Otherworldly Affairs Office

Pei Yan looked at the two big plates of fish in front of him and then looked at his teammate sitting across from him, sighing deeply as he picked up his chopsticks and tapped on the edge of the plate, "Is this what you call a mission?"

"Yes, Elder Lin said you must finish them all! Don't worry, as soon as the fish were brought back, they were immediately put in the freezer. I heard you were coming back yesterday, so they were taken out to defrost. Today, the head chef at the cafeteria specially made it for you. This is chopped chili fish head, and this is sweet and sour bighead carp," Ye Jiumu said while pointing at the two dishes on the table.

Pei Yan picked up a piece of the fish meat and looked at Xia Yu and the others pleadingly, "Oh, this fish is bighead carp? That's just fathead fish! But it's too much; I can't finish it all by myself! How about you guys have a taste too?"

"No can do; Elder Lin specifically instructed that you must finish it yourself. If you can't finish it this meal, put it in the fridge and continue next meal until it's gone. We're here to supervise you," Xia Yu repeatedly waved her hand to refuse.

Seeing he couldn't escape, Pei Yan helplessly picked up his chopsticks again, took a deep breath, and picked up a piece of the fish head meat and put it in his mouth. Hmm! Not bad, the taste is quite okay! Just like that, Pei Yan started to eat one bite of fish and one bite of rice voraciously.

But after just a couple of bites, Ye Jiumu reached over and took the rice bowl from Pei Yan's hands, advising, "Eat less rice and more fish. If you eat too much rice, you won't be able to eat the fish. Do you really want to eat this for several meals?"

Pei Yan thought about it, had no choice but to lower his head and start devouring large bites. Until his lips became swollen, his throat dry, and his stomach too stuffed to eat anymore, he finally cleaned the plate of chopped chili fish head.

Seeing him like this, Zhao Yuanhu got up and handed him a glass of iced tea, "If you can't eat anymore, then just leave it for the next meal."

Pei Yan stared at the remaining plate of sweet and sour bighead carp, nodding reluctantly, it could only be this way. And so, Pei Yan took an entire day and three meals to finally finish the whole bighead carp.

Leaning back on the dining hall chair, Pei Yan rolled his eyes in despair and stared at the ceiling. Every belch brought up the fishy smell; for the foreseeable future, he didn't want to touch fish again.

Ye Jiumu sat beside Pei Yan, patting his belly, which was swollen like a ball, and asked with a smile, "How do you feel now? Any changes?"

"No, other than feeling full and nauseous. I damn think that little girl is deliberately messing with me! Did you guys find out who she actually is?"

"No, she disappeared after we returned to the investigation bureau, and we asked others, but even Captain Hu said he'd never seen her or if he did, he's not telling us," Ye Jiumu replied with a smirk.

Pei Yan sat up, took a few sips of hot tea to cleanse the grease in his stomach, and asked softly, "So how's Shangxing's health now?"

Across from him, Xia Yu interjected, "He's awake but still can't see anyone; he needs to recuperate quietly. Let's wait for a bit, Elder Lin will inform us when it's okay to visit him. You should get a good rest tonight; we'll be heading out on a mission again tomorrow."

"Oh, just the four of us? What mission?" Pei Yan's interest was piqued upon hearing about the mission and he asked further.

"No, Captain Hu will be with us too. Due to the current situation, the bureau requires a team leader for on-site missions as a precaution. Since Shangxing is hospitalized, Captain Hu is temporarily stepping in for him," Ye Jiumu explained, pausing to toy with the pack of cigarettes in his hand, "The mission isn't much, just opening up some spots where other-dimensional energy is overly accumulated to release excess. Previously, two agents could handle such a task, but now who knows what we might run into, so we can't be careless and must be prepared for combat."

Pei Yan nodded in agreement to Ye Jiumu's words. At this point, Xia Yu pulled an earpiece out of her pocket and tossed it to him, saying, "Here you go, your newly issued audio translator, don't lose it this time, alright?"

"Hmm!"

The upcoming mission seemed to prove Ye Jiumu's worries were a bit excessive. After meeting up with Captain Hu, Pei Yan and his group only spent half a day smoothly completing this small task; the entire mission went without a hitch, with no unexpected incidents occurring.

Not only this mission, but all the tasks over the next half month were like this. After the disturbances from that one night, the other dimensions seemed to calm down, with no large-scale inter-dimensional invasion occurring.

Yet, Pei Yan and the others did not breathe a sigh of relief. Although there weren't any organized invasion plans, the fact was that the frequency of naturally occurring other-dimensional rifts did rise compared to before. The entire investigation bureau was now operating non-stop, rushing across the country.

During this period, Pei Yan participated in handling many small cases, broadening his knowledge and steadily increasing his strength. Whenever he had time to rest, he would immerse himself in training with his teammates and take weapon usage advice from Engineer Li, but Pei Yan felt it was not enough.

Even though Captain Hu often advised him against training too hard, saying that true strength comes from steady improvement, Pei Yan understood that he was right. Still, the series of crises had instilled in him a strong sense of urgency, and the shadow of inadequacy constantly loomed over him. He wanted to enhance his strength more quickly but couldn't find a suitable way.

And Pei Yan wasn't the only one feeling anxious. The investigation bureau's higher-ups were even more concerned. Unlike the agents who only had a vague sense of impending change through the sudden increase in tasks, those in power had access to much more information.

For instance, the other-dimensional raid that night wasn't just a regional incident in their country—it had extended globally, with similar incidents occurring in nearly every country. Fortunately, those countries with well-established other-dimensional investigation organizations managed to withstand this trial, effectively nipping the events in the bud.

Unfortunately, countries without even a solid government infrastructure weren't as lucky. In one African country, an entire village was massacred by unknown creatures that night.

Afterwards, an international investigation team set up in the village confirmed it was an inter-dimensional invasion. On one hand, they suppressed public opinion, blaming terrorist groups to divert attention, and on the other hand, they started working to find the true culprits behind the event. The world could not allow such unchecked malevolence.

The reason all countries were so diligent wasn't purely humanitarian; it was because exposure of the situation could trigger a chain reaction, causing societal upheaval. Therefore, the domestic investigation bureau sent key personnel to collaborate with international investigators on-site.

It was only the beginning!