Chapter 20
Although our technology is not super advanced now, we are still living in a very powerful information age.
With the addition of a long list of suspicious individuals sent by the Information Department, everyone in the police station devoted themselves to information screening.
The most common screening method now is still phone inquiries.
So Chen Nan's job afterwards became making phone calls with everyone, and also visiting those who couldn't be reached by phone or who weren't very cooperative on the phone.
Most people are quite cooperative about something as important as contracting a virus. So, it's rare to actually get someone to come to your door to inquire.
But no matter what, there are people in this world who are afraid of trouble, people who are naturally unwilling to cooperate with others, and even more people who are unwilling to enter the facility for people with special abilities and are afraid of being isolated there.
So when they encounter people like that, they have no choice but to go to their door.
They located everyone and first had them tested. Once it was confirmed that the person was not infected, they would thoroughly question them about their travel itinerary over the past month. However, if the person was already infected, the headquarters of the Supernatural Abilities Institute would take over the subsequent matters. At that time, as their subordinates, they would also have to cooperate with the headquarters of the Supernatural Abilities Institute.
The source of this incident can be traced back to a recent human smuggling case. It's said the source of the virus has been killed, and everyone who had close contact with them has been sent to the headquarters of the Institute of Supernatural Abilities for quarantine. The elderly man who was infected and mutated was bumped into by the infected person while out buying medicine. The old man didn't notice anything amiss when he returned home, nor did he check the news promptly, making him one of those who slipped through the net.
Furthermore, through the reconstruction of his home's real-time surveillance, it was discovered that after the abnormality occurred, he had his wife lock him in the house. His wife obeyed him, not only keeping him restrained but also not leaving the room even once later on. If they ran out of food or supplies, they would order takeout using their phones and have it delivered directly to their door, only going out to pick it up much later. Therefore, later on, apart from their family being infected, everyone else in their neighborhood was fortunately safe, only requiring quarantine.
After everything was clarified, everyone involved in the investigation breathed a sigh of relief.
People infected with the cockroach virus will experience noticeable physical changes within a week at the latest.
Of all the residents of No. 78, Fourth Ring Road, only two were unfortunately infected. Everyone else remained uninfected. Except for the residents of Building 17, where the outbreak occurred, who were required to remain in their building and not leave, all other residents of the community were free to move around within the complex. Chen Nan and her family only learned later that everyone would be allowed to leave after a month.
Anyway, Chen Nan felt quite gratified to hear this news.
But before she could finish being happy, Chen Nan suddenly received some comforting text messages after waking up that morning.
Chen Dong: "Nannan, don't pay attention to what's being said online. You've only just started working, and you've already done a great job."
Xue Qiaoqiao: "Nannan, I know about your situation. It's okay, you've just started working, it's normal to be a little unfamiliar with things."
Sister Liu: "Nannan, don't worry about what's going on online. Congratulations on your first case! By the way, is this your first case? You don't contact us often, so I wasn't really sure. Anyway, we're all proud of you."
Sister Zhu: "Nannan, isn't your agency supposed to help deal with all the bad information online? How come your story is still being posted online?"
Xue Qiaoqiao, Sister Liu, Sister Zhu, and the others were all Chen Nan's former girlfriends, the female employees under the original owner's brother.
Although their work is somewhat disgraceful, there are a lot of people who make a lot of money doing it in this day and age.
The original owner's brother gathered all these people together, rented a large house for them, and arranged for them to work together, which shows he had some ability.
At least this way, they won't have to resort to sweeping floors or waiting tables, until something unexpected happens abroad. Whether they're sweeping floors or waiting tables, they won't be looked down upon. In fact, many times, waiters even earn a little more than a recent college graduate.
But everything changed a hundred years ago after the appearance of Sunflower Star, and the magical emergence of giant, flying cockroaches on that planet. At least now, given any other choice, no one would choose to work in a place with prolonged exposure to the elements and dense crowds.
In this world, jobs requiring long-term outdoor exposure generally fall into four categories. One category includes workers like cleaners and plant trimmers, whose entire bodies are directly exposed to the elements. Another category involves driving, where having a vehicle provides a degree of safety, such as taxi drivers and bus drivers. Of course, there are now many truly driverless vehicles. However, traditional drivers and buses cannot be eliminated for the time being. Compared to fully automated vehicles, people still trust human drivers more, which has created the existence of buses and taxis in this era. This category also includes material transport vehicles, garbage trucks that handle daily waste, and so on.
The third group, constantly exposed to the elements, consists of delivery drivers and couriers—the most crucial group right now. With many people afraid to leave their homes, a lot of pressure falls on them.
As for the fourth category, those who always stand outside, these are actually the traffic police. However, most traffic police nowadays are superhumans; they've already been infected with the cockroach virus once and generally have some antibodies. Moreover, most of them possess combat skills and can directly confront the cockroach monsters. These people are crucial to ensuring everyone outside can move around normally. Therefore, the superhuman police officers who always stand outside are somewhat of an anomaly.
As for working in crowded places, restaurant staff and supermarket employees are the first to be affected. There's no way around it; times have changed, but not drastically. Even though the government and scientists constantly emphasize in the news that people should minimize eating out, those who genuinely need to go on dates or work in nearby buildings still need to eat. Everyone needs to eat; it's impossible to cook and bring lunch every day, and not every workplace provides a cafeteria. Under these circumstances, many people still need to eat out regularly.
Besides those who eat normally, there are also people like Chen Nan who have been working online for a long time. But occasionally they need to go out to buy something or eat in a restaurant as a way to relax.
Anyway, the outside world is really dangerous. In the eyes of everyone who lacks education and connections, Chen Nan's brother is truly remarkable. In any case, he provided Chen Nan and the other girls with a good working environment.
We all lived in the same house, ate together every day, and discussed our daytime and nighttime live-streaming work. How could we not develop feelings for each other after living together for so long?
Now that they've found content online that's unfavorable to Chen Nan, they've all started to persuade her.
"Yes, I'm fine, brother, don't worry."
"Qiaoqiao, I'm fine, thank you for your concern."
"Sister Liu, this is indeed my first time going out to handle a case. Don't worry about what's happening online. I'll go home in a few days when I have time, and we can talk again when I get back."
"Sister Zhu, there are so many superpowered police officers across the country, it's impossible for the Superpowered Police Department and the Information Department to manage them all. Anyway, everything's fine, don't worry. You and my brother work hard, I'll come back to see you when I have time."
In truth, Chen Nan still didn't know the specifics of what had happened, but after surviving a life-or-death experience, many things seemed insignificant to her. So even though she didn't understand what had occurred, she reflexively tried to comfort and reassure the few people who were genuinely comforting her.
"Really? Then we'll be waiting for you!"
After receiving a message that she might be back in a few days, Sister Zhu and the others even sent her a voice message. Her brother must have also heard about this from everyone, and he immediately sent Chen Nan a message to inquire.
"Yeah, we get holidays too. Once my work situation stabilizes a bit, I'll go back to see you. Just let us know in advance if you need anything, and I'll buy it for you," Chen Nan replied, lying on the bed and holding up her phone.
"No need, no need, we can just order these online or by delivery. As long as you come back safely, that's all that matters."
"good!"
Chen Nan transformed into an octopus, communicating with the others simultaneously.
When the conversation had almost ended and she realized she would be late if she didn't get up soon, she said goodbye and promised to talk again next time.
Amidst a chorus of "uh-huhs," Chen Nan finally got up and put down her phone.
But just as she put her phone down, another message came in, along with a voice notification: "A new message has arrived. We suggest you check it immediately."
The new students are part of their work system, so Chen Nan, who had already put down her phone and was about to get out of bed to wash up, reflexively picked up her phone again.
"Chen Nan, I saw your story online last night. You're a newcomer, a newbie, so your current behavior is actually normal. You don't need to pay attention to those reports online, just focus on your own efforts. Also, when I saw your story, I wanted to deal with it a bit. But when I tried to delete it, it failed, saying I didn't have permission. I'm from the headquarters' information department, and in principle, I have some authority over information about people with superpowers like you online. I don't know if you understand what I mean, but something about your situation is a little unusual. It seems like we were instructed not to pay attention to it or delete anything. You should find some time to find out more about it, and it would be best to ask your guardian."
This internal message was sent by Wang Linlin; she sent it as a voice message.
After listening, Chen Nan subconsciously replied with a thank you before opening the trending topic that everyone was talking about.
Originally, she didn't want to see or care about this matter. But now that everyone is like this, even Wang Linlin, who had previously ignored her because of her status, unexpectedly sent her a message, which made her unable to resist taking a look.
Soon after, Chen Nan saw her name at the very bottom of today's trending topics.
"How do dancer-type ability users behave within the system? If they had known this is how they handle things, the person who called the police said he would rather not have called the police at all!!"
Clicking into the long list of trending topics, Chen Nan saw a video. This video was likely a screen recording of someone's live stream. And the person in the video was none other than Cao Yun, the slightly overweight man who had previously reported the incident to the police at No. 78, Fourth Ring Road.
After not seeing her for more than half a month, Cao Yun, who used to look only slightly chubby, now looks like she has gained two sizes.
In the video, the other person is holding up a sketch. He may have been talking about teaching methods earlier, but in the video, he's genuinely criticizing Chen Nan. At one point, he even pulls out his phone and shows the camera a video he filmed himself.
"This is it, did everyone see that? When she got to that situation, she took out a gun and actually needed someone to remind her. And it wasn't just one person reminding her; someone like a mentor reminded her, and then ordinary police officers below had to remind her again. And later, did everyone see that? She was actually daydreaming. With this kind of attitude and reaction, how did she end up wearing the clothes of a superhuman? How did God make her a superhuman? I thought she looked familiar, and I even looked her up later and found out that she used to be a female live streamer who danced at midnight."
We both work online, but I struggle to make ends meet after a long day of teaching. Meanwhile, this person, just because she's pretty and young, can casually sway her hips and have money rained down on her. It's unbelievable. She used to be the kind of person who could easily make a living online just by relying on her looks and figure. After her accidental infection, she even underwent a transformation, and her newfound power is a rare lightning ability!! I won't go into details; it's her fate. But since she's already doing this kind of work and wearing those impressive clothes, she should at least do her job well.
I called the police so they could try to persuade the people upstairs. I never imagined they were infected. Since they were infected, you should have followed the proper procedures—kill them if necessary, quarantine them if needed—I had no objection to that. But the two superhuman police officers went in, and they actually let Aunt Wang commit suicide. With such a huge fire, I can't even imagine how Aunt Wang ended up dying. She must have been in so much pain, and she must have felt regret at that moment.
Isn't the duty of the police to protect the lives and property of the people? And aren't superpowered police officers meant to handle emergencies? Given Aunt Wang's physical condition, I don't believe two superpowered police officers couldn't save her. Although Aunt Wang is old, she's in very good health. Maybe if she goes to the headquarters of the Superpower Institute, she can become a superpowered individual herself; our country has precedents of elderly people becoming superpowered. If that happens, she might even survive and continue to contribute to the empire.
Even if she didn't ultimately become a superhuman, she still had a month in between, right? That would have given her at least a month or two to live peacefully in this world. But in the end, just because they were old, they didn't even try to save them. In the end, I called the police, and the result was that our building couldn't be left for a month, and our entire neighborhood couldn't be left for a month. I also lost such good neighbors who were so kind to us. Anyway, sob sob sob—"
In the end, Cao Yun, who had almost turned into a steamed bun, could no longer control his emotions. He covered his mouth and cried loudly, then quickly turned off the live stream camera.
Chen Nan didn't know the real reason he was crying.
But looking at the people comforting him in the comments section of the video, and seeing the latest comments from others showing that he gained three million followers overnight and that a big shot was asking him to help him, Chen Nan felt helpless for a moment before cautiously opening her own account.
Cao Yun's crying video seems to have been trending all night last night. One night, one trending topic, and he truly became famous overnight, gaining 300 followers in one go.
As for Chen Nan herself, she already had tens of thousands of followers from her previous live streams. Later, she was infected and taken away by Tang Ke on the day of her live stream. That same night, countless fans came to watch her and also started following her. Then, she unexpectedly became a superhuman, and her friends deliberately livestreamed her going home. After that, she was criticized and trended on social media.
Including the last time, this should be the second time Chen Nan has trended on social media.
She no longer streams, and I haven't followed her account for a long time.
But when she finally logged into her account, she saw countless red notifications of unread private messages and comments.
Chen Nan didn't click on any of the red unread notifications.
Staring blankly at the seven million followers online, Chen Nan blinked unconsciously before finally deciding to log off the social media app.
Given the current situation, Chen Nan could already guess what most of the private messages and unread comments she received contained.
She's not a masochist; she definitely wouldn't actively look at content that would obviously affect her mood.
"The key question now is, why won't the higher-ups help me with this?"
After putting down her phone and going to the bathroom to tidy up, Chen Nan looked at herself in the mirror and asked the crucial question.
There are online police, and in addition to the police, any national information officer of any empire has the authority and responsibility to deal with harmful information online.
The Empire has legal provisions to protect the information of people with superpowers, so in principle, something like hers shouldn't even be trending on social media.
Even if the Ministry of Information failed to control the online trend for a time, it should have removed the trending topic after discovering it.
They had handled something similar for Chen Nan before. Back then, netizens had to add a comma or period in the middle when typing her name, otherwise they couldn't type "Chen Nan" smoothly.
But now, they just ignore it completely.
Not only did they ignore it, but according to Wang Linlin, she, as an information officer at the headquarters of the Institute of Supernatural Abilities with the authority, saw it and wanted to help deal with it, but in the end, she couldn't handle it.
Feeling confused, Chen Nan was still thinking about this family matter as she left the dormitory building.
"Brother Tang, over here!!"
"Brother Tang, don't give it to him, pass it to me this time!"
"Brother Tang, it's me, it's me, it's me!!"
As Chen Nan stepped outside, lost in thought, she saw Tang Ke playing basketball with others on the courtyard basketball court.
Besides Tang Ke, who was wearing a black vest, there were several people wearing green vests and some wearing white vests at the scene. Those in green vests were actually traffic police officers. Those in white vests were regular police officers.
The entire Ping'an Police Station, despite its name, actually belongs to the traffic police. The entire station shares a large courtyard, similar to a large traditional courtyard house. The front is the police station's entrance, and to the left is the traffic police's office building. The other two buildings are as follows: the innermost one, further back, is a shared six-story dormitory; the remaining one on the right houses the canteen and indoor training facilities.
As for the large central area, it naturally serves as everyone's outdoor training ground and outdoor leisure area.
So this is the yard, and it has two basketball courts. There's also a small running track on the outer edge, for people to run and practice in the yard.
This training ground, though not as grand as the open-air training ground at the headquarters of the Superpower Institute, is still quite impressive.
However, with an area similar to an elementary school playground, there is more than enough space for the dozens of people from the local police station, plus the dozens of traffic police officers, to exercise.
Back when Tang Ke was at the Superpower Institute, she always took me with her wherever she went.
When he first came here, he liked to take Chen Nan with him when he did things.
But once Chen Nan gradually became familiar with the place and was able to go on field missions with Captain He and the others, he stopped keeping an eye on Chen Nan every day.
Therefore, during this period, Chen Nan arranged most of her own time.
In just a few days, she went out on several calls with Captain He and his apprentice.
Aside from the first unlucky case involving supernatural abilities, they handled mostly normal, minor cases over the next few days.
Such as a family having a conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, a family's cats and dogs running away from home, or someone buying vegetables and meat from a street vendor only to find the weight was wrong when they got home.
Anyway, at this moment, looking at Tang Ke playing basketball with everyone, Chen Nan suddenly realized that the other party hadn't paid attention to her for several days, and she hadn't been with him for several days either.
"Chen Nan, is something the matter?"
Tang Ke, who was playing ball, noticed her gaze from a distance. After passing the ball to a teammate in the distance, he immediately turned around and ran over.
"It's alright, Master, you can continue fighting. I just wanted to let you know that I've been getting along well with everyone lately."
Seeing him running towards her, Chen Nan immediately shouted to stop him.
"Are you really alright?"
Tang Ke, who had run a few steps toward her, stopped and asked instinctively.
"It's really nothing, you can keep playing, I need to go eat and go to work."
She smiled and said something to the other person, then waved and went to the cafeteria on the right.
My place of residence is only a few hundred meters from my workplace, and my company provides free room and board.
At that moment, Chen Nan didn't care about the online comments anymore, and just smiled and went to eat.
As for why her information hadn't been processed, Chen Nan originally wanted to ask her master to inquire about it for her.
But at this moment, Chen Nan felt it was unnecessary.
Chen Nan went to the cafeteria, got a bowl of millet porridge, two steamed buns, and a serving of pickled vegetables, and immediately found a seat to eat.
Because of the messages and comforting texts she received this morning, she ended up being late and is now eating right on time.
So after putting her things down, Chen Nan didn't bother with small talk and could only instinctively start eating quickly.
"Nannan, look at yesterday's—"
Chen Nan had just eaten two bites of steamed buns and side dishes when Yu Guangyuan, who had ordered a bowl of rice noodles and two pancakes early in the morning, came over and sat down opposite her.
"Don't say anything yet, eat quickly, and we'll talk after we finish eating."
Even superpowered police officers get their wages docked if they're late or leave early. She quickly looked up and made a pause gesture, then, while still biting into her steamed bun, gave him a look that urged him to eat quickly.
"well!"
The Ping'an Police Station has more than forty police officers, but only four of them are currently available for fieldwork. The others avoid going out unless absolutely necessary, wearing protective suits and only going out when there is no other option.
Of the four police officers who could go on field missions, Yu Guangyuan was the youngest. Chen Nan was a year older than him and was a police officer with supernatural abilities, while Yu Guangyuan had just arrived for an internship.
So inexplicably, he has now become the least qualified person in the entire police station.
Since Chen Nanyi had stopped him, Yu Guangyuan couldn't say anything. He could only blink his doe-like eyes, which were even prettier than a girl's, and show an expression of almost suffocating as he quickly lowered his head and started eating.
They usually take five minutes to finish eating, but the two of them finished in two minutes as if in a competition.
After finishing their meal, the two packed up their food and immediately turned around and ran towards their office building.
"come on!!"
A familiar colleague came out from inside, calling out cheerfully.
"Thanks!!"
Chen Nan and Yu Guangyuan responded subconsciously, and then rushed to the check-in area on the first floor at the last minute.
The two jostled each other, pressing their faces against the back of the machine.
After they both heard the notification sound indicating successful check-in, they breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other.
"you say--"
"Nannan, yesterday's—"
Finally having some time, Yu Guangyuan, who looked quite young even in his police uniform, finally spoke freely.
But just as he was about to say the word "trending topic," the loudspeaker above their heads blared out at just the right moment.
"Chen Nan, Xiao Yu, hurry up and get the things, we have a mission."
Upon hearing Captain He's voice, Chen Nan and Yu Guangyuan immediately dropped their relaxed and carefree expressions and ran over together.
They can indeed check their phones for specific police information when they are on duty.
However, they need to carry their own pistols, protective suits, and police recorders.
Chen Nan put the recorder in her work drawer yesterday, and Yu Guangyuan also needed to get a new protective suit.
Upon hearing the message that they needed to be dispatched, they had no choice but to run upstairs as fast as they could.
As for Tang Ke, who was training outside, he hadn't participated since they'd been following Captain He's schedule lately. It seemed like the other team was deliberately training Chen Nan to get acquainted with everyone. So, at this moment, hearing that Captain He hadn't called out to them, Chen Nan and Yu Guangyuan subconsciously ignored him as well.
The two hurriedly went upstairs, and soon followed Captain He, and then hurriedly ran downstairs again.
"What is it?"
As they ran down, Tang Ke also ran over from a distance.
"It's alright, Captain Tang. It's just a husband and wife arguing and fighting at home. You go about your business, we can handle it!"
Ten days or so was enough time for He Jun to find out Tang Ke's identity from others.
I don't know how someone who entered military school at thirteen, became a superhuman at fifteen or sixteen, and went to the border would end up here.
Seeing Tang Ke dressed exactly like the other superpowered police officers, He Jun instinctively didn't dare to bother him, just like a few days ago.
Perhaps before he knew the other party's identity, he could simply regard him as a rather powerful superpowered officer from the Superpower Headquarters.
But after secretly checking the other party's information online and in internal systems.
He instinctively both rejected and respected this kind of superhuman soldier who had been raised by his family and country since childhood, almost as if he and his brother had deliberately trained him.
They were brothers, with the same educational background, and were both sent to the border at a young age to earn merit and further their studies.
One of them returned and immediately began running for head of state.
One of them waited for his brother to take the lead, then quickly pushed him out of the military and began to operate discreetly at the headquarters of the Institute of Supernatural Abilities.
He Jun had mixed feelings about this kind of person.
"Okay, then you guys be careful. Call me immediately if anything happens. Nannan, remember what I told you before, you must protect Captain He and Xiaoyuan, and always stand in front of everyone, understand?!"
These recent days have been something Tang Ke has been eagerly anticipating. He's using Chen Nan's presence to maintain a state of comfort and relaxation. While he's enjoying this relaxation, he's also cultivating her—that's his current task.
Feeling that this should also be a good opportunity for training, Tang Ke subconsciously said a few more words to Chen Nan.
"Understood, Master, don't worry."
Chen Nan quickly gave the other person a salute, then hurriedly got into the car driven by Xiao Yu, fastened her seatbelt, and checked her service pistol and the small recorder on her chest.
"Xiaoyu, drive faster. That couple is arguing really hard this time. The man has already taken out a kitchen knife."
As soon as we left the police station, Captain He, who was sitting in the back, said anxiously.
"Did we waste time just now?"
Thinking back to that minute when they ran up and down the hill, Chen Nan felt a pang of regret for her actions at the checkpoint today.
As for the short time Chen Nan spent talking to Tang Ke, he immediately went to drive without stopping for even a minute while they were talking. So Chen Nan didn't really notice that time. But the time they spent running up and down the stairs really wasted time.
“It’s alright. The man’s parents were at home, and the two elderly people took the knife away. The woman escaped from that house and then called the police from the neighborhood.”
Hearing what Captain He said, Chen Nan felt a little better.
The group rushed to the location where the police were called, only to find that the young couple in their early twenties had already started fighting downstairs in the residential area.
"The police are here! You two should separate!"
"Yes, Tingting is a teacher, and she can work online without having to go out. What are you dissatisfied with?"
"Yeah, she even had a child with you. What are you doing now?!"
As soon as Chen Nan and her group got out of the car, some residents in the community saw them and instinctively called out to them.
This residential complex is different from others; it's a long row of buildings along the street all belonging to one complex. However, this one only has one large iron gate between the two buildings on either side. The small courtyard in the middle has trees, flowers, a gazebo, and a few stone chairs. At first glance, this complex is significantly more upscale than the one Chen Nan first visited near the Fourth Ring Road. The residents are also relatively simple; for security reasons, they installed an iron gate between the two buildings for easier management.
Perhaps it's because the building is low, only five stories. The two buildings together don't have many residents, and many of them know each other. That's why when the young couple started arguing and fighting, no one tried to get away. Many residents who might have been chatting or playing chess below all rushed over to try and break up the fight.
"She's a teacher, but am I just a freeloader? I'm risking my life driving for a ride-hailing service every day, do you know how hard it is for me? And you still keep cursing at me every day!!"
Seeing that his wife had actually called the police, the man who had been pulling his wife's hair could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs.
He was sobbing and crying, while his wife, bent over with her head being grabbed, tilted her head and grabbed his collar, saying bluntly, "You're not going to drive for a ride-hailing service! If you were a proper ride-hailing driver, would I have said a word to you? I even told you you don't have to work, as long as you stay home and spend time with the kids, and don't let them into my room and disturb me while I'm working. Or you could chat with your parents and keep an eye on them, telling them not to buy those useless health products online, but you just won't listen."
You said you were driving for a ride-hailing service, but where's your money? What about your travel records? You said you were working hard every day, so why did I end up seeing you at someone else's gambling table? I don't blame you for suddenly losing your job; these days, everyone makes money. As long as we all live peacefully and safely, that's better than anything else. But what about you? You actually used driving for a ride-hailing service as an excuse to participate in offline gambling games! You actually went offline!!! You useless piece of trash with absolutely no sense of crisis. If the child gets infected by you, I'll fight you to the death—”
Before the woman could even finish saying "desperately," the man she was grabbing by the collar suddenly turned a deep purplish-red: "Do you think I want to go to that place? I'm only doing this to earn a little more living expenses for you and the kids! You say no to this, you say no to that. You're always yelling at me and pressuring me, how far are you trying to push me? Just because I went to the casino a few times, you actually sent our Sun family's child to your Wang family! Are you trying to drive me to my death? Are you trying to kill me?!"
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