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Translator's note: Well… I've suffered from irritable bowel disease since I was young so I totally get Bai. Poor guy, may him rest in peace.
Ed Note: I was ready for some action, not Bai Qi's backstory lol
When Fang Xiu heard the mention of "spiritual coins" and "spiritual incense", his mind began buzzing with thoughts.
Even though he had seen pictures of these things on the Specter forum, he had never come across them in person.
The spiritual coins were kind of a unique form of currency among psychics, though not many use them like regular money. In reality, these coins are more like materials crafted from Spiritual Energy, a type of metal imbued with spiritual properties. It was almost like a tangible manifestation of one's mental energy.
This special metal was created by the higher-ups at the Investigation Bureau headquarters and it has the ability to channel Spiritual Energy.
It held immense value because of its ability to channel Spiritual Energy. Psychics could use these coins to craft items like weapons and armor. Conventional weapons and armor were often ineffective against Specters, but objects forged from this mind-metal can actually fight back against them, provided one infused them with Spiritual Energy.
Tools and weapons played a huge role in this world. One of the reasons humans climbed to the top of the food chain was because of how they crafted and utilized weapons and tools. When ordinary items proved ineffective against Specters, using tools made from this mind-metal became incredibly crucial.
As for the spiritual incense, it was another valuable creation from the Investigation Bureau headquarters. This incense served the purpose of soothing psychics when their minds began to waver.
Being a psychic wasn't easy, and one's mind could become quite turbulent. As a psychic grew stronger, their mental state could become even more precarious, leading to instability. However, this incense acted as a protective barrier, helping to keep negative effects at bay and functioning as a safety net for psychics.
Wang Dehai was busy making call after call, rallying numerous resources and personnel. The influence and capability of the Investigation Bureau were evident during times like this.
He was in charge of coordinating everyone and everything. Once he was done making his calls, he noticed Fang Xiu still standing there. He instructed his assistant to lead Fang Xiu to a room where he could relax. He also directed Shen Lingxue to convene an emergency meeting.
After giving orders, Wang Dehai walked away with Shen Lingxue, and Xiao Wang guided Fang Xiu to a place where he could sit and relax.
In that room, Fang Xiu was coolly having some tea, but his mind was running a mile a minute. He was wondering if the top psychic in Greenvine had really been defeated that easily, just by two Specters, they must have been really powerful Specters.
It showcased just how fragile humans can be. Even with Spiritual Energy, humans were still no match for Specters.
The "doctor" at the Green Mountain Mental Hospital served as a clear example of this. She wasn't a powerful Specter, but her skin was as hard as metal, so regular guns couldn't do anything to her.
On the other hand, while a psychic could amplify their Spiritual Energy, enabling them to harness more of their muscle power and become significantly stronger than the average person, they could still be injured or even killed by a bullet.
This is the big difference between a human and a Specter.
The problem is, psychics couldn't afford to mess up. Despite their remarkable abilities, their bodies are still made of flesh and blood. A small mistake can end up with them getting killed by a Specter, just like what happened to Bai Qi when he was caught off guard and killed.
It wasn't the same for Specters. They have remarkable powers too but they can mess up many times without dying, which makes it really hard for a psychic to take them down with just one hit.
It felt like an uneven playing field, where Specters could mess up multiple times, while psychics couldn't afford a single misstep. How could anyone fight with odds like that?
But Fang Xiu wasn't worried about this disadvantage. The ones who were really weak were the other psychics, not him. When a Specter met him, their roles would be switched. He was the one who could mess up a bunch, or even a million times, which no Specter could compete with.
So, Fang Xiu just sat there quietly in the break room. Looking out the window, he could see a lot of workers running around in a frenzy. It was obvious that Bai Qi's death was a huge deal, big enough to shake up the whole of Greenvine.
As the afternoon rolled around, Fang Xiu figured that the first part of dealing with this problem was probably done. It was time to get moving. He wasn't planning on just sitting around the whole day.
He then looked at the young man sitting next to him. He had looked really pale the entire morning and hadn't managed to shake it off. It wasn't clear if he was upset about Bai Qi dying or worried that people would blame him for not doing his intelligence job properly.
Fang Xiu slowly stood up and walked over to him. It was only then that the young man noticed him.
"You—"
Before he could say anything else, he got a hard hit on the back of his neck.
The young man was knocked out cold, falling limp immediately.
Then, Fang Xiu quickly stripped him of his work uniform and put it on himself. With that, he stepped out of the room.
He was planning to blend in as a worker to sneak around and gather some intel. Normally, this disguise wouldn't work, but the Investigation Bureau was all over the place because of Bai Qi's death, which made this the perfect opportunity.
He carried some papers in his hand, acting like he was in a rush just like everyone else, and he started walking around the bureau without anyone stopping him. Then, he channeled his Spiritual Energy, significantly enhancing his hearing. Now, he could hear every little conversation and phone calls happening in the offices and the hallways.
"I can't believe Vice-Captain Bai is gone. Sure, he was kind of distant, but he was also the strongest one here in Greenvine City. It's crazy to think that someone that strong just died, just like that."
"Totally, who saw this coming? I think this could have been avoided, you know. It's all because Captain Yang and Vice-Captain Bai couldn't get along and were always trying to one-up each other. If they had just worked together, the vice-captain would never have gotten caught off guard and killed."
"Hey Li, I'm kind of new here. Could you explain what the beef between Captain Yang and Vice-Captain Bai was?"
"Oh, it wasn't anything serious, just two big egos clashing. Everyone knew that Vice-Captain Bai was the strongest, but when it was time to pick a new captain, Captain Yang was promoted instead. Vice-Captain Bai never really got over that."
"Wait, if Vice-Captain Bai was the strongest in the city, how did he lose to Captain Yang?"
"Heh, that's all thanks to Captain Yang's special ability. Do you know what it is?"
"I think I heard someone say it has something to do with luck?"
"Yeah, you got it. Captain Yang Ming has luck on his side. It pretty much just brings good luck and that's it, which is why other psychics from different Investigation Bureau make fun of him for being the weakest captain."
"So, how did someone like that manage to beat Vice-Captain Bai? Vice-Captain Bai was supposed to be unbeatable among the second-tier psychics."
"Well, what do you think? Just a lucky break, really. Nobody knows exactly what Bai ate that made him sick, but right at the start of their fight, he needed to go to the bathroom really badly. He was scared of having an accident if he fought too hard, so he held back. Captain Yang might not be all that powerful, but he's still a second-tier psychic. Against someone who wasn't fighting back full-on, it was an easy win."
"What? Really? Why didn't Vice-Captain Bai just ask for a time-out?"
"You clearly don't know Vice-Captain Bai at all. He was the kind of guy who didn't show weakness, ever. Asking for a break to use the restroom in front of a crowd would have been way worse for him than just losing. So, he just sucked it up and fought anyway. Poor vice-captain thought no one knew about his stomach troubles, but the psychics there had really good noses—they totally knew something was up."