CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 404: RETURN

"HMM..." Wei Linglan mused on the other end of the line. "I’m not entirely sure, but there probably isn’t an issue. How about this: wait there for a bit. I’ll call a colleague to pick you up and bring you to the Special Affairs Bureau’s stronghold here for a psychological evaluation."

"UH," Wang Congshan glanced at Li Ang. Seeing him nod, she spoke into the phone, "Okay, I’ll let my parents know and then wait at the park entrance."

After hanging up, Wang Congshan forced a smile and brushed her bangs aside. "AH, this is so frustrating! It’s rare enough for me to get out, and then something like this happens. Seriously, I was even planning to treat you to a nice dinner tonight."

Li Ang shook his head. "Important matters first. I’ll go with you to the Special Affairs Bureau’s stronghold later. As for dinner, we can talk about that another time."

"HEY! HEY! I just said *a* nice meal, not that *I* was treating! We’re splitting the bill, okay?"

Wang Congshan rolled her eyes, then fell silent for a moment. She sat nervously, wringing her hands.

Seeing the Class President’s visible anxiety, Li Ang leaned forward with a smile, reached out, and gently ruffled her hair, messing it up.

"Don’t worry, your cousin already said it’s probably fine. And you don’t need to fret about becoming some anomalous Meme Pollution source that might infect me. I’m usually the one causing mental pollution to others; no one has ever managed to infect me."

"HEH, so conceited."

Wang Congshan pouted and smoothed down her ruffled hair. Rubbing her palms together nervously, she called her parents. She told them she was almost done hanging out with friends and was now heading to the Special Affairs Bureau’s stronghold to see her cousin, making no mention of the anomalous Meme.

After the Class President hung up and turned to tell Li Ang they should go wait for the car outside the park, she saw him holding out a bottle of mineral water he’d gotten from somewhere.

"Here, drink this."

"Why? I’m not thirsty."

Despite her words, Wang Congshan’s lips did feel a bit dry, so she accepted the bottle and took a sip. The water was surprisingly sweet.

Just as she was about to ask Li Ang where he’d gotten the water, he had already taken the bottle back and stowed it in his shoulder bag. "Let’s go. We should wait outside the park for now."

Wang Congshan hummed in agreement, unaware that she had just consumed a Perfect-Level item called [Blessed Spring Water].

With Wang Congshan involved, Li Ang had to be extremely cautious; no accidents could be allowed. To ensure her safety, he was willing to use a Perfect-Level item and even risk accompanying the Class President to the Special Affairs Bureau’s stronghold for the subsequent physical and psychological examinations.

Li Ang and Wang Congshan headed to the zoo entrance. Meanwhile, he instructed Miss Chai to burrow underground and stay near Wang Congshan. Li Ang himself slipped into a public restroom and used the Origin of Life to restore his body structure to its normal state.

Afterward, Li Ang emerged from the restroom. He allowed Miss Chai to burrow back into his body through the soles of his feet and then stored her in the [Soul Summoning Banner], awaiting the arrival of the Special Affairs Bureau personnel.

A short while later, a black luxury sedan slowly pulled up. The driver was a middle school girl who looked even younger than Li Ang and Wang Congshan. It was Chu Yin, the Special Affairs Bureau operative from the Mobile Detachment whom they had previously encountered in the Misty Territory.

Before the astonished eyes of Wang Congshan and Li Ang, Chu Yin, who was only 1.52 meters tall, carefully maneuvered the black sedan to the roadside, lurching forward before finally bringing the car to a shaky stop.

"PHEW." Chu Yin, triumphant in her parking attempt, wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead. She pressed a button to lower the window and waved cheerfully at the Class President on the curb. "Hi, are you Wang Congshan?"

"UH..." The Class President hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, that’s me. And you are...?"

"Just call me Chu Yin. I’m your cousin’s colleague; she asked me to pick you up and take you to the stronghold." Chu Yin smiled. "Get in."

Having witnessed Chu Yin’s parking performance, Wang Congshan hesitated for a moment before opening the rear car door and getting in with Li Ang.

"Please fasten your seatbelts. The handling on this car isn’t great," Chu Yin instructed the two passengers. She then turned around, gripped the steering wheel with both hands, took a deep breath, and started the vehicle. The car lurched slowly as she executed a U-turn and then another turn, nearly hitting other vehicles parked motionlessly by the roadside.

Seemingly embarrassed by her clumsy driving, Chu Yin glanced at the rearview mirror and explained, "Don’t be nervous. I do have a driver’s license, you know. Plus, this car is very crash-resistant. Even if we hit another vehicle head-on, passengers won’t die as long as they’re buckled up."

Don’t say that out loud! You’re making me even more nervous, okay? Wang Congshan managed an awkward smile, silently gripping the car’s handrail. She hesitated before asking Chu Yin, "Uh, are you a player too?"

"Yeah," Chu Yin smiled. "I’m an operative with the Mobile Detachment. I’m using my off-duty time today to practice driving—AHEM, I mean, to conduct a voluntary patrol. If Special Affairs Bureau members proactively maintain public order during their downtime, they receive subsidy allowances and reward points. Actually, voluntary patrols are mostly just an excuse to wander around. Public safety is quite good these days, so there aren’t many abnormal events waiting to be triggered."

"EH..." Wang Congshan blinked, her gaze flickering between Chu Yin’s youthful, delicate face and her blue-and-white school uniform. Somewhat sheepishly, she said, "I always imagined Mobile Detachment members were burly guys in black suits, all broad shoulders and strong builds..."

"HAHA, I thought the same thing before I joined the detachment," Chu Yin laughed. "But after joining, I discovered many of them are just ordinary people, from all sorts of professions and age groups. Everyone wears a uniform while on duty, but otherwise, we dress casually."

As a middle schooler, licensed driver, player, and Bilibili dance and music channel uploader, Chu Yin was surprisingly talkative in person. On the drive to the stronghold, she chatted with Wang Congshan the entire way, mostly about girl-related topics.

With the "killing game" becoming public knowledge, the Special Affairs Bureau has entered the public spotlight, and its employees now have overt, official identities. However, this isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially for operatives in the Mobile Detachment. They and their families are constantly under the Bureau’s protection for various reasons, meaning they can no longer lead ordinary lives.

Wei Linglan could no longer go out to paint and sketch, and Chu Yin couldn’t experience campus life as she once did. As members of the Mobile Detachment, they bore the heavy responsibility of protecting people’s lives. Beyond endless training, patrols, and missions, they had very little personal time to themselves.

The interval between scenario missions was too short. If they didn’t do everything possible to strengthen themselves, their only option was to wait for death.

Perhaps sensing the sorrow hidden beneath Chu Yin’s calm facade, the Class President looked at her, her gaze slowly filling with an indescribable emotion. This girl before her, younger than she was, shouldered such immense responsibilities and confronted fears ordinary people could never imagine...

The black luxury sedan slowly navigated through intersections, eventually stopping before a tall building.

「Hoshan Road No. 149. The Special Affairs Bureau stronghold. They had arrived.」

The car door opened. Li Ang, feigning curiosity, looked up at the Special Affairs Bureau building—a place he had visited before.

The building’s exterior wall still displayed the sign of a "City Landscaping and Cleaning Company." At the entrance, two Gundam stone lions rested quietly on their stone pedestals, motionless.

"This is it," Chu Yin announced, heading through the entrance. Li Ang followed Wang Congshan into the building.