My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 70: Identifying Su Chen as a Deceitful God’s Follower
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Identifying Su Chen as a Deceitful God’s Follower
The prismatic facets shimmered with a faint glow. The object in his hand was only about as thick as his thumb.
[Black Tuo’s Pupil—Consumable: An item usable only by Black Tuo Followers.]
Su Chen figured it was a single-use offensive item.
’Yu Xuan seemed like he was about to use this thing to counterattack right before he died. It must be quite powerful.’
He tossed it into his Storage Space. Since he could disguise himself as a Black Tuo Follower, he should be able to use it. ’It’s another ace up my sleeve, at least.’
He took a Fog Poison Potion from his Storage Space and downed it. After checking carefully, he realized he didn’t have many left—only three bottles.
With the boost from [Wise Man], his Talent had improved in every aspect, including his potion absorption efficiency. He could now go through two full doses of Fog Poison Potion in a single day.
’The Spirit Light Potion is useless now. I need a Tier Two Meditation Potion and an E-level Meditation Technique…’ The thought alone gave Su Chen a headache. He could only wait for Old Sun to arrive and ask him then.
…
“Yu Xuan didn’t come back?”
In what appeared to be an ordinary house, Zhou Xian’s expression was grim. “Today’s raid clearly wasn’t targeting him specifically. Plus, he had the [Black Pupil] I just gave him. He should have been able to escape.”
The Priest glanced at him, his voice hollow. “It couldn’t be the ’self-injury’ ploy, could it?”
“The ’self-injury’ ploy? Him?” Zhou Xian froze. A moment later, he realized the Priest suspected him of defecting and roared furiously, “Have you ever seen anyone use that ploy by getting their own son killed!?”
“It was just an offhand comment. Why so defensive?” the Priest said lightly.
Zhou Xian’s face flushed red, the veins in his neck throbbing. “It must have been Su Chen!”
“First Pan Yu disappeared, and now Yu Xuan. Anyone sent to watch him vanishes without a trace. This is definitely not a coincidence!”
“He seems completely unafraid,” the Priest said, his expression dark and unreadable. “Yu Xuan had already confirmed he was one of the Deceitful God’s Followers. Where does he get this confidence?”
“Why don’t you go test him?” Zhou Xian’s mind raced.
The Priest stared at him with pitch-black pupils. “Xia Hanshi is still here. I don’t want him to discover me before the Holy Statue arrives.”
“Go outside the city now and ensure there are no issues with the Holy Statue’s transport.”
“As for Su Chen, create a distraction for him. Don’t let him, or the Deceitful God behind him, notice us.”
Zhou Xian gazed into those abyss-like eyes, then involuntarily looked away and nodded. “Understood.”
…
“Our Inspectorate has certainly been moving fast lately.”
Early the next morning, Su Chen heard people gossiping in the cafeteria.
“A while back, they took down a Deceitful God Sect hideout, and last night there was another big operation. I heard they arrested a lot of people.”
“That’ll show the other two departments how capable we are. Before, the Director made a big show of investigating, but he came up with no leads and just got mocked for it.”
“It might not be as dangerous inside the city as it is outside, but many things are hidden beneath the surface. These two raids are probably the result of the Director’s earlier investigation.”
Many people in the Supervision Branch felt a sense of pride and were buzzing with excitement.
“I heard they spotted Zhou Xian last night, but he got away…” Hou Xu, who was sitting beside him, sighed as he mentioned it. “What a shame. Otherwise, it would’ve been a major accomplishment.”
Su Chen listened without saying anything. Finally, he tapped his bowl against Zhang Hengyu’s. “Wishing you a smooth advancement.”
He downed the soup in his bowl in one go. Zhang Hengyu blinked, then finished his own and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
Zhang Hengyu was about to advance to a Tier Two Professional, two months earlier than originally expected.
It was also because Su Chen had been pushing him. He had never let up on his training. The process had been tedious, but now that it was time to reap the rewards, the feeling was something else entirely.
’My Protective Talisman is leaving.’ Su Chen sighed to himself. It couldn’t be helped.
According to Zhang Hengyu, his profession had special advancement requirements and needed someone to assist from the side.
After seeing Zhang Hengyu off, Su Chen didn’t rush to train. And just as he expected, Fatty Sun came looking for him in a hurry that afternoon.
“My dear brother, another great deed!” Fatty Sun was carrying a metal case as usual. Though excited, he was also a bit suspicious and lowered his voice.
“Look, there’s no one else here. Tell me honestly, what was the deal this time?”
“What deal?” Su Chen continued to feign ignorance. “It was just a tip. Who knew it would turn out to be real?”
When Fatty Sun saw he wasn’t willing to say more, he didn’t press the issue. After all, taking out the Deceitful God’s Followers was a meritorious deed regardless.
“Ah, what a shame…” he said with some regret. “If I’d known Zhou Xian was on site, I would have notified the City Lord.”
“Zhou Xian was actually there?” Su Chen asked, surprised. “What exactly happened?”
“It was a hideout. A few of the factory’s executives were Deceitful God’s Followers, and the lower-level guys were just paid to make things convenient for them.” Fatty Sun shook his head. “However, while searching the area last night, we found a charred corpse not far from the perimeter.”
“We don’t know who it is yet. The department is running a genetic analysis.”
“Oh, right, one more thing,” Fatty Sun finally said. “You need to come back with me this afternoon. The City Lord is looking for you.”
Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat. He had been about to ask about Tier Two Meditation Potions, but he put the thought aside for now. “For what?” he asked, surprised.
“I don’t know.” Fatty Sun wasn’t worried. “You’re so chummy with his son, it can’t be anything bad.”
“Maybe he’s transferring you back for a promotion to Section Chief? Seems a little fast, though, right?”
He muttered to himself, still imagining the best-case scenario.
Su Chen, however, couldn’t help but frown. The two chatted a bit more before Su Chen said a quick goodbye to Hou Xu, then followed Fatty Sun into a Hovercar to return to headquarters.
Old Sun was in high spirits from his recent string of successes. Su Chen sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the window and offering noncommittal replies.
Upon arriving at the Inspectorate, they went straight up to the top-floor office.
Zhang Hongbo was already waiting for him, wearing the same gentle smile as when Su Chen had first met him. He gestured for him to sit.
“Hengyu is about to advance to a Tier Two Professional. It’s sooner than I’d anticipated, and I have you to thank for that,” Zhang Hongbo said with sincere emotion.
“We motivate each other,” Su Chen replied properly.
“We almost caught Zhou Xian last night,” Zhang Hongbo mentioned suddenly. “Sun Tai is a capable man; he seems to have quite a few leads.”
“Brother Sun has always been very capable.” Su Chen’s response was impeccable.
’The trouble with dealing with old bastards like him was that you could never tell which statements were sincere and which were a test.’
“Did anything happen back when you were a refugee?” Zhang Hongbo’s gaze sharpened, but he quickly added, “I’m not trying to reopen old wounds, just inquiring about how my subordinates are doing their jobs.”
“I wouldn’t call it a wound.” Su Chen shook his head, pondering for a moment. “The Lord City Lord’s orders were probably implemented to about sixty or seventy percent. We couldn’t eat our fill, but I wouldn’t say we were starving.”
“Sixty or seventy percent is not bad,” Zhang Hongbo said with a helpless sigh. “The human heart is treacherous.”
Su Chen really didn’t want to continue the small talk, so he asked directly, “City Lord, why were you looking for me?”
“No rush. We’re waiting for two people,” Zhang Hongbo gestured for him to be patient.
Su Chen fell silent. They waited in silence for only five or six minutes before two people arrived.
One was a cold-looking man with white hair, the other a quiet, scholarly-looking woman.
“Allow me to introduce you. From Ying Feng, Special Envoy Yang Yan and Special Envoy Gu Bing.” Zhang Hongbo stood and gestured.
“Special Envoy Yang, Special Envoy Gu,” Su Chen greeted them.
Yang Yan sized Su Chen up, nodding to himself. ’Composed and steady. Neither obsequious nor arrogant.’
’What a handsome young man.’ Gu Bing pushed up her glasses, looking him up and down.
“Why did you call us here in such a hurry?” Yang Yan asked coolly.
’They don’t know either?’ Su Chen wondered.
Zhang Hongbo glanced at Su Chen before sighing. “It’s like this: someone has reported Su Chen as one of the Deceitful God’s Followers.”
’As I thought. They move fast. A report, is it? Giving me a taste of my own medicine?’
Su Chen understood perfectly but feigned shock, exclaiming, “What!?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Yan’s brow furrowed, and he shot Zhang Hongbo a look of disgust.
Last time, Zhang Hongbo had used Su Chen as bait, but at least his reasoning had been sound. Even though nothing came of it, Yang Yan hadn’t minded.
But this time, his methods were far too crude. And just like before, he was dragging them into it to share the heat he was getting from Yuan Chenyang.
Gu Bing at his side was just as displeased. She already disliked Zhang Hongbo, and seeing Su Chen in person only made her more annoyed with the City Lord.
“I’m surprised that City Lord Zhang, despite being swamped with countless affairs, still has the time to entertain such reports,” she said dryly.
This time, Su Chen was genuinely stunned. ’Is this woman speaking up for me?’
But since someone had opened fire, he immediately joined the fray, saying angrily, “Lord City Lord, do you really have to give weight to this kind of baseless accusation?”
“If I go back and write a random letter reporting you, or Zhang Hengyu, or Zhang Yunqing, are you going to launch an inquiry for that too?”
