Ren Suo arrived at the Ministry of State Security building and found that it was relatively quiet. He looked around in the main hall on the first level and realized that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was located on the third story.
The Xuan Nation Ministry of State Security was actually a blanket name for the 17 offices it encompassed, with each office serving a different purpose. The new “Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals” was the 18th one to be established. Not every province had a Ministry of Security branch, and not every one of such branches had all 17 divisions set up. For example, the Ministry of Security in Lianjiang City only had the Operational Guidance Division, the Social Research Division, the Science and Technology Investigation Division, the Enterprises Division, and the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals.
The other divisions, such as the Confidential Communications Division, the International Intelligence Division, and the Counterintelligence Department had not been set up in the Lianjiang City Ministry of Security, as Lianjiang City was not considered as one of the more important cities in Xuan Nation, despite it being a major port city.
When Ren Suo arrived at the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, he realized that the office occupied the entire third level of the Ministry of State Security building. The various provincial offices governed by the Ministry of State Security were also colloquially called the Ministry of State Security, but in actual fact, the provincial level office should be termed the Provincial Office of the Ministry of State Security.
When he arrived, Ren Suo contacted An Suyu, the lady who had called him earlier, directly. A young lady who was in her 20s appeared. Despite her elegant-sounding name, An Suyu had short hair and slightly tanned skin. She appeared attractive with decently good looks and figure. Looking at the girl standing up straight in front of him, Ren Suo felt as if he would be attracted to her at any moment.
She said, “Follow me.”
An Suyu kept an indifferent expression on her face as she led Ren Suo into room 303 on the third floor.
She said, “You are now a member of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division. Your identification documents and team uniforms are with your team leader…Team Leader You, your team member is here!”
At first glance, there seemed to be no one in room 303, but after An Suyu shouted into the room, a large man with a square-shaped face emerged from behind a pile of paper documents, a “paper wall” which was stacked as tall as the projector’s height, at the farthest corner of the room. “A newbie?”
Ren Suo recognized the man immediately—it was You Xulong!
He was the man clad in the black vest who was in charge of bringing the civil servants from Lianjiang City to the group training ground!
“Yes, didn’t you know that the Ministry assigned two new members to your team?” An Suyu replied fiercely. She continued, “You have always been complaining during the meetings that you don’t have enough manpower…”
“Indeed, I don’t!” You Xulong interrupted. He immediately continued, “There are only two new members? Doesn’t Lianjiang City have over a hundred…”
“You want those that have not even fully become a part of us?” An Suyu questioned. She turned around to face Ren Suo and said, “Alright, this is You Xulong, your superior and the team leader of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division…You should know him, right? He will tell you more about the details.”
“Come over here,” You Xulong said.
You Xulong looked through the huge pile of documents in front of him as if a third senior student looking for his examination paper. Finally, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and said, “This is a contract detailing your remuneration and benefits. Have a look and sign it if there is no issue.”
Ren Suo took the piece of paper and read through it. A large smile quickly emerged on his face. In the contract, it was stated that there was no probationary period and he would immediately be recognized as an employee. He would receive a monthly salary of 6000 dollars and although it did not seem to be much, there would be additional subsidies for meals, transport, and housing. Ren Suo roughly calculated that he would earn at least a five-figure sum each month. And naturally, the division would cover his endowment, medical, unemployment, work-related injury, and childbirth insurance, as well as provide housing accommodation funds.
Most importantly, after three years, he would be able to apply for zero-interest housing loans up to a sum of five million dollars.
After his initial excitement, Ren Suo calmed down as he continued flipping through the contract. He looked up and asked doubtfully, “Also, don’t we have access rights into the training facility?”
“Training facility? Oh, training!” You Xulong slapped his forehead and said, “Ah, this contract was written and printed two months ago, but the training facility had not been built at that time… Entry to the training facility is linked to our work identification document…Oh right, let me find your work ID…”
Unlike previously when he brought them to the training camp, You Xulong was more relaxed and casual when dealing with administrative matters, although he still had a tough and stern-looking square-shaped face. Even Ren Suo who had been extremely nervous had calmed down. He knew that as a Practitioner, the department he would enter would not be just like any other. However, now that he knew that his superior was also a typical person like him, Ren Suo felt more at ease.
“Ah, so I left it here yesterday,” said You Xulong as he pulled out two small notebooks. He glanced at Ren Suo as he handed him one of the notebooks and said, “Keep it properly. If you lose it, you would have to pay a replacement fee of 65 dollars. The training facility is near Stadium West Road and was revamped from the pre-existing sports center…Just navigate your way there using GPS.
“No problem,” Ren Suo replied as he took his notebook over from You Xulong. The Xuan Nation flag was printed on the brown-colored front cover of the horizontal notebook. The first page contained Ren Suo’s photograph, his name, and the name of the department he worked in. There were also two professional guidelines written on it:
“1. The holder of this permit has the duty and responsibility to save any Xuan Nation citizen in need of help.”
“2. The holder of this permit has the authority to seek the cooperation of citizens and organizations of Xuan Nation. The Ministry of State Security would be responsible for any resulting loss or damage.”
The first line was a duty while the second was a right.
Nonetheless, these two lines sufficiently underscored the weight of the identification book.
“You understand what this line of work entails, don’t you?” Ren Xulong questioned as he patted Ren Suo’s shoulder. He said, “Not just anyone is able to join the Countermeasures Division, and furthermore not just anyone…can join Team Three.”
“With regard to this, I still don’t fully understand,” Ren Suo said. He asked, “Eh…Why was I selected to join the Countermeasure Department?”
Before Ren Suo had come to report, he checked his WeChat messenger on his mobile phone. He had not opened it for three consecutive days while playing his game. Other than calling for food delivery, he had not touched his mobile phone.
There were few notifications from his chats, given that Ren Suo had been a diligent and hardworking student in school. He used WeChat mostly to contact other people for important matters, and not to chat with his friends.
The only exception was the group he had been added into a few days ago, ‘We Are the Future of Xuan Nation’, which he had yet to mute.
He clicked into the chat group and had wanted to ask for more information about the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, but found that many other people were already discussing the departments that they were allocated to.”
“Looking for buddies going to the Social Research Division!”
“Social Research Division +1.”
“You all are so lucky to be able to enter the Ministry of State Security, why am I sent to the Baiyun District Ministry of Public Security…”
“You are also going to the Ministry of Public Security? Me too! But I’m sent to the Haizhu district branch of the Ministry of Public Security.”
“Cries o(╥﹏╥)o, have we been left out? Why have I not received any notification yet?”
“I heard that Director Yu is in the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals and that the benefits and career progression there is the best. Did anyone get into that division?”
At this juncture, a user by the name of “Xiao Qiao” replied:
“Don’t worry man, those who are sent to the Ministry of Public Security or the Social Research Division of the Ministry of State Security will also have bright futures like me who has been allocated to the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals!”
“Excuse me, what a braggart!”
“Girl, do you not have any more achievements to boast about?”
Ren Suo was getting annoyed by such comments, and although he had not asked what he had intended to, he could already tell that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was an attractive department to be in in the eyes of the civil servant Practitioners. Regardless, Ren Suo still did not know why he had been selected to join the department directly.
You Xulong looked at Ren Suo and asked, “You have progressed into the transformation phase, have you not?”
“Ah?” said Ren Suo, taken by surprise. He paused for a while and said, “How did you…”
Ren Suo had just progressed into the transformation phase three days ago and officially became a Practitioner. How did You Xulong know about this?
“When you all went through the skill test on the fifth day of your training, we also tested for the estimated period you all will progress into the transformation phase.” You Xulong continued, “Those of you who would progress into the transformation phase within the following one to two days would be selected to join the Countermeasure Division directly. Those who needed slightly more time, between seven and eight days to fifteen days, would receive their notification of acceptance into the division after they progress into the transformation phase. The rest who needed even more time would be dispatched to other divisions or ministries.”
“As of now, the only criteria to join the Countermeasure Division would be to become a true Practitioner!” You Xulong tapped the pile of documents on his table and continued, “Furthermore, we are all very busy here, and with the danger involved in our work, only Practitioners who have passed the transformation phase would be safe.”
“That’s the only reason?” questioned Ren Suo.
“Yes, that’s the only reason. Do you think you were selected because the Deputy Director likes your face?” You Xulong joked. He looked around the office and said, “The other team members are out, performing their duties to search for the ‘goddess’. I’ll introduce you to them when everyone is back tomorrow.”
“Search for the goddess?” Ren Suo questioned.
“Yes, searching for the goddess,” You Xulong answered. He continued, “Have you watched the video [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]?”
Ren Suo froze for a moment but quickly relaxed as he regained his composure and said, “Yes, I saw it.”
“You know that everything in the video is real, right?” You Xulong continued, “However, I’m sure you did not notice that the goddess in the video, who is the main female character, spoke with a native accent of Lian Province when she said ‘Thank you’.”
Ren Suo was shocked for a moment and said, “Yes, I think so…”
Indeed, Ren Suo had not noticed that before, but now that he thought about it, it was true that when the Seeker spoke in Mandarin, it sounded very pleasant and natural, and so it had to be very similar to the Lian Province native accent.
You Xulong said, “Because of this, the entire Ministry is currently trying to find traces of the goddess. However, it has been days since we started searching for her, but nothing has been found. I suppose the Ministry would be halting this useless search today.”
You Xulong shrugged and said, “There, this would be your workstation. Now follow us to collect your uniform, you would start work tomorrow and we will take attendance at 9:00…”
At this moment, An Suyu suddenly opened the door. She said, “Team Leader You, your other new team member is here!”
Ren Suo turned around to see who was the new Practitioner fortunate enough to be able to work together with him in Team 3. The next moment, however, Ren Suo was stunned as the thirst in his heart arose once again and his heart started palpitating—
“Hello, Team Leader You,” a beautiful lady greeted in smiles. She turned to look at Ren Suo and was slightly surprised, “You are here too.”
She smiled the next second, “I guess we are colleagues now then.”
Indeed, it was Qiao Muyi.
Based on what You Xulong had said earlier, only Practitioners who had passed the transformation phase would be able to enter the Countermeasure Division, so that means that Qiao Muyi had also passed the transformation phase?
“You arrived at the right time,” said You Xulong. He suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, I still need to test you two…”
“Test?” said Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi as they turned to look at You Xulong at the same time. An Suyu, who was about to leave, also stopped in her tracks as she looked at the two of them in anticipation.
“Yeah, a test,” replied You Xulong as he stretched his hands out and placed them on each of their shoulders.
The moment You Xulong’s hand landed on his shoulder, Ren Suo knew something was amiss—in an instant, he felt one half of his body become numb.
If that continued, he would lose control of his entire body…
Suddenly, You Xulong violently retracted his hands and smiled at the both of them. He said, “Both of you are progressing well with your [Clothes] skill. It is sufficient to handle the work we do every day here in Team 3.”
Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi exchanged glances and immediately knew what they had been tested on: You Xulong had used the [Lock] skill on them and was testing their ability to resist by using their individual [Clothes] skill!
It seems that both of them had successfully resisted him.
“We will now proceed to collect your uniforms. You two can sign the contract later when we come back,” You Xulong said as he walked out of the office light-heartedly. Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi followed closely behind him.
No one noticed that his hands placed behind his back trembled slightly.
It was only then that Ren Suo let out a sigh of relief.
Before he came to report, he deliberated for some time and decided not to equip himself with the [Fighter Novice] ability. Instead, he chose to equip himself with—
Skill: [Clothes]!
Ren Suo arrived at the Ministry of State Security building and found that it was relatively quiet. He looked around in the main hall on the first level and realized that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was located on the third story.
The Xuan Nation Ministry of State Security was actually a blanket name for the 17 offices it encompassed, with each office serving a different purpose. The new “Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals” was the 18th one to be established. Not every province had a Ministry of Security branch, and not every one of such branches had all 17 divisions set up. For example, the Ministry of Security in Lianjiang City only had the Operational Guidance Division, the Social Research Division, the Science and Technology Investigation Division, the Enterprises Division, and the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals.
The other divisions, such as the Confidential Communications Division, the International Intelligence Division, and the Counterintelligence Department had not been set up in the Lianjiang City Ministry of Security, as Lianjiang City was not considered as one of the more important cities in Xuan Nation, despite it being a major port city.
When Ren Suo arrived at the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, he realized that the office occupied the entire third level of the Ministry of State Security building. The various provincial offices governed by the Ministry of State Security were also colloquially called the Ministry of State Security, but in actual fact, the provincial level office should be termed the Provincial Office of the Ministry of State Security.
When he arrived, Ren Suo contacted An Suyu, the lady who had called him earlier, directly. A young lady who was in her 20s appeared. Despite her elegant-sounding name, An Suyu had short hair and slightly tanned skin. She appeared attractive with decently good looks and figure. Looking at the girl standing up straight in front of him, Ren Suo felt as if he would be attracted to her at any moment.
She said, “Follow me.”
An Suyu kept an indifferent expression on her face as she led Ren Suo into room 303 on the third floor.
She said, “You are now a member of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division. Your identification documents and team uniforms are with your team leader…Team Leader You, your team member is here!”
At first glance, there seemed to be no one in room 303, but after An Suyu shouted into the room, a large man with a square-shaped face emerged from behind a pile of paper documents, a “paper wall” which was stacked as tall as the projector’s height, at the farthest corner of the room. “A newbie?”
Ren Suo recognized the man immediately—it was You Xulong!
He was the man clad in the black vest who was in charge of bringing the civil servants from Lianjiang City to the group training ground!
“Yes, didn’t you know that the Ministry assigned two new members to your team?” An Suyu replied fiercely. She continued, “You have always been complaining during the meetings that you don’t have enough manpower…”
“Indeed, I don’t!” You Xulong interrupted. He immediately continued, “There are only two new members? Doesn’t Lianjiang City have over a hundred…”
“You want those that have not even fully become a part of us?” An Suyu questioned. She turned around to face Ren Suo and said, “Alright, this is You Xulong, your superior and the team leader of Team Three of the Countermeasure Division…You should know him, right? He will tell you more about the details.”
“Come over here,” You Xulong said.
You Xulong looked through the huge pile of documents in front of him as if a third senior student looking for his examination paper. Finally, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and said, “This is a contract detailing your remuneration and benefits. Have a look and sign it if there is no issue.”
Ren Suo took the piece of paper and read through it. A large smile quickly emerged on his face. In the contract, it was stated that there was no probationary period and he would immediately be recognized as an employee. He would receive a monthly salary of 6000 dollars and although it did not seem to be much, there would be additional subsidies for meals, transport, and housing. Ren Suo roughly calculated that he would earn at least a five-figure sum each month. And naturally, the division would cover his endowment, medical, unemployment, work-related injury, and childbirth insurance, as well as provide housing accommodation funds.
Most importantly, after three years, he would be able to apply for zero-interest housing loans up to a sum of five million dollars.
After his initial excitement, Ren Suo calmed down as he continued flipping through the contract. He looked up and asked doubtfully, “Also, don’t we have access rights into the training facility?”
“Training facility? Oh, training!” You Xulong slapped his forehead and said, “Ah, this contract was written and printed two months ago, but the training facility had not been built at that time… Entry to the training facility is linked to our work identification document…Oh right, let me find your work ID…”
Unlike previously when he brought them to the training camp, You Xulong was more relaxed and casual when dealing with administrative matters, although he still had a tough and stern-looking square-shaped face. Even Ren Suo who had been extremely nervous had calmed down. He knew that as a Practitioner, the department he would enter would not be just like any other. However, now that he knew that his superior was also a typical person like him, Ren Suo felt more at ease.
“Ah, so I left it here yesterday,” said You Xulong as he pulled out two small notebooks. He glanced at Ren Suo as he handed him one of the notebooks and said, “Keep it properly. If you lose it, you would have to pay a replacement fee of 65 dollars. The training facility is near Stadium West Road and was revamped from the pre-existing sports center…Just navigate your way there using GPS.
“No problem,” Ren Suo replied as he took his notebook over from You Xulong. The Xuan Nation flag was printed on the brown-colored front cover of the horizontal notebook. The first page contained Ren Suo’s photograph, his name, and the name of the department he worked in. There were also two professional guidelines written on it:
“1. The holder of this permit has the duty and responsibility to save any Xuan Nation citizen in need of help.”
“2. The holder of this permit has the authority to seek the cooperation of citizens and organizations of Xuan Nation. The Ministry of State Security would be responsible for any resulting loss or damage.”
The first line was a duty while the second was a right.
Nonetheless, these two lines sufficiently underscored the weight of the identification book.
“You understand what this line of work entails, don’t you?” Ren Xulong questioned as he patted Ren Suo’s shoulder. He said, “Not just anyone is able to join the Countermeasures Division, and furthermore not just anyone…can join Team Three.”
“With regard to this, I still don’t fully understand,” Ren Suo said. He asked, “Eh…Why was I selected to join the Countermeasure Department?”
Before Ren Suo had come to report, he checked his WeChat messenger on his mobile phone. He had not opened it for three consecutive days while playing his game. Other than calling for food delivery, he had not touched his mobile phone.
There were few notifications from his chats, given that Ren Suo had been a diligent and hardworking student in school. He used WeChat mostly to contact other people for important matters, and not to chat with his friends.
The only exception was the group he had been added into a few days ago, ‘We Are the Future of Xuan Nation’, which he had yet to mute.
He clicked into the chat group and had wanted to ask for more information about the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals, but found that many other people were already discussing the departments that they were allocated to.”
“Looking for buddies going to the Social Research Division!”
“Social Research Division +1.”
“You all are so lucky to be able to enter the Ministry of State Security, why am I sent to the Baiyun District Ministry of Public Security…”
“You are also going to the Ministry of Public Security? Me too! But I’m sent to the Haizhu district branch of the Ministry of Public Security.”
“Cries o(╥﹏╥)o, have we been left out? Why have I not received any notification yet?”
“I heard that Director Yu is in the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals and that the benefits and career progression there is the best. Did anyone get into that division?”
At this juncture, a user by the name of “Xiao Qiao” replied:
“Don’t worry man, those who are sent to the Ministry of Public Security or the Social Research Division of the Ministry of State Security will also have bright futures like me who has been allocated to the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals!”
“Excuse me, what a braggart!”
“Girl, do you not have any more achievements to boast about?”
Ren Suo was getting annoyed by such comments, and although he had not asked what he had intended to, he could already tell that the Countermeasure Division for Extraordinaire Criminals was an attractive department to be in in the eyes of the civil servant Practitioners. Regardless, Ren Suo still did not know why he had been selected to join the department directly.
You Xulong looked at Ren Suo and asked, “You have progressed into the transformation phase, have you not?”
“Ah?” said Ren Suo, taken by surprise. He paused for a while and said, “How did you…”
Ren Suo had just progressed into the transformation phase three days ago and officially became a Practitioner. How did You Xulong know about this?
“When you all went through the skill test on the fifth day of your training, we also tested for the estimated period you all will progress into the transformation phase.” You Xulong continued, “Those of you who would progress into the transformation phase within the following one to two days would be selected to join the Countermeasure Division directly. Those who needed slightly more time, between seven and eight days to fifteen days, would receive their notification of acceptance into the division after they progress into the transformation phase. The rest who needed even more time would be dispatched to other divisions or ministries.”
“As of now, the only criteria to join the Countermeasure Division would be to become a true Practitioner!” You Xulong tapped the pile of documents on his table and continued, “Furthermore, we are all very busy here, and with the danger involved in our work, only Practitioners who have passed the transformation phase would be safe.”
“That’s the only reason?” questioned Ren Suo.
“Yes, that’s the only reason. Do you think you were selected because the Deputy Director likes your face?” You Xulong joked. He looked around the office and said, “The other team members are out, performing their duties to search for the ‘goddess’. I’ll introduce you to them when everyone is back tomorrow.”
“Search for the goddess?” Ren Suo questioned.
“Yes, searching for the goddess,” You Xulong answered. He continued, “Have you watched the video [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters]?”
Ren Suo froze for a moment but quickly relaxed as he regained his composure and said, “Yes, I saw it.”
“You know that everything in the video is real, right?” You Xulong continued, “However, I’m sure you did not notice that the goddess in the video, who is the main female character, spoke with a native accent of Lian Province when she said ‘Thank you’.”
Ren Suo was shocked for a moment and said, “Yes, I think so…”
Indeed, Ren Suo had not noticed that before, but now that he thought about it, it was true that when the Seeker spoke in Mandarin, it sounded very pleasant and natural, and so it had to be very similar to the Lian Province native accent.
You Xulong said, “Because of this, the entire Ministry is currently trying to find traces of the goddess. However, it has been days since we started searching for her, but nothing has been found. I suppose the Ministry would be halting this useless search today.”
You Xulong shrugged and said, “There, this would be your workstation. Now follow us to collect your uniform, you would start work tomorrow and we will take attendance at 9:00…”
At this moment, An Suyu suddenly opened the door. She said, “Team Leader You, your other new team member is here!”
Ren Suo turned around to see who was the new Practitioner fortunate enough to be able to work together with him in Team 3. The next moment, however, Ren Suo was stunned as the thirst in his heart arose once again and his heart started palpitating—
“Hello, Team Leader You,” a beautiful lady greeted in smiles. She turned to look at Ren Suo and was slightly surprised, “You are here too.”
She smiled the next second, “I guess we are colleagues now then.”
Indeed, it was Qiao Muyi.
Based on what You Xulong had said earlier, only Practitioners who had passed the transformation phase would be able to enter the Countermeasure Division, so that means that Qiao Muyi had also passed the transformation phase?
“You arrived at the right time,” said You Xulong. He suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, I still need to test you two…”
“Test?” said Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi as they turned to look at You Xulong at the same time. An Suyu, who was about to leave, also stopped in her tracks as she looked at the two of them in anticipation.
“Yeah, a test,” replied You Xulong as he stretched his hands out and placed them on each of their shoulders.
The moment You Xulong’s hand landed on his shoulder, Ren Suo knew something was amiss—in an instant, he felt one half of his body become numb.
If that continued, he would lose control of his entire body…
Suddenly, You Xulong violently retracted his hands and smiled at the both of them. He said, “Both of you are progressing well with your [Clothes] skill. It is sufficient to handle the work we do every day here in Team 3.”
Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi exchanged glances and immediately knew what they had been tested on: You Xulong had used the [Lock] skill on them and was testing their ability to resist by using their individual [Clothes] skill!
It seems that both of them had successfully resisted him.
“We will now proceed to collect your uniforms. You two can sign the contract later when we come back,” You Xulong said as he walked out of the office light-heartedly. Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi followed closely behind him.
No one noticed that his hands placed behind his back trembled slightly.
It was only then that Ren Suo let out a sigh of relief.
Before he came to report, he deliberated for some time and decided not to equip himself with the [Fighter Novice] ability. Instead, he chose to equip himself with—
Skill: [Clothes]!
