Chapter 97

Chapter 97

The new members had only just arrived in Future City and had not had time to arrange their living quarters, so Ling Fang temporarily put them in the lounges on the second floor.

The normally silent office instantly became lively. Xie Qingling had gained five roommates in a single breath.

Of the five newcomers, Li Tiantian was a seasoned veteran. She had extensive experience dealing with ghosts and monsters, but she had only just arrived and was unfamiliar with many of Future City’s marked locations. She needed someone experienced to show her around.

The job naturally fell to Ling Fang.

As for the remaining four interns, Xie Qingling and the others could each mentor one. There were exactly enough to go around.

Xie Qingling was assigned Zhao Qiming, the Awakened who had not yet received a blessing.

Zhao Qiming had chosen her himself.

Ever since hearing Xie Qingling’s far-from-ordinary introduction, Zhao Qiming’s eyes had sparkled whenever he looked at her, his face brimming with admiration. When Ling Fang said that each intern could choose a Senior to mentor them, Zhao Qiming immediately hurried to Xie Qingling’s side. “I’ll go with Big Sis Qingling.”

Everyone looked at him.

Zhao Qiming seemed not to notice. He declared proudly, “If I stay close to Big Sis Qingling and soak up some of her divine aura, maybe I’ll receive a progenitor deity’s blessing too!”

Big Sis Qingling… Now that was shameless flattery.

Which of them was older here?

Dai Xingyu corrected him. “No, no. I’ve seen your files. Xie Qingling is younger than you.”

“So what?” Zhao Qiming said. “We don’t rank seniority by age. Big Sis Qingling joined before I did, so she’s my Senior. What’s wrong with calling her that? It makes perfect sense.”

Dai Xingyu fell silent.

Lu Ying, who had originally wanted to choose Xie Qingling too, gave a soft snort. A trace of displeasure crossed her face. “You’re something else…”

Lu Ying’s gaze swept over Shen Huaizhou. After hesitating several times, she ultimately chose Dai Xingyu, who looked the most harmless and easiest to get along with.

Yao Yuxue said to Yao Qiang, “You choose first, little brother.”

Yao Qiang did not want to choose Shen Huaizhou either. Shen looked aloof, wore women’s clothes, had bizarre interests, and did not seem the least bit easy to get along with. But…

His sister did not want to choose him either, did she?

In that case, he would shoulder all the pain and suffering himself.

On the verge of tears, Yao Qiang chose Shen Huaizhou.

Yao Yuxue teamed up with Ye Anran.

Ling Fang stayed in the office to familiarize Li Tiantian with the files. The other eight split into pairs and headed out on their respective assignments.

Xie Qingling’s patrol destination that day was the Water Resources Bureau.

A Substitute Water Ghost had recently appeared in Future City, so Ling Fang ordered them to thoroughly patrol every river channel, reservoir, and similar location to prevent accidents.

On the way, Zhao Qiming asked, “Big Sis Qingling, how did you become a full member? I looked through the Department’s files yesterday and saw that you passed probation before your three months were up. Can you give me a few tips?”

How had she passed probation?

Could she say that her performance had been so outstanding that she passed probation early?

Then she remembered all the self-criticisms she had written. Better not to say anything like that. It would look terrible when her carefully crafted image collapsed later.

Xie Qingling said, “Becoming a full member is simple. You have to prove your ability, your allegiance, and your resolve.”

Zhao Qiming followed behind her, mulling over those words.

He asked, “Ability and allegiance are easy enough to understand. Once I receive a blessing, I’ll gain a divine ability. And of course my allegiance is to the Department. But what about resolve? What kind of resolve do you mean?”

Xie Qingling smiled mysteriously. “That’s part of the exam. I can’t disclose it.”

Zhao Qiming: “…”

Not even one useful hint?

A trace of disappointment appeared on Zhao Qiming’s face. When the motorcycle stopped outside the Water Resources Bureau, he followed Xie Qingling inside.

The bureau’s staff rarely saw anyone from the Special Incident Response Department. All they knew was that someone would be coming to conduct an inspection that day; they had no idea what was being inspected. Xie Qingling spent some time going through security at the entrance before she was allowed inside.

Zhao Qiming asked, “Has the Water Resources Bureau ever been marked?”

Coming from headquarters, Zhao Qiming had a basic understanding of the Department’s procedures for handling special incidents. Unlike Xie Qingling when she had first joined, he was not completely ignorant of the supernatural world.

“No. Special incidents almost never happen here.”

The Water Resources Bureau enshrined a tablet to Yu the Great, which deterred ordinary demons and ghosts and kept them from approaching.

The patrol had been assigned here today partly out of consideration for the intern.

“Then why…”

“To be safe, of course.”

Xie Qingling strode briskly ahead. “Follow me.”

“All right.”

The first day of work went smoothly.

After spending more time with Zhao Qiming, Xie Qingling discovered that the bastard had no shame. He was somewhat like the brooding show-off Shen Huaizhou: both were obsessed with becoming stronger and willing to abandon all dignity to achieve it.

No, that was not quite right. Shen Huaizhou still cared a little about maintaining his image. Zhao Qiming, on the other hand, had no trouble calling Xie Qingling “Big Sis” again and again despite being older than her. All she could say was that his skin was thick enough to rival a city wall.

Future City remained quiet for several days in a row. The Department members encountered no special incidents.

After the Eleventh Realm’s plan to strip Hariti of her divinity and lead her into darkness failed, they appeared to have abandoned Future City as a foothold. For the time being, they made no further moves.
Not only had no one from the Eleventh Realm appeared, even the minor ghosts that used to surface unexpectedly from time to time were gone.

Future City seemed to have returned to being the peaceful city where only a handful of special incidents occurred in an entire year.

The reinforcements from headquarters also greatly eased the staffing shortage. All at once, the employees of Future City’s Special Incident Response Department had much more leisure than before.

–

The weather grew colder by the day.

Autumn wind howled past. The leaves on the trees lining both sides of the street had begun to yellow, and a few impatient ones had already fallen.

It heralded the coming of winter. Warm afternoon sunlight had become a scarce luxury. Just as Xie Qingling was basking in a patch of golden sun, a Department member’s call for help sounded through her earpiece.

“Director, we’ve encountered an evil ghost that died in a car accident and refuses to leave the road. It can cause crashes and has created quite a disturbance, but fortunately no one has been hurt so far.” It was Dai Xingyu.

Ling Fang considered this for a moment. “Your position is fairly close to Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou. I’ll send them to reinforce you. Once they arrive, follow Xie Qingling’s orders in everything.”

Evil spirits of this kind were often formed from the resentment of people unwilling to accept their deaths. Although they wanted to harm others, they had not been ghosts for long and possessed limited power. There was no need to mobilize the entire Department against one. Either Xie Qingling or Shen Huaizhou alone would be more than enough.

“Understood.”

Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou both acknowledged the order.

Xie Qingling then turned her motorcycle around and headed for Dai Xingyu’s coordinates with Zhao Qiming.

“Everyone, hold your positions,” Xie Qingling told the members of the small team. “Use Killing Field to contain the evil ghost first. Avoid a direct confrontation if possible and prioritize your own safety. Once the other members are in position, move in for the kill.”

The motorcycle sped on. Yet even after rushing all the way to the coordinates Dai Xingyu had sent, Xie Qingling discovered that the fight was already over.

Lu Ying and Yao Qiang stood over the road ghost as it lay wailing on the ground. One wielded a saber and the other a gun, and they were bombarding it with attacks.

Xie Qingling arched a brow. She looked at Shen Huaizhou standing off to one side with his arms folded, then at Dai Xingyu’s tearful expression. “It’s over?”

Dai Xingyu nodded.

“Why didn’t either of you stop them?”

Dai Xingyu said, “I… I couldn’t.”

Xie Qingling turned her gaze to Shen Huaizhou.

Shen Huaizhou folded his arms and raised a brow. “Why should I have stopped them? It’s perfectly normal for newcomers to make a few mistakes, isn’t it?”

Xie Qingling: “…”

Zhao Qiming had no idea what had happened, but his instincts told him this would be an excellent time to keep his mouth shut.

“You took too long to get here.” Lu Ying had already hacked the evil ghost to death. With a bloodstained great saber resting on her shoulder, she radiated the exhilaration and swagger of someone fresh from victory.

It was Yu Wei’s saber, Karma-Cleaver. Lu Ying also happened to fight with a saber, so the weapon had been assigned to her.

Xie Qingling approached with a smile. She looked first at Yao Qiang, who seemed shy but proud, then at the brazenly confident Lu Ying, and finally at the slain evil ghost. Slowly, she nodded. “Excellent. You both did very well. You’re strong, too.”

Lu Ying wore an expression that said, Obviously. Yao Qiang smiled bashfully as well.

Zhao Qiming watched from behind Xie Qingling with envy. Why hadn’t he encountered this evil ghost? Perhaps he could have put on a good show too, proving his ability, allegiance, and resolve.

“Go back and submit a self-criticism. Copy the work regulations five times as well,” Xie Qingling said with a smile.

Yao Qiang’s pride vanished. Lu Ying’s swagger vanished. Zhao Qiming’s envy vanished too.

Lu Ying asked incredulously, “Why?! We defeated the evil ghost! Shouldn’t we be rewarded for our contribution? Why do we have to write self-criticisms?!”

“You should be rewarded for your contribution. That’s why I praised you just now.” Xie Qingling’s expression turned stern. “But… who gave you permission to act on your own? Didn’t you hear my order?”

“But…” Lu Ying protested, unwilling to accept it. “It was only one evil ghost. Did we really need to be that cautious?”

“Sometimes, a single evil ghost can still take your life. In this world, never underestimate any opponent. Not everyone will be lucky enough to escape disaster.”

With those words, Xie Qingling walked away.

Lu Ying muttered under her breath, plainly unconvinced.

Xie Qingling stopped and glanced back at her. “If you’re dissatisfied, you can complain about me to the Director. But you’d better take what I said to heart.” With that, she started her motorcycle.

Watching her leave, Dai Xingyu sighed. “Terrifying. Just now, it was like she’d been possessed by the Director…”

Shen Huaizhou left without saying a word.

Only Lu Ying and Yao Qiang remained, looking at each other in tearful dismay.

After thinking it over, they still felt thoroughly unconvinced.

That night, Lu Ying really did go to Ling Fang to complain.

She recounted everything that had happened that day and accused Xie Qingling of abusing her authority and bullying the newcomers.

After listening, Ling Fang specifically asked Xie Qingling to verify it. “Is everything Lu Ying said true?”

“Every word.”

Ling Fang’s expression grew complicated.

“All right. I understand the situation,” Ling Fang said. “You ignored orders and acted on your own. Lu Ying, Yao Qiang – double the length of your self-criticisms and copy the work regulations ten times.”

Lu Ying: “???”

She suspected she was hearing things.