Chapter 72
The invisible barrier surrounding City S finally dissipated after the "Writer's " death, and the city's signal was restored. The Ability Control Bureau Headquarters never expected that they would receive a report from City S. The entire bureau was shocked. The report sent to headquarters contained everything Xiao Pei knew, including her speculations. Upon seeing the report stating that the monster "Writer" was dead, that the monster "Nurse" who killed him had seemingly left the human world, and that there was a powerful entity suspected of still existing in City S, they remained silent for a long time. The leaders read the report repeatedly before dispatching the City A Branch Bureau to provide support.
Arriving at the entrance to the city, the once prosperous city is now a scene of devastation, with high-rise buildings reduced to ruins and civilization vanished. The city, which has suffered so much, can finally catch its breath for a moment.
Amidst the ruins, two figures appeared lonely and forlorn.
There are only two.
The elites from the Ability Control Bureau, who had traveled all day to arrive, showed a look of pity upon seeing only two people guarding the intersection. The atmosphere was heavy. The report stated that many citizens had gone to City S, but only half remained after the monster's game. And these remaining half suffered a huge mental shock after the monster appeared, their condition was very bad. Could it be... could it be that they arrived too late and didn't survive...?
The captain of the Ability Control Bureau jumped down from the ruins, uttering the words "Not dead," which interrupted the elites' grief.
Everyone in the Ability Control Bureau: "..."
Oh, he's not dead.
It's not their fault. Anyone who sees a perfectly good city destroyed like this would feel that its current state is highly associated with death and couldn't help but overthink it.
Xiao Pei approached and greeted the branch director of the Ability Control Bureau, saying, "The survivors in the city have been gathered together and are resting after receiving initial treatment."
Initial treatment – only treats external injuries. It is well known that mental Pollution cannot be cured in a short time. Even with the help of a healing ability user, it takes a considerable amount of time for the patient to recover. For example, Zhao Yi, who was attacked by the contact Pollution of S-Rank Mushroom Man, still took two days to wake up after being treated by two healing ability users. Most of those two days were actually spent on mental treatment. As the saying goes, external injuries are easy to treat, but mental injuries are difficult to heal.
As for ordinary people caught up in the incident, if they suffer from mental Pollution, they are often treated with specialized drugs, which of course takes a longer time to heal. But there is no other way, because there are too few healing-type ability users, and they cannot benefit the general public.
"Treatment?" Branch Chief Shi Tao was good at grasping the key point. "Are there any healing-type ability users in the city?"
"Yes, and it's a high-level one. The survivors are all in good health."
However, their bodies and minds are still twisted; the monsters' mental attacks are far more powerful than those of the Polluted.
Everyone in the Ability Control Bureau was shocked. One?
Do you mean "one"?
There must be a lot of people in the city, and a healing-type ability user healed them all? Even just treating external injuries would be a huge undertaking! This isn't just any high-level ability user; it must be A-Rank! A-Rank healing-type ability users haven't been publicly revealed before, so they really exist!
The branch chief looked excited; the title of A-Rank Healer was incredibly prestigious!
The branch chief was excited about the appearance of a high-level Healer, but he didn't notice the subtle expression on the face of the head of the Ability Control Bureau in front of him.
A long, long sheet of paper was held up by Xiao Pei and hung in front of Shi Tao. The head of the Ability Control Bureau said, "Director Shi, please sign for this."
Shi Tao: "?"
The elites behind him craned their necks, eager to see what it was.
I see it clearly now.
It's a bill.
A very, very long bill.
"The Healer's treatment bill was negotiated, 30% off." Xiao Pei grasped Shi Tao's hands and shook them, her face solemn. "Thank you very much for the branch office's contribution."
Branch officers. "..."
Holy crap!
Their branch office is already poor! Such a long bill means they'll have to live on pickled vegetables and porridge for the next month!
The vision of the elites
The lines were all cast toward the frail woman in the ruins.
Xiao Pei confirmed for them. "Yes, the Healer is her."
The elites swarmed in.
"Healer, you can heal so many people, that's amazing! Have you ever considered giving me a 32% discount?"
"Teacher, you are beautiful inside and out."
The elites of the Ability Control Bureau are mostly like huskies—carefree, easygoing, and without much guile.
The branch chief felt a slight burning sensation on his face as he watched them make a fool of themselves. He regretted not bringing a team leader with him; he thought, "Captain Qin would never do that."
He coughed, and the elites paused for a moment, but ignored it and continued to shower the Healer with sweet talk.
Suddenly surrounded, Ye Jiang: "..."
In the end, it was Branch Chief Shi Tao himself who rescued Ye Jiang. He dismissed the entire Operations Team, sending them to see the survivors in the city with Xiao Pei, while he stayed behind to speak with Ye Jiang: "Thank you for your help Healer."
Ye Jiang glanced at the group of elite Operations Team members, then looked away and said, "... I can offer a 68% discount."
She... she unexpectedly fell for the sweet talk.
Shi Tao was taken aback, then realized what he meant and laughed, "Those bastards were just joking."
He said, "They've just never seen such a high-level healing ability user before, and they want to talk to you and get closer."
Ye Jiang opened her mouth, wanting to say that she wasn't a healing-type ability user, but it didn't seem very convincing, so she simply kept quiet.
Shi Tao said, "I haven't yet asked the Healer's name."
"His surname is Ye."
"Miss Ye."
Shi Tao's eyes gleamed. "Miss Ye, have you ever considered joining the Ability Control Bureau?"
Ye Jiang shook her head.
Someone asked her, and she hasn't changed her mind.
Shi Tao was not surprised. If the other party wanted to, there were Ability Control Bureau everywhere, and he would have joined long ago. With such outstanding abilities, there would be no shortage of people willing to recruit him.
He didn't press the issue, only saying, "Could we exchange contact information?"
Regardless of their level, everyone who encounters a healing-type ability user should try to become their friend, and the same applies to official organizations.
This time, Ye Jiang didn't refuse and left her phone number.
She was originally going to stay, but the Ability Control Bureau owed her a sum of money, and she needed to contact them later to arrange the payment.
While they were having a pleasant conversation, back at the Bureau of the Ability Control Bureau's new base, while the others in the base had taken the psychotropic drugs brought by the Ability Control Bureau but were still in a state of high mental distortion and unable to wake up, only Chen Zhuozhuo, a member of the Ability Control Bureau who had been asleep for many days, woke up in a dilapidated house. When the voices came from the drafty walls, Chen Zhuozhuo felt as if he had been transported to another world.
She sat up and walked out of the room after a long period of daze. As she opened the door, the hustle and bustle of the world rushed towards her. The long-lost fireworks pulled her from her hazy dream back into the real world, making her realize that she was not dreaming, but was really standing here.
She looked dazed.
"Zhuozhuo is awake!"
"Sister Chen is awake."
Members of the Ability Control Bureau spotted her and surrounded her.
Chen Zhuozhuo is an outstanding member of the City A Branch Bureau. Some time ago, she entered City S to carry out a routine investigation of the monster "Writer". Many people in the bureau know her, but they don't know what mission she went to carry out. They didn't expect to meet her here.
Chen Zhuozhuo was surrounded, and everyone was talking to her, one after another.
Chen Zhuozhuo listened, offering compliments on the amusing remarks, and tried to smile but found it difficult to raise the corners of her mouth. She touched her face, feeling empty inside, as if she had forgotten something, and a strange sadness washed over her.
The news that Chen Zhuozhuo had been disguised as Blood Knight by the "Writer" did not spread, and Chen Zhuozhuo himself forgot about it when he woke up.
In the distance, Ye Jiang watched this scene, while Xiao Pei kicked at the pebbles at her feet.
You were right, Chen Zhuozhuo is alive.
To create a character, a "Writer" needs to extract a part of a human soul, which is then trapped in a small bottle in the "Writer's " study. Watching the soul become tainted is also one of the "Writer's" pleasures.
The souls of all the characters were extracted. The characters in the broadcasting center building had fewer souls extracted, so the superhumans below appeared unharmed after their character suits were removed. The Blood Knight, in order to be molded into a high-combat-power character, had a particularly large number of souls extracted, which is why it became Chen Zhuozhuo's chance to survive.
At that time, the monster "Nurse," wanting to see the little girl she cherished one last time, dragged her heavy body to the base. Exhausted on the way, she crashed into the broadcasting center building. The tall building shook, the study on the top floor swayed, bookshelves fell, and bottles on the shelves shattered. All the souls returned to their owners. Chen Zhuozhuo "came back to life." Because she was in a state of the Living Dead when the monster appeared, she was not mentally Pollution and woke up early. However, due to the loss of her soul, perhaps by some divine will, she lost the memory of becoming Blood Knight, as if everything was predetermined.
Xiao Pei didn't know what Chen Zhuozhuo lacked that caused his deep sleep, nor did she know what he had regained that caused him to wake up. Some things don't need too much thought; just observe the outcome.
Yes, that's a good result.
Xiao Pei raised the corners of her mouth in a slight smile.
After a period of rest, the Ability Control Bureau left with the surviving troops. Before leaving, they left a few elite members of the Ability Control Bureau to work at various exits from the city. Ye Jiang sat in the car waiting to leave the city. While waiting, she saw the supernatural beings busy at work and asked Xiao Pei, who was sitting next to her, "What are they doing?"
"Hmm?" The head of the Ability Control Bureau could finally relax a bit, looking rather languid. She glanced around casually. "Oh, make some arrangements, strengthen the defenses."
"... Is it not allowed to enter City S?"
"You're not allowed in. City S is a restricted area."
"Isn't it supposed to be open?"
"You listened to the brainwashing package too?" Seeing how easily an acquaintance was deceived, even the lazy captain of the Ability Control Bureau couldn't sit still. She perked up and started giving anti-fraud lectures to the citizens around her.
Ye Jiang: "."
Her ears were ringing, and she interrupted, "Why isn't it open?"
Because there is a suspected powerful, unidentified individual in this city.
The death of the "Writer" could have opened up City S, but the unknown powerful figure made them afraid to take the risk.
That was the reason, but Xiao Pei couldn't tell anyone. She glanced at the person next to her and simply said, "Does whether it's open or not affect you?"