349th floor, Area C, No. 12.

Chen Xinyan picked up the landline phone again and listened for a while.

Seeing his expression become solemn, Jiang Baimian asked thoughtfully:

"Any bad changes?"

Chen Xinyan nodded:

"Ren Jie, the 'Guider' on the 495th floor, has been infected with the 'Heartless Disease' and has been brought under control.

"Head Saint Zhang Zicong physically destroyed many surveillance files and hanged himself in his office."

Jiang Baimian raised an eyebrow:

"That was quick."

Chen Xinyan continued:

"Zhang Zicong left behind a suicide note, claiming to possess an Awakened ability that could drive people crazy and make them appear to be infected with the 'Heartless Disease,' and that he personally dealt with Shen Du and Ren Jie.

"He knew that his actions had been exposed and that he could not escape punishment, so he decided to die for the Order."

Jiang Baimian listened quietly and asked:

"Did he say where he received the Siming faith?"

"He said in his suicide note that it was during the ten years he served in the Security Department and frequently went to the surface. This matches his resume." Chen Xinyan's expression had softened and returned to its previous composure.

He thought for a moment and asked:

"What do you think of Zhang Zicong's death and suicide note?"

Jiang Baimian imperceptibly puffed out her cheeks, and then quickly stopped the behavior, keeping her image.

She smiled slightly and said:

"The suicide note is too detailed, as if he wants to explain everything clearly and take all the blame on himself."

"Great minds think alike." Chen Xinyan gave a thumbs up.

He paused and added:

"However, once we've captured the relatively important members of the Order that Xiong Ming confessed to, today's operation will be pretty much over.

"Zhang Zicong's death and the destruction of surveillance data have indeed cut off our further investigation. We can only learn about his usual interpersonal interactions based on confessions later and conduct more detailed investigations. At the same time, we also have to see how much useful surveillance video the technology department can recover."

Jiang Baimian nodded seriously:

"If there's anything you need my cooperation with, just let me know."

After making the promise, she immediately put on a smile:

"Tell me any further news as soon as possible."

Chen Xinyan smiled:

"No problem."

…

495th floor, Area B, No. 196.

Shang Jianyao sat behind his desk, looking at the glass window within reach, his gaze a little scattered.

At this moment, the sweet voice that was very familiar to the "Pangu Biology" employees suddenly appeared on the "Story Chat" broadcast:

"Dear employees, now for an important news flash, this is your announcer, Hou Yi.

"After rigorous investigation, the company arrested a group of saboteurs tonight…"

Shang Jianyao's eyes moved slightly as he leaned back in his chair.

After this news, "Pangu Biology" returned to normal.

The next day, Shang Jianyao entered Room 14 on the 647th floor fifteen minutes early and, unsurprisingly, saw Jiang Baimian waiting there.

He walked over, pulled out a chair, sat down, and, before the team leader could speak, said:

"I might have been attacked."

Many words that Jiang Baimian was about to say were immediately blocked in her mouth.

She asked in undisguised astonishment:

"What do you mean, 'might'?"

Shang Jianyao pointed to the area from his left shoulder to his chest:

"There's a fresh hole here, all the way to the bulletproof vest."

He then raised his right arm:

"There are suddenly extra bruises and abrasions on this side of my elbow, ribs, and thigh."

Speaking of this, Shang Jianyao added:

"It wasn't caused by you in combat training. I didn't participate in training yesterday at all."

"Very observant." Jiang Baimian nodded slightly, thinking, "When did these marks appear?"

Shang Jianyao had already thought about this question:

"After saying goodbye to you, before entering the room.

"I only remember walking to Area B, and then I found myself at the door. There might have been a two- or three-minute blank in between.

"At that time, a strange person passed by. I didn't see his face clearly."

"How strange?" Jiang Baimian asked.

Shang Jianyao answered very "rigorously":

"He sang terribly."

"…That is indeed a characteristic." Jiang Baimian sighed silently, "Anything else?"

"He was wearing a baseball cap, and the hat was pulled down very low. When he heard me call him, he ran like a rabbit." Shang Jianyao described truthfully, "He picked up a thin metal tube and other things from the ground. I suspect that was the weapon that attacked me and caused the hole."

"You have quite the impression of rabbits." Jiang Baimian said casually, "Why didn't you chase him at the time?"

Shang Jianyao replied frankly:

"At that time, I thought he was running because he was afraid of my criticizing his singing."

"…" The corners of Jiang Baimian's mouth twitched, "Your schizophrenic thought-leaps seem to have both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, it allows you to be unaffected by the corresponding state, break free from shackles. Sometimes, it makes you miss some obvious clues."

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to respond, Jiang Baimian asked again:

"Why are you so sure that there was a blank of about two or three minutes in between?"

Shang Jianyao gave the team leader a strange look:

"When you first got your watch, didn't you look at it from time to time?"

"…" Jiang Baimian had to admit that Shang Jianyao made a lot of sense, but she was unwilling to admit it, "But you've had the watch for many days. You've been to Qifeng Town, and returned to the company, and your watch is fine, with only a little damage, and has been running all the time. Haven't you gotten tired of looking at it?"

Shang Jianyao said with an obvious expression:

"If I don't look at it often, how can I let the company's employees know that I have a mechanical watch?"

"That makes sense…" Jiang Baimian was convinced.

She didn't ask any more questions, analyzing as she thought:

"In other words, you were likely attacked, but you don't have any related memories. You can only make inferences based on the marks on your body…

"The people who would attack you recently are the members of the 'Life Ritual' Order. Hmm, the Head Saint most likely saw your conversation with Xiong Ming, so he reacted immediately.

"Their goal is definitely to erase the relevant clues and interrupt the investigation.

"This goal can be achieved by killing you and infecting you with the 'Heartless Disease,' or by erasing the relevant memories.

"The latter can be linked to your missing memories of the attack."

Speaking to herself, Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao and said in a speculative tone:

"The 'Life Ritual' Order didn't have time to plan a thorough murder scheme, so they could only send an Awakened member with the ability to erase memories to find you as soon as possible. During this process, a series of battles likely occurred, but he ultimately failed and had to erase the latest memories to stop the attack and escape safely…"

Clap clap clap, Shang Jianyao applauded in agreement.

Jiang Baimian glared at this guy:

"Why didn't they just let you get infected with the 'Heartless Disease' directly?

"Is this the last resort? Before attacking you, Head Saint Zhang Zicong didn't have the idea of sacrificing himself yet?"

Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to speak, Jiang Baimian asked:

"Have you forgotten the conversation with Xiong Ming?

"Have you forgotten anything related to the 'Life Ritual' Order?"

Shang Jianyao answered seriously:

"No, those memories are complete and can be confirmed by each other, before and after."

Obviously, he had completed the memory recall last night.

"It seems that the ability to erase memories has great limitations. Maybe it can only target two or three minutes of content, and only one segment at a time… It's a pity that the Head Saint destroyed a lot of surveillance data, otherwise we could have found the traces of the person who attacked you. Well, I'll report it later…" Jiang Baimian turned to talk about the situation of last night's operation, in great detail.

She concluded:

"Originally, there was one thing I found strange.

"Xiong Ming's confession didn't mention you at all, didn't say anything about chatting with you.

"I previously thought that he was protecting you, who is also an Awakened, a New World Human. I thought that he was still quite humane on a certain standard, but there were not many people he recognized as 'people.'

"Now it seems that he may have met that person earlier than you and had his related memories erased."

Shang Jianyao expressed his confusion:

"Why erase his memory? It's okay to know."

"I don't understand either. Maybe the higher-ups of the 'Life Ritual' Order were worried that Xiong Ming would start a New World Human faction… At that time, they should have been quite confident and handled it very carefully. As a result, your combat strength exceeded their expectations, forcing them to interrupt their plan, and I didn't encounter any subsequent attacks." Jiang Baimian said casually, "Next, we can only see what the company can investigate. Haha, at least for now, the secret of you being an Awakened is preserved."

Shang Jianyao nodded and suddenly said:

"I just think there's something wrong with the surveillance cameras."

"Yeah… No wonder the 'Life Ritual' Order is confident that secrets won't be leaked, and speaks in a mystical way that Siming is always watching all living beings, and the Saint is always watching you." Jiang Baimian said with heartfelt emotion, "Who would have thought that the head of the entire surveillance department was the Saint of the Order? This also explains why they have been secretly proselytizing for so many years without being discovered."

Shang Jianyao thought for a moment, and his expression became a little strange:

"Team Leader, do you think those surveillance data can be recovered?"

"The feedback I'm getting right now is that it's very, very difficult." Jiang Baimian's heart stirred, and she asked with a smile, "You wouldn't have taken off your pants in front of the surveillance camera to humiliate it, would you?"

Shang Jianyao looked Jiang Baimian up and down:

"Team Leader, you're so perverted."

"…" Jiang Baimian clenched her teeth.

Shang Jianyao said seriously:

"I've only made faces at it to scare it, shone a flashlight at it, and made insulting gestures at it."

Jiang Baimian closed her mouth tightly, shaking her head slightly, her expression quite complicated.

After a few seconds, she took a breath:

"Your life is truly colorful…"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Old Task Force's only landline phone rang.

Jiang Baimian gestured for Shang Jianyao not to speak, and picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Ah, Minister… You want me to come over? " Jiang Baimian quickly put down the receiver and said to Shang Jianyao, "Deputy Minister Xi Yu has something to talk to me about. I guess it's either about the 'Life Ritual' Order or the response from Shuiwei Town has come down."

ps: The third update is complete, asking for monthly tickets. It's the last day for double votes. It would be a waste not to vote~