Chapter 89 - 88: Xu Huo: It’s My Turn to Be Investigated...

You... what’s your background?

The government has numerous departments. A department can be divided into countless bureaus, and each bureau contains institutes and sections. Of course, an institute can also be an independent entity.

But not all of them are powerful.

Some are just sinecures—they might look large and have high-level titles, but in reality, they’re useless.

Then there are other places that don’t seem to have many people...

But are incredibly important!

These places, in particular, require you to sign a confidentiality agreement.

"Background? Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Zhang Liang let out a smile.

He was about forty-five, with a square-shaped face, chiseled features, rather thick lips, and bold eyebrows.

He wore a black suit, his posture ramrod straight. He possessed an indescribable air, with a scar on his neck and a crew cut. His skin was weathered and dark, and his gaze was incredibly sharp!

"If you dare to say it, I dare to listen."

Xu Huo smiled, completely unafraid.

The other party had surely signed a confidentiality agreement. Anything he could say aloud wouldn’t be important, and he definitely wouldn’t say anything that could be used to threaten him.

Even if he did say it...

The first one to get in trouble wouldn’t be me—it would be him!

"Not bad. You’ve got guts."

Zhang Liang wasn’t angry; on the contrary, his appreciation for Xu Huo grew.

"Special Fifth Bureau. Ever heard of it?"

He said it so casually, as if it were nothing.

"The Special Fifth Bureau?"

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, his mind racing.

The Special Fifth Bureau... it probably wasn’t a secret service agency.

It had to be an abbreviation for some kind of special department.

How many special departments did the Eastern Country have?

God only knew.

They were called ’special departments’ for a reason. If they operated in the public eye, could they even be considered ’special’?

However...

"It’s literally called the Special Fifth Bureau?" Xu Huo asked.

"That’s right. It’s not a codename, it’s just the Special Fifth Bureau."

Zhang Liang nodded.

Now, Xu Huo was surprised.

A special department... that name was a direct label, defining its very nature.

In his previous life’s world, there had been plenty of hidden departments, but they were never consolidated and branded with a so-called ’special’ label.

’Looks like the departments in this world are a little different.’

’I just wonder what they’re responsible for...’

Xu Huo mused internally.

After a long moment, he finally looked at the man and spoke.

"The Special Fifth Bureau... I’m listening."

For the man to seek him out and reveal his identity was a clear attempt to make contact.

People like him had only two ways of dealing with others.

They either talked or they didn’t. When they didn’t, you couldn’t get a single thing out of them. But when they did... if he had willingly revealed his department, it meant he was prepared to say more.

"The Special Fifth Bureau is a ’small thing’ that grew out of the procedural and confidentiality issues that arose when Public Security and National Security had to conduct joint enforcement on certain matters."

"It’s primarily responsible for matters that fall into the overlapping jurisdictions of criminal investigation and the areas covered by National Security."

Zhang Liang took a sip of the tea on the table, settled back into the sofa, and spoke slowly.

His enunciation was clear, and his words were easy to understand.

But once you understood the implications...

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow, finally getting a sense of what this man’s organization handled.

"’A small thing’..." he muttered, shaking his head.

Which was the investigative branch of the police?

The Public Security Fifth Bureau. In his previous life, that was the division responsible for investigating major national cases.

Whenever a major case occurred that others couldn’t solve, the Capital City would pull people from this bureau to investigate alongside other departments.

In other words, the "Public Security" part Zhang Liang mentioned was essentially standard criminal investigation.

And then there was National Security...

"Which bureau of National Security?" Xu Huo asked after a pause.

"The ones in the middle, I suppose. There are quite a few," Zhang Liang explained casually.

That side had even more departments—close to twenty of them—and each one’s responsibilities were slightly different from the next.

But, generally speaking, it all came down to one word.

’Spies!’

Of course, there were other duties too, like giving certain people ’checkups’.

’An agency that didn’t exist in my past life... How interesting.’

’So, a place that manages the special aspects of criminal cases?’

Xu Huo raised his eyebrows. "Tsk, that doesn’t sound like a ’small unit’ at all."

Their official ranks might be low, but their targets certainly weren’t.

Likewise, the resources at their disposal wouldn’t be insignificant either!

As for what they targeted...

Take the bombing case, for example.

Given its nature as an act of terror, the other party had assembled their personnel and sped to the crime scene in Linlan City in under twenty-four hours, while Xu Huo, Wang Hu, and the others were off in the distance.

This group hadn’t taken over the scene, so were they just here to supervise?

No, they’d taken over long ago, but they were in charge of a different domain.

Xu Huo and the others were pursuing the culprit from a criminal investigation standpoint.

Zhang Liang, on the other hand, was investigating other matters from the "bomb" angle. It was as if they were on two parallel tracks, never meant to intersect. Otherwise, if they were to cross... Wang Hu would be forcibly ’taken over’ in what would amount to a curb-stomp defeat.

"You flatter me. We’re just a small department that looks into certain people and matters."

Zhang Liang smiled, not refuting the point. The truth was, their investigative reach was indeed vast.

"You can call me Group Leader Zhang. As for why we’ve sought you out..."

Zhang Liang paused, reached out, and picked up the briefcase beside him.

ZZZIIIP!

The sound of a zipper opening rang out.

Zhang Liang pulled a file out of his briefcase.

"Advisor Xu, according to our investigation, you don’t seem to be part of the local police force."

"Of course, you did previously run a detective agency. You were a P.I. You handled thirteen civil disputes, seven of which were marital disputes of the ’catching a cheating spouse’ variety."

"And, unlike other P.I.s, you never took kickbacks or sold information to both sides. Your clients’ evaluations described you as efficient, with reliable information!"

"One case can even be traced back five years, during your time in university..."

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!"

Xu Huo waved his hands frantically, a pained expression on his face, signaling for the man to stop talking.

They had somehow managed to dig up everything about him without a trace...

Five years ago, back in ’98. It was a side job he’d taken, with no records kept, based purely on a verbal agreement. The kind of thing not even Chu Xi or Chu Linhai knew about. And they’d still managed to find out...

In that case, had they found out about the system... and his reincarnation...?

At the thought, Xu Huo’s heart clenched, but he showed none of it on his face.

He was certain he had never mentioned the system. Even in his novels, he wrote about it in an episodic format, never revealing anything directly. Even if he had, they would have no way to prove it.

"Who just comes out and tells you the color of someone’s underwear upon meeting them...?"

Xu Huo was exasperated.

"Isn’t this just playing dirty?"

"My apologies. A professional habit."

Zhang Liang apologized. It was practically second nature to him.

"As for why I’ve come to see you today..."

"Are you interested in joining the Special Fifth Bureau?"

Zhang Liang tapped the file he’d taken out, pushing it across the table to Xu Huo.

Was this... an invitation?

Xu Huo paused, then picked up the file and began to read.

"Is this how you people recruit?"

"First you tell them the color of their underwear, then you give them the papers?"

Xu Huo commented as he scanned the document.

"If I don’t agree, am I going to ’disappear’ in the next second?"

Hearing this, Zhang Liang just smiled, unfazed.

"You’re joking, Advisor Xu. This is a society governed by the rule of law."

"Whether or not you agree is your own choice. We insist on mutual consent."

Their work was special and dangerous, so they had to ensure the correct psychological and ideological state of their members. Coercion and other such methods were forbidden.

"I’d have to move to the Capital City if I accept?"

Xu Huo gave the contract a cursory glance before looking up at Zhang Liang.

"Naturally."

Zhang Liang smiled. "Since it’s a confidential matter, strict management is necessary."

"Of course, we have the necessary compensation measures in place and will make it up to you through welfare and benefits."

Xu Huo’s brows furrowed.

If the benefits and compensation were good, he would naturally be willing to go.

However...

The confidentiality requirements and the restrictions on his freedom were things he’d have to consider carefully.

But most importantly...

Zhang Liang’s wasn’t the only special department out there.

There was another one that made Xu Huo a bit fearful.

The Superpower Investigation Department!

Well, of course, that thing didn’t exist. Not in his past life, and not in this one.

But there was something close enough!

That’s right. Superpowers, the government, departments—those three things could certainly collide.

For example, there was Bureau 749, mentioned by that one director who filmed the tomb-raiding movie.

And Institute 507.

The authenticity of Bureau 749 was never confirmed. It existed mostly in word-of-mouth legends and the director’s claims, suspected to have been fabricated on the old Tianya forums.

But Institute 507...

That, however, actually existed.

It was primarily responsible for "somatic science"—not medicine, but using scientific methods to explain the human body’s supernatural phenomena and paranormal abilities.

Did it have any achievements?

Nothing major, but there was a published collection of articles.

"A Broad Discussion on Somatic Science and Modern Science"

If you did a little digging... you’d see a very familiar name among the authors.

The institute researched a wide range of fields, like apportation, telekinesis, and other legendary or staged paranormal phenomena.

As for whether paranormal abilities actually existed...

They did exist, but not as the martial prowess found in fantasy novels. Instead, they were special functions of human organs.

For example, ’photographic memory’.

Never forgetting anything you’ve seen. You could memorize a text after glancing at it just once.

This kind of paranormal ability existed in the world.

It was scientifically explained as hyperthymesia.

It was a very painful condition. Certain metrics in the brain differ from ordinary people, resulting in an incredibly powerful memory. From the moment they were born until the present, everything they’ve seen, everything they’ve eaten—as long as they closed their eyes, they could tell you exactly what happened, even if it was decades ago.

They could even recount the specific details of the event!

Of course, it wasn’t just simple memorization; otherwise, it wouldn’t be described as painful.

It also recorded emotions, like the heart-wrenching pain of being scolded, of crying, of a loved one’s death, or of being dumped.

Whenever they recalled a memory, they would be completely immersed, re-experiencing it one hundred percent.

A negative emotion that never fades with time and can never be forgotten—that was a terrifying thing...

But the allure of a photographic memory, of such a paranormal ability, was simply too great, so research continued.

Similarly, there were also rumors of people who could predict five minutes into the future.

That was just a rumor, though, without much evidence to back it up.

But all in all, in the Capital City... right next to the Fifth Bureau, there were likely researchers of this type.

An ordinary person might not be afraid of anything, and might even curiously go over for a look.

But Xu Huo... he actually had something like that.

"I’m not really interested in this kind of wor—"

Just as Xu Huo was about to politely refuse, Zhang Liang unexpectedly produced another file.

"Yes, Hanhai Province must have already made you an offer. Since you’re not an official employee yet, you’re obviously not that interested. I anticipated as much."

Zhang Liang swapped the contract in front of Xu Huo with another one in a nearly seamless motion.

"Here, let’s take a look at this one..."

Xu Huo paused and looked down.

This one was...

"Ad... Advisor!?"