Special Affairs Bureau · Seeking Monthly Tickets · Recommendation Tickets

The chaos within the apartment finally subsided.

Supported by several police officers, Kalieqin struggled to stand up. His face was as pale as paper and his body still trembled uncontrollably, but his eyes had regained some of the sharpness and coldness characteristic of a senior investigator.

He pointed at the teaching assistant, Allen, who was being held by two Clovin agents with a dazed expression, and spoke in a hoarse but unquestionable voice:

"He... isolate him as a priority! Without further orders from Clovin high command, no one is to approach him, including for interrogation!"

He added one final instruction: "Gag him!"

A police officer tore the fabric shade off a desk lamp, grabbed the man's chin, and stuffed it directly into Allen's mouth, ignoring the muffled, resistant groans from the latter.

Kalieqin took a deep breath, fighting through the dizziness in his head and the searing pain in his spirit, and quickly dictated to the junior investigator beside him who had just recovered:

"Record! The original residual psionic contamination level remains unchanged. Senior Investigator Kalieqin on-site suffered erosion from a demonic will projection..."

The junior investigator's hands trembled as he recorded. Once recorded truthfully according to Kalieqin's dictation, Kalieqin would face extremely brutal internal scrutiny to ensure that the demonic erosion had left no residue on his body or mind.

"Record! At the critical moment, a third-party, unknown, powerful psionic entity intervened. Its spiritual manifestation was 'Radiance,' which dispersed the demonic physical projection... its existence level... far exceeds conventional understanding."

He paused, then added the most crucial sentence: "This psionic entity seems to have established an indirect connection with the reporter who first discovered the scene, that teaching assistant. Investigate this connection as a priority!"

The situation had to be reported immediately. Whether the entity that projected its psionic will directly into his mind was friend or foe remained unknown, but the power it displayed was enough to warrant the attention of Clovin's highest levels... and even the Empire's highest levels.

Even if the entity had helped Kalieqin banish the demon, it could not be defined as "friendly."

Just then, steady and rhythmic footsteps echoed at the apartment entrance.

Three men and women with intense auras walked in.

The Clovin Ninth Bureau—the Special Affairs Bureau—had arrived.

This was a standalone execution team; all three were senior investigators from the bureau, assembled temporarily to resolve the emergency situation just reported here.

The leader was a woman with a cold expression whose gaze swept across the scene in an instant.

She glanced at the disheveled Kalieqin and the chaotic scene, her brows furrowing slightly.

Kalieqin wanted to step forward to explain the situation, but a wave of intense weakness and exhaustion from the depths of his soul surged like a tide. His vision went black, and he could no longer hold himself up. Fortunately, he was supported by the police officer beside him, preventing him from collapsing forward, but he had already completely lost consciousness.

"Sir!" The junior investigator beside him was extremely flustered. This was his first time executing a mission with Kalieqin, and he hadn't expected such a critical situation to occur.

The veterans in the group had previously joked that ninety-five percent of the missions related to psionic phenomena were false alarms, and that it was rare to encounter a truly psionic-related incident.

He hadn't expected to run into one on his very first mission, and one that even a senior investigator like Kalieqin had fallen victim to.

The female senior investigator from the Ninth Bureau, the person in charge of the on-site execution team, glanced at the unconscious Kalieqin being carried away, then looked calmly at the junior investigator who had accompanied him: "Report!"

"Ah?" The junior investigator was stunned for a moment, but under the cold and sharp gazes of the three senior investigators opposite him, he suddenly remembered and proceeded to report and recount everything that had just happened, including Kalieqin's final dictation, in its entirety.

The person in charge remained expressionless and signaled to a subordinate behind her: "Take him back, prioritize spiritual trauma assessment and treatment. Kalieqin is to be isolated separately... and undergo necessary scrutiny after he wakes up."

Afterward, her gaze fell in turn on the isolated Allen and the horrific study.

"Clear the scene and re-evaluate the contamination level.

All those who had contact, including the Internal Affairs police personnel, must sign confidentiality agreements and undergo basic screening." Her orders were concise and efficient. She continued: "The Clovin Special Affairs Bureau is now officially taking over."

Meanwhile, in the attic on Valen Street.

Gallo lay on the simple bed, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His mother and sister were already asleep; he could hear their steady breathing in the attic.

Everything that had just happened replayed in his mind.

"Clovin will definitely make a big move this time."

Gallo analyzed it calmly.

"A senior investigator nearly suffered a spiritual collapse, a powerful Subspace entity projection manifested, plus an unidentified third party capable of banishing Subspace entities... this is enough to shake their upper echelons."

This meant the probability of Malcolm and Sacia's group being wiped out had increased significantly.

The intervention of official forces could help him clear the dangerous obstacles in front of him.

But problems followed. Would the authorities stop after dealing with Malcolm and Sacia?

They would inevitably track the existence of that third-party psionic entity, investigate the connection to the pair of spiritual eyes above teaching assistant Allen's head, and probe everyone Allen had been in contact with. Combined with the fact that Malcolm and his group had seen Gallo, once both lines connected to him, he would become an important intersection point.

Clovin's final clues in tracking that third-party psionic entity would likely point to him.

Gallo blinked, continuing to think: "I don't know how Clovin internally defines third-party psionic entities. Are they subjects to be regulated, targets to be erased, or perhaps... to be recruited as members of Clovin?"

This was a dilemma. Using the authorities to eliminate immediate threats had also attracted larger, more unpredictable attention.

However, his Inspiration had not triggered any warnings regarding Clovin's potential tracking, which meant that even if Clovin truly tracked the matter to Gallo, it was highly unlikely to pose a threat to him.

"Achoo!" Lily suddenly sneezed, interrupting Gallo's thoughts.

Sleeping in the attic at night, the four walls leaked wind, and the indoor temperature was not much higher than the outside, and it wasn't even winter yet.

The thought of moving house surfaced again.

He calculated the money he had earned in Lubo Lane recently, plus the two small bank notes he had received for completing Sacia's commission, totaling 62 Nalang, 75 Copper Nil, and 4 Fenso.

This money was enough for him to rent a decent apartment far from Valen Street, with a private bathroom, a spacious kitchen, a bright living room with a fireplace, a separate bedroom, and perhaps even a study if he was lucky.

But generally, such apartments required a year or half-year lease, which was a large expenditure. The monthly rent for this three-story attic on a slum street was one Nalang and thirty Copper Nil, totaling nearly fifteen Nalang a year.

And the rent for a Gallo Ideal Apartment would be at least several times the current attic rent.

Gallo suddenly felt that he was still too poor. Perhaps... once he rented a suitable apartment, he should raise his service fees!