Chapter 67: Uninvited Guests

“Miss Li sent a message asking me to help transport you to the Old City District to participate in a field assignment,” Tian Xi smiled, showing her cell phone screen. “Guess if she was gnashing her teeth when she typed that word ‘please’? So excessively polite. How could I refuse?”

Qi Xin sighed. “My things are all in the locker.”

Tian Xi raised a finger, smiling. “Thanks to you, my fingerprint can unlock the locker now too.”

After Qi Xin locked the door, she followed Tian Xi down the corridor. Arriving at the storage room on the first floor, Qi Xin found her locker. Tian Xi pressed her finger on the scanner. With a beep, the locker door popped open, revealing an array of various items inside. Qi Xin glanced at them and asked, “Is it necessary to wear all of it?”

“In principle, it’s not mandatory,” Tian Xi said. “But this time it’s clearly an evaluation for you, so follow the textbook fully. Miss Li will probably need to keep her body camera on the entire time. The recording needs to be submitted for review and evidence collection.”

Qi Xin nodded and reached up to unbutton her shirt.

“You don’t need me to step out?” Tian Xi chuckled. “I thought girls your age would care a lot about privacy.”

Qi Xin didn’t stop her movements. She unbuttoned her shirt completely and took it off, leaving only her plain white undergarment. “Would you care much about someone of the same gender’s gaze?”

“That’s hard to say,” Tian Xi shook her head. “If some woman ten years older than me kept staring while I changed, I’d still feel a bit creeped out.”

“You can’t really be considered an old woman yet,” Qi Xin said flatly, unconcerned by Tian Xi’s teasing. “At most, only approaching it.”

“That remark is just too hurtful,” Tian Xi sighed.

After removing her clothes and pants, she took out the neatly folded shirt and trousers from the locker. As her fingertips touched them, she paused slightly. The fabric felt strange. She looked at her fingertips; there was a faint layer of light gray dust.

“That’s Isolation Dust from the Tang Family,” Tian Xi explained, flipping the storage room’s door sign to read “Occupied” before locking the door. “It makes you less susceptible to being affected by strange methods. Of course, it doesn’t last long. Generally, maintaining it for about ten hours shouldn’t be an issue, but if it gets soaked by water or under other special circumstances, the duration may be shortened.”

Qi Xin nodded. She slipped her arms into the shirt sleeves—first the top, then the trousers. Both fit perfectly. Tian Xi reached out to straighten the collar, then smoothed out the wrinkles. After dressing, Qi Xin took down the somewhat heavy black bulletproof vest, unfastened it, and put it on. Then came the protective gloves, the communicator earpiece, the helmet and goggles, the body camera mounted on her shoulder… Once fully geared up, she looked into the full-length mirror, thinking she looked far too exaggeratedly armed. This didn’t look like going on a mission; it looked more like a military enthusiast heading to an exhibition, eager to hang gear all over her body.

On her left chest and right shoulder, there was a circular badge each, a somewhat dull silver-gray. The ring shape vaguely resembled a Taiji symbol, but without the black and white fill. Half was gray, the other half completely empty, only outlines.

She pressed her fingertip against the badge. It felt hard.

“That’s the Executor’s badge. Insiders will understand your identity the moment they see it,” Tian Xi stepped back, looking her up and down. “The higher-ups’ aesthetic finally normalized somewhat. You’re quite lucky.”

“Why do you say that?” Qi Xin asked. “What did the Execution Division’s uniform look like before?”

“I remember before ’06, the autumn and winter uniform for the Execution Division was a padded Zhongshan suit,” Tian Xi sighed. “Honestly, the Zhongshan suit design wasn’t bad, but the color was dark blue, and to accommodate gear and items, they added lots of pockets, strap attachments, and so on. There should be pictures on the forum; you can look them up when you have time. Uniquely ugly.”

“I think the Zhongshan suit might be better than this,” Qi Xin said flatly, reaching up to adjust her goggles. “Wearing this outfit makes me feel like a walking target, practically telling the enemy, ‘Hit me, I’m special.'”

Tian Xi placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “But after the Execution Division’s uniform was modified, their recruitment efficiency practically multiplied several times over. Isn’t this exactly what you young people fall for? Ideals, and prestige.”

“You seem rather bitter,” Qi Xin said quietly. “That hung up about your age?”

She felt the hand on her shoulder stiffen for a fraction of a second, then relax back to normal.

“Seems I touched a nerve,” Qi Xin stated calmly. “I apologize.”

Tian Xi narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Is this how you talk to Miss Li too?”

“Of course not,” Qi Xin reached out, folded her changed civilian clothes neatly into the locker, then closed it again. “She prefers a more submissive demeanor.”

She thought for a moment, then added, “If that’s what you expect too, I can act that way.”

Tian Xi said nothing, merely opening the storeroom door again.

(———)

“What’s that sound?”

Jiang Zhique asked, puzzled.

Qi Ran paused slightly, her hands stopping mid-motion as she was returning documents to their original places. She hadn’t heard anything at all. The Archives Room was very quiet. “What is it?”

Jiang Zhique pressed a hand to her forehead. “My snake heard strange, chaotic sounds below… Something’s happening.”

“Didn’t you say this is a Su Family property?” Qi Ran’s expression grew serious.

Jiang Zhique nodded hesitantly. “I have a bad feeling. We should leave as soon as possible.”

Qi Ran nodded, hastily stacking the unsorted files together at the base of the wooden shelf. She stood up and headed to the door with Jiang Zhique. She reached out and pressed the door open button. The button clicked, but the door remained completely still.

Qi Ran pressed it several more times, but the result was exactly the same.

“The door seems to be locked shut,” her expression turned grave. “Zhique, do you have any ideas?”

Jiang Zhique walked to the door, unfastened the button on her sleeve, and pressed her index finger against the gap in the door lock. A pitch-black snake slithered out along her slender finger, flowing into the crevice. Qi Ran held her breath and waited. Not long after, she suddenly heard a faint sound, like metal snapping apart.

She looked at Jiang Zhique, about to say something, when she suddenly noticed Jiang Zhique’s face was pale. She mouthed silently:

It wasn’t me.

It wasn’t Jiang Zhique’s snake?

Qi Ran’s movements froze abruptly. Reacting quickly, she immediately pulled Jiang Zhique with her deeper into the back to hide. Before they could fully conceal themselves, another sharp sound rang out. The entire Archives Room plunged into pitch blackness. The power had been cut.

“Boom!”

Then came another deafening boom. The tremendous sound was almost like a siege cannon blasting against that solid iron door. Then a second time, a third time… The nearly deformed iron door was blasted straight open, splitting apart and crashing heavily to the floor. The pale white beams of flashlights probed into the pitch-black archives chamber, like a venomous serpent’s tongue, licking the entire room.

Qi Ran huddled behind a wooden shelf, watching the lights on the wall. She silently counted. There were three beams in total. Meaning there were at least three uninvited guests. This didn’t rule out the possibility that some among them simply hadn’t turned on their flashlights.

“What needs to be photographed?”

“Everything from 2006. All of it. Paper Cutter takes the left, Parrot the middle, Dry Wood the right. I’ll stand watch outside. We only have fifteen minutes. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Jiang Zhique breathed a sigh of relief. If they only needed 2006, it meant they wouldn’t go to the deepest part of the Archives Room. Thinking this, she reached into her pocket and directly powered off her already silenced cell phone. Seeing this, Qi Ran did the same.