The Human Heart Is Unfathomable

The Chief's face turned ashen. "Not a single one??"

The question carried a heavy weight.

The lead guard, however, was too blinded by rage to think it through. He blurted out, "It's not a matter of one or two—we didn't see a damn Earth-Shaking Talisman at all! The intel this guy gave us is fake!"

Having been colleagues for years, there was a baseline of trust. Hearing this, the Chief shifted his gaze to Wang Wen. "Do you have an explanation?"

Wang Wen adjusted his collar, unhurried and calm. "The intel is fine. Whether the people are fine, I couldn't say."

Hearing this, the lead guard's blood boiled again. He reached past his colleague, pointed at Wang Wen, and cursed, "Stop trying to sow discord! My brother went through life and death with me; there is absolutely no way he would lie to me! I saw him leave the World Tower with empty hands with my own eyes!"

"Ha!" Wang Wen offered a meaningful smile and said nothing more.

"What are you laughing at?" The lead guard's face turned beet red.

From another direction, someone chimed in, "You should know exactly what he's laughing at."

The lead guard looked over and saw Vice Chief Jiang. His anger faltered for a moment.

Before he could speak, the Vice Chief took the opening to analyze the situation for the Chief. "Old Zhang, I don't want to comment on the rest, but I'll say this: if the intel were fake, why would Wang Wen stay here in the Guard Department so honestly? Is he waiting to be exposed? You know as well as I do, he's had plenty of chances to run away this past week!"

A whole week.

The Vice Chief's favorability toward Wang Wen had grown significantly.

In his eyes, Wang Wen was a true academy-trained professional, unlike the self-taught lot they were. When they talked about the World Tower, Wang Wen was articulate and offered unique insights into many difficult problems. Just through their conversations, the Vice Chief felt more confident about breaking through the 250th floor!

He was ten thousand times more unwilling to believe such a talent was lying.

Conversely, he was more inclined to believe that the man who showed him little respect was the one being dishonest.

He usually didn't have the opportunity or the inclination to deal with such people, but now that the situation had arisen, it was easy enough to speak for the truth rather than for his own kin.

"Vice Chief Jiang makes a good point." The Chief couldn't think of a rebuttal, and not wanting to admit that his own men had failed, he fell into silence.

Seeing this, the lead guard panicked and shouted at the Chief, "Sir, believe me, there is definitely something wrong with this intel!"

The Chief pondered for a long time before finally choosing to support his subordinate. He tossed the problem back to Wang Wen. "Wang Wen, since you provided the intel, do you have any way to prove it is correct?"

Wang Wen nodded. "It's simple. If someone from our Guard Department goes in, we'll know the truth. If it's still not there, I'll accept the consequences—beheading or a firing squad, take your pick."

The words fell.

A wave of whispers rippled through the hall.

Such a proactive offer to verify the facts was the most convincing argument, as only those with a clear conscience would not fear the truth.

Seeing Wang Wen's resolute demeanor, even the lead guard began to waver. He stared at him with suspicion, trying to find a crack in that calm, unruffled face.

Just then, someone in a group of whispering guards spoke a bit too loudly, and the words "human hearts are hard to fathom" drifted clearly into the ears of everyone in the hall.

The Chief's expression changed instantly.

The lead guard was even more incensed. He roared at the man, "Jiang Daoli, you son of a bitch, say that again if you have the guts!"

The guard named Jiang Daoli, who also wore a squad leader's uniform and likely had a history of friction with the lead guard, didn't back down. He retorted, "Captain Chen, you've got quite the authority, shouting at a colleague in front of two superiors? I said human hearts are hard to fathom, so what? Do you dare swear on your life that your precious brother didn't pocket the Earth-Shaking Talisman?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? Stop with your snide, mud-slinging remarks!" The lead guard was driven mad, slapping his chest with a loud thud.

Jiang Daoli chuckled. "Oh, I'm not nearly as good at mud-slinging as you! Little Wang is putting his head on the line here waiting for us to verify, while you? What are you willing to bet while we wait for the results?"

The lead guard ripped off his hat. "If there's an Earth-Shaking Talisman, I'll quit this uniform! Jiang Daoli, you bastard, if you've got the guts, let's bet! If the item isn't there, you strip off your skin!"

Jiang Daoli's expression shifted, and he said with a strange tone, "Betting your uniform? That's pretty decisive. I was only suspicious of your brother before, but now I'm starting to find you suspicious too! Fifty *Earth-Shaking Talisman*s! How much are they worth, anyway? Enough to trade a brother for, or maybe a uniform?"

As the argument escalated to this point, the people in the hall wore a variety of expressions—a colorful and dramatic display.

Wang Wen watched the faces with interest and said, as if casually, "If I recall correctly, an Earth-Shaking Talisman is worth about 30,000 to 50,000 points."

"Boom!"

The onlookers, who loved a good spectacle, poured oil on the fire.

The noise in the hall could no longer be suppressed; it became as violent as a storm.

The lead guard pushed past his colleague and lunged toward Wang Wen, shouting, "You son of a—you son of a!"

"Enough!"

The Chief slammed his hand onto the table, the sound echoing through the Guard Department hall with a dull hum.

"Everyone, shut up!" His gaze swept across the room like a machine gun, silencing everyone instantly. Finally, his eyes landed on Wang Wen. "You said you wanted someone from the Guard Department to check. Do you have any recommendations? To avoid any claims of bias, you can designate the person yourself. How about that?"

Perhaps because his own men were being doubted, or perhaps because the scene in the hall had become too unruly, his tone was clearly laced with dissatisfaction.

Wang Wen, however, didn't care. He looked around the room and said cheerfully, "I personally suggest someone selfless and impartial, like Vice Chief Jiang."

The Vice Chief, suddenly named, blinked in surprise and looked at Wang Wen thoughtfully.

The Chief turned to him. "Vice Chief Jiang, with your strength, the 200th floor shouldn't be a problem, right? What do you say? Are you willing to be the verifier?"

The Vice Chief thought for a moment and nodded. "I have no problem with that."

"Then it's settled. Get your gear ready and report in to enter the tower." The Chief turned back to Wang Wen. "Wang Wen, the rest of us will wait here at the Guard Department for your news!"

Life temporarily returned to calm.

Wang Wen continued to sleep soundly in the detention cell every day.

To clear his name, the lead guard made the Guard Department his home, sleeping in his clothes right at his desk.

Perhaps it was because he knew so many people were waiting for news, or perhaps it was because he was a life-and-death brother whose strength surpassed that of the lead guard.

Vice Chief Jiang returned from the tower much faster than expected.

By the evening of the third day, he had already stormed back into the Guard Department with his men in tow.

Those who heard the news rushed over, including the Chief, the lead guard, and colleagues both on and off duty.

Everyone clearly saw the Vice Chief pull a thick stack of high-quality talisman paper from a simple bag.

[Earth-Shaking Talisman]!

"Fifty-two in total!" Vice Chief Jiang's voice echoed through the guard hall, as if announcing the "death sentence" of the lead guard.