"Finally, we can clock out."
Le Yu led a team of agents who were busy all day and finally captured all targets in the afternoon. Although it was their duty, as a reward for completing their work efficiently, Lan Yan approved their early departure today.
Today's operation also refreshed Le Yu's understanding of the Statistical Department: despised by gods and men, shamelessly arrogant.
Apart from nearly causing a disturbance at the Military Academy, in most other places, people avoided the Statistical Department out of fear, especially the likes of Le Yu in black vests, who were secretly cursed as black dogs—not daring to offend openly, only cursing quietly.
How should I put it? If you're an outsider, you definitely dislike the Statistical Department; but those inside mostly have a fondness for it, and some even take pride in being part of it.
Firstly, high salaries and good benefits are basic; as evidenced by Qian's family enjoying meat every day. Secondly, perceptions differ: common people see the Statistical Department as an agency persecuting progressives and controlling public opinion, while agents view themselves as justice enforcers maintaining peace and eliminating disruptive elements.
Most agents acknowledge the legitimacy of the Imperial Court's rule, naturally seeing Backlight Particle as the root of chaos, thinking: "If you don't agree with the Court's policies, stand up and change them, rather than just insult and commit crimes like the chaotic Backlight Party."
Furthermore, the work environment inside the Statistical Department is decent; everyone is just ordinary people with joys and sorrows. Director Lan Yan is very considerate of his subordinates; many agents feel that despite grievances, as long as their work is recognized by their superiors and the Court, they are content.
Someone like Ellie goes to extremes—just receiving praise from the director, she's eager to catch a few more Backlight chaos members to make some noise.
After changing clothes, Le Yu bids farewell to the team members and walks out of Unit One's office. In the corridor, he runs into Kui Zhao and the third team's captain, Silver Moon.
Kui Zhao stands with arms behind his back, an eagle nose and wolf eyes, his long braid dangling to his waist, making Le Yu imagine whether Kui Zhao's braid might dip into the toilet when he goes to the bathroom...
Kui Zhao suddenly stops: "Captain Qian."
"Good day, Vice Director Kui."
"I heard you completed the mission flawlessly."
"It was my responsibility."
"I reserved a White Dragon Fish at Bamboo Li Restaurant tonight, Captain Qian, would you care to join?" Kui Zhao pats Le Yu's shoulder, revealing a cold smile: "There are less than ten White Dragon Fish produced annually; missing it means you don't know when you'll get to eat it."
Le Yu shakes his head without hesitation: "Sorry, I have to go home and have dinner with my family, Vice Director Kui, let's arrange it next time."
Kui Zhao's smile deepens, he releases his grip and says: "Then next time it is."
It seems Kui Zhao was casually asking, and after Le Yu politely declines, he doesn't run any temples. Silver Moon glances at Le Yu, his expression neutral, without joy or anger, and leaves following Kui Zhao.
Once Kui Zhao and Silver Moon disappear around the corner, Le Yu hears Chen Fu approaching from behind saying: "Great job, Brother Qian, no need to mingle with Kui Zhao."
"Why's that?"
Le Yu leaves the Statistical Department building, Chen Fu following quietly, whispering: "You know Kui Zhao and Silver Moon are in cahoots, right? Now Team Five is wiped out due to betrayal, Team Three and Four are both under Kui Zhao, and Director Lan Yan directly oversees only our Team One and Two."
"But Kui Zhao, I think... emmm" Chen Fu shakes his head: "He acts too recklessly, often irritable and ambitious… if he becomes director, the Statistical Department will be hard to deal with, best to continue supporting Director Lan, don't you think?"
Where there are people, there are factions; Le Yu isn't naive enough to believe there aren't factional struggles within the Statistical Department, but he hadn't realized they involved him.
But on second thought, Qian Yuliu leads Team One, now composing roughly a quarter of the department's strength, naturally granting him participation rights in this power game—as a pawn.
"So we're with Lan Yan's faction now?" Le Yu asks.
"To be precise, we're part of the Statistical Department's faction." Chen Fu corrects: "We follow whoever is director. Has Director Lan been purposefully wooing you, Brother Qian?"
"No."
"Then which side are you planning to stand?"
Le Yu pauses, recalling Qian Yuliu's thoughts, saying: "Stand with Lan Yan. With Kui Zhao's fall, I have a chance to become vice director; standing with Kui Zhao, if Lan Yan falls, it wouldn't be me getting the vice director position."
Chen Fu is slightly taken aback, upon thinking, it makes sense—if Kui Zhao does rise, he would prioritize promoting his old subordinates over Qian Yuliu the newcomer. Based on this analysis, Qian Yuliu's choice of faction becomes indisputable.
"No wonder you're Brother Qian, you always choose correctly." Chen Fu softly muses: "Want to grab a bite? We haven't had zhe zhe pot in a while."
What is this zhe zhe pot nonsense… Le Yu shakes his head: "No, I want to go home and have dinner with family."
Chen Fu blinks: "Wasn't that your excuse to brush off Kui Zhao?"
"No."
Le Yu and Chen Fu gaze at each other for a moment, Chen Fu scratches his head: "Then… it's still early, want to grab a drink somewhere? Or maybe we could try some Battle Cards?"
What the heck are Battle Cards… Le Yu looks up at the sky; since it's early out, the sky remains bright, if he goes home now Qian Yuya surely hasn't returned or cooked yet. He nods: "Okay."
Chen Fu and Le Yu step out for a few minutes, spotting a tavern along the roadside, enter for a seat. The shopkeeper, calculating, politely says: "There's a cozy spot upstairs, please follow inside, Ah Jian, guests!"
On the street-facing second floor, Chen Fu glances at the menu on the wall and tells the staff: "A pot of pineapple wine, stir-fried snails, cucumber salad, a few small dishes. Right, Brother Qian, you don't drink, want tea?"
Qian Yuliu, strict in abstaining from alcohol, serendipitously aligns with Le Yu's preferences, who also dislikes drinks—but, not surprisingly, there's no soda here. Le Yu thinks for a moment, asks: "What do kids like to drink here?"
Waiter Ah Jian blinks, hesitating a bit: "Uh… honeyed Five-Flower Tea?"
"Let's go with that." Le Yu finalizes, the name sounding like a delightful drink.
The food arrives swiftly, Le Yu tries the cucumber and peanuts, senses these peanuts are somewhat bitter, while the stir-fried snails prove excellent, plenty peppers, flavorful and spicy. The honeyed Five-Flower Tea, sweet like iced-sugar pear from a previous life, is refreshingly sweet tea paired with spicy, tasty snails, making Le Yu unable to stop eating.
"Ha."
Hearing a laugh, Le Yu looks up and finds Chen Fu staring at him, chopsticks untouched, wearing a strange smile, lips resting on a beer glass, his gaze appearing somewhat confused, making Le Yu's scalp tingle.
This guy wouldn't be craving... the body of Qian Yuliu, right? But indeed, Qian Yuliu is quite androgynous, handsome yet lacking not in charisma, definitely harboring allure that entices bravely forward, harder under trials!
Truly a banquet where there's no good feast, a meeting without good company! Once I finish this honeyed Five-Flower Tea, slurp this dish of snails, I'll promptly slip away. Unless this guy invites me to dinner himself, I won't meet him privately!
"Brother Qian, you've changed?"
"Hmm... huh?"
Le Yu blinks, subtly straights his posture, adjusts demeanor, trying to make his snail slurping appear more elegant and fitting of the public's impression of Qian Yuliu as a suave scoundrel: "Have I?"
"You used to drink only slightly bitter Iron Buddha tea, and never touched dishes with strong flavors like stir-fried snails." Chen Fu downed his wine, set down the glass, and laughed, "I never expected even Qian Yuya, who I thought wouldn't change for decades, to change unknowingly."
So it's not suspicion of Qian Yuya being taken over... Le Yuxin breathed a sigh of relief and casually said, "Well, as people grow up, they tend to like things they didn't before."
"Indeed." Chen Fu watched the crowd on the street: "Growing up, you start liking things you didn't before, like money, fame, status, ideals... And then, you change as a person."
"Qian Yuya, what were you thinking when you aimed at Mr. Lin and pulled the trigger?"
Chen Fu's tone seemed casual, but his eyes were fixed on Le Yuxin. His upper body slightly hunched forward, and his right leg opened outward.
Based on intuition and combat experience, Le Yuxin instantly imagined Chen Fu's next move: Chen Fu would pull off a sweeping kick with his right leg, instantly smashing the table, and the leg's attack would be precisely beyond their arm reach. Behind Le Yuxin was a wall; he couldn't dodge or counterattack. He could only protect his head with his fists against Chen Fu's strongest blow!
Being this mole is just too hard, not only do ordinary people spit on him, even subordinates have become disloyal. This world is cold and sinister, only the practical picture book cherished by Qian Yuya brings a touch of warmth.
Le Yuxin thought for a moment and expressed his true thoughts: "Everything must die eventually, and some people need a little help."
"Can't save them?"
"I can only let them die with dignity."
Chen Fu silently withdrew his right leg, poured himself another glass of wine, and after a while said, "You did the right thing, Qian Yuya. The Statistical Department's prison is no place for a person... No need to let the teacher suffer."
As long as you understand, don't walk behind me anymore; I'm afraid you'll kick my butt... Le Yuxin finished the snails quickly, preparing to leave. He'd rather go home to wait for his sister after school than eat with these troublesome people, who might just stir up trouble out of nowhere.
"Qian Yuya, are your choices always right?"
"Of course." Le Yuxin replied casually.
Chen Fu drank another glass of wine, softly saying, "I think a lot, Qian Yuya, but rarely make decisions. My parents are craftsmen with little culture; they always say I bring glory to the ancestors. Every time I bring things home, they're happy. Everyone fears me when I go out, and they also feel proud..."
"But on the other hand, old friends become distant, former classmates resent me. By the way, today you didn't get off the car; when I went to find Su Song, I saw Su Song's sister is really as pretty as he bragged back then, truly Qian Yuya, you lost out by not getting off the car."
Chen Fu clicked his tongue and said: "No wonder Su Song wouldn't let us meet his sister no matter how we coaxed him back then, or else he'd fear gaining a bunch of brother-in-laws. But thinking about it, Su Song isn't bad looking, so it makes sense that his sister wouldn't be ugly."
"Ah, if I could go back to that time, I'd definitely be Su Song's brother-in-law!"
"And Feng Chuanliu, that guy, you remember how many fights we had with them, right? Not long after, during dorm inspections, our dorm was found with some risque picture books, and we were punished to clean the toilets for a month. You remember, right? Damn, I only found out after graduation that it was Feng Chuanliu who did it. He took advantage of the inspection to throw his favorite books in our dorm to frame us!"
"If I could go back, I'd definitely treasure Feng Chuanliu's gift, then throw some same-gender picture books in his dorm... Haha, when they announced at school what was found in Feng Chuanliu's dorm, it'd definitely be hilarious!"
"If I could go back to that time..."
Chen Fu shook the wine jug, finding not a drop left.
He stopped his nostalgic fantasies, exhaled a long breath of alcohol, "Qian Yuya, are what we're doing right, or wrong?"
"You're drunk." Le Yuxin asked the waiter for a toothpick to pick out the snail meat he couldn't suck out.
"Yeah, I'm drunk." Chen Fu laughed, "I'm just an ordinary person who gets drunk, indecisive, unable to differentiate right from wrong. My parents' pride, rising status, all these bring me joy; friends' disdain, outsiders' contempt, make me feel aggrieved. That's the kind of person I am, unable to let go and unable to pick up."
"But you're different, Qian Yuya; you always pick the right choice, right?"
Facing Chen Fu's imploring eyes, Le Yuxin licked the spice off the toothpick and nodded.
"That's good, that's good." Chen Fu breathed a sigh of relief as if a weight had lifted, "I'll just follow you, Qian Yuya, then; why think so much?"
"I can't anymore, I'm drunk... I'll go downstairs, pay, and head home; take your time eating, Qian Yuya."
Without waiting for a reply, Chen Fu staggered his way to the first floor to settle the bill.
Le Yuxin thought for a moment, quickly called out, "Waiter, another honey five-flower tea and a plate of stir-fried snails! My friend went down to pay, include it together!"
Since you've accepted Qian Yuya's change, I won't hold back!
Qian · freeloading drink and eat · Yuya here!
Bang!
Le Yuxin seemed to hear the sound of Chen Fu falling down the stairs. This story tells us that drunks shouldn't take the stairs; they should just jump straight down from the second floor——This mere second-floor height wouldn't be an issue for an Awakener.
Watching Chen Fu's silhouette gradually disappear into the street crowd, Le Yuxin felt the responsibility on his shoulders grow heavier.
What does it mean to entrust the wrong person? This is what it means to entrust the wrong person——they never realized the one they relied upon wasn't the actual Qian Yuya, but merely a passing Transmigrator.
'Take it one step at a time...' Le Yuxin's mindset was rather relaxed: 'At worst, I'll just die to show them...'
Suddenly, Le Yuxin heard a sound slicing through the wind and instinctively raised his right hand!
Bang!
Le Yuxin caught a stone flying toward his head!
Someone's trying to assassinate me again?
Le Yuxin looked around but didn't see the attacker who threw the stone, not even a mischievous kid. Moreover, feeling the stone, it was clear it was just a small pebble; if this was an assassination, it's too gentle——the last assassin used a handgun aimed directly at his head, going bang bang bang.
He opened his palm and saw a piece of silk cloth wrapped around the pebble.
This was a note.
"To Shooting Star:"
"Meet at thirty past the top left sharp, on the long three-hundred and angle sixty"
"—Star Plucker"
Le Yuxin's eyes widened at once, recalling what Lin Jinyao had said to Qian Yuya: "No one knows your identity except me and 'Star Plucker'. If I die unexpectedly and you remain undercover, then 'Star Plucker' will replace me as your new contact person!"