Chapter 109: Prologue 2 - Bringing Up the Past |
Shi Rang typed away at his computer, occasionally glancing at the bedroom door and straining his ears for any sounds outside. Then, he pulled out the Character Card hidden under his bed, verified the character persona he had constructed in his mind, and went back to fabricating intelligence.
This intelligence would serve as his alibi. If he was officially meeting with an Informant from his organization when the news broke, it would be impossible for him to be caught up in the crossfire on the turf of the Ascension Society and the Bureau.
A drunkard lingering near the access road to the facility noticing a transport vehicle after a night of heavy drinking...
An intern Field Agent working undercover in the Field Department accidentally overhearing a conversation between superiors...
A plain, low-level corporate clerk discovering that the orders on hand might be coming from a certain containment facility belonging to the Bureau...
Fabricating intelligence was no easy task. As the "boss" of the organization, Shi Rang had to gradually "get to know" these Informants under his command so he could add more convincing details to their daily lives.
It was not until lunchtime that Shi Rang finally snapped out of his focused state. Browsing through the completed intelligence, he initially intended to admire the rich details he had incorporated. Instead, he realized he had written a massive amount of text about food. Imagining a feast to curb his appetite simply did not work. The more he thought about it, the hungrier he became, and his stomach began to rumble like a beating drum.
Unresigned, Shi Rang got up and began a treasure hunt for food in his own home.
After he left the room, the bedroom fell completely silent, even on the scale of the Mini-Humans.
For the newly arrived townsfolk, this was a tragedy piled upon another tragedy.
In this desolate landscape, even the argument currently breaking out in the center of town failed to drum up much interest from them.
When Shi Rang returned to the room with a pack of cookies, absolutely no one cared about the quarreling parties anymore.
Every last townsman swarmed into the streets, raising their hands high and jumping for joy toward the god-like giant who had brought them food.
However, Jack still cared about the dispute.
"An argument?" Shi Rang handed the round cookie in his hand to Jack, then took out a few more pieces and placed them in an empty clearing at the corner of the town. He stacked them into a small mountain one by one, watching the pile slowly vanish as the swarming Mini-Humans devoured it. It gave him a pleasant sensation akin to keeping an ant farm. "What are they arguing about?"
"The Sheriff is arguing with the newly arrived adults. It seems to be a dispute about who gets to be the Sheriff... but I don't really understand it either."
"That's completely normal. After all, a group of new townsfolk roughly equal to your original population just arrived. Clashes are bound to happen."
Jack did not really understand and focused entirely on gnawing his cookie. After swallowing a mouthful a moment later, he gasped in amazement, "How did you conjure these cookies out of thin air?"
"I got them from trading away a cat a while ago. I stuffed them in the cabinet and completely forgot about them. I guess it's a reward for my good deed. Just eat up for now. At the very least, it's food. I'll go get you all some water." Shi Rang was just about to leave when he hit the brakes and stopped. "If a physical fight breaks out, come tell me immediately."
"I guarantee the mission will be accomplished!" The miniature boy gave him a sloppy, non-standard salute.
Only then did Shi Rang leave the bedroom.
In the end, the tiny squabble quietly concluded. Shi Rang sent out four intelligence reports to fool the Alliance, and all of the feline gifts were completely distributed.
Unable to find an opportunity to contact his handler in the Ascension Society, the day simply came to an end.
A few packs of cookies were far from filling. Lying in bed that night, Shi Rang was still so ravenous that he could not fall asleep.
Bored out of his mind, he started fantasizing about what the world would look like if all of humanity possessed Rapid Regeneration. As his thoughts drifted, he suddenly realized that his current situation was incredibly complicated.
A disloyal member of the Ascension Society was acting as a spy for the Alliance to probe the Bureau, while this spy himself was secretly a fake Council Member of the Bureau...
What kind of absurd mess was this?
After tossing and turning for a while, Shi Rang finally drifted off to sleep. It felt as though he had only closed his eyes for a brief moment when a sudden itch in his ear woke him up.
"Shi Rang, that man left the house. Before he walked out, he even took a picture in the living room."
'It's the Mini-Humans,' Shi Rang's groggy brain thought. He dropped his hand, abandoning the urge to dig in his ear, and rolled over.
"Shi Rang, wake up! He's been gone for two hours!"
"What...?"
Unable to even pry his eyes open, Shi Rang rolled back over. He struggled to prop up his upper body but immediately collapsed from exhaustion. He fought a battle of wills against his bed, performing a series of awkward sideways sit-ups before finally managing to sit upright.
The voice speaking into his ear seemed to belong to the Sheriff. And the only person in this house capable of walking out the front door was...
'Did Jing Zi go to contact his superiors?'
Shi Rang threw on his clothes and pants, staggering groggily to the door. Leaning against the doorframe for support, he pulled it open.
Right at that exact moment, accompanied by a bright flash of light, two silhouettes materialized in the living room.
Jing Zi waved his hand to close the Reality Rift. He shot a surprised glance at Shi Rang before introducing him to the person standing beside him. "Deacon Huo, this is him."
"Am I to understand that the intelligence Director Bjorn traded for has somehow turned into a living person, and that before she died, Leader Qin took it upon herself to negotiate a money-losing deal?"
The man in the suit made no effort to hide his contempt and suspicion. He roughly skimmed his gaze over Shi Rang's exposed, bone-thin wrists and ankles before looking away. Although he was also of Asian descent, and from his facial features appeared to be a fellow countryman of Shi Rang's, his obnoxious and off-putting expression stripped away any sense of kinship Shi Rang might have felt.
"Sit. Let's talk."
Acting as if he owned the place, Deacon Huo claimed the middle of the sofa, forcing Shi Rang and Jing Zi to squeeze onto the smaller side seats. He leaned back comfortably against the exposed sofa cushions without a care in the world.
"I have no intention of honoring a deal made with a dead woman. The Ascension Society's ultimate goal is to defeat the Bureau and the Alliance to establish a new order. We don't need dead weight dragging us down. Hand over the intelligence smoothly, and we'll cut all ties from here on out."
Shi Rang's exact fear had just materialized.
He was already deeply entangled in the Field Agent's death and the ambush on the Ascension Society. If he handed over the intelligence now, he would be thrown back into a state of total isolation, utterly helpless and stripped of all his bargaining chips.
Just like the Alliance, the Ascension Society represented a source of power he could borrow without needing to use Tampering. Furthermore, he could directly interact with the Ascension Society without having to wear his Mask. Because they were openly hostile toward the Bureau, they were currently the organization most likely to aid him. The Alliance would never fall out with the Bureau just to help him find Ying Shang. He desperately needed a pawn he could manipulate.
"My wife's disappearance is highly abnormal. I imagine the organization would be intrigued by the hidden conspiracy behind it, and I can provide clues. Besides, I also possess an Anomalous Effect. I'm far more capable than you realize."
"Is that so?" Deacon Huo sneered. "Do you know how to use a gun?"
Shi Rang froze for a moment. "No."
"Any military experience?"
"No."
"Tracking, deep cover infiltration, physical disguise?"
"I—"
"Cryptography? Management? Scientific research?"
"I understand history..."
"Am I not making myself abundantly clear?" Deacon Huo threw his hands up in exasperation. "What exact qualifications do you possess to join our organization?"
Shi Rang was left entirely speechless. Every single interrogation from the man struck his face like a sharp slap.
He could not help but clench his fists, his nails digging deeply into his palms.
It was the harsh truth. He was far too weak.
He lacked any heavily valued expertise, possessed zero martial prowess, and the Anomalous Effect he so heavily relied on could only be utilized from behind the scenes. He could only operate from the shadows—borrowing the blades of others to strike his enemies, or hiding behind the fearsome reputation of stronger entities to mask his own weakness. If his powers ever spiraled out of control, they would spark unmanageable disasters.
In such a perilous world, was he fated to be nothing more than the man pouring oil onto roaring flames?
If the Ascension Society was dead set on seizing his bargaining chips without letting him borrow their influence, would he be forced to defect to the Alliance instead?
Shi Rang suddenly realized that the previous incident—where he had accidentally drawn in the Alliance and nearly blown himself up in the process—had actually given him an epiphany. If he could simply eliminate every single Informed Person, there would be no one left alive to leak the secret of his Anomalous Effect. That would instantly free him from his current predicament.
Physically and mentally exhausted, he found himself seduced by this crude but effective idea and began to plot in secret.
Perhaps he could use Tampering on a certain Anomaly to assist him...
Or perhaps he could manipulate a Mobile Task Force from the Bureau...
If only he had more power to call his own.
Shi Rang's face was etched with anger and resentment. His thoughts spun wildly, swirling with a viciousness so venomous that it felt entirely alien, even to himself.
Jing Zi sat beside him, wanting to speak up on Shi Rang's behalf. But the moment he opened his mouth, Deacon Huo shot him a glaring look that choked the words right back down his throat. Jing Zi had no choice but to lower his eyes and resume his cold, indifferent facade.
Deacon Huo fully assumed he had Shi Rang backed completely into a corner. It never once crossed his mind that Shi Rang was actively calculating how to violently silence every Informed Person in the room, himself included. He pulled out his mobile phone and slid it across the coffee table, the screen brightly displaying Shi Rang's personal information.
"You haven't even paid off your mortgage. You're as poor as a church mouse, and you completely lack any viable skills. Nurturing a member from scratch requires vast resources, and the Ascension Society isn't a charity. We're in the business of risking our lives. With nothing but a pitiful little Anomalous Effect to your name, you'd be better off obediently hiding away and living out your miserable days before the Alliance inevitably wipes you out, Shi Tian—hm?"
Deacon Huo suddenly craned his neck, closely examining the "Birthplace Registration" at the very top of the document. Shi Rang instinctively followed his gaze.
It was his registration information from before he became an Undocumented Person.
"Twenty-eight years old, surname Shi, and also born in Donglin Province of the Second District... It can't be."
Deacon Huo finally took the time to seriously analyze Shi Rang from head to toe. He specifically locked his gaze onto Shi Rang's face, studying it with an intensity that made Shi Rang squirm with total discomfort.
"Who is Shi Shixin to you?"