At this point, An Shu paused and couldn't help but sigh. “Speaking of which, we really have to thank you this time.”
“If you hadn't warned us in time that there was something wrong with the matchmaking agency, we might have wasted a lot of time, and the consequences then would have been unimaginable.”
“Besides, your constitution actually did us a huge favor.”
Bai Ci froze for a moment, clearly not understanding what An Shu meant. “What do you mean? What does this have to do with me?”
“Of course it has to do with you.” An Shu led Bai Ci further inside.
After a long silence, she led Bai Ci into her unit's office, sat down, and only then continued to explain.
“We only found out through our follow-up investigation that Lin Jie and Jia Woyi's collusion wasn't just as simple as trafficking women and facilitating shotgun marriages to distant places.”
“They were also secretly preparing a heretical ritual, wanting to awaken a hidden evil god to reap even greater profits.”
“To keep each other in check, Jia Woyi held half of the key process for the ritual, while Lin Jie only had the other half.”
“They had originally planned to launch the ritual soon, but they didn't expect Jia Woyi to die so suddenly before he could hand over the key information for the ritual.”
“With his death, the ritual couldn't proceed normally. Lin Jie only had half of the requirements and had no way to forcibly awaken the evil god.”
At this point, An Shu couldn't help but recall the situation at the time.
That day's operation had been hastily put together. Following her captain, she had joined forces with Unit Three, and after tracking the matchmaking agency's person-in-charge, Lin Jie, attempting to flee, they quickly intercepted her on the road.
The moment Lin Jie was surrounded and the handcuffs locked around her wrists, she suffered a breakdown far worse than An Shu could have anticipated.
Struggling with disheveled hair, she screamed hoarsely at them, “How did you find this place? How did you know we were nurturing an evil god?”
If her tactical mask hadn't covered her face, An Shu's utter bewilderment would have been plain for all to see.
How on earth did this get connected to an evil god?
Weren't they cracking down on a human trafficking ring?
Lin Jie clearly didn't notice the investigators' surprise, completely lost in her own assumptions, her tone filled with deep resentment.
“I hid myself so well. I cleaned up every trace, and the matchmaking agency front was absolutely seamless. How could you have gathered so much information?”
“You even made a preemptive strike and killed Jia Woyi.”
Her voice suddenly spiked, demanding hysterically, “Did you plant an undercover agent? Or is there a traitor on my side?”
“Otherwise, how could you have timed it so perfectly, striking right when we were about to gather all the materials? You even directly killed Jia Woyi, cutting off my path to drag you down with me!”
At that moment, An Shu was no less shocked than Lin Jie.
They hadn't possessed all the information at all; they had simply followed the clues from Xiao Wen's disappearance to Lin Jie's hideout, intending to rescue him and take down a trafficking den while they were at it.
As for Jia Woyi, that unlucky bastard had brought death upon himself. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Bureau of Investigation.
An Shu pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at Bai Ci, who was equally clueless, her tone carrying a hint of wistfulness.
“You see, we actually knew nothing at the time. If Jia Woyi hadn't died, and they were backed into a corner and desperately awakened the evil god, the consequences would have been unthinkable. There's no telling what a heavy price we would have had to pay to bring the situation under control.”
“But because of you, we discovered this major hidden threat ahead of time and successfully resolved the matter without paying any real price.”
Bai Ci listened in amazement, marveling in her heart at the power of the butterfly effect.
She had merely caused a scumbag to die in an accident, yet she had unexpectedly thwarted such a dangerous heretical ritual.
“So that's what happened. The turn of events is truly mind-boggling... But speaking of which, is it really alright to tell me all this?”
An Shu waved her hand and said with a smile, “Oh, what's there to hide? You're a party involved in this after all.”
“Lin Jie committed suicide very cleanly, and we don't know yet if this cult has other tricks up its sleeve. Only by understanding the details can you react in time if you encounter any anomalous situations in the future.”
Bai Ci smiled helplessly. “Thank you for the warning. I'll keep a careful eye out.”
At this moment, only An Shu and Bai Ci were in the office.
Once their conversation ended, An Shu turned around, picked up a document envelope from her desk, and handed it to Bai Ci.
She sighed, giving Bai Ci a heads-up first.
“This is it—the test results. Prepare yourself mentally. If you think of any clues along the way, let me know. It might help in breaking the curse.”
Bai Ci unwrapped the string on the envelope, pulled out the paper document, and read it carefully.
《Anomalous Power Detection Report》
Test Subject: Bai Ci
...
Test Results:
A total of two independent anomalous powers were detected within the test subject's body. The two powers do not interfere with each other, operating independently with no obvious signs of conflict.
First Anomalous Power (Serial Number: YL-001):
Upon testing, the attribute of this power is curse-type, and its scope of effect is the test subject's “partner slot” and “potential partner slot” (meaning all males who might establish a romantic relationship or enter a marriage with the test subject).
When this curse takes effect, it triggers various seemingly accidental events, leading to the death of the target individual. Furthermore, no anomalous energy residue remains at the scene of death, making it difficult to detect through conventional means.
Further testing revealed that the energy fluctuations behind this curse are exceptionally powerful, suspected to originate from an evil god-level entity.
Due to the lack of clear direction in the energy fluctuations and the inability to match it with the evil god data held by the bureau, the Bureau of Investigation currently has no effective solution to break it. We only advise avoiding potential targets to reduce the frequency of curse triggers.
Second Anomalous Power (Serial Number: ZL-001):
Upon testing, this power superficially exhibits curse characteristics (restricting females of the test subject's family to marry before the age of thirty, otherwise triggering a death mechanism). However, its essence is a blessing-type power; due to the solidification of the blessing's rules, its form of expression presents the illusion of a curse.
The curse can be broken through targeted means, but the blessing itself is a gift of energy that cannot be forcibly removed by external forces. It can only be actively retracted by the source of the blessing.
This is the underlying logic of energy operation and cannot be altered through technological means. Heretical intervention carries excessive uncertainty and is highly prone to producing severe side effects, so it is not recommended.
Supplementary Note:
The ring worn on the test subject's left middle finger was detected to possess clear protective energy, which only protects the test subject themselves and poses no obvious danger to others.
Detection Conclusion: It is recommended to prioritize investigating the source of ZL-001 and attempt to have the source retract it or break the curse illusion.
YL-001 cannot be broken for the time being. It is recommended that the test subject avoid potential romantic relationships to prevent triggering the curse. The Bureau of Investigation will continue to follow up on clues regarding the evil god, and any subsequent breakthroughs will be notified to the test subject as soon as possible.
Rate on N.U.
