Which girl was it?
Director Zhou was still a bit disoriented; too many things had happened these past few days. "Stop playing coy, do you still want credit!"
"Ahem." Jiang Tingqiu adjusted his collar, trying to appear more presentable. He said, "Old Zhou... Director Zhou, do you remember a couple of days ago, I encountered someone who could control and wield strange entities by the river?"
"Is this true? Not entirely based on your so-called intuition?"
"How could that be? Am I that unreliable! I've bled and shed tears for the Investigation Bureau!"
He was still the only Level 1 Investigator in the Baijiang Branch, and he still was.
Putting aside the special-class elder sister, of course.
Jiang Tingqiu explained in detail.
He had been tracking for the past two days, following the figure he had glimpsed that day. He had reviewed a lot of surveillance footage and quickly located the girl from that day and the car she was driving.
With a person, a car, and a license plate, identifying her was easy.
"Her name is An Jianyou, the second daughter of the An Group."
"Wait, the An Group you mentioned is..." Director Zhou's eyebrows shot up.
"That's right, it's the An Group you're thinking of."
The one that was very wealthy, a leading conglomerate in Baiyun Province, and ranked among the top in the entire Donghuang Nation.
And the second daughter of the head of such a major group would risk great danger to eliminate strange entities and awaken?
Director Zhou didn't believe it.
Jiang Tingqiu said, "I didn't believe it at first either, and I had no evidence. But later, I checked the movements of the second Miss An, and found that several places she visited matched the clues we had previously discovered."
"An Jianyou had been to those areas, and there were traces of strange entities being eliminated there."
There was no mistake!
Although there was still no conclusive evidence, the pointers were enough for Jiang Tingqiu. In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures were needed, and besides, they weren't planning to do anything drastic, just have some tea and find some external help.
It wouldn't hurt to try.
Director Zhou stroked his chin. "What you said makes some sense. However, one thing is strange. An Jianyou's previous activities were all normal. Why did she suddenly change in the last two days, becoming so conspicuous?"
If An Jianyou was part of that organization, she could have been very discreet in eliminating strange entities, just like that black-clad swordsman who appeared and disappeared without a trace. But these past two days, she was full of flaws.
It was as if she was doing it on purpose!
"Old Zhou, you mean..."
Jiang Tingqiu was stunned for a moment, and a peculiar point instantly became clear.
That's right, the people of the black-clad brother's organization were mysterious, profound, and rarely seen. Why was it so easy to find him this time, without much effort?
He had been too excited before and overlooked this point. "She deliberately exposed her flaws, deliberately revealed her identity? What was the purpose of doing this? To meet with our Investigation Bureau?"
He was at a loss.
But it would be clear if they went to test it. "Old Zhou... ah, no, Director Zhou, Director Zhou, hehe, let me take this mission, I'm sure I can bring in external help."
Director Zhou refused.
He couldn't rest assured about Jiang Tingqiu's unreliability in matters outside of investigations.
But it was unrealistic to stop him, so Director Zhou thought for a moment and arranged for a female investigator to go, with Jiang Tingqiu tagging along as an assistant.
...
Meanwhile, in Taiping residential area, Fang You opened the Salvation Game and brought up An Jianyou's panel.
This girl had been on the path of a laborer for two or three days now, working diligently, handling more strange entity tasks daily than Fang You.
She had already ascended to the throne of the first laborer of the Hearth, and if there weren't any two-star strange entities to deal with, even Brother Black Knife's daily earnings wouldn't compare to An Jianyou's... even if Brother Black Knife sometimes eliminated a strange entity and was then dispatched by him to another location.
But Brother Black Knife was also human, he needed rest, he walked on two legs, and he had to be careful to conceal his movements... who told him to dress so strangely.
Clearing two missions within the deployment time was his limit.
An Jianyou was different; this girl drove a car and consumed less energy when dealing with strange entities. She handled at least three or four a day, and sometimes five or six, making a significant contribution to the safety of Baijiang City.
And it was today, shortly after Fang You's awakening, that An Jianyou met the conditions for awakening, with the accumulation of mysterious factors exceeding one unit.
The reason her mysterious accumulation was slower than his, Fang You suspected, was due to An Jianyou's different combat style.
He fought hand-to-hand, instantly killing with a palm strike, while An Jianyou often kept her distance when dealing with strange entities, deeply understanding his strategy of self-preservation. Not only did she keep her distance, but she also used strange entities to deal with strange entities.
It wasn't her direct action, but indirect.
"Perhaps the distance and the use of other indirect means to eliminate strange entities affect the acquisition of mysterious values."
He wasn't very sure without sample comparisons.
He made a note to research it later.
His gaze fell on An Jianyou's panel. "Disaster is imminent, and An Jianyou's awakening will add another major general. This is a good thing."
"Coincidentally, An Jianyou has been very diligent in eliminating strange entities these past few days with excellent performance. This 'Guidance Awakening' will serve as her reward."
Precious, after awakening, you must work even harder and not let down your boss... your mentor's expectations.
I'm counting on you.
...
"Awakening?"
"What is this 'awakening'?"
An Jianyou was just a rookie who had only been practicing for a few days, a complete novice who had just joined the job but was quickly promoted due to her good performance and received a reward from her superior.
She felt it was too fast and she couldn't handle it, and much of it was advanced credit, like owing a debt and then taking out another loan, which put immense pressure on her!
But her mentor told her, "The shadows are returning, and the Hearth is fading. As one chosen by destiny, you must bear more responsibility."
That's right, if it weren't for the fading Hearth, how would an ordinary person like her be worthy of her mentor's personal guidance?
Someone as powerful as her mentor, who fought against strange entities in secret and protected the world, took precious time to pay attention to her and cultivate her. How could she be complacent after eliminating only a few minor strange entities?
An Jianyou, An Jianyou, you're getting too conceited. You owe all your current abilities to your mentor.
She splashed some cold water on her face and looked up, saying, "Mentor, I understand. I'm ready. No matter how painful the awakening process is, I will persevere!"
For the continuation of humanity's Hearth, to not let down her mentor's cultivation, she... she... she would definitely persevere!
She definitely could... right?
...
"Probably."
An Jianyou's success rate for awakening was even lower, only 78%, which was indeed low. Fang You's persuasive speech was to instill a stronger belief and will in the girl. He had summarized his own awakening process, where belief and will were the main factors in holding onto oneself and not falling into the abyss.
But beyond that,
"What is the mystery of awakening? Why can it guide apostles who meet the conditions to awaken? And why can it protect the apostle throughout the awakening process, ensuring its safety?"
He hoped to unravel the mystery of awakening and find some beneficial methods for the awakening process.
Instead of being limited to just the means of 'Guidance Awakening'.