#93Chapter 45: MutationAI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 93: Mutation
"How should I address you?"
Han Xiao, who was supposed to be the one probed, spoke first because he had developed some interest in Mu Yang.
Of course, it wasn't that kind of interest; Han Xiao was a decent person!
It was just that, based on his experience from the previous life's game, high-Appearance NPCs like this usually weren't just background characters.
Perhaps he was a hidden NPC unique to the previous life's closed beta, but because no players in the beta attracted the attention of the Thirteen Bureau, no one ever encountered him, leading to the NPC's death.
Now that he was here, he would surely save this person from peril!
"My name is Mu Yang, and you?"
"Han Xiao, you can also call me Mechanic Han."
While disassembling and repairing the tablet, Han Xiao tried to increase Mu Yang's favorability, also curious to see how luxurious Mu Yang's panel was.
But to view it, he would need to be judged as "entering combat state" by the NPC panel.
And if he attacked Mu Yang now, he'd probably have Thirteen Bureau agents rushing in to investigate him the next second.
The tablet was repaired quickly; this level of damage was nothing to a professional mechanic. Ten minutes was even the result of Han Xiao deliberately stalling.
It wasn't until Mu Yang paid the repair fee and took the tablet that Han Xiao "reluctantly" watched him depart.
"Tsk, that's not right. Wasn't he here to probe me? Why did he leave so quickly?"
Han Xiao scratched his head, feeling like he needed to grow a brain.
But there was no rush; he was planning to join the Thirteen Bureau anyway, and then he could still interact with this "hidden NPC."
Walking back to headquarters, Mu Yang was quite satisfied with this trip. He had certainly left a deep impression on Han Xiao, and the other party seemed to have misunderstood something.
He also had a photo. Since there was already a bounty for his headshot on the dark web, Han Xiao didn't mind taking a photo with Mu Yang, considering it a way to gain favorability.
As he pondered, his right foot stepped into the perimeter of Dragon Horn Building, and Mu Yang's body suddenly stiffened. He seemed to smell trouble and danger.
Sure enough, because communication was lost, Zhang Wei, who had been waiting by the main gate for him to return, quickly stepped forward, his expression very serious.
"Did something happen to the person I caught last night?"
Mu Yang asked calmly. Currently, he was only involved with two matters: Han Xiao and Wu Xi.
As for Han Xiao, Elder Gao guaranteed him within the Bureau, so the Thirteen Bureau was taking a soft approach and wouldn't be so tense and serious just because of his slight contact.
Since it wasn't Han Xiao, it could only be Wu Xi. Zhang Wei must have been sent by Minister Li Jin Huai to find him.
"Yes, Minister Li wants me to take you to see him."
Zhang Wei was a bit surprised by Mu Yang's accurate guess, but the situation was urgent, and there was no time to ask why the other party knew.
"Let's go."
The two walked side by side, rushing toward headquarters at full speed.
The Thirteen Bureau base superficially showed no significant changes from before, but there was an added sense of solemnity and oppression, a feeling of impending storm.
"Minister Li, you called for me."
Knocking on Li Jin Huai's office door, Mu Yang quickly walked in after receiving permission.
"Yes, I'll be brief. Wu Xi, whom you brought back last night, and the agent you encountered upon your return, are both dead."
Li Jin Huai said, suppressing his anger, enunciating each word.
He hadn't expected the parasites hidden within the Thirteen Bureau to be so impatient, or perhaps the intelligence Wu Xi possessed was truly that important,
important enough to make the mole self-destruct to take him out.
"What exactly happened? How were both of them silenced?"
Mu Yang at this point still thought the mastermind had eliminated both, but the outcome was beyond his expectation.
"That agent disguised himself as an interrogator, and his credentials were all in order. He just walked in, killed Wu Xi, and then committed suicide by poison."
"Just one interrogator?"
"No, there were two. But the interrogation room doesn't allow weapons, and the one who acted was a martial artist. The other interrogator was severely injured by his sneak attack, but he was still rescued."
Mu Yang remained silent. He was very curious about what top-secret intelligence Wu Xi knew that would make the person behind the scenes risk exposure to eliminate him.
But if Wu Xi truly knew, why would he be a wandering leader outside Xidu? That made no sense.
If he really knew, why did the mole wait until Wu Xi was captured alive and only act when he was at the Thirteen Bureau?
There were many opportunities on the road, and it wasn't impossible in the city, but they chose to act specifically at the Thirteen Bureau, where exposure was most likely—
"Can I see the bodies?"
"Alright."
The two quickly arrived at the medical area. Two bodies lay still on cold metal tables, covered with white sheets.
Mu Yang didn't understand autopsies; he hadn't studied medicine, nor could he discover problems that even professional forensic doctors with enhanced insight abilities couldn't find.
He was just there to check if his Blood Sun mark was on the mole's body. This mark was still in the development stage, so it didn't have tracking and positioning functions unless the distance was close.
Result: It wasn't there.
In this situation, either the Blood Sun mark was discovered, and the target removed the mark directly without disturbing the Blood Sun energy.
Mu Yang felt that the possibility of this happening was very low. If one wanted to avoid disturbing the Blood Sun, the remover must ensure their energy was stronger and purer than the Blood Sun's. There shouldn't be such an existence on Hai Lan Star.
The other possibility was that the agent he saw late last night was fake, and the other party deliberately appeared before him with that face.
Only then could it explain why the mole appeared so abruptly and acted so dazed and incompetent.
The probability of Wu Xi knowing top-secret intelligence was far less than one in ten thousand; otherwise, the mole's organization wouldn't have left him there. At most, he knew some minor intelligence.
And the mole intentionally delivered the evidence into his hands. This agent should have been a pawn prepared by the mole's organization after Wu Xi was captured alive.
But if a pawn was already prepared, why resort to such a violent method?
Generally speaking, wouldn't it be better to remain hidden by not attracting the Thirteen Bureau's attention?
With such a commotion, the entire Thirteen Bureau was shaken. The Director would probably send people for a comprehensive sweep for moles in the next couple of days.
Mu Yang stated what he knew. He didn't understand the Thirteen Bureau's situation well. Perhaps Li Jin Huai, who knew more, could deduce the organization's purpose based on his intelligence.
"Based on your intelligence, this mole either had a falling out with his organization and planned to drag his companions down with him, or something sudden happened that caused the organization to make him do this to attract the Thirteen Bureau's attention or even cause chaos."
Li Jin Huai speculated.
"There are better ways to retaliate, and even defecting to the Thirteen Bureau to atone for his crimes would be far better than the current situation."
"What you said makes sense. But what exactly is it that is worth putting the entire mole organization on the gambling table? The reward for this success
must be far greater than continuing to be a mole in the Thirteen Bureau for them to abandon so many years of accumulation and go all out."