"Is it nothing then?"
"?????"
"I've been standing here for so long, and you're telling me it's nothing?!"
"But there really isn't any problem..."
"..."
Mo Chuan watched as Qing Lianzi extinguished the lamp and took it down, then spoke, "Forget it... I'll go to the station and sit for a while. I'll ask Brother Zhang if he has any ideas."
Qing Lianzi shook his head and said, "Although Zhang Henshui is also a soul cultivator, his theoretical knowledge hasn't reached mine yet. If you go to him, he'll likely be stumped too."
Then, he took out a small bottle from his embrace and said, "This is a Soul Nourishing Pill refined by Uncle-Master. You can try taking two to start. Remember, the maximum is two a day, as this stuff has a certain hypnotic effect."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Lian. Oh right, how is Daoist Nanshanzi?"
"My senior brother has retired. He probably returned to Mount Qingcheng after taking the item."
"Are you leaving too?"
"I have to go teach classes... Alright, come find me in the capital later."
"Okay, I definitely will. Bye-bye."
...
Fifty minutes later, Nancheng Branch, Jibei City Public Security Bureau.
Special Ability Situation Emergency Response Department
When Mo Chuan first approached Zhang Hanshan, he just wanted him to help find him a summer job. As a result, Zhang Hanshan directly sent him to the Special Ability Situation Emergency Response Department within the Public Security Bureau, where his third brother, Zhang Henshui, was stationed, as a reserve police officer.
The flattering description was: good pay, little work, great benefits, weekends off guaranteed, and eligibility for three insurances.
The salary and benefits were indeed good... but this department was essentially a smaller version of the armed police in terms of jurisdiction. They dealt with vicious criminals, and many of them possessed peculiar special abilities. Therefore, the work in this department was practically equivalent to risking one's life.
Zhang Henshui put the tea leaves into his drawer and looked at Mo Chuan with surprise, slowly saying, "Little Brother Mo, is it your birthday today?"
"No..."
"Is it your sister's birthday?"
"No..."
"Which university are you going to?"
"No..."
"Then the sun must have risen from the west today," Zhang Henshui said with a suspicious look. "With your stinginess, you'd actually bring me such good tea?"
"Hey, Brother Zhang, what are you saying," Mo Chuan rubbed his hands and asked with a smile, "Your special ability is the Dream Weaver Shuttle, right? I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"It's just..." Mo Chuan pointed at himself, "Could you check if there are any problems with my soul?"
Hearing this, Zhang Henshui summoned a silver shuttle with his left hand and gestured towards the nearby sofa. "Lie down."
Mo Chuan lay on the sofa and watched Zhang Henshui move the Dream Weaver Shuttle around his body.
"Why do you suddenly ask about this?" Zhang Henshui frowned. "Did someone make a move on you?"
"No, I just felt a bit strange, but there's no specialized place in the hospital to examine souls, so I wanted to check."
Although Mo Chuan's explanation to Zhang Henshui was a bit of a white lie, what he said was not entirely untrue.
Most special ability users in Dragon Country were weapon-based, ranging from fine swords and divine artifacts to cleavers and bricks. Therefore, they were short of soul cultivators and ghost cultivators. These types were more common in Neon, Tianzhu, and the Thai Buddhist countries.
Thus, the front lines were already understaffed, let alone dispatching them to hospitals. Some soul cultivators in the civilian sector helped each other check soul problems, while ghost cultivators were mostly discriminated against or had directly defected.
Zhang Henshui swept the Dream Weaver Shuttle over Mo Chuan's body. Zhang Henshui's brow furrowed, and he stopped the shuttle near Mo Chuan's neck.
The Dream Weaver Shuttle in his hand emitted a dazzling purple light.
Afterward, Zhang Henshui peered at Mo Chuan's collar for a long time but couldn't discern anything.
"No... Brother Zhang, what's going on..."
"A mark of some kind has been planted on your neck, but its effect is still unknown. It's invisible normally. Operate your spiritual energy now, let me see."
Mo Chuan nodded at this. Just as he was about to circulate his spiritual energy, the office phone suddenly rang.
Zhang Henshui turned to answer, "Hello, this is the Special Ability Emergency Response Department."
"What?!"
"Alright, I'll lead the duty personnel to the scene immediately."
"Yes!"
Zhang Henshui hung up the phone, his face grave. "We'll talk about your matter later. There's a major bank robbery happening at the National Bank on Jishui Road in the city center. I'll go find Ma Li and Old Wu. You go to the parking lot immediately and wait by the car. Also, call the remaining two and tell them to rush to the city center immediately. Take action now!"
With that, Zhang Henshui threw on his coat and rushed out of the office.
Mo Chuan also jumped off the sofa and ran towards the parking lot.
A moment later, Zhang Henshui arrived at the parking lot with a young woman and an older man.
The woman named Ma Li got into the car directly. Her hands moved rapidly, starting the engine, and planning the route in a smooth, practiced motion.
Her special ability was a steering wheel, which, when activated, turned her into a "Ghost of Mountain Pass" racer.
Zhang Henshui sat in the passenger seat, while Old Wu and Mo Chuan sat in the back. Seeing that everyone was present, Zhang Henshui said, "National Bank at 25 Jishui Road, full speed ahead. Mo Chuan, have you finished contacting them?"
"They'll be at the destination within ten minutes."
"Good. Let me explain the situation..."
...
National Bank.
Director Chen looked anxiously at the closed bank doors not far away. Fourteen hostages were still inside.
According to eyewitnesses, there was a gang of at least five special ability user robbers inside, and the sniper observation indicated that at least three of them were B-class or higher offensive ability users.
This group of robbers took advantage of the recent large-scale spiritual energy fluctuation event in the city, when the social stabilization forces were somewhat reduced, to carry out this robbery.
What was even more dire was the robbers' cunning. Their leader seemed very professional. After controlling a sufficient number of hostages, they directly lowered the bank's metal protective doors. Communication was only possible through a mobile phone deliberately released by one of the hostages.
Snipers had already found several positions, but apart from the bathroom window, all other doors and windows were sealed.
The situation inside was completely unclear.
"Old Zhang... you'd better hurry..."
"Beep beep beep—"
Director Chen quickly picked up the phone and heard a sinister voice from the other end: "Now, withdraw one-third of the surrounding police cars. We'll release three people. You have only ten minutes. If I don't see the surrounding police force reduced within ten minutes, these three people will die."
Then, Director Chen heard the sinister voice questioning and the sound of crying from the phone. "Stop crying. Speak for yourself, what's your name, gender, profession. Don't try any tricks. Your mouth isn't faster than my knife."
"Yu... Yu Huifang... female... bank... receptionist..."
"Yours."
A male voice: "Wang... Wang Jianjun, male, deputy bank manager..."
"Yours."
It was an old woman's voice: "Lu... Lu Ping... female... cleaner..."
"Did you hear that, officer?" the sinister voice spoke again. "If you don't order your police cars to retreat 10 kilometers right now, I'll really kill them, you know~"
"Waaaah—"
The woman named Yu Huifang on the phone seemed to be crying even harder.
"Bang!"
The crying from the phone abruptly stopped.
"Stop crying! You're f***ing noisy!"
"Alright... there are only two people left now. You'd better hurry. My patience isn't very good. I remember all my doctors say that."