Fabricated Civilization

Li Banfeng returned to Portable Abode, greeted his Wife, and went straight to the Ninth Room.

Hong Ying looked at the record player and said, "Xiao Wan, Seventh Son hasn't been acting right lately. He goes straight to the Ninth Room as soon as he gets home!"

The record player chuckled nonchalantly, "So what if she runs away? Why should I be jealous of that bitch Red Lotus?"

Hong Ying glanced towards the door, then leaned closer to the record player and said, "Xiao Wan, the world is a dangerous place; there are some things we must be wary of."

Record player one. "What are you protecting against?"

Hong Ying lowered her voice even further. "Red Lotus has seven holes, and her business is more than all of ours combined."

"Pah!" The record player spat at Hong Ying. "You're never serious, I really don't know what's going on in your head. I think you just haven't been beaten enough!"

Hong Ying sat in front of the dressing table, looking aggrieved. She picked up a blush, applied it twice, and then put it down. "Xiao Wan, I've been devoted to you. How could you treat me like this? Xiao Wan, you—"

Where did the record player go?

Hong Ying pushed open one door after another and saw the record player peering through the crack in the door of Ninth Room.

The record player was furious, cursing inwardly: This madman, he attacked right away, he and this Red Lotus are really not clean.

Li Banfeng held ten pills, feeling the Lotus Heart, and gently asked the Red Lotus, "Do you recognize these ten pills?"

Red Lotus calmly replied, "I recognize this pill; it's made from the iron fibers of Iron Tendon Bamboo."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that it wasn't allowed to be practiced?"

"I mean, I can't refine the Entry Medicine Powder, but I can refine the pills. The first batch of iron bars made by the Peddler was refined into pills by me."

Why haven't you mentioned this before?

"You didn't even ask."

Red Lotus's words were indeed correct. Li Banfeng hadn't asked before, but now he had to inquire carefully, "To make Entry Medicine Powder, is it necessary to first refine iron tendons into pills?"

If this step is truly necessary, then the Peddler at least still has a Red Lotus in his possession.

Red Lotus said, "At first it was like that, but later the Peddler used some method that allowed him to Pill Refining medicine powder without my help. From then on, the Peddler turned against the people in the sky."

"How can these pills be turned into powder?"

"Choose any three from these and refine them again to make them into an Entry Medicine Powder for a certain sect. But how exactly to refine them, and which sect corresponds to which three pills, I don't know."

Red Lotus's answer was the same as Sun Tiecheng's, but that doesn't mean she told the truth without reservation.

Li Banfeng continued stroking Lotus Heart and asked, "Were the people in that sky male or female? What did they look like?"

Red Lotus thought for a long time, then sighed and said, "I can't remember if he was a man or a woman, nor can I remember what he looked like. I only remember that he was very beautiful, even more beautiful than Zhao Xiaowan."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "That's pure nonsense. Who in the world is more beautiful than my Wife?"

Red Lotus tightened her lotus leaves, trapping Li Banfeng's fingers. "Have you seen your Wife?"

"Yes, I saw him in the lobby."

Do you even know what your Wife looks like?

"How could I not know? Even if you threw her into a crowd, I would recognize her at first glance."

I'm not talking about how she is now, I'm talking about how she originally was.

Li Banfeng stood up and said, "No matter what my Wife looks like, there is no one more beautiful than her in this world."

After saying that, Li Banfeng returned to the main room.

The record player ran back to the main room first and stood at the door, its speaker covered in dew.

Li Banfeng asked, "Wife, is that sweat?"

"Ah, it's sweat. I was thinking of cooking a bowl of noodles for my husband, but I didn't know whether to cook wide noodles or thin noodles. I was so anxious that I was covered in sweat." The Wife's singing voice was still beautiful, but it was a little hoarse.

"What's the rush?" Li Banfeng laughed. "Let's just cook wide noodles. I love wide noodles too."

"My darling, do you prefer soup noodles or dry noodles?"

"Let's have some noodle soup."

"My darling, the noodles will be cooked soon. Change your clothes first, Little Slave 'll wash you."

"No rush to wash, I'm going to Outer State soon, and I have to cross two lakes."

"My dear husband, now that you're out of the lake, hurry home and change your clothes. Don't catch a cold."

Hong Ying sighed and said, "Xiao Wan, when have you ever been so kind to someone?"

After finishing his noodles, Li Banfeng immediately headed to Yuezhou to investigate some matters:

How much research has been done on Iron Tendon Bamboo in Outer State? Is there any connection between Bamboo and the Guiding Agent by Dark Energy User?

To what extent has Snowflake Port infiltrated the Outer State? Does the Dark Star Bureau actually have any of their people inside?

Back at the Dark Star Bureau, Li Banfeng summoned Tangyuan, Tangyuan had never heard of Iron Tendon Bamboo.

Even she had never heard of it, let alone the Chuunibyou and the Light Bulb. The only person in the bureau who probably knew about Iron Tendon Bamboo was Shen Jingye.

Li Banfeng dialed Shen Jingye's number, but only heard a busy tone. Shen Jingye's landline was constantly busy; he was in his office answering calls from above.

The caller was Guan Zhengyang, who was a little younger than Shen Jingye and held a higher position than Du Wenming.

"Director Shen, the document instructed your bureau to focus on investigating Li Qi. What have you done? What are the differences between your report and his previous statements?"

Shen Jingye had already prepared. "It is precisely because there is no difference that the investigation results are true. Li Qi is a science enthusiast who went to Yue Province University to attend an academic exchange meeting out of his love for science. There were no tickets for the meeting that day, and anyone could attend. Yue Province University also did a lot of publicity work before the meeting, so Li Qi appeared at the scene of the incident that day."

Guan Zhengyang was displeased. He felt Shen Jingye was simply making excuses. "Dark Star Bureau personnel attending an academic conference during working hours? Do you think this is reasonable? Do you think this is the outcome we wanted?"

Shen Jingye's tone became more serious. "Li Qi went to the academic exchange meeting and followed the leave application procedure. He has the right to learn during his vacation, and I think this is very reasonable. If you think it is unreasonable, please tell me what he should do during his vacation to be reasonable."

Also, if you feel that the results of our investigation are not what you want, please tell me what results you want, and we will investigate according to the results you provide. Would that be acceptable to you?

Guan Zhengyang remained silent for a long time, unable to utter a single word. He was often praised for his youthful promise, extensive knowledge, and outstanding eloquence.

Shen Jingye was very clear in his heart that the reason he was so outstanding was because there were too few people who could match him.

Guan Zhengyang raised his voice. "Director Shen, please watch your attitude. The Dark Star Bureau has shown obvious problems in many of its recent work tasks. There are many issues, and they haven't been definitively determined yet!"

Is this meant to scare me?

Shen Jingye was not intimidated. "Whether it's a problem within the bureau or a personal problem, as long as the situation is true, I am willing to accept criticism and punishment."

"Your problem definitely needs to be addressed. This case will be immediately transferred to the Dark Matter Research Lab."

The Dark Matter Research Lab, an institution that sounds very scientific, is actually very similar in nature to the Dark Star Bureau and will most likely replace the Dark Star Bureau after a period of time.

This is standard procedure, as the Dark Star Bureau itself doesn't have a long history.

Shen Jingye would not blame himself for losing the trust of his superiors, nor would he be anxious about the change in the Dark Star Bureau's status. "I know about this. I received the document the day before yesterday."

Guan Zhengyang said, "Once you receive the documents, act immediately. Quickly hand over the suspects and related information."

"The handover took place yesterday morning. The suspect, relevant documents, witnesses, and physical evidence were all handed over, and the handover procedures were completed."

Shen Jingye knew perfectly well that bringing up the events of the day before yesterday again today was an anxiety management tactic, an old trick, designed to make Shen Jingye feel anxious while blaming himself.

This tactic would have worked in the past, but Guan Zhengyang didn't know that Shen Jingye had changed drastically.

The current Shen Jingye doesn't feel guilty about losing the trust of his superiors, nor is he anxious about the change in the Dark Star Bureau's status. He only needs to confirm one thing. "Among the suspects handed over, is Li Qi included?"

"This is still under research. You'll have to wait for the documents." Guan Zhengyang couldn't answer. Li Qi was Balance Person, an extremely powerful Balance Person. The Dark Matter Research Lab simply couldn't handle someone like that.

Shen Jingye hung up the phone, picked up his notebook, and flipped through the notes he had just made.

Since starting work, Shen Jingye has used countless notebooks. He needs to take notes during meetings, on the phone, and when reporting work in person. Every instruction and every task requires notes.

How important were these notes to him?

It doesn't matter at all.

Shen Jingye's notes were mostly scribbled randomly. What he remembered was not important; what mattered was the act of taking notes. The bigger the action and the more serious his expression, the higher the level of importance he placed on it.

Of course, there were also some important things in the notebook. He flipped through a bunch of messy notes, found a page with a matrix, pulled out a stack of blank paper from the printer, and began to solve the problem at lightning speed.

This is part of his spiritual practice.

He wrote with lightning speed, using over a dozen sheets of draft paper, and quickly solved more than half of the matrix. Li Banfeng watched for a while and then asked, "What level of Calculation Cultivator are you?"

Shen Jingye was neither surprised nor flustered; he was used to it. He tidied up his draft paper briefly, looked up, and said, "I am the Problem Solver, or what is commonly referred to as Calculation Cultivator in Pro State."

Li Banfeng smiled. There's a big difference between Problem Solver and Calculation Cultivator. Li Banfeng recently reviewed some materials...

The fundamental differences between the two were discovered.

A train was passing by. Calculation Cultivator could calculate the best way and the best time to stop the train by taking into account the surrounding environment and his own conditions. He could also calculate a series of processes such as robbing goods and selling the stolen goods afterward. Li Banfeng had experienced this in Yellow Earth Bridge.

However, Problem Solver do not possess similar abilities. They do not know how to stop the train. If given a ready-made solution, all the known conditions are given to them, and they are asked to verify whether the solution is feasible, then the Problem Solver can provide an answer. Their ability and core are the problem itself. Without the problem, the Problem Solver's ability cannot be fully utilized.

Is Shen Jingye Calculation Cultivator or Problem Solver? This still needs to be verified.

Li Banfeng came here to see him because he wanted to meet someone. "Is Professor Yu Yaoming still at the bureau?"

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "He's gone. He was picked up by people from the Dark Matter Research Lab yesterday. If you want to see him..."

You'll need to communicate and coordinate with the research lab, but I doubt they'll cooperate.

Li Banfeng disagreed. "We're all comrades on the same front, don't think the worst of people. Give me the address of the research lab, I'll go and talk to them."

"I don't know their address yet, but I'll tell you once I find it." Shen Jingye wasn't joking; he was serious. His personality had undergone a drastic change, a change that seemed irreversible.

There is a bit of that, but it can't be called willfulness, much less slacking off. Shen Jingye; he is working hard to improve himself and is also aware of the risks. In his dealings with his superiors, he is more clear-headed than ever before.

What exactly was the change? Li Banfeng thought for a long time and could only describe it with one word.

Reality.

Shen Jingye has become more authentic than before.

"Director Li, I also need to remind you that the research lab has only been established for a short time and its hardware facilities are not yet complete, but there are many high-level Dark Energy User among its members, so it's best to be more patient during the communication process."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm an impatient person?"

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "I'm worried that they won't have the patience. They are all level seven Dark Energy User. I'm worried that once they get angry, you'll kill them in one go."

"I'm only on the fifth floor, how could I possibly kill someone on the seventh floor in one hit?"

Shen Jingye did a quick calculation. "Considering the calculation error, I think it will be at most two hits."

The two were chatting when Shen Jingye's phone rang. After glancing at the caller ID, he immediately pressed the speakerphone button.

The call was from Du Wenming: "Director Shen, there's been a problem at the Dark Matter Research Lab. We need to hold an emergency meeting. Would you like to attend?"

In the past, Shen Jingye would have agreed immediately and then pondered the content of the meeting.

But he didn't want to play riddles today. "Director Du, what's going on? Why do I need to attend the emergency meeting in the research lab?"

Du Wenming paused for a moment before saying, "The professor who was sent from the Dark Star Bureau to the research lab has been abducted."

Li Banfeng was stunned. Who acted so quickly?

Shen Jingye was extremely dissatisfied. "Director Du, why do you insist that it was sent by the Dark Star Bureau? We already handed the person over to the research lab yesterday. Now you're making me hold a meeting? Are you trying to make me take the blame?"

Shen Jingye is right. The reason for calling him to the meeting was indeed to encourage him to consider the bigger picture and share the responsibility.

But Shen Jingye's attitude surprised Du Wenming greatly; he was blunt and to the point, leaving Du Wenming with no room for further discussion.

All I could do was tell Shen Jingye the meeting time.

"Is the meeting taking place in the research lab? You need to tell me the address of the research lab."

Du Wenming gave the address to Shen Jingye. After hanging up the phone, Shen Jingye wanted his secretary to prepare some materials, but when he called the secretary over, Shen Jingye told him to go back.

"Writing reports is useless, no matter how much I write, it's useless. I'm definitely not taking the blame for this today, and I don't need to be so tactful when I talk to them—" Shen Jingye muttered to himself as he hastily wrote a few pages in his notebook. Seeing that it was almost time, Shen Jingye got into his car and went to a meeting.

Two hours later, Shen Jingye returned and went straight to Li Qi's office.

Li Qi put down the documents in his hand and asked, "So? You didn't get blamed, did you?"

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "We're not taking the blame, but the matter is ours."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that we lost Yu Yaoming. It's not our fault, but we have to find a way to bring Yu Yaoming back."

Li Qi frowned and said, "Why should we look for them?"

"The higher-ups said that Yu Yaoming's disappearance is a security issue caused by dark abilities, and it is handled by the Dark Star Bureau's Public Security Team."

"Nonsense! Where did this happen? Wasn't it in the research lab?"

"It's a research lab, but the situation is quite special." Shen Jingye handed Li Qi a hard drive and copied three videos, which were surveillance footage of Yu Yaoming being kidnapped.

Yu Yaoming was in the interrogation room at the time, and an agent from the research lab was interrogating him and taking notes when a man suddenly appeared against the wall of the interrogation room.

The man was not tall, but had a large head. He wore a large brown hat with a blue ribbon wrapped around it, and a feather was stuck in the ribbon.

Beneath the brim of his hat, a head of golden curly hair fell across his face, and through the curls, one could see his large, deep blue eyes, which were lifeless.

Below his eyes was a very long nose, the tip of which covered his upper lip. He wore a yellow shirt and black shorts, and a pair of Big Head leather shoes with neatly tied laces.

Li Banfeng recalled the classic fairy tale he had read as a child, "The Adventures of Pinocchio".

Could this guy be named Pinocchio?

Neither the detective nor Yu Yaoming noticed the man. The man stood by the wall for a while, then walked sideways toward Yu Yaoming.

Li Banfeng asked, "Why is he walking sideways?"

Shen Jingye said, "Look down, there are clues below."

The man stood next to Yu Yaoming for a moment, seemingly observing the hands and feet on Yu Yaoming's body.

The detective suddenly looked up, but the man had vanished.

Li Banfeng pressed the pause button and repeatedly observed how the man disappeared.

The images flashed by frame by frame. In the previous frame, the man was still standing next to Yu Yaoming, but in the next frame he disappeared.

Shen Jingye shook his head and sighed, "Their hardware is indeed a bit lacking; this is the limit of their surveillance equipment."

The detective asked two more questions, then bowed his head to take a statement. Li Banfeng said, "Why is there only one detective in the interrogation room? Shouldn't there be at least two?"

Shen Jingye said, "The research lab explained that Yu Yaoming's mental state is unstable, and he is prone to accidents in crowded places."

He is uncooperative during interrogation and may even assault his interrogators.

Has this situation ever occurred within the Dark Star Bureau?

"Yu Yaoming is somewhat manic, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with the number of people around. He's caused trouble even when there are fewer people around."

The man stood next to Yu Yaoming for a while, and then the most crucial clue appeared.

He slowly raised his left arm, or rather his left upper arm, with his forearm below the elbow, swinging it seemingly limply.

After a moment of swaying, all the limbs on Yu Yaoming's body disappeared.

Footsteps made some noises, and the detective in charge of the interrogation finally looked up and noticed the man next to Yu Yaoming. The man was pulling Yu Yaoming and moving sideways, quickly rushing towards the door of the interrogation room.

He easily broke down the door and led Yu Yaoming into the corridor.

"The crucial moment has arrived." Shen Jingye played a second video, this one coming from the corridor of the research lab.

The man, carrying Yu Yaoming, rushed sideways into the corridor, smashed through the corridor wall, rushed outside the building, hovered in the air for a moment, and then fell down.

"Pay attention to this key point," Shen Jingye pressed pause. "According to the division of responsibilities at the meeting, Yu Yaoming's disappearance inside the building is the responsibility of the research lab, but Yu Yaoming's escape outside the building is the responsibility of the Dark Star Bureau."

"Is this human language?" Li Banfeng raised his hand, wanting to slap Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye took a step back, maintaining a relatively safe distance from Li Banfeng: "I think, logically speaking, there's no problem with the definition of responsibility. The research lab has just been established, and the problems outside the building are indeed not their responsibility."

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "Is this how logic is used?"

"Watch the video first." Shen Jingye played the third video, which was surveillance footage from the highway outside the building. He played it at one-fifth speed, and finally the man and Yu Yaoming could be clearly seen on the screen.

The man walked sideways with almost no undulation in his body.

His shoulders were always hunched, and his major joints, such as his knees and elbows, gave off a strange sense of disharmony.

Shen Jingye said, "Can you tell? This is a marionette."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "It does look very similar. You mean that the person who kidnapped Yu Yaoming was a construction worker."

"This is not my meaning; this is the analysis from the meeting. They believe that an Artisan Creator created and manipulated this marionette, broke into the research lab, and kidnapped Yu Yaoming."

The crucial issue is that the lab's agents are all level seven Dark Energy User, yet they showed absolutely no ability to cope with this puppet. Just how powerful do you think this Artisan Creator is?

"He's so powerful that he's beyond Artisan Creator." Li Banfeng turned to look at Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye blinked and said, "I know there's a difference between a craftsman and Artisan Creator. This must be a high-level craftsman. I just don't want to get hung up on their titles."

This is the real Shen Jingye, who doesn't even bother to hide anything.

But his deduction was correct. If a puppet is so powerful, how powerful must this craftsman be?

"It won't be that easy to snatch Yu Yaoming back from him."

Shen Jingye nodded and said, "I know it won't be easy. The responsibility for losing Yu Yaoming doesn't lie with us, so even if we can't get him back, it's not our fault. It just means we missed an opportunity to make a contribution."

Li Banfeng looked at Shen Jingye and said, "Do you want to make a contribution?"

"I really want to," Shen Jingye replied very frankly.

"Didn't you say before that you were no longer interested in getting promoted?"

"If there's no chance left, I'll definitely be indifferent. But if I could win back the opportunity, maybe I wouldn't be so indifferent."

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Li Banfeng smiled, "Little Shen, your straightforwardness is quite endearing!"

Shen Jingye's eyes were filled with longing. "Director Li, let's be frank. If we want this matter to get done..."

I need your help. What kind of reward do you want?

Li Banfeng said, "Let's not rush the reward issue. Let's see if there's any chance of this being done. Regardless of how powerful the other party is, Yu Yaoming is already missing. Finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where do you plan to start looking for clues?"

Shen Jingye, being a professional himself, naturally had a plan. "First, find the motive. What is this person's motive for taking Yu Yaoming away?"

The first possibility is that Yu Yaoming established an organization or gang, and this repairman was either a member of that gang or hired by it to rescue Yu Yaoming.

The second possibility is that Yu Yaoming possessed some extremely advanced scientific knowledge, and an organization wanted to exploit his scientific achievements, so they kidnapped him from the research lab.

The second possibility is more likely. After all, this is a civilized society, and no matter how deep the gang members' feelings for Yaoming are, they probably wouldn't challenge an institution like the research lab.

"Are you mocking Pro State?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "Perhaps all so-called civilization is fabricated."

"I wasn't being sarcastic about Pro State. What I was trying to say was—you just said that civilization is all fabricated? What do you mean by that?"

The fact that Shen Jingye could say that sentence in its entirety proves that he is not a member of Snowflake Port.

Li Banfeng said, "I was just saying that casually. You can treat it as a philosophical question and go back to ponder it carefully."

I think your speculation is correct. The most likely motive for the other party is that they are interested in Yu Yaoming's research results.

Given Yu Yaoming's own situation, he possessed certain clandestine abilities, and therefore decided to kidnap Yu Yaoming's organization.

It should be related to dark abilities.

Shen Jingye nodded and said, "That's what I think too. The other party is a powerful organization of dark ability users."

"Among the organizations we control, how many can afford to hire this level of maintenance workers? How many organizations have the audacity to establish a research lab?"

"That narrows the scope considerably," Shen Jingye thought for a moment. "Based on the information I currently have, within the territory of the Huan Kingdom, only the Birch Hermit Association can accomplish this."

Li Banfeng said, "If Birch Hermit Association further down the line, we should also include the gangs that have branched out from them, Ferry Gang."

Shen Jingye thought for a moment and said, "If we trace the Ferry Gang upstream, we can find another powerful organization."

Snowflake Port, the Ferry Gang was jointly founded by Snowflake Port and the Birch Hermit Association.

Li Banfeng nodded. "So, we can't let any of these three organizations get away. Do you have any information on them?"

Shen Jingye pursed his lips. "You should have seen the bureau's files, right?"

2

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "I was just saying that civilization is all fabricated, and that's what I meant. Those materials don't contain much valuable information, and a lot of the content is fabricated."

Shen Jingye stood up and said, "I'll go get some documents and bring them to you in a bit."

Li Banfeng said, "Don't rush, there's one more detail we can't overlook. Before this, you told me that you didn't know the location of the research lab."

Shen Jingye nodded. "Yes, I don't know—"

After a moment of silence, Shen Jingye suddenly realized.

I don't know the location, so how would that puppet know?

There's a mole!

Li Banfeng said no more. Shen Jingye returned to his office, sat behind his desk, and kept repeating Li Banfeng's words.

"Civilization is a fabrication, civilization is a fabrication—..."

He picked up the landline, then put it down again.

He picked up his phone and wrote down a number.

He took out a special cell phone, a phone from the early 1990s, as big as a brick.

This phone has been specially modified to make it very difficult to eavesdrop on.

He made a phone call on his cell phone.

"Old Shen, why are you calling me from this number?"

Shen Jingye said, "I have a favor to ask you. Could you check Du Wenming's resume and his recent activities, especially his schedule for the last three days?"

PS: Does Snowflake Port really have such powerful repair services?