He Looked Pretty Decent After All

Shen Yu had found several anomalous locations.

They still needed to send people to investigate.

Ji Wu was a supervisor. His only responsibility was keeping an eye on Bai Zuo.

In principle, investigating the supernatural wasn't part of his job.

But Xu Zhou was new, and there was a high chance he'd run into trouble investigating alone.

So Ji Wu had become supervisor to two people.

He had to keep Bai Zuo from causing trouble while also looking after Xu Zhou, so the newcomer wouldn't meet his end at the hands of some low-level anomaly before he'd had a chance to grow.

They were a little short-staffed!

Maybe...

He should draw another Character Card?

Shen Yu's desire to draw a card was growing restless.

Unfortunately, his mental strength limited what he could do.

Playing two characters at once was already putting a strain on him. If he added another, his head might actually explode.

"Forget it. I'll wait until the Headquarters Building is finished!"

Shen Yu sent Ji Wu the addresses and told him to take Xu Zhou to investigate when he had time.

Late at night.

Some people were asleep.

Others were staying up late to finish reports.

Xu Zhou sat at his computer, constantly scratching his head. He'd only written a tenth of the report. On the verge of despair, he typed with one hand and picked up the cup of coffee beside him with the other.

He had several reports to write.

The problem was, each one had to be several thousand words long and extremely detailed. He even had to record the anomalies' abilities as observed by the Contract Anomalists, the process of containing them, and everyone involved.

Reports on Contract Anomalists using their abilities were especially thorough.

For example, this time, to keep the anomaly from affecting the people on Anyang Island, Bai Zuo had used Heart Gu to control them ahead of time.

Bai Zuo was supposed to write that report, but he'd dumped it on Xu Zhou instead.

As Xu Zhou thought about it, he suddenly realized that if Brother Bai hadn't spotted the problem with the Lamp Mansion Festival and stepped in to disrupt it, then once the festival went ahead, Yama would have been able to use it to affect everyone who took part.

By then, no one who had participated in the Lamp Mansion Festival would have survived!

Brother Bai had essentially saved all their lives.

"If I include that in the report, it should help lessen Brother Bai's punishment, right?"

The Aberration Containment Association's only stated purpose was to contain anomalies. It didn't require Contract Anomalists to save ordinary people caught up in them.

But Bai Zuo had willingly saved so many people. That showed he'd become much more restrained, and his dangerousness had greatly diminished. Maybe one day, they could even lift the restrictions keeping him under watch.

Xu Zhou immediately threw himself into typing, using every word he could think of to praise Bai Zuo's outstanding performance on the mission.

After a whole night of hard work, he finally finished the report!

The next day.

Ji Wu had also finished working overtime all night. He straightened his tie and said, a little tired, "Have you finished the report? I can submit it along with the others."

Xu Zhou raised his hand. "I finished Brother Bai's!"

Ji Wu paused. "All right. Let me take a look."

Xu Zhou moved aside.

Ji Wu sat down and read through the report.

He sighed. "Well, never mind. This'll do!"

It was already impressive that Xu Zhou had managed to write it like this.

Ji Wu corrected a few typos and awkward phrases. Once he was satisfied that the report was basically fine, he emailed it and left it for the next batch of submissions.

Xu Zhou took another sip of coffee.

Ji Wu noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "Thanks for the effort. Once things calm down, take a few days off and get some rest."

Xu Zhou said, "It's no trouble. Compared to before, this is nothing."

Before he'd met Brother Bai and become a Contract Anomalist, every day had felt like it lasted a year.

Now, even though his life was constantly in danger, he felt much more at ease. At least he was doing the right thing.

Ji Wu was about to say that Contract Anomalists did get a few days off, when his phone rang.

He took it out and saw that the number was unfamiliar.

A little puzzled, Ji Wu answered. "Hello?"

"Mr. Ji? This is Kong Yubo." Kong Yubo sounded even more exhausted, and apparently had an urgent matter to discuss. His voice was hurried too.

"Mr. Ji, I have something urgent to tell you. It's related to the Lamp Mansion Festival."

Ji Wu's heart sank. "What is it?"

"When the anomaly brought down a building, quite a few people were injured. After we sent them to the hospital, someone reported that a family member had gone missing. We've finished counting, and fifteen people are missing."

"Were these fifteen people's disappearances caused by the anomaly?"

Kong Yubo figured the fifteen missing people had probably been inside the collapsed building and had been crushed to bits.

After all, the anomaly's blow had smashed half the building to pieces. It was already beyond anyone's expectations that Bai Zuo had managed to save most of the people.

Ji Wu didn't see it that way.

Only those who had dealt with Bai Zuo knew how brilliant he was. He was an incredibly observant strategist who often predicted what would happen before it did.

It was almost as if he could see the future.

When fighting an anomaly, he would surely plan ahead too, calculating ninety-nine steps after taking just one.

Not a single reaction or move from the anomaly would have escaped Bai Zuo's notice.

That was how he'd managed to save so many people from its attack.

If he'd predicted the anomaly's moves in advance, there was no way he'd have overlooked those fifteen people.

Unless...

There was something unusual about them.

Ji Wu smacked his forehead. His teeth were starting to itch again. Gritting them, he said, "I'll ask Bai Zuo first, then get back to you."

"All right. Sorry for the trouble."

After hanging up, Ji Wu roared, "Bai Zuo!!!"

Outside the door.

Bai Zuo immediately poked his head in. "You called?"

Today, Bai Zuo had made a rare visit to the office, and it hadn't taken him long to get acquainted with everyone there.

Deng Xiaorui hurried over with a bag of takeout. "Mr. Bai, here are the milk tea and roast chicken you asked for."

Bai Zuo accepted them with a beaming smile. "Thanks~"

When he wasn't up to mischief or openly letting his malice spill out, Bai Zuo looked pretty decent. In fact, with his handsome looks and youthful face, he was quite popular around the office.

Deng Xiaorui quickly waved her hands. "You don't have to thank me. Looking after you is what we support staff are here for."

Xu Zhou was an honest young man who hated troubling others. Though Ji Wu had told him about the benefits Contract Anomalists received, Xu Zhou never dared ask for anything and did everything himself.

But once Bai Zuo had come to the office and gotten to know everyone, he had the two support staff running around after him nonstop.

And he was so good at reading people that, even though he was constantly asking them to run errands, his friendly attitude and tactful words kept him from getting on anyone's nerves.