This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 335 He

Chapter 335: Chapter 335 He

The decor inside this building was very plain. To the left, a corridor led to the interior elevator; on the right, a large blackboard hung on the wall, its meaning indecipherable.

There were two rows of benches in the lobby, and a few people in suits stood there talking.

At the center of the first-floor lobby was a four-sided information counter where a fat Black woman was seated, playing on her phone.

"Mmm... I need, uh, to meet with a doctor from the research institute. We had an appointment," Chen Ke coughed and said.

"Do you have his code?" the Black woman looked up at Chen Ke and asked.

"Of course, 0..." Before Chen Ke could finish, the Black woman slid a small keypad and a piece of paper clipped with a ballpoint pen through the window.

"Enter the code, then fill out this form," she said.

Ah... what a hassle.

Chen Ke took the items, first entered 0451, then bent down to fill out the form.

The form had very complex mandatory fields; it almost seemed like they wanted to investigate every detail of the visitor’s background—residence, employer, place of birth, year of birth, driver’s license...

Chen Ke took some time to finish it, inventing several entries, then handed it back to the Black woman.

"If this passes... it would be a miracle..." Chen Ke muttered to himself, waiting for the Black woman’s response.

She looked at the form, typed something into the computer, moved the mouse around, and then looked up at Chen Ke.

Chen Ke responded with a smile.

The Black woman bent down, took a stamp, and thumped it three times on different parts of the form. She then stuffed the form into an envelope.

"Hmm... are we good to go?" Chen Ke asked.

"Of course. We will notify you of the review results within three business days and arrange for you to enter the research area..." the Black woman said methodically.

"What? Three days? I was supposed to meet her this afternoon!" Chen Ke raised his voice.

"Calm down, sir. Everyone is in a rush, but there’s always an order to these things, isn’t there?" the Black woman said.

"I... she didn’t say it would be like this," Chen Ke said.

"That area is off-limits. Regular vehicles can’t get in, only ours can. It’s the rule... but... I can see you’re in a hurry..." the Black woman said in a low voice.

She seemed to be hinting at something. Chen Ke squinted at her, feeling like he was about to be fleeced.

"I must get in this afternoon... Do you have a solution?" Chen Ke asked.

"There are many people lining up to enter the research institute. We can always find a slot to squeeze you in... cut in line. I happen to be on good terms with the driver, but it’s quite risky..." the Black woman said.

"Alright... What do you think would make it worth your while to take this risk?" Chen Ke asked.

The Black woman extended a finger and her eyes widened as she looked at Chen Ke.

"Uh... 10 union coins?" Chen Ke asked.

"Sir, you show no sincerity at all... In that case, you might as well wait three business days..." the Black woman said, turning away.

"Wait... wait... 100 union coins? Right?" Chen Ke quickly moved to the left window.

"You still don’t understand how great the risk is... If caught, I could be dismissed, and you must know, I have six children to support," the Black woman said.

"Hmm... 1000 union coins?" Chen Ke asked through gritted teeth.

"You’ve finally come to your senses..." the Black woman smiled.

"Will you get me in this afternoon...? Are you sure?" Chen Ke frowned.

"I’ll get you in immediately," the Black woman said.

The two struck a deal.

The Black woman handed a notebook to Chen Ke, who then inserted ten 100-value bills between the pages and handed the notebook back.

The Black woman took the notebook and slid it into a file rack at the side. Then, she pulled a blue magnetic card from a drawer below and handed it to Chen Ke. The blue magnetic card bore the words: Visitor Pass, white lettering on a blue background, nothing else.

"Go to the parking lot behind the building, and board bus number 2, the blue one. It leaves at 2:30, and you have five minutes," the Black woman said.

"Alright..." Chen Ke sighed as he took the magnetic card and turned to leave.

When Chen Ke reached the parking lot behind the building, a green bus had already started and departed. As the bus drove past Chen Ke, he saw through the windows that it was filled with people in security uniforms.

"Blue... blue..." Chen Ke muttered to himself, running into the parking lot, searching for the blue bus.

There were five colors of buses in the parking lot: red, green, yellow, white, and blue. Either there were very few blue buses, or they had all already left, with only one remaining.

Chen Ke ran over and knocked on the closed door of the bus.

"You’re really lucky, I was about to leave," the driver said, smiling as he opened the door.

Chen Ke boarded the bus and looked inside, noticing a few people seated. He had just started walking toward the cabin when the driver called out to him.

"Swipe it, buddy," the driver said, nodding toward a blue sensor nearby.

Chen Ke pulled out a blue magnetic card from his pocket and swiped it against the blue sensor.

"Beep beep..." The sensor emitted a sharp noise, and another light on the row of indicator lights lit up.

Chen Ke glanced at it, noticing there were at most twelve lights in that row.

"Find a seat; we’re about to leave," the driver said.

Chen Ke acknowledged with a nod and walked to the back row where he found a corner seat.

The bus slowly started moving, leaving the parking lot and turning onto the streets of Manhattan. Chen Ke leaned back in his seat, gazing out of the window in a daze.

"Hey, buddy, hello," a man said as he sat down next to Chen Ke, greeting him.

"Hmm?" Chen Ke, interrupted from his daydream, turned to see a somewhat short, chubby white man smiling at him.

"My name’s Heath. I’m a reporter, invited for an interview. And you, buddy?" Heath asked.

"I... am visiting relatives..." Chen Ke replied evasively.

"Relatives? What kind of relatives? What are they researching at the institute?" Heath asked.

"You’re asking too many questions; I’m not in the mood to chat right now," Chen Ke said.

This reporter made him feel irritable. Chen Ke disliked people like him who treated everyone around them as potential resources, their superficial friendliness merely a means to build connections.

"Don’t be like that. The road is long, and we have to circle the entire Queen District. The research institute is way out in the suburbs. Is this your first time visiting the institute?" Heath said cheerfully.

"It is, and you’d better not bother me on this journey, or I might just throw you off the bus," Chen Ke said irritably before turning to look out the window, ignoring Heath.

"Such an introverted personality isn’t good; be careful not to mess up your brain," Heath snorted coldly, noticing that Chen Ke was ignoring him, and sensibly moved to another seat.

However, Heath’s interest in Chen Ke had been piqued, and he resolved to uncover Chen Ke’s secrets, watching him stealthily.

Meanwhile, as the blue bus was en route to the research institute, inside the Opportunity City Administration Bureau FPI building.

"Hey! Bader, how was your vacation?" a white agent, holding files, greeted an incoming colleague.

"Do I even need to say? By the way, has there been any major action by FPI or CPA in the Deep Anchor District recently?" Bader asked with a smile.

"Just back from vacation and already eager to get to work?" the white agent retorted.

"I don’t want to miss any fun, you know," Bader laughed.

"Other than the sudden Holy Relics smuggling investigation, there has been no special activity," the white agent responded.

"Holy Relics smuggling investigation?" Bader questioned, puzzled.

"Recently, we lost a ship in the inland sea, and it was the work of smugglers. The Administration Bureau has set up checkpoints on every road in Opportunity City, extending even to neighboring cities," the white agent explained.

"Sounds boring enough. Thanks, Lent, thanks," Bader laughed, receiving a nod from the other, who then walked past.

Watching the receding figure of the white agent, Bader’s eyes glowed with an orange halo.

"Who is responsible for the slaughter in Yasla in the Deep Anchor District?" This question lingered in his mind.