Investigation Report

Full Name: Yu Hua

Sex: Male

Age: 27

Physical Condition: Excellent

Place of Work: Zhen Li Studio

Position: Human Resources Director

Marital Status: Married

Family Members: Parents deceased, spouse You Zhengping, no children

Character: Steady and domestic, ordinary 

Hobbies: Cooking, housekeeping

Reasons for Investigation: 

1. Became the Destroyer Zhen Li’s first staff member
2. Twenty-five days ago, resigned after suddenly harming a superior
3. Behaved coldly to his spouse

Course of Investigation: 

1. Thoroughly inspected the subject’s education enrollment records, report cards, work experience, and close colleagues’ assessment
2. Investigated all aspects of the subject’s movements, purchase records, psychological treatment records, manner towards others, and other indications during these twenty-five days
3. Performed a crisis test to test the subject’s reaction when faced with a fatal threat

Outcome of Investigation: 

1. Likelihood that the subject of the investigation was replaced twenty-five days ago: 0%
2. Likelihood that the subject is not a Destroyer: 99%

Signature of Investigator: Lian Yufan 

Appendices…

Behind the single page “Investigation Report” were attached dozens of pages of evidence. After reading the report, Director Xiao said, “Why only 99%?” 

“The remaining 1% is my intuition. Though the evidence is conclusive, I still reserve the right to remain suspicious,” Lian Yufan said. 

“Maintaining constant vigilance isn’t a bad thing. Your caution should be encouraged,” Director Xiao said. “But the case of Yu Hua can be brought to a close for the meantime. Unless new evidence appears later, there’s no need to waste human effort and materials on investigating. We are facing a new crisis. For a long period in the future, we’ll be short on manpower.” 

“Yes, sir!” Lian Yufan saluted without any complaint. 

After reading Lian Yufan’s report, Director Xiao looked towards You Zhengping in concern. “How is Yu Hua’s condition?” 

You Zhengping said, “We performed a thorough analysis on the road back to the city. There was no internal energy reaction, no signs of an awakening special ability, no particular illness or physical symptom. As the mysterious black-cloaked man said, the arrow wound to his chest has healed. Only his clothing was torn. There was no external injury. Due to the influence of the poison bubbles, he’s presently unconscious. He has been injected with serum to raise his metabolic rate and immunity. The military doctor said, given his constitution, he should awaken in another four to five hours. He’s been taken to the Xuyang District Public Hospital’s emergency ward. If an examination shows normal results when he wakes up, he’ll be able to leave the hospital.” 

“The only good news about this business is that it didn’t bring about human casualties,” Director Xiao said. 

Then he said to Cen Xiao, “What are the results of Zhen Li and Yuan Luori’s interrogations?” 

Cen Xiao reported: “Zhen Li has been very cooperative with our investigation. He admitted that his power has already been removed by the mysterious black-cloaked man. He only has the defensive capability of the alternate dimension stomach remaining. In this business, Zhen Li consumed poison bubbles to protect me, giving me precious time to support my teammates. 

“He reports that the alternate dimension stomach isn’t very powerful, and he doesn’t know where the things he eats go. And the biggest weakness of the alternate dimension stomach is that the size of the things it can absorb is impacted by the size of his mouth, so the things he can eat are limited. This time, he managed to absorb the bubbles because they possess elasticity and the ability to shrink. Otherwise he couldn’t have done anything. 

“Also, he reports that following this battle, his mouth became quite a bit larger, and he hopes that the Protection Organization won’t provide him with food that requires opening his mouth wide to bite it in the near future. For example, things like hamburgers, bread, and mantou are all food items he’s refusing. He would like to have some congee, ideally with a small spoon.” 

Director Xiao said, “…He has quite a lot of requests.” 

Cen Xiao continued, “Zhen Li confessed something. He said that he established the studio at the mysterious black-cloaked man’s instigation. The black-cloaked man’s position is opposed to that of the previous mastermind behind the Destroyers. The Destroyers’ goal is to kill the black-cloaked man. According to what Zhen Li says, if they kill the black-cloaked man, they can realize a wish, no matter how unbelievable the wish is. 

“The Destroyers established a Clearing League for this purpose, and they may appear in our world in great number. In order to get rid of the Destroyers, the black-cloaked man ordered Zhen Li to form the studio. The more well-known it became, the better. It would set up a target, attract other Destroyers. Yuan Luori was the first person to fall into the net.” 

Director Xiao said, “This train of thought in fact aligns with ours, though it’s unclear what the black-cloaked man’s position is.” 

“Request to report!” You Zhengping raised his hand. 

Director Xiao nodded in agreement, and You Zhengping said, “Based on what the black-cloaked man said in the amusement park, I believe he isn’t an enemy. He’s willing to observe order and cherish life. He also healed the injury of Yu Hua, an ordinary person on the scene. This adequately demonstrates his position. I’m in favor of working with the black-cloaked man.” 

“Your view is worth consideration, but it’s immature,” Director Xiao said reasonably. “At present, the black-cloaked man has yet to make any show of goodwill or display any intention to collaborate with us, and we don’t know where he’s hidden or what his true identity is. That he’s willing to observe order now is only the immediate situation. No one knows whether he’ll change his views in the future. For the time being, we can only view the black-cloaked man as both friend and foe. We can’t get too close to him. We must remain alert and strive to find out his true identity so we can control him.” 

Director Xiao also said to Cen Xiao, “Did Zhen Li say how the black-cloaked man contacts him?” 

Cen Xiao answered, “Zhen Li said, the black-cloaked man can speak right into his mind to tell him what he wants him to do. When he’s being contacted, he can answer, but he can’t initiate contact himself. His position is passive. The black-cloaked man’s statement to the so-called Clearing League confirms that he does in fact have this ability.” 

“Such a powerful figure. If he really is as full of goodwill like as he says, that’s good. If he’s an enemy, it will be a devastating blow to the world. Ah…” Director Xiao shook his head. All they could do for now was to actively seek out the black-cloaked man’s true identity and do their best not to clash with him. 

Cen Xiao said, “Concerning hiring Yu Hua, Zhen Li said he knows his own brain isn’t much use. He didn’t know how to develop the studio and manage his future employees, and he was afraid of being scammed by crafty investors after the studio became popular. He doesn’t have the app or his powers anymore, so he wants to seriously make money and live a law-abiding life. 

“Yu Hua’s appearance was extremely timely for Zhen Li. With someone around who could take responsibility for the parts of the work that require using your brain, he can focus on great fan influence.” 

“You seem to have a good opinion of Zhen Li,” Director Xiao said in warning. “Don’t lose your judgement out of gratitude because he saved you.” 

“That’s not it,” Cen Xiao said. “He really does give you a sense of standing apart from worldly strife, and he hasn’t hurt anyone since coming to this world. I believe we can trust this part of what he says.” 

“What about Yuan Luori?” Director Xiao asked. 

Cen Xiao said, “…He was heavily injured and at first refused treatment. He only allowed the doctors to treat him after he was injected with a sedative. Since waking up, he’s refused to eat and has been passively resisting. It seems like he doesn’t want to live anymore. No matter what we ask, his answer is always, ‘Just kill me.’”

Everyone: “…” 

This Destroyer was also quite a headache. 

“I sent Zhen Li to persuade him. They’re both Destroyers. I hope there will be some effect,” Cen Xiao said. 

Director Xiao thought about it, then turned on the isolation room’s surveillance screen. 

In the isolation room, Yuan Luori was lying in bed, his whole body wrapped up like a zongzi, only revealing his eyes and mouth. Zhen Li was sitting by the bed, using a safety peeler to peel an apple. When he had peeled away half the flesh, he struggled with a plastic sawing knife to cut the remainder of the apple into small pieces, which he arranged on a plate. He said to Yuan Luori, “Eat something.” 

Yuan Luori didn’t even look at the apple. Zhen Li stared at the plate for a while, then asked, “Can I eat it?” 

Yuan Luori: “…” 

He didn’t answer, so Zhen Li took that as agreement. He ate small pieces of apple one little bite at a time. There were faint tearing marks at the corners of his mouth from eating the bubbles. 

“This apple is very sweet,” Zhen Li said as he ate. “Why don’t you take a bite, too?” 

With him munching on the apple, even if Yuan Luori didn’t want to eat, when he heard the sounds of chewing, his mouth still watered reflexively. 

But at this point, Zhen Li had already eaten all the fruit off the plastic plate. 

Yuan Luori: “…” 

“I don’t understand what you’re so sad about,” Zhen Li said. “Isn’t getting the System removed a good thing? It’s like having a ticking time bomb in your head that can issue missions any time and threaten to kill you if you don’t do them. Now that the bomb has been deactivated, you’re free, right?” 

Yuan Luori’s lips moved. 

Zhen Li picked up Yuan Luori’s food box. Inside was food provided by the Protection Organization. There was a dish of red-braised pork. Zhen Li began to eat, saying, “The meat is a little old, not tender enough. Last time I had red-braised pork, it melted in the mouth, and it was fatty but not greasy. That’s how it should be. The Protection Organization’s dining hall needs improvement.” 

Yuan Luori: “…” 

As he ate, Zhen Li said, “Do you think that because your power has been taken away, you’ve become an ordinary person, and you can’t control other people anymore?” 

Judging from Yuan Luori’s last display, Zhen Li thought he was kind of an idiot. He relied vainly on violence to control others. His worldview was still at the adolescent level. He thought everything could be resolved with a fight. If it couldn’t be, then it would be two fights. 

“But I think that losing your abilities and living in accordance with order is a sort of protection. Weren’t you being controlled in the Clearing League before? Isn’t it a good thing to live here properly, cooperate with the Protection Organization’s work, be a healthy and happy person?” While advising him, Zhen Li didn’t forget to say, “You didn’t eat this piece of potato while it was hot, and it’s gone stale now.” 

Yuan Luori: “…” 

“Anyway, even if you clear entirely, you still can’t attain total freedom. The black-cloaked man told me that he’s the only clearer. He cleared, but he’s still being hunted by the System. I think that if we cleared, our fates wouldn’t necessarily be good, either. The black-cloaked man removing the System for us is a good thing,” Zhen Li said. 

Yuan Luori: “!!!” 

“The Protection Organization told me to come advise you to cooperate with their work, to tell them about the leveler abilities you’re familiar with, and to operate the studio with me, undertaking the mission of attracting the notice of the Clearing League. The Protection Organization will protect us. You really did do a very wrong thing at the amusement park, but luckily you didn’t cause any serious injuries. The Protection Organization promises that if your actions are good, you can redeem yourself.” 

While Zhen Li spoke, he also ate a tangerine from Yuan Luori’s table. The tangerine was separated into wedges, which was rather convenient. It wouldn’t impact the wounds at the corners of his mouth. 

Seeing that while Yuan Luori was still not reacting, there was a trace of radiance in his eyes, Zhen Li continued, “Oh, right, there’s something I almost forgot to tell you. Your idol had me open the studio. Your idol wants to deal with the Clearing League and wreck the System’s plans.” 

Yuan Luori: “…” 

He quickly sat up and roared at Zhen Li, “Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” 

“Huh? You’ve been sedated, how come you’re still so excitable?” Zhen Li said in surprise. 

“Shut up, I can control poison myself. Even though my abilities have been removed, I still have my resistance to drugs. I was just pretending to be sedated!” Yuan Luori snatched the box of food from Zhen Li’s hands, saying, “Stop eating! Leave some for me! I’m starving to death!” 

He looked down and saw that Zhen Li had already eaten most of what was in the box. There were only onions remaining, which Zhen Li didn’t like. 

“You really can eat!” Yuan Luori said angrily. 

Everyone watching the surveillance feed: “…” 

Director Xiao coughed lightly and said, “Cen Xiao’s method really was effective. Yuan Luori really has become more cooperative. Let’s go have a talk with him, probe for some information, and advise him to cooperate with our work.” 

Several Protectors saluted at once. 

Director Xiao said, “Captain You, Yu Hua’s investigation has concluded. The Xuyang District’s work will continue under your charge. I hope that, as before, you will face the enemy with high level of professionalism.” 

“Yes, sir!” You Zhengping said. 

Director Xiao said, “Captain Lian, as the person responsible for the investigative work, your orders now are to complete the wind-up. Break Yu Hua’s phone again and return it to its original location. After this item has been complete, you can hand things over to Captain You. Next, the organization will have other important work to hand over to you.” 

“Yes, sir!” Lian Yufan said. 

“Wait,” You Zhengping said grudgingly when he saw Lian Yufan get out a little hammer and prepare to smash the phone, “can’t you not smash the phone, just return it like this?” 

“When Yu Hua discovers that the phone has been restored, how are you going to explain?” Lian Yufan asked. 

You Zhengping said, “I can that say I found it and secretly bought a new one and restored the old phone’s data from the Cloud to recover the contents.” 

“As long as you can make it plausible, it’s all right,” said Director Xiao. 

The phone was saved through You Zhengping’s persistence and returned to its original location by Lian Yufan, wearing the handsome uncle mask. Hearing that the phone didn’t have to be broken again, Cen Xiao was relieved. That phone contained his sweat and blood! 

When Lian Yufan was about to leave with the phone, Director Xiao suddenly said, “Wait.” 

Director Xiao walked away from the desk and carefully examined You Zhengping and Lian Yufan’s pants. “Captain You, when did you get those black stains on your pants? During the battle?” 

Due to the addition of the unstable factor of Yuan Luori to the crisis test, to ensure that You Zhengping as captain could enter the battle at any time, Lian Yufan had deliberately chosen pants and shoes similar to You Zhengping’s, to help conceal his identity. 

The black marks on the light gray pants were very light. In motion, they seemed like shadows from folds in the pants. They couldn’t be seen clearly without a close look. 

You Zhengping had long ago forgotten that he’d ruined this pair of pants in the wash. When he saw the stain, he dimly recalled it. 

“You two, switch pants,” Director Xiao said seriously. “Xiao Lian, I believe you bought those pants recently. You must still have the receipt and the tag? When you’re dropping off the phone, throw the label into the trash at Xiao You’s house, and drop the receipt on some table or countertop.” 

“Is that necessary?” Lian Yufan didn’t especially want to wear You Zhengping’s pants. 

Director Xiao sternly said, “It is. Zhen Li saw your battle. If he noticed the stain, then sees that his employee’s family member You Zhengping is wearing pants with the same stain, he might suspect. Our actions up to now have entirely concealed our identities. Even if Zhen Li is willing to cooperate, I still don’t want him to learn your true identities.

“If Yu Hua discovers that the stain on those pants has vanished, Xiao You, you can use the receipt as an excuse, say you threw away the pants from before and bought new ones.

“In a fight with the Destroyers, safeguarding our identities benefits our ability to win through the element of surprise. Unless absolutely necessary, we can’t reveal anything. You two have to be more careful after this.” 

The two of them accepted the lesson and unwillingly switched pants. 

When the summing-up meeting ended, Director Xiao went with Cen Xiao to persuade Yuan Luori, You Zhengping went to the Xuyang District Public Hospital to pretend to be hospitalized, while Lian Yufan, while the melancholy husbands were in the hospital, went to return the phone and place important evidence of buying the pants in Yu Hua’s home. 

—

Yu Hua had been feigning unconsciousness. His feelings while he feigned unconsciousness were complicated. 

The Protecters were very careful. Apart from when the battle had just ended and You Zhengping had checked the state of Yu Hua’s injury in concern, in the ambulance and during the handover process, they had always spoken in the language of the police, to avoid the wounded person hearing some secret information while half-conscious. 

He lay in bed until his whole body was numb, then, within the span of time when the doctor had said he would awaken, he suitably opened his eyes. 

It was already late at night. The nurse on duty saw that he was awake and quickly called a doctor. But Yu Hua “weakly” asked in concern, “Where’s my husband?” 

“Mr. You is also only unconscious. He’s in another observation room,” the nurse said. 

“I want to go see him.” Yu Hua struggled up, acting like an ordinary person dizzy from being unconscious too long. 

“Be careful. Wait for the doctor to come examine you, make sure it’s all right for you to start walking around. Don’t worry, Mr. You isn’t seriously injured, either,” the nurse said. 

Yu Hua patiently waited for the doctor to examine him, announce that his heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs were normal and he could drink some water and get up and move around to boost his circulation, speed up his metabolism to try to metabolize the remaining poison as quickly as possible. 

Yu Hua drank a big cup of water, got up supporting himself against the wall, and slowly went to You Zhengping’s observation room. 

His husband was sleeping peacefully, his face a little pale due to slow circulation from being unconscious too long. 

Yu Hua sat at his bedside, considerately tucking the covers around You Zhengping’s feet. He noticed that the pants he was wearing didn’t have the stain on them. 

Instantly, Yu Hua felt a profusion of emotions. His fingertips sought out You Zhengping’s face, carefully confirming. 

This really was Xiao You’s face. There was no disguise. 

Yu Hua recalled everything about when they had left the house. Unfortunately, he had been too concerned about the activities at the amusement park and hadn’t observed what Xiao You had been wearing. He only had an approximate idea of what shirt he had been wearing. 

The pants really didn’t have the stain on them, but that couldn’t explain why the head of the Protectors had been wearing pants with exactly the same stain on them. It didn’t eliminate the possibility that while he had been unconscious, that person had switched pants with Xiao You. 

So it was very likely that Xiao You was now wearing someone else’s pants. 

When he thought of this, Yu Hua’s expression gradually became stern. Who was that handsome uncle, after all? Cen Xiao? Or someone else? 

No, he still didn’t have practical evidence. He couldn’t determine whether Xiao You was a Protector. 

Yu Hua shook his head and put his hand on Xiao You’s tightly-shut eyes. 

When he had escaped before, Yu Hua had used the moment the powerful light had shielded his exit to leave behind a temporary mark in the two Protectors’ eyes. 

This was a harmless golden mark. The marked person would have a small golden light in their pupils that would dissipate naturally after twelve hours. 

Now over eleven hours had passed since the fight at the amusement park. If he pried open Xiao You’s eyelids, he could confirm whether the light was there. 

But…

Faced with the truth, Yu Hua shrank back. If Xiao You really was a Protector, how should he act around his husband? 

Yu Hua looked at the time. There were still fifty-seven minutes until the light disappeared. If Xiao You opened his eyes before that, it meant that he would have to face this fact. If Xiao You woke a little later, it would mean that this time he wasn’t supposed to know. 

Time passed minute by minute and second by second. You Zhengping, also feigning unconsciousness, was also restraining himself. He knew his husband was beside him, but he couldn’t find a suitable opportunity to wake up. He didn’t know how to wake naturally. 

Fifty-six minutes later, You Zhengping’s eyelids trembled twice. With his eyes closed, he said, “…water…” 

Yu Hua quickly found a paper cup, poured warm water for him, and helped You Zhengping up to drink it. 

You Zhengping drank the water and blearily opened his eyes, looking at Yu Hua. 

Yu Hua stared into his eyes and saw that there was no light in his pupils. He relaxed slightly. 

But when his gaze moved to the hospital’s electric clock, he found that he had spent two minutes finding the paper cup and the water dispenser. 

You Zhengping had awoken fifty-eight minutes later, and Yu Hua had missed the optimal chance to confirm his identity. 

---

Author's Note

Yu Hua: My feelings now are about the same as a wife’s on finding signs that her husband is cheating on her. I’m very scared and worried, and I hope that he isn’t and it’s all a misunderstanding. In short, very complicated, sigh.