Chapter 35

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Chapter 35: Mixed Feelings

The repeated shocks drove Zhuang Mian to abandon her previous thoughts, and she ultimately walked back to the security bureau. From a distance, she saw the three-story building surrounded by parked vehicles.

It seemed like support from other security bureaus had arrived…

Zhuang Mian pondered inwardly as she verified her identity at the guard station and entered her workplace.

Several colleagues who had not gone out with her froze for a moment upon seeing Zhuang Mian, then turned and rushed upstairs as if they had seen a ghost.

A group of people crowded at the stairway a few seconds later, and the kind-looking older gentleman at the front was the director of the Eastern District Security Bureau.

The usually calm expression of the elder twitched for a moment, and he finally pulled out a list titled “Missing/Deceased Persons List” from behind him.

Zhuang Mian took the list and glanced over it, quickly passing her own striking identification photo to look at the others.

Behind each person’s photo was a box to choose between two options. Zhuang Mian noticed that except for her own, which was marked “Missing,” all the other peace officers had been confirmed as “Deceased.”

Having experienced things in Dream, Zhuang Mian seemed to have changed somewhat in personality. As she looked at each name, the first feeling that surged in her heart was not sorrow for her fallen colleagues but rather a reflection on the pros and cons of this outcome for her, an unexpected little leader.

Bad news: half of her team members were gone.

Good news: They were just a bunch of seasoned individuals colluding with local gangs, and she had been unhappy with them for a long time.

Bad news: From now on, she might lose communication opportunities with those local forces.

Good news: She had never intended to engage with them anyway, and leaving a group of obedient Young Men was quite nice.

After confirming that the deceased were not good people, Zhuang Mian’s heart hardened further. After greeting a few higher-ranking officials, she went up to the second floor and returned to her small team’s office.

As soon as Zhuang Mian entered the room, she saw her deputy captain, Zhao Qi, whose face was heavily bandaged. This somewhat timid assistant lit up with obvious joy upon seeing Zhuang Mian walk through the door.

“Captain! You’re alive!”

A team member shouted excitedly.

“Shut your mouth if you can’t speak properly! Look at me!

“Congrats on surviving, Captain!”

“……”

Zhuang Mian briefly reported her experiences from the previous night, as was required after such a violent incident.

After all, even though she bore numerous wounds, it could not fully prove her innocence; cases of betrayals from within the team had occurred frequently in the security history of the outer city.

In her report, Zhuang Mian intentionally concealed the real name of a certain heroic psychologist, but she almost revealed everything else without reservation.

Combining her account with those of all the survivors, the Eastern District Security Bureau confirmed the severity of the case.

Even though Zhuang Mian repeatedly stated that this attack was unrelated to the recent notorious “Heart Snatcher,” due to the lack of solid evidence, the suspect in this case was still identified as the “Heart Snatcher.”

Feeling that she had mostly recovered, Zhuang Mian dove back into her work, beginning to collect evidence from the last victim, Dr. Bard, to continue the investigation.

Her intuition told her that the smuggling case connected to her in the inner city and the recent murder of black market doctors in the outer city must be intertwined in countless ways.

—

Inner City, Southern District, Research Institute Headquarters.

Ji Yongxing placed a stack of papers on Deputy Director Zhou Zhuo’s desk.

“The Possibility Exploration of Acquiring Supernatural Abilities After Birth,” hmm, that has some substance and offers possible solutions to the major issues for the Department of Life Technology and the Department of Superpower Technology.

"You wouldn’t believe it, Zhao Kai and Liu Jihang have been at each other’s throats lately."

Zhou Zhuo slammed the documents onto the table.

"I expected you to offer me an intriguing computer model as a reward."

Ji Yongxing smiled, adjusting his glasses that were partially hidden by his bangs.

"Nothing escapes your notice. The model does exist, but it’s merely a research tool and not something we can publish as a result."

"You’ve got quite the mind, kid. Go ahead and head back; I’ll take my time going through the report.

"Got any new ideas or positions you’re eyeing for a rotation?"

Ji Yongxing seemed ready for this question and answered swiftly,

"I’d like to spend some time in the Department of Life Technology. While working on this report, I realized my knowledge in the area is quite lacking. Gaining new insights could help me revise it."

Zhou Zhuo nodded and promptly approved Ji Yongxing’s request, jotting down his start date—next Monday.

Within the research institutes, a note from Deputy Director Zhou Zhuo carried the weight of an emperor’s decree from the Old Era; whether it was a raise or a transfer, his approval was as good as done.

It even took precedence over formal internal documents.

As for the director of the research institutes?

Following the tradition of the past thirty years, the director’s role was to face off against the committee during quarterly budget and results meetings.

This was the established division of labor at the research institutes, ensuring that professionals handled professional matters.

All technical departments were directly managed by successive deputy directors, leaving the director with the task of bureaucratic negotiations and oversight of purely supportive departments like statistics, logistics, and coordination.

Ji Yongxing exited Zhou Zhuo’s office. The deputy director, with his receding hairline, watched him leave, his smile fading into a look of concern.

"Kid, you’re not quite yourself…"

After a moment’s thought, he picked up the internal phone on his desk and summoned a man whose demeanor was anything but that of a typical researcher.

"Look into researcher Ji Yongxing’s recent activities in the outer city. If you spot any suspicious characters, don’t make any moves without my say-so."

"Understood."

—

The sharp circular blade pierced Wang Xiao’s left palm for the forty-fourth time.

Like a metal straw, the blade drew out bits of flesh and blood with each withdrawal.

This was his third superpower level test.

Perhaps impressed by his performance on the city wall, the research institutes had dispatched a three-person team to the outer city specifically to test him. Wang Xiao had caught wind that passing this test could elevate his ability rating to level C.

If successful, he would have the chance to join the military’s superhero team, as Fresnel had suggested.

For anyone in Hope City, this was a rare opportunity, but Wang Xiao was torn.

Rather than dashing about as a firefighter, he yearned to guard the very stretch of the city wall his father once protected.