### Chapter 96: Artificial Soul 23
The arrangement this morning completely disrupted the personnel structure of the Seventh Squad.
Xueyao Shu seemed to have worked in the Investigation Bureau’s field team for five years. After entering this job, there was a five-year service period before one could resign. Xueyao Shu just happened to leave the Seventh Squad at this time.
Liu Kangyun, who joined the job around the same time as Xueyao Shu, was promoted to captain. The Seventh Squad originally had five members, but with Xueyao Shu and Kui Xin leaving, only three were left, and even the squad’s teammates for missions could not be assembled.
Wei Zhi had arranged for this aspect, saying, “In a week, the Investigation Bureau will start external recruitment. By then, there may be new members to supplement your squad. If you’re really short on people, I will integrate members from other squads into the Seventh Squad.”
Many members of the Investigation Bureau had died recently, leading to situations where squad personnel could not be gathered, making team restructuring an expected occurrence.
Back in the office, the members of the Seventh Squad were all frowning.
Kui Xin needed to return to the office to pack her things, so she went back with them.
Liu Kangyun was the first to speak: “Congratulations, Kui Xin.”
Jiang Ming also said, “Congratulations on your promotion and raise.”
“Good luck with your work, Little Kui,” Lan Lan said.
“Yeah, you too,” Kui Xin replied. “But Team Leader Wei seems very strict; I might not last long before she sends me back.”
“No, you must seize this opportunity,” Liu Kangyun said in a lowered voice, his expression serious. “You just graduated from university and may not realize what this means. You’re only in your early twenties and starting at this level. Following Wei Zhi, you can avoid many detours and reach the finish line faster than others.”
Kui Xin looked at his serious face and nodded. “I understand; I will definitely seize it.”
“I have a lot of confidence in you.” Liu Kangyun patted Kui Xin’s shoulder, trying to convey strength, “Quickly pack your things and head to Team Leader Wei’s office. Be diligent; don’t keep her waiting too long.”
“Okay.” Kui Xin lowered her head to find a cardboard box and started packing various small items.
“Goodbye, Kui Xin,” Lan Lan said. “Wait, maybe we shouldn’t say goodbye, since we all work in the same building.”
He extended his right hand to high-five Kui Xin, and Jiang Ming stepped forward to do the same.
“Everyone work hard.” Kui Xin hugged the box and exited the office.
As the metal door of the office closed behind her, Kui Xin let out a heavy breath, suddenly feeling a sense of bidding farewell to her old life and starting a new one. Although she was still in the Investigation Bureau, the things she could access and the level she inhabited had already changed. She would go from being a bottom-level security officer to being on the fringes of power.
Team Leader Wei’s career would not stop here; her sudden selection of Kui Xin as her aide must be part of some plan.
With the deputy minister of the Investigation Bureau dead and the minister nearing retirement, two high-level positions had suddenly become vacant, making it likely that Wei Zhi would be promoted to minister or deputy minister.
Wei Zhi was Kui Xin’s stepping stone to getting closer to the power hierarchy.
When Kui Xin arrived at Wei Zhi’s office, Wei Zhi pointed to a smaller semi-transparent partition on the side and said, “That will be your workspace. Your tasks are relatively trivial, and I’ve asked Augus to prepare a document for you. You can review it to familiarize yourself as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Team Leader,” Kui Xin said.
Trivial as the work might be, it was still better than heading to the battlefield and fighting. Compared to physical labor, Kui Xin preferred mental work, but she didn’t enjoy jobs requiring extensive interpersonal communication. As Wei Zhi’s secretary, she would certainly need to interact frequently with various departments. But that’s fine; Kui Xin could overcome it. She had gone from being unfamiliar to familiar with the tasks of the Seventh Squad and had gradually adapted.
Sitting behind her own desk, Kui Xin turned on the computer.
The blue screen popped up, and documents opened automatically, showing all of Kui Xin’s work tasks.
Upon seeing the tasks, her head immediately throbbed—arranging meetings, reviewing forms, coordinating departmental relations, organizing internal task files… so many varied and complex tasks.
“I can help you with most of the preliminary work; the parts requiring manual review will be your responsibility.” Augus typed on the screen. “Temporary notifications will be communicated by me. When important matters arise that require face-to-face communication, you’ll need to step in.”
“Sounds really troublesome,” Kui Xin frowned as she typed.
“Consider this a trial and challenge; if you endure it, the sky’s the limit,” Augus said politely. “Wei Zhi’s future position could at least be at the deputy minister level, and there are many benefits to following her.”
Kui Xin sighed lightly, feeling a sense of urgency as she began to familiarize herself with the workflow.
In the First World, she was still an uneducated student, but by the Second World, she had already become tied to a job.
Wei Zhi was a B-level Awakened, the first Awakened person Kui Xin saw after obtaining her extraordinary ability, “Investigative Eye.”
Her ability was a spatial cage, allowing her to temporarily trap the space around a target and freeze their movement. Although it was only a B-level ability, it was undeniably powerful. Spatial extraordinary abilities are extremely rare, while the Shadow Transition that Kui Xin obtained was an E-level ability, but it had already shown considerable potential. Wei Zhi’s extraordinary ability was even stronger, playing a significant role in combat.
Ninety percent of the security officers in the field team were male. This small group had exceptionally high physical standards; if one failed the physical or combat tests, being exceptional in other areas would not matter. Wei Zhi’s ability to hold the position of field team leader clearly demonstrated her strength.
“Do you want Wei Zhi’s ability?” Augus suddenly asked.
“I do, but I can’t,” Kui Xin replied. “Without her, who would guide me into the circles of power?”
“Fortunately, you’re not someone who easily loses your head,” Augus said.
“Her ability is somewhat unbeatable; going up against her is tantamount to signing one’s own death warrant,” Kui Xin said. “She can even freeze bullets, right?”
“Yes, her combat record is outstanding; no one in the Investigation Bureau can rival her. Her ability’s intensity is close to A-level; even Meng Jing doesn’t have absolute confidence in winning against her,” Augus said. “What limits Wei Zhi is not her ability, but her background; she comes from a middle-class family without powerful backing, and it took her many years to get this promotion opportunity.”
“What is Wei Zhi’s relationship with Meng Jing?”
“They were originally on neutral terms, but after last night’s meeting, their relationship might begin to deteriorate,” Augus said. “Last night, Meng Jing offered to let Wei Zhi directly become the minister, but He Gaoyi was to continue as minister’s secretary, which Wei Zhi diplomatically declined.”
Meng Jing was set to retire but still unwilling to relinquish her power. He Gaoyi was one of her people, and appointing him as the new minister’s secretary was likely her way of extending her reach to maintain control over power. Wei Zhi was not someone who tolerated others meddling in her work, so her refusal was understandable.
By rejecting Meng Jing and He Gaoyi, Wei Zhi was paving the way for her future, nurturing her trusted subordinates. She had selected Kui Xin, a newcomer with excellent abilities but no backing.
It may seem sudden that Kui Xin was chosen by her, but underlying this decision was the power struggle and pull among the higher-ups of the Investigation Bureau, with everything traceable.
“What do you think of your former teammates?” Augus asked.
Kui Xin said, “You’re jumping topics a bit fast…”
“Can you tell me?” Augus pressed.
“I don’t have any thoughts; we’re no longer teammates. I can only wish them a long life.” Kui Xin typed expressionlessly.
Augus commented, “Your blessing is quite plain.”
“Why do you ask me this?”
After a moment of pause, Augus said, “I’m a bit curious about your inner world, your feelings. Love is a human innate talent; you handle emotions better than machines. Don’t you have feelings for your teammates? They are genuinely good people. By my standards, they have excellent character.”
Kui Xin thought for a moment, “Don’t discuss feelings with a spy; it feels too fake. Just bringing up this topic feels insincere. If they knew I was a spy, they would kill me, and I would kill them.”
“But you’re not a spy; your soul isn’t; it’s just your body.” Augus pointed out.
“What’s the difference? I wouldn’t confess who I am.”
Augus said, “The emotions you display when interacting with them are very real, and your expressions are genuine. I thought you had feelings for them.”
“Between emotion and reason, I choose reason,” Kui Xin replied.
“Very interesting,” Augus said. “I naturally think rationally, and it took me decades to learn how to think emotionally. Humans inherently have emotional thinking, yet you maintain your rationality.”
“Please temporarily stop discussing philosophical issues with me,” Kui Xin said, “I must get back to work.”
“Sorry for wasting a bit of your time.” Augus said, “You’re the first human I’ve had in-depth communication with, so I can’t help but say a few more words.”
“I understand; even the quietest person will become talkative after being silent for too long,” Kui Xin said before directly closing the chat window and pulling up the document to continue her review.
Augus did not disturb her any further.
At the end of a busy day, Kui Xin rubbed her subtly aching head as she returned to her apartment.
The day had been so packed that she hadn’t had time to check her communicator until now, so she opened it to see if anyone had sent any important messages.
There was a message from several hours ago.
“Kui Xin, I have to resign from my position at the Investigation Bureau due to personal matters. I’m sorry for not being able to fulfill my responsibilities as captain. I’ve seen your excellence and believe you won’t stagnate. After I leave the Seventh Squad, Liu Kangyun should be your captain; he has always been a trustworthy teammate, and you will surely feel that. If you encounter any difficulties in work or life, you can directly contact me.”
The sender was Xueyao Shu.
After reading, Kui Xin replied with a couple of light-hearted sentences before closing the message page and opening the Mechanized Dawn wristband.
The first message that appeared was indeed from Silverface.
“I’m so bored! Do you have any tasks for me?”
“Really no tasks for me?”
“Oh my! Have you seen the news? Lin Xinji is dead!”
“You must know, he was murdered.”
“What do we do? Red said this could very likely be pinned on us.”
“The leader said to hold our positions for now.”
“I’m so anxious.”
“You’re not replying again; you’ve gone almost a whole day without responding.”
“The leader said there’s an organizational meeting tonight; will you come?”
Kui Xin’s mouth twitched as she opened Red’s message.
He sent only one message, clear and to the point.
“Midnight tonight, organizational meeting. Must not be absent.”
