Otherworldly Affairs Office

Pei Yan didn't even need to turn his head to know who was speaking behind him. Sure enough, Wang Wenze, holding a tray, and Liang Qian, pretending to be calm, appeared in front of him and sat next to Xia Yu.

"You didn't let Captain Hu block the door, did you?" Pei Yan jested while eating, even though Hu Wenjun had been promoted, they still habitually referred to him as Captain Hu.

"Nah, actually, I woke up when you got up, I just didn't feel like getting up in front of you." Wang Wenze candidly admitted.

"Hmm!" Facing Ye Jiumu's gossipy gaze, Pei Yan didn't say much, he kept his head down looking at his phone screen, eating while using his mind to scroll through trending news. Strangely enough, despite everything that happened last night, the news didn't cause ripples; the biggest trending topic was a rumor about a famous actress.

The confidentiality work was indeed well-done. While thinking this, Pei Yan entered the name of Jiangnan Town from last night and searched through the local forums and websites.

It seemed last night's incident did cause some ripples. Videos and photos of police and military vehicles deployed were uploaded on the local forum but weren't deleted. The comments varied, while the official explanation was that a wanted criminal involved in multiple homicides was on the run at the location. After being cornered, he hid in a watchman's small house and was successfully captured after a skirmish, sustaining minor injuries.

The notice also included a law enforcement video of the police capture operation. Pei Yan showed it to everyone; it was indeed that small brick house they had been in. The scenes of police breaking in and capturing the criminal were filmed as if it were real. Judging from the comments below, it was evident that most people accepted this explanation.

Seeing all this, Pei Yan, feeling rather touched, put away his phone. If it weren't for gaining this ability and joining the investigation bureau, he would probably be one of those bystanders, too.

In the following days, as expected, Pei Yan and the others didn't receive any mission notifications. But Pei Yan didn't idle; he first called his family and the elder sister far away in Shanghai, which was a privilege he gained after the Spring Festival to call home monthly to ensure their safety.

Upon learning through the call that his family was safe and unaffected by the previous night's events, Pei Yan talked with Engineer Li about the entire process of last night's battle and his equipment usage. Apparently, his usage of the new equipment brought Engineer Li to an excited state.

What made Pei Yan feel a bit uneasy was Engineer Li's infatuated look, staring at his left eye, as if hoping for a problem with it, so the Mechanical Eye could be implanted in him instead.

After expressing his amazement at the ability's wonders, Engineer Li finally returned to normal and apologized for his loss of composure. Then he stated that the next step in equipment enhancement had already been scheduled, only that the equipment's review wasn't complete due to the sudden enhancement of Pei Yan's abilities.

Pei Yan was anxious and a bit helpless, but there was nothing he could do. After joining the system, he gradually understood that many things have processes and aren't just how one wants them to be.

Engineer Li reassured Pei Yan not to worry. The special weapons and equipment were too valuable and hence complicated to review, but the special steel material Pei Yan absorbed earlier had now been delivered to the army, totaling four thousand tons, surely enough for him to absorb. Besides, an additional twenty engines were provided, and various other materials that he had absorbed last time were supplemented and increased. These items Pei Yan could collect after notifying the investigation office.

This news slightly comforted Pei Yan. After handling these matters, he underwent an eye diagnosis at the investigation office.

First, there was a checkup by professional military hospital doctors and equipment, followed by a diagnosis led by Elder Lin and several other supernaturals in the office. The entire diagnosis and treatment process lasted nearly a day.

Finally, Elder Lin stated that he had never seen this condition before. From a brain scan and internal investigation, a normal person facing such fatal injury would've been long dead and beyond saving. Yet, Pei Yan miraculously survived. Moreover, the mechanical nanomimicry tightly merged with his brain nerves, and forcibly removing the intracranial machinery might result in Pei Yan's instant death; even Elder Lin couldn't guarantee he could restore his brain at the moment of removing the machinery.

Receiving this news didn't surprise Pei Yan; all these were within his expectations. Finally, Elder Lin, using system prompts and assistance from Pei Yan, utilized his unique properties to aid in a closer merge between the mechanical nanos and his flesh, minimizing the possibility of side effects.

After completing these, with the approval of the office, Pei Yan returned to the Golden Eagle Team for a three-day visit, spending half a day absorbing the batch of materials mentioned by Engineer Li. Most materials were successfully absorbed, leaving over a thousand tons of special steel and three engines.

The system explained that absorption of such objects had almost reached saturation; they could still be absorbed but would not significantly enhance his abilities. To further increase his mechanical prowess, either enhancing personal ability awakening or improving material quality and technological level was needed.

Pei Yan understood this would take time, so in the next two and a half days, he mainly stayed in the dedicated power room to replenish his internal power supply.

After readjusting his body back to peak state, Pei Yan bid farewell to his friends in the military and returned to the investigation bureau.

By then, Wang Wenze and Liang Qian had already been sent on missions, and upon his return, Ye Jiumu handed him something prepared by Hu Wenjun for him.

Pei Yan took four eyepatches from Ye Jiumu, put one on his eye, looked at himself in the mirror, then turned to Ye Jiumu jokingly saying, "This is the brilliant solution the bureau came up with in four days. I look like a pirate captain!" As he said this, he mechanized his right hand into a large hook and mimed a couple of swashbuckling moves.

Seeing his antics, Xia Yu and the others burst out laughing. Finally, Zhao Yuanhu stepped forward, took an eyepatch from his hand, and demonstrated, "This eyepatch is treated and marked on the inside. Just channel your inherent energy into it, and it will camouflage itself to match the surrounding skin, creating the illusion of an eye."

Pei Yan looked at the eyepatch in Zhao Yuanhu's small hand, and as she urged her inherent energy, it gradually vanished, revealing an eye that blinked in its place. He found it fascinating and activated the eyepatch on his head.

As she said, the eyepatch gradually disappeared, and an eye slowly appeared in its place, though the skin color was slightly different. After careful adjustment of the original source by Pei Yan, the two merged harmoniously.

Looking at himself in the mirror, it seemed as though his left eye had grown back, just that upon closer inspection, it still had flaws, like it wasn't as lively as the right eye, and the gaze direction was inconsistent, sometimes causing a cross-eyed look. But Pei Yan was generally satisfied; most people shouldn't be able to notice the difference.

Reflecting on this, Pei Yan combed his hair, ensuring his bangs covered his left eye a bit, then stored the spare eyepatch in his dimensional ring, turning to the others with a question, "How do I look?"

"Not bad, pretty good; people who don't know won't be able to tell," Xia Yu observed for a while, nodding in approval.

"Do we have a mission then?"

"We don't, but you do! After you finish this mission, then we'll talk about other things!" Hearing Pei Yan's question, Ye Jiumu came forward, patted his shoulder, and with a sympathetic look, said.