"I had the Administration inspect this umbrella. It's an ordinary polluted object, nothing wrong with it. Do you want to keep it, or hand it over in exchange for eligibility?"
"Eligibility for what?"
Chen Miao, who had been about to take the black umbrella, looked surprised.
"To join the Administration as an Investigator."
Qi Ning smiled. "What do you think? Investigators in Shannan City get pretty good benefits. I saw everything you did this time. You could say it was all for those two friends of yours."
"You could have stayed out of it entirely, but you got involved anyway, and you did very well."
"Plus, Zhong Cai has a good impression of you, so I can vouch for you. You can use this polluted object as your ticket into the Administration and become an Investigator."
Chen Miao was rather tempted by the offer.
But one thing worried him.
"Once I become an Investigator, do I have to be available for assignments at all times?"
Qi Ning nodded.
"Basically, yes, unless you're in command. In Shannan City, for example, if you're a Grade-C Investigator, you can arrange your own missions. But you still have to do missions."
Chen Miao asked another question. "What grade do I have to reach before I can do whatever I want?"
"At least Grade B. And becoming a Grade-B Investigator is very difficult..."
"Probably about as difficult as expanding your funeral home into the biggest one across three or four surrounding cities."
Chen Miao fell silent.
He was still working on getting the Funeral Home's revenue back to what it used to be. As for expansion...
"Then I'll keep it."
Chen Miao reached out and took the black umbrella.
Qi Ning seemed a little disappointed. After a moment's thought, he added, "If you don't want