Chapter 66: Sea Without Light 66
After arriving at the Investigation Bureau, Kui Xin glanced at the clock; it was still some time before eight. She planned to take a detour to visit her teammate Jiang Ming.
She took the elevator to the floor where the medical center was located and asked in the elevator, “Augus, is Jiang Ming awake?”
“Security Officer Jiang Ming is in good condition and has been transferred from the intensive care unit to a regular ward,” Augus reported, providing the room number. “Visiting hours are from seven in the morning to eight in the evening, so you can go see him.”
The elevator stopped, and Augus kindly made the corridor’s indicator light flash a few times to show Kui Xin the way.
When she reached Jiang Ming’s hospital room, Kui Xin knocked twice and then pushed the door open.
Jiang Ming was having breakfast; apart from looking a bit pale, his spirits were quite good.
“Good morning, Kui Xin.” Jiang Ming finished a cup of soy milk in one go.
“Morning, how’s the wound?” Kui Xin looked at his legs, covered by the blanket. “Does it still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore; the nurse gave me a painkiller, and the wound has healed a lot,” Jiang Ming said frankly as he lifted the blanket to show Kui Xin his amputated leg. His left leg below the knee had been completely amputated, and the pants of his hospital gown were flapping empty.
Kui Xin curiously asked, “Have you decided what model of prosthetic leg you want?”
Jiang Ming smacked his lips. “Most leg prosthetics are designed to enhance function; there are very few aggressive types. A combat-oriented leg doesn’t make sense. Others can lift mechanical arms and transform them into blades or guns, but I have a mechanical leg—shouldn’t it transform into a weapon as well? That would be like performing acrobatics.”
“The functional type is more practical,” Kui Xin said. “What are you going to do while the prosthetic is being designed?”
“Use auxiliary equipment,” Jiang Ming said, patting the side of the bed. A mechanical arm automatically detached from the bed, extending to simulate a supportive motion. “It’s quite inconvenient; it’s hard to even wash my face in the washroom. Doctor Huang suggested I use a generic model of a prosthetic leg for daily activities and switch to the customized one when it’s ready.”
“It’s a good idea to try using a prosthetic leg beforehand; the experience will no doubt differ from that of a natural leg,” Kui Xin said.
“I heard that the latest mechanical neural connection technology developed last year has been put into use. It has many advantages over the older point neural connection technology. Doctor Huang said that prosthetics utilizing the new technology have control sensations almost similar to human limbs,” Jiang Ming said. “Technological advancements are so fast; I’m even a bit excited to see what I’ll look like with a prosthetic.”
Kui Xin didn’t fully understand the terms “mechanical neural connection technology” and “point neural connection technology,” only vaguely recognizing them.
The Second World is a dark and dangerous place, yet also brimming with life. This world is constantly evolving, harboring infinite possibilities, much like a tree that keeps sprouting new branches, each representing a potential outcome.
While Kui Xin and Jiang Ming were talking, there was a knock on the hospital door.
Xueyao Shu walked in and smiled, “Kui Xin is here too.”
“Yeah, I came early to see Jiang Ming.” Kui Xin glanced at the time; it was still eight minutes until eight.
“How are you, Jiang Ming?” Xueyao Shu pulled a chair and sat at the bedside.
“I’m doing well; I slept most of yesterday, and I woke up at four this morning,” Jiang Ming said. “I was really hungry when I woke up; the cafeteria was closed, so I asked Augus to heat up some canned food for me.”
“Nothing you can do about that,” Xueyao Shu said helplessly.
Kui Xin looked at Xueyao Shu and asked, “Do we have any work today? Has the Harbor Zone search been completed?”
“We’ve finished searching the key areas,” Xueyao Shu said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t find the gang that installed the explosives, but we did discover a lot of drug trafficking. Some even built a small production line for homemade guns.”
Jiang Ming remarked, “Tsk, the main reason the federation’s crime rate is so high is that we don’t have the death penalty. If we executed one every time we caught one, would they still dare to commit crimes?”
Xueyao Shu calmly responded, “Changing the law alone isn’t enough; are the issues only about the law, Lao Jiang?”
Jiang Ming fell silent for a moment, tsking in annoyance.
This world is too twisted and warped, hideous like a festering sore.
To truly heal the wound, one would have to be ruthless enough to cut away the rotten flesh and administer potent medicine. However, the sore grows on the body, and the root of the disease lies within it; cutting away one sore reveals many others festering and growing, making it impossible to entirely eradicate.
Kui Xin listened to their conversation and unconsciously yawned.
Xueyao Shu turned and asked with concern, “Why do you have such dark circles under your eyes again?”
“I couldn’t relax last night, only slept for three hours…” Kui Xin murmured.
“Is it because you’ve been under too much mental strain lately?” Xueyao Shu suggested. “You got hurt, and Lao Jiang also got hurt; it’s quite a challenging time.”
“After thirty-five, I can transfer to a logistics position; there’s still some time ahead, Kui Xin.” Jiang Ming said sympathetically, “Why don’t you go to the Psychotherapy Room and chat with Director Yang?”
“I’ll go if I have time,” Kui Xin sighed.
“We should have a relatively free day. Jiang Ming is injured, so our team can’t go out on duty. The major search in the Harbor Zone is almost over, and we’ll just need to conduct occasional surprise checks afterward,” Xueyao Shu said. “We’re not always busy with life and death on the line.”
“My ideal life is sitting in an office drinking tea,” Kui Xin replied. “Running around is too tiring; my bones are about to fall apart.”
“An ideal life of sitting in the office drinking tea is impossible to achieve,” Jiang Ming said. “After retirement, it might be barely possible; we retire at forty-five, so we’ll have to endure.”
“What if I die before I’m forty-five?” Kui Xin quipped, “Even if I die, the compensation from the Investigation Bureau won’t go to my family.”
“Then enjoy the present,” Xueyao Shu encouraged. “At least today our work is light; you can drink tea in the office now, or here’s another option—chat with Director Yang in the Psychotherapy Room.”
With two minutes until eight, Kui Xin stood up from her chair, stretching her neck. “I choose to drink tea… It’s almost work time; I should go.”
“If you’re fine, then I’m leaving with Kui Xin,” Xueyao Shu nodded to Jiang Ming.
“Okay,” Jiang Ming waved his hand.
Kui Xin and Xueyao Shu walked side by side into the elevator, at which point Augus sent today’s work schedule.
“Morning, office duty. Afternoon, training,” Kui Xin read, her eyebrows twitching slightly at the word “training.” “Sigh, training is better than executing missions; it’s just a bit tiring.”
“Get through the first three months of training, and it will get easier,” Xueyao Shu said.
“Will we not need to train after three months?”
“Not… what I mean is you will adapt to the training intensity; the pain will lessen.”
“Oh…”
“After a year, the frequency of training will decrease from daily to three times a week.”
Kui Xin knocked her head lightly. “Great.”
The elevator suddenly stopped, and the doors slid open. Jiang Meimei walked in with a furrowed brow, her expression less relaxed than usual, seemingly filled with agitation.
Seeing someone in the elevator, she maintained her usual demeanor, nodding and smiling at Kui Xin before specifically greeting Xueyao Shu, “Captain Shu.”
“Group Leader Jiang,” Xueyao Shu replied politely.
Jiang Meimei seemed to have little interest in small talk; as soon as the elevator reached her desired floor, she hurriedly exited, her leather shoes clattering against the floor.
“Did something happen? Group Leader Jiang seems very busy,” Kui Xin remarked as she and Xueyao Shu arrived at their floor.
Xueyao Shu pondered, “I haven’t received any urgent news.”
That shouldn’t be the case.
Last night, the Kraken sank, and the armed helicopter from the Investigation Bureau crashed into the sea. How could the leadership have no response? Unless they were suppressing some news.
Kui Xin stepped out of the elevator and asked, “Captain, are you about to get a promotion?”
Xueyao Shu stopped in his tracks, caught off guard. “Why do you ask that?”
“Group Leader Jiang specifically greeted you,” Kui Xin said. “Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I feel she treats you quite equally; it doesn’t seem like the way a superior would talk to a subordinate.”
“Promotions depend on obeying superiors’ arrangements,” Xueyao Shu smiled. “Feelings don’t mean much.”
They walked down the long corridor.
“Are all the higher-ups in the Investigation Bureau awakened?” Kui Xin inquired.
“Not all; being awakened doesn’t necessarily confer leadership abilities,” Xueyao Shu replied as he scanned his iris to open the office door. “Among the four group leaders, only Group Leader Wei Zhi and Group Leader Jiang Meimei are awakened.”
Kui Xin followed Xueyao Shu into the office and jokingly said, “Then Captain, you still have a good chance; when you get promoted, could you transfer me to an easier position?”
Xueyao Shu smiled wryly, “Don’t fantasize about impossible things.”
“By the way, are the Minister and Deputy Minister extraordinary ability users?” Kui Xin pretended to be curious. “What are their extraordinary abilities?”
“They are. I’m not sure about the Minister’s ability; the Minister of the Investigation Bureau doesn’t need to personally go into combat,” Xueyao Shu explained. “The Deputy Minister’s ability is actually an open secret; security officers with longer service know it.”
Kui Xin pressed further, “What is it?”
“Investigative Eye,” Xueyao Shu replied. “It’s an ability that doesn’t directly enhance combat power. It allows one to see the extraordinary abilities possessed by a specific person, acting like a walking detector for extraordinary abilities.”
Upon hearing this, Kui Xin felt a cold sweat break out on her back, and her blood seemed to rush backward. Her heartbeat became erratic, and her pupils dilated; luckily, she kept her head down, and Xueyao Shu was also seated behind his desk, not noticing her strange reaction.
“Seeing the extraordinary abilities of a specific person?” Kui Xin struggled to maintain her composure and asked, “Can it also penetrate the weaknesses and usage flaws of those abilities?”
“I don’t know about that,” Xueyao Shu said. “Though it’s an open secret, no one would publicize it; as long as the insiders know, that’s enough. You’re an awakened one, and you’ll gradually learn these things.”
An unprecedented sense of panic spread throughout her body. Even when on the Kraken, she had never felt such fear.
She felt apprehensive, an emotion that had never been so intense before.
Deputy Minister Lin Xinji had just returned from a business trip to the Investigation Bureau. If Kui Xin were to run into him in the Investigation Building, he would be able to instantly see that she possessed more than one extraordinary ability.
Her identity as an undercover agent, her identity as a player, everything she had desperately tried to conceal since arriving would be exposed to his gaze, rendering her efforts futile. The outcome awaiting her might be more horrifying than death.
She could become the next Reynir Brandenburg, imprisoned, tortured, interrogated; they would restrict her movements, leaving her unable even to die.
No, it can’t be like this.
Kui Xin sat at her designated office seat, staring at the dark surface of the desk, making up her mind in less than a second.
—She had to kill Deputy Minister Lin Xinji.
At that moment, her feelings were different from when she killed Zhejian, Python Sphere, or Fang Zhi; her reasons for each kill were not the same.
She killed Zhejian out of helplessness, Python Sphere out of revenge, and Fang Zhi because his existence polluted her life.
Now, her decision to kill Lin Xinji was driven by the need to strike first.
If she didn’t eliminate Lin Xinji, he would become the Damocles sword hanging over her head. Working at the Investigation Bureau meant seeing him frequently; perhaps just brushing past each other in the elevator could lead to her exposure. Before this Damocles sword fell, Kui Xin needed to break it completely.
“I’m late! A whole day’s pay gone.”
Lan Lan walked into the office, looking sorrowful.
Liu Kangyun followed her in, looking equally dejected as he said, “I’m here to share the salary cut with you.”
“What’s wrong with you two?” Xueyao Shu asked, looking up.
Liu Kangyun replied, “We waited a long time in line to buy breakfast… I already paid, and I couldn’t leave without my breakfast, so… it ended up being a small loss for a big one.”
“I took the wrong tram,” Lan Lan covered her face. “Don’t mention it; it’s so embarrassing! I didn’t think and just got on the electric tram heading to the Harbor Zone.”
“…That’s really unfortunate,” Kui Xin said. “You weren’t dozing off while waiting for the tram, were you, Lan Lan?”
She joined the conversation with an air of nonchalance, successfully disguising herself as one of the group. The speed with which she shifted her mood and expressions even surprised herself for a moment.
Kui Xin had become a high-level double agent like Doctor Huang.
If she continued to live like this, she would inevitably end up with dissociative identity disorder.
…
The relatively free day soon came to an end.
As it neared quitting time, Kui Xin overheard colleagues talking on the training ground, mentioning that Deputy Minister Lin Xinji was on another business trip this time to a nearby city.
This brought her a moment of relief; at least she was safe while Lin Xinji was away.
After training, Kui Xin changed into her casual clothes in the rest room, took the elevator down, and boarded the Hover Tram to go home.
On the tram, Kui Xin checked her wristband messages as usual.
Night Cicada: “You’re interested in the ‘players’ held at headquarters; do you want to come see them tonight? You can personally get involved in the interrogation.”
