Chapter 180: The Drunkard’s Invitation
Chapter 180: The Drunkard’s Invitation
“Ah…”
A look of surprise flashed across the young man’s face. He wanted to argue but found himself at a loss for words.
“Of course…”
Another taller staff member chuckled as he spoke. “We wouldn’t lower the evaluation just because the Lone Soldier requested the City Patrol Army’s assistance. In fact, whether the idea came from him or his Information Analysis Specialist, the fact that he could request the City Patrol Army’s cooperation is a good thing… We’re not afraid of Ability Users seeking cooperation; we’re afraid of Ability Users refusing to cooperate.”
“So, giving him this evaluation is already quite fair, especially considering he’s reportedly still a rookie…”
“…”
“…So…”
Staring at these two seniors whose attitude was reserved yet whose words dripped with condescension, a flicker of doubt crossed the young man’s face. “The work our Risk of Loss of Control evaluation team does… is to analyze events after the Ability Users have completed their tasks—with all the benefit of hindsight—looking for better ways things could have been handled? Then, through discussion, we give a rating of their performance?”
“…”
The two seniors choked back their words instantly, turning to pin the young man with piercing stares.
The young man shivered, suddenly very worried about whether he would pass his internship.
“You are wrong…”
The slightly stockier senior paused thoughtfully before speaking sternly to the young man. “Our task is not to judge whether there was a better way to handle things. It is to gauge, from their actions during the execution of the task, how much Humanity they still retain…”
“The more Humanity they have, the lower their Risk of Loss of Control.”
“…”
“That’s right…”
The taller senior sighed meaningfully. “You might not know this, but this particular Ability User’s initial Risk of Loss of Control was set at 85% by higher-ups. After finishing several subsequent tasks well, it was lowered to below 80%. However, because of the previous Knights Order assault incident, it spiked tremendously, even surpassing 90%!”
“But now, whether due to some new development or not, the documents show it has dropped slightly again.”
“It’s currently 85%!”
“…”
The young man was slightly stunned. “85… That’s beyond the recruitment threshold already, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
The tall senior nodded solemnly. “And our job is to stealthily observe… observe him, to see if we can bring it down a little further.”
“Based on his performance in this task, I think a 5% reduction is warranted.”
“…”
“Only 5%? Isn’t that a bit low…?”
Faced with differing opinions, the worry about passing his internship suddenly seemed less important to the young man. He voiced his dissent again, timidly. “I thought he acted quite… gently? Kind? He was protecting other people as much as possible…”
“And from receiving the task to finishing it, he did far better than any ordinary person would have…”
“…”
“What you say is accurate, but you’ve overlooked a detail.”
The slightly heavier staff member spoke slowly. “When he was finally threatened by that ‘Ghost’ Ability User holding hostages? It seemed like he first used words to intimidate that Ability User. Then, taking advantage of the distraction, he suddenly struck, locking the ghost inside a person’s body.”
“How exactly he managed that isn’t within our purview, so we won’t discuss it.”
“What concerns me most, however, is that he showed absolutely zero reaction to the fact that the enemy was using hostages to threaten him.”
“You could interpret that as him breaking the opponent’s psychological defenses… but what if… if he genuinely didn’t care?”
“…”
Hearing this, the young man found he had nothing more to say.
It felt deeply contradictory—a person who appeared so concerned about others showing apparent indifference to hostages.
“I have a different view on that point…”
The taller senior interjected, frowning. “While that possibility exists, the likelihood is comparatively low…”
The stockier senior countered, “Low is still possible…”
The tall senior argued back, “By that logic, anyone in this world could be a monster! We just choose the smallest probability? Like, if a child snatches another child’s candy, should I suspect he will definitely become a criminal when he grows up? Should I eliminate him preemptively?”
The stockier senior pondered, “Hmm… your logic holds merit. So, what’s your meaning then?”
“Increase his rating higher this time?”
“Or maybe we skip it this time? Every rating change costs us an extra report…”
“Then give him a higher rating next time to balance this reduction out?”
“I think that works.”
“…”
The spark of admiration the young man had just felt vanished instantly, replaced by renewed confusion. “So… it still comes down to us discussing it and picking a result?”
“Drive, drive…”
The two seniors had arrived at the final conclusion by this time, murmuring, “He just chose to accept a different mission.”
“It looks like we’ll be heading to Satellite City No. 4…”
“…”
At this same moment, a motorcycle had come to a stop near the Guard Bureau. Under the glow of a streetlight, Lu Xin straddled the seat, carefully studying a small display screen embedded in the slot on his forearm. The contents were documents Han Bing had just sent over. At his request, Han Bing had done her best to help him select field duty assignments offering the highest Contribution Points.
“The Drunkard in Satellite City No. 4 is requesting the dispatch of a Spider-Type Ability User for assistance?”
“…”
Over the channel, Han Bing’s voice softly added, “The origin of this Contamination Incident was an unsolved assassination case concerning a business owner in Satellite City No. 4. The Investigation Team determined the incident held anomalies. The Drunkard was tasked with the investigation. After a month, she uncovered some useful leads and plans to eliminate the adversary in one decisive action. That’s why she sent a request for backup to Headquarters…”
Lu Xin nodded slowly as he swiped through the screen, viewing records of various criminal cases that had occurred not long ago: “The general manager of Satellite City No. 4’s Silver Universe Commerce Co., Ltd. was murdered while under the protection of bodyguards. Doors and windows intact, head missing…”
“Members of the illegal criminal organization ‘Red Vest Brotherhood’ collectively killed, dismembered limbs arranged in potted plant formations?”
“Crimson Moon Story Collection, Third Edition: Headless Ghost Roams Satellite City No. 4?”
“…”
Looking over these materials, Lu Xin couldn’t help but frown.
It was messy. After flipping through just a few pages, he saw some were reports from legitimate newspapers on homicides; others were internal documents—strictly confidential anomaly reports; and there were even urban legends published in story magazines…
How did things this unrelated—things that had nothing in common with each other—end up lumped together?
…
…
“These were all submitted by the Drunkard to Headquarters.”
Han Bing explained softly: “The Drunkard herself holds Tier-Three Special Talent treatment and enjoys a high degree of autonomy. After she took charge of this case, she received full authority over it. Even the materials we have on hand now came from her submissions. Therefore, our Information Team hasn’t received a report on the exact progress of the matter. We only know it’s very important. The hazard level…”
She paused slightly before continuing, “…was assessed at Tier Three.”
“Tier Three?”
Lu Xin felt a faint stir of interest. “So…”
Han Bing’s voice brightened a little. “The total reward reaches one million, and the Contribution Points are one hundred.”
“For Qinggang City, this counts as a significant case.”
Han Bing added, “Logically speaking, since the Drunkard requested assistance from a Spider-Type Ability User, the first choice should have been Mr. Gecko…”
Lu Xin nodded. From the information, Gecko was a Tier-Three Special Talent, definitely higher ranked than himself.
Then he asked, somewhat puzzled, “So why was I able to accept it?”
“Because…”
Han Bing seemed to be suppressing laughter. “Mr. Gecko has always been afraid of the Drunkard. His reluctance was quite strong. Considering that the emotional state of Ability Users collaborating during the handling of Psychic Contamination Incidents is a factor that warrants serious attention, the higher-ups decided not to pressure him.”
“Why? Isn’t the Drunkard quite good-looking…”
Lu Xin was slightly surprised, but the decision wasn’t hard for him. “It’s fine though. I’ll just go…”
The million yuan reward? Truly unimportant.
What mattered were the hundred Contribution Points.
He only needed forty-five more to reach Tier Three. If he could get half of those…
Han Bing chuckled. “Okay, I’ll inform the Drunkard.”
“Um…”
Though he felt the reward wasn’t important, Lu Xin hesitated and still asked, “It isn’t just the Contribution Points, right? The monetary reward will be allocated to me as well?”
“It will…”
Han Bing giggled happily. “The Drunkard has always been a very generous person.”