Chapter 45
An Tingyu had always kept Bai Hewei’s chat pinned to the top.
Therefore, the moment Bai Hewei needed help with anything on his end, she basically replied within seconds, 24 hours a day.
This time was no exception.
When An Tingyu saw the message and photo sent by Bai Hewei, she fell silent for a moment, questioning life itself.
Why was it that Bai Hewei could find it so easily?
Oh, right, she forgot. Those eyes of his could see many things, making him far more efficient at tracking things down than their grueling, detector-touting, human-wave tactics.
Must be nice.
With Bai Hewei present in their city, the sense of security was truly rock-solid.
This thought lingered in An Tingyu’s mind for just a fraction of a second before she immediately reported it to Huo Ling.
At this moment, Huo Ling was jumping all over the place, planning to find a few telepathy-type Evolvers to help the Discipline Inspection Commission.
“Director Huo, don’t worry. Bai Hewei just sent a message. It seems he found the small box and even took a photo for me. Take a look and see if this is the item?” An Tingyu handed her phone over. Although the small box in the photo was a bit blurry, looking like it had been shot from a long distance away, one could still recognize upon zooming in that this was the exact same item that went missing.
Huo Ling was also slightly shocked. “What kind of magnet magnet-body is Bai Hewei? How does everything manage to gravitate toward him?”
Complaining so fast that I don’t even have any words left to say. An Tingyu thought snarkily.
“Director, Bai Hewei said that he saw a tiny toy building block inside the box, not any kind of special item.” An Tingyu continued to scroll down. “Look, should we call back the two captains we sent out earlier?”
The moment An Tingyu finished speaking, she noticed that Huo Ling’s face had instantly turned rigid.
It was the kind of solemn expression that one would only display after discovering they had run for mayor and suddenly lost the election!
“No, two captains are not enough.” Huo Ling’s voice was uncharacteristically cold. Even An Tingyu, who was well-accustomed to Huo Ling’s usual joking and bantering, couldn’t help but turn serious.
“Add more men. Dispatch four—no, dispatch six captains over. We must take this box back. In addition, hand over all of those telepathy-type and perception-type Evolvers to the Discipline Inspection Commission to help them handle the case. I must know exactly how that person obtained the item inside this box!” Huo Ling gnashed his teeth. “Furthermore, tell Bai Hewei not to lay a hand on it, and absolutely do not touch that building block. Hurry up, move fast.”
An Tingyu was completely mystified, but even if she didn’t understand the severity of the situation, did she not understand Huo Ling?
The building block inside that box had to be at the level of a national secret to elicit such a reaction from Huo Ling.
“Understood,” An Tingyu replied immediately, without asking questions or shirking her duty.
Once An Tingyu left, Huo Ling immediately dialed Wen Zhiyi’s number.
“Wen Zhiyi, that building block has turned up.”
“It’s right here with us, and Bai Hewei was the one who found it.”
“You were right—it possesses consciousness, and it follows powerful Evolvers!”
On the other end, Wen Zhiyi hung up the phone and immediately halted the work in his hands.
“Today’s testing will conclude for now,” Wen Zhiyi said hurriedly.
“Really? Then I’m going straight to school.” Hearing this, Cecilia nimbly sat up from the examination table, grabbed his backpack from the chair, slung it over his shoulders, and prepared to head to school.
He absolutely detested school, especially since he was already this old yet still had to attend seventh grade. He couldn’t keep up with many of the courses at all, and he had to continue studying upon returning.
But as long as he could avoid cooperating with Wen Zhiyi’s testing, going to school was far more enjoyable.
He was so good at video games; he had lackeys all over the school!
Seeing Wen Zhiyi leave in such a rush, Cecilia figured some troublesome matter had cropped up again.
Tch, what does that have to do with me?
Bai Hewei was currently staring at that building block, sensing that something was a bit off.
Had this building block just changed its position?
It was probably because that guy Zhiqiang had shaken the small box, causing the building block to shift around.
An Tingyu sent over a message, hoping Bai Hewei wouldn’t act impulsively and would just keep an eye on them for now. The captains would arrive to take over shortly. She explicitly emphasized that he must absolutely not touch the building block.
Bai Hewei naturally agreed completely.
He wasn’t about to go looking for trouble for no reason.
Bai Hewei quietly tail-gated behind them, watching them twist and turn through the streets. Eventually, they scanned a few shared electric scooters and rode off.
Well, with the current economic downturn, even street-level thugs didn’t have their own cars.
But he had one!
Thinking up to this point, Bai Hewei felt a tiny spark of pride.
He also went ahead and scanned a shared electric moped, following them from a distance.
Zhiqiang and his group rode for roughly forty minutes before finally coming to a halt near an urban village.
This area was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Heping Sub-district Office; it belonged to the neighboring sub-district and was quite notorious throughout the entire district.
After all, this urban village had caused quite a stir during the expropriation and demolition process back in the day. With all kinds of illegal extensions and structures, the residents had made exorbitant demands, causing the demolition plans to stall. Later on, housing prices fell, the economy collapsed, and any hope of demolition vanished completely. Afterward, the residents of this urban village started making a fuss again, claiming they were willing to accept the original demolition terms, but who would pay them any mind now? The Demolition and Relocation Office had already been merged into other departments.
It could be said that the villagers here were practically professional petitioners. Sometimes, when the neighboring sub-district genuinely couldn’t keep tabs on them, they would even borrow staff from Bai Hewei’s unit.
Although Bai Hewei hadn’t been around when the residents of this area rioted the hardest, hearing his colleagues repeatedly bring this place up made him well aware of the headache it caused.
The area was a melting pot with a massive migrant worker population, high mobility, frequently broken surveillance systems, and haphazardly strung electrical wires—a classic “hard nut to crack” in urban governance.
For the Evolvers to select this location for their transaction, they had undoubtedly done their homework.
Zhiqiang and his crew quickly arrived before a dilapidated, self-built house. After knocking in a rhythmic pattern several times, they slowly stepped inside.
“You guys are here, that was pretty fast.” Bai Hewei turned his head, watching Luo Chuan fly down from the sky, folding his wings as he landed right beside him.
Several other familiar captains also scattered around the vicinity of this single-story house, completely surrounding the premises.
Their subordinates were also carrying signal-jamming transmitters.
A team member immediately generated a barrier, enveloping the entire single-story house to ensure these individuals absolutely couldn’t escape, and to prevent the operation from being noticed by other residents.
“Yeah, the higher-ups are pressing hard.” Luo Chuan’s expression was grave. “Right, this is for you.”
With that, Luo Chuan fished a small object out of his jacket and placed it directly on Bai Hewei’s shoulder.
It was Mister Number One’s robot!
Bai Hewei’s eyes lit up.
“Mister Number One, long time no see.”
Having not seen it for days, the exterior of Mister Number One’s robot appeared slightly more high-tech; it had likely undergone further modifications.
“Long time no see,” Wen Zhiyi’s voice traveled through the robot. “Straight to the point, Xiao Bai. The building block in Zhiqiang’s hands is highly troublesome, and we must secure it. Due to certain reasons, I cannot disclose the detailed information regarding this building block to you for the time being, but it may be linked to a theft that occurred three years ago.”
“I understand. I also felt that building block was strange,” Bai Hewei nodded. “When I first laid eyes on it, I thought it was just an ordinary building block. But the more I looked at it, the more I felt it didn’t seem like one. Now looking at it again, it looks like a building block again. Anyway, it gives me the creeps.”
It was highly rare for Bai Hewei to use such a description, but this building block truly gave him an unsettling feeling.
Wen Zhiyi naturally understood Bai Hewei’s perception.
Since Bai Hewei could see the evolutionary factors inside an Evolver’s body, he could naturally detect the extraordinary nature of this building block.
Inside, Zhiqiang was leading his lackeys, negotiating with the vision-type Evolver within.
X-ray vision was also a category of vision-type superpower, and its numbers weren’t small. Because this ability easily infringed upon privacy, they were required to wear a special pair of plain-glass spectacles that they weren’t permitted to remove at will. The spectacles featured a built-in tracking system; if they were caught removing them in public spaces, they would receive a warning. If it happened too many times, they would be summoned to the Special Operations Department to explain themselves.
Of course, there were also Evolvers who covertly hid their abilities and refused to get certified at all, and there was nothing that could be done about that.
The vision-type Evolver contacted by Zhiqiang was undoubtedly one of those illicit individuals. He wasn’t wearing the spectacles.
“I’ve already given you the fifty thousand yuan you requested. You must tell me exactly what is inside this box,” Zhiqiang said, glaring seriously at the Evolver before him. “Otherwise, I’ll report you.”
He hadn’t even spent much of the cash he got from fencing the gold bars, handing it directly over to this Evolver.
But Zhiqiang believed he could take a gamble.
Fifty thousand yuan would only allow him to live comfortably and happily for two or three months. But if his gamble paid off and the item inside the box proved to be highly precious, he would have the cash to buy an Evolver serum, securing a lifetime of wealth.
A brief moment of happiness versus long-term prosperity—Zhiqiang could still tell the difference.
“No need to threaten me, I always run an honest business,” the Evolver smiled. “Bring the box over let me take a look.”
Zhiqiang exchanged glances with his few companions, cautiously pulling the box out from his clothes and placing it before the Evolver.
A faint gleam seemed to flash across the Evolver’s eyes, clear evidence that he was activating his ability.
“A building block, the kind of piece you only use in Lego puzzles.” After examining it thoroughly, the Evolver’s initially tense expression relaxed. “This thing is worth one or two yuan at most. Let’s get this straight first—I am absolutely not refunding that fifty thousand.”
Initially, the Evolver had worried that it might contain firearms, ammunition, or some other contraband, so discovering it was merely a building block instantly set his mind at ease.
But thinking about it, it made sense. What kind of excellent items could a handful of small-time thugs—guys who couldn’t even qualify as D-class Evolvers—possibly bring out? Even if they caused trouble, the scale of trouble they could stir up was limited.
“Impossible! How could it be that kind of item? You’re lying to me on purpose, trying to snatch my box away, aren’t you?” Zhiqiang and his few brothers absolutely refused to believe it. Even if the box contained gold bars or other gemstones, they wouldn’t look down on it. But for such a sturdy box to contain nothing but a building block—they absolutely refused to accept it.
“Why is it impossible?” This Evolver had been doubted by clients many times before, so he had long since learned that all sorts of bizarre things existed in this world. “In the past, I was hired to inspect the relics left behind by an Evolver, and the guy had placed a single family photo inside a top-tier combination safe worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are also people with weird, twisted senses of humor who know their safes will be coveted by others, so they deliberately put smelly socks or dog poop inside just to gross people out. When people do bad things, they never tire of it; there are plenty of people with twisted senses of humor out there.”
But an explanation of this nature was clearly insufficient to convince Zhiqiang and the others.
“Move in.”
Upon hearing Huo Ling’s command, Luo Chuan and the others charged inside without a moment’s hesitation.
Less than two minutes later, they had taken back the box and apprehended every single one of these small-time thugs.
Seeing the situation, the X-ray vision Evolver attempted to flee, but how could he match the prowess of these elites? He was bound up in a matter of moves.
“I’m willing to surrender all illegal gains! I surrender, I know the drill, gentle please, ouch!” The Evolver surrendered with immense speed.
People working in this line of business had long since anticipated the day they would get caught; he had probably practiced surrendering countless times.
“Don’t take my box away!” Zhiqiang’s hands were already cuffed, but his eyes remained glued to the box being carried away, his eyes turning a shade of red. “I knew it—it must be incredibly precious, you guys are deliberately stepping in to rob me of it!”
“Let me handle this.” Controlling the small robot, Wen Zhiyi sprayed some agent toward Zhiqiang, who instantly blacked out and lost consciousness.
The other captured thugs didn’t receive such gentle treatment, knocked unconscious by the Special Operations Department personnel using physical means.
“Bind them all up and deliver them to the Research Institute. Do not speak to them during the transport,” Wen Zhiyi instructed. “Blockade the news, waste no time. Captain Luo, I’ll trouble your team to escort them together. No issues can arise along the way; you may set out immediately.”
“Understood.”
Watching Mister Number One issue orders so crisply, Bai Hewei couldn’t help but reflect that he truly lived up to being a temporary worker at the Central Research Institute. Although they were both temporary workers, the difference in platforms meant their ranks were worlds apart.
The other party was a special envoy of the Central Research Institute, while he was merely a grassroots worker at a sub-district office. The gap between temporary workers could be terrifyingly vast.
“Xiao Bai, please do not mention this building block matter to anyone. Once we have confirmed the details, we will contact you in due time,” Wen Zhiyi said.
“No problem, no problem, I understand.” Bai Hewei made a zipping gesture across his mouth. “I know perfectly well what should and shouldn’t be said.”
Controlling the small robot, Wen Zhiyi and the Evolvers from the Special Operations Department quickly departed once more.
Tch, arriving in a rush and leaving in a rush, and on a workday evening too, pulling overtime so diligently. The more contact Bai Hewei had with them, the more he felt that taking the exam for the Special Operations Department wasn’t a good idea.
A secure civil service career that demanded constant overtime wasn’t the lifestyle he desired either. He just wanted something stable and relaxed, and it would be best if he could earn a bit of extra cash on the side.
Bai Hewei felt the entire affair was rather bizarre.
But since the matter was resolved, he didn’t need to care all that much. It was just that the building block had given him a highly peculiar sensation.
Bai Hewei returned home, took a shower, and changed out of the clothes he had worn today.
With a sharp clink, a building block tumbled directly out of his clothing pocket.
