Pest Control Bureau

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Pest Control Bureau (消杀局)
Affiliation	Divine Land official system; operates across the spheres of the Security Bureau, Public Security Bureau, military, and Sanitation Bureau 11 110 155
Occupation/Role	Demon investigation and extermination; prevention of demon outbreaks; maintenance of stability and oversight of martial artists 66 135 182
Status	Active; Ningjiang and Jinze branches were replenished, while Li Ye later took a concurrent Deputy Director post in Yangcheng 158 184
First Appearance	Chapter 11

Organization and Staffing

Internal structure

• Bureau Chief and Deputy Bureau Chiefs occupy the upper offices; a Bureau Chief and Deputy Bureau Chief normally require at least the Second Realm. 16 101
• Data Sections review surveillance, identify suspicious activity, analyze demon information, and track contamination or demon traces. 16 66 116
• Pest control officers conduct field operations against demons and can lead local enforcement efforts. Six Dragon Gate cultivation is generally sufficient for entry, with adaptability, demon knowledge, and command ability valued over raw strength. 101
• Brigade Captains command pest-control brigades. In Ningjiang, eighteen officers were initially divided into two brigades covering four counties; each brigade was intended to form three small teams for rotation and response. 101
• Ningjiang later expanded to 110 personnel, assigning a large team to each of its three districts and eight counties, with three small teams per area. 158

Recruitment and employment

• The Bureau has comparatively loose entry standards: strong general knowledge of demons or high martial cultivation can qualify an applicant. 110
• Data clerks possess field status comparable to police officers and can coordinate with relevant departments while on duty. 18
• Personnel receive five salaries because the job carries overlapping assignments and substantial risk. 11
• Data work is dangerous during major disasters, as analysts can be exposed to demon pollution. 61
• Recruitment is difficult because the work is hazardous, exhausting, and often lacks the benefits or certainty offered by the military, companies, sects, and noble families. 102 128 129

Duties and Methods

Demon investigation and extermination

The Bureau's core responsibility is to identify, contain, and eliminate demons before they produce wider panic, contamination, or a Demon Realm. It cannot always publicize threats, since fear itself can nourish certain demons and worsen an outbreak. 66

• Data clerks monitor footage and reports for anomalies because no effective universal means exists to detect contamination sources. 66
• Police and analysts can address minor demons, while pest control officers handle stronger threats. 18 25
• The Bureau coordinates with military forces during Demon Realm emergencies, including perimeter defense, reconnaissance, and large-scale demon-clearing operations. 110 111 112
• It may issue or enforce emergency mobilization against martial artists when local manpower is inadequate. 116
• It has channels to analyze recovered Magic Treasures and arrange their forging or research through higher-level institutions. 131 154

Stability and martial-artist oversight

Beyond killing demons, the Bureau serves as a deterrent and supervisory force over martial artists, sects, noble families, companies, and criminal elements whose actions may generate demon-related disasters. 110 135 182

• It can investigate businesses, clubs, martial arts schools, and local powers suspected of demon or cult involvement. 72 73 102 185
• A capable Bureau can pressure local martial artists into cooperating with demon-clearing operations and prevent them from obstructing investigations. 82 116
• Its authority is intentionally flexible: it does not follow the same strict procedural limits as ordinary government departments, but it is likewise not protected by those rules if it lacks the strength to enforce its position. 110
• A strong Bureau can exercise broad practical influence over demon threats, cult activity, criminal martial artists, and local industries; a weak Bureau may be treated with less respect than sanitation workers. 110 161

Public Status and Authority

The Bureau is publicly associated with sanitation work and often operates from Sanitation Bureau buildings, but its actual mandate is far broader. Its lack of a prominent formal public identity helps it combine functions that would otherwise fall separately to the military, Security Bureau, Public Security Bureau, and Sanitation Bureau. 11 110 114

• The public may regard it as a sanitation-adjacent department responsible for “cleaning” demons, rather than understand its wider authority. 106 110
• Its five-position structure reflects its ability to work alongside several official systems rather than remain limited to a single department. 11 110 155
• The Bureau's influence varies sharply by location and leadership. Strong directors can make local martial artists comply; weak branches can be ignored, infiltrated, or abandoned. 79 110 139
• The higher authorities tolerate a strengthened Bureau as a counterweight to increasingly difficult-to-control sects, companies, noble families, and martial artists. 135 182

History

Ningjiang City decline and recovery

Before Pan Zhengyang's tenure, the Ningjiang City Bureau was weak and struggled to exert authority over local martial artists. Pan served as director for three years, building enough prestige to seal and ban industries, though he still had to maintain a balance with the Ren Family. 110

The Bureau suffered a severe internal failure during the Skin Painter Demon crisis: two-thirds of its personnel, including a Deputy Director, had become Skin Painter Demons without detection, leaving only two active pest control officers. 91

Li Ye initially joined as a part-time data clerk after identifying a Filth Worm from recorded evidence. His demon knowledge led the Bureau to seal a restaurant and begin a citywide search. 16 Pan later supported his transfer into a pest control officer role and encouraged him to fight for the Bureau's practical authority. 64 65

After Li Ye targeted Ren Family-linked underworld figures, traitors, and demon collaborators, the Bureau's reputation became an instrument of fear throughout Ningjiang. Sun Shun described this as the return of the Bureau's former prestige. 76 82 Li Ye accepted the Bureau Chief position after the Ren Family's fall and Pan Zhengyang's transfer. 91

Jinze City crisis

When a Demon Realm emerged in Tongguan Mountain, the Jinze City Bureau collapsed: its Bureau Chief disappeared, two Deputy Bureau Chiefs resigned, and sixteen of twenty-six remaining personnel quit. Ten officers who had gone to the front line died before reinforcements arrived. 110 114

Jinze's remaining data clerks, led by Section Chief Zhong Chang, continued monitoring demon incidents despite having no field officers capable of responding. 114 120 Li Ye arrived with Ningjiang reinforcements, restored operational control, mobilized local martial artists, and moved against forces connected to the Chen Family. 114 115 116

Following the crisis, Jinze received replacement personnel, while the strengthened Ningjiang Bureau attracted transfers from other regions. 158

Yangcheng operations

Pan Zhengyang became Yangcheng's Bureau Chief after being transferred in response to Skin Painter Demon and Locust God Cult activity. 64 91 Li Ye later took a concurrent post as Yangcheng's Deputy Director, joining its brigade captains and Information Section in investigating the Locust God Cult, the Six Ghost Gate, and interference from local martial-artist families. 184 185

Notable Members

• Li Ye — Ningjiang City Bureau Chief; transformed the branch into a dominant local force and later served concurrently as Yangcheng Deputy Director. 91 184
• Pan Zhengyang — Former Ningjiang Bureau Chief; later Yangcheng Bureau Chief. He recruited and mentored Li Ye. 64 65 91
• Sun Shun — Ningjiang Data Section Chief; onboarded Li Ye, supported Bureau operations, and remained with the branch through its recovery. 16 82 110
• Huang Qingyi — Former Pest Control Brigade One member; later a Brigade Captain under Li Ye. 11 101
• Zhong Chang — Former Jinze Data Section Chief; continued operating during the branch's collapse and was later transferred to Ningjiang. 114 115 158
• Fu Cang and Bian Feng — Deputy Bureau Chiefs assigned to Ningjiang after its personnel replenishment. 101
• Lu Zhao — Yangcheng Information Section Chief; a knowledgeable former noble-family disciple who assists Li Ye's investigations. 184

Trivia

• Pest Control Bureau offices may be housed inside old or dilapidated Sanitation Bureau buildings, while their internal workspaces are maintained in far better condition. 11 114
• The Bureau's public image can be so poor that some martial artists dismiss its personnel as official sanitation workers. 106 110
• Its status is often summarized as binary: a weak Bureau is bullied, while a strong Bureau becomes the party capable of bullying others. 110 161