Investigation Department

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Investigation Department
Original Name	调查科
Alias(es)	Yuanyang City Investigation Bureau; Yuanyang City Investigation Department 1 2
Affiliation	Earthstar Federation 1 25
Location	Yuanyang City, HEB Province, Shenzhou District 1
Occupation/Role	Investigating supernatural attacks and anomalous events 1
Leadership	Chief Wang Jianfeng 17 29
First Appearance	Introduced as Li Feng’s employer; he reports for duty at its headquarters 1

Organization

The Yuanyang City department has five territorial divisions: east, west, south, north, and central. Headquarters oversees the central district and coordinates the four outlying branches, each led by a Level-One Investigator 2.

Division	Documented organization
Central headquarters	Directed by Wang Jianfeng, a Horror-Level powerhouse. Houses reception, the Personnel Office, and the chief’s fourth-floor office 1 2 29.
South District	Led by Yuan Chengfang. Initially has four actual investigators: Yuan, Wu Cheng, Zhao Fei, and trainee Li Feng; the remaining personnel are support staff 2 3.
East, West, and North Districts	Maintain their own bases and Level-One Investigator-led teams. Their staffing is similarly limited 2.

Despite annual recruitment, the entire city has fewer than thirty investigators. Investigators die during assignments every year, keeping the department chronically understaffed 6 21.

Known Personnel

Name	Position	Notes
Wang Jianfeng	Department chief	Horror-Level cultivator; coordinates the department and personally performs Li Feng’s Ghost Eye fusion 2 17 31.
Yuan Chengfang	South District captain; Level-One Investigator	Advanced-Danger expert responsible for assignments, field leadership, and subordinate training 2 7 21.
Zhou Xing	Personnel Office director	Processes recruits, provides cultivation manuals, and advises investigators on suitable methods 1 2 30.
Li Jie	Headquarters receptionist	Practices human cultivation methods and rarely undertakes fieldwork because of her limited combat strength 1 2.
Li Feng	South District investigator	Joins as a trainee and becomes a full Investigator after roughly a month 1 44 45.
Wu Cheng	Level-Three Investigator	South District member who earns full-investigator status after approximately a year 2 6 45.
Zhao Fei	Level-Three Investigator	South District member who participates in investigations under Yuan Chengfang 2 39.
Chang Sheng / Old Chang	South District driver	Veteran support worker who transports investigators, assists at scenes, and helps organize evacuations 2 21 22.

Duties and Procedures

Investigative Mandate

• Case investigation: Examines attacks involving fiends, demons, ghosts, monsters, and anomalies 1.
• Threat identification: Collects supernatural traces and compares evidence against departmental records 7 8.
• Tracking: Establishes a target’s whereabouts so combat specialists can respond 39 41.
• Reporting rather than fighting: Investigators are instructed to report discovered threats or contact the Response Department instead of charging into combat 3 25.
• Emergency combat: Intelligent enemies may detect investigators or attempt to escape before support arrives, forcing the team to fight 42.

Routine Work

• Investigators monitor assigned areas; Li Feng’s initial jurisdiction covers a two-kilometer radius around his residential complex, matching the Tracking Compass’s stated maximum range 3.
• When no case is active, he checks the compass morning and evening, then reports to the branch each morning 3.
• Investigators do not conduct routine patrols; that responsibility belongs to the Night Patrol Bureau 3.
• Suspected incidents can be transferred from Public Security when ordinary investigation fails to explain them 21.
• Captains assign cases according to their subordinates’ strength and known abilities. Yuan initially sends Li Feng with experienced investigators before allowing him a solo assignment 7 21 25.

Civilian Protection

• Investigators coordinate with Public Security to seal locations, evacuate residents, and preserve crime scenes 7 21 39.
• Evacuation may be delayed if it could alert a demon or allow it to escape among civilians 40.
• After identifying a target, investigators can arrange a gradual evacuation while awaiting the Response Department 41.

Recruitment and Promotion

Applicants need knowledge of supernatural threats and keen spiritual perception capable of detecting anomalous auras. This sensitivity also makes them prone to attracting ghosts and anomalies 3.

Recruitment usually brings in only three to five people annually. Li Feng’s intake has five qualified recruits, already more than in previous years. Candidates with combat aptitude are preferentially taken by the Response Department and Night Patrol Bureau, further restricting the Investigation Department’s recruitment pool 3 6.

Documented Investigator Ranks

Rank	Documented requirements or responsibilities
Trainee Investigator	Entry position; receives identification, standard equipment, and access to cultivation methods 1 2.
Level-Three / Third-Class Investigator	Full-investigator rank. Trainees need at least 1,000 contribution points to qualify, followed by their direct superior’s assessment of their performance 2 6.
Level-One / First-Class Investigator	Leads an outlying district branch. This rank also permits redemption of advanced equipment such as a storage bracelet 2 7.

• Contribution points are used both for promotion eligibility and purchases of internally available anomalous items 6.
• Most trainees take approximately a year to qualify as full investigators; Yuan Chengfang took more than half a year 45.
• Li Feng’s promotion after roughly a month is treated as exceptional, not a normal career timetable 44 45.
• Investigator rank and supernatural strength are distinct measures: Yuan is a Level-One Investigator with Advanced-Danger strength, while Chief Wang possesses Horror-Level strength 2 7 17.

Equipment and Resources

Standard Issue

• Investigator identification — Issued during registration and used to establish official authority at investigation sites 1 2 21.
• Tracking Compass — Detects supernatural power and follows residual traces toward their source. Investigators can collect lingering energy into it to improve identification and tracking 2 7 39.
• Specialized phone — Resists supernatural interference. Includes official apps for the Investigation Department, Response Department, Night Patrol Bureau, and Public Security Bureau 2.
• Spiritual-energy pistol — Specially manufactured handgun capable of harming supernatural beings 2.
• Department vehicles — Transport field teams and their support personnel 2 21.

Ghost Eye

Full investigators have access to the Ghost Eye, an investigative ability fused directly into the body, usually an eye. The granted entity is a Ghost Eye sub-entity rather than a complete anomaly 29.

• Reveals supernatural auras and traces that ordinary observation may miss 31 41.
• Can support advanced compass-based tracking, including projecting a map of a target’s location 39.
• Advanced techniques require sufficient cultivation and control; Wu Cheng and Zhao Fei do not yet meet the requirements for Yuan’s tracking method 39.
• Fusion is dangerous, and observing an overwhelmingly powerful person can cause pain 31.
• Li Feng receives exceptional approval while still a trainee; Wang Jianfeng personally conducts his implantation 29 31.

Cultivation Resources

• Weird Library catalog — A library offshoot used to redeem cultivation books. Redeemed books crumble and disappear after roughly a month 2.
• Method selection — Personnel offers human-based, supernatural imitation, visualization, and ghost-cultivation methods 2 29 30.
• Practical instruction — Supernatural cultivation arts require supervised practice until the practitioner grasps the basics, followed by regular guidance 30.
• Storage bracelet — Advanced spiritual-energy equipment requiring first-class investigator status and tens of thousands of contribution points 7.

Records and Security

• Anomaly records — Investigators upload photographs and case details to retrieve possible matches. Yuan uses this system to distinguish the Wedding-Dress Bride from other wraiths 8.
• Branch detection system — A sealed basement chamber contains an enlarged compass with a black eye and patterns connected to the building’s alarm and targeting systems 16.
• Intrusion response — The system detects the Delivery Ghost’s energy inside Li Feng, triggers an alarm, and locks a scarlet light onto him before staff accept his explanation 15.

Major Cases

Case	Department involvement	Outcome and rewards
Wedding-Dress Bride	Li Feng reports a compass signal near Pine Court. Later, Yuan’s team investigates Luo Hua’s death and identifies the Bride’s return through residual energy and departmental records 5 7 8.	The initial report is verified after the Night Patrol Bureau kills the Bride. Li Feng receives 10 points and 10,000 yuan, but the entity subsequently manifests again 6 8.
Weird Mirror	Yuan assigns Li Feng his first solo investigation after Public Security fails to explain repeated nocturnal banging. He discovers the mirror phenomenon and gains control of it 21 22 24.	Headquarters rates the mirror at Low Danger, bordering on Intermediate. Li Feng earns 200 points and 200,000 yuan; Yuan reprimands him for not calling combat support 25.
Heart-taking demon	Yuan’s team investigates dismemberment murders, follows concealed traces, and exposes a false trail. Li Feng’s Weird Mirror enables reconnaissance, remote attacks, and confinement 39 40 41 42.	The team kills the Advanced-Danger demon before the Response Department arrives. Li Feng earns 700 points and 700,000 yuan, qualifies for promotion, and receives Wang Jianfeng’s approval 43 44.

Relationships with Other Agencies

• Response Department — Equal-status combat counterpart whose personnel are Demon-Subduing Guards or Demon Slayers. It acts on investigative intelligence, though this cooperation does not make it formally subordinate to the Investigation Department 1 43.
• Night Patrol Bureau — Equal-status agency responsible for nighttime patrols and eliminating supernatural threats. Investigators can pass detected activity to its officers 1 3 5.
• Public Security Bureau — Handles ordinary public order, evacuations, and aftermath. Nominally equal in standing, but generally follows supernatural departments’ directions during anomalous incidents 2 25.
• Xu Han — Response Department officer who attempts to recruit Li Feng after the demon case. Yuan rejects the offer, illustrating friendly competition for useful personnel 43.

Public Standing and Workplace Culture

The department has the weakest overall combat strength of the three supernatural agencies, but its formal status is equal to theirs. Yuan explicitly rejects the idea that investigators should accept inferiority and urges her team to become stronger for their own safety 1 17.

• Public prestige: Investigators command considerable respect, including trainees, because ordinary officials depend on their supernatural expertise 21 25.
• Perceived neighborhood safety: News that Li Feng lives at Pine Court drives local property prices upward as people seek proximity to special-department personnel 11.
• Friendly reception: Li Feng encounters welcoming staff and rapid registration rather than obstruction when joining 1.
• Survival-first mentoring: Yuan repeatedly emphasizes that investigators are not soldiers and should prioritize staying alive 21 25.
• Occupational stigma: Qiu Antai insults investigators as Response Department rejects; the narrative separately establishes that combat-oriented agencies receive priority in recruiting suitable candidates 3 50.
• Battlefield spoils: Regulations require nearly all spoils to be surrendered, but frontline personnel sometimes retain a portion with tacit federal tolerance. Li Feng keeps demon hair after his team’s victory 44.