…

Lu Ding extended his hand. “749 Bureau, Intern Investigator, Lu Ding. This is my partner, Intern Investigator, Yan Feifan.”

The moment Gao Zhengliang heard the words intern investigator, his world came crashing down.

Sure, Ming Jun and Bei Heguang had caused a mess—a huge mess—but at least they were full-fledged investigators.

And now, they were being replaced by two interns…

Leaders, please!!!

I, Gao Zhengliang, have worked tirelessly for Bao Fan District, maintaining law and order. How could you do this to me?!

Yan Feifan noticed Gao Zhengliang’s frozen smile and immediately got irritated. “Director Gao, weren’t all full investigators once interns? What, are you planning to underestimate us?”

The phrase underestimate us was deliberately chosen to sting.

Gao Zhengliang’s face instantly returned to normal.

“That was careless of me. I’ve lived this long, yet I’m getting dumber with age. My apologies, investigators. Come in, let’s talk inside.”

“It’s fine, Director Gao. We’ve got plenty of time to get to know each other.”

The crowd parted to let Lu Ding and Yan Feifan through.

At the glass entrance of the security bureau, Ming Jun watched the scene unfold and turned to Bei Heguang.

“Well? Do you recognize them?”

“The one on the right? Never seen him before. Looks unfamiliar. The one on the left… I vaguely remember him. Just an ordinary intern.”

“So, they really are just some random interns. Alright, let’s give them a little scare—make them back out on their own.”

The two of them stepped out from either side of the doorway, blocking Lu Ding’s path.

Gao Zhengliang sighed. “Investigator Bei, Investigator Ming, what do you think you’re doing?”

The two ignored him.

“Hey! You two interns are here to take over our positions? You think you have what it takes?”

Lu Ding’s figure flickered. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of Ming Jun, towering over him.

The oppressive aura crashed down instantly.

It felt as if all the air around them had been sucked away, making it impossible to breathe.

Ming Jun’s face turned red. His vision blurred.

For a split second, he saw a massive, upright bear—its red eyes gleaming as it cracked its knuckles, choosing which part of his body to bite into first.

Boom!

Ming Jun couldn’t handle the pressure—his knees buckled, and he collapsed.

Lu Ding’s voice rang out.

“I’ll give you one minute. Disappear from my sight. You only get this chance once.”

The overwhelming pressure vanished, leaving Ming Jun drenched in sweat.

He looked like he’d just been pulled out of a river.

Standing to the side, Gao Zhengliang’s smile was so wide he couldn’t suppress it.

Though he was just an ordinary person, he knew enough about Cultivators of Qi to understand what just happened.

Lu Ding hadn’t even laid a hand on him, and Ming Jun was already scared sh*tless.

No doubt about it—Lu Ding was strong.

Gao Zhengliang quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Investigator Lu, we’ve prepared a welcome banquet for you. Any dishes you like? I can have the kitchen add them for you.”

Ming Jun, still kneeling, lifted his head.

His mind was racing.

Last name Lu. Intern investigator. Could it be… Lu Ding?!

F**k.

No wonder he hadn’t recognized him! He’d never met him before!

Of all the things I could’ve overlooked…

Still shaken, Ming Jun stammered, “Y-You’re the Corpse-Shattering Taishui, Lu Ding?”

“Corpse-Shattering Taishui?”

Yan Feifan stepped forward. “Lu Ge, that’s the nickname people have been spreading about you.”

Lu Ding was speechless.

That nickname makes me sound like a villain.

He was a proud intern investigator of the 749 Bureau, a government official working to protect civilians from supernatural threats—

And yet, they gave him a name that sounded like he was some demonic cultivator or monster himself.

Lu Ding had no energy to argue about it. He simply stepped past Ming Jun and walked into the security bureau.

Once he was gone—

Ming Jun turned to Bei Heguang, who had been hiding in the corner.

“Ah Guang!!! Help me up, I can’t stand!”

Bei Heguang jogged over and pulled him up. “You okay?”

“Okay?! You try it yourself and see if you’d be okay! I swear, I think I just peed a little.”

Struggling to get to his feet, Ming Jun grumbled, “So it really was Lu Ding. What kind of techniques does he practice to be this terrifying? Damn, they say there’s no such thing as a wrongly given nickname. What a sh*tty stroke of luck, running into him. If I weren’t also part of 749 Bureau, I’d probably be in pieces by now.”

Lu Ding had no such intentions—he just wasn’t one to humor people who gave him attitude.

But from Ming Jun’s perspective? He had nearly been torn limb from limb.

“This is all your fault with your overanalyzing. We’d never seen Lu Ding before! How were we supposed to know what he looked like?”

“Easy for you to say now.”

Bei Heguang awkwardly scratched his head. “I, uh… just remembered.”

“F**k you, man. You were real quick to hide! Left me to deal with it alone. Let’s go find Lu Ding and talk things out.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you crazy? He just told us to get lost in a minute, and now you wanna go looking for him? That’s straight-up disrespectful.”

“Well, what about the tomb door?”

“Come on, we’re modern people—use your brain. Just add him on your phone and message him.”

Ming Jun’s eyes lit up. “For once, you actually had a good idea. But… do you think he’ll accept our request? Guys like him are usually cold and hard to approach.”

“Then add the other guy. That one looked honest. Have him pass the message for us. Let’s get out of here before Lu Ding steps out again.”

“What about our stuff?”

“Forget it, nothing valuable. Let’s just go.”

The two of them bolted like they were running for their lives.

Upstairs.

Lu Ding declined Director Gao’s welcome banquet.

He walked into the office that had been left behind by Ming Jun and Bei Heguang.

As Lu Ding sat sipping tea, Yan Feifan busied himself tidying up—throwing out trash and clearing away clutter.

Director Gao had offered to send some people to help, but Yan Feifan had turned him down.

He knew his role—he was there to do grunt work, not fight.

If someone else took over the grunt work, what use would he be? He’d be out of a job.

Carrying out a bag of trash, he stepped out.

When he returned, he was holding his phone. “Lu Ge, those two investigators just added me. They want to pass a message to you.”

“What kind of message? I’m not a monster. They could just talk to me directly.”

Lu Ding was genuinely baffled. Why all the unnecessary steps?

“They’re probably scared of you,” Yan Feifan stated bluntly. Then he continued, “They said they know where to find a treasure and want to discuss working together.”

“Another treasure?”

Lu Ding sat up straight.

The whole Wind-Fixing Pearl situation had been a letdown. What should have been an incredible artifact had ended up useless.

Now another opportunity had come up—he wasn’t about to let it slip away.

“Ask them what kind of treasure.”