I Think You're Quite Suitable

Li Fan's mouth twitched, words catching in his throat.

He observed the old man's expression carefully; it didn't seem like an act.

Then again, it made sense. Ordinary people simply couldn't perceive the existence of psychic power with the naked eye.

In their eyes, all they could see were the physical forms of Li Fan and the Spider-Legged Monster.

Besides, it was pitch black at night. From a distance, it was hard to see anything clearly; catching a glimpse of two silhouettes was already pushing it.

Therefore, the grand battle that just unfolded was something only Li Fan had seen clearly.

If there had been an Awakened with strong psychic perception nearby, they might have seen it too.

But only if they were very close.

He had originally thought he was quite impressive, but now it seemed his level was just so-so...

What was the Tiger Pillar God's psychic power level again?

The first Amalgam he ever encountered seemed to have a psychic power of around three hundred.

That was likely the level.

Realizing he was still quite the novice, Li Fan thoughtfully helped the old man close the door and even slid the bolt shut from the outside.

Then, dropping to all fours, he slipped away from Huting Park in a flash.

Using the cover of night, Li Fan sprinted north for a while before quickly reverting to his normal appearance and tossing the Tiger Pillar God back into the Prison of Suppression.

He hailed a taxi and took a few detours to return to the pitch-black parking lot outside the Xidelong Hotel.

Liu Dalong was still lying there, already snoring.

He quickly stepped forward to check on Liu Dalong's condition.

Fortunately, aside from some superficial scrapes, there was nothing serious.

He immediately called an ambulance and simultaneously phoned Wu Qian to explain the situation.

It was nothing more than the usual story: he had gone out to chase Liu Dalong, ran back and forth several times, lost him, searched for a long time, and finally found him in the parking lot, at which point he called an ambulance, and so on.

Hearing that Liu Dalong was unharmed, Wu Qian let out a long sigh of relief and hurriedly rushed over with a few colleagues.

"Fan, it's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay," Wu Qian said, looking Li Fan and Liu Dalong up and down.

"I don't know what's wrong with tonight, it's cursed. The Bureau can't spare any manpower; there have been so many anomaly infection incidents, and even the police lines are jammed with no one available."

The injured Zhang Hongbing and Ma Lihua had already been accompanied to the hospital by colleagues, leaving Wu Qian and Ke Ke to wait for Li Fan.

Li Fan understood that the Unity Society was likely behind this, though he didn't know the specifics.

Fortunately, with the Anomaly Bureau guarding Gu City, he could rest a little easier.

Seeing that Li Fan's clothes were torn and he looked disheveled, Ke Ke hurried over to straighten his clothes, asking with concern:

"Are you hurt? What exactly was that monster?"

Li Fan waved his hand and smiled:

"I'm fine. It was probably just a common anomaly infection. I chased it for a while, and it seemed to run out of steam, so it just dumped Director Liu here and ran off."

Wu Qian nodded and said:

"It's good that you're fine. Don't worry, what goes around comes around. With the guys from our Bureau's Investigation Department on the case, we'll catch it sooner or later. Maybe we'll be dissecting it by tonight."

He then smiled to lighten the mood:

"Don't mind those guys in the Investigation Department acting like they're the center of the universe; they do have some real skill. Especially Hong Tao, the captain of the Third Squad—he's as fierce as a beast."

Li Fan was speechless.

Why was that metaphor so strange?

Ke Ke asked:

"Director, why does our bureau only have a Third Squad, and no First or Second Squad?"

Wu Qian sighed and said:

"We used to have a First and Second Squad, but no Third. The Third Squad was established later. As for the former First and Second Squads... they were wiped out during a mission a few years ago..."

"Ah? This..." Ke Ke's beautiful eyes widened, instantly stunned by this secret of the Anomaly Bureau.

Li Fan was equally shocked; this was the first time he had heard of this.

He had originally thought the Anomaly Bureau did things this way because they were eccentric, but he hadn't expected such a secret!

Wu Qian waved his hand and said:

"To be precise, they all went missing during the mission. The veterans in the bureau know about it, but no one brings it up. Don't go spreading it around; just keep it to yourselves."

As he spoke, the sound of an ambulance approached from afar.

Immediately following a "pop," the entire Xidelong Hotel and the surrounding streets were instantly illuminated.

The power was back.

The ambulance drove directly into the parking lot. Several people helped the medical staff lift Liu Dalong into the vehicle, and then they drove off toward the hospital.

During this time, Li Fan stayed in the ambulance to keep watch, wanting to take the opportunity to see if Liu Dalong had been infected by the Spider-Legged Monster from earlier.

Fortunately, there were no signs of infection.

Once they arrived at the hospital, the doctor's examination confirmed that Liu Dalong was not in any serious danger; he was simply suffering from shock. After a simple dressing of his wounds, they just had to wait for him to wake up.

Shortly after, Wu Qian received a call from the Anomaly Bureau stating that some anomalous infected entities needed to be handed over.

Wu Qian had no choice but to rush back to the bureau with his other colleagues, temporarily leaving the task of looking after Liu Dalong to Li Fan.

After all, Liu Dalong had just been traumatized and was still injured, and since it was unclear whether he was willing to notify his family, leaving him alone in the hospital would have been quite inappropriate.

There were quite a few injured people in the hospital, though most had only minor wounds; it was said that many had been hooked by a fisherman's rod.

Others had been pricked by needles.

While Li Fan was lighting a cigarette with his lighter, he had already noticed that these people had all been infected by anomalies at some point, though the infections had later been purged by someone.

It must have been the work of the Anomaly Bureau.

On the television in the ward, a drama titled Ancient Dian Dynasty was playing, which was said to be about the love and hatred of a certain generation of the Dian King.

The patients in the neighboring beds were watching it with great interest.

Why is it the Gutuo Kingdom again?

Li Fan asked a teenager in the next bed who had broken his head playing basketball:

"Hey handsome, is this show any good? What's it about?"

The teenager, currently watching with great excitement, replied without turning his head:

"It's great! It's about a king of the Gutuo Kingdom who practiced sorcery. He was incredibly brutal, but later, for the sake of love, he gave up immortality and died for his lover. They say this Dian King is buried right here under our Gu City—he's called King Dian Li."

Li Fan curled his lip. A show like this sounded like complete nonsense; it wasn't an adaptation, it was a fabrication.

King Dian Li? He had never even heard of such a person.

It seemed like these mystical, supernatural dramas were all the rage now. No matter how powerful the god or king was, they all had to fall in love.

Seeming to sense Li Fan's disdain, the teenager turned his head and said earnestly:

"This show is really good! They even made a movie called Legend of the Dian King, and it was a huge box office hit. Plus, there are spin-off novels, comics, and games. Big brother, if you don't think it's good, you're just out of touch."

He looked like a total fanboy.

Li Fan nodded and said:

"Understood, understood. The aesthetics of this world are inherently diverse. To appreciate the beauty of others is to share in that beauty, and thus achieve harmony under heaven."

The teenager was left dizzy by Li Fan's words, assuming the man was praising the show, and quickly expressed his agreement.

Just then, Liu Dalong, who had been lying with his eyes closed, twitched, his swollen eyelids fluttered slightly, and a groan of "Ouch" escaped his lips.

He was awake.

Li Fan quickly brought over a cup of hot water.

Liu Dalong drank it in a daze, and upon seeing Li Fan, he was immediately moved to tears.

He only remembered the situation before he lost consciousness—how Li Fan had been at the very front, fighting with all his might.

Waking up now to find Li Fan still guarding him, knowing his life had clearly been saved by the man, how could he not be moved?

Li Fan quickly spoke to soothe him, telling Liu Dalong that it was over, the monster had run away, and he was safe in the hospital now.

He also mentioned that Section Chief Wu Qian and the brothers from the bureau had urgent business and had left first.

The injured Zhang Hongbing and Ma Lihua had also been bandaged up and had already headed back, as their injuries were only superficial.

"Hey, Fan, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, this old life of mine would've been done for..." Liu Dalong, who had slaughtered countless pigs, sighed, his eyes reddening again. Then, his whole body shuddered violently. "I still get scared just thinking about that thing. It was terrifying as hell..."

"Anomalies, anomalies... dissecting an infected entity is one thing, but actually encountering a live one and almost getting killed by it is another. I think my heart is wounded..."

While comforting Liu Dalong, Li Fan couldn't help but complain internally; he hadn't expected the burly Liu Dalong to have such a delicate side.

It looked like he had truly been scared out of his wits.

The two chatted idly for a while, and Liu Dalong's emotions gradually stabilized.

Then, seemingly having made up his mind, he looked at Li Fan and said:

"Fan, after this, I feel like the Anomaly Bureau is truly cursed. There's no guarantee in our line of work; who knows when some disaster will strike that we won't be able to stop... This time, I was truly scared numb..."

"I don't intend to be the deputy section chief anymore. I think... you're quite suited for it..."

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