I Want to Enter the Maze

Feng Ling was pondering what excuse to come up with to get the other party to meet up when Su Yuqing suddenly called.

She answered the phone.

On the other end, Su Yuqing's words came out rapid-fire: "Was it you who posted on the Forum as Bean Paste?"

Feng Ling: "..."

The Supervision Bureau was this fast?

It didn't feel like good news. Maybe she shouldn't admit it.

Feng Ling opened her mouth to deny it: "No..."

Before she could finish, she heard Su Yuqing say again: "The network technician traced 'Bean Paste's' IP address to Xiuyuan Mansion!"

"No... I have to say," Feng Ling said sheepishly, "you guys tracked it pretty accurately."

"Feng Ling!" Su Yuqing's tone carried a frustrated anger, "Something this important—why haven't you reported it to the Supervision Bureau all this time?! Do you have any idea how serious the consequences of this are?!"

Feng Ling was taken aback. "I don't know..."

"If I knew the consequences were serious, I definitely would have reported it. I wasn't hiding it on purpose." She asked earnestly, "So what are the consequences?"

"..." Su Yuqing nearly choked on his words.

"Anyway..." He took a deep breath to steady himself, "For now, stay in your apartment and don't go anywhere. I'll be there immediately. Everything else, follow my arrangements!"

"That won't work," Feng Ling refused. "I still have things to do."

On the other end of the line, Su Yuqing stood in his office with an extremely grim expression, his blood pressure climbing, his phone nearly crushed in his grip.

After a full half-minute of composure, he ground out through clenched teeth: "Wait until I get there, then we'll discuss it!"

Since she was still living in his place, Feng Ling gave him some face and replied, "Alright then."

The call ended.

Feng Ling returned to Daoist Priest Li's chat window.

The other side hadn't sent anything.

After this delay, wouldn't it be a bit abrupt to bring up a video meeting now?

Next time... next time, when the chat atmosphere was more relaxed, she'd smoothly bring up the request to meet. She was sure the other party wouldn't refuse.

In a good mood, Feng Ling put down her phone and looked at the table littered with leftover takeout containers and utensils. She turned to grab a trash bag from the kitchen, then went back to the table, packing the containers and bones one by one before hauling them downstairs to the dumpster.

Someone must have gone through a breakup—the dumpster held a huge bouquet of roses, paired with fresh baby's breath and pretty wrapping paper.

It even smelled nice.

Humming a tune, Feng Ling carefully picked a few stems and brought them back to her apartment to arrange in a vase.

When Su Yuqing arrived, she was fiddling with the vase, looking utterly relaxed.

It made his frantic rush seem foolish.

With an extremely sour expression, he walked to the sofa and sat down!

Then Zhou Diao poked his head in from behind the door, wearing a look that said he was here for the drama, and found a chair at the dining table to sit in.

After him came three familiar faces—Qin Liang, Xiao Li, and Cao Hongyi from the Special Forces. They walked in wearing casual clothes, closed the door, and spread out behind the sofa, pulling guns from their bags with solemn readiness.

Feng Ling stared at them in surprise.

Thankfully, the apartment's living room was spacious enough that even with all these people, it wasn't cramped.

"Why did all of you come?" Feng Ling asked. "Don't you need to stay at the Supervision Bureau waiting for missions?"

Su Yuqing sat on the sofa with a dark face and said, "Waiting here is the same. If a mission comes up, it'll probably involve you anyway."

Feng Ling laughed. "Captain Su, saying that is a bit of a stereotype."

"Let's get to the point," Zhou Diao said impatiently, curiosity burning as he asked Feng Ling, "Lao Su rushed me over here and didn't explain on the way. What's the deal with the Hidden Boss? We're all Card holders—why are you the Boss and I'm just an Elite Monster?"

"Don't put that Xenomorph terminology on yourself!" Su Yuqing snapped irritably, his tone harsh. "Having a Card is C-rank, having a high-tier Card and completing one digestion is B-rank, having a high-tier Card and completing three or more digestions is A-rank!"

"Alright, alright, I just meant why am I B-rank..." Zhou Diao raised his hands in surrender, unusually docile in the face of an enraged Su Yuqing. "Which rank in ABC does Hidden Boss fall under? Feng Ling can't be S-rank, can she?"

In short, he cared more about why Feng Ling's rank was higher than his.

"It seems to be related to the Card's skill," Feng Ling said, glancing around before finding her tablet and handing it to Zhou Diao with Huangfu Miaomiao's translation of the Forum post.

"Actually, I only found out recently. According to the Xenomorphs, the Hive Card was meant to exist as a powerful support, but since it was unexpectedly obtained by a human, its skill mutated. The system wants to eliminate this variable as soon as possible, so it slapped a Hidden Boss title on me to lure the Xenomorphs into taking me out."

Zhou Diao nodded at this. "So it's not because you're stronger than me..."

Feng Ling smiled. "I admit your burst power is decent, but your endurance really doesn't hold up. The burst time is way too short, Deputy Captain Zhou."

Zhou Diao was stubborn: "As long as I run into a Xenomorph, that little time is enough."

Su Yuqing stood up, walked over, and took the tablet from Zhou Diao's hand, skimming through it in one glance.

His frown deepened.

"There's an inspector at headquarters who can possess a Xenomorph and use their Forum functions. Even though they don't monitor the Forum 24/7, this will eventually reach headquarters. The higher-ups will definitely send someone to Qingjiang to investigate the Hidden Boss situation."

Su Yuqing sighed. "When the time comes, they'll probably slap me with a written reprimand for withholding information."

He looked at Feng Ling. "Don't go anywhere for the next few days. I'll have Zhou Diao and the Special Forces team stay to protect you. Once the main bureau sends someone over, we'll see how to arrange for you next."

Zhou Diao crossed his legs, a hint of mockery on his face. "How else would they arrange it? They'll definitely recruit her on the spot, then transfer her to Yanjing or Yunhai City."

Feng Ling listened to them going back and forth, her expression utterly speechless.

"I don't have time to wait for their arrangements." She emphasized again. "I still have things to do."

Su Yuqing had no energy left to get angry. He pleaded earnestly, "What time is it now? Can't you just set aside whatever it is for a moment?"

"No." Feng Ling shook her head.

Su Yuqing grew anxious. "What could be more important than your own personal safety?!"

Feng Ling pressed her forehead in some distress.

Truth be told, she hadn't planned on telling them...

For one, she was used to handling everything on her own. For another, her relationship with these Supervision Bureau people wasn't close enough for that.

But the Maze expedition might not go smoothly, the divine statue might not be found—everything was uncertain.

Last time, her wishful thinking had made her reap what she sowed. This time, it was better to be cautious...

"Fuck," Zhou Diao muttered, eyes wide. "Lao Su, look at her expression. It's like she's about to leave her last words."

Feng Ling: "..."

Well, close enough.

If she failed to lower the Corruption Value and couldn't keep her sanity, she'd have to rely on these people to give her a quick end, to keep herself from causing a catastrophe and becoming a sinner for all ages.

Ah, the eternal demon of East Asian kids—the fear of causing trouble out in the world.

Feng Ling cleared her throat and said to them, "I'm going into the Maze."