Chapter 52: The Bar

Xia Mi didn’t rush to flatter Jiao Xingjian with exaggerated rhetoric. Instead, she gave a reserved, shy smile and said, “Hello, sir.”

She didn’t even address him by his official title, opting instead for the respectful “you¹,” a safe and polite choice.

This caused Liao Tianhua to glance at her sideways.

He had expected Xia Mi to shower Jiao Xingjian with the same flowery language she had used on him. He hadn’t expected her to be so composed.

Xia Mi had a strategy.

Jiao Xingjian was a leader of the older generation, and she couldn’t immediately gauge what style of subordinate he preferred. If he liked steady, serious talent and she presented herself as slick and oily from the first meeting, she would likely make a bad impression.

Furthermore, even if she wanted to flatter a leader, it had to be built on an understanding of that leader so she could cater to their specific tastes.

Since she knew nothing about Jiao Xingjian yet, flattery could easily backfire.

A leader of Jiao Xingjian’s status and age had surely seen every type of subordinate and heard every kind of flattery. At this stage, rather than overacting, it was better to present herself as a practical, hardworking talent.

Xia Mi felt that this organization certainly didn’t lack sycophants, but it did lack a singular woman with superpowers who could rescue her comrades from mortal danger!

If that team member also possessed the innocence and naivety unique to a college student, she would stand out even more.

Seeing Xia Mi’s apparent shyness, Jiao Xingjian took the initiative to comfort her. “Don’t be nervous. I’m not here to interview you today. I just heard you were reporting for duty and wanted to see the hero who saved so many people. The members of the Second Team are elites we’ve spent years cultivating. If not for you, the Disposal Bureau would have suffered a devastating loss this time.”

Xia Mi patted her chest, acting as if she were relaxing, and smiled. “No, no, no, it’s just what I should have done. Besides, everyone’s successful escape from the Pharmaceutical Factory was a team effort. It wasn’t my credit alone.

“Also, I’m so glad it’s not an interview. I haven’t had any training yet and don’t know anything. I was really afraid I’d perform poorly.”

Watching Xia Mi’s performance, Liao Tianhua nearly rolled his eyes. Keep acting, just keep acting!

Older people loved humble, hardworking youngsters. Jiao Xingjian had a very good impression of Xia Mi. He said, “The matter of your permanent appointment and rank is quite unique. We have no precedent for appointing someone to such a high rank directly. I can’t make the decision alone; the provincial department needs to report to the central authorities before it can be finalized.

“Fortunately, you still have two months before your official appointment. During these two months, study the organization’s rules, regulations, and ordinances well, and adapt to our workflow. During this period, while your main job is training and learning, you should also actively participate if there are missions. Perform well, and we’ll have more material to convince the higher-ups when it’s time for your permanent appointment.”

“I guarantee I’ll complete the mission! I don’t even need rest. I can stay rooted at my post twenty-four hours a day, thirty days a month!” Xia Mi said excitedly.

Jiao Xingjian gave a kind smile. “There’s no need to be that tense. Just make sure you don’t do anything that violates discipline in your spare time.”

“What counts as a violation of discipline?” Xia Mi asked.

Jiao Xingjian replied, “Pay attention to your appearance and conduct, maintain the solemn image of the police, don’t frequent illegal entertainment venues, act and speak civilly, don’t smoke in public, don’t drink excessively, no soliciting or gambling, that sort of thing. You look like a law-abiding child; these things shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Xia Mi was relieved to hear this. She was already a self-disciplined person. Aside from a fondness for staying up late and eating junk food, she had no bad habits.

Jiao Xingjian had only come today to see what kind of person Xia Mi was. After a few brief words, he departed.

From then on, Xia Mi took Jiao Xingjian’s words as her code of conduct. She was strictly self-disciplined, even walking according to the regulations she’d learned in military training. When she went to eat with Liao Tianhua, Qiu Hailan, and the others, she walked in pairs or files of three, looking straight ahead and completely ignoring the increasingly handsome Captain Liao.

The Disposal Bureau held relevant training every year. It just so happened that a group of officers was currently undergoing a half-month training for rank promotion. Xia Mi joined them at the neighboring police academy first. Her work for the unit consisted of one shift every three days.

Half a month later, she went to the Logistics Group to receive specialized training from Group Leader Mi alone.

Mi Xiangyan taught Xia Mi a great deal about the “Zhuo.” She also drew a lot of her blood to study the Queen Bee inside her.

By now, Xia Mi’s identity as the “Queen Bee” was out in the open. she didn’t bother hiding it anymore. As long as the Disposal Bureau paid her salary and issued her a police uniform, they could investigate her however they liked.

The Disposal Bureau had also considered the issue of Xia Mi’s identity and subjected her to multiple psychological tests. No matter how many times she was tested, Xia Mi’s condition remained stable.

When “Shield” and “Eye” were first tested, they both showed a certain degree of self-destructive tendencies. They were uninterested in external things, had a decreased sensitivity to pain, and an increased dopamine threshold; they were unable to feel joy.

Xia Mi was different. She was full of energy every day, high-spirited, and extremely happy.

After the police academy training, the official website posted the special recruitment documents. As soon as the documents were public, Xia Mi started calling home.

She didn’t just call her parents; she called her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She bragged in her classmate group chats and even posted on her social feed!

She was incredibly worldly. All the fame and fortune of the secular world could make her happy.

The people at the Disposal Bureau had been observing her in secret and concluded that, aside from a love for showing off, Xia Mi had no major flaws.

Even the members of the Second Team had developed psychological issues to varying degrees after becoming “Rong.” Mi Xiangyan had arranged for professionals to do psychological work with them. In contrast, Xia Mi was as healthy as could be.

To test Xia Mi’s true thoughts, the Disposal Bureau even asked, “If the Bureau decides to revoke your position as captain because of your ‘Queen Bee’ identity, what will you do?”

Xia Mi’s face twisted for a moment, her expression pained. She didn’t answer the question directly but instead asked, “Will you send me to prison?”

The tester paused and said, “As long as you haven’t committed any crimes, we won’t send you to prison. However, we might restrict your personal freedom, monitor your behavior, and have you cooperate with investigations.”

Xia Mi asked again, “Will I be fired then?”

“As long as you don’t break the law, you won’t be,” the tester replied.

Xia Mi pressed further, “Will my salary be docked?”

The tester said, “No.”

Xia Mi’s emotions smoothed out considerably. Accepting her fate, she said, “Then I suppose that’s just how it has to be. I shouldn’t have held such a high position in the first place. Now things are just returning to how they should be. I should accept that.”

The tester asked another question, “What if, because of your identity, the organization refuses to promote you and ignores your contributions?”

Xia Mi shook her head. “They won’t. I believe the organization wouldn’t treat me like that.”

“But what if they do?”

Xia Mi frowned and countered, “Comrade, I really don’t understand. Why do you have so little faith in the organization? Your thinking is a bit extreme. I suggest you go for some training yourself.”

She had completely stumped the tester. The final conclusion was: “Xia Mi is emotionally stable and possesses strong confidence in the country and the organization.”

More than a month passed, and try as they might, they couldn’t find a single flaw in Xia Mi.

Meanwhile, Mi Xiangyan and the others made little progress in their investigation of Etornit.

The group’s main stronghold was overseas. On the surface, it was a charitable organization with deep-seated connections that made it incredibly difficult to investigate.

The team could only investigate the Pharmaceutical Factory and the timeline of when Xia Mi became the Queen Bee.

All relevant clues at the Pharmaceutical Factory had been destroyed, making it hard to track. Xia Mi’s background was easy enough to check, but her life from childhood to adulthood had been perfectly peaceful. She was an only child; her mother was a high school teacher, and her father was the director of the Discipline Inspection Commission² at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Her family background was simple, and no relatives within five generations or any of her classmates had ever encountered a Zhuo event.

How did a child who grew up so normally in the country become the Queen Bee?

The only breakthrough Mi Xiangyan could find was that Xia Mi had traveled to Thailand with her classmates after the college entrance exams.

Since Xia Mi’s parents were government employees, they couldn’t travel abroad easily. She had gone with several classmates, staying within popular tourist attractions the entire time. They hadn’t gone anywhere else, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

There was one last clue: Xia Mi’s game.

However, for the past two months, Xia Mi hadn’t been able to open the game. Every time she tried, a prompt appeared: “Insufficient balance, please top up Zhuo Coins.”

Xia Mi threw a tantrum while pointing at her phone. She claimed she had absorbed so much energy at the Pharmaceutical Factory that she should have hundreds of Zhuo Coins left. Had the game just swallowed them all?

As she cursed the black-hearted game, Mi Xiangyan, Liao Tianhua, and Qiu Hailan stood by in silence, not daring to say a word. They could only wait for Xia Mi’s mood to improve before coaxing her. They treated her to dinner and promised to pool their money to buy her a new phone as a gift for her permanent appointment-a triple-fold model that could unfold into a large screen for gaming. Only then was Xia Mi successfully pacified.

The investigation into Etornit was temporarily stalled, waiting for a new opportunity to arise.

Three months passed in relative peace. Just before the end of the year, Xia Mi was finally set to become a permanent employee³.

Three days before her official appointment, Mi Xiangyan notified the newly formed Supernatural Squad that a bar was showing Zhuo energy fluctuations. She requested the squad head to the bar immediately.

The Logistics Group had receivers capable of detecting energy fluctuations within a hundred-kilometer radius, but they usually only picked up signals after a nest had already appeared.

Because Zhuo movements were very stealthy, energy fluctuations were almost undetectable before a nest was built. A massive surge of energy only occurred the moment a nest was constructed, but by then, the Domain had already formed, leaving the Disposal Bureau constantly on the defensive.

After Xia Mi joined the team, Mi Xiangyan remembered her precognition ability. With Xia Mi’s consent, she had Liao Tianhua absorb a tiny bit of Xia Mi’s energy and integrate it into the receiver, hoping to enhance its detection capabilities.

During this process, Liao Tianhua inevitably got kicked a few times by Xia Mi, leaving his legs bruised for days.

However, the experiment was highly significant. For the first time, they had captured Zhuo energy fluctuations before a nest appeared.

Mi Xiangyan told the team members, “That bar only accepts female guests. There are many patrons. Since we don’t know if the Zhuo is parasitizing a human, we can’t evacuate the guests or reveal our identities. Therefore, for now, Xia Mi, Qiu Hailan, and I will carry out this mission.”

“Why can’t we reveal our identities?” Xia Mi asked, puzzled. “Wouldn’t it be cool to wear the Protective Suits?”

Mi Xiangyan said, “People caught in the crossfire will forget what happened inside the Domain, so it doesn’t matter how we act then. But this time, the nest hasn’t appeared yet. If we go in wearing Protective Suits, are we planning to tell the whole country that supernatural monsters exist in this world?”

“So we’re going low-profile for this mission?” Xia Mi asked.

Mi Xiangyan replied, “Yes. Not only must we be low-profile, but we also need to conduct a test. We need to see if our Supernatural Squad can find the Zhuo and finish the battle before it opens its nest.

“Even though we won’t be wearing Protective Suits, Shield will maintain an invisible protective barrier for us, just like at the Pharmaceutical Factory, to protect our minds from the Zhuo’s influence. As for physical corruption, we are all Rong and can resist the erosion of the Zhuo, so we don’t need full gear for now.

“This battle is a pilot operation. If it succeeds, the experience gained will be promoted nationwide. Xia Mi will go to Disposal Bureaus across the country to give lectures and share her experience, striving to minimize the damage caused by the Zhuo.”

As soon as Xia Mi heard “nationwide promotion” and “giving lectures to all members,” she felt like she was walking on air.

What an immense honor!

When the time came, she would share the official lecture info to every corner of her family group chat⁴!

Xia Mi rolled up her sleeves and said, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Mi Xiangyan held her back. “There’s one more thing I must make clear. I’ll emphasize it again: this is a bar that only accepts female guests.”

“So what?” Xia Mi didn’t understand, looking at Mi Xiangyan with a face of pure, naive innocence.

It was only at times like this that she showed the “clear-eyed stupidity⁵” typical of a college student.

Qiu Hailan clarified, “To put it fashionably, it’s a host club. To put it crudely, it’s a place for male escorts, the kind where you order drinks and hire male models.”

Xia Mi had a sudden realization. She said solemnly, “I understand. This is a test, isn’t it? I absolutely will not violate discipline!”

Mi Xiangyan sighed. “I’m not worried about you breaking the rules. My point is that the prices inside are very high. We’re going to order some bottles, so don’t get angry when you see the menu.”

“How high can it be? I’m a salaried worker now, what’s there to fear!” Xia Mi said confidently.

Seeing her so self-assured, Mi Xiangyan didn’t say anything more. The three of them quickly did their makeup for the nightlife and headed into the bar.

Xia Mi glanced at the drink menu and immediately cursed out loud. “What the hell? Ninety-eight yuan for a glass of plain water? Why don’t you just rob people!”

Beside her, Mi Xiangyan and Qiu Hailan couldn’t even hold her back.

“First time here?” a magnetic voice asked.

The three of them looked over to see a gorgeous, striking male model in a white shirt standing before them.

He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with his collar left wide open. In the dim light, his chest and abdominal muscles were clearly visible, his lean physique looking exceptionally well-defined.

He gave Xia Mi a smile and said, “Let me buy you a drink of water.”

With that, he personally opened a bottle of mineral water that would cost two yuan at a supermarket, poured it into a goblet, and handed it to Xia Mi.

Xia Mi took the ninety-eight yuan glass of water and looked at the model, her heart fluttering slightly.

Then, she felt a sudden heat in her nose, and an impulsive nosebleed⁶ came trickling down.

Xia Mi was speechless.

She was doomed. She was just about to become a permanent employee; she couldn’t afford to make a mistake of principle⁷ during this mission!

Translator’s Notes