Chapter 155 "Hahahaha, whose little dog is this? Oh, it's Little Black! Haha..."
"Hahahaha, whose little dog is this? Oh, it's Xiao Hei! Hahaha, you've finally met your match! What's this? Is it a dog collar? Let me see what it says on it?"
When Wang Yu brought her food to the Countermeasures Bureau that evening, the first person she encountered was Wang Yu. This was the first time since Wang Yu had cut off He Zhao that she wasn't attracted by the lunchbox He Zhao was carrying. Instead, she noticed the rope He Zhao was holding and the little black cat at the other end of the rope.
Not only was Xiao Hei wearing a harness-style leash, but it also had a yellow collar around its neck, with a small metal bone hanging from the bottom of its neck, seemingly with some words written on it.
Wang Yu squatted down in front of Xiao Hei, wanting to pick up the small bone and see what was written on it. But Xiao Hei was very uncooperative, twisting its neck and refusing to let Wang Yu see.
"It's Xiao Hei's name and my phone number," He Zhao explained simply, which only drew louder laughter from Wang Yu. Xiao Hei got a little anxious and lunged at Wang Yu, but both of them were stopped by He Zhao's words: "Don't you want your rib soup anymore?"
They both stopped what they were doing and looked at He Zhao, their eyes clearly saying one thing: they wanted to.
Wang Yu still led He Zhao into the lounge and explained briefly, "Senior Qiao is already on her way back. She just found some clues and went out. She'll be back in a bit." Although Qiao Yanyu is often out and about, she still returns to the Countermeasures Bureau.
Although Qiao Yanyu, Wang Yu, and others had severed ties with the Special Investigation Team, intelligence was still shared between the two sides thanks to the director's strong encouragement. After all, they were all within the Countermeasures Bureau system, and even though they were divided into two separate groups, they wouldn't suppress information from each other.
Neither side would do something as foolish as cutting off their own support.
Therefore, when Qiao Yanyu obtains intelligence outside, she returns to compare and share it with the Special Investigation Team. In fact, the Special Investigation Team is indeed quite capable, especially as a special operations team from above. They have more personnel, better equipment, higher authority, and gather more intelligence.
Not all members of the special investigation team came to their city; some members were stationed in other cities that Jiuqing was particularly interested in. The intelligence they gathered far surpassed what Qiao Yanyu and her two companions could achieve alone.
If Jiu Qing hadn't been so insane, relentlessly pursuing He Zhao, He Zhao would probably have been very willing to cooperate with him.
The special investigation team had some information that Qiao Yanyu and her team couldn't obtain. For example, the number of ghosts in some urban areas seemed to have decreased compared to before, especially those marked as different from their previous appearances. However, most of them were not exorcised or eliminated by the local investigation team, but rather disappeared inexplicably.
This is very strange. Ghosts generally don't leave the place where they died unless they become exceptionally powerful or are driven by an obsession that allows them to roam freely. There's a special case like this on the investigators' internal forum. The vengeful ghost, codenamed "Pearl," was kidnapped in life and, after death, relentlessly searches for the location of her biological parents, wandering along a certain path and refusing to leave.
Ghosts like that can roam freely.
But such ghosts are extremely rare, pitifully so. The vast majority of ghosts remain confined to the very spot where they died. So they didn't leave; they were eliminated. If not by the Bureau of Investigation, then they must be extraordinary individuals who weren't registered.
This situation easily led the special investigation team to connect it with the Tonghuan Society. They speculated that the birth of those special ghosts was related to the Tonghuan Society, so the disappearance of those ghosts was most likely also related to the Tonghuan Society. However, this only added to the investigators' confusion.
—What is the purpose of all this?
Creating ghosts and then destroying them—that's just too hard to understand.
But putting that question aside for now, Jiu Qing's suspicions about the city deepened. Qiao Yanyu and the others knew that the number of ghosts here was increasing, and Jiu Qing and the others certainly knew as well. While the number of ghosts in other cities was clearly decreasing, the number was increasing here—wasn't that unusual enough?
What's even more special is the existence of He Zhao.
There was indeed a reason why Jiu Qing could suspect He Zhao.
She knew He Zhao was there, and coincidentally, Qiao Yanyu wasn't at the Investigation Bureau. She touched her still slightly swollen cheek; even if Qiao Yanyu beat her up again, she wanted to get close to He Zhao. If she was lucky, she might actually be able to get something out of him.
So, after He Zhao and Wang Yu waited in the lounge for a short while, it was Jiu Qing who arrived, not Qiao Yanyu. This time, Jiu Qing seemed to have learned from her previous experience and didn't look at He Zhao with that unpleasant gaze; she even managed a slight smile.
To be honest, I don't know why Jiuqing is so human-like. His eyes are human-like, and even his smile... has a very human-like feel to it.
"You..." He Zhao was about to ask her what was wrong when his gaze was drawn to the swollen patch on her cheek. It was quite prominent and looked a bit bluish, clearly from a beating. So, the words that came out were, "What happened to your face?"
There was actually a hint of schadenfreude in He Zhao's words. Of course, she was happy to see someone she disliked get beaten up. It was a flaw in her character, but there was nothing she could do about it; most people are like that. Seeing someone they dislike suffer makes them happy.
But Jiu Qing's next words made He Zhao's face stiffen. She was a smart person and didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk about being hit. She directly told He Zhao, "It was Qiao Yanyu who hit you."
"Oh..." At this moment, it was He Zhao who felt a little embarrassed. She probably had a motherly mentality, similar to that of a parent whose child has hit someone and who is now standing in front of the victim, unsure of what to do. Although He Zhao shouldn't have this mentality, she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable expressing it freely.
He Zhao was momentarily at a loss for words, but Jiu Qing didn't seem to mind. She casually pulled up the chair opposite He Zhao and sat down. Jiu Qing's gaze swept over the bag on the table and the little black dog in He Zhao's arms.
Wang Yu was surprised when she saw the collar around Xiao Hei's neck, and now that it was Jiu Qing, she was equally astonished: "Qiao Yanyu even sent Xiaotian Dog over for you?"
“Yes.” He Zhao nodded matter-of-factly. His wife was always thinking of him, and everyone knew it, so it was hard not to feel a little proud. Jiu Qing nodded, but didn’t say anything more about it. She just looked at He Zhao and continued, “Can I talk to you alone for a while?” After saying that, she looked at Wang Yu and Xiao Hei: “Xiaotian Dog can stay as a guard, but Investigator Wang Yu, I hope you can leave.”
Wang Yu refused without even thinking: "No way. Our senior Qiao specifically told me to keep a close eye on you and absolutely not let you do anything bad to the boss."
"...I won't do anything bad."
He Zhaofu understood immediately; through those few simple words, he realized something. Could the person who had been secretly following him with ill intentions the other day have been sent by Jiu Qing? Thinking about it that way, it was quite possible.
There may be love without a reason in this world, but hatred without a reason is rare. Jiu Qing looked at him with such an annoying gaze the moment they met, there must be a reason. Although he didn't know the reason, since it had happened to him, He Zhao was also very curious to know what was going on.
So He Zhao relented and said to Wang Yu, "Why don't you go out first? We'll just chat for a bit. Xiao Hei is with me, so it should be fine."
Wang Yu thought for a moment before nodding, glancing back several times as she went. At the door, she made a phone call gesture to He Zhao, indicating that he should shout for help if he encountered danger, before finally leaving. In reality, she immediately called Qiao Yanyu after stepping outside.
She went out because she knew that even if she were there, she wouldn't be a match for Jiu Qing. Her role inside was probably less significant than Xiao Hei's. In this situation, rather than remaining in a stalemate inside, it was better to quickly come out and use her abilities to deal with Jiu Qing's people.
The door to the lounge closed, and Xiao Hei leaped onto the table, transforming from a small pet held in He Zhao's arms into a protector. Its body language conveyed to Jiu Qing that with it around, no one could harm He Zhao.
As a human-machine, Jiuqing wouldn't concern herself with such convoluted schemes, nor would she halt her plans because of Xiaohei's actions. She went straight to the point, leaving no room for maneuver.
“From the information I’ve seen, the second time you met Qiao Yanyu, you told her everything about being a visitor from another world and having a system. You were very concise and cooperative.” Jiu Qing’s words didn’t surprise He Zhao too much; it wasn’t strange for an investigator of her level to know her information. Only Xiao Hei was startled. It turned to look at He Zhao, but then turned back to face the outsider.
Regardless of He Zhao's identity, the director hasn't said anything, so she's not an enemy of the Countermeasures Bureau. She's not an enemy, but rather his current "mother," so Xiao Hei will definitely protect He Zhao. An alien is an alien, it's no big deal.
He Zhao nodded: "Is that so? Is there any problem with that?"
"I'm not a time traveler, so I find it hard to understand your thinking. But putting myself in your shoes, if I were you, I probably wouldn't do that. And most importantly, there's absolutely no evidence to prove everything you've said; all the information is just your verbal account. Under these circumstances, how can you prove that you are a time traveler?"
Regarding the claim that He Zhao is a time traveler, many people who have read the information are skeptical, including the bureau chief himself. The reason the bureau chief is so concerned about He Zhao is because her business does indeed possess extraordinary characteristics, which is why he dispatched Qiao Yanyu to protect her.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Yanyu fell for it.
Qiao Yanyu believed He Zhao's words wholeheartedly, which in turn influenced the bureau chief. But to an outsider like Jiu Qing, it was all too strange.
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