Chapter 125 : Successful Promotion
Chapter 125: Successful Promotion
“Buzz!”
As the Fisherman’s Chant was recited, Han Su’s spiritual ocean was instantly activated. An endless surge of spiritual power poured into the mechanical fragment in an instant. He widened his eyes and saw that the pointer was indeed, with great difficulty, moving toward a higher number.
Moreover, this time the upward shift was considerable. Right before his eyes, it was about to jump from the current “5” to the higher number “6.”
Yet at that very instant, his spiritual power was exhausted. Han Su’s mind went blank, and his hand dropped limply.
‘Battery’s drained…’
Han Su closed his eyes slightly. He neither thought nor moved, and only after a long while did he recover a little spirit and open his eyes again.
Looking once more, the pointer of the mechanical fragment still rested between “five” and “six.” There was a change, but not much.
Slowly deducing, he reached an answer: ‘Spiritual power can indeed affect the pointer’s movement, but this mechanical fragment seems to require an unusually vast amount of spiritual power to influence it.’
‘After I recited the Fisherman’s Chant, my spiritual activity reached the required state, but the total spiritual power was still insufficient. Or rather, the power of just one battery’s worth of spiritual energy wasn’t enough, so its effect on the pointer was limited.’
‘One battery represents ten years of my life, yet it barely made any difference?’
‘These fragmented lives allow me to restore power in a crisis by swapping batteries, but they also cause my strength to be intermittent and insufficient. Perhaps, if I could sustain my spiritual power without interruption just now, it might have worked better?’
‘…’
He had vaguely sensed the key issue—the pointer’s movement was not cumulative.
It was not as if a small injection of spiritual power made the pointer jump 0.2, then another small injection made it jump 0.3. Instead, only when spiritual activity reached a certain level and the amount was enormous could the pointer be barely driven toward a higher number.
Once the power was interrupted, an even stronger force would cause the pointer to rebound.
If that was the case, would he be unable to do anything?
No, not quite…
Han Su soon realized that although he couldn’t make the pointer move higher right now, he might be able to trigger the machine to operate quickly, accelerating the countdown.
At that time, what change would occur? Would the Flicker arrive earlier?
He carefully organized his thoughts, speculating on the use of the mechanical fragment, and knew he was just one step away from verification.
That was—when the pointer truly reached zero, would the Flicker come as expected?
If yes, then all his conjectures would be proven true.
Deciding to end the experiment for now, he pulled out his old backpack, stuffed the entire box inside, then slung the bulging pack over his shoulders and headed for the Disaster Management Bureau Base. His new suitcase and investigator’s license had long been prepared there.
The new suitcase was slightly wider and thicker than the one he used as an execution member, entirely silver, with several additional functions.
For example: automatic baton charging, containment for contaminated items, fingerprint and spiritual penetration unlocking, and so on…
The material was still low-sensitivity fiber, but the construction was obviously sturdier and the design more imposing.
In the lounge, he tested the suitcase.
After a careful inspection, he used his right eye to check and confirmed that even his right eye couldn’t see through it, ensuring its confidentiality.
Then he carefully placed the mechanical fragment into one of the hidden compartments—fitting perfectly.
Han Su examined it from both sides. He couldn’t quite describe it— not only did it fit just right, but once the compartment was closed, it was like magic: such a large mechanical fragment was concealed completely.
Even if he opened the case to show someone and let them search, unless they examined it inch by inch, they wouldn’t find the fragment.
Heh, what a coincidence…
After finishing all this, he let out a slight sigh of relief and picked up his credentials.
【Name: Han Su】
【Codename: Butcher】
【Status: Investigator】
【Initial Rating: D-Level】
【…】
‘Such a small piece of ID, yet how many in Qinggang have fought tooth and nail for it…’
Han Su gave it a glance and slipped it into his pocket.
As he walked out of the lounge with his new suitcase, he felt a subtle difference.
Coming and going, not only did the clerks in white coats hurrying through the base glance at him, even the fully armed security personnel let their gaze linger briefly on the silver suitcase in his hand. Afterwards, their eyes seemed a bit warmer.
“Congratulations, the youngest investigator in the history of the Disaster Management Bureau…”
A slightly teasing voice came from ahead. Han Su looked up to see Secretary Cui Qiao.
Leaning against the wall, she added, “…one of them!”
Han Su stopped and smiled. “There’s someone younger than me?”
Cui Qiao said, “The Bureau has all sorts of monsters.”
Then she tilted her head slightly and said, “Chief Zhang’s got the cooking itch again. He’s asking if you want to come over for dinner tonight.”
“Hm?”
Han Su was slightly taken aback. “Didn’t we just eat at his place a month ago?”
Secretary Cui Qiao replied, “Well, you’re the one who got promoted so quickly.”
Only then did Han Su realize—Zhang Chiguo wanted to celebrate for him?
He had principles. When Han Su passed the assessment and joined D2 group, Zhang had cooked a meal. Now, with the investigator promotion, he wanted to do it again. But thinking of the current situation, Han Su wasn’t in the mood for celebratory dinners.
He shook his head with a smile. “Better save it for when I get promoted to independent investigator. Tell Uncle Zhang that.”
Hearing his matter-of-fact tone, Cui Qiao was a little speechless and sighed. “You’re really arrogant…”
“But I do have two things I need to discuss with Uncle Zhang.”
Walking alongside her toward Zhang Chiguo’s office, he asked about something on his mind: “For investigators, when one dies, is their license always inherited by their assistant?”
“Yes. Right now, you technically inherited Mr. Strange Bird’s license—and even his remaining assistant.”
“Fire them.”
“You don’t even need a reason?”
“Do I?”
“…Forget it then!”
“….”
“….”
Han Su lingered in Zhang Chiguo’s office for a while, submitted an application to fire his original assistant, which Zhang approved on the spot, and then probed about the events outside the city last night. To his surprise, Zhang seemed completely unaffected.
It was as if the few deaths last night had been nothing but an illusion.
Han Su didn’t know why, but he didn’t care. Since nothing came of it, he went to the dining hall, receiving many friendly glances along the way.
Even as he entered, an investigator stopped to shake his hand.
Han Su wasn’t impolite—he exchanged greetings courteously.
But in his heart, he didn’t take such friendly exchanges seriously.
At the Lilac Courtyard banquet earlier, Wei Lan had already reminded him—Qinggang’s Disaster Management Bureau had forty to fifty investigators, nearly half of them veterans. This meant fresh blood was rare.
Among the veterans, four were faintly regarded as leaders—“Lights and Wine” group. Of the four, he was destined to clash with the drunkard, and the Red Trench Coat woman already repelled him.
Freshly promoted, he’d already offended half of the top four.
And among the seemingly friendly investigators here—how many could he truly trust?
Since they weren’t trustworthy, he had no interest in networking. If anything, he was more interested in meeting the Green Hat Gentleman.
Or perhaps, the ones worth trusting… he’d have to find for himself.
Thinking about this, he entered the dining hall with his suitcase. Looking around, he spotted the Doctor and Hei Hu, who had agreed to meet beforehand, and walked straight over. Setting the suitcase on the table, he asked with a smile:
“How do you two feel about this mission?”
Hei Hu had already finished a plate. Hearing the question, he seemed a little puzzled. “Before, when I ran errands, my initial rating barely rose. Now, just by tagging along twice, doing almost nothing, my initial rating’s already at B- level.”
“Third among the newcomers.”
“…”
First was Miss Crow, second was the Doctor, and originally Han Su had been first—but he was now promoted.
Between the Doctor and Hei Hu, their work had been similar, but the Doctor’s reports were better written.
Han Su didn’t waste words. “I’ve obtained my investigator’s license through my own effort.”
“So now the most important thing is another matter—I plan to have you two serve as my assistants.”
At this, Hei Hu was slightly startled, while the Doctor, already prepared, remained calm.
Han Su continued, “I’ll say this in advance—once you become my assistants, I’ll apply for your benefits immediately. In future missions, we’ll split the work. I won’t hog the credit; I’ll deliberately let you take it so you can maintain your promotion speed.”
“If I can quickly rise to independent investigator, this license will, of course, go to one of you. But I’ve also submitted a special application to Director Zhang—if I die, the license will be destroyed.”
“You’ll both have to start promotions from scratch.”
“…”
The statement was a little convoluted. Hei Hu hadn’t processed it yet, but the Doctor’s expression changed dramatically. “Why?”
Han Su glanced at him. “Why do you think?”
The Doctor caught on instantly, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger. “If you doubt my professional ethics, that’s unnecessary. It’s just about the inheritance rights to the license—”
“Save it.”
Han Su rolled his eyes. “You think I don’t know how I got promoted?”