Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 177 New Colleague

Chapter 177: Chapter 177 New Colleague

Su Hui was sitting in the office, agonizing over a batch of documents that needed to be processed. She was despondent, and to be honest, her head was aching terribly. She had a strong urge to just set fire to these documents, but she just couldn’t do it.

Just as Su Hui was rolling up her sleeves to start work, a colleague came over with a stack of documents and dumped them on her desk. She felt a sense of despair creep over her. She threw her head back with a sigh, and slumped face down onto the pile of documents.

After resting her forehead on the desk for a little while, she finally pulled herself together and started battling the workload.

The morning went by quickly. The speed at which Su Hui processed documents left her mind blank. She felt mentally and physically exhausted, and all thoughts of food, despite her stomach growling, were gone. All she wanted was to get through the workday and collapse into bed.

Growing a headache from staring at the documents, Su Hui began to do some eye exercises, hoping that it would help refresh her spirits somehow.

At that moment, a handsome, sunny-looking police officer strolled in and handed her a cup of coffee. The sudden attention took Su Hui by surprise, and she felt somewhat at a loss.

Before she could even voice her gratitude, the other party launched into a self-introduction: "Hello, my name is Zhuo Hang. I’ve just been transferred here, so we’ll be colleagues now. I’m looking forward to working with you." With that, they extended a hand.

Out of courtesy, Su Hui returned the handshake while flashing a small smile. Just then, a strong flutter unsettled her insides, like a small deer stumbling upon a hunter. His sunny smile and confident demeanor had definitely made a good impression.

Zhuo Hang glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot, and said: "I heard about your achievements, how you solved many cases and arrested numerous criminals. The higher-ups all sing your praises. You are indeed an outstanding police officer, hence your transfer to the city’s main police bureau."

Laughing, Su Hui replied, "It’s not that big a deal. I just did what a police officer is supposed to do."

"Don’t be too modest. We should all strive to be like you. I think the reason behind your transfer must be this." Zhuo Hang’s statement prompted her to reply with a wry laugh, "I don’t think that’s the reason. I was doing just fine in the criminal police division, and then they decided to make me an administrator. Not that I resist management’s decision, but as a criminal police officer, I think I could contribute so much more."

"Your capability has already been acknowledged. You don’t need to prove anything else. The higher-ups must have had a reason for reassigning you. Trust in the organization." Even though Zhuo Hang spoke these words, Su Hui remained unconvinced, suspecting that someone was intentionally pulling the strings to keep her away from investigations.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Su Hui, so she asked, "Which division were you transferred from?"

Zhuo Hang didn’t respond; instead, he pointed upwards, immediately enlightening Su Hui, who exclaimed in surprise, "You’re kidding, right?"

"No, I’m not!" Zhuo Hang nodded, adding, "There are things I can’t talk about now. Are you free after work? I’ll pick you up."

Looking puzzled, Su Hui started to respond, but he had already turned to leave, making it seem as though she had already agreed.

For some reason, watching her new colleague’s retreating figure, Su Hui just couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was rather strange. If someone transferred from headquarters is usually a big shot, then this person...

Su Hui couldn’t help feeling weird, why would someone from the headquarters reach out to her so quickly? Could it be...

A sense of foreboding filled Su Hui’s mind. She began to regret her earlier decisions. The force she would have to reckon with was overwhelming, something beyond her ability. Oh, my God...

With a disturbed heart, Su Hui accomplished no work during the afternoon. Her mind was a jumbled mess until quitting time when she hastily grabbed her bag and left. As soon as she exited the building, a car pulled up to the curb, waiting for her.

"I’ve been waiting for some time, get in." Zhuo Hang indicated with a smile, holding the car door open for her.

Despite her wariness, Su Hui got into the car. She wanted to test the waters, and perhaps a conversation could smooth things over. There was no need to be enemies.

Zhuo Hang handed her a stack of documents while he was driving. "Take a look."

Su Hui was confused. As she opened the file, her face paled. The file contained a poorly written report she had written a while ago. It was about how Gu Fan and his crew had casually saved the lives of twelve students while on a field trip.

She initially thought the matter had been settled, and that the glaring errors in her report would be overlooked. However, she was caught off guard when someone dredged it up again and seemed ready to question its contents.

Upon close inspection, it was a photocopy. Su Hui was somewhat bewildered.

"Do you know why I was transferred here?" Zhuo Hang asked indifferently, "Because there were so many issues with your report, yet the local police headquarters chose to ignore it."

Upon hearing this, Su Hui breathed a sigh of relief. From Zhuo Hang’s tone, he didn’t seem to be allied with the force in question and appeared to be here to investigate the matter.

Zhuo Hang continued, "It wasn’t appropriate for us to talk about this at work, but now I want to know what exactly happened after you went to the desert?"

"Are you curious, or are the higher-ups interested?" Su Hui asked skeptically. She wasn’t sure if she could trust this person she had only just met.

Zhuo Hang noticed this, "You don’t trust me?"

Su Hui replied candidly, "Honestly, I’d love to trust you, but I can’t."

"I understand this, but I’m not on their side, and that’s why the higher-ups sent me to investigate," Zhuo Hang responded solemnly. "Recently, we planted an undercover agent within a mysterious force. However, they went to this foreign territory with them, and haven’t been heard from since. Incidentally, you also went there and found twelve missing classmates. The higher-ups believe this is no coincidence..."

"Ah, I see. But I still can’t tell you. If you’re capable, you should ask those who approved the report." Su Hui’s confrontation and refusal to cooperate put Zhuo Hang at unease. "I know you don’t trust me yet, but we need your help. We’ve been covertly tracking that force for years. We want to uproot them, but we don’t have enough evidence yet. So we came to you, hoping you can help. If you do, you’ll be rewarded greatly, and you can return to being a criminal investigator, and get a higher position with a pay raise."

Su Hui didn’t care about promotions or pay raises, but she was attracted to the prospect of becoming a criminal investigator. Still, she wouldn’t be easily hooked. She casually replied, "If you want me to trust you, then you’ll have to earn it. Tell me everything about the force, and then I’ll consider telling you the truth. Otherwise, we have nothing to talk about."

Zhuo Hang didn’t expect Su Hui to bargain, leaving him in a quandary. "Without orders from the higher-ups, I can’t tell you."

"Well, then ask your superiors’ permission. I’ll give you time. After all, how do I know you’re not a spy sent by the force?" Su Hui’s argument—tit-for-tat—made sense: you don’t tell, and I won’t tell either. Exchange of intelligence, my word is the final.

Zhuo Hang was at a loss, he had to nod in agreement, "Alright, I’ll give you a hint, but please keep it confidential. Knowing too much isn’t good for your safety. The less you know, the better. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Of course, I understand. But you make it sound scary. I think it’s better if we both keep quiet." Su Hui shrugged in indifference, creating an awkward atmosphere. Zhuo Hang realized his threat didn’t work and felt the weight of Su Hui’s strong character.

"Alright, you win, you’re indeed an elite. I’ll tell you everything I know." Zhuo Hang sighed, conceding, appearing visibly upset. Seeing this brought a satisfying shock to Su Hui, who thought, you want to play with me? You’re too naive.

Zhuo Hang sighed again, his face serious, "Have you ever heard of the Eternal Life Clan?"

"Never heard of it?" While Su Hui answered in the negative, she quickly made the connection with Queen Qianye and the power of eternal life, wondering if there was a link between the two.

Zhuo Hang continued, "It’s a clan from the legend—whether it exists or not is still up for debate. So far, we only have a bit of evidence possibly related to them, but we can’t confirm their existence. The higher-ups take this matter seriously and have been investigating it."

Su Hui was puzzled, furrowing her brows, "What do you mean? Are you saying that the mysterious force your undercover was investigating is the Eternal Life Clan?"

To which Zhuo Hang shook his head, "We encountered the mysterious force whilst investigating the Eternal Life Clan. This led to us trailing the mysterious group, and we found that they have connections in both government and business. It’s a huge force, so we must tread lightly."

"No way, even the higher-ups find it problematic," Su Hui was worried. She had always assumed that the force, no matter how formidable, was only confined to the city, but now it seemed that it spanned much more than that.

Zhuo Hang then added, "As for the Eternal Life Clan, we know very little. But concerning the mysterious force, we have some intelligence. They established a transnational company, ostensibly recruiting workers for overseas employment. In fact, they’re training loyal subordinates abroad to elude our surveillance."

Su Hui’s brows furrowed. During her time in the foreign region, she encountered two groups. One was originating from an old town, which didn’t match Zhuo Hang’s description. The other party, she assumed, must be the mysterious force Zhuo Hang mentioned.

"Do you want to hear more? Let me remind you, the moment you know more, you’ll be deeply involved in this case," Zhuo Hang warned. However, Su Hui dismissively replied, "It’s alright, I love cracking big cases."