Pei Yan was unaware of the psychological impact his sincere emotions had on Mei Simiao. If he knew, all he could do would be to smile wryly, because he understood better than anyone the recent changes in his psychology. It seemed that after being mechanized for so long, even his inner self had turned cold-blooded. When threats came to those outside his family and friends, his first reaction was no longer to resolve the matter through other channels, but rather to think about how to kill the opponent with the least cost.
What was even scarier was that once he had this thought, the system in his mind immediately started calculating ways to secretly eliminate the opponent without drawing the investigation bureau's attention. By the time he realized this wasn't right and ordered it to stop, the system had already proposed over ten seamless and silent murder plans.
What was even more terrifying was that Pei Yan was tempted by these plans.
Though later, adhering to the principle that he must never let the system control his life, he strictly ordered it not to calculate or suggest without his permission. But the seed had already been planted, causing Pei Yan to often ponder alone on the bed late at night. If someday in the future he no longer worked at the investigation bureau, perhaps being a killer privately might also support him.
Whether as an agent or a killer, those were distant future matters. The only thing on his mind now was to rescue his sister, and then to make those scum who participated in his sister's kidnapping regret ever coming to this world.
After the conversation with Mei Simiao, Pei Yan's life continued as usual. The scope of the secret training had expanded to include the five members of Pei Yan's team since their essence conversion.
Among the three women in the team, Liang Qian, Xia Yu, and Zhao Yuanhu successfully created their domains. Xia Yu's newly advanced abilities and domain were the strongest among them. Her growth surprised both the investigation bureau's senior officials and Pei Yan.
As for Ye Jiumu, he didn't create his own domain; instead, he awakened another ability on his own. Initially, he was very disappointed, but as he gradually developed the potential of the new ability during training, its powerful extent directly drew the attention of Cen Xiaoran and high-ranking military leaders.
Watching Ye Jiumu in action on the field, even Pei Yan felt envious. If possible, he would be willing to exchange his own lightning and vibration abilities with him; it was simply too powerful.
This essence conversion demonstration not only elevated Pei Yan's team to become newly-focused talent by the investigation bureau but also showed the officials the immense potential of essence conversion.
During these days, Pei Yan's team engaged in combat training with the group comprising Zheng Jia Ru, Ye Ruozai, Jiang Donghu, and a newly assigned female ability user, Liu Chenlin. Both teams continuously honed their teamwork coordination in battle and mastered the use and layering of domains, which geometrically increased their combat effectiveness in group battles.
The training results and fighting prowess displayed by these two teams during this period astonished the observers from the investigation bureau. While marveling at the Yangtze River's waves pushing forward, they also secretly pondered their survival chances if caught in combined attacks by these two teams.
After five days of such training, Pei Yan finally got the chance to go out. Qi Weidong was discharged!
This unfortunate guy lost an arm but luckily evaded the subsequent series of battles. He had already been moved out before the divine attack on the investigation bureau, and only today did he fully recover and was approved for discharge.
Welcoming a teammate's discharge seemed like a reason the investigation bureau couldn't refuse. Before leaving, Pei Yan's team was called individually to Mei Simiao's office for a conversation, understanding the other layer of meaning behind this visit.
In the ward of the military hospital, Xue Buli was diligently helping Qi Weidong organize his luggage, while Qi Weidong stood beside him, showing a silly grin of excitement.
"Look at you, acting like losing an arm is a blessing!" Jiang Feiyang tugged at Qi Weidong's empty sleeve and remarked irritably. As soon as he spoke, he noticed the reproachful gaze from Xue Buli and reluctantly shut his mouth.
"Blessing in disguise, blessing in disguise," Qi Weidong responded with a silly grin.
"Come on, tell us what blessing you got from this misfortune!" Ye Jiumu leaned against the hospital bed, teasing, then looked at Xue Buli with a hint of redness on his face and sighed, "Heaven is unfair. Clearly, some ended up with a beauty after saving people, yet the disparity among people is so vast."
"It's quite regrettable. I heard from Buli that you guys personally took down the guy who hurt me. Thank you, brothers!" Qi Weidong touched his broken arm, no longer grinning, and looked at the team crowding into the room. He pursed his lips, his tone choked. He had heard from Xue Buli about the battle process, and although the dangerous aspects were mentioned lightly, he could still sense the peril of that fight. The reason the team risked their lives challenging an opponent that shouldn't have been provoked was purely for the sake of camaraderie.
"Wow, calling him Buli now!" Wang Wenze noticed the somber atmosphere, moved forward, nudged Qi Weidong's shoulder, and laughed, "We're all brothers here, don't overthink it. You just got discharged, so we should be celebrating at a proper restaurant, but we can't go out now due to special circumstances. Instead, we bought ready-to-eat ingredients, and tonight we'll cook a hot pot at the military dormitory!"
"Damn the regulations, we didn't do anything wrong, and yet we're confined here. What the hell are they thinking up there? Go deal with the divine attack instead."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere froze. Everyone's eyes landed on the speaker. Qi Weidong looked with an extremely grim expression at the frustrated Pei Yan. Since entering the ward today, he noticed Pei Yan's unusual demeanor. Recalling Xue Buli's words, he stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and comforted, "I heard about your sister. Look at me now; if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to speak. Your brother has got your back."
"Thanks! I'm just upset with the bureau's decision. Up to now, they haven't done anything about my sister, much less! And not only that, they've clamped down on us too. This is bullshit!" Pei Yan's angry roar echoed through the ward and the hallway outside for a long time.
Jiang Feiyang and Wang Wenze exchanged a glance and approached to console him, "Hey, come on, come on! You just argued with the bureau and earned this rare chance to step out. What more do you want!"
"What chance? They never trusted me. They're treating me like a prisoner. You think I don't understand? Look at those plainclothes in the hallway!" As he spoke, Pei Yan pointed to the figures standing in the hallway, constantly looking towards them, and continued yelling, "And those drivers and vehicles behind us! They're here to monitor me, thinking I'm blind!"
Ye Jiumu saw Pei Yan's tendency to make a bigger scene. He looked at Qi Weidong and Xue Buli, who were completely unaware and awkward, and quickly stepped forward to stop them, "Enough! Pei Yan, stop saying anything further. At times like this, you must act with caution! Your sister's matter will definitely be resolved by the bureau!"