Chapter 17: Report

Underground in City A, the Starfall Society branch.

White Li hurried in, pushing open the hall door while panting heavily.

The door hinges let out a dull creak, echoing in the empty room.

“Uh… good afternoon, Madam…”

White Li leaned against the doorframe, trying to catch her breath.

The Madam smiled and waved at her, her eyes crinkling into a pleasant shape behind her mask.

“You came quite quickly. Have a seat and rest first.”

“Thank you…”

White Li glanced around the hall and chose a seat somewhat distant from the Madam.

Not too close, not too far—showing respect without being too oppressive.

As soon as she sat down, a teacup floated gently toward her, landing steadily in front of her.

White Li picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

“Pah pah… it’s so hot…”

She stuck out her tongue, put the cup down, and fanned her mouth with her hand.

While waiting, she recalled what had happened not long ago.

At the entrance of the government affairs hall, just after she hung up the Madam’s call, Lin Du came running back with the drinks he had bought.

He handed her the drink, then turned and ran off with an anxious look on his face.

She asked what was wrong, but Lin Du just said there was an emergency at home, practically sprinting away as if he wanted to fly.

An emergency at home?

What kind of emergency could be that urgent?

As she was pondering, the hall’s large door was pushed open again.

It was Martha. She was still wearing that black robe, walking in with an expressionless face, each step carrying an invisible pressure.

“Everyone’s here, let’s begin.”

The Madam clapped her hands, and several lines of text materialized out of thin air on the letter paper in front of White Li.

“Currently, progress in other cities is going very smoothly,” the Madam’s tone was still lazy, but White Li detected an unusual heaviness in it, “Therefore, the King is… very dissatisfied with our performance.”

With those words, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees.

The candle lamps on the walls flickered on and off, adding a gloomy atmosphere to the entire room.

Even the air became thick and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

White Li lowered her head to look at the letter paper, swallowed, and didn’t dare to look up.

It wasn’t really their fault, though.

She silently complained in her heart.

So many of the old monster cadres had either been eliminated by the Blazing Knight or contained.

Those who survived to this day were all hiding and being extremely cautious.

If categorized by game difficulty, City A was definitely hell-level difficulty.

It’s all the Blazing Knight’s fault!

Why is the Blazing Knight so awful!

Always fighting and killing, can’t he just calm down for a bit?

“But—”

The Madam changed her tone, the drawn-out ending pulling White Li’s thoughts back.

“Today, our situation will completely reverse.”

White Li’s eyes lit up, and she blurted out, “Has backup from headquarters arrived?”

She rubbed her hands together excitedly.

If a few powerful cadres could come, life would be much easier from now on.

At least they wouldn’t have to be chased and beaten by the Blazing Knight every time, wouldn’t have to flee in disarray every time.

The Madam didn’t answer, just tilted her chin slightly toward the direction of the door.

“Come in.”

The large door was pushed open again.

A massive shadow emerged from behind the door, almost filling the entire doorway.

The shadow slowly walked into the hall. Under the candlelight, White Li finally got a clear look at the other’s appearance.

“Why is it you again?!” White Li’s eyes widened, and she almost jumped up from her seat, “Did you go to the gym?!”

The Yellow-Haired Monster stood in the center of the hall, vastly different from the last time they met.

His size had more than doubled; his originally hunched body now resembled a small mountain.

On his dark purple skin, sharp bone spikes protruded from his shoulders, elbows, and spine like natural armor, tightly wrapping around his vital areas.

His limbs had thickened by a full circle, and even his claws were sharper than before.

Without a doubt, this guy had evolved again.

“You’ve met?” The Madam raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the two.

“We met before, in an alley,” the Yellow-Haired Monster’s voice held a bit more reason now.

His gaze fell on White Li, devoid of anger or killing intent.

It was as if he was looking at a stranger, or perhaps at a fellow being.

Then, he walked straight over to stand behind Martha, obediently lowering his head.

White Li hunched her shoulders, goosebumps rising all over.

This guy… his change is too drastic, right?

Just a few days ago, he was a beast that only knew how to pounce and bite wildly, but now he can speak normally and control his emotions?

She stole a glance at Martha, who stood in front of Yellow-Hair.

Should I say, as expected of her?

She can even tame a thug like this, just what has she been conditioning him into?

“First, welcome our new member,” the Madam cleared her throat.

She waved her hand, and the patterns on the letter paper in front of her began to change.

The text gradually faded, replaced by the outline of a tall tower.

“Secondly,” the Madam’s tone became serious, “this will be a gift we present to the King.”

“To turn this city,”

Her finger lightly tapped the spire on the letter paper. A faint blue flame instantly ignited, reducing the paper to ashes.

“into our paradise.”

—

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.

Knock knock knock.

Lin Du knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

A vigorous voice came from inside.

He pushed the door open and entered the office.

The room wasn’t large but was neatly organized.

The bookshelves were filled with various archive boxes. A detailed map of City A hung on the wall, marked with various symbols in red pen.

On the office chair by the window sat an elderly man with white hair.

He looked very old, his hair completely white, his face covered in wrinkles, his eye sockets sunken.

But those eyes were still sharp, like an eagle’s, seeming to pierce through flesh and see into one’s heart when he looked at you.

His voice was loud, his back straight, the whole man exuding an air of refusing to grow old.

“Have a seat first,” the old man pointed to the chair opposite.

Lin Du sat down as instructed.

“There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news,” the old man crossed his legs, folding his hands on his knees, “Which do you want to hear first?”

Lin Du thought for a moment and replied, “The good news first.”

“The good news is…” the old man stood up, straightened his collar, and cleared his throat, “Starting today, we will be independently separated from the military system.”

He paused, satisfied to see a look of surprise on Lin Du’s face.

“From now on, we are called the ‘Abnormal Affairs Bureau’.”

“The Abnormal Affairs Bureau…?” Lin Du chewed on the name.

“That’s right,” the old man walked back to the window, pointing at the map on the wall, “Including the monster containment facilities, containment teams, and intelligence network—all will be under our unified command.”

He turned around to look at Lin Du.

“And you, you are the backbone of our bureau.”

“…That is indeed good news.”

Lin Du was silent for a few seconds, then nodded, his tone calm.

The old man, not getting the reaction he expected, sat back down somewhat disappointed.

“What? Not excited?”

He spread his hands, a touch of frustration in his tone.

“Do you know what this means? It means you can become the second-in-command of this bureau right after graduation. Second-in-command! It took me thirty whole years to climb to this position!”

Lin Du looked at him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

“That’s really too much undeserved favor,” he said, “I’m just a soldier. I don’t understand those things.”

“But you are a soldier who protects this city,” the old man waved his hand, leaning back in his chair, “That’s more important than anything.”

“Next is the bad news.”

His expression suddenly turned serious, his entire demeanor changing.

“Last night, we lost five colleagues from the containment teams.”

Lin Du’s eyes darkened.

“That human-turned-monster,” the old man lowered his head, looking at his own hands, “seems to have become stronger. Right now, we can’t locate him. We’re very passive.”

“What about his two accomplices? How are they? Any leads?”

“Progress is very slow at the moment,” the old man shook his head, “Their genes have been completely rewritten by some kind of power. It’s something our current technology is completely incapable of. The technical department is researching it, but…”

He sighed, not continuing.

Lin Du was silent for a while, then said, “I understand. Keep me informed if there are any developments. I’ll also patrol around more recently, maybe I can find some clues.”

The old man looked up at him, a trace of concern in his eyes.

“Your body… are you alright?”

“After all, your Knight System was hastily made,” he weighed his words, looking out the window, “We still don’t know what side effects long-term transformation might have.”

Lin Du met his gaze and answered righteously, “I’m fine.”

He stood up and waved his hand, “Thanks for your concern… Director.”

With that, he pushed the door open and walked out.

Behind him came the old man’s laughter, “Ah! Good lad! I love that title! Hahaha—”

Lin Du stood in the corridor, listening to the laughter, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Then he walked to the windowsill at the end of the corridor and stopped.

The setting sun was sinking in the west, dyeing the entire city a warm orange.

He rolled up his sleeve and looked down.

On his left arm, a layer of transparent scales refracted a rainbow of colors in the sunset light.

Thin, soft, as if they had just grown out from beneath the skin.

He stared at those scales for a long time.

Then he lowered his sleeve and turned to go downstairs.

—