Joining the Investigation Corps

One day later, Ye Yu appeared in front of a compact yet stylish office building in the busiest commercial district of the city center. A gilded company sign gleamed under the sun: Wanpeng Seafood Trading Company.

Below it was a line of small text: "The freshest raw oysters, the most ferocious king crabs, the smartest octopuses, and the most beautiful arctic surf clams are all at Wanpeng Seafood Trading Company."

Ye Yu stood dazed downstairs for a long time. This was the most prosperous commercial street in Jinyang City, and she had been here a few times. When she saw this building back then, she only thought: *I can understand the first two lines of the advertisement, but what on earth do the last two lines mean? Is the competition in eating seafood so fierce these days that eating octopus requires measuring IQ, and eating arctic surf clams requires checking looks?*

But now, she looked at the building, then lowered her head to look at the address Uncle He had given her. Only after checking carefully did she confirm she had not gone to the wrong place.

Half-believing, half-doubting, she pushed the door and entered. The first-floor lobby was decorated simply yet grandly, with people bustling in and out. At the reception desk stood a young man and woman, both very good-looking. Seeing her enter, they immediately smiled and asked if she was here for a consultation or to check an order. No matter how she looked at it, this seemed like a normal seafood company.

Ye Yu hesitated and said: "I have an appointment. He Zhongliang told me to look for someone named Wang Fang."

Hearing this name, the two receptionists immediately exchanged glances.

"Understood."
"Please wait a moment."

The female receptionist immediately made a phone call. Ye Yu sat on the sofa waiting, sensing the male receptionist curiously observing her on the sly, though without malice.

Very soon, someone came down from the spiral staircase. The "clack-clack" of high heels was heard before the person appeared. It was a middle-aged woman dressed in a business suit, looking mature and capable.

The two receptionists greeted: "Sister Wang."
"Sister Wang, the guest is waiting over there."

Wang Fang smiled in response: "Oh, what a coincidence today. Are you two on the same shift again?"

The male receptionist scratched his head and grinned: "Hehe, last month I asked the supervisor to adjust our shifts so we could work together."

Wang Fang smiled meaningfully: "I understand. Young people in love are always like that." Wishing they could use superglue to stick together and never separate.

The two young people blushed in embarrassment. Wang Fang walked toward Ye Yu with a friendly smile.

"Ye Yu, right? Follow me upstairs."

Entering the office on the second floor, Wang Fang sighed with emotion: "You probably don't remember, but when you were eight years old, we met when I went to look for He Zhongliang. Back then, you were so tiny, wearing a patient gown and wrapped in bandages on the hospital bed. Yet, you weren't afraid of strangers at all. When I gave you a piece of chocolate, you even softly said thank you."

"Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and you've grown so big. I knew that when you awakened your ability and became a transcendent, you would come here sooner or later, but... it's still too fast. You're only eighteen."

Wang Fang placed a folder on the desk, her eyes filled with sympathy as she looked at the young girl. "With He Zhongliang around, you probably already know what you need to know. But I still want to ask again: this path is not easy to walk. Have you truly decided?"

Ye Yu scratched her head and smiled sheepishly: "I don't know if Sister Wang knows, but the day before yesterday, I experienced a 'weird anomaly' and almost lost my life. To be honest, I'm very afraid of weird anomalies. But Uncle He said transcendents instinctively attract weird anomalies, and they will actively hunt us down. Compared to facing weird anomalies, I'm even more afraid of dying. Although the tasks of the Investigation Corps are dangerous, it's still better than dying inexplicably on the street."

"That's true. I heard about the incident from the day before yesterday. That weird anomaly was named 'The Ignored Child,' and its residual energy was rated at Level 3. Surviving in a situation where you knew nothing is truly a great fortune. Joining the Investigation Corps to learn how to deal with weird anomalies is also a way to protect your life."

Wang Fang looked at the straightforward girl in front of her, liking her even more. She pushed the contract over for Ye Yu to sign.

The black cat transmitted with disdain: "What are you acting pitiful for? You, afraid of weird anomalies? Hmph, deceitful human."

If she were truly afraid, it wouldn't have been tortured to such a suffocating state over the past few days.

Ye Yu replied in her mind: "As if you weren't being deceitful when you said you kindly warned me before. Hmph, deceitful kitty!"

"I already said you are not allowed to call me kitty!" The black cat gnashed its teeth: "Listen carefully, I will only say this once. My name is Yu Xi!"

Ye Yu: "Alright kitty, no problem kitty."

Yu Xi: "..."

While Ye Yu reviewed and signed the contract, Wang Fang continued: "The person in charge of guiding you is named An Chengxi, twenty-two years old. I will give you her contact information, but she is currently out on a mission, so she probably won't respond for a few days. No need to rush; since you're young, just focus on your studies first."

"In addition, because you resolved that weird anomaly, I applied for a bonus. Although the anomaly core was lost and the bonus will be slightly less, it's still over ten thousand. The money will arrive in your account in three days, so remember to check."

Ye Yu was nodding obediently, but upon hearing the words "bonus," her eyes immediately lit up: "There's even a bonus?"

Seeing her money-loving appearance, Wang Fang burst into laughter: "Of course. Every time a weird anomaly is resolved, it eliminates a danger for the citizens of Jinyang City. Performing a service must be rewarded."

Ye Yu said seriously: "I will work even harder in the future!"

After signing the documents, Wang Fang sent some files to Ye Yu's phone and led her out of the office. Entering the elevator, she had to swipe a card before she could press a floor button.

"Because the Investigation Corps needs to be confidential, we usually use other identities as cover. In this Jin Province, the Investigation Corps of each city disguises itself as a seafood company. The first, second, and third floors are a normal company—we do sell seafood. But the fourth, fifth, and two basement floors are where the important stuff is."

"The fourth and fifth floors are the work areas, while the second basement floor is where we temporarily detain some weird anomalies and store their cores and relics. These places all require a card to enter. Your pass is being made and will be ready shortly."

Ye Yu noticed the elevator was going down. "What are weird anomaly relics? Are they their corpses?"

"You can understand it that way. After most weird anomalies have their cores extracted, their bodies still retain a bit of usable power. To use the slang of you young people... is it like 'killing monsters to drop equipment'? But I must warn you beforehand: weird anomalies are the result of pollution from otherworldly evil forces, and they are highly dangerous. Even cores or relics that seem safe are still unstable factors, so you must always be careful."

Stepping out of the elevator on the second basement floor, even though it was summer, the air here was bone-chillingly cold. The corridor was made of silver alloy, with dense security cameras. Wang Fang swiped her card to open a room, which was even colder than the corridor. The room was filled with alloy drawers marked with black numbers, looking exactly like... a morgue.

Wang Fang pointed to a drawer: "The first number represents the level of the relic, and the second is its serial number on the entire Divine State Federation list. For example, this one, code 2-233, Insect Wine. This is the relic of the 233rd Level 2 weird anomaly collected. The specific usage requires authority to query. I'm just an ordinary person, so I don't have that authority; you can look it up yourself later."

"The Investigation Corps has a dedicated software to announce news and receive missions. Remember to download it later."

Ye Yu observed the codes and saw that the highest first number was only 3, proving that only relics up to Level 3 were stored here. Perhaps higher-level ones were kept in a more secure place. Afterward, she was led to see the storage room for weird anomaly cores. The cores were placed in sealed iron boxes. Wang Fang told Ye Yu to press her ear against a box, and she could hear a sticky crawling sound inside. She also showed Ye Yu a video of a red-and-black lump of flesh contracting like a heart, trying to crawl into a white mouse's mouth, which made Ye Yu feel extremely disgusted.

Finally, they returned to the work area to get her pass. Wang Fang added: "Although the 'Divine State Monster Slaying Alliance' software is for investigators, many self-organized transcendent groups have also infiltrated it, so the content inside is very mixed."

She warned that danger came not only from weird anomalies but also from evil organizations hunting for transcendent cores inside investigators' bodies. Therefore, everyone usually used codenames instead of their real names to protect themselves and their families.

Wang Fang smiled and said: "Since we disguise ourselves as a seafood company, most investigators here use the names of seafood as their codenames. It's not mandatory, but I suggest it so it's easier for you to choose."

Ye Yu nodded, and asked curiously: "Using seafood names? Who is already here so I can avoid choosing the same name?"

"You don't have to worry about duplicates because the system won't allow it. The codenames here include King Crab, Bread Crab, Giant Squid, Octopus, Arctic Surf Clam..."

Ye Yu paused for a moment: "Sister Wang, is that 'Octopus' person's IQ very high, and is that 'Arctic Surf Clam' person's looks extremely top-tier?"

Wang Fang was surprised: "Yes, Octopus is famous for being smart, and Arctic Surf Clam is extremely beautiful. How did you know? Did He Zhongliang tell you?"

Ye Yu: "...Uncle He didn't say, but it's written on the billboard outside. I just took a wild guess."

So the question was, how "fresh" was that "Raw Oyster" person? And how "ferocious" was that "King Crab" person?