"So, he's the only child who escaped from that kidnapping case all those years ago?"

"Heh, didn’t expect that he’s worth quite a lot. A three million reward, enough to buy myself a new car…"

In another room of the base, the Monster Investigator, who had changed into loose clothes, was holding a glass of whiskey and lazily leaning on the sofa.

Listening to the report from his assistant, a cold smile spread across his face.

"His information has already started to be erased."

The assistant carefully reported, "Although everyone entering the Disaster Management Bureau has their confidentiality level increased, he’s doing it faster than the others. Looks like Zhang Zhiguo is really concerned about him."

"Teacher, after all, Zhang Zhiguo was sent down from above. I think... maybe we don’t need to target him personally."

"……"

The Monster Investigator shot a cold glance at him, causing the assistant to swallow his words immediately. The Monster Investigator sneered, "I don’t even care about Zhang Zhiguo. What’s more, about him?"

The assistant wanted to persuade but didn’t dare to speak further.

The Monster Investigator suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But the attitude of the people above, I can’t afford to ignore."

The assistant was slightly taken aback and whispered, "From the Disaster Management Bureau’s attitude toward the kidnapping case, the people above probably don’t like this child."

"Who knows what Zhang Zhiguo is thinking, letting him enter the Disaster Management Bureau. Isn’t that just deliberately embarrassing the people above?"

"Heh, you think the people above don’t like him?"

The Monster Investigator sneered when he heard that, then suddenly asked, "If they didn’t like him, they could have just made him disappear. After so many years, why is this only survivor still living well?"

"Could it be that the people above are really too respectful of the law, afraid to kill him?"

"……"

The assistant froze, not having considered this angle.

After a brief moment of contemplation, the Monster Investigator sneered coldly and said, "This kid definitely has something unknown going on with him."

"I’ve also heard a little about the Disaster Management Bureau’s previous matters."

"But, like everyone else, I don’t believe that kidnapping case involved some monster. But I also don’t believe it’s just some child's nonsense."

"……"

The assistant paused slightly, then whispered, "Looking at this reward, many believe he must have some secret he hasn’t revealed, but the people who took on this commission have recently suffered setbacks."

"But the person who issued the reward is very powerful, and up until now, the reward is still sitting on the blackboard."

The Monster Investigator sneered when he heard this, saying, "For someone with such power, a three million reward is nothing but a drop in the ocean. This should be a test to see how things go, which also means that the kid must really have something in his head."

"And speaking of that..."

He suddenly smiled, patted his suitcase, and his eyes were full of admiration and smugness, "When it comes to opening someone’s head, who in the whole of Qinggang City can match me?"

The assistant, seeing his obsession, seemed to recall something terrifying.

His body shuddered slightly, and instinctively, he wanted to advise, "Mr. Strange Bird, I think this muddy water might…"

"I know, this might bring me quite a bit of trouble."

The Monster Investigator narrowed his eyes, gently interrupting him and said, "But if there really is valuable information in his head, you tell me, isn’t this my chance to be promoted to an independent investigator?"

"Don’t forget, all our advantages come from the investigator’s license, and after the tides have passed, that power will be taken back."

"Zhang Zhiguo is not here for peace. He’s already got his eye on me..."

"If I want to keep my position, I’ll have to climb to a safe position before that..."

"……"

Upon hearing this, the assistant was at a loss for words. He knew that the Monster Investigator dreamed of getting the title of "independent," and he didn’t dare to offer advice on the matter.

"Of course, I know that dealing with those big shots above is very dangerous, even more so than dealing with the bizarre... no, I should say it’s just as dangerous!"

The Monster Investigator muttered to himself, "It’s all incomprehensible, and at any moment, you could lose your life."

"But, if the truth in his head really can make Zhang Zhiguo and those big shots so concerned and yet not dare to act rashly..."

"Then, if it falls into my hands, isn’t it a huge bargaining chip?"

“……”

This thought arose in his mind, and it became increasingly difficult to suppress.

Especially after glancing at the suitcase beside him, an uncontrollable desire surged within him, as he thought: ‘If it were me, just a brief encounter with him would be enough…’

‘No one would notice, not even him…’

‘Then…’

"Where is he now?"

After some consideration, the Monster Investigator suddenly lifted his head, his eyes gleaming slightly:

"Since Zhang Zhiguo has approved my request, his identity is now my assistant. Why hasn’t he reported here yet?"

"He’s said to be recovering from injuries."

The assistant awkwardly replied, "It seems he was forcefully helped by another gifted individual to carry out spiritual penetration, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He’s planning to rest for a week before resuming work."

"A week?"

The Monster Investigator immediately understood: "Is he waiting for that woman to return?"

"Now, go apply for the medical room, then call him over."

"Since he’s my assistant and just completed spiritual penetration, it would be quite reasonable for me to personally stabilize his mental state, right?"

"Of course, wait until Zhang Zhiguo leaves the base before calling him."

"……"

"……"

In the base’s dining hall, Han Su, who was wearing a special black glove on his right hand, sat at the table, accompanied by the doctor, Hei Hu, and Miss Crow, the three other D1D2 group members.

After the assessment, they hadn’t returned to the base.

They had all been involved in an unexpected incident yesterday and had to remain behind for questioning. This morning, they ran into each other in the dining hall.

Thinking about how these people had reported everything truthfully yesterday, Han Su still felt grateful.

As execution personnel, being able to honestly report the full sequence of events related to the investigation was already rare.

As for other execution personnel in this mission, most of them just claimed they hadn’t seen anything, and some even deliberately shifted the blame onto themselves.

Of course, since these people were good to him, he was also someone who returned kindness and wanted to show his generosity:

"I’ll treat you all to breakfast today!"

That’s how relationships work. Initially, everyone chats together, smokes a cigarette, just breaking the ice.

Now, you do something for me, I return the favor, and the relationship moves a step forward.

If you help me again, I’ll help you in return, and we’ll become good friends.

Of course, there are exceptions.

You could directly wash each other’s feet, and the relationship would immediately advance to a higher level…

"……"

Across from Han Su, the others exchanged glances.

Hei Hu seemed visibly moved. He first grabbed a plate of steamed buns, dumplings, and porridge, then looked at Han Su’s face before going for a plate of fried eggs and sausages, finally satisfied with the meal.

Then, as Hei Hu started eating with gusto, the doctor frowned and said, "Isn’t the base breakfast free?"

"Drinks aren’t free."

Han Su said, "Drink as much as you want!"

Hei Hu looked at the two large cups of orange juice in front of him, feeling the sincerity behind it. He scratched his head and said, "Actually, no need to be so polite."

"Indeed, no need."

The doctor pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and said elegantly, "From my observation over the past period, I’ve confirmed that the fate of execution personnel in the Disaster Management Bureau is severely unprotected."

"We were all originally types with strong individual abilities, which helped us get into the D1D2 group. Some even saw us as trainee investigators. It seemed like all we had to do was bide our time, wait for our evaluations to be good enough, and we’d be promoted."

"But now, I realize what we really need is luck."

“Good luck, you can endure until your qualifications are sufficient.”

“Bad luck, in the next mission, we might die on some street corner or under an unnoticed streetlamp.”

With that, the doctor made a summary and looked at Han Su, saying, “Your suggestion back then was quite good. We do need to help each other.”

“Unfortunately, that’s not enough. We still lack an opportunity.”

Han Su, listening, became curious, “What opportunity?”

The doctor said, “Of course, the death of an investigator above us.”

“Lose one, and naturally, someone has to step up. But we’re new, too new. Even if an investigator were to die now, someone with more experience would take their place.”

At this point, he seemed to think deeply: “Unless… a large number of investigators die…”

“……”

A large number of investigators dying, to make room for the positions above?

Why did it seem like what he said actually made some sense?

Han Su had originally only been focused on that spell, but upon hearing this, he began to think a little about the investigator’s license.

He turned to Miss Crow and asked, “How does the normal promotion to investigator work?”

Miss Crow, hearing the question, answered with a bit of awkwardness, “Once we reach the initial rating, we get the opportunity to undergo Mysterious Power Training, receive the treatment of an investigator, but we don’t actually get the investigator’s license.”

“Every time a license is issued, it means that Qinggang gains another person with immense authority, and if that person doesn’t have sufficient ability to handle the bizarre, it would lead to a power imbalance in some aspect.”

“So, the current situation in the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau is that there’s a slight shortage of execution personnel, but an excess of investigators. Don’t even think about issuing new licenses, in fact, finding an opportunity to revoke some licenses is not impossible.”

“Of course, his analysis isn’t entirely correct.”

With this, Miss Crow turned to glance at the doctor and continued, “Aside from these two possibilities, there’s another: the activity of mysterious organizations and an increase in bizarre incidents.”

“In these cases, the upper levels will issue more licenses and provide more opportunities for people to become investigators.”

“……”

‘If others only need to reach the required level to get the treatment of an investigator, then I’m truly different. Old Zhang explained to me at the time, the license is very important.’

Han Su thought to himself, suddenly interested, and asked the doctor, “If we go by this logic, then if an investigator really dies, who would step up?”

“The assistant beside the investigator.”

The doctor, who was also clearly a newcomer, answered these questions with the same familiarity as Miss Crow, speaking slowly, “It would be an assistant familiar with the work of the investigator and who has sufficient qualifications to inherit the investigator’s license left behind.”

“But if a large number of investigators die, or if the entire team is wiped out, someone with enough qualifications from the execution personnel would take over. But of course, that opportunity is very small.”

“……”

“If an investigator dies, the one who benefits is the assistant beside them?”

Han Su suddenly felt a bit interested. So, does this mean that the only thing standing between him and the investigator’s license was Monster Investigator?

He just wasn’t sure whether Monster Investigator would cooperate…