50: Chapter 50 An Unexpected Encounter with the Bureau of Eccentricities

It is hard to sleep soundly when something is on your mind.

When the first ray of golden light from the horizon pierced through the bedroom window glass and landed on Zhang Mu's cheek, he slowly opened his eyes.

He got up and washed up.

Once finished, he put on a mask that left only his eyes exposed, grabbed his ID card, household registration booklet, and other essentials for applying for a passport, and first made a trip to the Government Officials office to take a photo.

Then, he found a printing shop to make copies.

Everything ready, Zhang Mu went to the department specifically for passport processing.

After completing the procedure, the staff informed him that it would take seven working days to receive it, so he had to leave for now.

Standing on the street corner, Zhang Mu took out his phone, checked the specific address of the jewelry exhibition that Song Lan had sent him, and hailed a taxi to head there.

It was close; in about ten minutes, he arrived in front of an exhibition hall.

After paying and getting out, Zhang Mu braved the scorching sun and tilted his head slightly to examine the sign above the automatic sliding glass doors—Yimei Jewelry Exhibition.

His gaze dropped to the doors; the electric sliding glass doors were opening and closing continuously. Occasionally, after sliding open to both sides, they would take several minutes to close again.

Song Lan's remark that "it will be quite lively" seemed to have underestimated the popularity of the exhibition.

But it was not unexpected; a crystal gemstone with a rabbit-shaped inclusion was one of a kind, not to mention that her friend had long been advertising it on major news headlines.

He reckoned that even those who didn't intend to buy would come to take a look just to broaden their horizons.

Zhang Mu didn't care much about this, even though he had created that gemstone with his own hands. His only thought was that he wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.

Not wanting to stand foolishly outside anymore, Zhang Mu joined the flow of people and squeezed into the exhibition hall.

There were so many people that even with the central air conditioning on the ceiling running at full power, the air in the lobby was still somewhat stuffy.

To the right of the door stood a vertical promotional poster featuring a close-up of his crystal gemstone. At the bottom, five lines of regular script introduced its origin and rarity.

His gaze lingered on the poster for only a few seconds before shifting to the glass display cases arranged around the hall.

There were more common ones, with four or five placed in a single case, while the rarer ones had separate cases prepared for them.

And his was placed in the most conspicuous central position of the entire hall.

It was a fully transparent tempered glass display case, about one and a half meters high, surrounded by a cordon made of wide red cloth strips.

A group of people with the air of social elites surrounded the cordon, carefully examining the crystal gemstone through the glass while whispering with experts in gemstone appraisal beside them.

Zhang Mu listened for a while; they seemed to be discussing the authenticity of the crystal gemstone.

The conclusion reached was that there were no traces of artificial work. Afterward, Zhang Mu watched them become excited and walk toward the staircase leading to the second floor.

Perhaps they were going to find Song Lan and her friend to discuss purchase matters.

Considering maximizing profits, she should choose an auction, right?

Muttering to himself, Zhang Mu figured that Song Lan was probably very busy right now, so he wouldn't disturb her.

He turned to leave, taking his phone out of his pocket to send her a message saying he was leaving first and would chat when she was free.

"Do you think Ye Ming's thesis data is falsified?"

"What else could it be? Anyway, I can't find any anomalies. If the boss keeps nagging, let him come and investigate it himself."

A young man and woman chatted as they brushed past Zhang Mu. Hearing their conversation, the fingers Zhang Mu was using to type on his phone screen froze instantly.

If it were just the name "Ye Ming," Zhang Mu couldn't be sure it was his senior, but adding the thesis data, there was no doubt.

Staring at their backs, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and, without changing his expression, quietly followed them.

Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo had been "working hard" for several days and had finally played—no, investigated—all the scenic spots, amusement parks, famous snack streets, and other leisure places in Su City.

They reported no anomalies and that the data was most likely falsified, wanting to return to the Imperial Capital, but the boss wouldn't let them at all.

He threatened that if they couldn't find a valuable case this time, the Special Investigation Bureau would be dissolved by the end of the year.

Subsequently, the director of the Special Investigation Bureau informed them to conduct another carpet search of Su City.

He also said he would send his capable subordinate, who was the chief of the investigation team of the Special Investigation Bureau, to assist in the search work.

He confidently stated that with him there, they would definitely be able to investigate the source of the unknown energy clearly.

Hearing this news, Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo almost died laughing.

The chief? That guy? Could there be anyone in the Special Investigation Bureau better at slacking off than him?

Our slacking skills were taught by him personally, okay?

Although they were unwilling to continue wasting time in Su City, since the director had spoken, there was nothing they could do.

They had no choice but to continue playing—no, continue looking for clues.

It was just that Su City wasn't very big, and there weren't many places suitable for "looking for clues," so after a day or so, there was nowhere left to go.

At this time, while they were scrolling through social news on Baidu to kill time, they saw a trending search about the rabbit-shaped inclusion crystal gemstone.

Thus, the two, who were almost becoming shut-ins lying around the house, excitedly rushed over to join in the fun.

"Whoa, there are so many people; even a mosquito would be crushed to death if it came here."

Zhao Qi cleared the path, squeezed through the crowd to the cordon, and joked with Yue Ruo, who was following behind.

"Look at that inclusion; it's exactly the same as the photo in the ad, it really looks like a real rabbit."

"How much is this thing worth?" Zhao Qi rubbed his buzz cut, eyes full of curiosity.

"If it's man-made, maybe five or ten yuan. If it's purely natural, then it's hard to say. Such a rare piece will definitely be auctioned; it depends on the final auction price."

"Could it be fake?"

"It should be real." Yue Ruo, who knew a little about crystals, squinted at the gemstone in the glass box. "For the specific situation, it still needs to be tested with precision instruments."

"Look." Yue Ruo tilted her chin toward the staircase. "Those are the buyers with the financial power to purchase it. They've gone to find the exhibition organizer to discuss the price. But I think as long as the organizer isn't stupid, they will definitely auction it. Before the auction, they must conduct public testing."

"Tsk." Zhao Qi smacked his lips. "Wouldn't the owner of this gemstone be financially free instantly?"

"Pretty much." Yue Ruo shook her head; the stuffy air around them was making her uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Zhao Qi led her out of the exhibition hall. They had broadened their horizons and seen the excitement, and since they didn't intend to buy anything, there was nothing else to do by staying.

At the entrance, the two stood side by side on the roadside, chatting while waiting for a taxi.

"When I talked to the boss on the phone the other day, the boss said that the Special Investigation Bureau hasn't solved a single anomalous case in decades; they were all misunderstandings rumored by ordinary people. With science becoming more widespread, there aren't even many rumors now. I guess the Special Investigation Bureau will be dissolved by the end of the year."

"If it's dissolved, then so be it. What can we do? Should we go around playing ghosts and goblins, stirring up a few anomalous events? Even if we really did that, what's the point? Once surveillance is installed, with thermal sensors and acoustic detectors all in place, let alone those ghosts and spirits not existing, even if they did, they couldn't escape surveillance."

"That's true." Yue Ruo hung her head dejectedly. "Then what do you plan to do in the future?"

"I've only been slacking off all these years, and I've forgotten everything I learned in school. Now, all I remember is that I can eat three bowls of rice in one meal."

"The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge; we'll talk about it when the time comes. If that doesn't work, I'll take you to set up a stall selling chuan chuan xiang."

"Haha... okay, it's a deal!"

"Hey! Driver, over here!" While joking, she caught sight of a taxi approaching from afar, so Yue Ruo hurriedly raised her hand to hail it.

The car stopped steadily by the roadside.

"How much to XX University?"

"By the meter."

"Alright, let's go."

The two got in, and the sky-blue taxi quickly drove into the distance, turning right at the traffic lights and disappearing.

Three seconds later, Zhang Mu walked to the spot where they had been standing before they left.

"XX University, it seems the Ye Ming they were talking about is indeed my senior."

Zhang Mu certainly couldn't misremember the name of the university he graduated from.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Mu intentionally waited on the spot for half an hour, then hailed a taxi and headed to XX University.