Tools Don't Need Thoughts

Outside the door, Ji Wu helplessly held Xu Zhou's head and ruffled his hair.

Inside the hospital room.

Zhang Lin asked Bai Zuo, "Is Xu Zhou an Adaptive, just like me?"

Bai Zuo drew a turtle on his leg, which was in a cast. "That's right!"

Zhang Lin narrowed his eyes, ignoring the prank.

"Didn't you notice that kid has a self-destructive streak?"

"No way? What a shame!" Bai Zuo looked completely unconcerned. To him, it didn't matter whether a tool wanted to destroy itself, as long as he found it useful.

That casual attitude, as if human lives didn't matter, made Zhang Lin—who was a police officer—want to pull out his handcuffs and arrest Bai Zuo on the spot.

Zhang Lin had a lot he wanted to say, but when he met Bai Zuo's utterly calm gaze, he knew that no matter what he said, Bai Zuo wouldn't listen.

A Contract Anomalist's work was unusual. They often faced all kinds of dangerous and terrifying anomalies. The profession didn't seem to have an age requirement; anyone with the talent could become a Contract Anomalist.

Even adults with sound judgment could develop psychological problems from constantly hovering on the brink of life and death.

Let alone young people, whose minds weren't mature yet and who were especially vulnerable to outside influences.

Of the two Contract Anomalists Zhang Lin had met so far, Bai Zuo and Xu Zhou, both had their share of problems.

Bai Zuo's cruelty. Xu Zhou's self-destructive streak.

They badly needed psychological counseling.

They shouldn't be sent to fight anomalies while carrying these problems.

But Zhang Lin also knew that someone had to deal with the anomalies, which only made the whole situation feel more absurd. If this world had fallen so far that it needed children to protect it, didn't that mean the adults were utterly useless?

"I'm an Adaptive too, right? Make me a Contract Anomalist! Let that kid go back to an ordinary life and attend school in peace!"

Zhang Lin tried to sit up, but the movement pulled at his wound, and he couldn't manage it. He stared straight at Bai Zuo with unwavering resolve.

Bai Zuo sat in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, twirling a black gel pen in his hand. "Nope. The moment he became a Contract Anomalist, there was no going back."

"After all, he's already my tool!"

Bai Zuo smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. "Tools don't need thoughts. And they don't get to choose!"

His blatant malice surged over Zhang Lin like a bottomless swamp, clinging to him and blocking his mouth and nose. It was suffocating, yet impossible to escape.

Zhang Lin held his breath.

Bai Zuo's deep, dark eyes stared directly at Zhang Lin. His words carried a double meaning.

When he said "tool," did he mean Xu Zhou? Zhang Lin? Or both of them?

"Ding! Character Perfection increased by 5%!"

"Special ability unlocked: Mind Possession (Excellent)!"

Great! The villainous image had been reinforced once again. Bai Zuo didn't continue the conversation. He stood up and walked out of the hospital room.

Only after Bai Zuo had left did Zhang Lin remember how to breathe. He gasped for air.

What overwhelming pressure. Just now, he'd felt like a large predator had its eyes on him. His body hadn't been able to move at all.

With great effort, he reached for a business card beside the bed. His eyes were filled with determination!

The card read: Yigui Clean Energy Transport Co., Ltd., Supervision Department, Ji Wu, Contact Number: xxxxxxx.

Xu Zhou picked up the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow from the corner.

He wiped the dust off, slid the blade back into its sheath, then carefully wrapped it in cloth, layer after layer, before placing it in the sword's carrying harness and strapping it to his back.

Gone was his earlier liveliness. He looked dejected and gloomy.

Ji Wu didn't know how to comfort him. He'd seen plenty of Contract Anomalists with obsessive, extreme personalities in the Aberration Association. Xu Zhou's condition was relatively mild, at least—when he lost control, he only hurt himself.

Bai Zuo and some of the other Contract Anomalists, on the other hand, went on indiscriminate killing sprees whenever they snapped, wiping out everyone around them.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Ji Wu saw Bai Zuo come out and jerked his chin toward Xu Zhou.

He was just a Supervisor!

His only responsibility was keeping an eye on Bai Zuo. Taking Xu Zhou along was clearly Bai Zuo's job!

Bai Zuo seemed to be in a good mood. To Ji Wu's surprise, he didn't pick a fight. He sauntered over to Xu Zhou. "What's got you so down?"

Xu Zhou lowered his head dejectedly. He'd thought that after becoming a Contract Anomalist and gaining power, he'd finally become useful. But when he faced an anomaly, he'd still been just as terrified and just as cowardly.

It was just like when he'd faced those bullies—he'd been powerless to fight back.

"Brother Bai, am I completely useless?"

Bai Zuo looked at him oddly and rested his chin in one hand. "The suggestion didn't work? Did you remember something?"

"I remembered some things."

Bai Zuo immediately reached out to Xu Zhou. "It's okay. You'll feel better soon."

Smack!

Ji Wu slapped Bai Zuo's hand away and fixed him with a frosty stare. "You little brat, follow the rules! Xu Zhou is a member of the Aberration Association now. He's a Contract Anomalist, not your tool!"

Bai Zuo shrugged. "I was just trying to fulfill my responsibilities for once."

To avoid having to write a self-criticism report, Bai Zuo quickly slipped away.

Ji Wu took Xu Zhou to handle the paperwork. They found a reasonably successful company worth tens of millions on the market and acquired it with an acquisition coupon.

Following the Chairman's instructions, he changed the company's name to Yigui Clean Energy Transport Co., Ltd.

After all that running around, Xu Zhou's gloomy mood had lifted somewhat. He leaned forward and curiously read the name aloud. "Yigui Clean Energy Transport Co., Ltd. That's a really long name."

"This company will be our base here. Every member of the organization will be registered here."

"Me too?"

"Of course."

Xu Zhou watched as Ji Wu worked through the steps and entered his information into the company system, assigning him to the Execution Department.

Execution Department, C-Class Contract Anomalist, Xu Zhou.

A small joy welled up in Xu Zhou's heart. Like a rootless duckweed, he finally had somewhere to belong.

"The employee dormitory is behind the company. Go to the front desk and get a key. You can stay there if you want."

Ji Wu was very efficient. He quickly finished all the company's paperwork and kept as many of the original employees as possible.

At the same time, he set up several departments that seemed utterly baffling to the other employees.

For example, the Execution Department, the Supervision Department, the Research Department, the Energy Department, and the Transport Department.

The original company had sold software. These new departments had nothing whatsoever to do with software, so many employees began whispering among themselves.

"I heard our company has a new boss?"

"They even changed the name, so it must be true."

"It seems the new boss is planning to get into transportation instead of selling software?"

"No way. With the economy like this, the worst thing you can do is switch industries."

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