53: Chapter 53 I asked you to investigate unusual events, not to create them.

The word "Cultivator" echoed against the walls of the room, neither too loud nor too soft.

The air that had just begun to circulate in the room stagnated once more, becoming even more deathly silent than before.

As a former enthusiast of Xianxia novels, Zhao Qi was very familiar with the term "Cultivator."

When he received his secret admission letter from the Special Investigation Bureau, he had fantasized about whether there were truly people who practiced cultivation in this world, or similar existences.

However, after working at the Special Investigation Bureau for nearly ten years, he understood that Blue Star not only lacked those mysterious and profound things,

But even anomalies that could be explained scientifically, such as mind reading or telekinesis, did not exist.

If cultivation really existed, the concept would have many logical bugs in reality. For example, what kind of existence was spiritual energy, and why would it necessarily have a positive rather than negative impact on people?

Therefore, when the man in ancient clothing spoke, Zhao Qi's subconscious reaction was one of skepticism.

But how could his bizarre appearance be explained?

He had been standing at the door himself, yet the man had abruptly appeared inside the room, which was effectively a sealed chamber.

Beside him, Yue Ruo swallowed hard to ease the tension brought on by a series of shocks. "You say you're a Cultivator, how can you prove it?"

The man in ancient clothing smiled but did not answer. He turned his head and looked at Ye Ming, who still had a dazed expression, clearly not yet having reacted to what was happening before his eyes.

After staring for a long while, the man sighed softly, "Fate is wonderful beyond words; destiny is ordained by heaven."

"I thought the destined person had already appeared and the opportunity was set, but I didn't expect it to fall into your hands by some strange twist of fate."

Realizing these words were addressed to him, Ye Ming finally snapped out of it.

What he said... was that mutated herb the 'opportunity'?

It was originally my junior brother's, but because he wanted to help me with Fu Xiyuan's trouble, the herb ended up with me.

Then didn't I...

Ye Ming was somewhat intimidated by the man's ethereal aura and didn't dare to speak, but he eventually gritted his teeth and asked boldly, "Can I give it back to him?

This should have been his."

"If it's not meant for him, then it's not meant for him," the man laughed softly. "Otherwise, why call it a 'Opportunity'?"

"But..."

The man waved his hand, interrupting his argument, and looked at Yue Ruo and Zhao Qi. "The time has not yet come. Wait patiently."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man made no movement, but his figure slowly began to fade.

Zhao Qi realized that this self-proclaimed Cultivator was about to leave. Ignoring his amazement at the miraculous sight before him, he hurriedly asked, "You say you're a Cultivator,

What is an Immortal?"

Even among humans, there were many differing views on the concept of Immortals.

At this moment, Zhao Qi desperately wanted to know if the Immortal the man spoke of was the kind of natural deity born of heaven and earth in myths and legends, or a mortal who ascended to immortality through the practice of immortal arts.

"What is an Immortal?" The process of the man's figure fading did not stop, and a faint smile played on his lips.

"I am the Immortal."

The person vanished, as if he had never appeared.

Yue Ruo stepped forward a few paces, her hands grasping at the empty air where the man had stood, but she caught nothing.

"I am the Immortal..." Zhao Qi didn't notice what she was doing; his eyes were vacant as he murmured to himself.

"Wake up." Yue Ruo returned empty-handed and slapped his shoulder. "What are you dazing off for? What do we do now?"

"Right, right." Zhao Qi snapped back to reality and looked at Ye Ming. "Mr. Ye, do you... do you really intend to keep hiding things?"

Ye Ming lowered his head in thought for a long time before looking up. "I can tell you what the 'opportunity' the Cultivator mentioned is, but it has already been dealt with."

"What do you mean by 'dealt with'?"

"It was a herb. Before you brought me here, I burned it."

In fact, it was Lin Miao who had burned the herb. Ye Ming wasn't sure if this would cause trouble, so he chose to take the blame himself.

Hearing this news, Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo gasped and said in unison, "Burned it?!"

Seeing their ferocious expressions, Ye Ming felt a bit awkward. "I thought it was some kind of protected plant..."

"But I think it's fine. Didn't that Cultivator say to wait patiently?"

The two looked at each other, knowing deep down that the development of events had exceeded their control, and even the entire Special Investigation Bureau might not be able to handle it.

They knew exactly what the Special Investigation Bureau was made of—they were all ordinary people without special powers, and every one of them was a master of slacking off.

Now they were facing a Cultivator who had vanished into thin air before their very eyes. Could they handle that?

But since it happened right in front of them, the two of them certainly couldn't deal with it themselves.

Subconsciously, they chose their familiar method of slacking: when in doubt, let the leader decide—report it up.

"Mr. Ye, for your safety, you'll have to stay here for a few more days for the time being."

Ye Ming was stunned. "Isn't the school still going to deal with the matter of my thesis data fraud?"

"What thesis data fraud? You have clearly already graduated with your doctorate."

"Huh?"

"In short, don't worry about these things. The Special Investigation Bureau will help you resolve them properly."

Through their contact during this time, Zhao Qi understood Ye Ming's character well. Calling him upright and honorable wasn't praise enough; he was also capable and qualified to join the Special Investigation Bureau.

No matter what the Cultivator's background was, there was no mistake that Ye Ming was the 'chosen one' he spoke of.

In the future, he would surely come to see Ye Ming again.

Absorbing him into the Special Investigation Bureau would certainly make things much simpler, whether they wanted to find the elusive Cultivator or communicate with him.

Having cleared his thoughts, Zhao Qi reassured him in a colleague-like tone, "We don't mean to keep you under house arrest. You can go out as you please, but for safety reasons, it's best to give us a heads-up,"

"So we can send someone to protect you closely."

"After all, we don't yet know what kind of existence that Cultivator is, or whether he harbors malice or goodwill."

This reason was very sound, and Ye Ming nodded in agreement. "By the way, can I have my phone back now?"

"Of course, I'll go get it for you right now."

With that, the two left the room together, ducked into the room at the end of the corridor, and pulled out a phone to call the Director of the Special Investigation Bureau.

After a few rings, the call was connected.

Without waiting for the other side to ask what was the matter, Zhao Qi's words poured out as he quickly narrated what had just happened.

The Director was silent for a moment before saying leisurely, "The Special Investigation Bureau will likely be disbanded by the end of the year, and you'll all be unemployed. Regarding this matter,"

"I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious yet."

"I'm not dead yet. With me around, are you afraid of starving? If all else fails, I'll take you to set up stalls on the street."

Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo took a deep breath at the same time. "It's true! Right before our eyes, he vanished into thin air!"

The Director's tone became somewhat angry. "This is nonsense!"

"I asked you to investigate abnormal events, not create them."

His voice lowered a bit. "Even if you're going to make things up, make up something more plausible. Learn from variety shows—things like X-ray vision for playing cards or bending iron spoons with your mind."

"You come up with a Cultivator... this, no one will believe this."

"Director!" Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo were so angry they rolled their eyes. "It's not man-made or a rumor; we're telling the truth."

"The truth? Then there's video, right? Send it over and let me see." The Director laughed cheerfully, clearly not believing them.

Hearing this, they finally realized—right, there was surveillance in Ye Ming's room.

"Keep the call connected, don't hang up!"

The two jogged into the monitoring room, pulled up the video from ten minutes ago, and dragged the progress bar to the second they had just entered the room.

On the monitor.

Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo were conducting a routine questioning. Once finished, they turned to leave the room. At the moment the door opened, the Cultivator's figure slowly emerged behind Ye Ming.

Slapping the table in excitement, Zhao Qi shouted into the phone, "I'm sending it to you right now!"