I Want to Gain Power

Xu Zhou stared at Ji Wu with a weary look. "I still want to live."

Ji Wu laughed heartily, then guiltily looked away and changed the subject. "The eerie aura in this hospital is pretty strong. Looks like we've got a tough one on our hands."

"Your attempt to change the subject was painfully obvious. But you're right. Even from this far away, the hairs on my arms are standing on end."

The two left the stairwell.

They started searching from the second floor, working their way upward.

When they reached the Surgery Inpatient Department on the fifth floor, they sensed the strongest eerie aura there, though it seemed to be mixed with other, more chaotic traces.

They eventually found Zhang Lin's room.

"This is the one?" Xu Zhou gripped the hilt of the knife behind his back.

"Xu, you're the Contract Anomalist. The anomaly inside you will guide you to the answer." Ji Wu could sense eerie auras, but he wasn't nearly as perceptive as a Contract Anomalist.

As a supervisor for the Aberration Association, Ji Wu's duties were to oversee and keep watch, supporting Contract Anomalists with extreme personalities and brazen ways, and helping keep them calm and steady.

Ji Wu was physically strong, and his will was firm. If he wanted to become a Contract Anomalist, he'd have a very high chance of successfully making a contract with an anomaly.

Unfortunately, after contracting with an anomaly, most Contract Anomalists changed drastically under its influence. The more obsessive became even more obsessive, and the more extreme became even more extreme. Even people who had once been gentle grew irritable.

The position of supervisor required someone with a clear head and stable emotions.

"Sorry!" Xu Zhou fumbled awkwardly. He was a rookie who had only recently started learning about all this. An experienced member was supposed to guide him, but unfortunately, his handler was Bai Zuo.

"It's all right. Take your time." Ji Wu understood Xu Zhou's situation.

As Bai Zuo's supervisor, Ji Wu knew him all too well. He was an irresponsible bastard!

The two of them lingered outside Zhang Lin's room for quite a while.

Inside the room.

As soon as Zhang Lin heard voices outside, he warily stared at the door.

He was in a private room, and he hadn't told his family he was in the hospital because he didn't want them to worry. So who else would come looking for him at a time like this?

And whoever it was had been hanging around outside for ages without coming in. It was suspicious!

Zhang Lin placed a hand on the call button.

Xu Zhou searched for a feeling for a long time, but in the end all he could do was muss up his hair and admit defeat. "It's no use! Supervisor Ji, I still can't control it freely."

"Then let's go in and take a look," Ji Wu said.

Ji Wu pushed open Zhang Lin's door. "Excuse us."

He saw Zhang Lin staring at them warily.

Ji Wu raised a hand. "Hey there! Good afternoon, sir."

Xu Zhou poked his head out from behind Ji Wu.

"Who are you?" Zhang Lin asked.

"What do you sense?" Ji Wu asked.

Xu Zhou looked puzzled. "That's strange! I can sense a trace left behind on him, but there's no mark on his body."

The existence of anomalies couldn't be revealed to the public, so when Contract Anomalists went out on missions, they used other words to refer to them.

Ji Wu rubbed his chin. "Looks like someone else took care of it."

Who could it have been? There were only two Contract Anomalists nearby—the two of them. No, there was someone else!

"Sorry, could I take a look?" Ji Wu suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Lin. "I won't do anything to you. I just want to confirm something."

So fast!

Zhang Lin's pupils shrank. The hand he'd been about to use to press the call button was stopped.

Ji Wu pulled open Zhang Lin's hospital gown and, sure enough, found a very familiar mark over his heart.

Ji Wu held back his anger. He'd suspected as much ever since Bai Zuo ditched them and disappeared on his own, but when the evidence was right there in front of him, it still hit him hard!

This was the first time Zhang Lin had seen the mark, too, and he was clearly startled. "What is this? How did this end up on me?"

Xu Zhou poked his head out again. "Oh! It's just like mine!"

"That's right, Xu. It means you've got twice as much paperwork to write!"

Xu Zhou burst into tears. "Oh no!!!"

"Who are you, exactly?" Seeing the two of them joking around, Zhang Lin felt less wary. He had a feeling they knew something.

"Uh, well... are we allowed to tell him?" Xu Zhou asked uncertainly, looking at Ji Wu.

Ji Wu wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes, speaking through gritted teeth. "Since he's already been marked, he'll find out sooner or later. We might as well tell him now, so no one takes advantage of him before he knows what's going on and leaves him with nothing."

Ji Wu gave Xu Zhou a look that suggested he was an idiot. The living example of someone who'd been swindled out of everything was standing right there.

Xu Zhou scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, looking so innocently foolish that he seemed like a complete dunce.

"Do you know what this mark is?"

Ji Wu straightened his tie and addressed Zhang Lin with great formality. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ji Wu, a member of the Aberration Containment Association. I currently serve as a supervisor, and I'm mainly responsible for supervising Bai Zuo. I imagine you've met him?"

"Bai Zuo?" Zhang Lin had never heard the name, but for some reason, the first person who came to mind was the young man who had taken control of his body and radiated a dangerous aura.

"So that's his name. Bai Zuo?"

Was the organization behind him the Aberration Containment Association?

"You have revealed the existence of the Aberration Containment Association. Construction points +10."

"Right. Anomalies are beings that harbor tremendous malice toward humanity. Most Contract Anomalists who make contracts with them have all kinds of personality issues. Bai Zuo is unusual. The anomaly he contracted with poses an immense threat to people, so he's kept under long-term supervision and forbidden from attacking ordinary people without cause."

Ji Wu glanced at the patient information card at the head of the bed. The patient's name was written on it.

"Mr. Zhang Lin, I'd like to ask: when Bai Zuo used his ability on you, were you in the middle of an anomalous incident?"

"Do you mean the anomaly? An anomaly had contaminated a bus full of passengers and the driver. My arm was bitten, and Bai Zuo took control of me. In the end, he dealt with that anomaly."

Ji Wu let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness there'd been no violation of the Humanity Code. What Bai Zuo had done was a little excessive, but the most he'd have to do was write a self-criticism and file a report. That would be the end of it.

"Mr. Zhang Lin, I hope you understand that, given the circumstances, Bai Zuo used his ability to protect everyone."

Zhang Lin didn't blame Bai Zuo. On the contrary, he was grateful that Bai Zuo had saved them. "I understand. I was the one who wanted to gain power."

Ji Wu could tell that Mr. Zhang was a deeply righteous man, still full of passion.

He would probably be grateful to Bai Zuo for saving him and overlook the danger Bai Zuo posed.