"Brother, when did you discover that you had abilities?"
In another office, Lu Xin and Gecko were alone together. A cup of coffee and a plate of candy sat in front of each of them, but neither seemed to have any intention of touching the coffee. Gecko did not seem to care, simply fiddling nonstop with the firearms and knives in front of him. As for Lu Xin, he did not want to drink coffee so late at night and risk being unable to sleep.
Lu Xin had no such reservations about the candy. He was not sure whether Chen Jing had arranged it deliberately, but there was quite a bit more candy than last time at the Guard Department, and the varieties were more diverse, too. Perhaps she had remembered that Sister liked candy after the previous mission?
Sister had just reached out to take some candy, but Lu Xin had not allowed her to.
He would explain to Sister later that children could not eat too much candy, or their teeth would rot.
But in reality, Lu Xin was thinking that he had to save it as a reward. Otherwise, it would be difficult to coax her whenever she threw a tantrum in the future...
"Discovered that I had abilities?"
Hearing Gecko's question, Lu Xin instinctively glanced at him, somewhat unsure what he meant.
"Yeah!"
Gecko replied with a smile. He dismantled a Beretta 92F pistol in his hands, wiped it clean piece by piece, then reassembled it. On the black cloth in front of him lay another identical pistol, along with three daggers with black blades, each about eighteen centimeters long. Various messy names had been written on the knife handles and gun bodies. He kept wiping them over and over.
While skillfully wiping and assembling the weapons, he answered Lu Xin, "First times are always unforgettable..."
Lu Xin thought about his words and silently reminisced.
How long had it been after leaving the orphanage that he saw his family?
And when had he first discovered that he could borrow his family's abilities?
That stretch of memory was always somewhat blurry and unreal.
Gecko did not wait for his answer. His mouth seemed incapable of closing as he rambled on: "Hey, I remember discovering my ability very clearly. It was winter, and the snow was coming down hard. I'm a kindhearted man, you know. Even though I had less than fifty yuan in my pocket, I saw a young lady braving the cold wind and working the night shift by the roadside..."
"My heart softened, so I decided to patronize her business."
"She was very moved and very earnest, but just then, we suddenly heard the Guard Department banging on the door outside."
"I was so scared that I slipped into the cabinet beside me in an instant. It wasn't until the people outside carried that cabinet to the Guard Department, and thirty or forty people surrounded me, wearing nothing but a pair of underpants, that I realized that cabinet..."
As he spoke, he pulled back the slide and narrowed his eyes to aim. "...was actually a shoe cabinet only thirty centimeters tall!"
"Uh..."
Lu Xin was more than a little dumbfounded. Looking at Gecko's perfectly calm expression, he thought, Is it really okay to tell people about something like this?
"You joined our department, so you're one of us. You'll find out about these embarrassing stories sooner or later!"
Gecko seemed to understand what he was thinking and laughed. "Me telling you myself and someone else telling you—can those really be the same?"
Lu Xin inexplicably felt that he had a point.
"Besides, I'm not the only one with rumors about me!"
Gecko set down the pistol and began wiping a dagger. "Let me tell you, there aren't many normal people in our department. The drunkard gets wasted every day and claims he can see dragons flying through the sky. He even says he can tell whether they're male or female. As for Kid, what a pity. She's so pretty, with that face and that figure—perfect beyond imagination, enough to drive every man in the world crazy. But unfortunately, she's an idiot..."
Lowering his voice, he whispered to Lu Xin, "And then there's our Colonel Chen..."
"...Do you know what color her underwear is?"
"Ahem..."
Lu Xin, who had been drinking plain water, almost choked. He stared strangely at Gecko. Is it really okay to talk about the leader like this?
"Pink..."
Sister climbed in through the open window and said expressionlessly.
She was still somewhat upset because she had not been allowed to eat any candy just now.
"Pink?"
Lu Xin blurted out, somewhat surprised.
"Holy crap, you really know?"
Gecko was startled and hurriedly asked, "What kind?"
Lu Xin was looking at Sister reproachfully when the office door was pushed open and Chen Jing appeared in the doorway, holding a stack of documents.
Both Gecko and Lu Xin instinctively sat up straight.
Sister cast a slightly resentful glance at Chen Jing's chest, then grabbed the electrical wire and swung back and forth in the wind outside the window.
"What are you two talking about?"
Chen Jing walked in with a smile and set down the documents.
Hearing her question, neither Lu Xin nor Gecko dared answer.
"Your examination is finished!"
Chen Jing did not seem particularly concerned about that question. She opened the file, gave Lu Xin a serious look, and shifted into work mode. "The detailed report will take a few more days, but we already understand the general situation, so it'll be easier to make the arrangements going forward. Your guidance plan should be put into action soon. For now, you need to familiarize yourself with your abilities before the guidance begins!"
As she spoke, she looked toward Gecko. "Gecko will help you with this. His ability is the same as yours, and he's also an experienced ability user. At first, he'll be assigned to take you on several cleanup missions so that you can get to know yourself as quickly as possible!"
"Oh."
Lu Xin glanced at Gecko and said, "All right!"
Gecko merely gave a lazy salute, as if he had already guessed why he had been called over.
"There's a cleanup mission tonight!"
Chen Jing split a document into two stacks and pushed one toward each of them. "This is a special contamination incident just confirmed by the Special Investigation Team. Its threat level is C-class. Headquarters has just approved the cleanup."
"Gecko will lead the mission, with Lu Xin following as support. The main purpose is to familiarize him with the process!"
"..."
Lu Xin and Gecko both answered seriously.
It was clear that even Gecko did not dare treat a cleanup mission carelessly.
"Also, this is your provisional codename!"
Chen Jing handed a sheet of paper to Lu Xin. It was freshly printed, the ink still new.
Special Action Team—External Personnel Name: Lu Xin Age: 23 Ability Assessment: C+ (Pending) Mental Mutation Type: Spider-type Codename: Lone Soldier Patrol Area: Qinggang Satellite City No. 2 Security Clearance: Low ... ...
Lu Xin read it once. Seeing nothing different from before, he simply nodded in agreement.
He was only somewhat curious. "Why is my codename Lone Soldier?"
"All right, you can set out at any time!"
Chen Jing did not seem inclined to explain further. She gathered up the documents and stood decisively.
Lu Xin and Gecko also prepared to stand.
But then Chen Jing suddenly seemed to remember something. She walked back with a smile, gently pulled her sunglasses down on her face, and looked at Gecko as she lowered her voice. "If you don't want to strip naked and run to the busiest street to dance until both your feet break, then you'd better stop discussing me behind my back in the future. And don't drag newcomers into it..."
"Especially not while making that lecherous expression. Understood?"
"..."
Gecko stared into her eyes. His body immediately went rigid, and he nodded stiffly.
"Good!"
Chen Jing patted Gecko on the head and turned to leave.
But outside the door, she suddenly turned back and looked at Lu Xin. "Also, I'm wearing black today!"
Lu Xin did not even dare nod. He could only sit there stiffly.
He had originally wanted to ask about becoming a full-time employee, but now he did not dare open his mouth.
Behind him came Sister's eerie voice: "She's lying..."
Before you continue