The team returned to the Nanjiang Bureau.
A few days later, Wolf Team, the bureau chief, returned from headquarters in the imperial capital.
Still travel-worn, he summoned the bureau's leading Eighth Rank operatives to the conference room that very night.
That night.
As the darkness deepened, the Nanjiang Branch Bureau of the 749 Bureau remained brightly lit.
Outside the largest conference room, the atmosphere was somewhat peculiar.
Several A-rank team captains, all renowned in Nanjiang and radiating powerful auras, had already arrived.
There was Iron Buddha of Pagoda, Qing Xiaoran of Qingqiu, a cool, elegant woman in witch's robes, and a young gentleman of noble bearing.
The young gentleman's name was Luo Bai.
He was the captain of the A-rank team Fallen Star.
The cool, elegant woman was named Su Yuechen.
She was the captain of the A-rank team Lunar Eclipse.
The captains of the major A-rank teams arrived one after another.
The Eighth Rank powerhouses from Wolf Team's subordinate squad were also present.
They nodded to one another in greeting, their expressions tinged with gravity. Clearly, they all realized this meeting was anything but ordinary.
Yet when their gazes landed on the silver-haired young man leaning against the wall by the conference room door, yawning, they all paused.
Qi Wu.
A fellow who was still, nominally, a trainee operative.
Yet he had received the same meeting notice as these Eighth Rank, A-rank captains.
Iron Buddha nodded to Qi Wu in greeting.
Qing Xiaoran waved her folding fan, a playful gleam flashing through her foxlike eyes as she said with a lilting laugh:
"Oh my, Qi Wu, you really made a name for yourself in that battle in the South Suburbs Forest~ Even Wolf Team couldn't wait to meet you."
Su Yuechen, the elegant woman dressed in deep-purple witch's robes, glanced over at those words.
Her violet eyes lingered on Qi Wu for a moment, carrying scrutiny and a barely perceptible hint of curiosity.
Luo Bai, meanwhile, wore an impeccably tailored white suit. With his dazzling blond hair and refined, aristocratic bearing, he never even glanced at Qi Wu, exuding the aloofness of someone accustomed to standing above others.
Without much small talk, they each found a spot and closed their eyes to rest.
Just then, the conference room door was silently pushed open from inside.
An icy, battle-hardened aura spread outward.
Everyone turned toward the figure at the doorway.
The burly Wolf Team stepped inside.
His gaze swept quickly over the captains, lingering briefly on Qi Wu.
Finally, he took the seat at the head of the long conference table.
"Everyone here? Sit."
His voice was deep and powerful, carrying unquestionable authority, without a word of pleasantries or idle chatter.
Everyone's expression sharpened. They immediately set aside their distractions and took their seats.
Qi Wu casually pulled out an empty chair and sat down as well.
As everyone settled into their seats, the automatic door slowly closed behind him, shutting out the world beyond.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was grave.
Wolf Team braced both hands against the table and leaned forward slightly.
Blue Wolf, known as Wolf Team, swept his gaze around the room before finally fixing it on the tabletop.
"Everyone's here. Let's begin."
His voice was cold and hard, with no unnecessary preamble.
"At the emergency meeting, headquarters reported an explosive increase in high-level Demon incidents across the country over the past few months. Every Branch Bureau has been instructed to prepare."
As he spoke, he looked toward Qi Wu.
"Iron Buddha reported to me the day before yesterday that you had proposed a theory about 'spiritual energy revival,' Qi Wu."
"I shared that theory at headquarters, and quite a few experts agreed with it."
"Do you have anything to add?"
Wolf Team's voice echoed through the sealed conference room with a metallic edge.
Qi Wu lounged lazily against the back of his chair.
"Spiritual energy revival begins with the arrival of a new spiritual energy tide."
"True spiritual energy revival will probably begin within two months."
"I hope the organization can prepare ahead of time."
His tone was utterly certain.
Wolf Team narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What makes you say that?"
Qi Wu smiled faintly and pointed at his eyes.
"I was born with a particularly keen sensitivity to spiritual energy."
While he was speaking.
A disdainful chuckle suddenly sounded beside him.
Everyone's gaze instantly converged on the person who had laughed.
The blond young gentleman, Luo Bai.
He elegantly crossed his legs, the corners of his lips curling in mockery.
"Born with a keen sensitivity. How impressive."
His voice carried a languid, condescending note, as though he were critiquing some amateurish performance.
"You dare predict a specific date for this 'spiritual energy revival' based on nothing but some vague sensation? And you bring that speculation into a meeting this serious? Captain Qi Wu, aren't you being a little... too flippant?"
He tilted his head slightly, looking sidelong at Qi Wu with undisguised skepticism and contempt.
"Headquarters brings together the world's finest scholars and analysts, using the most advanced monitoring equipment, and even they have reached no conclusions. Are your feelings somehow more credible than the findings of countless experts?"
"Besides, spiritual energy revival is nothing more than an ancient legend. The 749 Bureau has been around for so many years, and we've never observed any such revival."
"Have you suddenly invented this spiritual energy revival excuse because you're suffering from some kind of delusion?"
His tone was exceedingly sharp.
His cutting, cruel words dismissed Qi Wu's conclusions as irresponsible fantasies and insinuated that he was merely seeking attention.
The conference room fell silent.
Qi Wu looked at him as though he were an idiot.
The 749 Bureau had only existed for about a hundred years.
A single spiritual energy cycle, however, typically spanned five thousand to ten thousand years.
The last period of spiritual energy revival had been in prehistoric times.
Five thousand years ago, after the previous spiritual energy tide had dried up, the world had entered another period of spiritual energy depletion.
Back then, the 749 Bureau hadn't even existed. How could it possibly have observed a spiritual energy revival?
Qi Wu was utterly speechless at this fellow in the white suit.
What was this guy's problem?
I hadn't done anything to offend him.
Why was he being so hostile and openly targeting me?
Qi Wu studied the blond Luo Bai's face for a while.
Suddenly.
He understood something.
It all clicked.
Luo Bai really did seem to have a grudge against me.
But in his eyes, that grudge was utterly absurd.
Simply put, Luo Bai was supposedly one of Feng Yuyao's suitors.
Meanwhile, rumors had always circulated in the Nanjiang Bureau that Qi Wu and Feng Yuyao were "childhood sweethearts," forever caught in a "love-hate relationship."
Luo Bai had therefore probably decided that Qi Wu was his romantic rival.
With that in mind.
Luo Bai's hostility made perfect sense.
Another fucking simp.
This one just had better credentials.
And he was more aggressive.
So I could call him an attack dog, too.
This attack dog had gotten the wrong idea about me.
He had long since lost interest in Feng Yuyao.
Yet Luo Bai still mistook him for a romantic rival.
To Qi Wu, that was nothing short of an insult.
I had to hit back!
Qi Wu narrowed his eyes slightly and licked the corner of his mouth with keen interest.
Since Luo Bai had offered up his face to be slapped.
He certainly wouldn't hold back.
After all.
He loved putting simps in their place.
Before you continue