I Only Came Out for Noodles

"Name: Ye Huan." "Origin and identity-related background checks completed. No anomalies found." "Advanced interrogation techniques administered while subject was unconscious. Partial memory loss confirmed." "Credit-point transaction records for the day of the incident investigated. Details as follows:" "It was his birthday on that day. Purchased a birthday cake, entered the mine to look for his coworkers, and encountered the incident by chance." "The above sequence of events has been cross-referenced against birth date records, on-site interviews at the bakery, surveillance footage at the mine entrance, and chat records of coworkers discussing plans to celebrate his birthday." "All details match." "Song Fushan has verified that the martial technique practiced is Iron Hand, a common martial art on the market, with an advancement track oriented toward Copper Head and Iron Arms." "Song Fushan's analysis concludes that 'Copper Head and Iron Arms' was the primary reason for the subject's survival." "Song Fushan employed specialized techniques to verify that the subject possesses no knowledge of any other martial art." "Song Fushan has assessed the subject as possessing martial talent." "All items above have been verified correct." "Please sign." Xia Li skimmed the document, picked up her pen, and signed her name. —With this signature, Ye Huan had officially joined the Bureau of Investigation. There was no helping it. Powerful fiends and demons could not enter the city. Yet their servants could lurk undetected within the human world. After the disaster befell Investigation Section One, the director had conducted interrogations in person, unearthing shocking revelations. The entire Bureau of Investigation was thoroughly vetted from top to bottom. Quite a few problems were indeed flushed out. From this moment onward, everyone had to face rigorous screening! …… Streetlights flickered on as a steady stream of traffic rolled past. The streets bustled with crowds. Song Fushan wore a tattered denim jacket, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his chin covered in scruff as he led the way. He tossed out casually, "Here we are. This beef brisket noodle shop has the most authentic broth on the whole street. Consider this a welcome meal for you—my treat." "How could I let the section chief pay? I'm the newcomer; I should be the one treating," Ye Huan said. Song Fushan gave a soft cough and said with hearty generosity, "I'll get it this time. I happen to be submitting this month's expenses anyway. The bureau's footing the bill." "Thank you, Section Chief," Ye Huan said. —Slipping out during work to eat was one thing, but bringing back the receipt to get reimbursed by the bureau? What kind of heavenly section was this! Wait. That wasn't right either. The Bureau of Investigation was hardly a place that tolerated slackers. Why would it permit an entire section to act like this? Even Xia Li had spoken to him in an entirely down-to-earth manner, without the slightest air of superiority. "I'll take a bowl of pork slice and offal noodle soup. What do you want?" "Fried noodles with beef, plus an egg, please! Thank you, Section Chief!" The two sat down inside the shop. "Hurry up and eat your fill. Once we head back to the office, we'll hunker down inside, bolt the door, and slip off once our shift ends," Song Fushan instructed. "Yes, Section Chief," Ye Huan answered. The two buried their heads in their food. "Section Chief, have you ever seen a real fiend or demon?" Ye Huan asked casually. "Of course. Fiends and demons are very common outside the city. Non-demons, on the other hand, are rarely seen," Song Fushan said. "What is a 'non-demon'?" Ye Huan asked curiously. "Normally, we call them Demon Gods. But according to scattered records dating back before the civilizational rupture, they share a collective designation—" "Full Life-Spectrum Genetically Modulated Evolutionary Super-Organisms," Song Fushan said. What a mouthful… Wait. What did he mean by a 'civilizational rupture'? …Who knew how far this world was from Earth. Letting his thoughts wander, Ye Huan asked offhandedly, "How strong are Demon Gods?" "Far beyond fiends and demons. Basically invincible." Song Fushan gave a thumbs-up. Ye Huan gave a silent nod. That terrifying? He definitely shouldn't venture beyond the city walls in the future. Song Fushan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and continued, "Now that you're part of the bureau, there are some things you need to know." "Please tell me." Ye Huan put down his chopsticks. "—Above those Demon Gods, there exists another kind of entity." Song Fushan whispered, "Demon Gods can at least be communicated with. On that one-in-ten-thousand chance you catch one in a good mood and it takes a liking to you, it might let you off." "But the entities above Demon Gods are simply—" He seemed at a loss for words, shaking his head. "Perhaps you could call them 'gods,' yet they are not humanity's 'gods.'" "Humans and demons are worse off than mere ants before them." "Do they target humans?" Ye Huan asked. "Target? That's hilarious. They wouldn't even deign to glance at you. But if a human city happens to lie in their path, you'd better prepare to abandon it." "They attack cities?" "No. They merely pass by, and the city is obliterated." "—So you see, ordinary folks who know nothing at all are truly the happiest." "Eat up. Let's not talk about this anymore." Having said his piece, Song Fushan lifted his bowl, took a sip of broth, and slurped up his noodles with relish, as if he hadn't uttered a single word just now. Ye Huan fell silent for a beat, picked up his chopsticks, and went back to his noodles. He had encountered two bizarre occurrences so far. Once, he had seen an impossible basement in the hospital. Another time, he had seen that colossal woman's face descending over the rooftop. —Were those demons? Or higher-tier entities? He had no idea. "How does it taste?" Song Fushan asked. "It's been a long time since I had fried noodles this good," Ye Huan said sincerely. "Haha, right? How could a place I picked be anything less than delicious!" Song Fushan beamed, as proud as if he owned the shop himself. Ye Huan asked no further questions. He simply ate his noodles at an unhurried pace, occasionally looking up to take in his surroundings. Various identities hovered above people's heads: "Teacher," "Doctor," "Taxi Driver," "Martial Arts Hall Disciple," "Porter," "Ruffian"… —Even "Ruffian" was an identity? Ye Huan watched for a while longer and spotted one "Ruffian," two "Con Artists," and three "Thieves." He had a faint feeling that these people had other identities in everyday life. Yet in his current state, he could only see a person's primary identity—their most recent, most deeply recognized role. —It had to be that. Come to think of it, he truly was well-suited for this line of work, able to see right through anyone's true background. Still, these were all ordinary people. The Police Bureau handled ordinary criminal and safety affairs. The Bureau of Investigation wielded far greater authority, but it generally did not interfere with regular police matters. Investigators were not encouraged to act against regular civilians at will; doing so required lengthy written reports of explanation afterward. Ye Huan took another mouthful of fried noodles, watching the street scene outside the shop as he gradually put his guard down. —There truly weren't any suspicious characters around. Which made sense. It wasn't as if one could catch a mastermind just by going out for a bite to eat. They had only just ambushed the prison escort and butchered so many people. Why on earth would those criminals come right back to the scene of the incident? Suddenly. A mild-mannered man wearing black-rimmed glasses walked from the edge of the street toward the bus stop, raising a phone to his ear. A line of text materialized above the man's head: *Mastermind Behind the Sunset Boulevard Prisoner-Rescue Murders.* ……Found the culprit just like that? Ye Huan went dead silent. *I only came out for some noodles. Did you really have to deliver yourself right to my face?* His chopsticks gently poked at the noodle bowl. What should he do? An ambush that killed two hundred people, with an inside contact planted right inside the Bureau of Investigation itself. Should he do something? "Hey, what are you staring at?" Song Fushan asked. Ye Huan pulled his gaze back, maintaining a vacant expression. Sitting across from him was a mid-level official of the Bureau of Investigation, the Chief of the Mysterious Affairs Section. Should he speak up? Time seemed to stretch out endlessly in that instant. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the man hadn't left. Not only was he still there, but three more people had joined him. *S-Rank Professional Hitman.* *S-Rank Professional Hitman.* *Presiding Judge of the Dark Tide Tribunal.* Three identity prompts sprang up one after another above their heads. *Hiss—* Why on earth would a bunch of lunatic cult members and underworld hitmen assemble right outside a beef brisket noodle shop? This didn't fit their status at all. Standing there put him in an impossible spot. What was he supposed to do? Tell Song Fushan that those people looked suspicious? Then what? He had no idea whether Song Fushan had really come out to eat or to investigate a case. This was also his very first day meeting the man. Could he trust him? Frankly speaking, if a fight broke out— Song Fushan might survive, but what about him? Could he survive? Ye Huan felt a sudden wave of clarity. He was just an ordinary guard who had barely landed a well-paying job, reporting for his very first day of work. —And he was supposed to go after lunatics he stood zero chance against, who were so dangerous even senior martial artists couldn't handle them? Even if he succeeded, what then? He would be praised for his sharp investigative instincts and thrown into even deadlier assignments. There was no reason for a living person to seek an early grave. Once he truly possessed the strength, it wouldn't be too late to think about taking on these people. As for now— Stay alive first! "The clouds look heavy. Seems like it might rain," Ye Huan replied softly, his expression perfectly calm as he bowed his head over his noodles. "Is that so? By the way, is that one bowl enough for you, kid?" Song Fushan asked. "I was thinking it'd be great if we could add an order of beef tendon meatballs and grab a cold drink," Ye Huan played along. "Look at you, you know how to eat! I had the exact same thought." Song Fushan chuckled and shouted toward the counter, "Two orders of beef tendon meatballs, and two bottles of Lesimei, ice-cold!" "Right away! Coming up!" the counter called back. Before long, two steaming bowls of beef tendon meatballs and two chilled sodas were set on the table. Ye Huan didn't look outside again, keeping his head down and eating. Delicious. Truly delicious. Incredibly delicious. Had those people left yet? Taking advantage of slurping up a mouthful of noodles, Ye Huan glanced outside. A few cars roared down the street. Amid the bustling pedestrian traffic, those figures had vanished. Immediately after, a prompt surfaced in Ye Huan's mind: *You decisively refrained from exposing the enemy's identity, thereby successfully evading a lethal catastrophe. Evaluation +1.* *Total Evaluation +3.* *Settlement available upon surviving the day.* *Even that counts?* Ye Huan realized something with a jolt. This was an automatic evaluation trigger. It proved that those people merely lingering nearby was dangerous and lethal enough on its own! By sticking to the belief that "there was no reason for a living person to seek an early grave," he had safely made it through a deadly crisis! Ye Huan's feelings were a bit complicated. Song Fushan sat with his back to the street, browsing his phone while munching on his food. "Little Ye." He spoke up abruptly. "Section Chief?" Ye Huan's expression remained steady. "I just checked the weather forecast. Heavy rain is predicted for tonight. Remember to bring in your laundry when you get back," Song Fushan said. "I don't have any clothes hanging outside, so I'm fine," Ye Huan said with a smile. "You're fine? Good, then." Song Fushan smiled as well.