Chapter 41: Investigation Team

Clearly, Ou Ziyun noticed it too. She frowned at the bald man. “Per regulations, no drinking is allowed on duty. You reek of beer, and I heard mahjong over the phone.”

The man didn’t argue, stepping aside to let the four enter.

Xueqiu meant to go last, but Xia Yin insisted she go ahead.

The moment she stepped in, her nose was hit by a mix of smells—cigarettes, alcohol, mildew, stale food, and a faint ammonia stench…

Behind the iron door, two rooms were separated by a spiraling marble staircase.

Their room held wooden tables and chairs, littered with seven or eight takeout boxes. Cardboard piled in corners, and from the back came the grating laughter of short video effects.

This wasn’t an entrance—it was more like the bald man’s filthy den!

As for him, Xueqiu now saw that, despite his black trench coat, he wore a loose T-shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed.

“No big deal. There haven’t been Shadow Ghost breaches in years…” he said with a forced smile, directed at someone specific, as if showing respect.

“Didn’t one happen in Qingtan this March? An ordinary person died. Have you all become so useless you forgot?” Xia Yin snapped, his dead-fish eyes fixed on the man, each word deliberate.

Xia Yin’s usual tone was flat, like water, only distinguished by its endless flow.

But Xueqiu sensed disdain in his words.

No, more than disdain.

For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a dark aura seep from him, gone in a blink.

“Your ancestors had business with my family. Then your father got you, a low Shadow Gene student, into the Academy. Seems he did more than that for you,” Ou Ziyun said coldly.

“I’ll report this. When we return from the Investigation Team, if this place is still a mess, your punishment will be harsher.”

Xueqiu hadn’t expected Ou Ziyun’s attitude to turn so sharp.

Everyone’s mood soured upon entering this filthy house—everyone except Xueqiu, pure as paper.

They were just students, by all appearances…

In Xia Yin’s words, this man was likely a Pivot, a ghost-slaying sentinel stationed in the city by the Academy.

“S-Sorry! I’ll get those guys down to clean! Please, miss, calm down…” The bald man’s attitude flipped 360 degrees, from scruffy uncle to groveling servant.

But why call the president “miss”?

Xueqiu recalled Xia Yin’s earlier words but was still confused.

And when Ou Ziyun spoke, her eyes were bloodshot, a mix of black, white, and red.

The student council president was clearly disappointed with this place.

“Hey, Madam President, is it really okay to use Contracts here…?” Xia Yin whispered.

Two minutes later, they were led to the basement.

This time, Xueqiu got her wish to go last.

Unlike the hospital exit, the basement was identical to that convenience store backroom.

Same tables, same mirror wall, but now with more than just her and Xia Yin.

“Get ready, don’t blink,” Xia Yin said, not pushing her in as before but stepping halfway through, waving.

To Xueqiu, it was bizarre—Xia Yin, half-embedded in the mirror wall, beckoning her.

She touched the wall, finding it intangible, like last time.

But what lay beyond was nothing like she’d imagined.

No swirling sand or gusting winds—she stood in a sealed, pure-white room.

Like a laboratory.

But if this was a lab, weren’t they four lab rats sneaking in?

No, this was an approved internship.

“Welcome to Ting’an Youdu Investigation Team α. Verifying identities, please wait…”

A soft voice came from nowhere—or everywhere.

Xueqiu recalled the Contract test day; Chang Yi’s voice was just as gentle.

“Hey, anyone there? We’re not enemies or randos. We’re here for internship credits… uh, a week-long practical internship…” Xia Yin called, wandering to a wall.

Xueqiu looked closer—it wasn’t a wall but a white-painted glass window.

The room had windows.

After a minute with no response, Xia Yin slunk back to her side.

“Authentication complete,” the voice announced.

At once, the white walls peeled, revealing two widening slits that formed a door.

The “door” slid right, vanishing into the wall.

It took barely five seconds, and Xueqiu hadn’t fully processed it.

A voice came from outside.

“You… ha… you’re early. We were told 1 p.m. It’s only…”

A low, tired, slurred male voice.

Half a minute later, its owner appeared.

A young man in an oversized black trench coat?

Xueqiu dismissed the thought.

He wasn’t young—mid-thirties, “uncle” age.

Less disheveled than the last guy, but not by much.

Stocky, beer-bellied, bearded, he epitomized “middle-aged uncle.”

“This is the deputy leader of Youdu Investigation Team α,” Ou Ziyun introduced.

“Call me Old Gu. Haha, come on, follow me,” he said with a hearty laugh.

Outside the white room, everything was oddly normal.

A marble-floored corridor stretched endlessly, flanked by rooms.

Xueqiu didn’t read the labels but glimpsed ones like “Infirmary” and “Counseling Room.”

“So, Old Gu, when did this place get so fancy?” Xia Yin said, chummy, eyeing him up and down.

“I thought this was a barren wasteland—post-apocalyptic, all dirt and rocks, wind blasting sand in your mouth.”

Old Gu paused, just for a moment, catching Xia Yin’s jab.

“Yeah, it’s worse than you think,” he said, stopping.

Xueqiu wondered why.

Was he about to explain the situation?

Or offer reassuring words?

But Old Gu didn’t.

He stopped at a junction, where instead of doors, black curtains covered windows.

With a bitter smile, he pulled one back.

Beyond the glass, a sandstorm raged.

ps: Attached a random picture.