Chapter 113: Surprise Inspection |
Shi Rang's cutlery paused in mid-air.
The only electronic signal source he could sense was the Management Authority's Special Communicator.
Although they didn't use letters for numbering, the overall format was completely consistent with the naming conventions of the Management Authority's Mobile Task Force. The other party was undoubtedly a member of the Mobile Task Force.
This was way too much of a coincidence.
He looked in the direction he was Sensing, feeling a little relieved when he confirmed his line of sight was still blocked by the sheer curtains.
The question now was, did the other party come alone just to have a normal meal, or were they acting as the vanguard?
Regardless of the situation, with someone from the Management Authority sitting in the same restaurant, he had lost his appetite completely.
"Should I make a trip back to the Tenth District and go over the paper itinerary once more?"
"Yes, we should leave a paper trail. Your identity is perfectly clean right now, and we can't afford any slip-ups here... Waiter!" Deacon Huo was clearly a bit unsettled by the arrival of the new customer as well, using the conversation as an excuse to call out past the curtain.
"Why are your desserts taking so long? We've been sitting here for ages and they still haven't arrived."
"I am so sorry, the kitchen is already rushing the order..."
"Just pack it up to go. We have urgent business and can't wait any longer."
"Right away, sir. I will go inform the kitchen." The waiter's attitude remained as excellent as ever as he pushed the dining cart and quickly departed.
"I'll have them use the VIP passage to send you and Jing Zi back. I will handle the Mini-Humans. After that, you can take the official route to the Second District, and we will meet up then." Deacon Huo took a small notebook out of his pocket and handed it to Shi Rang. "You can take a look at the Charity Foundation's situation. We'll discuss the specific mission later. Just treat it as a vacation and act natural."
Shi Rang tucked the notebook safely into his clothes.
With a portion of his mind still extended outward, he confirmed that Deacon Huo was somewhat anxiously waiting for the waiter to return and had nothing more to say to him. He Mounted onto the Mobile Task Force member's communicator, eavesdropping on the conversation at their table.
"Is this all the food you have? Why are there a few blank spots on the menu?"
"After you left a bad review last time, our restaurant improved... no, adjusted some of our dishes."
The squad member seemed to choke on his words, retorting stubbornly, "This is my first time at your restaurant."
"Understood, this is your first time here."
Shi Rang read the information on the communicator again.
The device was connected to a communications group. There were five other devices from the same Mobile Task Force online, all positioned not far outside the restaurant.
The likelihood that this squad member was the vanguard of an operation had just become much higher.
At this moment, the waiter finally returned, placing two exquisitely packaged gift boxes on the table. "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during your meal. Here are your takeout boxes, along with a complimentary gift..."
Deacon Huo pushed the curtain aside, and the waiter vanished instantly. Outside, there was only an empty hallway.
He picked up the gift boxes and took the lead.
Shi Rang whispered a warning to the empty space where the waiter had just been standing, "That new customer is a bit strange. Keep an eye out."
After saying that, he grabbed his gift and backpack, hurrying to catch up.
He desperately wanted to break into a run but was afraid of drawing too much attention. The moment they moved, all the communicators outside also began closing in on the restaurant.
The Mobile Task Force could breach the entrance at any moment.
The direction the two of them left in wasn't the main entrance, but the kitchen, which was similarly completely deserted and only stocked with various ingredients.
Before they had taken many steps, Jing Zi caught up with them, carrying a closed suitcase.
Deacon Huo pushed open a door leading to the cold storage room and stepped into the dark space behind it.
"We are heading to Exit Two. He is going to the VIP passage for the Tenth District."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud shout echoed from the direction of the restaurant's entrance. "Food Inspection Bureau! Surprise inspection!"
Shi Rang quickly shrank back into a dark corner.
Deacon Huo complained, "They won't even let people eat in peace."
Regardless of what methods the "Bad Review Juror" used for their inspection, the gunfire erupting outside proved that the process was absolutely not peaceful.
Amidst the noise of the firefight, the heavy door of the cold storage room swung shut.
The teleportation ended. Shi Rang was still standing in the darkness, but the sounds of battle had vanished.
He divided his attention to sense his surroundings and realized his Mounting hadn't been canceled by the displacement. He could still hear shouts of "We need backup!" and "The Entity is retreating toward the kitchen!"
Thank goodness he had run fast.
He wondered how it would all end...
Someone bumped his physical body. It was Jing Zi.
"I'll take you back."
"Are you going back to the Second District using Photographs afterward?" Shi Rang knew Jing Zi was too conspicuous and definitely wouldn't travel together with him.
"Yes, I'll head out as soon as you're settled."
"Won't using your ability continuously be a burden?"
"Burden? You mean a burden on me?" Jing Zi seemed to be hearing this kind of question for the first time. He paused for a moment. "No, there's no burden at all. It just consumes Photographs, that's all."
'So there really are Anomalous Effects that don't consume the user's own energy.'
Amidst the repeated flashes and tugs of teleportation on the return journey, Shi Rang committed this crucial point to memory. By the time he found himself standing in his own living room—less than three hours after making his grand vow to bring Ying Shang back—he slowly snapped out of his daze.
Only now did Jing Zi seem to relax a bit more.
When Deacon Huo was around, he had almost completely reverted to his original cold demeanor. "Thanks to you, Shi Rang, I got to enjoy a delicious meal. I used to run errands for Deacon Huo, but who knows, maybe I'll be running errands for you next. Perhaps we'll get along quite well."
"I can bring it up with him. I think he'll agree. What do you say?"
The brown-skinned young man lightly bumped his fist against Shi Rang's shoulder. "See you in the Second District."
Shi Rang waved goodbye to Jing Zi, who pulled a stack of Photographs from his fanny pack and vanished in a flash of light.
Standing in the living room with a backpack stuffed with a few changes of clothes, Shi Rang realized there wasn't much else to pack.
He lifted his foot, noticed the fresh footprint he had tracked onto the floor, took off his shoes, and wiped it clean. Afterward, he thought for a moment, then wrote a message on a Sticky Note and left it on the coffee table.
"Ying Shang, I've gone on a long trip. If you see this, send me an email, and I'll come back immediately!"
"This time doesn't count."
He pushed the front door open, took one final, genuine look around his cozy little home, and walked out.
Returning to the Second District openly and legally was simple; he just had to go straight to the embassy and "Surrender."
For citizens like Shi Rang, who had illegally resided in outer districts for so many years that they had exceeded the statute of limitations, the embassy was already used to it. He simply had to go through the "voluntary return to the district" procedure.
After signing a few documents, replacing his ID, and undergoing a medical examination, Shi Rang was confirmed to have no criminal record. He was then placed in a Hotel to wait for a flight back to his homeland the next day.
Shi Rang, whose whereabouts had been unknown for eight long years, was officially "resurrected" in the information databases from that moment on.
Shi Rang replaced his SIM card but didn't buy a new Mobile Phone. He figured Shi Shixin would most likely start harassing him the moment he caught wind of the news, and he had no desire to deal with that.
Now that he didn't have the Mini-Humans to chat with, the only things left to pass the time were that small notebook and the mysterious gift box.
He opened the small notebook and found that it contained investigation files regarding the Charity Foundation.
It might be more appropriate to call the Charity Foundation an "Orphan Rearing Foundation."
Their main "business" involved collecting subsidies from the regional government based on the number of orphans who had completed their compulsory education and either returned to society or been placed with foster families. They also collected repayments on assistance loans. And their net profits were terrifyingly high.
Shi Rang ran the numbers and discovered that this profit actually stemmed from the sheer volume of orphans and extremely low child-rearing costs.
Ying Shang had mentioned some of the days she spent in the Charity Foundation Campus. The living conditions back then were excellent, and she only experienced good things. She actually missed it quite a bit.
'If these costs aren't being skimmed from the orphans themselves...'
'Could it be that the Management Authority allowed the Charity Foundation to use an Anomaly Project to drive down their operating costs?'
'I always felt there were some unnecessary steps in all this.'
'If they wanted to make money using an Anomaly Project, was it really necessary to do it under the guise of charity? Wouldn't opening a factory be better?'
'Perhaps this is exactly why the Ascension Society is interested in Shi Shixin.'
Shi Rang soaked the notebook in water to destroy it. Once he finished cleaning up, he walked out and stared at the gift box.
If there was anything inside that couldn't be brought on a plane, it was best to eat it right now.
He lifted the lid of the gift box, and a wave of sinking white smoke cascaded out. The inside was lined with dry ice, and four exquisite, colorful eggs sat perfectly nestled within a bird's nest inside the box.
There was also an instruction manual at the bottom of the box.
After a quick glance to confirm that everything from the eggshells to the bird's nest was edible, Shi Rang tossed the manual aside and picked up—
—an egg, popping it into his mouth.
The eggshell was made of Chocolate. It was very crisp, crunching satisfyingly as he bit into it. The sweetness was perfectly balanced, and the core was soft and smooth, mixed with nuts and some kind of filling he couldn't quite identify. The sweet flavor completely soothed Shi Rang's anxiety, leaving him feeling light and floaty from head to toe...
Something that felt like a popping boba burst between his teeth, and a notification from his personal space suddenly popped up.
"Plunder Successful."
"New Anomalous Effect has been added to Records."
Shi Rang was confused for a second, but that inexplicable good mood continued to linger.
He calmly entered the space in the Terminal Station belonging to "Dump Truck" and opened his own Records.
"New Active Abilities: Tranquilizer Secretion, Chocolate Mimicry."