Chapter 24: Two Liu Qians?!
????“Liu Qian?”
??Bai Xuan’s eyes flickered with confusion. Why was she here?
??By all rights, she should have been at the safehouse with Bai Yu.
??“You… how do you know my na?!”
??Liu Qian, too, seed startled, staring at the man in the Sli Mask who had just called her by na.
??Yet, in every nuance—her tone, her posture, even the faint furrow of her brow—she was unmistakably the Liu Qian Bai Xuan rembered.
??Only her surroundings and attire were out of place. Instead of a constable’s uniform, she wore sothing closer to a dic’s garb. Everything else—her features, her mannerisms, her voice—remained unchanged.
??“It’s nothing,” Bai Xuan replied, shaking his head, offering no explanation. He turned away with Serene and left.
??Liu Qian watched them go, head tilted in puzzlent.
??It wasn’t until a distant voice called out, “Liu Qian! All the wounded are loaded up—we’re heading out!”
??“Alright, coming!” she replied.
??…
??Back ho, Bai Xuan imdiately submitted two Missions.
??【World Quest: Stone Golem (Completed)】
??【Mission Reward: Equipnt—Rockcore Pendant (Green)】
??【Rockcore Pendant (Green): Generates a shield that blocks a single instance of damage.】
??“A defensive item? Not bad.” Bai Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
??【World Quest: Venomous Giant Rat (Completed)】
??【Mission Reward: Item—Toxic Potion1 (Green)】
??【Toxic Potion (Green): A potion containing a potent toxin.】
??This ti, Bai Xuan had managed to clear two Anomalous Disasters at once.
??But the rewards were the least of his concerns. What truly troubled him was this: Why had Liu Qian appeared in Baihai City?
??And she wasn’t dressed as a constable—she looked more like a dic.
??If that really was Liu Qian just now, then who was the “Liu Qian” who had been with Bai Yu all this ti?
??Twins?
??Or had soone been impersonating her?
??Bai Xuan wanted to investigate further, but he’d noticed the uniform Liu Qian wore wasn’t standard hospital attire—it was the distinctive dical uniform of the Investigation Bureau.
??So… was Liu Qian actually with Baihai City’s Investigation Bureau?
??“There’s just not enough information…”
??Bai Xuan frowned. With so little to go on, he couldn’t draw any conclusions.
??What was she after?
??What was her true identity?
??And why had she traveled hundreds of kiloters from Baihai City, only to suddenly appear in Ninghang City?
??To complicate matters further, she had sohow joined the Security Bureau in Ninghang City as a constable?
??One thing was certain: if Liu Qian had joined the Investigation Bureau’s dical team, her Status Window would have been encrypted and sealed.
??Everyone affiliated with the Investigation Bureau—even non-investigators—had their personal data strictly protected.
??Which ant Liu Qian’s entry into the Security Bureau must have been officially approved by the Investigation Bureau.
??“Is this a clever move by the Baihai City Investigation Bureau?”
??Bai Xuan suspected this could be a sche—perhaps using Liu Qian as bait to lure out a target.
??And as for the “Liu Qian” currently with Bai Yu… In this world, Supernaturals capable of disguise or shapeshifting were hardly rare.
??But if he wanted answers, his best chance was with the Liu Qian here in Ninghang City.
??As for the one in Baihai City, with her innocent, unguarded face, Bai Xuan found it hard to believe she was involved in any of this.
??“Master, I’m done with my bath.”
??Serene erged from the bathroom, her voice soft.
??Ever since moving into Bai Xuan’s apartnt, she’d grown fond of bathing. Yet it wasn’t the sensation of hot water on her skin that she cherished—it was the quiet privacy afterward, when she changed into her pajamas and could finally let her guard down.
??For her, that was the only mont she truly felt at ease—her body and mind utterly relaxed.
??Now, even her Holy Vestnts felt more like shackles than a blessing.
??Bai Xuan glanced at the clock. It was already past eleven.
??“Forget it. I’ll think about it tomorrow.”
??…
??At that sa mont, in a high-rise office in Ninghang City—
??A middle-aged man in a tailored suit sat in a plush executive chair, slowly rolling two oddly-patterned beads between his fingers, his expression grave.
??On the desk beside him, his phone was set to speaker.
??“Wang Ling, you still haven’t caught her? The lab needs her biological samples imdiately.”
??“Are you sure it’s her?” Wang Ling asked, his voice low.
??“She’s Liu Mufei’s niece. Blood tests confirm that, aside from Liu Mufei herself, only she can activate the experint.” The voice on the other end was cold and urgent. “If we want the Life Vessel project to succeed, she’s indispensable!”
??“The Investigation Bureau still doesn’t know our true objective. They think we’re simply trying to use Liu Qian to threaten Liu Mufei. So we have to act now, while we still have the chance!”
??“This is our only shot.”
??“Failure is not an option.”
??“Understood.” Wang Ling hung up, his gaze dropping to the file on his desk.
??According to the data, Liu Qian had already been transferred to a military base in northern Ninghang City, and the Security Bureau had tightened their defenses.
??But…
??He pulled out another docunt—Liu Qian’s dical report from her Security Bureau induction.
??The reason they’d targeted Liu Qian was that, a month ago, during her pre-employnt physical, her blood sample had revealed an extraordinary bloodline.
??She and Liu Mufei, Deputy Director of the Baihai City Investigation Bureau, shared the sa lineage. Their organization was using Liu Mufei’s blood to drive the “Life Vessel” project—a bid for human immortality.
??But two questions still gnawed at Wang Ling:
??First, why had there been no trace of Liu Qian for so long, only for her to suddenly appear now?
??Second, what exactly was Liu Mufei’s Anomalous ability? How had she beco Deputy Director of Baihai City, and why was she the key to the Life Vessel project?
??Despite his doubts, Wang Ling had no choice but to obey the organization’s orders.
??“The Corpse Legion is still in its testing phase… but mobilize everyone. Bring her back to !”
??…
??“Bai Xuan, you were sick yesterday?” Zhao Fan asked, curiosity in his tone.
??Bai Xuan nodded. “Yeah, caught a bit of a cold.”
??“That’s a sha.” Zhao Fan patted him on the shoulder, sounding genuinely regretful. “You missed out—the new transfer student treated the whole school to desserts.”
??“…?”
??Bai Xuan blinked. “She treated the whole school? She must be loaded.”
??“Isn’t she? They say her family’s the richest in Ninghang City,” Zhao Fan said, shaking his head in disbelief. “She’s gorgeous, her family’s wealthy—who could possibly be good enough for her?”
??“The richest in the city?” Bai Xuan’s brows rose. That title was no small thing.
??Just then, the bell rang for class.
??A teacher entered, beaming at the students. “Everyone, I have so good news to announce.”
??“There’s been a policy update for the second batch of Ideal City residents—if you place in the top thirty in this year’s Selection Exam, you’ll have a chance to enter Ideal City as an exceptional student…”
??Bai Xuan listened intently.
??Ideal City was the only S-Class city under construction, a joint project by the world’s five superpowers. It was humanity’s future—a final bulwark against Anomalous Disasters.
??Of course, no S-Class Disaster had ever occurred.
??The worst so far had been three A-Class Anomalous Disasters.
??One of those struck Huaguo, and it took the sacrifice of several senior investigators to finally seal away the A-Class Anomaly.
??But that was already years ago.
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