Chapter 33: Information Briefing
Chapter 33: Information Briefing
The satellite phone rang three days later, while Lu Xin was busy in his office.
With the jingling sound, everyone in the office suddenly turned to look at Lu Xin. It was silent and oppressive.
Calmly, Lu Xin pulled his satellite phone from the pale brown bag he carried, and walked out of the office.
This wasn’t the first time he’d faced such a scene.
It had been exactly the same three days ago, after dealing with the special contamination incident.
Back then, since Chen Jing hadn’t reached out to him, Lu Xin assumed the matter was concluded. So, the very next day, he dutifully returned to the company for work. What greeted him, however, was a sea of strange looks and an office that had suddenly become unnervingly quiet.
Lv Cheng, his face bruised and swollen, poked his head up from behind his cubicle partition to look at Lu Xin, his expression suggesting he was seeing a ghost.
“What’s wrong?”
Lu Xin, carrying his newly bought bag, looked curiously at the others. “Something wrong?”
With a sudden rustle, everyone immediately scattered, pretending to be buried in work, as if nothing was amiss.
Seeing this, Lu Xin ignored them and simply returned to his cubicle to attend to his regular duties. He kept in mind that he’d just landed a new project: purchasing a suitably large batch of rough-processed glass fiber filter cloths from Satellite City No.2 and transporting them to Bogu Technology in the Main City via Sifang Transportation Company. This was a big order; if handled well, the commission would be significant.
It took a full half hour before the Director finally approached Lu Xin’s cubicle and tentatively suggested, “Little Lu, come have a smoke?”
Lu Xin looked up at the sweaty Director. “Alright!”
Despite his heavy workload, well, the man was the Director after all…
They went to the stairwell corridor. The Director hurriedly offered Lu Xin a cigarette and even personally lit it for him.
“Little Lu ah,” the Director began, struggling to maintain composure, “heard there was some… trouble at Sifang Transportation Company yesterday?”
“Right!”
Lu Xin replied apologetically, “Really sorry about that, Director. Those guys were bullies. They beat up Liu Xiaoqing and Lv Cheng…”
He added earnestly, “But we weren’t at a disadvantage. I beat them too!”
“Ai… don’t say that! It wasn’t for us…” The Director, nearly scared out of his wits, shuddered violently and hurriedly denied it.
Then, realizing he might have overreacted, he ventured cautiously, “That… that is… you fired a shot… Are you okay?”
Lu Xin replied strangely, “Of course I am!”
The Director’s face twisted unnaturally. “The Guard Bureau hasn’t come for you?”
Lu Xin thought for a moment. “I did go to the Guard Bureau yesterday…”
The Director tensed up. “So…”
“I had a cup of coffee and came back!” Lu Xin took a drag from his cigarette, looking at the Director. “Their coffee’s better than ours.”
“Of course, of course…” The Director nodded repeatedly, looking like he might burst into tears.
He truly couldn’t comprehend how, in a Satellite City where firearm laws were so strict, someone could shoot people and walk away after just drinking coffee at the Guard Bureau. Even more baffling was how such a person had ended up as his subordinate. And most baffling of all, how had this person worked honestly under him for two or three years, seeming so straightforward and simple all that time?
“Director, don’t worry.”
Lu Xin, discerning the Director’s thoughts, looked at him sincerely. “I have connections.”
“I can see you have connections…” The Director’s smile was uglier than a grimace. “…Just didn’t realize your connections… were that formidable!”
Lu Xin, seeing the Director’s expression, actually felt quite pleased. He knew his work life would likely be smoother from now on.
Starting that day, Lu Xin returned to his tedious job. Yet, because someone was signing his paychecks, he remained highly motivated. Although “Princess” Xiaoqing and Lv Cheng had received a beating the day before, they still brought back a contract. The terms, including price, appeared quite reasonable. Lu Xin’s remaining task was simply to ensure this order was flawlessly executed.
Naturally, regarding the Sifang Transportation Company matter, Lu Xin had no idea how Chen Jing and the others handled it. The company shut its doors completely for two whole days. On the third day, its people suddenly reappeared and resumed business, as if nothing had happened.
Moreover, in subsequent dealings, no one ever mentioned Qin Ran again; it was like they had completely forgotten him.
Confusion aside, business was business. Lu Xin could clearly distinguish between the two.
He meticulously managed the order and even selected two people from the office to assist him.
One was Sister Sun, whose worst flaws were being a bit gossipy, money-hungry, and petty-minded, but otherwise sound.
The other was Brother Zhang, an okay guy aside from being somewhat lazy, fond of drinking, and prone to shirking responsibility.
“Princess” Xiaoqing, her face swollen from the beating, hadn’t shown up for work the past few days. Lv Cheng, despite his own injuries, had returned. Initially, he also wanted to stick with Lu Xin to see the project through. After all, he’d already been beaten. The project was getting back on track, and Lu Xin obviously had powerful connections – a potential “big fish” to latch onto. Why wouldn’t he seize the chance at such a crucial time?
The only issue was that he sometimes felt Lu Xin looking at him strangely.
He constantly sensed Lu Xin’s eyes drifting towards him, specifically… behind him.
Other times, he’d clearly feel Lu Xin watching him, but when he’d glance back furtively, Lu Xin would seem focused on his own tasks.
This persistent feeling left Lv Cheng deeply unsettled.
He might have endured even this… until one day, while Lu Xin was lifting his bag, a gun suddenly clattered to the floor.
Thud—
It was the final straw for Lv Cheng. He broke down completely.
After considerable deliberation, he finally decided he couldn’t take it any longer and voluntarily withdrew from the project.
Lu Xin thought he actually showed good judgment.
If he hadn’t withdrawn voluntarily, Lu Xin would have constantly worried about what his Little Sister might do to him…
…
Due to the groundwork laid over the past few days, when Lu Xin’s satellite phone rang this time, the entire office merely came to a simultaneous halt, glanced his way, and that was it – seemingly having developed an immunity to strangeness.
“Hello, Mr. Lu Xin. This is Han Bing from the Information Analysis Team of the Special Contaminant Cleanup Division!”
“I’m calling to brief you on the handling method and analysis results regarding Special Contaminant-041!”
Upon answering the call, Han Bing’s somewhat soft and sweet voice came through.
“Hello, hello! Go ahead!” Lu Xin, hidden in the hallway corridor, held the phone politely.
“Alright, alright!” Han Bing, sensing his politeness, became more courteous herself, her voice gentle. “Actually, this is standard procedure. After each psychic contamination incident is handled, corresponding analysis and processing are conducted. The results must always be provided to the special handling officers involved.”
Lu Xin hastened to reply politely again, “Thank you, thank you! Sorry for the trouble. Please proceed.”
“No trouble, it’s all part of the job…” Han Bing exchanged another pleasantry before continuing, “The current handling status for Special Contaminant—041 is: both the Special Contamination Source—041, comprising the corpses of Qin Ran and Cui Wang, have been transported to the Qinggang City Special Contamination Source Containment Center for secure storage!”
“The area where Qin Ran’s remains were discovered showed no residual traces of mental power upon re-inspection. Nonetheless, it has been cordoned off according to regulations, ensuring no biological entities enter that zone for the next year. As for the three members of the Stationed Investigation Team in City No.2 involved earlier, they have undergone a series of tests and psychological evaluations confirming no signs of contamination. They are currently on leave for recovery!”
“Oh, they also asked me to convey their heartfelt thanks to you for saving their lives!”
“…”
“Ah, they’re too polite. Just doing my duty!” Lu Xin paused for a moment before asking a question. “Wasn’t that source of contamination destroyed?”
Han Bing replied, “Further research is still needed. But rest assured, controllable sources with low threat coefficients are typically transferred to the Special Containment Center for secure storage. They have the most specialized facilities there to ensure contamination incidents do not recur.”
“Hmm, that’s good.” Lu Xin didn’t dwell on that point, instead asking what concerned him most: “So, how exactly did this whole incident start?”