Intelligence Potion and Deputy Han's "Craving"

His hand trembled, and the half-eaten steamed bun dropped onto the table, only to be immediately picked up by Bai Zhou with an expressionless face.

His stomach churned violently, as if the meals and cakes he had once enjoyed in the cafeteria had all turned into bloody flesh circling his gut, impossible to digest.

The heavy Bloody Scent rushed straight into his nostrils, nauseating him.

A free cafeteria? And unlimited funding?

He couldn't be sure that, inadvertently, he hadn't eaten someone's "meat"!

Up ahead, one could tell from the way everyone skillfully scrambled for the goods that this was not a one-time occurrence.

Since "Liu Zhen" could be traded for so much wealth, there must have been a "Wang Zhen," a "Zhao Jia," and so on in the past...

Why could the Major treat money as if it were nothing?

Perhaps, this was the reason.

This place is not right!

Everything about it was wrong.

Just because Section Chief Liu was a good Elder Brother did not mean the Special Management Department was a good organization!

That was a grave logical fallacy.

That Deputy Han and the Major valued and appreciated Bai Zhou's constitution did not mean it was a good thing.

As for the way the local peacekeepers showed such reverence toward the commissioners of the Special Management Department...

Perhaps they, too, were among the deceived.

Everyone had been lied to.

After all, on the surface, the Special Management Department was indeed an official organization.

Moreover, this was only Branch 36 of the Special Management Department; it did not necessarily represent the entire organization...

At this moment, Bai Zhou could only feel relieved.

It was fortunate that he had maintained full vigilance toward everything in the base from start to finish, always disguising himself with a persona of being pure and honest, and never uttering a single word about his own secrets.

His initial feeling about this place had been spot on—

Thinking back carefully, some of the past details were indeed quite off.

The sky-high casualty rate, the fanatical worship of the Major and the Special Management Department by the commissioners.

The experimental records from the execution of the Black Robe, the unscrupulous methods used when testing the residents of Evening City.

Deputy Han, who always held a Doll.

And the germaphobic Major, who would immediately wipe his hands with a wet wipe even after just patting someone on the shoulder.

That Major, who kept talking about valuing talent and was full of talk about rewards and promotions, was actually always looking down from above.

His rewards were merely condescending "handouts," and his reforms were only meant to extract the "maximum value" from everyone;

When he made arrangements for Bai Zhou without explanation, he had never cared about Bai Zhou's personal thoughts.

Even this so-called valuing of talent—

Looking at it now, perhaps it was only...

Valuing "raw material"?

Of course, these were still just things Bai Zhou had deduced and reconstructed based on the existing clues.

There was still a possibility that the Major was innocent and being deceived by Deputy Han.

But that possibility was very, very low.

Because if it weren't for personal gain, Bai Zhou could no longer think of any reason for Deputy Han to do this to win over the crowd.

Even if one truly wanted to seize power, there was no reason to do good deeds under the Major's name.

Making the Major take the fall and spending the Major's money to achieve one's own ends was what a normal ambitious person would do.

In other words, Bai Zhou was indeed facing the worst-case scenario:

His "enemy" had shifted from just Deputy Han to more people who were even harder to deal with.

And his position in this matter

had changed from "a member of the organization" to someone standing alone.

Furthermore, there was a question that had to be faced.

Bai Zhou needed to analyze his current situation.

Why exactly did Section Chief Liu die?

Did he truly die in the line of duty, with his "dead flesh" then exploited and divided up by the others to extract his final value...

Or was there a secret behind his death?

The person who had the most contact with Section Chief Liu during the time before his death was Bai Zhou.

If that were the case, the danger that had already claimed the life of Section Chief Liu might also be quietly closing in on Bai Zhou!

If circumstances allowed, Bai Zhou would likely need to flee this dangerous place as soon as possible...

At this moment, whispers from those returning with their spoils reached Bai Zhou's ears.

"I guessed yesterday that they'd be handing out money today."

"Every time someone sacrifices their life, the higher-ups pay out."

"The best incentive, isn't it?"

"..."

Every living person here was a beneficiary.

And every corpse was being picked apart by the crowd in just this way.

The entire vast Resting Mausoleum stood as a silent witness to these events.

Bai Zhou shuddered.

Looking up at the crowd in the distance as they began to disperse, Bai Zhou hurried over to join them.

In a situation like this, being an outcast could be fatal!

As soon as he squeezed into the crowd, Deputy Han shoved a pile of items into his arms.

"These are yours. I got you a little extra."

"Everyone else has theirs too, so don't worry. Don't be shy."

Deputy Han smiled gently at Bai Zhou.

The smile was condescending, yet it also held an undisguised sense of appreciation and regard.

"After you've collected your things, don't leave just yet. Come to my office later to pick up your potion."

So soon?

Bai Zhou's spine stiffened, but on the surface, he only offered a grateful smile, showing no signs of anything amiss.

"This is really... thank you for the trouble!"

Following behind Deputy Han, Bai Zhou walked alongside several burly men in suits.

His heart remained suspended in his throat.

But until they returned to the opulent office and Deputy Han pulled a small black box from his drawer, the man did nothing else.

"Your Intelligence Potion."

He handed the exquisite, locked little box to Bai Zhou with great solemnity.

Bai Zhou took the heavy box with both hands.

Looking at the other man's grave expression and the ornate metal box made of special materials, a strange feeling stirred in Bai Zhou's heart.

Eighty bowls of Beef Ramen and fifty cucumbers combined probably weren't worth as much as this single box containing the potion.

But what was an Intelligence Potion...

Shouldn't it be an Enlightenment Potion?

Behind the desk, Deputy Han's expression turned serious.

"This is a fresh potion produced last week, just delivered today."

"Its quality is quite excellent. The success rate for awakening Destiny is about fifty percent. Considering your constitution's tolerance for corruption, the success rate could even be boosted to seventy percent!"

"--This is also the main reason I argued so hard before the higher-ups to grant you a Break Rank promotion."

Produced last week?

Bai Zhou felt a faint sense of relief.

At the very least, this proved it wasn't made out of Section Chief Liu.

Though, regardless of anything else, he had no intention of drinking this stuff anyway...

"Actually."

Deputy Han thought for a moment and added, "The next batch of potions should have even better effects, increasing the awakening probability by another ten percent. If you want to wait, that's fine too, though you'd have to wait half a month."

"After all, a potion can only be consumed once. If you fail, you can never become an Extraordinary for the rest of your life."

He smiled, guiding him with patient persuasion.

"Playing it safe never hurts."

But Bai Zhou waved his hands repeatedly: "It's fine, this time will be enough."

He could not wait another half a month.

In half a month, what would be delivered back would likely be a Magic Potion truly made from Section Chief Liu.

Before that happened, he had to find out what hellish place Section Chief Liu's corpses were being sent to...

And then, "retrieve" Section Chief Liu.

He felt that... as long as a person lived in this world, they had to have some principles to hold onto.

If he couldn't even manage that, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly ever again.

"Alright, you should head back now; the instructions for consuming the Magic Potion are inside the box."

"I have a meeting to attend, and it's about time I left."

Seeing Bai Zhou speak this way, Deputy Han nodded.

"I have high hopes for you, Bai Zhou."

He stared intently at Bai Zhou's facial expressions, offering a piece of earnest advice with great concern:

"Do not let my trust in you go to waste. You must... you absolutely must become an Extraordinary!"

Is he that eager for me to become an Extraordinary?

...Why?

Bai Zhou accidentally locked eyes with Deputy Han, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat, a chill running from his head down to his heels.

That gaze held joy, but it was by no means the look one gives a person.

--It was more like a guest who had been starving for a long time, seeing a table full of sumptuous dishes and fixing their eyes on the glistening, fatty meat placed in the center of the table.

It was "greed."

And so, Bai Zhou understood the meaning behind his smiling eyes.

There is an idiom that goes, "drooling three feet long."

--He intends to eat him.

It was coming faster than he had imagined.

There must be some reason for this, perhaps what they called "constitution."

Perhaps it wasn't today, and it wasn't yesterday... Bai Zhou had already been attracting this Deputy Han for a long time.

Vague guesses and realizations began to sprout in his heart.

But on the surface, Bai Zhou lowered his head and only said:

"Yes, I will do my best!"

But in reality, what he was thinking was:

Of course I will become an Extraordinary.

...I already am one.

But that wasn't all; he had a big surprise prepared for Deputy Han.

It wouldn't be long now.

--It would be tomorrow night!

Because Bai Zhou still needed to pay his respects to his Elder Brother Liu...

With the dog head of that brat, Deputy Han!