GRMFBS CH227

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Zhan Yan laughed so hard at the Gossip feeds that he couldn’t stop.

His sister’s Gossip feeds were also updating. After leaving the house, she went to her studio in the black market, picked up Yang Ran, and rode her invisible flying big motorcycle straight to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau headquarters.

Sigh, Sister’s big motorcycle is really enviable! Can she take me for a ride on it if there’s a chance in the future?

Neither Gu Jiancheng nor Ning Xi liked to exchange pleasantries, so Ning Xi took Deep Shadow directly into the reception room.

Su Ming and Black Wolf wanted to follow them in.

Ning Xi, holding the door handle, turned around and smiled gently at them: “Black Wolf, the Operations Department has run into some trouble. Please go and handle it. Su Ming, go to the Research Department and check on their progress for me.”

The door closed.

Through the crack in the door, Black Wolf saw Deep Shadow turn around and very silently curl the corners of his mouth at him.

Heh.

Black Wolf bristled.

“Did you see that? What does he mean?! He comes to our turf and acts so arrogantly!”

Su Ming: “Your ears popped out again.”

They were swiveling back and forth, twitching.

Black Wolf: …

He covered his head.

Damn it! Deep Shadow is absolutely his nemesis!

Zhan Yan chuckled at the melon strip.

Classmate Xiao Gu still remembered Black Wolf talking about him poking someone’s nostrils.

When Black Wolf said that, Zhuo Xun, the leader of the Retirees Alliance, was also present. When Gu Jiancheng was wearing his Deep Shadow identity, he had a pretty heavy burden of maintaining his image. If he spoke up to explain to Zhuo Xun, he would lose face; if he didn’t explain, he’d take the blame.

Gu Jiancheng: Holding a grudge.

Zhan Yan thought the grudge-holding Classmate Xiao Gu was so cute.

However, Ning Xi shutting everyone else out like this made it seem like they were going to discuss something major.

Watching through the Gossip feeds, Zhan Yan couldn’t help but get serious as well.

He hoped Xiao Gu could build a good relationship with the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. His mother being in the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau was only a small part of the reason. This was more of a trend.

Due to the existence of information pollution, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had always strictly divided the boundaries between the supernatural and ordinary people of this world. As long as the [Infinite World] was not completely resolved, this control would never end.

To integrate into this world, one couldn’t always avoid its current situation. Cooperation is always better than isolation.

He hoped Gu Jiancheng could be accepted by this world, not just as Classmate Xiao Gu, but also as Deep Shadow.

Just like on the forum, going from a mysterious supernatural wanted criminal to a hero who had once saved the world. He hoped that in reality, Deep Shadow could also go from a withdrawn lone wolf to someone with many, many friends.

Zhan Yan unconsciously bit the inside of his lip.

He didn’t know what kind of cooperation method Ning Xi would propose, and whether Xiao Gu would be able to accept it.

In the Gossip feeds, the two of them had sat down, ready to start discussing business.

Gu Jiancheng asked, “Is the Tianshi here?”

Zhan Yan: ?

Why are you asking this now?

Eating melons remotely, Zhan Yan couldn’t help but get a bad premonition.

Ning Xi: “She will come today, but she’s not here right now. Are you looking for her?”

Gu Jiancheng: “A friend of mine is a fan of the Tianshi and wants an autograph.”

Zhan Yan: … Bro, although I’m very grateful to you, there’s no need, really no need to be this anxious!

I asked you to get an autograph so you could show a friendly and polite performance in front of my mom, not so you could get it through Ning Xi!

Besides, is now the right atmosphere to talk about fans and asking for autographs?

The big shot Deep Shadow didn’t feel there was any problem at all.

What was atmosphere? Did it have anything to do with what he wanted to do?

Ning Xi paused: “When she comes, I’ll tell her.”

【Seeing Ning Xi’s friendly attitude, Deep Shadow Gu Jiancheng felt he needed to express some friendliness. He noticed the shadow of the small marimo on Ning Xi’s desk had no vitality, so he reminded him: “The thing you are raising is fake.”】

Ning Xi: “…Thank you, I know.”

He wasn’t raising it anymore; he just kept it as a decoration.

The conversation finally moved onto the official track.

The cooperation Ning Xi proposed was very loose, almost just asking to exchange contact information and share information at the same time, to avoid wasting resources. He also wanted to ensure both sides had the obligation to help each other in the future. He asked Deep Shadow to casually lend a hand if he saw employees of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau in danger in the future.

Gu Jiancheng had no objections.

Ning Xi continued to test the waters: “If you are willing, our internal contribution exchange system can also be open to you.”

If you wanted to exchange things using contribution points, you’d have to take on missions. Once you started taking missions, wouldn’t this person slowly join their Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau?

Gu Jiancheng remained expressionless: “Are you only wanting to open this contribution exchange system to me, or do you plan to open it to those people in the Retirees Alliance in the future?”

Ning Xi was very sincere: “I do indeed want to use this to build deeper cooperation with the Retirees Alliance. Is there any problem with this method?”

The Retirees Alliance’s demand for their internal items would only grow. A gradually opened contribution exchange system would also be a process of gradual integration for both sides.

Previously, the players of the Retirees Alliance had isolated themselves and had no willingness to act. But now it was different; Ning Xi had received news that the players of the Retirees Alliance had started resuming training!

Even if they only trained three days a week, and only one hour a day, that was still a good development trend!

Gu Jiancheng: “This exchange system is very similar to the system in the Infinite. The players mostly have mental illnesses.”

Ning Xi understood. It easily triggered stress responses, right? Aside from ordinary stress, it could also stimulate their behavioral patterns to trend toward their past patterns in the Infinite. Those were their ingrained habits, deeply branded into them through the torment of the Infinite.

Then they should change it. The advantage of exchanging contribution points was convenience and simplicity, but for the sake of the players’ mental state, making it slightly more troublesome was also acceptable.

After confirming that Deep Shadow sincerely wanted to cooperate, Ning Xi relaxed, and the two of them went back and forth, starting to discuss the details of the cooperation.

While discussing, Ning Xi still felt a sense of incongruity. Based on his judgment, Deep Shadow’s attitude today was too good.

From the moment they first met, Ning Xi had been observing Deep Shadow’s personality, watching his attitude towards “Polar Radiance,” his reaction to Black Wolf, and his performance during their discussions…

He could confirm Deep Shadow was trustworthy because of ‘Approaching Science,’ but being trustworthy didn’t mean he didn’t have motives. Was Deep Shadow truly asking for nothing else?

Was it because he had never had direct contact with Deep Shadow before, and the information he gathered led to an error in judgment? Or had Deep Shadow’s personality undergone a massive change?

After discussing for a while, Gu Jiancheng got impatient: “Do you have the detailed rules? I’ll just look at them directly, and after reading, I’ll tell you what I can’t accept.”

Ning Xi: “We do have them, but…”

Gu Jiancheng: “Bring them here.”

Ning Xi took a thick booklet out of a drawer: “You won’t have a use for many things in here, just ignore them.”

Gu Jiancheng started flipping through it.

[It is forbidden to use thunder to strike the appraisal table.]

[It is forbidden to steal food placed in the refrigerator by colleagues.]

[It is forbidden to beat up the psychologists, and it is forbidden to pull the psychologists’ hair.]

…

[It is forbidden to perform as a Peashooter while drinking milk tea in the cafeteria.]

Gu Jiancheng: ???

He looked up at Ning Xi.

Ning Xi: “Ah… An employee did that in the cafeteria before, using the boba from milk tea to shoot a smiley face on the wall.”

Gu Jiancheng: … What kind of employees are these?

He continued reading.

[It is forbidden to hug models and dance in the corridor.]

Ning Xi: “Don’t mind this one. A person from their Research Department was under high psychological pressure once, and hugged an abnormal anatomical model to dance in the corridor.”

[It is forbidden to sleep on the experimental tables.]

[It is forbidden to stuff real supernatural items into the Polar Radiance store.]

[It is forbidden to circle the killer’s name in advance in the suspense novels in the rest area.]

…

Gu Jiancheng couldn’t help but look up at Ning Xi again.

Is your Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau this abstract?

Ning Xi’s expression remained steadfast. What’s this? He had experienced far more abstract things, especially when they first recruited some players. Those players who had been freed from the Infinite were more abstract than the last; someone like the Bug King, who studied cold-resistant mosquitoes and mutated cockroaches, was a minor case.

On the other side, Zhan Suiru had also arrived.

She didn’t send a message in the group but looked directly for Black Wolf.

It had been too long since she last interacted with Deep Shadow, and the current Deep Shadow had a different personality than what she remembered. She was afraid her judgment of Deep Shadow would be inaccurate. Yang Ran’s soul depended on Deep Shadow; she didn’t want to accidentally offend the guy again.

Very few people in the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had interacted with Deep Shadow; the most recent person to do so was Black Wolf. Zhan Suiru had previously asked Black Wolf about Deep Shadow’s personality, and hearing that Black Wolf had met him again after Deep Shadow arrived this time, Zhan Suiru decided to ask him again.

Black Wolf came directly to pick up Zhan Suiru.

What trouble in the Operations Department? That was just Ning Xi’s excuse to send him away!

He had also dragged Great Ritual Dancer along.

The Great Ritual Dancer went to the break room first.

Wearing a burgundy silk shirt with the top two buttons undone, he was brewing Kung Fu tea in a style that was completely mismatched. Seeing Black Wolf bring someone in, he smiled, raised his hand, and greeted them: “Yo, want a drink? If you don’t want tea, there are other things here.”

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had excellent welfare benefits; there were all kinds of drinks and snacks in the break room.

Black Wolf opened a can of coffee: “Who wants to drink your tea? After messing around for half a day, there’s not even enough for one sip.”

Zhan Suiru didn’t want tea. Great Ritual Dancer happily brewed it for himself while listening to Black Wolf talk about Deep Shadow.

Black Wolf wasn’t the type to embellish stories, but Deep Shadow’s attitude toward him had never been good.

“He poked Jing Zhang’s nostrils; Jing Zhang told me himself. Jing Zhang never lies,” Black Wolf complained. “And then he started fighting with me.”

“You ask me about his mood today…” Black Wolf couldn’t help but snort. “I didn’t do anything today, and he scoffed at me.”

He had followed the Deputy Bureau all the way here without saying a single word!

“Holds grudges, narrow-minded, totally petty.”

Zhan Suiru understood. Deep Shadow generally still had his old personality, and his mood wasn’t very good today.

Great Ritual Dancer comforted her: “It’s fine. He’s with our Deputy Bureau right now. With our Deputy Bureau’s brain, he definitely won’t let him affect his state. Let me tell you, when our Deputy Bureau wants to coax someone, he’s very good at it.”

“I know,” Zhan Suiru said. “Deep Shadow is not someone who goes back on his word.”

If he promised something, he would definitely strive to do his best.

Great Ritual Dancer wasn’t interested in Deep Shadow; he was interested in ‘Approaching Science.’

“Are you very close with ‘Approaching Science’?”

He still remembered the incident where he was exposed as a “little demon who broke off an engagement for him” because he messed around with the kid.

Black Wolf sneered: “Petty.”

Great Ritual Dancer smiled and drank his tea: “Oh, has your little nephew taken you off his blacklist yet?”

Black Wolf: …

He had been played previously for recruiting ‘Approaching Science’ in a high-profile manner. He didn’t know how ‘Approaching Science’ found out about him faking his death to tease his little nephew Bai Ji. After his little nephew took him off the blacklist and chatted with him for a few sentences, he got angry again. He was still lying on his little nephew’s blacklist to this day.

The two communicated and agreed that ‘Approaching Science’ was not easy to tease at all, rivaling Deep Shadow’s pettiness.

“Hey, how do you get along with ‘Approaching Science’? Is he usually very serious and doesn’t joke around?” Great Ritual Dancer asked Rong Sui.

Zhan Suiru: “Uh… he jokes around too.”

Not only did she joke around, but a while ago she often went offline, leaving ‘Approaching Science’ hanging.

But ‘Approaching Science’ never seemed to have retaliated against her; later, he even took the initiative to find her and provide a plan to save Yang Ran.

The contrast couldn’t be more obvious.

Great Ritual Dancer clicked his tongue: “Why is this kid so biased?”

Zhan Suiru was also thinking about it. Recalling carefully, during her interactions with “Approaching Science,” “Internet-type Little Squirrel,” and “Little Dragon Demon,” she seemed to have teased every single one of them. ‘Approaching Science’ had never gotten angry. If Great Ritual Dancer and Black Wolf hadn’t brought it up today, she wouldn’t have known that ‘Approaching Science’ would retaliate like this when annoyed… Ah, that’s kind of cute.

Is this what they mean by hitting it off?

The few of them relaxed as they chatted.

At this moment, Su Ming knocked on the door, bringing Nie Ling.

She had gone to the Research Department to tell Nie Ling that Deep Shadow had arrived, and Nie Ling planned to come over. The secret room was mainly built by him and Great Ritual Dancer, so the two of them definitely had to be present.

On their way back, Ning Xi sent a message telling them to come directly to the break room. He already knew Rong Sui had brought Yang Ran, and next, he should take her and Deep Shadow to see the secret room.

Ning Xi was looking at Deep Shadow. Although Deep Shadow was still expressionless, he felt Deep Shadow was indeed entertained by their “Employee Handbook”—if he wasn’t entertained, he wouldn’t have flipped through it for so long.

“Rong Sui has arrived. Shall I take you together to see the isolation secret room?”

Gu Jiancheng took a deep breath in his heart. I’m about to meet the parent while wearing my vest.

【Deep Shadow Gu Jiancheng and Zhan Suiru met in the break room of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau; both parties were very nervous.】

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