Chapter 26: Silencing Guan Shan with One Sentence |
Lin Shuman felt as if the world had changed after waking up.
Listening to the information relayed by the vice-captain, she was utterly confused, feeling as if she had missed an advanced calculus lecture.
"'Death Hive' sent a C-class member and a D-class member to attack Guan Shan. Instructor Xia led a team in an ambush, but they were teleported away by the enemy's space manipulator, and the team members were trapped in illusions…"
"About ten minutes later, the space manipulator died, the team members broke free, and when they arrived at the scene, both 'Death Hive' members and He Jiang from Team Four were already dead, leaving only charred remains."
Lin Shuman, still groggy, felt a chill run down her spine at the mention of He Jiang.
He Jiang, who had the C-class "High-Speed Regeneration" ability, had died on the spot, indicating he had suffered an instantly fatal injury that was impossible to heal.
Instant kill!
This attack must have been extremely fierce.
But in the end, the attackers were all killed.
"Wait, what about Guan Shan?"
Lin Shuman instinctively felt a surge of anxiety.
The vice-captain hadn't mentioned Guan Shan, and if even a C-class power user died, could it be that Guan Shan also went down fighting?
In Lin Shuman's view, although Guan Shan had initially killed the Zhao couple violently, it was self-defense since they had lured him into a trap.
...Even though his self-defense method was somewhat terrifying.
However, during her day-long observation, Guan Shan had appeared to be just a normal, diligent journalist.
As a low-level employee of the Special Security Group, Lin Shuman had empathized with Guan Shan's attitude when facing Jiang Siyuan, which is why she had pretended to be a ghost to scare Jiang Siyuan.
To her, Guan Shan was scary but also a vivid, flesh-and-blood person.
Lin Shuman did not want to witness the death of someone she was observing. If that happened... she would be upset for days.
The vice-captain said, "Oh, I was just about to tell you about him… The higher-ups want you to continue observing Guan Shan, and this time it's a long-term task."
"In other words, your job now is to follow him daily and report his actions regularly."
Lin Shuman was stunned. "He's... not dead?"
"Dead? What are you talking about?"
The vice-captain was puzzled. "He's perfectly fine, just slightly injured. He should be discharged today."
He sighed, "I have no idea who this guy is, but Instructor Xia seems reluctant to recruit him and is applying for a special non-staff member status for him."
"Alright, stop dawdling. Hurry up and get going. I'll send you Guan Shan's location."
Lin Shuman, still dazed, stared at the sent location.
He killed a C-class ability user...
The vice-captain suddenly asked, "By the way, did you use your ability to scare Jiang Siyuan during your mission yesterday, causing him to be hospitalized?"
Lin Shuman: "..."
Ahhh, how did even the vice-captain find out?!
Wasn't it a private contact with Instructor Xia?!
The vice-captain continued, "If it weren't for Instructor Xia's leniency, you could have caused trouble. Remember this lesson and don't repeat it. Understood?"
Lin Shuman, covering her face, muttered, "...Got it."
How many people know about this?!
Sobbing, she felt too embarrassed to face anyone…
Silently, she activated her ability to erase her presence.
---
Walking into the house and turning past the entrance.
Guan Shan saw that the area meant to be a living room had the sofa pushed aside, with a PS5 connected to the TV. On the coffee table was an open box of pizza and a can of cola.
Some pizza had been knocked over, creating a mess.
It was clear how anxious Shen Dinghua had been when she got the news.
Guan Shan crouched down, examining the almost solidified pizza crust. He immediately noticed half of it was missing.
Meticulously, he pieced together the fallen slices, counting them with a look of surprise, "Huh? Why is so much missing? Was it stolen by rats?"
Cleaning his fingers, he stroked his chin in thought, "Xiao Shen, do you have any clues?"
Shen Dinghua crouched down, hugging her knees, and tilted her head innocently, "Oh dear, I don't know. Maybe a big rat got into the house."
Guan Shan tapped her head lightly, "Always acting cute. You're the big rat that's going to eat me out of house and home."
Shen Dinghua pouted, "It's Xiao Shan's fault for not showing up. I had to pitifully munch on pizza, only to get the news of your car accident."
Guan Shan suddenly remembered that Shen Dinghua was the only person who knew he had taken the bus last night.
Who knew if those people would come asking Shen Dinghua?
No, he had to keep it hidden.
"Xiao Shen," Guan Shan seriously held her shoulders, "Remember, last night I walked home alone and encountered that exploding bus on the way."
Although confused, Shen Dinghua always supported Guan Shan unconditionally if he was serious.
She blinked, "Okay, Xiao Shan walked home alone... I remember. Is there a reward?"
Guan Shan pointed at the dirty floor, "The reward is that you don't have to clean."
Shen Dinghua pouted, looking disappointed like a wilting sunflower.
What were you expecting?
Amused, Guan Shan said, "Go take a shower and change your clothes. I'll help you clean up."
Shen Dinghua muttered, "What's so good about that? We can call the cleaning lady. The carpet's dirty too. You can't wash it yourself."
"..."
Guan Shan's face twitched.
Almost forgot, the girl before him had a wealth gap… Damn capitalist! Seeing Guan Shan's dark expression, Shen Dinghua stuck out her tongue and quickly ran upstairs.
She hurried upstairs for a shower.
Guan Shan shook his head, tidied up the table and floor, and bagged the trash, leaving the rest for the cleaning lady.
At this moment, his phone rang.
Looking at the screen, he saw it was Li Zhiying.
"The editor-in-chief?"
Guan Shan was puzzled, feeling guilty.
After all, he had just taken on an important task, but he was out "gathering material" the next day, which didn't seem reliable...
But with Director Peng covering for him, it should be fine if he got the content today.
Answering the call, he heard, "Guan Shan? Are you out gathering material today?"
Guan Shan responded, "Yes, editor-in-chief. I noticed our archive lacked recent fire incident materials, so I planned to interview some recent cases."
"Your dedication is commendable," Li Zhiying praised, then shifted tone, "But there's another task."
"Uh..." Guan Shan was about to speak when Li Zhiying added, "You'll get overtime pay."
Guan Shan fell silent.