What the hell had been born?
Had his wife given birth?
Li Fan shot Wu Qian a reproachful look.
First, explain why tonight turned out so differently from what you told me at the dinner table.
Wu Qian seemed to understand what Li Fan was upset about. He didn't even give Li Fan a chance to speak, instead grabbing his hand and saying:
"Fan, I know tonight was a shock, but this is also your opportunity! Division Chief Wang from the Personnel Division in the Political Work Department just called me. You did a great job tonight, and the bureau's prepared to promote you straight to full-time investigator!"
Li Fan's eyes widened.
What about my precious year of probation!?
The probation period I'd planned to use to slack off while dealing with the Cleaning Association?
Before Li Fan could say anything, Wu Qian continued:
"Deputy Division Chief Liu Dalong and I also discussed this on the way here. You handled an abnormal infection incident on your very first day, protecting the division's safety and reputation. That's a major contribution. We're planning to promote you straight to section chief."
A section chief too!?
"No, Division Chief Wu, this doesn't seem right. I'd rather get some experience over a longer period before becoming permanent. Making me permanent just like that will be hard to justify, let alone appointing me section chief..." Li Fan hurriedly refused.
What a joke. He'd planned to coast until retirement.
Wu Qian and Liu Dalong exchanged a glance, both looking deeply pleased.
"It's an admirable quality for a young person not to chase credit or get complacent! But you don't need to be modest. The Personnel Division has already made the decision, and I've even secured the position for you," Wu Qian said.
"As for the section chief position, our division has five sections in total. Old Sun's about to retire, so you can serve as acting head of Section Five for now. There aren't any staff in the section at the moment, but we'll assign you some once we have more people."
The main reason they were giving Li Fan a section chief position was that there weren't many young people in the division. The Dissection Department had few people but plenty of positions, so making him a section chief was no big deal.
Besides, what had happened tonight wasn't a major incident, but it wasn't trivial either. The Dissection Department shared some responsibility, so they had to turn this funeral into a celebration as quickly as possible and make the accident look like an achievement.
Pass the buck—fast!
Li Fan waved his hands and said:
"No, really! Division Chief, I just got here. I don't know anything, and I've only worked one day! I pulled one night shift and now I'm being made permanent and promoted to section chief? This isn't right!"
Seeing that Li Fan genuinely didn't want to become a permanent employee or take the section chief position, Wu Qian couldn't help feeling moved.
After so many years working in government, he knew all too well how rare it was to find young people who didn't chase fame or fortune and just quietly did their jobs.
Even Liu Dalong gave Li Fan a thumbs-up.
Wu Qian patted Li Fan on the shoulder and said:
"Your permanent position was decided by the Political Work Department, which means it was decided by the bureau. It's settled. I've already put your section chief appointment forward too."
"Just do it! There's no need to feel awkward. Nobody in our division will talk behind your back. They all respect you! You've worked hard tonight. Go back and get some rest."
Seeing that there was no way to refuse, Li Fan could only sigh and say:
"Fine..."
Wu Qian looked utterly baffled. Why did it sound as if he was forcing him?
"Li Fan!" Two young people wearing Investigation Department uniforms pushed open the door and called out to him from across the room.
"Wang Chaolong, Zhang Ya." Li Fan was feeling down, so he merely nodded at them.
They were both classmates from his initial training course and had joined the Investigation Department.
Seeing Li Fan's cool attitude, Wang Chaolong furrowed his brow slightly. Then he came over and smiled at him.
"Zhang Ya and I are both with the Investigation Department's 3rd Detachment, 7th Brigade. We heard that the Amalgam you received yesterday had a problem, so our captain sent us over to take a look."
He gave Li Fan another once-over, his gaze passing over Li Fan's slightly disheveled clothes. In a condescending tone, he said:
"Li Fan, is it really that busy over at the Dissection Department? You look exhausted. There's no future there anyway, so there's no need to work yourself so hard... By the way, trainee investigators in our Investigation Division usually become permanent after a month. I heard it takes a year at your Support Center?"
During the early part of their initial training, Li Fan had excelled at everything, which had made Wang Chaolong resent him. Now that Li Fan seemed to have fallen on hard times, Wang Chaolong wanted to feel superior.
Li Fan nodded earnestly, his voice tinged with dejection.
"A year sounds pretty good too. I think it really does take a long time to get enough experience before you can become permanent."
Zhang Ya and Wang Chaolong exchanged a glance and put on fake smiles.
"Oh, Li Fan, don't take it to heart. Whether it's a year or a month, you'll become permanent in the end. It doesn't matter. No matter what position we hold, we're still classmates."
Wu Qian had quickly caught on to what was going on. Smiling, he said:
"You're from the Investigation Department? What business do you have with our Section Chief Li?"
Section Chief Li?
Wang Chaolong and Zhang Ya were taken aback. Wang Chaolong then laughed.
"Sir... Senior, you're quite the joker. Li Fan's still a trainee investigator. He'll need at least a year to become permanent. Joking like that could hurt his self-esteem."
Wu Qian's expression turned stern. He shook his head.
"Who's joking? The Investigation Department's 3rd Detachment, 7th Brigade failed to take proper precautions and didn't conduct a thorough preliminary cleanup. The anomalous item you sent over posed a serious safety risk and nearly caused a major accident! Our colleague Li Fan from the Dissection Department stayed calm in a crisis and resolved the safety hazard as a trainee investigator. He deserves a commendation for his service. The bureau's Political Work Department has already approved his permanent appointment and promotion to section chief. I'll be submitting a report to the bureau about the problems with your 7th Brigade!"
Wang Chaolong and Zhang Ya's expressions changed dramatically. They stared at Li Fan in disbelief.
They had thought they had the upper hand, but Li Fan had already become a permanent employee—and a leader, no less!
Then they suddenly came to their senses and hurriedly said to Wu Qian:
"This isn't our brigade's responsibility..."
"May I ask who you are?"
Liu Dalong immediately spoke up.
"This is Division Chief Wu from our Dissection Department. You can't make a decision about something this serious. Get your captain over here!"
The 7th Brigade was really something, sending two rookies over to talk nonsense about an incident this serious.
Only then did Wang Chaolong and Zhang Ya realize how serious things were. They exchanged polite words with Li Fan before slinking away.
In the hall, the Amalgam's "corpse" was placed on a surgical bed and wheeled away.
Looking at the Amalgam's three faces and remembering how they had seemed alive, even capable of speaking, Li Fan felt a strange pang in his heart.
"Division Chief Wu, what happens to the victims of these abnormal incidents? Do they get compensation?"
Wu Qian immediately understood what Li Fan meant. He patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Don't worry. The bureau will provide condolence money. There's nothing we can do about things like this. It's like car accidents or illness. You'll get used to it once you've seen enough."
Soon, a middle-aged man in uniform arrived.
He was Wang Yong, the captain of the Investigation Department's 3rd Detachment, 7th Brigade.
Wu Qian immediately went over with Liu Dalong to argue with him.
Taking the opportunity to say goodbye, Li Fan picked up his backpack and returned to the dormitory.
That night had been exhausting.
But he didn't hurry to sleep. He took a shower, pulled out a Shell Currency coin, and began searching for information.
When he'd seen the Shell Currency and the Tiger Pillar God yesterday, they'd seemed familiar.
In his previous life as an antique dealer, he'd dealt with all kinds of cultural relics and antiques. In his memory, the style of the Shell Currency looked a lot like that of the ancient Gutuo Kingdom in the southwest!
And the strange sacrifice, along with the way the Shell Currency had been stuffed into people's bodies, clearly pointed to a mastermind behind it all.
This wasn't an ordinary abnormal infection incident.
Sure enough, Li Fan soon found several news articles:
"...Major archaeological discovery of the year: the tomb of the king of the ancient Gutuo Kingdom!"
"...A bronze ritual vessel for storing Shell Currency, depicting human sacrifice, unearthed in a stunning discovery that fills a gap in the country's archaeological record."
"...Several members of the Qingshan Archaeological Team have gone missing on Cloud Mountain, west of Gu City..."
The sacrificial scene on that ritual vessel was exactly the same as the one performed after the Tiger Pillar God took control of the corpses!
He just didn't know who the mastermind behind it all was.
Perhaps he could try asking the Tiger Pillar God...
Looking at the bag full of Shell Currency, Li Fan thought for a moment, plunged his left hand into the coins, and gave the empty air a gentle tug with his right. A section of an illusory bronze chain appeared in his hand.
Through the bronze chain, he could feel the Tiger Pillar God's emotions coming from the other end.
It seemed... terrified out of its wits?
Where did this thing come from? Tell me.
In an instant, the surroundings changed. Li Fan found himself inside a shopping mall!
This was... the Tiger Pillar God's memory!
People came and went through the mall. Right in front of him was a checkout counter.
"Hello, your total comes to 6,580 yuan. How would you like to pay?" A slightly plump, round-faced male cashier asked the customer with a smile.
The customer wore sunglasses, a mask, a hat, and gloves. Though it was summer, he was wrapped head to toe in a black trench coat. The skin visible beneath it was gray, making him look incredibly strange.
He was buying a trench coat too.
The man in the trench coat slowly held out his hand and asked, "Can I pay with a coin?"
The cashier frowned and was about to refuse, but then he saw the black Shell Currency coin.
It was rusty and dark brown, with a metallic sheen. On its surface was the image of a beautiful woman being torn apart. The design was so clear and lifelike that he could even hear a heartrending, plaintive wail!
The moment he saw the coin, desire instantly filled the cashier's heart.
Get it!
He had to get it!
The cashier practically snatched the Shell Currency from the man in the trench coat. Then he stared at it, greed filling his eyes, and unconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.
His tongue seemed to have grown longer.
So beautiful, so beautiful. He'd never imagined that tearing a person apart could be so beautiful...
"Is one enough? If not, I have more here." The man in the trench coat's voice was hoarse. He pulled out another handful of dark-brown Shell Currency, each coin depicting a person suffering a gruesome, bloody fate. "Lord of Unity bless you."
Devoured by wild beasts, sawn into pieces, melted, ground to dust...
So beautiful... so beautiful... The cashier's eyes were filled with longing and desire. He snatched the coins and clutched them tightly in his hand, shouting, "Mine! They're all mine!"
He studied the images on the coins, then suddenly looked up at the man in the trench coat with suspicion. But the man was nowhere to be seen.
The trench coat had been taken too.
"So beautiful... so beautiful..." The cashier stared down at the coins, mumbling. Drool dripped onto them, and his neck slowly stretched longer.
He held each Shell Currency coin up before his eyes. Suddenly, his fingers began to itch terribly. Before he realized it, they had stuck together as if they were fusing.
The cashier didn't notice any of it. He simply stared fixedly at the scenes on the coins with his bulging eyes.
"It's a shame these beautiful things only exist on the shells... If only they were real..." The last thread of his reason snapped. The cashier looked at the people moving around him.
This true beauty had to be brought to life!
He grinned with delight, his mouth splitting all the way to his earlobes...
Before you continue