Chapter Ninety-Four: The Case Assignment System

The software’s name was simple: [Case Allocation System].

Upon opening it, you could see a flat map of the entire North City. Clicking on a specific administrative district would enlarge it, showing the locations of anomalies in real time as red dots. The status bar on the right displayed messages like “Transferred to Military,” “Entrusted to Third-Party Aftercare,” and “Pending Assignment and Processing.”

On the left was a list of all current agents in Intelligence Division Five. At the top was “Chen Ziang.” Clicking on his name would show the queue of anomalies he needed to handle, though it was currently empty.

No wonder Xia Qingyu had said, “If you’d installed it, you wouldn’t have this problem.”

Come to think of it, at the morning meeting they’d discussed how it was unreasonable for the section chief to allocate cases manually, and by evening the corresponding software was already ready. Clearly, this beautiful leader had come prepared.

“So from now on, we’ll be using this software to check which cases the department assigns us, right?” Chen Ziang asked tentatively. “Of course, I can see the software’s intended purpose. I just want to make sure.”

“Keep your computer on twenty-four hours a day and the software running,” Xia Qingyu said coolly. “When a case is assigned, a floating notification window will appear. It won’t disappear until you acknowledge it, and if you don’t within ten minutes, there’ll be a ringtone alert.”

“Very smart,” Chen Ziang remarked, “It perfectly replaces Takahashi’s old role… Qingyu, your team’s order is up.”

Xia Qingyu turned away, ordered a tofu soup set from the window, and was about to leave with her tray when she saw Chen Ziang order two meal sets: curry rice and fish fillet rice.

“Pig?” she asked, her tone chilly.

“No, not at all,” Chen Ziang replied, surprised he could even understand her implication. “Rina isn’t feeling well, so I’m getting her dinner.”

“Hmm.” Xia Qingyu didn’t pursue the matter, merely left carrying her tray.

After packing up the two meals, Chen Ziang hurried back to the office. He found Rina Tsukimi sitting at her workstation, munching on a newly opened bag of chips, feet propped up, watching a soap opera favored by housewives on her computer.

Her posture was inelegant, but her looks made up for it; the jeans accentuated the length of her legs, giving her a youthful, lively beauty.

“Curry rice’s here,” Chen Ziang placed the plastic bag on her desk.

“Is it red curry or yellow curry?” Rina put down her chips.

“I didn’t notice, looks like yellow curry,” Chen Ziang replied casually.

“Great!” Rina wiped her hands with a wet tissue, smiling brightly. “Red curry is too spicy for me, but you always know what I like, senpai.”

“Ah, I messed up.” Taking the food out of the bag, Chen Ziang admitted sheepishly, “I got red curry. The cafeteria only had this kind.”

“That’s okay~” Rina waved her hand kindly. “Actually, since I’m on my special days, something spicy might warm my stomach. It’s not so bad.”

They sat at their desks. Chen Ziang opened his fish fillet rice and watched as Rina poured out some chips, crushed them, and sprinkled them evenly over her rice.

“Senpai, want to try rice with crushed chips? It’s really tasty~” she said with a smile.

“No, thank you,” Chen Ziang said, picking up the fried fish fillet with his chopsticks. He’d just bitten into it when his phone rang.

A floating notification popped up at the top of his screen:

[Anomaly detected in Mikawa District. Please respond immediately.]

“What’s that?” Rina frowned.

“A new software developed by the boss,” Chen Ziang explained helplessly. “She uses it to assign us cases.”

“Oh, is this her ‘brilliant initiative’?” Rina sneered, “Replace manual assignment with software, then blame ‘algorithm errors’ or ‘design flaws’ for sending people out during meals or late at night. No need to placate anyone, just shift all responsibility onto the software. How clever.”

Chen Ziang: …………

I understand everything you’re saying, but responding to cases earns me Sparks, and I haven’t collected any in so long. Weren’t we supposed to get stronger, stop the witches, and save my sister?

“I’ll eat on the way,” he started packing up his freshly opened fish fillet rice.

“I’m coming too,” Rina gathered up her lunch box.

“You’re not feeling well,” Chen Ziang tried to dissuade her, “You should rest.”

“I’m fine,” Rina smiled. “If you don’t take me with you, senpai, I’ll stay here and find a chance to smash Xia Qingyu’s dog head, see if she dares to assign work during meal times again.”

“Rina,” Chen Ziang reasoned patiently, “It’s not really the software’s fault… Anomalies don’t wait half an hour just because you’re eating. Even when Takahashi was in charge, we’d rush out to handle them no matter the time. Someone has to respond immediately.”

“That’s precisely why it’s the software’s fault,” Rina insisted. “Before, there were just a few of you in Countermeasure Section Six. Now there are those outsourced agencies. Even if they can’t handle it, they could stall until we finish our meal. Why not?”

“All right, I’m not arguing about this,” Chen Ziang cut her off, not wanting to debate leadership at work. “You really want to come with me?”

“Yes!” Rina said immediately.

“Then you’ll have to eat your meal on the road.”

“No problem!”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

————————

Mikawa District was a hilly area interwoven by Tenlong River, Yagami River, and Toyo River, and currently had the highest population in North City.

If Peace District was the political center, Shinjuku the commercial center, and Sakaguchi the industrial center, then Mikawa was the residential hub… With high-rise apartments everywhere, military vehicles and weapons couldn’t operate freely, so most anomalies here had to be handled by security agents and civilian agencies.

The incident was at 109 Pinglin Road, Azure Generation Apartments—a massive residential complex with over two thousand households.

If a helicopter raked the neighborhood with gunfire, two thousand people would need memory wipes. But if it was a sword fight, exorcising monsters by hand, only a few dozen nearby residents would be disturbed, and it could be explained away as drunken brawling.

Chen Ziang drove, Rina Tsukimi ate her curry beside him, and checked the case file on her phone.

This incident was detected early; technically, the anomaly hadn’t happened yet. A resident on the thirty-fifth floor, retrieving items from the stairwell, saw a suspicious man heading up to the rooftop.

Nowadays, it was impossible for society to pretend nothing was happening. The official line was that a mysterious pathogen was spreading, but most sources had been contained.

Of course, if anyone saw a suspicious person nearby—especially someone scratching themselves incessantly, as if suffering from intense itching—they were to call the police immediately.

Islanders were known for obeying authority and excluding outsiders, and “reporting suspicious individuals” fit both tendencies. Thus, reports poured in, even false ones from neighbors feuding with each other; all had to be confirmed and dealt with.

But this call seemed genuine. Rina read the witness’s description of the suspect carefully and felt it was credible.

The man wore a thick coat, hindering movement—likely to prevent himself from scratching too much. His hands, thrust into his pockets, twitched constantly, trying to restrain his instincts.

As for going to the rooftop, he was probably seeking isolation.

Rina finished her curry in a few quick bites, rested her chin in her hands, and studied Chen Ziang as he drove.

“Senpai, are you hungry?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Chen Ziang replied, eyes on the road.

“Oh, late meals are bad for you,” Rina said, opening the lid of the fish fillet rice with a charming smile. “Want me to feed you?”

“No need for the trouble,” Chen Ziang said.

A moment later, Chen Ziang was wolfing down his meal in the passenger seat.

Rina gripped the steering wheel, wondering why senpai was so resistant to being fed by her.

Tsk, still not enough intimacy…

(End of chapter)