Chapter Thirty-Five: The Grudge Is Formed

"This is the entire course of events."

In the Department of Anomaly Handling, Qi Chen sat calmly across from the gentle man, recounting in excruciating detail every moment of his battle with the old beggar. After hearing everything, the gentle man fell silent. He had never expected his rookie partner to face something so brutal, and so soon—even if this world, shrouded in mist, no longer took warmth as its main theme.

"You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll ask Logistics to bring something up," he said, pressing his earpiece to request food from the logistics department, at a loss for what else to say.

But the awkward atmosphere only thickened. After a moment of consideration, the gentle man chose his words carefully, speaking one by one: "Kid... Don’t dwell on things that can’t be changed. Once something happens, we shouldn’t fixate on it. We have to think about what to do next."

Qi Chen abruptly looked up, meeting his gaze. "That old beggar—was he part of the same group as the strange walker at the Eastside warehouse?"

"Yes."

He nodded lightly. "Based on what we know so far, the Confession Guillotine, the Eastside warehouse, and the one who attacked you all stem from the same source.

"The Analysis Department has been gathering information. What we can confirm is that there’s definitely a group behind all this—the Vertical Eye Society. They’re an organization near Third City, and we’ve been at odds with them for a long time.

"Their main force has always been out in the mist. We’ve struck at their operations inside the city many times, but eradicating them at the root is still incredibly difficult."

As he spoke, the highly efficient logistics staff delivered a meal—considered quite sumptuous in these times. It was a simple rice bowl, but generously topped with meat.

"Eat up—Vice Captain Fu will be here soon. Fill up first," the gentle man urged, unwilling to dwell any longer on topics that pained Qi Chen. As a mentor, he had access to much more detailed testing files on Qi Chen, especially the psychological assessments that documented every moment of their conversation.

He knew exactly what kind of person Qi Chen was, and understood what kind of impact the fate of that innocent family would have on a newcomer like him, just beginning to face the bizarre.

Hadn’t he come through the same trial himself? He’d secretly asked Fu Ying here, hoping they could help Qi Chen together.

...

Qi Chen buried his head in the meal, shoveling it into his mouth and quickly finishing what, just days ago, might have filled him with joy.

He thought: if only I had more experience, maybe that family wouldn’t have been harmed by the old beggar.

Knock, knock!

The meeting room door rattled, then swung open. Fu Ying strode in, her short hair neat and her expression cold. Her sharp eyes swept Qi Chen up and down before she pulled a white card from her pocket and tossed it onto the table.

"This is a medical voucher—I just applied for it for you. Go pick up your medication when you have time." With that, she turned to the gentle man, scoffing, "Are you still planning to coddle rookies with your gentle methods? Look at the state he’s in!"

The gentle man flushed, opening his mouth to argue, but his confidence and authority were no match for Fu Ying's; he couldn’t muster a convincing retort.

"If you keep this up, you might as well transfer Qi Chen to Team Four. I’m sure they’d welcome such a promising recruit."

He wore a bitter expression, inwardly complaining: Wasn’t she supposed to help him comfort his partner? How did it turn into splitting them up—and giving Qi Chen to Team Four, no less?

"But, Captain Fu... Qi’s only just joined us; he needs some time to adjust..."

Fu Ying snorted in disdain, drumming her fingers on the table as her tone grew sharp: "A flower raised in a greenhouse—no matter how beautiful—can it withstand even a little wind and rain from the wild?"

Qi Chen, who’d eaten his meal in silence, now looked up at the highest-ranking officer and stood at attention with a swish.

"Captain Fu, I take full responsibility for what happened. Please don’t blame the gentle man."

"Of course it’s on you!" Fu Ying’s words were as pointed as daggers. Though shorter than Qi Chen, her presence was overwhelming. "But do you know what your greatest mistake was?"

Qi Chen paused, exchanging a glance with the gentle man before murmuring, "I didn’t have enough combat experience—I failed to capture the enemy perfectly... and didn’t even leave a survivor."

"Clearly, you have no idea where you went wrong, Qi Chen." Fu Ying planted her hands on her hips, her expression growing grave. "Your mistakes aren’t those irrelevant things you just mentioned.

"Your mistake was showing mercy to the enemy. When did I ever tell you that you must capture hostile anomaly walkers alive?

"Let me tell you the primary rule of action:

"In any event involving anomalies, if your own life or the lives of the residents are in danger, and it’s a natural anomaly, you destroy it as quickly and violently as possible!

"If it’s an anomaly walker from outside the city, then use every skill you have to eliminate them!

"No need for prisoners when dealing with wolves!"

Even the gentle man was startled by Fu Ying’s words. He knew her well, but who could have guessed she would give such direct instruction to a newcomer?

"Now I’m giving you both a task. Gentle man, make sure Qi Chen gets familiar with the department’s operations as quickly as possible. Train him in every aspect to become a qualified member of the Department of Anomaly Handling.

"Intelligence will be sent to you shortly by Analysis. Understood?

"As for the follow-up on the Confession Guillotine case, I’ll personally lead the Special Operations Team. Let those who covet Third City bleed dry!"

Qi Chen’s expression turned solemn; he almost snapped to a full salute by reflex. Though Fu Ying had scolded him harshly, he somehow felt more at ease.

But he had something more to say.

"Captain Fu! I want to join the Special Operations Team!"

The gentle man was dumbfounded—why was this kid so headstrong?

"Once you two complete the tasks I’ve given you, you’ll be eligible to report to the Special Operations Team," Fu Ying replied with her characteristic decisiveness, tossing the words over her shoulder as she strode out of the meeting room. The team was already mobilizing, and she had greater matters to attend to.

But just as she reached the door, Fu Ying paused, turned, and with a small, meaningful smile at Qi Chen, said, "All in all, you’ve done an excellent job so far. Keep it up!"

A tremor ran through Qi Chen, a sense of recognition he’d never felt before welling up inside him. Remembering the case still unresolved, he clenched his fist tightly, carving a name into his mind:

"Vertical Eye Society? I won’t forget you!"

...