Yue Shi continued walking forward.
The clouds grew increasingly dense, and several small whales swam around him.
In the distance, a figure vaguely appeared within the cloud layer.
It was a familiar old man, looking vigorous with bright eyes. He stood there with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched Yue Shi.
“Long time no see, Director,” Yue Shi greeted with a thin, artificial smile.
The old man waved his hand. “Our world has already been destroyed; why still call me Director? Just call me by my name, Qin Sansi.”
Yue Shi had no desire for pleasantries. He and Qin Sansi were not friends; in their original world, they had been enemies.
“Old man, tell me plainly why you’re looking for me.”
Qin Sansi looked at Yue Shi reproachfully. “How rude. We are fellow countrymen from the same place, after all. We entered the Deep Red Continent together back then, and I didn't expect you to vanish for thirty years. I thought you were already dead.”
Yue Shi’s expression remained unchanged. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I won’t die even if all of you do.”
Qin Sansi smiled, his gaze scanning Yue Shi up and down. “Good people don’t live long, while scourges last for a thousand years. You were the one behind the incident at Forging City, weren't you?”
“When the Bureau shot you down with the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, I truly thought you were dead. Where have you been all these years? Were you hiding away to heal and recover your strength?”
Only then did Yue Shi learn that the arrow from back then had come from the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow. He had no intention of revealing his experiences on the Bewitching Beauty Painting Workshop, so he simply nodded casually, letting Qin Sansi fill in the blanks with his own imagination.
Qin Sansi’s brow twitched as he probed further. “So, you’ve returned this time with even greater strength. Are you planning to seek revenge?”
Yue Shi grew impatient. He detested this kind of roundabout probing; he didn't like being used as a tool, and he liked even less being treated as a predictable entity with a fixed behavioral pattern.
“What exactly do you want?” His voice turned colder. “And how did you know I was in Liming City?”
Qin Sansi chuckled. “You haven't exactly been keeping a low profile. As soon as you returned to Zhongzhou, you appeared on a passenger plane and caused half the passengers to lose their minds and attack each other.”
“Don’t treat the Bureau’s intelligence network as a mere decoration. It’s just that some people refuse to believe you could survive a direct hit from a Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow and still dare to make a comeback.”
Yue Shi shrugged, completely indifferent. Zhongzhou hadn't been able to kill him thirty years ago, and he was even less afraid now.
Qin Sansi sighed. “The news of your return is no longer a secret. Everyone who needs to know, knows.”
“As for how I found you in Liming City? I may be humble, but I am now a high-level official in the Zhongzhou Bureau. Accessing the intelligence network is no problem at all.”
Yue Shi suddenly felt that this old man was just as annoying as before. As expected of a slick veteran who understood the inner workings of the bureaucratic system and possessed a modicum of genuine skill, he could thrive anywhere.
“And so? You waited here specifically just to tell me that I’ve been exposed?”
Qin Sansi shook his head. “I just wanted to see an old acquaintance. Besides, I have some matters I wish to discuss with you.”
Yue Shi tilted his chin up, signaling him to get on with it.
Qin Sansi turned and walked deeper into the clouds. “Follow me. This is no place for a conversation.”
Yue Shi followed with the snow leopard in his arms. The clouds closed behind them as the small whales swam over, and the two figures vanished into the mist, one after the other.
Deep within the clouds, a building gradually emerged.
It was like a water-soaked painting growing out of the mist, its lines shifting from blurred to clear, its colors deepening from pale to rich.
It had greyish-white exterior walls, square windows, and two moderately thick pillars at the entrance.
Yue Shi stopped and looked up at the building, teasing, “You’re quite the sentimental type, aren't you?”
Qin Sansi waved it off and pushed the door open. The hinges turned with a faint sound. Yue Shi followed him inside, his gaze sweeping across the lobby.
This place was an exact replica of the former Bureau headquarters!
It wasn't the real headquarters; Qin Sansi must have used some method to recreate it one-to-one, every brick and tile identical to the headquarters building in his memory.
Yue Shi retracted his gaze and looked at Qin Sansi’s back. “Do you really have nothing better to do?”
Qin Sansi chuckled but didn't respond. He crossed the lobby, entered a corridor, and pushed open the second door on the right.
Inside was a small office. The water in the thermos on the desk was even hot, with faint wisps of steam rising from it.
Qin Sansi sat in the chair behind the desk and pointed to the chair opposite him. “Please, sit.”
Yue Shi didn't stand on ceremony and sat down. The snow leopard jumped to the floor to inspect the unfamiliar room, while the ghost quietly began receiving various pieces of information.
Qin Sansi leaned back in his chair, his hands folded in front of him like a retired cadre. “Over these years, I have worked my way into the internal structure of the Bureau. I can begrudgingly be considered high-level.”
“Congratulations,” Yue Shi said flatly.
“Haha, I’m not the kind of high-level official who can make final decisions on major matters, but at least I can sit at the meeting table and hear what they’re discussing.” Qin Sansi picked up his water cup and took a sip.
“Initially, we were all fugitives, regarded as derivative abnormal entities from containment objects. However, Zhongzhou has been so chaotic these years that they simply couldn't spare the effort to deal with us ‘Otherworldly Visitors.’”
“My ability is very useful in a chaotic world. It can make people forget fear and pain, and forget things they shouldn't remember, which helps improve marriage and birth rates. The Bureau needs this ability to stabilize the public’s heart, so...”
He didn't finish the sentence; those who know, know.
Yue Shi didn't ask how he had whitewashed his identity to be co-opted by the Bureau.
The process wasn't important; only the result mattered.
Qin Sansi could now sit in the Bureau’s conference rooms and hear the conversations of the top brass. That was enough.
Qin Sansi continued, “Although I have some power now, the Bureau is still quite wary of those of us from another world. They have never dared to fully trust us from beginning to end. They use my ability when they need it, then they put me on a pedestal, giving me high benefits and treatment, but I am under constant surveillance.”
Yue Shi listened quietly. Qin Sansi’s expression didn't change as he spoke, appearing to have calmly accepted his situation.
Qin Sansi took another sip of water, then shifted the topic. “Do you know why Zhongzhou has grown increasingly chaotic over these thirty years?”
Yue Shi shook his head. “Nobody cares.”
Qin Sansi choked for a moment before setting down his cup. “It likely started with that incident at Forging City. Not long after the Forging City disaster, a mysterious upheaval rose from the sea.”
“Many strange things emerged from the water—all sorts of demons, ghosts, and deep-sea krakens causing chaos everywhere. Some made it to land, and coastal cities fell one by one. It took the Bureau nearly ten years to stabilize the coastline, but those monsters have already taken root inland.”
Yue Shi gave a fake smile. “Really? That’s wonderful. Truly a cause for celebration.”
Rate on N.U.
