《I Wanted To Be A Good Person Once》 Chapter 1 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Polaris Federation. Eastern Jurisdiction. Siddah State. Low-Level City: Qingshan City. In the northern suburbs¡­ ¡­ A dilapidated villa was tucked away in the dense, dark jungle. The door of the villa was half open, and a curving river of blood flowed from it. Bright yellow police tape was drawn up outside the villa. Inside the villa, some men in grayish-blue uniforms were exploring the scene while recording information. Meanwhile, on the second floor of the villa, two men in grayish-blue uniforms were chatting about the case¡­ ¡°Fang Ze, I haven¡¯t been here for a few days. Report the situation to me.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The reply came from a uniformed young man with gauze on his head. He was handsome, honest, and had a bright smile. Even though he was injured, he still made people feel good. He opened the black book in his hand and said, ¡°Commissioner, this case is a classic case of a homicide by an Awakened.¡± ¡°The killers are from a small criminal gang who forced their way into the villa eight days ago between 6pm and 6.30pm.¡± ¡°This criminal gang is powerful. The villa¡¯s various defenses were destroyed almost instantly.¡± ¡°Based on the traces and images left at the scene, the other side probably had at least three Awakened.¡± ¡°After discussion, we¡¯ve tentatively decided on the codenames ¡®Beast,¡¯ ¡®Forest Ranger,¡¯ and ¡®Stone Maiden.''¡± ¡°Among these three Awakened, the ¡®Beast¡¯ was in charge of a frontal assault to attract the attention of the villa owner.¡± ¡°[Forest Ranger] used trees and vines to surround and block all retreat routes from the villa owner.¡± ¡°Lastly, the ¡®Stone Maiden¡¯¡­¡± At this, Fang Ze picked up a photo clipped to the black book and handed it to the potbellied, round-faced, middle-aged man in front of him. The man was so fat that he had two chins. From the way Fang Ze addressed this man, this man was probably his superior, the Commissioner of the Investigation Department. The Commissioner took the photograph. The photo showed a huge stone cone that was inserted into the villa from the air. The stone cone looked bigger than the villa. The villa was cut in half from the middle, and the interior was shaped like the stone cone. Fang Ze said, ¡°We tested the composition of this stone cone.¡± ¡°The materials of the stone cone strictly follow textbook proportions. Furthermore, there are no microbes inside.¡± ¡°Based on these clues, we tentatively determined that this was a stone cone materialized out of thin air by the ¡®Stone Maiden¡¯.¡± ¡°This stone cone fell from the sky and destroyed every defensive structure in the villa.¡± ¡°It also destroyed the confidence of the villa¡¯s owner in his last act of resistance.¡± ¡°And so¡­ the criminal gang caught them all.¡± The Commissioner nodded slightly at Fang¡¯s words. Then, he put the photo down and turned his round face to him. He asked, ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Fang Ze frowned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think this group is looking for money or murder. They¡¯re looking for something.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The Commissioner said, ¡°Something?¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Fang Ze said, ¡°This is because we found a lot of lost property at the scene. That means that they weren¡¯t after money.¡± ¡°However, strangely enough, there were signs of the scene being searched. That suggests they were supposed to be looking for something other than money and goods.¡± The Commissioner nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Fair enough. Go on.¡± Fang Ze continued, ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s just three people in this gang. There should be four to five people.¡± The Commissioner asked, ¡°Why? As I recall, we had a meeting to discuss this. The discussion ended with the conclusion that there were three people. Moreover, there were only traces and images of three people at the scene.¡± Fang Ze frowned and said, ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure. Just a feeling, I guess.¡± He explained, ¡°I think the fact that the other party committed the crime so quickly and divided the work so clearly means that the plan was very thorough.¡± ¡°In that case, there shouldn¡¯t be only three people who did it from the front.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t fit their modus operandi.¡± ¡°I think that they¡¯ve got other people working with them in the shadows, like a prospector-type Awakened, or a strong backup.¡± Fang Ze paused. ¡°After all, a group with such a well-planned operation should be equipped with all kinds of contingencies. They shouldn¡¯t be reckless and attack head-on with just three combatants.¡± The Commissioner nodded thoughtfully at Fang Ze¡¯s explanation. He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, his face lit with approval. ¡°Not a bad direction! I think that¡¯s a good idea!¡± ¡°We can discuss it again the day after tomorrow when we have a meeting!¡± He paused, then asked, ¡°Did you find anything else? Or do you have some speculations?¡± After receiving encouragement, Fang Ze became more confident. He said, ¡°I indeed have some speculations¡­¡± ¡°But they¡¯re still immature.¡± The Commissioner said, ¡°It¡¯s just between us. No need to feel any pressure.¡± Fang Ze nodded and said, ¡°I found a small stone in the southeast corner of the villa.¡± ¡°A colleague from the identification team went to identify it. There were no problems.¡± ¡°However, I feel as if some other aura is attached to it. I¡¯d like to request further identification.¡± ¡°Also, there are almost no mosquitoes or birds in the forest near the villa.¡± ¡°Other colleagues think that it¡¯s because of the season.¡± ¡°But I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s right. I think that there might be some Awakened doing something in this forest¡­¡± ¡°Also, above the villa, there¡­¡± Ten minutes later, Fang Ze finished explaining some of his speculations. The Commissioner listened patiently with a thoughtful expression on his face. After a moment, he nodded. Then, he said, ¡°Okay. These findings and speculations are valuable. Follow this direction and explore again.¡± ¡°Let me know promptly if you find anything new.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Fang Ze stuck out his chest and saluted a bit unevenly. Then, he turned and headed for the door. However, just as he reached the door and was holding the handle, the Commissioner suddenly called out to him again with concern. ¡°Right, Fang Ze. You¡¯re wounded and you¡¯ve been forcibly transferred here, so if your body can¡¯t take it, rest first. Don¡¯t get too tired.¡± ¡°I just wanted you to help out a little. Who knew you¡¯d help so much?¡± Upon hearing the Commissioner¡¯s words, Fang Ze turned around and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay, sir! I¡¯m okay.¡± Seeing this, the Commissioner chuckled and said nothing more. Fang Ze did a slightly uneven salute again. Then, he pushed open the door and walked out. Beyond the door was a wide hallway. The lights in the corridor were turned off. In the dimness, only a few cameras placed by the deceased villa owner faced him. They looked as if they were flickering with a faint red light, but it was said that they were no longer working. Fang Ze¡¯s gaze lingered on a camera. Then, he touched the white bandage on his head and headed downstairs. His name was Fang Ze. Actually¡­ He wasn¡¯t from this world. In his previous life, he was a minor employee who had just graduated. He worked from nine to five everyday and suffered from the pressures of life. His only hobby was reading detective stories and watching detective movies. His only glorious achievement involved resolving an argument between the husband and wife upstairs. The husband roared, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t eat your cooking even if I jumped off a building.¡± Then, Fang Ze called the police and saved the husband¡¯s life¡­ A few days ago, he¡¯d woken up to find himself in a different world, lying in a hospital with a hole in his head. In his panic, he tried to make sense of his situation. In the end, he realized that he did not have any memories of this world in his mind. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he decided to use the transmigrator¡¯s tried-and-true method of pretending to have amnesia to muddle through. Fortunately, Fang Ze had a head injury. Therefore, although the doctor was a little surprised, he accepted this explanation after some examination. Furthermore, it was only after the doctor¡¯s introduction that Fang Ze realized who he was. He was an ordinary agent who¡¯d recently been in the middle of official business and had an accident. As a result, he suffered a head injury and was taken to the hospital. As for his family¡­ The previous owner of his body was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, so his colleagues in the Investigation Department were his family¡­ After knowing that Fang Ze had woken up, Fang Ze¡¯s colleagues also came to visit and express their condolences. They brought a lot of fruits and snacks. After knowing that Fang Ze had lost his memory, they all expressed their ¡°pity¡± and ¡°heartache¡±. From his interactions with his colleagues, Fang Ze felt that he was probably on good terms with them. Later, Fang Ze¡¯s health improved slightly, but there were suddenly a few major cases in the department, and they were seriously short-handed. Therefore, Fang Ze was temporarily transferred to this task force to assist in the investigation and find clues. Because he was injured, no one had much hope for him. They only hoped that there would be another person to share the workload. In the end, although Fang Ze no longer had the memories of his original self, he seemed to have some other special abilities. As long as he checked the traces, he could vaguely imagine part of the situation at the scene. Furthermore, as long as he understood some clues, he could deduce some details of the case. In fact, sometimes, with a flash of inspiration, he could find clues that even some veteran detectives could not. At first, his colleagues ¡°didn¡¯t believe it¡± and felt that Fang Ze was joking. However, after they discovered some clues and evidence that could confirm Fang Ze¡¯s guess, they had no choice but to believe in Fang Ze¡¯s special ability. Therefore, although Fang Ze was a casualty that had been borrowed from another team, he was becoming more and more valued. Now, he could personally report the progress of the case to the Commissioner. After recalling his experiences over the past few days, Fang Ze touched his head that still hurt a little and sighed. This world looked very dangerous. There were all kinds of strange Awakened beings, as well as all kinds of disaster creatures and artifacts of fortune and disaster. However¡­ At least he was receiving government funding, and his safety was guaranteed. Furthermore, he had a good relationship with his colleagues and was friendly with them¡­ Fang Ze felt that it was barely acceptable¡­ Otherwise, what could he do? Didn¡¯t all ordinary people struggle to survive in any world? At the very least, he could live longer as a good person who was provided for by the government. As he thought about it, Fang Ze walked downstairs and went to the murder scene again¡­ ¡­ At the same time, in the room Fang Ze had left. After Fang Ze left, the Commissioner got up and left the table. He came to a wall. Then, he tapped the wall a few times in a rhythmic manner. A moment later, the wall parted to the left and right, revealing a huge arena. There were a few uniformed men working nervously in the arena. In the middle of the arena, a beautiful, almost bizarrely beautiful woman in noble clothes was standing in front of a glass wall. On the glass wall were screens that captured the current scenes of the villa from all angles without any blind spots. Nearly a third of the screens were of Fang Ze. Meanwhile, the last screen was the scene of Fang Ze standing at the door and looking at the ¡°screen¡±¡­ Through the screen, the beautiful woman¡¯s gaze seemed to meet Fang Ze¡¯s¡­ When he saw the beautiful woman, the Commissioner immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead that had appeared from the immense pressure. Then, he swallowed, lowered his head, and walked over quickly. He saluted in a standard and proficient manner. Then, said respectfully and fawningly, ¡°Her Excellency Bai Zhi, after losing his memory, the suspect named Fang Ze has believed in his identity as an agent through our gradual guidance, so he¡¯s been very cooperative with us.¡± ¡°With the help of his residual memories, we¡¯ve almost finished reconstructing the entire case.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve also gained some understanding about the number of teammates and their abilities.¡± ¡°There are still a few doubts. Furthermore, we haven¡¯t figured out what they¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t take long, trust me. With his help, the truth will come to light.¡± ¡°When the time comes¡­¡± ¡°Then we can wipe them all out¡­¡± Chapter 2 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ Meanwhile. Outside the room, as Fang Ze walked downstairs, he silently recalled information about this world. This world was different from the world in Fang Ze¡¯s previous life. Decades ago, a cataclysm had led to the creation of a superstate where all human beings were united. The Polaris Federation was born. The Polaris Federation had a vast territory of 146 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 5.7 billion people. It had nine jurisdictions and 57 states under it. In wartime, the Parliament of the Polaris Federation had absolute rights. However, in peacetime, the various jurisdictions and even the states had extremely high autonomy. Each jurisdiction and state was equivalent to an independent kingdom. Furthermore, the owner of this villa was a very wealthy businessman in this state who specialized in cross-state trade. He kept a few charming alien mistresses in this villa and would come here every holiday to indulge in luxury. However, they did not expect this place to become their burial ground¡­ Fang Ze walked through the hallway and up the carved staircase to the lower floor. The wide, luxurious interior hall of the villa came into view. Several of Fang Ze¡¯s colleagues were already busy in the hall. Since this incident involved Awakened people with extraordinary powers, the Investigation Department took it very seriously and sent a total of 21 agents to investigate. However, he did not know if there was a certain gap in criminal investigation methods between the two worlds, but Fang Ze felt that these colleagues of his were a little ¡°shoddy¡±. They seemed very professional, but they could not find many obvious clues or analyze them. They needed Fang Ze¡¯s help every time. It caused the case to progress very slowly. Of course, although their abilities were a little poor, these colleagues were very good people. Perhaps it was because he was injured, but Fang Ze felt that these colleagues were more concerned about him than the case. Every time they met him, they would ask about his well-being. Every time he wanted to go out alone to investigate, they would also take the initiative to help. Anyway¡­ They were very friendly. He smiled and greeted a few of his colleagues. With a good mood, Fang Ze prepared to continue his work with the on-site exploration. However, before he could put on his protective gear, a voice suddenly called out to him from behind. ¡°Little Fang, could you come here for a minute?¡± Fang Ze looked up to see an agent in his forties, who was wearing a yellow jacket over his uniform jacket. The agent was waving at him. He looked at the agent¡¯s unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar face and replied, ¡°Liu¡­ Wang¡­ Zhang¡­ Er¡­¡± The agent didn¡¯t mind. He smiled and reminded him, ¡°Qin.¡± Fang Ze smiled in embarrassment. ¡°Oh, right. Brother Qin, Brother Qin. I¡¯m sorry, Brother Qin, I can¡¯t remember you guys.¡± Agent Qin said magnanimously, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°After all, you¡¯ve lost your memory. It¡¯s only natural that you can¡¯t remember us. We understand that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also because we¡¯re so busy and transferred you at the last minute, so you can¡¯t concentrate on getting better.¡± ¡°So, we should be the ones who are sorry.¡± Fang Ze smiled. He felt lucky to have such a group of friendly colleagues as soon as he transmigrated. After chatting for a while, Fang Ze took the initiative to ask, ¡°Brother Qin, why are you looking for me?¡± Only then did Agent Qin remember why he was called Fang Ze. He said, ¡°Come, come to me. I found a clue that I need you to help with.¡± As they talked, they reached the lobby at the front hall of the villa. As the largest area of the villa, this should have been the most luxurious and grand place. However, everything was destroyed by the huge stone cone that fell from the sky. The stone cone was sharp at the bottom and wide at the top. It pierced deep into the ground. The marble parquet floor, which had been filled with artistry, had been forcibly broken by the stone cone. It started to shatter like a spiderweb from the point of contact, and rubble was everywhere. Fang Ze looked up at the massive stone cone. Even though he had seen this stone cone many times, Fang Ze was still surprised at how magical this world was every time he saw it. Since he had to assist in the investigation, the Investigation Department gave Fang Ze a lot of internal information. Fang Ze also knew that this world was not the same as his own. It had all kinds of magical or strange abilities. They were collectively called Awakened abilities. According to the information from the Investigation Department, Awakened abilities¡­ were strange. For example, in one of the cases, a ¡®Doctor¡¯ suddenly awakened his ability. Although the appearance of his left hand had not changed, the side of his arm near his pinky finger and the tip of his index finger were as sharp as scalpels. They could cut through a patient¡¯s skin and internal organs, allowing him to perform some very complicated surgery with his bare hands. For example, in another case, there was a ¡®Shepherd¡¯ who suddenly awakened the ability to control wolves. However, after each manipulation, he would transform into a werewolf. Only on the next full moon could he return to his original human form. Another example was that in a group event, there was a group of ¡®Beggars¡¯. They were ordinary people when they acted alone, but once they gathered together and formed an organization, there would be a strange ¡®Unity Force¡¯. They could superimpose physical strength and share their lives¡­ There were other cases. There was an Awakened whose body could grow mushrooms that allowed them to retain their youth forever. There was a clown who could create infinite clones, but their intelligence would decrease and their strength would increase every time they created clones. There was also an Awakened who didn¡¯t want to study and summoned a substitute land spirit who could study and train in place of their master, and the effects would double¡­ There were many other examples. At that time, after reading the introduction of these Awakened abilities, Fang Ze Ze became interested in this magical power. After all, as a transmigrator who had come to a world filled with extraordinary powers, how could he not yearn for such power? Putting everything else aside, with this power, he would at least have the power to protect himself in this alternate world. He could control his fate. However, when he wanted to learn more about how to obtain Awakened abilities, he realized that there was nothing in the provided information. He had asked his colleagues. They had just shaken their heads blankly. They said that it was confidential and that they didn¡¯t know. He only heard that it seemed to rely on some spirit, bloodline, medium, or¡­ faith. ¡°Spirit¡­¡± ¡°Bloodline¡­¡± ¡°Medium¡­¡± ¡°Faith¡­?¡± Fang Ze silently committed these suspected methods to memory, thinking about the possibility of future contact. Of course, he had also asked his colleagues if he had Awakened abilities in the past. This time, his colleagues shook their heads firmly and said that Fang Ze had never awakened any abilities¡­ ¡­ After snapping out from his memories, Fang Ze was led by Agent Qin to a pile of freshly dug soil beside the stone cone. Fang Ze didn¡¯t react at first. It was only after Agent Qin¡¯s reminder that he realized that there were some charred ashes mixed in with the soil. Agent Qin said, ¡°I accidentally discovered this clue when I was investigating the scene this afternoon.¡± ¡°Help me to set the soil. Then, take it to a colleague in the identification team for testing.¡± Since he had the lowest seniority in the task force, the agents always let Fang Ze handle some ¡°dirty work.¡± Fang Ze was a little uncomfortable at first, but when he realized that there were often important discoveries in this ¡°dirty work¡±, he readily agreed. This was also the key to his frequent ¡°contributions¡± recently. Therefore, in the face of Agent Qin¡¯s request, he did not refuse. Instead, he gladly put on rubber gloves and began to collect the soil mixed with ashes¡­ ¡­ Time always flew by when one was busy. Soon, the day passed. After a long day, Fang Ze dragged his tired body to the brick house outside the villa. This was a temporary residence specially built by the Investigation Department for this case. Because of the confidentiality of this case, all members of the task force had to stay in this temporary residence until the case was solved. They couldn¡¯t leave. There were a dozen rooms in the residence. Each room was a standard room. Fang Ze lived with a young agent named Wang Hao, who had been transferred from a high-level city. They got along very well. Wang Hao was a handsome, cold-faced man. When Fang Ze met him for the first time, he was a little surprised. Why was this person as handsome as him? There was no justice in this world. After interacting with him, Fang Ze realized that Wang Hao¡¯s personality was also very good. Perhaps because he was in a high-level city and was not good with words, Wang Hao had been cold-faced since he joined the task force. He did not like to talk or smile. Fang Ze greeted him, but he just grunted and ignored Fang Ze. It was not until Fang Ze found many clues and gradually ¡°proved his abilities¡± in the task force that Wang Hao¡¯s attitude changed. Although he was still not enthusiastic when facing Fang Ze, he would occasionally pretend not to care and ask Fang Ze questions. Even though he would return to his cocky self after every question, judging from the extra fruits and snacks on Fang¡¯s bed from time to time, this kid knew how to repay kindness. Therefore, Fang Ze gradually got used to this way of interacting with him. There was nothing else. He just liked this feeling of conquering pride! When he returned to the dormitory, Wang Hao was already sitting on the bed, reading. He looked up at Fang Ze when he heard the door open. Fang Ze came through the door and looked at him. They stared at each other in silence. A moment later, Fang Ze was the first to greet him with a smile. ¡°Good evening.¡± Only then did Wang Hao respond smugly. ¡°Good evening.¡± Amused, Fang Ze walked to his bed and took off his uniform. Then, he looked down and saw several fresh oranges lying on his table. He was about to turn around and ask, but before he could ask, Wang Hao explained without looking up, ¡°It¡¯s from home. They¡¯re about to expire. I can¡¯t eat all of them.¡± Fang Ze smiled, but he didn¡¯t expose Wang Hao. Instead, he thanked him as he naturally put the oranges away in his drawer. Wang Hao continued reading sullenly, as if he hadn¡¯t heard Fang Ze. Fang Ze didn¡¯t mind either. He stretched and saw it was getting late. Then, he got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. When he washed up, he didn¡¯t know if it was an illusion, but he vaguely felt that someone was spying on him. However, when he turned his head to check, he didn¡¯t find anything unusual. His gaze lingered on the door and the corners of the toilet. Fang Ze frowned and turned back. ¡°Is it an illusion?¡± ¡°Is it like suspecting a ghost behind me in the middle of the night?¡± After putting the blame on the psychological effects from his previous life, Fang Ze shook his head and continued to wash up. After washing up, Fang Ze returned to his room. Wang Hao was still sitting in the light, reading in silence, as if he had never moved. Seeing this, Fang Ze didn¡¯t say anything. He just climbed into bed, covered himself with the blanket, and prepared to sleep. After two seconds, Wang Hao glanced over at him. Seeing that Fang Ze was going to sleep, he silently put a pagemark in the book, closed it, and turned off the light. Fang Ze, who was lying on the pillow, couldn¡¯t help but smile. Actually, this guy was also a good person¡­ Well, of course, compared to the other colleagues¡­ Solving the case consumed a lot of energy, so when he lay on the bed and felt the exhaustion in his body, Fang Ze quickly fell asleep. In his dream, Fang Ze vaguely heard a voice telling him to run, run. There was also a voice telling him to keep up and not fall behind. Fang Ze vaguely seemed to have dreamed of a red and black cloak. The cloak seemed to be dyed in blood and fluttered in the wind, making it sound like a horn from a new era. After some time, the dream slowly calmed, but Fang Ze felt himself getting hotter and hotter. He felt hot all over. In the end, he couldn¡¯t help but jerk awake. However, when he woke up, he was stunned. This was because¡­ he realized that he wasn¡¯t in his temporary residence. Instead, he was in an empty dark room¡­ Chapter 3 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Where is this place?¡± Fang Ze looked around the dark room in confusion. The room was not small. It looked to be about 70 square meters large. In the middle of the room were two sets of tables and chairs that were facing each other. The difference was that the table near Fang Ze had an old lamp. The entire layout and construction of the room was oddly familiar to Fang Ze. It looked like an interrogation room. After surveying the middle of the room, Fang Ze began to check the rest of the room. As he walked along the room, Fang Ze realized it was a closed room. There were no windows in any of the four walls except for a black steel door on the left. The steel door was almost two meters high. It was dark and heavy, and was carved with odd patterns. The patterns were like flower stems that crookedly covered the entire iron door and extended to the center, forming the word ¡°One¡±. ¡°One?¡± Fang Ze muttered the word, then couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. ¡°If there¡¯s a ¡®One¡¯, is there a ¡®Two¡¯? So are there other rooms?¡± With that in mind, Fang Ze tried to push the steel door. Either he wasn¡¯t strong enough or he didn¡¯t meet some kind of condition, but it didn¡¯t budge. After trying to open the steel door for more than ten minutes and seeing that it really had no effect, Fang Ze had no choice but to return to the table in the middle of the room. He checked the two tables and the chairs. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the most ordinary of tables and chairs. Then, Fang Ze¡¯s eyes fell on the lamp on the table. Fang Ze hesitated as he looked at the old lamp. Carefully, he touched it gently. The lamp was made of iron, making it rough and cool to the touch. Fang Ze waited a minute. When nothing happened, he put his hand on the switch of the lamp and clicked it on. As the lamp was turned on, Fang Ze felt a heavy blow on his head. It was as if there was a lot of information in his head, making it abnormally heavy¡­ He staggered and leaned on the table, trying to digest the information that had entered his brain¡­ After some time, Fang Ze shook his head and opened his eyes, looking tired. When his eyes opened, the room in front of him was still dark. The dim light from the desk lamp was cone-shaped. It shone on the chair opposite and then fell on the wall, forming streaks of light and shadow. ¡°The Late-Night Investigation Room¡­?¡± Fang Ze murmured these four words. Then, he recalled the extra information that had just popped into his head. He wasn¡¯t sure about the other rooms, but Fang Ze knew the name of the room in front of him: the Late-Night Investigation Room. Every night, after he fell asleep, he could come here and summon someone he¡¯d had physical contact with and who was already asleep to talk and investigate. As long as he turned on this lamp, he could change the layout and furnishings of this room. He could also hide his figure and appearance, and change his voice. Furthermore¡­ He could sense the other party¡¯s emotions and hear the other party¡¯s inner voice. In addition, after the investigation was over, according to the situation of the person being investigated and the value of the obtained information, Fang Ze could also randomly obtain an ¡°object¡± related to the other party. This thing could be an ordinary item, a prophetic artifact, a special talent, or an Awakened ability¡­ ¡°This is a divine artifact¡­¡± ¡°With it, I won¡¯t be at my wits¡¯ end in any case I come across.¡± ¡°Moreover, I can obtain ¡®something¡¯ after the investigation. If I obtain an Awakened ability, I¡¯ll have the ability to protect myself in this world.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t have to feel insecure like I do now.¡± ¡°The only problem is that when I investigate, I have to leave no trace. I have to hide my real identity.¡± ¡°I cannot let my true identity be discovered before I obtain any information. If I encounter any danger¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ is all this really true?¡± As he hesitated, Fang Ze followed the information in his mind and knocked lightly on the table in front of him with the knuckle of his right index finger. Instantly, a three-dimensional image of several people appeared in front of him. There were colleagues from the task force this time, such as Agent Qin, Wang Hao, and his colleagues from the identification team. There also were doctors and nurses who used to treat Fang Ze in the hospital. Other than these people, there were also some people of all ages and appearances that Fang Ze did not know. ¡°They should be the people I came into contact with before I transmigrated¡­¡± Fang Ze speculated. After looking at all the three-dimensional images, Fang Ze hesitated. In the end, he didn¡¯t make a choice. After all, he had just come into contact with this room and was still unfamiliar with it. Coupled with the fact that his brain had suddenly received a lot of information tonight, this caused him to be groggy and made it difficult for him to investigate effectively. Thus, it was difficult to obtain good items. Therefore, he decided to wait until he got up tomorrow to seriously select a suitable candidate and test the entire process of the investigation. With that in mind, Fang Ze looked around the room again to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything. He turned off the light, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. The room slowly fell into darkness. Fang Ze, who was sitting in a chair, felt sleepy. Within two seconds, he was drifting into sleep¡­ ¡­ The next morning, Fang Ze was out of bed before six. He looked around reflexively. There were no crude tables or chairs around. There was no old lamp either. Meanwhile, Wang Hao was sound asleep in the next bed. Fang Ze was sure he was back in the real world. A glance at the clock told him it was six in the morning. Fang Ze checked his body and tried to remember what had happened in that room the night before. Judging from the fact that there was nothing wrong with his body, that room did not seem to have any ill intentions towards him. Furthermore, according to the preliminary verification last night, the function of that room was probably real, too. Therefore, he could really find someone to test it out tonight. ¡°However¡­ Who do I choose to investigate?¡± Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but mutter. After sitting on the bed in a daze for a while, Fang Ze patted his face to wake himself up. Then, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and settled his personal problems. After everything was done, Fang Ze left the bathroom and returned to the room. Inside the room, Wang Hao, who had been sleeping, was now sitting up. He was yawning and leaning against the bed while reading a book. To be honest, although this guy was a little arrogant, he was really hardworking. Fang Ze tried to remember. It seemed that every time he saw Wang Hao, Wang Hao was reading. He read on his bed, in the toilet, before bed, and even after waking up. Was he reading some secret book on solving crimes or a detailed explanation of a case? He was already being provided for by the government. Was there still a need to be so hardworking? With that thought, Fang Ze leaned down curiously and tilted his head, glancing at the cover of the book. The title was, ¡°Magnificent Nightlife: The Golden Rooster List of the Red Light District in June.¡± Fang Ze was confused. ???! Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but look at Wang Hao¡¯s handsome and smug face. He almost didn¡¯t recognize his roommate. Appearances were truly deceiving! Indeed, only those with strong features could be traitors! Perhaps it was because Fang Ze¡¯s gaze was too obvious, or it was because everyone had a sixth sense from a fear of public embarrassment. In any case, Wang Hao, who was yawning, instinctively woke up. Then, he looked up at Fang Ze reflexively. Seeing Fang Ze¡¯s strange expression, he couldn¡¯t help but look down at the book in his hand. At that moment, his face turned red. Then, he stiffened and stammered, ¡°I¡¯m in charge of this place in our city. I¡¯m looking at this to get relevant information. To avoid¡­¡± Fang Ze nodded at his words. ¡°I understand. I understand.¡± Wang Hao was half relieved that Fang Ze believed him. However, before he could relax, he heard Fang Ze ask him curiously. ¡°Allow me to interview you. If the agent in charge of the red-light district goes there to play, is it free? If so, then I¡¯ll apply for a change of venue when this case is over.¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Wang Hao was stunned for a moment. Then, his handsome face turned from red to dark red, and finally to the color of pig liver! After a moment, he roared, ¡°I¡¯ve never been to play! I¡¯m really only looking up information!¡± Fang Ze quickly agreed. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. How can an agent in his area of responsibility be considered to be playing there?¡± After that, Fang Ze said things like, ¡°I¡¯m just going to experience life. I understand everything¡­¡± ¡°By the way, is there a bubble bath?¡± ¡°If not, is there a cosplay? I like Spider-Woman.¡± There were many things that Wang Hao didn¡¯t understand¡­ Wang Hao felt like he was going crazy. He completely could not understand why his roommate was so excited! Wasn¡¯t reading newspapers and magazines the normal way for agents to understand the information about the region they managed? The red-light district was filled with all sorts of people. If he didn¡¯t understand which gang it belonged to, how could he deal with it quickly if there was a case?! He was really doing this for work! Meanwhile, after teasing Wang Hao for a while, Fang Ze¡¯s mood became extremely beautiful. Therefore, he ignored Wang Hao, who was so angry that his head was starting to smoke. He hummed a song as he strolled out the door. However, when the door closed behind him, Fang Ze¡¯s expression gradually faded. He couldn¡¯t help but rub his chin as he walked out. To be honest, his roommate seemed to be a very suitable candidate for the experiment. He was simple, not scheming, easy to get information out of, and convenient to obtain high-value information from. By spending a lot of time with him, he could observe Wang Hao¡¯s reactions and situation. Wang Hao was quiet, solitary, and not prone to leaks. Most importantly¡­ From the books he read, the material life in high-level cities was too rich!! He might be able to obtain something good! Hmm¡­ If he thought about it this way, it seemed like he could really consider it¡­ Chapter 4 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As Fang Ze pondered the possibility of Wang Hao as a candidate, he left the temporary residence and headed for the canteen. The social development of this world was very interesting. The higher the level of the city, the more advanced the technological development and the more advanced the material life. Meanwhile, the lower the level of the city, the lower the technological development and material conditions. Moreover, it was a steep decline. According to the records, there were already thousand-meter-tall skyscrapers, maglev cars, and private helicopters in the immediate jurisdiction of the Federation. Meanwhile, high-leveled cities like the one Wang Hao was in already had electric cars, smartphones, computers, and other high-tech products. However, a low-leveled city like Qingshan City had about the same level of technology as Fang Ze¡¯s original world in the early 20th century. There was non-standard medical care, and simple sewage and living facilities. Even to travel, one had to rely on walking or a carriage. Having a dilapidated car was a luxury¡­ However, compared to the discomfort in life, what made Fang Ze even more uncomfortable was the food in this world. There were clearly many types of dishes, but this world liked to use spices with strong flavors. Moreover, they liked to mix various seasonings. For example, today¡¯s breakfast was vanilla curry beef brisket, hot and sour steamed dumplings, and spinach milk tofu. After getting his food, Fang Ze got himself two glasses of water before he dared to sit down and eat. Looking at his colleagues eating with relish, Fang Ze really admired these people who liked strong tastes. He wondered if they liked to light candles at night. After eating, Fang Ze started work as usual. After all¡­ One was only happiest when they secretly did personal things during work. Besides, if he didn¡¯t work, how could he have reason to contact other ¡°test targets¡±? ¡­ Compared to the collective investigation system in Fang Ze¡¯s original world, the agents in this world were more inclined to fight for themselves, perhaps because they had greater authority. Thus, they discovered the clues themselves, investigated, and solved the case alone. When they encountered a case that no one could solve, they would discuss it collectively every few days. They would study it before investigating and solving it alone¡­ For a moment, Fang Ze suspected that this world¡¯s criminal investigation methods were far inferior to his original world. It was most likely caused by this system¡­ Since Fang Ze had been investigating the disappearance of the flying insects and birds yesterday, he naturally used this excuse to wander around the villa and interact with his other colleagues. He strolled around the identification team twice and came into contact with a few colleagues. Then, he strolled around the front hall of the villa two more times and came into contact with a few more colleagues. Fang Ze was about to stroll elsewhere when he suddenly sensed that someone seemed to be following him. After noticing the abnormality, Fang Ze did not say anything. Instead, he maintained his composure and quietly chatted with his colleague. After that, he said goodbye to his colleagues and strolled out of the villa. Outside the villa, Fang Ze deliberately waited a little longer before walking around the wall and turning to the other side. After waiting on the other side for two seconds, Fang Ze turned decisively and walked back. Sure enough, as soon as he turned the corner, he happened to bump into an agent who was hurrying after him. The agent looked to be in his thirties, with a thin face, narrow eyes, and a roguish face. His uniform was rumpled, his hair mussed, and he smelled strongly of cigarettes. He looked more like a punk than an agent. Seeing the agent¡¯s slightly familiar face, Fang Ze immediately recognized him. He was Han Kaiwei, an official agent with the Investigation Department. He joined the Investigation Department as a teenager and had been there for 20 years. He hadn¡¯t solved many cases, but he had learned to eat, drink, and gamble. It was said that he had a gang background. Others said that he was close to gangs because of his gambling debts. In any case, he was an ignorant and incompetent old coot. Seeing that it was him, Fang Ze greeted him with a smile, ¡°Brother Han. What a coincidence. Are you here to look for evidence too?¡± When Han Kaiwei was discovered by Fang Ze, a trace of panic appeared on his face, but he quickly suppressed it. Then, he responded flippantly and said casually, ¡°Yeah. I couldn¡¯t find any clues in the villa, so I decided to come outside and try my luck.¡± When Fang Ze heard this, he didn¡¯t expose him. Instead, he smiled and said, ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± At this point, he asked, ¡°Then, Brother Han, are you planning to search for evidence in the east?¡± Fang Ze and Agent Han were currently in the east of the villa. Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s question, Han Kaiwei did not answer directly. Instead, he glanced at Fang Ze and asked casually, ¡°Are you also planning to search for evidence in the east?¡± Fang Ze nodded and said sincerely, ¡°Yeah, the east is where those suspects came from. I figured there¡¯d be some clues left along the way.¡± ¡°Now that the villa is almost fully searched, I think it¡¯s time to come and check in this direction.¡± Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Han Kaiwei said, ¡°Oh.¡± Then, he said shamelessly, ¡°Yes. Our plans are similar.¡± As he gestured with his hand, he casually made up a reason. ¡°Me? I heard from my colleagues in the identification team that the material of the huge stone cone that pierced the villa actually has some similarities to the material of the stones in the jungle to the east.¡± ¡°So, I thought I¡¯d come east to see if there were any signs of people digging up the stones.¡± ¡°After all, it makes more sense to use existing materials to materialize what you want than to create something out of thin air. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Fang Ze smiled and nodded. ¡°That makes sense. In that case, Brother Han, search the east. I¡¯ll go south and take a look.¡± Han Kaiwei almost doubled over from Fang Ze¡¯s words. He looked startled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you interested in the east too?¡± Fang Ze¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Yeah, but I finished searching yesterday, so I¡¯m just passing through today.¡± Han Kaiwei was speechless. ¡°See you at noon, Brother Han.¡± With that, Fang Ze smiled and patted Agent Han¡¯s arm. Then, he turned and walked away. As Wang Hao watched Fang Ze go, he looked grim and uncertain. A moment later, he spat fiercely on the ground. Then, he took out a walkie-talkie and said carelessly, ¡°Fang Ze went to the jungle south of the villa. I was left behind.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard the reason. It¡¯s not because I can¡¯t follow him. It¡¯s because he¡¯s too alert.¡± ¡°The rest is up to you guys.¡± ¡­ At this moment, Fang Ze, who was slowly walking away with his back to Han Kaiwei, gradually hid the smile on his face. This was because something didn¡¯t feel right. The villa where the murder had occurred was very large. Although most of it had been searched, there were actually many corners that had not been searched. Unless there was a definite direction, it was actually more efficient to continue searching inside the villa than finding a needle in a haystack outside. However, Han Kaiwei had left the villa and happened to follow him in the same direction. He didn¡¯t seem like a person who took initiative. Combined with the stalking he¡¯d sensed earlier¡­ Fang Ze thought there was something wrong. There was something very wrong. A theory came unbidden to his mind¡­ Could it be¡­ Was Han Kaiwei trying to steal the credit? After all, it was no secret that he could always obtain some important clues. After entering the task force, Han Kaiwei didn¡¯t get any useful clues. He had been mocked in private. Therefore, it did seem reasonable for Han Kaiwei to follow him and want to snatch the credit. In any case¡­ Han Kaiwei couldn¡¯t be spying on Fang Ze, right? They were all colleagues. Why would they monitor him for no reason? After considering for a moment, Fang Ze decided not to speculate. Anyway, he had already made physical contact with him. If Han Kaiwei made any strange moves in the future, he would pull him into the Late-Night Investigation Room and see what he was up to¡­ ¡­ After shaking off Han Kaiwei, Fang Ze continued with his paid loafing. Regardless of whether it was in the villa, outside the villa, or in the jungle, wherever there were colleagues, he was there. In the morning, he had come into contact with nearly half of his colleagues and had gained a lot. At noon, Fang Ze, who had ¡°worked hard¡± all morning, prepared to go for lunch. He strolled to the canteen and had just stepped through the door when Fang Ze realized that the atmosphere in the canteen was a little strange. Contrary to the usual bustling scene, many agents in the canteen did not dare to breathe loudly as they lowered their heads to eat. Fang Ze looked at them strangely and realized that they were all secretly glancing in the same direction. Fang Ze followed their gazes curiously. Then, he saw a beautiful young woman eating with her head lowered. Because her head was lowered, the beautiful woman¡¯s appearance could not be seen clearly. Fang Ze could only see that she was wearing a long purple dress with a pair of antlers embroidered on the collar. Meanwhile, above her tall and soft chest was a peony brooch. At first, Fang Ze didn¡¯t pay much attention to her. However, when he saw the color of the beautiful woman¡¯s clothes and attire, his gaze couldn¡¯t help but focus, and his pupils constricted slightly¡­ Chapter 5 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As an agent, Fang Ze was competent. Even though he had lost his memory, he still took the time to understand the Federation, the jurisdictions, and even the system and the basic situation of the states. Then, he was surprised to find that although the social development of this world was not at a low level , it still retained the aristocracy of the Middle Ages. Furthermore, unlike the symbolic nobles of Fang Ze¡¯s original world, the nobles of this world had many privileges that even stretched into the realm of daily life. Take for example the color and material of clothes in this world. At first, the lower-class citizens could only wear clothes made of ordinary materials such as artificial cotton, linen, and polyester. Furthermore, they could only wear clothes with inconspicuous colors. Meanwhile, nobles could wear silk and cashmere, as well as brightly colored clothes. Now, because of the progress of the times, this rule was gradually abolished. However, green, purple, and gold were still colors that only nobles could wear. As for decorations and jewelry, ordinary people could only wear simple patterns on their clothes and some simple jewelry. However, the clothes of nobles could have many complicated patterns. They could also wear coronets, brooches, and so on. Moreover, these patterns and headdresses that could only be used by nobles were given all kinds of special meanings by nobles. For example, a noble¡¯s collar usually had the family crest sewn on it, representing the family¡¯s glory. Furthermore, the pattern of a nobleman¡¯s clothing and the style of their jewelry often represented some ¡°hobby¡± or political inclination of the nobleman. For example, the peony brooch worn on the chest of the beautiful young woman in front of him represented her support for the ¡°New Liberal¡± ideology that was gradually becoming popular among the aristocrats. The array of colors, patterns, and jewelry combined to form the casual clothing of a nobleman. Therefore, as soon as he saw this woman¡¯s attire, Fang Ze understood the identity of this beautiful young woman in front of him. She was a noble young woman who supported the ¡°New Liberal¡± ideology. Just as Fang Ze was thinking this, the beautiful woman seemed to have finished her meal. She raised her head slightly and gently pulled back her hair, revealing a beautiful face. Her skin was as fair as snow and flawless. Her beautiful eyes were deeply embedded under her willowy eyebrows. Her slender eyelashes trembled slightly, adding a hint of mystery to her seductive eyes¡­ Seeing the beauty of this pretty woman, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but fall into a daze for a moment. Perhaps sensing Fang Ze¡¯s gaze, while Fang Ze was secretly sizing up the beautiful woman in front of him, the beautiful woman also glanced in his direction. Then, her beautiful eyes curved slightly, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. A faint smile appeared on her beautiful face. It should have been a meeting that left people captivated, but at that moment, Fang Ze felt as if his heart had been pricked by a needle, and all the hair on his body stood up. It was a response born of biological instinct. There was danger! He had to flee! He would die! Although he didn¡¯t understand why this was happening, Fang Ze decisively lowered his head. It was also at that moment that Fang Ze suddenly understood why most of his colleagues in the restaurant had their heads lowered. It seemed that everyone was curious about such a beautiful woman¡­ This strange atmosphere lasted until the beautiful woman left the canteen. As she and the people around her left, the atmosphere in the canteen relaxed. Everyone felt a lingering fear as they whispered about their experience. They talked about the beauty of the beautiful woman, her identity, and the beautiful female officers around her. Fang Ze wasn¡¯t so shallow. After all¡­ ¡°What? Were there other people with that woman?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t she alone?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice anyone beside her at all.¡± Fang Ze was a little embarrassed. After the awkwardness passed, Fang Ze looked around. He saw a person who he had happened to ¡°touch¡± this morning among the colleagues who were chatting at the table beside him. He raised his hand and greeted the colleague. Then, he asked, ¡°Brother Jiang, who was that woman just now?¡± The agent who had been addressed as Brother Jiang was chatting animatedly about the beautiful young woman when he suddenly heard someone call him. He turned around. When he saw that it was Fang Ze, he paused, as if hesitating. However, in the end, he might have remembered the requirements of the mission, so he explained, ¡°She¡¯s said to be an officer from the Security Bureau. I think her name is¡­ Bai Zhi.¡± ¡°The Security Bureau?¡± Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but look enlightened. No wonder¡­ The full name of the Security Bureau was the Special Security Protection Bureau. It was a department in the state that specialized in special affairs. All cases related to the Awakened and extraordinary powers were handled by them. Moreover, they had the special authority to arbitrarily deploy other violent departments in the state during the case. Their authority was very great. Actually, Fang Ze had been curious before this. After all, this case clearly involved the Awakened, but why was the Investigation Department in charge of solving the case? It had to be known that the agents in the Investigation Department were all ordinary people. Even if they solved the case, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch the culprits. Looking at it now, it was probably because the case had happened too suddenly and the Security Bureau had yet to rush over. Therefore, they had assigned the Investigation Department to do some preliminary case sorting before they took over. However, taking over was one thing. Generally speaking, for a murder case like this, it was good enough for the Security Bureau to send an ordinary team to handle it. In the end, a noble actually led the team. Compared to ordinary people, nobles often had a much higher starting point. Therefore, although he was not sure about this beautiful woman¡¯s rank, she was definitely not an ordinary person. ¡°It looks like the Security Bureau is taking this case very seriously¡­¡± As he thought about it, Fang Ze thought of the information about the Security bureau. It was said that the Security Bureau would secretly examine suitable talents in other departments in the state and recruit them into the organization. Furthermore, every talent who passed the inspection would be groomed to become an Awakened. Fang Ze felt that if he could not awaken his abilities by relying on the Late-Night Investigation Office, he could consider joining this bureau¡­ However, for now, he had to try it himself! Thinking of this, Fang Ze ate a few mouthfuls of that heavy-tasting lunch and began to excitedly look for the other agents who were eating in the canteen to ¡°put their arms around their shoulders¡±¡­ Behind him, Agent Jiang and the other agents who had witnessed Fang Ze¡¯s change in mood looked at each other strangely. What happened to this criminal today? Why was he acting strange¡­ ¡­ A day passed in the blink of an eye. Fang Ze successfully touched all of his ¡°colleagues¡± in the task force. He had basically added everyone to the list of people he could experiment with. In the evening, after dinner, Fang Ze ended his business of ¡°touching people¡± and returned to his temporary residence. When he returned to his temporary residence, his roommate, Wang Hao, was still not back. This was the first time Wang Hao had been back so late. Usually, he would leave late and come back early. His sudden absence today made Fang Ze, who would argue with Wang Hao a few times every time he came back, a little uncomfortable. He went to the toilet to wash up. Since he was not sleepy, Fang Ze could only lie on the table and write the report for tomorrow. Tomorrow was Friday, and there would be a regular meeting. Every agent had to share the clues they had uncovered. Although he had reported the clues from the past few days to the Commissioner, Fang Ze had gained something else today. While slacking with his colleagues, he had heard plenty of clues. For example, a colleague said that flying insects had been found in a certain direction in the jungle, but those insects had all landed on grass and trees. They clearly had vital signs, but they did not eat, drink, or move. This was clearly not a normal natural phenomenon. Another example was the ashes he had asked his colleagues in the identification team to identify yesterday. After preliminary testing, it was found that the mixed ashes in the dirt were from bird carcasses. As he twirled the pen in his hand and thought about these two clues, Fang Ze felt as if a line had connected. ¡°Birds were killed. Did they control the flying insects to investigate the situation¡­?¡± ¡°Is there indeed a fourth Awakened?¡± After boldly speculating, Fang Ze recorded these clues and deductions. Then, he completed his work for the day. This was the comfort of a life where he was paid to slack off. Wang Hao only came back late after Fang Ze finished writing the report for the regular meeting. As he gathered up the reports, Fang Ze asked Wang Hao curiously why he was back so late today. Wang Hao turned his head awkwardly and said that he had found a new clue. Seeing that he did not really want to talk about this topic, Fang Ze did not ask further. The agents in this world were very autonomous. If they asked too much about the other party, they would be suspected of stealing the credit. When he got back, Wang Hao didn¡¯t even wash up. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep. This was the first time he had slept earlier than Fang Ze. Fang Ze looked at Wang Hao¡¯s back and blinked in confusion. Then, he turned off the light and lay down, preparing to enter the Late-Night Investigation Room to investigate. He would be rewarded¡­ After an unknown period of time, an even breathing sound came from the bed beside Fang Ze. Listening to Wang Hao¡¯s breathing, Fang Ze gradually fell asleep¡­ In his sleep, Fang Ze seemed to have a strange dream. In his dream, he observed the forest outside the villa day after day. Every time he finished observing, he would go back and record the relevant information. However, when Fang Ze tried to see what he had recorded, he realized that he couldn¡¯t. He strained to see. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt his body heat up. When he regained his senses, he realized that he had already left the dream and was in the dark room again¡­ Chapter 6 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Compared to the last time he came to the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze was much calmer this time. As was his habit, he looked around the room first. After making sure that nothing had changed since the last time he had left, he went to the chair and sat down. He switched on the lamp. Dim light spilled across half the room, lending a glow to the darkened room. Then, Fang Ze looked down at his body. At some point, a fog had gradually enveloped his body. The fog was thin and impenetrable, like faint frosted glass. It allowed one to see the outline of the body, but not the details. Fang Ze tried to adjust his ¡°physique¡± in the fog so that no one would associate it with his real appearance. A moment later, the adjustment was successful. Seeing that it was effective, Fang Ze relaxed even more. Then, he reached out with his right hand and knocked lightly on the table in front of him with his index finger. Immediately, like last time, a three-dimensional image of a row of figures appeared before him. Looking at the rows of candidates he could choose from, Fang Ze fell into deep thought. Although there were a total of 21 agents in the task force, there were also some interesting people. However, after comparing them one by one, Fang Ze felt that he was most interested in Agent Han Kaiwei, who had followed him today, and his roommate, Wang Hao. ¡°However, I just had a conflict with Han Kaiwei today. If he encountered a mysterious incident closely after that, wouldn¡¯t that be too suspicious?¡± ¡°As for Wang Hao, I¡¯ve spent so much time with him. Even if he suddenly encountered a mysterious incident, he probably wouldn¡¯t associate it with me.¡± ¡°Furthermore, he¡¯s simple. He¡¯s easier to bluff and get information from.¡± ¡°Most importantly¡­ the material life in the high-leveled cities is too rich! There might be some unexpected gains!¡± ¡­ A second later, Fang Ze made his decision. He decided to investigate Wang Hao! It didn¡¯t matter if he had information about the red-light district or not. He just wanted to care about his roommate! After deciding on the candidate, Fang Ze began to think about his ¡°investigation¡±. Normal ¡°investigations¡± had a purpose. However, his investigation was aimless. It was hard to get any useful information. Therefore, if he wanted to obtain enough information, he could not follow the normal investigation method. It was better to change to another method. With this thought in mind, Fang Ze adjusted the layout and atmosphere of the entire room according to his imagination. Then, he gently clicked on Wang Hao¡¯s three-dimensional image¡­ ¡­ ¡­ As an agent from a high-leveled city, Jadeite City, Wang Hao was actually not as impressive as others thought. After joining the Jadeite City Investigation Department, because of his taciturn personality and lack of flattery, he was allocated to the red-light district. It was filled with a mix of good and bad people divided into factions. It was full of chaos and was unbearable. This was the most difficult area in Jadeite City to manage. However, perhaps people who were quiet were often a little stubborn and single-minded. Therefore, even though he had been assigned to such a terrible place, Wang Hao still diligently understood information about the region, sorted out information about the gangs, and worked hard to solve cases. He loved his job. He felt a huge sense of accomplishment every time he solved a case. He¡¯d thought his whole life would be like this. He¡¯d spent every day in the red-light district looking up information and solving cases. He would do this day after day. However, when a petite girl with a huge hammer on her back found him, everything changed¡­ ¡°Hello, Wang Hao. I¡¯m Bai Ling, the Level-2 Executive of the operations team in the Special Security Protection Bureau. You¡¯ve been selected by the Security Bureau and placed on the inspection list.¡± ¡°Next, you will be on a secret mission. You will become the roommate of a criminal, keep a close eye on him, and report his condition regularly to the Security Bureau,¡± ¡°When the mission is over, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll be selected to join the Security Bureau and have your powers awakened.¡± When he received this mission, Wang Hao was excited. He might be simple and quiet, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. After all, it was the Security Bureau. Everyone knew how special and powerful this department was. Who didn¡¯t want to have an Awakened ability? Therefore, he was fully focused on completing this secret mission. Who knew¡­ When he really came into contact with the criminal, Wang Hao was stunned. This was because Wang Hao realized that the criminal was passionate, sincere, hardworking, and optimistic. Although he teased Wang Hao from time to time, it was obvious that he treated Wang Hao as a friend. Furthermore, after spending every day with Fang Ze, Wang Hao didn¡¯t find him doing anything illegal. In addition, the other party had spared no effort in investigating this case. Sometimes, in a trance, Wang Hao even felt that Fang Ze was really his colleague and not a vicious criminal. This made Wang Hao¡¯s determined heart waver a little. Was he really a criminal? Could there be some inside story? Furthermore, in today¡¯s report, for some reason, Wang Hao took the initiative to say a lot of good things about his roommate to the intelligence interlocutor at the Security Bureau. Although the interlocutor from the Security Bureau didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Hao could feel the disappointment in their eyes. It put him in a bad mood. He sensed that this ¡°undercover¡± life might not suit him very well. He still missed being in the area he managed and working in peace. Therefore, in his dream, he also returned to the area he managed and began to check the buildings one by one. However, before he could finish his investigation, he suddenly realized that his dream had shattered. He had appeared in a completely unfamiliar and luxurious guest room¡­ ¡­ It was a room that was even more gorgeous than the villa where the murder had occurred. The floor was flawless and made of marble. Meanwhile, the carved walls were etched with ancient, mysterious patterns. There were a few world-famous paintings on the walls and expensive art on the shelves. Each piece was enough to drive the rich and powerful crazy. A mysterious man in a gorgeous aristocratic outfit who was shrouded in fog was sitting on the sofa, stroking his pet¡¯s head and watching him with interest. As for that mysterious person¡¯s pet¡­ It was a creature of disaster that Wang Hao had never seen in real life or in books. It had the body of a lion and two huge bat-like wings. Its body was slender and strong, and its tail was long and winding, with thorns at the end. It had two horns and was covered in scales. Its head was huge and terrifying, and its snake-like vertical eyes emitted a cold, dangerous light. Even if Wang Hao didn¡¯t understand how it attacked, just by feeling its aura, he had no doubt that this disaster creature could easily tear him apart. At this moment, this terrifying creature was lying at the mysterious person¡¯s feet like a puppy trying to please its master. It raised its chin and let the mysterious person stroke it. ¡°Gulp.¡± Wang Hao swallowed when he saw the shocking scene before him. His entire body tensed up, and he was filled with nervousness and unease. He wondered who the mysterious man before him was. He also wondered why the mysterious man had summoned him here. However, he knew that this person must be someone he could not afford to offend¡­ Thus, he did his best to calm himself down and waited patiently for the man to speak. However, what tormented him was that the mysterious person did not speak. Instead, he stroked the disaster creature while sizing Wang Hao up carefully. As the minutes passed, the atmosphere grew heavier and the pressure increased. Sweat beaded on Wang¡¯s forehead. He could wait no longer. Even though he didn¡¯t like to talk, at a time like this, he could only ask carefully, ¡°S-sir, did you summon me?¡± He was obviously not good with words. When he greeted the man, he stumbled¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile. ¡°Someone he could not afford to offend?¡± ¡°A disaster creature that could easily tear him apart?¡± Listening to Wang Hao¡¯s inner voice and feeling his uneasy emotions, the ¡°mystery man¡± Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh. It seemed that his slightly decorated room had worked. After confirming that his plan was feasible, Fang Ze continued to follow his plan. He chuckled in his altered voice and nodded slowly. ¡°Yes. I summoned you here.¡± ¡­ When Wang Hao heard the mysterious man¡¯s slightly raspy voice, his brain struggled to process and analyze the situation. He had indeed been summoned here by the mysterious person in front of him. But¡­ why? He began to ponder silently what exactly he had done to arouse the interest of the mysterious man before him. However, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not think of a single clue. He felt like a nobody. It was impossible to enter the eyes of such a big shot. He stole a glance at the mystery man in front of him. Although the other party was covered in fog, Wang Hao seemed to be able to sense his gaze. It was very gentle and relaxed. ¡°Does the other party mean no harm?¡± Somehow, Wang Hao came to this realization. It also allowed him to relax a little. This was the only type of person he couldn¡¯t get used to. This mysterious man in front of him spoke so little, even less than he did¡­ Thus, once again, he had to stumble to bring up the subject. ¡°Then may I ask, Sir, what has summoned me here? What¡ªwhat can I do for you?¡± The mystery man didn¡¯t say anything as he listened to Wang. He just smiled at Wang, as if he was watching his reaction with interest. After a moment, seeing that Wang Hao was very calm, the mysterious person nodded in satisfaction and spoke slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, little one. It¡¯s just a little hobby of mine.¡± ¡°I like to hear interesting stories, and I¡¯m willing to pay for them with a few insignificant trinkets.¡± ¡°I wonder¡­ Do you have a story that might interest me?¡± Chapter 7 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ ¡°A little hobby?¡± ¡°An interesting story?¡± ¡°Some insignificant trinket?¡± Wang Hao froze for a moment as he looked at the mysterious man in front of him and listened to what he was saying. Then, his heart began to beat slowly. Something seemed to occur to him¡­ A silent summons, a room of such opulence as to dazzle the eye, a disaster creature that was as docile as a pet, a simple but strange little request, and a ¡°insignificant¡± little gift¡­ Wasn¡¯t this the same as the ¡°miracles¡± that appeared in novels and radio broadcasts¡­? Furthermore, in an adventure like this, ¡°insignificant trinkets¡± were definitely not really ¡°insignificant.¡± After all, what was revealed between the fingers of a figure of this level might be a supreme treasure to ordinary people. Moreover, if there was something that could allow him to awaken his abilities and become an Awakened¡­ At the thought of this, Wang Hao¡¯s relaxed body involuntarily tensed up again. Thus, he calmed himself as best he could. Then, he looked up and asked innocently, ¡°Sir. May I ask if there¡¯s anything you can use to help me become an Awakened?¡± ¡­ Listening to Wang Hao¡¯s thoughts, the expression on the ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze¡¯s face became especially interesting. He knew that his roommate was simple and easy to fool. However, he never thought that his roommate would be so easy to fool. He had just casually said a few words and Wang Hao actually believed him? Furthermore, Wang Hao¡¯s imagination was even more perfect than his own design. This way, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to obtain high-value information and obtain a good reward. As for what his roommate wanted¡­ Fang Ze thought it was wonderful. He wanted it, too. Of course, as a ¡°big shot,¡± Fang Ze couldn¡¯t say these thoughts out loud. Thus, he tried to figure out how Wang Hao felt about him. He relaxed on the sofa and gently stroked the ¡°young dragon¡± at his feet. The ¡°young dragon¡± raised its long neck and purred in pleasure. Then, its nostrils flared. Then, Fang Ze spoke in a relaxed tone. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°As long as your story is interesting enough.¡± With the affirmation of the mysterious man, Wang Hao was suddenly filled with fighting spirit. He thought this might well be a chance to change his fate. Thus, using his eloquence, which he wasn¡¯t good at, he stumbled as he spoke. ¡°S¨CSir. I do have an interesting story.¡± ¡°It started 12 years ago¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a place called Linshan County. It¡¯s¡­¡± His story had just begun, but before he could continue, the mysterious man shook his head slightly and spoke in a disappointed tone. ¡®You may have misunderstood me.¡¯ ¡°The story I want to hear is something you experienced firsthand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about rumors.¡± The voice of the mysterious man grew distant, ethereal, and mysterious. ¡°You have to understand.¡± ¡°Stories told by the witnesses to the story are like a rich-tasting cake. They¡¯re full of tantalizing aromas. They¡¯re also very appetizing.¡± ¡°Meanwhile, the smell of a story like the one you¡¯re talking about, which has been passed down and processed by who knows how many people, has long since dissipated. It¡¯s even filled with the stench of rot and mold!¡± ¡°Do you understand?¡± Perhaps he had never seen the mysterious man so serious before, but Wang Hao was stunned for a moment. His initial confidence had turned into panic. ¡°My own story?¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t think I have anything interesting¡­¡± ¡°My family background is ordinary, my studies are ordinary, and my job is ordinary. The most extraordinary thing is that I was assigned to a high-leveled city for some reason. In the end, I was even ostracized to be in charge of the red-light district¡­¡± ¡°Is it possible that Sir wishes to hear such a story?¡± With that thought, Wang Hao began to lose confidence. He stumbled through his life story. This time, the mysterious man in front of him did not interrupt him, but he did not seem to be interested. As he spoke, Wang Hao could clearly sense that the other party was getting more and more disappointed. It also made Wang Hao feel more and more depressed. What else about him would be of interest to the mysterious man? As he thought about it, Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but think of two things that might interest the mysterious man. One of them was a past buried deep in his heart that he had never mentioned to anyone else. The other was about his roommate, a bizarre criminal who became an agent. Wang Hao actually didn¡¯t want to say either of these things. After all, one of them was his secret, and the other was a secret of the task force. However, in the face of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he was really unwilling to give up just like that. Of the two things, he should at least take a chance on one, right? Thus, he hesitated for a long moment. Eventually¡­ He gritted his teeth. Then, he spoke. ¡°Sir, actually¡­ I do have a story you might be interested in.¡± The mystery man made a noncommittal sound. Wang Hao sighed slightly and said, ¡°Actually¡­ I once had a very beautiful love, but I personally destroyed it.¡± At this point, his eyes were full of nostalgia. ¡°She¡¯s a girl I met when I was working part-time in college. She¡¯s as pretty as an angel, and she¡¯s optimistic and cheerful. All the good words in the world seem to apply to her.¡± ¡°However, she wasn¡¯t human. Or rather, she was not an ordinary human.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an Awakened. Her Awakened ability comes from her family¡¯s bloodline: Skeleton¡­¡± The ¡°mysterious man¡± sat up a little, obviously a little more interested. However, at this moment, Wang Hao no longer cared about the other party¡¯s attitude. He was completely immersed in the past and started talking to himself. Instead of telling a story, it was more like a confession from him. Clearly, it had been weighing on his mind for a long, long time. He¡¯d been meaning to let it out. This state made Fang Ze especially comfortable. He had not expected that his impromptu little plan would actually allow him to succeed in prying into his roommate¡¯s secret past. Furthermore, he had learned of such an interesting ability. [Skeleton: With the awakening of this power, the user¡¯s flesh and bones will be completely separated. The soul will reside on the bones, but the body can be abandoned at will, or replaced like changing clothes.] Therefore, gender and race meant nothing to an Awakened with this ability¡­ They collected the flesh of various creatures as their ¡°clothes¡± and exerted different powers. This was one of the Awakened abilities that were best for disguise and investigation¡­ Just like that, one person spoke while the other listened. This continued until the end of the story. Fang Ze listened with relish. He also understood why his roommate had broken up with that woman. After all¡­ Who knew if the other party was really a woman! Even if one could determine her gender through her bones, but¡­ Who knew if that skin and flesh were hers, or¡­ How many years their family had passed down the bones¡­ However, although he was very satisfied with his roommate¡¯s story, Fang Ze still had to put on a full show. He could not really help his roommate awaken, so although he listened attentively, he kept shaking his head slightly to pave the way for his subsequent refusal. Towards the end of the story, Wang Hao gradually came back to his senses and realized that the ¡°mysterious man¡± in front of him didn¡¯t have a high opinion of his story. He did not think that the ¡°mysterious man¡± in front of him was deliberately making things difficult for him. After all, there was no need for such a big shot to tease him. He just thought that perhaps the other party had heard too many similar stories or knew too many similar Awakened abilities, so the mysterious man did not think that what had happened to him was very surprising. What he thought was exciting might just be because he was in the story and had invested his feelings. To others, it might just be a very melodramatic love story. However, when he thought about how his secret experience had failed to gain the approval of this mysterious man in front of him, Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little discouraged. Thus, he stopped slowly with a little sigh. He gave up. He gave the mysterious man a small, frustrated bow and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m so sorry. My life may indeed not have been exciting enough to satisfy you. If I continue, I may only be delaying your precious time.¡± ¡°So, can you let me go back now?¡± Actually, Fang Ze felt that his roommate¡¯s relationship was quite exciting. However, he was indeed tired after a wasted night of storytelling. Thus, he gave a faint grunt and said, ¡°Of course.¡± At this point, he added in a flat voice, ¡°Actually, your story is not bad. It¡¯s just missing a little¡­¡± There was no pity in his tone, like a master who praised their disciple politely before they left. With that, Fang Ze prepared to send Wang Hao back. At that moment. Perhaps the words of the ¡°mysterious man¡± had provoked Wang Hao. Wang Hao looked distinctly hesitant. ¡°Just missing a little?¡± ¡°I have two stories. One of them failed, but I still have the other¡­ Should I take another gamble?¡± He hesitated, hesitated¡­ After a moment, he finally made up his mind. Then, he quickly shouted, ¡°Sir! Please wait! Please give me another chance!¡± Fang Ze was stunned by his roommate¡¯s sudden behavior. Then, he stopped what he was doing reflexively. However, he then remembered his ¡°identity,¡± so he resumed his disguise and sat there, cold-faced and silent while watching Wang Hao. At that moment, Wang Hao realized that he had lost his composure. This was because the terrifying disaster creature under the mysterious man¡¯s feet had already turned its head and stared at him coldly. Its vertical pupils were filled with a dangerous light. As its huge mouth opened and closed, flames flowed out¡­ Thus, Wang Hao quickly salvaged the situation. He said, ¡°Sir, please forgive my rudeness. It¡¯s just that I suddenly thought of a story you must be interested in!¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the roommate I live with!¡± The ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze was slightly stunned. Then he quietly said, ¡°Yes?¡± Seeing that the mysterious man in front of him was not angry, Wang Hao heaved a sigh of relief. However, he also knew that opportunities were precious, so he spoke quickly and simply. ¡°Here¡¯s the deal. I may be an agent, but my roommate is a criminal.¡± ¡°He and his partners planned and carried out the murder of a wealthy businessman.¡± ¡°While retreating, it seems they were attacked by some force.¡± ¡°His accomplices escaped, but he was injured and unconscious. Then, he was discovered by the Investigation Department that came after them.¡± ¡°When he woke up, he¡¯d lost his memory. The Investigation Department and the Security Bureau decided to fake his identity and make him think he was an agent. They wanted him to help solve the case and lure his partners into showing up.¡± ¡°Furthermore, I was given the secret assignment of becoming his roommate and keeping a close eye on him!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± At the same time, the ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze was speechless. ??? ¡°Hold on.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± ¡°What did I hear?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a criminal???¡± At that moment, belatedly, Fang Ze suspected that something was wrong with his ears¡­ Chapter 8 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ At the same time, just as Fang Ze was doubting his life¡­ In the jungle outside the villa. A petite girl with a large hammer strapped to her back sped through the jungle. She had an oval face the size of a palm. Her face had a little baby fat. She also had big eyes, long eyelashes, and a kind of innocence that tempted crime. She was wearing a short white dress with straps and shallow shoes with a blue flower pattern. She should have looked cute and pure. However, all of this was ruined by the huge hammer behind her that was taller than her. The hammer looked to be at least 1.6 meters tall, with a heavy head and a light rear. The head of the hammer had eight edges and six petals, making it look like a big pumpkin. It seemed mighty and domineering. However, when it was placed on her, there was an innocent and cute aura. When she reached the perimeter of the villa, the girl stopped. Then, she looked around to make sure that no one was nearby. Her small head swayed, and her ears instantly turned into black leopard ears, while her nose turned into a black leopard nose. Then, without hesitation, she dropped to her belly, lowered her head, stuck out her butt, and sniffed around. The silver moon was high in the sky. It shone down on her, forming a small shadow with a tail on the ground. With her tail raised, she sniffed her way to a tree. When she reached the tree, she stood up and hesitated for two seconds, tilting her head to look at it. Then, she picked up the pumpkin hammer that was bigger than she was and hammered it three times at the tree. The tree snapped. The girl stood confidently in front of it with her hands on her hips and her slender black leopard tail raised. ¡­ ¡­ A minute later¡­ A cool breeze blew past. The girl scratched her furry ears in confusion. ¡°Huh? Is this the wrong tree?¡± The fallen tree was silent. The girl stamped her foot angrily, then raised her nose again and sniffed. This time she chose a tree on the right, then began to smash it again¡­ A moment later, the tree lit up with a faint glow. It parted to the left and right, revealing a huge arena inside. There were a few uniformed men working nervously in the arena. In the middle of the venue, Bai Zhi, the beautiful woman Fang Ze had seen earlier in the day, was sitting elegantly on the sofa, looking at Fang Ze¡¯s image on the screen. When the girl saw Bai Zhi, a cute smile appeared on her face. Then, she retracted her leopard characteristics and skipped into the secret place. Behind her, the light dissipated, the tree closed, and moonlight poured down onto the quiet clearing. It was as if nothing had happened. Only the unlucky tree at the side lay on the ground with fallen leaves¡­ When she arrived at the secret place, the girl saluted Bai Zhi and said happily, ¡°Sister Bai, I followed your request and visited the slums where Fang Ze lives.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as you would expect. He¡¯s changed remarkably from his old self.¡± As she spoke, the girl took out a document from thin air and handed it to Bai Zhi. ¡°This is the testimony from everyone I investigated.¡± Bai Zhi took the materials. She looked down at it and scanned the contents. After a moment, she looked up and asked softly, ¡°Is there anyone close to him in the slums?¡± Her voice was soft and velvety, as if a kitten had reached out a meaty paw and was gently tickling one¡¯s heart. The girl nodded. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a neighbor who is around his age. She¡¯s a girl who lives alone and has a hard life.¡± ¡°That girl seemed to have been indebted to his family before. Then, after his parents died, although the girl herself was in danger, she still helped him from time to time.¡± ¡°However, the original him seems to have a strong ego, so he often didn¡¯t accept her help. In fact, he even hit that girl. He¡¯s simply a scumbag¡­¡± Bai Zhi nodded and said, ¡°In that case, find a chance in the next two days to arrange for them to meet and see the effects.¡± The girl clearly did not understand Bai Zhi¡¯s idea, so she tilted her head in confusion and asked, ¡°Sister Bai, why are you investigating these and arranging for them to meet?¡± At this point, she paused and said, ¡°Besides, you even took the initiative to show up and meet with that suspect today. How strange¡­¡± Bai Zhi did not answer her question directly. Instead, she looked at the screen in front of her and spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve been reading Wang Hao¡¯s daily reports for a while. I paid attention to his reports today. He doesn¡¯t think Fang Ze looks like a criminal¡­¡± The girl looked surprised at Bai Zhi¡¯s words. ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like a criminal? Could he have been planted?!¡± Then, she quickly shook her head. ¡°That can¡¯t be right. He had the logo of that organization on him, and in the subsequent investigation, we found evidence that he was transmitting intelligence.¡± ¡°In addition, there¡¯s other supplementary information. If he¡¯s really a planted spy, this plan was really too seamless, right?¡± Bai Zhi chuckled at the girl¡¯s words. Then, she tapped the girl¡¯s forehead and said, ¡°Silly girl. Of course there can¡¯t be such a seamless thing, so he must be a member of that organization.¡± Upon hearing Bai Zhi¡¯s answer, the girl was even more puzzled. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then¡­¡± Bai Zhi didn¡¯t answer. With a smile on her lips, she looked at Fang Ze¡¯s image on the surveillance screen in front of her and then brought up the previous topic. ¡°Earlier, you asked me why I went to see him today.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something wrong with him today?¡± The girl blinked in confusion. ¡°Huh? Something wrong?¡± Bai Zhi said softly, ¡°He suddenly stopped solving cases and started coming into contact with the people from the task force one by one.¡± ¡°Why do you think he did that?¡± As she spoke, she looked at Fang Ze¡¯s image in the surveillance camera. Her beautiful face had a faint smile, as if she had seen a very interesting prey¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile, in the Late-Night Investigation Room. After the initial shock, the ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze finally calmed down gradually. At this moment, he was no longer relaxed or at ease. Was he really a criminal? Then, were the 20 or so senior agents, official agents, and trainee agents in the task force all acting along with him to get information? What the hell was this? Was this The Truman Show? Furthermore¡­ Most importantly, he didn¡¯t even notice it from the beginning to the end?! Thinking about how he had always felt that his colleagues loved him and cared about him more than the case, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed! He was truly a fool¡­ At this moment, he only wanted to quickly take out his phone, take a photo, and post it on his WeChat Moments to suppress his shock. Oh. Were there no WeChat Moments in this world? Furthermore, low-leveled cities had no mobile phones either. In that case. Danger¡­ ¡­ While the ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze was letting his imagination run wild, Wang Hao was actually feeling a little uneasy. After all, since he¡¯d told the story, the mysterious man in front of him seemed to have fallen asleep. He said nothing. He didn¡¯t move. Previously, the mysterious man would show an attitude from time to time, but now¡­ There was no reaction. Furthermore what made Wang Hao even more uneasy was that the pet of the mysterious man, the terrifying creature of disaster. He didn¡¯t know what had happened, but suddenly it was as if its eyes had lost their focus, and its body had started to distort¡­ Wang Hao didn¡¯t know what was going on. He just stood there in a daze, his forehead already dripping with sweat¡­ Just as he was feeling uneasy, the mysterious man Fang Ze regained his senses. He noticed the abnormality immediately, so he followed Wang Hao¡¯s gaze and saw the young dragon under his feet. In that instant, he thought, ¡°Oh no¡±. Although he could adjust the layout and furnishings of the Late-Night Investigation Room, he did not have the ability to summon supernatural creatures. Therefore, the ¡°young dragon¡± in front of him was actually just a carefully made replica doll. It was completely empty. Fang Ze had to operate it the entire time to make it lifelike. Furthermore, just now, Fang Ze was too shocked and forgot to operate the young dragon, which made it slip up. In that instant, Fang Ze¡¯s mind raced. A moment later, he made his decision! ¡­ At this moment, Wang Hao was getting more and more anxious. He stood there with his head lowered, but he kept sneaking glances at the horrible disaster creature out of the corner of his eye. He realized that the horrible disaster creature was getting stranger and stranger. Its body was beginning to twist into a ball. Its neck was twitching. Its bloody mouth was opening and closing. Its eyes were bulging, as if it was experiencing some kind of pain¡­ Just when he didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened. Suddenly, he heard a soft sigh. ¡°Sigh¡­ I failed again. It seems that creating disaster creatures isn¡¯t that simple¡­¡± Startled, Wang Hao looked up at the mysterious man. The mysterious man was shrouded in a thin fog, his expression unreadable. Slowly, he raised his hand and slapped it downwards. There was a splat! Then, the terrifying disaster creature in front of him was slapped into a pool of blood and exploded on the pure white luxurious carpet¡­ Chapter 9 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Blood splattered, and the farthest drop landed at Wang Hao¡¯s feet. Wang Hao took a step back in shock. However, when he looked up at the mysterious man in front of him, he was surprised to find that even though he was the closest to the site of the incident, the mysterious man and even the sofa that the mysterious man was sitting on were not stained with blood¡­ Recalling what the mysterious man had said just now, Wang Hao¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but thump¡­ ¡°Did the disaster creature fail¡­?¡± ¡°No wonder that disaster creature became so strange.¡± ¡°There must have been some unknown aberration in the creation process, right?¡± Thinking about how the mysterious man in front of him could even create disaster creatures, Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but feel even more excited¡­ ¡°The person in front of me is indeed an unimaginable big shot¡­¡± ¡°Furthermore, if he can even create disaster creatures, then I¡¯m sure it would be easy for him to help me become an Awakened, right?¡± As he thought this, the hand of the mysterious man in front of him raised slightly. Then, Wang Hao realized that the blood before his eyes and on the ground was slowly disappearing. If he hadn¡¯t seen that horrible disaster creature with his own eyes, he might have thought what he was seeing was just a dream. He swallowed involuntarily, then stole a glance at the mysterious man. He saw that the mysterious man simply sat there and did not speak. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, he mustered his courage and asked in a low voice, ¡°Sir¡­ May I ask if you are satisfied with my last story?¡± ¡­ ¡°May I ask if you are satisfied?¡± Upon hearing Wang Hao¡¯s words, Fang Ze was speechless. After a moment, he leaned back and rested his hand on the arm of the sofa. He nodded slowly. ¡°Not bad¡­¡± Hearing the mysterious man¡¯s answer, Wang Hao was pleasantly surprised. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish the sentence, but Fang Ze knew what he meant. Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but think about this. Originally, Fang Ze only wanted to test the abilities of this room and see if he could obtain any valuable ¡°gains¡±. However, before he could see the ¡°gains¡±, the information shocked him. Furthermore, now that he suddenly realized that he was in danger, Fang Ze was not as relaxed as before. He began to wonder how the hell he was going to get through this. At this point, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but look at his roommate. Perhaps¡­ His roommate and this Late-Night Investigation Room would be the key to solving this dilemma. Thinking of this, Fang Ze hesitated for another moment, then made up his mind. He tapped his hand lightly on the arm of the sofa, then spoke slowly in his mysterious, low, husky voice. ¡°That last story of yours was certainly not bad.¡± ¡°However¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s still incomplete¡­¡± ¡°Incomplete?¡± Wang Hao hesitated slightly. The ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze nodded. Then, he said in a guiding tone, ¡°You only know that your roommate is a member of a criminal organization, but¡­ you don¡¯t know what organization they are from, and what your roommate is in that organization.¡± ¡°You only know that the organization wiped out the wealthy businessman, but the reason for doing so is not clear.¡± ¡°All you know is that members of that group were attacked during the retreat, but not by whom.¡± ¡°Besides, from what you¡¯ve told me, this case of yours hasn¡¯t been solved. The final outcome of the roommate hasn¡¯t been determined.¡± ¡°This story doesn¡¯t have any cause or consequence¡­¡± At this point, he crossed his arms over his abdomen and slowly evaluated, ¡°An item that can Awaken a person won¡¯t be so cheap¡­¡± Upon hearing the mysterious man¡¯s words, Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Then¡­ if I finish the story, can I get the item that will help me to awaken my abilities?¡± The ¡°mysterious man¡± seemed to weigh the value of both clauses. After a moment, he nodded slightly. ¡°Sure.¡± With just one word, Wang Hao was instantly filled with fighting spirit! He said, ¡°In that case, please give me time! I will definitely investigate all of this and tell you the full story!¡± The mystery man smiled at his words, then said calmly, ¡°All right.¡± Seeing that the matter was settled, Wang Hao asked again, ¡°Sir, may I ask how I can contact you after my story has progressed?¡± Upon hearing his words, the mysterious man smiled mysteriously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­¡± Then, he spoke slowly in his hoarse, mysterious, and deep voice. ¡°You don¡¯t need to contact me.¡± ¡°Because I will always¡­ watch over you¡­¡± As he listened to the mystery man, Wang Hao suddenly felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. He tried to resist, but his resistance seemed to be a little too weak compared to this sleepiness. In less than a second, he fell into a deep sleep¡­ ¡­ Fang Ze sat on the sofa for a long time as he watched his roommate fade away and disappear. After what seemed an eternity, he took a deep breath. Then, he got up and went to the bookshelf. He turned it over, revealing the battered lamp behind it. There was a click as he turned off the lamp. With the lamp turned off, the entire marble floor, the carved walls, the world-famous paintings, and the expensive art all dissipated like bubbles. In a moment, the entire luxurious room returned to its original dim and simple appearance. In the middle of the room were two simple tables and chairs. On the table near Fang Ze was a pale pink book-like object. ¡°Is that what this investigation has yielded?¡± Seeing the book-like item, Fang Ze, who was filled with negative emotions, couldn¡¯t help but feel a little excited. ¡°Is this a book?¡± ¡°Is it some kind of relic with extraordinary powers?¡± ¡°Is it a secret manual that records the methods of awakening?¡± ¡°Does it contain some key information?¡± ¡°Can it solve my current crisis?¡± With these thoughts, Fang Ze quickly put the lamp on the table and picked up the book. Two seconds later. With a bang, Fang Ze slammed the book to the floor. Pop! The title of the book was, ¡°Magnificent Nightlife: The Golden Rooster List of the Red Light District in June.¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Realizing that his ¡°gains¡± this time were too useless, the exasperated Fang Ze planned to leave the Late-Night Investigation Room and go back to sleep. However, at that moment, he suddenly froze and exclaimed softly. This was because he realized that after the book fell, a short passage of information appeared in his mind. It was about the book on the floor. ¡°The Salty Magazine?¡± ¡°A disposable relic?¡± ¡°After reading this Magazine seriously, when I open it again, I will receive a 1.5-hour special status bonus called ¡®Sage¡¯.¡± ¡°In the ¡®Sage¡¯ state, the user will lose his emotions and be in an absolutely calm state. Although it won¡¯t increase his intelligence, he can execute his plan more perfectly and¡­ make people more convinced and close to him?¡± After sorting out the information in his mind, Fang Ze was a little surprised. The magazine in front of him was actually a precious artifact called the [Salty Magazine]. It was a one-time use item. However, it was also an extraordinary item after all. This was the first time Fang Ze had come into contact with such a magical power. As for the effect¡­ It was nothing special, right? However, Fang Ze felt that it was just right to test it out. It wouldn¡¯t hurt. It occurred to him that the way to use it was to read it first. Thus, Fang Ze picked up the Magazine from the floor, then sat down in a chair, flipped open the pages, and began to read¡­ Looking at the coquettish women wearing very little clothes on the pages, to be honest, Fang Ze could not calm down. This was because he had never expected that he would be forced to read such a magazine for the first time in his two lifetimes¡­ It was supposed to be a pleasant thing, but it turned out to be so perverted! It completely put him out of the mood! A minute later¡­ ¡°Hiss. Are their waists so flexible?¡± ¡°Damn. This tongue can tie knots, eh?¡± ¡°Yo, yo, yo. There¡¯s actually a filly. I¡¯ve learned something new.¡± ¡°The material life of a high-leveled city is indeed rich!¡± ¡­ Chapter 10 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ The next morning. The pale pink morning sun stained half the sky to the east. The dew, with the tender green smell of grass, hung in the air. The wind rustled the dense leaves, composing a delightful ensemble. Everything was warm and peaceful. The only pity was that there were fewer insect noises and birds chirping. In the temporary residence of the task force, Fang Ze got out of bed. He yawned and patted his slightly tired face. Then, he looked at his roommate, who was sitting on the next bed, lost in thought. Sensing Fang Ze¡¯s gaze on him, Wang Hao snapped out of it and turned to look at him. He forced an incredibly friendly fake smile and handed him an orange. Fang Ze took the orange and returned the ¡°sincere¡± smile. With such a considerate roommate, Fang Ze felt that he could sleep in peace¡­ He left the dormitory, humming a song from his previous life, and strolled to the cafeteria. He ordered a few meals. There were braised pork shoulder with extra sugar, spicy and sour squid, and salty steamed buns with condensed milk. He found a table and sat down. Then, he took two big bites. Fang Ze felt very satisfied. He was provided for by the government as soon as he transmigrated. Furthermore, the future was really too ¡°hopeful¡±¡­ During his meal, many colleagues came to eat. When they saw Fang Ze, they all smiled and took the initiative to greet him. Fang Ze smiled back at each of them, exchanging pleasantries and greetings. What was the most fearful thing at work? It was not being able to handle one¡¯s relationship with their colleagues well. His colleagues were so ¡°enthusiastic¡± and he was so ¡°friendly¡±. They were really ¡°a loving family¡±. ¡°Life is too good to be true.¡± After they left, Fang Ze, who was sitting alone at the table, lowered his head and took a big bite of the steamed bun. The salty steamed buns tasted bitter and salty without the condensed milk¡­ It was just like the smell of this wonderful life. He finished his meal and left the canteen. Outside the canteen were a few old cameras placed by the deceased villa owner. The cameras were pointing directly at him, blinking a faint red light, but according to his colleague, it was no longer working. Fang Ze believed them. Just like how he believed in this shitty world¡­ ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m truly a fool¡­¡± Taking a deep breath and adjusting his mood, Fang Ze walked towards the temporary meeting room on the first floor of the villa with a smile. Today was Friday, the day of the weekly meeting. On the way, it was rare that no one was following, monitoring, or disturbing him. Fang Ze took the opportunity to compose himself and start thinking seriously about his future¡­ Although last night¡¯s events had been sudden and brief, they still had a very big impact on his life. It also completely shattered the entire world he had known since he transmigrated. He hadn¡¯t expected his life to be so ¡°good.¡± It was so ¡°good¡± that it exceeded his expectations. Therefore, he needed to re-plan his life after transmigration and resolve the predicament he was in now¡­ First, he had to sort out his situation. He decided there was no way he could run. He couldn¡¯t even get rid of the Security Bureau, which hid in the shadows and had extraordinary powers, let alone the 20 agents who monitored him at all times. If he couldn¡¯t run, then he had to find a way to break through. There were two ways to break through. The first was to break through with strength. If Fang Ze had the strength to fight the task force and the Security Bureau team, everything would be settled. Furthermore, to achieve that goal, Fang Ze felt that he still had to rely on the Late-Night Investigation Room. Last night, the first experiment at the Late-Night Investigation Room allowed Fang Ze to obtain an extraordinary artifact. This filled him with confidence in this magical room! Once he obtained a key extraordinary artifact or awakened his abilities, Fang Ze¡¯s crisis might be resolved immediately. Therefore, Fang Ze had to buy as much time as possible to develop himself. The second way to break through was through intelligence. Fang Ze felt that based on what Wang Hao had told him last night, there was probably more to this case. Coupled with the special attention the Security Bureau paid to this case and himself, it was obvious that something was wrong. Fang Ze felt that as long as he investigated the case and learned the purpose of the Security Bureau and the Investigation Department, he might be able to negotiate by helping them achieve their goals. Then, perhaps, he could also break through. Similarly, this method required enough time. Thus, to get enough time, Fang Ze felt he had to take action. He couldn¡¯t let the whole thing go according to the task force¡¯s plan. He had to add some chaos to the task force. He had to muddle the waters to give himself time to develop and investigate. Finally, and most importantly¡­ Fang Ze had to think of a way to clean up the mess he had made yesterday. In order to test his cheat code yesterday, what Fang Ze did was very out of line, and there were many suspicious points. If he was an agent, then these things would be fine. However, he was a criminal. In that case, it would be too suspicious for him to come into contact with every agent on the task force and shake off surveillance afterwards. Therefore, Fang Ze had to smooth over yesterday¡¯s incident. Otherwise, he would probably be invited to tea by the Security Bureau soon¡­ ¡°But¡­ How exactly should I smooth over what happened yesterday?¡± Fang Ze muttered something. Then, he looked up and saw someone he knew. It was Agent Han Kaiwei, who¡¯d followed him before. ¡°Eh¡­?¡± Fang Ze froze when he saw Han Kaiwei. Then, in that instant, lightning flashed in his mind. He seemed to have suddenly thought of what he should do. He mentally reviewed his plan. He felt that although it was a little risky, if he succeeded, he might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Not only could he smooth over yesterday¡¯s abnormality, but he could also stir up the waters of the task force. The only slight problem was that he might have to take quite a risk. Thinking of this, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but think of the extraordinary artifact he had obtained last night, the Salty Magazine. ¡°Can this allow me to execute my plan more perfectly?¡± ¡°Can this make people more convinced and close to me?¡± Eh? It seemed that¡­ He could use the ability of the Magazine in his plan! In that case, the risk seemed much smaller. It just so happened that he wanted to see how effective this extraordinary artifact was¡­ He would treat this as an experiment. With this thought in mind, Fang Ze went through his plan again. After he confirmed that there were no issues, he turned and put a warm smile on his face. He waved at Han Kaiwei. ¡°Brother Han? Are you going to the meeting? Let¡¯s go together.¡± ¡­ Ever since he was fooled by Fang Ze a few days ago, Han Kaiwei had received a lot of eye rolls from the task force. In addition, he had no gains this week, so Han Kaiwei planned to be more proactive during the regular meeting. Thus, after breakfast, he headed for the meeting room early. However, halfway there, he suddenly heard someone greeting him. He was surprised. There were actually agents on the task force who took the initiative to greet him? The sun had really risen from the west. Then, he tilted his head and saw the ¡°criminal¡± who¡¯d shaken off his surveillance. Han Kaiwei was stunned for a moment. He was a devil-may-care type to begin with, and he didn¡¯t need him to spy on Fang Ze today, so he hesitated for a moment and pretended not to hear Fang Ze. His head made a 180-degree turn, and he headed in the opposite direction with his head held high and whistling. Chapter 11 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Seeing that Han Kaiwei was not playing by the rules, Fang Ze was stunned for a second. However, he had already planned everything. How could he let Han Kaiwei escape? Therefore, he shamelessly ran a few steps and leaned over again. He even said in a friendly manner, ¡°Brother Han, are you going to the meeting? You¡¯re going in the opposite direction.¡± Seeing that the other party was so enthusiastic, Han Kaiwei couldn¡¯t continue to pretend not to see him. Therefore, he could only raise his head and squeeze out a fake smile. In his usual sloppy voice, he said, ¡°Hehe, is that so? Oh¡­ I do seem to have gone the wrong way.¡± Although Han Kaiwei did not like the criminal in front of him, he still had to cooperate with everyone if he wanted to survive in the Investigation Department. Therefore, after saying this, Han Kaiwei asked casually as he walked back to the right path, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Little Fang, why are you looking for me?¡± Seeing that Han Kaiwei had finally fallen into the trap, Fang Ze was relieved. He followed the plan and said with a smile, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t gained much these few days and I¡¯m a little anxious. So I wanted to ask if Brother Han has gained anything.¡± Upon hearing this, Han Kaiwei couldn¡¯t help but look at Fang Ze strangely. Although he knew that this was the result of the brainwashing from the task force, when he saw a criminal working so hard to collect evidence of his crimes, he could not help but feel that the other party was very¡­ retarded. Then, the thought that he was actually competing with a retard instantly made him feel even more retarded. Therefore, he also calmed down. He narrowed his eyes and said nonchalantly, ¡°My gains? I didn¡¯t find much.¡± Hearing Han Kaiwei¡¯s words, Fang Ze snorted and said in distress, ¡°Looks like no one found anything this week.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a particularly miserable haul this week.¡± ¡°All that was found was the ashes of some dead birds that had been burned.¡± ¡°I found some flying insects in a strange state.¡± ¡°I analyzed the existence of a fourth Awakened.¡± ¡°In fact, I even analyzed the abilities of the fourth Awakened.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Han Kaiwei almost choked on his saliva as he listened to Fang Ze¡¯s words. He patted his chest and coughed a few times to calm himself. Then, he looked at Fang Ze, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Was he showing off? Was he really showing off? Han Kaiwei had just suspected that he had an ordinary relationship with this criminal in front of him. Furthermore, there had been some conflict because of the surveillance yesterday. Why was the other party chatting with him? Now he understood. The other party probably didn¡¯t like him because of what happened yesterday. Therefore, he came to the meeting to show off and anger him. However¡­ Wasn¡¯t it a little silly to show these off to him? He was a criminal. Would Han Kaiwei be angry if he showed off by showing how much incriminating evidence he had found? He would only feel that it was ridiculous. In that instant, he suddenly found his colleague¡¯s pleasure. It turned out that bullying a fool was such an interesting thing. It was no wonder his colleagues liked to play with this fool. Therefore, he could not help but be in the mood to play along with this fool. Seeing the fool in front of him showing off how he found clues and analyzed the evidence, Han Kaiwei¡¯s mood became extremely beautiful. He could barely keep the smile off his face. ¡°Go on, tell me. When the truth comes out, you¡¯ll know how stupid you are¡­¡± At this moment, Fang Ze was also chatting very happily. Looking at the uncontrollable smile on Agent Han¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh. ¡°Laugh, laugh. When you know why I¡¯ve told you so much, you¡¯ll know how naive you are¡­¡± Just like that, the two of them, each with their own agenda, walked and chatted all the way to the meeting room. They looked at each other in the meeting room, wiped the ¡°sincere¡± smiles from their faces, and nodded ever so slightly. Then, they each took their ¡°victory¡± and returned to their seats. They went to their seats and sat down. Fang Ze smiled and looked down as he sorted through his folders. In the folder, there was the report he had written last night, as well as the precious artifact, the Magazine, that he had obtained last night. He put the things away to avoid social embarrassment. Then, Fang Ze watched quietly as the seats of the meeting room were filled one by one. Since Fang Ze was the first few people to reach the meeting room, he saw almost every agent. For example, he saw a senior agent, Shan Hui, who was in his fifties and was the most senior member of the task force. He always had droopy eyelids, with tucked-in sleeves and a thermos in his hand. He constantly kept a low profile. Fang Ze also saw senior agent Cui Xuemin, who was fair-skinned and always wore a pair of gold-framed glasses. It was said that his family had a strong background and he was just at the Investigation Department to be gilded. For example, Agent Qin and Agent Jiang, who had interacted with Fang Ze before, were also there. For example¡­ Fang Ze¡¯s roommate, Wang Hao, was present as well. It didn¡¯t matter whether it was the agent who came in first or later on. It didn¡¯t matter whether it was an agent who had interacted with Fang Ze before or an agent he didn¡¯t know well. Even though the meeting room was already full, they all glanced in Fang Ze¡¯s direction when they entered. Fang Ze took in everyone¡¯s gaze and had a rough idea. It seemed that everyone knew his identity. The entire task force was cooperating with his acting. In that case¡­ What kind of secret mission was Wang Hao¡¯s mission? Was it a secret mission that everyone knew about? Fang Ze was simply speechless. He felt that his roommate was really too innocent. He had been casually fooled and believed him. He was still the best. At least he had worked hard to fabricate a persona and even created a ¡°young dragon¡± to fool Wang Hao. How sincere! He then glanced at his ¡°colleagues¡± who were sitting on either side of the rectangular conference table and chatting quietly with the people around them. For some reason, Fang Ze thought this looked especially like a large-scale Werewolf game. Furthermore, it was one with 20 Prophets and one Werewolf. Fang Ze mentally simulated the ¡°game.¡± ¡°Please open your eyes, Prophet.¡± Oh¡­ Everyone else opened their eyes. Only one Werewolf was still there with their eyes stupidly closed. Furthermore, the Werewolf thought that he was a Prophet who couldn¡¯t open his eyes¡­ Fang Ze remembered his experience in playing Werewolf in his previous life. How did Werewolves usually handle situations like this? Well¡­ How could such an extremely unfair role allocation exist in the game! Fang Ze was even more disconsolate. ¡°F*ck the reality¡­¡± What? He couldn¡¯t swear? He had to be grateful for life. ¡­ Meanwhile, just as Fang Ze was feeling grateful, the Commissioner arrived. The Commissioner was the middle-aged man Fang Ze had reported to earlier. He was not tall, about 1.68 meters, with a big belly, a round face, small eyes, and a double chin. He always had a smile on his face. He seemed very gentle. Well¡­ This was Fang Ze¡¯s previous impression of him. Now, his mentality was different. Looking at the Commissioner again, Fang Ze realized that although this man looked rich and kind, there was actually a glint in his small eyes. Moreover, he did not walk unsteadily like other fat men. Instead, he walked with a majestic gait. Coupled with his fat body, Fang Ze felt that he should have no problem beating up two Fang Ze¡¯s. The Commissioner was still very dignified in the entire Investigation Department. He smiled all the time and looked harmless. However, as soon as he arrived, the entire meeting room instantly fell silent. Everyone could not help but sit upright. Their gaze followed him as he walked to the head of the meeting room and sat down. When he reached the head of the table in the meeting room, the Commissioner covered his mouth with his right hand and coughed twice. Then, he lowered his hand and said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s start the meeting.¡± Chapter 12 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ The meeting started, but Fang Ze began to drift off while analyzing the information. ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­ Is no one from the Security Bureau here?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t they come to such an important regular meeting?¡± ¡°Even if the beautiful noblewoman doesn¡¯t come, surely Executive Bai Ling, who gave Wang Hao the secret mission, or the person who communicated with Wang Hao should come, right?¡± ¡°Do they not care about the case itself? Or do they have other plans?¡± ¡°Or¡­¡± Thinking of this, Fang Ze suddenly guessed something. As he pretended to listen attentively, he secretly looked around the meeting room. Sure enough, he soon found a hidden camera in a corner northeast of the meeting room. ¡°So that¡¯s the case, as expected¡­¡± ¡°However, in that case, it looks like the Security Bureau won¡¯t be showing up today.¡± ¡°Then, if I want to complete the plan, I¡¯ll have to be more radical¡­¡± ¡°I hope that the Magazine is effective enough¡­¡± As Fang Ze pondered this, he suddenly felt the agent beside him touch his arm. He snapped out of it and looked at the agent beside him. Then, he realized that the Commissioner was looking at him. He coughed, then looked down and surreptitiously asked his ¡°colleague¡± beside him, ¡°What happened?¡± The ¡°colleague¡± said in a low voice, ¡°Uncle Shan Hui just said what he thinks. The Commissioner is asking for your opinion.¡± Previously, in every regular meeting, when he encountered some questions related to the case, the Commissioner would ask Fang Ze for his opinion. At that time, Fang Ze thought that it was because he was deeply trusted by the Commissioner. Last night¡­ He knew that it was actually because the Commissioner trusted him deeply. He was simply a big fool. Thus, when he¡¯d just made the plan, he¡¯d been prepared to stop being a fool. This was also the beginning of his plan¡­ With that in mind, Fang Ze¡¯s fingers, which had been in the folder since the meeting, gently folded over the first page of the Magazine. Once the pages of the Magazine were turned, its ability took effect. At that moment, Fang Ze felt as if a basin of cold water had fallen from the sky and drenched his head. A chill began to spread quickly from his head to his entire body. His brain was cold, as if he had lost all feelings. However, his thoughts were strangely clear. He seemed to have no emotion left in him. There were no distractions and no emotional turmoil. He carefully experienced this feeling. Fang Ze recovered, then calmly followed the plan. He looked at the Commissioner and said without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Commissioner. I have no opinion.¡± As soon as Fang Ze said this, the Commissioner froze. This was because he felt that Fang Ze seemed a little different today. It was clearly a rejection, but it sounded especially sincere. Therefore, he did not take it to heart. Instead, he nodded and said, ¡°Alright, then¡­¡± However, he was halfway through his sentence when something that surprised him even more happened. Fang Ze actually interrupted him and said, ¡°Commissioner¡­ Although I have no objections, I want to hear what Agent Han Kaiwei has to say.¡± In the previous meetings, Fang Ze had always been very dutiful. He would simply answer what the Commissioner asked him. There had never been a time when he had asked the Commissioner a question, or led the conversation to someone else. This was the first time he had stepped out of line. However, for some reason, no one felt that his question was out of place. They felt that his question¡­ didn¡¯t seem wrong. Therefore, as soon as he said this, everyone present, including the Commissioner, looked at Agent Han in unison. At this moment, Han Kaiwei was dumbfounded. He had no idea what was going on. At the regular meetings, he had always been invisible. He just lazed around and slacked off. Now, with so many eyes suddenly on him, he couldn¡¯t help but panic. However, he felt that he really should answer, so he thought hard about the clues that the other agents had just shared. It was just that he really wasn¡¯t good at solving cases. Thus, in the end, after thinking about it for a minute, he waved his hand in shame and said, ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t have any opinions.¡± Seeing Han Kaiwei¡¯s useless behavior, he probably couldn¡¯t figure out why Fang Ze had brought the topic to him. For a moment, the meeting room fell silent. Everyone was thinking about the meaning of Fang Ze¡¯s actions. At the same time, Fang Ze quietly observed the expressions of the agents. Seeing their contemplative expressions, he calmly made a judgment. The plan had gone smoothly¡­ ¡­ ¡­ In the end, it was the Commissioner who broke the atmosphere in the meeting room. Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, he chuckled and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Then, he said, ¡°Alright. Since neither Agent Fang Ze nor Agent Han Kaiwei has any ideas, let¡¯s go next.¡± With that, he turned to the next agent. ¡°Tell me what you¡¯ve learned this week, Senior Agent Cui Xuemin.¡± Agent Cui snapped out of her daze at the Commissioner¡¯s question. Then, she nodded gently and began to slowly tell him what she had discovered and deduced this week. Agent Cui finished, followed by Han Kaiwei. Wang Hao was next, and all the agents went down in turn. As in the beginning, every time the agents shared their findings, the Commissioner asked for Fang Ze¡¯s opinion. Under the ¡®Sage¡¯ buff, Fang Ze¡¯s attitude was the same as before. He had no opinions. If Fang Ze showed this attitude after the first agent finished sharing, with the influence of the Magazine, no one would care. However, when Fang Ze showed this attitude to every agent, everyone gradually felt that something was wrong. Furthermore, there was something else that felt even more wrong to everyone. Every time Fang Ze finished saying that he had no opinions, he would look at Han Kaiwei and ask, ¡°However, I want to ask Agent Han, do you have any opinions?¡± Han Kaiwei simply wanted to curse now! He was just a hooligan. He could abuse his power normally, but how could he solve a case?! They would be lucky if he didn¡¯t cause trouble! He was tempted not to answer, but somehow, as soon as he saw Fang Ze¡¯s cold face, he felt he needed to. Therefore, each time, he would think hard and finally force out an answer that said, ¡°I¡­ have no opinions either.¡± This made each of Fang Ze¡¯s inquiries seem like a slap in the face to Han Kaiwei. Furthermore, it was a series of slaps from the left to the right in front of everyone. At first, he managed to hold on. However, when Fang Ze did this again and again, he was forced to think about it. In the end, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± and ¡°I don¡¯t comprehend.¡± He always felt that the way his colleagues in the meeting room looked at him was filled with only one word ¡ª trash. He felt his face burning. He was going crazy. He simply had no idea what Fang Ze was up to. Was Fang Ze messing with him? But what could this do to him? Everyone knew that Han Kaiwei was a scumbag, right? Throughout the meeting, the only thing that made Han Kaiwei feel a little better was that when it was his turn to talk about his information, Fang Ze still said, ¡°No opinions.¡± He didn¡¯t specifically pick out a bunch of flaws and continue to insult him. However, after heaving a sigh of relief, Agent Han felt extremely aggrieved. What the hell was going on! Had he, an agent, been forced by a criminal to this extent? Who was the criminal and who was the agent?! Why did this happen! Furthermore, that wasn¡¯t the end of it. Things came to a head when it was Fang Ze¡¯s turn to share information. In the face of the Commissioner¡¯s question, Fang Ze sat upright in his chair and said expressionlessly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Commissioner. I don¡¯t want to share my clues and information.¡± This time, even under the influence of the Magazine, everyone understood that Fang Ze was not cooperating today. Everyone knew Fang Ze¡¯s identity. Therefore, for a moment, the meeting room was filled with hidden waves. Even though no one spoke, the looks they exchanged revealed their suspicion and nervousness. At this moment, the Commissioner could no longer sit still. He narrowed his eyes and looked Fang Ze up and down carefully. Then, he forced a fake smile. After that, he stood up with his big belly and waved at Fang Ze. He said with a smile, ¡°Come, Fang Ze, let¡¯s come out and talk.¡± He left everyone else in the meeting room and headed straight for the door. Fang Ze wasn¡¯t surprised. Or rather, perhaps everything was going according to plan. He stood up straight, then followed the Commissioner out of the meeting room. Behind them, dark waves surged in the meeting room. Many agents exchanged glances, and the place where their gazes met the most was in Han Kaiwei¡¯s direction. Clearly, although no one knew what had happened, everyone could tell what Fang Ze meant by targeting Han Kaiwei¡­ A criminal versus an agent? This was too odd, right? What was even stranger was that when they ¡°asked¡± themselves, everyone inexplicably felt that¡­ They wanted to support Fang Ze more. Chapter 13 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ At the same time, the Commissioner led Fang Ze out of the makeshift meeting room. They strolled along the broken-tiled corridor until they reached the inner hall of the villa. When they reached the inner hall, the Commissioner looked up vaguely at the camera at the top, then stopped. With his back to Fang Ze, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled roll-up cigarette. He lowered his head and put it in his mouth, then pulled out the box of matches. He made a few swipes and lit a match. As he squinted, he took a deep drag on his cigarette. He turned, about to berate Fang Ze before testing him. However, when he saw Fang Ze, he inexplicably found himself unable to say anything harsh. Thus, finally, he looked at Fang Ze and asked gently, ¡°Fang Ze. What¡¯s wrong with you today? Is something bothering you?¡± In his ¡®Sage¡¯ state, Fang Ze stood straight. When he heard the Commissioner¡¯s question, he shook his head and said calmly, ¡°Commissioner, there¡¯s nothing.¡± The Commissioner grunted as he nodded. Then, he asked thoughtfully, ¡°Then¡­ did you have a conflict with your colleagues?¡± Fang Ze shook his head again. ¡°Not really, Commissioner.¡± The Commissioner grunted again. Then, with his cigarette between his fingers, he looked Fang Ze up and down slowly, as if to make sure he was telling the truth. However, for some reason, when he saw Fang Ze, he felt that he was especially sincere. It was impossible for him to lie. So, after a moment, his expression softened and his tone softened. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± After that, he paused and said soothingly, ¡°This case is more complicated, and it involves the Awakened.¡± ¡°The Awakened have many tricks that exceed our imagination.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t be discouraged when you can¡¯t find a clue. Don¡¯t feel too pressured.¡± ¡°You¡¯re young. Don¡¯t feel burdened, and don¡¯t get angry with your colleagues. Focus on your health and take care of yourself. The good times are yet to come.¡± Fang Ze, who was in the ¡®Sage¡¯ state, was not bought over by the Commissioner¡¯s words. He nodded in agreement. ¡°Commissioner, I understand.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of myself.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± He changed the subject. ¡°I¡¯m actually not under a lot of pressure. I have no problem getting along with my colleagues. In fact, I¡¯ve found a lot of clues and information in the past week.¡± At this point, Fang Ze calmly opened his folder and handed the Commissioner the report he¡¯d written the day before. The Commissioner was visibly taken aback. Then, he put the cigarette in his mouth and took the report. He read it carefully as he squinted and smoked. Since Fang Ze had written this report before learning his true identity, he had written it very seriously and did not hide any clues. He had actually hesitated this morning about turning in this information. However, he thought of how many ¡°spies¡± he had around him. Even if he didn¡¯t report this information, the spies would report it later, so he no longer hesitated¡­ ¡­ The Commissioner finished reading the information in front of him, then looked up with a puzzled expression. He looked at Fang Ze, puzzled. ¡°If you¡¯ve got so many clues and information, why didn¡¯t you share them at the meeting?¡± Knowing that the plan had reached a critical step, Fang Ze was exceptionally calm under the influence of the Magazine. He looked directly at the Commissioner and said, ¡°Reporting to the Commissioner, it¡¯s because I have discovered another piece of vital information.¡± As the Commissioner stubbed out his cigarette, he asked suspiciously, ¡°What information?¡± Fang Ze shook his head slowly, his face expressionless as he spoke. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about it now. Not until I see an officer of the Security Bureau.¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, even though he was affected by the Magazine, the Commissioner still frowned. He said, ¡°Huh?¡± Then, he asked, ¡°Why?¡± Fang Ze said nothing. He didn¡¯t explain. He just stared at the Commissioner. Seeing Fang Ze like this, the Commissioner¡¯s frown deepened. He wanted to say something harsh, but when he saw Fang Ze¡¯s pleasant face, he couldn¡¯t. Therefore, in the end, he slowed down and advised, ¡°Fang Ze, I don¡¯t know what key information you¡¯ve obtained.¡± ¡°However, just so you know, you¡¯re on the task force.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, you should report directly to me. After all, some things change when they get to the Security Bureau.¡± Fang Ze still didn¡¯t say anything. He just looked at the Commissioner expressionlessly. Seeing how uncooperative Fang Ze was, even though he was affected by the supernatural power, the Commissioner could not help but feel his blood boil and his eyelids twitch. Normally, Fang Ze would probably panic in the face of such a situation. However, at this moment, Fang Ze acted as if he didn¡¯t see the Commissioner¡¯s expression or feel his irritation. He continued to look at him calmly. And so, as the minutes passed, the tension grew. Just as the Commissioner was about to lash out in anger, his face suddenly changed. Then, he put his hands to his ears as if he were listening to something. His entire state had completely changed. Although he had been gentle in front of Fang Ze just now, he had always been like a superior encouraging a subordinate. However, his plump face was now filled with flattery and smiles. He bent forward with his neck down. After a while, the Commissioner¡¯s expression faded as he straightened his back and neck. Then, he looked at Fang Ze with a complicated expression and said, ¡°An officer of the Security Bureau agreed to see you.¡± Fang Ze nodded impassively at the Commissioner¡¯s words, as if he¡¯d heard a perfectly ordinary announcement. His expression and movements were no different from before, but the Commissioner in front of him looked suddenly startled. Then, the Commissioner narrowed his eyes and looked Fang Ze up and down suspiciously. After a moment, the Commissioner asked, ¡°Fang Ze. Why do you¡­ feel a little different from before?¡± Fang Ze replied blankly, ¡°Commissioner, I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± The Commissioner frowned and raised his hand as if to gesture. However, after opening his mouth a few times, he didn¡¯t know how to describe it. In the end, perhaps thinking that he couldn¡¯t delay the matter with the Security Bureau, he lowered his hand resentfully and said, ¡°Alright. It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s go up first.¡± Fang Ze nodded calmly again, as if he was completely unaffected by what had just happened. However, what no one saw was that his hand had unknowingly gripped the seam of his pants tightly. His fingers were clenched until they were white, and his palms were covered in sweat¡­ ¡°¡­ Are they here so soon?¡± ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m on my own after this?¡± ¡°Goodness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die¡­¡± ¡­ Five minutes later. On the second floor of the villa. In the room where he had last reported to the Commissioner, Fang Ze met with the representative from the Security Bureau. It wasn¡¯t the beautiful young woman he had seen that day, but the young woman who had given Wang Hao the mission. Just as Wang Hao had described in his heart, the girl didn¡¯t look old. She only seemed to be 16 or 17 years of age. She was very pretty, as if she was made of pink jade. She had her hair combed into two buns and was a little cute. Her eyes were intelligent, and her huge eyes seemed as if they could speak. She carried a huge eight-edged pumpkin hammer on her back, forming a stark contrast to her delicate body. His eyes rested on the girl for a moment. Fang Ze mentally recalled the information he had about her. ¡°Her code name is Bai Ling.¡± ¡°Her Awakened ability is unknown.¡± ¡°She is a Level-2 Executive of the operations team in the Security Bureau.¡± The Commissioner visibly relaxed when he saw the young woman. The flattery was gone, but he still greeted her with a smile. ¡°Executive Bai Ling, are you handling this?¡± Fang Ze pretended to look at the two of them calmly and secretly added an analysis. ¡°A Level-2 Executive is probably the equivalent of the Investigation Department Commissioner in a low-leveled city.¡± ¡°It seems that the ranks in the Security Bureau are indeed very high.¡± Compared to the Commissioner¡¯s gentleness, the girl¡¯s attitude was interesting. She looked at the Commissioner with her big watery eyes and then said mischievously, ¡°Commissioner Pang, I haven¡¯t seen you for a few days and you seem to have put on weight. Have you been out feasting again?¡± Upon hearing her words, the Commissioner chuckled and rubbed his round belly. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Not at all, not at all. Executive Bai Ling, don¡¯t make fun of me.¡± They exchanged a few casual pleasantries before sitting down. Between the two of them, it was obvious that the girl was in charge. Therefore, after sitting down, she tilted her head to look at Fang Ze and took the initiative to speak. She spoke with a voice as crisp as silver bells. It was very pleasant. ¡°I hear you have important information to report to the Security Bureau?¡± ¡°Now that I¡¯m here, can you talk?¡± Although the ability had lost its effect, now that the plan had come to this, Fang Ze had no choice. Therefore, although he was extremely nervous, he could only continue acting. Thus, he continued to pretend to be calm. He nodded first. Then, he looked at the girl and then at the Commissioner before speaking. ¡°Commissioner, this is the reason I wasn¡¯t willing to share the information I obtained at the meeting.¡± ¡°This is also the reason I wasn¡¯t willing to report this to you alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve discovered a shocking secret.¡± ¡°There is a criminal in our task force.¡± ¡°Furthermore, the criminal is a suspect of this murder case!¡± Chapter 14 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios They had long expected Fang Ze to reveal an important piece of information. However, after hearing Fang Ze¡¯s shocking words, the Commissioner and the young girl still felt their heads buzz. They could no longer hide their surprise. They looked at Fang Ze with shock. Without the influence of the supernatural power, their reaction was very normal. The girl was tense and alert. Meanwhile, the Commissioner¡¯s hand was already reflexively reaching for the gun at his waist. However, when he thought of the young girl, who was an Awakened, beside him, he forcefully restrained his actions and quietly touched his big stomach. The peaceful atmosphere in the room was completely ruined by Fang Ze¡¯s words. The atmosphere grew heavy and somber. Fang Ze remained calm, but his calves were already trembling. However, when he thought about how he would be finished if he admitted defeat now, he could only keep recalling his state when he was affected by the Magazine and force himself to calm down. In the end, it was the Commissioner who spoke first. Without the influence of the Magazine, he looked at Fang Ze like he was an ordinary criminal. Thus, his body tensed up and his tiny eyes glittered as he asked with a fake smile, ¡°Really? In that case, who¡¯s the criminal?¡± Fang Ze didn¡¯t seem to notice their wariness. He simply looked straight into the Commissioner¡¯s eyes and said without hesitation, ¡°It¡¯s Han Kaiwei, Agent Han.¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s answer, the girl and the Commissioner were clearly stunned for a moment. The atmosphere suddenly became strange¡­ After a moment, the girl came to her senses. Then, her body relaxed, and she looked at Fang Ze with large, sparkling eyes. Her long eyelashes flickered, and curiosity shone in them. ¡°Why do you think Agent Han Kaiwei is a criminal?¡± The moment he saw Han Kaiwei today, Fang Ze had actually made this plan to kill two birds with one stone. Furthermore, he¡¯d laid the groundwork for it all morning. Now it was time to reap the benefits. Although he didn¡¯t know if it would work without the influence of the extraordinary power, he could only try. Thus, he said slowly, ¡°Actually, it started a week ago.¡± ¡°At the time, after last week¡¯s regular meeting, the other agents at the meeting shared a lot of clues. Thus, that night, I summarized the clues and made a lot of assumptions and deductions.¡± ¡°Then, I discovered that this criminal gang¡¯s plan was very thorough and professional.¡± ¡°In that case, they shouldn¡¯t have only three Awakened who are attacking head-on.¡± ¡°There should still be at least one Awakened with probing abilities and a strong backup plan.¡± Fang Ze paused at this point. Then, he looked at the Commissioner and said, ¡°I reported this to you a few days ago, Commissioner. You should be able to testify.¡± The Commissioner had been listening intently. He recovered from his daze at Fang Ze¡¯s words. Although he didn¡¯t know why he suddenly didn¡¯t like the criminal in front of him, he didn¡¯t need to like him to testify, so he nodded to the young girl beside him and testified, ¡°I can indeed testify to this. Agent Fang Ze did report his conjecture to me a few days ago.¡± The girl¡¯s big eyes blinked. Fang Ze continued, ¡°After reporting to the Commissioner, I went downstairs and continued my investigation.¡± ¡°However, then, when I got to the ground floor, I suddenly saw a lot of my colleagues. That was when a bold idea came to me.¡± He paused at that. Then, his gaze swept over the two of them and he said, ¡°Hypothetically speaking, my guess is correct. There really is a strong backup in that criminal gang that can turn the tide.¡± ¡°In that case, is it possible that the ¡®strong backup plan¡¯ doesn¡¯t refer to someone with a powerful Awakened ability?¡± ¡°Rather¡­ Could it be someone with powerful abilities to end things?¡± ¡°For example¡­¡± ¡°An agent from the crime district.¡± The girl nodded thoughtfully, then continued crisply, ¡°So, you suspect that the backup might not be an Awakened.¡± ¡°Furthermore, are you saying that an agent from the crime district could conveniently destroy clues or induce the direction of investigation by the Investigation Department?¡± Fang Ze nodded seriously. The more he talked, the more relaxed he became. ¡°At first it was just a guess.¡± ¡°Thus, the next day, I started getting in touch with each of my colleagues on the task force in turn to see if there were any more suspicious targets.¡± When he said this, the Commissioner couldn¡¯t help but turn to the girl. The Commissioner knew that the Security Bureau had been monitoring Fang Ze¡¯s movements. The girl nodded slightly without batting an eyelid, confirming Fang Ze¡¯s words to the Commissioner. Fang Ze noticed their little exchange, but he pretended not to and continued. ¡°In the end, unexpectedly, while I was secretly investigating, I realized I was being followed.¡± ¡°I felt that something was wrong.¡± ¡°Thus, I took the opportunity to alert the enemy and deliberately lure that person out.¡± ¡°In the end, I didn¡¯t expect that¡­ The person following me was Han Kaiwei, Agent Han¡­¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, the girl and the Commissioner fell silent¡­ The girl could not help but turn to the Commissioner. Meanwhile, the Commissioner looked thoughtful for a moment, then gave her a small nod. Fang Ze ¡°didn¡¯t know¡± that someone was watching him, but they knew. Earlier, the Commissioner was recalling the schedule of the surveillance personnel. After recalling, he confirmed that Han Kaiwei was in charge that day. After the two of them exchanged information, they could not help but feel a little speechless. The agent on surveillance was discovered by the criminal, who in turn mistook that agent for the criminal. Was there anything more awkward or embarrassing in this world? They had thought that this was the end of it. Unexpectedly, Fang Ze did not stop his story. Instead, he continued, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just that I was followed. I¡¯m not sure that Agent Han is the backup plan for the criminal organization.¡± ¡°So, I tested him.¡± ¡°I pretended I was going east to search for evidence, but he actually followed my lead and said he was going to the east too.¡± ¡°Thus, I took the opportunity to shake him off so that he couldn¡¯t continue to follow me.¡± ¡°Meanwhile, on the way out, I also tried to guess his intentions.¡± ¡°He probably figured out that I was the one on the task force who found the most clues and had the most accurate deduction of the case, so he wanted to follow me to destroy the clues or silence me.¡± The Commissioner was speechless. Bai Ling was also speechless. Meanwhile, Fang Ze was completely absorbed in his emotions. He did not care if the Commissioner and the young girl believed him or not. In any case, he had completely put himself into the role of an agent that worked for the country and continued to berate Han Kaiwei! ¡°Actually, at the time, I was still skeptical. I wondered if I was jumping to conclusions.¡± ¡°However, that same night I got the results from my colleagues in the identification team.¡± ¡°The results contained evidence of the existence of a fourth Awakened.¡± ¡°It means my deductions about the fourth and fifth members may well be correct.¡± ¡°Plus, it occurred to me that Agent Han¡¯s performance at every regular meeting was average. He didn¡¯t provide much valuable information.¡± ¡°Thus, I¡¯m even more suspicious of him!¡± The Commissioner and the girl looked at each other thoughtfully. Fang Ze continued, ¡°So I decided to test him one last time.¡± At this point, Fang Ze finally got to his plan for the day. He said, ¡°So, before I went to the meeting today, I specifically met with Agent Han.¡± ¡°I told him everything I¡¯d learned this past week.¡± ¡°I allowed him to have my information.¡± ¡°Furthermore, at the meeting, I kept giving him the opportunity to express his views on the case.¡± ¡°However, he said nothing.¡± ¡°In fact¡­¡± At this point, Fang Ze paused. ¡°In the end, he didn¡¯t even share the information I told him.¡± ¡°It made me really sure that there was something wrong with his identity.¡± ¡°As for my suspicions about Agent Han, why did I report them directly to the Security Bureau?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I think that criminal organization is extremely dangerous. There¡¯s a good chance their members have all Awakened.¡± ¡°Agent Han is usually sloppy and doesn¡¯t seem to know anything.¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s very likely that he¡¯s actually a hidden Awakened expert!¡± ¡°In that case, if the Investigation Department acted on their own, not only might he have escaped, but we might also suffer heavy casualties.¡± ¡°In addition, Agent Han¡¯s identity is only a guess of mine. Furthermore, it involves a colleague. Thus, it is very sensitive. Once I tell the Commissioner, the Commissioner will have to take the responsibility.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to report to an officer of the Security Bureau myself!¡± At this, Fang Ze looked at the two of them with a righteous expression. He saluted them with less than perfect respect and said, ¡°Sir and Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ve finished my report.¡± After hearing Fang Ze¡¯s complete speculation, the entire office fell silent. The girl and the Commissioner looked at each other with a slight headache. Although they knew that Fang Ze¡¯s discovery and deduction were all wrong, but¡­ they couldn¡¯t tell him directly! Could they tell him that Agent Han was spying on him because he was a criminal? Thus, the fulcrum of all his deductions was wrong. Wasn¡¯t this crazy? Therefore, after a moment, the Commissioner rubbed his temples. With a slight headache, he said to Fang Ze, ¡°Agent Fang Ze, what you said is a little important. Can you give us some time to consider and decide?¡± Although the Commissioner and the girl tried their best to hide their emotions, Fang Ze still saw through their thoughts. However, Fang Ze wasn¡¯t depressed, because this was the effect he wanted! He didn¡¯t really suspect Agent Han. He just wanted to smooth over his abnormality over the past two days and cause trouble for the task force! And now, he had done it. He breathed a sigh of relief at the thought. He had actually succeeded! He actually carried out the plan without the influence of the extraordinary power! As he thought this, Fang Ze insisted on acting out the last bit. He nodded seriously. ¡°Of course, Sir.¡± ¡°However¡­¡± He paused, then said, ¡°I still want you to make a decision as soon as possible, Sir. After all, once Agent Han senses that something is wrong, he¡¯s likely to explode with his Awakened powers, run away, or even take drastic action.¡± The Commissioner was speechless. Bai Ling was also speechless. After saying this, Fang Ze saluted unevenly again. Then, ignoring their reactions, he strode out of the office, pretending to be calm. Chapter 15 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After exiting the room, looking at the camera hanging overhead, Fang Ze didn¡¯t dare to do anything unusual. It wasn¡¯t until he reached the top of the stairs and made sure there were no cameras watching that he dared to take a few deep breaths. He patted his legs, which were barely able to keep him standing, and slowly made his way downstairs. When he reached the first floor, the agents who had been in the temporary meeting room for the meeting were already outside. They had obviously seen the scene where Fang Ze had followed the Commissioner to meet the officer of the Security Bureau. Therefore, instead of continuing to sit around in the meeting room, they gathered downstairs and waited for news. Everyone knew Fang Ze¡¯s identity. Therefore, in the face of his sudden abnormality today, although the agents did not feel too abnormal due to the influence of the Magazine, they still felt an insecurity that the situation was out of their control. Therefore, when they saw Fang Ze go downstairs alone, they couldn¡¯t help but look over. Fang Ze was not surprised to see the gazes of his ¡°colleagues.¡± He had acted to obtain this result. He wanted to add a little ¡°vitality¡± to this ¡°dead¡± task force. He wanted to let these ¡°Prophets¡± discover that their ¡°Werewolf¡± might not be as simple as they thought. Of course, he had to put on a show. Therefore, he ignored everyone¡¯s gazes and looked straight at Agent Han, who was also looking at him. This time, he didn¡¯t bother to hide his hostility. He simply raised his hand and gestured for Agent Han to cut his head off. Then, he turned and left the villa. Seeing Fang Ze¡¯s arrogance, the atmosphere in the hall on the first floor of the villa instantly became eerily quiet. All the agents looked surprised and then looked at each other. No one knew exactly what had happened. No one knew why the criminal in front of them was so arrogant and even dared to openly threaten an agent. They couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that the tables had turned. It was as if they were the criminals and Fang Ze was the agent. Furthermore, Fang Ze was the only agent¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile. In a room on the second floor of the villa. After Fang Ze left, the girl, Bai Ling, and the Commissioner sat there looking at each other. A moment later, the wall in the room silently split into two. Bai Zhi, the beautiful young woman from the Security Bureau, walked out leisurely. When they saw Bai Zhi, Bai Ling and the Commissioner quickly stood up to welcome her. A pretty smile bloomed on Bai Ling¡¯s face as she called out, ¡°Sister Bai.¡± On the other hand, the Commissioner seemed to have doubled over again and lowered his neck considerably. He put on his flattering smile again and greeted him respectfully. ¡°Ma¡¯am.¡± Bai Zhi hummed softly in response to their greeting. Then, she came to them, sat down gracefully, and asked them, ¡°Tell me what you think?¡± Although she was speaking to both of them, her beautiful eyes were only on the Commissioner. At that moment, the Commissioner¡¯s forehead was beaded with sweat. He lowered his head a little more, then whispered, ¡°Ma¡¯am, I think there might be some misunderstanding.¡± Bai Zhi said with a smile, ¡°Just now, I listened to Fang Ze¡¯s conversation while getting someone to retrieve the relevant surveillance cameras. Everything he said is true.¡± ¡°This also includes the fact that he revealed all the information to Agent Han.¡± ¡°Before, I was doubting what exactly he was doing with his actions yesterday and today.¡± ¡°Looking at it now, I¡¯d say he¡¯s looking for a ¡®spy¡¯ in the task force.¡± Upon hearing Bai Zhi¡¯s words, the Commissioner became even more nervous. He swallowed and hesitated for a moment. However, in the end, he said carefully, ¡°Ma¡¯am. Agent Han has been with me for nearly ten years. Although his ability is a little poor, his character is bad, and his personality is not great, he¡¯s definitely not¡­¡± He wanted to defend Agent Han, but Bai Zhi raised her hand slightly and interrupted him. The beautiful woman did not argue with the Commissioner. She just looked at him with a faint smile and said gently, ¡°Commissioner Pang, these are all the internal affairs of your Investigation Department. You don¡¯t have to report to me. Just deal with it as you see fit.¡± ¡°However, please don¡¯t leak any more information¡­¡± Bai Zhi was clearly being considerate, but at that moment, the sweat on the Commissioner¡¯s forehead flowed down his face. His head lowered sharply, then he said seriously, ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am. I understand.¡± When he looked up again, there was a ruthlessness in his eyes. Then, he gave Bai Zhi a standard salute and turned to leave the room. ¡­ That afternoon, Han Kaiwei was taken down on the spot by a few senior agents and stripped of his clothes and equipment. Then, he was imprisoned in the basement of the villa, guarded by two trainee agents. No one knew why this had happened, not even the senior agent on the capture mission. Not to mention Han Kaiwei. Han Kaiwei, who was in the cellar, fell into deep confusion after the hysteria. He felt horribly aggrieved. After all the bad things he¡¯d done, he hadn¡¯t been suspended. However, all he¡¯d done was piss off a criminal, and he¡¯d been suspended? Was there anything more ridiculous in this world? Was he a criminal or an inspector on a secret visit? Most of the other agents on the task force had the same thought. They really wanted to know what Han Kaiwei had done and what Fang Ze had done. However, no matter which one of them went to the Commissioner for information, he kept his mouth shut and ¡°couldn¡¯t leak any more information.¡± The agents didn¡¯t know it was an order from the Security Bureau, only that this incident was highly classified, which only made it seem more unusual. Therefore, in the hearts of these agents, Fang Ze was shrouded in a mysterious fog¡­ Was he¡­ really just an ordinary criminal? Did he have a special identity? Or¡­ Was there some inside story that no one knew about? ¡­ While the task force was in an internal uproar, Fang Ze was secretly planning his future while loafing off. The first time he came into contact with the extraordinary power, Fang Ze was convinced by this magical power. In an instant, he was filled with strength, his thoughts were extremely agile, and he was calm. He was not afraid or hesitant. It was simply too wonderful. Furthermore, this was only the most ordinary ¡°buff¡± ability. How amazing would it be if he had abilities like the ¡°scalpel¡± ability of the ¡®Doctor¡¯, or the ability of the ¡®Skeleton¡¯ to change bodies at will, just like what was written in the records? As a transmigrator, he had arrived in such a magical world. If he didn¡¯t really have an ability that belonged to him and traveled to the peak of the Awakened, wouldn¡¯t he be embarrassing his senior transmigrators? For the current Fang Ze, there was no other way to awaken his abilities. He could only rely on the Late-Night Investigation Room. Therefore, he quickly set his goal, which was to obtain high-value information from the people on the ¡°prosecution¡± list and obtain his first Awakened ability as soon as possible¡­ He just had to grind his way through! As a veteran player of a domestic mobile game, he was already used to it! And so, the day passed quickly. That night, when Fang Ze finished slacking off and returned to the task force for dinner, he realized that his ¡°colleagues¡± were looking at him differently. In the past, they had looked at him with special ¡°passion¡± as if he were an animal in a zoo. Now there was hesitation, confusion, even a hint of wariness in their eyes. At that moment, Fang Ze knew that the Security Bureau and the Commissioner had probably taken action on Agent Han. However, this had been part of Fang Ze¡¯s plan. After all, even if it was for the sake of appeasing Fang Ze, in order to keep the show going, Agent Han had to be arrested. As for whether they would wait until the case was over before reinstating Agent Han or compensating him, that had nothing to do with Fang Ze. In any case, Fang Ze¡¯s goal was just to smooth over the abnormality of the past two days and muddy the waters at the same time to buy himself time to ¡°develop¡± in peace. Now that everything was settled, he could spend the rest of the day in the task force pretending to solve the case while looking for an escape route. At night, he could ¡°investigate¡± the people around him and gain an Awakened ability. It was simply perfect! While he was devising his strategy¡­ Suddenly, Senior Agent Cui Xuemin walked into the cafeteria with an announcement. When he reached the agents, Cui Xuemin adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and glanced around at all of them. He put on an amiable smile and spoke slowly. ¡°This is a task force announcement. From 8am tomorrow morning, the task force will no longer be confined to this case.¡± ¡°Take the day off tomorrow. All the agents can go home and rest, or go to the city and relax.¡± ¡°After tomorrow, you can also go out looking for clues, but you have to report back to the task force at night.¡± ¡°If you need to go out for many days and not return to the task force, that¡¯s fine, but please report in advance.¡± Fang Ze was confused. ???? Chapter 16 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡­ At the same time, in the secret base of the Security Bureau within the villa¡­ Bai Ling, the young girl with the pumpkin hammer, was sitting on the table. She swung her fair and smooth legs as she chatted with Bai Zhi. ¡°Sister Bai, why did you force Commissioner Pang to deal with that agent?¡± ¡°That agent obviously wasn¡¯t a spy, was he? He was a little rough around the edges, but he didn¡¯t mean to attract Fang Ze¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°Thus, there¡¯s no need to be so harsh, is there?¡± Upon hearing Bai Ling¡¯s words, the beautiful young woman who was as charming as a flower, Bai Zhi, smiled. She relaxed her arms and wrapped them around Bai Ling. Then, she rested her chin on Bai Ling¡¯s head. As she stroked Bai Ling, she said indulgently, ¡°Little Bai Ling, you must remember.¡± ¡°We¡¯re working on a case. It¡¯s a team effort.¡± ¡°Thus, stupid teammates are a lot scarier than good opponents.¡± ¡°With such a stupid teammate like that around, if he can screw you up once, he can screw you up a second time.¡± ¡°In that case, kicking him off the team before it¡¯s too late and making up for the mistakes he made in time to avoid any further problems is the right thing to do.¡± ¡°Besides¡­ When you do something, you have to know your priorities.¡± ¡°In this case, Han Kaiwei is an insignificant character.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the case that matters.¡± ¡°Furthermore¡­ More importantly, it¡¯s Fang Ze.¡± Bai Zhi¡¯s words made Bai Ling¡¯s mouth form an ¡®O¡¯ in shock. She had to ask, ¡°Is Fang Ze more important than this case? Why?¡± Bai Zhi smiled and patted her little head. ¡°Silly Bai Ling, it¡¯s because we¡¯re not the Investigation Department. We¡¯re the Security Bureau.¡± ¡°Our goal is to keep the country safe, not solve crimes.¡± ¡°Furthermore¡­ with Fang Ze¡¯s help, isn¡¯t this case basically settled?¡± ¡°What we don¡¯t know is the true identity, whereabouts, and purpose of these suspects.¡± At this point, her beautiful eyes could not help but become a little solemn. ¡°How many years has it been since such an organization appeared?¡± ¡°They¡¯re operating under our noses, but we can¡¯t even find any information about them.¡± ¡°Furthermore, two of them appeared at once.¡± ¡°Apart from Fang Ze, everyone else in these two organizations is actually transparent.¡± ¡°Just thinking about it makes me shudder¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the Chief sent me to personally oversee the investigation.¡± ¡°Now, we only have Fang Ze as a bargaining chip.¡± ¡°We have to use his remaining memories to find clues about these two organizations, or stimulate him to regain his memories and obtain direct information¡­¡± ¡°Alternatively, we can lure these two organizations to attack him and expose our flaws¡­¡± ¡°These days, I¡¯ve spent so much effort to get the Investigation Department to put on an act for this purpose¡­¡± ¡°As long as I can achieve this goal, everything else can be sacrificed¡­¡± ¡°So¡­ do you think Fang Ze is important?¡± At the beautiful woman¡¯s words, Bai Ling nodded as if she understood. A moment later, she jumped down from the table. Then, she bent her arms in a cute supportive gesture. ¡°Sister Bai, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. But! Anyway, just tell me what you need me to do!¡± Seeing how cute Bai Ling was, Bai Zhi immediately smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. She hugged the girl and then said, ¡°Bai Ling is so considerate.¡± ¡°However, Sister really needs your help.¡± At this, she leaned close to Bai Ling¡¯s soft little ear and whispered, ¡°Remember Fang Ze¡¯s neighbor?¡± ¡°The task force is on holiday tomorrow¡­ You¡­¡± Her voice became softer and softer, and was almost inaudible. Only Bai Ling¡¯s lively eyes kept blinking¡­ ¡­ After returning to his temporary residence from the canteen, Fang Ze was still unable to calm down. The task force would no longer be confined to this case. They would have a holiday. They could leave and enter the task force at will. Was there such a good thing in this world? Fang Ze wasn¡¯t convinced. Especially after what he had done today, Fang Ze found it even more unbelievable. ¡­What the hell was the task force doing? What the hell was the Security Bureau doing now? Fang Ze felt as if a huge conspiracy was looming over him. It was only because there was so little information that he couldn¡¯t see what was happening. After thinking for a long time and really unable to think of anything, Fang Ze decided not to think about it anymore. He felt that there was no point in dwelling on it. To resolve this matter, the most important thing was strength! Once he had a powerful Awakened ability or a precious artifact, the immediate crisis would be resolved. No matter how many tricks they had, he would break them all! At the thought of this, Fang Ze packed up and prepared to go to bed to obtain his awakening ability. However, at that moment, the door to the temporary residence was suddenly pushed open. Wang Hao walked in with a book in his arms and a smile on his face. Fang Ze had never seen his roommate so happy. How could such a dead face have such a rich expression? With that thought, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously, ¡°Are you that happy about having a holiday?¡± Wang Hao was obviously taken aback by Fang Ze¡¯s words. He felt compelled to ask, ¡°What holiday?¡± It was Fang Ze¡¯s turn to be puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that the task force lifted the lockdown, and we have a holiday tomorrow?¡± Wang Hao shook his head blankly. ¡°He¡¯s actually not happy about the holiday?¡± Fang Ze was even more puzzled. He asked, ¡°Then why were you so happy just now?¡± Wang Hao was obviously not a good liar. He stammered, not knowing what to say. Fang Ze studied Wang Hao for a moment. Then, his gaze fell on the book in Wang Hao¡¯s hand. He smiled knowingly. ¡°It¡¯s the district¡¯s ¡®intelligence magazine¡¯ again, isn¡¯t it?¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Wang Hao nodded quickly. ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Fang Ze smiled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s because of the Magazine¡­¡± He felt that his roommate was really a little silly and cute. With his roommate¡¯s thin skin, if he was really happy because of the ¡°intelligence magazine¡±, he would definitely hide it and not dare to say it. Now that he¡¯d admitted it so readily, he was probably trying to cover up something more important, something Fang Ze couldn¡¯t know about. ¡°For Wang Hao to be happy enough to lose control of his emotions¡­¡± ¡°Furthermore, he can¡¯t let me know about it¡­¡± Then, he thought about his roommate¡¯s frugal hobbies and bleak social circle¡­ Fang Ze suddenly froze. Could it be that¡­ His roommate had obtained some key information about the case and wanted to tell ¡°him¡± about it? Was that why he was so happy? Then, he thought about how he had obtained a precious artifact the first time he summoned his roommate last night. Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°Why don¡¯t I¡­ summon my roommate again tonight?¡± After all, compared to others, the possibility of obtaining a high-value ¡°reward¡± from his roommate was much higher¡­ However, wouldn¡¯t it be a little unethical to only catch one sheep to fleece? ¡­ The stars moved west. One by one, the lights of the temporary residence went out. Gradually, the whole place was swallowed by darkness. In the temporary residence, Fang Ze also fell asleep. In the dream, he seemed to be very irritable and was shouting at a girl. The girl was dressed in gray. Her face was dirty and her hair was a mess. She looked sloppy. However, if one looked closely, they would discover that under the dust, she had a plain and beautiful face. She had the innocence of a first love and a temperament that made people pity her. ¡°Fang Ze¡± seemed to be having an argument with her, so he kept shouting at her. However, the girl didn¡¯t say anything. She just looked down and didn¡¯t say anything. She was still holding two yellow dough balls tightly in her hands. A moment later, ¡°he¡± pushed her to the ground and kicked her hard. The girl protected the two dough balls with her hands and curled up into a ball on the ground, trembling. She didn¡¯t dare to resist¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± Fang Ze shouted, waking up from his dream in a sweat. Then, he found himself in the Late-Night Investigation Room again. Chapter 17 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In the Late-Night Investigation Room, everything was the same as it had been before he left last night. There were two quiet sets of tables and chairs, a lamp, and a steel door. The Magazine on the table had been brought to the real world by him, so it disappeared from inside the room. Fang Ze did not start today¡¯s ¡°investigation¡± directly like the previous two times. Instead, he sat down and began to think. Actually, ever since he transmigrated, Fang Ze would dream every night. However, the previous dreams were not clear. In addition, he did not have a deep impression of them, so Fang Ze had never remembered them. However, tonight¡¯s dream was too real and infuriating. It also made Fang Ze remember it well. He could not help but start to think. Could it be that these dreams were the memories of his predecessor? In that case, who was that girl? What was her connection with ¡°him¡±? Was she an enemy? Why did ¡°he¡± treat her like that? After thinking for a long time with no result, Fang Ze could only pat his face to clear his mind. ¡°What girl are you thinking about! Does the girl smell good, or is she soft in your arms?¡± ¡°The most important thing now is to obtain an Awakened ability!¡± ¡°Without an Awakened ability, I won¡¯t even be able to control myself, let alone others¡­¡± ¡°Therefore, I should first think of a way to continue my ¡®mysterious man¡¯ persona and obtain more information from the sheep¡­ Pfft, from Wang Hao to obtain better ¡®rewards¡¯¡­¡± With that thought in mind, Fang Ze stopped thinking about the girl and sat down at the table. Then, he turned on the lamp and began to adjust the layout of the room slightly. ¡­ Last night¡¯s ¡°miracle¡± had a huge impact on Wang Hao¡¯s life. If it hadn¡¯t been for the incredible clarity of his memory, the way he remembered the layout of that room, and the way he remembered every word of the mysterious man, he might actually have suspected that everything was just a dream. When he got up the next day, it wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t suspected that everything was fake.,or that the mystery man had forgotten about him on a whim. However, he had thought about it. In either case, he was going to spy on his roommate and investigate the case. Even if he didn¡¯t tell the mysterious man, he still had to do these things. He wouldn¡¯t lose anything by doing so. In that case, why hesitate? Therefore, on this day, he doubled his efforts to investigate the case. He even tried to ask about the case when he reported the information to the interlocutor at the security bureau at night. In the end, this unintentional move actually allowed him to obtain a shocking secret. It also completely changed the direction of his ¡°story¡±! He felt that this secret would definitely interest the mysterious man! Thus, he returned to the dormitory in high spirits. In the end, his criminal roommate almost noticed something. Fortunately, through his cleverness, he managed to muddle through. Therefore, he did not dare to delay. After washing up, he went to bed early and fell asleep, waiting for the mysterious man to summon him¡­ ¡­ When he woke up, as expected, Wang Hao saw the mysterious man from last night again¡­ The last time he met with the mysterious man was in an extremely luxurious room. At that time, Wang Hao was shocked by the luxury of that room. However, this time, when he saw the scene before him, he was even more shocked¡­ This was because in front of him was a volcanic cave filled with heat waves, flames burning, and the wind howling like a steam whistle¡­ Meanwhile, the mysterious man from last night was standing on the churning lava not far away, as if he was waiting for something. Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but gasp at the terrifying scene before him. However, at that moment, the mysterious man waved his hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound. It¡¯s coming out soon¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s coming out soon?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s coming out soon?¡± Wang Hao was a little confused. ¡°Is there a third person here?¡± Just as he was thinking this, the magma not far away suddenly erupted, as if a huge creature had crawled out of it. ¡°Moo!¡± The creature cried to the sky. It burst out of the lava in flames, sending up a wave of heat. Feeling the heat wave and the surging flames in his face, Wang Hao curled up into a ball. He felt like he was about to melt! Despair filled him. He had never expected to die here. At this moment, the ¡°mysterious man¡± seemed to have noticed his miserable state. The mysterious man waved his hand, and a royal blue cover appeared in front of Wang Hao. The cover looked as thin as a cicada¡¯s wing and seemed as if it would break with a poke. However, it isolated the surging heat wave and the roaring flames outside. Wang Hao suddenly felt alive. It also gave him time to check on the mysterious man. He saw the mysterious man chuckle. ¡°Naughty little fellow¡­¡± Then, he reached out and grabbed the air. In an instant, the flames that filled the sky seemed to be torn apart by a giant hand. They exploded and turned to dust before slowly falling to the ground. The ashes formed a small mound on the ground. A moment later, an ugly, chick-like creature emerged from the ashes. It shook its neck gently to dislodge the ashes, then raised its slender neck and cried out as it looked around with its lively eyes. Seeing the shocking scene in front of him, Wang Hao couldn¡¯t come back to his senses for a long time. After a moment, when he came back to his senses, he couldn¡¯t help but say softly, ¡°S¨CSir¡­ W¨Cwhat is this?¡± The mysterious man walked over with a smile, then waved his hand. The chick-like creature immediately flew into his hand. As he stroked the ugly creature, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking since the last time I failed to create a disaster creature.¡± ¡°Why must life end in death?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t a creature be born from death and then move on to new life?¡± At this point, he said, ¡°So, I created this transcendent life form, the phoenix¡­¡± ¡°It is born from a death by flames. Then, at the end of its life, it will turn into flames and welcome new life. As long as the flames aren¡¯t extinguished, it will never die¡­¡± Wang Hao¡¯s jaw dropped at the mysterious man¡¯s words. To be honest, he didn¡¯t really understand, but he felt that¡­ It was amazing. Could the mysterious man in front of him be a god, or something close to one? Why else would he take pleasure in creating extraordinary lifeforms every day? He could even create transcendent beings that could live forever¡­ Thinking of this, he was once again determined to cozy up to the mysterious man in front of him. Hence, without the need for the mysterious man to ask, Wang Hao quickly told him all the key information he had obtained today. Although he couldn¡¯t see the change in the mysterious man¡¯s expression because of the fog, Wang Hao could clearly sense that he was very satisfied with his story¡­ Just like that, the ¡°story¡± was over. Wang Hao didn¡¯t dare to continue disturbing the mysterious man, so he tactfully took his leave. The mysterious man did not try to persuade him to stay. Instead, he said calmly, ¡°Your story is getting more and more interesting. I believe that after two more visits, you will be able to get what you want¡­¡± It was a simple statement that was not even a promise, but it made Wang Hao blush with excitement. After Wang Hao left, the ¡°mysterious man¡± Fang Ze hugged the ¡°phoenix¡± and stroked it as he fell into deep thought¡­ Chapter 18 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The information Wang Hao had brought was very valuable. It was valuable enough to subvert Fang Ze¡¯s imagination. It also made Fang Ze realize that this case was unimaginably complicated¡­ It turned out that this case was not a simple homicide, but had all kinds of inside information. This wealthy businessman who had been wiped out was mainly involved in cross-state trade and selling agricultural byproducts. Generally speaking, this kind of business was not profitable because of the stable channels. There were only small profits, but a quick turnover. However, this rich businessman strangely made a lot of money. He opened branches in various cities in the state and built mansions. That got the Security Bureau¡¯s attention. The Security Bureau suspected that this rich businessman was most likely doing cross-state or even cross-regional smuggling under the guise of the agricultural byproduct trade. Moreover, it was very likely that he was smuggling forbidden items like the Treasure of Misfortune or the Awakened Bloodline. Therefore, a month ago, the Security Bureau had started to set up an investigation into this rich businessman. To the surprise of the Security Bureau, ten days before the investigation had made much progress, a team of Awakened people had suddenly appeared at the wealthy businessman¡¯s vacation villa and collectively silenced him and his family. The lead was suddenly cut off, and the Security Bureau could not react in time. After the surveillance officer sent out the message, they could only follow the tracks of the perpetrators. The result was even more unexpected to the Security Bureau. As the team retreated, they were attacked by another group of Awakened. The two groups clashed. Of the five members of the team, one was dead and one was seriously injured. The other three escaped. The dead one was an investigation-type Awakened who could control insects. The one who was seriously injured was¡­ Fang Ze. Therefore, almost the entire massacre happened under the surveillance of the Security Bureau. They didn¡¯t really care about the case itself. The only thing they wanted to figure out was the situation and purpose of the organization behind the two Awakened teams. This was because in the subsequent investigation, the Security Bureau was surprised to discover that the clues and information of these two forces had been secretly erased. Even if they went to the eastern region to investigate, they would not find any clues. This meant that two large Awakened organizations had secretly grown under the noses of the Security Bureau. Furthermore, the Security Bureau knew nothing about their numbers, abilities, or motives. This was the big deal! That was why the big shots from the Security Bureau had personally come to the scene to handle the case. Initially, the Security Bureau thought that after Fang Ze woke up and was interrogated, they would at least be able to obtain information about one of the organizations. In the end, Fang Ze lost his memory. Therefore, the Security Bureau arranged for the Investigation Department to act and let Fang Ze solve the case, or rather, provide clues for them¡­ ¡­ When he first heard Wang Hao tell him this information, Fang Ze actually wondered if Wang Hao had made it up for the sake of the story. After all, it was too bizarre for a family extermination case to suddenly become a confrontation between three forces. However, when he felt Wang Hao¡¯s ¡°sincere¡± emotions and heard his inner confirmation, Fang Ze had no choice but to believe him. To be honest, at that moment, Fang Ze¡¯s heart was racing. What was going on! He originally thought that it was just an ordinary murder case and that he was not involved in the murder. At most, he would be considered an accomplice. Then, after he became an Awakened, he might solve the case and perform meritorious deeds to show his value, resulting in him joining the Security Bureau to atone for his crimes. Alternatively, he might fail to negotiate with the Security Bureau and escape with his Awakened ability. Either way, the problem could be solved. In the end, they discovered that this extermination case was actually related to the smuggling of an Awakened bloodline, the extermination of supernatural organizations, and another mysterious force. Furthermore, the Security Bureau didn¡¯t care about the case. They only wanted to rely on Fang Ze to obtain information, information, and more information! He was actually an existence that was more important than a case! Even if he ran away, the other party would definitely not let him off. Fang Ze immediately felt a buzzing pain in his head. Sigh. ¡°Nevermind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired. Time to destroy this¡­¡± ¡­ After standing in the volcanic cave for a long time, Fang Ze shook his head and dispelled all negative thoughts from his mind. He pulled himself together. In fact, whether he solved the case or used himself to gather information, his goal did not need to change. After all, in the end, he needed strength to break through. In this world with extraordinary powers, weakness itself was a sin. Only with strength would he be qualified to control his own fate. If he was strong enough to directly destroy three organizations, he did not need to think about these annoying things anymore. Therefore, increasing his strength was the right thing to do! With that in mind, he temporarily forgot about the truth about the task force. Then, he stood up and went to the side of the lava lake. He reached into the stone wall and took out the magic lamp. There was a click. As the lamp was switched off, the surrounding lava, the lava cave, and the rolling flames turned into bubbles and dissipated. The ground beneath Fang Ze¡¯s feet turned back into the dim room. In the middle of the room were the same two sets of tables and chairs that had never changed. Meanwhile, on the table near Fang Ze, just like last time, there was another item¡­ Fang Ze¡¯s gaze fell on the ¡°item¡± on the table. Unlike the ¡°book-like object¡± from last time, what appeared on the table this time was a scrap of paper. The piece of paper was the size of a palm and looked inconspicuous. However, Fang Ze had a feeling that this should be something even more valuable than the one-time use artifact yesterday. After all¡­ The value of the information from tonight was far higher than that of last night. With that thought, Fang Ze came to the table and picked up the scrap of paper. The scrap of paper was simple. There was only one short line. [One of the paths to Awakening: Spiritual Awakening Technique.] When he saw the line of words, Fang Ze¡¯s pupils constricted slightly, and his heart pounded. Had he actually succeeded?! A moment later, a pile of information slowly entered Fang Ze¡¯s mind. ¡°Seven white candles¡­¡± ¡°I need 20 grams of rococo flowers, peachwood, oak branches, laurel leaves, and wormwood respectively. They should be grinded into powder and applied to my body¡­¡± ¡°A sterling silver knife, a glass of cider vinegar or red wine¡­¡± ¡°And a blue crystal with blemishes that cover no more than 10% of the crystal¡­¡± ¡°On the ground¡­¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios As he muttered the Awakening materials that appeared in his mind and the details of the Awakening ritual, Fang Ze felt a headache coming on. Ever since he transmigrated, he had been controlled by the task force and had never come into contact with the outside world. Therefore, he was completely ignorant as to whether these Awakening materials were common and where he could buy them. The thought reminded him of tomorrow¡¯s holiday. Perhaps¡­ that would be an opportunity? He hoped that everything would go well. ¡­ The next day. In the morning, Fang Ze got out of bed. His roommate, Wang Hao, was happily doing push-ups beside the bed. Fang Ze was in a good mood after taking advantage of his roommate last night. Thus, he leaned back on the bed, deliberately teasing his roommate. ¡°Are you in such a good mood these past two days?¡± Wang Hao froze at Fang¡¯s words. Then, his smile faded and he asked, ¡°Is that so?¡± Fang Ze cocked his head at him. ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Hao said vaguely, ¡°Well, maybe¡­ maybe I¡¯m just happy because the case is moving fast. I¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Fang Ze nodded eagerly. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I believe you.¡± Wang Hao was dumbfounded. Wang Hao felt that his roommate¡¯s reaction was a little strange, and that his actions and tone were a little familiar¡­ However, he couldn¡¯t tell what was strange and familiar¡­ After teasing Wang Hao for a while, Fang Ze went to wash up and then went to the canteen to eat. There were exceptionally few agents eating in the cafeteria today. After asking around, it turned out that many agents returned to their homes in the city for breakfast after the lockdown was lifted at eight o¡¯clock. Only the agents who were transferred from other cities and Fang Ze, the ¡°agent¡± who had lost his memory, had nowhere to go. That was why they made do with the canteen. Hearing this, Fang Ze recalled the information of the city where the Investigation Department was located. It was located in Qingshan City. This was one of the 23 low-leveled cities of Siddah State. Located in the northwest of Siddah State, there were mountains and jungles behind the city. Thus, it had beautiful scenery, was rich in goods, and had simple folk. Of course¡­ This was the information in the official documents. As for the official documents, cough cough, those who understood understood¡­ Therefore, Fang Ze could not say that he knew nothing about the entire Qingshan City, but it was close. However, anyway, this was the first time he¡¯d been out in the world since he¡¯d arrived. Especially¡­ if the task force really withdrew their surveillance on him¡­ Then he would be free. He knew that it was a long shot. However, who knew if the enemy would suddenly have a brain attack? At the thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little excited. Therefore, after breakfast, Fang Ze returned to his residence to pack a few things and prepared to head to Qingshan City. However, just as he reached the entrance of the dormitory, Wang Hao called out to him with a blank expression, ¡°Fang Ze¡­ You, where are you going?¡± Fang Ze turned. ¡°I¡¯m going to the city.¡± Wang Hao stammered, ¡°But you didn¡¯t have to bring all the fruits I gave you. You didn¡¯t even have to carry the chair away, did you?¡± Fang Ze grinned as he carried his large bag. ¡°I¡¯m just worried. After all, if I¡¯m tired from walking, I can have a place to sit. If I¡¯m hungry, I can eat.¡± Wang Hao was dumbfounded. Five minutes later, the empty-handed Fang Ze was led by Wang Hao to a beat-up Jeep. ¡°You probably didn¡¯t read the announcement. If you want to get to the city, you can take the task force car.¡± Fang Ze was silent. ¡°Oh.¡± With a sinking feeling, he got into the Jeep. Sure enough, someone familiar was sitting in the car. She was Bai Ling, the Rank-2 officer from the Security Bureau whom he had met yesterday. She was folding her hands behind her head and leaning against the back of the Jeep, swinging her white, tender calves and idly blowing bubble gum. Although he had guessed that they would not let him go so easily, Fang Ze was still a little disappointed when all his fantasies were exposed. He tried not to let his feelings show on his face as he pretended to be unaware of any of this. He smiled and raised his hand in salute. ¡°What a coincidence, Officer Bai Ling. Are you going to the city too?¡± Bai Ling smiled extremely brightly at Fang Ze¡¯s words. She blew a pink bubble and looked at Fang Ze with her big eyes. She smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence, Agent Fang. I was waiting especially for you.¡± Fang Ze froze at Bai Ling¡¯s words. Then, he grew wary. He feigned ignorance. ¡°Waiting for me?¡± Bai Ling nodded. Then, she beckoned Fang Ze to sit. Seeing this, Fang Ze could only bite the bullet and sit down. Bai Ling leaned close to Fang Ze¡¯s ear and carefully looked around. Then, she whispered, ¡°Let me tell you something. Actually¡­ This is a secret mission.¡± Fang Ze was silent. What a familiar routine. He feigned surprise. ¡°A secret mission?¡± Seeing Fang Ze¡¯s surprise, Bai Ling was obviously very satisfied. She nodded vigorously and then explained in a low voice, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious why you reported Agent Han yesterday and then today our task force lifted the lockdown?¡± Fang Ze played along. ¡°It¡¯s weird.¡± Bai Ling said mysteriously, ¡°Actually, this was all set up by the task force.¡± ¡°After our surprise interrogation, Agent Han admitted to being an undercover spy for that criminal organization.¡± ¡°However, because he¡¯s an associate, he doesn¡¯t know much.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we wanted to use a trick to lure them out.¡± ¡°Lure them out?¡± Fang Ze asked cooperatively. Bai Ling nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. We spread the news that we¡¯ve caught the organization¡¯s undercover agent.¡± ¡°Then, the task force was given a holiday to make that criminal organization mistakenly believe that the defenses of the task force are empty.¡± ¡°We want to see whether the organization will come to his rescue.¡± Fang Ze was confused. ¡°Then what does this have to do with us going to the city together?¡± Bai Ling slapped Fang Ze on the shoulder and said, ¡°Are you stupid?¡± ¡°We¡¯re prepared for both outcomes!¡± ¡°We¡¯re worried that the organization will see that it was a trap.¡± ¡°Thus¡­ We also spread the news that you caught Agent Han!¡± Fang Ze was confused. ¡°If that organization discovers our trap and decides not to save Agent Han, but is prepared to kill you to vent their anger, this can also lure them out!¡± Fang Ze was even more confused. Bai Ling said, ¡°Of course! The Security Bureau wouldn¡¯t put an agent in harm¡¯s way just to solve a case.¡± ¡°Thus, they sent me to protect you.¡± ¡°What do you think? It sounds reasonable, right?¡± Fang Ze was speechless. What could Fang Ze say? All he could say was, ¡°It¡¯s reasonable¡­¡± Hmm¡­ If he replaced Agent Han with himself in this plan, it would probably make more sense. That explained the holiday. It turned out that the Security Bureau wanted to use Fang Ze to try and see if he could draw out that organization¡­ Fang Ze understood. The beat-up Jeep chugged down the long stretch of road through the jungle. Maybe it was because the road was uneven, or maybe the car was too beat-up, but the whole vehicle wobbled. However, Fang Ze did not pay attention to this. Perhaps because his fantasy had been exposed, Fang Ze calmed down. Indeed, it was ridiculous to expect the people from the Security Bureau to have a screw loose. Now that escape was hopeless, Fang Ze began to think about how to use this ¡°protection¡± to gain more benefits for himself. His eyes lingered on Bai Ling for a moment at the thought of this. It was said that all the members of the Security Bureau were Awakened people. In that case, a Rank-2 officer should also have Awakened, right? In that case, as long as he didn¡¯t ask about secrets and asked for some general knowledge about Awakening, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right? It seemed that the agents of the task force had never hidden anything from him. Maybe¡­ This cheeky girl from the Security Bureau wouldn¡¯t either. With that in mind, Fang Ze looked at the girl. Then, he coughed and said slowly, ¡°Ma¡¯am, I have some questions for you. I wonder if that¡¯s okay?¡± As Fang Ze spoke, the girl was idly rocking her fair calves. Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, she turned her head and looked at him with her dark eyes. She smiled cutely. ¡°Of course you can.¡± Fang Ze was delighted. He was about to ask when the girl added, ¡°But¡­ it¡¯ll come at a fee.¡± Fang Ze was speechless. ¡°A¡­ fee?¡± Chapter 20 - Paying for Knowledge Chapter 20 Paying for Knowledge Perhaps because she saw that Fang Ze was a little confused, Bai Ling even sat up straight. Then, she counted with her fingers and patiently explained to Fang Ze. ¡°Agent Fang Ze, you have to understand. Material goods aren¡¯t the only thing of value in this world. Knowledge is just as valuable.¡± ¡°In fact, to some extent, knowledge is worth more than material goods.¡± ¡°After all, material goods may only give you enjoyment for a short time, but knowledge can change your life.¡± ¡°So, I think that when a person wants their questions to be answered and gain knowledge, they need to pay as much as they need to pay for goods.¡± ¡°I call this pattern, paying for knowledge.¡± Fang Ze was silent. Fang Ze wanted nothing more than to clap his hands. Good lord. Even the phrase ¡°paying for knowledge¡± had emerged. Was this lady a transmigrator too? Muttering to himself, he looked at Bai Ling and threw up his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± Initially, when Fang Ze asked Bai Ling a question, she was only a little happy. But now, when she heard Fang Ze say that he had no money, she was excited! She grinned and said, ¡°You don¡¯t! I do!¡± ¡°I can lend you money. Then, you can pay me for knowledge.¡± ¡°When you have the money, pay me back with interest!¡± Fang Ze was speechless. This routine¡­ Why was it so familiar? Had he seen it in his previous life? Was this¡­ Ant Check Later[1]? Fang Ze was a little confused for a moment. Was this girl a transmigrator or a business genius? Thinking of this, Fang Ze said casually, ¡°Odd changes, while even doesn¡¯t change.¡± Bai Ling was confused. The girl looked at Fang Ze with a puzzled expression. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Fang Ze. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I mean, how much is the interest?¡± The girl was indeed distracted. She counted silently on her fingers, then stretched out her palm. ¡°Twenty percent!¡± ¡°Each question costs 200 Rini.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll owe me 240 Rini!¡± ¡°Rini¡± was the currency of this world. Its purchasing power was about half that of Fang Ze¡¯s previous life. This meant that 200 Rini had the purchasing power of about 100 dollars. Thus, the price of the girl¡¯s answer was not expensive, but the interest was quite high. But¡­ Interest? Fang Ze rubbed his chin and suddenly remembered that he was a criminal who was controlled by the task force. How could he earn money and pay the interest? He could barely pay back his capital, right? Thus¡­ Why was he afraid of owing money? Perhaps¡­ He would run away in a few days! At the thought of this, Fang Ze nodded without hesitation. ¡°Sure!¡± Seeing that Fang Ze had agreed, the girl¡¯s eyes lit up, and she looked like a money-grubber. Then, she opened her lotus flower purse and pulled out a dozen 200 Rini notes. She handed half of them to Fang Ze. ¡°Sure. Ask away.¡± Fang Ze raised his hand reflexively to take the money. However, when he gripped the side of the note, he realized that he could not pull it away. Involuntarily, he glanced up at the girl. Tears glistened in the girl¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t look like she was lending Fang Ze money. Instead, it looked like Fang Ze was trying to steal her money. Fang Ze didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, but he let go. After that, he began to ponder what questions to ask. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly remembered the ¡°Spiritual Awakening Technique¡± he had obtained last night¡­ He remembered the description on the note at the time. It said, ¡°One of the paths to Awakening: Spiritual awakening technique.¡± Since it was ¡°one of the paths,¡± there had to be other ways, right? What were the pros and cons of each path? Thinking of this, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Officer Bai Ling, I want to ask, what are the methods to become an Awakened?¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s question, Bai Ling couldn¡¯t help but glance at him and asked curiously, ¡°Do you want to become an Awakened?¡± Fang Ze asked, ¡°Is that a question? I can charge you only 100 Rini.¡± Bai Ling was silent. Sure enough, at the mention of money, Bai Ling instantly stopped talking for a moment. She withdrew the 200 Rini from her hand and stuffed it into her purse. Then, she muttered under her breath, ¡°Hmph. So petty. No questions, no questions.¡± However, as she muttered, she explained the answer to Fang Ze. ¡°There are three ways to become an Awakened.¡± ¡°They are the Spirit Awakening Technique, Bloodline Awakening Technique, and Special Awakening Technique respectively.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no difference between the three methods. It just depends on whether it suits the individual.¡± Although the girl was a money-grubber, she was also very serious and careful when explaining the answer. ¡°To explain these Awakening methods, you have to first understand what Awakened abilities are.¡± ¡°Awakened abilities don¡¯t appear out of thin air. They are the realization of the use of ¡®World Laws¡¯ by living creatures.¡± ¡°Some creatures are sensitive to the World Laws. Then, through special means, they can establish a connection with the world and condense part of the laws they can use. They will have their own Awakened abilities.¡± ¡°This method of connecting creatures to the world is called the Spiritual Awakening Technique.¡± ¡°Meanwhile, the ancestors of some creatures were Awakened or disaster creatures. Their bloodlines carry the ¡®traces¡¯ of their ancestors using the World Laws. Through special methods, they can follow those traces and regain control of the laws their ancestors once used.¡± ¡°This special method to stimulate the bloodline of creatures is called the Bloodline Awakening Technique.¡± ¡°Furthermore, apart from these two, all the other methods of Awakening¡­¡± ¡°For example, some families have potions and rituals that can awaken certain abilities.¡± ¡°For example, they might deprive the extraordinary power of a precious artifact and integrate it into their bodies.¡± ¡°Another example is beliving in disaster creatures or high-leveled Awakened beings to obtain Awakened abilities.¡± ¡°These belong to the Special Awakening Techniques.¡± ¡°This is because the essence of these techniques is to seize, or borrow, the power of other extraordinary creatures or objects.¡± Fang Ze tried to remember what Bai Ling had told him. As he noted the content down, he lamented in his heart, ¡°This 200 Rini was really worth it¡­¡± He did not expect this girl to be so honest! After she finished speaking, Bai Ling looked at Fang Ze and counted with her fingers. ¡°I just answered a total of one, two, three¡­ Well, a total of five questions.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll charge you a total of 1,000 Rini!¡± At this point, she reached into her hand and pulled out four more bills. Then, she put them back in her purse. Fang Ze was confused. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± He asked, ¡°Why five questions? Wasn¡¯t it one question?¡± The girl looked at him with big cute eyes and said innocently, ¡°I answered five questions. Look, I answered your question first by saying that there are three ways to Awaken.¡± ¡°After that, I explained what Awakened abilities mean. Finally, I explained three different Awakening methods.¡± ¡°Adding up one, one , and three, isn¡¯t it equal to five?¡± Fang Ze was silent. Fang Ze was impressed. This girl was simply a profiteer! As expected of someone who could think of those business strategies from his previous life. She had mastered the art of buying and selling by force! However¡­ In any case, he was a criminal. He had no intention of paying her back. Thus, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with her. Therefore, while the girl was in a good mood, he asked, ¡°Then, let me ask the second question. Will using these methods to Awaken definitely result in success?¡± [1] a buy-now-pay-later service in China Chapter 21 - Business Genius and Trickster Chapter 21 Business Genius and Trickster Bai Ling looked at Fang Ze with an expression that said, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Then, she said, ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°Among them, only the third technique, the Special Awakening Technique, has the highest success rate. After all, it involves directly borrowing or seizing power.¡± ¡°The success rate of the first two Awakening techniques is very low.¡± ¡°Especially for the Spiritual Awakening Technique.¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to communicate with the world and condense an Awakening ability that suits the user. Thus, the chances of success are very low.¡± Fang Ze¡¯s expression changed when he heard Bai Ling¡¯s words. ¡°Awakening methods do not have a 100% success rate.¡± ¡°Furthermore, the success rate of the Spiritual Awakening Technique is actually the lowest.¡± Fang Ze¡¯s hands clenched involuntarily. This was really bad news¡­ However, he only had this method of Awakening now, and he had no other choice. He could only brace himself and try. Fang Ze continued to listen to Bai Ling¡¯s explanation. Bai Ling said, ¡°However¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t people with extraordinary gifts.¡± At this point, she paused, then said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve read the dossier of the Investigation Bureau. It contains some records of innate Awakened people.¡± ¡°They are people who are extremely compatible with certain World Laws. After sleeping, they gained an Awakened ability that suits them.¡± ¡°If such a person uses the Spiritual Awakening Technique to obtain an Awakened ability in advance, the success rate will be 100%.¡± Hearing this, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Is this kind of Awakened especially powerful?¡± Bai Ling gave him a smile that seemed as if she had successfully pulled off a conspiracy. Then, she pulled away two bills. ¡°The question just now was the sixth question. This is the seventh question.¡± Fang Ze was confused. What a profiteer! She actually deliberately created a sense of anticipation! Bai Ling might be a money-grubber, but when she took money, she at least answered questions seriously. After she put the money in her purse, she coughed, then knocked Fang Ze on the head and said, ¡°Look at you. You don¡¯t remember the important points.¡± ¡°For this question, I¡¯ve already given the answer when you asked the first question.¡± ¡°There is no difference between the three methods.¡± ¡°Even if one person is born with an Awakened ability, they¡¯re no different from any other Awakened.¡± ¡°Just because they awakened quickly doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re powerful. It only means that they¡¯re very compatible with that part of the World Laws.¡± ¡°However!¡± ¡°You have to know that the part of the World Law they fit into might actually be very weak.¡± ¡°It might be far less powerful than the World Laws that other Awakened people have painstakingly obtained.¡± She paused again. Then, her small face grew serious. ¡°In fact, from the Security Bureau¡¯s files, it might not be a good thing to have Awakened abilities without training.¡± ¡°This is because an Awakened isn¡¯t just powerful because of his Awakened abilities.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also about the use of their Awakened abilities, an agile brain, a strong physique, and a firm will to fight¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only way¡­¡± Time passed little by little as Bai Ling continued to explain. Fang Ze finally understood the meaning of the code name ¡°Bai Ling¡±[1]. She was really as eloquent as a lark and never stopped talking along the way. Even later, when Fang Ze stopped asking questions, she would shake her legs and chat beside him. Just like that, the two of them chatted all the way to Qingshan City. When they reached Qingshan City, the Jeep stopped and they got out. As they got out of the car, Fang Ze seemed to remember something. He suddenly turned his head and asked, ¡°By the way, Officer Bai Ling. I don¡¯t have any money on me. Can I pay you back the money I owe later?¡± Bai Ling waved her hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is up to you. You can pay me back when you have the money.¡± Fang Ze asked again, ¡°What about the interest? Is it the same regardless of the duration?¡± Bai Ling nodded and said innocently, ¡°Yes. Anyway, when you have money, you can pay me back a total of 2,400 Rini.¡± Fang Ze nodded with an odd expression. ¡°There¡¯s no repayment date.¡± ¡°No collaterals are needed.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t look at the credit of the borrower.¡± ¡°Regardless of whether I pay back in a day or a year, the interest is the same.¡± ¡°Does this girl really know how to do business?¡± Thinking of this, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°By the way, Officer Bai Ling, have you made any money from this kind of business in the past few years?¡± It would have been better if he hadn¡¯t asked. As soon as he did, Bai Ling¡¯s mouth curved downwards. She said aggrievedly, ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why either. I obviously think my ideas and ideas are great, but I just can¡¯t make any money.¡± Fang Ze was confused. ¡°Phew. As expected of a business genius who lends money to criminals like me¡­¡± When they got out of the car, they saw Qingshan City. It was completely different from what Fang Ze had imagined Qingshan City to be. The buildings in the entire city were built along the mountains, causing them to rise and fall along the mountains. After entering the city, there was a main road that extended inwards. The houses on both sides were built with rocks and loess. The architectural style was rough and simple. It had the bold characteristics of a mountain city. Fang Ze recalled the official information that he had read this morning. There were mountains, forests, beautiful scenery, and abundant resources¡­ Hiss. It seemed like every word was fine, but on the ground, why was it so different from what he¡¯d imagined? While complaining about the situation in Qingshan City, Fang Ze also thought about his plan for the day. Although he had Bai Ling by his side, Fang Ze¡¯s plan did not change. Even though Bai Ling said that the success rate of the Spiritual Awakening Technique was not high, Fang Ze only had this method to become an Awakened. He had no other choice. Even if the success rate was low, he could only try. Therefore, he still planned to figure out the value of those Awakening materials and think of a way to obtain them today. So, with that thought in mind, Fang Ze turned and glanced at Bai Ling. ¡°Is there anywhere you¡¯d like to go, Ma¡¯am?¡± Bai Ling cocked her head in thought and was about to reply. Then, she heard Fang Ze add, ¡°If there¡¯s anywhere you want to go, you can go there first. I plan to take a look at the market.¡± Bai Ling¡¯s words were stuck in her throat again, and she almost fell over. Thus, all she could do was mumble, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m going to protect you.¡± Then, she stormed after the bad guy in front of her. As he asked around, he arrived at the market in Qingshan City. Fang Ze pretended to look around aimlessly. He would look at the vegetables, then at the fruits, then at the miscellaneous goods. He would even ask when he saw something he had never seen in his previous life. Thanks to the uniform he was wearing and the unique appearance of the huge hammer on Bai Ling¡¯s back, no one dared to quote a fake price or provoke them. After walking and asking questions for half an hour, Fang Ze finally saw an Awakening material that was recorded on the note. He knelt down. As he picked up a handful of the grass-like plants and sniffed them, he asked, ¡°Sir, what is this?¡± The old man selling various items carefully sized up the two of them and said, ¡°Officer, this is wormwood. It can repel mosquitoes and insects at home.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± said Fang Ze. Then, he asked ¡°How much is it?¡± The old man held up a finger and said, ¡°Ten Rini for a handful.¡± Fang Ze nodded, then turned to Bai Ling and held out his hand. Bai Ling looked confused. ¡®Yes?¡¯ Fang Ze said, ¡°Lend me some money.¡± Bai Ling was confused. Bai Ling swore she had never seen anyone so brazen! In the car, he had borrowed money and asked her questions. He had yet to return the money, but he was actually borrowing money again! Fang Ze said, ¡°The interest will be 30%.¡± Bai Ling¡¯s eyes suddenly glittered. ¡°Okay! Boss!¡± [1] Bai Ling¡¯s name means ¡°lark¡± in Chinese Chapter 22 - The First Ally Chapter 22 The First Ally Just like that, Fang Ze bought a lot of things he needed and didn¡¯t need by borrowing money from Bai Ling. There were fruits, food, some daily necessities, and also¡­ Awakening materials mixed in the goods. Furthermore, Fang Ze¡¯s debt had been successfully compounded to 3,100 Rini. To be honest, Fang Ze did not feel any heartache at all. Perhaps it was because he was in debt and it was not his money that he was spending. However, looking at how dumb Bai Ling looked as she happily dug into her purse, Fang Ze felt a little sorry for her. Was he bullying this child too much? Although he had borrowed the money with his own ability¡­ Or¡­ Should he at least pay the interest? As Fang Ze contemplated this, he was also planning about the Awakening materials. To Fang Ze¡¯s surprise, most of the Awakening materials were relatively common. Even if he didn¡¯t buy them for the time being, Fang Ze had asked for and seen most of Awakening materials after only shopping in the market all morning. The only problem was that Bai Ling kept following him. He was completely afraid to buy the materials. He did not think that the people from the Security Bureau would not know about the materials for the Spiritual Awakening Method. If he bought too much, he might be discovered. Therefore, Fang Ze was also wondering how to obtain these Awakening materials. As he thought about it, he suddenly thought of the Late-Night Investigation Room. ¡°I wonder if I can send and receive items in the Late-Night Investigation Room¡­¡± ¡°It should be possible in principle. After all, I¡¯ve actually brought the Magazine back to the real world¡­¡± ¡°So, I can actually verify it tonight.¡± ¡°If it really works¡­ I¡¯ll trick someone into helping me buy Awakening materials. That way, I can avoid the Security Bureau perfectly¡­¡± While Fang Ze was thinking about this, what he didn¡¯t see was that Bai Ling was looking at the sky and then at Fang Ze, as if she were planning something. A moment later, she pinched her small waist and said to Fang Ze crisply in her pleasant voice, ¡°Fang Ze. It¡¯s noon. Are you hungry? I¡¯ll treat you to a meal.¡± Fang Ze was still calculating the Awakening materials when he suddenly heard Bai Ling¡¯s words. He was stunned for a moment and immediately became vigilant. Although he had only interacted with Bai Ling for a morning, Fang Ze thought he knew most of her personality. She was optimistic, generous, cheerful, lively, and a little money-grubber. It was possible for him to treat such a girl to a meal. However, for her to treat him to a meal¡­ Hehe. Therefore, in that instant, Fang Ze knew that something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. However, Fang Ze was also curious about what this girl or the Security Bureau was planning to do, so he did not refuse. Instead, he asked calmly, ¡°Where are we going to eat?¡± Bai Ling said, ¡°I know a really good bun place around here. Shall we go there together?¡± Fang Ze hesitated, then agreed with a smile. ¡°Sure. I happen to want meat buns too.¡± Just like that, Fang Ze followed Bai Ling out of the market and began to circle around the city. Fang Ze realized that his surroundings were changing, but they were getting shabbier and shabbier. The environment also became poorer over time. If the original main city area still had a little of the boldness and grandeur of a mountain city, then the place they were going now was a little like a slum. There were dilapidated brick houses everywhere, with dirty streets and smelly ditches¡­ However, the more he walked, the more familiar Fang Ze felt. It seems¡­ This was where the original owner of his body once lived. Fang Ze looked thoughtful. He could roughly guess why Bai Ling had brought him here¡­ Just like that, the two of them walked and chatted casually all the way until they reached a street. It was a street lined with flagstones. The street looked a little old, and the brick houses on either side looked a little run-down. It had the style of a slum, but it was a lot neater than the other streets in the slum. It was as if someone was maintaining and cleaning it every day. He studied the increasingly familiar street as he followed Bai Ling to a bun shop. ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll have four pork and onion buns!¡± Bai Ling called the owner of the shop. vn ¡°Coming!¡± The owner of the bun shop agreed with a smile at Bai Ling¡¯s greeting. A moment later, he came out smiling with a plate that had four meat buns on it. As soon as he came out, he saw Fang Ze. In that instant, his expression changed and his smile quickly faded. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but when he saw Fang Ze¡¯s outfit and the huge hammer on Bai Ling¡¯s back, he eventually stopped. Even so, he didn¡¯t look as enthusiastic as he had earlier. He came to the two of them and slammed the plate down on the table. Then, he said, ¡°Thank you for your patronage. That¡¯ll be 12 Rini.¡± Fang Ze gave him an odd look. Meanwhile, Bai Ling was grinning as she took 12 Rini out of her purse and handed it to the owner. After paying, Bai Ling pushed the plate toward Fang Ze and said, ¡°Eat.¡± With that, she picked up a bun and ate it herself. The meat bun was obviously very heavy. When she bit into it, juice splattered everywhere and the fragrance of meat assaulted her nose. Bai Ling¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. Then, she began to eat noisily. Fang Ze looked at her, then back at the owner of the bun shop. Then, he picked up a bun as well and ate in silence. Fang Ze felt a familiar taste in his mouth as he ate the bun. It tasted good and the meat was fresh. As a bonus, it was familiar. Thus, it whetted his appetite. Meanwhile, just as he was about to finish eating the meat bun, he suddenly heard something land behind him. Accompanying that voice was the excited voice of a girl. ¡°Fang, Fang Ze?¡± Fang Ze turned at the sound of someone calling his name. He saw a familiar girl. She was six feet tall, her frail body concealed by a voluminous burlap garment, preventing others from seeing her physique. She had an oval face. However, it was not round enough, perhaps because she was malnourished. Her face was dirty and stained with dust. It also hid her plain, pretty face. Her hair was long and tousled, and it took another point off her looks. These points turned her from a plain beauty into an ordinary girl¡­ The only thing that seemed out of place was her eyes. What kind of eyes were those? She had double eyelids, and the ends of her eyes were slightly curved and upturned. Her eyelashes were dense and long. When she looked at people, she looked pitiful. When she looked around, it was as if a clear spring was flowing in her eyes. With his outstanding ¡°appreciation¡± experience from his previous life, Fang Ze easily made a judgment about this girl. She was like a stock that had the potential to increase in value. No¡­ It should be said that she had already started to ¡°grow¡± her ¡°achievement stocks¡±, but she deliberately covered up her beauty. After all, if it weren¡¯t for those eyes, even Fang Ze probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed her beauty under the dust¡­ However¡­ Who was this girl? Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but study her again. Then, he noticed more details he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier. The left side of the girl¡¯s face was slightly swollen, as if she had been slapped. Her wrist was also bruised, as if she had been hit. When she saw him, she was so excited that her body trembled a little. However, when she looked over, she shrank back reflexively and avoided his gaze. That mixture of surprise and fear was so strange for a thin girl¡­ It also made Fang Ze realize something. Was this the girl in his dream? Combined with the purpose of the Security Bureau that he had just guessed, Fang Ze immediately had a guess. Thus, he deliberately looked puzzled. He looked at the girl and asked, ¡°Hello. Do you know me?¡± There was obvious surprise in the girl¡¯s eyes when she heard Fang Ze¡¯s words. She took an involuntary step forward, wanting to explain and ask questions. However, at this moment, the door of the brick house beside the bun shop was suddenly opened from the inside. A chubby woman came out from the door. As soon as she saw the girl, she smiled and said, ¡°Miao Miao, why are you back so late today? I happen to have something to discuss with you. Come, let¡¯s go to my house.¡± With that, she walked over. Then, she turned her back to Fang Ze and took the girl¡¯s hand in both hands. The girl looked at the chubby woman and then at Fang Ze. For a moment, she was a little confused and conflicted. ¡°Auntie, Auntie Fatty? I, I¡­¡± She seemed to want to say something else, but Auntie Fatty didn¡¯t listen to her at all. She just pulled the girl into her house. Fang Ze watched the scene unfold with his usual expression. Judging by the fat woman¡¯s slightly stiff movements and stilted voice, she was probably a ¡°rescue crew¡± assigned by the Investigation Department or the Security Bureau. Furthermore, from the fact that the girl could call out the woman¡¯s name, they probably knew each other. Thus, the girl shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. With that thought in mind, Fang Ze turned back to the table. Unconcerned, he picked up a meat bun and started chewing again. Seeing Fang Ze¡¯s extremely normal state, Bai Ling tilted her head and asked, ¡°Fang Ze? Don¡¯t you feel anything?¡± Fang Ze looked up at her and pretended to be confused. ¡°Feel what?¡± Bai Ling looked a little conflicted. She tried to explain, ¡°Like¡­ For example, do you feel that anything is strange, unusual, or familiar?¡± Fang Ze pretended to give her an odd look. ¡°Why would I feel that way?¡± Then, he feigned alarm. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me! Is there a case on this street?¡± Bai Ling was silent. Looking at Fang Ze¡¯s expression carefully, Bai Ling confirmed that Fang Ze really didn¡¯t seem abnormal. She pouted and was a little disappointed¡­ While he was happily dealing with Bai Ling, Fang Ze¡¯s mind was actually racing¡­ From the schedule Bai Ling had arranged. The Security Bureau was obviously trying to stimulate his memory with familiar scenes and familiar people. Furthermore, from arranging for this girl to interact with him and this girl¡¯s reaction just now, this girl¡¯s relationship with him was probably not ordinary. At this thought, Fang Ze suddenly had an idea. Now that he was under control, he indeed could not reject the arrangements of the Security Bureau. However¡­ Could he use this opportunity to achieve some of his goals? For example, by summoning this girl at night to investigate. Then, he would figure out the arrangements of the Security Bureau. For example, he could also get this girl to ¡°buy¡± Awakening materials for him. After all, compared to other ordinary people and agents who were difficult to control and trust, the girl in front of him had at least an extraordinary relationship with him¡­ She was his first ally. Chapter 23 - Bullying The Girl Chapter 23 Bullying The Girl The day passed quickly. That day, Fang Ze strolled around Qingshan City with Bai Ling. Needless to say, freeloading was great. It was no wonder everyone liked to lie flat(1). It was really comfortable to not have to work hard. as Furthermore, this rich lolita was really awesome. That night, Fang Ze and Bailing got into the old Jeep and drove back to the task force. When they arrived at the task force, Fang Ze got out of the car with his bags and said politely to Bai Ling, ¡°Thank you for taking care of me all day, Officer Bai Ling.¡± Ever since Fang Ze hadn¡¯t reacted to the girl, Bai Ling hadn¡¯t been in a good mood. Although she had been paying for Fang Ze after that, she was still very mechanical. Therefore, seeing that Fang Ze was so polite, Bai Ling came back to her senses and immediately felt a little embarrassed. ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s nothing. I didn¡¯t take much care of you.¡± At Bai Ling¡¯s words, Fang Ze smiled and said, ¡°Officer Bai Ling took good care of me by helping me to buy so many things.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± He held out his hand again and said, ¡°Could you lend me another 2,000 Rini?¡± Bai Ling was confused. Her face was blank. To be honest, if not for the notebook she was holding, she would have forgotten how much money Fang Ze had borrowed from her. She felt that she was already very good at spending money, but Fang Ze was even better at it. She had simply spent half a month¡¯s salary in a day. It didn¡¯t feel like she was a loan shark, but a philanthropist¡­ Thus, thinking of that, she asked blankly, ¡°What do you need all that money for?¡± Fang Ze rubbed his head helplessly and said, ¡°The thing is, Officer Bai Ling, I don¡¯t have any savings or money on me. I¡¯m never at ease.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I want to borrow some money to save. It makes me feel safe.¡± Bai Ling was confused. She had seen people borrow money because they had no money, but she had never seen anyone who borrowed money to save. This¡­ She wasn¡¯t actually doing charity work, right? Meanwhile, as Bai Ling thought about this, Fang Ze held out a palm and said, ¡°The interest will be 50%.¡± ¡°If you lend me 2,000 Rini, I can return you 3,000 Rini including interest.¡± In that instant, Bai Ling¡¯s eyes were once again filled with golden light¡­ Five minutes later, Fang Ze returned to the dorm with 2,000 Rini in his pocket and bags of groceries. In the dormitory, Wang Hao was stunned when he saw that Fang Ze had bought so many things. He felt compelled to ask, ¡°How many things did you buy?¡± Fang Ze smiled and replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t buy them.¡± ¡°A kind person gave them to me.¡± Wang Hao was dumbfounded. Wang Hao¡¯s expression was a little blank. Were all of these a gift? He was a reserve member of the Security Bureau, so he knew that Fang Ze must have been ¡°protected¡± by the Security Bureau the entire time today. Which ¡°kind person¡± could break through the heavy blockade of the Security Bureau and deliver something to Fang Ze? Wasn¡¯t this too magical? Fang Ze ignored his roommate¡¯s wild thoughts. He lifted the items to his desk and began sorting them by category. Although Fang Ze had bought a lot of things that day, and there were many things that seemed ¡°useless,¡± he had not chosen them casually. Other than daily necessities and Awakening materials, the other things Fang Ze bought were all items that he had observed in the market and were convenient to sell for money. At that time, once he sold these things, he would be able to directly buy the Awakening materials. After sorting everything, Fang Ze pulled a book out of the pile and tossed it to Wang Hao. Wang Hao took the book in surprise. Then, he heard Fang Ze¡¯s voice in his ear. ¡°I saw it on the road. I thought you¡¯d like it. You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Is¡­ is this a gift?¡± Wang Hao was in disbelief for a moment. Ever since he was young, perhaps because of his dull personality, he had almost no friends, so he had never received any gifts. The only gift he had was from his beloved ¡°woman¡±. Unexpectedly, he now received a second gift. Moreover, it was from a ¡°criminal¡± who he was in charge of watching over. Furthermore, when he thought about how well this ¡°criminal¡± usually treated him and how sincere he was, for a moment, he was touched. He looked down involuntarily at the book he had given him. The title was ¡°The Nine-Tailed Turtle[2]¡±. This was like a classical literary title¡­ What kind of book was this? With that thought in mind, Wang Hao curiously opened the book. A moment later, he roared at Fang Ze with a flushed face, ¡°I¡¯m really not that kind of person! Fang Ze!¡± ¡­ Pleasant holidays were always short. Amidst the laughter, darkness slowly descended, and the temporary residence gradually fell into darkness. Fang Ze lay in bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. This time, the dream was exceptionally long and clear. In his dream, he seemed to have become a young man who lived with his mother in the slums of the low-leveled Qingshan City. Although his life was relatively difficult, he was still quite happy. However, the turn of events occurred one winter. That winter, a mother and daughter fled to the slums. However, not long after buying the house, the mother died. Only one little girl survived. ¡°His mother¡± took pity on her. Occasionally, she would send over some of the extra food in the house to support her. That little girl was quite sensible. She always opened her big, pitiful eyes and bowed to thank them. In order to repay his kindness, she even took the initiative to come to the house and help with some housework. Looking at her frail body as she struggled to wipe the floor with a rag, ¡°he¡± felt not touched but repelled. ¡°This is my house¡­ Why would she come over¡­¡± ¡°She just wants to share the food that my family doesn¡¯t have much to begin with¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have to do anything, but now that she¡¯s here, I have to work with her¡­¡± Therefore, one day when ¡°his mother¡± was not at home, ¡°he¡± ruthlessly pushed her to the cold ground¡­ The girl fell to the ground and looked up at him with a little horror. Her eyes were full of confusion, surprise, loss¡­ and fear¡­ After pushing her down, ¡°he¡± was actually panicking. ¡°His¡± hands were trembling. ¡°He¡± thought she would surely turn around and hit ¡°him¡± or complain to his mother. However, she didn¡¯t. She simply got up, trembling, and with tears in her eyes, she finished wiping the floor. Then, with her head bowed, she silently left ¡°his¡± house¡­ ¡°He¡± was terrified for several days¡­ Nothing happened¡­ His mother didn¡¯t know about this, so she still occasionally sent the girl things. The girl often refused, but if she couldn¡¯t, she would quietly pick some wild vegetables or get something from somewhere else to give to his mother. When his mother was around, ¡°he¡± always greeted her with a smile. However, when his mother wasn¡¯t around, ¡°he¡± would kick her, hit her, and slap her face. All she¡¯d ever dared to do was lower her head, say nothing, grip the hem of her shirt with both hands, and suffer in silence¡­ ¡°I think I¡¯ve found something fun to do¡­¡± When he woke up, Fang Ze found himself in the Late-Night Investigation Room again. He rubbed his temples as he felt a slight headache. He finally understood the whole story of his original self and the girl. It involved bullying. Furthermore, it was a dozen years of bullying. Furthermore, because of her mother¡¯s kindness to the girl, the girl could only endure it silently and never say anything. Even at the end, when the mother of his original self died, the girl was at the hospital bed and promised to take good care of his original self. Not only did she deliver food to his original self regularly, but she also helped his original self to find a job in the slums. However, his original self didn¡¯t appreciate it and had always dreamed of doing something big. Therefore, not only did he always reject the girl, but he also still punched and kicked the girl who cared about him. However, because of his mother¡¯s kindness, the girl still silently took care of him¡­ ¡°Aye. He¡¯s simply a scum. It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s involved in a criminal organization.¡± ¡°In the end, I have to bear all of this myself¡­.¡± ¡°Sigh.¡± He thought silently about the girl for another moment. Fang Ze felt that if he had the chance, he had to take proper care of the girl. He would think of it as accumulating some virtue for his original self who had died. After gathering himself, Fang Ze looked up at the Late-night Investigation Room. It was the same as the last time he¡¯d left. The entire layout of the Late-Night Investigation. Room remained unchanged. There were the same two sets of tables and chairs, a lamp, and a steel door that wouldn¡¯t open. The only difference was the pile of items at Fang Ze¡¯s feet and the 2,000 Rini. Looking at the pile on the ground, Fang Ze rubbed his chin and began to think¡­ This afternoon, after Fang Ze had the idea of using the Late-Night Investigation Room to transfer things, he used three sets of items to do three small experiments at night while he slept. The first item was an orange. He grabbed that orange in his hand before he slept. The second item was an apple. That apple was on the table next to the bed. It had no physical contact with Fang Ze. However, Fang Ze had thought to take it to the Late-Night Investigation Room before he fell asleep. As for the third set of items, since Fang Ze thought the success rate might be highest, he also put in the most items. It contained a large bag of items that could be exchanged for money and 2,000 Rini. Before going to bed, Fang Ze held the large bag of items and the 2,000 Rini in his other hand. Also, like the apple, he wanted to take it into the Late-Night Investigation Room. After carefully rummaging through the items in the bag, Fang Ze confirmed that out of the three sets of tests that had been conducted, only the third was successful. Based on these three sets of controlled trials, Fang Ze made a preliminary judgment. The conditions to bring an item into the Late-Night Investigation Room were to have physical contact with it and to have the thought of bringing it in. After verifying his thoughts, Fang Ze felt that he had finally completed the last part of his Awakening plan. Next, he had to choose a suitable candidate to purchase the Awakening materials for him. This way, he could bypass the Security Bureau¡¯s surveillance and gather the materials to successfully Awaken! [1] a movement in China to reject the pressure to overwork [2] a novel by Zhang Chunfan where the protagonist spends time in the pleasure districts Chapter 24 - The Devil and the Girl (1) Chapter 24 The Devil and the Girl (1) Thinking of this, Fang Ze tapped the table lightly with the knuckle of his right index finger. Instantly, three-dimensional images of many people popped up in front of him. In addition to the previous candidates, there were four more names on this list. They were all hawkers or pedestrians that Fang Ze had met when he was shopping today. Fang Ze took advantage of the fact that Bai Ling wasn¡¯t paying attention. He pretended to unintentionally and secretly make physical contact with them. They would become his ¡°purchasing agent¡± candidates. However, to be honest, Fang Ze did not dare to use them. First, it was because of the plan this time. After all, there would be an exchange of ¡°material¡± items. Without knowing the personalities and backgrounds of these people beforehand, it was too difficult to get them to buy things for him just by scaring them and giving them empty promises. Furthermore, it was too easy for them to leak the news. Second, to be honest, Fang Ze was very suspicious of their true identities. This was from his judgment of the Security Bureau¡¯s perfect ¡°protection¡± of Fang Ze today. Normally, it would be difficult for ordinary people to come into contact with Fang Ze. Therefore, it was very likely that these people were planted by the Security Bureau or the Investigation Department¡­ In that case, once Fang Ze chose them, it would be equivalent to confessing his crimes. Meanwhile, if he chose someone else instead of them¡­ With that in mind, Fang Ze scrolled back down the list and pondered¡­ Putting aside the fact that those people were also too difficult to deal with. Even if Fang Ze really performed extremely well and fooled them, Fang Ze was not sure if they could buy the Awakening materials in a short period of time. As he thought, Fang Ze¡¯s hand slowly stopped on a three-dimensional image. That three-dimensional image was of the girl he had seen today and dreamed of for the past two days. Fang Ze wasn¡¯t surprised to see her image. After all, his original self had bullied her before. He would have had physical contact with her. This was why when Fang Ze saw her today, he felt that he could summon her. However¡­ Was she a suitable candidate? Looking at the girl¡¯s three-dimensional image, Fang Ze was lost in thought¡­ She was delicate and easy to ¡°control¡±. He knew her experience and ¡°weakness¡±. Thus, he could easily cut in. Furthermore, she lived in Qingshan City. He had investigated and confirmed that he could buy what he needed there. In that case, it did seem like a good idea. The only question was, would the Security Bureau have her under surveillance? After careful consideration, Fang Ze made a decision. Whatever. He had to try. Even if there were people around her to keep her under surveillance, preventing her from buying things for him, at least he could obtain some information about how the Security Bureau was conducting surveillance. It was not all for naught. Furthermore, if the value of this surveillance information was very high, he would still have good ¡°gains¡±. Of course, in order to avoid exposing his identity and more reasonable ways to get her to help with buying the items, he had to disguise himself. As he thought about it, Fang Ze came up with an idea. Perhaps this would make sense¡­ Furthermore, this could help the girl start a new life. This was not exactly mistreating her. Thinking of this, he stopped hesitating and began to set up the Late-Night Investigation Room in front of him. With his previous experience in decorating rooms, Fang Ze was now even better at decorating the room. Therefore, he waved his hand, and a mountain range burning with flames appeared from the ground and stretched into the distance, blocking the wall and the steel door. Then, with a light step, a dark abyss instantly appeared under his feet. His gaze went to the chair. The chair turned into a black throne and rose from the ground, slowly carrying him higher. In the fog, his figure began to gradually grow taller, and a pair of pitch-black horns like those of a goat appeared on his head. After everything was adjusted, Fang Ze hid the battered lamp in the abyss and tapped the image of the girl. A moment later, a thin figure slowly appeared on the pitch-black ground burning with flames. Feeling the hard ground under her and the heat through her skin, the girl woke up from her sleep in a daze. After seeing her surroundings clearly, her body trembled and she curled up reflexively. Then, she carefully sized up the scene in front of her. Wasn¡¯t she sleeping at home? Where was this place? Why were there flames everywhere, and a bottomless abyss, and another¡­ She saw the figure sitting on the black throne with two horns on his head. It was a figure that caused people to feel intimidated with just one look. Miao Miao hurriedly lowered her head and knelt on the ground, trembling and unable to speak¡­ Sensing the girl¡¯s intense uneasiness, Fang Ze, who was sitting high on the black throne, nodded silently. It had gone better than he had imagined¡­ It seemed the plan could proceed. At the thought of this, he spoke slowly. His voice was hoarse, like two metal plates grinding against each other. It reeked of sulfur. ¡°Look up¡­¡± Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, the girl trembled even more. However, she did not dare to resist. She could only stiffly raise her pitiful face bit by bit. During the day, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t look at her closely. Now that he was looking at her seriously, Fang Ze realized that she was really thin¡­ She was more than 1.6 meters tall, but she weighed less than 40 kilograms. It was obvious from her face that she was malnourished. However, perhaps because she was born beautiful, even though her life was so difficult, her skin was still delicate and fair. Furthermore, she had teary, watery eyes. Just one look at her would make one feel pity for her and worry about the fate of the girl in front of them. Chapter 25 - The Devil and the Girl (2) Chapter 25 The Devil and the Girl (2) At this moment, perhaps it was because the girl was suddenly transported from sleep to an unfamiliar environment. Thus, she was filled with tension and fear. Thinking about what the other party had experienced over the years, Fang Ze could not help but sigh inwardly. This girl had lived a difficult life. Although he was emotional, he still had to act. Therefore, Fang Ze, who was behind the fog, composed himself and deliberately smiled. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± The girl looked at Fang Ze with tears in her eyes and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Sir, I¡­ I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± Fang Ze said cunningly, ¡°What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I¡¯ll eat you?¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, the girl trembled and tears began to fall¡­ Seeing this, Fang Ze laughed wildly. ¡°Hahaha. Don¡¯t worry, little girl. I¡¯m not interested in eating people. I¡¯m a devil, not a demon.¡± ¡°Violence is the most boring thing in the world.¡± ¡°We devils don¡¯t like violence. We only like to trade.¡± There were clearly no legends of demons or devils in this world. Therefore, the girl¡¯s innocent face could not help but reveal a confused expression. However, she immediately remembered that no matter who this figure was, they were not something she could provoke. Therefore, she hurriedly lowered her head and knelt there. She said softly, ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t have anything to trade.¡± Fang Ze put his hand on the throne and rested his cheek on it. He looked down at her and said bossily, ¡°You do.¡± ¡°Your friendship, love, kinship, and lifespan can all be traded.¡± ¡°In fact¡­ You can even trade your soul¡­¡± At the words of the ¡°devil¡± before her, like a frightened rabbit, the girl was startled again. She was tempted to refuse, but didn¡¯t dare to. Then, as if reading her mind, the ¡°devil¡± said, ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to say no. You only heard what you can give. Don¡¯t you want to know what you can get?¡± The girl looked up at the ¡°devil¡± with her big eyes and blinked slightly. The ¡°devil¡± spread his arms and said in an infectious voice, ¡°You can receive endless life, obtain supreme rights, and enjoy endless wealth¡­¡± The girl¡¯s eyes darkened, clearly not interested. The ¡°devil¡± looked down at her, and his high voice lowered. ¡°Of course, all the things you¡¯re upset about and the people you want to save can also be traded for¡­¡± The girl looked up sharply at the ¡°devil¡¯s¡± words. The ¡°devil¡± in front of her was shrouded in fog. It was at least two meters tall, with two goat horns on its head. Its entire body was black, as if it had been burned by charcoal. It was filled with an ominous feeling. In particular, those eyes that looked through the fog were mysterious, powerful, and devilish. They seemed to have the ability to see through people¡¯s hearts. The girl was trembling with fear, but because the ¡°devil¡¯s¡± words had given her too many illusions, she finally mustered her courage and asked weakly, ¡°Then please, may I ask¡­ Can you help me save someone?¡± The ¡°devil¡± looked at her and said, ¡°Sure. But what are you going to trade in return?¡± There was a lot of hesitation in the girl¡¯s eyes at first when she heard the ¡°devil.¡± After a moment, she said, ¡°Is love okay?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t need that. It¡¯s too extravagant-¡° At this, she lowered her head and whispered, ¡°If it¡¯s not enough, kinship is fine¡­ However I don¡¯t have parents anymore. I wonder if this is worth anything¡­¡± ¡°Or¡­¡± ¡°Or¡­¡± Then, she looked up and said, ¡°Would my lifespan do? I could give a few years, or even a dozen, in exchange for his peace.¡± The devil didn¡¯t answer immediately. He sat back on his throne and looked at the girl, his eyes amused. ¡°Is he that important to you?¡± The girl shook her head at first, then nodded. Perhaps because she was certain that she wanted to trade with the ¡°devil¡± in front of her, she gradually opened up. She said weakly, ¡°It¡¯s not him. It¡¯s his mother¡­¡± She lowered her head and whispered, ¡°His mother was kind to me. When she left this world, I promised her I would take good care of him.¡± The ¡°devil¡± smiled. ¡°Interesting, interesting¡­ If you could save him once, could you save him twice?¡± ¡°If you saved him twice, could you save him thrice?¡± ¡°Are you sure that you can always save him?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes were blank. She looked confused for a moment, then slowly shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°However, if he can be saved, then so be it.¡± ¡°My life isn¡¯t worth much anyway.¡± ¡°Without his mother, maybe¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be alive now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I owe her in the first place.¡± At the girl¡¯s words, the ¡°devil¡± suddenly seemed angry. He slammed the throne, then cursed. ¡°How ridiculous!¡± As he cursed, the volcano in the distance suddenly erupted, and the surrounding flames suddenly rose! The girl curled into a ball and stared at the scene in front of her in horror. She had no idea what was happening or why the ¡°devil¡± in front of her was so angry. At that moment, she heard the ¡°devil¡± snort and say, ¡°Repaying a favor is an excellent quality. However, there are limits to repaying a favor.¡± ¡°You should repay his mother for her kindness to you.¡± ¡°Even if his mother died, you still want to repay the favor to him.¡± ¡°However, that doesn¡¯t mean you have to repay the favor without a bottom line!¡± ¡°Especially¡­¡± At that, the ¡°devil¡± sat back on his throne, looked at her, and said, ¡°Although his mother did you a favor, he didn¡¯t treat you well, did he?¡± ¡°He beats and scolds you from time to time and doesn¡¯t appreciate it.¡± At the ¡°devil¡¯s¡± words, the girl bowed her head, her face pale. The ¡°devil¡± was silent for a moment. His mood calmed down. Then, he said hoarsely, ¡°I can help you.¡± The girl looked up in surprise. Then, she heard the ¡°devil¡± say, ¡°However¡­ There are additional conditions.¡± The girl asked meekly, ¡°What additional conditions?¡± The devil said, ¡°That man is in deep trouble. Without my help, he would be dead.¡± ¡°By helping him this time, it will be giving a life for a life.¡± ¡°You can be considered to have repaid the favor.¡± ¡°After that, his business has nothing to do with you.¡± ¡°You have to start your own real life.¡± Surprise filled the girl¡¯s watery eyes at the ¡°devil¡¯s¡± words. Probably no one had ever told her she could do this, but at that moment, she did feel her vision brighten a little. For a moment, she nodded, laughing and crying at the same time. ¡°Yes,¡± said the girl in a choked voice. ¡°I understand, Mr. Devil.¡± The moment she agreed, the girl suddenly felt extremely relaxed¡­ When she agreed, the ¡°devil¡± yawned, then said carelessly, ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited. What I just said was a side condition, not the price of a deal.¡± ¡°Do you really think the devil does charity?¡± At the devil¡¯s words, the girl remembered that the man before her was a devil who traded souls. She said, ¡°Oh.¡± Then, she sank to her knees again, waiting patiently for the devil¡¯s price¡­ Chapter 26 - Gains — Disaster Creature Chapter 26 Gains ¡ª Disaster Creature The girl felt that as long as she didn¡¯t trade in her soul, she could actually accept it. It wasn¡¯t that she felt that her soul was precious, but¡­ she kept feeling that her soul was being traded for. How terrifying. As for the rest¡­ If she could repay the favor and start a new life, she felt that it would be worth it. Meanwhile as she thought that, the devil¡¯s hoarse voice said slowly, ¡°How about this? You¡¯ll be my slave for two years.¡± ¡°When I need you, you¡¯re to teleport here at any time and do whatever I say.¡± The girl looked up a little blankly at the devil¡¯s offer. Clearly, she didn¡¯t expect the price of the trade, which included her soul, lifespan, love, and kinship at first, to become so¡­ cheap in the end. The devil was obviously ¡°angry¡± to see her like this. He looked down at the girl and asked darkly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you not happy with the price?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ You want to offer your soul to me?¡± At the devil¡¯s words, the girl quickly fell to her knees again and said, ¡°N-no, Mr. Devil.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The devil grunted, then asked, ¡°What plane are you on?¡± The girl asked cautiously, ¡°What do you mean by plane?¡± The devil looked irritated. ¡°The world you live in.¡± Halfway through, he waved his hand and said, ¡°Never mind. I don¡¯t suppose you understand. Just tell me about the city you¡¯re in.¡± The girl said weakly, ¡°Qingshan City¡­¡± The devil seemed lost in thought. It took him a full minute to recover. Then, he said, ¡°So it¡¯s such a small city.¡± The girl looked at the devil blankly. She wanted to say, ¡°It¡¯s not small. The city is very big. It takes me an hour to walk from the east to the west.¡± However, she did not dare to speak, so she could only pout and kneel there like a punching bag. Then, she saw the devil throw a pack of items at her. Flustered, she reached for it, and then¡­ she missed. Things were scattered on the ground. There was some hard currency like tobacco leaves, some junk, and¡­ paper money. The girl looked up innocently at the devil on the throne, her big eyes confused. She obviously didn¡¯t understand what this meant. Then, she heard the devil speak. ¡°Seven white candles¡­¡± ¡°Twenty grams of rococo flowers, peachwood, and laurel leaves respectively. They should be ground into powder¡­¡± ¡°A sterling silver knife, a glass of cider vinegar or red wine¡­¡± ¡°And a blue crystal with blemishes that cover no more than 10% of the crystal¡­¡± As the devil¡¯s words tumbled out one by one, the girl tried to remember them, but she was still puzzled. Seeing this, the demon said ¡°fiercely,¡± ¡°What! Do you think I need to personally go down and rescue a mere mortal?¡± ¡°All I need is to conduct a long-distance interplanar ritual.¡± ¡°However, every plane has its own characteristics. Therefore, only the items bought in your plane¡­ I mean, city, can be used to determine the time and space of the ritual.¡± ¡°Thus, if you want to save him, you need to buy everything tomorrow during the day and bring them to me tonight.¡± Puzzled, the girl pointed at the objects on the floor. ¡°Then¡­ What are these?¡± The demon waved his hand impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m saving a life for my servant. Do I need my servant to pay for the materials?¡± ¡°These are the things I found in my storeroom that you can use on your plane.¡± ¡°Take them and sell them. Then, buy the items you need.¡± The girl nodded dumbly, a little overwhelmed. Then, she heard the devil say arrogantly, ¡°Right. If there¡¯s any money left, go buy some meat. You look so skinny as my servant. I¡¯ll be laughed at by the other devils.¡± The girl looked at the devil in front of her in a daze. For a moment, a wave of warmth flowed in her heart. Was this¡­ the devil? ¡°It turns out that Mr. Devil is also a kind person.¡± After cajoling and sending the girl off, Fang Ze was relieved. To be honest, he really didn¡¯t know how to act like a tsundere and a domineering CEO at the same time. Fortunately, he had the television dramas from his previous life and Wang Hao as his template, so he could portray a ¡°proud¡± devil very vividly. Before leaving, Fang Ze told the girl how to bring the items to him. As for whether the girl would be discovered by the Security Bureau or the Investigation Department when she went to buy these items¡­ As soon as the girl was summoned to his side, Fang Ze knew from her thoughts that the people watching her had long since retreated. Later, to be on the safe side, Fang Ze tried to guide the girl through her memories again to confirm that the Investigation Department and the Security Bureau were indeed not monitoring and controlling her. Perhaps his reaction today had made them lose hope in their plan of using this girl to stimulate him, allowing him to ¡°restore¡± his memories? Even so, Fang Ze added something unnecessary to his purchase list to confuse the situation. Now that everything was settled, Fang Ze felt that all he had to do was wait patiently. To be honest, this plan ¡°rescued¡± both Fang Ze and this girl. It saved Fang Ze¡¯s fate and the girl¡¯s life¡­ Without the shackles of kindness, perhaps this girl would be much happier. Fang Ze felt that he had accumulated good karma for his original self. ¡°I hope everything goes well.¡± Thinking of this, Fang Ze stopped thinking about it. He restored the room to its original state and began to check his gains for the night. After switching off the lights, returning the room to its initial state, a strange item appeared on the table. Fang Ze hesitated as he looked at the item. ¡°What is this? A black puddle of mud?¡± On the table was a dark-looking lump of what looked like soft, mushy plasticine. He knew that he had not found out anything valuable from the girl, so there was a high chance that he would not obtain anything useful. However, when he saw the black mud in front of him, Fang Ze was still a little disappointed. Although he knew that he would obtain an ordinary item, even if he obtained a fruit, he could still take a bite or two of it. What would he do with a pile of mud like this¡­? Was it a specialty of the slum sewers? As he complained, Fang Ze walked over. He looked around to make sure there was no danger and touched the black mud. A few seconds later, some information slowly surfaced in Fang Ze¡¯s mind. A moment later, Fang Ze, who was browsing through the information in his mind, could not help but open his mouth wide in surprise. ¡°Disaster Creature: Shadow Warrior (Sword)?¡± ¡°This creature¡¯s way of thinking is simple. It can only listen to simple instructions, but it doesn¡¯t know what fear is. It will fight to the death to complete the order.¡± ¡°Usually, it can reside in its master¡¯s shadow and survive by absorbing the overflowing vitality of living creatures.¡± ¡°It can shuttle through shadows in battle. Its main body lies between reality and illusion. Its combat strength is comparable to an elite soldier, and it is immune to physical damage.¡± ¡°However, it can¡¯t withstand a strike of extraordinary power. It¡¯s also very difficult for it to cause harm to Awakened beings and other disaster creatures with extraordinary powers.¡± ¡°It is one of the weakest disaster creatures.¡± After reading the introduction of the disaster creature in front of him, Fang Ze was a little surprised. He had actually won another prize! What kind of luck was this? The first time he investigated, he obtained an extraordinary artifact. He obtained an Awakening method on the second attempt. Meanwhile, he actually obtained a disaster creature on the third try. Did the Late-Night Investigation Room have a buff that gave it an increased probability of good items for the first ten attempts? Fang Ze was a little surprised at his luck. After his surprise, he picked up the lump of mud. It squirmed in his hand. Then, he threw it to the ground. Immediately, the mud fell to the ground with a plop. It began to stretch, grow thinner, and rise. Soon, a two-meter-tall female shadow warrior with a broadsword in her hand appeared in front of Fang Ze. She was slender and broad-shouldered, with well-developed pectorals and a dark complexion. Her face was painted with strange patterns that looked a little like a clown¡¯s mask. Her arms were especially long and seemed as if they could reach her knees. She carried a broad-faced sword that looked to be at least five feet tall. It was also the same color as her body. Fang Ze looked up at her, then pointed at the wall beside him. ¡°Cut it.¡± As the order was given, Fang Ze felt his vision blur. Then, he saw the female shadow warrior jump two meters high. Her body was like a bird with its wings stretched out, and the large sword in her hands was raised high! Time seemed to have stopped at that moment. A moment later, there was a loud bang as the large sword in the female warrior¡¯s hand collided solidly with the wall. Then, the female warrior was sent flying and fell to the ground. However, she acted as if nothing had happened. She jumped up again like a carp and attacked again. Seeing that the female shadow warrior was about to die from stubbornly attacking the wall, Fang Ze hurriedly shouted, ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± The female shadow warrior stopped obediently. Then, she turned around and stood still, looking at Fang Ze firmly. Chapter 26 - The Appearance Of The Second Spirit Beast Chapter 26 The Appearance Of The Second Spirit Beast ¡°It¡¯s not easy to raise spirit beasts, so don¡¯t just come up here to die.¡± Shen Fei regretfully shook his head. The contempt in his eyes was obvious. ¡°The one who sent the spirit beasts to their deaths is not them, but you! Using a Marquis-rank Flame Owl to bully a group of Baron-rank spirit beasts, tsk, tsk¡­ Only you are capable of such a cruel act.¡± Li Yuan had an evil smile on his face. He could not wait to see how everyone would look when they found out the truth. ¡°What?¡± The many Beastmasters present immediately burst into an uproar! ¡°His Flame Owl isn¡¯t a Page-rank beast?¡± ¡°F*ck, I was tricked! I thought he was a Page-rank, so I dared to attack him. This is a huge loss! ¡°A Baron-rank against a Marquis-rank, that¡¯s certain death! Who was the one who led the charge just now?¡± They glared at Shen Fei with hatred, wishing that they could tear him into pieces with their gazes. Shen Fei glanced at them, annoyed. ¡®You¡¯re the ones who didn¡¯t use your brains, and now you¡¯re blaming me for your losses? No wonder they¡¯re all so weak.¡¯ ¡°I was wondering why he was so arrogant just now¡­¡± Anna touched her chin thoughtfully. These spirit beasts that came up after Zhang Youcheng¡¯s were all Barons, one rank lower than a Marquis! Against Shen Fei¡¯s spirit beast, there was really no way they would come out unscathed. This was how cruel the level gap between spirit beasts was. ¡°Quiet, quiet, everyone, give me a few seconds.¡± Looking at the noisy audience in front of him, Li Yuan calmly waved his hand. ¡°Listen up! Even though you can¡¯t fight him, I can!¡± The scene immediately quieted down. ¡°Is what you said just now true?¡± ¡°Of course, just wait and see my performance!¡± Li Yuan confidently turned toward the stage and swaggered up to Shen Fei. Everyone watched him with a hint of anticipation. ¡°Shen Fei is in danger now.¡± Anna sat on the side, unable to hide the glee on her face. ¡°Oh¡±¡ªAloy quickly glanced at Li Yuan -¡°What do you mean by that?¡± His fate had not changed at all. It would still end with his family¡¯s decline. She had long heard of Li Yuan¡¯s talent. The C-class talent, Weather Control, could let the user change the weather within a 50-meter radius for a short period of time. This talent was of little value, and it was usually not versatile enough to actually be useful. At most, it could only be considered a support talent in a team. Even when they crossed paths, Aloy did not even care to look at him. ¡°Aloy, you still don¡¯t know, right? The Li family¡¯s patriarch paid a huge sum of money to find him a spirit beast that¡¯s complements his innate talent. Moreover, it¡¯s a Count-rank spirit beast! Dealing with a Marquis-rank spirit beast like the Flame Owl is a piece of cake!¡± Hearing this, Aloy¡¯s expression changed. Even Count-rank spirit beasts were ridiculously strong. This time, Shen Fei might really be in trouble. Back on the arena stage, Shen Fei watched Li Yuan with interest. The Flame Owl had also opened its eyes. ¡°Since you want your spirit beast to die so badly, then come-¡°. ¡°Wait!¡± Suddenly, Li Yuan extended his hand and interrupted Shen Fei. ¡°I did not say it was today.¡± Shen Fei¡¯s face was filled with doubt. ¡°Why not today? Don¡¯t tell me you have something you need to do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about me.¡± After saying that, Li Yuan pointed at the burnt area around him and chuckled. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, your spirit beast¡¯s strength should be almost depleted!¡± Shen Fei glanced at the Flame Owl that was still snoozing on his shoulder. Indeed, that attack just now had caused the little fellow to use up a lot of strength. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take advantage of you while you¡¯re down. You should go back and have a good rest, then come back and fight me.¡± Shen Fei had expected Li Yuan to give some kind of reason, but he had not expected it to be this. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so concerned, we can fight now!¡± To deal with Li Yuan, the Flame Owl¡¯s current physical strength was more than enough! ¡°How arrogant.¡± Li Yuan¡¯s smug smile could not be hidden. ¡°Since you¡¯re so determined to die, I¡¯ll grant your wish!¡± He raised his right arm high. A dazzling bolt of lightning, accompanied by countless flashing electric arcs, struck the stage. A two-meter tall Silver Lightning Tiger walked out from behind Li Yuan, electricity still sparking around it. The audience burst out in exclamations. ¡°It¡¯s a Count-rank Silver Lightning Tiger!¡± ¡°It¡¯s so strong! Just his aura alone is enough to make one tremble.¡± ¡°As expected of the Li family, to be able to get such a powerful spirit beast!¡± Shen Fei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡®Finally, a real opponent!¡¯ Even Aloy, who was in the stands, sat up straight. The moment she saw the life path of the Silver Lightning Tiger¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± Aloy cried. This Silver Lightning Tiger would actually become an Emperor-rank spirit beast in the future! Aloy rubbed her eyes in disbelief. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ She furrowed her brows, the confusion in her heart almost overflowing. ¡®After this, Li Yuan¡¯s life¡­ It would go into a downward spiral. Why would his spirit beast get stronger?¡¯ Li Yuan was basking in everyone¡¯s praise, and the corners of his mouth subconsciously curled up. He looked at Shen Fei provokingly. ¡°Now, do you realize the difference between us? If you go back on your word. It¡¯s not too late to head back and rest first.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Shen Fei firmly shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste time, hurry up and start.¡± ¡°Now this is more like it!¡± ¡°Silver Lightning Tiger, go!¡± With a snap of Li Yuan¡¯s fingers, the Silver Lightning Tiger beside him shot out like an arrow from a bow and charged toward Shen Fei. Its speed was surprisingly fast, leaving several afterimages on the stage. Li Yuan looked at Shen Fei conceitedly. The Silver Lightning Tiger was the second fastest among all the Count-rank spirit beasts! Even if Shen Fei¡¯s Flame Owl reached Marquis rank, what could it do? It would still be defeated by his Silver Lightning Tiger! ¡°How fast!¡± The crowd on the stage exclaimed. Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Shen Fei. They did not know how he would respond. Instead, everyone was surprised. Facing the Silver Lightning Tiger that was moving freely on the stage, Shen Fei calmly stroked his Flame Owl with a leisurely look on his face. The audience was confused. ¡°The battle has already started, why hasn¡¯t he unleashed his Flame Owl? He¡¯s suicidal.¡± ¡°Oh no, did he get scared silly, right?¡± ¡°Hurry up and let the Flame Owl fight! If this goes on, it¡¯ll be fatal!¡± ¡°Young Master Li, you can do it! Teach him a good lesson!¡± Anna seemed particularly excited. Looking at everything in the ring, Aloy was extremely anxious. The Silver Lightning Tiger¡¯s attack power was nothing to be underestimated. A light tap could break an adult¡¯s ribs! If Shen Fei continues like this, he would die! Or was there a deeper meaning behind his actions? Aloy tried to look at Shen Fei. At that moment, a life path that was completely different from before appeared in front of her. The scene changed to the arena in front of them. Li Yuan, who had been so proud just a moment ago, was now filled with fear. He widened his eyes and took two steps back in panic. Aloy followed his gaze and looked towards Shen Fei. ¡°That¡¯s¡ª!¡± A Three-clawed Golden Dragon, bathed in golden light, obediently surrounded Shen Fei. Aloy covered her mouth in shock and only spoke after a long time. ¡°His second spirit beast is actually a dragon!¡± Chapter 27 - Bai Zhi Said, "Theres a Traitor in the Task Force" (1) Chapter 27 Bai Zhi Said, ¡°There¡¯s a Traitor in the Task Force¡± (1) Fang Ze was pleased by the way the shadow warrior woman obeyed him and stopped. Now that he was in a predicament, the sudden addition of a helper made him feel much safer. At the thought of this, he observed her and asked, ¡°Can you understand me when I speak?¡± The female shadow warrior said nothing and didn¡¯t move. Fang Ze asked again, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The shadow warrior said nothing as it continued to stare at Fang Ze. Fang Ze put a hand to his forehead. It seemed that her intelligence was indeed limited. With that in mind, he looked at the huge sword in the shadow warrior¡¯s hand and thought for a moment. Then, he remembered the nickname of a hero he used to play with in his previous life. At that time, when he was controlling that hero, he often learned how to jump into the enemy¡¯s crowd and wanted to kill all the enemies. In the end, he often died¡­ Thinking of that period in his previous life, he couldn¡¯t help but flash a nostalgic look. Thus, when he came back to his senses, he looked at the shadow warrior and said, ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be called Lady Knife.¡± Lady Knife nodded slowly. Fang Ze said, ¡°Back to my shadow.¡± At Fang Ze¡¯s command, the Lady Knife¡¯s figure blurred and fell to the ground, turning a black mist that merged into Fang Ze¡¯s shadow. Fang Ze took a closer look at his shadow and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He took a few more steps. There was nothing unusual either. If he hadn¡¯t personally witnessed Lady Knife merging into his shadow, Fang Ze might really have felt that everything was just his imagination¡­ Fang Ze was in a good mood now that he¡¯d gotten his hands on a disaster creature with decent combat power without much hope. Therefore, he tidied up the Late-Night Investigation Room and placed the Awakening materials he had bought today on the table. Then, he sat on the chair, closed his eyes, and fell asleep¡­ For a moment, in the real world¡­ In the temporary residence, Fang Ze opened his eyes on the bed. He tilted his head cautiously and glanced at Wang Hao. Wang Hao was still asleep, but he was sleeping lightly, as if he would wake up at the slightest sound. Fang Ze cautiously felt his bed under the blanket. As expected, the items he had placed in the Late-Night Investigations Room did not return to reality. Instead, they were stored in the Investigation Room. He raised his head slightly again. The room was dark and full of shadows. He tried to determine where Lady Knife was. Perhaps Lady Knife had sensed Fang Ze¡¯s mood. A dark shape moved slightly in the darkness, as if to remind him that she was there. Fang Ze was completely relieved. Then, he signaled for Lady Knife to continue hiding while he propped his hands behind his head and thought about his next plan. Although he had tested the strength of the shadow warrior in the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze was still not sure about the exact strength of the shadow warrior because the battle conditions were too tragic. Coupled with the fact that Lady Knife could not resist extraordinary powers and was one of the weakest disaster creatures, Fang Ze did not dare to rely on Lady Knife to escape. However, with Lady Knife, at least he had some ability to protect himself when facing ordinary people and ordinary agents. That was good news. Now, there was Wang Hao, the ¡°traitor,¡± to solve the case and understand the movements of the task force. Meanwhile, the girl, Miao Miao, was there to collect materials for awakening abilities. He also had Lady Knife to protect him and ensure his safety. Fang Ze felt that his days were looking more and more promising. He felt that as long as he was given a little more time, he would be able to get out of his current predicament very quickly. As he thought about it, Fang Ze slowly fell asleep with anticipation for the future¡­ In the darkness, his shadow stood silently on the wall like a guard, loyal to protect him¡­ At the same time, as Fang Ze fell asleep, Bai Zhi was chatting with Bai Ling in the secret space of the Security Bureau. In front of them were the same surveillance screens. On the screens was the scene of Fang Ze and Bai Ling in the car¡­ Bai Zhi crossed her arms over her chest. Under her long eyelashes, her beautiful eyes looked at the image without saying anything. A moment later, the image skipped forward, but she picked up the remote again and rewound the image. Just like that, she watched the scene over and over. It made Bai Ling yawn. A moment later, after Bai Zhi watched the scene for the tenth time, Bai Ling asked sleepily, ¡°Sister Bai, what are you looking at?¡± Bai Zhi came to her senses at her words. She glanced at her and said seriously, ¡°I was looking at something that seems wrong.¡± A question mark appeared above Bai Ling¡¯s tiny head. ¡°Something wrong? Where?¡± Bai Zhi didn¡¯t explain. She just held the remote in her hand and pressed a few buttons. A moment later, several different images appeared on several screens, then played in turn. Scen They were the scene of Fang Ze and Bai Ling¡¯s first meeting yesterday, the scene of Fang Ze hearing about the holiday yesterday in the canteen, and the scene of Fang Ze¡¯s encounter with Bai Ling in the car today respectively. After the three videos were played, Bai Zhi looked at Bai Ling and asked, ¡°Did you see anything?¡± Bai Ling looked at Bai Zhi in confusion. Clearly, she didn¡¯t see anything. Bai Zhi smiled helplessly, then switched to the scene of Fang Ze¡¯s first meeting with Bai Ling and replayed it. On the screen, when Bai Ling appeared, the Commissioner had a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Fang Ze glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her and the pumpkin hammer before he looked away. Chapter 28 - Bai Zhi Said, "Theres a Traitor in the Task Force" (2) Chapter 28 Bai Zhi Said, ¡°There¡¯s a Traitor in the Task Force¡± (2) Then, the Commissioner introduced Fang Ze to Bai Ling. Fang Ze saluted and greeted her. The scene went still. Bai Zhi looked at Bai Ling and asked again, ¡°Did you see anything this time?¡± Bai Ling was completely at a loss. Her eyebrows were knitted together, and she pondered seriously for a long time. In the end, she could only look at Bai Zhi pitifully with her big watery eyes. Bai Zhi smiled dotingly and shook her head. Then, she said seriously, ¡°There really is a traitor in the task force.¡± Bai Ling was confused. She was full of question marks. How had this conclusion been drawn from just a few scenes?? Seeing this, Bai Zhi gently knocked Bai Ling¡¯s forehead and explained gently, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that Fang Ze actually knew you long before this?¡± Bai Ling looked surprised. ¡°He already knew me? Why?¡± The beautiful woman explained. ¡°You¡¯re young and thin, but you carry a huge hammer. You¡¯re an eye-catching existence wherever you go. Everyone will be surprised to see you for the first time.¡± ¡°However, he wasn¡¯t surprised when he first met you. In fact, there wasn¡¯t even curiosity in his eyes. He was very calm.¡± ¡°When Commissioner Pang introduced you, he had a very enthusiastic attitude towards your performance. This is proof of your good standing.¡± ¡°However, he was still not curious or surprised that you have such a high position at such a young age.¡± ¡°Even with his steady disposition, it¡¯s not quite normal.¡± ¡°Of course, if this is the only clue, there is a real possibility of a misjudgment.¡± ¡°Thus, yesterday, after I had my suspicions, I deliberately gave the task force a holiday to test him.¡± ¡°Sure enough, when he heard about the holiday, the huge surprise in his eyes and the hesitation later couldn¡¯t be concealed at all.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t fit the persona we gave him. This isn¡¯t the reaction that an agent with no family should have.¡± ¡°Besides, after he reported Agent Hanas the ¡®traitor,¡¯ the task force went on holiday. However, he didn¡¯t come to us or Commissioner Pang to ask about the situation.¡± ¡°Furthermore, today, after he saw you, his body immediately went from a relaxed state to a tense state. Even though he hid it, there was still a moment of disappointment in his eyes.¡± ¡°Let me ask you this. A normal agent would be happy and surprised to see an officer of the Security Bureau, right?¡± ¡°After all, it¡¯s a wonderful chance to be able to be in close contact with an officer of the Security Bureau.¡± ¡°You never know, they might be chosen to join the Security Bureau and become an Awakened.¡± ¡°However¡­ He didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s just an unreasonable detail, it might be a coincidence. However, with so many details combined, I think it¡¯s too far-fetched to call it a coincidence¡­¡± ¡°Thus, I judged that it¡¯s likely that he already knew his identity and knew about you as a person in advance.¡± ¡°Furthermore, you never showed your face to him. How did he know about you?¡± At this point, the beautiful woman gracefully walked to a side table. As she rummaged through a drawer, she said, ¡°Therefore, as he said yesterday, it¡¯s very likely that there is another member of the organization lurking in the task force. In other words¡­ his accomplice.¡± ¡°Furthermore, that partner of his had hooked up with him long before we did and told him a lot of information.¡± ¡°Moreover, all he¡¯s done in the past two days is muddy the waters and deliberately disrupt the direction of our investigation.¡± ¡°As for who this person is, it¡¯s easy enough to tell just by listing the people who have seen you.¡± At this, the beautiful woman gracefully took a piece of paper and a pen from a drawer and began to scribble on it. ¡°Commissioner Pang has seen you.¡± ¡°Cui Xuemin. His father is the Chief of the Security Bureau, so he knows about you.¡± ¡°Shan Hui.¡± ¡°Gao Shu.¡± ¡°And¡­ Wang Hao.¡± At this, the beautiful woman picked up the paper and thrust it at the girl. She said flatly, ¡°Just investigate these five people.¡± At this moment, Bai Ling was already looking at her with starry eyes. ¡°Sister Bai, you¡¯re too amazing¡­¡± ¡°However¡­¡± She paused and said, ¡°If we investigate like this, won¡¯t we alert Fang Ze?¡± Bai Zhi stretched lazily and smiled. ¡°Little fool, have you forgotten? Our ultimate goal is to figure out the identity of this organization behind the scenes.¡± ¡°Now that we have a new target, Fang Ze¡­ doesn¡¯t really matter as much.¡± At this, her tone changed. ¡°Of course¡­ You should still try to pay attention when you investigate so that he doesn¡¯t notice anything unusual.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s another possibility. None of these five are members of the organization, and he learned this information through other means¡­¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then things are even more interesting¡­¡± After saying that, her beautiful eyes looked at the image of Fang Ze on the surveillance screen. She stretched out her slender hand, picked up the wine glass on the table, shook it gently, and then raised her head to drink it in one gulp. After swallowing a mouthful of scarlet liquid, her pale and beautiful face instantly became charming¡­ The next morning, Fang Ze got out of bed in high spirits. Wang Hao had already gotten up and was reading the book Fang Ze had bought for him yesterday with a red face. Fang Ze smiled at the upright guy and went to the bathroom to wash up. While washing up, Fang Ze stole a glance at his shadow. The shadow moved slightly, as if it was greeting him. Fang Ze relaxed. After washing up, Fang Ze had a meal in the canteen and then began to immerse himself in a busy day of ¡°slacking off¡±¡­ To be honest, when he first transmigrated, Fang Ze wanted to rely on his spirit of working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, from his previous life to involve the entire task force. That was why he worked so hard to solve the case. In the end¡­ As expected, only the Chinese did not lie to the Chinese¡­ Therefore, he felt that, in fact, slacking and lying flat were also excellent qualities. He could also flourish in another world¡­ Furthermore, during the whole day of slacking, Fang Ze had found something else. It wasn¡¯t about the case. It was about the task force. Fang Ze realized that his roommate, Wang Hao, had been secretly called to the second floor of the villa today. Other agents had also been called to the second floor of the villa. Among them were senior agents, official agents, and even¡­ the Commissioner. Furthermore, everyone had a puzzled expression when they went upstairs. After going downstairs, they were even more puzzled. Fang Ze was a little confused about what had happened. He had a feeling that something had happened to the task force quietly, but he didn¡¯t know what it was¡­ Moreover, while he was slacking off, his creditor, Bai Ling, had wandered up to him several times. Besides, she was always asking strange questions. For example. ¡°Would you like to touch my hammer?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about a teenager with a very high position?¡±. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be surprised if you saw a person on the street carrying a sledgehammer?¡± Fang Ze had originally wanted to ignore this little fool. However, there was no choice. This girl said that answering a question cost 200 Rini. And so Fang Ze told her the story of Gan Luo[1] being appointed as a minister at the age of 12 and Chen Ge[2] chasing the bride in red with a sledgehammer in his arms¡­ The little girl listened to Fang Ze¡¯s story and ran away. Then, half an hour later, she¡¯d run back with the scent, clutching her tiny waist and accusing Fang Ze of being a liar. She said that Gan Luo and Chen Ge didn¡¯t exist. Furthermore, she used it as an excuse to offset the interest on Fang Ze¡¯s ¡°answer fee.¡± Fang Ze spread his hands helplessly, feeling that this was an unexplained culture gap¡­ The day passed in a flash. Soon, night fell again. [1] a figure who lived in China during the Qin Dynasty (2) the protagonist of My House of Horrors, a Chinese web novel Chapter 29 - Being Followed Chapter 29 Being Followed That night, when Fang Ze returned to the dormitory after dinner, Wang Hao was already back. He sat on the bed, lost in thought. There was confusion written all over his face. Although Fang Ze was prepared to go to bed early and enter the Late-Night Investigation Room to check on the collection of Awakening materials, after washing up, he still couldn¡¯t suppress his curiosity and asked tentatively, ¡°Are you alright? Did the Security Bureau look for you today?¡± Wang Hao came to his senses at Fang Ze¡¯s words. The task assigned by everyone by the Security Bureau was that in order to act real, they could answer any questions, except that they could not reveal Fang Ze¡¯s identity. They also had to get along with Fang Ze like they were colleagues. However, today¡¯s conversation was too sensitive. Thus, he hesitated, then finally shook his head and said, ¡°N-nothing.¡± Seeing Wang Hao like that, Fang Ze knew something was up. However, Wang Hao didn¡¯t say anything, so Fang Ze couldn¡¯t ask further. Furthermore, he was still in a hurry to find out about the ¡°purchasing¡± of Awakening materials today, so he couldn¡¯t use his identity as the ¡°mysterious man¡± to ask Wang Hao. Therefore, Fang Ze only silently remembered this matter and thought that he would look for Wang Hao to test him in a few days. Just like that, one of them was thinking about something and the other was in a hurry to sleep. Thus, after a quick chat, both of them lay down on their beds and fell asleep. The stars moved west. When Fang Ze woke up again, he was in the Late-Night Investigation Room. Settling into his own chair, he tapped his right index finger on the table a few times and activated the summoning list. However, to his surprise, Miao Miao was not on the list¡­ This surprised Fang Ze a little. He flipped through the list. Miao Miao¡¯s three-dimensional image really didn¡¯t appear. Fang Ze recalled the three conditions required to summon a person. First, he needed to have physical contact with the person. Secondly, the summoning had to happen late at night. Thirdly, the summoned person had to be asleep. Actually, in addition to these three conditions, there was a fourth hidden condition, that the summoned person was still alive. Thinking of this, Fang Ze¡¯s heart tightened. Could something have happened to Miao Miao? He thought about how this girl had lived for more than ten years with difficulty, but nothing had happened to her. In the end, something happened when he arranged for her to go out and do something¡­ To be honest, Fang Ze wouldn¡¯t believe it if it wasn¡¯t because of him. Thinking of this, Fang Ze thought, ¡°Did I give Miao Miao too much money?¡± Even though 3,000 Rini of supplies and cash wasn¡¯t a lot for an agent, it was still a lot of money in the slums. Perhaps this money had caused some trouble. As he thought about it, Fang Ze began to worry about this unlucky girl and his future. However, he had no other way to verify Miao Miao¡¯s safety, so he could only wait anxiously. And so, the minutes passed. Fang Ze paced around the Late-Night Investigation Room. Because there was no clock in the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze had no idea how long he¡¯d been waiting. All he could do was count the number of laps he¡¯d taken. When Fang Ze counted to 70, a three-dimensional image suddenly popped up at the top of the summoning list. It was Miao Miao¡¯s image. Fang Ze froze, then looked at the image in surprise. Moments later, he sprinted to the chair. Then, he switched on the lamp and began to set up the environment of the Late-Night Investigation Room. Five minutes later, looking at the girl¡¯s figure slowly appearing on the charred ground, Fang Ze, who was sitting high on the dark throne, suppressed his worry. Then, he said in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re too late.¡± Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Miao Miao, who was crawling on the ground, flinched. Then, she looked up and said weakly, ¡°Mr. Devil¡­ I¡­ I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± Fang Ze could clearly feel the grievance and fear coming from Miao Miao. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t even be angry. He looked at Miao Miao ¡°coldly,¡± then asked, ¡°Why?¡± Miao Miao lowered her head and whispered, ¡°I¡­ tried hard to sleep, but the harder I tried, the more I couldn¡¯t fall asleep, so I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± Fang Ze was silent. Fang Ze had really thought of many possibilities, but he hadn¡¯t thought of this. However, just as he was feeling amused by his worries, he suddenly heard a faint and intermittent inner voice from Miao Miao. Fang Ze frowned slightly and listened carefully. After a moment, he looked up at Miao Miao and then asked, ¡°Did someone follow you? Is that why you couldn¡¯t sleep the more you wanted to?¡± Miao Miao was surprised to hear these words from ¡°Mr. Devil.¡± She looked up at Fang Ze weakly with her big eyes, then nodded and whispered, ¡°Yes¡­¡± With that, she quickly took a bundle from beside her leg and opened it. Then, as she pulled several items out, she explained, ¡°Mr. Devil. I have almost everything you asked me to prepare.¡± ¡°These are the rococo flowers, the laurel leaves, the silver knife, and the candles¡­¡± ¡°All the items are here.¡± ¡°The only item I haven¡¯t bought is the blue crystal.¡± ¡°That thing seems to be a little precious. The owner of the crystal shop said they¡¯ve sold out this month. Next month¡¯s batch won¡¯t arrive until tomorrow, so he asked me to come back tomorrow.¡± ¡°Furthermore, after I came out, someone seemed to notice and followed me all the way back to the street.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m a little afraid.¡± Listening to the girl¡¯s explanation, Fang Ze roughly guessed what had happened. Most likely, the girl had been buying things everywhere. She had leaked her wealth and been targeted. As for this world, because the Federation had only been established for a few decades, the systems of the various states were relatively chaotic. In addition, the social development level of the low-leveled cities was relatively low, and there was no high-tech equipment like surveillance. Therefore, the handful of poor people or ordinary people were simply too inconspicuous. They might even be sent to the Investigation Department without being tried. That thought made him look down at the girl kneeling there. He hesitated, and then he said in his voice-changing, hoarse voice, ¡°Since you¡¯re working for me, I have to keep you safe too.¡± ¡°Tell you what.¡± With that, Fang Ze waved his hand, and instantly, a muddy puddle flew out from his shadow. Then, he waved his hand again, and the muddy object flew into the girl¡¯s shadow and melted into it. Miao Miao blinked her big eyes and looked at ¡°Mr. Devil¡± in confusion, wondering what had happened. Actually, Fang Ze considered it seriously. According to the information he¡¯d received, the shadow warrior was as good as an elite soldier. Although it was useless against Awakened people, it should be possible for Lady Knife to protect an ordinary person, right? Right now, Fang Ze was in no danger from the task force. Even if he was, the shadow warrior would be useless against the Security Bureau. Therefore, it was better to lend the shadow warrior to the girl first to ensure her safety, so that Fang Ze could obtain the last awakening ingredient, the blue crystal, tomorrow. It was a consideration that maximized the benefits. Thinking of this, and seeing the girl¡¯s confused eyes, Fang Ze said in a low voice, ¡°This is a clone of one of my shadow warriors. She can keep you safe.¡± The girl looked down at her shadow. It was just as it should be. She couldn¡¯t tell that there was any difference. ¡°Is that strange puddle a clone of a warrior?¡± ¡°Can it keep me safe?¡± The girl was a little puzzled. However, the person in front of her was the gentle and considerate Mr. Devil. Thus, even though she didn¡¯t believe him, she didn¡¯t ask. She just nodded silently. Fang Ze heard her thoughts, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Honestly, Fang Ze wasn¡¯t sure what the shadow warrior was capable of. Logically, the information given by the investigation room should be accurate. However, Fang Ze was a little worried about the shadow warrior¡¯s strength when he saw her hacking at the wall yesterday. After all, besides the evaluation that the shadow warrior was as strong as an elite solider, the investigation room also evaluated it as the weakest disaster creature. Thus, if he couldn¡¯t use it, it might be for the best. Chapter 30 - Gains — Another Shadow Warrior? Chapter 30 Gains ¡ª Another Shadow Warrior? Thinking of this, Fang Ze did not talk about this anymore. He waved his hand and summoned all the Awakening materials the girl had bought in front of him. After counting them and confirming that she had bought all the Awakening materials except for the blue crystal, he nodded in satisfaction. Then, he sat on the black throne and looked down at the girl. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you can go back.¡± ¡°Tomorrow, remember to buy the blue crystal. After all, it¡¯s very important for the ceremony.¡± Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, the girl fell to her knees again, then lowered her head and replied, ¡°Yes. Mr. Devil¡­¡± Just like their last encounter, this girl had always played her part. She never did or said anything unnecessary. After breaking the connection, he watched as the girl slowly disappeared to the floor. Then, Fang Ze pulled out the battered lamp from beneath his throne. With a click, he removed the room disguise. Even though he had experienced it two or three times before, when he saw the scene in front of him disappear like an illusion, Fang Ze still felt a sense of loss. After all, the feeling of being in control of everything in the room like a god was too intoxicating He did not know when he could have such strength in the real world. Recovering from his thoughts, Fang Ze looked at the table in front of him, intending to see what he had gained. If he had obtained some information the last time he saw Miao Miao, resulting in him obtaining a disaster creature as a reward, it would make sense. In that case, because of the short time today, he had only collected the items and resolved the girl¡¯s difficulties. As a result, Fang Ze did not dare to expect anything from today. Thus, when he saw the same black mud-like object on the table again, he was really surprised! ¡°It¡¯s the same as yesterday¡¯s gains?¡± ¡°Could it be¡­ another shadow warrior?¡± Fang Ze was a little bewildered. Slightly incredulous, he picked up the puddle of mud. The mud was cold and sticky in his hand. He felt a little disgusted. However, Fang Ze did not mind because the information that appeared in his mind told him again that this was really a shadow warrior! Even the introduction was exactly the same. Fang Ze flung the mud to the ground in surprise. Like the shadow warrior from yesterday, the mud slowly merged into Fang Ze¡¯s shadow. Then, a 2.5-meter-tall male shadow warrior with a black body and strange patterns on his face crawled out. If yesterday¡¯s swordswoman was an agility-type shadow warrior, then this shadow warrior in front of him was definitely a strength-type. His body looked at least twice as wide as Lady Knife¡¯s. He was tall and burly. Furthermore, even though his whole body was black, Fang Ze could still see the explosive power of his body. Unlike Lady Knife, who was holding a large sword, he was holding a large iron rod that was as thick as a bowl. The iron rod was taller than he was. It was thick and muscular. When he carried it over his shoulder, he had the domineering air of an inverted willow tree[1]. Even though Fang Ze looked at the shadow warrior in front of him, he had other things on his mind. He remembered the information he had obtained when he had obtained the Late-Night Investigation Room. What he gained from the investigation room was not entirely random. Instead, it was based on the ¡°circumstances of the person being investigated¡± and the ¡°value of the information obtained¡±. Then, Fang Ze would randomly obtain an item that was ¡°related to the other party¡±. In other words, what he gained was actually closely related to the person being investigated. Take Wang Hao for example. The fact that he was chosen by the Security Bureau meant that he had the potential to become an Awakened. Coupled with the fact that he liked to read ¡°intelligence magazines¡±, Fang Ze¡¯s first investigation resulted in him obtaining an extraordinary treasure like the ¡°Salty Magazine¡±. Then, the subsequent Spiritual Awakening Technique that Fang Ze obtained was most likely a suitable method for Wang Hao to Awaken. That was why Fang Ze obtained it. With Wang Hao, Fang Ze had already verified that there was no problem with the rules governing the gains he obtained from the investigation. So¡­ here was the problem. He only received such a reward after obtaining important information from Wang Hao twice. In that case, what about the girl, whom he had summoned two times and didn¡¯t obtain any useful information, but received two disaster creatures from? What was her identity? Or rather, what amazing potential did she have? After all, Fang Ze had just casually chatted with her and obtained two disaster creatures. This reward was really too generous. Or perhaps, the girl was actually not special. Rather, were the gains from the investigation better because Fang Ze had just come into contact with the investigation room? Fang Ze felt that there was not enough information to make an accurate judgment. He planned to summon the girl next time to take a look. Alternatively, he would summon Wang Hao to compare the gains. Regardless, it was definitely good to get another shadow warrior. At least, after giving the girl Lady Knife, Fang Ze still had the ability to protect himself. ¡°Another fruitful day, eh?¡± ¡°I really hope I get stronger soon.¡± ¡°That way, I won¡¯t live every day in fear.¡± After sighing with emotion, Fang Ze put all the Awakening materials away, then sat on the chair and slowly fell asleep. Meanwhile. Polaris Federation, Eastern Jurisdiction. In the state directly managed by the Federation. A dark room was lit by 13 white candles. Behind each candle stood a man in a hooded black robe. Thirteen shadows were reflected on the floor, forming a huge dark hand in the middle of the room. The five fingers of the huge hand stretched out, each finger dotted with a star. There was a huge open eye in the palm of the hand. It stared coldly at the room as if it had existed since ancient times¡­ Furthermore, under the gaze of the giant eye, the 13 people were quietly exchanging information¡­ There was an old voice. ¡°Something went wrong in Siddah State. The thing wasn¡¯t found. Instead, it fell into a trap.¡± ¡°Even though I did a quick sweep on my end and didn¡¯t give anything away, it got the Security Bureau¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°Fortunately, Golden Fox was in charge of tying up loose ends in this operation. He deliberately delayed and interfered with the direction of the investigation, buying me enough time. Otherwise, it might have gone very wrong.¡± ¡°Thus, be careful what you do in the near future. Don¡¯t let the Security Bureau catch you in the act.¡± A female voice snickered at his words. ¡°We sure as hell won¡¯t get our tails caught.¡± ¡°However, you have to deal with this as soon as possible. Don¡¯t get into any trouble.¡± ¡°I heard things aren¡¯t looking too good for Golden Fox. They seem to be in trouble.¡± The room was quiet for a moment. Then, the old voice from earlier said slowly, ¡°There¡¯s no trouble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just one peripheral member reporting another peripheral member. It¡¯s just that Golden Fox was suspected by the Security Bureau.¡± ¡°However, he¡¯s not the main suspect. Moreover, given his skills, he can handle it.¡± A slightly childish voice said curiously, ¡°The peripheral members don¡¯t know each other¡¯s identities. Even the name of the organization that was relayed to them was different. Why would they report to each other?¡± The old voice said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t know either.¡± ¡°He guessed that it was a coincidence.¡± ¡°However, in order to prevent those two peripheral members from becoming an opening for the Security Bureau, he still decided to carry out the elimination plan¡­¡± The next day, Fang Ze was awakened by a quick knock on the door. He got out of bed, then saw that Wang Hao was equally confused. Since Wang Hao was closer to the door, he took the initiative to get up and open it. Outside the door was a senior agent, Gao Shu. He was one of the four senior agents in the task force. At that moment, he was looking at the two of them solemnly. Then, he said, ¡°The Commissioner wants everyone to gather in the meeting room on the first floor immediately.¡± Fang Ze and Wang Hao exchanged a puzzled look. Wang Hao was a quiet person and wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to speak, so in the end, it was Fang Ze who asked, ¡°Brother Gao, did something happen? Why do you look so anxious?¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Gao Shu looked at the two of them and hesitated. In the end, he explained in a low voice, ¡°Han Kaiwei is dead.¡± Fang Ze and Wang Hao couldn¡¯t help but look surprised at his words. Fang Ze involuntarily asked, ¡°How did he die?¡± Gao Shu shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°There were no traces left at the scene. Furthermore, the two trainee agents on guard heard nothing out of the ordinary.¡± ¡°By the time they smelled blood, he¡¯d been dead for a long time.¡± ¡°When his body was found, he was hanging from the ceiling by a rope around his neck. Then, his legs were cut off. The blood was running down his body until it was almost dry.¡± ¡°Then, directly below his body, the killer drew a pattern. It was a palm with an eye. I don¡¯t know what it meant.¡± Fang Ze¡¯s pupils contracted. This didn¡¯t seem like an ordinary way to kill someone. It felt a little strange. Did he upset someone? Before he could think clearly, Gao Shu said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to chat with you. I have to inform the others. You¡¯d better get to the meeting room.¡± With that, he left their room and headed for the next dormitory. Upon seeing this, Fang Ze and Wang Hao didn¡¯t dare to delay. They quickly picked up their uniforms and put them on as they quickly walked out. They reached the first floor of the villa. Before they reached the meeting room, Fang Ze could hear the noise in the meeting room from afar. He and Wang Hao looked at each other, then hurried inside. They entered the meeting room. Sure enough, most of the agents were already there, chatting in small groups. Fang Ze¡¯s gaze lingered on all the agents for a moment. Most of the agents¡¯ faces were alert and tense. Clearly, Han Kaiwei¡¯s sudden death had made them very nervous. In particular, since he had died so strangely, it made them even more uneasy. Among them, only the few senior agents appeared more composed. They stood out from all the other agents. Take Shan Hui, the most senior agent, for example. He was still holding his thermos and drinking from it, his eyelids drooping. His thoughts were unreadable. Another example was Cui Xuemin, a senior agent who was said to have a powerful background. She was standing with another senior agent, Shen Lan, and chatting softly. As they chatted, like Fang Ze, their sharp eyes scanned all the agents. Fang Ze took in everyone¡¯s reactions and lowered his head to ponder this matter. Why had Han Kaiwei been killed? He had been locked up for two days and nothing had happened. Why was he suddenly killed last night? Was this because of what happened yesterday afternoon? However, what exactly happened yesterday? Soon, while Fang Ze was thinking quietly, all the agents arrived at the scene. After another five minutes, Commissioner Pang swung his paunchy frame around and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Then, he trotted in. As soon as he entered, the noise in the meeting room died down. All eyes turned to him. However, he didn¡¯t look at the others. Instead, his gaze fell straight on Fang Ze. Then, he extended his chubby hand and waved at Fang Ze. ¡°Fang Ze, come out for a moment.¡± Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at Fang Ze. Fang Ze also couldn¡¯t help but pause. [1] a reference to the Chinese novel Water Margin, where the protagonist uproots a willow tree Chapter 31 - Han Kaiwei Was Silenced? Chapter 31 Han Kaiwei Was Silenced? Fang Ze didn¡¯t know why he was called out. However, since the Commissioner had given the order, he could only do as he was told. Therefore, he strode out under the gaze of all the agents in the room and walked towards Commissioner Pang. Seeing him coming over, Commissioner Pang reached out to pull his wrist. It seemed that he was anxious to take him away. Perhaps because of the vigilance left behind by the past few days of ¡°touching people,¡± Fang Ze reflexively wanted to dodge. However, then he remembered who he was and stopped what he was doing. Commissioner Pang grabbed his wrist and led him out. Halfway across the room, as he held Fang Ze¡¯s wrist, Commissioner Pang looked back at the others in the meeting room and said in a low voice, ¡°From now on, no one will leave this room.¡± He turned to look at Shan Hui. However, when he saw Shan Hui¡¯s aloof demeanor, he hesitated, then shifted his gaze to Cui Xuemin. ¡°Senior Agent Cui Xuemin, please maintain order after this.¡± Cui Xuemin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and smiled through narrowed eyes. ¡°Yes, Commissioner.¡± After giving his instructions, the Commissioner pulled Fang Ze anxiously towards the second floor. They arrived at the office on the second floor. The Commissioner pushed open the door and entered. Only then did Fang Ze realize that the beautiful young woman from the Security Bureau, Bai Zhi, was inside with his creditor, Bai Ling. One of them stood while the other sat, but neither looked happy. When they entered the room, the Commissioner didn¡¯t even have time to wipe his sweat. He quickly saluted Bai Zhi and said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, Fang Ze is here.¡± Bai Zhi nodded coldly, then looked at Fang Ze with her beautiful eyes. Fang Ze was a little confused, but he didn¡¯t dare to dodge. He could only look at her. Furthermore, at this moment, Fang Ze realized that although this woman was perfect from head to toe, her eyes were still the most perfect. Her eyes were large and slender, shaped like peach blossoms. Her eyes were dreamy, and there were natural fluctuations in her eyes like flowing water. She seemed tipsy, yet not tipsy at the same time, making her extremely beautiful. However, compared to his ¡°innocence¡± the first time he had seen her, Fang Ze now knew his identity and the identity of the other person. Thus, he knew the woman in front of him was dangerous, very dangerous. Besides, it was against his identity. If he had unrealistic thoughts or let down his guard because of her beauty, then perhaps he would not see the sun the next day soon. au on. While Fang Ze was thinking this, Bai Zhi finally finished sizing him up. Then, she gestured for him to sit. ¡°Sit.¡± Fang Ze snapped out of it and couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the Commissioner. The Commissioner quickly motioned with his eyes for Fang to obey. Only then did Fang Ze sit opposite Bai Zhi. Just like that, among the four of them, two of them were standing while the other two were seated. They faced one another across the table. This was his first time ¡°acting¡¯ with Bai Zhi, and Fang Ze was a little nervous, so he was on full alert. He half sat in his chair, tense, waiting for Bai Zhi to speak. However, Bai Zhi seemed to have forgotten to speak. She stared at Fang Ze without a word. As the minutes passed, the mood grew heavier and more oppressive. Fang Ze remained alert, not daring to waver. Meanwhile, just as one of his strings was about to snap¡­ Suddenly, Bai Zhi chuckled and said, ¡°What¡¯s the name of your organization?¡± Perhaps because he was too tense, Fang Ze almost answered reflexively. Fortunately, he did not know the name of the organization that his original self belonged to at all. Thus, when he was about to speak, his mind was empty and his face was blank. After a moment, he came back to his senses and understood that Bai Zhi was testing him. Therefore, he pretended to be innocent and asked, ¡°Organization? Ma¡¯am, are you talking about the Investigation Department?¡± The Commissioner and Bai Ling were speechless. Bai Zhi covered her mouth and giggled before saying, ¡°Fang Ze, you really like to joke.¡± At this point, her smile suddenly disappeared, and her eyes were cold. ¡°Tell me, how did you kill Han Kaiwei?¡± If Fang Ze was acting in his answer just now, he was really confused this time. Had he killed Han Kaiwei? How was it possible? He wished that nothing would happen to the task force every day so that he would have enough time to develop his skills. So, why did he kill Han Kaiwei for no reason? Was he afraid that he would take too long to develop? Therefore, this time, he really did shake his head in a particularly blank manner. ¡°Ma¡¯am. I didn¡¯t do it. I didn¡¯t kill him.¡± Bai Zhi said nothing at Fang Ze¡¯s reply. A moment later, to Fang Ze¡¯s surprise, the wall behind her rumbled open and a man hurried out with a note. When he reached Bai Zhi, he glanced at Fang Ze and handed the note to her. ¡°Ma¡¯am, this is the test result for the artifact.¡± Bai Zhi glanced at the note and frowned slightly. Then, she looked at Fang Ze in disbelief. For a moment, she looked thoughtful. After that, as if her face had changed, she smiled apologetically and said to Fang Ze, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Agent Fang. These are special circumstances. Please understand.¡± ¡°Congratulations. You¡¯re off the hook.¡± Fang Ze looked at Bai Zhi. He just stared at her. The test results? Off the hook? Was it a polygraph? Did they use a lie detector artifact because they really suspected that he was the one who did it? In the end, they found that he was innocent as he really didn¡¯t know the answer to each question. Thus, did they deduce that he hadn¡¯t restored his memories? Was that why they continued to act? As he thought about this, Fang Ze quickly smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ma¡¯am. I understand what you¡¯re doing.¡± Then, he couldn¡¯t help but aske, ¡°Excuse me, what exactly happened?¡± Upon hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, Bai Zhi¡¯s expression changed. Then, she said to Fang Ze solemnly, ¡°Agent Han Kaiwei has been silenced.¡± Fang Ze was sharp and caught the word ¡°silenced.¡± He felt compelled to ask, ¡°Silenced?¡± Bai Zhi nodded and spoke in a low voice. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of our poor protection.¡± ¡°He was silenced by the organization that caused the murder case.¡± Fang Ze was speechless. Fang Ze tried his best to move his slow brain and analyze the situation quickly. Han Kaiwei had been silenced¡­ Didn¡¯t that mean¡­ After a moment, he asked in surprise, ¡°So¡­ is Han Kaiwei really a member of that criminal organization?¡± Bai Zhi smiled at Fang Ze¡¯s question. Then, she deliberately asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you found?¡± Fang Ze was speechless. That was right. He was the one who reported Han Kaiwei. Fang Ze almost felt as if he couldn¡¯t think straight. Therefore, he quickly remedied the situation. ¡°Yes. However¡­ I only suspected it back then, but I still had some illusions about the situation.¡± At the same time, he used his brain to analyze the current plot. Hold on! This was the current situation. Back then, he purely wanted to stir up trouble, so he pushed Han Kaiwei out as a shield. Furthermore, although the Security Bureau knew the truth of the case, in order not to arouse Fang Ze¡¯s suspicions, they went along with his plan and also controlled Han Kaiwei. However, from the way they handled him and the way they looked after him, the Security Bureau probably did not really suspect him at all. And now, Han Kaiwei was dead. He had been silenced by the organization. The Security Bureau investigated in turn and found out that Han Kaiwei was really a member of the organization. Therefore¡­ At that moment, after sorting out all the situations, Fang Ze was very confused. Thus, had he pushed his own accomplice out? What did the organization think of him now? How did the people of the Security Bureau think of him? Could both sides think that he had done it on purpose??? For a moment, Fang Ze felt a headache coming on. Who in the world would have thought of that? Han Kaiwei was a hooligan, an old fox. However, was he actually his accomplice? Most importantly, he had never shown that he was Fang Ze¡¯s accomplice. Thinking of this, Fang Ze suddenly became vigilant. That wasn¡¯t right. If Han Kaiwei was really his ¡°accomplice¡±, and he had been killed, this meant that there must be another ¡°accomplice¡± in the task force. Seeing how the other party mercilessly killed Han Kaiwei, Fang Ze suddenly felt that he seemed to be in danger too. He wouldn¡¯t be next, right? He couldn¡¯t help but turn to Bai Zhi at the thought. The beautiful woman¡¯s clear eyes were also looking at him with a faint smile. At that moment, Fang Ze felt that this woman had expected this outcome. That was why she had called him here and put on a show for him. Therefore, was she testing him? Did she want to work with him? Fang Ze wasn¡¯t sure. To be honest, he only hoped that everything would go smoothly on Miao Miao¡¯s side. He wanted to gather the last blue crystal as soon as possible so that he could Awaken tonight. The world was too dangerous. He was surrounded by enemies. Only when he had the strength to protect himself would he have confidence. Meanwhile. In the low-leveled Qingshan City. In the slums. After eating two stiff qingtuan[1] at home, Miao Miao came to the door, quietly opened it by a little, and looked out¡­ [1] a green dumpling from Jiangnan, China Chapter 32 - Kill! Kill! Kill! (1) Chapter 32 Kill! Kill! Kill! (1) Miao Miao looked to the left. Then, she looked to the right. No one seemed to be outside the house. Miao Miao relaxed a little. The person who followed her last night seemed to have left. Miao Miao quietly closed the door and went to her bed. She lifted the thin, worn, and patched mattress. Then, from under the mattress, she took out the 2,000 Rini worth of notes that Mr. Devil had given her the day before yesterday. Then, she rolled up the sleeves of her slightly oversized clothes. There was a small, close-fitting pocket in the inside of the sleeve that she had obviously sewn herself. She took out a needle and thread from the small box beside her bed. After counting the money and confirming that there were no problems, she cautiously put the money in her pocket. Then, she carefully stitched the pocket shut to avoid the money from falling out. How would she take out the money when she used it? She had sown the pocket such that as long as she flipped her sleeve and pulled one side of the thread, the entire thing would unravel. After doing all this, Miao Miao unbuttoned her gray clothes. Then, she picked up the belt that she had undone last night before going to bed and wrapped it tightly around herself. Even though her body was thin, her chest was still taking shape. Very quickly, her chest was wrapped and flattened. After buttoning up her clothes, she became that ordinary girl again. When she was done, she went to the bed and touched the floor. She tapped her face a few times before wiping some dust on her face. This hid her plain and neat face. Afterward, she spread out her tied hair and carefully ruffled the hair in the front part of her forehead, making her hair look messy. With this outfit, coupled with the fact that she often lowered her head and wrapped her chest, as well as the loose and inconspicuous clothes, she became the most inconspicuous and dirty girl in the slums. After living in the slums for so many years and being taught by a few kind-hearted aunts, Miao Miao¡¯s survival skills were considered complete. Coupled with the help of her neighbors, she, a teenage girl, could barely survive in this cruel world. After finishing all the protection work, Miao Miao pushed open the door to her house and lowered her head. Then, she walked out of the alley, planning to buy the blue crystal for Mr. Devil. However, she had only taken a few steps when she looked up and was shocked. This was because at the end of the alley, three burly men in gray clothes were leaning against the wall. As they chatted, they used their peripheral vision to scan the people walking nearby. They looked like idle ruffians in a slum. However, Miao Miao knew that before yesterday, these people had not been wandering in her area. They were the few people who had followed her all the way here. Seeing these people, Miao Miao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little afraid. She wanted to turn back, but she was worried that the other party would follow her home. She wanted to take a detour, but she was worried that it would arouse the other party¡¯s suspicion. In addition, she had to buy the blue crystal today. Therefore, although Miao Miao was worried, after hesitating for a moment, she still held onto the hope that she would be lucky and walked over silently with her head lowered The three ruffians didn¡¯t react as she walked past them. They continued to laugh and chat. Seeing that the other party did not recognize her, Miao Miao heaved a sigh of relief. Then, she quickened her pace and continued walking However, what she didn¡¯t see was that behind her, the three ruffians looked at each other. Then, they raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances. a€ She walked all the way to the ¡°shopping street¡± in the slums. Although it was called a ¡°shopping street¡±, it was actually a street with four or five shops in the slums. On the way to the ¡°shopping street¡±, Miao Miao looked back from time to time. After confirming that no one was following her, she was finally relieved. Miao Miao went to the sundry shop where she had asked about the blue crystal yesterday. She opened the door and walked in. The owner was a sharp-faced, slightly wretched-looking older man. When he saw Miao Miao, he narrowed his eyes and observed her. He grinned, revealing two black teeth. ¡°Little girl? Are you here to buy a blue crystal?¡± Miao Miao saw his gaze and lowered her head slightly, letting her hair cover her face. The, she asked quietly, ¡°Do you have the blue crystal yet?¡± The wretched shopkeeper nodded, then opened a counter drawer and took out a small box. He opened the box. Inside were crystals of various colors in plastic bags. He rummaged around and pulled out a plastic bag containing a pure blue crystal. Then, he put it on the table and grinned. ¡°That¡¯ll be 1,500 Rini.¡± Miao Miao was shocked to hear the price that he offered. Then, she looked up involuntarily and asked meekly, ¡°Isn¡¯t it 1,200 Rini?¡± The older man studied her face carefully as he chuckled. ¡°The purchase price went up.¡± When Miao Miao heard this, she lowered her head and touched her sleeve. Then, she asked timidly, ¡°In that case, can it be cheaper?¡± ¡°Cheapera€}?¡± The old man looked her up and down. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible.¡± Miao Miao¡¯s eyes lit up slightly. Then, she heard the old man say wretchedly, ¡°Come here and let me touch you. I¡¯ll give you a discount of 50 Rini.¡± Miao Miao was stunned. Then, her face turned red and then white. After a moment, she looked down, rolled up her sleeves, unwrapped the cloth bag, and took out 1,500 Rini. She put it on the table. ¡°Here, 1,500 Rini.¡± Then, she was about to reach for the blue crystal. Chapter 33 - Kill! Kill! Kill! (2) Chapter 33 Kill! Kill! Kill! (2) However, at this moment, the old man reached out and pressed down on the blue crystal. Miao Miao looked at him, a little lost. His eyes flicked to the ends of his thin sleeves, and he tutted and said, ¡°The price increased. It costs 1,600 Rini now.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Tears were already welling up in Miao Miao¡¯s eyes. However, at the thought of having to complete Mr. Devil¡¯s mission, and that there was no second shop nearby where she could buy crystals, she had no choice but to take out another 100 Rini. Seeing this, the wretched shopkeeper chuckled and reached out to take the money, but took the opportunity to touch her hand. Miao Miao was shocked and quickly retracted her hand. Only then did this old man not take advantage of her. Seeing her look like a frightened rabbit, the shopkeeper smiled wretchedly. ¡°Hehe. Look at you. You¡¯re so timid.¡± ¡°Here, this is for you.¡± With that, he picked up the bag with the blue crystal on the table, held it up, and gestured at Miao Miao. imo Miao Miao eyed him warily, then moved forward cautiously. Then, she grabbed the blue crystal by the corner of the plastic bag while the older man wasn¡¯t looking Seeing her like that, the old man didn¡¯t care. Instead, he laughed proudly, as if it was such a joy to harass Miao Miao. Miao Miao felt wronged, but there was nothing she could do about the old man. Thus, she had to pretend she couldn¡¯t hear the old man¡¯s laughter. She carefully picked up the bag and seriously examined the crystal inside. Once she was sure it was real and that there was no problem with the imperfections, she put the remaining 100 Rini on the ground, gripped the crystal, and quickly ducked her head, and left the shop. Behind her back, the older man rubbed his chin and looked at her wretchedly. ¡°Tsk, tsk,¡± said the old man. ¡°She¡¯s a little dirty, but she looks so young.¡± ¡°I should tell Ah Da and Ah Two not to kill her once they¡¯re done. I¡¯ll ask them to bring her back for me to play with.¡± With that, he lowered his hand, hummed an ugly tune, picked up a rag, and began wiping it on the old glass on the counter. ¡°When doing business¡­¡± ¡°Running a business at no cost makes the most money.¡± ¡°This is especially the case in the slums. There are always a few idiots every year who¡¯ve worked hard for years and saved up a little money but have nothing to fall back on.¡± ¡°They are not repeat customers, so there¡¯s no possibility of a second transaction.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t make much of a difference even if they die.¡± ¡°Such people are the best targets¡­¡± ¡°It makes sense for someone who can open a shop in the slums to occasionally work with gangs and gangsters to make some extra money, doesn¡¯t it?¡± The law of the jungle had always been the most blatant at the bottom. After leaving the sundry shop, for some reason, Miao Miao felt a little suffocated and had an ominous feeling. She looked down at her ¡°shadow¡± for some reassurance. However, her ¡°shadow¡± didn¡¯t respond, which only made her more apprehensive. Therefore, she didn¡¯t dare delay. Clutching the crystal tightly, she lowered her head and walked quickly towards her house. She turned down two streets and crossed a small bridge. Then, she was not far from her house. Looking at the familiar scene, Miao Miao felt a little less uneasy, so she continued walking forward. However, just as she stepped into an alley, she suddenly felt the scene in front of her turn dark. She looked up to see one of the three ruffians who had followed her yesterday standing grimly at the end of the alley. Miao Miao¡¯s heart tightened. Her hands clenched involuntarily. Then, she looked down, turned, and tried to retrace her steps. However, at this moment, she suddenly realized that there were two more figures at the entrance of the alley. It was the other two ruffians. Looking at the three people who obviously came with ill intentions, Miao Miao clenched the blue crystal in her hand tightly, and her heart began to beat faster and faster. She turned slightly so that her back was to the wall. She stepped back carefully and said timidly, ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s daytime.¡± At Miao Miao¡¯s words, the three ruffians looked at each other, then burst out laughing and said, ¡°Chick. What¡¯s wrong with it being daytime?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we do something during the day? Hahaha.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± ¡°We brothers in charge of this area.¡± ¡°Today, you have to leave behind the money. You need to stay behind too. Leave the crystal too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re unlucky to have encountered us brothers.¡± With that, he lunged forward. Seeing the ruffian¡¯s actions, the girl turned in fear and tried to run. However, for some reason, as soon as she ran, she felt her legs go numb and go limp. She staggered and almost fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the ruffian was also upon her at this moment. His rough hand grabbed her wrist. Feeling that inescapable force, she stared in horror at the ruffian¡¯s ugly face. Her mind went blank as waves of despair washed over her. ¡°Mr. Devil, help me¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Devil, please, help me¡­¡± In her despair, the girl¡¯s tears fell as she kept calling out to her ¡°master¡±¡­ Meanwhile, the ruffians didn¡¯t know who Mr. Devil was. They just thought she was asking her friend for help. Furthermore, seeing her pitiful look, the ruffians were excited and laughed even more wildly. The girl¡¯s wrist was grabbed, and her small body curled up into a ball. She tried her best to squat down and closed her eyes in despair¡­ At that moment. The laughter suddenly stopped. The air became incredibly quiet for a moment. Chapter 34 - Kill! Kill! Kill! (3) Chapter 34 Kill! Kill! Kill! (3) A moment later, she heard two roguish exclamations. ¡°Mother of God! What kind of monster is this!¡± ¡°Holy shit. What the f*ck is this?¡± The girl opened her eyes in a panic. Then, she saw a two-meter-tall black monster suddenly appear in front of her. The monster was slender, but its shoulders were very wide. It held a 1.5-meter-long broadsword. Its face was painted with strange patterns. The girl looked at it in surprise. She had no idea where it had come from. At this moment, the monster raised its black broadsword and walked towards the three rascals. The three rascals were terrified now. They screamed and tried to flee. The monster strode forward and chased after the three of them. Then, it stretched its arms like a roc and raised its black broadsword high in the air. Then! There was a scraping sound! There was one slash. There were six body halves! The three ruffians were still running, but their bodies had been separated. Their faces were still filled with horror as they tried their best to turn their heads to see what was happening behind them. However, with three muffled thuds, blood splattered, and their upper bodies ¡°slowly¡± fell to the ground. They maintained their horrified expressions and stared at the monster with open eyes. While their consciousness remained, they only had two thoughts. Who was this girl? Why was she protected by such a terrifying monster? And¡­ If they had known, they wouldn¡¯t have snatched her things this timea€ By now, the girl was completely confused. She saw what was happening and slumped to the floor. Then, she stared at the monster in a daze. However, the creature merely turned to look at her, then stepped into her shadow and sank slowly into it. The girl looked at the magical scene before her. Then, she realized that this was the envoy sent by Mr. Devil to protect her. Was this the clone of this ¡°shadow warrior?¡± Thus, did Mr. Devil actually hear her call and ask this emissary to protect her? Thinking of this, Miao Miao stood up shakily. She looked first at the bloody alley, then at her own shadow. After a moment, she bowed deeply to the shadow and said, ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Monster.¡± Then, she knelt again and kowtowed to the east. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Devil.¡± After doing all this, she took another look at the three dead ruffians. Then, she dragged her weak legs and quickly walked home. The smell of blood gradually filled the alley, attracting many passersby. However, they only looked at the alley and ignored it with numb eyes. In the slums, death was never a big deal. Rather, the fact that no one died was news. a€ She staggered all the way home. As soon as she entered the house, Miao Miao quickly locked the door. Then, she slowly opened her hand and looked at the blue crystal that she still held tightly in her palm even though she had been caught. At this moment, her hands were sweaty and her palms were red from the blue crystal. However, seeing the blue crystal intact, a smile blossomed on her face. She had finally completed what Mr. Devil had arranged for her to do. She was stunned at the thought. Then, her eyes could not help but look a little disappointed. The only thing she didn¡¯t do well was make Mr. Devil spend an extra 400 Rini. Thinking of the money spent, Miao Miao couldn¡¯t help but think of the wretched shopkeeper. Then, her small body involuntarily shuddered. Thinking of the wretched shopkeeper¡¯s greedy eyes and his perverted actions, Miao Miao felt a chill run down her spine. She flinched involuntarily. Then, she chanted, ¡°It¡¯s all right, it¡¯s all right. Don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t be afraid. Mr. Devil will punish him.¡± a€) The seconds ticked by. Soon, night fell. At night. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Miao Miao felt her shadow fluctuate. However, when she checked carefully, she could not see anything unusual. Therefore, she continued to sit on the edge of the bed and do her handiwork. This was her main source of income. And so, after half an hour of manual labor, her income from the number of pieces she completed was five Rini. This was already a good income in the slums. It was a job introduced to her by the fat auntie next door. She put down the needle and thread and rubbed her sore shoulder. Then, she blew out the dim kerosene lamp and the room fell into darkness. In the low-leveled cities, the people at the bottom had to be very frugal in order to feed themselves. So, kerosene lamps were best left unused when possible. If they were to be used at all, they could only be used for work. They had to be blown out in time at the end of their work to save on the expensive fuel bill. Thus, darkness was probably the color the people at the bottom were most accustomed to. Because she lived alone and was a girl, Miao Miao usually didn¡¯t open the doors or windows in her house. As a result, she usually worked and stared into the darkness on most nights. Meanwhile, just as she began to sit on the bed and stared into the dark room in a daze as usual, she suddenly heard a sharp click. Miao Miao jumped. Then, she didn¡¯t dare to move. At this moment, she thought she saw a tall figure in the house. She quickly called out in a low voice, ¡°Mrs. Monster, is that you?¡± Chapter 35 - Kill! Kill! Kill! (4) Chapter 35 Kill! Kill! Kill! (4) No answer came from the darkness. Miao Miao carefully picked up the kerosene lamp and lit it. Dim light slowly filled the room. 0 n The moment she saw the situation in the room, Miao Miao couldn¡¯t help but cover her mouth in surprise. This was because there was a pile of Rini notes and crystals of various colors scattered on the floor. The crystals shimmered with color in the dim light, glowing invitingly. Furthermore, the tall monster she¡¯d seen earlier in the day stood before the pile of crystals. She stared at the monster in mild surprise, wondering why it had appeared and the floor was filled with crystals and Rini. Meanwhile, at that moment, in her head, she heard a hoarse female voice speak with difficulty. ¡°Master¡­ commanded¡­ protect¡­ safety.¡± ¡°Completely¡­ remove¡­ threats.¡± The girl was confused. ¡­ In the distance, at the ¡°shopping streets of the slums. In the closed sundry shop. In the dim light, the owner of the sundry shop lay in a pool of blood. His entire body was broken into two from his mouth, and his limbs were also cut off. He stared ahead with his eyes wide open, as if he had seen something that terrified him¡­ At night, Fang Ze dragged his tired body back to the temporary residence. Because of Han Kaiwei¡¯s sudden death, both the task force and the Security Bureau were on high alert. Among them, Fang Ze, who was the most important suspect, was definitely the focus of attention. The Security Bureau didn¡¯t say anything. After Bai Zhi subtly probed and conveyed some information to Fang Ze, she let him leave. On the other hand, the other ¡°colleagues¡± in the task force did not know the truth of the matter. They only knew that Han Kaiwei was dead, and that Fang Ze was the criminal who had publicly ¡°cut Han Kaiwei¡¯s throat¡±. Therefore, on this day, Fang Ze himself didn¡¯t know how many pairs of eyes were watching him or looking at him warily. This also made him tense up, afraid that he would accidentally expose something at the critical moment when he was about to Awaken his ability¡­ Just like that, he finally managed to get a breather after fooling around for a day. He felt that he really couldn¡¯t stay in this task force anymore. If he stayed any longer, even if he wasn¡¯t silenced, he would probably be crushed by the discussions of his colleagues. Therefore, he really wanted to see Miao Miao now. He wanted her to give him a surprise and buy the last ingredient for the Spiritual Awakening Technique, the blue crystal. After washing up, Fang Ze didn¡¯t care that Wang Hao was secretly observing him. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep. When Fang Ze opened his eyes again, he was in the Late-Night Investigation Room. Just like the previous times, the room was still as Fang Ze had left it. The two sets of tables and chairs in the middle of the room were leaned against the left wall. Meanwhile, the steel door with the word ¡°One¡± on it and the Awakening materials that Fang Ze had placed on the table last night were all intact. After checking the Awakening materials and confirming that there were no problems, Fang Ze opened the summoning list. Unlike yesterday, Miao Miao was ¡°online¡± very early today. Fang Ze relaxed a little. This should prove that everything went smoothly, right? He didn¡¯t know if it had gone smoothly without any accidents, or if there had been an accident and the shadow warrior had taken care of it. As he thought this, Fang Ze adjusted the environment of the room and began his ¡°investigation¡± tonight. ¡­ When she woke up from her sleep, Miao Miao realized that she was indeed in ¡°Mr. Devil¡¯s¡± territory again. She looked up at ¡°Mr. Devil¡±. Mr. Devil was still shrouded in a faint mist. He was high on his dark throne, hand on the armrest as he looked down at her. For some reason, although Mr. Devil looked no different from before, Miao Miao could feel that he seemed to be very tired. In the past, Miao Miao only had fear for Mr. Devil. However, after today¡¯s life-saving grace, she had a much better impression of and respect for Mr. Devil. Therefore, she, who had always been dutiful, bowed and greeted him. Then, she asked in her soft and weak voice, ¡°Mr. Devil, why do you seem a little tired?¡± ¡°Mr. Devil¡± was clearly taken aback for a moment by her question. A moment later, he was high on his throne, looking down at the girl kneeling before him. He said in his hoarse, deep voice, ¡°Yes. A demon was killed today. I was suspected because I¡¯m the strongest.¡± Miao Miao knelt on the ground and said weakly but firmly, ¡°Mr. Devil is so kind. Mr. Devil can¡¯t be the murderer.¡± Fang Ze, also known as ¡°Mr. Devil¡±, was confused. Chapter 36 - Spiritual Awakening Ceremony Chapter 36 Spiritual Awakening Ceremony Fang Ze felt as if something he didn¡¯t know had happened that made this girl¡¯s attitude change so drastically. Especially with the ¡°respect¡± and ¡°good impression¡± coming from the girl, he felt that his guess was right. However, what exactly had happened? With this in mind, he had a flash of inspiration and roughly guessed the reason. The shadow warrior must have made a contribution, right? With that thought, he asked, ¡°Have you prepared what I asked you to prepare?¡± Upon hearing ¡°Mr. Devil,¡± Miao Miao quickly nodded obediently. Then, she picked up the sackcloth bundle that had accompanied her to the Late-Night Investigation Room. She held it in both hands and faced Fang-Tze. Seeing this, Fang Ze waved his hand, and the sackcloth bundle flew into his hand. As soon as the bundle entered his hand, Fang Ze felt that something was wrong. After all, he only needed one blue crystal. Why was this bundle so heavy? With that thought, he gave Miao Miao a puzzled look. Miao Miao was still kneeling on the ground with her head lowered, looking like a bullied little wife. Even her heart was very obedient, and she wasn¡¯t thinking about anything. Fang Ze looked away. Then, he opened the package. At that moment, Fang Ze admitted that his eyes were dazzled. How many crystals were there? They were in plastic bags and laid out in layers. Meanwhile, beneath the crystals were thick stacks of Rini notes. Fang Ze pushed away the crystals with his hand. Then, he tested the thickness of the Rini notes underneath. There were three stacks of at least a hundred notes in various denominations. Fang Ze made a rough estimate. The total value was about 20,000 to 30,000 Rini. In addition, there were 30 to 40 crystals. Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but glance at the girl below. Did this girl lead the shadow warrior to rob a jewelry store? He had only asked her to buy a blue crystal. Why did she empty the entire shop? One really couldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover. Looking at her gentle and weak appearance, he originally thought that she would be very obedient. He did not expect her to be such a girl. Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but think of a scene. Miao Miao was soft and weak during the day, but she wore a Zorro mask at night, holding a whip in her hand while being followed by a shadow warrior. He imagined her kicking open the door of the jewelry store with an arrogant expression and shouting, ¡°This is a robbery!¡± Hiss¡­ Thinking about it, Fang Ze felt excited. Shaking his head to banish the scene from his mind, Fang Ze looked down at the girl. Then, his head spun. His ¡°servant¡± was already so impressive. As a ¡°devil,¡± he couldn¡¯t embarrass himself. With that in mind, Fang Ze put on airs, then commented loftily, ¡°You did well. I¡¯m pleased.¡± At Mr. Devil¡¯s words, Miao Miao dropped to her knees, bowed her head, and said frankly, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Mrs. Monster.¡± Fang nodded in understanding. Of course it was thanks to the shadow warrior. He did not believe that Miao Miao had the ability to snatch so many things. However, looking at the results of their battle, Fang Ze felt that he had to reevaluate the combat power of the shadow warrior. It seemed that she wasn¡¯t as weak as he thought. She might not be able to deal with extraordinary powers, but she might be very powerful against ordinary people. Fang Ze felt that after he used the Spiritual Awakening Technique to Awaken, he should find an opportunity to personally test the combat strength of the shadow warrior. Only then could he make an accurate judgment of the strength he had. With that thought in mind, Fang Ze casually chatted with Miao Miao for a while more. Then, he sent her back with the excuse that he wanted to ¡°hold an interplanar ritual to save the person she wanted to save¡±. As he watched Miao Miao¡¯s figure gradually disappear, Fang Ze became more and more excited. The Awakening materials were finally gathered. He could try to become an Awakened! Once he became an Awakened, he would have a certain level of self-preservation ability in this world! He was no longer a weakling that could be easily slaughtered! Thinking of this, Fang Ze lifted the bundle and removed the disguise of the room. After the Late-Night Investigation Room returned to its initial state, Fang Ze placed the sackcloth bundle on the table. Then, he took a few breaths and closed his eyes. He carefully recalled the things to note about the Spiritual Awakening Technique that had been imprinted in his mind. According to the note, and the explanation from Bai Ling. Awakened abilities were actually the manifestation of World Law fragments. When a creature was compatible with a piece of the World Laws, it would resonate and could use this law. Meanwhile, the Spiritual Awakening Method was a method to help creatures find this resonance, so that the creature could find the laws, and hence the Awakened abilities, that suited them. Therefore, there was a high chance that the Spiritual Awakening Technique would fail. After all, the World Laws were not something that anyone could obtain. Only talented people could obtain the favor of the world. As he thought about this, Fang Ze took a deep breath. Although he knew that the chance was a little slim, at this point, he could only take a gamble. Thinking of this, he began to prepare the materials needed for the ritual. At the same time, while Fang Ze began to prepare for his Awakening. In the task force, at the Security Bureau¡¯s secret base¡­ Bai Zhi and Bai Ling were sitting opposite each other. Bai Zhi¡¯s beautiful face was less calm and more tired. In front of her was a list of six names that had been crossed out. Seeing her like that, Bai Ling said with concern, ¡°Sister Bai, you¡¯ve worked hard all day. Do you want to rest first?¡±. ¡°You¡¯re putting too much pressure on yourself¡­.¡± Bai Zhi sighed and shook her head at Bai Ling¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to rest, nor am I putting too much pressure on myself. It¡¯s just that this matter is too strange.¡± Resting her chin on her hand, she studied the surveillance screens on the entire glass wall next to her, lost in thought. ¡°Even though there were no cameras in the cell, the cameras in the hallway were always on.¡± ¡°The two trainee agents never went in, and no one came out from the cell either.¡± ¡°Furthermore, since 8 p.m. on that day, none of the agents on the task force or the officers of the Security Bureau left their temporary residences.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary.¡± ¡°The target of suspicion, Fang Ze, was tested with a polygraph-type artifact, and it was found that he didn¡¯t kill Han Kaiwei. He doesn¡¯t even know the name of his organization.¡± ¡°It proves that his memory didn¡¯t return. Besides, he didn¡¯t connect with his accomplice at all.¡± ¡°Furthermore, the five suspects we previously thought might be his accomplices were tested with the lie detector artifact yesterday. None of them are traitors from the criminal organization.¡± ¡°It means that my previous deductions were all wrong.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± She paused, confusion written all over her face. ¡°Why? I went the wrong way, but Han Kaiwei was silenced?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean I did the right thing and alerted the enemy?¡± Her eyes were full of confusion. ¡°Could the murderer be someone else on the task force?¡± ¡°Or perhaps¡­ Do these six people have a way to fool the lie detector?¡± She hesitated. ¡°Should we conduct a second round of testing, or should we just conduct an all-member census?¡± ¡°Even though there is a limit to how many times we can use the artifact, and it¡¯ll be recorded in the system if we use it too many times, during times like this, if we don¡¯t check again, I¡¯ll really feel too uneasy.¡± Bai Zhi felt as if a huge dark cloud was slowly enveloping her, making her unable to guess or see clearly. Meanwhile. I . In the Late-Night Investigation Room. After half an hour of preparation, Fang Ze finally had all the materials ready. Looking at the materials arranged in order in front of him, he began to follow the steps recorded in the note to officially begin the ceremony. He first removed the powder from the five plants, namely the rococo flower, the peachwood, the oak branches, the laurel leaves, and the wormwood. He mixed the powder together. Then, he stripped off all his clothes and smeared the powder all over his body. After that, he positioned six of the seven candles according to the shape of a hexagram. Subsequently, he picked up the silver knife and pierced his finger, dripping blood into the cider vinegar. Finally, he carried the cider vinegar and sat down naked in the middle of the hexagram. He lit the last white candle beside him and then poured the cup of the cider vinegar into his mouth. He held it in his mouth, lay down, and pressed the blue crystal to his forehead¡­ As he lay on the cold ground, the moment the blue crystal touched his forehead, Fang Ze suddenly felt as if his soul was sinking rapidly into a red sea. The red seawater was sour, fishy, and unpleasant. He felt as if he couldn¡¯t breathe at all. At the same time, he heard countless murmurs. They were like curses, full of malice and driving him crazy. However, Fang Ze was no longer listening to the murmurs. He was like a drowning person, desperately struggling to escape this sea of blood. However, the sea of blood seemed to have great malice towards him. Every time he tried to rush up, he was ruthlessly pressed down by the blood. Thus, his strength diminished, his struggles weakened, and his heart grew more desperate. At that moment. Suddenly. Six lights lit up in the dark red water. Although the light was weak, once it appeared, the murmuring and cursing immediately lessened. At the same time, a white light flickered around Fang Ze, complementing the lights. That white light seemed to have a strong magic power. It enveloped Fang Ze and reduced the pressure of the sea. Fang Ze relaxed a little. He tried to make out the bearings of the six lights as he listened to the staccato low murmur in his ears. Then, he tried his best to float up. Meanwhile, the six lamps and the fluorescent light around him seemed to form a huge net that helped him float upwards. After an unknown period of time, Fang Ze felt his body lighten! When he regained his senses, he found himself ¡°floating¡± above a dark red sea of blood. Above the sea of blood, black and gray mist filled the air. Through the fog, countless stars lit up in the sky. Those stars formed a huge galaxy that spanned the sky, illuminating this dark world. ¡°Is this¡­ a star formed from the fragments of the World Laws?¡± Although he had already learned about the entire Awakening process from the note, Fang Ze was still extremely shocked when he saw the stars that filled the sky. Fang Ze knew that it was now the moment of truth. He clasped his hands together and pressed them to his forehead. Then, with difficulty, he began to chant the incantation for the Spiritual Awakening. According to the note, this divine script had the ability to communicate with the World Laws. As Fang Ze read out the words one by one, the stars in the sky began to decrease one by one. They were the World Laws that did not suit Fang Ze. Because his eyes were closed, Fang Ze knew nothing about this and could only continue chanting He wondered how many stars would remain in the end. He wondered if any of these stars had the ability to solve his current predicament. However, he could only take this gamble. He didn¡¯t know how long he continued to chant for. When he finished the last line, Fang Ze stopped. Then, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. What he saw stunned him for a moment. Then, he was pleasantly surprised. This was because in the sky, he still saw the Milky Way that was filled with stars that represented the World Laws. It was as if the number of stars had not decreased at all. Chapter 37 - Obtained an Awakened Ability! Chapter 37 Obtained an Awakened Ability! At this moment, the stars, which had been unresponsive, began to flicker because they had established a connection with Fang Ze. The spectacular sight simply made Fang Ze feel dizzy. He had thought that besides failure, he might obtain many laws and abilities to choose from, but he really did not expect to see so many stars. ¡°So¡­ Can Awakened abilities really be chosen at will like cabbages along the streets?¡± As he sighed, he browsed through the stars. The stars varied in size. Some of them were dim, while some were extremely bright. In either case, when Fang Ze looked over, they flickered rapidly, as if they were calling to him. It had to be said that the note from the Late-Night Investigation Room was very reliable. Although it said that such a situation was extremely rare, it still recorded the method if such a situation happened. Fang Ze recalled what the note had recorded. If more than one law echoed with the Awakened, then the Awakened could try to check the rough situation of the abilities in turn. Alternatively, he could list his conditions and carry out a certain screening process. With that thought, Fang Ze began to think about what kind of ability he wanted. If there were very few stars, he would most likely only choose the ability to resolve his current crisis. However, now that he had so many options, he could propose as many conditions as he wanted. It needed to have enough growth potential. It needed to be able to help him on a daily basis. It also had to be a trump card that was strong enough to let him deal with any crisis. He should be able to use it on himself and others. He should also be able to use it both widely and individually. Also¡­ One by one, he proposed his conditions. Slowly, the stars in the sky began to decrease in batches. In the end, only a dark red star remained in front of Fang Ze. The star was very large and very bright. However, the color gave him an ominous feeling. Looking at the star, Fang Ze was a little puzzled. It actually had the ability to satisfy his harsh conditions. Then, what kind of ability was this? As he thought about it, Fang Ze tried to feel the rough situation of that ability. However, it was strange that he could only vaguely sense that this ability was very familiar to him. He had even used something similar himself. ¡°Why does it seem familiar?¡± ¡°Have I used something similar before?¡± Fang Ze hesitated. What exactly did this vague impression mean? Why did it feel a little strange? Thinking of this, Fang Ze could not help but hesitate. However, because his conditions were too harsh, there were no other stars other than this one. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, Fang Ze gritted his teeth and made up his mind. He no longer cared! Who cared what it was! As long as it could solve his current predicament and have enough development potential, that was enough! He had proposed so many conditions, but it could all be fulfilled by this ability. It could be said that he was fated with it! With this thought in mind, Fang Ze chose this star. As Fang Ze made his choice, the star suddenly shone brightly and rushed into his forehead. Fang Ze felt his vision suddenly brighten. There was a sharp pain in his brain, and then he lost consciousness¡­ When Fang Ze woke up again, he found himself lying in the Late-Night Investigation Room. However, before he could regain his senses, he choked. He sat up quickly, slapped his chest, and spat out a spray of bright red liquid. After taking a few deep breaths, Fang Ze realized that it was the cider vinegar that he had been holding in his mouth, mixed with blood. He had to admit that the smell was really similar to the sea of blood he had just entered. He slowly surveyed his surroundings and realized that the seven candles had burned out. The plant powder on his body had long since turned to ashes. Even the blue crystal had shattered into a few pieces. Fang Ze looked at everything in front of him and belatedly remembered that he had just undergone the Awakening ritual! Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly realized that there seemed to be a lot more information in his mind. He closed his eyes, then silently comprehended the information. A moment later, he opened his eyes with an odd expression. This was because he finally knew what kind of ability he had obtained, and also why this ability felt so ¡°inauspicious¡±. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be such an ability¡­¡± ¡°This is indeed a demon imprisoned in a cage¡­¡± [Awakened Ability: Credit World, Elementary-Stage.] Since this ability was only at the Elementary-Stage, it only had two small branch abilities. The first branch ability was called ¡°Credit Line¡±. This ¡°credit¡± solely referred to the credit accumulated from using this ability. As long as Fang Ze didn¡¯t have a credit crisis, he would borrow stamina, energy, learning effects, training effects, and even strength in advance for the next month. After borrowing these things, as long as he paid off what he borrowed within a month, there was no price to pay. For example, Fang Ze wanted to stay up late to watch dramas today, but he was very tired. In that case, he could borrow six hours of energy in advance. As long as he took the time to pay back those six hours of sleep in the next month, there would be no consequences. For example, Fang Ze had obtained a martial technique today, but he needed it urgently. In that case, he could borrow this martial technique in advance. However, at most, he could only borrow the state that he could reach after learning the technique for a month. Furthermore, in the next month, he had to practice this martial technique seriously every day. Before he reached the state where he could borrow this martial technique, his practice would be useless. All of the above were situations where Fang Ze ¡°returned¡± the borrowed things on time. However, once Fang Ze borrowed something and didn¡¯t pay it back within a month, the next branch ability, ¡°Usury¡±, would be activated. There were two ways to trigger ¡°Usury¡±. The first method was passive. The other was active. However, in both cases, the effect of the ability was the same. If Fang Ze did not pay off his ¡°debt¡±, or if he encountered major difficulties and had to borrow stamina, energy, learning effects, exercise effects, and even strength that he would definitely not be able to pay off within a month¡­ Then, the (Usury] ability would take effect. Fang Ze would receive ¡°unlimited overdraft credit¡±. Furthermore, there would be no repayment deadline. However, no matter what he borrowed, it would incur a duplex interest of 3& monthly and 42.6% annually. Fang Ze could use money, items, and even ¡°hard work¡± of equal value to repay his debt. However, if he paid his debt with hard work, he would not receive the gains. Meanwhile, if Fang Ze¡¯s repayment was too slow and the interest was so high that Fang Ze could not even pay the interest, then Fang Ze would be wiped out by the rules. The two branch abilities complemented each other. It felt like a huge bait that lured Fang Ze to overdraw his potential in advance. However, it could not only increase his strength and speed up his growth, but also allow him to deal with any crisis. Moreover, since this was only the Elementary-Stage of the ability, there was still the possibility of expansion, such as Intermediate-Stage, Advanced-Stage, External-Type, and Group-Type branch abilities. Thus, it could really be said to be an all-rounded Awakened ability. However, to be honest, with the memories from his previous life, Fang Ze also understood that this ¡°credit¡± was like a demon trapped in a cage. Once it was released from the cage, no one knew how much harm it would do. In his previous life, there were many people who went bankrupt and saw the interest climb so high that they committed suicide. However, when he thought about his current situation, Fang Ze felt that there was no point in thinking so far ahead. After all, without the present, there was no future. Furthermore, he had a Sesame Credit[1] of 720 in his previous life and had no problem with risk control. Therefore, perhaps using this ability would not be a problem. With that thought, Fang Ze stopped hesitating. After all, he had already obtained the ability, and it was such a powerful one. There was no reason not to use it. e was no Thus, he composed himself. First he summoned the shadow warrior and had it clean the Late-Night Investigation Room. Then, he sat on the floor and tried to figure out how to experiment with his powers. His powers were powerful, but so were the side effects. Therefore, during the experiment, he could not squander his credit. He had to reasonably borrow what he needed now. Thinking of this, Fang Ze began to think about what he should borrow. Should he borrow energy? He was full of energy now. Should he borrow stamina? He was also full of stamina now, and didn¡¯t seem to need it. How about¡­ a martial technique? Fang Ze brightened at the thought of this. He found this idea reliable. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the last time he¡¯d gone out with Bai Ling. She¡¯d mentioned that the power of an Awakened wasn¡¯t determined solely by their ability to awaken. The strength of their physique, their combat intelligence, and their combat will were also very important. After all, no matter how strong one¡¯s ability was, they had to hit someone before the ability could take effect. Furthermore, Fang Ze was just an ordinary employee in his previous life. He had never come into contact with martial techniques and did not know anything about combat tactics. Now that he had an Awakened ability, he immediately prepared to run. He did not think that his escape would be smooth sailing. Instead, it was highly likely that he would be pursued by enemies and engaged in battle with them. Therefore, knowing some combat techniques in advance and learning some simple martial techniques to avoid being defeated before he could use his Awakened ability might be his best choice now. Of course, the ¡°Credit World¡± ability could not give Fang Ze a martial technique out of thin air. Therefore, Fang Ze still needed someone who could teach him martial arts. With that thought in mind, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but look at the shadow warrior standing at the side with a thick iron rod after cleaning up. His gaze lingered on the shadow warrior for a moment before Fang Ze waved at him and instructed, ¡°Next, I need you to teach me some basic martial techniques and training methods.¡± ¡°However, in order to know your strength, let¡¯s practice first!¡± At Fang Ze¡¯s command, the 2.5-meter-tall shadow warrior, who looked like a giant metal bucket, nodded slowly, then raised his thick pole-like iron rod high. Seeing this scene, Fang Ze hurriedly waved his hand in panic. ¡°Stop! We¡¯re just sparring. We¡¯ll only use our fists and feet! Don¡¯t use your weapon!¡± Hearing Fang Ze¡¯s words, the shadow warrior froze for a moment. Then, he tilted his head and looked down at Fang Ze. The huge iron rod in his hand slowly turned into black mist and disappeared without a trace. Fang Ze felt that the shadow warrior¡¯s thoughts were written all over his face. ¡°This shorty doesn¡¯t care about morals. Why didn¡¯t he let me use my weapon¡­¡± However, Fang Ze felt that his thoughts were reasonable. He didn¡¯t have a weapon himself. If the other party used a weapon, it would be a one-sided suppression! Now that both sides only used their hands and feet, Fang Ze felt that he could at least retaliate a few moves. With this confidence, Fang Ze and the shadow warrior engaged in a one-sided ¡°life-and-death¡± struggle for the next ten minutes. [1] a credit scoring system by Ant Group in China Chapter 38 - Initial Experience of the Awakened Ability Chapter 38 Initial Experience of the Awakened Ability Originally, Fang Ze thought that as a grown man, he could at least exchange a few blows with the disaster creature in front of him, right? However, when they really started fighting, he realized that he had overestimated himself. Fang Ze was knocked to the ground almost as soon as the shadow warrior moved. He didn¡¯t even last two moves. Perhaps because he had not fought or battled many people in his two lives, Fang Ze was almost completely unable to resist the attacks of the shadow warrior. He could clearly see it with his eyes, but his limbs could not keep up at all. Sometimes, he could clearly see the shadow warrior rushing forward. He reflexively wanted to reach out to block, but before he could raise his hand, he was punched heavily in the abdomen and fell to the ground in pain. Moreover, during the battle, Fang Ze gradually understood why the Late-Night Investigation Room had evaluated the shadow warrior as the weakest of the disaster creatures. This was because he realized that ever since he fused with the World Laws and obtained his Awakened ability, his body seemed to be slowly becoming stronger and stronger, and his resistance to attacks also became stronger. That rate of growth was practically visible to the naked eye. At first, when the shadow warrior punched him, it took him five or six minutes to get up. However, toward the end, even though the shadow warrior¡¯s fists had hurt him, his attacks were no longer unbearable. Furthermore, this was the result after only half an hour. He estimated that once he completely ¡°absorbed¡± the physical enhancement of his Awakened ability, it might be very difficult for the ordinary attacks of the shadow warrior to pose much threat to him. Furthermore, this was someone who had just Awakened. If he were facing an Awakened who had Awakened for a few years, he believed that the shadow warrior would be even more powerless. ¡°Is this¡­ protection from the World Laws?¡± Fang Ze could not understand the reason for this change. After all, he knew too little about Awakened people and Awakened abilities. He could only record the changes in his body first. He planned to find a chance to get a professional answer after he escaped from the task force. Furthermore, after half an hour of ¡°being¡± tempered, Fang Ze had a rough idea of the shadow warrior¡¯s attack patterns. To put it bluntly, perhaps due to his intelligence, the shadow warrior¡¯s martial techniques were extremely simple and direct. However, that didn¡¯t mean that his attacks didn¡¯t work. On the battlefield, there were times when the simplest technique was the most efficient. Besides, Fang Ze didn¡¯t have the right to be picky now. Thus, after half an hour of practice, he stopped and used his powers. Recalling in his mind the entire process of being hit by the shadow warrior¡¯s explosive hammer, and the various moves and routines of the shadow warrior, Fang Ze silently recited, ¡°I want to borrow the effects of the next ten days of training.¡± As Fang Ze chanted, a round, red-eyed rabbit suddenly appeared in the void in front of him. The rabbit had wings. Its red eyes stared dully at Fang, and it repeated mechanically, ¡°Borrowing ten days of training, activate!¡± With its voice, it turned into a white light that enveloped Fang Ze. Fang Ze felt as if he was constantly discovering changes in his body. His muscles began to tighten, and his body began to fill with more and more power. Not only that, but he also began to have a lot more training experience in his mind. They were all about how to exert strength, how to move, how to attack, and how to deal with the attacks of the shadow warrior. A moment later, the effect of the ability ended. Fang Ze felt like a different person. He clenched his fists. They were clearly the same fists, but because he knew how to exert force, he felt like he could use more than twice as much force as before. ¡°Is this¡­ a magical Awakened ability?¡± For a moment, Fang Ze felt that his journey, and twists and turns along the way, had been worth it. He looked up at the shadow warrior with a determined gaze, then clenched his fists. ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Fang Ze held his abdomen and was punched until he curled up again. Clutching his stomach and gasping in shock, he held up his hand. ¡°Wait, wait a minute. I¡¯m not ready yet. Don¡¯t rush.¡± For the next ten minutes, Fang Ze readied himself for another sparring session with the shadow warrior. This time, it was a real sparring session. The first time, he might have been knocked down in one move because he wasn¡¯t paying attention. However, later, after Fang Ze focused, he finally began to fight the shadow warrior back and forth. At this moment, Fang Ze finally understood how powerful his Awakened ability was. Borrowing the training results in advance was not only about physical fitness, martial arts proficiency, and the increase in hostility. He also borrowed other aspects, such as the habits of exerting strength, dodging, muscle memory, and even combat instincts. If Fang Ze had to describe it, it was as if the self that had trained for ten days had descended to the present. The only thing that ¡°displeased¡± Fang Ze was that ever since he¡¯d borrowed the ability, a repayment list had appeared in front of him. The content of the list included ten hours of high-intensity sparring sessions with shadow warriors, ten hours of running, and ten hours of squats. Furthermore, at the end of the entire list, there was a countdown for 30 days. This meant that Fang Ze only had 30 days to complete these three missions. However, Fang Ze felt that it would be very easy to complete these goals in 30 days. This made him wonder if he should borrow something else. After all, he was escaping. The more prepared he was, the better. Besides, since he had obtained his ability, he had to test it in many aspects. Fang Ze rubbed his chin at the thought and looked at the shadow warrior. Now, since Fang Ze only had one sheep, he could only shear this sheep. Therefore, thinking of this, Fang Ze asked, ¡°Do you have any killing moves or powerful moves? Can you teach me?¡± The 2.5-meter-tall shadow warrior was silent for a moment at Fang Ze¡¯s words. Then, it raised its hand high in the air, and a puff of black smoke rose from it before it coalesced into the huge rod from before. Thenm it raised the huge rod, the muscles in both arms bulging, and swung the rod hard. ¡°F-! Boom!¡± At first, there was a loud sound of air being torn apart. Then, the iron rod slammed into the wall and quickly bounced back. Fang Ze gaped at the scene before him. Although the wall was unscathed, Fang Ze didn¡¯t think that meant this move wouldn¡¯t work. After all, Lady Knife proved that just because she couldn¡¯t cut through a wall didn¡¯t mean that she couldn¡¯t cut through people. Moreover, just from the sound of the air being torn apart and the loud sound, one could tell how powerful this move was. But¡­ could he learn it? Was this just a simple force technique? It wasn¡¯t a racial skill of the shadow warriors, right? Fang Ze looked at the shadow warrior hesitantly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this move called?¡± The shadow warrior stumbled and struggled to make a sound. ¡°Rod Throw.¡± ¡°Hiss¡­¡± To be honest, at that moment, Fang Ze was overcome by the simple way the shadow warrior named the move. Besides, throwing a rod was boring and harmless. He pondered. After he learned this technique, he wouldn¡¯t throw a stick. Instead, he could throw broadswords, axes, and chainsaws! He believed in the lethality of throwing each weapon accurately. While pondering the future direction of this move, Fang Ze tried to use his ability again. ¡°I want to use ¡®Credit World¡¯ to borrow ¡®Rod Throw¡¯.¡± As Fang Ze called out, the round rabbit with two wings appeared in front of him again. It looked at Fang Ze with its fiery red eyes and shouted mechanically, ¡°Borrowing martial technique ¡®Rod Throw¡¯, activate!¡± With that, it exploded and turned into a white light that enveloped Fang Ze again. As the light enveloped him, Fang Ze realized that the training process of Rod Throw and the technique gradually appeared in his mind. How to exert force, how to adjust his muscles, how to use his finesse, how to throw the rod out, how to increase the destructive power¡­ All the details entered his mind as if he had practiced them himself. While absorbing this experience, Fang Ze was surprised to discover that this technique was indeed just an ingenious technique. However, the fact that it had so much power had to do with the unique physical structure of the shadow warriors. Therefore, as a human, since his body structure was different, not only did his power decrease a lot when practicing this martial technique, but he would also be especially injured when practicing it. This also affected his efficiency in practicing this martial technique. As a result, he did not borrow that much experience. After absorbing 30 days of experience, Fang Ze took a chair and tested the Rod Throw technique a few times. He roughly deduced that this martial technique could increase his strength by at least five times. Its lethality was astonishing. When he used this martial technique, the muscles in his arms would bulge like the shadow warriors. After using it, his arms would be extremely sore and burning. He had to rest for half an hour before he could recover. It was really an exaggerated and magical martial technique. Fang Ze suddenly found this world fascinating There were all kinds of magical abilities and such a physical martial technique. This was the world of men! He felt that his future would definitely be very exciting Just like that, after practicing for an unknown period of time, Fang Ze finally stopped. He was exhausted. Then, he closed his eyes and looked at his ¡°Credit List¡± in the upper left corner. ¡°Ten hours of high-intensity sparring with shadow warriors: 1.5 hours/10 hours¡± ¡°Ten hours of running: 0 hours/10 hours¡± ¡°Ten hours of squatting: 0 hours / 10 hours¡± ¡°Practice Rod Throw 60 Times: 2/60¡± Other than running and squatting, which he had barely done, whether it was a high-intensity sparring session or practicing throwing a rod, Fang Ze completed everything Thinking about it, there were still 29 days before the deadline. ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll continue repaying tomorrow.¡± With that in mind, Fang Ze directed the shadow warrior to clean the Late-Night Investigation Room and restore all the items to their original state. Then, he sat down in a chair and prepared to sleep. Just as his eyelids were about to close. Suddenly, he woke up. ¡°Huh¡­ Did I miss something?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t looked at today¡¯s gains.¡± Chapter 39 - Poking the Shadow Warriors Den Chapter 39 Poking the Shadow Warriors¡¯ Den Thinking of this, Fang Ze opened his tired eyes and looked at the table in front of him. Previously, Fang Ze had been so focused on his Awakened ability that he had long forgotten about his gains today. He didn¡¯t even notice this when he was packing up the Awakening materials. Now that he thought about it, he hurriedly began to search for the gains from today¡¯s investigation. Two minutes later, when he saw the black mud under the table, to be honest, Fang Ze did not feel surprised at all. It seemed that as long as he investigated Miao Miao, he would get shadow warriors. This had become a tradition. As he thought this, Fang Ze picked up the puddle of mud and threw it to the ground. A moment later, like the one yesterday, the 2.5-meter-tall male shadow warrior appeared in front of Fang Ze with a large iron rod on his shoulder. Fang Ze looked at him, then summoned the shadow warrior he¡¯d been sparring with. They looked a little like twins. It was almost impossible to tell the difference. Only on closer inspection would one notice that the shadow warrior from last night seemed to be a little stronger. Furthermore, its rod was a little darker and a little thicker. He remembered that he had not named this shadow warrior in the past two days. Fang Ze pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°From today, your names will be Rod One and Rod Two.¡± The two shadow warriors obediently dropped to one knee and grunted, ¡®Yes.¡± Seeing that he had another shadow warrior, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he¡¯d just poked into a shadow warrior¡¯s den. He wasn¡¯t going to form an army of shadow warriors in the future, right? Furthermore, he was always getting shadow warriors. Was there a problem with him, or was there a problem with Miao Miao? Fang Ze felt the need to properly study the matter. If the problem was with Miao Miao¡­ That meant her background or her potential had to be amazing. In that case, Fang Ze felt that this might be his chance. Perhaps, as long as he investigated the secret of her background or some other secret, he would obtain a huge gain. However, that was all in the future. Now, all that mattered was sleep. With this thought in mind, Fang Ze summoned Rod One and Rod Two back into the shadows. Then, he sat on a chair and slowly fell asleep. The next day. The sky was clear. At the temporary residence. Because he had been transferred by the Security Bureau to help all day yesterday, Wang Hao sat up in bed looking exhausted. Then, he realized that his criminal roommate had woken up early and was walking quickly on the spot. Wang Hao was shocked. He immediately felt that he had lost his guard. He had actually woken up later than his criminal roommate. How could he complete the mission! With that thought, he glanced at his watch. It was five in the morning¡­ Wang Hao was stunned for a moment. Then he realized that it wasn¡¯t that he had woken up late, but that his roommate had woken up a little too early. With that thought, he involuntarily turned to his roommate, trying to figure out why he was up so early. In the end, with just a glance, he felt that the friendly image of his criminal roommate had become a little different from before. ¡°Eh?¡± He made a small sound of surprise, then looked more closely. In the end, he couldn¡¯t tell what was different. It seemed like his roommate was still as tall as before. He was still as handsome as ever. What exactly was different? ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­¡± Wang Hao was a little confused as to why this was happening Meanwhile, as he wondered, his roommate exhaled deeply and then stopped walking. Then, his roommate stood up straight and waved at Wang Hao with a smile. ¡°Morning.¡± His smile was sunny and hearty. Coupled with his handsome face, one could not help but like him. Wang Hao reflexively raised his hand and replied, ¡°Morning.¡± Then, before he could say anything else, his roommate said with a smile, ¡°You woke up a little late today. I¡¯ll go wash up first.¡± With that, he hummed his way to the toilet. He tilted his head and looked at his roommate¡¯s back. Wang Hao still couldn¡¯t figure out what was different about his roommate. Apart from Wang Hao, the other agents on the task force also clearly noticed that the criminal was a little different today. However, just like Wang Hao, they couldn¡¯t tell what was different about Fang Ze. If they had to be specific, it seemed that his spirit was different. In the past, he had been a very ordinary ¡°weak young man.¡± Although he was sunny and cheerful, his figure was obviously thin and weak. He walked weakly. Although his eyes were bright, they were not energetic enough. However, he seemed to have become a different person today. His body began to straighten. Although he did not walk like a tiger, he began to look like one. His originally handsome but weak face became resolute, and his eyes began to shine. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this guy?¡± ¡°Is it someone else?¡± ¡°What happened in the span of one night?¡± This kind of quiet discussion quietly circulated among the agents without Fang Ze knowing After dinner, Fang Ze didn¡¯t start the day¡¯s ¡°slacking off.¡± Instead, he went to the meeting room on the first floor of the villa with the other agents. Han Kaiwei¡¯s strange death had a huge impact on the task force. The immediate effect was that the task force had stagnated. To avoid another death and to prevent the killer from escaping, all agents were forbidden to leave their temporary residences and villas except to eat and sleep. Furthermore, after eating, they were also asked to stay in the meeting room as a group. They were to wait for the Security Bureau to summon and ¡°question¡± them in turn. Of course, none of this had anything to do with Fang Ze. Putting aside the fact that he was one of the first people to be called in for ¡°questioning¡± yesterday, and that there was no need to go again. Even if he needed to go, as a criminal, he didn¡¯t want to cooperate. All he wanted to do was pay off his ¡°loan¡± as soon as possible and avoid borrowing from loan sharks. Therefore, he started running on the spot early in the morning and repaid his debt seriously. While he was waiting at this moment, he didn¡¯t intend to stay idle. Therefore, while all the agents were nervously waiting for the Security Bureau to question them one by one, Fang Ze took a horse stance in the meeting room. Fang Ze¡¯s identity was special to begin with. He was a Werewolf among the 20 Prophets. Coupled with the fact that he looked exceptionally different today, his actions immediately attracted a lot of attention. The agents in the meeting room who were originally chatting slowly stopped and began to secretly observe Fang Ze¡¯s actions. Even the agent who was resting on the table looked up slightly to pay attention to Fang Ze¡¯s movements. In the end, it was Senior Agent Cui Xuemin who couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. When Fang Ze had been in a horse stance for more than half an hour, he walked over and called, ¡°Agent Fang.¡± Fang Ze was in the middle of his horse stance when he was suddenly stopped. He looked up and asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Agent Cui?¡± Cui Xuemin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said gently, ¡°Why have you been in the conference room in a horse stance?¡± Earlier, when he had made these outrageous moves, Fang Ze had found an excuse. Therefore, when he heard Cui Xuemin¡¯s question, he first scratched his head and asked, ¡°I don¡¯t think I affected anyone, did I?! ¡°In any case, we¡¯re all waiting. Even if we chat, we¡¯re still waiting. Training by going into a horse stance is also part of waiting. Why not do the horse stance?¡± Cui Xuemin smiled at Fang¡¯s answer and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean to question it. I¡¯m simply curious.¡± Hearing this, Fang Ze sighed helplessly and said, ¡°Actually, I did all this because of Agent Han¡¯s death.¡± The agents in the meeting room had been secretly following their conversation. Furthermore, they all knew that Han Kaiwei had been imprisoned and died tragically because of Fang Ze. On top of that, there was Fang Ze¡¯s identity as a suspect. Thus, when they heard Fang Ze¡¯s answer, many people secretly pricked up their ears. Some of the more vigilant people even secretly leaned backwards to hide themselves. They were afraid that Fang Ze was holding some strange sacrificial ritual, and that they would be chosen. While the various agents were having different thoughts, Cui Xuemin did not show it on his face. Instead, he looked at Fang Ze gently and asked, ¡°Why is the horse stance related to Han Kaiwei¡¯s death?¡± Fang Ze explained, ¡°Because I¡¯m afraid of death¡­ I¡¯m worried that the murderer is among us, so I¡¯ll exercise more. When the time comes, I can escape and save my life.¡± Cui Xuemin was silent. The other agents were speechless too. Seeing that Cui Xuemin had nothing more to say, Fang Ze ignored him and continued with his horse stance. Looking at Fang Ze, who was in a horse stance in the meeting room as if no one else was around, the agents felt as if they were unable to understand his thoughts. However, they thought about it. If they shared the same train of thought as a criminal, it made sense. Thus, they felt that perhaps this was normal. And so, the day passed quickly. During the day, all the agents were called upstairs and questioned. Even Fang Ze, Wang Hao, Cui Xuemin, Shan Hui, and the others who had been questioned in the past two days were called to the second floor to repeat the questioning. However, from Bai Zhi¡¯s obviously more irritable mood than yesterday, Fang Ze could still sense that the Security Bureau had fallen into a predicament after Han Kaiwei¡¯s death¡­ That night, after dinner, the agents returned to their dorms to rest. When Fang Ze returned to the dormitory, Wang Hao was already there. As a candidate for the Security Bureau, he had been helping the Security Bureau all day except when he was questioned. Thus, when Fang Ze saw him, he looked tired and worn. Seeing him like this, Fang Ze couldn¡¯t help but think about the possibility of summoning him tonight. Previously, when Fang Ze faced Wang Hao in the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze could only rely on false bravado and bluffing. He had never felt at ease. However, Fang Ze now had something that Wang Hao needed, which was the Spiritual Awakening Technique. He had even personally tested the effect of this method and could give all-rounded guidance. Furthermore, Wang Hao seemed to have accumulated a lot of information recently. By talking to him once, he could learn about the current movements of the task force and the Security Bureau. Furthermore, there was a high chance that he would gain something of high value. Thus, perhaps this would be a late-night investigation that would benefit both parties. Chapter 40 - Artifact — 22-Winged Angel Chapter 40 Artifact ¡ª 22-Winged Angel Thinking of this, Fang Ze didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. He went to the toilet to wash up. Then, he lay on the bed and began to sleep, preparing to go to the Late-Night Investigation Room to summon Wang Hao. Fang Ze didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but when he woke from his dream, he was in the investigation room. He walked slowly to the chair and sat down. Fang Ze turned on the lamp and tapped the table with his right index finger. A moment later, a list of people that could be summoned appeared in front of Fang Ze. Fang Ze glanced past Miao Miao. Although Fang Ze was still very curious about her, tonight was not her ¡°show date¡±. After finding Wang Hao¡¯s three-dimensional image and adjusting the layout of the room, Fang Ze officially began his investigation for the night! Wang Hao had had a hard and tiring few days. This was because he didn¡¯t know why the task force was suddenly in a mess. First, he and the agents were called in separately for questioning. This was followed by the sudden murder of an agent in custody. Then, there was the big sweep by the Security Bureau and the secondary screening. As the focus suspect, he went through two rounds of questioning and multiple rounds of probing. Furthermore, the shadow of the agent¡¯s death hung over him. Therefore, he was physically and mentally exhausted. Honestly, right now, he really missed his days in the red-light district. He found it too difficult to work for the Security Bureau. Not only was it dangerous, but it was almost fruitless. He had worked so hard that he had almost been arrested, let alone become an Awakened¡­ In contrast, he found it easier to tell stories to the mystery man. The reward was also to become an Awakened, and it was easy. There was no danger. Therefore, if he had a choice, he would rather become an Awakened with the help of the mysterious man. Unfortunately, much of the story had progressed, but the mystery man had not summoned him. He wondered if he had been forgotten. After all, a big shot like that must be busy with many things to do. His story might not necessarily attract him. Therefore, he could not help but feel a little anxious. However, because the initiative to meet was completely in the hands of the mysterious man, he could only wait patiently. ml ¡°Are you awake?¡± Hearing the familiar, husky, mysterious voice in his ear, Wang Hao woke up groggily. Then, to his surprise, he found himself in the place he had been thinking about for the past few days. It was still the same room, the same luxurious arrangement, the same entire marble floor, the same dazzling collection, and the same mysterious and powerful Sir. Retracting his thoughts, Wang Hao quickly stood up and said in surprise, ¡°Sir, we finally meet again.¡± The mystery man sat on the sofa, toying with the bird disaster creature from the other day. Then, he smiled faintly and said, ¡°Yes. We meet again.¡± ¡°From the look of you, I¡¯d say your story has made a pretty good development.¡± Wang Ze nodded vigorously at the mysterious man¡¯s words. ¡°Yes. A lot has happened to our task force lately.¡± At Wang Hao¡¯s words, the mysterious man raised his hand slightly. ¡°Sit. Speak slowly.¡± As he spoke, the room shook slightly. A moment later, two arms made of marble extended from the marble floor. They intertwined and twisted to form a stone chair, supporting Wang Hao as he sat down. When Wang Hao saw this magical scene, he touched the marble chair under his butt in surprise. Then, he looked up at the mysterious man and spoke slowly. ¡°Sir. A lot has happened to our task force in the past few days¡­¡± As a backup candidate for the Security Bureau, Wang Hao knew more insider information than Fang Ze. After hearing him slowly explain what had happened over the past few days, Fang Ze finally understood what Wang Hao, Cui Xuemin, Shan Hui, and the others were up to. According to Wang Hao¡­ That day, he¡¯d suddenly been summoned to the secret base of the Security Bureau and given a simple interrogation. The contents of the interrogation were also very simple. First, they asked if Wang Hao was an undercover agent of the criminal organization. Second, they asked whether Wang Hao had told anyone about Officer Bai Ling. Third, they asked about Wang Hao¡¯s attitude to this case. Wang Hao answered all the questions truthfully. He replied ¡°no¡± to the first two questions. As for the last question, he replied that he wanted to solve the case as soon as possible and catch the real culprit. Furthermore, after he finished answering the questions, his interlocutor walked out with a piece of paper. Then, they told him that the test was over and he had passed. Wang Hao actually didn¡¯t quite understand why he was being asked these questions. Although his interlocutor hadn¡¯t explained it directly, since Wang Hao had passed the test, they vaguely said that the Security Bureau had discovered that it was very likely that there was a mole from that mysterious organization in the task force, so they were investigating it here. Although he was a little angry that he was actually listed as a mole candidate, it was the Security Bureau after all. Wang Hao didn¡¯t dare have any objections. Thus, he turned his attention to the test and asked what it was. Was it a polygraph? His interlocutor explained that it was indeed a lie detector test. Furthermore, it was done with an extraordinary artifact. According to the interlocutor, this lie detector artifact was called the ¡°22-Winged Angel¡±. It was a magical artifact created by experts from the Security Bureau. It was shaped like a statue of an angel with 11 pairs of wings. After it was held and used on a selected target, its wings would break if the target lied. However, there were also conditions and costs to use this artifact. The interlocutor did not say what the price was, but they did state the conditions for using it. Every time this artifact was used, the user had to tell the target the test results. In other words, this artifact could not be secretly tested for lies. It had to be tested publicly. Moreover, this artifact could only be used a limited number of times. It could only be used at most 22 times. After asking 22 questions, the statue would shatter. Therefore, it was considered a very precious disposable artifact. To be honest, Wang Hao felt that this artifact was indeed quite interesting, but he didn¡¯t quite understand why this artifact was used on him despite how important it was. How was he like a mole? After that, things became even more bizarre. The day after the polygraph test, Han Kaiwei suddenly died mysteriously. The entire task force was at a standstill and in a state of panic. Wang Hao and a few key suspects were called in to be questioned again. After all, he had just been questioned yesterday, and then Han Kaiwei died. This was too much of a coincidence! It was so coincidental that¡­ It was as if someone had framed them. However, after answering the questions for the second time, judging from the expression on the faces of the people from the Security Bureau, Wang Hao felt that they still hadn¡¯t found the murderer. Furthermore, because of Han Kaiwei¡¯s sudden death, even if there was no problem after testing all five of them, the Security Bureau no longer trusted them. Therefore, when he went to his interlocutor for information again, he was simply turned away. After that, it was the third day. Perhaps because there really were no leads, the Security Bureau began to expand the detection range to the entire task force. Furthermore, something horrible had happened. Everyone had passed the 22-Winged Angel test. This was a slap in the face to the Security Bureau. If everyone was fine, did Han Kaiwei commit suicide? Therefore, they began to suspect that there was something wrong with the artifact. However, under normal circumstances, it was impossible for anything to happen to the artifact. This was unless someone happened to have an extraordinary treasure that could restrain the lie detector. This made the entire case even more bizarre. At the end, Wang Hao said with a frown, ¡°The Security Bureau is very nervous right now.¡± ¡°Artifacts are very valuable. If the other party is carrying an artifact, then the other party is very likely an unknown Awakened.¡± ¡°Furthermore, the Awakened have all kinds of strange abilities. Once an Awakened really sneaks in, the entire task force will be in great danger.¡± After patiently listening to Wang Hao¡¯s story, Fang Ze leaned back on the sofa. He remained silent on the surface, but his mind was racing He had a rough idea of what had happened. Furthermore, the thing that caught his attention the most was the second of the three questions the Security Bureau had asked Wang Hao. ¡°Has any information about Bai Ling been leaked?¡± ¡°From this question, it appears that the Security Bureau determined that there was a mole in the task force because they discovered that the information about Bai Ling had been leaked.¡± Fang Ze froze at the thought of this. Then, he quickly calculated the time. After that, he couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. ¡°Why do I feel that I have something to do with this?¡± After pondering for a while, an idea flashed through Fang Ze¡¯s mind, and he was shocked. Could it be that his second accomplice was a little vigilant and confused because he had reported Agent Han, his ¡°accomplice¡±? Furthermore, because he had to act that day, he was especially calm when facing Bai Ling. It was a little unreasonable. Moreover, there were some things he didn¡¯t notice. This led the Security Bureau to suspect that he knew about Bai Ling and suspect that her information had been compromised by a mole. Thus, they began investigating the mole. As a result, this happened to hit the sensitive nerve of his second accomplice. This was because the second accomplice and Han Kaiwei knew each other. Furthermore, the second accomplice didn¡¯t know that the matter was caused by Fang Ze and was worried that Han Kaiwei had divulged a secret or leaked some information. Thus, Han Kaiwei was silenced. The more he thought about it, the more Fang Ze felt that his theory was probably right. At that moment, he really wanted to say, TWTF?!¡± Was he such a useless teammate? He had crippled his allies even before meeting them. One was dead, and the other was probably going to be exposed and captured soon. After all, Fang Ze did not think that the other party would cause such a huge mess. If he killed Han Kaiwei publicly, the Security Bureau would not let them off. Fang Ze changed perspectives. If he were the Security Bureau, he would definitely have set up a trap to prevent these 20 agents from leaving. Then, he would investigate them one by one. With the entire country behind them, the Security Bureau was more daring than a small criminal organization. Thinking of this, Fang Ze suddenly felt that something was wrong. Huh¡­ If he knew such a simple logic, how could his accomplice not? However, he still killed people to silence them. He even left behind a strange, suspected logo of the organization. This was a blatant provocation. What was his accomplice planning to do¡­? Were they planted? Was there some compelling reason? Alternatively, did they have some trump card that could turn the tables?