Chapter 64: I won’t allow anyone to enter my ‘sea’ except you!
Qin Ge, the country’s leading expert in “sea area studies,” stood beside his teacher, Zhang Xiao, who had patrolled his “sea area” after Qin Ge obtained his Adjuster certification.
Suddenly, Qin Ge calmed down, immediately understanding what had stabilized everything just as he was about to be violently expelled from Zhou Yiqing’s “sea.”
Qin Ge had never seen Zhang Xiao’s spirit animal; he had only seen its shadow—a small, even-toed ungulate.
But he always remembered the power of Zhang Xiao’s spirit animal—fresh, gentle, soft, utterly non-aggressive, but capable of instantly soothing agitated emotions. To him, Zhang Xiao’s presence meant that everything he was currently confused about could potentially be resolved.
Qin Ge composed himself; he needed to tell Lei Chi what he had seen.
Zhang Xiao: “Do I need to step aside?”
Qin Ge: “I hope Lei Chi won’t make you leave. I saw some incredible things.”
Zhang Xiao nodded. But Lei Chi was still talking to someone else and couldn’t come over yet.
“Teacher Zhang, this is Xie Zijing.” Qin Ge introduced Xie Zijing to Zhang Xiao, “This is Teacher Zhang Xiao.”
Xie Zijing: “I know.”
Zhang Xiao had a somewhat baby-faced appearance. Even though he was older, his round eyes remained bright. He glanced at Qin Ge and Xie Zijing for a moment, then smiled and asked, “Your partner?”
Qin Ge blushed: “Uh…”
Zhang Xiao: “Qin Shuangshuang mentioned it a bit. You want to repair his ‘sea area’?”
Qin Ge nodded. Xie Zijing looked at Qin Ge and then at Zhang Xiao, his eyes showing a trace of suspicion.
When Zhang Xiao arrived, Qin Ge was still patrolling the sea area and was very unstable. Xie Zijing was even considering biting him to wake him up. But once Zhang Xiao squatted next to Qin Ge and held his hand, everything suddenly calmed down. His guide stopped trembling, and his breathing steadied. Most surprisingly, the usual discomfort Qin Ge experienced after patrolling an unstable “sea area” was completely absent this time.
Xie Zijing knew Zhang Xiao was powerful, but because the other person was a stranger, he remained vigilant.
Repairing his own “sea area” meant that Xie Zijing might have to open his secrets to this stranger.
This was absolutely intolerable to him.
He tightly gripped Qin Ge’s hand. But Qin Ge, his attention fully captured by his idol, didn’t notice Xie Zijing’s small gesture.
“Teacher Zhang, have you been abroad this whole time?”
Zhang Xiao nodded: “You know, academia is in the West. ‘Sea area studies’ originated in Europe, and their research is indeed the most advanced. Many issues we haven’t even considered have already been studied there, with some even achieving results. The Special Management Committee highly values ‘sea area Studies’ because the number of sentinels and guides is the highest among special humans. If our ‘sea areas’ are unstable, special humans are likely to have problems, which would cause big trouble for the Special Management Committee.”
“Did you come alone?” Qin Ge asked again.
“No.” Zhang Xiao pointed behind him, “I came with my partner.”
Qin Ge and Xie Zijing looked up simultaneously. Not far behind him, an unfamiliar person was talking to Lei Chi.
Everyone around Lei Chi stood straight, with Dawn Flash Butterfly flapping its wings above them. The young guide held his breath, staring intently at the person in front of him.
“No need to be nervous. I didn’t call you here to criticize you. You’re a newcomer to the field team from last year, so you might not know me. I’m Gao Qiong, a friend of Lao Yuan from your team, and I’m also part of the field team,” Gao Qiong said. “I just wanted to tell you that your butterfly is impressive. You must cultivate it well and expand its influence. Learn some knowledge about wind direction, humidity, and the like. It will benefit both you and the butterfly. Its phosphorescence effect is likely closely related to external environmental conditions.”
The guide responded loudly, “Yes, Captain Gao!”
After speaking, Gao Qiong scratched his chin as if unsure how to continue. He looked older than Lei Chi, with a few white hairs at his temples. His gaze was emotionless, even cold. But he was tall, muscular, and had two well-toned arms exposed, making him a very vigorous-looking man.
“Fat wolf,” he called toward Zhang Xiao, “finished rubbing yet?”
The wolf at Zhang Xiao’s feet rubbed against him a bit more before reluctantly trotting over to Gao Qiong.
Lei Chi, looking at the gray-white fat wolf, was very excited: “Captain Gao, I can see your wolf.”
“Oh?” Gao Qiong seemed a bit surprised. “I remember you. You’re the werewolf, right?”
He kicked his wolf: “Your companion.”
The fat wolf looked at Lei Chi warily, sniffing at his feet. Lei Chi, now wearing shoes, was even more nervous than the guide with the Dawn Flash Butterfly.
But the wolf wasn’t interested in him, looking up at Gao Qiong before wagging its tail and running back to Zhang Xiao.
Gao Qiong: “…”
Zhang Xiao bent down to stroke the wolf’s head. The wolf appeared to enjoy it immensely, even closing its eyes.
“We just had an argument,” Zhang Xiao said with a smile. “He doesn’t like coming to the Wangdu District.”
Qin Ge asked curiously, “Why not?”
Zhang Xiao replied, “Haven’t you noticed that all the spirit animals around have disappeared? Except for those flying in the sky.”
Qin Ge turned his head and saw that indeed, there were no spirit animals on the ground around them.
“They’re all afraid of his wolf,” Zhang Xiao explained. “Except for those who are familiar with him, other people’s spirit animals immediately run away or vanish as soon as they sense his wolf’s presence. He doesn’t like that.”
He squatted in front of the wolf and kissed its ears and head.
“Go back,” Zhang Xiao said softly. “I’ll let you out to play when we get home.”
He rubbed the wolf’s ears twice more, and the wolf dissolved into a rolling, swirling white mist and disappeared.
Gao Qiong walked over, looking displeased.
“I kissed your wolf,” Zhang Xiao told him.
Gao Qiong’s ears turned a bit red. He frowned as he sized up Qin Ge and Xie Zijing beside Zhang Xiao, finally asking Xie Zijing, “What’s your spirit animal?”
Xie Zijing replied, “Barbary lion.”
Gao Qiong asked Qin Ge, “And yours?”
Qin Ge hesitated, “…Rabbit.”
Gao Qiong was visibly relaxed.
Zhang Xiao chuckled, “You’re quite something. There’s no need to ask everyone, is there? There are no pandas here!”
Gao Qiong retorted, “How would I know if I don’t ask?”
Zhang Xiao, both amused and exasperated, pulled Qin Ge towards Lei Chi. Qin Ge was nervous, “He still seems angry?”
“He’s not angry anymore,” Zhang Xiao shrugged. “Don’t worry about him. We just haven’t seen each other for a long time. He’s been in the country, and I’ve been abroad. So this time, even though he doesn’t like the wangdu district, he came with me.”
Xie Zijing followed behind Qin Ge, glancing back at Gao Qiong. Gao Qiong had acquired a map of the wangdu district area and was already laying it out on the ground to study it.
Lei Chi still looked excited, which surprised Xie Zijing. He had never seen such an expression on Lei Chi’s usually stoic face.
“That’s Gao Qiong!” Lei Chi gushed like a fan meeting their idol. “Gao Qiong of the Wolf Fang squad in the field team! Wolf Fang is the best squad in the field team, and Gao Qiong is the best sentinel in the Crisis Management Office—no, he’s probably the best sentinel in the country right now.”
Xie Zijing asked, “…Better than me?”
Lei Chi replied, “You’re nothing compared to him.”
Xie Zijing was completely stunned. He had never expected that the strongest denial he would ever encounter would come from Lei Chi.
Lei Chi, Qin Ge, and Zhang Xiao moved aside to discuss everything they had seen in Zhou Yiqing’s “sea area.” Zhang Xiao was equally surprised to learn that X could explore someone else’s “sea area” so deeply.
“Zhou You is a dangerous individual,” Lei Chi said, returning to his usual serious demeanor. “The information we have is enough to list him as a significant person of interest in this case.”
Bian Han and Zhou Yiqing were carried away on stretchers to the 267th Hospital. Formal interrogation would begin once they had calmed down.
The sky was already bright, and voices were gradually rising from all over the Wangdu district. Only this area remained quiet, with everyone closing their doors and windows tightly, not daring to come out.
Lei Chi communicated with werewolf Xia Chun and underground person Meng Yu, suggesting they manage the Black Battalion well and maintain order in the Wangdu district during this period.
Qin Ge had many unanswered questions.
For instance, was the sentinel-guide riot that happened in the Wangdu district years ago related to Zhou You? It was highly likely, as Zhou You could only delve into the “sea areas” of sentinels and guides and could only use them.
He also thought about the homicide case that occurred in the Hubei mountains long ago. The mother was killed by a heavy blow, and the father died from falling rocks. Zhou You claimed he had killed and buried someone. Who did he kill?
He even thought about Lu Qinglai and the silver ring on his left ring finger. Xie Zijing had seen the letter “Z” engraved inside the ring. Was this the letter for “Zhou”? Could there be a connection between him and Zhou You? At the “sea area” symposium held at the National Library, Lu Qinglai had also given a speech. Qin Ge still remembered that his topic was the connection between white noise and the “sea area.”
The “sea area” destroyed by Lu Qinglai and the one destroyed by Zhou You were almost identical.
Zhou You researched white noise earphones, and Lu Qinglai was a mediator skilled at entering “sea areas.” Everything pointed to a connection between the two.
Qin Ge was filled with unease.
He needed to tell Zhang Xiao about all this immediately.
When he turned his head, he found Zhang Xiao already looking at him.
“Qin Ge, there’s something I need to ask for your and Xie Zijing’s consent,” Zhang Xiao said.
Qin Ge and Xie Zijing were both taken aback by Zhang Xiao’s serious tone.
Zhang Xiao looked at Xie Zijing.
“I need to enter Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area,'” he said. “I must see it to find the key to repairing it. You just told me that each of these destroyed ‘sea areas’ contains a sealed, seemingly normal small space. I need to take a look.”
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Xie Zijing immediately objected, “No way.”
Qin Ge exclaimed, “Xie Zijing!”
Xie Zijing replied, “I won’t allow anyone but you to enter my ‘sea area’!”
Qin Ge protested, “Zhang Xiao is not Lu Qinglai.”
“I know,” Xie Zijing said, taking a step back. “But I don’t want to. Qin Ge, only you can. I won’t let anyone else breach my seawall.”
He looked at Zhang Xiao and said, “I won’t allow it.”
Zhang Xiao nodded, “I understand.”
He pointed at Qin Ge, then at himself.
“What if Qin Ge and I enter your ‘sea area’ together?”
The author has something to say:
“Teacher Zhang is about to find a way to rebuild Xie Zijing’s sea area.”
Fat Wolf: “Teacher Zhang is the best, lick, lick, lick.”
