Chapter Ninety-Nine: Xia Qingyu’s Zoo

In the sixth underground level of the new facility lay the grand intelligence archive.

“I didn’t expect you to remember to come visit me,” Suifeng Lixu said lightly. “I thought you’d be too busy romancing your little girlfriend and would have long forgotten your master.”

“First of all, Suzuna is not my girlfriend,” Chen Ziang corrected. “Secondly, I have visited you a few times, but you were unconscious each time.”

“Besides, with the contamination spread by Nishikawa Mie scattering everywhere, I’ve been running around like a firefighter, with no time to check on you.”

“Oh, I’ll accept that excuse for now,” Suifeng Lixu said without pressing further, switching topics. “So how are things between you and your little girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Chen Ziang replied. “Our relationship… is going okay.”

“Could you define ‘okay’ more precisely?” Suifeng Lixu asked.

“I mean, Suzuna is the kind of outgoing island girl,” Chen Ziang admitted honestly. “She’s emotionally intelligent, smart, and speaks well—I find it hard to imagine anyone disliking her.”

“By general standards, that’s true,” Suifeng Lixu mused, picking up her notebook and pen. “But what I’m asking is, how are things between you two?”

“I already answered,” Chen Ziang said dismissively. “It’s okay.”

“Do you feel she’s too perfect for you?” Suifeng Lixu pressed again.

“I admit, a little,” Chen Ziang sighed. “Lixu, I’m thinking of starting as friends with her. If things naturally progress to something more, that would be best. But if she loses interest, keeping just a friendship is fine too.”

“I understand.” Suifeng Lixu wrote diligently in her notebook. “Resistance to gaining something stems from fear of loss. It reflects an extreme lack of security about the future, so you’d rather stay in your comfort zone and avoid major changes in relationships. I think this ties closely to the psychological pressure you faced as a child when your parents disappeared and you had to raise your sister alone.”

“Lixu, I came here to talk, not for you to do a psychological profile on me,” Chen Ziang said irritably. “Besides, don’t you remember your own argument about the unreliability of love at first sight? You even said relationships born from it are like delusions of striking it rich through the lottery.”

Suifeng Lixu fell silent for a moment before saying, “But I don’t think Suzuna Tsukimiya fell for you at first sight.”

“Where’s your evidence?” Chen Ziang countered. “We’ve only known each other for a little over a month! Enough of this—Xia Qingyu asked me to come get the victims’ files.”

“The victim files are here.” Suifeng Lixu handed him a stack of documents. “The method Nishikawa Mie used is called the ‘Corpse Cult Ritual,’ a profane and forbidden ceremony.”

“What is the Corpse Cult Ritual... never mind, I shouldn’t know this.” Chen Ziang took the files.

“Also, some of the victims who were brought here alive have been rescued,” Suifeng Lixu continued. “Most underwent memory wipes, but six refused to erase their memories and requested to join us.”

“I’ve completed the corresponding personnel assessments, which are at the back of the victims’ files. Ask Xia Qingyu what she thinks.”

“Victims can join us?” Chen Ziang asked in surprise.

“Unprecedented,” Suifeng Lixu said. “But Xia Qingyu is also an unprecedented superior, so I figure it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

Chen Ziang glanced over the files and recognized them all—four men and two women.

The two women were the young ladies who had sat in the row ahead of him on the bus to Ryouei Town; the four men were the college students he had playfully tussled with at the martial arts hall concert.

“Alright, I’ll give these to her,” Chen Ziang nodded.

Leaving the grand intelligence archive, he soon arrived at Xia Qingyu’s office.

“What do you think?” Xia Qingyu asked coldly after reviewing the files.

“I don’t understand the Corpse Cult Ritual,” Chen Ziang replied. “I can’t make a judgment.”

“If your brain were a bit sharper, you’d realize I’m not asking for your opinion on the ritual,” Xia Qingyu said sarcastically. “I’m asking what you think about those six victims who want to join us.”

Chen Ziang was speechless.

“Sorry, I haven’t looked at their files yet,” he admitted honestly. “I’m not sure if I have the clearance.”

“Clearance?” Xia Qingyu sneered. “Am I not talking to my section chief but asking the security guard for his opinion?”

Chen Ziang was left speechless and silently muttered a few prayers in his mind for the sake of getting rid of Machang, then said, “I’ll take a look now.”

He picked up the files of the six individuals and quickly skimmed through them.

Tian Xiaoyun and Sawada Ayaka worked as sales representatives for a cosmetics company. They had heard the hot springs in Ryouei Town were good for beauty and had voluntarily taken the bus there for a tourist experience.

The other four—Daishi-kun and three other university students—had traveled to Ryouei Town to write a paper, as their advisor had asked them to investigate the industrial rise and fall of the remote mining town.

From a personality perspective, since they were willing to endure a 15-hour bus ride to a remote town they had never visited, these six must be the type with strong initiative. But for this line of work, initiative alone is not enough.

Looking at their motivations: Tian Xiaoyun and Sawada Ayaka cited “tired of their current jobs” and “interest in the mysterious” respectively.

The four university students gave reasons like “refusing memory wipes,” “avoiding unknown threats to their lives,” “wanting to protect family and friends,” and “aiming to preserve peace in the Northernmost City.” All reasonable enough.

Still, the question remained: their motivations, while sufficient, were not enough.

“As per usual procedure,” Chen Ziang said cautiously, “we generally don’t accept applications from non-professionals. They know nothing about the mysterious side and lack the physical fitness and professional skills required.”

“Hmm,” Xia Qingyu asked indifferently, “Does the usual procedure solve the dangers currently facing the Northernmost City?”

“...No.”

“Tell Suifeng Lixu to arrange training for these six to see if they can meet the requirements for intelligence clerical staff,” Xia Qingyu ordered. “Although you have precedent, I don’t expect much from them. But given how desperately short-staffed we are, I’m okay with a few extra dogs around to handle menial tasks.”

“Fine,” Chen Ziang said helplessly, suddenly feeling like he had grasped Xia Qingyu’s standards for her ‘zoo.’

Those who can think are humans, those who can work are apes... and now there’s a new category:

Those who can only do menial tasks are dogs.

(End of chapter)