Chapter 9: Serious Business

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“Business… what business?”

“Jinghua, the results from above are out. Your ability rating has been assessed as Class A, with a threat level of Weak D. From now on, you’ll be formally managed as an anomaly.”

“Ah… then, is there any change compared to before?”

“Nothing major, but you’ll need to undergo regular physical checkups, continue cooperating with our experiments, and if necessary, the organization may ask you in various ways to accompany us in containing other anomalies.” Lin Zhiyi swiped on her tablet and showed Liuli an interface.

On it was the final anomaly intelligence data the Containment Bureau had assigned to Liuli.

E-01-999, codename [Jinghua], anomaly ability rating: Provisional A, anomaly threat assessment: Weak D.

Ability speculated to be high-intensity damage avoidance. Can reflect anomaly suppression fields, ignore a certain degree of mental interference, and nullify all damage from medium-caliber firearm bursts.

Awaiting further testing.

“Hmm… what does this Class A mean? And Weak D…” Liuli scratched her head.

She didn’t understand the Containment Bureau’s evaluation standards, so naturally she didn’t know what these ratings meant.

“The anomaly ability rating is determined by the degree of reality modification. Right now, your ability hasn’t displayed enough Class A-level performance, but the instrument tests have reached that threshold, so it’s Provisional A. If you want a comparison for what other anomalies at Class A can do… roughly speaking, it’s at the level of being able to destroy a large city.”

“Weak D is the lowest rating. It means no threat or highly controllable, with little possibility of losing control.”

“In short, the higher-ups think your ability has great potential, and you’ve been very cooperative with our work… This is a good thing.”

“I see… then that’s great.” Liuli lowered her grayish-white little head and let out a sigh of relief.

Lisa stood up and leaned over toward Lin Zhiyi, her green eyes scanning Lin Zhiyi up and down.

White lab coat and women’s blouse, long skirt worn neatly below—nothing was out of place.

Her eyes… showed no signs of crying or fatigue either.

“Looks like the higher-ups didn’t give you a hard time.”

“…Indeed.”

“Oh right, I downloaded Hideo Kojima’s game. Do you want to play with Little White Bird?”

Lin Zhiyi glanced at Liuli.

Liuli’s pale gray eyes met hers for a moment, then both of them turned their heads away in unison.

“It’s almost mealtime… Jinghua, are you hungry?”

“Mm…” Liuli pressed her lips together to moisten them, making it more comfortable.

“I am a little hungry. I only had some porridge today after all.”

“What do you want to eat? I’ll order it for you on the terminal. You just got discharged, so don’t push yourself. Rest for a few days first.”

“Mm… I want curry rice.”

“Okay.” Lin Zhiyi nodded and opened her tablet to order curry rice for Liuli.

“Since you just got discharged, I won’t order anything spicy for you.”

Liuli nodded.

“That’s fine…”

Lisa raised her hand from the side.

“Hehe, I want some too! I want fried chicken cutlet!”

“Order it yourself.”

“Order it for me~”

“…Fine.”

Liuli curiously shifted her gaze back and forth between Lin Zhiyi and Lisa.

[Sister Zhiyi and Sister Lisa’s dynamic is so strange… but they seem to have a really good relationship.]

“The food’s ordered, so let’s get some drinks too! I’ll have cola! What does Little White Bird want?”

“Mm… milk tea, I guess… plain flavor is fine. Seventy percent sugar, less ice…”

“Oh? Little White Bird, you like plain milk tea?”

“Mm. Other milk teas have too many flavors going on, so it’s not as pure… I prefer a lot of things in their plain form.”

“I see~ Plain milk tea really is great~” Lisa placed her left hand on her right hip while propping up her other hand under her chin in a thinking pose.

“So for cola, do you prefer the red bottle or the blue bottle?”

“Uh, um…” A vague sense of dread welled up in Liuli’s chest.

It felt like if she answered wrong, a bunch of bread-men would pile out of black luxury cars from who-knows-where and beat her up.

“Mm… as long as it tastes good, right? After all, each has its own merits…”

“Right, right… Little Zhiyi, why have you been so quiet? I thought you were invisible.”

Lin Zhiyi, who had been quietly ordering food, got called out.

Her eyebrows raised slightly as she looked at Lisa.

“There’s no need for that. Weren’t you two having a lovely chat?”

“Join in too, come on~ It’s rare for the three of us to hang out in Little White Bird’s room. We might not have this much free time later~”

“Mm… Sister Lisa, what are you talking about…?”

“I’ll explain it to you instead. Lisa’s explanations are too scattered and messy.” Lin Zhiyi adjusted her glasses, walked over to a chair, and sat down.

She also pulled out a phone with a grayish-white frosted glass back from her lab coat pocket and handed it to Liuli.

“This phone was requested for you. The apps already installed can receive notifications from the containment facility, send various requests, and access bulletin boards across multiple channels… You can also download safe, registered apps from the store.”

Liuli took the phone.

The back panel was frosted glass, smooth and comfortable in her hand.

The sides had an unknown matte metal rounded-edge frame.

The overall size was a bit large for Liuli’s small hands—using it one-handed would probably be difficult.

“This involves our work content… I need to ask you first. Jinghua, are you willing to assist the Containment Bureau in containing and researching various anomalies? This may carry some danger, because we’re not certain of the exact extent your ability can reach.”

“Mm… if I’m willing, then I can help Sister Zhiyi and the others?”

“Yes.” A short but firm reply.

“Then, I’m willing… After all, the containment facility will keep providing for my daily needs from now on, right? This counts as a government job, doesn’t it… I can’t just eat and laze around, enjoying rights without fulfilling responsibilities.”

Lin Zhiyi gave Liuli a meaningful look.

“…Actually, there’s no such requirement for contained anomalies.”

“Then I’m still a citizen too…”

“You’re still a minor. Even if you need to fulfill responsibilities, it’s not now. No one can force you.”

“Ugh… but I want to help Sister Zhiyi and the others. After all, you’ve all been so good to me…”

Lin Zhiyi pinched the bridge of her nose.

This child… was too mature for her age.

Almost too mature.

Mature to the point it hurt to see.

“If it’s your own personal wish, then it’s allowed.”

“That’s right, that’s right~ Just like that~ Little White Bird, don’t be scared. At least in our Containment Site 37, there aren’t any high-danger anomalies.”

“Mm… in that case, I want to help Sister Zhiyi and the others. I’m willing to assist the Containment Bureau’s work…”

“Alright, I’ll continue then.”

“Mm…”

“The Containment Bureau’s structure is divided into multiple containment sites per region, and each site adjusts its role based on the current period. Site 37 was converted into a low-threat anomaly containment zone during the last restructuring.”

“The main personnel working at the containment sites are researchers, special operations officers, and logistics support staff. Lisa and I are researchers. Administrator is one of the duties a researcher can hold. Most of the time, researchers are responsible for researching and testing anomalies’ abilities, developing new usable technology, and managing and maintaining the stable state of anomalies.”

“Special operations officers are the combat personnel—typically well-trained individuals equipped with specialized gear. They mainly handle preliminary anomaly investigations, suppression, and containing disaster spread.”

“I won’t go into too much detail about special operations officers… Because researchers are assigned to different anomaly individuals, generally more dangerous or important individuals will have a researcher maintaining constant management and stability work.”

“But the higher-ups have high expectations for the practical application of your ability… They hope I can take you along to research and maintain stability for other anomaly individuals.”

“And on top of that, I need to submit the practical data we collect… There’s quite a lot of work to do.”

“Th-That’s how it is… But Sister Zhiyi, don’t you need to do development work?”

“I’m not at that level yet. Without permission from above, I can’t research freely.”

“Oh… Even someone as capable as Sister Zhiyi can’t?”

“I might be able to later… But for now, I still need you to cooperate with my work. Barring any surprises, they’ll start assigning Lisa and me new tasks within the next few days.”

“Mm… Then what can I help with?” Liuli clasped her hands behind her back, her fair, delicate little fingers rubbing against each other.

Lisa, standing behind her, saw the whole scene clearly.

[Little White Bird… so cute…]

Lisa’s lips curved into a long smile.

“We’ll discuss the specifics once we’re at the work site… If needed, you can check the notifications I send you on your phone, and you can use it to message me too.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Since you’ve agreed to assist, I’ll notify the higher-ups again. They’ll change your status from contained anomaly to assisting anomaly. You’ll have some permission to enter work areas on your own, though it’ll be restricted to the areas I need to go to for my regular work. You can also come find me in those places during normal hours.”

“Ding~”

The wall of Liuli’s room chimed.

A compartment opened in the wall, revealing the food Lin Zhiyi had just ordered.

“Ah… The food’s here.”

“Since it’s here, let’s eat first~ Little White Bird, you don’t need to be too nervous. The areas where you’ll be asked to assist won’t be too difficult. It’s mainly that individuals like you who are willing to assist with research are rare. With your damage-avoidance ability, once we run more tests, if we find derivative applications, it could prevent a lot of casualties.”

Casualties.

That word sounded so terrifying.

Just hearing it conjured images of blood, death, and terrible injuries.

Could she… help everyone avoid those things?

If that were the case, then a little hardship would be worth it.