Chapter Ninety-Seven: Compensation

The Eighth Division, like the Ninth Division, was a subordinate branch of that secret bureau.

Over the past decade and more, the Ninth Division had produced striking results, and under the leadership of Jiang Chao'an, a man of meticulous mind and formidable skill, it had steadily outpaced the Eighth Division and become the bureau's public face.

Jiang Chao'an himself was widely regarded as the most likely successor to the bureau's top post.

Yet in the last two years, the balance had shifted a little.

It was because a man named Xu Jingyuan had emerged in the Eighth Division.

Though he had not overturned the Ninth Division's overall advantage in achievements or momentum, his astonishing pace of advancement and rapid accumulation of accomplishments had begun to give the Eighth Division the faint air of a contender.

And Xu Jingyuan possessed another enormous advantage: his background.

The Xu family was one of the great clans of Longguo.

Xu Jingyuan, moreover, was one of the most outstanding figures of his generation, enjoying a vast tilt of resources in his favor. Compared with Jiang Chao'an's ordinary and spotless family background, the difference could be called heaven and earth.

If Jiang Chao'an's superior had not valued him so highly, then from the moment Xu Jingyuan entered the Eighth Division, Jiang Chao'an would already have been pushed aside by the weight of the Xu family name.

Even so, Xu Jingyuan had now become, much like Jiang Chao'an, one of the hottest candidates for succession within the secret bureau.

Of course, the difference between them was this: for Jiang Chao'an, becoming the bureau's chief was the ceiling of his career.

But for Xu Jingyuan, who was seven years younger, even the office of bureau chief was, in a sense, merely a stepping-stone toward something higher.

The Eighth Division's explosive growth over these two years had also, in large part, come from Xu Jingyuan's resources.

So when Xu Jingyuan appeared beside Yang Luo, Jiang Chao'an's expression changed at once.

"Xu Jingyuan, what do you mean by this?"

Xu Jingyuan looked at Jiang Chao'an's sharp rebuke and merely smiled, his manner as gentle and unhurried as that of a nobleman raised in refinement.

"Chief Jiang, competition breeds progress. Surely the Ninth Division cannot keep exclusive control over access to extraordinary individuals. Since Mr. Yang Luo has chosen our Eighth Division as his channel of contact, are we supposed to object?"

"This operation was specially authorized to us by Director Lu, and it even has Old Fang's support..."

Jiang Chao'an fixed him with a piercing stare, but Xu Jingyuan did not so much as flinch.

"After hearing Mr. Yang's request, I also asked Director Lu, and he approved it. My family elder even came forward to say a few words: 'When something as remarkable as the extraordinary is even more important than the atomic bomb, how can it be monopolized by a single institution?'"

The moment the word monopoly was spoken, Jiang Chao'an knew he would not be taking anyone away today.

After a moment of silence, his expression returned to normal, and he gave Xu Jingyuan a faint smile.

"Chief Xu is not wrong. An affair as large as the extraordinary is certainly more than one division can bear alone. Still, Chief Xu should be careful. To seek a bargain with a tiger is to risk being devoured. If one grows too triumphant, one should beware of the backlash."

"Chief Jiang's warning, I will keep in mind," Xu Jingyuan said, inclining his head, his expression serene and light.

"Let's go."

With a sweep of his hand, Jiang Chao'an prepared to lead the others away. But at that moment, Yang Luo, who had been watching the contest between him and Xu Jingyuan with great amusement, suddenly spoke again.

"Chief Jiang, wait a moment. I hear another extraordinary individual has just been discovered?"

Jiang Chao'an's heart went cold. Since when had the Ninth Division become such a sieve?

But on the surface, he only looked at Yang Luo and said blandly, "Oh? Is that so?"

Yang Luo did not let himself be deceived in the least. He gave a sinister smile.

"Chief Jiang, when you return, you may remind that little policeman for me: if he wants revenge, I am always available. But since we both belong to the same sect of the Evolution God, I do still believe in a little brotherhood. At the very least, I will leave him an intact corpse."

By now, Jiang Chao'an no longer bothered to hide the disgust he felt toward Yang Luo. He said coldly, "I understand."

Then he led the others away.

Behind him, Yang Luo stood beside Xu Jingyuan.

In the biting wind, he smiled again, his expression filled with utter contempt.

...

Lin Heng sat in the back seat of the car and devoured food of every kind.

All of it had been high-calorie food he had just bought.

Even after estimating his own capacity as generously as possible, he had still not expected that he would need to eat this much just to barely reach the threshold of being full.

The car stopped and started along the way, pausing repeatedly while Lin Heng got out to throw away pile after pile of wrapping paper and trash. On the other side, the two staff members escorting him were looking at him with ever more bizarre and frightened expressions.

"Director Lin, you..."

Seeing their faces, Lin Heng gave an awkward smile.

"Perfectly normal. Please understand."

Thus the journey continued in that strange atmosphere until at last the car arrived at the destination he had mentioned earlier.

It was a funeral home.

The car stopped outside the building. With the two staff members accompanying him, Lin Heng entered the funeral home. But as they walked, he suddenly looked a little embarrassed and asked them, "Um... my salary for this job should be pretty high each month, right?"

"Of course. The state certainly won't shortchange you," one of the escorts said, looking at him in confusion.

Lin Heng scratched his head.

"In that case... could I advance the pay for the next two months? I bought too much food just now..."

The escort immediately phoned Jiang Chao'an. After hearing Lin Heng's request, Jiang made the decision on the spot and directly transferred two million yuan to him.

"Think of it as your signing fee. No need to worry about paying it back. Your monthly salary will be handled separately."

Jiang Chao'an spoke to him over the phone with a touch of dry humor.

"Wouldn't that be a little too much?" Lin Heng almost said aloud.

But saying that would have felt too deliberate, so he swallowed the words, thanked him, and went into the funeral home, heading toward the person he had come to see.

It was a middle-aged woman with a face weathered by hardship, standing beside a young man with glasses. Both of them had swollen, red-rimmed eyes fixed on the cremator in operation.

Lin Heng walked up beside the woman.

His arrival startled the woman and the young man. Looking at him and the escorts at his side, both of them seemed at a complete loss.

"Excuse me, are you..."

The young man stepped in front of his mother, his face still carrying the innocence of someone fresh out of the ivory tower.

Looking at the two of them, Lin Heng took a bank card from his pocket, his voice rough with emotion.

"Hello. I am a staff member from the relevant department. Because this traffic explosion accident is closely connected to an error in our work, I have come to provide compensation to the two of you. There are a little over two million yuan on this card. The password is xxxxx..."

Hearing this, both of them froze.

They looked at each other, but neither moved to take the card.

"Please take it, both of you," said the escort beside Lin Heng.

Perhaps it was their urging, or perhaps it was the sincerity on Lin Heng's face, that finally moved the woman. She reached out with trembling hands and took the bank card.

Seeing that they had accepted it, Lin Heng set this matter of the heart aside.

He then turned and left with the two escorts beside him.

But just as he was almost at the door, the young man spoke.

"Hey. You're not really here because of some work error to give us money, are you?"

Lin Heng's body stiffened slightly, but he did not answer. He simply walked out of the room.

Behind him, the words that followed from the young man, a quiet "thank you," were scattered to the wind.

...

Some time later, Lin Heng returned to the car carrying an urn.

From the phone held by a staff member beside him came the voice of Jiang Chao'an, who had remained connected since earlier and had silently listened to everything Lin Heng had done.

"Officer Lin, regarding your girlfriend, Shen Yunxi... do you still need any financial assistance over here?"

Lin Heng held the urn in his arms. Even though Jiang Chao'an could not see the scene, he still shook his head.

"Xixi is an orphan. She has no family. She and I both came out of the same orphanage.

"So now, she only has me... and I only have her."

No more words were spoken after that.

Lin Heng held the urn and looked out the window as the scenery began to change.

The black shuttle rolled onward. The thin wisps of smoke curling from its exhaust pipe looked like the lingering grief and regret that had settled deep inside.

The update is finally done. I watched another match tonight too, so I only managed to finish writing just now.

Mad, this was really something. To blow such a huge lead in the opening game was almost absurdly entertaining.

End of chapter.