I, the World’s Strongest, Have Failed the Civil Service Exam Thirty-Nine Times – CH49

Chapter 49

Bai Hewei accepted the secondment document with a long face and headed back. After explaining the situation to his supervising leader, Zhang Peng, the man simply arranged for him to hand over his duties.

In grassroots departments, individual responsibilities were rarely clearly delineated. Usually, whoever finished their own tasks would help out their colleagues, and everyone would pull overtime together during emergency assignments. As a result, handing over the work was quite straightforward.

However, Zhang Peng looked rather worried and earnestly offered Bai Hewei a few words of caution.

“The Special Operations Department is entirely full of people who hunt down illegal Evolvers. You’re just an ordinary guy, and a temporary worker at that, earning only two or three thousand yuan a month. There’s no need to risk your life with them. When you need to hide, just hide. Try your best to avoid fieldwork, you hear me? If you really can’t handle it, just tell them someone at home is sick and come back. I know a couple of people in the hospital who can write up a severe illness report for you without causing any trouble.” Zhang Peng knew about Bai Hewei’s family situation; with three elderly residents at home, if anything happened to Bai Hewei, the sky would truly fall.

“Don’t worry, Director Zhang, I understand.” Bai Hewei smiled, deeply touched by Zhang Peng’s concern. “Once I return from this secondment, I might even be able to give you a grand gift.”

In this day and age, running into a good leader was better than anything.

Since Zhang Peng wasn’t much older than Bai Hewei, they got along quite well in private.

Anyway, since he wouldn’t be able to pass the civil service exam anytime soon, he might as well return the favor to Zhang Peng.

If Pullman’s sister was successfully rescued, she would definitely open a company here, and he could direct her to coordinate with Zhang Peng. The political achievements would count toward his track record, allowing him to climb higher in the future.

“When the time comes, it’ll be enough if we all grab a meal together.” Zhang Peng knew the only money Bai Hewei had on hand was the fifty thousand yuan earned from reporting the spy, and since Bai Hewei had bought a car, he probably didn’t have much left.

The guy wasn’t even married yet; that amount of money was never going to be enough.

Bai Hewei smiled, in no rush to explain everything to Zhang Peng just yet.

It wouldn’t be too late to talk after things were finalized.

Upon returning home after clocking out, Bai Hewei also informed his family about the secondment.

“The Special Operations Department told me that I need to go on a business trip for a while. I’ll be doing clerical and logistics work, and I can even draw a travel allowance. If anything happens at home, just call me or message me on WeChat. I’ll definitely reply as soon as I see it.” Bai Hewei announced his secondment at the dinner table.

The work injury excuse had already been used once; it couldn’t be used a second time within such a short window.

“The Special Operations Department? Didn’t you just register for the exam? What about your review?” His father considered Bai Hewei’s future more than anything else. A secondment couldn’t turn into a permanent establishment post, so what good was it?

“Every single person in the Special Operations Department passed their exams on the first try. They are all absolute gods. Asking them for advice and experience in my spare time will be very useful. Besides, I can just work during the day and review at night; it’s the same thing.” Bai Hewei thought it through clearly, not feeling that it would cause him too much trouble.

Furthermore, Pullman had promised that if they could rescue Shirley ahead of schedule, he would use the remaining time to sponsor a premium exam preparation course for him so he could focus entirely on reviewing, which would give him a better shot at passing.

Two days before the exam, he could also give himself a short break to cram at the last minute.

“I actually think going out to see the world isn’t a bad thing,” his grandmother spoke up. “Our boy has been stuck at the sub-district office for the past few years, barely seeing anything of the outside world. If a young man doesn’t go out to see the world, people will mock him in the future.”

As for seeing the world, there’s no need to worry about that. I’m a man who has met and chatted with Director Yuan Heqing herself. Whose worldly experience could possibly top mine?

Bai Hewei felt rather smug inside.

“I’ll help you pack a few clothes in a bit. Don’t pack too much. Go withdraw some cash from the bank to keep on hand. If the weather turns, you can buy yourself a few decent clothes. Keep some cash ready for emergencies too,” his mother chimed in. “And if you meet someone suitable out there, there’s nothing wrong with dating either.”

With that, his mother started rambling about how someone who didn’t look nearly as handsome as Bai Hewei had actually managed to secure a wife.

Ultimately, his grandmother settled the matter. “Let’s wait until our boy secures a permanent post. Even married couples can get divorced these days. Without a proper job, who could he support with that meager salary? The retirement pensions the three of us draw wouldn’t even be enough to hire a confinement nanny for his wife.”

His grandmother was the pillar of the household; once she spoke, his parents had nothing left to say.

Bai Hewei quietly ate his food, not daring to talk back. However, when he dragged his suitcase out the door the next morning, his mother stuffed several boiled eggs and a thermos flask of freshly brewed mung bean soup into his hands, saying the weather was hot and she was worried he might get heatstroke.

Arriving before the entrance of the villa Pullman had purchased, Bai Hewei carried bags large and small, a thoroughly helpless expression plastered across his face.

“Your family cares about you a lot. That’s really nice.” Pullman had long been waiting near Bai Hewei’s residential area. He had merely seen Bai Hewei being nagged by his family and discreetly refrained from stepping forward, though his heart harbored a trace of envy.

Thinking of Shirley, whose whereabouts remained completely unknown, Pullman’s expression turned grim once more.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find your sister very soon,” Bai Hewei smiled. “The Central Research Institute and the Special Operations Department are both helping us. We are not fighting this battle alone.”

If it were just the two of them looking for Shirley, they would definitely never find her. But with the Special Operations Department and the Central Research Institute joining forces, they could save an immense amount of time; their intelligence network spanned the entire globe.

Bai Hewei waited around at Pullman’s place for a bit. Once word arrived from the Central Research Institute, the two men headed to the rooftop of Pullman’s villa, where a helicopter was already waiting.

“Mister Number One!” Bai Hewei’s eyes lit up upon spotting the small robot inside the helicopter.

Instantly, his confidence soared.

“Please step inside, gentlemen,” Wen Zhiyi’s voice emitted from the robot. “In response to Mr. Pullman’s request, the central authorities have already dispatched a special operations team to fully cooperate with your mission.”

The moment Wen Zhiyi learned that Pullman could trade the whereabouts of the superpower vessel design blueprint, he had secretly analyzed whether Pullman was telling the truth. After all, the location of that blueprint remained an absolute mystery to this day.

However, the superpower vessel design blueprint itself was a top-secret matter. If Pullman didn’t know its location, he likely wouldn’t bring it up so easily as a bargaining chip, so it was well worth taking a gamble.

At present, research into the superpower vessel design blueprint within the Central Research Institute had only just begun.

An Evolver could awaken overnight, but a researcher required twenty to thirty years of accumulation to mature. Coupled with the massive volume of research projects and the need to distribute talent to local research branches, they were constantly facing a severe shortage of personnel. If they couldn’t locate the blueprint, relying solely on their own efforts would inevitably demand another decade or two before any breakthrough could be achieved.

In the current world, new phenomena emerged with every passing moment; a decade was more than enough time for the global landscape to be thoroughly rewritten.

“Mr. Pullman, regarding Ms. Shirley’s situation, our side has already compiled intelligence overnight,” Wen Zhiyi stated the conclusion directly. “Based on the timing and method of Ms. Shirley’s disappearance, as well as the movements of globally renowned Evolvers, there are currently three most probable scenarios.”

“The first is the ‘Divine Staff’ organization. They have tried to recruit you siblings for years but never received an affirmative answer. From the moment you intended to immigrate to Huaxia, they had already begun taking action,” Wen Zhiyi said calmly. “We have an old saying here: ‘It is better to offend a gentleman than a villain.’ Seeing their recruitment efforts fail, and unwilling to watch you immigrate to Huaxia, it is highly probable that they would take a desperate risk. Furthermore, the Gentleman possesses spatial superpowers; it wouldn’t be difficult for him to quietly abduct your sister.”

Pullman nodded. “They were my primary suspect as well.”

“The second is Tycade, the largest pharmaceutical conglomerate under the ASEAN banner. They are virtually the largest pharmaceutical cartel monopolizing healing-type Evolvers overseas. They have been expanding continuously since the last century, establishing their influence across the globe, and were also among the earliest cartels to fund various research institutes investigating Evolvers. The pharmaceutical profits they reaped from researching Evolvers caused their cartel’s wealth to more than triple in a short period of time.” Wen Zhiyi held a file on the Tycade cartel that was nearly as thick as a book.

After reading it, the researchers at the Central Research Institute couldn’t help but curse, There aren’t enough lampposts in the world for this many capitalists.

Tycade was thoroughly vile; the number of clinical trial subjects and Evolvers who had perished at their hands was large enough to populate a small nation.

“Shirley is a top-tier healing-type Evolver. They actually kidnapped my sister once before and have a prior record, though they were reverse-killed by us instead,” Pullman’s face turned dark. “Our desire to immigrate to Huaxia was precisely because their hands cannot reach inside your borders, meaning my sister’s and my safety would be heavily guaranteed.”

Overseas cartels were fundamentally restricted within the borders of Huaxia.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t thought of using money to clear a path and bribe officials, but Huaxia’s officials rotated every five years, and the Discipline Inspection Commission—composed of Evolvers—conducted all kinds of investigations. Telepathy-type and mental-type Evolvers were exceptionally adept at digging out the truth from these individuals, causing officials to fall from grace in massive batches. Coupled with the fact that Huaxia’s central bank had begun restricting large financial transfers, under such a tight net, even if a cartel bribed numerous officials, not much money would actually make it through, and the occasional fish that slipped through the net couldn’t stir up any significant storm.

“The last one is the scenario I personally deem most probable,” Wen Zhiyi paused before continuing. “An Evolver squadron known as ‘The Embargo.’ Their Evolvers are A+ class at the absolute minimum, and the background of the cartel backing them remains a mystery. However, to our knowledge, S-class Evolvers from numerous organizations also work part-time for The Embargo.”

For top-tier Evolvers, their degree of freedom was exceptionally high.

Being a double agent was merely basic; triple and multiple agents were everywhere. They typically aligned themselves with whoever offered the highest price, meaning they possessed very little loyalty to speak of.

Aside from its core members, the other operatives of The Embargo were free to come and go as they pleased. They only needed to complete a contract to secure their freedom while pocketing a massive pool of resources, making it a prime spot for many Evolvers to earn extra cash.

“If I remember correctly, you siblings also assumed aliases to work part-time for The Embargo in the past,” Wen Zhiyi smiled. “Two years ago, a major case shocked the globe: the president of a certain nation was assassinated, his family’s vault was plundered completely, and his underground laboratory was burned to ashes with all data destroyed. At that time, the president’s elite guard perished in its entirety. One of the Evolvers among them was a top-tier defense-type powerhouse, yet he had been completely unable to unleash his true capability. Presumably, that was your handiwork, Mr. Pullman.”

“That president had long been bought off by the Americans, betraying his nation to line his own pockets and even trafficking his own citizens. In your words, he thoroughly deserved to die,” Pullman said, frowning. “He had also set his sights on the Evolver serum, so other organizations naturally couldn’t stand by and watch his influence expand.”

“The Embargo recently vanished, likely having picked up another contract. The last eyewitness spotted them near a Forbidden Zone in South Africa that has persisted for five years. Word is they were carrying a person who wore a hood, making it impossible to discern their identity. However, judging by the physical frame, it was likely a woman. I believe that was your sister, Shirley,” Wen Zhiyi replied. “Given the timeline and their objective of entering such a massive Forbidden Zone, their motive for abducting your sister is entirely sufficient.”

Storming such a massive Forbidden Zone meant that even top-tier Evolvers would worry about whether they could make it out alive. With Shirley—a top-tier healing-type Evolver—by their side, the probability of survival would be vastly higher.

“It has to be them!” Upon hearing this, Pullman’s expression grew agitated. “Those absolute lunatics. Quite a few of them believe that the core data from the Zero Research Institute is sealed deep within those large-scale Forbidden Zones, and they also believe that only within those massive Forbidden Zones can one trigger a secondary or even tertiary awakening. In the past, they invited us to explore large Forbidden Zones multiple times, but we refused every single time. This time, it was definitely their doing!”

The more Pullman thought about it, the more convinced he became that this group had done it. His heart began to swell with regret over joining The Embargo for part-time work back then just to make a quick buck; otherwise, he wouldn’t have drawn their gaze.

This is truly amusing. A part-timer who doesn’t want to turn into a permanent employee, yet gets forced to do the grunt work instead. Bai Hewei silently lampooned. This was eighty percent likely due to the pay not being enticing enough; otherwise, the two siblings would definitely have been willing to consider it.

“The South African Forbidden Zone they headed toward has existed since five years ago, and its area is roughly the size of a prefecture-level city,” Wen Zhiyi explained to Bai Hewei. “The locals refer to it as the ‘Devil’s Garden.’ A few ethnic minorities originally lived there, but after the Forbidden Zone manifested, more than half perished, and the survivors migrated away completely. However, word is the interior of that Forbidden Zone used to be a diamond field, along with various rare mineral resources, so a continuous stream of daredevils has attempted to enter to hunt for treasure.”

Bai Hewei understood only half of it. “Our lab-grown diamonds here are pretty impressive too. Anyway, I can’t tell the difference, so I don’t care much for natural diamonds.”

He couldn’t comprehend things that couldn’t be quantified. However, if it were a gold mine, Bai Hewei might feel a bit more energized.

As they conversed, the helicopter had already delivered them to the Central Research Institute.

This was Bai Hewei’s first time visiting the Central Research Institute. Seeing armed police every three steps and special police every five steps, with an absolute multitude of Evolvers hidden densely in the shadows all around, he couldn’t help but quietly click his tongue.

This defensive perimeter was truly airtight.

The news of Bai Hewei and Pullman arriving at the Central Research Institute was kept strictly confidential; very few people knew about it.

The helicopter flew directly to the rooftop of the Central Research Institute, where they smoothly boarded an elevator down to the conference hall. The small robot sat familiarly on Bai Hewei’s shoulder, guiding his way.

Wen Zhiyi sat at the head of the table, flanked by several Evolvers.

The moment Bai Hewei and Pullman stepped inside, everyone’s gaze swept toward them in unison.

Pullman scanned the few Evolvers, his eyes filling with profound shock.

Every single one was an S-class Evolver!

Bai Hewei, on the other hand, didn’t really recognize these people. He only recognized Cecilia, who sat nearby with his head lowered, diligently writing.

“Welcome, gentlemen.” Wen Zhiyi extended a hand to adjust his glasses. Sitting at the head of the table as an ordinary human, not a single one of these Evolvers raised an objection; instead, they appeared somewhat terrified of him.

“Allow me to introduce the teammates we have temporarily selected for you. They will assist you in locating Shirley and tracking down the superpower vessel design blueprint.” Wen Zhiyi cast a subtle glance at Pullman. “Do you need me to introduce them?”

“No need. The S-class Evolvers of your Central Research Institute are world-renowned; how could I not know them? In fact, an old friend who used to pursue me is sitting right here,” Pullman said, his eyes fixed on the first Evolver to Wen Zhiyi’s left.

“Haha, that’s all in the past. Didn’t I fail to capture you anyway?” A square-faced, middle-aged man on the left stood up, nodding slightly to Pullman and Bai Hewei. “Hello, my name is Zhang Fuzhi, and I will be serving as your temporary teammate for this mission. I look forward to your guidance, and if there’s anything I don’t handle well, please point it out. I’ll correct any mistakes and strive to do better.”

The others also stood up one after another, introducing themselves individually.

“Wei Yan.”

“Huang Silin.”

“Pan Ming.”

“Chu Han.”

“Cecilia.”

A total of six Evolvers, every single one S-class—this was the sincere commitment the Central Research Institute displayed to Pullman this time.

Even if The Embargo was an elite squad, facing an all-S-class Evolver team would still give them a massive headache. Not to mention, the world’s strongest powerhouse, Bai Hewei, was present, along with Pullman who could disperse superpowers.

Upon seeing these individuals, Pullman’s heart finally relaxed significantly. Huaxia’s sincerity was absolute; with a deployment of this caliber, even if his sister had been captured and taken into the American White House, they could still breach the perimeter to break her out!

“Mr. Bai, please sit over here.” Seeing Bai Hewei intending to pick a corner to sit down, Zhang Fuzhi immediately vacated his own seat. “You sit on this side.”

Cecilia raised his head to steal a glance at Bai Hewei, then resumed writing his summer homework with a deeply resentful expression.

These adults could earn money by heading out to do missions, but he had to complete his homework while working at the same time. Summer vacation was drawing to a close, yet his summer homework was far from finished, which was why he was writing furiously even while sitting here in a meeting.

“Haha, no need, no need, I’ll just sit here, it’s fine.” Bai Hewei had no desire to steal the spotlight at a time like this, let alone sit near the front.

Every time his unit held a meeting, he always picked a spot right in the middle. Sitting in the back made it easy for a leader to bark, “Everyone in the back move forward,” so sitting dead center was the safest option.

“Not at all, you are the world’s strongest Evolver, so how could you sit in the back?” Zhang Fuzhi was astonished. “That won’t do. Mr. Bai, you could even sit at the head of the table. Come sit here, I’ll switch with you.”

“Really, it’s fine.” Bai Hewei absolutely refused to sit near the front.

“Just sit wherever you like. Next time I’ll pick a round-table conference room. Zhang Fuzhi, sit down quietly and stop engaging in this brand of empty formalism,” Wen Zhiyi said, frowning.

Zhang Fuzhi’s expression stiffened. Not daring to talk back, he simply released his hold on Bai Hewei.

Bai Hewei directed a grateful glance toward Wen Zhiyi. He truly wasn’t accustomed to interacting with slick, overly enthusiastic people like Zhang Fuzhi.

Pullman remained somewhat silent. He felt he still didn’t fully comprehend Huaxia’s culture. He recalled that back when Zhang Fuzhi pursued him, the man had been exceptionally fierce and resolute, nearly capturing him multiple times. He hadn’t expected the man to display this kind of personality within Huaxia.

“You’ll get used to it. Brother Zhang used to be responsible for handling reception duties and did it for over a decade. He only awakened two years ago, so he can’t break his old habits. But Brother Zhang is a very decent guy; he just likes to put on these empty displays. If you ask him for a favor, he’ll truly deliver,” the Evolver sitting next to Bai Hewei whispered in a low voice.

Bai Hewei recalled this person’s self-introduction from earlier; he seemed to be named Huang Silin.

“You guys all seem rather terrified of this Chief Wen.” Bai Hewei didn’t quite understand. He recalled that this Chief Wen was merely an ordinary human, and he had been quite amiable when conducting his evaluations.

“…You’ll find out later,” Huang Silin said, his posture turning somewhat rigid.

When these Evolvers were first learning to utilize their superpowers back in the day, which one of them hadn’t been schooled by Wen Zhiyi like a misbehaving child? Furthermore, this man knew exactly how to trap and contain Evolvers. No matter how arrogant an Evolver was, after being handled by Wen Zhiyi a few times, they wouldn’t dare stir up trouble ever again.

Didn’t you see that even a chuunibyou youth like Cecilia was quietly writing his summer homework?

“The Embargo likely entered the ‘Devil’s Garden’ Forbidden Zone three days ago,” Wen Zhiyi said. Although he had presented three possibilities to Pullman earlier, he actually harbored a degree of certainty regarding Shirley’s true destination. “The handful of A+ class Evolvers originally within The Embargo have reportedly successfully ascended to S-class with the backing of the Evolver serum, making them an all-S-class squad now. This is precisely the baseline confidence that drove them to venture into the Forbidden Zone.”

“According to existing data, their foray into this Forbidden Zone is likely aimed at securing the Awakening Blocks and tracking down information regarding the Zero Research Institute,” Wen Zhiyi said calmly. “Based on known intelligence, prior to the manifestation of the Forbidden Zone, a certain multinational corporation had reportedly undertaken a portion of the Zero Research Institute’s sub-projects. It’s just that the Forbidden Zone appeared abruptly, causing the headquarters of that multinational corporation to fall entirely, trapping all data and personnel inside.”

“Awakening Blocks.” Pullman quietly sighed, stealing a glance at Bai Hewei without speaking.

He had already recalled exactly what that item resting inside the milk tea bag at Bai Hewei’s house actually was.

The other Evolvers also displayed expressions of surprise, and a faint commotion rippled through the room. Even Cecilia halted the pen in his hand.

“Are Awakening Blocks truly appearing?” Cecilia’s eyes lit up. “If I can get my hands on one, will I be able to defeat Bai Hewei in the future?”

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