Chapter 294: Bai Lu

Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Bai Lu

"Actually, there’s still one difference," He Yue Ning spun around on the spot, winking playfully at Feng Ling. "Take a look. Can you find it?"

He Xingluo sighed helplessly from the side. "The ’spot the difference’ game again..."

"Come on, just play~" He Yue Ning was clearly enjoying herself. "I’m sure Feng Ling can find it!"

Feng Ling actually did begin to observe them seriously.

And she quickly spotted the difference.

The twin sisters wore different styles of stud earrings. He Yue Ning’s was a pearl-white moon, while He Xingluo’s was an obsidian five-pointed star.

"Do you two ever play pranks by swapping earrings in your daily lives?" Feng Ling asked curiously.

He Yue Ning said happily, "Amazing! You noticed our earrings were different so quickly!"

He Xingluo said with a wry smile, "We don’t swap them. In fact, I wish people could tell us apart. It really affects my work otherwise. We usually pin our name tags to our chests just so our colleagues don’t mix us up."

Feng Ling nodded. "It must be easy to get you mixed up. Why don’t you two get different hairstyles? That would make the difference more obvious."

"Because *someone* won’t cooperate," He Xingluo said accusingly, glancing at He Yue Ning. "If I braid my hair, she braids her hair. If I get a short haircut, she gets a short haircut."

"Because it looks good!" He Yue Ning explained hurriedly. "Feng Ling, you be the judge. When I see her with a new hairstyle, it’s like seeing a mannequin in a shop window wearing a beautiful outfit—and the mannequin looks exactly like me! How could I not be tempted? Now, if she shaved her head, I definitely wouldn’t copy her!"

"Oh, give me a break. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the strongest Hunter," He Xingluo said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She turned to Feng Ling. "I’ll take you to your room. You can drop off your luggage before we go see Captain Bai."

Feng Ling nodded and followed the twins into the building.

The interior of the building was laid out similarly to the Qingjiang Branch, but turnstiles had been installed at the elevator bank, requiring a card swipe for entry.

He Xingluo got Feng Ling a temporary key card at the front desk.

You had to swipe the card to get through the turnstiles and swipe it again to use the elevator. Furthermore, this card’s access was limited to the sixth floor and below.

He Xingluo explained to Feng Ling, "The first floor is reception and logistics. The second floor is the employee cafeteria. The third floor has a banquet hall and conference center. The fourth and fifth floors are guest rooms. The sixth and seventh are for administration. The eighth is the cybersecurity department. And the ninth, tenth, and eleventh floors are the medical wing."

As they spoke, the elevator reached the fifth floor.

He Xingluo led Feng Ling down the hall, explaining as they walked, "We have single rooms, double rooms, and suites here. The facilities and amenities inside are all the same. Inspectors and Special Attack Team members can apply for their own dedicated rooms, and colleagues visiting from other branches on business stay here too. Oh, right, Yue Ning and I are right next door to you—"

He Xingluo stopped and looked at Feng Ling with a smile. "Go on, try your key card."

Feng Ling glanced up. The room number on the door read: 520.

He Yue Ning snickered from behind He Xingluo. "Romantic, isn’t it? We picked this room for you specially."

Feng Ling couldn’t help but laugh, then swiped the card and opened the door.

The room was large, a studio layout, with a neat, soft-looking king-sized bed against one wall.

He Xingluo glanced at Huangfu Miaomiao, who was standing beside Feng Ling, and asked, "Should we switch you to a double room?"

He Yue Ning immediately chimed in, "Don’t switch! Two people can fit in a king-sized bed! And 520 is such a great number."

"Two people crammed into one bed won’t get good rest, and that will affect Feng Ling’s performance," He Xingluo said.

The reasoning was perfectly valid, so He Yue Ning had to dial back her playful attitude a bit and compromise. "Fine. Let’s switch her to room 504, then. 504 is a double."

"No need." Feng Ling pushed her suitcase into the room. "This one’s fine. The moment my head hits the pillow at night, I’m out. It won’t affect me."

He Yue Ning beamed and shot a triumphant look at He Xingluo.

He Xingluo shrugged and said to Feng Ling, "Should we go see Captain Bai now, or should we wait for you to rest for a bit first?"

"Let’s go now," Feng Ling said.

He Xingluo looked at Huangfu Miaomiao. "She can’t go."

Huangfu Miaomiao was an Alien Species. Letting her into the Inspection Bureau was already an exception; the administrative floors wouldn’t grant access to an Alien Species.

Feng Ling understood and accepted this. She told Huangfu Miaomiao to wait for her in the room, then followed He Xingluo and He Yue Ning upstairs to see Bai Lu.

Bai Lu’s office was on the seventh floor.

He Xingluo knocked and entered. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the hazy silhouette of a person standing beside it.

Feng Ling squinted for a moment before her eyes could adjust. It was a long-haired woman holding a watering can.

"Captain, I’ve brought Feng Ling," He Xingluo said.

If He Xingluo hadn’t addressed her as "Captain," Feng Ling wouldn’t even have been sure the person was Bai Lu. Whether in dress or personal bearing, she didn’t resemble an Inspector in the slightest.

First, there was her clothing. While He Xingluo and He Yue Ning both wore the standard Inspector uniform, Bai Lu was in a long dress.

Then there was her hair. Female Inspectors either wore their hair in a neat bun or a ponytail—in short, it had to be clean and sharp. Bai Lu’s hair, however, was let down.

Feng Ling’s gaze dropped, and she noticed that Bai Lu was also barefoot.

She guessed this had something to do with Bai Lu’s Card. Otherwise, for an Inspector, Bai Lu’s appearance was far too eccentric.

Bai Lu set down the watering can and glided over, her steps nearly silent, as she smilingly sized up Feng Ling.

Feng Ling was sizing her up as well.

At first glance, she seemed gentle. At second glance, not just gentle, but also very beautiful. But after a few more looks, Feng Ling felt a dawning sense of illusion, because she could see no warmth in the other woman’s eyes.

"Hello, Captain Bai." Feng Ling proactively extended her right hand.

"An honored guest graces our door." Bai Lu smiled and shook her hand. "I’ve been hearing of your great reputation for a long time. If possible, could I ask you to hold an internal seminar at our Jingnan Branch to share your experience fighting Alien Species? Let our Inspectors and Special Attack Team learn from you."

"That’s a great idea!" He Yue Ning immediately put up both hands in approval. "It would be even better if we could spar with Feng Ling! It would definitely help Xingluo and me improve our combat skills!"

’Is this love of sparring a common problem among you Inspectors?’ Feng Ling thought.

Bai Lu chuckled. "As long as Feng Ling doesn’t object, you can practice however you like. Pick any venue you want."

Feng Ling said, "Sparring directly is boring. I’ve raised a few Pollution Bodies. You can fight them one by one. If you beat them all, then you can fight me."

As expected, He Yue Ning was greatly interested. "Now that sounds fun! When can we start?"

"After I finish investigating the dismemberment case," Feng Ling gave her a smile.

He Yue Ning’s tone immediately turned mournful. "You’re really going to investigate it? The killer is definitely already dead. You won’t find anything."

"Even if it’s dead, there should still be a body, right?" Feng Ling looked at Bai Lu. "When an Alien Species kills someone with a Card, as long as there’s a connection between the Card Ability and the method of murder, we can prove that the Alien Species killed a month ago was the real culprit in the dismemberment case. What was the Card seized in that operation like? Are there any related files?"

Bai Lu shook her head gently. "...There was no Card."

"None?" Feng Ling frowned. "You mean, that Alien Species went offline?"