Fish Seed Protection

"When the criminals were confined in the headquarters, Tang Aibai didn't anticipate obtaining much information from their confessions.

"Superpower cults frequently utilize mandatory contracts to control their members. Once they divulge internal secrets, they face immediate death," he explained to Claude. "So, when interrogating cult members, we must focus on indirect and skillful approaches. This aspect will be included in your training later. For now, observe from the sidelines."

Claude's ears twitched as he raised his head from eating biscuits while sitting with Penghua. He was still dazed from the tense night patrol and nodded absentmindedly.

Simultaneously, he tended to his original body, washing, eating, and preparing for school. Lihua followed Tang Aibai, yawning, ready to observe their routine interrogation.

In recent days, Claude had been immersed in combat training in the training room, and Suo Fangcheng had remained peaceful. His encounters with the detained criminals in the twenty-eight suos were limited to quick glances through a special glass door while passing by. This was his first entry into the detention room through the main door, escorting criminals with suppressive superpower handcuffs into the interrogation room.

These criminals had been terrified by the events on the cliff a few days prior. Upon seeing Claude, their legs wobbled, and he almost had to guide them out - a round-faced teenager of one meter seventy, leading several dark-skinned men of one meter nineteen with broad shoulders, creating a visually striking scene that almost elicited laughter in the interrogation room.

"Please, don't kill me," pleaded the first questioned criminal, tears streaming down his face. "I don't want to feed mice or be drained of blood by talismans..."

Claude found the criminal's imaginative descriptions perplexing. As he scanned the expressions of Tang Aibai and Qiao Liang, their gravity made him realize that the criminal's account might be the superpower cult's actual atrocities.

As the criminal grew more frightened, his words poured out faster. He spoke until his face started crumbling, and then Tang Aibai intervened, allowing a moment of silence before resuming questioning.

Lost in thought while standing behind Tang Aibai, Claude's dog toy sounded excited in his mind, its surprise unhidden.

[Claude, I've seen this spell before!]

Knowing they couldn't communicate at the moment, the dog toy continued.

[This isn't a mandatory contract spell at all! It's a fish seed protection spell created by the Dog God to guard fishponds in the spiritual realm. Due to the abundance of fairy breath in the Dog God's spiritual realm, any fish caught there evolves into fish spirits within days. To prevent them from absorbing fairy breath, the great Dog God created this spell in mere minutes. As long as the fish is considered the property of the Dog God, it cannot absorb fairy breath.]

Claude was speechless, faced with too many inconsistencies. After a pause, back in his classroom, he asked the dog toy: "How can this fish seed protection spell be lifted?"

[Of course, it can!]

The dog toy responded.

[The Dog God has only granted one gift to another god since its birth. If the Dog God didn't unlock the spell before gifting it, upon arrival at the other god's domain, the fish would violate the 'caught by Dog God' condition and become an unsightly stone fish statue.]

Claude inquired hurriedly: "How do you unlock it?"

The dog toy hesitated.

[I've only seen the Dog God unlocks this once.]"

These changes aim to refine the clarity and flow of the narrative while ensuring the text reads smoothly.

"Didn't you mention the Dog God gives and takes something whenever it gifts?" Claude queried in confusion. "Why have you only witnessed it once?"

[The Dog God has only given a gift to one god since its birth.]

The dog toy responded matter-of-factly.

[What made you think the Dog God was generous?]

Claude's puzzled expression caught Tang Aibai's attention amid the interrogation, causing him concern. "Lihua, are you feeling tired? Should I let you rest?"

"I'm okay, no need," Claude refocused. "I just, uh, think I might know how to unlock the mandatory contract spell."

This revelation surprised everyone.

The mandatory contract was a significant trump card of the superpower cult in Suo Fang City. Despite numerous raids by the twenty-eight constellations, this contract remained elusive, presenting a persistent challenge. The elite research team had spent years attempting to solve this issue to no avail.

Yet, just a few days after joining the Nan Gong team, Lihua, despite having a basic understanding of combat skills, claimed to have a solution.

"That's fantastic!" Tang Aibai, without hesitation, ran to Claude's side, pushing him towards the criminal. "Let's experiment on him first. I haven't registered the criminals caught today on the system yet. Feel free to try anything. No need to file a report if something goes awry!"

The criminal: "…"

Why are we discussing matters of life and death right here?

Surprised by Tang Aibai's trust, Claude complied. Guided by the dog toy's recalled instructions on undoing the spell, he pressed two fingers against the criminal's temple. He channeled his spiritual power, guiding the contractual restraints in the criminal's mind outward, through his meridians, and finally absorbed them into himself along with the Dog God's vast power within him.

"These are not water droplets, but the manifestation of the curse power attached to the contract. The Dog God didn't create fish seed protection techniques for such dirty work. The cults must have added numerous auxiliary spells, but their techniques were too low-level and crude, thus absorbed upon contract removal."

Claude took a glass bottle from Tang Aibai and stored the water droplets inside, contemplating silently.

The contract restraints composed of superpowers consumed by the superpower cult were absorbed into Claude's body, transformed into usable power. The rapid influx made him feel an overwhelming urge to rush outside and vanquish three hundred hell-cats.

Tang Aibai and the team, engrossed in checking the removal of the criminals' contracts, didn't notice. However, the dog toy, sensing Claude's physical state, felt particularly concerned.

"Can you manage? Otherwise, transform into a dog in the restroom and release the tension."

"No need, I've got it," Claude breathed deeply, channeling the excess spiritual power to his original body.

In the classroom, his seated body tensed, its gaze sharpened. It swiftly tackled a stack of math simulation tests, completing multiple sets in a single early morning session, astonishing nearby classmates.

"No wonder it's me," Claude grinned. "Even after removing several criminals' mandatory contracts, I can still finish a physics practice book!"

The dog toy remained silent.

Meanwhile, Tang Aibai, upon realizing that the cloudy drops of water in the glass bottle contained a significant amount of curses, refrains from allowing Claude to lift the compulsory contracts of other criminals. Instead, he delegated the continuation of the interrogation to Qiao Liang and Peng Hua, escorting Claude to the infirmary for an examination. After confirming Claude's well-being, he cheerfully patted him on the shoulder. "Being able to nullify the sect's compulsory contract is truly an exceptional feat! You deserve a Level One Superpowers Medal!"

Although eager to continue interrogating the sect members bound by the compulsory contract, and despite his reluctance to inquire directly, Tang Aibai instructed Claude to return to the restroom to catch up on sleep. Excitedly, Tang Aibai hurried to the headquarters' office, waving a hastily scribbled note: "Urgent report! Let me in quickly!"

Thousands of meters away, in the magnificently adorned basement of a three-story villa, a robed man seated in a meditative posture amidst purple smoke suddenly coughed up blood, his previously composed expression transforming into a fierce grimace.

"The compulsory contract has been broken!" he hoarsely exclaimed. "Where are the deceased guards? Find them at all costs! Whoever did this, eliminate them immediately!"

Several loud explosions resonated in the vicinity of the purple smoke. The deceased guards, adorned in silver armor, bowed their heads, half-kneeling on the ground.

The robed man, after a few deep breaths, outwardly calmed himself. Internally, however, a raging turmoil brewed, a sensation of impending catastrophe lingering within.

If you fail... seek a ghost master from the underworld. He will guide you with the souls of 30 female infants.

The deceased guards echoed in unison.

Meanwhile, Claude, oblivious to the chaos caused by the release of the criminal's compulsory contract, transformed into a puppy, basking in the sun with his belly up and pink paws stretched out, snoring contentedly.

Simultaneously, the main body, under the astonished gaze of classmates, wrote fervently. Even during English class, math papers were being completed. By day's end, a sizable pile of finished papers lay at his feet.

"You're incredibly talented," Yan Anqing remarked, inspecting his near-perfect test paper with a sigh. "Why the sudden diligence before the monthly exams?"

Claude packed his schoolbag methodically, offering a vague response. "Just had some spare time."

"I can't fathom diligent students like you," Yan Anqing shrugged. Exiting the school gates, the surrounding crowd thinned. He leaned closer to Claude, whispering conspiratorially, "Hey, I've got something thrilling tonight. Want to join?"

Perplexed, Claude initially thought Yan Anqing meant gaming together. "It's late, and we've got school tomorrow. Shouldn't you get some sleep?"

"Not gaming, something way more exciting," Yan Anqing smirked triumphantly. "We're tracking down a dog tonight-trust me, a dog you've never seen! Been chasing it for days! Want to come along?"

Claude's spine tingled, an unsettling premonition washing over him.