Chapter 215: Questioning

Zhang Wenda placed a ceramic Guanyin sculpture on a display shelf on his apartment wall. Then, he put up a Maitreya Buddha sculpture.

Zhang Wenda kept pulling various Immortal sculptures from the bag he was holding.

When almost the entire wall was full, Zhang Wenda stood before the divine statues with his hands on his hips, admiring his collection.

Song Jianguo, who was squatting on the table and holding a phone, glanced at Zhang Wenda, then at the sculptures. "Are you going to start believing in them?"

"Might as well believe a little. What if it works? What if just one person believing in them is enough to bring them back?" Zhang Wenda said with emotion as he looked at the diverse array of sculptures before him.

Honestly, to still care about mortals right before their own existence vanished... these Immortals were no different from saints. It was a real shame that such a group of incredibly pure beings had just disappeared like that.

Recalling what Guanyin had said before she disappeared, Zhang Wenda spoke again. "Actually, if the rules of Thought Wave Two really changed to 'evil is punished and good is rewarded,' then the entire adult world might actually achieve utopia."

After taking out three sticks of incense and bowing to the wall full of Immortals, Zhang Wenda stuck the three incense sticks into the giant litter box.

Seeing Zhang Wenda heading for the door, Song Jianguo quickly scrambled up. "Where are you going? I wanna go too!"

"Stay here and watch the house. I'll be right back. I'll bring you guys fish tonight." Amidst a chorus of rising and falling "Mimi" calls from the cats, Zhang Wenda closed the apartment door.

Taking the elevator, he arrived at the Security Department again. Zhang Wenda first went to find Shuisheng and his teammates.

When he entered the training grounds, everyone slowed what they were doing and looked over as they saw Zhang Wenda approach.

Compared to before, however, their gazes were clearly much friendlier this time. After all, they had gone through hardship together, and more importantly, Zhang Wenda had saved their lives.

Although the way he'd saved them wasn't exactly easy to understand.

"Big Bro! What are you doing here?" Hearing Wang Xiaohua call him that made Zhang Wenda feel awkward all over. The change in her attitude was just too drastic.

The moment they heard Wang Xiaohua use that form of address, the other male team members visibly warmed up to him.

"You don't have to be so formal. Just call me Wenda," Zhang Wenda said to the young woman before him.

"I was wrong before. I called my mom, and she said the chameleon incident wasn't your fault. She also wanted to thank you for saving me. When are you free? She wants to treat you to a meal."

"Sure, definitely next time I'm free. Let's add each other as friends first." Zhang Wenda took out his phone, finally getting the contact info for this relative.

Just then, his phone vibrated. A message came in from Ouyang Shuangdian: "Am I badass or what?"

Zhang Wenda put his phone back in his pocket. "You guys in the combat team have it that rough? A mission yesterday and no rest today?"

Hearing this, Wang Xiaohua's expression darkened. "We lost two people on yesterday's mission. And if you hadn't stepped in, we would've been completely wiped out. It was a major failure. The captain is leading us through an after-action review today."

"Oh, I see. Then you guys definitely deserve the high pay," Zhang Wenda said.

Wang Xiaohua shook her head firmly. "No, we're not in it for the money. We're doing this to save this crumbling world."

Looking at the girl before him, who was pumped up as if she were on steroids, Zhang Wenda couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'Youth is a wonderful thing. They can still swallow that old Kool-Aid Old Tan's been serving.'

"Well, you get back to it. I need to talk to your captain about something." Zhang Wenda then walked over to Shuisheng, who was looking their way from a distance.

"Captain, can I ask you something? Was that Immortal-hybrid monster related to Qianxi? I think I saw zeroes and ones in those chains."

It was only after he got back that Zhang Wenda had belatedly thought of this possibility.

He needed to ask and get a clear answer. He couldn't afford to miss any detail about Qianxi.

Shuisheng, who had been about to extend his right hand, pulled it back. "Sorry, I can't help you with that. Everyone has their specialty. The combat team's mission is to eliminate enemies. Everything else is outside our purview."

"But if you want to know about that stuff, you can go ask the Department Head directly. I just saw the intel and cleanup team get back and submit their field report to her."

"Thanks. Oh, right, there's something else. Could you tell me..."

After a brief exchange, Zhang Wenda's body turned into an afterimage and vanished on the spot.

The moment Zhang Wenda pushed open the door to the Security Department Head's office, he was forced down onto a chair.

The headless woman in front of him pointed a pen at Zhang Wenda's head and immediately lit into him. "You see zeroes and ones and you immediately think of Qianxi? I know you want to avenge Biaozi, but can you not be so reckless? You'll be easily taken advantage of."

After she was done with her tirade, she slammed the pen down on the desk. "Do you see what you did wrong?"

Zhang Wenda stood up from the chair. "What? What did I do wrong? I'm not being reckless! And I'm not planning to get revenge on her right now. I'm just trying to understand things as much as I can!"

Realizing she had guessed wrong, Ouyang Shuangdian sat back down behind her desk, not the least bit embarrassed. "Understand things? What do you want to understand?"

Zhang Wenda asked again, very seriously, "First, tell me, was that Immortal monster Qianxi's handiwork? Did the cleanup team find any other clues?"

"What do you think? Do you think she's that petty? That thing might be terrifying to us, but in her eyes, it's nothing special. Have you forgotten what a huge ruckus Qianqian caused last time? It has nothing to do with her."

That answer made Zhang Wenda's heart sink, though he wasn't too disappointed. He pressed on, "Then are there a lot of strongholds like that one, where they're experimenting with war machines? For the Big Circle, I mean."

"Loads. The Security Department probably smashes a few dozen a month. And even then, there are always more we haven't found, hidden in all the nooks and crannies." Ouyang Shuangdian leaned back in her chair, speaking with an air of indifference.

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda's heart sank again. He had no idea the Big Circle's resources ran so deep.

Regarding the Big Circle's specific situation and the state of the front lines with the Third Line, Zhang Wenda knew almost nothing besides the fact that they were hostile to each other.

'Whether I want to leverage the situation in the future or go for revenge on my own, I have to gather as much of this intel as I can.'

'Some piece of information might be crucial at a critical moment.'

"Anything else you want to ask? If not, go on back."

"Yes, one more thing." After thinking it over seriously, Zhang Wenda said, "I've actually been wanting to ask this for a while. Why didn't the Bureau retaliate after the Big Circle caused so much trouble last time?"

He then voiced his true thoughts. "I'll be direct. I just asked Shuisheng about the combat teams' recent deployment schedule. Why have they only been involved in minor skirmishes lately, either attacking strongholds or capturing Big Circle members?"

"You get attacked and don't even dare to hit back? That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"This is just a guess, so don't get mad if I'm wrong. The Bureau isn't even in a state of combat readiness. Does that mean the Third Line currently lacks the ability to launch a full-scale annihilation campaign against the Big Circle?"