Chapter 58 - Trace of the Demons
“I hope you are not intending to take revenge, right? He is still a kid,” Chen Kun asked.
Ren Suo touched the bandage that he still had on his right hand. He shrugged and replied, “No, how could I do such a thing? We have rules and guidelines in our work.”
“It’s just that I am more interested in getting to know about their extraordinary abilities, but..due to confidentiality regulations, I would never know who actually had such extraordinary abilities,” Ren Suo continued.
“I do think that the Deputy Director has extraordinary abilities, but I would never dare to ask. But naturally I would treasure this opportunity to be able to observe those who are Awakened now.”
“Moreover, I am not heartless. How could I still target him given his unfortunate outcome?”
Chen Kun pondered for a while and thought that what Ren Suo said made sense. He gave Ren Suo a pat on his shoulders and said with a smile, “I guess those of you who studied more are indeed smarter than people like me!”
A wide grin emerged on Ren Suo’s face. He thought, coming from the police academy, this guy really knows his way around words, he must have been single for a long time?
The pair walked to their car provided by the Ministry of State Security and the humble Ren Suo sat on the passenger seat. Chen Kun looked at him and said, “Have you not gotten your license?”
Ren Suo replied, “I have, but I want to play games on my mobile phone.”
“.. All right, up to you then,” Chen Kun said.
Ever since he saw the video “Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening” posted by Li Le two days ago, Ren Suo had been actively searching on the internet for other interesting videos.
Undoubtedly, the “Nature Exploitation Technique to Awakening” video was quickly taken down, but if one spent more effort to search deeper, it was still easy to find the original video specially reposted using other titles like “The XX Year of Records of XX Achievements” on platforms such as Baidu Wangpan and QQ.
Although there was occasional news like “Netizen Detained for 15 Days for Spreading False Rumors”, Xuan Nation was still unable to fully track down every one of such people. It was extremely easy to buy Wangpan accounts registered under another person’s mobile phone number on Taobao, and there was an even more ingenious method—downloading the video from Wangpan overseas.
When Ren Suo had free time during work, he would watch these videos and hoped to find a suitable method to be Awakened, just like Li Le had.
Ren Suo largely believed that the Exploiting Nature Technique to Awakening was real, mainly because Li Le had praised and thanked Naisser_Ren, which made Ren Suo feel proud and accomplished.
Subsequently, it was because Li Le talked with such confidence and persuasiveness that Ren Suo believed him easily. He believed that the reason why the Seeker could ascend to the heavenly realm and be Awakened was because of her prior conquest right on the edge of life and death.
But regardless of the validity of the Exploiting Nature Technique to Awakening, Ren Suo could never imitate it.
He still treasured his many years ahead of him.
Even for Li Le, it was because he had developed a terminal illness and did not have much time left to live that he decided to take a gamble.
As Ren Suo watched the videos, they soon arrived at a hospital in the suburbs of Lianjiang City. The sign read “Affiliated Hospital of Hua Nan Medical University”, but Ren Suo did not remember Lianjiang City having a “Hua Nan Medical University”. Furthermore, there were few people around in such a remote area.
Along the way, Resnuo had only seen a few plots of land still under construction, but there were no one around either.
The director of the hospital must have been suffering from some head damage to have set up a hospital here.
Although it was called a hospital, there was a wall surrounding the entire compound, and there were even soldiers guarding the entrance. Ren Suo and Chen Kun had to present their identification card and verify their identity with an iris scan before they were allowed to enter.
Ren Suo was slightly perplexed and ask, “Where did they get the images of my iris?”
Unsurprised, Chen Kun replied, “You must have gone through a physical examination when you reached the training compound, did you not? At that time, images of your iris, your teeth, and your fingerprints were all recorded down. If for some reason in the future you die and shatter into different parts, we would still be able to identify you easily.”
Ren Suo nodded while he felt slightly disturbed by Chen Kun’s words..
When they walked into the hospital building, the looks on Chen Kun and Ren Suo’s faces changed completely.
Chen Kun looked at Ren Suo and smiled bitterly. He said, “Do you now know why no one in Team Two and Three would fight for such a job? We would all rather be slightly busier working on the field then to come here.”
Ren Suo said in a hushed voice, “Why does it feel so uncomfortable here..It’s not just the pungent smell of disinfectant..”
Chen Kun replied, “You know that the training ground is a place where Reiki is concentrated in, and since there is a place to concentrate Reiki, there is naturally also a place where Reiki is extremely sparse. I do not know the details as well, but this is where Practitioners and those who are Awakened are ‘handled’, and the easiest way to control them is to remove the source of their Reiki directly.”
“There is virtually no Reiki here. It would not affect ordinary people, but for us Practitioners, it will have a devastating effect akin to a lack of oxygen.”
The term “handling” made Ren Suo slightly uneasy, but he soon came to terms with it—
He was not the one being “handled”; he was in control of himself!
Chen Kun said something to the nurse at the front desk and after a short while, a young female doctor emerged and walked towards them. Following behind her was a boy in his uniform.
The boy looked haggard and his eyes were swollen as if he had cried for a long time. When he saw Ren Suo he stepped backward instinctively, but he soon relaxed and walked over.
“Countermeasure Division,” Chen Kun said as he and Ren Suo showed their identification card to the female doctor. Ren Suo looked at the female doctor’s chest..
..the identification card at the female doctor’s chest and it read: “Chief Physician: Yao Meilu”.
Yao Meilu gave the boy a pat on his head as she said to them, “This kid has had a hard time, you all..should be nicer to him.”
It appeared that Yao Meilu had talked to the boy prior to that. Although the boy was slightly scared, he did not resist. Judging by how close the boy was to the doctor, it was obvious that apart from drawing his blood for testing, it was unlikely that they did not perform any studies or experiments on him, such as cutting him into pieces.
“Don’t worry,” Chen Kun said as he stepped slightly in front of Ren Suo. He continued, “We will definitely protect the child, doctor. If you do not trust us, should I leave my contact number?”
Ren Suo rolled his eyes as he left the main hall of the hospital to give the ‘blossoming’ and infatuated Chen Kun and the doctor some personal space. At the same time, Ren Suo wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible, which was devoid of Reiki and making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
After some time, Chen Kun and the boy emerged from the building. When the boy saw Ren Suo, he averted eye contact with him, but quickly mustered up the courage and said to Ren Suo, “Aren’t you here for revenge? Come at me!”
This boy was indeed the benefactor who gave Ren Suo three days off from work to play his game at home..No, this boy was his enemy, the junior high student from Number 36 High School, named Wu Jianming.
Ren Suo and his partner’s current task was to bring Wu Jianming back to his home, and then bring him back to the hospital before 8 p.m.
As to why two members from the Countermeasure Division were needed to do that..It was because although Wu Jianming was still a high school student, he was still someone who was Awakened. Only members from the Countermeasure Division would be able to restrain him and keep him under control if he were to explode in anger. In that case, ordinary equipment like handcuffs would have been useless against him.
Ren Suo smiled as he pointed to the car and said, “Get in. We are just here to send you home.”
Upon hearing the word “home”, Wu Jianming gasped, leaving his mouth opened, and his eyes turned red again. His nose shrunk as he bit on his lower lip and continuously wiped the tears in his eyes.
Ren Suo led Wu Jianming to the passenger seat at the back of the car. Seeing that the boy was still crying, Ren Suo handed him a few pieces of tissue. The confined space in the car seemed to give the boy a much greater sense of security and although there were two strangers, Ren Suo and Chen Kun, in the car with him, he started sobbing quietly.
Ren Suo glanced at Chen Kun who was driving as he placed his left hand on Wu Jianming’s shoulder. Ren Suo said to the boy, “Look at my hand.”
Wu Jianming opened his red and swollen eyes to see Ren Suo making strange yet fluid and continuous movements with his right hand..
“Wow, buddy, you really have a talent for calming kids down!” Chen Kun exclaimed when he saw that Wu Jianming, who had been crying a few moments ago, had fallen asleep.
Ren Suo laughed and said, “I just happened to know some hypnosis techniques. It is very effective for treating insomnia, if Brother Kun needs any help curing insomnia next time, feel free to approach me.”
“Forget it, I don’t want to wake up feeling sore at my butt,” Chen Kun joked.
Making such suggestive jokes was now a daily occurrence, and Ren Suo did not mind. He held onto Wu Jianming’s shoulders as if to prevent him from falling over in the back seat.
But after helping Wu Jianming upright in his seat, Ren Suo did not remove his hand.
“Searching now..”
“Searching now..”
“A key has been found.”
“The key is in a sleeping state. Starting to retrieve the key.”historical
“The key has yet to form fully. 606 seconds required to retrieve the key. Do not remove physical contact. 605, 604, 603..”
“The key has been retrieved successfully.”
Ren Suo let out a deep sigh of relief—he succeeded!
The reason why he specially requested to take up the task of escorting Wu Jianming was exactly because he wanted the key from Wu Jianming!
This was a major benefit for Ren Suo as one of the civil servants in one of the nation’s departments which dealt with the Awakened. He could openly approach those who were Awakened, and then retrieve keys from them easily!
Furthermore, it was not difficult to see that departments like the Countermeasure Division which dealt with the Awakened would be extremely valued, and he would also be able to acquire information related to the Awakened more easily.
When that time came, he would not need to retrieve keys through inefficient means like “fighting”, but simply retrieve them directly from the ones who were Awakened.
At this juncture, Ren Suo began regretting joining the civil service despite graduating with a medical specialty. He could have been transferred to the hospital which was devoid of Reiki, and although it would be more uncomfortable for him, that was the place where all those who were Awakened from Lianjiang would be brought to. In that case, there would be a limitless number of keys for Ren Suo to retrieve.
However, with more experience at retrieving keys, Ren Suo realized that Wu Jianming’s “key” had yet to form, and even though he was in a sleeping state, the time required to retrieve his “key” was still double that of Qiao Muyi and Lidan.
Ren Suo still did not know the difference between a key that had been formed and one which had yet to be formed. However, under normal circumstances, Wu Jianming was not appealing at all to Ren Suo, but in comparison, Qiao Muyi and Lidan were extremely attractive to Ren Suo under any circumstances.
Did fully formed keys persist in their attraction to Ren Suo? And did keys which had yet to form only become known to Ren Suo when the Awakened utilized their abilities?
It was a pity that the Mini Worlds Gaming Console did not come with any instructions for its use. Otherwise, Ren Suo would not have needed to guess blindly.
After over an hour, they finally reached the city and arrived in front of a residential building located in Laocheng District. It was an old structure that had been around for over twenty years, and there were no property companies within it. There was not even a lift for the building.
At this time, Wu Jianming gradually awoke. When he saw the familiar scenes outside the car, the look on his face was complex.
When Chen Kun stopped the car, Wu Jianming immediately opened the door and ran out. Even Ren Suo could not hold him back in time.
Fortunately, the two policemen who were guarding at the foot of the residential building stopped him and questioned, “Who are you? Do you live here?”
In order to prevent Wu Jianming from making any rash actions, Ren Suo quickly went forward and grabbed him by his shoulder. When Ren Suo got down of the car, he had unequipped [The Lure of Sweet Dreams] and equipped [Lock].
In one conscious thought, his Reiki could control each and every of Wu Jianming’s actions.
“Countermeasure Division,” Ren Suo said as he showed them his identification card. Without hesitation, the policemen said, “Your colleagues have been waiting upstairs for a very long time..”
“You guys arrived just in time.”
In the stairway of the residential building, two men and one woman, all clad in the black vests, appeared. The lady amongst them was extraordinarily beautiful, and the tight black vest showed off her curves perfectly. She had shoulder-length black hair and a soothing smile. In addition, the confidence she exuded from deep within her immediately drew Ren Suo and Chen Kun’s attention.
“I am Team Leader Yao Fei from Team Two of the Countermeasure Division,” said the beautiful girl. She introduced, “This is Li Shuanghe, and this is Fang Jun.”
All of them were from the same division and were similarly all Practitioners. They quickly introduced themselves and turned their attention towards the only “lost soul”.
Li Shuanghe and Fang Jun noticed that the new member of Team Three was staring at their team leader, but it was no surprise to them—they had gotten used to it from numerous past encounters.
But it was the first time they met with such an embarrassing encounter.
Chen Kun slapped Ren Suo on his shoulder as he thought, are teenagers these days so thick-skinned and embarrassing, haven’t they seen pretty ladies before?
Ren Suo finally came to his senses and stammered, “I, I am Ren Suo..”
“All right, bring him over,” Yao Fei said calmly as she turned and walked up the stairs. Wu Jianming immediately followed suit. Chen Kun slapped Ren Suo’s shoulders and said in a hushed tone, “Brother, I will share a few links with you later so you can watch as much as you want. Don’t be so embarrassing next time..”
Ren Suo rolled his eyes but was too lazy to explain himself—in fact, he knew that no matter how he explained, there would be no use.
He did not expect that Yao Fei, the Team Leader of Team Two could actually be much more attractive than Yu Kuangtu, the Deputy Director!
Furthermore, he was so close to her!
Had Ren Suo not held himself back, he would have gone straight for her!
In Yu Kuangtu’s case, Ren Suo had a few days of mental preparation to get a grip of himself, but the first time he met Yao Fei, it was already at such a close distance!
In the stairway, Wu Jianming could no longer hold back and dashed up the stairs. He clenched his teeth and asked, “My, my parents, did they really..”
“Yes, they have passed away,” a merciless Fang Jun said as he dashed all of this junior high school student’s hopes. He continued, “They died in the house. Everything that we told you previously at the hospital was all the truth.”
“Fang Jun,” interrupted Li Shuanghe, stopping his colleague from rattling on. He saw Wu Jianming’s arched shoulders and reached out to console him. Suddenly, Wu Jiangming wriggled free of his touch and said, “Tell me! Who did this, tell me who did this..”
Yao Fei stood in front of the anti-theft door of unit 402. The policeman guarding in front of the door saw her and immediately opened the main door. Ren Suo followed behind Yao Fei and entered the house to see many people inside. They were searching with gloves on and using many different kinds of tools.
Wu Jianming saw the broken couch in the living room, the toppled Z9D television, and the dark, hardened bloodstains. He instantly broke out in a fury, rushing forward and grabbing Yao Fei. He asked loudly, “Who! Who! Tell me, who did all of this! I am going to make them pay!”
Yao Fei handed them a pair of gloves each, and as they wore the gloves, she looked at Wu Jianming and said calmly, “It was the Demon.”
Ren Suo, who had been thinking about whether he should continue playing a dozen more games to achieve his “perfect starter” that night, returned to his senses immediately.
The Demon?