After ending the call with the mysterious man, Pei Yan once again discussed the deployment of the next steps of the plan with Mei Simiao and others. The attendees for this meeting expanded; not only did several members of Pei Yan's core team join, but Yao Xuefang from the equipment department and the action team leader Wenlin were also invited. The meeting continued into the late night, and after it concluded, Pei Yan and Jiang Feiyang were left behind to conduct and discuss simulations of possible emergencies with Yao Xuefang and Wenlin.
Time slipped away amidst the tense busyness and Pei Yan's anxious waiting. Three days later, a call that came with an unexpected incident unfolded the drama.
Fifteen Devouring Demons crossing the border caused significant damage to the team handling cross-dimensional incidents on site. With three members severely injured, the investigation office had to dispatch Pei Yan's team, which had special effectiveness against Devouring Demons, to provide support.
As he received this order, Pei Yan also got a text message from an unknown man. According to the message, after adding someone's QQ number, he obtained an escape plan sent by the other party.
Sitting in the armored vehicle heading to the incident site, Pei Yan looked around and finally focused on Jiang Feiyang with a big belly locked in the bulletproof vest, sweating profusely. He smiled and asked, "Is it necessary to sweat so much? Old Jiang, the success of this act relies on you. If you mess up out of nervousness, the rest of the act will be hard to continue."
"Nervous my ass, it's this damn combat suit squeezing me!" Jiang Feiyang grumbled while shaking his body, cursing, "Damn it, I never thought being an investigator would mean acting with you guys. And you can't just put everything on me! If you don't act convincingly enough and get exposed, don't blame me."
"Don't worry, we've rehearsed many times!" Ye Jiumu interjected. Although his tone was relaxed, his tightly clenched grip on his weapon revealed his nervousness. He looked at Jiang Feiyang again to confirm, "I have no issues on my end. Are you sure you won't be found out? Those God Desire people aren't idiots!"
Jiang Feiyang wiped the sweat continuously appearing on his forehead, paused for a long time, and stated seriously, "With the help from Director Yao from the equipment department and a few days of testing, it can almost be perfectly faked. Within an hour, I guarantee nothing will be exposed unless they have experts specifically targeting this or take the bodies back to examine. Other than these uncontrollable factors, I can't figure out any loopholes."
"We won't give them that chance!" Xia Yu, sitting next to Liang Qian, munched on gum and looked at Pei Yan, teasing, "Main actor, want to run some lines with us?"
"No need, I trust your acting. Just improvise when the time comes."
Fifteen minutes later, the seven appeared at the incident site, swiftly took over the tasks from the previous team. With the addition of this powerful force, coupled with Pei Yan's restraint over the Devouring Demon, the entire battle ended within ten minutes. With four captured Devouring Demons, the group walked out of the defensive array, ready to board the vehicle to return to the base.
At this moment, Pei Yan, who should have boarded the car, stood still in a daze. From the car tail, Wang Wenze puzzled, waved, and called to him, "Pei Yan, get in the car, why are you spacing out?"
"Sorry, I fear our fate together ends today. For some reasons, I will formally leave the investigation office. I hope you won't make things difficult for me for old times' sake, and give me a way out." Pei Yan lowered his head, expression conflicted, and spoke sorrowfully with a bitter tone.
Everyone in the car was startled at his words. Wang Wenze reacted first, shouting, "Is it because of your sister? Pei Yan, don't do anything stupid. Believe the office is working hard to rescue your sister!"
"Easy for you to say, it's not your sister. You don't know what kind of suffering she's going through, how long is this effort going to take! It's been half a month, and they haven't given me any news. Besides, they monitor me like a commoner! If I hadn't found out something was wrong from the beginning, the office probably didn't even plan to tell me!"
Looking at Pei Yan's red face, veins popping, as he roared furiously, the people in the car looked at each other, unsure if he was acting or genuinely revealing his feelings. Just as everyone froze, Pei Yan continued to shout, "I am me, I am not anyone's pawn, sorry, I am leaving! Since the investigation office can't protect my family, I'll protect them myself."
After hearing these words, the people in the car snapped back to reality, hurriedly jumped out, and surrounded Pei Yan. Ye Jiumu stepped out from the group, shouted fiercely, "Pei Yan, don't do anything foolish. Now that the captain is away, I'm temporarily leading. I don't want to see you go astray under my watch. Come back with us, we can discuss everything."
As Pei Yan spoke, his entire body instantly completed mechanization, retreating while saying, "Jiumu, I'm really sorry to leave a stain on your time as temporary captain. Sorry, my mind is made up. If you're a friend, don't stop me!"
"Stop talking to him, he's already been enlightened by God Desire! Pei Yan, don't you think your recent conversations with outsiders went unnoticed by the office?" At this time, Wenlin, who had been following all along, walked out with a few investigators from a business vehicle not far away, shouting loudly.
Seeing them coming, Pei Yan's mechanical eye flickered non-stop as he sarcastically said, "You have long noticed but did not stop me, right? How come now you want to scare me with hats like before to make me comply obediently?"
"This time, it's not just to scare you. Pei Yan, I advise you to listen to your teammates' words. Before the situation worsens, turn around obediently and come back with us. We understand your feelings, and that's why I can assure you that your actions this time will not be recorded, come back, it's not too late." Wenlin stretched out his hand sincerely, making a final persuasion.
"It's already too late!"
As soon as the words fell, the engine behind Pei Yan started, and he soared into the air. But just as he was halfway through, a loud explosion sounded, and his body lurched, falling from his mouth, followed by a figure rushing up.
In the swirling smoke, staring at the Pei Yan being pinned securely on the ground by herself, Xia Yu muttered softly, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. Just like in the rehearsal, keep it as harsh as possible and continue acting!" Pei Yan rolled his eyes and responded softly. Then, with an incredulous tone, he shouted loudly, "You, you actually attacked me for real!"
With an exaggerated expression, Xia Yu firmly held Pei Yan's arm while crying out exaggeratedly, "Ah! I just don't want you to go astray! Pei Yan, don't be silly anymore, come back with us!"