Bureau of Paranormal Investigation

After leaving a few people behind to clean up the mess at the hospital, Sun Fatty led a large team back to the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. He originally wanted to drag Yang Xiao and me along, but I still had several tests scheduled for the next day and was about to start physical rehabilitation. Still, seeing how I could now run and jump around, I began to wonder—did I even need rehab anymore?

Besides, there were still more than a hundred pseudo-dead patients in the hospital. If Yang Xiao just left, what would happen to them? With his utter disregard for human life, he clearly didn't care. I used the excuse that Lin Feng might come back for a second strike and stubbornly kept Yang Xiao from leaving. Not until the sun had fully risen and the pseudo-dead began waking up did I finally feel relieved.

After wrapping up things at the Bureau, Sun Fatty rushed back to the hospital. And to his credit, Yang Xiao did stick around too. He and Sun Fatty stayed with me in the hospital for another three days. After dozens of medical tests, my health report finally came out. Despite falling from a great height two years ago—causing damage to nearly 80% of my bones—and spending the past two years in a coma, nearly vegetative, my current physical condition was no different from that of a normal person. In fact, in terms of organ and skeletal health, I was slightly better than average.

The elderly doctor in charge of my rehabilitation rubbed his eyes several times while holding my report, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He kept asking whether I was really the same person who had fallen from a height two years ago and broken nearly every bone in his body.

With the health report in hand, I finally returned to the Bureau. News of my awakening three days ago had already spread through the entire Bureau. Even fellow investigators I used to be on good terms with—Xiong Wanyi and Ximen Lian—had come to the hospital to visit. But since Director Qiu had just passed away, none of them were in a good mood. Especially Xiong Wanyi, who saw Qiu Bulao as a personal idol—when he heard that Lin Feng had shown up at the hospital a few days ago, he glared straight at Sun Fatty and scolded him for not letting him come to stand guard over me.

Out of respect for the late Qiu Bulao, Sun Fatty didn't argue with Xiong Wanyi. With Lao Mo and Ximen Lian quickly changing the subject, the matter was smoothed over.

Sister Lu was waiting for me at the gate and took me straight to Director Gao Liang's office. Though it had only been two years, Director Gao had aged a lot—his once-black hair was now more than half white. But his energy was just as lively as ever, smiling the same way he used to. If someone didn't know better, they'd think he and Sun Fatty were father and son.

I originally thought he'd ask me about what happened two years ago. I hadn't slept a wink the night before, trying to piece together the events of that night—how Lin Feng attacked, how Po Jun and Wang Ziheng were killed. I even wrote a detailed report about it.

But Gao Liang didn't touch the subject at all. He accepted the report without even looking at it. All he asked was whether my injuries had fully healed, and then he urged me to try persuading Xiao Heshang to return to the Bureau. At the end, he smiled at me and said, "Your return has finally relieved Sun Desheng of his burden. He's been managing Room Six for you these past two years. You know Wu Rendi's bear-like temper—Sun Desheng holding out this long is already quite the feat."

After a brief pause, Gao Liang looked at me, still smiling. "Alright, go find your Director Wu in Room Six. Seems he's got something to talk to you about too."

Luckily, the news about my hair turning white had already made the rounds three days ago. As I left the director's office, the people who saw me gave me face and didn't point or whisper in front of me. Behind my back though, I still heard murmurs:"See? I told you so. Shen La and Old Wu are cut from the same mold. Back when he had black hair, you couldn't tell—but look at him now, white-haired, same hairline too.""Changing the hairstyle didn't fool anyone. That was just overdoing it.""Now you know why, out of everyone in the Bureau, he's the one who became Deputy Director of Room Six…"

I was just about to turn around and see which bored idiots were whispering when a familiar voice rang out:"Seriously, don't you all have something better to do? If your balls are that itchy, I'll assign you some work. Keep yapping, and I'll personally send you to scrub toilets."Sun Fatty had arrived just in time, scolding the busybodies and chasing them off.

Sun Fatty was on his way to Room Six to look for the Two Yangs, so we went the same way. Maybe worried I was taking it too hard, he tried to cheer me up as we walked. "Lazi, don't let it get to you. These people are just jealous. Everyone in the Bureau knows what white hair really means. They've got no shot at it themselves, so they just grumble behind your back to let off steam. Not that I'm judging, but you really ought to work on your temper. Wu Rendi aside, you should learn a thing or two from the Two Yangs—both of them have white hair, and no one dares say a word about it. One glare from those two, and who doesn't shiver?"

Thinking of the way the Two Yangs carried themselves, I sighed and said, "I doubt I'll ever have their kind of presence in this life." Then something came to mind. I paused, glanced at Sun Fatty, and asked, "Da Sheng, you're looking for the Two Yangs—did you hear something new about Lin Feng? Should we let Director Wu know?"

Sun Fatty waved his hand. "No need to bother Director Wu over such a small matter." He paused, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice and said, "Those two brothers of ours need money. I found them a little side job." His expression turned a bit odd as he glanced at me. "Lazi, how about joining in too? A fifth of the cut is quite a bit."

His words startled me. So now that he's flattened out Room Six, he's pulling the Two Yangs into side gigs? That was bold—too bold. "Seriously? You're doing side jobs now? What if Lin Feng shows up again? And what's this about a fifth? Don't we still have to deduct the Bureau's construction fees?"

"Let Lin Feng worry about saving his own skin first," Sun Fatty said dismissively. "That parasitic thing of Da Yang's alone is enough to keep him busy. And besides, his wife and kid are under Bureau control. He won't dare to act recklessly. Say what you want, but the guy's got brains. After pulling off something that big, he didn't even try to escape with his family—probably didn't want to risk exposing himself. With his wife and kid as leverage, at least he won't be threatening people with demon acid every other day."

Sun Fatty stopped there, clearly not wanting to dwell on Lin Feng any further. He changed the subject and answered my second question. "As for the Two Yangs doing side work, they never actually signed any contract when they joined the Bureau. Technically, they're temps—not official Bureau personnel. So the construction fund deductions don't apply to them. Come on, Lazi, let's make some money together. And don't give me that look… Relax. Even if Gao Laoda finds out, it won't matter. I already gave Wu Rendi a silent shareholder's cut. Now you know why your portion's a fifth."

I clicked my tongue in amazement. Sun Fatty really had thought this through—he even had a fallback plan in case Gao Liang got wind of it. Still, I couldn't figure one thing out. "Are the Two Yangs really that desperate for money? After all these years, they must have some savings."

Sun Fatty gave me a squinty grin. "Come on. After living that long, even a mountain of gold and silver can be spent. And neither of them are the type to save. Yang Jun's always drifting at sea, and Yang Xiao's been running from his uncle for years—where's the time or energy to build a life or invest in anything? Now both of them are suddenly eager to make money. One wants to pave the way for his boss on the Phantom Vessel of the Blood Sea to come ashore—buying property, starting a business. The other one wants to fulfill a lifelong dream for his wife—buy a private island just for the two of them. Anyway, with his wife not yet of age, Yang Xiao's got his hands full."

After wrapping up the Two Yangs' situation, Sun Fatty kept trying to rope me into his little crew. With the Two Yangs handling the work and Wu Rendi backing us, this kind of opportunity was too good to pass up.

We chatted as we walked, and before long, we reached the door of Room Six. Sun Fatty didn't go in immediately—he poked his head in to take a look. Yang Xiao wasn't there, so he called out for Yang Jun. While we waited for Yang Jun to come out, I turned to Sun Fatty and said, "Da Sheng, what's with the sneaking around? If you've got something to say, let's go inside and say it."

"Ask your Director Wu," Sun Fatty snorted. "He's the one who banned me from stepping foot in Room Six. I'm telling you, it's just like with Ouyang Pianzuo's archives—same deal. Have you ever seen a more stifled deputy director?"

I was about to ask what trouble he'd stirred up this time when Yang Xiao came out. He hadn't changed much in the past two years—except he was now better dressed. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Sun Fatty immediately pulled him into a corner to whisper something. Looked like they were discussing the side job again. I had nothing to contribute, so after nodding to Sun Fatty, I walked into Room Six and headed toward Wu Rendi's office.

I knocked, got a response, and pushed the door open.

Wu Rendi was inside, lounging in his chair with both legs propped up on the desk, half-sitting, half-reclining, casually flipping through an old, yellowed thread-bound book. I clearly saw the title on the cover: The Nether Codex. I had seen this book two years ago, and to think—it still wasn't finished.

Forcing a smile, I said, "Director Wu, I heard from Director Gao that you had something to tell me?"He looked up, tossed The Nether Codex onto the desk, gave me a once-over, and—ignoring my question entirely—said in his usual sharp, sarcastic tone, "When I gave you that seed, I thought it'd help you grow a little. Guess I was wrong. That seed's exactly the same now as it was when I gave it to you. I'm not expecting a towering tree overnight, but sprouting at least? Was that seed cooked before I gave it to you? Or did you just digest it?"

Two years had passed, but Wu Rendi's personality hadn't changed at all. Every word from his mouth still felt like being flayed with a dull knife. Still, the fact that he even mentioned the seed confirmed that I hadn't dreamed it up—he really did place that "seed" into my chest that night.

I clenched my jaw and endured Wu Rendi's "lecture." I had originally wanted to ask him what the seed actually was, but now I had no desire to bring it up. After he finished, I let out a long breath and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll just get out of your way—"

"I didn't say there's nothing else," Wu Rendi cut in with a sideways glance.

Then he stood up and said, "Come with me. I'll show you what a deputy director of Room Six is supposed to do." Without waiting to see if I understood, he headed straight out the door. I had no choice but to follow a few steps behind him.

Once we exited Room Six, I noticed that Sun Fatty and Yang Jun were already gone. Most likely, they'd anticipated Wu Rendi would be coming out and left early.

Wu Rendi made a beeline for the elevator. Reluctantly, I got in with him. Just like last time with Gao Liang, he used a strand of Dragonwhisker to open the door to the fourth basement level. Once inside, Wu Rendi remained silent, walking ahead of me without a word. I followed him all the way to the junction between the fourth and fifth sublevels. Only then did Wu Rendi turn back and glance at me.

"Follow exactly in my footsteps. One wrong step, and not even I can bring you back."