The Harmonizing Agent

The driver parked the car and opened the door for Shen Jingye. The security guard opened the main gate for Shen Jingye. Two section chiefs who had been walking behind Shen Jingye broke into a trot, dashed ahead, summoned the elevator, and held the doors for him. Once inside his office, Shen Jingye looked out the window at the scenery and took a sip of tea. As of now, there was still no word on Li Qi. It couldn't be confirmed whether the man was dead, but preparatory measures had to be put in place. The previous balancer, Chen Weixin, had gone missing for an extended period, which had thrown a great deal of work into disarray and put them on the defensive. They had to avoid a repeat of that situation. "With Li Qi's whereabouts unknown and his inability to perform the duties of the balancer, search operations must continue, but we must also begin scouting for the next balancer..." Shen Jingye was mentally drafting a speech. He wouldn't have to write the text himself, of course, but he needed to give his secretary clear direction to keep the draft on track. "Regarding the consequences of Li Qi acting on his own authority, I feel profound sorrow. While engaging in deep reflection, we must also soberly recognize that a lax sense of discipline and the big picture is an ailment common to nearly all balancers. We can understand the impact that Puluo Province's harsh environment has had on them, but our oversight must be tightened..." *Ring ring ring—* The desk phone interrupted Shen Jingye's train of thought. Glancing at the caller ID, his cheek twitched. He picked up the receiver and heard the voice he least wanted to hear: "Little Shen, come to my office." In the entire Dark Star Bureau, only one person called him Little Shen... Hanging up, Shen Jingye immediately called the front desk. "When did Director Li arrive? Why wasn't it reported at once?" The receptionist was caught off guard and couldn't answer for a long time. Shen Jingye slammed the phone down and inquired with several deputy directors and section chiefs. Incredibly, not a single one had received word that Li Qi had come in to work. Rubbing his temples as a headache set in, Shen Jingye's desk phone rang again. Li Qi's voice came through: "Little Shen, why aren't you here yet? How long do you expect me to wait for you? You need to fix your attitude toward work!" Ten minutes later, Shen Jingye arrived at Li Banfeng's office. No matter how much resentment and disappointment churned inside him, Shen Jingye still had to put on a show of collegial concern. "Ah, Xiao Li! You had me worried sick! What on earth happened?" Li Banfeng smiled. "I was just about to tell you about the incident. No need to rush. Have a seat, let's take our time. Who led the Security Team to the textile factory yesterday?" Shen Jingye replied, "Deputy Director Wang. That falls under his purview." Li Banfeng asked, "Did Deputy Director Wang act on his own initiative, or was it under your orders?" Shen Jingye felt a surge of irritation. Just as he was about to start arguing, he caught himself and rephrased his words: "Director Wang's actions were carried out in fulfillment of his duties, executing the mission assigned to him by the bureau." This was experience. This was political skill. By framing it from that angle, he gave Li Qi no opening to make a scene. Even if Li Qi wanted to argue, he could hardly dispute Director Wang's responsibilities, much less challenge a decision made by the bureau. Li Banfeng frowned. "Little Shen, are you unable to explain this clearly?" Shen Jingye didn't know how to respond; Li Banfeng simply refused to follow his rhythm. Li Banfeng continued, "If you can't explain it, I'll call Director Wang in as well." Shen Jingye was still at a loss for words. Li Banfeng picked up the phone, dialed Director Wang's extension, and said, "Little Wang, come to my office." *** An hour later, four bureau directors sat in Li Banfeng's office. Director Liu, who oversaw restricted zones, had been the first to receive the report: a drone patrolling the Ruirong Textile Factory restricted area had spotted unidentified smoke, which was later confirmed to have originated from a cigarette butt. Entry to the textile factory was strictly prohibited at the time. Where had that cigarette butt come from? Director Liu passed the intelligence to Director Zhang, head of reconnaissance. Director Zhang dispatched drones to sweep the area and discovered several suspicious individuals moving near Workshops Three and Five. Director Zhang immediately reported the situation to Director Shen. Treating the matter with the utmost gravity, Director Shen summoned Director Wang, who oversaw the Security Team, and had him devise an operational plan together with Directors Liu and Zhang to launch the raid. Staff brought the drone surveillance footage into Li Banfeng's office. Li Banfeng reviewed the first batch of recordings. He saw the cigarette butt, but it hadn't been left by his group. Lightbulb and Mingxing had not entered the factory grounds, and neither Li Banfeng nor Tangyuan smoked. The surveillance recorded the cigarette butt being discovered at nine-thirty in the evening, whereas Li Banfeng hadn't arrived at the textile factory until ten o'clock. The timeline didn't align. He watched the second batch of recordings. This drone footage captured five individuals appearing in the factory courtyard at nine forty-five. All five wore matching black robes and wide hats, covered head to toe, their faces concealed by gas masks. They flashed across the courtyard and slipped into Workshop Six. The surveillance cameras inside Workshop Six captured no sign of them. Director Zhang declared, "Based on my years of experience in reconnaissance, this group likely possesses invisibility-type abilities, or carries a dark-energy carrier that grants stealth. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that they jammed our surveillance equipment." As he spoke, Director Zhang glanced at Li Banfeng from time to time, as though demonstrating his professional expertise. Li Banfeng offered no evaluation of his expertise, simply because everything Director Zhang had just said was utter nonsense. After finishing the surveillance footage, Li Banfeng asked, "Was the cigarette butt spotted on the earlier feed left behind by these people?" Director Zhang answered with great caution: "Traces of saliva were recovered from the cigarette butt and are currently undergoing chemical analysis. Until the lab report is finalized, we cannot definitively confirm the source. However, judging by the available clues, there is a high probability it was left by them." Li Banfeng looked at Director Zhang. "How does someone smoke a cigarette while wearing a gas mask?" Director Zhang knew this detail sounded improbable. "The current deduction is that they only put on the gas masks after entering the premises." "So you're saying that before putting on their masks, they took a smoke to relax, and casually tossed the butt on the ground?" Li Qi kept his gaze fixed on Director Zhang. Director Zhang made no reply. The cigarette issue was indeed difficult to explain, but the overall deductive chain was virtually airtight. Not only could he find no flaw in it, but none of the others could either. Unidentified persons had trespassed into a restricted zone where large numbers of highly dangerous unknown creatures had previously appeared. Under such circumstances, taking emergency countermeasures was entirely reasonable, justified, and compliant with protocol. Shen Jingye looked at Li Banfeng. "Director Li, we have explained this matter thoroughly. Now I require a reasonable explanation from you. Why did you, last night..." He wanted to ask why Li Banfeng had taken security team members to trespass into the restricted area, but before he could finish, Li Banfeng cut him off. "There are grave deficiencies in your work," Li Banfeng said. "That has yet to be explained." Shen Jingye remained remarkably patient. "Please elaborate. What deficiencies are you referring to?" Li Banfeng said, "Little Liu spotted a cigarette butt and notified Little Zhang. Little Zhang spotted suspicious persons and notified you. You directly notified the Security Team. Do you truly believe there is no problem with that?" Shen Jingye replied with complete composure, "That is the proper procedural workflow according to our division of responsibilities. I fail to see where the problem lies." Li Banfeng said, "The problem lies in the fact that nobody notified me." Shen Jingye's expression darkened. "Director Li, that does not fall within your assigned purview." Li Banfeng said, "And what is my purview?" Shen Jingye couldn't answer directly, because he had never assigned Li Banfeng any responsibilities in the first place. "That matter still needs to be determined through discussion at a committee meeting." Li Banfeng said, "The fact that you haven't assigned me a purview proves that the problem lies with you." Shen Jingye fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. If you consider that my mistake, how do you intend to handle it?" "Considering this is your first offense, write a self-criticism." Li Banfeng already had paper and a pen ready. "I am not in the mood to indulge your nonsense!" With that, Shen Jingye stood up and walked out of Li Banfeng's office. The moment he stepped into the hallway, Shen Jingye saw centipedes crawling all over the floor. Perched on his desk, Li Banfeng offered an explanation: "Those are samples I brought back from the textile factory. I haven't had time to send them to the lab yet. Our security officers were bitten by these very things and are still lying in the hospital. Watch your step, Little Shen." Shen Jingye sneered. Centipedes brought back from the textile factory? Did he take him for a fool to believe such a ridiculous lie? Shen Jingye returned to Li Banfeng's office and sat back down on the sofa. From deep inside the leather sofa cushions came rustling, scuttling noises. Li Banfeng helpfully reminded him, "I'm not too familiar with the methods and protocols for preserving specimens. These ones are a bit too lively, crawling all over the place." Watching the squirming, shifting shapes within the leather upholstery, Shen Jingye fell into deep thought. Would Li Qi truly dare to bring such things into the office? Even if he didn't care about breaking regulations, did he not care about his own safety? *Don't fall for his trick. Don't let him intimidate you. He must be using an illusion-inducing dark-energy carrier, just like that time with the conference room no one could leave.* Armed with this resolute conviction, Shen Jingye held his ground on the sofa for a full minute. Then he pulled over a chair, sat at the desk, and began writing his self-criticism. There was no sense in provoking Li Qi. The man was mentally deranged. If he really had brought those centipedes in and someone got bitten, the price would be far too high. Once Shen Jingye started writing, Li Banfeng looked at the other three directors. "Don't just sit there idling. Do none of you bear any responsibility?" As he spoke, over a dozen centipedes wriggled out of the sofa seams and crawled right up to their feet. Directors Liu, Wang, and Zhang exchanged contemptuous smiles, cast a glance at Li Qi, and then picked up pens and paper, hunched over the coffee table, and began scribbling their self-criticisms. When they were finished, the papers were handed to Li Qi for review. The self-criticisms from Directors Shen, Zhang, and Liu were deemed acceptable, and Li Banfeng dismissed them. Director Wang's reflection was deemed insufficiently profound, so Li Qi ordered him to rewrite it. Once bitten, twice shy. With an important meeting scheduled for the afternoon, the secretariat worried about offending Li Qi and submitted the agenda items to him for review beforehand. Li Banfeng had little interest in the meeting, but one item caught his eye. It concerned disciplinary action against two members of the Security Team. One was Chen Changrui. Li Banfeng was already aware of his situation; he faced reassignment to another post. The other was Qin Minghui. His offense was the unauthorized ingestion of a harmonizing agent, and the proposed punishment was termination. Putting the agenda down, Li Banfeng dialed Qin Minghui's desk extension. No one answered; Qin Minghui wasn't at his desk. He was in Director Wang's office. Director Wang sat; Qin Minghui stood. "Xiao Qin, there's no need to say anything more, and don't harbor any illusions. You should count yourself lucky that this is all you're getting." Qin Minghui remained silent. He hadn't come to plead for mercy; Director Wang had summoned him. Director Wang hadn't called Qin Minghui in to offer him a chance at redemption either. Rather, having just been forced to write two rounds of self-criticism for Li Banfeng, Director Wang—a man who valued his health—needed an outlet to vent his bottled-up rage. He lectured Qin Minghui with earnest severity: "A law enforcement officer knowingly breaking the law! In my eyes, that is an unforgivable crime! Letting you walk away with a simple dismissal is letting you off far too easy! "Look at it on a small scale, and you've tarnished the reputation of the entire Security Team. Look at the big picture, and you've brought disgrace upon the entire Dark Star cause!" *** After enduring over half an hour of scolding, Qin Minghui left the office and ran into Lightbulb in the corridor. Lightbulb stepped up to console him. "Zhong'er, don't take it to heart. Find another place and start fresh." Qin Minghui managed a smile and nodded. Lightbulb added, "What are your plans for the next step?" Qin Minghui shook his head. He hadn't thought that far ahead. As a dark adept, his employment options were heavily restricted, and barring extraordinary circumstances, he was not permitted to leave Yuezhou. As the two chatted, Old Sun from Security Team logistics walked over. "Xiao Qin, go clean out your locker in the changing room. The new recruits are arriving soon, so clear out the space." Old Sun was nearing retirement and had been given an easy sinecure by the department. He was quite zealous about it, maintaining strict control over the lockers in the changing room. When Qin Minghui first arrived, it had taken two full months of paperwork to get assigned a locker. Now, even before the formal termination notice was issued, Old Sun had heard the rumors and immediately demanded he surrender it. Qin Minghui prepared to head to the locker room. Lightbulb said, "Zhong'er, I'll go with you." Old Sun cut in, "He's no longer one of us, so don't call him by his codename anymore. Lightbulb, you've been here two years. Surely I don't need to remind you of the bureau's rules?" Lightbulb turned to glare at him. "What business is that of yours?" Old Sun frowned. "Can't take a word of advice? Young man, you've got quite a temper!" "Temper? You're just sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!" Lightbulb rarely argued with anyone, but today he couldn't suppress his rage. Just as the two were on the verge of a shouting match, Tangyuan walked over and said to Qin Minghui, "Zhong'er, Director Li wants to see you." Qin Minghui let out a dry laugh. "Another round of scolding?" Tangyuan offered no explanation. "I'm only conveying Director Li's orders." Old Sun sneered from the side. "What a disgrace. Truly making a fool of himself at every turn." Tangyuan glanced at Old Sun. "Director Li said the locker room failed hygiene standards. He wants you to clean it up." Old Sun froze. "Director Li went to the locker room?" Tangyuan nodded. "He just finished inspecting it." Old Sun remained skeptical. "Xiao You, you can't go making things like that up!" Tangyuan kept a straight face. "During work hours, please address me by my codename. If you don't want to go, you can wait for Director Li to come find you in person." Old Sun was deeply doubtful. A man of Director Li's status surely wouldn't concern himself with such trivial matters. But the new director was notoriously unpredictable. Grumbling under his breath, Old Sun scurried off toward the locker room anyway. Lightbulb whispered to Tangyuan, "Did Director Li really go to the locker room?" Tangyuan raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Qin Minghui arrived at Li Qi's office and stood obediently before the desk. After being scolded every day recently, he had grown accustomed to it. Li Banfeng asked his first question: "Where did you get the harmonizing agent?" Qin Minghui answered honestly, "Confiscated from the black market." "What did you want it for?" "To consume it." Qin Minghui was entirely candid. "Why take that stuff?" "To become stronger." "Why do you need to become stronger?" "To protect this world, and everything important in it." That had been Zhong'er's answer when he first joined the Dark Star Bureau, and to this day, it had not changed. Li Banfeng asked, "What counts as something important in this world?" Zhong'er thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't define it. Back at the textile factory, those two children about to be devoured by silkworms seemed very important to me. In Garden Community, the residents of that apartment building were important. And..." Li Banfeng pointed to a chair. "Sit down. Take your time, and explain everything from the beginning." *** That afternoon, in the conference room. Li Qi swept his gaze across every director present. The directors kept their eyes glued to the meeting materials, refusing to look him in the eye. Shen Jingye chaired the meeting. Li Qi was the first to speak: "I suggest we begin with the personnel disciplinary actions." Shen Jingye didn't insist on standard meeting protocol; he agreed immediately. Through their interactions over this period, he had learned an iron rule: when it came to inconsequential matters, it was best not to provoke Li Qi. The recommendations had already been drafted; usually, such items were approved as a mere formality. Yet the moment the items were read aloud, Li Qi was the first to object. He began by opposing Chen Changrui's reassignment: "A stealth space existed at Ruirong Textile Factory. Chen Changrui had no prior knowledge of the specific circumstances. Primary responsibility for this incident does not lie with him." Director Wang voiced a counterargument: "As captain of the Security Team, conducting a thorough investigation of the scene is the foundation of the work. Rushing into action without adequate understanding of the site constitutes dereliction of duty in itself." Li Qi had long anticipated this rhetoric. Finding fault was the easiest thing in the world; whenever these people set their minds to picking flaws, any defense was futile. Was there a way to break through it? Yes. Li Banfeng asked Director Wang, "Who assigned Chen Changrui to carry out this mission?" Director Wang paused, then replied, "I was acting in accordance with my division of duties—" Before he could finish, Li Banfeng pressed on: "Did you conduct a thorough investigation of the scene? Did you perform a risk assessment of potential hazards? Did you formulate preventative measures for the hidden dangers present on site?" Director Wang glanced at Shen Jingye, then turned back to Li Qi. "I arranged the Security Team's operation following Director Shen's directives." Li Banfeng turned his gaze to Shen Jingye. "Did you conduct an investigation into the conditions on site?" Shen Jingye kept his head down, staring at the meeting materials. "Let the relevant department redraft the recommendations for this item and submit them for discussion at the next meeting. Let us first address the disciplinary action against Qin Minghui." The harmonizing agent affair had been entirely Qin Minghui's personal doing. That made it much harder to resolve. According to the confession of Huang, a black-market dealer, Qin Minghui had confiscated seven hundred grams of harmonizing agent from him but had only turned in five hundred grams. Qin Minghui could not explain where the remaining two hundred grams had gone. During that period, Qin Minghui had taken two sick leaves—plainly because ingesting the harmonizing agent had caused adverse physical reactions requiring days of recovery. Director Chen, who was handling the case, declared, "The facts are crystal clear. Qin Minghui himself has admitted that the confiscated amount did not match the amount turned in. The nature of this offense is severe, and its impact egregious. Under our regulations, he must be dismissed." Qin Minghui had confessed, leaving the matter set in stone. It seemed impossible for anyone to find an angle to defend him. All eyes fell upon Li Qi. They assumed Li Qi would question the reasonableness of the regulations. That point could be debated, but such a debate would have no bearing on the outcome. Violating existing regulations required punishment. Whether the rules ought to be amended had no effect on Qin Minghui's disciplinary ruling. Li Qi reviewed the materials thoroughly. He did not challenge the regulations; instead, he raised an objection against the facts of the case itself. "We cannot establish Qin Minghui's liability based solely on the unilateral confession of a black-market dealer named Huang." Director Chen naturally refused to accept this. "This isn't just Huang's confession. Qin Minghui himself admitted to the facts." Li Banfeng said, "From what I understand, Qin Minghui only admitted to the discrepancy under duress after being threatened." Director Chen grew agitated. "Director Li, what are you implying? Who threatened Qin Minghui? Are you suggesting it was me?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I never said it was you. I suspect Qin Minghui was threatened by elements from the black market, forcing him to shoulder blame that was never his to bear." Director Chen gave a cold laugh. "Now that makes no sense. He is an officer of the Dark Star Bureau. Why would he be intimidated by the black market?" Li Qi chuckled as well. "Indeed, it is quite baffling. What gives a mere black-market merchant the nerve to threaten an officer of the Security Team? Who gave him that backing?" Li Qi looked around the table, meeting everyone's eyes. "I believe this black market requires a thorough investigation. You may leave that assignment to me." The conference room fell deathly silent. Director Chen said nothing, and none of the others spoke a word. Shen Jingye broke the silence, his tone remarkably calm: "Xiao Li, I understand your desire to protect Qin Minghui. But the disciplinary measure we formulated today is also meant to protect him. "If this matter stays within the bureau, Qin Minghui merely loses his job. If it escalates further, he will be subjected to a far more rigorous investigation. At that point, the ones investigating him won't be us, but sophisticated equipment and instruments. "If higher authorities deploy the dark ability tester, they will pull up Qin Minghui's dark ability fluctuation curves over the entire past year. Is that truly the outcome you wish to see? "Every time a harmonizing agent is consumed, it causes an abnormal spike in dark ability. If Qin Minghui has taken it more than once, it will leave multiple undeniable, ironclad traces on that curve. "When that happens, dismissal will be the least of his worries. When that time comes, none of us will be able to help him." Li Banfeng did not hesitate for a second. Looking directly at Shen Jingye, he said, "Little Shen, I suggest you report to higher authorities immediately and request the use of those sophisticated instruments for a more rigorous examination of Qin Minghui. In this matter, there truly can be no ambiguity." Shen Jingye's tone hardened. "Xiao Li, think carefully. An impulsive choice could ruin Qin Minghui's entire life." Li Banfeng remained steadfast. "Little Shen, I have thought it through. I believe Qin Minghui did not illicitly consume any harmonizing agent, and I believe he will withstand any scrutiny." *** As soon as the meeting concluded, word spread. The notice dismissing Qin Minghui had not been issued. For now, he remained a member of the Dark Star Bureau. Lightbulb was overjoyed for Qin Minghui and specifically dragged him to the locker room just to spite Old Sun. After work, Tangyuan and Lightbulb planned to treat Qin Minghui to dinner to celebrate. Qin Minghui was in no mood to celebrate. He slipped quietly into Li Qi's office. "Director Li, I can't undergo that test. I've taken the harmonizing agent more than once. If they test me, I'm completely finished." *** "Don't worry, they won't detect a thing," He Jiaqing said over a remote call with Big Head from inside the Ling Family Pictures building. "Li Qi made the right move. Cultivation cannot be seen. The so-called dark ability tester used in the Outer States is nothing more than an empty prop to scare people. "What I don't understand is, what is his relationship with this Qin Minghui? Why go to such lengths to shield him?" Big Head didn't understand either. "I have no idea what Li Qi's motive is, but he truly does take his work at the Dark Star Bureau seriously." "With him being so focused on the Outer States, he has no time to look after matters in Puluo Province. Logically speaking, this would be a prime opportunity to recoup some of our previous losses, but given my current condition..." He Jiaqing scratched his cheek, where a cluster of green pustules had erupted. Big Head said, "I've combed through many classified dossiers, but so far I haven't found any records regarding Disease Cultivators." He Jiaqing sighed. "That pathway is simply too rare. Any news from the Healing or Medicine Cultivators?" "I've managed to obtain contact information for a few. Their identities are deeply concealed; I'll let you know once I verify them." "Brother, time is running short. I'll be waiting for your word." After cutting the connection, He Jiaqing sat silently in his office for a long time. The door opened. At a time like this, anyone who dared enter this room was no ordinary figure. The newcomer was a middle-aged man rolling a pair of walnuts in his hand. He took a seat across from He Jiaqing. "Eldest Young Master He, you sent for me?" He Jiaqing said, "Brother Zhang, you can probably tell that I've fallen prey to Lü Huazi's methods. My life may be in danger within the next few days, so I was hoping to borrow something from you." Zhang Gunli rubbed the walnuts together and asked, "Can you be a bit more explicit? Are you looking to extend your life?" He Jiaqing nodded. "I wonder if it's possible to borrow life from you?" Zhang Gunli put away his walnuts and produced an IOU promissory note. "You can borrow it. The interest, however, is a bit steep."