67: Chapter 67 The Dark Dome of the Ninth Bureau of the Great Xia Dynasty

The night was deep, and the autumn rain had just ceased.

On the ring expressway in the western suburbs of Jiangzhou City,

a pitch-black heavy armored command vehicle rolled over the slick road surface at a steady pace.

The vehicle bore no license plates, civilian or military.

Its body was coated in a matte finish capable of absorbing light and radar waves.

If a knowledgeable Feng Shui master were to get close and inspect it carefully, they would discover with horror that

etched densely onto the thick bulletproof armored shell with dark-golden liquid cinnabar were authentic Daoist [Golden Light Evil-Warding Arrays].

The coldness of technology and the mystery of metaphysics reached a perfect fusion on this war machine.

Inside the armored vehicle was a spacious command cabin measuring a full thirty square meters.

The four inner walls were embedded with spiritual energy shielding panels emitting a faint blue glow.

In the center sat a holographic projection tactical table, while several custom high-performance servers hummed quietly as they operated at high speeds.

Lin Ye leaned back comfortably into a deep leather aviation seat.

To his left, Leng Yue sat quietly like a flawless obsidian sculpture, her long, straight legs elegantly crossed.

Her deep red eyes peered over the rim of her sunglasses, observing the glowing electronic modern equipment inside the vehicle with a mix of scrutiny and curiosity.

To his right, Frost Star treated this command vehicle—worth over a hundred million—entirely like a playground.

The little girl stepped barefoot on the leather seat, tossing a "high-explosive enchanted stun grenade" she had just swiped from a Ninth Bureau operative back and forth in midair like an apple.

This scared the two fully armed operatives sitting opposite her pale, making them hold their breath.

Fatty Wang was even more ill at ease, his massive frame hunched over a folding chair in the corner, hands clutching the malevolent boning knife wrapped in an old jacket.

He looked with awe at the woman sitting in the chief seat at the tactical table.

Deputy Captain of the Special Operations Division of the Bureau of Abnormal Phenomena Management's Jiangzhou Branch—Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan.

Tonight, Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan had shed her earlier disheveled state.

She wore a polymer nano-combat suit, the black fabric wrapping around her hot, well-toned body like a second skin.

Hanging from the tactical belt at her waist were two exaggerated silver large-caliber pistols, with runes faintly flowing across their grips.

Her high ponytail was tied neatly behind her head, exuding a sharp and resolute aura of blood and iron.

"Mr. Lin, we are thirty kilometers from Heishui Town. At our current speed, we expect to arrive at the perimeter defense line in twenty-five minutes."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan rested her hands on the tactical table, the blue light of the holographic projection reflecting off her austere face.

She raised her head, her gaze sweeping over Lin Ye and the other two, a deep shade of wariness still lingering in the depths of her eyes.

She poured two cups of special-issue strong tea and slid them in front of Lin Ye and Leng Yue.

"We have plenty of time."

Lin Ye picked up the teacup, blew away the tea froth, and stared deeply at Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan.

"Captain Chu, tonight's display is quite something. I'm the kind of person who hates operating completely in the dark. Since we're going to cooperate, shouldn't you lay all your cards on the table for me?"

Lin Ye tapped his fingers twice on the tabletop:

"What is the deal with your Bureau of Abnormal Phenomena Management, anyway? This vehicle full of metaphysical technology isn't something a few Daoists drawing talismans could just churn out."

Hearing this, Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan paused briefly.

She picked up her thermos, took a sip of warm water, and her expression turned unprecedentedly grave.

"Since Mr. Lin is already involved in a core event of this scale, it is indeed necessary to give you a formal briefing regarding the background of The Ninth Bureau."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan stood upright, putting her hands behind her back as if delivering a solemn report.

"The outside world knows nothing of our existence. Even those prestigious clans and sects established in famous mountains and rivers only know a fraction of the truth."

"The Bureau of Abnormal Phenomena Management of Great Xia, internal codename [The Ninth Bureau], is not a simple Feng Shui alliance of cultivators. It is a super state machine that gathers the entire nation's top scientific research power and metaphysical heritage."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan's voice echoed in the enclosed command cabin, laying out a breathtakingly grand picture of the world.

"In the year 2030—which is this year—the observatory and the master compass of Mount Longhu's Celestial Master Manor simultaneously issued the highest-level warning..."

"A [Spiritual Energy Tide] that had lain dormant for a millennium has entered a full-scale eruption phase."

"The resurgence of spiritual energy sounds like a golden age from xianxia novels, but the reality is cruel."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan let out a bitter smile, a faint trace of exhaustion flashing in her eyes.

"As the concentration of spiritual energy rises, living humans find it difficult to absorb and digest it in a short period. However, the death energy, resentment, and bad luck buried deep underground and accumulated over countless ages have undergone a qualitative blowout under the catalysis of spiritual energy."

"Abandoned hospitals, ancient mass graves, schools, and even shady office buildings in city centers have begun wildly spawning all kinds of strange phenomena that defy the laws of physics. Living corpses, evil spirits, and great demons have surfaced one after another."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan took a deep breath, her tone turning stern and resolute. "In order to maintain the normal operation of human society and prevent nationwide panic, we had to take action."

"The highest level of the state issued top-secret directives, drawing elites from various military theater commands, top academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and worldly heirs from major metaphysical families to secretly form The Ninth Bureau."

Fatty Wang listened from the side, his jaw nearly dropping. He muttered to himself, "Good grief... so there really is a national team holding the line in this world..."

Lin Ye took a calm sip of tea, his deep gaze peering through the rising steam as he quietly awaited what was next.

Right at that moment, eerie light flowed across his retina, and the troublemaking system's notification sound chimed crisply in his mind.

"Ding! "My Lord, Please Behave Yourself" System prompt: Host is coming into contact with core secrets of this plane's largest official authority machine. Facing the olive branch extended by the state, please finalize your future faction alignment within three minutes!"

A light screen popped open, listing three highly alluring options:

[Option A: Temptation of the System — Express willingness on the spot to offer a pledge of loyalty, swear an oath to join The Ninth Bureau, and become a glorious civil servant.]

[Reward: Five social insurances and one housing fund, an iron rice bowl within the system. Consequence: Lose all freedom, forced to clock in nine-to-five every day, and Leng Yue and Frost Star will be forcibly registered as 'controlled anomalous entities' subject to 24-hour surveillance.]

[Option B: Lawless and Wild — Arrogantly flip the tactical table, point at Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan's nose, and curse, 'What the hell is the government? My fate is controlled by me, not heaven!', demonstrating rebellious defy-destiny arrogance.]

[Reward: Traitor's Headband. Consequence: The Ninth Bureau will immediately list you as an S-rank wanted criminal, metaphysical technological weapons across the nation will conduct saturation bombardments against you, and you will have no choice but to flee into deep forests with your wives to live as savages.]

[Option C: Strategic Alliance, Eased Maneuvering — Maintain the mysterious air of an expert, clearly state that you will only discuss cooperation without being bound by official establishment. Mooch official intelligence and logistics as a [Ninth Bureau Special Advisor] while retaining maximum freedom.]

[Reward: Husband Points +300, Unlock [Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Intranet Access], Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan's favorability secretly increases.]

Was there even a need to choose?

Working for someone else was out of the question—impossible in this lifetime.

With two gorgeous female zombies needing to be fed yang energy, how could he possibly have time to clock in on schedule?

"I choose C."

Lin Ye decided in his heart, his expression growing ever more composed.