AZI Volume 2 Chapter 34

Leaving Tian Cheng back on the yacht—to avoid being questioned, and looked at with odd eyes, Long Hua arrives in front of the disciplinary bureau office that he had been assigned to.

"Oh?"

Opening the door of the rundown office building with great care, Long Hua widens his eyes to see that it didn't fall forward, and is instead fitted perfectly into place.

Taking a glance at the door a second time, he suddenly realizes that it's brand new.

"So, what do you think, lieutenant? I'd say, I did a fine job at fitting the door myself."

Sitting in front of a new desk is Ye Chen, the captain of this office—who had a rather cheeky expression on his face, as he greets Long Hua with a wave.

"What do I think? Hmm."

Looking around the office space, Long Hua goes on to say—

"The same rundown walls that could use a repaint and some fillings, the same old sofas that looked as if a cat had just gone wild on it, and the same old table that could collapse when fallen onto—aside from this door and your desk, everything else is basically the same as always. Ask me again—when the place has been completely renovated."

Hearing this, Ye Chen blinks his eyes before clearing his throat, and replies—

"Hard to please, aren't you? It's called taking one step forward at a time. The next few items to be replaced will be the sofas and table. Should the winter season arrive earlier than expected, the walls and roofs will be set as the priority—even if all of us need to take a pay cut."

"Sounds like a plan."

Moving into the office, Long Hua falls onto one of the old sofas, and glances at Li Xue—who is staring intently at her laptop, and seems to not have noticed his arrival.

"Li Xue is looking for our next job."

"With care, I'd assume?"

"Of course."

With a serious expression on his face, Ye Chen answers as such, as he truly didn't want a repeat of last time.

"In the end, how much did you manage to rip out of that squad that sent us on a suicide run?"

"With these purchases we've made, we're left with enough NWD to pay everyone a full month's worth of salary. Ah, but keep in mind that this is only after taking the government's monthly pay into account."

Recalling how fierce the negotiation process had been, Ye Chen couldn't help but make a shrewd smile, while Long Hua replies with—

"Not a lot."

"Still better than where we started off, lieutenant."

"True."

"Morning. Oh?"

Opening the door with the same expression as Long Hua, Yu Ji steps into the office with Qing Yue following behind him.

Compared to Yu Ji, there is a subtle sense of wariness in the way in which Qing Yue is approaching the central table, and she chose a section of the opposite sofa—that would position her as far away from Long Hua as possible.

(…He really didn't realize it was me last night, right?)

Seating herself, Qing Yue can't help but throw a brief glance at Long Hua, but seeing the latter not acting any more indifferent than usual, she felt like she should be safe.

Setting her laptop onto the table, Li Xue covers her mouth to yawn, to which, Ye Chen remarks—

"Didn't sleep well last night?"

"I was attempting to catch up on a few dramas since my workplace was made to close early yesterday. Apparently, something major went down in the third ward afterwards."

"The morning news did mention there being some MAUs sliced cleanly into pieces."

Shrugging his shoulders in response to Yu Ji's remark, Ye Chen says—

"Situations like that, you'd expect a bureau's squad to get called in to deal with it, but the people behind the incident seem to have used money to keep everything hush, so not much else is really known about the event—other than a few rumors and speculations."

Towards Ye Chen, Li Xue, and Yu Ji's conversation that focused on the events that occurred last night, both Long Hua and Qing Yue kept themselves silent throughout the discussion.

"Hm? You two seem awfully quiet."

"Was a long night yesterday because of a dinner party. After that I got called in for overtime."

Answering Ye Chen's question in this manner, Long Hua raises a light sigh, while the former asks—

"Overtime in a café, and in the middle of the night?"

"Past the hours of midnight, my workplace turns into a bar. Plenty of old folks drop by during that time."

(This guy…)

Noticing how fluidly Long Hua is able to lie through his teeth, Qing Yue can't help but raise a brow, and upon Ye Chen turning his attention towards her, she says—

"I was also a bit busy with work, so I didn't pay much attention to the commotion."

"I see."

Nodding his head, Ye Chen turns to Li Xue, and asks—

"Well, the incidents aside, Li Xue, how goes the search for our next job?"

"It's going well. I'm just waiting for a few matters to be confirmed."

"How long will that take?"

"Give it a day or two."

Raising a hand, Yu Ji asks—

"Any details that you can give about this new job, captain?"

"It's related to the "Carps" that's being passed around."

"Carps?"

Although the term sounded familiar to Yu Ji, he couldn't recall where he had heard about it from.

"Some sort of enhancement drug that is being passed around in the Sinners' circle by an unknown group. Supposedly, it increases the Sinner's combat strength when used."

While saying these words, Ye Chen leaves his desk, and comes to sit before the central table.

"So, the military wants to obtain some of this stuff for the frontlines—under the excuse of seizing dangerous substances?"

Shaking his head towards Yu Ji's question, Ye Chen answers—

"Usage of this substance has recently been discovered to cause a Sinner's Hazard Level to rise rapidly, so it makes them more prone to experiencing signs of Apotheosis. Now imagine this, 2nd Lieut. Yu Ji, what happens when this stuff is distributed to clueless Sinners within the city grounds?"

"…"

Recalling the Apotheosized Sinner that they had fought against, Yu Ji can't help but frown.

"With how society tends to treat Sinners as disposable tools of war…- Ai, sooner or later this tension bubble will burst, and this Carp might just end up being the needle that does the final prick. I shouldn't be saying this aloud, but society really only has itself to blame."

Saying these words with a helpless smile on her face, Li Xue shrugs her shoulders, whereas Long Hua remarks—

"So, there's a high likelihood that the entire city might go to hell when this stuff is placed into the hands of extremists? Sounds like a good time to go on a vacation."

"Vacation? Yeah, maybe, but that vacation takes place on the frontlines. You still willing to go?"

Towards Ye Chen's response to his remark, Long Hua smiles with clear amusement, as if the idea sounded wonderful to him.

(…? I really can't get a good read on this guy. Is he just not afraid of death, or is he just a battle-crazed manic?)

Clearing his throat, and wiping away his smile, Long Hua asks—

"The job is probably something like—finding the distributors of this drug and taking them in, right?"

"Pretty much, but leads are difficult to find."

"This time we're dealing with actual people, so there's uncertain factors to take into consideration when moving."

Towards Li Xue's reminder, the room turns quiet.

Eventually, Qing Yue asks—

"Will killing be allowed?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Li Xue replies—

"Try to keep it to a minimum, if possible."

"In the meanwhile, we're just going to wait around?"

Stretching his arms, Ye Chen answers Yu Ji's question with—

"We're not being very productive, are we? Well, don't worry. Sooner or later, we'll probably be swarmed with work. Like Li Xue said, the bubble could burst real soon with the appearance of this new drug. Enjoy the tranquility, while you can."