Chapter 59: Sea Without Light
“Young man, don’t just rush forward without thinking.” Doctor Huang said earnestly, “If the situation looks bad, just run! Charging in recklessly will lead to big losses. You’re still so young, don’t let your life be cut short!”
He had just finished performing an amputation surgery on Jiang Ming, and the nurses pushed him into the intensive care unit, administering blood and multiple medications.
Switching to a mechanical prosthetic was inevitable. Once Jiang Ming’s wound healed and he regained consciousness, the Investigation Bureau’s medical center would provide him with several plans for installing mechanical prosthetics to consider, whether enhanced, speedy, auxiliary, or offensive types.
For many, installing mechanical prosthetics symbolized a rebirth; they discarded their old bodies to embrace new ones, with technology enabling them to work and live better.
The Investigation Bureau would provide medical services to security officers free of charge, and custom installation of mechanical prosthetics was also free.
“But if we don’t charge in, who will protect the innocent people in the Harbor Zone?” Liu Kangyun said. “Those two extraordinary abilities users are no good; they must have ulterior motives for coming here.”
“Alas… you guys.” Doctor Huang glanced at Liu Kangyun with a complex expression, his gaze resembling one looking at a pig willingly walking to the slaughterhouse. “Let me give you some heartfelt advice, just this once.”
He lowered his voice and patted Liu Kangyun’s shoulder, “Other teams only exert about sixty to seventy percent of their effort on missions, patrolling every day, running away when danger arises, and reporting unsolvable incidents. Yet your Seventh Squad is practically throwing in a hundred and twenty percent! You’re okay with routine patrolling, but when something happens, you rush to the front! Do you think you haven’t been hurt enough? It’s not good to be so honest. If you do what others won’t, they won’t admire or appreciate you; they’ll just think you’re fools!”
Liu Kangyun fell silent.
“Count how many times the Seventh Squad has been injured each time you go out on duty. You guys are becoming regulars at our medical center!” Doctor Huang said. “You all are good kids, and I don’t want to see you die young. I advise you to stabilize your work, don’t rush so much… In the end, someone will handle it. Why must it always be you who does the work?”
Liu Kangyun opened his mouth, stumbling over his words: “But if we don’t rush in, who will protect the innocent? If no one rushes in, who will be willing to go?”
Doctor Huang rolled his eyes: “Alright, I know you didn’t understand. What I mean is, when everyone else is just coasting along, and you dive in hard, you become the odd one out… Don’t stand out so much, got it?”
Beside them, Lan Lan quietly interjected, “Doctor Huang, you make a very valid point. I also want to coast sometimes, but when I see some colleagues sluggishly handling cases, I just can’t help feeling anxious…”
Doctor Huang pointed at Liu Kangyun and Lan Lan: “You two!” He then turned and noticed Kui Xin looking innocent, and added, “Almost forgot about you and the patient lying in the ward, and little Shu… You five really are a peculiar bunch. It’s rare for the Investigation Bureau to have such hard-working folks like you.”
“Doctor Huang, you misunderstand. I’m a newcomer,” Kui Xin scratched his head. “Who knew other teams could slack off? I started in the Seventh Squad and haven’t interacted much with other teams. I thought every team worked as hard as the Seventh Squad. I thought if my teammates were working hard, I couldn’t just sit back! If I had joined a slacking team from the beginning, maybe I’d be a slacking expert by now!”
Liu Kangyun gave Kui Xin a strange look, and Lan Lan nearly burst out laughing.
“I’m going back to the office; do what you want.” Doctor Huang impatiently threw out before leaving.
“Doctor Huang is actually quite good,” Lan Lan said quietly as she watched his retreating figure. “When I first joined the Investigation Bureau and got injured a few times, he treated me. The way he fussed over applying medication was just like a family elder.”
Liu Kangyun nodded: “Doctor Huang’s good rapport in the Bureau is well-known. Those who aren’t sincere won’t earn others’ trust and respect.”
Kui Xin: “…”
Well, you guys surely have misjudged.
Perhaps all slackers have a flair for drama; Doctor Huang could easily compete for an Oscar with his long-winded “slacking theory,” showcasing that he is both sincere and a bit cunning. His outer image isn’t flawless, yet it is real and relatable, making it easy to gain others’ trust.
Moreover, his position as a doctor allows him to quickly close the distance with patients, tapping into their hearts.
“Old Jiang won’t be able to rejoin for at least three or four days,” Lan Lan looked at the closed intensive care unit. “It’ll take time for the wound to heal and the mechanical prosthetics to be customized.”
“What about the port patrol?” Kui Xin asked, “We don’t have enough people in our squad; tasks can’t be allocated.”
“Don’t know. We’ll wait for higher-ups to arrange it; they might temporarily assign a member from another squad or directly allocate us from the port to have another squad take over our work,” Lan Lan said. “The team leader is likely discussing this in the command office.”
Hopefully, it’ll be the latter, Kui Xin prayed.
Typically, Investigation Bureau tasks are conducted by squads. If a squad is understaffed, many tasks can’t proceed because team members’ abilities complement each other. Take the Seventh Squad as an example: Lan Lan is the technician responsible for operating various high-tech equipment; Kui Xin is the sniper; Jiang Ming and Liu Kangyun are melee units; and Xueyao Shu is the commander. Field operation squads usually have no more than ten members, and the Seventh Squad is among the smaller ones. With future expansions in the Investigation Bureau, perhaps new members will continue to join their ranks, fighting alongside them.
With Jiang Ming now needing a mechanical prosthetic, their squad has lost crucial combat power. Theoretically, they won’t be assigned to external field tasks before Jiang Ming recovers and rejoins.
In this case, they should be able to avoid the Kraken escort mission for the Investigation Bureau, right?
…
Xueyao Shu stopped in front of the metal door marked “Vice Minister’s Office,” with a metal sign underneath displaying the vice minister’s name—“Lin Xinji.”
“Captain Shu, Vice Minister Lin Xinji is currently in a discussion with Investigator Jiang Meimei, please wait a moment,” Augus said.
Xueyao Shu quietly stood in the hallway waiting.
About fifteen minutes later, the metal door opened.
Criminal Investigation Group Leader Jiang Meimei came out smiling and warmly said to Xueyao Shu, “Little Shu, here to talk with the vice minister?”
“Yes,” Xueyao Shu replied politely.
“Go on in,” Jiang Meimei said. “I’ll take my leave.”
“Safe travels, Group Leader Jiang.” Xueyao Shu scanned her departing figure, then walked steadily into the office.
In the cool-toned room, Lin Xinji sat behind a black desk.
“Welcome, Xueyao,” he nodded at Xueyao Shu, “Just sit. Adam has already reported the situation at the port to me.”
“I didn’t expect you to return from your business trip today…” Xueyao Shu said. “I mainly wanted to ask whether there is a hidden organization secretly operating in the Harbor Zone.”
“I returned less than half an hour ago,” Lin Xinji stated frankly. “Your speculation is correct; there is indeed a secret organization operating in the Harbor Zone. We don’t know much about this organization, only that it’s called ‘Mechanized Dawn.’ The two extraordinary abilities users you encountered probably belong to this organization.”
“Only a name?” Xueyao Shu asked.
“Exactly, this organization is very mysterious, and their confidentiality measures are stringent,” Lin Xinji said. “Initially, we successfully bribed someone to become an informant, but he was very cautious. Each time we traded information, he only revealed a little and kept vital details tightly wrapped, trying to use it as leverage in our dealings… Unfortunately, even after he was exposed and died, we still have limited knowledge about this organization.”
Xueyao Shu frowned. “What’s the purpose of Mechanized Dawn?”
“Don’t know,” Lin Xinji replied.
“What are they trying to do in the Harbor Zone?”
“Don’t know,” Lin Xinji still shook his head.
“How large is their organization? The two extraordinary abilities users we encountered aren’t low-level, there must be others with extraordinary abilities within this organization.”
“We don’t know how large their organization is either,” Lin Xinji said. “Everything is unknown, everything needs to be explored. We are facing a hidden serpent that’s good at concealing itself. Current intelligence about this organization has not been made public; only a few of us high-level figures are aware.”
“Can we deploy more personnel to search the port? I’m very uneasy… Why are all factions focusing on the port? It’s happened before, but this time it’s clearly more severe.” Xueyao Shu said.
“We have temporarily added a few squads for this task,” Lin Xinji said. “We will uncover the truth behind it all.”
“Good,” Xueyao Shu said. “Additionally, I want to request an early cease of the port patrol. Jiang Ming is injured, and I have a newcomer under my command. Though she’s very capable, she still needs more training to handle these tasks. At this moment, it’s too strenuous to execute missions at the port.”
Lin Xinji pondered for a moment. “Alright, I’ll inform Group Leader Wei Zhi to send another squad over. You’ll return to the headquarters.”
“Thank you,” Xueyao Shu said.
“There is no need for pleasantries between us,” Lin Xinji said. “While I have this opportunity, I want to discuss my future plans with you.”
Xueyao Shu frowned. “Go on.”
“I plan to be reassigned to the Federation Finance Department in a month. Field Operation Group Leader Wei Zhi will be promoted to minister, and Logistics Support Group Leader Chen Dongchang will become vice minister.” Lin Xinji stated. “When that happens, the leadership positions for both the Field and Logistics groups will be vacant. I will recommend you for the position of Field Operation Group Leader.”
“……” Xueyao Shu fell silent. “I’m not capable of taking such an important position.”
“Your capability isn’t important,” Lin Xinji chuckled.
He smiled in a way reminiscent of Xueyao Shu.
“What matters is that our family needs someone to hold an important position in the Investigation Bureau—a position with influence,” Lin Xinji said. “Once I leave here, you will be the only one left. You need to shoulder this responsibility; I’m not negotiating with you, I’m notifying you. This is also what Father wants.”
Xueyao Shu looked up at Lin Xinji—his half-brother.
They had been at odds in their childhood, but now that they had grown up, learning the adult’s hypocritical ways, they could sit down to maintain a superficial peace and communicate properly.
“Fine, I understand,” Xueyao Shu stood up and calmly left the vice minister’s office.
Lin Xinji watched his departing figure until the metal door closed.
“Vice Minister Lin,” Augus’s voice appeared, “The patrol squad at the port has discovered a large number of explosive devices.”
Lin Xinji raised his eyebrows: “Fortunately, they were found in time; otherwise, it would have caused a serious problem… Send in the bomb disposal squad to dismantle all the explosive devices.”
…
On the other side, Kui Xin’s wristband vibrated.
If there’s an extremely urgent message, the wristband would emit a faint vibration to alert her to take a look.
Kui Xin found an excuse to go to the restroom and distanced herself from Lan Lan and Liu Kangyun, stepping into the bathroom.
She sat on the toilet seat and opened her wristband to check the messages.
What urgent news did Mechanized Dawn send?
Red: “Lady Fortune, Plan A has failed. All explosive devices at the port have been discovered by the Investigation Bureau. They are now organizing people to dismantle them, so we have no choice but to execute Plan B.”
Kui Xin: “… Damn.”
Kui Xin collected herself for a few seconds and replied: “I suggest detonating all the explosive devices now. Even if we can’t blow up the port, we can still inflict heavy losses on the teams conducting inspections there.”
Red: “Thanks for the reminder; I already did that a minute ago.”
