Chapter 42 (1/2)

The day after that was blessed with bright sun and blue skies. Qi City, which had quietly survived an apocalypse, was once bathed in warm sunlight and serenity. The sun remained rising from the East, as after all, a certain hermit’s transformation could not shake the foundations and rules of nature.

Meanwhile, in Qi City’s Special Affairs Liaison Office HQ, a storm was brewing in the Director’s office.

“Motherf*cker! Cocky b*stards, all of them! Trying to be smart, huh? How dare they criticize the report I wrote throughout the entire night, and say that it was more like a novel than a report? How dare they say that I don’t know how a Celestial Dragon Form looks like! How dare they say that my edited video is for a coverup!”

Mo Xing was currently throwing a tantrum in the office. Those who sat in the same office with him – Principle Zhang, and a few Deputy Directors – remained silent as he ranted. Not one attempted to calm him down.

“They really wanted to get that person into the Truth Department, huh? Great, perfect; I had planned to let it slip, but now I’ll f*cking join in the fun!”

Mo Xing pushed his glasses, and scanned the people sitting in the room. His eyes were glazed with ice.

“Deputy Director Liu, immediately contact the relevant organizations and investigate the movements of Vigilante A. We will immediately move once we have a confirmed location.”

“Yes, Director Mo.” A 40-year-old looking man, donned in a well-pressed suit, stood up and bowed. He immediately turned to leave the office.

After he finished expressing his anger, Mo Xing remembered an emergency call earlier today that carried him a message.

The Truth Department has come to a conclusion for their meeting at dawn today; to absorb the individual that could summon the Celestial Dragon Form into their ranks as soon as possible.

It was difficult operating in an area with too many people in charge of it. After each cleanup mission, the District Special Affairs Liaison Office would need to report to the Truth Department, and the Special Affairs Liaison Office China HQ respectively.

The Truth Department had the clearance for the report as they were required to come up with a conclusion for each event. The HQ of China Special Affairs Liaison Office was directly above them, frequent reporting is one of the basic operational procedures.

They’ve worked hard on the case, and even though everyone came back unscathed, none of them were given the recognition they deserved. The attention of the Truth Department was all focused on the Celestial Dragon Form that showed up out of nowhere, and none of them spared any words of encouragement and courage to the Special Affairs. Neither did HQ stand up for them, as they brushed the entire operation off and instructed them to ‘work closely with the Truth Department’.

Mo Xing previously dreamt that he would somehow be able to hide the presence of Vigilante A from the people up top, but the truth was revealed almost too easily. It wasn’t that he wasn’t smart enough about it, but that he wasn’t within the core of the Truth Department, and thus had no access to major confidential issues.

He was treated entirely like an idiot. All his efforts in glossing over the topic were as laughable as burying his head in the sand like a f*cking ostrich.

It was this complete and absolute humiliation that set him off. He always assumed that he possessed a higher intelligence than most people. How could he take this quietly when the short-sighted idiots were laughing in his face?

Strengthening his resolve to climb up the power ladder, he thought to himself, ‘As long as I can wield the power, I would have the clearance to know more classified information. Then, I will not make the same mistakes again.’

Under an enraged strain of his snarls, his mind and heart were clear and careful. There was no way he would allow the Truth Department to take Vigilante A into their ranks. Even if he was intentionally ignoring the existence of the superpowered individual and was actively avoiding any contact, he actually took time to investigate him when he became famous in the city.

He arrived at one conclusion: This person was a prideful one, and as a hero that addressed himself highly, he would never bow down to the system and allow himself to be ordered around in an organization like the Truth Department. The main rule in organizations was the absolute obedience towards one’s superior, and based on the modus operandi Vigilante A has displayed, he had absolutely no place in the Truth Department.

His deliberate oversight on the issue was very much similar to the core principle held by the ones above him – to do their best in uniting those that were able to work together during a crisis, and leverage on the combined power to defeat the most dangerous enemies. Previously, he did not interfere with the actions of Vigilante A, and even sealed his file within the law enforcement systems under the name of Special Affairs, effectively preventing them from going through their standard operating procedures. This was unity in another form, and the results were satisfying; Qi City became the Model City, and he managed to avoid a fatal disaster himself.

In contrast, the Truth Department was once again stuck in their whirlpool of pride, as they assumed that Vigilante A will be at their beck and call just because they had status, precious cultivation resources, and a sense of self-assured justice. He could almost see the dejected faces of the Truth Department people that were sent to contact Vigilante A. The hero was no longer the underdeveloped superpower individual as he was before; as a person who can summon the Celestial Dragon Form, he must’ve established his ego, and would never even glance at the Truth Department’s call.

Before that, however, there was still much he should do that would reap him immense benefits in the near future. His eyes narrowed as he went deep into thought…

///

It was just past 9 pm when Deputy Director Liu obtained the coordinates of Vigilante A from the relevant authorities. Mo Xing led his men to meet up with Deputy Director Liu, and had successfully intercepted Vigilante A at a random junction.

At the moment, the latter was stopping a few drunkards that were harassing some girls.

However, their eyes were momentarily distracted by a translucent, ribbon-like structure that was wrapped around Vigilante A. It seemed to be twirling around in the air, but it disappeared right when they showed up.