"Whew..."
Yue Xiaofei let out a long breath. The bloodshot fury in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an utterly icy calm.
Since the official channels were a dead end...
Then I'll do this my own way!
The Bureau Chief's orders forbade Yue Xiaofei from leaving the country without authorization.
But what if he was no longer Yue Xiaofei of Bureau 7?
A reckless idea began to take root in his mind, impossible to suppress.
Just then...
Bzzz... bzzz... bzzz...
The personal phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
Yue Xiaofei frowned and took it out to check.
It was an unfamiliar, encrypted overseas number.
Something stirred in him, and he answered.
"Hello? Is this Mister Yue Xiaofei?"
A woman's voice came from the other end.
It was pleasant, cool and clear as spring water, yet utterly devoid of emotion, like a block of ice.
"Speaking."
Yue Xiaofei replied in a low voice, "Who are you?"
The woman ignored his question and continued.
"Yue Xiaofei, male, eighteen years old. Currently a temporary member of Bureau 7's Reverse Scale squad."
"A few days ago, you caused an uproar in Modu and forced the Class-A War Criminal Ito Yūgorō to his knees."
"Yesterday, at Jiangcheng's Martyrs' Cemetery, you wiped out Eastern Japan's Wild Wind Special Forces..."
The woman recited his information and recent exploits one by one, as though she knew them by heart, without a single error or omission.
Yue Xiaofei's pupils abruptly contracted, and his guard went up.
Who the hell was this woman?!
How did she know so much?
"Who are you, and what exactly do you want?"
Yue Xiaofei's voice had turned cold.
The woman seemed to smile. Though she made no sound, Yue Xiaofei could hear a hint of amusement in her tone.
"What I want is very