Out of place in the bustling, chatter-filled lobby, Jian Xie took out his phone and glanced at it.
No signal.
He put away his phone and stared at the plant in the corner for a while.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he could feel that the branches of the plant seemed to be gradually moving towards him.
Jian Xie took his hand out of his jacket and casually touched the outstretched leaves with his fingers. The cool, plant-like sensation lifted his spirits a little, but the moment he withdrew his hand, something astonishing happened—
The leaves actually began to curl up and deform before his eyes!
It seemed as if it had been sucked dry by something forbidden. The branches and stems began to shrink rapidly, the green color faded, and the leaves fell off.
Within just a few seconds, the area touched by Jian Xie’s fingertips had turned into pure black charcoal. When compared to the undamaged parts, it looked utterly horrifying.
Jian Xie: “…”
Although I don’t know what this plant is used for, I guess it’s not just simple decoration.
It was giving him the feeling that he has done something not very good.
Realizing that no one was paying attention to this side, the perpetrator calmly withdrew his hand, tucked it in his pocket, and stood a little to the side.
A low chuckle came into his ears. Qin Zhuo seemed amused by his actions.
“Stop laughing,” Jian Xie whispered.
Immediately afterwards, a blurry shadow floated up from behind him, and then the shadow stretched out a tentacle condensed from black mist deliberately transformed into a shape similar to a pair of scissors, and directly broke off the blackened branch with a “snip”, then swallowed it into the black mist.
【Destroying the evidence.】 Qin Zhuo said lazily. He could imagine the other party holding It’s chin with his hand. It spoke with a contemptuous tone, as if the one who ate the plant just now was not It. It was just pretending to be serious. 【Don’t forget to finish it off.】
Jian Xie, who witnessed everything: “…”
Before he could express his opinion, he suddenly became aware of the change in the atmosphere around him and immediately raised his head to look forward.
The hall had quieted down without anyone noticing.
Sure enough, three employees in uniform suits appeared in front.
Although no one said words like “silence”, everyone fell silent involuntarily. They were infected by the current atmosphere and couldn’t help swallowing.
The one in the lead looked to be in their forties, giving off an air of maturity and stability. He had a pure white triangular scarf in the pocket of his suit jacket, suggesting he was in charge. He surveyed the hall with an authoritative gaze, lingering briefly on Jian Xie for a few seconds.
On both sides of him stood the green-haired man whom he had met in the elevator earlier, with an arrogant and domineering expression directed toward Jian Xie.
The last one was a young man wearing a blue badge and looked very young. The strange thing was that although Jian Xie had the impression that it was the first time they met, when the other’s eyes fell on Jian Xie, they were filled with some confusion and curiosity.
Even a blind person could sense what the three examiners who appeared at the main venue were looking at.
For a moment, everyone’s eyes were focused on Jian Xie.
It was as if he was suddenly illuminated by countless spotlights. Even if he did nothing, Jian Xie suddenly became the center of everyone’s attention. This scene made him feel very puzzled and he couldn’t help but frown.
Some people noticed his nonchalant attitude and immediately became jealous, their eyes filled with obvious hostility.
One should know, the number of spots in each department was limited. Now this guy, who looked sickly and hasn’t done anything, has attracted the attention of several department members and was acting so nonchalant. Could he be connected to someone important?
Afterwards, the person in charge actually took the initiative to talk to the candidate.
“…You are Jian Xie, right?” The person in charge had a complicated look on his face as he sighed inwardly at the other party’s bad luck.
From his point of view, Jian Xie looked pale and a little tired, which made people want to protect him.
Being directly called out by the other party in front of everyone, Jian Xie had no choice but to nod and acknowledge in spite of not wanting to attract too much attention. He said briefly, “Mn.”
This is really——
After he finished speaking, some people’s expressions suddenly changed and a cacophony of voices erupted, shattering the silence that had previously filled the hall. The murmurs of the other participants in the assessment echoed throughout the hall, their tones filled with indignation.
“Why is he so special that these staff paid attention to him first?”
“This must be an unspoken rule! I never thought that the other world would play this game too.”
“His background is really strong.”
“……”
There was a gloating smile on Green-Hair’s face. He was quite happy to see Jian Xie being misunderstood. After all, there were always four to five investigators who needed to go to each district, and most people would choose to work together. It would be great if he was excluded.
Blue Badge couldn’t stand it anymore. He frowned and admonished, “If you don’t know anything, don’t talk nonsense! This is a necessary process!”
Now that a staff member had spoken, these people restrained themselves reluctantly, but still did not hide their malicious gazes as they stared at Jian Xie.
Even though Jian Xie became the target of everyone’s criticism with just a few words, his expression did not change a bit and he seemed exceptionally calm.
“If I remember correctly,” the person in charge ignored these voices and said calmly, “You are Cheng Li’s recommendee, right?”
Jian Xie: “Yes.”
After he said this, some people immediately felt a sense of relief, mixed with a hint of schadenfreude.
It turned out it was not a backer, but a targeted person.
Even those who have not joined the Bureau but had stepped into the other world knew that Cheng Li’s recommended person would be targeted. This guy was really unlucky. Sure enough, they soon heard the person in charge say, “You are the seventh to report. You will be assigned to the last three districts.”
The last three districts…
Everyone looked at him with a bit of pity. Even the process of drawing lots was skipped. He was directly sentenced to death.
But Jian Xie showed no reaction and just nodded, as if he was not surprised by the result.
Soon the person in charge looked away and announced another more important person. “Is Lin Zishi here? You are the sixth one and need to go to the first three districts.”
It’s actually number six?
There was an unspoken rule in the other world that any investigator whose ID number contains 6 was definitely A-level or above!
That applied to this as well. Everyone couldn’t help but turn their eyes to the young man named Lin Zishi and found that unlike Jian Xie who chose to stand by the wall, he was standing in the middle of the crowd in the hall. Before the person in charge came in, he was busy communicating happily with people, with just the right smile on his face, making everyone feel like they were being bathed in spring breeze.
“Understood.” He glanced at Jian Xie calmly and said, “Thank you.”
Seeing his calm appearance, the person in charge felt satisfied and determined that this was a good candidate. He had a higher impression of him and nodded to Blue-Badge, signaling him to adjust Lin Zishi’s initial impression record.
Seeing this, Green-Hair showed a satisfied look.
Then he stretched out his hand, pointed at the many mobile phones placed on the table at the edge, and raised his chin. “As for the others, please draw your own numbers.”
Now that he knew where he was going, Jian Xie no longer paid attention to the movements in the hall and started communicating with Qin Zhuo in his mind.
“You said that my flesh and blood has a fatal attraction to monsters, right?”
This was not a question.
Ever since he heard that he would go to the last three districts, Jian Xie already had an extremely convenient and quick way to pass the test.
【It seems that you already have an answer.】 Qin Zhuo seemed to understand what he was going to do and said with a smirk, 【But, wouldn’t this go against your original intention?】
Jian Xie was about to answer when suddenly, a figure blocked his view.
The other party seemed to know that he was distracted and took the initiative to greet him confidently, “Hello, Jian Xie.”
——It was Lin Zishi who was previously announced as No. 6.
“Don’t be nervous, I just came to say hello.” Seeing Jian Xie’s expressionless face, Lin Zishi unilaterally assumed that he was on guard, and smiled calmly. “After all, in a sense, we are all chosen people. Only that, I am definitely better than you.”
This arrogant behavior hidden under a gentle appearance finally made Jian Xie raise his eyes and look at him more.
“Although you don’t look like anything to be wary of, especially since your recommender is such a loser.” Lin Zishi smiled, his eyes swept over Jian Xie’s face which was too pale for an ordinary person, and said in a meaningful tone, “But I still have to come and greet you out of courtesy for the person who recommended me.”
【Tch.】
Jian Xie changed his posture and leaned against the wall, then withdrew his gaze indifferently and ignored his words.
Seeing this, Lin Zishi sighed. “I’m talking to you, how lacking of manners.”
“What manners?” Finally, Jian Xie spoke. Although his voice was very soft, it carried a certain terrifying pressure. Even though he didn’t look at him, it still gave off a spine-chilling feeling, “You’d better not say that I’m the same as you. Because we’re fundamentally different.”
Hearing this, Lin Zishi’s expression turned a little ugly.
Did he mean they’re not even on the same level…?
【I don’t like people interrupting our conversation.】 It seemed that It’s willful nature had surfaced again. Qin Zhuo’s tone was filled with annoyance, but then It paused and said, 【May I?】
“……”
Jian Xie: “Yes.”
Not knowing why Jian Xie suddenly said that, Lin Zishi was about to speak but he couldn’t say anything to refute. His face changed because an immense gravitational force suddenly appeared in the void, pressing down on his spine and rendering him completely powerless to resist. In the next moment—
It directly forced him to kneel on the ground!
The movement over here immediately attracted the others’ attention.
Under the astonished gazes, Lin Zishi’s whole face was distorted. The piercing pain in his knees made it impossible for him to maintain his previous polite appearance.
Damn, what’s going on!
He wanted to stand up, but he felt an invisible force in the air restraining his limbs. The fear of the unknown power made him break out in a cold sweat.
“This is just a warning. I also don’t like people who talk too much.” Jian Xie lowered his head, staring at him on the ground. He looked distant as ever, and his tone did not sound angry. “If you don’t want to crawl to the first three districts, stay away from me from now on.”
Lin Zishi noticed that he used the word “also”.
However, there was clearly only Jian Xie in front of him. Is this some horror story? Stop being so mysterious!
Lin Zishi bit his tongue, using the pain to force himself to wake up. His anger made him ignore the danger his instinct warned him of, and he blurted out, “So what? Your prop level won’t be higher than B anyway. There’s no way you can turn this around!”
That’s right, only props can kill monsters.
One should know that his recommender revealed the news to him in advance. The [Weapons Department] would make a preliminary comprehensive assessment of the autumn recruitment candidates based on their resumes, and then select the appropriate props to give to them before the exam.
Cheng Li’s current level was only B, and no matter what Jian Xie did, he wouldn’t be able to surpass him and kill monsters above A-level.
However, all he heard was the sound of Jian Xie walking past him as he knelt.
He did not show the panicked expression Lin Zishi had expected, as if those words didn’t affect him.
—How could this happen? L-Like the rules stipulated in the official book had no effect on him!
Suddenly, Lin Zishi’s eyes caught a glimpse of the potted plant next to where Jian Xie had stood before.
He suddenly stood there in a daze, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
If he saw it correctly, although the potted plant was broken, the burnt edge could still be vaguely seen…
His recommender told him that the Bureau did not plant these plants in the lobby for fun. They were there to eliminate the lingering scent of monsters from the employees who had come into direct contact with them.
After all, once you enter a predation field, it was equivalent to being marked by the monster and being eaten as food. The scent emitted would attract other living monsters to prey on you.
These plants, cultivated by the [Weapons Department], feed on the residual energy of monsters.
Jian Xie had only been standing here for a while, but the edge of the plant was mysteriously burnt…
Thinking of something, Lin Zishi’s breathing suddenly became rapid and his body began to tremble subconsciously. At the same time, his brain felt as if it had fallen into an icy abyss and he shivered uncontrollably.
Part 2 of Chapter 42 to be uploaded on Wednesday!
Translator Xena’s other works: https://ko-fi.com/xenatl/gallery
– Just click the pictures and the link will show <3
