Chapter 166-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 166 Investigation

Zhu Ning went to work at the Sanitation Center. Most Demon Hunters and Cleaners didn't need to be at a desk—only administrative staff stayed in the office. But today the atmosphere was different. The moment Zhu Ning walked in, she could tell everyone had been whispering.

What happened at the Sanitation Center?

Zhu Ning swiped her card. She was heading to the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team to report in.

The elevator climbed floor by floor. The highest she'd ever been was Floor 250—the hundred-plus floors above it remained unknown territory.

She pushed open the door to the chaotic office. Inside was a mess of folders, instant-meal wrappers, and drained nutrient supplements. The entire staff had been pulling overtime—the office was indistinguishable from a battlefield.

The conference table held coffee and injectable stimulants. Team members yawned endlessly and nodded in greeting. This wasn't the Cleanup Department—technically, Zhu Ning was still an outsider here.

Zhu Ning had a knack for making herself at home and greeted everyone. Huo Wenxi's long braid hung behind her like a tail draped over the chair. Her blazer sleeves were rolled up, an Ultra Wake-Up Shot jabbed into her arm.

That stuff was harsh on the body. No wonder Huo Wenxi didn't need sleep—she was running entirely on chemical support.

Zhu Ning set the dry-cleaned clothes on the empty seat beside Huo Wenxi. "How long has it been since you slept?"

Huo Wenxi instinctively reached for a cigarette, only to find the pack empty. "Since the moment you knocked on my door."

Zhu Ning: "..."

Zhu Ning had been sent home for a full night's sleep. Huo Wenxi hadn't closed her eyes once.

Zhu Ning found an empty seat and sat down. "Team Leader, did you evolve past the need for sleep?"

Was Huo Wenxi's Ability one that eliminated the need for sleep? Now this was the ultimate overachiever. Compared to Xu Meng and Huo Wenxi, Zhu Ning was basically a salted fish.

Huo Wenxi: "Cut the chatter. Come look at the investigation results."

Zhu Ning had provided Huo Wenxi with plenty of intel and expected results to take a long time. She hadn't anticipated Huo Wenxi's efficiency exceeding her imagination by more than threefold.

Huo Wenxi wouldn't personally brief Zhu Ning, so the presenter was Zhuang Lin. Huo Wenxi cracked open another pack of cigarettes and listened with half-closed eyes.

Zhuang Lin activated the projector. A photograph appeared in the center of the conference room—the image "downloaded" from Zhu Ning's mind.

It was a short-haired woman in a red trench coat.

Zhuang Lin: "We ran a search using the photo. The scope was enormous. This person seems to have some kind of Ability—every time a surveillance camera captures her image, it's subtly different."

Zhu Ning nodded. She already knew about this trait—it was why she'd assumed the search wouldn't go smoothly.

Zhuang Lin continued: "We brought in a professional analyst with a data-analysis Ability. It took an entire night of sifting through massive databases, but we finally identified her."

Zhuang Lin swiped the projection, and another photo appeared.

It was a formal ID photo. The short-haired woman was wearing a black suit. Even through the screen, the resolve in her eyes was unmistakable—she looked like a high-ranking official of some institution. No—like a high-ranking military officer.

Zhuang Lin needed confirmation. "Is this her?"

Zhu Ning nodded. "That's her."

"Good," Zhuang Lin continued, pulling up her complete file. "Her name is Su He. She was once a first-rank officer of the First Military District's Garrison Troops."

Zhu Ning frowned slightly. Her instincts had been right—she really was a high-ranking member of the Federation military.

Zhuang Lin: "Su He's registered Ability is Dead Silence. It can indiscriminately destroy anything. Her current maximum range is a seven-kilometer diameter—she could snap her fingers and level an entire street."

It was practically a natural-disaster-level Ability. By comparison, Zhu Ning's Metal Manipulation was nothing to write home about—once Su He unleashed an attack, the consequences could be apocalyptic.

Zhuang Lin: "Su He had always guarded the First Military District. The military held her in both respect and fear. Many believed she could rise to the rank of Marshal if she continued serving—until fifteen years ago, when she defected. She's now a Class-One fugitive."

From Marshal candidate to Class-One fugitive—the gap was staggering.

Zhu Ning could guess at the reasons for her defection—either Su He had grown disillusioned with the current system, or she'd strayed down the wrong path and fallen into some kind of belief.

She thought of the assassins who had targeted Xu Meng—all top-tier Ability Users. They might all have come from the Garrison Troops or Demon Hunter ranks.

Zhuang Lin: "I don't know when she arrived in District 103. She hasn't shown herself in public for a very long time."

Because her appearance always shifted subtly, she could fool camera surveillance. Over the years, the Federation's manhunt had never produced any real results.

Zhuang Lin: "So far we've only identified her. Finding the others will take more time."

They'd only had the leads for a day. Uncovering a true identity in a single day was already impressive.

Zhu Ning: "I have new leads on my end."

She shared the information about the Ability Users that Wildcat had encountered, detailing each of their Abilities. Zhuang Lin was about to ask where this intel had come from, but one glance at Huo Wenxi's eyes silenced the question.

Zhuang Lin noted down the details and thanked Zhu Ning for the information.

Zhu Ning asked: "Any leads on the Church?"

Zhuang Lin: "Under Su He's Ability, no evidence survived. We suspect that Church only held symbolic significance—nothing substantive."

They simply needed something to rally their people around.

Zhuang Lin: "I'll continue tracking Su He. We've also followed up on another lead you provided."

Zhuang Lin: "You mentioned someone on their team has an Ability for pinpoint tracking, but they need DNA samples to use it."

Zhu Ning: "That's right."

Zhuang Lin: "There must be a mole inside the company. The Sanitation Center has your DNA on file, but only a limited number of people have access."

Zhu Ning: "My guess would be the Research Department, the Observation Room, or the Medical Department?"

She had to undergo data collection after every mission—those departments should all have her personal information.

Zhuang Lin: "The scope is actually wider—the Research Department, Medical Department, Center Assistant Fang Ying, and the Logistics Department."

Every mission required returning helmets and Protective Suits, which likely retained residual DNA. If someone in Logistics had the intent, they could easily collect DNA from every employee.

Zhuang Lin: "Departments like Medical are under strict oversight. The Team Leader believes Logistics is the most likely point of compromise."

Because Logistics appeared the most inconspicuous—just low-level support work. No one would normally be on guard there.

Zhuang Lin: "After you provided the information, the Team Leader immediately ordered the Logistics Department to submit to an investigation."

That same day, working overtime, the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team sealed off the Logistics Department office and summoned all employees back to the Center for questioning.

Zhuang Lin played the footage from that day for Zhu Ning. The team had requisitioned firearms and was authorized to carry while on duty. The instant they raided the office, everyone had to put down their work—any unnecessary movement would be treated as treason.

No wonder most people wanted nothing to do with the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team. Once they had their sights on you, you were as good as swallowed whole.

After they entered, most people raised their hands, cooperated willingly, and handed over all their documents.

But in a corner, a man of about forty had one hand secretly reaching for something, quickly drawing the team's attention.

"What do you think you're doing? Hands down." A team member barked: "Don't move!"

But it was too late. The man quickly pressed a button.

BANG—!

A bomb planted inside his heart detonated. The micro-explosive blasted a six-meter radius outward from his chest—flesh and blood spraying across the ceiling and surrounding workstations.

In the blink of an eye he was reduced to shreds, and the unfortunate soul standing next to him was killed in the blast.

Chaos erupted. Screams filled the air as the team scrambled to maintain order.

Even through the video, Zhu Ning could almost smell the blood. Now she understood the atmosphere when she'd walked into the Sanitation Center—something this massive had happened yesterday.

An employee self-detonating at work—that was bound to be the number-one story on the forum.

Zhuang Lin rewound the footage and paused one second before the man triggered the micro-bomb. He zoomed into the frame. It was blurry at first, but the professional player continuously adjusted the resolution until the image became clear again.

The man was smiling.

In the instant of detonation, he wore a smile—as if he could already see God welcoming him into paradise.

Zhu Ning frowned, completely unable to fathom how these lunatics' minds worked.

Zhuang Lin: "He killed himself shortly after we entered. The explosion resulted in two deaths and six injuries. The wounded are currently being treated in the Medical Department."

The others were simply ordinary workers who'd unknowingly shared a workplace with a madman, only to be blown up one day without warning.

What kind of antisocial personality was this?

In his eyes, had he thought he'd done a good deed—taking his colleagues to heaven with him before he died?

Zhuang Lin: "His name was Feng Yinhe. A Third-Class Citizen, a Replicant whose lifespan was nearly up."

Zhu Ning asked: "Anything unusual about him?"

Zhuang Lin pulled up his biographical info. "Nothing apparent. He'd worked at the Sanitation Center for eighteen years. His performance was unremarkable, and his coworkers described him as seeming quite honest."

Zhuang Lin: "His personal life was equally unremarkable—drinks and card games after work. He frequented a bar on Xinxi Street, which we're still investigating. But before he died, he destroyed his workstation in the blast—most of the documents were ruined."

Zhu Ning: "Dead end?"

Zhuang Lin: "Not exactly. We believe he chose to explode specifically to destroy evidence—which means his desk held clues, something he felt could expose the organization."

Zhuang Lin zoomed in on the image. All Zhu Ning could see was a stretch of charred rubble—nothing discernible whatsoever.

Zhuang Lin: "We have a restorer on our team whose Ability is object repair. We recovered the real clue."

The Abnormal Incident Investigation Team lived up to its reputation—hidden talent lurked among its ranks.

Zhuang Lin: "Among the restored items, we found a Steel Pen. Feng Yinhe used to stare at it during work, as if in prayer, but he always blocked the camera with his back. Since the pen was small, it had never been captured on footage."

A close-up of the pen appeared on screen. Along the edge of the cap was a line of text so tiny it could easily be overlooked: Resurrection Society.

That was the name of their organization.

That was the drawback of any organization—they needed some special symbol to rally their members. Feng Yinhe's dying act had been to destroy that pen.

Which only further proved it was the critical clue.

Zhu Ning had only been here fifteen minutes, and every piece of information Zhuang Lin presented was high-quality. They'd already found the most critical detail.

The professional team's investigative prowess utterly outclassed hers. Zhu Ning wondered—if she'd simply asked Huo Wenxi to investigate the truth of her own death from the start, would the case already be closed by now?

Zhu Ning couldn't help herself: "Impressive."

Incredibly impressive. It hadn't been long at all, and both the efficiency and quality left Zhu Ning in awe.

Zhuang Lin shook his head. "No—we still have nothing."

A hint of frustration crept into his voice. "As for what they're actually planning, what the Resurrection Society is, what 'Divine Descent' in eight days means—we currently know nothing."

Huo Wenxi: "The leads are converging. An intersection point is coming soon. You've all done well."

She had been silently listening the entire time. This was her first remark.

Zhuang Lin visibly relaxed at the praise, and so did the rest of the team. All those hours of overtime hadn't been in vain.

Zhu Ning understood Huo Wenxi's charisma as a leader—commanding the big picture, affirming hard work, never losing her temper, being the best kind of guide.

Anyone would gladly follow a leader like that.

Zhuang Lin: "I'll continue following up on Su He."

Huo Wenxi gave a nod. Another team member spoke up: "The beyond-the-wall investigation team has decided to return. They've sent a return signal and should arrive within the next couple of days."

Someone else added: "I'll stay on the bar."

Huo Wenxi: "Good."

She felt she'd almost grasped the truth—just a little more. Like fishing: the prey was already circling the bait. Now was not the time to panic—only to wait, calmly and unhurried.

Huo Wenxi was confident about this.

Zhu Ning: "I don't think there's any need for me here?"

She didn't understand why Huo Wenxi had summoned her. The entire team consisted of professional investigators with rock-solid skills.

Zhu Ning was just a garbage collector. She felt like a janitor who'd wandered into a boardroom meeting—she'd rather go ask the Cleanup Department for a mission to collect Contamination Spores and farm some life points.

Huo Wenxi was working on her Employee Wristband without looking up. "I have something for you to do."

Zhu Ning: "Name it."

Huo Wenxi: "I'm going to need you to help keep things under control shortly."

Keep things under control? What did that mean?

Zhu Ning was still pondering this when her Employee Wristband chimed with a ding-dong, a message popping up on the display.

[All District 103 employees are hereby notified: you have entered investigation-pending status. Employees who receive this notice are to assemble immediately in the ground-floor lobby and submit to orderly investigation by the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team.]

Ding-dong, ding-dong—every wristband in the office received the emergency notification.

Zhu Ning stared at the message blankly, taking a moment to process its meaning. Huo Wenxi's investigation this time targeted every employee in District 103?

Wasn't Huo Wenxi going a bit overboard? Zhu Ning knew the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team had authority to investigate anyone, but she'd never imagined such an outrageous power would actually be exercised.

Huo Wenxi had just sent the mass notification. "There are still people hiding in the company. I'm flushing out the moles."

Zhu Ning: "How do you plan to do that?"

Normally, catching a mole meant careful investigation, gathering evidence from multiple angles, staying under the radar, and then a surprise arrest—right?

Who did it this loudly?

Wait—Zhu Ning suddenly grasped Huo Wenxi's intention. Feng Yinhe from Logistics had killed himself the instant he saw the investigation team.

By notifying everyone that there were moles in the company, some people wouldn't be able to sit still. They'd either make a desperate move or self-destruct.

Nobody knew exactly how Huo Wenxi's Ability worked. People amplified their fear of the unknown—they'd start imagining there was no escaping her eyes.

Once fear set in, panic would follow. They couldn't guarantee they were flawless actors capable of fooling Huo Wenxi.

So when Huo Wenxi said she needed Zhu Ning to help keep things under control—she was using her as muscle?

It clicked for Zhu Ning. "I thought you were going to... keep a lower profile?"

Huo Wenxi: "There are only eight days left. How exactly do you propose keeping a low profile?"

If what Bao Ruiming said was true, then that bullshit Divine Descent was the apocalypse—and this was all the time they had.

With so little time, Huo Wenxi had no choice but to go hard.

Startling the snake would yield results—as long as you could keep control, the spooked serpent would panic right into the trap.

Zhu Ning thought to herself—Huo Wenxi truly was a boss. Her methods were beyond anything a small fry like herself could pull off.

Making this decision required judgment—and even more, nerves of steel. Huo Wenxi would bear the consequences of failure along with pressure from above.

Regardless of the outcome, she'd have to answer to every employee afterward. How would she stabilize things without throwing the entire company into chaos?

Zhu Ning didn't believe Huo Wenxi could do something like this without answering to her superiors. She truly was... formidable.

All team members received their orders and rose one by one to organize this unprecedented investigation.

Huo Wenxi handed the clothes Zhu Ning had returned to Zhuang Lin. A team member pinned a sheet of paper on the wall.

It read: Countdown—Day Eight.

Though no one knew whether the apocalypse would arrive in eight days, everyone carried on with their work in perfect order.

The team's morale was remarkably strong.

Zhu Ning cleared her throat and cautiously asked Huo Wenxi: "If I wanted to ask you for a Human-Machine Interface, would you give me one?"

She had asked Xu Meng to help find the device, which would require borrowing Xie Jiazu's connections. Now it seemed she didn't need to go through all that trouble—Huo Wenxi could probably just hand her one directly.

Huo Wenxi glanced back at Zhu Ning with a cigarette between her lips. "Don't push your luck."

She suspected she'd been too good to Zhu Ning—that she'd even dare make such a request. Privately connecting with Prometheus constituted a major violation. Huo Wenxi couldn't predict the consequences of a private link—giving her one meant losing control of the situation.

Huo Wenxi preferred keeping things firmly in her own hands.

Zhu Ning laughed it off. "Just asking."

"Zhu Ning," Huo Wenxi exhaled a plume of smoke. "Are you going to betray humanity?"

Zhu Ning held many secrets she hadn't shared. Huo Wenxi didn't fully trust her and hadn't abandoned her suspicions. They were merely cooperating temporarily because their interests aligned.

"How could I?" Zhu Ning met Huo Wenxi's interrogating gaze with a warm smile. "I'm totally harmless."

---

Author's Note:

The villain has been changed to Su He~

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