I write obituaries for the gods.

Chapter 83 Belief

"I...I really don't know. When I went to get the mop, I suddenly lost all my memory. When I woke up, I was already..."

The cleaner looked at Jiang Zhengge innocently, his lips trembling.

"Section Chief Jiang, I really didn't... How could I dare? I don't even know how to use a gun..."

"Calm down, calm down, don't worry, our detention is just a protective measure," Jiang Zhengge reassured the cleaner. "Someone will come to check in a little while, just cooperate. After the check, you can sleep here for the night and go out tomorrow. It's safer that way."

"..."

After finishing, Jiang Zhengge walked out of the interrogation room for the second time and looked at Lin Chen, who was leaning against the wall.

"Not bad, kid. You stole the credit." Jiang Zhengge smiled.

"Isn't this because I'm afraid something might happen?" Lin Chen said, wearing Jiang Zhengge's coat over his hospital gown. "Even if Zuo Xia is alright, your bullets don't have eyes, and that cleaner is innocent."

"Yes, you saved that old man's life," Jiang Zhengge sighed. "You've worked hard. You deserve a good night's sleep. After all, today's success is mainly due to you and Zhanyi."

"It's nothing, I'm already awake," Lin Chen said.

"Then come with me. Come on, I can't sleep for a while anyway, let's go get a drink."

Jiang Zhengge led Lin Chen into the elevator and up to the executive lounge on the 47th floor.

Lin Chen had never been here before because Li Zhanyi didn't drink alcohol, and even when he wanted to socialize, he would play games or go to the shooting range, and he would never take her to a bar.

Zhanyi is such a good girl.

"..."

At this time, the executive lounge was almost empty. A pale-faced bartender in a suit stood behind the bar, mechanically wiping the glasses.

"What would you like to drink?" Jiang Zhengge asked Lin Chen.

"I've never tried it before, you can choose one for me."

"Then give this kid a glass of whiskey sour," Jiang Zhengge said to the bartender. "As for me, it's the same recipe I had before, tide Leina."

Upon hearing the name "tide Leina," Lin Chen turned his head slightly.

He glimpsed a hint of solitude in Jiang Zhengge's eyes.

"Does the Bureau of Investigation's bar also have that tradition of 'naming a cocktail after someone who dies'?" Lin Chen said.

"Hehe, not at all. Besides, tide Leina is still alive and well," Jiang Zhengge said with a smile, shaking his head. "This recipe is one she brought from her hometown, and it has always suited my taste."

"tide Lena Boswell," Lin Chen looked at Jiang Zhengge, "how did you meet her?"

"I thought you would question me about why I know a demigod, and even dance with him," Jiang Zhengge tapped his index finger lightly on the table, "after all, you despise demigods so much."

"It's alright," Lin Chen said softly. "The bad things are always concrete entities; I only hate specific people."

"You've got some skills, huh?" Jiang Zhengge chuckled.

At this moment, the bartender brought over two glasses of wine, one pale yellow and the other navy blue.

Lin Chen took a sip of the whiskey and found it to be sweet and sour, with a flavor that wasn't as strong as he had imagined. It tasted pretty good.

"That was almost twenty years ago. Back then, Yudu wasn't as big as it is now," Jiang Zhengge said softly. "The Investigation Bureau had just been established, and I was about your age, full of enthusiasm."

"Back then, the infrastructure was inadequate, and there weren't any convenient methods for clearing out anomalous entities like the 'police officers.' Most of the time, I would lead people to patrol the streets, often eliminating three or four entities a day."

"You were already a section chief back then?"

"You're quite capable," Jiang Zhengge chuckled smugly. "Don't worry, someone of your caliber will be able to take over after I retire."

"I have no interest in power..." Lin Chen chuckled.

"For someone like you, even if you don't choose power, power will choose you," Jiang Zhengge pointed to his fist. "If you're strong enough, you can make the environment adapt to you."

"That's the kind of girl Xileina is. She adapted to her environment and survived the rainy season."

Lin Chen didn't speak, but just silently looked at Jiang Zhengge.

Jiang Zhengge downed half the wine in his glass in one gulp, let out a "Ha," and said:

"She is Roma—or, as you're more familiar with the term Gypsy."

"Her family originally operated in New Orleans. In 05, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city, and the family was displaced for a long time. They eventually came to the rainy city and settled in the Liberty neighborhood, where Westerners live."

"Those white guys don't like Gypsies. They think they are thieves, liars, and witches. Now Liberty is full of gangs. Back then it was even more chaotic. Black guys and white guys were shooting at each other in the streets every day. If a few people didn't die, it was like they hadn't made a single sale."

"Guess what? This girl ended up building a small, stable community in the Liberty district, and every gang there is friendly to the area."

Jiang Zhengge smiled as he said this.

Lin Chen understood the expression on his face: it was a mixture of nostalgia and regret.

"How did she do that?" Lin Chen asked softly.

"She led a group of Gypsies, maintaining the practical security of the Liberty district—in other words, those Gypsy kids, under her leadership, were exceptionally effective at eliminating threats!"

"That's so exaggerated?" Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

Do Gypsies possess so many mysterious powers?

"But they are ultimately just a civilian organization. In one incident of dealing with gamma-level erosion, they capsized," Jiang Zhengge chuckled. "That erosion just exceeded their capacity to handle it. When we arrived at the scene, many of the Gypsy boys were already dead, and only she was still struggling to hold on."

"I rescued her, learned her story, and then invited her to join the Rapid Response Division 1."

"Huh?" Lin Chen was stunned.

Xilena Boswell, that demigod from the Foundation...

Was it previously in the Rapid Response Department?

"Was she already a demigod back then?" Lin Chen asked.

"Otherwise, she might have evolved into a demigod later on, right? Reality isn't an upgrade novel," Jiang Zhengge chuckled. "But who knows? She lost her family in that gamma-level incident. When she joined the Investigation Bureau, she put the little yellow duck she brought from her hometown into the urn and told me she didn't want to lose anyone else."

"Such a pitiful girl... with the determination to fight the aberrant entity to the death... who would doubt her?"

"So, you've lured a demigod into the inner sanctum..." Lin Chen said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, this is definitely a dark chapter in my career," Jiang Zhengge shrugged.

"If she's a demigod... then what was her psionic spectrum when she joined the company?" Lin Chen suddenly asked curiously.

"It can't be measured," Jiang Zhengge nodded. "The result is unknown."

"No one else... objected to her joining the company?"

"The procedures weren't very rigorous back then, so I just gave you a random answer," Jiang Zhengge said lazily. "Actually, I gave you a random answer too, just mimicry and super hearing, you don't actually believe me, do you?"

"You trusted tide Leina so much back then?" Lin Chen murmured.

"yes."

"But now she's joined the Foundation..." Lin Chen recalled Jiang Zhengge's attitude towards tide Leina, "I guess, she betrayed the Investigation Bureau?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhengge remained silent for a moment, then nodded vigorously:

"yes."

Lin Chen's hand trembled slightly as he raised his glass and took a sip of whiskey.

This time, he finally tasted the burning sensation of strong liquor.

"My psionic spectrum is also unknown," Lin Chen said softly, "but you believe me?"

Jiang Zhengge also picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"Yes," he said.

......