novelraw Chapter 155: Deputy Commander
Chapter 155: Deputy Commander
Su Zhan pushed open the creaking iron door.
The inside of the store was a mess—shelves had collapsed, hardware parts were scattered everywhere...
But strangely, there was no blood.
"Hey! Who said you could come in?"
A Purifier wearing the division uniform walked over quickly, his voice displeased.
Su Zhan showed his Vermilion Bird Academy badge: "Investigation mission. Where did the owner of this shop go?"
The Purifier checked the credentials and his attitude softened slightly: "Missing. Everyone in this area who experienced the mist incident has disappeared."
"Confirmed casualties?"
Su Zhan pressed.
"Well..."The Purifier hesitated for a moment, lowering his voice: "According to regulations, we have to say 'presumed casualties,' but you know... ordinary people who go missing in mist incidents, 99.9% of them are already in the stomachs of Aberrants and mist creatures. Naturally, there's no evidence to prove they were killed."
Su Zhan scanned the floor: "His dog is missing too?"
"Dog?"
The Purifier was stunned: "What dog? The scene investigation report didn't mention any pets."
"A mutt, blond-colored."
Su Zhan gestured its size: "Usually tied up at the shop entrance."
"Really didn't see one, but..."
The Purifier pointed toward the back door: "Animal footprints were found over there. The experts said they should be from a dog."
Su Zhan walked to the back door, crouched down, and brushed his fingertip over a shallow claw mark on the ground.
Then he stood up calmly: "Thanks."
Hmm... still no leads.
Might as well just go through the motions for these ten-plus days, treat it as completing the mission.
Sigh, the difficulty of this search is really too high.
He's not Sherlock Holmes, how could he possibly reconstruct the truth of the Eastern Suburbs disappearance case with just these few details before him?
Su Zhan looked around boredly.
Forget it, he'll do what he can.
Su Zhan told the Purifier about his suspicions regarding Shop Owner Zhou from this hardware store.
But the Purifier just nodded faintly: "We already know that point, but we still thank you for providing us with clues."
Su Zhan nodded in acknowledgment.
After wandering around the area a few more times, he prepared to leave.
Just as he reached the edge of the cordon.
A series of hurried footsteps came from behind.
"Wait a moment!"
Su Zhan turned around.
He saw the stern-faced Commander walking quickly toward him.
Two fully armed Purifiers followed behind him.
"Student Su Zhan, correct?"
The Commander stopped in front of him and saluted: "We have contacted Vermilion Bird Academy. The academy has agreed to let you cooperate with us in the joint investigation during this mission period."
Su Zhan frowned slightly: "Vermilion Bird Academy hasn't notified me yet..."
Come on, man, he just wanted to slack off.
How did he get forced into work now?
Before he finished speaking.
His phone rang.
The Commander showed a "see, I told you" expression.
Su Zhan took out his phone; the screen displayed the three characters "Wang Mingyuan."
He pressed the answer button.
His mentor's familiar voice came from the receiver:
"Su Zhan, you should have met the people from the Aberrant Purge Division by now. The academy has decided to assign you to assist them in investigating the Eastern Suburbs incident."
"Teacher Wang."
Su Zhan lowered his voice: "I'm just here for a regular investigation mission..."
"I understand your thoughts."
Wang Mingyuan interrupted him: "But you need to know that Vermilion Bird Academy, as the highest-level Awakened institution in southern Daxia, has always been closely linked with the Aberrant Purge Division.
Now the Eastern Suburbs incident is no longer just a simple disappearance case; it's a major crisis related to the safety of the entire Yun City."
Su Zhan was silent for a moment: "I can handle the investigation mission by myself. Why do I need to work with them?"
His impression of the Aberrant Purge Division wasn't good to begin with.
There was Doberman, there was Qin Bai—both had strong connections to the Aberrant Purge Division.
For investigation, he preferred to investigate alone.
Being with these people made him uncomfortable.
"Su Zhan, this is an order."
Wang Mingyuan's tone softened slightly: "You're on-site and understand the situation."
The Commander and the Purifiers were all staring at Su Zhan, waiting for his response.
"If..."
Su Zhan weighed his words: "I mean if, I can uncover the truth..."
"The academy will absolutely not shortchange you."
Wang Mingyuan immediately responded: "I guarantee you here, at the very least, you'll get two weeks of free access to all of Vermilion Bird Academy's cultivation resources. That's just the baseline. If you make significant contributions, it could even be doubled or more."
Both ends of the phone fell into brief silence.
Finally.
Su Zhan let out a light sigh: "I understand."
"Good."
Wang Mingyuan's tone clearly relaxed: "Remember, the academy will always be your strongest backing. Contact me anytime if you need anything."
After hanging up.
Su Zhan looked at the waiting Commander: "It seems we're colleagues now."
The Commander showed a trace of a smile: "Welcome to the temporary investigation team, Student Su Zhan. My name is Lei Chen, the overall commander for this investigation case. My position in the Aberrant Purge Division is Deputy Commander."
"Hello."
Su Zhan had to start taking this case seriously again.
Free cultivation resources were a good thing.
Sigh...
Now he had to work hard on the investigation to earn resources for himself.
And the other party's position.
Deputy Commander, a rank above Team Leader.
The former Doberman was just a Deputy Team Leader, but why did people call him Team Leader?
This kind of thing—when people address you, they definitely use the bigger title and naturally omit the "deputy" part.
Someone with this position must have strength at the Stream Realm or above.
Or for a Team Leader, the strength standard is at the Stream Realm.
Su Zhan conservatively estimated the other's strength to be at Stream Realm fourth stage or higher.
He just couldn't figure it out.
His own strength was only Dew Realm eighth stage.
The other party's strength was already so high; what use did they have for him?
But it wasn't appropriate to ask now; he could only ask privately later.
Think about it—if he asked now, how would others perceive him?
This would clearly be a very dismissive way of talking about the other party.
Anyway, working with them was unavoidable, so he shouldn't make the relationship too bad.
At the same time.
In a hidden corner not far away.
Wang Mingyuan and Ye Hongyu silently watched Su Zhan's direction.
Wang Mingyuan pushed his glasses up, saying helplessly: "Teacher, Su Zhan took this mission precisely to enter mist events; where does he care about the mission content?
Why did you have to forcibly assign him such a task?"
Ye Hongyu narrowed her eyes slightly: "What do you think is Su Zhan's biggest problem right now?"
Wang Mingyuan thought for a moment: "His combat skills are qualified, and he always cleans up the battle traces properly, choosing sparsely populated places to start absorbing the life essence of mist creatures.
If you want me to list shortcomings... it might be that he's too reckless. Even when under suspicion, he dares to come out and absorb the essence of mist creatures like this; he's being a bit too greedy in his fights."
"You're wrong. Su Zhan's biggest problem right now isn't strength, but stance."
Ye Hongyu said gravely: "He has the dual identity of an Awakened and an Aberrant, but he lacks a sense of belonging to Daxia. Let me ask you, does he usually show any identification with Daxia?"