Otherworldly Affairs Office

Facing Pei Yan's question, Liu Xiantong didn't say much. He stretched out his hand to take the lighter from Pei Yan and waved it in front of him before returning it to his hand and starting to smoke.

Pei Yan looked down at the lighter in his hand, then glanced at Liu Xiantong, his curiosity growing stronger, and asked in astonishment, "A lighter? You cultivators still use this thing?"

"Who said we used it! We cultivators certainly don't need it, but what about those mortals!" Saying this, Liu Xiantong stretched out his fingers and counted them: "You see, like a hand-cranked flashlight, a lighter, glass products, kerosene lamps, and sundry goods."

Speaking of this, Liu Xiantong paused and raised the cigarette in his hand: "Even this cigarette is a hard commodity among mortals and even mortal aristocracy. Tobacco leaves have been widely planted in the Daoist Realm, but unfortunately, perhaps due to incompatibility with the soil and water, the tobacco grown in our place is always inferior to yours here, only good enough for ordinary mortals to smoke. The best tobacco is still yours."

"There's that theory, so what's he earning? These things aren't worth anything by us."

"He earns a lot, don't think these things are given for free. Mortals have to plant spirit rice and mine spirit minerals for us to get these rewards. Mortals should willingly serve the Immortal Sect, but there are always some who are unwilling to lie dormant, causing multiple confrontations between the Immortal Sect and mortals. Now with him, as long as mortals work hard for the Immortal Sect, they can get these prizes to greatly improve their quality of life. How about it, we're merciful." Liu Xiantong said self-mockingly.

Pei Yan had not thought that this little thing in his hand could have such a large impact, yet half-believing, he asked further, "But isn't it easy for people of your ability to make such trinkets?"

"It's easy to make, except for tobacco, similar things can be made by any sect in our Daoist Realm. But who would bother for the sake of the lowly? Taking cheap materials from one group of ants to exchange for consoling another group of ants, killing two birds with one stone, why not?"

After hearing Liu Xiantong's words, Pei Yan rubbed the lighter in his hand—lowliest, ants?—it seems Captain Hu once said that the Daoist Realm cultivators view ordinary mortals as ants was not just an empty expression. Thinking of this, the last bit of fantasy he had about cultivation shattered. He casually put the lighter back into his pocket and changed the subject: "Then why do you persist in coming to our world of ants?"

Liu Xiantong looked complicated, gazed up at the sky, and murmured, "This world has more human kindness than ours."

Pei Yan was stunned upon hearing this. He hadn't expected to hear such a sentence from the other person, in an era where media criticizes the growing coldness of human relations in contemporary society, being evaluated by an outsider saying this place has more human warmth, how cold must people be in his world.

With such sentiments, Pei Yan concluded this mission; Liu Xiantong was very cooperative and seldom resisted when he couldn't outrun the Investigation Bureau once detected. This is why the people in the Investigation Bureau do not dislike him. As for Zhou Yinnong, Pei Yan hadn't exchanged a word with him during the entire operation; he was by Hu Wenjun's side until they returned together to the bureau.

The days that followed were still filled with training and missions running on both sides, and the only good news was that Shangxing could finally get out of bed. After receiving the notice from Elder Lin that it was okay to meet, Hu Wenjun led the group to visit Shangxing at the rehabilitation center specially established for the empowered.

When they arrived, Shangxing was undergoing rehabilitation exercises, and it could be seen from his state that he had recovered well over the past half month. The wounds on his arm had completely healed, and the formerly red and swollen abscess had disappeared. If it weren't for the short, mismatched hairs around the wound, it would almost be unnoticeable where a deep wound had penetrated to the bone before.

After exchanging pleasantries with his old superior Hu Wenjun, Shangxing asked about the recent situation in the team and, after learning that Pei Yan and Xia Yu had avenged the team by fiercely beating the Black-robed Man, he patted both their shoulders with satisfaction.

Based on Shangxing's current recovery condition, the doctor informed everyone that he could be discharged and would be able to resume work after more than a month. After repeatedly advising everyone to be safe, Pei Yan and the others left the gifts they brought and bid farewell as they left the clinic.

This time Pei Yan did not deliver the wrong gift, a whole fruit basket filled with lychees and grapes.

A few days later, in a small northern city, at the door of an apartment on the sixth floor in a residential area, Pei Yan and Ye Jiumu stood face to face at the iron door. Pei Yan's eyes darted around, and he looked somewhat nervous.

"Get to it, what are you waiting for? It's because I know you have this ability that I'm employing this method." Ye Jiumu said impatiently, watching Pei Yan hesitate.

Faced with Ye Jiumu's urging, Pei Yan sighed deeply, took a deep breath unwillingly, and extended his mechanized right hand. A stream of iron flowed into the keyhole from his fingertips. After a few clicks and the sound of the mech lock being released, Pei Yan retracted his ability and used his gloved left hand to open the door.

Watching Ye Jiumu, who had already put on foot covers, stride in like an arrow, Pei Yan muttered while putting on his own, "Doesn't this count as trespassing?"

"Trespassing is better than having the family killed by sudden monsters. Don't touch anything in the house, remember to close the door!" Ye Jiumu had entered and headed straight for the bathroom without looking back, reminding Pei Yan without a hint of courtesy.

Having thought that joining the Investigation Bureau meant being on the up and up, Pei Yan never dreamed he would again employ his abilities like a "thief." Although they weren't stealing anything and were doing this for the family's good, the approach of entering unannounced still made Pei Yan feel guilty. Seeing no one around, he hurriedly closed the door and followed inside.

Pei Yan arrived at the bathroom, watching Ye Jiumu take out a toolbox from the dimensional ring, and clumsily spray the inner source test liquid around the bathroom space. He casually asked: "Did we always do it this way?"

"Only occasionally, if really necessary. We use other methods like pretending to repair or check pipes. Ah! Now that population density is increasing, having dimensional rift points open in residential areas is something we've seen quite often, so troublesome!" Ye Jiumu said, retracting the sprayer, squinted for a while, and soon a faintly colored halo appeared in front of them. Seeing the tiny fissures on it, the two breathed a sigh of relief. The Investigation Bureau was indeed correct, it was not a wasted trip.

Just a day before, the Investigation Bureau detected an accumulative dimensional rift arising in the small city, and if not cleaned up quickly or patched, it could potentially result in a large-scale dimensional rift.

And the household Pei Yan was currently in was one of the key pivot points of this imminent dimensional rift. He and Ye Jiumu were both ordered to repair it.