Lungmen — City Entry Inspection Station.
A huge bright-red banner hung across the gate, the staff lined up in two neat rows, and a red carpet had even been rolled out down the middle.
Warmly Welcoming the Guard Department Inspector for Her Guidance
Sitting in the car, Bai Xiao twitched at the corner of his eye, then turned to look at Ch'en, whose face had already gone dark.
"Is Lungmen always like this?"
"I only said I was coming by for a look. How was I supposed to know these people would…"
Even as she spoke, Ch'en was already moving to get out of the car, but Bai Xiao hurriedly caught her.
"Alright, alright. Your temper's too short for this. I'll handle the talking."
The moment the two of them stepped out, the staff burst into applause. Bai Xiao immediately strode forward with a stern face.
"What are you doing? Don't you know Inspector Ch'en hates this kind of empty formalism the most?"
"Ah, well…"
The man in charge looked awkward. Truth be told, this had all been ordered by his superiors. He himself did not even know who this Inspector Ch'en was. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately ordered the others to take down the banner and roll up the carpet.
Seeing that the man seemed to have some authority at the station, Bai Xiao lowered his voice and asked, "And you are…?"
"I'm the person in charge of this inspection station. You can just call me Little Wang, sir."
Even though he was clearly older than Bai Xiao by quite a bit, he could only obediently introduce himself that way.
After all, Bai Xiao was obviously someone close to the leader.
"Little Wang, don't be nervous. Inspector Ch'en is only here for a routine inspection. Just answer whatever she asks normally. We'll all go through the motions and that'll be that. Understood?"
"Understood, understood."
Bai Xiao nodded. "Good. Go find one of your technical staff to accompany Inspector Ch'en around and answer a few questions."
Little Wang agreed at once and hurried off to make arrangements.
Bai Xiao returned to Ch'en's side.
"Honestly, I didn't expect this. You're just an inspector in the Guard Department, and yet even the city checkpoint trembles when you show up."
Ch'en kept a straight face, though her tone carried a trace of helplessness.
"What do you mean, I have authority over them? These two departments barely have anything to do with each other. At most, we cooperate now and then."
"Then why are they so scared of you?"
"...Last night, I made a phone call to Wei Yenwu."
Bai Xiao instantly understood.
So she had called the Governor of Lungmen.
In that case, everything made sense.
Inside the Guard Department, calling her Inspector Ch'en was one thing. But now she was coming here with Wei Yenwu behind her. Anyone with half a brain would think twice about who exactly she was.
No wonder these people were so tense.
"When the time comes, just ask the questions I told you about earlier. Go through them once. Do you want me to remind you again?"
Ch'en lifted her chin a little, looking faintly offended. "Do I really need reminding? Am I that stupid in your eyes?"
"I'm just afraid you'll forget... They're coming. Let's go."
What followed was simple enough. Ch'en walked around the inspection station, looked here and there, and asked a few harmless questions. The technician answered smoothly. Everyone stayed polite, and nothing unexpected happened.
Until Bai Xiao gave her a look.
Receiving the signal, Ch'en cleared her throat and asked as if it had just occurred to her, "These inspection systems are pretty advanced. If someone tried to smuggle Originium into the city through here, would you be able to detect it?"
The engineer pointed to the display. "Of course we could. City Hall has laid down strict thresholds. Anything above the limit triggers an alarm."
"Ah... very good. And what principle does your detection system use?"
"Well..."
The engineer looked troubled. That sort of thing counted as departmental confidential information. Only the engineers directly responsible and the senior designers knew the details. Even the station supervisor did not.
He had been about to say he could not disclose it, but the supervisor standing nearby noticed that Ch'en looked faintly displeased and quickly whispered, "If the leader asks, you answer."
Since his superior had spoken, the engineer had no choice but to comply.
"We detect the radiation emitted by Originium. That kind of radiation is unique to Originium and very easy to pick up. We can even detect the Originium growing on infected individuals."
After hearing that, Ch'en kept her face carefully neutral. She merely glanced at Bai Xiao to confirm he had noted it all down.
Bai Xiao gave her the slightest signal.
Ch'en immediately nodded in a show of approval. "Mm. Excellent work. With responsible people like you in Lungmen, the city can only grow better and better."
Bai Xiao almost laughed.
She was honestly kind of adorable when she put on airs like this.
After exchanging a few more meaningless pleasantries, Ch'en ended the inspection in a perfunctory way. The station supervisor finally let out a breath of relief. At least this Buddha had been seen off without incident.
Back in the car, with Ch'en seated in the rear, she asked in confusion, "We went to all that trouble just to get that one sentence?"
Bai Xiao was currently sorting through the map of the station layout and the notes he had made. He explained as he worked.
"If we want to trace where the Originium went, the first thing we need to know is how it managed to pass the checkpoint in the first place. At the very least, we now know what detection method they use. That means the next step is figuring out what method could have been used to avoid being detected."
"But this isn't our field."
"...If we aren't experts, then we go find experts." Bai Xiao capped his pen and looked at her helplessly. "Surely you people can find at least one scholar who studies Originium?"
Ch'en thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"You know, there really is one place I can think of. The people there know an awful lot about Originium."
"There's a place like that?" Bai Xiao asked casually.
Ch'en was already pulling out her phone and dialing as she answered, "It's a pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island. They treat a lot of infected patients, so I suppose you could say they study Originium too."
Bai Xiao listened with apparent indifference, but inwardly he had already memorized the name.
Rhodes Island.
Though he knew almost nothing about the place, Unshone Glory was somebody from there's Originium Art.
He had not expected to hear that name here.
At just that moment, Ch'en's call connected, and she switched it to speaker.
"Hello, Rhodes Island speaking. How may I help you?"
"This is Ch'en. Put me through to Dr. Kal'tsit."
"Let me check... Are you Operator Ch'en? I'm sorry, but Dr. Kal'tsit is currently in surgery. Would you like me to schedule an appointment for you?"
Ch'en frowned. "No need. Then put me through to the Doctor. Is the Doctor available?"
"I'm not sure, but I can try transferring you."
The call went through, and fortunately it was picked up almost at once. A timid female voice came from the other end.
"H-hello."
Bai Xiao raised a brow.
This person was called Doctor, but why did she sound so timid? He had expected the voice of a mature, intelligent beauty with a commanding air and a generous figure—something clearly big-sisterly. Instead, it was a soft, delicate girl's voice.
"Doctor, this is Ch'en. Do you remember me? We met in Lungmen before."
There was a pause on the other end, then the voice replied, "Yes, I remember. You're the Lungmen police superintendent, right?"
"That's right. I remember you study Originium, so I wanted to ask... Um, how exactly should I phrase this?"
Bai Xiao took the phone from her hand, organized his thoughts, and asked, "Is there any way to get Originium through a radiation scan without it being detected?"
He waited for an answer.
But to his surprise, nothing came from the other side at all. For a moment, he wondered whether the signal had cut out.
Ch'en sighed.
"Better let me do it. The Doctor doesn't dare talk to men."
....
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