I Think You'd Be a Good Fit

Li Fan's mouth twitched. He looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

He studied the old man's expression. It didn't look like he was putting on an act.

Then again, that made sense. Ordinary people couldn't see mental energy with the naked eye.

All they could see was Li Fan and the Spider-Legged Monster's bodies.

And at night, it was pitch-black. From a distance, you could barely make anything out. Seeing two figures was already pretty good.

So Li Fan was the only one who'd seen that spectacular battle clearly.

If there'd been an awakened person with strong mental energy nearby, they might have been able to see it too.

But only from up close.

He'd thought he was pretty impressive, but now it seemed his skills were only so-so...

How much mental energy did the Tiger Pillar God have again?

The first Amalgam he'd ever encountered seemed to have around three hundred mental energy.

He guessed that was about his level.

Realizing he was still pretty weak, Li Fan thoughtfully closed the old man's door for him and slid the bolt into place from outside.

Then he dropped onto all fours and scampered out of Huting Park.

Using the cover of night, Li Fan first sprinted north for a while, then quickly changed back to normal and sent the Tiger Pillar God back to the Prison of Suppression.

He hailed a taxi and took a roundabout route back to the dark parking lot outside the Xidelong Hotel.

Liu Dalong was still lying there, already snoring.

Li Fan hurried over to check on him.

Fortunately, apart from a few scrapes, he wasn't seriously hurt.

Li Fan immediately called an ambulance, then called Wu Qian to explain what had happened.

He told him he'd gone out to chase Liu Dalong, run around for a while, then lost track of him. After searching for a long time, he'd found Liu Dalong in the parking lot and called an ambulance.

Only after hearing that Liu Dalong wasn't seriously hurt did Wu Qian let out a long sigh of relief. He hurried over with several colleagues.

"Fan, as long as you're all right. As long as you're all right." Wu Qian looked Li Fan and Liu Dalong over, then said, "I don't know what's going on tonight, but it's been one damned thing after another. The bureau doesn't have anyone to spare. There've been a lot of abnormal infection cases, and the police are swamped too."

Zhang Hongbing and Ma Lihua, who'd been injured, had already gone to the hospital with a few colleagues. Wu Qian and Ke Ke were among those who'd stayed behind to wait for Li Fan.

Li Fan figured the Unity Society was behind this too. He just didn't know the details.

Fortunately, the Anomaly Bureau protected Gu City, which gave him some peace of mind.

Seeing that Li Fan's clothes were torn and he was covered in grime, Ke Ke hurried over to straighten them out for him. She asked with concern, "You're not hurt, are you? What exactly was that monster?"

Li Fan waved a hand and smiled. "I'm fine. It was probably just an ordinary abnormal infection. I chased it for a while, and it seemed to run out of steam. It dropped Director Liu here and ran off."

Wu Qian nodded. "Good thing you're all right. Don't worry. It may have escaped for now, but it won't get away forever. We've got those guys in the Investigation Department. They'll catch it sooner or later. They might even dissect it tonight."

Then he smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't let those Investigation Department guys fool you. They strut around like they own the place, as if everyone owes them money, but they really do have some ability. Especially Hong Tao, the captain of the Third Detachment. He's strong as an ox."

Li Fan gave him a speechless look.

Why did that comparison sound so weird?

Ke Ke asked, "Director, why does our bureau only have a Third Detachment? What happened to the First and Second?"

Wu Qian sighed. "Our bureau used to have a First and a Second Detachment, but no Third. The Third was formed later. As for the old First and Second..." His voice grew heavy. "They were wiped out during a mission a few years ago..."

"What? How..." Ke Ke's eyes widened, stunned by this secret from the Anomaly Bureau.

Li Fan looked just as shocked. This was the first he'd heard of it.

He'd assumed the Anomaly Bureau did things differently just to be unconventional. He hadn't expected there to be a secret behind it.

Wu Qian waved a hand. "To be precise, they all went missing during the mission. The old hands at the bureau all know about it, but no one talks about it. Don't spread it around. Just keep it to yourselves."

As they were talking, the sound of an ambulance approached from far away.

Then there was a sharp crack, and the Xidelong Hotel and the surrounding streets suddenly blazed with light.

The power was back on.

The ambulance drove straight into the parking lot. Several people helped the medics lift Liu Dalong into it, then drove another car to follow it to the hospital.

Li Fan rode along in the ambulance to keep an eye on him, hoping to see whether the Spider-Legged Monster had infected Liu Dalong.

Fortunately, there were no signs of infection.

At the hospital, the doctors examined Liu Dalong and confirmed that he was fine. He'd just been badly frightened. They gave him a quick bandage and said to wait for him to wake up.

Then Wu Qian got a call from the bureau. They said there was an abnormal infection that needed to be handed over.

Wu Qian had no choice but to hurry back to the bureau with the other colleagues, leaving Li Fan to watch over Liu Dalong for the time being.

After all, Liu Dalong had been frightened and injured. It wasn't clear whether he wanted his family notified, and leaving him alone in the hospital didn't seem right.

There were plenty of injured people in the hospital, though most had only minor injuries. Apparently, a lot of them had been hurt by a guy fishing with a rod.

Some others had been pricked with needles.

While lighting a cigarette, Li Fan noticed that all of them had been infected by something abnormal, but later someone had removed the infection.

It was probably the Anomaly Bureau's doing.

The television in the ward was showing a drama called Ancient Dian Dynasty. Apparently, it was about the love and hatred of one of the Dian kings.

The patients in the beds nearby were watching with great interest.

Why was it Gutuo Kingdom again?

Li Fan turned to a teenager nearby who'd cracked his head falling while playing basketball and asked, "Hey, is this show any good? What's it about?"

The boy was absorbed in the show. Without turning around, he said excitedly, "It's great! It's about a sorcerer king from Gutuo Kingdom. He was especially cruel, but later he gave up immortality for love and died for the person he loved. They say the Dian King is buried right under Gu City. His name was King Dian Li."

Li Fan pursed his lips. This drama sounded like total nonsense. They'd taken a story and turned it into a complete fabrication.

King Dian Li? He'd never even heard of anyone by that name.

These mystical dramas seemed to be all the rage lately. No matter how powerful the immortal or king, they all had to fall in love.

Maybe the boy sensed Li Fan's disdain. He turned around and said earnestly, "This show is really good! They even made a movie called Legend of the Dian King. It was a huge hit. There are also spin-off novels, comics, and games. If you don't think it's good, you're out of touch, bro."

He looked like a die-hard fan.

Li Fan nodded. "Got it, got it. People just have different tastes. The beauty of each thing is different, but when we appreciate them all together, the world is at peace."

Li Fan's words left the boy dizzy. Thinking he'd been praising the show, he hurriedly agreed.

Just then, Liu Dalong, who'd had his eyes closed, twitched. His swollen eyelids fluttered, and he groaned, "Ow..."

He was awake.

Li Fan hurriedly brought him a cup of warm water.

Liu Dalong drank it groggily. When he finally made out Li Fan's face, tears of gratitude streamed down his cheeks.

He only remembered what had happened before he passed out. Li Fan had been out front, chasing after the monster with everything he had.

Now that he'd woken up and found Li Fan still keeping watch over him, it was obvious Li Fan had saved his life. How could he not be grateful?

Li Fan hurried to reassure him, saying that everything was fine, the monster had run off, and he was safe in the hospital.

He added that Director Wu Qian and the others had been called away on an urgent assignment and had already left.

Zhang Hongbing and Ma Lihua had also been bandaged up and sent home. Their injuries had only been superficial.

"Hey, Fan, I owe you my life. If you hadn't been there, I'd be done for..." Liu Dalong, who'd slaughtered countless pigs, sighed. His eyes reddened again, then his whole body shuddered. "I still get scared thinking about that thing. It was so damn terrifying..."

"Anomalies, anomalies... Dissecting abnormal infections is one thing. Facing one alive and nearly getting killed by it is something else entirely. I think I've been emotionally scarred..."

As Li Fan comforted Liu Dalong, he couldn't help thinking that he'd never imagined the burly man had such a delicate side.

He really had been badly frightened.

The two of them chatted about this and that for a while, and Liu Dalong gradually calmed down.

Then he seemed to make up his mind. Looking at Li Fan, he said, "Fan, after what happened, I've realized the Anomaly Bureau really is a dangerous place. There's no telling what might happen to us in this line of work. Some day, something could go wrong, and we might not be able to handle it... This time really scared the hell out of me..."

"I don't plan to keep being deputy director. I think... you'd be a good fit..."