Chapter Fifty-Five: The Candy Is Very Sweet

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In the morning hours, Qi Chen walked alone along the empty street. It was still early, yet there were few people on the main road of City Three; those who were able to work had already thrown themselves into their tasks even earlier.

The streets and alleys were silent, with only a handful of breakfast vendors whose doors saw the occasional customer eating quietly.

The tall tower at the heart of City Three, just as it had through countless days and nights before, continued to emit a warm light that could drive away the mist, illuminating the entire city.

Qi Chen held in his hand a meat bun—something he rarely allowed himself to buy—and chewed it slowly as he walked. Suddenly, he noticed a small playground on this street that led to the Department of Anomaly Management.

Inside, seven or eight children were playing—by far the liveliest scene he had encountered since leaving home that morning.

This so-called playground was nothing more than a small patch of sand with a few slides set up. Sitting on a rusty iron bench by the sand, Qi Chen swallowed his last bite of bun and watched the children at play, a faint smile on his lips.

It was rare indeed for him to see children of such a young age in this world.

There were no adults to accompany them, nor ample facilities for play, yet each child’s face was lit with a radiant smile. Qi Chen felt as though the shadows within his heart had dissipated somewhat.

No matter how many strange things there were in the world, surely there would always be something touched by sunlight, wouldn’t there?

All at once, a figure appeared in his line of sight—a middle-aged woman carrying a black plastic bag approached the playing children, who erupted in a chorus of gleeful cheers.

It turned out her bag was filled with candy.

For most families, it was difficult nowadays to buy sweets or snacks for their children very often.

“Would you like one?” The middle-aged woman, having handed out candies to the children, approached Qi Chen with a friendly smile, opening her hand to reveal a small, candy-wrapped sweet.

“No, thank you,” Qi Chen declined politely. He was well aware of the value of that bag of candy, and guessed it was no small expense for the woman.

“Go on, have one. Something sweet can help you forget your troubles,” the woman said gently, insistently holding the sweet out to him.

Qi Chen hesitated for a moment, then took the candy from her hand and slipped a five-yuan note from his pocket, placing it into her palm.

“Consider it bought.”

With that, Qi Chen stood up and left at once. The woman watched his receding figure with a smile, then turned back to look at the ever-happier children, paused for a moment, and continued along the street with her black plastic bag.

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Murmuring softly to herself, she said, “Sweet candy… let all your troubles fade away.”

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“Things aren’t looking too good today.”

As soon as he entered the Department of Anomaly Management, Qi Chen was about to share his candy with the warm-hearted man, but the latter’s first words immediately put an end to that thought.

“What’s going on?”

“You’ll see when we get to the conference room,” the man replied. His expression was somber, and his words were laced with unease, leaving Qi Chen uncertain whether to press further.

Soon enough, all members of the Special Operations Team received notice to report to the conference room.

Inside, there were several unfamiliar faces whom Qi Chen had never seen in the Department before.

“Who are those people?” Leaning slightly, Qi Chen whispered to his colleague, glancing toward the front of the room where a group of people stood shoulder to shoulder with Fu Ying.

They wore uniforms much like the Special Operations Team, but their attire was more formal, and each wore glasses. Their demeanor was not that of ordinary office workers; instead, they radiated a sharp, imposing aura.

“They’re from the Administrative Bureau,” his colleague replied helplessly. “More specifically, they’re from the Bureau’s Inspection Division.”

The Inspection Division?

Qi Chen was taken aback—what was the Inspection Division doing in their department?

“Our department has always enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, but in the end, we’re still under the Bureau’s jurisdiction. By regulation, the Inspection Division does have authority over us.

“It’s just that such formal investigations are very rare,” the warm-hearted man explained briefly.

Today’s meeting, it seemed, was an official inspection by the Inspection Division, focusing especially on the recent performance of the Special Operations Team.

Qi Chen immediately understood why his colleague looked so displeased, even hostile—this was likely the handiwork of internal enemies within City Three!

It also suggested that those pulling strings in the city’s shadows held positions of great power.

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It was easy to imagine—the sort who would dare to plot against the city’s top security officers could hardly be ordinary people.

The struggle, it seemed, was far from limited to the front lines.

“Everyone is here, so let’s begin,” Fu Ying announced from the podium, formally opening the meeting and introducing the members of the Inspection Division present.

The group was led, astonishingly, by the Deputy Director of the Inspection Division himself!

“Colleagues of the Department of Anomaly Management, thank you for all you have done for City Three,” began Deputy Director Qiu, a man with a square jaw. After a perfunctory nod to the impassive Fu Ying, his tone abruptly sharpened:

“But in recent times, your department’s performance has fallen far short of its former standards.

“Especially since the formation of your Special Operations Team—not only has there been no substantive progress, but there have also been rare, major incidents and significant losses in recent years!”

As he spoke, the meeting room’s projector flashed several photographs onto the screen, showing, among other things, the mentally distorted audience in the Grand Concert Hall and the brutal attacks by the Vertical Eye Society on the city’s streets.

“To this day, hundreds of victims from the Concert Hall incident are still undergoing psychiatric treatment, with very few likely to recover fully.

“And the panic that followed the Vertical Eye Society’s shooting in broad daylight continues to spread unabated. Even among the city’s key officials, there have been unacceptable casualties.

“All of this—the Department of Anomaly Management must bear full responsibility!”

Qiu’s voice grew harsher, and the morale of the Special Operations Team visibly waned; yet more than anything, the room was filled with anger, many team members glaring furiously at the man onstage.

But the worst was yet to come. Unfazed by dozens of hostile stares, Deputy Director Qiu declared in a commanding voice:

“By order of the Administrative Bureau, effective immediately, I and my staff from the Inspection Division will conduct a follow-up investigation into the Special Operations Team and supervise your future activities!”

At this, the warm-hearted man’s expression changed. He turned to Qi Chen and murmured in a low voice,

“Brother… it looks like things are only going to get tougher for us from now on.”

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