Unable to Hold Back

A week off.

Happy times always flew by.

Before he knew it, the vacation was over.

The moment he arrived at the office, his superior called him in for a talk.

"A task has come down from above. You're to search the snowy mountains for supplies."

"You'll take a team with you."

There was no right to question an assigned mission. He could only accept it.

"When do we leave?"

They were no longer letting him work on legal cases, instead sending him out to deal with leftover supply issues.

It was obvious they were keeping him busy, refusing to give him any chance to be distracted.

"The other teams have members with equally strong organizational skills. It doesn't necessarily have to be me."

He had gone out on mission after mission and earned plenty of gold coins, so jealousy was inevitable.

No one would think about why he was able to go out so frequently.

They would only assume he was currying favor with the higher-ups and avoiding the taxing legal cases.

One trip out earned him what others made in months. Naturally, plenty of people would be envious.

"They specifically named you, saying your completion rate is high."

"I'd like to give the others a chance to gain experience too, but since the people above named you directly, there isn't much I can say."

"Don't worry. They can go out and earn some extra money too. It may not be as much as you earn, but the risk is lower. Everything has its trade-offs."

"How about this? You decide which team members to take. You don't have to bring the people you usually lead either. Discuss it among yourselves and work it out."

As expected of a leader, his words were smooth and tactful.

Wan Ying took the layout map and left.

He returned to the office.

He had barely rested for a moment.

When someone knocked on the office door.

Little Eight approached with a mysterious look. "Director, I just got some firsthand information. I heard this snow mountain mission comes with extra gold coins. As long as someone finds Blood Lotus..."

Even Wan Ying had not heard this information.

Wan Ying closed the documents and calmly studied his teammate.

"How did you know it was an extra mission?"

Little Eight looked simple-minded as he blurted out, "I saw it on the external network. Another organizer posted it. We can sell whatever we find, right? Wouldn't that be extra gold coins?"

He made it sound convincing.

"We've been taking missions a little too often lately, and the other teams are already dissatisfied. I was thinking about whether we should let another team go. Team Two isn't lacking in ability either."

Little Eight did not understand. "Why? Their captain is useless and can't secure missions. Why should we give them ours?"

"Director, have you considered that even if you give it to them, would they be grateful? Of course not. They'd think we were looking down on them and deliberately giving them charity."

"Anyway, I don't think there's any need. We'll follow the captain's decision. Whatever you say, we'll do."

Wan Ying roughly understood what his teammates were thinking. "I was only bringing it up casually. This mission is dangerous. You all know each other well, so going together means you can look out for one another."

He had merely been testing them.

It seemed everyone needed some extra income.

He did not like this kind of life. Once people earned too much money, it was inevitable that they would lose sight of themselves. When they returned to handling cases, they might not be able to maintain even a shred of fairness.

"All right, go back and get yourselves into shape. Don't neglect your training. We should be leaving soon."

Watching his teammate leave.

Wan Ying glanced at the planning documents on the desk and felt his headache worsen.

He did not want to get involved in too many struggles. People like them would only become sacrifices.

Pitiful people would always remain pitiful.

Most of the time, they had no control over their own fate.

Perhaps one day, when he could no longer hold on, he would most likely leave the legal profession.

This life was completely different from what he had imagined.

He could take Puppy and stay far away from the capital circles filled with schemes, returning to his own life.

Even without this identity, he would not lack money and could still take good care of Puppy.

After processing several documents, he recorded the procedures and handed them to his subordinates to handle.

Being a captain was not easy. It was like being a second teacher; he had to correct his team members' mistakes in time and guide them toward the right way of thinking.

Every one of them had risen above countless others like lucky koi leaping through the Dragon Gate.

But this place lacked nothing but lucky koi. Everyone believed they were outstanding enough, only to reach a higher level and discover they were nothing at all.

Perhaps it was his mood, but he had become somewhat sentimental.

When handling work, he was no longer as decisive as before and was more inclined to consider reality.

In the blink of an eye, it was lunchtime again.

Wan Ying went to the cafeteria.

He ate the dishes he usually ordered.

After just one bite.

His expression changed abruptly as he realized something was wrong.

There was something in this dish...

His chopsticks fell to the floor.

With a forceful flick of his hand, he threw the barely touched meal into the trash.

Wan Ying stood up and had only taken one step.

His vision turned murky, and he could no longer tell which direction was which.

Overwhelming mint pheromones burst from his body.

They completely enveloped the entire cafeteria building.

"What's going on? Why is the pressure so intense?"

"Who has no public decency? They're releasing pheromones..."

"Get out! The pheromones are too strong—I can't hold on much longer!"

The lively cafeteria instantly descended into chaos.

Those of lower rank were slower to sense danger. Affected by the pheromones, they began breathing rapidly, their faces flushing red as weakness spread through their bodies.

Some reacted quickly and immediately put on pheromone isolation masks.

A teammate came to his side. "Director, what's wrong?"

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Get lost!" Wan Ying attacked with a cold expression.

There were too many pale blue pheromones to make out his originally black pupils.

Pale blue pheromones drifted unstably around him.

He Xiaowu blocked the attack. "Go get help. The Director has already lost consciousness and entered a berserk state."

"But there's no one in this building with a higher rank than the Director. How can we suppress him?"

He Xiaowu was drenched in cold sweat, gritting his teeth as he held on. "Then find several S-rank Alphas. Call all our teammates over. Stop standing there—I can't hold out much longer."

At the critical moment, the usually frivolous He Xiaowu took on the heavy responsibility.

Every attack he blocked came with the crisp sound of bones cracking.

If his constitution had been any weaker, his bones would have shattered.

A figure appeared at the cafeteria entrance.

Bian He teleported to He Xiaowu's side, grabbed his clothes, and threw him away.

With no one in the way, he tried to wake him. "Master, wake up."

There was no emotion in Wan Ying's eyes. Every move he made was delivered with all his strength.

Who had poisoned Master's food?

Unfortunately, the poison was too potent. He had completely lost his mind.

Every strike was lethal.

He gave no one a chance to catch their breath.

The cafeteria tables and chairs were kicked to pieces.

Medical personnel arrived and carried the unconscious coworkers away from the danger zone.

In just a few minutes, only the two of them remained in the cafeteria.

Someone at the entrance, wearing protective isolation gear, announced through a loudspeaker, "The guard unit will arrive shortly."

Bian He grabbed Wan Ying's hand and looked coldly toward the entrance. "No one is allowed in. Throw me a sedative."

As soon as he spoke.

A white injection was tossed through the air.

"I'm sorry." Bian He controlled his strength as he shoved Wan Ying away, stepped onto a table, and caught the sedative midair.