Name: Mao Lu

t.i.tle: Gatekeeper of Realm 145, ranked 400th

Age: 24

Stage: …..[ERROR!!! ERROR!!!] You do not have clearance to see a Gatekeepers stage.

Skills: ...[ERROR!!! ERROR!!!] You do not have clearance to see a Gatekeepers skills

Health: 100/100 (In full health, not suffering from any ailments)

Strength:....[ERROR!!! ERROR!!!] You do not have clearance to see a Gatekeepers strength.

Chàng Bo wasn't surprised by all the errors, that was to be expected. The Sovereign system was developed by the Creator, One, but so were the Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers were a very secretive group, and had some higher purpose that common Pract.i.tioners weren't privy to.

The Creator had put the Gatekeepers in charge of the realms and obviously wanted their abilities to remain secretive. So it made sense that Mao Lu's stats were hidden. In the past Chàng Bo had tried using the system to see a different Gatekeeper's stats and this had also resulted in a screen filled with errors.

But Chàng Bo had learned something, "He's younger than me and he's ranked 400th. I'm in realm 145, that must mean I'm in the Offal realm, the c.r.a.ppiest of c.r.a.p mortal realms. This is the perfect place to hide. And he's a bit young to be a Gatekeeper, is he a new one?"

As Chàng Bo speculated this, he also activated one of his skills, Heaven's Grace. Heaven's Grace was a mental skill that he'd taken from the System a while ago. He'd already upgraded it a few times.

As he activated the skill he felt his heart rate slow down, his thinking became much clearer, and he was able to give off an honest and refined aura like that of a well-learned scholar. He had to be careful, since he knew this Gatekeeper was sensing him as he spoke.

"Yet when I was five my Mother gave me a golden key…" As he said this Chàng Bo utilised Heaven's grace as far as he could to mask any deceit in his words.

It wasn't that he was lying, but he hadn't told the entire truth. His Mother had not only given him the Gatekeepers key but had also given him the jade hair pin that contained the Sovereign System.

He couldn't allow that to be revealed.

As he told his story he was glad that Mao Lu's expression didn't change, "he doesn't seem to have noticed any problems with what I've said." Chàng Bo relaxed slightly.

The reason he spoke about his family background and the key was not only because Mao Lu had saved his life, but also because his family was well known and the stories about his mother were a frequent topic of gossip. It wouldn't take much research to verify his story. And A Gatekeepers key could only be used once. The moment he'd used it, it had exploded to dust, since he no longer had the item there was no point hiding information about it. The truth was the safest option.

Chàng Bo was pleasantly surprised when Mao Lu asked him to stay at his residence.

It was most likely because he was under investigation and he wasn't trusted at the moment. It was better to keep your enemy close as the saying goes. So he was going to have to stay here and be monitored, however, it didn't really matter where he stayed in the realm, the Gatekeeper would be able to sense his movements and actions regardless as long as he was in the realm. Mao Lu didn't have to let him stay in his home.

But, Chàng Bo didn't refuse, he still jumped at the chance to stay with Mao Lu. Even if he was a low ranked Gatekeeper of a mortal realm, not many could say they were personally close to a Gatekeeper. It could give him many personal benefits. It would be best if he deepened their relations.h.i.+p during the time he stayed with him, that way he'd have a Gatekeeper on his side.

And maybe he might be able to find out secrets pertaining to the Gatekeepers, like how they maintained and controlled such omnipotent powers. Chàng Bo aimed to be the Celestial Sovereign in the future. With the Sovereign System he could reach the pinnacle of the path of power and become the chosen one, defying the heavens. The pinnacle meant that no other life form should be in his way. That included the Gatekeepers.

He desired to surpa.s.s them. He would find out their skills and Gatekeeper training methods and learn it. He would become unbeatable throughout the 400 realms. That was his goal.

This Mao Lu was the Gatekeeper that could be his stepping stone to the pinnacle.

"He's younger than me, seems new and naive. He also has a genuine kind and modest spirit. It might not be easy, but I will use him for my aims."

Chàng Bo thought this as he smiled gently at Gatekeeper Lu who was warning him about the poison remaining in his system, and said, "Thank you for the warning Mao Lu."

_____________

PUBLIC SECURITY BUREAU TIAN'ANMEN AREA BRANCH, CRIME CONTROL UNIT (CPU)

"Thank you for this opportunity Chief. I'll make sure not to disappoint you!" Bellowed Frank w.a.n.g as he bowed and then saluted towards his section Chief.

Chief Wei just waved him off, "I expect good results, now get to work."

Frank w.a.n.g nodded and then left the Chief's desk and sauntered over to his own. A large grin spread from one ear to the other. He almost skipped.

Today was such an amazingly amazing brilliant day. Frank felt like he was walking on the moon.

First thing that happened when he woke up was getting a message from his Mother on wechat. She was coming from the UK to Beijing to come and see him soon. Frank was so excited, he generally couldn't wait. Everytime his Mother came over she'd do everything for him. His laundry and dishes. She'd cook and prepare food everyday. Although she loved to nag and gossip that was something Frank w.a.n.g was willing to sit through if he got a good meal and a clean home.

So that was the first thing that put him in a good mood.

The second thing, was that when he was getting ready to go to work this morning he realised that he'd left his keys in the car overnight. But luckily no one had noticed and his car was completely fine. It had been a close call though. Wouldn't he be a joke if he had to investigate his own car being stolen.

Thank goodness it was safe, that was just so very lucky, he nearly cried and thanked the heavens.

Then, when he got to work he was extra efficient. He got through writing up reports so fast that he even surprised himself, and then rather than being called to get coffee, he was summoned by Chief Wei and given some field work.

This wasn't the first time he'd been put on a case but this was the first time he was properly going out into the field to investigate, and it was the first time he'd be cooperating with officers from other departments. It wasn't a minor case either.

This meant that finally Chief wei was no longer looking down on him, he'd finally been upgraded from a rookie that was always made to get coffee and write reports, to a rookie that was on the job. Finally he was being given some investigative work and being valued as a member of the team. He almost felt like crying.

The case he'd been handed was about a groups of missing people. So far five people had been reported missing.

They all disappeared, practically vanis.h.i.+ng around the same area in the centre of Zhongshan park, on different days.

Despite frequent searching over the past three weeks there had yet to be any progress in the search. And no ransom had been made. It was feared that the missing people might have been taken for prost.i.tution, organ trafficking, or perhaps there was a serial killer on the prowl that was abducting people.

By this point there were only guesses and no leads. It might even become a cold case[1]. The public security department in charge of the case was even requesting help from other departments, including crime control. It seemed like one of the missing people was the child of an official. So the case was very urgent and they needed all the help they could get.

Now Frank was being lent out by the crime control unit to help, and at the same time would be the representative for the crime control department whilst he helped on this case.

Frank was slightly feeling the pressure but this was what he'd always wanted.

His hands tightened around the report as he saw the photograph of a 5 year old boy, one of the people that had gone missing.

"I better help out in the best way I can. Whoever is sick enough to be doing this will be put in jail."

….

Soon Frank was helping out with the investigation, yet throughout he kept feeling like something was very wrong. Perhaps it was his sixth sense going into overdrive. He felt like their team was being watched the entire time as they patrolled the area and searched for evidence.

A few hours later Frank was still feeling like he was being watched. The hairs on his neck stood on end and gooseb.u.mps peppered his arms.

He and the other officers from other departments had spent the day interviewing family members of the missing people. Looking around Zhongshan park and getting statements from the public. Yet so far no witnesses could be found. The security cameras near the park hadn't captured anything relevant. There was nothing to go on.

It was like these people had been spirited away.

Just as the sun was beginning to go down, the smoggy sky filling with an amber hue, many officers near the centre of the park began shouting loudly.

When Frank w.a.n.g ran over to see what all the fuss was about, he saw all the people on the missing persons list. They were lying on the floor in the centre of the park. Fast asleep.

Frank w.a.n.g as well as many of the other officers were dumbfounded. What exactly was going on here? Had the kidnapper just dumped them right under all of their noses.

Weirder than that was that when the group of people woke up they had no memory of ever being kidnapped. The last three weeks were a blank to them, all they could recall was walking in the park and then suddenly they were waking up being surrounded by officers.

Even stranger was that it didn't seem like anything had been done to them at all. It was very peculiar.

Frank felt very anxious. This entire situation put him on edge.

When he got back to the bureau he was congratulated by Chief Wei for helping close the case and deal with the situation. But Frank felt like he'd hardly done anything. Frank felt deeply unsettled.

Again, he felt a nagging feeling like the one that had been plaguing him the last two weeks, like he was forgetting something important.

"Well you've done a good job and worked a long time today, go home and get some rest. You don't need to come in tomorrow unless some urgent work comes up." Chief Wei said.

"Thank you chief!" Frank saluted and then left, but he still felt deeply perturbed, there was something very weird going on.

He continued feeling unsettled and having a nagging feeling even when he went to bed that night, yet as he thought about all the strange occurrences he again began thinking about Qi Zhou. The pretty barista from that 24hr coffee store.

For the last two weeks all he could think about was her. She kept him awake at night.

Lately she was always on his mind all the time, she kept popping into his head.

Had he fallen for her? He wasn't sure if that was the case, but he was definitely curious about her.

The next day he found himself driving to the coffee store. It was early morning and the store was mostly deserted, he walked inside and almost jumped in happiness as he saw Qi Zhou.. She glanced up at him with her large clear eyes, "The usual?"

"No. I'm not working today. Just a single cappuccino would be fine." He replied. She nodded at him and started making his order.

Frank twiddled his fingers and watched her. She really was graceful and small. He could probably easily wrap his hands around her waist and lift her up.

He shook his head trying to get rid of the l.u.s.tful thoughts.

"It's done." she said.

He slowly went up to the till and paid for the coffee. He picked it up and stared at the ma.s.s amount of cream on top. He raised an eyebrow.

"You mentioned the previous times you came that you love cream on your coffee." She explained.

"You even remember small details like that." he said carefully as he stared into the coffee. He really felt like he was forgetting something, but he simply couldn't pinpoint what.

"Well you are a regular customer."

"Hmm" he hummed to himself as he stood there and drank the coffee. "Say Qi Zhou, I can't seem to get you out of my head. Is that weird? Lately I can't sleep because I'm thinking of you. You're in all my dreams"

Qi Zhou froze, so did the male barista next to her, and a customer that had just walked into the store gasped.

They were all giving him hard stares. Qi Zhou looked at him intensely and then said, "Pick me up sat.u.r.day at 9pm sharp. This is my number." She took out a pen from her ap.r.o.n and jotted her number down on a sticky note.

Frank slowly took the note and then suddenly realised....that was a confession just now. He hadn't meant for it to be, he'd just been tired and told her what had been bothering him over the past two weeks. Sat.u.r.day 9pm. Was this a date?

His eyes widened a bit and he blushed as he pocketed the sticky note. Then with his coffee he nodded at her and practically ran from the store.

The moment he left the other barista's squealed. "OMG! What a man!" Said the male barista next to her. "That was some bold confession."

A female customer fanned herself, "That was like something from the movies, gosh I wish my husband had confessed to me like that."

Qi Zhou watched as he left and smiled to herself.

When she'd erased his memories she'd kept the feelings he had towards her, well minus any fear, so all that was left was curiosity. Using that she knew in time he would come looking for her, unable to get her out of his mind. And now it had happened.

The only way to get close to this new Gatekeeper was through his mortal friends, but she couldn't instigate it or the Gatekeeper would sense it, and be angered. So she let the process be natural. He approached and confessed to her. Gradually through him she would get close to the Gatekeeper, and soon reach her ambitions.

[1] Cold Case: A case shelved and never solved