114: Chapter 114 She Wants to Catch Up with That Boy
Linhai Investigation Bureau.
Third underground level.
When the elevator doors opened, the first thing Chu Youwei saw was a pure white corridor.
The walls had no windows.
The lighting was cold.
Every ten meters, there was a fully armed investigator standing guard.
They saw Executive Jiang Xu and immediately saluted.
Then, their gazes fell upon Chu Youwei.
Black teacher's uniform.
Blonde hair.
Ink-colored letters wrapped around her wrist.
In her palm, she held a fountain pen that automatically dripped red ink.
All the investigators were silent for a second.
Some had shock written in their eyes.
Some had confusion written in their eyes.
And one young investigator's mouth twitched, as if he really wanted to ask: "Does the Investigation Bureau hire teachers now?"
Chu Youwei looked down at her clothes.
She really wanted to explain.
But she didn't know where to start.
Say she was originally just going to Su Yun's house for a make-up exam?
Say that while making up the exam, she somehow became an Invigilator?
Say she almost died of embarrassment in front of Su Yun's whole family?
Forget it.
Let it all go to ruin.
Executive Jiang Xu didn't stop walking.
"Keep up."
Chu Youwei put away her emotions and followed behind him.
Su Yao walked beside her.
Neither of them spoke first.
Until they entered a sealed testing room.
The metal door closed.
With a hum.
Three layers of spiritual energy barriers activated simultaneously.
The ink-colored letters on Chu Youwei's wrist immediately arranged themselves into a line of text.
[Unknown examination hall detected]
[Suggest establishing discipline]
Executive Jiang Xu glanced at it.
"Don't."
Chu Youwei immediately whispered: "Stop."
The letters stopped.
And slowly dissipated.
Executive Jiang Xu nodded.
"Good control."
Chu Youwei pursed her lips.
"Executive Jiang Xu, what exactly am I?"
Executive Jiang Xu pulled out a chair and sat down.
"A Sequence holder."
"A Strange Talk Sequence holder?"
"To be precise, a bearer of Rule Reverberations."
Chu Youwei didn't understand.
Executive Jiang Xu didn't beat around the bush.
"The main core of the Foreign Language Tribunal was severed and Sealed by Bai Cang."
Chu Youwei's fingers tightened.
Bai Cang.
That leader of the Salvation Society.
Also a dangerous figure often mentioned at Su Yun's dinner table.
"Its primary authority has disappeared."
Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.
"You were previously selected by it to become a temporary Invigilator, and the secondary authority remained on you."
Chu Youwei understood.
Her voice was a bit soft.
"So, because the primary authority is gone, I have become the primary authority?"
"Correct."
Executive Jiang Xu said it very calmly.
As if he were explaining a math problem.
"It is a collection of negative emotions jointly birthed by national sentiment, educational pressure, the examination system, and the controversy over the abolition of foreign languages."
"Bai Cang took the core away."
"But the rules won't die immediately."
"These negative emotions need a new anchor point."
Executive Jiang Xu raised his hand, pointing at the ink markings on her wrist.
"You are that anchor point."
The testing room fell silent.
Chu Youwei could hear her own breathing.
She suddenly felt her wrist was very heavy.
It wasn't the ink markings that were heavy.
It was the thing behind it that was too heavy.
The whole country.
Emotions.
Rules.
Examinations.
These words were originally very far from her.
She was just a high school senior.
Every day she thought about test papers, rankings, college applications, and how many secrets Su Yun was hiding.
But now, Executive Jiang Xu was telling her.
The emotional aftershocks from the abolition of foreign languages across the entire Great Xia were converging upon her.
Chu Youwei looked up.
"Will I become a Strange Tale?"
Executive Jiang Xu didn't answer immediately.
Su Yao glanced at Executive Jiang Xu.
Executive Jiang Xu spoke.
"If you lose control, yes."
Chu Youwei's heart tightened.
Executive Jiang Xu continued: "If you master it, you will be the first special Sequence holder in Great Xia pushed up by national Rule Reverberations."
"What about the rank?"
"Currently A-Level."
Executive Jiang Xu paused.
"But that is not the end."
Chu Youwei looked at him.
Executive Jiang Xu said: "The emotional fluctuations from the abolition of foreign languages haven't ended yet."
"Students celebrating, teachers panicking, parents arguing, training institutions collapsing, related industries being cut."
"Every emotional node is adding fuel to this rule."
"As long as you don't collapse, you will continue to improve."
Chu Youwei's fingertips trembled.
Continue to improve.
Above A-Level.
That would be S-Level.
How many S-Levels are there in the entire Great Xia?
Executive Jiang Xu.
S-Class Executor Shen Yuan.
Saintess Lin Xinglan.
Lin Wanqing.
Night Owl.
Bai Cang.
Any one of those people is an existence standing above the city.
And she, a student who was still writing test papers in the classroom yesterday, could actually reach that step now?
Absurd.
Too absurd.
But the ink-colored letters on her wrist were still moving.
The fountain pen also lay quietly in her palm.
This wasn't a dream.
Chu Youwei suddenly thought of Su Yun.
That boy who always slumped on his desk pretending to be an ordinary person.
That person who dared to use absurd logic to force a B-Level Weird Tale to death in an examination hall.
That person who could make the Investigation Bureau, the Sanctuary, and the High Command silent at the same time.
She didn't know if Su Yun was really "The Rancher".
She also didn't know what exactly Su Yun was hiding.
But she knew one thing.
If she remained just an ordinary student, she would only ever be able to stand by the window and watch him disappear.
Watch him be surrounded by danger.
Watch him walk alone into deeper darkness.
Now it was different.
At least, she had the qualifications to catch up.
Even if just a little bit.
Chu Youwei slowly gripped the fountain pen.
The red ink congealed at the nib, not falling.
Su Yao had been watching her.
She understood the look in Chu Youwei's eyes.
It wasn't greed.
Not excitement.
And not being overwhelmed by power.
It was a very pure obsession.
Su Yao sighed softly in her heart.
Another person being led around by her brother.
Su Yun, oh Su Yun.
Do you even know how bad you are at pretending to be an ordinary person?
Executive Jiang Xu pushed a document across the table.
"Chu Youwei."
"The Linhai Investigation Bureau formally invites you to join."
Chu Youwei was stunned.
"Join the Investigation Bureau?"
"Position: Special-Class Investigator."
Su Yao added: "Same rank as me."
Chu Youwei looked at her.
Su Yao's tone was steady.
"You can refuse."
"But if you refuse, you will be placed on a high-risk observation list."
"The Sanctuary, The Watchers, and the High Command will all send people to contact you."
"They won't necessarily be as gentle as the Investigation Bureau."
Chu Youwei was silent.
This statement was very realistic.
She was no longer an ordinary student now.
Possessing an A-Level Rule Sequence and still having the potential to continue advancing.
Someone like this couldn't possibly be left unmanaged.
Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.
"By joining the Investigation Bureau, you will gain three authorities."
"First, Rule Sequence training resources."
"Second, contamination stabilization agents."
"Third, the right to know about special events in Linhai."
Chu Youwei looked up.
"Including Su Yun?"
The air in the testing room paused.
Su Yao's gaze shifted slightly.
Executive Jiang Xu's expression remained unchanged.
"Insufficient authority."
Chu Youwei stared at him.
"Special-Class Investigator isn't enough?"
Executive Jiang Xu said calmly: "Not enough."
Chu Youwei didn't ask again.
This answer itself was the answer.
Su Yun's secrets were higher than Special-Class Investigator authority.
Even higher than an A-Level Sequence holder.
Instead, she felt settled in her heart.
Executive Jiang Xu tapped the document.
"But you can obtain protection missions related to Su Yun."
Chu Youwei was stunned.
Su Yao looked at Executive Jiang Xu.
"Captain Jiang."
Executive Jiang Xu didn't look at her.
"Su Yun is currently still defined as a priority-protected ordinary student."
"Multiple abnormal events have occurred around him."
"Chu Youwei is his classmate and also a Rule Sequence holder."
"It is reasonable for her to also serve as campus-side defensive support."
Su Yao was silent for two seconds.
She knew Executive Jiang Xu was laying out a plan.
And she knew this was indeed the most stable arrangement.
Gu Lang had already been played by Su Yun to the point of submitting three psychological reports a day.
Replacing him with someone else might not be more suitable than Chu Youwei.
At least Chu Youwei wouldn't actively provoke Su Yun.
Probably.
Su Yao looked at Chu Youwei.
"Youwei."
Chu Youwei looked up.
Su Yao's tone was a bit softer than before.
"Power coming too quickly is not necessarily a good thing."
"You will be afraid, you will lose control, and you will be affected by the rules."
"But don't just treat it as a disaster."
"If you really want to protect something, first learn to grasp it."
Chu Youwei listened quietly.
Su Yao continued: "I used to think that as long as I knew about disasters in advance, I could change everything."
"Later I realized, it's not enough."
"Knowing the future is not enough."
"Being afraid is not enough."
"You must possess the power to stand on the chessboard."
She handed the pen over.
"Sign it."
"From today on, you are not a victim chosen by Strange Tales."
"You are a Special-Class Investigator of the Investigation Bureau."
Chu Youwei looked at the document.
A few seconds later, she picked up the fountain pen.
The nib fell.
The ink-colored letters automatically appeared, forming a line of small text below the signature line.
[New Invigilator: Chu Youwei]
[Regularization assessment initiated]
Chu Youwei's movements paused.
Executive Jiang Xu's eyes darkened.
"Assessment content."
The black text paused for a moment.
Then, a line of crimson text appeared in mid-air.
[Please complete the first National Unified Examination within seven days]
[Examinees: All those who have experienced strong emotional fluctuations due to the abolition of foreign languages]
[Those who fail will be judged as defective educational products]
The testing room fell into instant dead silence.
Su Yao's expression changed.
The fountain pen in Chu Youwei's hand made a soft sound.
Executive Jiang Xu slowly stood up.
"Scope."
The black text continued to appear.
[Entire territory of Great Xia]
[Estimated number of examinees: 270 million]