Chapter 266: Smooth Transition

Zhou Diao wasn’t one for complex thinking, but his intuition was always sharp. The fact that even he felt something was off proved there was a real problem.

Su Yuqing closed the office door and said hesitantly, “I’m not sure… but right now, it certainly looks like an order from the higher-ups.”

Zhou Diao’s eyes widened. “What are the higher-ups trying to do? Set someone up as a target, like they did with Ms. Ye? But this fire is burning way too hot!”

“That’s possible…” Su Yuqing frowned, his tone uncertain. “Or maybe they’re planning something and want to create a diversion.”

Zhou Diao asked impatiently, “If they’re planning something, can’t you ask around? You have all those duplicates, and not a single one is in the know?”

Su Yuqing shot him a look, frowning. “It doesn’t matter how many duplicates I have. Their official Levels aren’t high enough.”

Zhou Diao was instantly deflated.

Su Yuqing’s Level might seem high, but he wasn’t really a key figure in the Inspector system. Ye Zheng, conversely, was closer to the inner circle.

The proof was that even though they were both Inspector Captains, Ye Zheng was in charge of the most important economic hub, while Su Yuqing was only responsible for a second-tier city.

“I’ll try asking Minister Mei tomorrow,” Su Yuqing sighed. “But I doubt she’ll talk. We don’t exactly have a close relationship, after all.”

“You mean Mei Junyu?” Zhou Diao was terrified of her. “No, let’s not!” he said nervously. “She’s incredibly sharp. What if she figures out Ms. Ye is still alive from something you say or do? That would be a huge mess! Given Mei Junyu’s iron-fisted methods, she’d definitely have Ms. Ye thrown into a gas chamber!”

Su Yuqing shared this concern. He decided not to correct Zhou Diao on the fact that the “gas chamber” was actually an observation room, and said worriedly, “If Ye Zheng and Feng Ling could just get out of the Maze, maybe all these problems would solve themselves. We wouldn’t have to live on edge like this.”

“They’ll definitely make it out!” Zhou Diao slammed his hand on the desk, his voice firm. “If even the two of them can’t beat the Maze, then nobody can!”

CRACK! A fracture appeared on the surface of the desk.

Su Yuqing’s head throbbed. “Can’t you just talk? I’ll have to file a request to get a new desk, and the budget is tight right now.”

Zhou Diao snorted. “Worst case, I’ll pay for it myself. It’s just a desk. I can afford it.”

Su Yuqing couldn’t stand his cavalier attitude and retorted sarcastically, “If you keep offering to pay for everything, you’ll go bankrupt. Who do you think you are, the Yuquan Branch’s own Pei Xianjue?”

A look of disgust crossed Zhou Diao’s face. “Why bring up that rich girl? She just paid her way in to have some fun. Of course, a couple of expendable Inspectors like us can’t compare.”

The Inspectors were a unique group. They all revered strength—power was the only thing that earned their submission. Money bought no respect here, which was why Pei Xianjue seemed so out of place.

While no one would dare disrespect her to her face, a certain amount of contempt always crept into their voices whenever Pei Xianjue’s name came up in private conversation.

Just then, Su Yuqing had an idea. “We could ask Pei Xianjue about this.”

“Ask her?” Zhou Diao frowned. “Her official Level isn’t high enough either.”

Su Yuqing smiled. “Her Level might not be high enough, but her family name is Pei. The Pei Group has a close working relationship with the research institute, and now they’re also in charge of running the Hunter-related operations. She might know things we don’t.”

“And she’d tell us?” Zhou Diao was skeptical.

Su Yuqing said, “She and Feng Ling went into the Maze together; they have a connection. With Feng Ling getting so much attention right now, she’s probably even more concerned than we are.”

“Then ask her, quick!” Zhou Diao urged.

“Now?” Su Yuqing considered it, then walked back to his desk. He tapped a few keys and began reviewing a file.

Zhou Diao leaned over for a look. The dense blocks of text made his head spin. “What’s this?”

“The Second Personnel Expansion Plan for the Alien Species Inspection Team,” Su Yuqing said after a quick scan. “This new batch has fifty-five recruits. They’ll be assigned to various Inspector branches across the country.”

Zhou Diao sneered. “During the first expansion, we requested two more Inspectors. Not only did we get rejected, but Ms. Ye was transferred away. How many are you planning to request this time?”

He then raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t we just talking about Pei Xianjue? Why are you suddenly looking at this file? Are they related?”

Su Yuqing scrolled to the bottom of the file. In the section for branch requests, he saw that the number of requested personnel for Yuquan City was zero. He now understood. He picked up his phone and dialed Pei Xianjue’s work number.

The call connected almost instantly.

Pei Xianjue greeted him politely, “Hello, Captain Su. Is there something I can help you with?”

Su Yuqing made some pleasant small talk. “I was just looking at the file for the personnel expansion plan and noticed Yuquan City’s request slot is zero. I was wondering if there was an error in the document, so I thought I’d call and ask.” ℴℴ𝗺

“No, the file is correct.” Pei Xianjue’s tone was professional as she explained, “Yuquan City’s Alien Species incident rate over the last three months has been below average. Even if we had applied, the request would have been denied. Captain Shen and I discussed it and decided it would be better to leave the slots for cities with higher incident rates. Besides…”

Pei Xianjue sighed softly and continued, “Even though there are fifty-five new recruits in this batch, there are over two hundred Inspector branches nationwide. It’s just a drop in the bucket, Captain Su.”

Su Yuqing took the opening to compliment her. “No need to worry too much. Your Pei Group’s Hunter program is progressing smoothly. I’m sure that with the Hunters’ assistance, the Inspectors will have some of their burden eased in the future. Whoever first came up with that plan was truly a visionary.”

Hearing this, Pei Xianjue laughed over the phone. “The potential of the private sector is immense. Even without the Pei Group, some other capable party would have surely stepped up to do it.”

Su Yuqing smoothly transitioned to his real topic. “The Hunters have also been getting a lot of buzz lately. Have you seen the news? Ever since Feng Ling went into the Maze, she’s all anyone’s talking about online.”

Standing nearby, Zhou Diao couldn’t help but scoff. ‘Su Yuqing has to be nuts,’ he thought. ‘All that buildup just to ask this one question. What a waste of time.’

“Yes, I’ve seen. The buzz has been unusually high these past two days,” Pei Xianjue said. “Frankly, Feng Ling entering the Maze was a purely personal act; it shouldn’t be generating this much attention. I saw some state-run media outlets getting involved and assumed the higher-ups wanted to build hype for her. But since Feng Ling hasn’t come out of the Maze yet, it seems a bit premature. So I made some inquiries. It appears the media’s high-profile promotion of Feng Ling has something to do with a new religion that’s sprung up in several countries to our southwest.”

Su Yuqing frowned. “What new religion?”

Pei Xianjue chose her words carefully. “I don’t know the specifics. This religion seems to promote a doomsday theory for humanity, as well as the idea of coexisting with the Alien Species. They believe humans can’t defeat the Alien Species and that coexistence is the only future. So… to prevent our own people from being influenced and losing their will to fight, any recent action that deals a blow to the Alien Species—whether by an Inspector or a Hunter—is being highly publicized to rally the nation.”