Fang Cheng asked, puzzled, "Am I really that obvious?"
"Are you not?"
"Am I?"
Takeda Masumi punched him. "Quit messing around. I'm serious. Someone in the Countermeasure Department must be helping you conceal your identity and erase your tracks. Otherwise, you'd have been flagged by their surveillance system ages ago."
Fang Cheng realized she wasn't joking and answered seriously, "Could Kanzaki Rin be helping me?"
Kanzaki Rin had always been the one helping him erase the traces of his actions. But she was away at special training for psychics these days, so she probably didn't have time to slack off.
Takeda Masumi disagreed. "Impossible. Rin may be capable, but as an intern, she doesn't have that kind of influence."
"When you say she's capable, do you mean the same kind of 'capable' I'm thinking of?"
"What do you think? Stop changing the subject. Do you know any other big shots?"
Fang Cheng pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Does the prime minister of Area 11 count? He's the only person in the government I know besides you guys."
Takeda Masumi was so stunned she froze, then her voice shot up. "You know the prime minister? How?"
Fang Cheng looked rather embarrassed. "I know him from watching the news. I suspect the old guy's constipated. He always looks like he can't squeeze out a turd."
"..."
Takeda Masumi's mouth twitched as she realized he'd been messing with her. "You're asking for a beating, aren't you? I don't know who's helping you or what they want, but you'd better be careful."
Fang Cheng nodded, making a mental note of it, then suddenly asked, "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider my earlier proposal?"
Takeda Masumi fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. "Forget it. I'm used to doing