanggu News Agency was the official news agency of the Great Flame Republic, one of the top five news agencies and media corporations globally. It shared the same status as the Agence France-Presse, TASS, Xinhua News Agency, and Deutsche Presse-Agentur. It had many broadcasting stations, magazines, newspapers, and websites under its wing. Aside from the reporter pass, there were also a police pass, detective pass, lawyer pass, environment inspector pass, psychologist pass, and various other passes. There was even a feng shui master pass issued by the Great Flame Republic Feng Shui Masters Association. The rightful holder of all those passes was all Xia Ping’an. On top of the passes, there were more than 10 passports in the briefcase. Other than the Great Flame Republic passport, the rest were that of different countries. The name and face printed in each of the passports was also Xia Ping’an. “Are all these documents real?” Xia Ping’an asked. Big Zhou replied, “Of course, they are all real. These permits are your second-class working permits in the National Order Council. You don’t report to these agencies or get paid by them, but these permits are 100% real and can withstand any form of inspection. Often, members of the National Order Council Special Forces Unit use other identities when conducting missions. You will use the reporter pass and the police pass relatively more often. This is to avoid the public from panicking.” Xia Ping’an understood. Before this, Mo Yanshao had told him that the members of the Special Forces Unit had many identities and switched them when executing different missions. Xia Ping’an thought that Mo Yanshao was just bluffing. To his surprise, the National Order Council had actually meticulously prepared so many identities for the members of the Special Forces Unit. It was impossible to find fault with this careful arrangement. “Uhm… How about these passports?” “Of course, you will use them too. Did you think that you would only execute missions within Xianghe City? It is very common for the summoners of the Special Forces Unit to be called to execute missions both locally and globally.” “Whoa! Is this how it feels like to be an undercover agent?” Xia Ping’an exclaimed. “How can agents be comparable to summoners? An agent will, at most, have two or three different permits that allow them to stay undercover. We own more. Besides that, the passports owned by an agent are mostly fake passports made by their own government, but ours are all real!” Big Zhou lectured while glaring at Xia Ping’an with a disapproving look that hinted that the latter was ignorant. Big Zhou continued, “When the undercover agents visit other countries, they are loathed by the locals. When we go overseas, the locals welcome us with great enthusiasm. How could you compare undercover agents to summoners? You’re a summoner now. You must realize that others will always have a need for us. On the other hand, we’ll never need to curry favors with others. Summoners are the group of people that can waltz through everywhere around the globe.” “Yes! What Uncle Zhou said is true. I was wrong!” Xia Ping’an immediately admitted his mistake. He didn’t expect Big Zhou to be someone with such a strong collective sense of honor. “Leave all these documents in your office. Carry the ones you need with you based on the situation.” “Noted.” Xia Ping’an nodded. He then opened the black briefcase. Upon opening it, there was an ancient-looking bronze lotus lantern inside. As he looked at this old lantern, Xia Ping’an’s gaze shifted. In Xia Ping’an’s eyes, the design of the lantern was exactly the same as the Northern Qi lantern that was excavated from Wangjiafeng Tombs of Taiyuan City. Could it be a coincidence? Northern Qi did not exist in this world, and there were also no Wangjiafeng Tombs. However, the two lanterns were too similar. Xia Ping’an’s gaze slowly turned serious. He looked at Big Zhou, “Is this the Lighter’s…” Big Zhou nodded and looked at the lantern with a pious gaze. “It is that lantern. It is designated by headquarters. This lantern is a rare treasure. Be careful when you use it. I have no means of repairing it if it is broken. Drip a drop of your blood on the wick. The lantern will follow you in the future. Remember, if the lantern is lit, you are alive. Even if the lantern goes out, try to stay alive. As long as you are alive, the lantern will be lit. You should roughly know how to use it.” Xia Ping’an nodded. He carefully lifted the bronze lotus lantern from the indentation of the box. From its appearance, this lantern was identical to an ordinary bronze lantern. There was nothing special about it in terms of volume, and its appearance was not considered intricate. However, Xia Ping’an felt that this lantern was special as he looked at it. After inspecting it for a while, Xia Ping’an twisted the ring on his finger and revealed the silver needle. In front of Big Zhou, he pricked his finger and dripped two drops of blood where the oil was stored in the lantern. A few seconds later, a hint of light flickered on the bronze lotus lantern, and the blood dripped by Xia Ping’an was absorbed by the lantern. When Xia Ping’an held the lantern in his hand, it sensed his heartlight and radiated a mysterious light. It seemed to always be ready to be ignited by Xia Ping’an and emitted a halo that could protect him in the darkness. 2