The old monster employee was insidious. Countless tiny black particles converged into a huge outline. The more black particles, the more real and complete the monster's body became: black, sticky skin, soft, boneless tentacles covered with rows upon rows of terrifying suckers. It was clearly a giant octopus!
The office ceiling was high, but it couldn't allow the horrible octopus to straighten its body. Its slimy, massive head pressed tightly against the ceiling, forcing it to tilt to one side. Its terrifying large eyes kept turning, as if surveying everyone in the room.
Huangfu Jun couldn't help but step back half a pace, but even more terrifying things were happening. Its eight tentacles stretched out crisscrossing, like giant snake bodies, constantly twisting, flipping, and writhing. Each tentacle emanated a powerful force, as if it could easily destroy any obstacle in its path.
Among the people in black, only Zheng Sini remained calm. The other inspectors nervously reached for their waists, as if they wished they could pull out guns and shoot wildly at the giant octopus. Sensing the tension among the inspectors, Hamo quickly spoke, "Comrades, don't be nervous!" But he was too late. An inspector had already drawn his gun, pointing it with trembling hands at the giant octopus monster.
Sweating profusely, Huangfu Jun swiftly crouched down and hid behind the desk, instinctively moving toward the window. A construction company with a giant octopus, the Supervision Bureau illegally carrying firearms—things were getting crazier and crazier!
The octopus monster seemed angered by this. It angrily swung its eight massive tentacles, instantly entangling and binding all the Supervision Bureau personnel in black! Those people immediately drew daggers or stun guns from their waists, struggling to fight the tentacles.
Hamo's face turned green. He shouted at Gui Suishou, "Senior, save them quickly!" Gui Suishou seemed prepared for this. He quickly formed several hand gestures in front of his chest, his eyes wide as he stared fixedly at the sudden octopus monster. With a loud bang, red smoke burst from Gui Suishou's body. When Huangfu Jun opened her eyes again, she saw an even more shocking scene!
As the red smoke gradually dissipated, what appeared was no longer Gui Suishou, but a giant turtle comparable to the giant octopus! It looked like a turtle but wasn't quite a turtle. Although it had the shape of a large turtle, its body was covered with long white fur, even the lines of its shell were completely obscured. Its head had nothing to do with a turtle's; it looked more like the head of a fire phoenix from paintings: a fiery red beak, pupils like fire glass, dazzling red feathers, a coral-like crown, forming a stark contrast to its snow-white body!
Huangfu Jun's eyes were wider than brass bells. The logistics director, Zhang Yu, was naturally an octopus spirit, but what was Gui Suishou? This creature, combining features of different species, she had only seen in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Gui (蛫) was an ancient giant beast resembling a turtle, with a red head and white body, exactly matching the monster before her. Especially the uncommon character "Gui" (蛫), which she only knew how to pronounce after looking it up in the dictionary!!
Huangfu Jun's hair stood on end. Even though she had mentally prepared for monsters, seeing such a rare legendary monster up close for the first time made all the blood in her body rush to her head, nearly bursting through her skull.
Just then, Bai Lin's voice appeared again in her brainwaves: [As a trainee employee, your performance is still the worst. I can now open the Monster Bureau background introduction for you alone.]
Huangfu Jun's eyes slightly widened. Bai Lin's timing this time was quite good.
Bai Lin: [Whether it was the former Monster Bureau or the current Yaojing Construction Company, in essence, it is a 'prison' for detaining and managing exiles. After humans became the masters of this planet, whether it's monsters on the run or monsters in the bureau, they will inevitably enter human society. Because each world's master possesses the strongest energy field in that world, and this energy is the best 'food' for monsters to survive in this world.]
[Humans gradually discovered the existence of monsters. After a long period of confrontation and struggle, humans, with the help of half-demons, eventually reached equality with monsters. Humans divided the Monster Bureaus according to the power of each continent and country, expanding the number of Monster Bureaus to 77.]
[Correspondingly, humans established seven Human-Demon Co-governance Committees internally and configured 77 violent organs for Human-Demon Co-governance, i.e., the Supervision Bureau.]
Huangfu Jun recalled the various news about Yaojing Construction Company she had found online, and said with realization: [Yaojing Construction Co., Ltd. has seven subsidiaries in the Hua Kingdom. The Seventh Bureau is in charge of the North China region. That means there are seven such prisons in the Hua Kingdom.] Bai Lin: [Mn. The so-called construction sites are space-time distortions where successive exiles have damaged the balance of time and space. The so-called workers are all exiles from the First World. The so-called company employees are all kinds of monstrous prison guards. In the seven major bureaus of the Hua Kingdom, each bureau has one director, one deputy director, and one captain. The seven directors are respectively Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Nine-Tails, Qilin, and Phoenix. The seven deputy directors are respectively Golden Toad, Three-Legged Crow, Three-Legged Turtle, Pixiu, and Taotie. As for the seven captains, you only need to know me.]
Huangfu Jun: [Putting aside the seven captains for now, why are there only five deputy directors?] Bai Lin: [Killed by escapees, skip it.] Huangfu Jun: [...] So aloof, Captain Bai? Weren't those two deputy directors his comrades or colleagues?
Bai Lin: [Focus on the present. These inspectors can not only supervise the Monster Bureau but also have the right and ability to directly eliminate monsters that harm humans.] Huangfu Jun discreetly observed those in black, finding it hard to believe: [Monsters are so afraid of the Supervision Bureau? That doesn't make sense. Can humans actually beat monsters?] Bai Lin laughed sneeringly, [This requires more task points to unlock.] Huangfu Jun: [...] Bai Lin curled the corner of his mouth and silently left.
When Huangfu Jun came to her senses, Gui Suishou had already returned to his child form, and the rampaging octopus monster had also disappeared, leaving only a group of inspectors struggling in pools of terrible slime on the floor. Among the inspectors, the only dignified one left was Zheng Sini, standing in the middle of the room. He watched his colleagues writhing in pain on the ground, his face growing darker. He waved his hand abruptly, and the slime binding the inspectors instantly vanished, even the pain on their bodies seemed to disappear. After a dazed moment, the inspectors, disheveled, hair messy, and with circles sucked by tentacles on their exposed skin, helped each other up with lingering fear.
Huangfu Jun blinked. The Supervision Bureau was a human regulatory agency for half-demons, and Inspector Zheng Sini also had "demon power"—so he was also a half-demon?
Hamo quickly called on all employees of the Seventh Bureau to help support them. His broad face was full of apology, but his slightly protruding eyes involuntarily revealed traces of schadenfreude, and he barely suppressed the corners of his mouth, which were harder to keep down than an AK rifle. Walking up to Zheng Sini in a few steps, Hamo bent over to apologize: "Inspector Zheng, all the meals, logistics, and supplies for our Seventh Bureau are handled solely by Director Zhang. He works 24/7, 365 days a year, and his main duties alone keep him fully occupied and overwhelmed. Yet even so, the logistics work of our Seventh Bureau is the best among all branches. He really didn't intend to attack the inspectors. His temper is well known to the headquarters and the Supervision Bureau, and no one doubts his loyalty to the Monster Bureau. For the losses caused to the inspectors by this rampage, our Seventh Bureau will take full responsibility. I sincerely ask Inspector Zheng not to connect Director Zhang with the construction site accident."
Zheng Sini glanced sidelong at Hamo without giving any response. The child Gui Suishou stepped forward with a smile and said, "Deputy Director, Inspector Zheng's half-demon power is far stronger than yours or mine. Although the scene was chaotic just now, he still entered Zhang Yu's brainwaves at the first moment. While controlling the rampage, he also probed Zhang Yu's thoughts. He won't wrong Zhang Yu."
Huangfu Jun pursed her lips. In this world, half-demons were indeed more powerful than monsters. But what about her? Apart from 'seeing', she seemed to have no demon power at all. Pulling back her thoughts, Huangfu Jun's gaze fell on Gui Suishou again. Looking at the bulging red down jacket on his back, she finally understood—was it actually a turtle shell inside?
Hearing Gui Suishou's words, Hamo immediately stood up, frowned, and raised his hand as if calculating something. A female voice, almost like a breath, suddenly appeared in her ear: "General Manager Ha is checking whether Zhang Yu's sudden disappearance means he was teleported to the Supervision Bureau for review by Inspector Zheng." Huangfu Jun turned around in surprise. Ying Wu had somehow come up behind her, her long, smiling eyes nearly narrowed into slits: "But don't worry, A Jun. Although the Supervision Bureau people are formidable, the grand plan of human-demon cooperation cannot be shaken. As long as the bureau is fine, even 'Zheng Si Ni' can't kill us. This scene should end soon."
Huangfu Jun's mouth twitched. So Zheng Sini's name actually meant "Zheng (tries to) kill you"? The head of the Supervision Bureau was indeed extraordinary.
As Ying Wu had said, Hamo got the result quickly. He then smiled and invited Zheng Sini and his group to rest in the office. Zheng Sini, seeing that his subordinates had mostly recovered, looked around and said in a deep voice, "We need a brand new, independent large meeting room. Starting now, the audit work begins. The seals on the workstations of the Seventh Bureau are removed. All Seventh Bureau staff, return to your positions immediately. For the past 70 years, compile all documents related to the escaped workers from the accident site, and send them to the new office. This time, there is one escaped worker, employee number 1111. The other workers involved in this accident are numbers 500 to 525. Now, the review work officially begins!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Sini led the group in black out of the office in a grand manner. Hamo grabbed Gui Suishou and quickly followed. In the office, except for Huangfu Jun and Ying Wu, the other employees looked pale, with a greenish tint, and immediately returned to their positions to start working busily.
Huangfu Jun took out a sticky note and showed it to Ying Wu: [Thank you, Sister Ying.] Ying Wu read the note and immediately broke into a smile. "Oh my, A Jun, don't be so polite. You just started, it's normal not to understand anything. Everyone in our office is warm-hearted. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Our various inspections are often just about flipping through files and providing materials, not difficult. Our Monster Bureau is different from the outside; an office is like one family~"
Jin Ji and Guiche Jun, who had already taken their seats, turned their heads and glanced at Ying Wu with some surprise. Ying Wu enthusiastically continued, "For example, the archives that the inspectors need are in the flower house in the backyard. It looks like a flower house, but there's a basement inside, and all the files are in the basement. The person managing the archives is the octopus we saw earlier. Although he has a bad temper, he's actually soft-hearted. If you go to the archives, no matter how crazy he acts after you knock, ignore him. His territorial awareness is very strong; going crazy is normal. Just go in and find the files."
Huangfu Jun smiled on the surface, but she knew clearly that Ying Wu, with her undying evil intentions, had made a second attack on her.
Bai Lin's voice sounded again: [So, this time, are you going to use my name to counter again?] Huangfu Jun ignored Bai Lin. She typed on her phone, then played an AI voice to answer Ying Wu: [Okay, this time, let me help Sister Ying.]
Bai Lin, hidden in her brainwaves, was surprised and couldn't help asking: [Why didn't you dodge this time?] Looking at Ying Wu's pleased expression, Huangfu Jun's eyes burned. She replied in her brainwaves: [To have a back-and-forth, attack and defend—that's a real contest!]
Ying Wu was oblivious to the conversation in Huangfu Jun's brainwaves. She patted Huangfu Jun's shoulder again, smiling. "In principle, your work tasks should be arranged by the captain, but this inspection came too suddenly. The captain has been transferred. General Manager Ha also said just now to let us guide you. So now I'll shamelessly take the lead to familiarize you with archive work. Coinciding with this inspection, we'll train while inspecting. You'll become more familiar with our company and work content."
Huangfu Jun smiled and showed the sticky note: [Okay, thank you, Sister Ying. What should I do now?] Ying Wu said, "Very simple. All activity information of worker No. 1111 and workers No. 500 to 525 after they entered the construction site. According to 'Zheng Si Ni's' habits, it must be delivered to them within fifteen minutes. The new office General Manager Ha prepared for them is definitely the first room on the right at the back door, very close to the backyard."
Huangfu Jun sneered inwardly. This workload was obviously huge. Ying Wu's smile became gentler. "Don't be afraid. In the Monster Bureau, you can freely use your supernatural powers. I still don't know your true form. This is a chance to show everyone your real strength!"
Then she took Huangfu Jun's notebook and pen and simply drew the route to the archives. Huangfu Jun pursed her lips. Was Ying Wu testing her limits? Unfortunately, apart from the 'seeing' ability, she didn't know what other abilities she had. She nodded to indicate to Ying Wu that she could handle it, then turned and walked out of the office.
Watching Huangfu Jun leave, Ying Wu raised her eyebrows smugly. "Sister Ying," Guiche Jun leaned back in his chair, glancing at Ying Wu with a half-smile, "the captain hasn't made a move yet, and you're already ordering her around? Aren't you afraid of upsetting the captain?" Ying Wu glared at Guiche Jun fiercely. "What? Already feeling sorry for her after just one meeting? Pity should be timed right. A half-demon joining the Monster Bureau deserves death. If you feel sorry, you can die in her place." Guiche Jun curled his lips, his smile frivolous. "Oh, how unjust~ I'm clearly worried about Sister Ying. Sister Ying charges ahead for everyone, and I'm more than touched." Ying Wu snorted coldly. "That's better!" Then she walked back to her workstation, picked up her water cup, and swayed her hips toward the water room.
At this moment, although Huangfu Jun couldn't see the open conspiracy in the office, she could guess roughly. But it didn't matter. What mattered was steadily advancing according to her own plan.
[Zhang Yu hates being disturbed while working, and even more hates strangers. Aren't you afraid to go like this?] Bai Lin asked softly. [I'm not acting recklessly,] Huangfu Jun replied in her brainwaves. [Since I've entered the Monster Bureau, I will have to deal with various departments sooner or later, especially the archives. I am an employee of the Monster Bureau after all, and with Captain Bai covertly protecting me, there shouldn't be any life-threatening issues. Since Ying Wu made her move, I'll take this opportunity to probe the situation.] Bai Lin said disdainfully: [Hmph, relying on my name again?] Huangfu Jun: "Not entirely. Without seeing the confrontation between Gui Suishou, the Supervision Bureau, and Director Zhang, I wouldn't have taken this risk." Bai Lin was surprised: [Oh? What did you see?] Huangfu Jun's smiling eyes curved. "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed~" Bai Lin: [...] He had a feeling that the host was turning the tables on the system.
Huangfu Jun confirmed again: [Is the guide map Ying Wu gave accurate?] Bai Lin: [Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed.] Huangfu Jun smiled. "Just kidding, don't take it seriously, Captain Bai. You're not only my system but also my superior. I just want to be more responsible to Brother System. Once I get more evidence, I will definitely explain it to you, Captain Bai~"
Bai Lin's mood suddenly brightened, but he still maintained a cold and gloomy expression and granted her the answer as a reward: [The address Ying Wu gave is correct. She thinks you, a stranger, can never handle Zhang Yu.] Huangfu Jun nodded emphatically. [Thank you, Captain Bai. Once my guess is verified, I'll tell you first~] Bai Lin gave a snort of laughter. [No one cares.]
Huangfu Jun smiled nonchalantly. Tough on the outside, soft on the inside—her personal system and superior was actually quite cute.
She took out the map Ying Wu had drawn and headed toward the backyard. After weaving through the lush garden, she finally arrived at a small wooden house. Huangfu Jun observed it front and back. The small wooden house was only about three square meters. How could it hold any archives? Unless there was a barrier inside connecting to a larger space.
She reached out to push the red-painted wooden door. The paint-peeling door was as heavy as if cast in iron, completely unmovable. Huangfu Jun frowned, took out the route map Ying Wu had given her, and carefully compared. It said the wooden door here would open with a push, with no other precautions. She tried pulling outward with all her strength, but the door didn't budge, not even a flake of paint shifting. Wasn't this a swinging door? Were the hinges rusted? Well, it was indeed rust-stained and very timeworn.
Thousands of miles away, Bai Lin curled his lips. Huangfu Jun's disheveled appearance at this moment made him feel exceptionally pleased. The seventh bureau's logistics director Zhang Yu's irascibility was famous throughout the Hua Kingdom's monster world. Now that she was stubbornly going forward, she was bound to fail. He only waited for her to hit a wall and then, in tears, send him an SOS signal, begging him to save her.
Huangfu Jun calmed down. If brute force wouldn't open it, she would try using the 'seeing' ability. She held her breath and concentrated, scanning the small wooden house and door bit by bit. Suddenly, she felt a black shadow fall from in front of her onto her shoulder. Then a cold wind with a strange whistling sound blew, chilling her steaming sweat instantaneously. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she couldn't help but shiver. She turned around abruptly, only to find that the black shadow on her shoulder was just a fallen leaf.
Brushing off the leaf, she looked back at her surroundings. Deep tree shadows, weeds obscuring the path, and occasional dark shadows flitting by, causing eerie rustling sounds, as if some creature was fleeing uneasily. Just then, a dry, hoarse creaking sound came from ahead! Huangfu Jun spun around. The wooden door slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black, deep corridor.
What hit her face was a foul, musty, fishy smell, like that of a thousand-year-old tomb containing rotting corpses being opened for the first time. She stepped forward, but the small wooden house stepped back. She took two more steps forward, and the same happened. Bai Lin seized the moment to speak: [It's a barrier. Its effect is similar to what you humans call yin energy. It needs an extremely sunny, positive, and uplifting energy to stabilize it, or else it will keep moving away. I also want to tell you: this barrier has locked onto you. If you don't find a way to break it within one minute, you will be trapped here forever with no way out.]