Chapter Twelve: Choice

“My attitude?” Lin Lei raised an eyebrow slightly at Li Xueshu’s words.

Li Xueshu continued to look at Lin Lei. “If the Bureau really completes the registration for the little one, then the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail will also be able to quickly confirm her identity based on that record. They know an experimental subject of that caliber has appeared in Biyang City—there’s no doubt they’ll send someone specifically to retrieve her…”

“Although the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail isn’t an evil cult or organization like the League of Freedom or the Crimson Sakura Society, it is still an extremely forceful group.”

Lin Lei licked his lips. “Is the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail really that powerful?”

Li Xueshu nodded. “Incredibly powerful. Let me put it this way: they and the League of Freedom have been old rivals, but the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail is much stronger than the League—by more than a little!”

“In the League of Freedom, among those above the Fifth Realm, aside from the benchmark Seven Great Witches, there’s only the mysterious leader and the deputy leader… But the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail boasts the formidable Twelve Apostles, and, in addition, five ‘Executors’ who operate independently. The weakest among them is at the Fifth Realm, and at least one has already reached the Sixth.”

Lin Lei’s eyes glinted. He asked, “How many Fifth Realm cultivators do we have in Biyang’s Bureau?”

Li Xueshu replied, “Officially, only the Director. Secretly… there’s one Deputy Director and another special consultant.”

So, even the Bureau of a city as large as Biyang only had three Fifth Realm combatants…

If the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail wished, it would be all too easy to wipe out Biyang’s branch.

Lin Lei nodded, then asked, “What kind of research do experimental subjects undergo inside the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail?”

Li Xueshu was silent for a moment, then said, “It’s better for you not to know the details.”

“Although they’re not the embodiment of ‘pure evil’ like the League of Freedom or the Crimson Sakura Society, they’re far from benevolent.”

Lin Lei frowned, already forming his own conclusion.

For someone with Li Xueshu’s temperament to make such a comment, the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail’s methods must truly be inhumane.

“Doesn’t the Bureau do anything about these acts?”

Li Xueshu shook his head.

“The Bureau, when all its experts are gathered, is indeed the undisputed number one organization in Xiaya. But spread across the land, its power is ultimately limited. Nearly every city and province in Xiaya has cults like the Crimson Sakura Society that urgently require attention. Even dealing with such ‘pure evil’ is overwhelming; how could we spare the effort to handle a chaotic force like the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail?”

“Moreover, the Bureau’s absolute leadership in Xiaya is in part thanks to powerful organizations like the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail supporting the balance of power behind the scenes… The Bureau’s overall mission may be to maintain social order, but how could every Source-wielder within think alike?”

Lin Lei gave a cold laugh, the image of the little girl flashing through his mind. He pressed on: “If Little Thirteen completes registration as an Awakened, how soon could the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail track her down?”

Li Xueshu replied, “The only reason they haven’t found her yet is probably because they’re still busy retrieving other subjects, and they didn’t expect her to appear in Qinghe Prefecture, so they haven’t started investigating here…”

“If she’s registered as an Awakened in the Bureau, it won’t take half a month for the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail to discover her!”

“And truthfully, we won’t even have to wait that long. Once she’s given a physical exam and that mark on her body is discovered, the Bureau will realize her true identity. I fear someone within our ranks, driven by profit, will leak the news to them first…”

Lin Lei raised an eyebrow and licked his lips. “So, we can’t let her complete the registration!”

By saying this, Lin Lei was already making his choice clear.

Li Xueshu looked at Lin Lei with a sudden smile. “I hadn’t taken you for someone so compassionate.”

Lin Lei narrowed his eyes and met Li Xueshu’s gaze. “Compassion is the least of it. Since there’s a way to conceal her, there’s no reason to send that little girl back into suffering…”

What he didn’t say was that, as an experimental subject of the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail, the girl possessed a powerful Gift. If he trained her, she could become a valuable ally!

A spatial ability would be of great use to Lin Lei himself.

Li Xueshu propped his chin on his hand. “And what if, in the end, the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail investigates and finds her? Aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid? Why should I be?”

Lin Lei’s eyes shone. “If trouble comes, I’ll handle it when it arrives. Besides, they haven’t found her yet, and even if they do, who knows when that’ll be… If the worst comes to the worst and things can’t be resolved, I can always just hand over Little Thirteen.”

Whether it was Ning Fan of his past life, or the newly reborn Lin Lei, neither was one to shy from trouble.

If the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tail had already set its sights on the little girl, so be it—Lin Lei wasn’t so selfless as to sacrifice himself for her. But since they hadn’t, why should he be afraid?

Li Xueshu nodded. “If, as you say, aside from that Ling Da, only you have witnessed the girl using her power, it should be easy to cover this up…”

He looked at Lin Lei. “Which detention center is Ling Da being held in?”

Lin Lei’s eyes flashed. “Are you… planning to kill him?”

Li Xueshu rolled his eyes.

“That would only draw more suspicion. Kill him, and even a fool would know something’s wrong. Just alter a part of his memory.”

Lin Lei was taken aback. “You can alter memories, team leader?”

Li Xueshu’s skill set was a bit too broad.

Li Xueshu said, “The more you know, the more you can do… I have a special Source Artifact that can alter memories. It might not work on Source-wielders, but on ordinary people, there’s no problem.”

In the world of Source-wielders, memory was never truly reliable.

Even powerful Source-wielders could have their minds tampered with by a stronger Mentalist or special artifact.

Lin Lei nodded and immediately provided Li Xueshu with the information on Ling Da’s detention.

Li Xueshu produced a mask-like object from his coat.

“This artifact is called the Concealing Mask. It has two effects: one, it can slightly change the wearer’s appearance; two, it can hide their Source energy signature. Give this to the girl…”

“Remind her not to use her Gift during tomorrow’s test—let everything be brushed off as a misunderstanding.”

Lin Lei accepted the Concealing Mask without ceremony, bade Li Xueshu farewell, and hurried back to the Bureau.

He’d need to destroy his earlier interrogation report and records regarding Ling Da and write a new version.

He also had to coordinate the girl’s testimony in advance.

But, given how kindly he’d treated her, the little one should be willing to cooperate.

…

The next day.

Hodge arrived at the Bureau yawning.

Lin Lei was already waiting in a certain room with the little girl. Of course, at this moment, Lin Lei had used the Concealing Mask to completely hide her Source energy fluctuations, and had also subtly altered her appearance.

The girl had always been grimy before; with just a small change, no one would notice. Besides, Hodge had never seen her before.

Moreover, since Lin Lei had previously taken her for a boy and dressed her in boys’ clothes, her gender was yet another source of confusion.

“So this is the Source-wielder you discovered?” Hodge yawned as he entered, looking like he’d barely slept.

Lin Lei looked embarrassed. “That’s what I thought, but it seems I was mistaken…”

“Hm?” Hodge frowned at Thirteen.

“Have you tested her Source energy?”

The Bureau had instruments to test for Source energy, in addition to specialized artifacts. However, these instruments were not very precise.

They could easily be fooled by the Concealing Mask.

In truth, if Wei Zhou were here, all she’d have to do was touch the girl to sense the Source energy within her—even the Concealing Mask would be useless.

But Lin Lei had never seen Wei Zhou outside her room, and generally, new recruits had no contact with her before joining the Bureau.

Lin Lei scratched his head awkwardly. “Advisor Hodge, I seem to have made a mistake. There’s no abnormal Source energy fluctuation in this kid at all—”

Hodge glared at Lin Lei. “Are you kidding me?”

Lin Lei could only give a sheepish smile.

Hodge sighed, then looked at the girl again. “Let’s check her Source energy one more time. I’ll come with you…”

Lin Lei nodded.

Ten minutes later, Hodge stood before the Source testing device and shook his head. “The energy fluctuation is far too low—no way she’s an Awakened. I can’t believe you made this kind of blunder… Do you think my time is worthless?”

“No, not at all—you misunderstood, Advisor Hodge. This is entirely my own mistake.” Lin Lei shook his head helplessly.

“Hmph!” Hodge snorted, still giving Lin Lei no quarter. “You can deal with whatever comes next for this kid yourself! Don’t waste my time again!”

With that, he turned and left.

Watching Hodge’s retreating figure, Lin Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, after Hodge walked further away, his previously impatient expression faded. He took off his sunglasses, frowning and sighing to himself. “That kid really has guts…”

He might not reply to messages after work, but that didn’t mean he didn’t read them.

If it wasn’t something important, it was fine to ignore. But as an investigator, if a true emergency came up and he missed it, that would be a disaster.

Hodge shook his head and patted his own face.

“I know nothing.”

He put his sunglasses back on.