Chapter 90 - 89: First Person of Honor! Special Fifth Bureau Consultant

Zhou Shuren once said that if you’re in a crowded room and want to open a window, someone will always try to stop you.

So, you can’t just say you want to open a window.

You have to say you’re going to tear the roof off. That will make everyone try to stop you.

Then, when you suggest just opening a window instead, it suddenly doesn’t seem so hard to do.

Xu Huo felt like he’d been played.

He definitely wasn’t willing to join a classified organization.

But if they followed that up with an invitation to be an advisor...

...it would be much harder to refuse.

After all, you don’t hit a man in the face. Refusing twice in a row, especially when the advisor role was so minor, would be a blatant sign of disrespect.

Besides...

"A base salary of four thousand a month, plus various hidden benefits. It’s all yours as soon as you sign the contract,"

Zhang Liang said.

’That’s equivalent to a salary of tens of thousands a month in the old world.’

’He currently held three advisory positions across Jiangsan City and Hanhai Province. If he added this one, his base salary alone would probably reach fifteen thousand, not even counting the various hidden benefits.’

’After all, the appeal of being a civil servant wasn’t the paltry base salary of three or four thousand.’

’The benefits—that was the real prize!’

’Insurance, pension plans, holidays, and all sorts of bonuses were what made people drool with envy.’

’And this contract...’

’Let’s put it this way.’

’Once he signed it, he’d have free rein in any police system in any province!’

’That’s right. The prestige of being an advisor to the Special Fifth Bureau was just that high.’

’It didn’t matter if you were a captain or a detachment commander.’

’Even a dragon would have to coil up, and a tiger would have to lie low. If he showed even a hint of wanting to get involved in a case, whoever was in charge would give him the green light all the way.’

’In fact, they’d probably be fighting over each other, begging him to get involved.’

’Looking at the entire Eastern Country, it was a dazzling position to hold.’

’Whatever he wanted, he could get just by asking. A house would be arranged, a car would be arranged—all of it free of charge, all part of the benefits. It was far beyond what a mere four-thousand-a-month base salary could compare to.’

’And that was just the most basic of the basics!’

However...

"Does the Special Fifth Bureau have any other advisors?"

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. He didn’t rush to sign, instead placing the document on the desk and asking his question.

"No."

Zhang Liang still wore that same faint smile.

After a pause, he added,

"Only you. Well, if you don’t sign, then there won’t be any at all."

Organizations like theirs didn’t have advisors; they were all full-time personnel with security clearance. After all, the things they dealt with could easily threaten one’s safety, and there were no guarantees for someone wandering around on the outside.

So, being an advisor was a bit dangerous, but not *too* dangerous. Because for every person who wanted you in danger, there would be even more trying everything to protect you. Even if you were to die, you couldn’t die on their turf.

The reason for that...?

A certain third-tier city had a say in that matter.

So, this contract could also be seen as an insurance policy.

An astronomically expensive insurance policy!

If something were to happen to you, the things that would be ’buried with you’ would exceed anyone’s imagination.

"Why me?"

Xu Huo shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Your track record. And the frequency."

Zhang Liang didn’t mince words, speaking calmly.

"In two months, your name has come across my department’s desk four times. Do you think we wouldn’t take notice?"

’Four times...’

’The Modern Jesus case, a suspected major cult, had been reported to Zhang Liang.’

’The Flesh Processing Plant, needless to say, was known by everyone on the inside, all across the country.’

’The bombing orchestrated by Song Si claimed nearly twenty lives; Zhang Liang would have to be blind and deaf not to know about it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get to the scene and finish investigating the clues in less than twenty-four hours.’

’And now, the Ghost Well...’

Xu Huo’s eyebrow twitched.

’He hadn’t expected them to have noticed him so early on.’

’They’d heard of him as far back as the Jesus case!?’

"Well, we didn’t have much of a reaction during the Jesus case,"

Zhang Liang said truthfully. "After all, with only four lives lost, the city bureau could handle it."

In the old world, a case of this magnitude, even without the cult element, would have been sensational.

But things are different now.

Major homicide cases are happening all over the country. Pick any one of them, and this body count wouldn’t even be a rounding error.

So, the Special Fifth Bureau didn’t pay it much mind.

But...

"Starting with the processing plant case, we noticed you,"

Zhang Liang said suddenly.

"Yes, that case was rather special. It was hard for us *not* to get involved."

The impact of the processing plant was too great. It’s a good thing the internet isn’t that developed yet. Otherwise, if it leaked without being controlled, it would have caused an international media frenzy!

So, the Special Fifth Bureau had to step in.

As he spoke, Zhang Liang looked at Xu Huo, his professional smile replaced by a genuinely playful expression.

"And that was when we discovered that some daredevil had actually managed to investigate the whole thing."

Xu Huo: ...

Xu Huo felt a little awkward. It was true. For someone with his background to investigate a case of that level, he really was a reckless fool who wasn’t afraid of dying.

Selling corpses, but it wasn’t just about selling corpses.

The matters it implicated got more and more high-level. Sun Jian was also involved in organ transplantation—the donors, the recipients, and those with the ability to perform the transplants.

Even overseas connections...

None of these people were involved in something as simple as just selling corpses.

Sun Jian was just using corpse-selling as a means to fund his team’s basic operations.

’And the fact that I wasn’t hunted down or anything...’

"Did you guys step in?" Xu Huo paused, looking up at the man before him.

Zhang Liang didn’t answer the question. He continued speaking.

"Then came Song Si’s case. Needless to say, you know how vicious that one was."

Putting aside the nature of the bombing itself.

"The government had just announced a ban on firearms, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a bombing..."

"What was Linlan City trying to do? Be the center of attention!?"

That alone was enough to land Linlan City in hot water.

"And the Ghost Well doesn’t need much explanation either, does it," Zhang Liang said.

The death toll from the Ghost Well was high enough for the Special Fifth Bureau to ignore jurisdictional boundaries and get involved.

"Four times in two months. Three of which came to our attention through what can only be described as outrageously bold moves."

Zhang Liang looked at Xu Huo, the smile in his eyes growing deeper.

"In a way, you’re one of a kind in the whole country."

"Well, strictly speaking, it should be five times."

"That ’Night of the Soul’s Return’ case that’s still making the rounds on the internet reached the ears of the folks next door. I happened to chat with them about it. It’s a good thing you acted so quickly, kid, or someone else would have had to intervene."

Xu Huo: ....

Xu Huo couldn’t take it anymore.

’During this whole time, have I really been watched by so many people behind the scenes?’

’Were these people just watching my reckless behavior, stunned, while gossiping about me behind my back?’

’And the radio station case was known to the department ’next door’... This so-called ’next door’...’

’It has to be the ’next door’ that studies unnatural phenomena, right!?’

"Oh, and that Wang Chao fellow. They were talking about him too,"

Zhang Liang added thoughtfully. "They couldn’t quite wrap their heads around his existence. They were arguing nonstop about quantum mechanics, the observer effect’s superposition state, things like that."

"’I listened for a long time and didn’t understand a word of it.’"

’Quantum mechanics...’

’The observer effect’s superposition state...’

"I’ll... I’ll sign."

Xu Huo said weakly, picking up the ballpoint pen beside him.

"Excellent."

Zhang Liang smiled, reached out, and thoughtfully pointed to a spot on the document.

"Sign here."

"...Alright."

Xu Huo solemnly signed his name.

On this insurance policy... no, this cooperative agreement, he signed his name.

"Excellent. Congratulations, Advisor Xu. You are now officially a member of the Special Fifth Bureau."

Zhang Liang stood up, smiled, and shook Xu Huo’s hand, then passed him a number.

"From now on, this person will be in charge of serving you... hmm, security detail, that sort of thing. If you need anything, just find him."

Xu Huo stood up, sighed, and took it.

"Okay."

He didn’t linger for small talk. As if he had just gone through something embarrassing, he walked out under Zhang Liang’s watchful gaze, his figure looking quite lonely.

’To think I’d unknowingly appeared on their radar so many times...’

Thinking about it, Xu Huo figured the Special Fifth Bureau must have been stunned too.

Less than two months.

Four, maybe even five times in a row...

And each appearance was more outrageous than the last.

If Xu Huo were in their shoes, he’d probably be interested too, wanting to see just what kind of reckless fool didn’t value his own life.

Fortunately, aside from the Corpse Repository case, the other cases hadn’t been life-threatening.

Watching him leave,

Zhang Liang retracted his gaze. He couldn’t help but break into a smile.

This one was from the heart.

"Boss, an advisorship for the Special Fifth Bureau... you just gave it away like that?"

As if appearing out of nowhere, a man who had entered at some point came to Zhang Liang’s side, frowning as he asked.

"I gave it to him. It’s just a base salary of four thousand," Zhang Liang said, sipping his tea.

"We don’t need an advisor, do we? He’s the first one we’ve ever had. That level of honor..."

The man’s frown deepened.

"How do you tell if a team is elite or not?"

"If it’s full of advisors and constantly relies on them, then it’s definitely garbage."

"But if a team... if it doesn’t need any advisors, and in fact, every one of its members is a highly sought-after advisor in their own right, *that’s* what makes it formidable."

The Special Fifth Bureau’s unique nature and resources mean it doesn’t need to rely on advisors.

They have the talent and the capability!

However...

"We have to absorb some new blood. Times are different. People these days are rather averse to secrecy and anonymity,"

Zhang Liang continued.

"For ordinary people, anonymity is acceptable if the price is right. But for capable people, it’s a hard pill to swallow."

"In the past, when they had no choice, it was fine. But now that times are peaceful, there aren’t many who are willing to come and stay for the long haul."

Besides...

"Honor?"

Zhang Liang chuckled. "We’re just the cleanup crew. What honor is there in that?"

"People out there are calling us ’Plague Gods’!"

"And that just looking at us brings bad luck, and talking to us brings disaster."

"They even say we’re petty. The Special Fifth Bureau is swamped with work; who has the time to be petty!?"

"So, it’s just an advisor. It’s done. Besides, our existence isn’t a secret anyway."

The man hesitated, then nodded.

"Then his security..."

"Tsk. The security of Special Fifth Bureau personnel doesn’t come from secrecy,"

Zhang Liang’s smile gradually faded, his expression returning to neutral.

"You really think outsiders can’t find out your identity? As long as they know you exist, what information can’t they dig up!?"

"But, they just don’t know."

"Why do you think that is? Do you think it’s because of our not-so-high security clearance?"

It’s because of the Special Fifth Bureau itself!

"Giving him an advisor title is the best way to protect him. Besides, how many messes has he cleaned up for us in the last two months?"

"He’s earned it."

The man nodded, not refuting that point. But, "What about the higher-ups..."

"The higher-ups won’t say anything either,"

Zhang Liang stated.

"Alright, I’ll get back to work then."

The man nodded and turned to leave, but before he could, a voice called out.

"Wait, come back."

"What is it?"

"Go find out who said the Special Fifth Bureau is petty."

"Huh?"

"Tell him that the Special Fifth Bureau... is anything but petty!"

"Alright."