Working Records in a Weird World - 82

 

| WRIAWW | Lele, You Seem to Have A Lot of Secrets | 82

With Joshua's help, the large-scale A-level mission ended without any major mishaps.

What followed was quite straightforward. Zong Le stayed by Joshua's side the entire time, while the other survivors dispersed to guard the remaining staff members.

As expected, their speculation was correct, the Matchmaker targeted people based on the depth of the red strings on their wrists.

After suppressing his aura, Zong Le appeared no different from an ordinary person in the eyes of the weird. By lying in wait near Joshua, he effortlessly captured the lurking weird.

When the Matchmaker was dragged out from under the table, her terrifying face was still frozen in bewilderment, as if she couldn’t comprehend how she had been exposed. Of course, Zong Le didn’t bother explaining.

He simply pinned the weird to the table and handed her a pen and paper: "Quick, sign this!"

"......?"

Indeed, the An Ping was the supporting actress that died first.

Due to the director’s unspoken rules, An Ping had already contemplated suicide before joining the production. After entering the crew, she was frequently mocked, bullied, and treated as a plaything for others’ amusement. All of this accumulated into a deep-seated hatred within her.

Because of this, An Ping easily immersed herself in the role of the Matchmaker during filming.

She wanted to be like Hong Niang and kill everyone who had wronged and hated her.

Unfortunately, she lacked the power of a vengeful weird after death and couldn’t afford the exorbitant breach-of-contract fees demanded by the company. Thus, she had no choice but to take her own life in despair.

However, because An Ping was a native of Guiyi City and died with overwhelming resentment and a thirst for revenge, she was dead but not entirely dead. She transformed into a weird. 

She also gained the Matchmaker’s red-string curse ability, which she then used to mercilessly slaughter everyone involved.

Zong Le had already understood her condition thanks to his earlier conversations with his neighbors.

After turning into a weird, not only will you gain extraordinary abilities, but also undergo a mental transformation akin to a disease. It’s as if an invisible toxin erodes their humanity, amplifying their darkest traits. Specifically, timid individuals become bold, kind-hearted people grow indifferent to life, turning cruel, murderous, and lawless.

Many of the weird residents in Ankang Community had once been ordinary, law-abiding citizens.

"You don't have to wait here anymore. The place is a bit small, I might not be able to hold her back properly."

Joshua, who knew what he was going to do, smiled and said, "Okay."

With the Matchmaker captured and irrefutable evidence in hand, Zong Le knocked her out with a single punch and hauled her to movie theater Room No. 2, where she was seated next to Bluebeard, awaiting transport to Ankang Community for imprisonment once the mission ended.

And so, the side mission also came to a perfect close.

Joshua, who had witnessed everything, said nothing.

He ‘kindly’ refrained from pointing anything out and turned a blind eye to Zong Le’s actions of taking the weird away. Not only that, he even covered for Zong Le when the other survivors rushed over, bewildered by the mission’s sudden completion.

Just as Zong Le breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had managed to deceive this smart opponent, Joshua suddenly leaned in close without a word, bringing his lips to the young man's ear.

The man's moonlit silver hair cascaded onto the youth's sleeve, while a faint, crisp sacred fragrance enveloped them like a predator marking its prey.

"Lele, you seem to have a lot of secrets."

The warm breath grazing his ear sent a shiver down his spine.

At these words, Zong Le jolted, and immediately forgot about the other party's close distance, which could be called harassment.

This was another small quirk Joshua had observed during their two missions together.

He noticed that whenever Zong Le faced major decisions requiring deep thought, his mind often became single-tracked, because thinking took up too much space.

He had no time to pay attention to his surroundings, a vulnerability Joshua was all too happy to exploit.

"But don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Joshua smiled and put his finger to the center of his thin lips, skillfully smoothing the fur of the angry animal. "This is just our little secret. However, next time we meet, you'll have to give me an answer."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "About...how you truly see me."

Facts have proved that Joshua's method of attacking the heart is very effective.

On the drive back, Zong Le's hands gripped the steering wheel while his mind circled the question relentlessly.

He had never considered this or even entertained the thought.

In Zong Le's eyes, there are only two kinds of people: good and bad, and of course that includes weirds. His world is as pure and simple as he is, like a chessboard, where everyone stands in the grid under their feet, either black or white. Morality was a clear dividing line cutting through reality.

When facing good people, Zong Le is kind and enthusiastic, and gets along with them in a friendly manner.

When facing bad people that he can arrest, Zong Le strikes hard and strikes with an iron fist, without mercy, when facing suspected bad guys without any evidence, he observes carefully, guards against them carefully, and never giving them any chance to escape justice.

As for Joshua who openly admitted he wasn't a good person, Yet Zong Le still categorized him as a bad guy.

Zong Le's entanglement is that he thinks what Joshua said wasn't wrong.

Was someone truly bad if they'd committed no evil acts and harbored indifference in his heart? Is he still considered a bad person?

This question left him dazed until the old ambulance pulled up outside Taikang Yongle Hospital.

This time, his subordinates who had heard that the dean was coming back lined up downstairs in advance. When they saw the old ambulance drive in, they shouted in unison: "Good afternoon, dean!"

Zong Le: ?

He looked confused as his subordinates swarmed up to help him skillfully carry out the two people in the back compartment, tied them neatly to the restraint bed, and then saluted: "Reporting to the dean, both criminals have been secured and are ready for interrogation or immediate sentencing. Please give us your orders!"

During his last departure, Zong Le had casually mentioned to the formerly head of medical department and the current vice dean that if possible the hospital standardize each process because Number Five is here, and he often needs to come back to ask Number 5 for brainwashing, so an interrogation room should be set up to temporarily detain prisoners.　

But this level of efficiency was unexpected.

But he could never have anticipated how seriously the vice dean would handle this matter. If his memory serves right, less than a week had passed since the last mission was completed.

"Good job. You'll get a raise," Zong Le considered before deciding to bestow upon these workers the highest honor.

Of course, as expected, a minor mishap occurred during the process.

During transport, Bluebeard woke up.

"Where is this?" The strength of an S-level was evident in every aspect. Unlike the A-level Jiang Chou, Bluebeard immediately realized he was no longer in Taile Cinema the moment he regained consciousness.

Although he was strapped to a hard bed, in his narrow field of vision he could still see the dimly lit corridors flashing by as the hospital bed was wheeled forward.

The hallway looked somewhat familiar, it was definitely not part of the bright, fabricated buildings within the Infinite Space.

"Taikang Yongle Hospital?!" He froze, recalling the ?-level mission that all survivors had once undertaken here.

Yet no one responded to him.

Only the doctor standing nearby turned to ask for instructions: "Dean, should we administer a sedative to the prisoner?"

Dean? The dean?!

Catching sight of the hem of a white coat at the edge of his vision, Bluebeard's muddled mind was instantly jolted awake as if injected with adrenaline.

He remembered clearly, at the end of the ?-level mission in Taikang Yongle Hospital, the S-level survivors had joined forces with the A-levels to storm the top floor, killing the dean who had unleashed the weird domain, and successfully completing the mission.

But if the dean had already died when the mission ended, how was it possible that he hadn’t returned to the Infinite Space after the mission?

How had he ended up in this hospital and even hear someone address the dean?

Countless questions flooded his mind, each sharp realization stabbing into his consciousness like a blade.

Bluebeard suddenly panicked.

No one understood the dangers of the ultimate dungeon better than an S-level.

Even someone like him would find it impossible to navigate here. Worse still, he had no idea why he hadn’t returned to the Infinite Space after completing the A-level "Matchmaker" mission, or why he was here now, restrained.

In such a tense and extremely panicked state, Bluebeard heard a faint voice.

"No need. Number Five will arrive shortly."

That voice—that voice!

Bluebeard shuddered violently and the fat on his face trembled uncontrollably. Shock, disbelief, horror, countless waves of emotion flickered through his eyes.

"Y-you... talented newcomer?!"

His hoarse voice rose sharply, twisting into something almost inhuman: "Why are you here? No, you’re the one who knocked me out! How did I end up here after waking up? And the dean—how did you—"

"Strange. He shouldn’t have woken up this quickly."

Zong Le pondered for a moment, concluding that the issue wasn’t his fault, but rather Bluebeard’s additional strength enhancements from the Infinite Space’s main system, allowed him to recover faster after falling unconscious.

However, since the man was already lying here, and scum like him only needed one punch to deal with, there was no point wasting medicine.

"You’re not a survivor from the Infinite Space at all!"

In a flash of realization, Bluebeard suddenly grasped the key of the matter and why an ordinary C-level survivor possessed power surpassing an S-level. He suddenly realized: "You're a weird in the ultimate dungeon—"

Before he could finish speaking, the karate chop to his neck knocked him out.

Tilting his head at the unconscious Bluebeard, Zong Le calmly took out a disinfectant wipe and methodically cleaned his fingers. From the shadows of the corridor, Number Five, who had been waiting, quickly stepped forward.

After completing these actions, Zong Le coolly raised his eyes to the awaiting Number Five: "It's the same procedure as last time. This criminal is charged with sexual assault and violence. Handle it accordingly."

Hearing the charges, many medical staff nearby couldn't hide their disgust.

Even among weirds, there are hierarchies. Scum like Bluebeard ranks among the lowest of the low.

"Understood, boss!" Number Five thumped his chest in assurance. "I guarantee the brainwashing will be successful!"

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