Chapter 430: Reward from the Research Department

Meng Chao did not intend to tell anyone for the time being about the X-shaped eye. He intended to search for the various hospitals in Dragon City, including the private hospitals that were quite unique. He also intended to search for clues among labs related to life sciences.

These were his thoughts: If there was really an underground hospital some twenty-thirty years ago that had the X-shaped eye as its symbol and this hospital had changed its name, merged with another hospital, or stopped existing because of various reasons, then its doctors, nurses, and even patients must still be around. They could not have disappeared.

There had to be a lot of people who were like his mother.

She might not remember what happened that year, but the others might be able to provide him with some bits of information.

He even thought up the excuse he would give during his investigation.

He would say that he climbed up the cultivation realms too quickly. Once he reached Heaven Realm, he felt that there was something off in his body. He also had PTSD, so he had to visit all the famous doctors in Dragon City to be treated.

With this excuse, he could ask for help from Yan Hengbo, Ning Shewo, Luo Wu, Dean Zong Yue of Agricultural University’s martial arts course, and the other powerful people of the older generation without inviting any suspicion.

With his decision set, he slept soundly that night.

The next morning, when he was going through the procedures to be discharged, Lu Siya brought the leaders of the abnormal beast research department to visit him.

Aside from Group 9’s Ye Xiaoxing, she brought with her the vice department director, Nie Chenglong.

Vice Director Nie had a purplish-red, square face. His stubble was graying, and he looked like he could not get a clean shave no matter what. He also had beady, small eyes and was far from handsome.

But Lu Siya told Meng Chao softly that Vice Director Nie was not some average person. More than ten years ago, he was a war hero from the Red Dragon Army’s elite reconnaissance squad. He had been fighting with his wits against monsters in the fog for a long time, and after he retired, he joined the field study squad of the monster research center. While there, he created a lot of records about the time he spent exploring the depths of the fog and the distance he’d covered.

Vice Director Nie was also the one who discovered Dragon King Town and the humans who formed a strange symbiotic relationship with the “banyan” tree.

Apparently, he had lurked at the borders of Dragon King Town silently for three months and obtained a lot of first-hand information, which was why Dragon Citizens were able to get a full picture of Dragon King Town’s situation.

Even though he was just a vice director, he managed the work in the abnormal beast research department and could be considered the most important person in the line of work within the department.

Since he personally came over to visit Meng Chao, it showed just how much the department valued him.

He was also a coattail that made Meng Chao salivate.

Meng Chao worked on the principle of having as many coattails as possible for the sake of saving Dragon City and immediately put up a show of “struggling to get up because he was flattered and trying to show that he was a heroic person in front of Nie Chenglong”.

“Lie down, Meng Chao. You need to rest!”

Nie Chenglong had worked his way up the ranks based purely on his achievements in work. He might be the vice director, but he did not put on the airs of a government official. He smiled and said, “Speaking of which, we’re not strangers. Principal Sun of Ninth High School was the leader of my squad in the past.”

“Seriously?!” Meng Chao was delighted.

Principal Sun was not just the person who led him down the path of a superhuman, but also his benefactor, because he helped ward off the Bloody Moon Wolves. He even taught Meng Chao the Demon Subduing Pole, so he was Meng Chao’s first master.

Meng Chao often remembered that night when Principal Sun set his vitality magnetic field on fire and lit up the dark like a burning lighthouse. The image of him chasing away the wicked to protect Meng Chao and the other students still remained clear in his mind.

Meng Chao had then sworn that he would not let Principal Sun down.

Immediately, he felt that the psychological distance between him and Nie Chenglong had closed by a large degree.

“I know, right?” Nie Chenglong smiled. “If it weren’t for the fact that I know your background and that you’re someone on our side and are reliable, I wouldn’t have let you become an off-staff member of the abnormal beast research department so easily. But Old Ye and I never thought that you would have such a deep understanding of abnormal beasts.

“Not only did you write the One Hundred Ways to Destroy Dragon City—which is an investigation report filled with remarkable insight, by the way—you also managed to predict the abnormal beasts’ plans. You helped us capture all those cunning beasts in one go, and as an off-staff member, your contribution is ten times greater than those of official investigators.

“The old squad leader’s spirit in heaven must feel very proud that he had a student like you.”

Meng Chao flushed red, but he puffed his chest out and said, “Vice Director Nie, that’s because the department has great foresight, and Captain Ye is a great leader. Also—”

“Enough. You can say those high-sounding words when you’re rewarded with medals and other rewards or when writing reports. You’re one of us, and we know very well about your performance during the battle. The operation succeeded because of you. It was you who turned the tides on his own!”

Nie Chenglong waved his hand in dismissal and switched the topic. He said, “But you’ve really given us a major problem. Tell me, based on your performance that day, how should we reward you?

“If you were an official investigator, we wouldn’t need to negotiate any further. It wouldn’t even be a problem for us to promote you by three ranks. But you’re just a university student... Meng Chao, have you ever thought about officially joining the abnormal beast research department?”

Meng Chao blinked rapidly.

It was no wonder why Vice Director Nie was so friendly. He wanted to get a firm grasp of Meng Chao beforehand, because he was a delicious piece of meat!

Meng Chao looked at Ye Xiaoxing.

“Meng Chao, if you’re worried about not being able to coordinate your studies and work, you can rest assured. The university students in Dragon City are not the nerds in the ivory towers on Earth who can’t shoulder any burden and pick up any tasks. You’re already in the second semester of your sophomore year. In the blink of an eye, you’ll be a junior.

“I believe that plenty of your coursemates have already signed internship agreements with various units in society, like the Survival Committee or the departments of the Supernatural Tower. They might even be the backbones of the various joint projects between the university and various companies.

“At the end of the day, cultivation is something that you can’t learn through books. You have to figure it out through work and battles.

“Of course, even if you officially join the abnormal beast research department now, we won’t use you like a normal investigator. You’re a unique talent who has endless potential. We don’t want your talent to go to waste.

“The department intends to sign an agreement with you first, if you’re willing to. Once you do, you can do what you have been doing all this while. Half of the time, you should continue pursuing the White Spirit, Lin Chuan, and Gao Ye’s cases. As for the other half, you should go back to study in Agricultural University. The department will also pay for most of your cultivation fees.

“The HR will consider you to have joined the department beforehand and start calculating the time of your employment from half a year ago. You will enjoy the various benefits that the special service members are entitled to, and you will also be able to get all sorts of benefits from the department. All that will be considered as the department asking for a favor from Agricultural University to take its place in teaching you. What do you think?”

Meng Chao thought about it for a while.

Over the next few years in the future, the abnormal beast research department would become a powerful organization that was the best among the best in Dragon City.

Being an official investigator was a highly sought after position.

He would have a lot of power, good benefits, and sufficient cultivation resources. Since he would be fighting with his wits against abnormal beasts usually, he would also need a lot of monster materials that outsiders could not get.

Any other normal university student would not be able to get that position even if they wrecked their brains for it.

However, at the same time he enjoyed those benefits and privileges, he would be limited by this powerful organization and have to shoulder its responsibilities.

As a member of a pseudo militarized organization, he would not be able to do many things as he pleased.

Ma Hong, the first leader of the Broken Star Club, had to resign from his post because of his post in the Red Dragon Army.

Meng Chao did not think that he could obey the rules of the abnormal beast research department completely.

And he did not want to become a chess piece.

He wanted to occasionally jump out of the chess board to play a few rounds with the chess player himself.

Besides, there was the matter of the abnormal beast research department’s bizarre disappearance after the Monster War. He did not know how many secrets were related to this. If he were in the mess itself, it might be difficult for him to investigate the matter. He should keep a suitable distance to form the full picture of the situation.

Once he thought of this, he said hesitantly, “Thank you for your kind will, Vice Director Nie, Captain Ye. But you know my situation. I have Superstar, the Broken Star Club, and all sorts of matters I have to handle, and they just never end. I might not be able to place my full attention on the work from the abnormal beast research department. I think... I shouldn’t cause any trouble to the department.” He paused for a moment and felt embarrassed, so he said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Vice Director, Captain, I...”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize about. Everyone has their own ambitions, and you can’t force them.”

Nie Chenglong and Ye Xiaoxing exchanged a glance, as if they had predicted his answer beforehand. “A talented person like you will shine wherever you go. With the current development of Superstar and the Broken Star Club, it would indeed be a little bit of a pity for you to join the abnormal beast research department.

Meng Chao then gave them a promise. “Even though I can’t become an official investigator, as long as you don’t mind, I intend to continue being an off-staff investigator.

“Regardless of whether it is the abnormal beast involved in the White Spirit, Lin Chuan, Gao Ye, and Zhou Tianshui’s cases or other monsters, I will be eternal enemies with them!

“Besides, I know exactly why Superstar and the Broken Star Club were able to develop so quickly.”

Meng Chao knew very well that he and his father were not talented in business.

Superstar had reached its limit when it merged with Prosperous and became one of the best middle and low-grade monster harvesting companies in Dragon City.

The abnormal beast research department was the one who had pulled the strings for them to be able to swallow a giant and take the core assets of Spirit Creation Creatures, their veteran technicians, and top-grade labs.

The Broken Star Club had also managed to attract one hundred members over the past half a year in part because of the support from the abnormal beast research department. At the very least, the anonymous donor who spent a lot of money on them was someone Ye Xiaoxing knew.

From this angle, all of them were on the same side, so it was no longer that important as to whether officially in the research department or not.

“That’s good, too,” Ye Xiaoxing said. “There’s benefits in joining, but if you don’t join, you’ll have the benefits of not joining. If you continue developing Superstar and the Broken Star Club based on their current momentum, it’ll be good for the department too.

“However, the department just can’t give you too many rewards when you’re an off-staff member. Meng Chao, what are your thoughts? Aside from the request you made yesterday about three to five tons of gene medicine every day, do you have any other requests? You don’t have to hold back. Just mention it. Our principle is that we won’t let any hero suffer a loss. In any case, we’re not the ones forking out the money from our pockets, right?”

Ye Xiaoxing appeared to be in a good mood.

It was rare for him to crack a joke, even if it was not funny at all.

Meng Chao laughed dryly and seized the chance to mention that he had been cultivating too quickly, so he felt that there was something off about his body. He wanted to continue with his treatment.

Nie Chenglong and Ye Xiaoxing instantly had stern expressions.

Cultivation was a major matter.

They had already looked at Meng Chao’s medical report.

Even though it showed that his body was fine, the path of cultivation was strange. No one could really tell the injuries in the cells, genes, and the mind.

A superhuman who appeared to be strong and could kill a Demonic Halberd Pig with just one punch might have a “bomb” hidden in his body. No one knew when that “bomb” would go off and when he would go through spirit energy deviation. If he did, he would be lucky to end up with just his body crippled. If his mind became distorted and he ended up as a lost person, that would be bad.

“What do you mean by ‘off’?” Ye Xiaoxing asked anxiously.

“I can’t really tell. It shouldn’t be a major problem. But ever since I reached Heaven Realm, my spirit energy has become much stronger than before. I feel like I have ten volcanoes hidden in my body, and my strength is as great as a raging beast, but sometimes, emphasis on sometimes, I don’t know how to describe it, but I just feel uncomfortable.”

Meng Chao scratched his head. “It might be my imagination, but I don’t feel like I’m in coordination with my body. But it might be because I have just reached Heaven Realm, so I might get better in a few more days.”