Translation: Xena
After sending Minister Zhang back, Jian Xie ran into the only Special A-level investigator he had never spoken to yet downstairs.
The young man sat on the exercise equipment in the center of the community, carrying a long black cloth strip on his back. The moment Jian Xie glanced his way, he realized that Jian Xie had arrived. He immediately turned around to look at him, his expression very indifferent.
He was more perceptive than one might imagine when it came to eye contact.
Just like when he met him at the meeting not long ago, the other was extremely taciturn—a stark contrast to the children climbing and playing around him—and had a very calm demeanor.
Seeing that he was staring at him, Jian Xie narrowed his eyes and walked over to sit on the swing next to him.
“Including travel time, it only took half a day.”
He glanced up at from the floor, then fixed his gaze on Jian Xie. “You are really strong.”
Since becoming a temporary worker at the Supernatural Management Bureau and coming into contact with numerous investigators, Jian Xie had long been immune to such praise and didn’t find anything special about it.
“……”
Seeing that he didn’t pick up on the topic, the young man paused and introduced himself. “Hello, Jian Xie, my name is Wen Heshu.”
His status as a A-level investigator goes without saying. He assumed the other party was already well aware of it.
Jian Xie got straight to the point. “Is there some mission that requires our cooperation?”
Upon hearing this, Wen Heshu’s usually indifferent face couldn’t help but reveal a look of surprise.
On the one hand, he was surprised by Jian Xie’s attitude of taking the task without any burden, and on the other hand, he was taken aback by the sharpness with which he tore through social facade to get straight to the heart of the matter.
However, this did relieve him, as this reaction saved him a lot of trouble when it came to explain what had happened.
“Minister Zhang explained the situation to me, arranged the next mission, and asked me to wait for you here. I’ve checked the surrounding area and there are no monsters. You can speak frankly.”
So that was why she borrowed his phone on the high-speed train.
Jian Xie nodded, placed his hands on the ropes on both sides and gripped them, causing the swing he was sitting on to sway slightly.
But the youth still had an impassive expression, showing no signs of enjoying the swing. This made Wen Heshu relax a little, thinking to himself that he was still just a child.
“Is it related to the first three districts?” Jian Xie asked.
“……Hm.”
There’s a reason why Jian Xie said it so bluntly.
Xu Yujin had previously hinted that these high-level investigators were frequently assigned to the first three districts to clear monsters, and rarely had time to return to headquarters.
Of course, there may also be a reason to deliberately divert their attention to prevent them from discovering that there was something wrong within the Management Bureau.
However, the fact that this method could be used did demonstrate the harshness of the environment in the first three districts.
“Minister Zhang has instructed that you will be accompanying me on this new enforcement mission.” Wen Heshu said, “It’ll be this Friday will take about two days. You can still make it back for class on Monday. Don’t bring too many unnecessary things, just a small backpack will do.”
As for the props and tools, he would prepare them at that time.
Going on a mission was not the kind of paid vacation that ordinary people imagine. For investigators going to the three districts, it was a very energy-consuming task.
After all, the monsters there were aggressive. Even if an investigator wasn’t their target, they would still take the initiative to attack and eliminate all the investigators in the area.
It was common for monsters to appear at any time in the middle of the night, forcing people to temporarily abandon their hotels and leave.
In addition, there were many Special A-level monsters there, who, like animals in primitive society, have each claimed their own territory and taken on human skin and identities, behaving just like a full-fledged criminal organization.
At this point, they not only use their abilities, but have also come up with strange and bizarre ways to torture the investigators.
Last time, a B-level investigator accidentally wandered into a territory and was stabbed to death in the middle of the city by humans acting on a monster’s orders. It even made the local news.
Although the monsters in this mission all have legitimate human social identities and shouldn’t be too arrogant, they still couldn’t let their guard down.
“……”
Jian Xie nodded.
Despite this, he gave off a feeling of listlessness, as if his attention was focused on what was behind him.
Wen Heshu took a look.
There was no one behind him, only a lush, green tree rustling in the wind.
At the same time, the swing on which Jian Xie was sitting made a slight creaking sound, seemingly moved by the wind.
“Perhaps Cheng Li taught you how to go on missions.” He frowned in confusion before saying, “But this time it’s different from what you can expect. I hope you can prepare well.”
Jian Xie glanced at him, silently waiting for his explanation.
“Minister Zhang has been skeptical about the so-called ‘origin of the game’ and ‘hell’ all along. She and I have reviewed a lot of files together and this explanation cannot simply explain why the game is integrated into reality, nor does it offer a way to send these monsters that do not belong to reality and defy the rules, back to hell.”
Dealing with the monsters was indeed necessary to protect the people, but solving the problem at its root was the primary task.
“It wasn’t until I accepted Cheng Li’s request and reviewed and modified your actual file that I had a new idea.”
Based on the audio recordings and written descriptions, Wen Heshu, as an investigator who had already encountered numerous monsters and anomalous objects, was able to definitively conclude one fact—
Before and after the car accident, Jian Xie was definitely affected by the mutation of a Special A-level anomalous object.
But what was the outcome?
His appearance remained unchanged, and he maintained a level of rationality rarely seen by investigators, even managing to ignore the anomaly and live a normal life for a year.
If it weren’t for that initial B-rank monster, Wen Heshu suspected that the other party could still have continued to live his life like before.
Upon further investigation of the files, he discovered that Fu Huanyu had come into contact with Jian Xie when a prop went out of control, abruptly interrupting the process transformation.
Wen Heshu had been observing him.
Perhaps Cheng Li was right; this young man possesses the ability to break the rules.
For those monsters that have virally invaded the living space of ordinary humans, Jian Xie was like a universal antibody, providing a glimmer of hope for ending the current predicament.
After all, he didn’t need to worry about the methods of those Special A-level monsters. With the threat of mental mutation removed, the monsters’ abilities were directly weakened by about 50%. In addition, with Jian Xie’s level suppression, Wen Heshu had no doubt that those monsters would not withstand even a casual strike from him.
After a long pause, he added, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the term ‘Eighteen Evils’ from Cheng Li.”
Jian Xie nodded.
“Does it exist?” He asked.
Eighteen Evils—
This was a term that has been ignored for too long, one that was mentioned only in passing, something people weren’t even sure existed.
It was said that the Eighteen Evils refer to the evil beings that even the eighteen levels of hell couldn’t contain. They were the rulers of hell and the masters of monsters.
When he first saw this title, his first reaction was that it referred to the evil god, since the monsters’ attitude towards It was already quite obvious.
But he soon realized that It could not be the “Eighteen Evils”.
First of all, although Qin Zhuo claimed that he had awakened from hell, he has always had a contemptuous attitude towards hell, which was very much like a lawless outlaw.
The most crucial point was the name the monsters used to address him.
If it were merely a matter of authority, it would be unlikely to make those monsters, who lacked any organization, discipline, or loyalty, willingly offer up [sacrifices]. Since monsters and investigators were very similar, and using humans as an analogy, even the absolute rulers of ancient times were never sincerely called gods by all their subjects.
There was a high probability that this “Eighteen Evils” was just a monster whose level exceeded Special A-level.
After all, the game was from a long time ago, and this was just a retelling from the first few lucky survivors who were thoroughly terrified. There was a possibility that it was exaggerated.
Wen Heshu nodded gently.
“We think it’s very likely.” The monster assumed Minister Zhang was doomed, so it didn’t avoid speaking to her.
Once monsters get arrogant, they were just as bad as some investigators. Indeed, inherent flaws are universal.
“It mentioned several of the monsters’ gathering that were held at the behest of another partner, including their aborted plans.”
“……”
Wen Heshu continued, “Our enforcement action this time was to talk to the monsters on the list who might know about this, so we can track down this collaborator.”
But, monster? Polite cooperation?
It was important to understand that monsters were not shy about killing each other, since they lack human morality.
Such a polite and obedient attitude could only lead them to think of the “Eighteen Evils,” since even if it was an exaggeration, there was still a possibility that the ruler was involved.
Thinking of this, Jian Xie paused.
The word “cooperation”… was a bit of a loaded one.
This term was usually used when referring to equal parties.
But the monster was so docile, and Wu Qinghe—a cowardly fence-sitter who would never put himself in danger without some kind of backup—would never have gotten himself into trouble, creating a stark contrast.
Wait a minute, speaking of Wu Qinghe—
In front of him, Wen Heshu had finished explaining the mission and was about to leave.
But suddenly, he remembered something and stopped himself from getting up.
“I heard from Cheng Li that you have been in contact with Wu Qinghe.” He frowned and looked at Jian Xie. “That monster mentioned… did you know it was a Special A-level monster?”
Jian Xie: “…”
Sure enough, those who waver in their beliefs are always in danger of falling flat on their faces.
However, that monster really did say everything, treating Minister Zhang like family.’
Hopefully, Wu Qinghe was ready.
Mistaking his silence for shock, Wen Heshu softened his expression and said calmly: “You’ve just joined the Management Bureau and are quite young, so it’s normal that you don’t know some things. Don’t blindly trust any investigator. If Wu Qinghe reappears, I hope you won’t show any mercy.”
Its account has been immediately deleted and it has been added to the wanted list.
Jian Xie, “Hm
Seeing that he seemed to have recovered from the shock, Wen Heshu handed him a brown paper bag, his expression serious and brows slightly furrowed. “This is the list of enforcement targets for this operation. You can take a look beforehand to prepare yourself and avoid too much psychological pressure… I will contact you on Friday.”
After saying that, he left without further ado.
……
Once the person had walked away and was out of sight, Jian Xie looked back again.
He said, “Want to swing?”
Wen Heshu was unaware of how wrong he was when he said that there was nothing in the the surrounding area.
Because the biggest threat was standing right behind Jian Xie.
When Qin Zhuo didn’t want anyone to see him, even if the black fog was so thick that it obscured the view, no one would notice anything unusual.
He leaned down and rested his chin on the other’s shoulder, pushing the swing forward a little more.
The other party’s posture was so intimate and natural that Jian Xie had become somewhat used to it and was completely unaware of how dangerous the distance between them was.
“Do you?” Qin Zhuo asked, a slight smile playing on his lips, his cool breath brushing against the side of the person’s neck. “I can push you.”
Jian Xie: “…”
It seemed that Qin Zhuo was enjoying himself, and he wasn’t unwilling to cooperate.
But when he thought about how the swing could move and how this unsolved mystery might cause psychological trauma to other passersby, he regretfully gave up.
“I think it’s better not to,” He said, pulling the document from his leather pocket, “I’ll take a look at the list here, and then we’ll go back.”
Jian Xie consumed some of the Special A-level monsters present at the meeting, and he had been feeling a strange sensation in his body, making him want to go back and try out the third dagger.
Although it was not certain that he’ll be able to pick it up.
Besides, he skipped all his classes today.
He hoped that all the teachers would be kind enough to refrain from assigning homework today, considering they had the parent-teacher conference.
Otherwise, Qin Zhuo’s speech about being an outstanding guardian would be humiliated because he couldn’t hand in his homework the next day…
Surprisingly, although the leather bag was quite large, it actually contained only a thin sheet of A4 paper.
There were only three names and the mission location listed above.
It was only in that instant of seeing it clearly that Jian Xie realized why Wen Heshu had told him not to put too much psychological pressure on himself.
He had heard of all three of them.
A popular celebrity was about to hold a concert in a venue with a capacity of 10,000.
An Industry financial tycoon will give a public speech on entrepreneurship at a prestigious university, with thousands of students in attendance.
Finally, a rising star novelist will make his first appearance at a book signing event, which will be broadcast live by numerous media outlets.
What they have in common was that they were all from B City .
Given their social status and influence, it was unlikely that they would voluntarily expose themselves to the Bureau.
There was only one possibility left: these monsters must have let something slip.
Jian Xie: “…”
From the looks of it, Wu Qinghe, you don’t seem to be doing too well, do you?
Despite his complaints, Jian Xie suddenly had a bad feeling when he saw these three names.
Can he and Wen Heshu really avoid so many cameras and eyes and seize the opportunity to “talk” with these three A-level monsters?
The drawbacks of an overly developed modern society were now on full display.
It seemed so easy, but it would lead to social death.
