Chapter 24: Shocking News! (5)

“Don’t worry, they’ll all awaken today. Every province and city has already set up new magnetic energy awakening chambers. All you have to do is mark an X over anyone you think has bad luck.” Xiao Anguo pointed at the screen with an impatient gesture, urging him to get to work.

“OK!” Wu Zui replied, and began marking the photos one by one. In less than an hour, all the photos were finished, with a bit over fifty deemed unqualified.

Rubbing his eyes, Wu Zui said to Xiao Anguo, “All done. These are the unlucky ones.”

Xiao Anguo took the mouse and sent the crossed-out photos through the internal network. These people wouldn’t be scheduled for magnetic energy awakening anytime soon.

“Now that that’s done, come with me to the equipment vault. I’ll give you a few pieces of gear!” Xiao Anguo patted Wu Zui on the shoulder.

“Alright!” Wu Zui immediately broke into a grin, curiosity bubbling up—what kind of gear might be in there? Could there be some powerful weapons?

Xiao Anguo led Wu Zui straight to the equipment vault, a room lined with many shelves. Unfortunately, most of the shelves were already empty.

Ignoring the shelves, Xiao Anguo walked straight to a wall, pressed his hand against a ceramic tile, and—

Beep~ Authentication complete! Welcome, Minister Xiao Anguo of the Huaxia Bureau of Investigators!

A synthesized electronic voice rang out, and a hidden door opened right in the wall before him.

“Let’s go in. Everything here is either experimental or impossible to replicate. I’ll give you a few things.” Xiao Anguo entered first.

Wu Zui glanced into the secret room and couldn’t help but smile.

There were only a few shelves inside, but the items on them radiated magnetic energy—every one of them a treasure.

“What kind of cold weapons do you like?” Xiao Anguo asked, stopping before a weapon rack.

The rack bore everything from long swords and sabers to massive blades and hammers, all gleaming with gold. Just selling the gold alone could probably net a fortune.

“A long sword, I suppose,” Wu Zui replied casually. If he took one of those golden hammers, he’d look like a fool from a distance. A sword at least resembled a work of art.

“Then take this one. These weapons are all forged from a mix of magnetite and gold, with a golden plating. Their effectiveness against spirits and monsters is excellent!” Xiao Anguo handed over a golden long sword, more than a meter in length. The blade was unadorned, and the hilt, made from magnetite, was a sleek black—quite a handsome piece.

Next, Xiao Anguo handed him a black trench coat, its style similar to the white one Ji Yiyi had worn the day before.

“This is a defense coat against anomalies,” Xiao Anguo explained. “It’s lined with a thin sheet of gold to reduce the damage from anomalous attacks. There’s also a small magnetic energy field generator at each upper arm. Both cuffs can be opened to deploy it, and it can withstand a two-star spirit’s attack for half an hour. As long as you don’t do anything foolish, you should be able to reach safety.”

Wu Zui was reminded of Ji Yiyi’s coat, and of the two men among the five who’d brought Xiao Ke’ai back—they’d been carrying boxes and never left Xiao Ke’ai’s side.

Seeing Wu Zui hesitate, Xiao Anguo thought he was embarrassed. “There’s no need to be modest. Your survival is a blessing for all Huaxia’s magnetic energy awakeners.”

Last night, after leaving Wu Zui, Xiao Anguo had waited at the chamber doors until everyone had finished awakening. Just as Wu Zui had predicted, none of the remaining candidates failed.

“Uh… thank you,” Wu Zui replied, donning the black coat.

After bestowing the gifts, Xiao Anguo’s tone turned somber. “Last night, the investigators who’d awakened their magnetic energy suffered heavy losses when clearing out ghosts and monsters. While most targets were eliminated, some remaining ones have already evolved, and a wave of new anomalies has appeared. The government has decided to designate all successfully awakened individuals as Spirit Investigators, to handle new anomalies by region. They’ll still report to the Bureau of Investigators. I hope you’ll stay in Yanjing.”

He had his reasons—if Wu Zui left Yanjing for Binhai, the headquarters’ reach would be limited. And personally, he worried his daughter might secretly follow, and if anything happened to her, it would be his undoing.

“I’d rather return to Binhai. My parents are long gone, but I still have many friends there. As for Xiao Ke’ai, I’ll try to persuade her to stay. Minister, don’t forget the oath you swore.”

Wu Zui’s words made Xiao Anguo’s face darken. As a minister, national interests came first, but who was without a little selfishness? All he wanted was to protect his family in these chaotic times—was that so wrong?

And the oath…

Xiao Anguo recalled his early days in the Bureau, swearing: I pledge to use all my strength to defend this land and its people; to give my all, that the world may know peace.

After a long silence, Xiao Anguo said, “Very well, but be careful.”

Wu Zui felt a little awkward—once the deputy director, now he’d become so accustomed to talking back that he’d even done it to the minister.

[Thank goodness the minister is broad-minded. Time to make myself scarce!]

“Well then, Minister, farewell. I’m off to see my foolish apprentice.” With that, Wu Zui turned and quickly disappeared from the equipment vault.

Xiao Anguo stared after him in a daze. “That rascal. After scolding me, does he think I’ll eat him?” Shaking his head with a smile, he too left.

Xiao Ke’ai’s temporary residence.

Ji Yiyi had already returned to her company, which was currently cooperating with the government to develop magnetic energy weapons. She needed to coordinate the project.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ke’ai was playing indoors with two golden hammers. Thanks to magnetic energy, their weight was no issue for her.

So when Wu Zui arrived, he found Xiao Ke’ai energetically swinging the hammers—a sight that nearly defied belief! The golden hammers were bigger than her own head; if she hit herself, wouldn’t she be knocked senseless?

[Not that she’s particularly bright to begin with,] Wu Zui thought privately.

“Master! You came to see me?” Xiao Ke’ai quickly noticed him, pigtails bouncing as she ran over, hammers in hand.

“Yes. You’ve heard about the Spirit Investigator designation, haven’t you? I hope you’ll stay in Yanjing; your father’s here, and it’s safe.” Wu Zui reasoned that Xiao Anguo would surely keep her well protected.

“Master, are you not staying? My skills aren’t good yet, and I’m not as cunning—uh, as skilled as you at solving cases. Are you abandoning me?” Xiao Ke’ai’s eyes welled with tears, like a kitten about to be cast aside.

“…I have many friends in Binhai who need my help now that the anomalies have erupted. If you stay here, your father can rest easy, understand?” Wu Zui’s head throbbed—he could only patiently try to persuade her.

“Is it because of Ming Rourou?” Xiao Ke’ai suddenly bared her little fangs, suspicious.

“Uh… not just him. There’s Lin Feng, Old Wang, and several elite investigators! After I make sure they’re safe, I’ll come back to see you,” Wu Zui answered, already sweating—this was perhaps the most exhausting time he’d ever tried to bluff someone.

“Oh… alright. I’ll wait here for you, Master.” Xiao Ke’ai lowered her head, eyes darting with apparent sadness.

Wu Zui let out a long breath.

But he’d forgotten—disobedience was Xiao Ke’ai’s innate skill, something that even Hu Wu understood better than he did!

That morning, Wu Zui gave Xiao Ke’ai a crash course on monsters and ghosts: never trust folk remedies like garlic or black dog’s blood—investigators had risked their lives to prove such things useless!

They also downloaded an app called “Ghost and Monster Compendium,” which contained all the researched habits and weaknesses of anomalies—though it noted that only magnetic energy could deal with them.

By noon, Xiao Ke’ai left, and it was time for Wu Zui to catch his flight. The Bureau had arranged several planes to return Spirit Investigators to their respective provinces—Wu Zui would fly back to Binhai.

As for regular flights? According to the “Compendium,” encountering a spirit meant almost certain crash—so all planes nationwide were being retrofitted with magnetite.

Departure hall.

There were few people—only Spirit Investigators awaiting flights. Only four planes were available, all newly manufactured.

Wu Zui sat with his eyes closed, resting. Not far away, a girl in a black coat identical to his, with long black hair, was surreptitiously watching him.

There was no need to guess—it was Xiao Ke’ai in disguise.

Sensing a gaze, Wu Zui turned to look, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

[With magnetic energy awakened, am I really this sensitive to stares? Better not look again. Once I’m in Binhai, let’s see how Master plans to send me away!] Xiao Ke’ai continued pretending to read a boring newspaper, reminding herself to stay calm.

Soon, the plane took off—her disguise and tracking plan had succeeded!

With her new senses, she easily trailed Wu Zui from afar without being discovered.

Wu Zui, feeling the occasional stare, merely assumed onlookers were curious about the golden sword on his back.

[Once I’m back in Binhai, I need to get a scabbard made—this sword is far too conspicuous!]

When the plane landed in Binhai, as Wu Zui disembarked, he caught sight of the familiar figure—a long-haired girl in a black coat.

With the familiar hair and the Binhai setting, he instantly knew who it was.

“Xiao! Ke! Ai!” Wu Zui growled.