Otherworldly Affairs Office

Since their work was no longer required afterward, Pei Yan and the others left the site of the incident together with the convoy transporting Shangxing away.

Walking out of the thick fog, Pei Yan finally saw the armed police soldiers and the newly established cordon on the perimeter. It turned out they had already extended the cordon to the outer defense array; clearly, the next scene of teleporting the dragon was something these soldiers were not to witness.

Facing the curious gazes of the armed police soldiers, Pei Yan let go of one hand tightly holding the big fish in his arms and pressed down his hat to better cover his left eye.

It indeed became a problem now. When they received the notice to leave, everyone in the team activated their disguise imprints. He was no exception, but after activation, he discovered that the original disguise imprint couldn't cover his Mechanical Eye. Elder Lin and Elder Zuo specifically checked the imprint for him and proved that the imprint was not faulty; it was just that his new Mechanical Eye contained burgeoning essence and an extraordinary vitality, and this kind of power did not blend with the imprint's power, rendering the imprint unable to fully cover and disguise it.

Seeing this, Gu Shenghui promised to find a solution for him when they returned to the bureau. For now, in the absence of other means, Pei Yan had to take out a long-out-of-season cotton hat from his ring and tilt it onto his head to cover the overly conspicuous Mechanical Eye.

After verification and getting clearance, Pei Yan and the others boarded the bus that had been waiting outside. As the bus slowly started, Pei Yan leaned against the window, watching the scenery outside. This Jiangnan Town, where he had stayed for less than a day, left a deep impression on him, just like Hu Wenjun's hometown.

At this moment, a crowd of onlookers was already gathering on both sides of the street, standing at a distance, pointing and discussing the cordoned area. From time to time, some took out their phones to take photos and videos to upload. Evidently, tonight would be a sleepless night for them too. The speeding police and military cars made them uneasy and piqued their curiosity, but what exactly happened they might never know in their lifetime.

Sitting in the car, everyone knew they were only half an hour's drive from the Teleportation Array. Just endure it for a while, and they'd arrive. However, having battled all night, once they sunk into the comfortable seats, their tense nerves finally relaxed completely, and they fell asleep, leaning against each other, snoring in the swaying vehicle.

Pei Yan couldn't remember how he got off the car and entered the Teleportation Array to return to his dormitory that night. When he woke up again on the large dorm bed, he glanced at the clock, and it was already the next evening.

Turning his head to look at his bedside, Pei Yan felt full of malice. Wang Wenze was actually cuddling with Liang Qian on the same bed. By the look of it, they had lain down fully clothed and fallen asleep quickly, without time or energy to indulge in anything amorous.

Although Pei Yan harbored the anger of a single person, he couldn't bring himself to spoil others' intimate moments. Turning around, he glanced around and didn't spot the fish he brought back, thinking it was taken by colleagues, so he picked up his toiletries and headed to the bathroom.

He washed his face thoroughly to wake up properly. Suddenly, he looked up and saw his Mechanical Eye in the glass mirror. He couldn't help but reach out and gently touch it.

The last battle made him abandon his naivety; this battle made him lose his left eye. What would he lose in the next battle?

Whenever people lose something, they seek something else to fill the void; some are good, some are bad. Losing naivety allowed him to grow, but losing his left eye? Would it make him seem more like a monster?

If in the end, he replaced every part of himself like the Ship of Theseus, would he still be himself?

There are some things a person must never lose. To not lose the most important ones, he must become stronger!

Thinking of this, Pei Yan touched his left eye. If losing this eye would make him stronger, then it wouldn't be a loss!

After freshening up, fearing being a third wheel, Pei Yan didn't return to the dormitory. He placed his toiletries in a corner and went directly downstairs to the canteen.

Pei Yan, thinking he had missed the meal time and prepared to order some takeout if necessary, was shocked upon arriving at the canteen. Usually deserted at this hour, it was now bustling with people continually coming in to order and others leaving quickly after eating.

Startled by the many unfamiliar faces coming and going, Pei Yan suddenly heard someone calling his name. He followed the voice and saw Xia Yu and Ye Jiumu waving at him from a corner of the canteen!

Pei Yan waved back to signal them to wait, quickly got his meal at the canteen entrance, and sat beside Ye Jiumu while holding his tray: "How come there're so many people at this hour?"

"Busy! The whole Investigation Office is operating at high speed now. The canteen supplies hot meals around the clock to ensure that the personnel returning from outside can get a hot meal and set out on missions promptly." With that, Ye Jiumu tore apart a bun and stuffed it in his mouth, speaking in a muffled voice.

Pei Yan, with his hand paused in mid-air holding stewed pork, asked in astonishment: "That busy?"

"Yes, there were over twenty crossover incidents just yesterday, and the follow-up work is still not fully handled. Today, four or five dimensional cracks were sporadically discovered, and it is said that the people from Shen Yu are also behaving suspiciously. While we were fighting fiercely, a monitoring station at the Southern Border detected an entry of an extraordinary individual and issued an alert; not long after, it was destroyed. In the monitoring station, three people responsible for surveillance and six armed police officers sacrificed their lives. A breach appeared in the Southern monitoring system. The bureau just issued an announcement and sent specialists to investigate." Xia Yu replied, somewhat disheartened.

"Damn it, it's those damn bastards from Shen Yu again. What the hell do they want? While we're risking our lives here, they're stabbing us in the back!" Hearing the term Shen Yu, Pei Yan's forehead veins bulged, and he growled in a low voice.

Apparently, his voice was a bit loud, and the noisy canteen fell silent instantly at his outburst, with countless eyes turning their way. Seeing this, Ye Jiumu stood up and waved: "Continue eating, continue eating! My colleague got a bit excited!"

When the chatter in the canteen resumed and things returned to normal, Ye Jiumu sat back down, patting Pei Yan on the shoulder: "Stay calm, don't get angry. They're just that kind of people! Given the current situation, I reckon we won't have more than two days of rest before we have to go on another mission, so be ready."

"I'm fine!" Pei Yan said and paused, touching his left eye, "Still a bit of an issue though, one is I need Elder Lin to see if there'll be any aftereffects with my left eye, and two is the disguise problem. I can't always go out wearing sunglasses."

"No worries. Just now, I ran into Captain Hu. He happened to be looking for you. Seeing you weren't around, he asked me to let you know that the issue with disguising your eye is being addressed and should be resolved within these couple days, just in time for us to have a break."