Chapter Thirteen: The Girl with Extraordinary Strength

Hei Yu snapped back to reality, feeling rather pleased with himself. Though there were no additional boosts to his stats, he had seen the location of the mountain where the treasure was hidden. He remembered that place vividly; when he used to do part-time work for some planning companies, he’d gone there to help take photographs. That trip had been quite an ordeal—he’d gotten separated from his companions after a restroom break, his phone had no signal, and he’d had to find his own way down the mountain. The memory of that mountain was indelibly etched in his mind.

As the ancients said, every experience becomes capital for future success. Well, maybe it wasn’t actually the ancients who said that, but never mind!

Hei Yu came to himself and saw the short man sitting across from him, a contract laid out before him. The man’s hand held a pen, and the name Xuan Hai was freshly written—“Hai” hadn’t dried yet. The short man picked up the contract, signed his own name, Wang Lang, on another line, then extended his hand to Hei Yu.

Around them in the police station, a dozen officers in uniform gathered, friendly smiles on their faces. Hei Yu wondered what the system had taken it upon itself to do this time. He only caught the header of the contract—“Temporary Employment Agreement”—the salary section was obscured. Although somewhat disgruntled, Hei Yu shook Wang Lang’s hand.

“This contract will be archived in your file. From today, you’re one of us. Everyone, a round of applause,” said the short man, stuffing the contract into an archive folder and tossing it casually into the desk drawer.

Rumble, rumble…

A sudden thunderous roar shook Hei Yu’s eardrums to the point of pain—this was no applause, but more like torture.

“Stop!” barked the short man, and the thunderous noise slowly faded.

Everyone in the room looked pained as they turned their gaze to one man—a tall, gaunt elderly fellow in a Dragon Ball Goku T-shirt, sunglasses, hunched over with a cane, his bald head adorned with a string of white beard, resembling Master Roshi.

“Director!” everyone called out in unison.

Though they had been disgruntled a moment ago, now their faces showed genuine respect.

“So this is the new recruit with abilities?” The old man took off his sunglasses, his gaze inscrutable as he looked at Hei Yu.

“My name is Hei—Xuan Hai. Nice to meet you…”

“I’m Kang Tiansheng, nominally the director at the state police bureau—just an idle old man,” Kang Tiansheng said benevolently.

Of course, Hei Yu didn’t take the man’s words at face value. He’d heard the name Kang Tiansheng mentioned more than once—a local celebrity in the state, though the tales usually involved romantic escapades. Still, a celebrity nonetheless.

Previously, Hei Yu thought the gap between himself and such figures was vast, that they were nothing more than dinner-table anecdotes. He never expected that this man would appear before him today.

Suddenly, Kang Tiansheng stumbled, nearly falling, and inadvertently placed his hand on Hei Yu’s shoulder. Hei Yu became alert; when he used the first level of the “Thousand Mile Shift Technique,” it involved placing a hand on someone’s shoulder. Kang Tiansheng’s touch was light, and he withdrew his hand immediately.

“Sorry about that,” Kang Tiansheng smiled innocently, though his eyes appraised Hei Yu from head to toe.

“It’s fine,” Hei Yu replied, smiling as he sized up Kang Tiansheng in return.

Kang Tiansheng said, “Young man, work hard,” then, hands clasped behind his back and leaning on his cane, he made his way to the end of the corridor and opened the office door.

“Wow… Director!” someone inside exclaimed.

Kang Tiansheng turned to shut the door, smiling all the while—a smile that sent a chill down Hei Yu’s spine.

“Don’t mind him—the director and our station chief have a teacher-student relationship,” the short man explained.

“All right, get to know each other. My shift’s over for today,” he said, glancing at the tall man and Chen Yang. “Do you two want a ride?”

They must be on the same team; it seemed they usually went home together.

“No need, Captain. I’ll walk home later, and maybe check for news on Black Tiger,” replied the tall man with a smile.

“All right, don’t overdo it,” said the captain.

“Mm.” The tall man nodded.

“Captain, I have plans with a friend later. Drive safe on your way home,” Chen Yang added warmly.

“Okay, you two make sure to get some rest. Don’t work yourselves too hard while you’re young,” said the captain, turning toward the entrance.

The others crowded around to introduce themselves.

Hei Yu memorized their faces and details carefully. The system was powerful—it automatically generated a page for each person, complete with photos.

Aside from two older male officers, the rest were newcomers with less than two years on the job. The one who caught Hei Yu’s attention most was a man named Fang Bei, whose hair was dyed green and cut in a round style, looking like an anime delinquent, though he wore his uniform properly.

Although Fang Bei didn’t say much, Hei Yu could sense that his aura was different. He must be an ability-user. After all, police regulations wouldn’t allow someone with green hair unless he, like Hei Yu, had committed some offense but was recruited because of his special abilities.

Once everyone had finished introducing themselves, Hei Yu told them about himself. The system helpfully floated a profile page before his eyes detailing his identity as Xuan Hai. Hei Yu read from the page, and when he described his ability to make people faint, everyone in the room gasped.

“What an incredible power!”

“Glad you’re on our side—imagine if you were an enemy!”

“No wonder even the director came personally—he’s a major talent!”

…

People chatted back and forth, then returned to their offices, leaving Hei Yu alone.

Hei Yu felt a bit overwhelmed, gazing in confusion at the tall man and Chen Yang.

“You’ll get used to it,” the tall man said awkwardly, extending his hand.

Hei Yu shook his hand; before, the man’s abilities had been daunting, but now they were colleagues, making the situation feel surreal.

“I never introduced myself—I'm Zhang Wu, and this is Chen Yang,” the tall man said with a smile.

After shaking Zhang Wu’s hand, Hei Yu turned to Chen Yang, who reached out but didn’t shake; instead, she led Hei Yu out of the station.

They ran a good distance—Chen Yang’s grip was iron-strong, holding Hei Yu like a pair of steel pincers.

She dragged him into a deserted back alley, still not letting go.

“Miss, please mind your manners,” Hei Yu prompted her to release his hand.

Chen Yang ignored him.

The alley was piled with trash and reeked of decay. Two rats, startled by their presence, scurried along the wall.

“Don’t tell anyone about how you helped me crack the code yesterday,” Chen Yang warned.

“Okay,” Hei Yu replied casually, unconcerned.

“Don’t take my words lightly, or else—” Chen Yang, seeing Hei Yu’s indifference, suddenly reached out, and a gust of wind swept up the two rats hiding in the sewer, lifting them into the air.

Hei Yu was shocked—he hadn’t expected Chen Yang to be an ability-user as well.

The rats were torn apart midair, leaving nothing behind.

“I hate rats that lurk in the shadows. Don’t play one way in front of me and another behind my back. If I find out you’ve told anyone, your fate will be the same as those rats,” Chen Yang’s eyes flashed with menace.

[Danger]

“Alright, understood, Sister Yang,” Hei Yu replied obediently.

Seeing that Hei Yu was genuinely frightened, Chen Yang finally released his hand and turned to leave.

After she left, Hei Yu let out a long breath.

Even the system sensed the danger—Chen Yang was clearly a tough customer.

It seemed the whole station was full of ability-users.

Sigh—he’d wondered why there was no mechanism to restrict recruits like himself, who had been converted from criminals.

Apparently, none was needed.

Thinking back, how had Chen Yang been so easily subdued by Black Tiger in the detention room? Was it all an act?

Looks like he’d landed in a den of dragons and tigers!

Forget it—no point worrying.

Hei Yu shook his head and decided to take things one step at a time.