Talking to pets normally isn't about expecting them to obey, but rather about venting one's own thoughts.
However, He Li actually hoped that Xiao Lan could answer his questions.
Unfortunately, Xiao Lan couldn't speak, or rather, not yet.
He lay in bed and dozed off for a while. The sky brightened, he got up, washed up, went out for breakfast, and then went to work.
Upon arriving at the Spiritual Management Committee, He Li thought he was the first one there, but it turned out that everyone except Tao Xue had already arrived.
And they all looked busy.
He Li sidled up to Min Liang and saw him seriously reading two pieces of paper. He asked curiously, "Brother Liang, what are you reading?"
Min Liang replied without looking up, "The autopsy report."
"Whose autopsy report?"
"Xu Hui's autopsy report."
He Li was stunned for a moment. Xu Hui? Wasn't she the mistress of Zhang Qining's father? She was cut in half by the demonized Zhang Qining, who was enraged by her pregnancy, and her body was posed in a welcoming posture on her desk.
"Wasn't it already confirmed that she was killed by the demonized Zhang Qining?"
"Yes, that was the original conclusion, and Zhang Qining herself admitted to it before she died. However, after the logistics department's examination, the conclusion was that there were two residual demonic energies at the wound site – one belonging to Zhang Qining, and the other whose origin is yet to be determined."
He Li took the autopsy report handed over by Min Liang and looked at it... He couldn't understand it!
He Li directly asked, "Could it also be a demon caused by the infection of the Hu Yang Ghost Wood root?"
Min Liang glanced at He Li and waved his hand, "Next time, try to offer some constructive suggestions. The autopsy report clearly states that the energies originate from the same demon. One is Zhang Qining's, and the other is unknown."
He Li blinked and looked at the autopsy report again. Was that written there?
"Is there anything I can help with?" He Li asked.
Min Liang stopped typing and turned to look at He Li. After a two-second pause, he said, "Four cups of coffee, a croissant, a sandwich, and a 12-inch durian pizza."
"Got it."
He Li acknowledged and turned to leave. In a sense, He Li was no different from Tao Xue. The other four had been busy since early morning and hadn't even had time for breakfast, while neither He Li nor Tao Xue had been notified to come to work.
There was no point in them coming.
After buying breakfast, He Li sat obediently on the sofa, watching the four of them shuttle between the monitoring room and the laboratory, occasionally exchanging a few words. No one paid any attention to He Li.
"Sigh..."
He Li sighed. Things had really changed. With so much high technology everywhere, a combat-oriented talent like himself was completely useless.
He picked up his phone, opened an app, and started reading a novel.
Heh heh... Heh heh... Heh heh... This is really interesting...
"He Li! Jiangling North Street, number 115. There's a demonic energy fluctuation, a weak signal source, a level five demon. Go check it out quickly!"
Min Liang's voice came from the monitoring room. He Li shot up from the sofa and rushed to the armory. After equipping himself with his favorite conventional weapons, he went downstairs and drove to Jiangling North Street.
"It seems you're in a good mood," Jin Fang appeared abruptly in the passenger seat.
"You can tell?" He Li smiled.
"Of course. I only come out when you're in a good mood."
"Heh heh... When I'm in a good mood, it should be He Xi who comes out. Your appearance beside me means my mood isn't very good."
Jin Fang shrugged indifferently and said, "That only means your mood isn't genuinely good."
"Can you tell me why?"
He Li remained silent, watching the blinking red dot on the car's computer screen get closer, and then he accelerated.
"Because I had a dream."
"Oh? You actually had a dream?"
He Li nodded. "Yes, and the dream was very real."
As he spoke, he pulled open his collar, revealing his chest below his left collarbone. There was a red mark about three centimeters long on his chest.
"I was killed."
"Stabbed through the back."
"Jin Fang, do you know what this means?"
Jin Fang answered without much thought, "It means you were betrayed by someone close to you, someone you trusted deeply, someone you could turn your back on."
He Li glanced at Jin Fang. "That's right, but I couldn't see the face of the betrayer. I could only see the tip of the sword piercing my chest, dripping with blood. The entire world, no, the entire battlefield was blood-red."
Jin Fang pondered for a moment and said, "Then you should never turn your back on anyone again."
He Li grunted and looked at Jin Fang, smiling, "That's a good suggestion."
"I'm serious," Jin Fang rolled his eyes at He Li and said, "Don't just say it. Being strong yourself is the most important capital. External forces are not to be trusted, especially so-called companions and followers, including your future wife."
He Li raised an eyebrow. "You're getting more and more outrageous. I just had a dream."
"But it was incredibly real, wasn't it?" Jin Fang pointed to He Li's left chest.
He Li touched his left chest. "I'll seriously consider your suggestion."
"Alright, we're here."
He Li parked the car and looked at the area cordoned off by the police. He put on his jacket, picked up the shotgun, and got out of the car.
The police always arrived quickly, evacuating the crowd, setting up the cordon, and then retreating dozens of meters away, waiting for the Spiritual Management Committee personnel. They were very professional.
Jiangling North Street, number 115.
It was a five-story old residential building. The exterior wall plaster had peeled severely, and the putty repairs looked like a painting. If it were on a canvas in an art exhibition, He Li believed the auction price would be no less than fifty thousand yuan.
He Li glanced back at the surrounding police cars and the police behind them holding riot shields and firearms, and gave them a thumbs-up.
This wasn't an act of chuunibyo, nor was it an affirmation of their professionalism, but a hand signal indicating that they should be ready, as he was about to go in.
He Li walked into the building, pulled out his glasses, and a 3D model immediately appeared before his eyes. Sister Jiang's efficiency was still as high as ever.
402.
"Jin Fang, will my gene lock really restrict you from using your abilities?"
He Li was still bothered by the matter of his gene lock. He also wanted to unlock the next stage of his gene lock, but he had no clue how.
Jin Fang followed He Li up the stairs and replied, "Yes, but it's not your fault. Compared to others, your gene lock is indeed more difficult to unlock, and our powers are also limited by your gene lock.
However, you don't need to worry about it. With your current mental power, unlocking the gene lock would not be a good thing."
"Why? If I unlock my gene lock, I can use your stronger powers." He Li stood in front of the door, loading the bullets.
"Because your mental power is insufficient, our powers will lose control."
With that, Jin Fang kicked open the door to 402.
...