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Capital Public Security Bureau.

Special Affairs Center—Information and Intelligence Department.

Bai Ji clutched an electronic report device and practically sped toward the director's office.

The colleagues he passed hurriedly stepped aside, casting sidelong glances at him.

Just as he was about to reach the door, he slammed on the brakes!

The office door happened to open, and a man and woman strolled out one after the other.

The man looked to be around thirty-five, tall and well-proportioned, dressed in a suit and leather shoes. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his full beard had been groomed with considerable style.

The woman who emerged behind him was in her early twenties. She wore a khaki beret, her features beautiful but her expression aloof. Her glossy black hair fell all the way to her waist, and she was dressed in a British-style outfit: short skirt, tall boots, twin blades at her side.

The colors on their miniature shoulder insignias were azure, representing the eastern jurisdiction.

As they met face-to-face, the man gave Bai Ji a slight nod. The naturally imposing air of power and privilege around him left Bai Ji momentarily dazed.

Only after the pair disappeared around the corner did he suddenly come to his senses and rush to the door!

He was just about to knock...

"Bai Ji? Come in."

"Yes!" Bai Ji answered, pushing the door open.

The instant he entered, the stench of smoke hit him head-on!

The person in charge of the Information and Intelligence Department at the Capital Public Security Bureau was a short-haired woman in her early forties.

Though her looks were ordinary and she wore no makeup, her brows carried an air of authority that needed no anger to command respect.

A cigarette butt was pinched between her fingers. Seeing Bai Ji enter, she spoke first. "You came at the right time. Help me compile information on License Holders who have cleared trial instances at Difficult or higher in the Beijing-Tianjin region over the past three months."

"Uh, when do you need it?" Since his superior had spoken first, Bai Ji had no choice but to answer her request before making his report.

"As soon as possible. Colleagues from the East Sea Branch are taking the high-speed rail to Jinping tonight and will begin work tomorrow morning. Just have it ready before the end of the workday." The woman spoke calmly but firmly.

"Okay, no problem." Bai Ji was already prepared to work overtime, but he added, "Is it for the East Sea Branch colleagues?"

"Yes. You just ran into them, didn't you?"

"Mm. The crown prince of the Deep Sea Clan. There aren't many cases serious enough to make him enter the inland alone," Bai Ji said gravely.

"Hehe, then that isn't something for you and me to worry about... Oh, right, did you have something urgent to report?" The female superior studied the sweat on Bai Ji's forehead. "Go ahead. Don't delay the official business of our fellow department."

In other words, report quickly and get back to work.

She flicked off the ash with practiced ease, looking like she was ready to go home and cook as soon as she finished working.

"Oh, it's like this..." The information he had been so anxious to report had been interrupted repeatedly, leaving Bai Ji's thoughts somewhat disjointed. He quickened his pace. "A newly promoted License Holder just cleared the only Nightmare-difficulty trial, Whispers of the Inner Demon. The instance seems to have been locked as a result. And speaking of which, that person also happens to be in Jinping..."

Tap...

"What did you say?" The female superior sprang to her feet, one hand pressing down on the desk.

The cigarette butt fell onto a document pouch and burned a hole through it.

Jiang Qian abruptly opened his eyes and lifted his head from the desk.

He found himself still in his own room. An evening breeze drifted through the half-open window, chilling the back of his neck.

The experience in the instance just now felt like a dream...

Jiang Qian habitually raised his watch. It read 18:20.

Only an hour had passed?

He looked around the room. The little girl's books had all been taken away, and the extra chair had been put back in place. Clearly, she had left long ago.

How had she left? Why had no one noticed anything wrong with me?

With that thought, Jiang Qian stood up.

As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he found Aunt Jiang Chuntao, who had finished cooking, creatively photographing an entire table of dishes. A suspicious smell filled the house.

It was a familiar smell, and not deadly... At the sight of his aunt, Jiang Qian instinctively activated Poison Resistance perception.

Jiang Qian's aunt, Jiang Chuntao, was plump and full-figured. She had been a stunner in her youth. She married first and pursued her career afterward. Her husband and son were now abroad, while she remained in her family home in the country due to work.

As a niche food blogger, Aunt spared no effort in contributing to the list of "dishes to avoid at all costs in one's lifetime" in Chinese cuisine. She was widely known as the Queen of Dark Cuisine.

At that moment, she was carrying a DSLR camera as she circled the round table. A brightly colored hairband wrapped around her hair, and her exaggerated earrings resembled two lemon slices. Fortunately, her looks could withstand it all, and she still looked like a fresh, fashionable hot mom.

In the living room, the television was on, and Old Buddha was carefully examining a boxed tea gift set...

Jiang Qian's pupils contracted. It was the gift that "Xiao Lin and her mother" had brought.

Without revealing anything, he walked over. Following his grandmother's gaze, he smilingly picked up a tea cake to examine it. "White tea from Fu Province. Not bad. Your student really understands you."

Other than trace amounts of formaldehyde in the packaging, the tea itself was basically fine... Jiang Qian relaxed slightly.

"Hmph, of course. I'm her mentor!" The old lady looked extremely proud.

"Indeed. Your students are everywhere, and your kindness spreads in every direction."

The old lady's expression became even prouder.

Seeing that Old Buddha was in a good mood, Jiang Qian took the chance to cover for Yu Xuan. "Oh, right, Grandma, my Sister had something urgent to take care of and left early. It was business-related. You were still in the study at the time, so she didn't disturb you specifically. She asked me to let you know."

"What time will she be back?" Old Buddha immediately perked up at those words.

Her stern attitude was like that of a high school homeroom teacher catching a student skipping class. No, she had been a high school homeroom teacher before retiring.

"Probably after dinner. When the guests arrived, Sister had just left."

"Oh... A girl should be dating and getting married properly instead of fussing around with some career all day!" The old lady muttered out of habit, but did not pursue the matter further.

Mission accomplished, Jiang Qian returned to the dining room.

Pretending to ask casually, he said to Aunt, "The guests left? They didn't stay for dinner?"

Aunt Jiang Chuntao did not even lift her eyelids, her gaze fixed on the DSLR camera in her hands. "Yes! They came right at mealtime, but then hurried off just as we were about to eat... Could it be that my newly developed garlic mashed mango didn't suit their tastes?"

"Exactly. They really don't know what they're missing..." Jiang Qian echoed. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the vividly colorful plate of candied stinky tofu at the table's edge and involuntarily swallowed.

The moment he thought about this table of food being dinner, he could not suppress the urge to lose weight.

"Huh?" Aunt suddenly looked up at Jiang Qian in surprise. "Didn't you personally see them out? Why are you asking me?"

Personally?

Jiang Qian pointed at himself.

His mind reacted swiftly: A substitute, or mental manipulation?

That little girl dared to pull tricks in front of my family... Jiang Qian hesitated for only a second before replying to Aunt with complete confidence. "I was deliberately testing you, to see if you were suffering from menopausal forgetfulness."

This was common knowledge he had picked up from a women's health magazine some time ago: supposedly, when women reached menopause, aside from physical adverse reactions, they could also experience mental symptoms such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and forgetfulness.

As an observant top student, Jiang Qian had already made Aunt his subject of observation and continuously recorded a large amount of real data... Recently, he had been preparing to write a research paper on "Mental and Physical Health Care for Middle-Aged Women," and planned to generously share his findings with Aunt and Sister.

He was confident that he understood Aunt's mental state inside and out.

However, upon hearing the word "menopause," Aunt's mental state gradually showed signs of losing control.

"Jiang Qian..."

"Yet the facts prove that Aunt is still young and beautiful, in excellent health! The carving knife of time has never left a mark on you, nor has it clouded your wisdom. Your nephew worried for nothing, so Aunt can rest easy!"

Aunt took a deep breath and slowly set down the kitchen knife. "Mm, now that's more like it... I'll add two more dishes tonight as a reward!"

You won't be seeing the health plan I tailored especially for you... Jiang Qian gladly accepted. "Thank you, Master Chef!"

At that moment, the old lady also strolled in from the living room with her back straight.

Dinner could begin.

"Grandma, Teacher Li and the others moved nearby, right?" Jiang Qian asked about the little girl's address while helping Aunt ladle soup.

"They moved here last month. They live in the faculty housing of Experimental Middle School, the old Building Two!" The old lady had taught and educated students in her youth, but now she knew all the neighborhood gossip by heart. "Sigh, Teacher Li's husband is away teaching in a remote area. It isn't easy for her to raise a child alone..."

"Oh, what grade does Teacher Li teach?" Jiang Qian placed dishes that were easy to chew into the old lady's bowl.

"Senior year. She's very busy!" The old lady was about to launch into an extended discussion when she suddenly realized something was off. "Why are you so concerned about this?"

"Haha, you're interested in little Xiao Lin, aren't you~" Aunt giggled mischievously.

Quite the opposite. You have no idea what kind of deception and betrayal the only child in this family has suffered... Jiang Qian said solemnly, "The girl is quite pretty, but she's a little slow in the head. I explained a question to her three times today, and she still didn't understand it. She even wanted to invite me to her home for private tutoring."

"Oh?" Aunt's eyes lit up, her love of gossip obvious.

But Old Buddha cut her off coldly. "Nonsense! That girl ranks in the top ten of her entire grade. If she were slow, could she get those grades? Don't get carried away just because she asked you a few questions."

"Mom, that's not right! How can you be sure the little girl came to study? Maybe she has some other purpose~"

Aunt, you really understand the situation... Jiang Qian looked at the candied stinky tofu Aunt had placed in his bowl and resolutely put it into his mouth.

Still, he had gotten the basic information.

The old faculty housing at Experimental Middle School was inhabited by retired old men and women, and they had moved in just last month. He only needed to ask around nearby tomorrow to learn their exact apartment number.

Jiang Qian made his plans in secret. Everything was under control.

"Crunch, crunch."

The high-sugar junk food, repeatedly fried in oil, was thoroughly chewed by Jiang Qian and fully contacted his taste buds, gradually revealing various trace toxins...

Yet to his surprise, his body did not reject those harmful substances. Instead, they stimulated his appetite?

He could clearly feel the trace toxins being stored inside his body. Not only did they bring him no burden, they instead gave him a powerful sense of security.

This was unlike the satisfaction junk food brought. The former was a full, bloated satisfaction, whereas he was still hungry and greedy now.

It was more like... a craving for toxins!

His body wanted to store even greater quantities of toxins.

This is far too strange. At this rate, even the Queen of Dark Cuisine won't be able to satisfy me... Jiang Qian pulled the entire plate of candied stinky tofu toward himself and smiled. "Aunt, weren't you going to add two more dishes for me? Go on, then?"

At the sight, Aunt's face immediately drained of color.

The old lady also frowned slightly. She never touched food for young people and had only a limited understanding of this dish's destructive power. What she disliked was the act of eating while clutching the plate, which she considered very impolite.

But Aunt had already stood up and snatched away the stinky tofu. "A-Qian, don't be like this. Aunt was only joking. You don't have to take such care of my feelings!"

Jiang Qian watched helplessly as the dark stinky tofu wrapped in golden threads was taken away from before his eyes, his heart burning with anxiety. I really wasn't being polite. I genuinely like this stuff now... Besides, it's toxic. You ordinary people aren't used to eating it, so it can only be left for me!

Jiang Qian cried out inwardly.

Wait.

His outstretched chopsticks froze in midair.

Toxic...

Jiang Qian suddenly remembered something he had nearly forgotten.

"Please enjoy your meal, ladies!"

He got up, rushed back into his room, and pulled open a drawer...

Thanks to reader Wangdi Chunxin Zhuangsheng Xiaomeng for the recommendation vote!