Chapter 21: An Invitation to Join CWP

by cnwebnovels

The moment Min Long made his move, he deployed a complicated lethal technique.

His feet flashed and wheeled. At the same time, he crouched like a cat, formed tiger claws, coiled like a snake, swept with a dragon tail, and sprang like a monkey. Not a single muscle in his body sat idle.

His flexibility was extraordinary. He probably wanted to show off a flawless one-move finish in front of all those pretty girls—otherwise, against an ordinary person, there was no need for such an elaborate sequence.

Too bad I had that exact set of moves in my own arsenal. To me, his attack was like a math problem with the answer key leaked. The solution was sitting right there.

So I simply leaned back and kicked once, sending him flying straight out of the ring.

Bang—Min Long slammed hard into the floor.

The real damage was to his left ribs, where my kick had landed.

I’d used enough force to shatter them. I hadn’t held back at all.

In novels, masters test each other with a fraction of their strength. That doesn’t work for me. I use everything. And it looks especially clumsy—no form, no technique. Just one kick.

Then Min Long passed out.

I’d actually calculated the strike beforehand. Too many techniques would hand Liu Biao research material on me. I didn’t want to give him that.

I’m clumsy. All I know is how to kick people.

While everyone stood frozen in shock, they didn’t forget to rush over and help Min Long. Another combat habit the Sweepers had developed from coordinated operations.

Zhu Zhaojie covered her mouth, unable to make a sound.

The girls who had come with her all cried out in astonishment.

I turned, bowed with my palms together, and saluted the crowd.

Then I apologized to Min Long and everyone else.

I said I didn’t know how to fight and had never been trained, so I didn’t know how to pull my punches. He attacked me, so I kicked him once. Simple as that.

Liu Biao stared at me, incredulous.

Through same-frequency sensing, I caught his confusion. He hadn’t seen clearly whether this was dumb luck or whether I actually knew advanced martial arts.

Just like that, I’d broken Min Long’s lethal technique.

Min Long’s lethal technique was textbook-perfect. Every movement in his body had been flawless. There was only one opening: when he attacked, his whole body had to move in coordination, and for a single instant, his left ribs went unguarded. If you didn’t understand the sequence, you couldn’t break it. You wouldn’t even have time to think. Unless you were intimately familiar with the entire combination.

I stepped down from the ring and smiled at Liu Biao.

“Investigator Liu, you do have to keep your word.”

Liu Biao’s face darkened. “You still dare claim you don’t know martial arts? Forget it. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Liu Biao and I returned to the Cultural Intelligence Department.

News of the training ground fight had already reached here. After all, this was CWP’s base, its information hub. A lot of information was shared from person to person.

Team Leader Su was the first to come running. He stared at me in utter shock. “All we asked was for you to deliver some materials. How did you end up in a fight?”

I told him everything that had happened, including the fact that Zhu Zhaojie was my classmate.

It was true that Zhu Zhaojie was my classmate. Even if I didn’t mention it, they already knew.

I told the truth about the whole sequence of events.

And I wasn’t in the wrong.

Of course, this was still the first time a detained suspect from the Cultural Intelligence Department had beaten up a purge agent from the Eradication Department.

During normal training, even black-clad men from the Cultural Intelligence Department had a hard time beating black-clad men from the Eradication Department. Everyone had their specialty. The Eradication Department specialized in combat.

But I carried the combined abilities of a crowd now. Xuanhong’s included.

Of course, the main reason was Min Long’s overconfidence. He’d thought this was just a one-man show. And I didn’t want Liu Biao to see my real capabilities.

Only after all the spectators had left did Liu Biao fix his eyes on me. “Talk. How did you do it?”

I put on a look of complete bewilderment. “Do what? You were right there. You saw everything. I caught Min Long harassing a girl, so he picked a fight with me. I kicked him once.”

Liu Biao had no interest in going in circles. “Cut the crap. Min Long is a hand-to-hand fighting champion and a purge group leader. How could you possibly beat him? What secret weapon did you use?”

I said, “Now you’re just being unreasonable. You were right there, Supervisor Liu! Couldn’t you see what move I used? Are you trying to weasel out of your promise by making excuses?”

Liu Biao said, “Your performance can’t be without cause. In a little while, you’re undergoing another technical test. We’ll see if you secretly installed some prohibited item these past few days.”

I agreed cheerfully. “Fine, fine. After the test, don’t forget to honor your promise.”

Liu Biao’s face went dark, and he stopped talking to me. After a long silence, he squeezed out one sentence.

“Gu Beichen, that fighting move just now was practical and efficient. Did someone from the Eradication Department secretly train you? Otherwise it makes no sense.”

I said, “I live under your noses every single day. Surveillance everywhere. You know the exact volume when I fart, and you still have the nerve to ask? Are you afraid the director will question you and you won’t know how to explain? How about this—you make up a reason for me, and I’ll say whatever you tell me to.”

Not one word I said was wrong. My life here was completely transparent. If an explanation was needed, they’d have to investigate it themselves.

Sure enough, just as I expected.

Liu Biao was soon summoned by his superiors.

Looked like the higher-ups had also heard about the incident on the training ground. Nothing I could do. When you’re under someone else’s roof, you leave things to fate. Worst case, I’d use the immobilizing spell and run.

Four days passed. No one came to make trouble for me.

During that time, I went to chat with Zhu Zhaojie and ask about Ye Ziping. Truth was, Zhu Zhaojie didn’t know much about the situation in Liutan Town either. The little she did know, she’d found secretly through online channels. After all, she worked in intelligence.

Zhu Zhaojie told me Ye Ziping had already joined the municipal Kuzhan Center. His luck seemed decent—not long after I escaped, he’d leveled up to Da Luo Golden Immortal and been recruited by the city.

My presence drew many girls from the Qiankun Department, who crowded around me like I was some idol, enthusiastically peppering me with questions. No one treated me like a person under investigation. I could read the light in their eyes perfectly well. No wonder Xuanhong had gone off to become a monk.

Too much fragrance.

Since many of the girls had spoken up for me after the last fight, I felt too embarrassed to refuse. At lunch, I ate with them and spent half the day being smothered in fragrance.

I really couldn’t take it.

I didn’t want to be some pretty boy.

Zhu Zhaojie was clearly a little disappointed. I could tell even without same-frequency sensing. She’d wanted to have a meal with me alone.

On the morning of the fifth day, Yin Kun, director of the Cultural Intelligence Department, unexpectedly summoned me in person—in Liu Biao’s office, no less.

Yin Kun was an old man who looked like a scholar. But if you actually took him for a scholar, you’d be making a serious mistake.

Not a single Sweeper had clean hands.

I’d secretly gone through their files. When mopping up after battles, they often killed people outright—no trial, only suspicion. And there was no oversight.

Zhu Shaohua was a prime example. The man had even been a Public Security Bureau chief.

In the Sweepers’ dictionary, human rights and law didn’t exist.

Maybe it had to do with them all being modified humans. The operational protocols in their Wisdom Capsules might not include human rights at all—only obedience. You couldn’t treat Sweepers like normal people.

When Yin Kun met me, he was reasonably polite. He delivered a long spiel about policies and principles, humanity and high technology. No better than Gao Minjun’s pitch.

Finally, Yin Kun got to the point and formally invited me to join CWP. He said the organization needed talent like me. If I joined, my past actions—and Grandma’s—would no longer be pursued.

I thought he was being completely unreasonable.

Grandma and I hadn’t broken any laws or committed any crimes. What grounds did he have to pursue us? Oh, he’d decide not to pursue it, and I was supposed to be grateful?

Then again, maybe Yin Kun didn’t know I’d fused with Xuanhong. The inhuman experiments they’d conducted on Xuanhong were already seared into my mind.

I understood what he really meant. This wasn’t about joining at all. He wanted to trick me into voluntarily offering up my body for their research.

Did he really think I was young and naive? Did he really think I was an idiot?

Besides, Lin Xiaowen’s message—that I absolutely must not join the Sweepers—was still echoing in my ears.

So I turned him down.

I used his own spear against his own shield.

I said I only wanted to be a normal person and didn’t want to become a modified human. The way I’d been educated also didn’t allow me to connect to any AI product.

Yin Kun said he greatly admired my attitude and my character. CWP’s mission was to help more people live normal lives. They sacrificed themselves and became modified humans so that all humanity would never be modified again, achieving permanent world peace and healthy development.

What a sales pitch.

This old guy had lived through it. He’d been steeped in the Sweeper system for years, and the Cultural Intelligence Department was built to play with people’s minds. I had no interest.

I couldn’t out-argue him, and I couldn’t beat him. All I could do was appeal to law and sentiment.

I said the law clearly stated that without evidence, detention of a citizen couldn’t exceed fifteen days.

I said I was too young and didn’t understand anything. Once I finished university, I’d definitely report for duty.

Also, I had to find Grandma. She’d raised me. A ninety-year-old woman couldn’t be left wandering year after year.

Seeing I wouldn’t budge, Yin Kun didn’t press. After all, he had status.

As for Liu Biao saying he’d let me go if I won—I treated that as bullshit.

But I wasn’t about to let him off easily. Every time I saw him, I needled him with that line.

Who told him to make blind promises and break his word?